So.. Volume 18? (Issues 103-108)

[Andy]

Obviously this topic contains spoilers regarding the latest Trade Paperback issue of the walking dead comic series (covering issues 103-108), if you are not completely up to date then dont read on! No whining capiche? Right.. seriously suprised this hasnt been discussed already! i knew before the end of volume 17 that rick wouldnt simply bow down to negan, especially not after what happened to glenn but i really love the idea of getting the other groups together to take on negan, there is going to be a serious war i predict! Also loved the way they played it with carl, some touching moments.. for a while, only a little while mind, i did actually wonder if they where going to kill carl off! Who else has read this? thoughts?

[MinionZombie]

I've read it - like Andy, I keep up on TWD via the trade paperbacks (released every six months), rather than the individual issues of the comics released monthly - so as such, this thread is purely on Issues 103-108 of TWD. I enjoyed volume 18 - it was good to get a good look inside the psyche, and actual location/world, of Negan. We got to see some different sides of new characters, and yeah, a couple of times I was half-wondering if Carl would get snuffed out ... but I never really thought he would ... but do you remember that bit, several volumes ago now, when there was that full-page reveal of Carl with his right eye shot out?! Blimey! When I read that for the first time I genuinely thought Kirkman had wiped out Carl - but obviously not - but at the time? Woah, yeah, that was a shocker alright! It's all building towards a bit old ruck, most definitely ... I doubt we'll see it in the next volume, and perhaps not even the one after that ... Kirkman has bigged up Negan as an even bigger threat than The Governor, so he can't just get rid of him no sooner than he's been introduced, so we're in for a while, but so far so good.

[Andy]

Looks like just me and you MZ, slightly disappointed. I know what you mean though, their definately going to do something big with negan like you say, probably not in the next couple of issues. The thing with the iron seemed really psychotic to me, i mean i know the governor did alot worse but that just made me cringe! I did also like the king character introduced at the end, i want to see more of his kingdom and im hoping he isnt just fodder.

[MinionZombie]

haha, oh yeah the King dude ... I liked the line about 'oh yeah, he's got a Tiger' like it's a throwaway thing. Yeah - the iron punishment was messed up - a crazy method to Negan's madness. I liked how Vol.18 subverted expectations - Negan's gang aren't fond of him at all, and they're actually quite weak as a force. He's quite a character though, that's for sure.

[Andy]

I LOVED the kings entrance! the line with the tiger was great. But yeah, i do thing their building to something big with negan.. rick is going to be after his blood after the death of glenn but i dont think it'll stop there, imagine the damage to ricks mind if andrea dies too?

[Trencher]

I did not like the tiger at all. In fact I believe that that was the jump the shark moment for the entire series. It is the same as the Dawn of the dead helicopter zombie showing up in the TV series of bad. Now it is going to more and more self aware navel gazing bullshit just like it became in the TV series. Bad just bad.

[MinionZombie]

I did not like the tiger at all. In fact I believe that that was the jump the shark moment for the entire series. It is the same as the Dawn of the dead helicopter zombie showing up in the TV series of bad. Now it is going to more and more self aware navel gazing bullshit just like it became in the TV series. Bad just bad. I think you're being a bit harsh there. It is a comic book, and sometimes out-there stuff happens in a comic book ... the tiger is a bit out-there, but it didn't feel at all like a 'jump the shark' moment for me whatsoever, least of all for the entire comic series. A JTS moment for the comic, in my view, would be something like 'oh Rick didn't get his hand cut off, that part was all a dream', or something like that. As for the Dawn zombie (it was the air strip zombie, not the helicopter zombie btw /nerd-moment) appearing in TWD 3x15 - only fans of Dawn78 would get that. To everyone else it's just a zombie. It's merely a reference for the fans and it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb - hence why they didn't reference one of the 'wackier' zombies from GAR's flicks. Also, it should be noted that in one of the earlier season 3 episodes they had a walker done up like Zombie Flyboy, but it didn't feature up-front as-it-were due to the angles chosen in the edit.

[Trencher]

I know what zombie you mean with the helicopter zombie lol. That flyboy zombie sounds like a good idea, the prominence of the zombie was what made it suck for me. If the tiger really is a jump the shark moment only time will tell. But I think it have. Characters have become cliches more over the top and such.

[rongravy]

...hence why they didn't reference one of the 'wackier' zombies from GAR's flicks. Oh, please, please, please let there be a Big Daddy zombie someday, or maybe one riding a horsey!!! Just to piss a few peoples off...