Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities The Walking Dead

This may the best sentence ever written about this book.

As I always tell everyone just starting with this book-- YOU WILL BE ADDICTED. BUY as many graphic novels at one time as you can!

Sharky- you still have some utterly unbeleivable stuff ahead of you!

Very little action and lots of character development in issue #91. Glenn and Maggie are getting some overdue attention. Andrea shows that on some levels she is maintaining her sanity better than Rick. Carl again steals the show with his angry and pointed outburst. He delivers some heartfelt and disturbing dialogue. As always, a very intense read.

Last week, I finally read the prose novel that had been released in October, The Rise of the Governor. Co-written by Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga, the book chronicles the journey of Philip Blake, his brother and daughter and a pair of friends as they travel from a small town in Georgia toward Atlanta and eventually to the place where the Governor will truly be born: Woodbury. readers of the series will be interested to see the similarities and differences of the Governor's survival experiences to the ones readers of TWD have seen for so long with Rick and his crew. Unsurprisingly, their road was a very harsh one, especially as readers of TWD know what became of the Governor's daughter.

I found it to be a pretty engaging story, though not exactly the one I expected. It turns out, for example, that we don't really see very much of the titular "Rise" that i was expecting. We don't get to Woodbury until well over two-thirds (possibly three-quarters, really) into its 300 pages. I thought this would be all about him getting Woodbury under his thumb, but by the end, we really only see him taking the first step. Maybe that is all we need, but I thought there would be more.

What we do get is some insights into the character, and, yes, he comes across very sympathetically for a good part of the book until events start to shape him into the character we all hated so much. However, there's a big, unexpected twist near the end that you'll probably either love or hate. Me, I'm not sure where I fit in this spectrum. In a way it detracts from what you've read before and after. However, it is well set-up in hindsight. If any of you read it, I'd be curious about your reactions.

Basically, the book is a kind of travelogue as our group runs into tight zombie situation after tight zombie situation and then into tenuous situations with other survivors. Some of it gets repetitive after a while, but it's always suspenseful and keeps you wanting to read more.

As far as TWD universe connections, there are no encounters with Rick and crew, which makes sense given the book's timeline. I'd guess the book ends several months before Rick, Glen and Michonne ever went to Woodbury. However, there's a pretty neat easter egg in the book's first sequence as we see Blake's crew in a familiar setting and learn the origin of a certain set piece. The long sequence in Atlanta is also really good and goes deeper than Rick and Glen ever did.

It's clearly meant for the comic readers as anyone who only knows the TV show will get absolutely no explanation in the book as to why Philip is even called "the Governor" in the book's title. Perhaps, this is intended to be given a sequel with more of the goings-on in Woodbury? I know there are more novels planned, but I've never heard that they are to continue the Governor's story. If so, this book might work better in that context.

All in all, a very decent read, though slightly disappointing in some ways. A lot of that will depend on what you expect to get out of it and how you feel about the twist at the end. I'd recommend that you either wait for the softcover or perhaps borrow it from a friend or from the library. Don't pay the cover price of $25--it's definitely not worth that at just over 300 pages and with the issues I mention. (I paid around $12-13 on Amazon.)

Lardy, I really appreciate the in depth review of 'Rise'! I suspect many others are like me, in that they are super-curious about it but VERY hesistant to give it a try. After your review, I'm not quite sure I want to venture forth into the TWD novels. I'm an avid reader of books and novels but I've been known to drop books midway through if I don't find them to be great; in that way, I have a lot less patience than I do for comics.

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the twist in the latest issue and am curious as to what's in store. The idea of other communities being out there, trading with one another and establishing a bit of a dawn of civilization pre-history is one I find fascinating. In a way, there is potential here in it mirroring the foundations of early ancient cities, and all the subsequent benefits and horrors that accompanied it. (Since you know a war will eventually happen).

Kirkman nails a quintessential element of early pre-history: the caution one city/town/community might have when another offers to begin trading because, why haven't they just tried to take everything? It implies that there has to be a certain level of trust in larger forces than just trusting a few people to do the right thing.

If this is a hint of some of what's to come, then I'm actually really enthusiastic about it!

Just caught up on issues 89 - 92.

Love reading this in monthlies, but something about reading them in a group like that is so much fun.

Interesting things afoot to say the least.

Rick looks like he might be interested in his new admirer.

More groups out there...things will change. Will it be for the better?

Issue 100 is coming up fast...what, if anything will happen therein...

FURIOUS!!!

I just wrote a LOOOONNGG like 10 long paragraph review/complaint about the latest TPB of The Walking Dead (#15 covering issue #s 85-90) and then I somehow lost it all just before I went to press "Add Reply". HATE it when that happens!

Well here was my reaction to the TPB in a nutshell -

ZZZzZzzzzzzzzZzzzzzZZZzzzzzZZzzzzzzzzzzz...

Easily the worst 6 issues of TWD I've ever read. My hatred of that sanctimonious hypocritical prick Rick has reached new heights and I'm now wondering if Kirkman actually wants us readers to hate him?

His eye-roll worthy speech at gun-point to a group of people who've spent the last however many years LIVING TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE about how he's finally worked out the best way for them to survive and that's... BY LIVING TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE, was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. His hypocricy is so over-the-top I just want him killed off so bad now.

Ironically, when I sat down to read this TPB I thought to myself "This book has so many years left in it. I want to see it go on and on." But for the first time I'm beginning to wonder if Kirkman is starting to lose it. None of the primary conversations in this TPB felt like anything I hadn't heard before in this book and with so little else going on, it just felt like one long, repetitive, navel-gazing dirge.

I've disliked almost as many things about TWD as I've liked in past TPBs but I've always found the story exciting and addictive enough to keep me coming back for more. But this was the first time that this book has actively BORED me to the point that I had to struggle to get through pages.

I hope this was just a bad blip on TWD timeline for Kirkman because one more book as disappointing as this one was and I will be forced to drop the last comic I buy.

P.S. I'm really curious about this twist in 'The Rise of the Governor' you mention, Lard Lad.

Is it something that's just confined to the Governor book or does it spoil other stuff within TWD universe?

I probably won't be reading the book so if it's the former, maybe you wouldn't mind spoiler boxing it for us here?

I'm reluctant to spoiler-box it here because, from experience, I find it's hard to resist them even when you don't want to be spoiled. If you want, I'll PM you the twist. I will say that the twist IS self-contained and doesn't necessarily affect anything that happened in the series. It's basically a bait-and-switch type of thing.

Let me know if you want it spoiled, Blacula, and I'll PM it to you.

Hmm. Now I'm intrigued enough to not want it spoiled. I think I might just flick through the book in a shop and then if I think it's not something I'll wanna spend time on, I'll just read the end. Thanks LL.

I finally caught up with TWD comics by reading 91-94 last night (you *know* I've had a lull in my general comic-reading desire to let *4* issues accumulate!)

I had to roll my eyes at the nickname given our newest castmember... I wouldn't want anyone calling me that; why would anyone ALLOW that, wether believer OR non-believer in the Biblical person he is being named for? it just doesn't work for me personally.

I *do*, however, like his prowess with the martial arts... he's quite the fighter!

I am curious where this is all going, but... I am actually starting to wonder just how much LIFE is left in THE WALKING DEAD as it stands currently.

As Rick states, dealing with zombies is almsot a non-issue now... they handle it just like they would handle any daily routine. And if the communities are TRULY friendly-- well, we have civilization pretty much back.

We *MIGHT* be witnessing the beginning of the end of TWD here. Kirkman might be planning to wrap it up, folks... it feels that way to me.

I just finished book 5 of the trades. Man, I find the Governor a little over the top for my tastes. I hope things are handled a little differently on the show now that they've committed to bringing him in. Overall I found this volume terribly depressing (not that I want a feel good book, but man).

I really, really abhor sexual violence and when I see it in fiction I want it to have an important impact and to convey a meaning, otherwise I have a hard time stomaching it. I'm not sure the Governor's continuous raping of Michone (sp?) met my criteria for in-story justification. I know this chapter isn't finished yet, but there had better be big payoff in volume 6 or I'll be incredibly let down.

If you just read Vol. 5, then you have 3 more volumes until the Governor/Woodbury saga is complete. All I will say is that things don't get more uplifting in this story or beyond. It's a dark, dark series, Dave.

As far as the Governor's actions against Michonne, I would say it's meant to elicit a distasteful response. I will defend it on two bases:

1) There's nothing titillating or gratuitous about how we see it. Only a real freak-o would take it as such. It's as horrifying a situation as any of the characters have ever been in this book, moreso because there's nothing supernatural about it.

2) I know this kind of behavior is realistic under such circumstances. It happens all the time with despots who let power go to their heads and think they are above the basic rules of decency. Hell, it happens TOO often in everyday life!

I will give one small spoiler to assure you that Michonne has, to date, never been a victim ever again and that I recall only one other attempted rape (that is stopped before it can ooccur) in the balance of the series. So it's not a well that Kirkman goes to early and often.

TWD is thought-provoking on many levels and doesn't shy away from really dark things happening to the characters that have little or nothing to do with zombie attacks. In fact, reading the series from the beginning to the present, it's been clear that the menace of the zombies isn't the biggest hurdle for the survivors to continue on--it's the danger posed by other survivors. This is one of many reasons that it has been my favorite series for several years and will probably continue to be for the foreseeable future.

As entertaining and iconic as TWD is, I don't necessarily see that it's every single person's cup of tea.

Eeehh... the TV show's better anyway.

*poof*

So...I've just explained to my wife that I may have to purchase an issue of Playboy coming out next week! You see, it's gonna contain a new six-page Kirkman/Adlard origin for Michonne! Read about it here ! (SFW)

I'll back you up on this. Tell her that your gay online buddies will be buying this issue of Playboy, as well. That should help. Uh, maybe?

@ Jerry!

*glare* I don't like him doing this. And I wouldn't like it no matter what magazine it was in... it should be in The Walking Dead.

Yeah, in all seriousness I'm not in love with the idea, either.

I seriously love the idea. Let's face it, TWD has become a cash cow and Kirkman and company are clearly going to milk it for all it's worth. This is a totally over the top marketing ploy. It's pure genius and fun. Playboy and TWD will both both benefit. And, we get an origin story we probably wouldn't have seen otherwise.

double post

*poof*

I hope this doesn't get Pov's hopes up for an Andrea / Dale story in Hustler!

But seriously:

1) GREAT marketing move that is a creative way for an independent to bring in new readers.

2) that being said, not sure if I'll buy it. May just wait til it's reprinted in a TWD thing, or even read it online. I've got nothing against Playboy, just not sure if I want a copy in my house with two little kids and the mother of two young boys.