Holy shit.
What They Say:
They thought they were safe in the prison. They were wrong. A force far more deadly than the walking dead is at their door and when the dust settles, their rank will be decimated. No one is safe!
Collects THE WALKING DEAD #43-48
The Review:
The return of the Governor to the scene isn’t exactly a surprise even considering how Michonne left him. Unfortunately, she should have taken care of him completely so that a situation like this didn’t have to happen. The opening chapter here spends its time showing what happened after the Governor was found nearly dead, how they patched him up and the plan he’s crafted that has result in him riding over the hill toward the prison in a tank. It’s quite good, though hard to believe in some ways considering how badly Michonne worked him over, but it gives him the kind of anger and passion needed to really go all out on the prison crew. There are some of the strangely sweet moments to be had in this when it comes to the little girl undead that he has but even that goes even further into the realm of disturbing as he decides that removing her teeth will make her less threatening and more kissable of all things. It’s a cringe inducing addition to an engaging story that definitely fits his twisted personality.
What The Walking Dead becomes with this book is a bloodbath. If it was in color, it would need even more red than usual. With the Governor so thoroughly riled at this point, and having made up a convincing story of what happened in Woodbury by painting the prison crowd as evil beasts that aren’t even human anymore, there’s a good sized crew ready to go and take them down and claim the prison for their own. It’s a straightforward plan and we really do learn that the Governor has no strategic sense. While Rick and the others come up with stuff off the cuff to deal with things as it happens, they do put some planning in when they can. The Governor on the other hand just wants to roll right up to the prison, kill a few and then demand to be let in so he can kill them very, very slowly. And even as bad as Rick’s crew can be at times, and they are in bad shape here at the start, they do manage to hold off this superior numbers force well enough to nearly rout them. And then they actually manage to do it again and again. It’s fascinating to watch it unfold and to see how further into delusion the Governor goes.
But it is a bloody mess in so many ways as bodies drop on both sides in brutal ways. For every couple of the Woodbury crew that gets killed from a distance, another of Rick’s crew gets hurt badly or outright killed. This is a thinning of the herd moment, a time when the potential peace and security that they could find and hold onto before it gets cold again is pulled out from under them. The deaths that occur here are brutal and surprising as it pushes home the idea that nobody is safe. There’s something to be said for that as it keeps you on your toes and you end up feeling more from it because of the connections you form with those characters, especially those that have survived for quite a long time all told. The fight that goes on here, which goes back and forth in classic war like fashion, is a protracted one with heavy losses on both sides and the realization on the Woodbury side that they may have been duped all along, or at least convinced themselves that they weren’t for awhile.
Plot is rather secondary here because of all of that. There are numerous intense character drama moments to be had here, but it’s all about the action, the push back and the suffering that’s caused on each side. The anguish and suffering that many face really does a number on the reader, if you allow yourself to be moved by it. And you should because this is what it takes to make things really work in this setting. To have people dying off and on for awhile, but to have several that have lasted far longer, that you think would never actually die until somewhere near the end. And not in this particular setting no less. But it just raises the ante for the book and proves that you can’t trust that someone will survive. And the constantly evolving character dynamic is what makes it an intoxicating series.
Digital Notes:
This graphic novel compilation contains issues forty-three through forty-eight of the series in one file that has a total of a hundred and thirty-five pages with no extras, alternate covers or anything else.
In Summary:
The end of this book is a double edged sword in a way because as a fan, you can either view it as a perfect jumping off point so you can get off the roller coaster or you can view it as if you can’t get your hands on the next volume quick enough. There’s a whole lot to like here and after the last volume was largely character and relationship drama, this one is all payoff when it comes to the action, the intensity and the bloodbath. There are so many things to be frustrated with here, deaths that are unfair but fit into the context of the world, but it all gives you the payoff that’s been needed when it comes to the prison arc. Things reach a very high level here that keeps you thoroughly engaged and entertained but also very disturbed. The extended time with the Governor’s recovery is the perfect launching point for his repeated attacks and the culmination of it all is worth every penny and then some. Highly recommended.
Grade: A
