Unlike a group review, in a “Dual Review” two writers (in this case Adam and Jordan) will take a look at the issue and give a numeric score for the issue. This is still the “All Out War” story arc which is coming to a close. Adam:
When reading through this issue, I thought that I’d be disappointed at the end. Not necessarily because it was a bad issue, but in the story arc boasting “All Out War,” it just didn’t seem right to not have some glimpse of war. By about halfway through, I kind of accepted the fact that this was a needed setup for the next part of the war where Negan will come to them. Negan needs to get the Saviors ready for their attack, so that takes time. Also, obviously Rick didn’t know what happened to Ezekiel last issue, so he needed to be brought up to speed on that. Being the leader that he is, he also calls a meeting-anyway, there’s a good amount of dialogue. We also see that Ezekiel is really torn up about letting Shiva die in order for him to live, and I’m curious to see if he’ll go back to being a leader or not.
As I approached the end though, I realized I was being stupid for thinking it was just going to end lightly…this is The Walking Dead after all. I don’t want to give away anything away, but what a cliffhanger. I would give this a 5/5 but the fact that the only really riveting part happens in the last 4-5 pages is definitely keeping me from giving it another perfect score. With this setup though, the next issue is sure to be a very brutal issue.
Jordan:
Take notes guys and gals; THIS is how you do an event! Robert Kirkman and his team keep bringing their A-game in every way with chapter five of “All Out War.” Keeping the drama thick and the story progression exciting the team of The Walking Dead continue their momentum and continue to prove that their book can tackle war as well as any other book out there.
As TWD does, small moments are focused on here. Moments between people. We watch Rick lead, a son deal with the realities of an absent father and a man cope with the loss of a loved one. These intimate parts come together into a collective that feels as real as it does powerful in communicating what actual people would behave like in the least ordinary of circumstances. Kirkman could write the book on penning person to person moments and he lives up to that legacy here, a moment between the shell-shocked “King” Ezikiel and Michonne really standing out and reminding us why we love the character so much.
Between the always solid intimate moments and a breathless ending with a twist issue #119 of The Walking Dead is as worthy a comic book as any to ever call itself a Walking Dead story.
Score: Adam - 4/5, Jordan – 5/5
Writer: Robert Kirkham Artist: Charlie Adlard Publisher: Image/Skybound Price: $2.99 Release Date: 1/8/14