Nonstop action with unexpected twists and turns that delivered on everything Kirkman promised. To think, this storyline is just getting started! The only thing I can complain about with this issue is how painful the wait for the next issue will be. Read Full Review

Team Prison: 1

Team Woodbury: Zilch!

After a very intense and action-packed showdown, Rick’s group not only comes out on top, but they do not lose a single casualty! So how did this miraculous deliverance from the Governor’s forces come about? On paper it should not have worked. The Governor had a TANK! He had a makeshift army comprised of much greater numbers. He had the element of surprise. So why then did his offensive campaign against the prison fail so spectacularly? And why did Rick’s group succeed?

There are several factors to analyze when it comes to answering these inquiries. Rick’s group (while much smaller than the Woodbury forces) has endured many horrors throughout the duration of the zombie apocalypse so far. They have been held to the flames and have come out of every crucible a little bit stronger. Through such trials they have become more proficient with weapons. SEE ANDREA. They have learned how to kill both the undead and the living as well if need be. SEE ANDREA. Many members of the group are not only survivors, but for all intents and purposes they are warriors as well. SEE ANDREA. Above and beyond this clear advantage, however, is the fact that the Prison group is a family. Their bonds of love, trust, and loyalty are potent, and those bonds are no small advantage when it comes to digging in and standing one’s ground against an approaching storm.

Woodbury, on the other hand, is severely lacking in the warrior department. With a few exceptions, one gets the sense that the majority of Woodbury denizens have been rather sheltered from the grim realities that others outside their town sanctuary have faced. Part of why the people of Woodbury are so blindly loyal to the Governor is because he shields them from the bitter conditions that now define their fallen world. He provides them no end of distractions and “entertainments” in order to get their collective mind off what is really going on. Therefore, though his ragtag army of citizen soldiers take little convincing to fight for him, the Governor’s army is comprised of weak pawns who have not been tested the way Rick’s group has. Also, one gets the impression that there are no formidable bonds of love, loyalty, or trust amongst those in Woodbury. They may be a town, and possibly they could even be called a community. But they are not a family, and families will always possess more of a functional dynamic than a mere town or community.

Last but not least, the key difference between the prison and Woodbury groups is that the prison has Andrea and Woodbury does not. Just kidding (not really). But seriously, the prison group fights in an effort to protect and defend that which it holds dear. Love is the battery fueling their war machine. However, the Governor’s war machine runs on a much poorer substitute: Fear. Fear is what drives the Woodbury citizens to attack the prison, and (as is so often the case) Fear is a liar. The Governor uses fear to motivate his followers to mobilize an army against a threat that is really no threat at all, but that same fear is what prevents his army from ultimately rising to the occasion. Evil is truly its own undoing, as both fiction and history prove time and time again.

As for Rick being shot, stay tuned! He isn’t dead yet, and it’ll hopefully take more than a shot to the gut to put Rick Grimes on ice. #RickLives!!! #AndreaRocks!!! #AndreaIsTheReason!!! more