Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Walking Dead #117Walking Dead #117
Image Comics
Kirkman, Adlard, Gaudiano & Rathburn

All Out War continues with the breather issue. The two groups retreat to plan for their next steps. It seems pretty clear that Rick and friends have the upper hand, but I suspect Kirkman has a trick or two up his sleeve. This comic book has a surprising act by Negan to keep the readers guessing as to what might happens next. The comic provides a nice pace and that is a testament to the artwork. Overall, this is another solid comic from a great series.

After Rick and army depart the factory they settle in to determine what they should do next. The interesting thing about the strategy is that they want to find the outposts, but they don't know how many there are and they don't know where to start looking. They decide to split up the group which seems like it will lead to disaster later. These scenes also have some nice character moments that help solidify relations, but they also seem to lead the reader to believe that there are some dark days in store for them. That seems to be how Kirkman works, but these scenes are nice to include in the book.

Back at the factory with Negan he has two situations to deal with. First, he needs to deal with the invading walkers. The interesting thing here is how few men he has that seem to have the ability to clear them away. I'm wondering where the others are and if they don't exist then why would Rick have stopped the invasion? Secondly, Negan has to deal with his prisoner, Holly. Holly stupidly reveals way too much information about Rick and the people he cares about. This is where Negan does a surprising thing, which I won't spoil. It continues the high level of unpredictability this character seems contain.

Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsThe artwork continues to shine. There are some great pages and panels despite the fact that the comic contains an awful lot of sitting around and talking. The parts with the walkers getting knocked around are nothing short of gruesome and highly detailed. The bat to the head panel stands out probably the most. The comic is not for the squeamish. Once again the visuals help move the story along at a good pace.

All Out War is delivering a good story so far. This particular issue sets up some plot for the issues to come and the reader is meant to think that Rick is totally in control while Negan appears to be trapped. I am anxious to see what tricks Kirkman has to turn this around in Negan's favor. This is always a good read and this issue is no different.

3.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles