The Walking Dead #79

Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn

So now that the TV show has started, is it going to become necessary to establish Walking Dead bonafides with every review?  For the record, I've been with the book since around the 7th or 8th issue, and therefore feel pretty qualified to say that the comic is perhaps better than it's ever been.

I hope that the TV show is bringing new attention to the book - comic stores could definitely benefit from 'civilian' interest in a title that is easily bought from the beginning, and which isn't trying to flood the market with hundreds of confusing and nearly-identical mini-series and trades in advance of a media release (*cough*Marvel*cough*).  New readers to the Walking Dead can get caught up in a number of handy different ways, and they shouldn't be disappointed.

Of course, if they pick up this issue, they'll only recognize perhaps three or four people, and will be confused as hell.  But for us long-time fans, this is another stellar chapter.  After the gun play of the last issue, a number of walkers have shown up around the gates of the Community, so Abraham leads a team outside the walls to try to clear things out a bit.  It's nice to have an issue of Walking Dead that's about the zombies again - it's been a while, and I think we periodically need something like this to happen to remind us of the real threats out there.

While this is going on, Aaron returns to the town, after having made an unsuccessful attempt to bring in a new recruit.  He and Douglas have a chat about leadership, while various other members of the Community go about their lives.  This issue feels like it's a lead-in to the next big arc, "No Way Out", which starts next issue.