Broken Frontier

In a stunning cliffhanger (seen last issue), Rick Grimes and company return to the prison only to be greeted by the horrific sight of hordes of the living dead. Now the gang must bravely to get back safely inside.

I reviewed last issue because I thought it was a solid story from Kirkman and co., so I thought it was only fair to follow that up with a look at the frightening conclusion. So let me begin by saying that Robert Kirkman and partner in crime Charlie Adlard continue full steam ahead with an issue that continues to churn at a pace to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight out.

This time around, the gang race with desperation as they clamber through the melee of flesh eaters to get safely behind the walls of the prison before panic fully sets in. Unfortunately Glenn breaks under pressure and he forces himself behind the wheel of the car and drives it straight through the steel fence, crashing recklessly into the wall. His actions set everyone else in motion, as the race is on to pull Glenn out of the wreckage and then get everyone to safety. Of course the big question on everyone’s mind is how the others are doing inside, but that will have to wait until all the zombies outside are put down.

So that is only a brief description of some of the events awaiting within the pages of this issue, and let me tell you this one truly bristles with page turning excitement. I can’t say this enough about Kirkman, but the guy is one brilliant storyteller with sharp instincts for skewering human drama and emotion. I am always satisfied after reading every issue of this series and there’s not a single fault here for me to point out. All the characters just keep getting better and better and now the dynamic gets larger what with April and Martinez joining the cast.

Even the art chores handled by Charlie Adlard continue to pack a big wallop and much of this frenzied excitement was echoed brilliantly during the opening few pages. I truly felt like a struggle was taking place and one of the best points of reference to illustrate this was put across through the myriad of close-up panels. You could see the pain and frustration of every single character, and it amazes me that Charlie never seems bored with the subject matter. The proof is certainly in the pudding, or in this case the gore laden bodies of the dead strung all over the prison grounds.

Ultimately, this book has managed to find a comfort zone which continually sees the creators working at the height of their endeavors. This series never misses a beat, and it has proven to be one of the better horror comics out there. I believe this is mostly due to the rich depth of the characters and this is unusual for the type of genre these characters are being depicted in. I keep gushing over the material here like I was in love for the very first time, and when a book with this kind of power shows up every month on the shelves, who wouldn’t be?