Review by Ian Keogh

Rick Grimes is the lead character throughout the entirety of The Walking Dead, gradually rebuilding his world after a zombie infestation. Rick Grimes 2000 can either be viewed as writer Robert Kirkman’s grindcore alternative ending, or as Kirkman unleashing his inner twelve-year-old and producing his own fan fiction. Either way, it’s not going to make much sense to anyone attracted by Ryan Ottley’s art if they’ve not read The Walking Dead. Not that there’s a great deal of plot to make sense of.

There’s an echo of that series in the opening of Rick awakening in hospital and emerging into a very different world. This time, though, there are aliens as well as zombies. It turns out the entire zombie thing was orchestrated by aliens to wipe out humanity as they wanted Earth’s water. It doubles the threat by the aliens having incredible weaponry and technology, and by them being able to resurrect people without them being zombies. That leads to enemies seen throughout the original series returning, and a few friends as well.

However, don’t take the impression that Kirkman is treating this remotely seriously. He introduces funny variations on the Walking Dead cast, such as an even more aggressive Negan and a robot version of Michonne, while Ottley’s under instructions to make the slaughter as wild and violent as possible. This probably would have been good fun in short instalments online, as it’s very silly, not least costuming Rick as a superhero, but as a $20 hardcover the charm rapidly dissipates through predictability and repetition. Strictly for the hardcore.