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Issue 68 was good. It is the set up issue for the next phase in the lives of our ragged band of travelers. It will be interesting to see how they all actually react to what is ahead of them.

I just read 68 myself. Definitely good, but really all set-up for the next phase. I'm very curious to see where this leads and what kinds of new characters and conflicts this will lead to. I remember teases of this new direction coming out of this year's San Diego Comic Con coverage. If I'm remembering correctly, those teases confirm what the new guy is saying to merry (?) band of survivors. I'm hoping its not all leading to another Woodbury-style scenario. Heck, I have faith that Kirkman won't retread that kind of storyline with the devastating results of that epic's conclusion still fresh on our minds.

But this one's all set-up, like the first 15 minutes or so of an action or horror flick. If this new guy is genuine, the conflict may very well arise from whether our guys can play well with others after all they've been through.

P.S. Unless I'm totally dense about the interaction or am forgetting something we've already seen, TWD may have just debuted it's first gay couple!

Weren't there two gay inmates at the prison when they got there?

Like I said, I could be misremembering. The more I think about it, the more I think you're right. I may have to research in order to determine exactly who they were and what exactly happened to them. The only two inmates I can remember clearly are Axel and the serial killer guy. There were at least 2 or 3 others.

But in any case, I wasn't imagining things in 68, was I?

From what I saw...you were not imagining things at all. But time will tell for sure. They may be the first regular gay couple in this comic.

I think one of the prisoners died, maybe killed by Rick, and the other ran off into the zombie infested world at large. I believe Kirkman himself said that he was eventually bitten and became a zombie...in fact a zombie bust of him was released at some point.

I definitely 'read' those 2 in 68 as gay.

And the first 2 gay guys were the other 2 of the 4 inmates-- both African-American, one was named Dewayne iirc. The other was the badass that Rick shot covertly. His 'gayness' was implied to be more like prison convienince gayness. Dewayne was def. in love with him.

Well, this would be our first non-"prison gay" couple, then!

Heck, I'm just excited we'll get to meet some more new characters. While I don't think Kirkman has to be politically correct, some Asians and some elderly would be nice in addition to our now-confirmed gay couple. Mostly I'm just excited to see how new characters and their dynamics will play off our beloved rag-tag crew.

Andrew and Dexter were their names. Just checked the Kirkman page. Dexter was the badass that Andrew fell in love with.

Also found a link to the bust of Andrew:

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=CSM10011&mode=retail&picture=out

Also, based on coming covers, I am really interested to see how Carl will adjust to a Happy go lucky life in a safe zone.

Yeah, I remember them more clearly now. Gotta admit; they didn't hang out long enough or get enough "screen time" to make a huge impression on me. Hopefully, the new couple will make up for that.

I dunno, remembering the prison sure makes me miss [name withheld for Cobie's and others, but Cobie's especially , sakes] who was brutally killed by the Governor before all the shit really hit the fan. To date, that's still my very favorite character in the series to date, the loss of whom still stings. I can't imagine how much more it must have hurt for those who read the series on a monthly basis at the time. (I read trades thru 48)

Where the HELL did the name 'Dewayne' come from...??? Sorry 'bout that.

And yeah, Lardy, that death was VERY hard on me (I started monthly at no. 35). That whole storyline was rough. Its still rough upon subsequent rereads.

Hi, hi, hi. What's Happenin' Rog?

And yet, I'm glad Kirkman went there despite everything, y'know? It showed us that literally noone is safe in the most painful way imaginable. If a book like this can retain the street cred it's built, we have to believe anything can happen. That said, you still gotta wonder if this title has two untouchable characters, despite what Kirkman has said. Don't get me wrong, it's hard to imagine it without them, but it's something I ponder while I'm pondering my ponderous ponderings anyway. One of those two I don't think I could bear to lose.

Still miss that other character, though...

I think there is one untouchable...at least for quite a while. Just my gut feeling. =

I'll go back and reread this thread when I get up to date so as to avoid all spoilers. Thus far I've been able to never actually be spoiled on this title and that has paid off in dividends.

As an update on my last post, I've now completed my Walking Dead collection and am reading chunks of 12-15 issues in between other comics during Comic Book Review month. I just reread #18-24 and then read #24-37 for the first time over the last two days.

Note, below I have several spoilers:

Wow. I forgot how excellent this comic is. And how brutal and terrifying.

The scariest thing by far of the entire series thus far has been Woodbury and the Governer. That was some brutal, terrifying stuff. My heart ached for Michonne in a way it hasn't in a long time. I hate, hate seeing rape in superhero comics but here in the Walking Dead that type of situation and subsequent analysis and commentary fits. Rape has always been the hardest thing for me to see in art; in college a friend of mine experienced that and it always stuck with me--I also learned (and at the time was shocked) that at least two other friends of mine (people I'm *really* close to) had already had those experiences prior to college. It was disheartening then and still is now. So it was horrific to see that happen to her. Kirkman did not pull any punches and he shouldn't have--and when the subseqent revenge issue happened I couldn't put it down. He showed me a dark side of myself I have always tried to avoid but acknowledge was there. When I couldn't pull away from the pages, I cheered her on; despite being overwhelmed by the violence I thought to myself when it was almost over "not yet; take that spoon and rip out his mother-fucking eyeball". I wanted that revenge as much as she did. It was awful to see and yet I'm glad he went there. And afterwards I felt guilty for thinking that--which is what Kirkman's purpose was I think. I actually suspect Kirkman had little control over the script in that issue and it probably kept him up all night after writing it. It just seemed to be like that.

Of course, there was more than just that in these issues but that storyline was the most prominent in my mind. Rick having his hand chopped off was horrific. It wasn't actually that huge a shock but the execution artwise was what made it so. Adlard just brings so much to this series: his facial depictions are his strongest tool, IMO, but he also can just show so much savagery in his pages. I hope this series makes him super-rich.

I found my heart sink when we saw the prison overrun with Walking Dead, and then I felt tremendous relief when they were all still alive. Some are my favorites, like Tyrese and Andrea; some like Herschel have really grown on me. I also like Axel quite a lot. And I know a lot of them won't be safe. I already am expecting the absolute worst for Rick's wife and unborn baby and have been preparing for it for some time.

I felt my heart just ache for Glenn when he was captured and because in a way he was a bit cowardly. It was completely justifiable and I felt so bad for him because I know that will haunt him in the future. On the other hand, I thought the wedding ceremony with Maggie was very sweet.

Of course the ongoing threat of the zombies is an ever-present, low level terror, and of course, the very best part of the series is the way in which the characters continue to react to the 'new world' and that ongoing ever-present terror. Kirkman's analysis of this type of world is very comparable to Stephen King's The Stand and how people deal with things. The sense that so many people just want to be "taken care of", particularly the women who are mothers with children present, is so very realistic. Carol is the character that shows this the best I can't help but feel very empathic towards her--I want her to be okay and be taken care of. Her story should be fascinating to see as time goes on in future issues.

I'm so glad to be hooked again and the way I'm plowing through issues, I'll likely get caught up quickly, even with taking breaks to continue reading and reviewing other series. I'm so glad I have over 30 issues to go.

I'm also glad to have the single issues now: the letters pages are fascinating. Reading people's reactions to what happened first to Michonne and then to the Governer has been fascinating and at times as rough as actually reading those issues. Kirkman really took a lot of heat! Kudos to him for actually addressing it--I feel if I was him, I might have gone the route of not addressing the reader's concerns at all.

Glad you are really enjoying things Cobie. I almost envy you reading these issues for the first time. I've thought about letting a few issues build up here and there, but can never quite get past wanting to read the new issues NOW!

Wow. Soo much has happened in this book. Gonna have to go back and reread them myself.

Read up to #50 last night, including "No One is Safe". Just devastating. Wow. I was speechless.

The follow-up issues with Rick and Carl were an excellent follow-up and I felt more for Carl than any other child in a comic ever before.

But "No One is Safe"...I just don't have the words. Just an excellent read. But it wasn't easy on the reader.

TWD I believe has officially entered my "Top 5 Best Comics" list.

That Kirkman writes powerful stuff.

So I finished the Walking Dead and am now completely caught up. Wow.

From this point forward I'll be following on a monthly basis so I'll have comments month in and month out. These latest issues (when read all in a row) really seem to be taking the title to a new place and that's great--the series just continues to stay fresh.

My absolute favorites besides Rick are Michonne and Andrea so I just hope nothing happens to them. I basically like most of the other characters or at least find them intersting enough to want to keep reading (i.e. Duane).

I'm loving how dynamic of a character Carl has become in the last year. He's a very intense character that I feel is actually relatable despite being a young boy--that's quite an accomplishment by Kirkman. I do think he had to kill Ben; it just had to be done. It was brutal but I understand--and I'm surprised at myself for thinking that way. Kirkman at his finest.

This book cannot come out fast enough. I still need the issue that came outlast week, but having seen the covers for THE WALKING DEAD #71 and THE WALKING DEAD #72, I cannot wait for those to hit.

Actually, TWD hasn't hit yet this month. Image's website says it's out next week. I guess 2010 got Kirkman off the "On time in '09" kick real quick!

AMC has approved TWD Pilot.

http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=24502

Issue #69 was good. More set up as to the new situation and characters being introduced to the book. We do get to see some zombies again this month, as more than just background dressing here.

It's going to be interesting to see where Kirkman takes this. I think that regular readers of this book are constantly waiting for the twist of the plot with any new characters that are introduced.

Lardi - Kirkman addresses this issue being late in the letters. Something else else about the holiday messing with the schedule. We'll see...

GREAT news about the pilot. I haven't been so excited about a TV series in YEARS, if ever! And I have no doubts we will see that series.


69 was interesting. I had a little trouble following the action during the zombie melee. The suburb thing looks to be the start of something that could go either way. I'd like to see some Wisteria Lane-type mysteries and stuff before the other shoe drops.

DON'T want to see a repeat of Mayor's town or the Prison here. But surely something is fishy.

The next issue cover was really different for this book, with all the kids running around.

I'm definitely curious about this place!