The Kids are Alright.

I'm re-watching The Walking Dead on Netflix. I made a vow to quit it once the 'directional shift' rears its head; changing TWD from a cluster of people like you and me, ragged hungry and scared into a good guy/bad guy bad-ass total war show. Nearly bald-headed Carol (Melissa McBride) curled up weeping in the RV, hoping to see Sophie her daughter again vs. Bad-ass Carol with a hoodie poncho and knife-sheath and long range rifle striding down the street looking for The Governor.

The first half, pre-Sophie walking out of the barn, having turned into a walker weeks ago, was more relatable (and actually scarier, harder to watch). It made me think what would I do in the same situation, at the time I had a daughter about Sophie's age.

That's the charm of 'Toddler-pocalypse,' an anthology of 15 contributors who follow the theme of 'End of the World as We Know It' with children in six different stories:

Toddler-pocalypse

You can view the Kickstarter page for this comic to contact him to purchase a copy.

Stop Touching Me

by Alex Cormac and Mathew Nickerson is a charming take on how bickering kids would affect a deadly alien invasion -especially when they had to be very quiet.

I'm Ready

by J. Schiek and Lesley Atlansky offer the reader the concept that kids sometimes are unclear on the concept of preparation for the worst.

Eww

by Clay McCormick and Ellie Wright is the only Zombie apocalypse story in this bunch. It's got a dose of irony involving a squeamish boy and spiders.

Language

by Jordi Perez and Andrew Crossley reminds us of how sometimes children can be sticklers for 'the rules' we adults restrict them to. In this case, it's cursing.

My Turn

by Fernando Pinto (which gets an alternative ending at the end of the collection) involves problems when naughty kids in total unawareness of their situation can wreak havoc to the supply situation.

Blue Car

by Kath Lobo hinges on that one special toy that a kid just can't be separated from (can you guess from the title what it is?).

The stories all were readable and pretty good, but too short. Each time I felt like I was giving a sample and not a real meaty read to explore. Perhaps that's the nature and the drawback to anthology type collection stories like these. The upside is that a lot of authors get to have their work featured in a published story showcasing your world. The downside is that as a reader, you don't get a lot of space to explore that world before being shuttled off to the next story.

What would I be feeling if the same thing that happened to Sophie happened to my daughter? I guess I would be angry. My feelings would be: how dare you post-death virus make a mockery of my beloved little thing? This isn't her! Stop pulling the puppet strings!

Next Tuesday:

Incognito
by that powerhouse team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
a great graphic novel published years ago I picked up in Minneapolis last month!

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