#61-66 “Fear the Hunters” (May-October 2009)




New Characters: Father Gabriel Stokes. Chris, Theresa, Albert, and Greg are in the hunter group. (not the Chris who shot Tyreese's son Julie, obviously. He's long dead.)

The Story: Now a new horror arises in their midst: Young Ben has murdered and eviscerated his twin Billy, perhaps as a result of the fatalism his father poured into his head. The community breaks into chaos arguing about how to respond to a homicidal kindergartener. That night, Carl takes it upon himself to shoot Ben dead and slink away. “We’ll never know who did it,” says Rick. He doesn’t want to know, but it wouldn’t be hard to discover that Carl’s gun is missing a round. Morgan knows the truth but doesn’t say it. Many days later, Carl will confess to his dad.



Father Gabriel Stokes wanders out of the woods, Bible in hand. He’s been living safely in a church for months until he ran out of food, and he isn’t yet used to the rigorous realities of this new world. He proves amazingly tone-deaf when it comes to communicating with hard-bitten veterans of the road. He’s also wracked with guilt for locking people out of the church when the zombies came lurching.



A pair of hunters on foot somehow trail the vehicles carrying our community. At night, they ambush Dale carry him off to eat later. Cannibals! But the joke’s on them. Dale was recently bitten by a zombie, which is why he wandered off in the first place. Will the hunters die from eating the cooked flesh of a man who hasn’t yet succumbed to the zombie plague?



The community takes refuge in Father Gabriel’s church building. Andrea prays for Dale’s return, and sure enough, the next morning, they find him unconscious outside the door – as bait. Glenn takes a slug in the leg from the hunters while pulling Dale inside the church building. Eugene shows his science skills patching Glenn up with tobacco and wax. He’s one of those “expert at everything” scientists you find in fiction more than real life.



Rick forms a hunting party of his own and finds the cannibals in a nearby neighborhood. He presents himself for parlay and learns that their own children were their first victims; they rationalized this as “we can always have more children, but children can’t survive without us.” Harsh calculus. Bluffing a little about the size of his strike force, Rick gets the cannibalistic hunters to surrender their arms. Er, their weapons. Then he executes them all and burns their bodies.



Before Dale dies, he thanks Rick for being a good leader. After Dale dies, Andrea keeps her promise to re-kill his zombie self.

Lettercol: The covers of issues 62-66 contained the title of the individual stories. Retailers reported that this helped sales.

My Two Cents: This was a strong sextet of issues. Rick took another step in ruthlessness, but he also confronted a group whose chilling pragmatism stands in contrast to his own clan-centric approach. Carl is already showing himself to be someone who can make the ruthless call just like his dad.



Would Dale really have wandered off to die without telling anyone? He would have known the group would endanger themselves by looking for him. I guess he’s not thinking too clearly these days, but that sort of excuse could easily become a pretext for anything in a series with characters under such duress.

It’s still an open question whether the cooked flesh of a zombie-bitten human is contagious. Unless cannibals enter the story again, we’ll never know.
Father Gabriel is Kirkman’s answer to lettercol complaints that he was ignoring religion despite setting his story in the most religious part of the USA. While at the same time introducing another black character. Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with the new religious character being somewhat annoying. The series has had plenty of annoying non-religious people too. But two things:

(1) Gabriel calls himself “Father” and wearing a clerical collar, implying that he’s a black Roman Catholic clergyman. But Roman Catholics tend to name their children after saints, not angels like Gabriel. The Venn diagrams of “Black” and “Roman Catholic” do not overlap much in Georgia. But Roman Catholics are the most commonly portrayed clergy in popular media because they have a uniform which is convenient for visual shorthand. “In my mind, I think of Gabriel as a Baptist, despite the collar,” says Kirkman in the lettercol. Then maybe drop the collar. It’s not exactly like a rabbi wearing a crucifix, but it does show ignorance about religion.

(2) Having introduced a devout religious character, Kirkman immediately uses him as a foil for Eugene to make the atheist case against Christianity. Father Gabriel doesn’t entirely roll over in the debate, but there’s no question which side Kirkman is on, though he thinks he wrote it so Gabriel won the argument. Hey, what did you expect an atheistic writer was going to do with a Christian character? Happy now, letter writers?

Killing Andrea that early? That's whack. They must have introduced a stand-in later to take her central role. I bet they did this just so the show could hold surprises for those who have already read the comic book.



Looking over this part again, I realize it was ripped off in the video game The Last of Us, in which Rick's stand-in Joel takes a ree bar through the gut in a fall, and his daughter-surrogate Ellie must fend for herself, protecting him and herself in a hostile landscape until he's better.


Tara, huh? She doesn't show up until much later in the comic, as one of the Saviors.


Exactly. But Kirkman needed a reason for Rick's community to leave Hershel's farm the second time. Perhaps Abraham was just feeding them a line, so they would travel with him for mutual protection on his super-urgent mission to Washington D.C.?

#73-78 “Too Far Gone” (June-October 2010)




New Characters: Holly, Bruce, Tobin, Pete, Jessie, Alexander Davidson are (or were) in Alexandria. Derek and his gang of toughs are not.

The Story: Everybody settles into their new lives, or pretends to. Andrea is a lookout. Abraham works construction. Glenn joins the team making supply runs closer into Washington. While gearing up, he unlocks the poorly guarded back window of the armory so he and Rick can slip in to reclaim firearms.



Abraham’s co-workers grouse about living conditions and how all the pretty girls seem to get assigned to work with Douglas. Abraham shows his mettle when zombies wander through the construction site. He’s unimpressed with his co-workers’ poor work ethic and willingness to abandon each other when zombies come a-crawlin’ after a woman named Holly. Douglas is perturbed how quickly and naturally Abraham steps into a leadership role.



Alexandria has a church building; Gabriel steps into the pastoral role and has a full house for worship. He appears to find secret vindication in this for preserving his own life ahead of the lives of his previous parishioners. He warns Douglas that Rick’s group may do something violent. It's a fake cliffhanger; Douglas is already watching for that and berates Gabriel.



Rick walks the police beat with Michonne as his deputy. He realizes his new neighbor Pete is abusing his wife Jessie and child Ron.



Pete is one of Alexandria’s three doctors, so Douglas is reluctant to take action against him. Rick threatens Pete, then has a brawl with him, then pulls a revolver on Douglas when he tries to mediate. Michonne slugs Rick and he’s disarmed. Douglas lets Rick keep his job and his sidearm but gives him a long talking-to about not challenging his leadership in public.



Pete moves out of his home due to the revelation of abuse. He fumes, grabs a knife, and comes after Rick. Douglas' wife Regina interposes herself and gets fatally slashed in the throat. Douglas authorizes Rick to execute Pete. Later, broken, he asks Rick to take over leadership of the whole community of Alexandria.



Glenn goes on a supply run into the Washington suburbs. He and his partner Heath happen upon an unfamiliar group of half a dozen men fighting a zombie herd. They push one of their own into the zombies to open a path for escape, then follow the sound of Glenn’s motorcycle back to Alexandria.



The approaching strangers rifle off a “welcome” shot, interrupting the triple funeral of Regina, Pete, and a man named Scott who died of infection after a broken leg. When Rick goes to greet them, they threaten to murder him if he doesn’t open the door. Rick keeps his cool, and the attackers are killed. But the gunfight starts a large herd of zombies headed toward Alexandria…



Fantasy sequence in issue #75: Back in the lettercol for issue 7, Kirkman facetiously promised that the 75th issue would feature aliens. True to his word, that issue contains a non-canonical backup story with aliens, superheroes, and color art, the latter two of which Kirkman had sworn would not makes its way into his story.



My Two Cents: This arc has numerous small character moments that didn’t seem to be part of a larger plot, so I didn’t call them out. Rick and Michonne go on police patrol. Michonne has sex with Morgan. Maggie is reluctant to have sex with her husband Glenn due to shame about her suicide attempt. Carl is freaked out to find Rick talking to the unplugged phone. Andrea goes on a date with Douglas’ stepson Spencer. She thinks about throwing herself at him, then thinks again.



Abraham’s willingness to settle in Alexandria is puzzling, considering how strongly he felt back in issue #54 that stationary communities were unsound due to the threat of zombie mega-hordes. That theory is about to be put to the test due to the gunfight in issue #78. But what about the previous gunfight at the construction site? That should have summoned the zombie horde out of Washington, D. C. as well.

The covers are planned long in advance of publication, so sometimes they don’t match the interior action. For instance, issue #77 did not feature a peeping tom watching Maggie undress, unless you count the reader.

#85-90 “We Find Ourselves” (May-October 2011)




New Characters: Nicholas

The Story: Abraham and Glenn supervise cleanup of the zombie bodies, including zombie Jessie. Rick forms a brain trust from the characters we’ve seen the most of. They strategize better defenses, better community morale activities, better supply schemes. Andrea trains a militia in headshots.



Lots of relational vignettes. Spencer tries unsuccessfully to reconcile with Andrea. Rick and Andrea have lots of conversations and eventually start kissing. Ridden with guilt over Ron and Jessie’s deaths, Rick returns to his fake phone calls with Lori, but they don’t bring the comfort they once did.



While Rick is out leading a team of scavengers in nearby neighborhoods, Glenn overhears Spencer and Nicholas planning a violent coup. Rick returns to find Nicholas and Glenn in a Mexican stand-off at point-blank range. Forced to stand down, Nicholas is surprised to receive clemency from Rick.



Carl awakens with a degree of amnesia, his right eye missing, and his mental and physical capacities otherwise undiminished.



Rosita walks out on Abraham due to his relationship with Holly, and moves in with a surprised Eugene. Holly whispers poison into Abraham’s ear about what a great leader he would make.



Lettercol: Kirkman considers Savage Dragon “the best comic ever produced.” Letters unhappy with Carl’s injury. Letters unhappy that Kirkman isn’t more overtly political. In issue #88, Kirkman gives a laundry list of characters whose deaths he found regretfully necessary. Except one of them (I won’t say who) is still alive. Kirkman did this as an Easter Egg to give attentive lettercol readers a heads up on future story developments.

My Two Cents: At one point in the writing process, this arc was the end of the story. Kirkman envisioned a final sequence in which a “Rick Grimes the Hero” statue turned out to be standing at the center of an overgrown community, overrun with zombies. Message: Nothing good matters in the long run. Bummer! Thankfully the series sold well, and Kirkman came up with additional (ultimately happier) storylines which unfold after this.

Kirkman continues his pattern of following a heavy action arc with a character-based arc, mainly with soap opera action. This arc has two chief objectives. One is to establish Rick and Andrea’s relationship. Hooking the protagonist up with the beautiful young Mary Sue will always seem like a degree of authorial wish-fulfillment. We don’t begrudge Kirkman his fantasy, do we?



Rick’s “ruthless-o-meter” actually takes a step back in this arc, and he wins Nicholas to his side rather than executing him for treason. Rick realizes that Carl’s long-term health will be best served by building a stable community which can be the focal point for a new civilization.

While tending Carl, Denise Cloyd says, “I’m a surgeon, but not a brain surgeon.” Finally, a writer who understand that concepts that different doctors have different expertise! On the other hand, at one point the characters fret that canned goods will go bad after two years. Kirkman didn’t know that canned goods last many years.

Once again a mismatched cover probably drawn before the plot was finalized: Issue #89 doesn’t actually feature Andrea choking Spencer. They just argue.

Differences from the TV Series:

Father Gabriel is introduced in need of help by the escapees from the Terminus cannibal camp. Albert is the name of one of the cannibals and is a Grade A asshole...in additional to his nutritional interests.


Differences from the TV Series:

As mentioned in an earlier post, the characters Ben and Billy had been turned into the Samuels sisters--Lizzie and Mika. When introduced at the start of season 4, Carl criticizes Lizzie for standing at the prison fences calling to Walkers as if they're pets or zoo animals coming to be fed (well, they would be, if they had their way). Lizzie is under the deranged belief that the walkers are "just different" which is so bizarre, that even her younger sister refers to her as being "messed up." Adding to this is the fact that someone has been feeding the walkers at the fence, and mutilating/skinning small animals, with the remains found in a secluded corridor of the prison...

In this period, a walker outbreak (caused by a pig-borne virus) has gutted the prison population--including the sisters' father, who was bitten. The sisters become close to Carol, who had become a teacher to the children...as well as instructing them in self defense/use of weapons. She (Carol) never wants to find another child in a defenseless position ever again in the wake of what happened to Sophia.

After the fall of the prison in the final Governor battle, Lizzie, Mika, Tyreese and baby Judith escape together. Lizzie is so cracked that she seems like she wants Judith to suffocate as she's trying to silence her (from attracting Walker attention), but she's distracted from carrying out her dark interest. Eventually, the group reunite with Carol, who missed the Governor's attack as she had ben banished by Rick for taking it upon herself to kill Woodbury survivor / Tyreese's ailing girlfriend Karen, as a means of preventing the spread of the virus. Tyreese has no idea Carol killed Karen, but Carol does not know this, so she's uneasy around the man.

Season 4's "The Grove":
The group makes their way to a pecan grove, where they find an abandoned house. As Carol and Tyrese investigate inside, a walker attacks the sisters, but young Mika shoots the creature. Suddenly, Lizzie cries and runs off, leaving Mika to explain just how psychologically screwed Lizzie is by thinking the walkers are just "different" people who made some sort of change. Carol and Tyresse discuss Lizzie's issues, but Carol--a fierce survivalist--actually thins Mika is worse, since the younger girl does not want to kill anyone--necessary (obviously) if one is to survive in the zombie apocalypse.

Lizzie continues to argue in favor of her walker fantasy, and cryptically promises to prove her point to the others. The next day, as Carol & Tyrese return from a short trip, they are met with the horror of Lizzie--holding a bloody knife--standing over the corpse of her sister, with baby Judith sitting nearby. When questioned, Lizzie happily states that its all right, since "she will come back." As Carol approaches, Lizzie pulls her gun on the woman, knowing that she does not buy into Lizzie's insanity. Carol talks her down, promising to take Mike somewhere in preparation for her reanimation. In truth, the heartbroken Carol stabs Mika's brain before that happens.

That evening, Carol and Tyreese sit in near silence, overwhelmed by all that has happened; Tyrese suggests taking Judith to continue to the trip to the advertised Terminus, but Carol believes they would not make it, but the Lizzie problem remains. Left with no options (no counseling, etc.), and acknowledging that Lizzie cannot be around any living being, Carol decides that Lizzie needs to be put out of her misery.

The next morning, Carol and an oblivious Lizzie walk a few yards in front of the house, where its not long before Lizzie believes Carol is upset with her for pulling a gun on the distressed woman (instead of thinking it had anything to do with committing murder against her own sister), and breaks down, crying. Carol declares her love for Lizzie, and after employing a calming / counseling technique ("look at the flowers") used by Mika a day earlier, Carol pulls her gun, takes aim and shoots Lizzie in the head.

That night, if the end of the Samuels sisters was not sobering enough, Carol finally tells Tyreese that she was the one who killed Karen, and slides her pistol over to Tyreese, accepting whatever action he decides to take. A devastated Tyreese studies her, then says he forgives Carol--he knows its a part of her, indicating the killing was not done out of malice.

A grateful Carol thanks him, and by morning, they bury the sisters near a gravesite already host to another, unnamed child. Finding it impossible to stay at a true house of horrors, Carol, Tyreese and Judith hit the road to Terminus.

A harrowing, heartbreaking episode, with no less than two children dying by violence, and a smothering feeling of hopelessness. Easily one of the top three best episodes of the series, and of TV in general this century. It was that outstanding a production.




Differences from the TV Series:

Very similar to Gabriel's TV introduction, only he is highly suspicious of the heroes.




Differences from the TV Series:

Big differences. One, by this time in the series, Dale has been dead for two years--his character attacked by a walker and gutted on the Greene farm property (S2's "Judge, Jury, Executioner"). Two, in the first half of season 5, Abraham's group is forced to join forces with Rick's when all are captured by the cannibal group at the Terminus train outpost/station. With Carol's memorable help, the captives escape. After the remaining cannibals track the heroes, eat a part of Bob Stookey's leg (to which he screams in defiance, "Tainted meat!" because he had been bitten earlier that day, they are viciously killed off in Father Gabriel's church.

On his deathbed, Bob asks the jaded Rick to see a future, as he holds Judith for the last time. Sasha (Tyreese's sister) was forming a romantic relationship with Bob, but cannot bring herself to end his life, so Tyreese takes that grim job on her behalf.

Abraham presses forward, taking Glenn, Maggie and Tara along with his group. When facing a massive herd in the distance, they consider ways of getting through it, but Eugene--now in the habit of second guessing his own mission--blurts out that he does not know about a cure, or anyone in Washington. Abraham--enraged that he was conned / risked his life for so long based on a lie--attacks Eugene, who falls like a log to the concrete, an unconscious lump.

Eventually, Maggie convinces him to return to the church, where at that very moment, the others plot the rescue of Beth Greene--a prisoner at corrupt cop controlled-Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta...




It is during the burial of the cannibals (and Bob) that Rick assumes Tyreese is bothered by the death of Bob, but he disagrees; he's finding it difficult to compose himself in the wake of the entire situation with the Samuels sisters. He briefly speaks to Carol about it, but both have not related the full story (actually, none of it) to the others.



Much like his near lily-white Atlanta, and the assbrained "theory" for the whereabouts of black residents, his lack of a strong religious component in a state like that is the aforementioned assbrained issue, or his atheism wanted to pretend that its all gone. Nope. Typically, in real world history, after some widespread and/or significant human trauma, church attendance and expressions of faith increase to great degrees, as seen as World Wars I & II were waged and in their wakes, 9/11, etc. Logically, this would apply to a global outbreak of reanimated dead people.



...and other subjects.



...which only goes to prove how weak of a personality Kirkman is in that he cannot let his up front resentment of Christianity go long enough to have realistic character interactions. Thankfully, the TV series version of Gabriel--and other believers such as Hershel and Beth--are far stronger characters, written by people who know the power of faith (whether they are believers or not), and how the secular side of life has failed to provide the characters with hope--only some need to live...but for what larger reason?

I'm almost sure Kirkman cannot stand great comics such as Kingdom Come (for one example), where religious themes, direct references and character beliefs took center stage as motivators often, and was part of the reason for its phenomenal effect of readers, both comic collectors and people among he general population.









With the exception of "Regina Monroe" who is renamed "Deanna" & "Douglas" renamed "Reg" for the series, most of the characters mentioned above are introduced during the second half of TV season 5. So much happens to the group before they reach the Alexandria Save Zone, as we will see soon enough



Differences from the TV Series:



Differences from the TV Series:

Not so different than the TV adaptation, only Rick (and others) have become quick to violence in the wake of back-to-back devastating incidents, and facing enemies everywhere.






Differences from the TV Series:

There's no secret about a founder on the series, but it is revealed that those who become a problem have been evicted out of the ASZ, apparently left to survive--or not. Carl does have some issues with the local kids acting...like kids, engaging in activities such as hanging out, playing video games and reading comic books. Carl tells Rick that he fears living there would make them soft--a state he never wants to find himself in again after the fall of the prison. Rick, Daryl and Carol have little trust in the ASZ residents, do believe they are weak, and are always forming a contingency plan (e.g., hiding guns, secret meetings, etc.) in case things go south.

#97-102 “Something to Fear” (May-September 2012)




Theme covers! That’s new.

New Characters: Dwight, Paul, and Mike work for Negan.

The Story: Rick’s team takes the van back from Hilltop to Alexandria. Partway home, they encounter an overconfident team of four bikers from Negan’s group, The Saviors. The bikers’ ultimatum (“Give us all your stuff”) doesn’t go well against Rick’s well-armed, well-prepared squad. Rick spares one biker to deliver a warning back to Negan. War has effectively begun, though Rick thinks Negan’s side will prove to be all bluster and no fight.



A war needs ammunition. Eugene and Abraham head to a possible munitions plant. While strolling and gossiping about Rosita (Abraham’s rejection of her; Eugene’s unrequited lust for her), Abraham suddenly goes down with a crossbow bolt through the head, and Eugene is captured by Dwight and ten other Negan soldiers.



Dwight thinks to use Eugene as a hostage to force Alexandria to surrender, but a bite to the testicles from Eugene disrupts his plan rather severely, and the Alexandrians gun down half of the attackers. The rest are able to escape when a crowd of zombies disrupt Rick’s attempt at a chase.



Romance time. Rick and Andrea formalize their relationship, and Andrea moves in. Maggie and Glenn are going to have a baby! Yay. But the fighting with Negan has Glenn worried; he wants to move to Hilltop, taking Sophia as well. He jumps at the opportunity when Rick organizes another trip to Hilltop.



Rick thinks that recent damage inflicted on The Saviors’ attack parties will make them hesitant to attack Alexandria soon. He’s wrong; they still have a large supply of disposable goons. Negan ambushes Rick’s team on the road with fifty men. He beats Glenn to a pulp with a barbed baseball bat. Rick has one week to assemble Alexandria’s first load of tribute.



After Negan leaves, emotions run high. Maggie slugs Rick repeatedly. Carl pulls his pistol on Maggie. Sophia bites Carl. After everyone calms down, the kids talk a sad talk. Sophia stays at Hilltop with Maggie, while Jesus joins Rick’s team. Gregory has no insights to offer; as far as he knew, Negan was a bogeyman, not a real person.



In Rick’s absence, fifty Saviors attacked Alexandria but were repelled, and Dwight was captured. Chilled by the thought of facing such a large force in combat. Rick sets Dwight free, with a promise to pay Negan’s tribute demand. But he also sends Jesus to track Dwight back to the Savior base and reconnoiter it.



Lettercol: Yep, Glenn was the character whose death Kirkman announced in the lettercol in #88. #102 has letters galore mourning Glenn’s death and demanding payback on Negan. One reader says the new glossy paper picks up fingerprints and smudges the ink too easily. Charlie Adlard is a LEGO fan. Kirkman spends his merchandising profits on vintage Transformers. Kirkman says issue #100 is “not even close to the midpoint,” but actually it’s three issues past the middle.

My Two Cents: Negan is a completely different antagonist from The Governor. Chatty, folksy, pragmatic, level-headed, confident. Also ruthless in enforcing the "law," meaning the usurious “supplies for protection” contract he has forced upon Hilltop. He’s the “dark mirror” version of Rick, meting out justice and order as he sees it in a world that badly needs justice and order.



Negan runs through Rick’s team, giving very meta reasons for not wanting to kill each of them. Carl’s upcoming story is too interesting to derail; several characters are minorities, which according to some letter writers makes them out of bounds to die.



Kirkman’s original plan for this first Negan scene was to write a “Sophie’s Choice” scenario in which Rick was forced to choose between Glenn and Carl surviving, and Rick chose Carl. But Kirkman was dissatisfied with how the scene played out, so he removed Rick from direct culpability by having Negan choose Glenn as his victim. Rick is still indirectly responsible though, both for antagonizing Negan in the first place and then for leaving the safety of Alexandria.

Negan was named after the word “negative.” Kirkman first came up with “Negus” but thought it was too much like the Ferengi Grand Nagus on the TV show Star Trek: Deep Space 9. So “Negan” it is.

How many soldiers does he have? Fifty with Negan attacking Rick and fifty with Dwight attacking Alexandria would make a hundred soldiers, and presumably just as many noncombatants left behind at Sanctuary, the Savior base. But later we’re told that Negan’s colony at Sanctuary is seventy people, which would mean fifty able-bodied fighters and twenty civilians. Maybe it was the same fifty in both attacks? Rick doesn’t think so, but he could be wrong.

Negan’s baseball bat Lucille is a reference to blue guitarist B.B. King, who named his guitar Lucille.

#109-114 “March to War” (April-September 2013)




New Characters: Brianna lives at Hilltop. Earl Sutton is Hilltop’s blacksmith. Seth is a Savior.

The Story: Maggie’s new friend Brianna warns her that Gregory is a lech who will hit on her. Sure enough, Gregory finds pretext to intrude upon Maggie’s prenatal medical exam. She doesn’t correct him when he calls her “Molly.” Gregory is not at all thrilled with the prospect of joining Alexandria and The Kingdom in an attack on Negan.



Eugene has his bullet-making shop up and running. It never occurred to him that there might be targets other than zombies. He works through his moral qualms a few issues later.



Jesus informs several trusted Hilltop residents (Earl, Maggie, and Kal) of the attack plan so they can watch Gregory for any weasely behavior. But Kal takes off to warn Negan. Jesus tracks him down on horseback, talks him down, and they return to Hilltop.



Rick takes a team back to The Kingdom. Michonne is annoyed with Ezekiel’s regal formalisms, but when they get a moment alone, he drops the act and pitches woo. He was a zookeeper once, and Shiva the tiger has proven a useful myth-building trope for him. Somebody’s gotta be in charge, right? But he doesn’t appear to be abusing his position.



While Rick is gone, Negan visits Alexandria “asking” for more supplies. Spencer takes the opportunity to suggest that Negan help him depose Rick and install Spencer as viceroy of Alexandria. Once more Negan’s curious code of honor comes into play. Negan respects Rick’s tenacity, while Spencer’s intrigue doesn’t sit well with him, so he murders Spencer.



Rick returns and sees an opportunity to assassinate Negan. But Negan is a step ahead of Rick once again and has a large hidden force backing up his smaller obvious team. Why didn’t he come in the full show of force in the first place? I guess I wanted to see whether Rick would try to kill him. Lots of quick action follows. Carl shoots at Negan and instead hits Negan’s beloved baseball bat Lucille. Negan intends to kill Carl to break Rick’s spirit. Would it have that effect?



A Savior tough assaults Andrea in her sniper’s nest. After an ugly struggle, she throws him from the belltower, but Rick thinks it’s Andrea that fell.



Jesus arrives from Hilltop at a pivotal moment, ninjas his way through Negan’s men, and bests Negan in single combat. Negan and his men are forced to withdraw, but now they know that Alexandria, Hilltop, and The Kingdom are plotting against them.



Lettercol: Kirkman admits that there ought to be platoons of hardy U.S. military survivors banded together, mowing down zombies left and right. But he doesn’t consider that an entertaining story, so they must be doing their zombie-mowing in some other part of America than the metro Washington D.C. area. Fun fact: 21% of the characters in The Walking Dead have names from the Bible. Robert Kirkman does not, but he has two very Scottish names. Scots settled Kentucky (whence Kirkman hails) and named their children after Bible characters and Scottish leaders like Robert the Bruce.

Kirkman interacts with a doofus complaining about the four-page samples of other Image Comics titles which run in the back of each issue, instead of more The Walking Dead pages. “It’s like complaining about the credits at the end of the movie, saying ‘Why can’t I get more movie?’” says Kirkman. Good analogy.

My Two Cents: Kirkman must have realizes how similar the Kal/Jesus story was to the Rick/Martinez story, so he wisely gave it a different ending, while simultaneously letting Jesus’ superhero side show. He is eclipsing Michonne as the story’s fanboy action hero, even catching a thrown spear in mid-air. Ninja action!



Negan’s snipers are absurdly accurate, shooting guns out of the hands of at least three people, including Rick, who can scarce afford an injury to the only hand he has left. He needs some kind of knife prosthesis for his stump.