Saturday, November 24, 2007
The Walking Dead #44
Writer: ROBERT KIRKMAN
Art: CHARLIE ADLARD
Color & Gray Tones: CLIFF RATHBURN
Lettering: RUS WOOTON
32 PAGES, BW, $2.99
Every time I tell myself that I’m going to stop buying single issues of comics and instead wait to by the collected trade paperback format, it’s THE WALKING DEAD that makes me break my resolution. When it comes to THE WALKING DEAD, I just cannot wait to read it. That’s because stuff actually happens in this book. Characters are killed or maimed. The main central character Rick had his hand chopped off by the Governor. Guess what? That hand wont be growing back. Nobody will be able to clone Rick a new hand. There aren’t any scientists around developing a robotic hand for Rick.
It’s a permanent change to the character that will be in effect for the remainder of the series.
It’s things like this that make reading this book worthwhile. It’s one of the things that sets THE WALKING DEAD apart from all the other funny books on the shelf at the local comic book shop.
This issue starts out with the Governor and his crew at the gate of the prison Rick and his people have turned into their home. They’ve come to the prison’s front gate in a an armored M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle that everyone incorrectly refers to as a “tank”. The Governor is demanding that everyone in the prison put down their weapons and surrender to him.
We find out that the “tank” is really there for show. They barely know how to drive the thing. They don’t know how to operate the M242 25mm “Bushmaster” Chain Gun. Worse, they don’t seem to know that they can fight from inside the vehicle. The M2 Bradley has side ports that allow passengers to fire their M-16 assault weapons safely from inside the vehicle. In that regard, the M2 Bradley is better then a tank. The Governor and his crew don’t seem to know this as they elect to do all of their fighting from outside the vehicle. This allows Andrea to pick off many of the Governor’s crew from her sniper position in the prison’s guard tower. That’s something she wouldn’t have been able to do if they were fighting from inside the Bradley.
Speaking of Andrea, she is featured on the cover. She is shown on the cover with her rifle and she is wearing her normal clothing. In the book, she is wearing prison riot armor. Why the inconsistent art? Artist Charlie Adlard did both the interior art and the cover art. I don’t understand why they are different.
This is once again an excellent book that’s well worth the $2.99 price tag. THE WALKING DEAD is a must read for anyone that enjoys comic books.
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If your reading comics, you NEED to be reading this book. Its changes the way want to read comes.
I have been able so far to wait for the trade paperbacks, but you’re right, it is one of the best comics being published right now.
I didn’t really buy it at first, thought it started out kinda awkwardly, with Rick just happening to find his wife and son in the first group of survivors he ran across, but since then it has been just outstanding. A must-read for anyone who likes zombies, comics, or good, consistent, character-driven storytelling.