Broken Frontier

Everything goes to hell as a simple scouting mission to find a National Guard station turns into a horrible nightmare.

This series continues to astound readers with plot twists galore and horrifying situations every single issue. If you thought last month’s adventure was a conundrum, well, wait ‘til you see what writer Robert Kirkman has in store for Rick Grimes and Co. this month. Now perhaps a simple trip out to find a local National Guard station seems like a logical thing to do, but it ultimately jeopardizes the people involved.

Luckily this time around Rick stays put, as Glenn, Maggie, Michonne, Tyreese, Axel and Andrea all head out in the RV to find the National Guard station for supplies. Along the way everyone seems content and after quietly sneaking past the folks at Woodbury, the group locates the station. They scrounge around for what little supplies they can find in terms of guns, ammo and gasoline and ultimately the group decides to ignite the gas tanks on the way out. Perhaps it wasn’t a smart move, since the folks from Woodbury race upon the scene to even the score.

Now all I can say is that this little scenario speaks volumes in light of the decisions being made here by the group. Perhaps it isn’t a wise choice to blow up the National Guard station, but after all, this is survival of the fittest. So I think it is perfectly clear that Kirkman exploits this for all it’s worth in his writing. He’s obviously a writer who can squeeze so much out from his plotting, and mileage he’s getting from it to use as conflict is truly what makes this a fierce story worth telling every single month.

Again his partner in crime, artist Charlie Adlard is always working at the top of his game with pages infused with action, suspense and horror. He also has such a close connection to all the characters involved, so I can see why this series is clicking with readers. Charlie’s work is sound every time out and with the addition of Cliff Rathburn supplying the grey tones, the work packs that one-two combination to bring about a maximum effect.

It seems every issue of this series picks up from a cliffhanger left off from the previous issue, but that’s what makes this book such an enjoyable read. Kirkman is so intuitive with his story beats and he obviously has the continual passion needed to keep this series going for as long as there are good stories to keep telling. So if you want to read a truly gripping horror story then I suggest jumping onboard for the ride of lifetime. I tell you there are no disappointments here.