Booklog

Glllllleeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnn. WHY? The latest volume of The Walking Dead shows the maturity of Kirkman. Perhaps compressing the entire 100 issue series into the span of a couple of weeks makes the change in sophistication all the more dramatic, but anyways, I like it. Something to Fear is not only a seriously awesome title for anything, but the beginning of what looks to be an awesome new direction for the series. The zombies have really faded into the background, and once again, the wickedness of humanity has taken center stage in the form of a highly organized band of Road Warrior-like thugs called the Saviors who harass communities of survivors and charge protection fees for their "services." Rick's group, thinking they're a bunch of bad asses, decides to do all the surviving communities a favor and act as mercenaries themselves, hiring themselves out for supplies in exchange for the defeat of the Saviors. We see Rick go from big fish in a small pond to being nothing more than a guppy in the Pacific and his mistakes lead to the biggest bloodletting we've seen since the conclusion of the Governor arc. In this arc, violent action works hand in hand with drama as some of the most benign and likable characters in the series meet with really gruesome ends. Evil is once again personified in the form of the leader of the Saviors, Negan, who makes the Governor look like a cult compound zealot in terms of leadership and ruthlessness.

Will Rick step it up and be Mad Max already? I hope so. This series has gone on too long with no Thunderdome action.