Max takes a look at The Walking Dead #94-95 vaguely and in a mostly spoiler free manner as not to spoil much for the people watching the TV show. Moreover, Max goes into what makes TWD such a compelling book.
Super-Fly Comics & Games’ plucky sidekick Max Lake has embarked on a journey to read his collection of DC & other comics! Join Max each week every Friday as he takes on his Library! Titles reviewed by this blog do not necessarily reflect what the store has in stock, but you can always email the store to special order something that you’ve seen here at superflycomics@gmail.com. You can also call Super-Fly at (937) 767-1445 or just ask someone at the store next time you’re there for special orders. You can read past entries of the blog here. Any questions or comments for Max should be sent to maxdlake@gmail.com or feel free to comment in the comments section below. Check out @maxdlake to follow Max on Twitter. The things Max writes do not necessarily reflect the views of Super-Fly Comics & Games, and Super-Fly Comics & Games is not responsible for what Max says—especially anything that bugs you.
Written 4/17/12
Well, it’s been really hard for me to find time to read comics lately, especially with things at my job stepping up as they have in the past few weeks. I was hoping to be able to still maintain the blog and I plan to still try, it’s just that finding time to read and write is getting more and more difficult. That said, I read some comics today, so it’s time for…
BONUS BOOKS!
Yes, I read The Walking Dead #94 and #95 today, with #96 coming out tomorrow! Seeing how The Walking Dead is now a TV show and a comic, I don’t want to go into what’s happening too much in the comic right now, as this is a comic in particular that is very vulnerable to spoilers and for those only following the show, giving away too much about what characters are alive or dead may seem pretty lame. As much as I love DC, The Walking Dead is probably my favorite comic (especially with Nick Spencer’s T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents coming to an end tomorrow) coming out right now and I look forward to reading every issue—from recap to letters page—as an event. I don’t know what it is (the great characterizations? The fact it’s a zombie story about the people more than the undead? The totally expendable cast? Charlie Adlard’s amazing art work? All of the above and more probably!) but TWD captures my attention in a way no super hero comic can.
So to talk about the issues while being as completely vague as possible…. Hmmmm…. Well, some stuff happens that follows up on what happened last issue… Nah, too vague! Let’s try this: As part of the “A Larger World” storyline where the survivors are learning more about the area around them, Rick and the survivors must make choices about trusting someone who may be able to lead them to new lands, but while Rick’s son Carl finds this person trustworthy, Rick can’t bring himself to trust the man—whose name incidentally, is Jesus. Eventually, a small group of the survivors depart to check things out. Hijnks ensue. Zombies are fought. That’s #94 in a nutshell.
Just because the survivors are finding there is more to the world around them does not mean that things are getting any easier for them.
All I can say in #95 is that more hijinks ensue—bloody hijinks that endanger the safety of Rick and his whole group. Of course, Rick may not have had much of a choice—or so he thinks. What else is new?
The whole excitement of the book besides the several punches it packs throughout each issue is that there is a major cliffhanger at the end of every issue. While any good comic should have a powerful cliffhanger, cliffhangers are not often as good in super hero comics as they are in TWD. The notable exception is a lot of Geoff Johns’ cliffhangers—now there’s a man who can keep you hooked! The cliffhanger to TWD #95 is very intriguing indeed too. Has Rick doomed his crew’s chance at a new life?
Rick gets attacked after seeking other survivors – and the results aren’t pretty.
The Walking Dead is about the only comic my brother Patrick cares about. Sure, he’ll read other stuff if I loan it to him, but his real enthusiasm is for TWD and not necessarily what’s going on in mainstream comics. After reading these two issues, I can’t wait for him to read them—though I will wait until I obtain #96 tomorrow and read that before I hand all three issues over. It’s the brotherly thing to do.
I’ve got a lot of work the next couple days, but I’m hoping to make some time for Aquaman by the weekend if nothing else. It’s taking me forever to get through that single book!
NOTES FROM NOW (10/7/12): Again, see what a pain Aquaman has become? Stay tuned, I do get through his Archive Edition… eventually! Look for a return to Aquaman in the other entries later in the week.
These The Walking Dead issues I covered today all led up to issue #100 of TWD which was pretty monumental. However, I’m not as enthusiastic as I am about the series now as I used to be. Part of it is what happened in #100, but part of it is that it is just losing its luster for me overall—at least to the point where I may just stop picking up the monthly issue and just start waiting for the trades. I write about TWD #96 here coming up in a couple entries, so I’ll talk more about why I’m not as thrilled with the series at that time.
My wife Maureen’s interest in The Walking Dead TV series dropped dramatically at the start of its second season, which resulted in me to recording all the episodes on my DVR, though I still have yet to watch them. With the premiere of The Walking Dead season three only a week away, I am going to have to have some bursts of late night viewing to catch up! I am still pretty excited about the TV show, especially as Michonne, the African American katana wielding female badass will be joining the cast of characters this season, which I am especially excited about.
However, I do have to say, if you have not yet read The Walking Dead comics by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and (initially) Tony Moore, then you are missing out on some of the best, most compelling comics around. It’s so much more than just a comic book about zombies. It’s more about the fight for survival, and how human nature can become pretty nasty when everything is on the line. I know Tony just ordered several more copies of the trade paperbacks for Super-Fly, so you can definitely get copies of the comics here at the shop. While I’m not as frantic about the series anymore, it’s some of the most insane comics on the market today.
And with that, I’ve got to get going. Take care, readers!