A lot of the complaints are about the action. The comics are constantly full of grotesque zombies and are beyond more violent. The show is choosing to focus more on character work, which I am ok with. The show also has a unique opportunity to do things differently. I'll toss the best of the opportunities in spoiler tags, you can read it or not but it is a rather decent comic spoiler and Kirkman's view on it.
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In the comics the Governor cuts off Rick's right hand. Kirkman has expressed that he found this to be a mistake and the show will deviate, he's already stated this. Therefore Rick will not lose his hand, but Carl may still lose his eye. We don't know
That example is one of many that are being done. Dale's death last season was extremely premature if the show was to follow the comics, but it was because of the actor's desire to leave the show due to the departure of Frank Darabont and their friendship. Most of the cast was angered over that, but the actor portraying Dale was a personal friend and had appeared in The Mist and a few other of his productions so when he was fired the actor wanted out to. These kinds of things make it so that the show can never follow the comics as anything more than a brief outline subject to change. The fans of the comics can either be angry about it (which will of course happen) or they can see the show as a different entity and try to enjoy it on that level.
The internet is rarely a good place to judge how the majority feel. If it were Catwoman would be one of DC's most critically acclaimed comics. Many of the readers of the source material for the blood-drenched story are interested in well-written plot, character development, and the black-and-white blend of art to match a harsh and depressing tone. But there is also a huge amount who are only interested in blood, gore, and sex (which the comic features aplenty). Case and point... (I won't go into too much detail, but just in case I'm tossing it in spoiler tags)
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There is a new villain in the comics named Negan. His first in-frame appearance was in issue 100 where apparently Kirkman's goal was to drop the word f*** in as many times as possible no matter how awkward it worked out. He also used the phrase 'pee pee city' to mockingly describe the fear he could see in a victim. He then proceeded to viciously beat a beloved character to death. This issue was highly reviewed by many fans and was praised all over the internet, with sales higher for this single issue than almost any other. Critics (and many of us fans, including me) panned the issue as done for shock-value and the new villain being a transparently desperate attempt to outdo the Governor storyline that has haunted Kirkman for around half a decade (he may never top it in terms of quality, writing, shock value that still has to do with the plot, and well-plotted story).
This may disappoint some to hear but many fans are what I call "Coldplayers". Coldplay fans notoriously gobble up anything they toss out regardless of the quality (A Rush of Blood to the Head was good, Viva la Vida had more experimentation than most thought they were capable of, but other than that they've coasted on being basically a U2 tribute band. Regardless of these facts their fans spend millions, praise them online, and are responsible for allowing this to become one of the most successful bands in history (and only 5 albums into their career). Fans of the comics are becoming 'Coldplayers'. Many are willing to read and praise because that's all they know, and as long as the harsh language and violence flow its all they need. They are the majority of the online community (maybe not by much, but they are) and people who read for serious, well-written story stay silent for some reason.
Sad really. To you, DPW, I recommend picking up the first compendium. It consists of the first 48 issues and is the best of the series. It is only after those issues that the quality began to drop. In fact unless it picks up again soon I may consider the comics to be done at that issue, the rest is of varying quality ranging from 'absolute crap' to 'decent enough to be semi-interesting'. You're 10 issues in, but they've already deviated so much that I honestly don't know how much the comics will spoil for you.
EDIT: As to the article you posted...I dig that. I love comparing. The problem I find with people who complain about continuity is that right from the beginning they said the show would be a different thing so being a continuity stickler was always a waste of time. In fact it was one of Kirkman's first announcements, and he's stuck to it the whole run. I love comparing but only because I genuinely don't know what will happen next. If I were being a continuity stickler I'd have stopped watching years ago, and a lot of the complaints online are from people who can't accept that the show is a different thing. Its taking inspiration, not just using the comics as a screenplay. And sadly some fans can't accept that.
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