By: Robert Kirkman (writer), Charlie Adlard (art), Cliff Rathburn (gray tones), Rus Wooton (letters) & Sina Grace (editor)
The Story: Does Rick’s group still want to pick a fight with the bad guys???
A few things [with SPOILERS]: 1). Deflated Rick. – Man….remember a few issues ago when Rick was all full of piss and vinegar? “Oh yeah! Negan things he’s a bad man?!? Wait until he gets a load of ME!!!” It’s interesting to see how meek Rick suddenly is. Was Abraham the only thing that made Rick so confident? Or, is Kirkman getting a little meta: Rick is recoiling because he thought all of the central characters were “safe” in The Walking Dead; just as many online reviewers have pointed out that TWD feels too safe and we just don’t believe that Kirkman will kill Rick/Andrea/Michonne/Carl/Glenn/Maggie. Maybe Kirkman has realized that himself. Maybe Kirkman killed Abraham to upset the reader’s footing. Maybe Abraham’s death will mirror Tyrese’s death as a harbinger of a really bloody issue #100. And….to wrap it all up, maybe Rick is mirroring the reader’s new sense of unease.
2). Lots of focus on couples & loss. – Was anyone else struck by the focus on couples in this issue? Not only did we get more Rick/Andrea plot development (that feels 100% natural, btw), but we suddenly zoomed in on the relationship between Dreadlock Guy and The Nurse. Have they always been a couple? Is Kirkman bringing it up now just so it has more resonance when one of them dies? There’s Maggie and Glen getting some page time. There’s the gay couple (Aaron & ????) questioning Rick as a couple instead of just one of them being there (to emphasize that they’re part of a unit). I couldn’t help but notice that when Rick and gang set off for Hillside, that many of these couples were split apart. What if Kirkman wipes out one group or the other???? I have a LOT of dread going into issue #100 because I think Kirkman wants to make it an issue that people will talk about. And….I think he’s going to try to top issue #48. That means a LOT of deaths. I have a feeling that many of these couples have kissed their loved ones for the last time.
3). A certain couple getting out of dodge. – Remember back during the prison storyline how smart Maggie and Glen were to get out of the prison before the shit really hit the fan? Do they have a crystal ball? Gosh…..it really makes me worry for poor Andrea staying behind.
4). Freedom vs. Security? – On a very personal note, the idea of “moving to Hilltop” hit me as a play on classic politics. When Glen and Maggie announce that they want to “move to Hilltop” it feels like a sellout. The reader is supposed to view this as Rick does: a minor betrayal or quitting. But, they want Hilltop because it is safe whereas Arlington is looking pretty dangerous with Negan about to attack. Now remember what the deal is at Hilltop: You give Negan half of your stuff and his people will leave you alone AND keep the zombies under control. How different is than the fact that Robert Kirkman probably has to give 50% of his royalty checks for TWD to the US/state/local government and in exchange , the government keeps him safe and tries to control the zombies (or terrorists) lurking outside the fence. Oh….and you might have to accept a little bit of spying on you and they can change the deal at any time, etc. Maybe that’s just my personal Libertarian politics weaving into my reading of the story, but it’s important to note the Negan doesn’t seem to be a new Governor; Negan isn’t living in Hilltop maintaining a reign of terror. In some ways, he’s just offering a service to Hilltop and Hilltop is accepting. It’s just a tax and Rick’s group is facing the classic question of how much freedom you are willing to sacrifice to “buy” security. Of course, that reminds of the old Ben Franklin quote about people who give up liberty to buy temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security. Hard man that Ben!
5). Very solid art. – What’s new to say about the art by Charlie Adlard? It’s good. The story telling is impeccable. When is the last time you were truly confused about the story in TWD? When is the last time the word balloons where in the wrong places because Adlard didn’t leave room for proper balloon placement? It’s just solid, solid comic book art. Amazing how the TWD crew just churn this puppy out month-after-month-after-month when most other comic series miss ship dates.
6). What happens next? – Well….let’s speculate! Someone has to die because it is issue #100. Kirkman is cleverly split the group into two. I think the safest bet is that the Arlington community gets hammered. That means that the only major character who dies is Andrea….and I think that Kirkman will kill at least one major character. It could also mean the end for Rosita and Eugene who have been getting more page time to make their losses resonate more. Ditto for the minister and the nurse. Frankly, it would be welcome to kill those supporting characters. They aren’t really doing anything in the story where Kirkman couldn’t replace them with new minor characters. So, might as well kill them and get some emotional resonance out of it: “OMG! They killed Rosita!”
Then Rick’s group of himself, Carl, Glen, Maggie, Michonne, Dreadlock Guy will go to Hilltop. Maybe Negan demands that Hilltop hand over Rick’s group? Or does Rick’s new group just decide to go out on their own and start a new 50-issue story cycle? OR…..does Kirkman do the unexpected and kill Rick’s group? I doubt it, just because I can’t imagine killing Michonne when she is just being introduced in the TV show.
Conclusion: This issue was mostly reminding us of a bunch of characters who will probably die in issue #100. It’s all prologue.
Grade: B
– Dean Stell
Grade
Conclusion