The Walking Dead #112 Review


Negan is easily the most difficult villain Rick and his crew have ever faced in The Walking Dead and while Rick believes his plan will take him down he really is playing right into his hands.

Official description from IMAGE:

Carl and Andrea are faced with the unthinkable.

Rick has been planning to take out Negan for twelve issues now with his crew, Jesus and new ally Ezekiel but after Negan’s display of brutality in the last issue Rick has finally reached his breaking point. The problem is that what has worked in the past will certainly not work with Negan. I am simply amazed that Negan hasn’t just bashed Rick’s head in, with his trusty Lucille, like he did Glen’s in issue 100. Rick has given him a million reasons to do so and what he pulls here in this issue is probably his dumbest move to date. Which makes me think that there’s something much bigger at play here that needs to be revealed. Quite frankly I’m almost rooting for Negan now because Rick has sat by for so long that his ability to lead this conspiracy against Negan is undone in one fell swoop.

I have to give credit to Robert Kirkman because he is simply doing a masterful job making Rick fall apart and making an almost sympathetic play in Negan’s favor. I have no idea how this battle is going to play out but right now I don’t see how Rick comes out on top in any scenario. Kirkman has made the villain symbolically bulletproof and it may turn out he’s not that bad but simply misunderstood in a world where all the rules have changed. Artist Charlie Adlard again seems to be coming back at full speed with the conflicts and action Kirkman has set in motion and The Walking Dead feels alive again in his hands. There are a few full panel pages that are literally dripping with suspense and tension with Adlard’s bold work.

If I have one complaint it’s that Carl and Andrea are on the cover facing down Negan with a bloody knife and Image’s official description reads: “Carl and Andrea are faced with the unthinkable.” While Andrea does play a role here it’s not with Carl and it’s not an unthinkable situation. It’s actually one she’s been dying to face. So the cover misleads what really happens in the pages. All in all I feel The Walking Dead is on the upswing again and now Rick’s crew are in for a world of hurt. While I’d still like to see Negan go down Kirkman and Adlard have given me reason to at least want to have him stick around a little while longer and by the way this issue ends it’s obvious he will.

4/5

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