Robert Kirkman continues to drive the readers (and the survivors) crazy in this 2nd installment of the latest story arc:
"SOMETHING TO FEAR".**SPOILERS** DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THIS ISSUE**It's taken some getting used to, but I've finally got accustomed to the cliffhanger breaks/beginnings at the end and start of each issue of
THE WALKING DEAD. This is to ensure a smooth transition for the reader into the Trade Paperback when it's released. But why Kirkman would care about keeping the readership in any safety net in this title is beyond me.
NOONE is safe, folks. I've said it before...and I'll say it again. With issue #100 right around the corner, I suppose it would have been too predictable to fill that issue with the death of a major character...however here we are...2 issues away from the milestone, and we have to deal with the death of a VERY well-liked character right off the bat. It absolutely doesn't pay to be one of Rick's right hand...unless you carry a sword it seems. I won't giveaway the death, but if you read the end of issue #97, you'll pretty much figure it out.
The tone of the book is very dark, as usual, which is fantastic, but the story felt a little rushed in this issue. Like there were sequences I missed out on between issue #97 and #98 which made me think
"Ok, did I miss a 97.5 somewhere?" Maybe that's what Kirkman and Adlard were going for, but I don't know.
There was internet spectulation that this arc would reveal the potential introduction of Merle, Daryl or T-Dog in this book due to the lack of faces on these covers. If that's the case in this book, I don't see it...but I do have to laugh at how deeply we fans look into the series mythology when someone's simply carrying a crossbow around. If any of those characters are TV show related, I couldn't tell it.
Needless to say, Rick's confusion over what to do at the end of the book was surprising. It didn't take him 1 issue to figure out what to do to those cannibals in the
"FEAR THE HUNTERS" storyline a couple years back. But if Rick is one thing, he's tough. He's made it this far. No doubt he'll make it to issue #100.
...or will he?