Stephanie Kay
Oct 13, 2007, 10:58 pm
<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/image/1006/walkingdead_33.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/image/1006/walkingdead_33t.jpg" hspace=10 align=left alt="The Walking Dead #33 preview"></a>Reviewer: Alan Bergin, alan_bergin@yahoo.com
I'm anxious to get started.
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Penciler/Inker/Cover Artist: Charlie Adlard
Colorist/Rear Cover Artist: Cliff Rathburn
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Erik Larsen
Published by: Image Comics (http://www.imagecomics.com)
In the words of Shinji Mikami, 'This game contains scenes of explicit violence and gore', so if you're underage, you shouldn't even waste your time reading a review of a book which you shall not read. I'm serious. Go argue about the X-Men or something. Rumour has it Marvel is killing them off.
I last reviewed The Walking Dead at the not-so-landmark 25th issue. At the time, it’d be safe to say that the title was going through something of a blue funk. The initial thrill of having an ongoing zombie epic had subsided as the characters refused to budge from the somewhat uneasy comfort of their prison beds. In one sense, you can’t really fault Kirkman & his creations for staying-put. One thing that marked The Walking Dead as impressive from the outset, was the noted sense of realism attached to his characters. Yes, the undead are hardly your friendly neighborhood visitors, but with a cast that comprised of sheriffs, football players, university students (to name but a few), Kirkman managed to expertly sculpt an extraordinary setting around a largely ordinary cast. Faced with a threatening and rotting world, the decision to remain at the prison was an understandable one, for characters and creator. But while we managed to garner a greater knowledge of the prison inhabitants and their twisted ways, the zombies were for all intents and purposes, sidelined. As such, the book lost something of the uneasy expectation & excitement that marked the crew’s initial, unconfined ramblings. It’s ironic that fans of the series extolled the virtues of the book for showing the human face of the suffering, in spite of the undead menace only then to find that even the hardcore enthusiasts lamented the zombies’ absence. Thankfully the past year has seen the inhabitants venture outside the prison gates, encounter a fresh host of twisted protagonists and a whole truckload of zombies. To use an admittedly awful pun, The Walking Dead have recovered their bite.
Issue #33 has followed #32 in record time, following a hiatus of sorts from the monthly release schedule. In many ways, it's the one that we've all been waiting for. The last issue saw our heroes escaping the confines of Woodbury, but while the majority of the crew headed for the town borders with all due haste, Michonne decided to exert her newfound freedom as only she knows how. With the exception of the issue's closing scenes, the main action of The Walking Dead #33 is concerned with Michonne's quest for revenge against the Governer, who had essentially made her his own personal play-thing for the past few issues.
It's tough to know what to say. Michonne's swift and bloody revenge is tough to swallow on occasion, but oddly satisfactory at the same time. As the issue progresses however and as Michonne's actions become increasingly vicious, it becomes quite difficult to empathise with her. Previous installments of the series have shown our lead to be something of a complex character. The air of mystery that has surrounded her since her arrival at the prison, while never fully explored is given further attention in this particular issue, as we begin to question the extent of her past grievances/misdemeanours. Her seeming comfort with her actions here make it difficult for the reader to fully get behind her however. We've been purposely kept in the dark in terms of her past history, for which we should probably be thankful, especially in light of her actions here. Drills, swords, hammers, nails and even the humble spoon are used to enact some of the most brutal and shocking scenes of violence ever scene in a comic book.
While I was hesitant to accept Charlie Adlard as a replacement for the über-talented Tony Moore. I began to warm to his pencils after time. Yet while, I began to see the charm and undeniable talent in Adlard’s work, over the course of the past year I’ve found myself hoping that the book receive something of a visual overhaul. Adlard’s style is fitting for Kirkman’s saga, but I firmly believe that if the book is to cement its return to form, it should get a new look. This is all a matter of personal taste however and if you’re still enjoying Adlard’s work, then lap it up, as there’s no sign of him leaving the title. His work in this particular issue is quite solid. Scenes of grotesque violence are hard to take in any media, but Adlard does a good job of combining tortured facial expressions with scenes of tense action and blood-letting. Adlard suitably conveys the intensity of the situation and with the help of Cliff Rathburn, manages to expertly depict each anxious glance and the swipe of each weapon. Adlard's best contribution to this particular installment however has been what he chose not to include in each scene. It's tough to digest a lot of what goes on here, but Charlie crafts Michonne's cringeworthy actions by holding back on some of the more fraught gestures Penis-nailing, eye-gouging etc. , while retaining all of Kirkman's intended impact. Charlie Adlard isn't my favourite artist, but he does a good job here.
The issue itself will produce either feelings of disgust or satisfaction in its audience. From the evidence here, it would appear that Michonne has further hastened her descent on her own personal downward spiral. It'd be tough to imagine her coming back from something like this, so while her ultimate fate is not likely to be pretty, her continued presence in the book will at least make for some interesting times ahead. She is one of the many reasons why Kirkman's undead exploits are there to be savoured.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/wdfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/wdfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/wdfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/wdfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/wdnone.jpg
<a href=http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=874&cat=WALKING+DEAD >Buy The Walking Dead #33 online from X-World and Save!</a>
I'm anxious to get started.
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Penciler/Inker/Cover Artist: Charlie Adlard
Colorist/Rear Cover Artist: Cliff Rathburn
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Erik Larsen
Published by: Image Comics (http://www.imagecomics.com)
In the words of Shinji Mikami, 'This game contains scenes of explicit violence and gore', so if you're underage, you shouldn't even waste your time reading a review of a book which you shall not read. I'm serious. Go argue about the X-Men or something. Rumour has it Marvel is killing them off.
I last reviewed The Walking Dead at the not-so-landmark 25th issue. At the time, it’d be safe to say that the title was going through something of a blue funk. The initial thrill of having an ongoing zombie epic had subsided as the characters refused to budge from the somewhat uneasy comfort of their prison beds. In one sense, you can’t really fault Kirkman & his creations for staying-put. One thing that marked The Walking Dead as impressive from the outset, was the noted sense of realism attached to his characters. Yes, the undead are hardly your friendly neighborhood visitors, but with a cast that comprised of sheriffs, football players, university students (to name but a few), Kirkman managed to expertly sculpt an extraordinary setting around a largely ordinary cast. Faced with a threatening and rotting world, the decision to remain at the prison was an understandable one, for characters and creator. But while we managed to garner a greater knowledge of the prison inhabitants and their twisted ways, the zombies were for all intents and purposes, sidelined. As such, the book lost something of the uneasy expectation & excitement that marked the crew’s initial, unconfined ramblings. It’s ironic that fans of the series extolled the virtues of the book for showing the human face of the suffering, in spite of the undead menace only then to find that even the hardcore enthusiasts lamented the zombies’ absence. Thankfully the past year has seen the inhabitants venture outside the prison gates, encounter a fresh host of twisted protagonists and a whole truckload of zombies. To use an admittedly awful pun, The Walking Dead have recovered their bite.
Issue #33 has followed #32 in record time, following a hiatus of sorts from the monthly release schedule. In many ways, it's the one that we've all been waiting for. The last issue saw our heroes escaping the confines of Woodbury, but while the majority of the crew headed for the town borders with all due haste, Michonne decided to exert her newfound freedom as only she knows how. With the exception of the issue's closing scenes, the main action of The Walking Dead #33 is concerned with Michonne's quest for revenge against the Governer, who had essentially made her his own personal play-thing for the past few issues.
It's tough to know what to say. Michonne's swift and bloody revenge is tough to swallow on occasion, but oddly satisfactory at the same time. As the issue progresses however and as Michonne's actions become increasingly vicious, it becomes quite difficult to empathise with her. Previous installments of the series have shown our lead to be something of a complex character. The air of mystery that has surrounded her since her arrival at the prison, while never fully explored is given further attention in this particular issue, as we begin to question the extent of her past grievances/misdemeanours. Her seeming comfort with her actions here make it difficult for the reader to fully get behind her however. We've been purposely kept in the dark in terms of her past history, for which we should probably be thankful, especially in light of her actions here. Drills, swords, hammers, nails and even the humble spoon are used to enact some of the most brutal and shocking scenes of violence ever scene in a comic book.
While I was hesitant to accept Charlie Adlard as a replacement for the über-talented Tony Moore. I began to warm to his pencils after time. Yet while, I began to see the charm and undeniable talent in Adlard’s work, over the course of the past year I’ve found myself hoping that the book receive something of a visual overhaul. Adlard’s style is fitting for Kirkman’s saga, but I firmly believe that if the book is to cement its return to form, it should get a new look. This is all a matter of personal taste however and if you’re still enjoying Adlard’s work, then lap it up, as there’s no sign of him leaving the title. His work in this particular issue is quite solid. Scenes of grotesque violence are hard to take in any media, but Adlard does a good job of combining tortured facial expressions with scenes of tense action and blood-letting. Adlard suitably conveys the intensity of the situation and with the help of Cliff Rathburn, manages to expertly depict each anxious glance and the swipe of each weapon. Adlard's best contribution to this particular installment however has been what he chose not to include in each scene. It's tough to digest a lot of what goes on here, but Charlie crafts Michonne's cringeworthy actions by holding back on some of the more fraught gestures Penis-nailing, eye-gouging etc. , while retaining all of Kirkman's intended impact. Charlie Adlard isn't my favourite artist, but he does a good job here.
The issue itself will produce either feelings of disgust or satisfaction in its audience. From the evidence here, it would appear that Michonne has further hastened her descent on her own personal downward spiral. It'd be tough to imagine her coming back from something like this, so while her ultimate fate is not likely to be pretty, her continued presence in the book will at least make for some interesting times ahead. She is one of the many reasons why Kirkman's undead exploits are there to be savoured.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/wdfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/wdfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/wdfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/wdfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/wdnone.jpg
<a href=http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=874&cat=WALKING+DEAD >Buy The Walking Dead #33 online from X-World and Save!</a>