The Walking Dead #87 - Review -Weekly Comic Book Review

By: Robert Kirkman (creator & writer), Charlie Adlard (artist), Cliff Rathburn (gray tones), Rus Wooton (letters) & Sina Grace (editor)

The Story: The survivors of the Alexandria compound set about rebuilding their walls and their lives.

What’s Good: [The top portion of this review is spoiler-free. I’ll have discussion of the big “Oh crap!” spoiler at the bottom of the page, after the Grade for the issue.] This is another one of those issues that features Kirkman doing quiet character-building. He spends a good bit of time on our long-standing characters, while also starting to put names to some of these previously anonymous and interchangeable characters that were in Alexandria before. Kirkman is a pretty efficient writer, so the only reasons to build some of these characters up is either (a) he’s going to be using them a lot in future issues or (b) to make it hurt when they get killed. Adding these news folks to the mix is really necessary because so many of the Alexandria people who had names didn’t survive the zombie attack from several issues ago.

However, we can already see the beginnings of conflict beginning to brew. For one thing, it seems like Kirkman is fiddling with a possible love-triangle with Rick, Andrea and Michonne. There’s nothing overt (yet), but we clearly see Rick and Andrea getting closer and we also clearly see Michonne appreciating that Rick cares about her. The prospect of a love triangle between these three is both thrilling and heartbreaking. Thrilling because we readers who have followed these three characters really LOVE them. Honestly, do you know any TWD readers who don’t love Andrea and Michonne? We want them to be happy. But, can you imagine what a painful issue it’ll be if in 5-6 issues, Rick and Andrea become an item and the heartbreak is what pushes Michonne over the edge? Ouch….

Just the fact that I’m blathering away about a potential love triangle tells you all you need to know about the subtlety of Charlie Adlard’s art. His style is definitely on the realistic side, and while he does inject emotion into his characters, he also leaves their expressions vague and open enough that the reader can start to pour their own thoughts and feelings into the story. It’s just a sign of a mature and confident artist who has gotten to the point where they know what to show and what not to show. Bravo!

Oh, and there is a BIG final page in this issue that offers all kinds of fun.

What’s Not So Good: Well, for another issue, not much happens. I understand that we’re in the “slow burn” of an TWD story-telling cycle and that “slow burn” is just how TWD does things, but this one seems a little slower than most.

I also was not pleased to see the damn telephone show up. I won’t take credit for this angle (Tom Katers deserves this credit), but the telephone where Rick talks to his dead wife is just an affront to the series. Everything else in TWD is really happening. For example, we don’t get to see Michonne’s thought bubbles, we are left to wonder if she wishes Rick would make a romantic gesture towards her. How much would this series suck if every character had a “telephone”– like “the confessional” on a reality show. I know the telephone is a proxy for Rick losing his sanity, but wouldn’t it be more fun to do it the subtle way?

Conclusion: Mostly a slow burn with a BIG event at the end.

Grade: B

Spoiler Filled Discussion: Holy crap! Not only is Carl awake, but he has amnesia! He doesn’t remember that his mother died back in issue #48! Does he remember that zombies have taken over the world? What a cruel twist that would be given that Carl was the most adjusted of our main group of characters. He was the tragic child who was growing up in a world where zombies are normal, your loved ones die and you never have enough food…..much less get birthday parties and get to sit on Santa’s lap. Can you imagine watching Rick have to teach Carl about this world from scratch? Carl was so resilient before…probably the most emotionally tough of the whole group….will he be that tough this time? I have to say that this is not an event I thought was coming. Well played, Mr. Kirkman.