I didn’t enjoy The Whisperer War quite as much as the last volume, but a big part of that is because the current story line is as maddening as it is interesting. Following another pattern, that’s combined with this in hardcover as The Walking Dead Book Thirteen, or combined with the following seven volumes as the fourth Walking Dead Compendium, wrapping up the series.WARNING: This article contains spoilers through The Whisperer War, Volume 27 (issues 157-162) of The Walking Dead comics. He’s loyal to his pattern of talk building toward action, but in a surprising, and thrilling way, leaving much to be contemplated in Call to Arms. Kirkman didn’t become one of comics’ best writers by supplying the predictable. The presumption might have been that actions have consequences, and this collection would see an almighty wave of retribution unleashed against the Whsiperers. The title will surely come to have some later relevance next time secrets come to light. However, as the cast has increased, there are more people to follow, and some are unseen for several volumes at a time, and with footnotes not included, it may be a problem remembering who everyone is as No Turning Back is a volume heavy on inclusion and opinion. Kirkman doesn’t seem a writer inclined to political allegory, but No Turning Back’s content was written as the USA became increasingly polarised, and a meaningful conversation about what constitutes leadership turns Machiavellian.įrom an early stage Kirkman has plotted The Walking Dead in trade paperback arcs, and these almost always follow a pattern of considerable dialogue before the cathartic action blowout. The discord is a clever comment on how bonding together means accepting viewpoints that don’t align with a broad consensus, and more, actively considering those viewpoints. “I’m just worried about what will happen if they don’t get the answers they want”, is a prescient observation. The ultimate question becomes whether Rick Grimes and the values he stands for remain the values of the larger community. In no small part he’s responsible for a stunning opening chapter stripping the community bare, driving deep wedges and letting past resentments float to the surface, which is followed by several unpleasant but necessary truths. Charlie Adlard not only has to convey the emotional responses in largely dialogue-free sequences, but vary the viewpoints to keep them interesting. The next consideration is what the response should be to such feral provocation.īecause the drama is emphasised over that first chapter, it becomes an illustration text book. Some feel the losses more than others, but everyone is affected. It’s usual practice that he starts a story arc relatively slowly, but this differs, because instead of the drama coming from individual circumstances this is a collective loss.

Robert Kirkman takes the opening chapter of No Turning Back to have the community process the appalling discovery concluding Life and Death.

The walking dead volume 27