The tone of mystery saturating our heroes’ quest for the crashed helicopter becomes more and palpable with every turn of the page. There is a sense of something big looming just around a corner that never really comes. But it’s definitely there, and one can practically feel the sadistic glee radiating off Kirkman as he keeps his readers guessing for another issue. That being said, while the mystery of the downed helicopter may have to wait another issue, there is still plenty of interesting tidbits to mull over in the meantime.

Glenn’s hesitant confession of sorts to Rick that he would steal the occasional car to pay rent in his previous life raises a very interesting ethical question. In the decimated world of the zombie apocalypse, we are cognizant of the fact that sometimes good people have to make questionable choices just to stay alive and survive another day. While we may not agree or approve of all of those controversial decisions, we do not necessarily condemn a “good guy” character altogether just because he or she makes a tough ethical call in order to increase his or her odds of survival. However, what do we make of someone like the pre-apocalyptic Glenn Rhee, a pizza delivery man who sometimes had to resort to grand theft auto (no, not the video game) just in order to pay rent? If we’re entirely honest with ourselves, we probably would not think very highly of Glenn if we encountered him in the world we reside in now. We would view him as a delinquent and a thief who took more from society than he gave back. I don’t like typing these words because I really do like Glenn as a character. The point though is that our pre-apocalyptic world may not be populated by flesh-devouring zombies, but it is still often a very brutal world, and sometimes desperate people make desperate decisions not because they are delinquent thugs. They make those choices simply to survive just as the survivors do during the zombie apocalypse. Life is always a struggle, as Glenn’s story poignantly reminds us, whether it is a life set in the apocalypse or in a fully functioning society.

“Are you our new mommy and daddy?” If the twins’ words do not cut you straight to the heart, you may be a sociopath. Seriously though, Dale and Andrea stepping up to essentially adopt two young children in a world gone to hell is the height of commendable. This new family unit consisting of Andrea, Dale, and the recently orphaned twins was forged by loss. Andrea lost her sister and presumably her mother and father. Dale lost his wife. The twins lost their mommy and daddy. Yet in the midst of all this traumatic loss, an element of post-apocalyptic grace rises like a phoenix from the ashes of broken families. Love and mutual loss binds these four strangers together in ways that would have never been possible before the dead started walking. This family unit will not be the only time that a new family is formed due to crushing loss, but it does have the distinction of being the first such family to appear in the series. This special redefinition of family allows for hope that even in the midst of inconceivable loss, resilient love can still rise to the occasion to push back the darkness that would otherwise overwhelm them. more

The practical start of the Woodburry Arc. Worth reading.