Written by Robert Kirkman
Illustrated by Charlie AdlardHe has gone too far.
Only a book like The Walking Dead can get away with a solicit like that. The show is getting near its start and we haven’t checked in with the comic in a while. Is it still maintaining its onslaught of quality comics? Is it still one of the crown jewels of the monthly comics game?
Find out after the jump.
I think the biggest problem The Walking Dead has as a comic is that it is so consistently good that you sort of just think about it. In terms of school grades, this is like that kid who always got straight A’s so no one really noticed him/her until they got a C in Biology (or advanced zombie killing, as it may be). The Walking Dead has gotten A’s for so long that sometimes people underestimate just how great this book is.
And great it still is, as this issue finds Robert Kirkman pushing the story to new heights (or depths of hell as it may be) while artist Charlie Adlard continues to tell a riveting story through his black and white art.
One of the greatest gifts of this book is Kirkman’s ability to continuously push the book in different directions plot-wise without recycling any of the story beats or making the book feel old hat ever. Through 89 issues, everyone and their brother would understand it if he had an off-issue or told a story twice (with different characters involved), but not Kirkman. He manages to constantly shock and awe readers with his spellbinding character work and superb plots.
This issue finds the society Rick and the rest have been welcomed into starting to reject them, as the tension amidst older citizens boiling to the top, culminating in a fight between Glenn and one of them and then Rick basically showing him what is really up. You know, all of that and some of the most real and horrific human drama in comics. The stuff that Kirkman can tell in his sleep.
This book is just so well-told from a story standpoint, that sometimes it feels like a five year old with crayons could draw the book and it would be great.
Thankfully, that is not what we are saddled with, as Charlie Adlard’s monochrome imagery pairs naturally with Kirkman’s stories. His art grounds the book in a sense of reality that could be lost in another artist’s hands, and when things like Rick confessing his deepest, darkest secrets to Andrea comes up, it feels every bit as real as someone chopping half of a zombie’s head off.
The emotion and power Adlard adds to an issue is only topped with the sheer gift he has for telling a story visually. Each and every issue is a joy to read and take in, and it’s thanks to that gift in particular that Adlard has that the book is so well crafted artistically.
The more things change, the more they stay the same for The Walking Dead. This book is the most consistently great comic on the market, and it’s almost to the book’s own detriment. Sometimes people forget how great it is.
Well here I am reminding you: The Walking Dead is flat out amazing.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – Buy
