Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Walking Dead #125
Image Comics
Kirkman, Adlard, Gaudiano & Rathburn
"All Out War" is in its endgame with this penultimate chapter of the twelve part series. This particular issue is a good one because Rick and Negan square off in a heated confrontation. The book has a nice pace to it and gives the reader a nice punch in the stomach to end the book. It's a good, solid read and it seems like the unexpected is about to happen in the finale.
The issue begins with a few scenes of some characters regrouping. Whether it's Negan and Dwight, Rick and Carl, or Maggie and some of the residents of Hilltop, we get glimpses of where everyone's head is and what their next moves are. The key piece here is that Negan believes Rick to be sick and dying. It's clear that Dwight pulled a stunt to ensure Rick is okay.
The book then moves to Negan playing out his endgame. Negan's plan is to walk to the front door and simply ask for them to all surrender. One of the minor problems with this entire storyline is the number of times a character walks up to a wall and begins making demands. As of I've wondered each and every time, why wouldn't the folks behind the wall just start shooting?
To Negan's surprise, Rick is alive and well. The pair have a nice confrontation. Again, Rick emerges and no one shoots him. This gets explained away that Negan isn't a fan of killing and he wants his people to work for him and a dead man can't work for him. Rick then tries to explain his position. Somehow, Rick manages to penetrate Negan's meathead skull and it appears Negan sees the potential for what Rick is proposing. Then the shocker occurs.
The book has a great pace and definitely provides a ton of tension at the end. As you might imagine, this story arc is just too long and it shows in pockets of this issue. While the Rick and Negan argument goes on for four or five pages, it seems a fitting length. The lead up to it feels like a mixture of necessary panels and unnecessary panels, for example the blacksmith guy gets a seemingly meaningless two panels while the King doesn't have a line of dialogue in the entire issue.
The artwork is good but not the usual high standard. As we've seen throughout this arc, many panels lack facial details and there are gaps in terms of the overall consistency. Still, in the key moments of the book there are some nice dramatic depictions and that is a plus. Generally, the artwork is fine but has seen a dip in quality, even if only slightly, throughout this storyline.
Walking Dead is simply an unpredictable book. This issue is proof of that. The finale ships in two weeks and it's anyone's guess as to what happens. This is as good as it gets in comics. I'd check this issue out.
4 out of 5 Geek Goggles
