Broken Frontier

A new story arc begins with a violent turn of events.

Famed Walked Dead creator and writer Robert Kirkman begins a new arc with the first issue of A Larger World.  With Rick continuing to behave like an off-balance and paranoid dictator, it seems Kirkman wants to keep readers on their toes just as much as the haphazard community.  As the milestone hundredth issue quickly approaches, it is safe to say the survivors' lives have not been as muddled, confusing, and dangerous in a long time.

Surely the previous major storyline, No Way Out, presented the survivors with an obvious danger; a giant horde of dead attacked Rick’s compound, broke through the meager defenses, and laid waste to several of the citizens.  Our cast of lucky survivors has proven time and time again, however, to be their own greatest threat.  Building off of last issue’s possible life-changing cliffhanger, Rick finds himself destroying a possible new connection to a rehabilitating world as his unstable and mistrustful mental state never allows him to let his guard down. 

Kirkman has done a commendable job of making Rick’s unbalanced mentality a major factor in recent issues, though it never has been as apparent as in issue #93.  The labors of leading the group day in and day out have taken an obvious toll on him, leading him to make some rather substantial observations about himself, culminating in a shocking declaration to close the issue.

For almost 90 issues now, artist Charlie Adlard has set the tone for The Walking Dead.  Muck like the uneasy feeling Kirkman is developing at the hands of Rick, Adlard’s heavy use of inks creates an amazingly tense and foreboding atmosphere any time Rick acts alone.  As to be expected, moreover, issue #93 ends on an intense and well drawn cliffhanger that again captures Rick at the height of his instability.

Big things are sure to be on the horizon for Rick and the greater cast of The Walking Dead.  With a milestone quickly approaching, and Rick acting more like a loose cannon every issue, there is no telling what dangers will present themselves next.  The greatest threat, however, is possibly within the walls of the community itself, the survivors' most loyal and protective member, its leader.