The Walking Dead #108

Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn

Have you ever, after putting up with someone for a long time, finally decided to vent to a third party, only to discover that the other person's friend was eavesdropping?  That's more or less what happens to Rick in this issue, as Jesus takes him to meet Ezekiel, and they begin to plot against Negan.

Ezekiel is the ruler of a small 'kingdom' that he has set up, centred in a high school.  He's an interesting character - all white dreadlocks and pet tiger, and one has to wonder exactly why people in his land have chosen to rally around him, going so far as to refer to him as their king, and put up with his Medieval Times speech.  He's probably the most eccentric person Robert Kirkman has ever introduced into The Walking Dead, where even extreme characters like Negan and The Governor can be understood within the context of the times they are living in.

When talking to Ezekiel, Rick has no idea that one of Negan's Saviors are present, and Rick is immediately sceptical.  Kirkman has a long history of making things look one way in his comics when they are really another, so it's hard to predict if Dwight is serious about betraying Negan, or if he is playing Rick and the rest.  It's that unpredictability that makes me love this comic so much.

The other thing that works very effectively are the quieter character moments Kirkman sprinkles throughout the book.  Michonne is getting a lot more screen time lately, and becoming an even more complex character.  Now that everyone is living in relative safety in the Community, Kirkman has more time to explore the various ways in which they are coping with their new lives.  For the longest time, this was a book about pure survival, but once those basic needs are being met, people actually have the time and the space to react to things.  Exploring that makes this book as interesting as whatever is happening between Rick and Negan.

The Walking Dead #107

Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn

The last issue of The Walking Dead ended with a vague threat to Carl, the almost-teenage son of Rick Grimes, and the easiest way for writer Robert Kirkman to leave me ill at ease for the month between issues.

Thankfully, Kirkman doesn't do anything too terrible in this issue, which leads to an interesting examination of the character Negan, leader of the Saviors, and currently the biggest threat to Rick and his Community.  Negan's been portrayed as a complete psycho, but apparently he has a code that he follows pretty rigorously, and he demonstrates this issue that he is very good at keeping control of his emotions in stressful situations, such as during the beating that Rick puts on him this issue.

In addition to the Saviors stuff, there is a lot more going on in this issue.  Michonne comes on to one of the other members of the Community in a scene that is both well-written and kind of awkward.  Eugene, who has been looking to find equipment to help cast bullets, hits pay-dirt, and Rick and Jesus begin making plans to take Negan down.

This series has moved into some new territory lately (there's not a single walker in this issue), but it continues to be a fascinating read.

The Walking Dead #106

Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn

This issue marks Charlie Adlard's one-hundredth issue of The Walking Dead in his role as artist, something to be celebrated, considering how talented an artist he is, and how successful he's helped make this book.  That also means that this is my one-hundredth issue of The Walking Dead in my role as a consumer, fan, and supporter, having bought the book with issue eight on a whim, and immediately going back and buying the issue before it the next week (and later getting the first trade).  I can't think of any other comic that I've been buying for 100 consecutive issues that I still love as much, and have never gotten bored with in all that time.

This issue opens at Negan's stronghold, where the psychotic leader of the Saviors is holding Carl prisoner.  Negan ponders how to properly punish Carl for killing some of his men.

After that, the action shifts back to Rick, Andrea, and the Community.  Rick has had a small group of people out looking for Carl each day since he's disappeared, but without luck.  Jesus returns (I just realized how funny that looks - I mean Jesus the man from the Hilltop community who has been tracking Negan's people for Rick) with news of where Negan lives.

Rick and a crew head out hoping to get Carl back, but run in to Negan on the road.  This leads to the type of cliffhanger that I find hardest to handle in this series - one that puts Carl in danger.  I guess Kirkman knows how effective a trick that can be, because he's been doing it a lot lately, and it seems to work every time.  I'm not sure that there are any other characters, aside from Andrea perhaps, left in this series that I feel that same affinity for.

Anyway, as always, this is an excellent issue.  There is a quiet scene between Aaron and Eric, the two scouts that originally brought Rick to the Community, as they discuss whether or not they'd be better off on the road than staying under Negan's thumb.  It's scenes like these that always make this book - we see how Kirkman and his characters are really thinking through their choices and how to react to the world they're stuck in, and it adds a level or realism to the book that I enjoy and appreciate.

Thief of Thieves #11

Written by Robert Kirkman and James Asmus
Art by Shawn Martinbrough

As much as I've been enjoying Robert Kirkman's heist slash family drama series Thief of Thieves, this second arc has been a good example of why sometimes it's better to tradewait a series.  Usually, I can't be bothered waiting months on end for a story to be completed, and prefer to get the smaller chapters on a monthly basis.  I find I prefer it in terms of keeping engaged with the story, and because I just love the monthly comics format.

This book though, moves at a strange pace that would work better in larger servings.  With each issue, which is always well-written, it takes me a while to back into the swing of the storyline, and then I always feel that the book is over too quickly.  I know that these are the complaints many comics readers have about most series, but there are only a few where I feel this so acutely.

Anyway, in this issue, Redmond and Augustus start to plan to rescue Augustus's girlfriend from the cartel this is holding her hostage.  They don't have as much time to plan as Redmond prefers, and so he's having to work closer to his son's pace, which is not good, considering what a failure of a thief his son has been.

It's clear that Kirkman and Asmus want to reconcile the two men with each other, and I think that Redmond wants that too, but circumstances keep stopping that from happening.  Reading this, I can't help but think about what a network like HBO would do with this property.

The Walking Dead #105

Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn

Robert Kirkman and The Walking Dead never stop getting a rise out of me, it seems.  Really, the best way to get me worked up while reading an issue is to put Carl in danger.  Over the years, as we've watched him grow into the cold, hard kid that he's become, my sympathy and love for the character has only grown.

Last issue, Carl snuck into one of the trucks belonging to the Saviours, the group that work for Negan, the psychopath who has killed a major character, and has effectively taken over the Community where Rick and his group live.  Carl jumped out of the back of the truck with a rifle, and killed a few of Negan's men before being captured.

This entire issue is given over to Negan showing Carl around the compound where the Saviours live, and it's pretty disturbing on a few levels.  It feels like, when creating Negan, Kirkman felt the need to outdo the work he did on The Governor, the man who chased the group out of the prison a long time ago, and who is currently being used as the villain on the TV show.  Negan is a much more controlling and dangerous psychopath than the Governor was, as we learn when he shows Carl through his harem of 'wives', and we see him dispensing punishment on one of his men for an indiscretion (and also learn why the guy who attacked the Community has such a messed-up face).

Most disturbing of all though is the scene wherein he forced Carl to take off his bandages.  Kirkman and artist Charlie Adlard have spared us this sight up until now, but the full-page illustration of Carl's full head, after the injuries he sustained when the Community was overrun, is going to be in my mind when I go to sleep tonight.

And therein lies the strength of this series.  Sure, the villains have been pretty over-the-top, but most of the characters in this book are everyday people who are shown having to survive a terrible situation.  When faced with Negan's evil, Carl reacts like many twelve-year-old kids would, and it's a touching and terrifying scene.  Adlard and Rathburn portray the complexity of Carl's emotions perfectly.

I love this book.

The Walking Dead #104

Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn

Over the last one hundred issues, long-time readers of The Walking Dead have come to recognize Rick Grimes as one of the most bad-ass leads in comics.  He's lost most of his family, his world, a hand, and many of the people who have chosen to follow him, including many very close friends, yet he continues to work to protect his community.

I think though, that Rick is not half as bad-ass (or impulsive) as his son Carl.  Carl has been through just as much as Rick (although instead of losing a hand, he's been shot in the head), and has had to grow up quickly in Robert Kirkman's harsh new world.  Still, knowing all of this, I was pretty surprised to see just what Carl gets himself up to this issue.

Rick and the rest of the Community where they live have had no choice but to bow down to the demands of Negan, the leader of the Saviours, a group that have now taken over 'protection' of the Community, and have made off with much of their goods and supplies.  What they don't know is that Carl has hitched a ride in one of the trucks, intent to take Negan down.

While they are travelling, Jesus, the scout who lives at the Hilltop, has been tracking Dwight, the man that Rick let go free after the Savior's original attack on the Community.  He gets caught, and is also taken towards the Savior's home base.

We learn a little more about Negan and his people this issue, and we get to see where they live, and the rather creative security system they've developed for themselves.  Charlie Adlard specializes in the types of drawings like the one that shows the approach to Negan's compound; it is a very creepy scene.

The easiest way to get me caught up in this comic is to have bad things happen to Carl (who is one of the few original characters left these days), and so it is with great anticipation that I await the next issue.

Thief of Thieves #10

Written by Robert Kirkman and James Asmus
Art by Shawn Martinbrough

It's a little strange how what started as an excellent crime series has slowly morphed itself into more of a family drama, but it's done it very well.

Redmond is getting drawn into his son's problems again, as young Augustus's screw ups have led to a situation where he has to either provide his father for a drug cartel's uses, or recognize that his girlfriend, who is being held hostage, is going to be killed.  Augustus being Augustus first tries to set up some scores of his own, using some of his father's people, but he gets a rather forceful reminder from the cartel that this isn't good enough.

Redmond, meanwhile, seems determined to burn his bridges with Oscar, his financier and protector for all these years.  One thing that Robert Kirkman and his co-writers have not made clear yet is just why Redmond is so determined to retire from his criminal life.  He hasn't been shown as having other interests or desires in play, and that makes me wonder if he isn't actually playing some form of long-con.

This book continues to be an enjoyable read.

The CBLDF Presents Liberty Annual 2012

Written by Jonathan Hickman, Andy Diggle, Howard Chaykin, Steven T. Seagle, Joe Keatinge, James Robinson, James Asmus, Richard Starkings, Chris Roberson, Chris Giarrusso, David Hine, Brandon Graham, Jim McCann, Kieron Gillen, Terry Moore, and Robert Kirkman
Art by Jonathan Hickman, Ben Templesmith, Sina Grace, Marco Cinello, Chynna Clugston-Flores, J. Bone, Takeshi Miyazawa, Ian Churchill, Roger Langridge, Gabriel Bá, Chris Giarrusso, Doug Braithwaite, Brandon Graham, Janet Lee, Nate Bellegarde, Terry Moore, Charlie Adlard, and Cliff Rathburn

I'm always impressed with the line-up that Image and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund are able to put together for these Liberty Annuals.  There is an impressive list of creators involved in this book, and while the stories are all very short, there is a lot of stuff to love about this book.

First and foremost, there is a Walking Dead story featuring the Governor.  This story doesn't really fit into the book's theme of preserving free speech, but at the same time, it is so rare for there to be side-projects featuring the characters from this series, that for many, this alone should be worth the purchase price.  Basically, in this story, we learn about the origin of the Governor's collection of fish tanks (seen in last week's episode of the TV show).

The rest of this book does deal with the free speech or liberty themes, in a variety of ways.  David Hine and Doug Braithwaite preview their upcoming Image series Storm Dogs by giving us some of the history of the science fiction world it is going to be set in - this series looks like it's going to be very good.

Andy Diggle and Ben Templesmith give us a great story wherein the Devil appears in front of a trio of young people, only to learn that the people of the 21st century have moved beyond many of the concepts that once gave him entry into peoples' minds.  If only this were more true...

Jim McCann and Janet Lee tell a nice story of a conversation between an older woman and a young man who has what can be referred to as an 'unconventional family', although the theme of their conversation is that it's not all that unconventional.

James Robinson and J. Bone totally grabbed my attention with their short story of an American soldier who has come to Canada to escape something, and is being pursued by two men who are probably something other than men.  The story is tagged as a prologue to 'The Saviors'; I hope this means that these two gentlemen are working on a new series together.  Bone's art is wonderful - blocky, and coloured only in green, it doesn't look at all like his all-ages work.

Joe Keatinge and Chynna Clugston Flores share a nice little story about a family movie theatre.  James Asmus and Takeshi Miyazawa give us a great short story about the things that people do when they know that the world is about to end.  Beyond that, there are some terrific one- and two-page strips by the rest of the creators listed above, and a beautiful Gabriel Bá cover.

This book is well worth buying, even if the proceeds didn't go to support the CBLDF.  Go get it.

The Walking Dead #103

Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn

It's hard to imagine how the events of this issue must have felt for Rick.  Over the years, we've seen him swallow many a bitter pill, as his decisions and mistakes have led to the deaths of many characters that have been important to him.  Still, this issue must have been a rough one.

Negan shows up at the gates with a large force of his Saviors.  He's there to pick the gated community where Rick and his people live clean, as per his new agreement with Rick.  His forces help themselves to mattresses, medicines (just the good stuff), and who knows what else, while Negan basically struts around like he's cock of the walk.

Most of the issue is given over to this debasement, but thankfully, Kirkman does give us two scenes towards the beginning of the issue that tell us what is really going on.

As always, this comic is an excellent read.

The Walking Dead: Michonne Special #1

Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn

I haven't gone back and read any issues of The Walking Dead since I started reading the series around issue 7.  It's one of those books that I would love to, one day, go back and read from the beginning, but seeing as I can't keep up with things I want to read for the first time, it's not likely to happen.

That's why this Walking Dead Michonne Special is a treat in a few ways.  It reprints the Michonne story that was published in Playboy Magazine back in the spring, and weaves it into The Walking Dead #19, which is Michonne's first appearance.

For people who don't know, Michonne has had one of the more memorable introductions in the series, showing up in the middle of chaos carrying a sword and dragging two jawless and armless zombies behind her on chains.  She oozed menace in her first few appearances, although she has since grown into a complex and valuable member of the book's cast.  She is also going to be appearing as a regular character in Season Three of the television show, which returns this week to AMC.

The Playboy story gives us Michonne's 'origin', in so far as it shows us how she survived the early zombie days, and how she got her sword and silent companions.  It's a good story, and helps remind us of the type of person Michonne was before the world ended, and what a total badass she was when she first showed up in this comic.  I can't believe that was some eighty issues ago - I still think of her as one of the newer characters.

It was reading issue 19 again that really got me excited though.  This story is set at the prison that Rick and his crew moved into, right at the point that they have a big conflict with one of its inhabitants.  Their argument leads to a large swarm of roamers attacking, and all hell breaks loose.  As crazy as The Walking Dead has been lately, it was a bit of a trip to look back at those early days, when the stakes seemed even higher.  It was also nice to see a large number of characters that are not in the comic any more.

Usually, I don't appreciate reprint comics, and I don't like spending money on something that I already own, but this was an enjoyable package.  Bring on Season Three!

Thief of Thieves #9

Written by Robert Kirkman and James Asmus
Art by Shawn Martinbrough

How much literature is built around the theme of sons trying to claw their way out of the shadow of their fathers?  It's not hard to think of many examples, but I am having a harder time thinking about stories about fathers being disappointed by their children.  We tend to root for the underdogs, so therefore it is the children of the powerful, domineering, or wildly successful that we have more sympathy for, than for the men who have perfected their craft, and have to deal with the awkwardness of having their offspring attempt to follow, and fail utterly.

This, however, is what the second arc of Thief of Thieves is most focused on.  Conrad has gone to great lengths to get his son Augustus out of jail, and make it so that the FBI had to drop their charges against him.  Now though, Augustus is owing money to some very dangerous people, and is just not smart or skilled enough to keep himself out of trouble.  He's spent too many years trading on his father's reputation, and is now expected to produce the master thief, if he wants to protect his girlfriend.

Meanwhile, Conrad has discovered, through his own sense of hubris, that the FBI agent that has pursued him so vigorously over the years, has decided instead to target Augustus, since he's easily the weakest link.

This arc is very well plotted, and nicely scripted by James Asmus, who is a positive addition to the team.  Shawn Martinbrough is always brilliant.  I can't think of many other noir family dramas - this is an original and very cool book.

The Walking Dead #102

Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn

A lot of times in comics, when a main character in a comic is killed off, within three issues, it's like they never existed.  Not so when Robert Kirkman kills someone important - their presence continues to be felt in the book for quite some time, such as when Rick had phone conversations with Lori long after she was gone.

Kirkman killed off a pretty important character in issue 100, and while I was sad to see that character go, I do like how his loss is being shown as affecting the entire population of the book (I'm going to great lengths to avoid identifying the character, because I'd hate to be the one to spoil it for the trade-waiters).  Now, the entire community is being threatened by Negan and his band of 'Saviors', and Rick is getting cold feet.

Most of this issue is spent with Rick, Michonne, and others suffering through their own version of survivor's guilt, which ultimately leads Rick to accepting Negan's terms.  He's decided that peaceful subservience has more value than risking the remaining members of the community in a battle that he doesn't think he can win against larger numbers.  This is Rick though, so there may be something more going on...

As always, Kirkman delivers a story full of emotion and good, strong characters.  The loss of that particular character is clearly being felt by the entire Community, and the quiet moments that fill this issue carry great emotional weight.  Also as always, Adlard and Rathburn render this emotion perfectly.  I love this series (even when there isn't a single 'walker' around).

Thief of Thieves #8

Written by Robert Kirkman and James Asmus
Art by Shawn Martinbrough

When you watch a heist movie, things usually end with the criminals having pulled off an amazing job, and riding off into the sunset with their ill-gotten gains.  We never see what happens next. What's it like to wake up the morning after?  There would invariably be some loose ends of some kind or another that need to be addressed, some ruffled feathers that would need to be smoothed.

Basically, it looks like that is the premise of the second arc of Thief of Thieves.  When Robert Kirkman started writing The Walking Dead, he described it as what happens after the end of a zombie movie; I feel like Thief of Thieves is now doing the same thing for its own genre.

For this new arc, Kirkman is joined by James Asmus as 'writer' (I'm curious to know how much they collaborate - does Kirkman plot and Asmus script?  Does Kirkman just provide the rough idea, and Asmus the rest?), and we see what happens after Conrad pulled the wool over everyone's eyes (you really should read the first trade, if you haven't been reading the comics - it's great).

Augustus, Conrad's son, may be out of prison, but he now has to deal with the people whose heroin he lost.  Conrad has some pretty big obligations to pay off to Arno and his colleagues, plus, his ex-wife's new boyfriend is getting under his skin.

What makes this book work (aside from Shawn Martinbrough's excellent art) is the complexity of the characters, as developed by Kirkman and Nick Spencer in the first arc.  Conrad is a very interesting guy, and it's nice to try to work through his thought process.

I was a little worried that this book may not continue moving forward as well as it did in the beginning, but I see I have nothing to worry about.

The Walking Dead #101

Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn

After the excitement and brutality of the last issue, I was curious to see how Kirkman would show the rest of his characters reacting.  In the 100th issue, which set all sorts of sales records for post-90s creator-owned comics, Kirkman killed off a character who has survived being a member of the cast a lot longer than most, in a brutal scene involving Negan, the leader of the Saviors, a group of thugs that terrorize and live off of settlements like the Hilltop.

This issue opens immediately after that scene, and shows the survivors' various reactions to the death.  Rick is blamed, and in typical Rick fashion, blames himself even more.  The group continues to the Hilltop, but don't find much help for themselves, although Jesus, the man who introduced them to that new community, does decide to accompany them back to their Community.

When they get there, they find that the Saviors have been there before them.  Kirkman excels at setting up little surprises like this, which are kind of predictable, yet which still grab you right in the gut when you see them.

I hope that this series retains a number of the new readers who checked it out for the 100th issue.  I imagine that some will be put off by how different things are from the television show, but I also hope that many will recognize this comic's strengths.  It's clear that Kirkman is building his story up to a conflict that will be more intense than the one with the Governor's people a few years ago (or upcoming in Season Three of the show), and I can't wait to see where it all goes.

Thief of Thieves #7

Written by Robert Kirkman and Nick Spencer
Art by Shawn Martinbrough

I always love that moment in a good heist movie where the perpetrators sit down and explain what all went on off-screen, to show how the audience, like the police, were chasing the wrong thing, or were seeing events from the wrong angle.  Kirkman and Spencer pull off that same moment in this issue, as Redmond explains to his assistant the secrets behind his supposed 'snitching' out of his peers.

This is a masterful issue, showing Redmond to be as smart as we've been told he is since the series began, and showing the FBI Agent who has become obsessed with him as the victim of her own hubris.  Everything here is very nicely balanced, and Shawn Martinbrough does a great job of tying it all together visually.

I know that with the next issue, James Asmus is coming on board as the writer, and continuing with a new story arc.  I'm of mixed feelings about that - this issue ends so well, that I kind of feel like this would be the right place to finish the series.  I'm definitely on board to keep buying the book, but I worry that, like too many comics series, sometimes people don't know when to just finish their story and move on (like Fables).  I would hate to see this series end up in the same predicament.

Outlaw Territory Volume 2

Edited by Michael Woods

Reading through this anthology of western comics, I started to wonder if such a thing could have ever existed were it not for the HBO show Deadwood, which treated cursing as Shakespearean oration, but also made it okay to portray the Old West in terms of gender, race and class.

Anyway, as with any anthology of this size (almost 250 pages), there is a lot of variety when it comes to quality in this book.  Some of the better pieces belonged to Rich Johnston and Tom Fowler, who started the book off on an amusing note; Michael Woods and Rafael Albuquerque; Jeremy Barlow and Dustin Weaver (whose art is incredible, and very European); A. Freeman, M. Bernardin, and D. Lafrance; John Whalen and Werther Dell'Edera; Josh Wagner and Jose Jaro (whose art I though belonged to Skullkicker's Edwin Huang at first, it's so similar); Robert Kirkman and Shaun O'Neil; Joshua Hale Fialkov and Jeff Lemire (that's an interesting creative team); Christian Beranek and Vivian Lee (exploring the contributions of Chinese workers to the railroads); Francesco Francavilla (probably the prettiest story in this book); Moritat (with what I assume is a tribute to Moebius's Lt. Blueberry comics, as the protagonist's name is J. Giraud); and Joshua Dysart and Paul Azaceta.

One reason why I enjoy these types of books is because they invariably expose me to an artist whose work I've never seen before.  There are a few people I'd like to see more from, including Rick Lacy, Jorge Coelho, Connor Willumsen (who has a bit of a Paul Pope thing going on), and Diego Tripoli.

In all, this is a successful anthology.  

The Walking Dead #100

Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn

Well, we knew going in that this was going to be a brutal issue.  Anniversary issues never end well for Rick and his crew (go back and read issues 50 and 75 if you need some proof of that), and when the cover (granted, one of many covers for this issue) shows Rick standing over a field of dead characters from the previous 99 issues...  Let's just say that subtle foreshadowing has never been a strength in this series.

I doubt it's much of a spoiler to say that someone important dies in this comic.  I'm not going to say who, but I will say that it's a character I've grown very fond of, and who I'm going to miss, as will everyone else in the Community, assuming they survive having to deal with Negan and his crew.

As the issue opens, Andrea is patrolling the walls of the Community, having been left in charge by Rick when he led a small group to try to receive aid from the Hilltop, the community they have just entered into a trade relationship with.  Rick's leaving had seemed really stupid, and sure enough, we know that Negan has people staking out the Community, and making plans to attack at dawn.

Rick, meanwhile, has misjudged the distance to the Hilltop, and has to spend the night on the road.  This leads to a scene with a little too much unsubtle foreshadowing for my liking, as Rick has a couple of heart-felt conversations with a couple of close friends, which only heightened my sense that one of them wouldn't make to issue 101. 

Later, a large contingent of Negan's Saviors attacks, taking the small group prisoner.  That's when we meet Negan, and learn that he makes the Governor look sane and reasonable.  This is a pretty harsh issue, and Kirkman drops enough F-bombs that soldiers and convicts might begin to feel uncomfortable.  Things really don't look good for Rick and the other survivors of Negan's visit, as Kirkman changes the tone of the book for the foreseeable future.

This issue is a bit of an odd duck.  Sure, it's remarkable that an independent series reaches such a milestone issue in this day and age, and that it's poised to be the top-selling comic of July, if the numbers reported on-line are to be believed.  Kirkman has really led the way in championing the creator-owned comic, and we've reached a point where the best comics on the stands are being made by people with real ownership of their content, which is a beautiful thing.  My problem is that this issue, and the last one, both feel a little forced.  Rick is operating without his usual caution and forethought, and I can not believe that Andrea wouldn't be perched in her tower watching for Negan's people.  These two mistakes are costing the characters dearly, and they are making the story feel less thought-out and realistic than I'm used to.

Still, this is a book that is able to force a real sense of dread on me (especially with some of the creepy twisted things that Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn had to show us this month - and show us so well), and for that, I love it.

Thief of Thieves #6

Written by Robert Kirkman and Nick Spencer
Art by Shawn Martinbrough

There's nothing quite like a good double- or triple-crossing heist story, and as we get very close to the end of the first arc on this series, we start to understand exactly why Redmond is the 'Thief of Thieves'.

Last issue, Redmond made a deal with the police detective (or is she an FBI agent?  I forget) who has been pursuing him for years - Redmond would set up a gang of wanted thieves in exchange for his son's freedom from prison.  This issue shows how things go down, but Redmond's always working a step or two ahead of everyone else, and it's not sure that the cop is going to be too happy with how things end.  The only problem is that Redmond didn't tip off his assistant Celia, and she's come looking to even the score.

This is a very masterfully handled crime comic.  Kirkman and Spencer (whose run is going to finish with the next issue) have plotted this thing out wonderfully, and Shawn Martinbrough is second in my mind after Sean Phillips for drawing the perfect crime comic.  This is very good stuff.

The Walking Dead #99

Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn

There is always so much death in this comic, but when a new character dies, we rarely get to see much of how that death affects everyone.  I suppose, once all of your friends and family have been killed and turned into zombies, you would become quite hardened to death.  For Rick and the people in his community, it's almost a daily presence in their lives.

Last issue, Robert Kirkman had a relatively main character killed off by the Saviors, a group of people who follow a man named Negan, and who are looking to take over the Community's property and goods.  Kirkman spends most of this issue having the various surviving cast members react to that character's death, and its very effective.  It also leads to Rick making some pretty big mistakes in terms of how to continue to protect the people who look to him for leadership.

Rick decides to return to the Hilltop, the new community that he's opened trade negotiations with, for assistance in finding Negan and his camp, or for the provision of some muscle.  This leads to some divides within the group - Glen decides that he, Maggie, and Sophia will remain at the Hilltop.  Andrea is left behind to protect the Community, but stupidly, she's not climbing up to her usual perch in a bell tower to watch for any of Negan's men.  That error is judgement, which is not mentioned here, is pretty glaring.

Anyway, it feels like Kirkman wanted to have a nice quiet issue before next month's #100, which is almost guaranteed to show the Community under attack.  I just hope that all of the characters I've come to like the most - Rick, Carl, Andrea, Michonne, and Glen make it through okay.  There is some small part of me that is not over the events of issue 50 yet...

Thief of Thieves #5

Written by Robert Kirkman and Nick Spencer
Art by Shawn Martinbrough

It's taken five issues, but now Kirkman and Spencer have made clear what they are doing with this comic, and have more or less set out a path for the plot to follow (not that we know the significance of the empty painting at the beginning of issue one and the end of issue four yet).  Prior to this, we've been spending a lot of time just getting to know Redmond and his family.

This issue shows us what ever happened to Redmond's brother-in-law, who was in the flashbacks for issue two, but hasn't been seen since.  It also introduces all of the remaining members of Redmond's crew, who are each given one page.

This results in a quick read, but still, this issue is very enjoyable.  Kirkman and Spencer are putting an interesting twist on the standard heist drama, and having established the characters so well prior to the crime actually beginning, they've made me actually care about what happens to Redmond and his son.

Great work all around on this comic, but Shawn Martinbrough deserves some special recognition for his astounding art.