Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Walking Dead #115
Image Comics
Kirkman, Adlard, Gaudiano & Rathburn
The hugely hyped beginning of the “All-Out War” arc begins here with a solid issue. With the story to run for twelve issues the first issue was probably expected to be mostly set-up and that is the case. I was pleasantly surprised at the ending though as it pushed this comic book into a direction I didn’t see coming. This is a good start for what looks to be a great arc.
The obvious comparison to this arc is that of the downfall of the Governor (way back in the #40-48 issues), but the book has had a noticeable shift since those issues. During the Governor run Kirkman focused on developing characters whereas now Kirkman has a bigger cast and seems to race through arcs without spending too much time on the characters. We’ll see if that hurts this arc when the blood starts to fly.
However, because Kirkman is moving his issues along faster we get more action and things simply develop faster. In this issue, all the various communities sort of check in, to give their current state to the reader. This allows Kirkman to introduce the new reader to some of the key players and to sort of recap where the series is at this point.
While the bulk of the issue is setup, Kirkman has the army roll out to confront the Saviors. I was not expecting the war to literally begin in the first issue and while the bullets don’t exactly start to fly, the cliffhanger is a game changer and is a perfect example of what makes this comic book great.
The art duties are now on three sets of shoulders instead of two and the book doesn’t skip a beat. The book has some grand visuals and some quiet moments that add some nice drama to the story. The best scenes are at the end as the visuals invoke high anticipation with the reader as they wait to see what happens next. The visuals definitely bring this story to a boil.
This comic book is a celebration. A dozen covers, 10 year anniversary label on the cover and the start of a series changing arc. The book is a mild start but it is hard to imagine the casual reader picking this issue up and not enjoying it enough to go and get the next one. Don’t pass up this comic and don’t be fooled by the slower start.
3.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
