After last month's issue of The Walking Dead, I was a little underwhelmed. It wasn't a bad issue, of course, but it lacked the surprise gut-punch that Kirkman usually delivers. When I picked up this month's issue, I read it without any real anticipation; and, honestly the first few pages didn't do much for me.
When Rick rushes into the house and answers the phone, I thought it was a little far fetched that he'd hear it all of a sudden. Kirkman doesn't normally use such weak plot devices, but man, oh man... The line "Rick, it's me. It's Lori." I felt like a KA-POW blow was laid right into my stomach. The gut-punch was back. With that one line the story went from average to excellence. Not only did this issue completely satisfy any let downs I might've had with last month's issue, it also reinvigorated my interest in The Walking Dead in general.
As always, the art by Charlie Adlard is very well done; though, it's just not my aesthetic preference.
Story: 5 - Excellent
Art: 4 - Very Good
Gut Punch right. That one line elevated this book from a good read to a great one. It says so much about Rick's state of mind. Good review.
Posted by DoctorColossus on 08/14/08 at 12:25 AM