The Walking Dead (Vol 20): All Out War (part one)

In my recent nerdy googling I realize that I had missed the most recent TBP of the comic coming out (though not by much).  As per usual - SPOILERs ahead…

So this has been brewing for some time, and like Rick mentions early in the story - they’re heading into war and there will be casualties.  Although no one really major dies here (I guess my definition of major includes people that have been around for half the series or more at this point) we still feel the devastation to come.  I love Rick’s plan for taking down Negan, I love that we see Negan scrambling a bit.  Because of the twists and turns that this book takes in general you don’t feel overly confident that everything will turn out for her heroes in the end - that’s the beauty of this story - devastation happens.  Part of me would like to think that the Negan storyline won’t be this short-lived.  I’ve said this before but what I love about Negan is that he’s practical.  He’s crazy, sure, but he understands that people need to work together - his only problem is insisting that he’s the head rooster, and the things that he does to other people.  His counter-attach using Holly was brilliant and smart.  I’m excited to see how the rest of this story arc plays out.  It’s going to be a bloody end…

1976 - The Walking Dead: season four - part 2

It should go without saying, but read this at your own risk of SPOILERS.  Walking Dead is a funny show for me.  There are few I anticipate watching as much as this when it comes to new episodes - but it’s also the kind of show where once I’ve seen it, I don’t really feel the need to revisit.  It’s very much popcorn and guilty pleasure for me.  I like that it’s nuanced in areas, but again - I get everything out of it the first time.  This isn’t a terrible thing - and I imagine once it’s completely over I’ll go back and marathon the entire thing, but outside of a few touchstone episodes, I haven’t done that.

So this half-season was a different feel than what we’ve seen before but I think it worked well.  We’re dealing with the aftermath of their major battle, and we needed time with each of these characters to regroup.  If the first half of the season was about “Can we come back from what we’ve done.” the second half answers it by asking “Can we come to terms with who we are now given what we’ve had to do?”

I love how this show adapts the comics for their own, often richer, purposes.  Having the young girls and Carol get the murder storyline that belonged to the twins and Carl in the comics worked quite well here.  Having the group that attacks Rick and Carl on the road be the ones Daryl finds himself with was clever as well.  And I can only assume that the folks at Terminus are the series version of The Hunters.  I imagine that’ll be the entire focus of the first half of the next season - I’d be surprised if they milked it any longer.  

I think this is the kind of show that gets better the longer it goes - and what’s really fun is now that we’ve lived in this post-zombie world for a while we’re starting to come across other people and filling in their history and stories is equally interesting.  I can’t wait to see what Terminus is all about.  Fall can’t come some enough…

The Walking Dead - Vol 19: March to War

So we're in the 19th volume of an ongoing series - clearly I still read this because I love it.  If you're not caught up to here, or only watch the TV show know that HUGE SPOILERS lie ahead here.  You've been warned..

...

Negan.  Everyone went on and on about The Governor, but he's got nothing on Negan.  For my money he's the most interesting character the series has ever produced, and easily one of the best villains in history.  His blend of charisma and sadism is pure delightful, as well as watching his thought pattern.  He's always surprising in good ways and bad, and he ups the stakes in major ways.  And just when I think I can't be shocked, someone like Negan comes along and does just that.  It would look as though we're gearing up for war and so it's hard to say if he'll stick around much longer - but I like the idea of it not wrapping up so easily - he'll be hard to top as a villain, and because I really do think that the series has to get around to the idea of rebuilding society, it's hard to see them all out on the run again.  The Walkers have barely been an issue for a long time in this series, and I'm fine with that.  The only thing that would satisfy me would be to see a horde come into play right in the middle of the two groups going to war - making them realize that they're not really prioritizing the real problems in this world.

This series still sees us mourning for Glen (which is the biggest and saddest death the series has had - largely just because he's been around since the beginning), but also giving us more depth to characters like Ezekiel (which was nice since he was coming off as a looney).  At first I thought Rick absolutely should have done what he did - seized the day, but I'm glad it worked out the way it did - upping the ante.  I'm super excited for the next trade to come out in the summer.  I want this series to go on forever, but I want them to keep it fresh.  I question if they'll ever be so bold as to kill Rick off (not that I need/want him to go).  I just have a hard time seeing this world go on without Rick and/or Carl.  Kirkman has stated he's got up to issue 300 roughly sketched out - which means at least another twenty of these trades or so.  Can't wait to see where he takes us.

1942 - Walking Dead: season four (part 1)

I like these mini seasons.  This one had a particularly strong theme with "Can we come back?  Are we too far gone?"  It's a great question to ask at this point in the series, given what they've been through.  What I also love is how it stays connected to the comic series, but giving us it fresh.  We still get the Governor charging the prison with his tank, and while the outcome is similar it's different and unique to it's own world.  I'm not as harsh a critic on this show as a lot are - I think it's a really fun show with decent enough characters.  I loved the little side-step to see what the Governor has been up to.  I thought it gave the proper weight to it, and we needed a break from the plague storyline (which I didn't absolutely love).  I thought the meeting between Rick and the Governor was smart - I believed that, perhaps, in this version of the story - maybe they do stretch it out and try to find a way to live together.  That said, what a great place for us to leave and have to come back from.  I can't wait to see where they go with the story in the second half of this season.  So many possibilities.  So exciting!  If you haven't heard of this show you're likely living under a rock - but if you haven't seen it - it's super easy to catch-up to on Netflix.  Enjoy!

The Walking Dead: Vol 18 - What Comes Next

It goes without saying, we're eight-teen trades into this series, so I'm going to spoil some stuff in this little mini-review - and if it's this far in you don't need my recommend to buy it :)
So hear we are in the post-Glen world, and our heroes are devastated.  I need to go back and remind myself what happened to Maggie 'cause I swear she's not here, but I also don't remember something happening to her last time...
We're deep into the Negan storyline, and Kirkman has done a good job so far of showing why he's different from the Governor - first of all - he's pretty damn charismatic.  He's the kind of villain that's really enjoyable to spend time with because he seems to have a code, fucked up as it is, and seems to be, as he states, "a reasonable fucking guy".  He's also created a trade network - or more like a stealing network - which is what you'd have to do in a situation like this.  I'd like to think this will go down differently than it did with our last big bad of the series.  It almost has to.  This book was a bit of a calm before the storm - and through Carl we got a good glimpse into the world of Negan and how that all works.  And we got to meet King Ezekial - which is all kinds of bizarre and awesome.  And now it's a long-ass wait until the next trade comes out, and the series is back.  Alas...

1827 - The Walking Dead: season three part 2

Holy shit. I just realized that I never wrote about this.  Huh.  So I'm a bit late to this commentary party but here goes… I think this season was largely the strongest season of the series.  I think it had a momentum that was exactly where it needs to be and go.  I love what the first half of this season did for setting up the second.  I love how they're honouring the comic series without feeling the need to subscribe to it.  The changes they did with Woodbury and The Governor in particular were smart - and I'm not sure how I feel about how they left it - I'll have a better opinion once I see where they go with it come season four.  I want to say a whole lot here, but I'm holding back for those who haven't seen the show yet.  And along those lines, I really do urge you to pick up the comic books - especially if you LOVE the show - it's a nice way to fill the gap between seasons!

The Walking Dead: 17 - Something To Fear

I'm a little behind on this bad-boy and some NINNY online ruined something in it for me, but here I am.  And in the good faith I like to put forth - because we're so far along in this comic series there will be SPOILERS AHEAD.  It's amazing.  Read it.  That is all.

So the last book left us on what was probably the most optimistic note the book has ever taken, there was a real sense of hope.  And it was the job of this book to take that hope and crush it.  Not only crush it, but smash it's head in until it was unrecognizable - which is exactly what happened, horrifically to a character that's been around the series for a very very very long time.  In a series filled with devastating deaths this one might be the worst - and sadly I didn't really get to experience it fresh since I knew it was coming.  Alas!

I love where this story is heading.  I was getting worried that we were getting to a point where I didn't know what other tricks Kirkman could pull out of his bag, and this just shows how much left there is to explore in his world and it excites me to no end.  I love that the comic and the series exist in such unique parallels and they play off each other, but don't force themselves into each other.  My only complaint that, as fast as it does come out, that it doesn't come out even faster.

Keep it coming Robert Kirkman, I'll be right here waiting for it.

1779: The Walking Dead: season 3 (part 1)

I think it's safe to say that this first half of season three has been as sigh of relief to anyone who was on the wavering fence of this series.  Much like the comic that inspired it, this show has finally shown it's tremendous balls and made no bones about it - it will kill the shit out of anyone and everyone as it sees fit.  In the comic version I believe that Rick and/or Carl will always be safe.  In the television series… I just don't know.  The comic clearly has Grimes as their main protagonist, but the series feels more like an ensemble than anything.  I love the feeling that anything can and will happen.  I loved watching this first-half-finale because I was actually really tense, worried about these characters that I, apparently, have grown quite attached to! 

So that's it for the spoiler-free half of this review - in short if you like good television and love zombies, I'm amazed you're not already watching this.

SPOILERS BELOW

This thing has been a roller-coaster ride.  I love the energy, I loved Rick's descent into madness.  I loved how they killed off T-Dog just to give away the suspense of killing Lori.  Lori is a character I never really cared about, but her death made me cry like a little girl - mostly because of the way that Carl and Rick reacted - and the absolutely horrible thing that Carl had to do to help with her passing.  That poor little bad-ass. 
I love that this series no longer feels like it's wasting time.  Originally I thought we'd be at the prison for two seasons, but I wouldn't be surprised if the prison was the back-drop for season 3 alone.  I can't imagine the Governor's retribution being dragged out much further than the second half of the season - but we shall see.  If this is true then next season I want the entire thing to be on-the-road.  No home to call their own - completely fucked.  Thats a terrible thing to want, but there it is. 
The Governor was a really great slow burn - and I love that we've gotten to see the transformation a bit - the fight with Michonne (spelling, sorry) at the end of the season was pretty goddamn great.  And how about putting Merle and Darryl against each other?  (part of me thinks it's all part of the plan, though, to get Merle to infiltrate the group - have Darryl vouch for him that he was kicked out of Woodbury - it's pretty smart, if you ask me - and what wonderful drama we can get out of Merle reuniting with the group that left him stuck up on the roof). 
We've got two months off until the show comes back, and that's a hell of a shame.  Luckily the new book comes out in a few days :)

The Walking Dead - Vol 16: A Larger World

It's tough waiting for these to come out - even if Walking Dead is one of the series with the least turn-around time between issues and their trades, it's a tough wait, and what's worse is how damn quickly you can burn through the book and left demanding and desiring more.  It's not fair to compare this to the television show because this is so far removed, especially in where they are and in what's going on right now.  If you want a bit of a spoiler, essentially they're starting to get to the point where they wonder if they can't rebuild society, and what their place in it will be.
This particular issue is a bit of a hallway between what's come before and what's coming next.  They're starting to connect to the world larger than themselves and realize that they're just one group of many, and that for me is very exciting to consider.  I'm such a fan of the comic that I think that the series itself would do no harm in actually just following it's lead.  I wonder how it'll approach some of the harsher stuff that's to come, especially now that they're into the prison storyline. 
What I like particularly about where we're at in the comic world of this story is that we're in the same mindset as the survivors, we're not sure who to trust and who not to.  We're always on guard.  If nothing else Kirkman has succeeded it putting us right into his heroes shoes and I thank him for it.  Rumour is that he has up to 300 issues planned for this series - which means we're not even a third into it.  Sounds good to me - keep 'em coming!  If you're a fan of the series and you haven't read this - stop what you're doing right now and get on it!  You can probable bypass the Rise of the Governor novel, but if you're a completist you'll probably check it out at some point as well.

World War Z

I've been a little zombie nerd ever since I started reading The Walking Dead comic.  Whenever I'm reading something in this genre I can't help but just see the world differently.  Take stock of the useless stuff people do and buy, how none of it would matter once the Zombie Apocalypse started.  I joined a gym, which may or may not have had anything to do with it :)  I'm not insane, I have no belief that there will be a zombie outbreak - but what an interesting subject.  You can't tell a zombie story without it really being a social commentary.  Zombie stories are always about the break down of society, and World War Z, is ultimately about - what will you do to survive?  Who will you become?  It's told through interviews with survivors and chronologically talks about just before the outbreak, through "The Great Panic", into the War with the Zombies, and then the aftermath.  I found the first two thirds to be pretty damn riveting, and then it died off really fast - the aftermath was a little less interesting to me.  The episodic nature of it starts to take it's toll and you just feel the need to get through it.
Apparently the feature film version that's coming out has very little to do with the actual book (no surprise since the book has no real protagonist outside of, I guess, the interviewer).
It's a book that's pretty good when you think about how much thought into the world Max Brooks has put into it, different countries, groups of people, etc... ideology.  It's a dark and somewhat uplifting book.  If you're a zombie-nerd you've probably already read it - but if you're new to the zombie world, give it a shot along with his Zombie Survival Guide.

1706 - The Walking Dead: season two (part II)

Here's a show that gets endlessly loved and yet ripped upon at the same time.  If you don't know what this series is about you're probably living under a zombie, but feel free to click the tags below.  Otherwise I'll assume those reading know the score.
The first half of this season had issues, I think.  It was just slow and it spent too much time stalling.  That same first half ended with what I honestly believe to be one of the best executed sequences in television history.  And I think that's what's frustrating about this show, when it's bad it's mediocre, but when it's good it's absolutely phenomenal!  And for the fans of the comic series, you know just how much material these people have to draw upon and how much story is left to come up.

SPOILERS BELOW

I was pretty damn surprised that they did some of the things that they did in this second half of the season - sometimes in a good way.  I knew Shane had to go, but was shocked that Dale did as well.  I FUCKING LOVED the reveal of Michoinne (don't know how to spell her name) at the end of this season, as well as the nod to the prison. In the comic series they spend more time at the prison than anywhere so far, so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out.  If they do it properly they can easily get two seasons out of it given how much happens in and around it. 
I think this show could benefit from some more characterization that isn't merely speecifying.  I think that Rick's declaration in the final scene was a great one and a strong choice for moving forward. 
As flawed as it was I kept coming back, and I think the back-half of this season was a vast improvement upon what had come before.  I think they've finally hit their grove.  It's a long wait till fall...

The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor

This is an interesting book in that I can't imagine anyone who isn't a fan of the comic series picking it up.  The character doesn't exist in the television series (yet) so it's pretty isolated (albeit loyal) market. 
For those unfamiliar the Governor is probably the most sinister of antagonists in the Walking Dead series and the arc with him lasted several trades.  Some will say that the series hasn't been as good since that arc ended.  So with that in mind this book is similar to something like the Star Wars prequels (gag) in that we're exploring how someone was driven to such evil.  How did Philip Blake become the Governor is the main question and the thing that the book dissects.  And it's pretty interesting up to a certain point (which I'll get to below).  So for fans, you'll probably dig this - there is some wonderfully epic scenes that work well in the book and would probably just be too expensive to do on the series.  So for fans - its worth reading.  Not sure you need to own it.

And now... SPOILERS...

Like I mentioned above, this book is advertised on the premise of "How did Philip Blake become the Governor" and so the entire book you've been told to watch him.  And then the narrative takes a hard turn at the end where you realize that it's not Philip who becomes the Governor, but his brother doing it in Philips name.  I'm sorry, but fuck you Kirkman and Bonansinga.  That was an absolute cheat.  In fact, it's even worse is because the whole reason I'm reading it to pay close attention to Philip.  It's a cruel bait and switch and more-or-less unnecessary and I'm not sure that I entirely buy it.  Had it not been for the old switcheroo I would probably highly recommend this book, although given how it tries to be super clever in the end it really just ends up being a bit of a piss-off. 

The Walking Dead - Vol 15: We Find Ourselves

I can't lie - I much preferred it when I was behind on his series and I could read it in spurts.  It's painful having to wait for each new trade to come out.  And if Kirkman is telling the truth about wanting this series to go all the way to issue #300, then we've got literally decades to go with this story.  That's twenty-five years at the rate this comic gets published.  Boggles the mind.
So this particular volume comes on the heels of a great catastrophe wherein the "secured village" was overrun by Walkers and despite an awesome battle, almost no one was lost on the human side, and in true Walking Dead fashion the ones that did died did so in ways that were wonderfully horrifying. 
There's a lot of criticism that this issue didn't have a lot going on.  And to be fair, it didn't.  I think that the whole thing takes place over the course of a single day, but it's also very much a hallway to whatever's going to come next.  The writes of the television series would do good to study this issue to see just how well they deal with the psychology of everyone and how they function within the group. 
I liked this issue a lot - while a shortage of truly exciting set pieces I was happy enough to spend time with these people as they try and figure out just what kind of life they can and should rebuild.  How they should and shouldn't feel about certain things… 
I have no idea where they'll go next, but I'm super excited that Kirkman already has several years worth of material to pour through.  The next volume can't come fast enough for my liking.

1644 - The Walking Dead: season 2 part 1

Since the series is on hiatus until February I figured I'd chime in with my thoughts so far.  Full disclosure - I'm a big fan of the comic series that this is based on, and so that often effects my thoughts on this.  I'm not big on some of the casting of this series.  I think that Rick, in particular, was miscast.  The actor is starting to win me over a bit now, but it's really a very different character from the one in the comic (not that there's anything wrong with that).  And in a lot of ways I think that this is Robert Kirkman's chance to go back and shift things for the narrative - in particular he keeps a few characters around that didn't last so long in the book, and vice versa.
The pacing of this season has been pretty damn slow, and I know it's frustrated most reviewers of the show as well.  For me it's mostly frustrating because I know how much damn good stuff there is in the comic that they can go to when they want.  Although I suppose there is a question of budget... There is a particularly strong arc at one point involving a character called The Governor, which could probably last two or three seasons in and of itself.  And based on how this series is at this point I think they might even be willing to "go there".
I won't go into detail as other reviews have - but I will say that if the beginning of this season frustrated you and you abandoned the show because of it, do yourself a favour and at least watch the mid-season finale (episode seven).  It is a pretty great episode all the way through (and the opening will catch you up) but it's also got a final scene that very well may be one of the best scenes in television history.  It's really a solid solid piece from all angles - writing, directing, performance, and it damn sure makes you excited to see what they'll do when they come back in February.
It's not a great show, but it could be...

The Walking Dead - Vol 14: No Way Out

Waiting on a series like this sucks.  Especially when you get the new book and you whip through it :)  Luckily I picked it up on my way to the airport, so I may even give it another read while I'm off on my trip. 
As it is with most of the series stuff I blog about, if you don't want to know what happens, stop right here.  If you want to know if it's worth reading - yes. 

For the last few volumes Rick and company have found what looks to be the perfect place for them, a gated community with walls up to keep the dead out.  But the last volume ended with a small skirmish involving gunfire, which we all know at this point is like a net for picking up zombies to come your way - and come our way they did!  After a few tamer volumes this one comes back kicking and doesn't take any prisoners.  I truly believe that the only one safe in this world is Rick - and I'm not even sure if I believe that anymore.  What's really lovely about this particular story arc is what happens to Rick emotionally because of it, and how he comes out of it with a new lease on life and their situation.  It's a breath of fresh air and I really can't wait to see what is done with it.  Kirkman once again pulled the wind out of my sails in that massive panel where we see what looks like half of Carl's face blown off.  What surprised me even more is that it might not have killed him.  But in a series where the main character lost a hand about ten volumes ago, it shouldn't be that surprising for another to walk around with part of their head missing.
The love fest for this continues, just hope that it's television counter-part can get itself into shape as well.
The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out TP

The Road

I'm a little behind the rest of the world on reading this masterwork.  I was loaned it after seeing No Country For Old Men in the theatres, and it's been sitting on my shelf ever since.  I knew it would be good, but I also knew that it was going to be heavy and so I put it off until I was in "the mood" whatever the hell that means...
While in the middle of reading this I described it to someone as "Take The Walking Dead and remove the hope".  But now I don't think that's true.  In fact, I think what this book about is hope.  Or, as McCarthy states, carrying the fire.
For those who don't know, it's about a post-apocalyptic world.  No explanation is given as to how long it's been this way, or what's happened.  We fellow a man and a boy, and that's the most they are ever described, and that's just fine.  As a father myself I found myself easily connecting to this book - profoundly so.  It broke my heart over and over, but mended it by the end (just barely).  It's the kind of book that makes you wonder how you would fare in the same situation, especially with a small child acting as your inner voice. 
I love McCarthy's simplistic writing style.  Despite the content, it's the kind of book that's a treat to read.  Pages turn effortlessly.  And it's the kind of book that you read quickly because you don't want to watch these people suffer anymore, but it's also the kind of book that you dread ending because it's so damn good, but also because... well... you know something has to happen...
This is a fantastic book and a quick read.  It's beautiful and affirming, heartbreaking, and earnest.  It's the kind of book that you just absolutely have to read.  I'm going to watch the film tonight - which should be interesting to see how they deal with the adaptation... stay tuned for that!
The Road --2007 publication

1472 - The Walking Dead: season one

Anyone who has read my blog in the past month knows that I'm pretty into this story, or at least the idea of the series, which is essentially a band of people just trying to survive in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. The comic series is phenomenal in every way - great characters, story, themes, and more important, great execution.
The pilot for this series nailed the tone just right - it mixed the disturbing with the mundane, but future episodes seemed to lose that a bit. And for a series that it meant to be about the survivors I didn't really feel like I got to know, or care, about them all that much - and that is the biggest downfall from this first season. And for someone like Darabont it really surprises me. This show has been greenlit for a second, longer, season and so perhaps that will help deal with some of those issues.
For fans of the comic that haven't jumped in yet keep in mind that they're not following the comic religiously by any means, so it's not just like a giant retread (if it were it might be a bit better..., but that's just my humble opinion).
It's worth giving this show a shot given that it's only six episodes in it's first run - but I implore you that if you like this show in anyway do yourself a favor and pick up the comic series of the same name, it will not disappoint!

1468 - Diary of the Dead

I've categorized this film below as being Canadian, money-wise I'm not sure if it's true, but I think that there are enough elements in it to deam it true.

As you can see looking over my last months worth of entries that I've been on a bit of a zombie-kick. It has a lot more to do with reading The Walking Dead more than anything, but I saw this was on netflix, and I've always enjoyed the old Romero flicks so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Use the format of fictional documentary is a fresh and realistic approach to making a zombie flick, and it's nice that it came from Romero himself, probably in a desire to get back to his low-budget roots. As always Romero uses his zombies to creates metaphors for aspects of our society. Here it's about truth and the media. It's about how the media and the gov't withholds information, filters it. That's the strengths of the film. It doesn't really have any scares, or jump out of your seat moments. You don't dislike the characters, but they are more caricatures than anything and so it's hard to really get attached to it. The self-referential nature is often amusing, but it gets pretentious in the moments where they go on and on about how important what they're doing is. As if it'll make a difference - the problem is that there's no way for the audience to know if it will or does. I believe that the filmmaker believes that the film he's making is important, but I don't believe for a second that it is important at all.

The film is okay, if you're a Romero zombie fan you'll probably dig it a lot - there are some fun jabs to the fast-moving-zombies idea. Over-all it's not a great film, but it's interesting. I'd recommend it to fans of the genre, but it's not going to convert anyone.

The Walking Dead - Vol 13: Too Far Gone

I was pretty happy to realize that, while going through my Walking Dead marathon a few weeks ago, that there was a new volume coming out very soon. Of course now that I blazed through it I've got to wait again... :(

This volume picked up right were the last left off. Rick and his band of merry followers are still in the gated community and the question comes into play as to if the place is really all that safe from the people that live within the walls, and Rick starts to wonder if he and his friends should arm themselves just 'in case'. Rick is starting to lose it - he knows it - a lot of this volume is about that. The rest of the characters are just kind of there in this volume, nothing major happens with them. There is a shift in the dynamic of the characters here, but this volume feels more like a hallway to something different. An altercation with an outside faction (which felt a little anti-climatic) is going to surely lead to an army of the dead heading towards the gated community - so we'll see just how strong all of those walls are.

In a series known for it's trademark disturbing content the last two volumes have been surprisingly tame. I can't help but think that this is the calm before a major storm coming. Rick continues to be plagued by what he's had to do to survive. A fellow-editor I'm working with has just started reading the series and he's on volume four and he asked me today if someone gives Rick a good kick in the ass, that he's not sure he can keep reading them because he doesn't like Rick. Rick, to me, is like the biblical Job, he's there to be tortured and punished. I have no doubt that Rick will survive as long as the series goes on, and that is more punishment than if he'd die. I don't think that there's any spoiler in saying that - it's just my theory.

Looking forward to see where Kirkman is heading us with this story, world, and characters.

The Walking Dead - Vol 12: Life Among Them

Spoilers, of course, are ahead.

This could be the most bizarre volume so far. Nothing crazy happens in this volume, which is an interesting choice for Kirkman to make. The gang comes across a group that offers them to come live in their community. And it all sounds a little too good to be true...

But it isn't. At least not so far. I kept waiting for something to happen, for the new people to show some crazy signs. Nothing. Which actually made everything all the more unsettling. This is the life they've all wished they could get back, but they can't handle it now that they have it. The volume ends with Rick enlisting Glenn to retrieve their weapons for the armory, which worries me. The worst thing that could happen is that Rick does insane with worry for no reason and ruins this perfect community - which is probably where this is going. Ironic if something is too good to be true and the gang destroys it because they just can't believe that it's possible. Watching Carl especially is heart-breaking. He should just be able to be a kid, but he can't. He's seen too much, he's done too much - the last book had his father telling him that he would never be safe again, and now he's telling him to not worry about anything. Poor messed up kid...

I'm so damn curious to find out where this is all going - luckily I only need to wait for two weeks to find out. I've read these so damn fast, it's going to be annoying to have to wait inbetween volumes now. Alas. Good thing I have a stack of other stuff to dive into!