Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Walking Dead Survivors Guide #2Walking Dead Survivors' Guide #2 of 4
Image Comics
Kirkman, Adlard, Rathburn, Grace & Daniel

Another round of twenty profiles of Walking Dead characters. This issue covers the rest of the letter "C" through much of "H". The importance of this issue is the inclusion of the Governor's profile. If you were ever interested in getting into this series and were looking for a reason (beyond someone else's explanation) then sit down and read the two page profile about the Governor. He is arguably the most interesting character in the entire series. When his actions are condensed down to highlights it seems like it would be difficult to not want to read the series to meet this character and witness his actions. Other than the Governor, the issue includes some of the more important characters like Glenn, Dale and Douglas. Overall it's a very good look at some of the series characters but it is not perfect.

The write-ups of some of the more important characters are excellent. However, they seem almost too rushed. When you consider some of the characters only hang around for four issues and manage three paragraphs, it seems impossible for the characters that around for seventy issues to only manage two pages. Overall I would say that none of them get short changed.

Glenn's profile is particularly strange for a couple of reasons. First of all, a lot of details were left out of his profile, for example the fact that his wife tried to kill herself. Sure, you could make the case that it was Maggie's action but it helped shaped Glenn and his actions as well. Another oddity is the last line of profile seems to reference something that either hasn't happened yet or has the names incorrect of the problem Glenn faced. For fear that it is a spoiler I won't reveal it but it was puzzling.

Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsThe only other complaints about the issue are that there is no new artwork. Not that I expect it but it would certainly add to the issue. The other minor problem is that some of the characters simply have nothing interesting about them, such as those that were in the cannibal group. All of their profiles read almost exactly the same. Perhaps they should have been handled as a group.

Overall, this is an excellent read. You have a lot of information about a lot of characters and when you read it you really get an appreciation for all that Kirkman has done in this series. With only a few minor complaints I can definitely say this is a must have if you already collect the series and it might be enough to get you into the series if you happen to just pick this issue up on a lark. The prize of the issue (and the series) is definitely the Governor.

4 out of 5 Geek Goggles