Writer: Robert Kirkman

Art: Charlie Adlard

 

Whispers of Death

Negan has escaped, Alexandria is in peril, and Rick has ordered Michonne and Aaron to bring him back. Unfortunately for the pair, their search for the former Savior leader has brought them into Whisperer territory. Viewing this encroachment as a violation to the delicate treaty between the two camps, Michonne and Aaron find themselves under attack. The fight goes south and Aaron is seriously wounded. Just as Beta (the Whisperers’ second in command) is about to deal the death blow, Dwight and his brigade save the day, allowing Michonne to Aaron to Hilltop in an attempt to provide him medical assistance to save his life.

Coming to Grips With Reality

Andrea and Rick finally discuss the recent events going on in the camp and Andrea comes to grips with the fact that everything that Rick has done was to make him look good. The military training, the anti-Whisperer signs, the paranoia, these were all ploys to redirect the groups rage away from Rick and concentrate it on the Whisperers. Andrea declares that he is sounding more like Negan everyday. On a brief side plot, Carl & Lydia wub each other.

In the Belly of the Beast

In the Whisperer camp, Negan continues to use his sexual wiles to win Alpha over to no avail. Just at that moment, Beta returns from his retreat from the battle with the Alexandria group, ready to kill. Negan pretends to fear Beta but as we all know, Negan doesn’t fear much. Alpha orders Beta to stand done and as a result Negan tells them that he has a lot to offer the group. That cant mean anything good for the free colonies.

The Walking Dead continues to be excellently written and drawn with plot lines that are action packed, thought provoking, and terrifying. Kirkman is a master of character development, even when we think we know the players by heart. Rick’s personality ebbs and flows throughout the years between being the standard barer of the moral high ground and being downright cold and ruthless. Negan is a straight-up Jedi when it comes to using his oratory gifts to feel out weaknesses in others and then manipulating those soft spots to his advantage. He is the ultimate survivor. Adlard never lets up with the artwork, delivering spectacular panels every issue. Every form of media suffers from fatigue when it is a long running medium but there appear to be no chinks in the armor of The Walking Dead.

5 Skin Masks out of 5