This issue's art does a pretty good job of introducing readers to the new environment where this book will be set for the foreseeable future, with the grand tour that Rick receives in this issue managing to show off the various set pieces inside the prison. There's some nice work on the facial expressions in this issue, from the priceless look on Rick and Dale when they discover what's waiting for them inside the gym, to the look of sheer anguish on the face of the character when we discover what the gunshot in the middle of the night meant. The art also manages to fully capture the sheer visual impact of the final page surprise, as the look on Tyreese's face perfectly sell the impact of this discovery. Also while it's a little moment, I rather enjoyed the quiet little sequence where Rick is walking up to the farm house. Read Full Review

A lot happened in this issue, but it’s hard not to just jump right to the end of it and talk about the slow build that finally payed off in jarring fashion—Chris and Julie. What makes their whole arc so disturbing is that I suspect (and quite frankly hope) that it is one that people have a hard time wrapping their heads around. They claim to love—though I would say it is more of a co-dependent infatuation—one another, and yet they plan to kill each other. I wish we were perhaps given a bit more insight into what they think “Together Forever” actually means, but the finer details of their macabre suicidal pact remains hazy. Like poor Tyreese (and so many real world mothers and fathers), we can only look at the tragedy before us and somehow attempt to make peace with the fact that we will never have all the answers as to why two young people would come to such a grievous decision. One almost gets the sense that Chris and Julie’s story might have ended this way even if the zombie apocalypse had never occurred. The post-Apocalyptic world may exacerbate mental illnesses, but those illnesses were there to begin with.

On a brighter yet slightly portentous note, Rick really does seem to have a morality that is worthy of admiration. Going back to get Hershel and the others was not something that by any means had to be done. According to the harsh new way of life governing the fallen world Rick now finds himself in, it would be completely reasonable and understandable for Rick to have just left Hershel (who very nearly killed him the last time they met) to his own fate. Rick is still functioning, however, from a pre-Apocalyptic mode of morality, and the world has not yet broken him down to the point where he considers “doing the right thing” to be of trivial importance. Rick’s do-gooder mentality worked out for the best in the case of Hershel. They even got Glenn back! But is his somewhat naive assumption that the prisoners are safe going to come back to bite him? Lori’s concerns (however harshly worded) undeniably carry an echo of truth. How long can Rick continue to do the right thing and hang on to his morality?

As for Julie’s turn at the end despite NOT being bitten, this is actually a huge moment for the series as they realize that potentially any death will result in a zombie emerging from the ashes of their loved ones’ legacies. more