The Walking Dead #55

Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn

Things get really dark in this issue. I know I'm saying that about a comic where almost the entire cast has been killed off, and the people remaining have lost lovers, family, and limbs at a remarkable place, but damn, this is one dark issue. When Kirkman wrote the issue where Michonne got raped by the Governor, he got a lot of negative mail. I think he might get a lot more from this one.

But it's a really good issue. Maybe it's just because I read it a couple of weeks ago, but this issue seems to borrow from Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" a little bit, as Rick, Carl, and Abraham head off on their own to pick up some supplies from Rick's old police station. Along the way, they get found by some other survivors, and bad stuff goes down.

I like how Kirkman is slowly developping the tension between Rick and Abraham. They don't like each other, but they are beginning to develop an understanding of one another - one that I expect will be strengthened next issue, as Abraham is poised to tell his story.

The one thing I found a little hard to believe in this issue though, is that Rick would still have the keys to his station. He's lost everything a couple of times since then, and it doesn't seem too likely that his keychain is still in his pocket after all of this. Maybe there's a spare hidden under the door mat, but it seems like a stretch...