It has been quite the treat having the Walking Dead come out bi-monthly! Unfortunately, it looks as if that is ending with issue #144. The reason for the bi-monthly printing was to get compendium 3 out by October and with issue #144 in stores the compendium is complete. You can pre-order it on
Amazon now.
Warning : Review may contain spoilers, don't read if you have not finished issue 143.
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| The Walking Dead #144 |
After last issues panel with the bloody machete and the heavy hinting in the letters column it was pretty obvious something awful was about to happen. With that in mind, I was pretty excited to get my hands on issue 144. At the same time it is a little nerve wracking. I don't think there are a whole lot of expendable characters at this point in the series and the bloody machete from last issue had me real worried about Andrea and Michonne. That isn't to say that the Walking Dead hasn't introduced any new characters lately but there are few that I feel a personal attachment to.
The issue begins where 143 left off with Rick and Alpha on the rooftop surveying the largest gathering of zombies we have ever seen in TWD. Of course, if you are up to date, you will know that the Whisperers have herded these zombies together on purpose and used them to threaten Rick and co. There is a lot of great dialogue with Rick and Alpha. I still feel like I don't have a good read on Alpha, she spends much of the issue lecturing Rick on the Darwinian principles of the Whisperers. According to Alpha emotions are weakness, the world they knew before was a cheap imitation of real life, and this world they have now is what humanity is truly about! Rick has to laugh at the absurdity of her nihilistic views on existence. This issue was a glimpse of the Rick I love. He looked like that leader of old, he had been getting a little soft with all this "community" going on. He is unafraid to call Alpha out on her schtick and call it what it is, a power trip.
Rick and Alpha make their way back to the Whisperer camp to find lovesick Carl and Lydia. Carl still refuses to leave with Rick but things take a turn when Carl explains how Alpha has allowed the rape of her daughter by the Whisperers. Obviously, this does not sit well with Rick. What follows was my favorite scene in the comic. I don't want to spoil too much so read for yourself and you will see why I said I still can't get a read on Alpha. She is an enigma to me.
Soon after Rick and co. depart the Whisperer camp leaving with the warning not to enter Whisperer territory and that they will know the border when they see it. Having the image of the bloody machete still fresh in his mind, Rick is afraid he already knows what he is about to find. I'm not going to spoil it but WOW!
I really liked this issue, sure the ending is a bummer, but it has set up what looks to be a thrilling story. I'm a little discouraged that the end of this story probably means we are not getting an answer in regards to a certain paternity issue...
Kirkman has done a great job so far with Alpha and the Whisperers, they are mysterious and I'm impressed with the way he is able to craft new unique villains. This book kept a good pace, seems like a lot happened, but didn't feel rushed. I can't wait to see where they go from here because I have no idea how the are going to respond to what they just witnessed.
Charlie Adlard is excellent at capturing emotions in the character's faces, and 144 is no exception. You know Adlard is good because he has us all reading a black and white book!
You can pick this book up at your local comic book shop.
