Unfortunately, if you are more accustomed to the fast pace or constant tension of a zombie film, it can also be boring. While this issue does end on a cliffhanger, a book that continues to run simply cant be constant zombie hordes at the gate, treachery or collateral accidents. While in many ways, Kirkman has overcome this by constantly seeding the book with new twists, new readers who jump into issue #38 will most likely be pretty bored as this issue deals more with existing characters they wont be familiar with. However, constant readers will find the book to be of the same high caliber that theyve come to expect from The Walking Dead. Read Full Review

There is a pervasive sense in this issue that something really bad is lurking just around the corner (or Wal-Mart aisle). The looming threat of the Governor (in whatever state he may be in after Michonne’s brutal retribution) is all the more menacing due to his absence. Waiting on the brink of an impending war is always more psychologically draining than the actual fighting itself. While life goes on at the prison and the survivors take tentative measures to prepare for a future, there is the ubiquitous feeling that at any moment the Governor’s hammer is going to drop and war will be upon them. Despite all their preparations, the grim truth is that Rick and company just do not have the resources to engage in a war while maintaining the sanctity of their prison abode. Tyreese and company’s mission to gather weapons from the National Guard outpost did not yield as many weapons as they had hoped, and their ballsy move to try and procure more goods from the Wal-Mart seems doomed to end in a perhaps very unpleasant way.

Yet despite all this darkness, little glints of light keep resiliently shining. Rick forgives Lori for her unthinkable liaison with Shane, Alice continually brushes up on how to deliver the best prenatal care she is capable of to Rick and Lori’s unborn little one, Hershel treats an estranged Patricia with grace, and Billy may actually get a girlfriend! Add to that how the RV group is out there actively working to better their chances against the Governor (and peeing in the most plot-driven of ways while they’re at it), and it is apparent that the survivors we have come to know and love are keeping doing what they have always done: Surviving! Not only that, however, but some of them (such as Glenn and Maggie dreaming of one day having a baby of their own) are even starting to consider the remote possibility of thriving in the broken world they find themselves in and not merely surviving. If society is to be restored and the living are to conquer the omnipresent dead, then the threshold between surviving and thriving must eventually be crossed. However, as we shall soon see, that one crucial step between surviving and thriving is not an easy one with many a stumbling block (and sadistic Governor) along the way. more

The preparations for the Woodburry War were pretty poor to read in my opinion. It was necessary, but not as interesting as it was, for example in the show. The show did a way better show in this regard.