There is not a single zombie in this issue of The Walking Dead, and the book remains as compelling as ever. That's because, as it has been from the start, The Walking Dead is not about zombies so much as it is about the people living in a world overrun with them, and even without the zombies themselves present, the world that has been created by their "invasion" remains. And so we get an issue like this one, where we meet a few new members of the cast, get to delve into some of the interpersonal relationships that have developed between the regular cast and still have that sense of danger and uneasiness, even though zombies never rear their ugly heads in the issue.
The last issue left me thinking "Kirkman didn't just do what I think he did, did he?" The answer is offered up on the first page of this issue, and that answer is... yeah, right, like I'm going to get more people yelling at me about spoilers. At any rate, off of a great little cliffhanger, Kirkman takes the characters into completely new territory, and while it's tense territory, it also allows them to take a breather of sorts from survival and to focus on more human nature stuff. Stuff like romance, sex and the messy consequences of both in a post-apocalyptic world, and dealing with the death that surrounds them every day.
There have been quite a few changes in the group since the last time they really got to stop moving for any length of time. Even their stay in the gated community was relatively brief when compared to the stopping point of this issue, as it seems for a moment that they are as safe as they can be from the zombies. So we get stories about the relationships between the characters and how those relationships affect the group dynamic, which is one of the most important things keeping them alive in this kind of world. I was particularly interested to see someone point out to Lori that her sexual dalliance could have much greater consequences than her husband being angry with her or leaving her, although the profanity-laced burst of anger directed at Andrea is a pretty impressive little scene as well.
This issue also points up one of the strengths and potential weaknesses of The Walking Dead, namely the expansive cast. Kirkman has built a pretty big cast here, and that gives him leeway in terms of killing characters off and giving a real sense of danger, but there is always the danger of the characters becoming interchangeable. Thus far, Kirkman has done a pretty good job of making each character distinct, and Adlard does some especially good work in this issue in keeping each character easily identifiable, but a little chart of who's who and who's related to who wouldn't be a bad decision at this point in the series' life.
Speaking of Adlard, I was one of those a bit wary about losing Tony Moore on this book, and while I still miss him a great deal, I think this is the first issue where Adlard has really clicked with the book as well as Moore did. Adlard's characters are wonderfully expressive and very real, and that grounded appearance is a real strength for the book, especially on an issue like this one. I also can't say enough about his storytelling skill and panel arrangements, such as the "role call" introduction of Hershel's family and friends or the long shots of the group getting out of the RV or sitting down at the dinner table.
While The Walking Dead has had its share of scares and suspense-filled moments, the strength of the book has always been its humanity, and that is what's on display in this issue. Kirkman's dialogue rings true, whether it's the grief-laden rant of Allen, the cute kid dialogue between Sophia and Carl or the talk between Otis and Tyreese (who has fast become one of my favorite characters). A lot of information about where everyone's head is at gets out in this issue as well, and the seeds are planted for some future trouble as well, in the interaction between a couple of characters and in another spooky cliffhanger ending.
