Cody Scot LaCrone

Can't believe the whole series was on this site minus this volume, so you're welcome for adding it. Because it's a great one. With everyone reunited in the Prison, and the Governor seemingly dead, we're back to an enclosed drama with pregnancies and suicide and it's all so effective. Of course, the final page reveals that not only is the Governor alive, but he's arrived with an army and a tank, with such an iconic panel that I've seen replicated in other series after this. KILL THEM ALL.

Kind of a continuation from the last volume, but at least this volume is different in a bigger way from the last few, in that it tries to be normal. Oh, wait! There's that underlying evil I was talking about. Rick and the group having to fight. You can see a pattern. Something big and bad is coming.

This. This right here is the climax of The Walking Dead. The pinnacle. The peak. The Hunters storyline is so disturbing, Chris is such a great little villain, he just picked the wrong time to be one, as the group had already faced their worst villain. The Governor destroyed the humanity in Rick and the group. The Hunters may be the most evil villains in the entire franchise, easily. Hard to overlook eating your own kids and smiling. But when faced against a larger group of people who just went through hell, they didn't stand a chance. Volume 11 remains my favorite volume in the series. But it also marks a point where we can see a bit of a visible decline.

A series now that seems like it doesn't have a goal or destination, that now has a new "goal" in Eugene, gets back on its footing. The reintroduction of Morgan, from the first issue, is a great surprise, we see Rick get more savage and desperate, and post Prison, characters like Maggie begin to lose that drive. (I say all these things vaguely to avoid spoilers where I can)

While the time on the Greene Family farm is short, and important to the overall series, my favorite moments from issues 7 through 12 are the short respite at Wiltshire Estates, the introduction of Tyreese, and of course the ending reveal of the Prison, THE most iconic location in the franchise. The cover for issue 9 is also one of the best covers in the series. So creative, so grotesque.

There's a lot to like about this volume, much more than the build up to Negan's War. Negan's story itself is great, and his betrayal and murder of Alpha was a shocking moment in that it was obviously set up that they'd work together to fight Rick. It showed that he really was willing to change for the better. This allows her to be replaced by Beta, who I find a much more compelling villain, as well as a moment I swore they were killing Aaron in and was at the time very sad by this possibility. Dwight is also utilized in a great way, a way I wish was included in the tv show. Dwight becomes one of the more important characters from here on out due to this war build up.

Now, sure, they didn't officially break this war into 2 parts, but this and the next volume are basically just the Whisperer War in total. BUT it's far better than Negan's War. After a long time of being a side character, Gabriel finally gets something to do and to redeem himself. Aaaaannnnnnddddd he's dead. Trying to run away like a coward and gutted. Sad, but I am glad the tv show took him in an entirely different direction and fully redeemed his character's past deeds. This volume fully cements Dwight as probably the best military strategist in the series, with him leading the Alexandria Militia. The battle for Hilltop is also done very well, and Lydia also finishes her swap of sides, fighting back against Beta and his forces.

The first volume in the most valuable and popular modern era comic franchise, and one of the first comics I ever read. The Walking Dead remains my favorite comic series out there, and I re-read it every other year. Focusing on the first volume, Tony Moore, the artist, is just so good, and the first 6 issues are so visceral in appearance, specifically some scenes in issue 5, that leave a lasting impression. There's a reason Moore and Kirkman did the series in black and white: to get away with being more graphic, without inherent bloody imagery.

I don't have a problem with the ending of this series. It's HOW they ended it that I have an issue with. For starters, they made THREE fake covers for issues 194 through 196 so they could fully trick us readers. So when they killed off Rick Grimes, THE main character, in issue 192, then announced that the series was ending at 193 and those covers were fake to I guess keep us out of the loop so we'd be more saddened by the ending... It just rubbed most fans the wrong way. Rick was going to die eventually. The series had to end eventually. But the bait and switch? Ending at a weird number? And why make Maggie such a douchebag in the future? I don't know....... What a weird ending, all things considered. Invincible ended better than this.

Kirkman always found ways to diversify his "villains" in this universe, and though the Commonwealth itself, and most of the people associated with it are not villains or antagonists, there are some who are. Michonne's daughter somehow being alive in the Commonwealth is a stretch that comes out of nowhere, but it at least gives her even more depth to explore as a character.

Princess is fun, the Commonwealth being teased more is nice, but boy did they botch the end of Beta and the Whisperers. There was build up to his return; we knew he was still out there, and they just.... end him in an issue with a bad cover. I'm glad Aaron moved on from Eric to Jesus, but to toss in the Beta stuff randomly just felt.... bad. It's an injustice to another good villain. Especially the corny prevention of us finding out who he really is as a celebrity (because that's his thing; he's a famous celebrity ashamed of who he's become and doesn't want people ever finding out and seeing his face else it ruins that legacy). Negan moving on from Lucille, and by extension the memory of his ex wife at the end, after Dante and Maggie confront him, is the most memorable moment from this volume.

Now I'm rating this volume pretty high, but there's a lot I don't like about it in terms of what happens, specifically with Dwight, for some reason, trying to aggressively take charge and commit a coup only to be shot in the head by Rick. Such a good character, I just don't understand his actions fully. Obviously this is setting up a bigger event, as always, but at the time of the release of these issues, we just didn't know how big of an event it sadly was.

So Negan may be a great character, and Ezekiel/Shiva are super memorable, but man, does this volume start a slow crawl to a war with Negan that'll last far too long. That's all I'm going to say about some of these.

What is effectively the Part 2 of the Whisperer War is where the bigger punches are felt, when Beta (who unlike a lot of villains doesn't actually die just yet) unleashes the Horde against Alexandria, doing far more damage than what happened in No Way Out, that results in the deaths of Andrea, Rick's now wife who has been around since the first several issues. It's drawn out in a single issue and it really is devastating. Dwight's ex wife, Sherry, also meets a kind of comedic end, as she attempts to clean up the scraps and take charge of the communities. We can't forget she's not a good person, so her death is more of a relief than anything, outside of Dwight not taking it too well. He's far more loyal to Rick than his ex wife though, so that bait and switch was phoned in.

Potentially my least favorite volume in the series, I just can't bring myself to care about the coming war. It takes 2 volumes to build to a war that'll drag for 2 volumes. Just toooooooo much. I get that it's 4 communities going to an actual war, but still.

Of the two War volumes, I prefer this one purely because they give Holly and Ezekiel some depth, Shiva is sadly dispatched, Aaron is afforded an opportunity to also get some depth. The 3 major battles of the entire war are entertaining, and this volume features a nice first assault at least.

Part 1 may be my preferred volume of the two, because of character growth, but I'll give credit to this Part purely for Nicholas and Denise's sacrifices, and the final battle tactic from Negan with "dirtying" up their bladed weapons to infect Rick's people in battle. It's smart. Also, big props on Jesus for the grenade return, and Dwight fully committing and just shooting his own men for Rick cements him, in my eyes, as a guy willing to do the right thing.

Now, another volume I gotta do the spoiler tag on to obviously talk about the deaths of Abraham and Glenn, one very sudden and shocking that came out of no where, and another that was drawn out. Great introduction to Negan and Dwight and the Saviors, and overall yet another strong volume that propels the plot forward into a new direction, which is the trend. Group finds a place, hunker down, new villain or threat emerges, group is sent into a spiral, they fight back and overcome, rinse and repeat. Just this time they've yet to lose their home, and there's far more on Rick's side, working in his favor.

A well executed fair, a great coming together of communities, and the full reveal of the newest threat, Alpha and the Whisperers mean business. TWD is full of moments where I'm reading each issue, that only came out once a month, and the end of big arcs would catch me by surprise and kill off someone shocking, or in this case 2 specific someones in Rosita and Ezekiel, that I'd hate having to wait for the next issue. Like Negan, killing off some main characters is a great way to cement yourself as THE villain for the time being, and the Whisperers wasted no time.

A lot of these issues, after the big bombshell in 144, were super hyped, especially with the idea that Negan would be utilized more in the story now that a new threat has arrived. Sure, there's some good savage moments with old Rick (old as in earlier in the story and age), but the hype was a bit too much for some of these issues. Negan doesn't really get to shine till future volumes. The contrast is nice with the more upbeat previous volumes, in preparation for the fair, and the depressing volume now post fair, after everyone finds out what has happened to their friends, families, and leader.

I think what really aids my enjoyment of this volume, aside from the addition of Jesus, is that it's mostly a winter volume, which we haven't seen since Volume 2, and since we don't really see the winter in the show, it's a nice change of pace again. It allows the dead to take a backseat to the story, and for the story to focus on actual survival. Food, shelter, rebuilding Alexandria, scavenging, etc. It's a nice actual calm before a future storm.

The slow burn mystery of the Whisperers is really what makes this, and the surrounding volumes, shine. They're not as open about their motivations as Negan or the Governor or the Hunters, they're not seen as much as they hide within the dead. They use gorilla tactics, they're not terribly showy villains, which makes them a far more unique threat than just another human group trying to take down Rick and the other groups. Though I think Lydia was done far better in the show, that's one of the few times I'll say something like that.

Honestly not much to say about these issues. The Hilltop is fine, Gregory is at least a unique character. It's just another slow trot of issues, that don't SEEM to be building towards much outside of discovering new communities and characters, which is the point after all.

The time jump is a neat idea; seeing all the communities and characters we've grown to know age drastically is at least different. The threat of the dead isn't really an issue at this point, as the past 4 volumes have been dealing with Negan, though the newest characters like Magna and her group are dreadfully underutilized. But the ending? And the whole setup of the Whisperers? Brilliantly done. I remember reading the issue where Ken and Marco are hiding from the herd and they hear the Whisperers talking. Great moment, great tease for what's to come. Plus, the slow buildup of the fair is nice.

Surprise! What a great volume, filled with sad deaths, a surprise involving Carl and a gun and an eyeball, but none of those are the surprises. The surprise is they actually broke the pattern! They fight to save Alexandria from the horde. This volume is like a nice light in a slowly dimming darkness, in that it sparked new attention in the series for those afraid it was going to get a bit too slow paced.