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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Comic Book Review: The Walking Dead # 80

The Walking Dead Issue # 80
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Charlie Adlard
Published by Image Comics

"Whatever keeps you OUT... Keeps you IN."

It's been a long time since issue #79 ended and I have been waiting for so long on what's gonna happen next on this incredible zombie-saga by two of the best teams in the business today - Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard. Now with the season 1 of the  hit AMC TV series of the same name already finished, it was about time for the creators to get back to their desks and continue what they started.

The new chapter picks up where the previous issue left off, with the gang living inside a seemingly peaceful township in Washington, DC, where our main guy Rick Grimes serves as the Constable. He tries to keep  peace and order in town, but he eventually kills a man who is physically abusing his wife (Jessie) and child. After that, the group fights off a surprise attack from bandits, but a big horde of zombies we're attracted in the process and are now attempting to breach the walls of their new found "home". They are able to close the gates and keep the walkers from ultimately invading them, but not without a casualty and a lot of fear coming back to haunt the community.

Douglas comes into his own here, making a very tough decision after one of his friends gets bitten. You can see that his character is slowly becoming strong, a leader in his own right. It would be interesting on how Kirkman would mix this development with the groups current leader, Rick. And of course, the whole comic will not be complete without its trademark: multiple character plot lines develop within the context of the story, and we see a lot of new "complicated" relationships forming. Everybody is kind of alone anyway, and plus zombies are at the gates, so somebody would definitely need someone to rely on in order to get by.

Again, Kirkman shows us why he is a  master at creating great character dynamics and he doesn't forget that what makes his comic book a hit:  diverse characterization with a whole lot of dialogue in every panel which I really applaud. Adlard's black and white art is still unmistakable and are still emotionally-filled while keeping that level of detail that fans loved from the beginning. They are sticking to their old gameplan while trying to mix new things up to get readers excited again, and they didn't fail. This is a solid new chapter after a pretty long wait with Kirkman and Adlard both bringing their A-game.

Now you just can't miss the next issues. And again, if you haven't read a single issue yet from this graphic novel, don't waste your time because this is one of the best on-going series that you would ever read today.

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