The Walking Dead #75 Review
Title: The Walking Dead
Issue: 75
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Charlie Adlard
Cover: Cliff Rathburn
75 issues of any comic book is a momentous occasion. It clues us in on two facts among many, one being that there is a demand for the book and two being the creators haven’t grown tired of the series. To say that Robert Kirkman fails in this issue is like saying you don’t need air to breathe, the issue wholly encompasses the ideal of what made these books so great in the first place all the while bringing something fresh and new to the series we all love. Especially with the advent of the 75th issue, my personal expectation was set very high, with the dragging and unimpressive 74th issue, Kirkman has definitely brought the story full circle, and where things seemed disjointed and confusing at first, he has continued the strong story full on as he has brought everything together wonderfully as the story pushes forth like an avalanche.
The issue begins where the last left off, with Gabriel telling Douglas about the horrendous things he has witnessed during his long journey with Rick and his group, and that he fears that they will ruin what Douglas has built, Douglas says that he can’t do anything and that Gabriel should mind his own business. We then see Rick tucking Carl into bed as he states that this new place is starting to feel like home. The previous scene cuts to morning where we see Rick taking up his patrol around the neighborhood. While on patrol Rick see’s a man sleeping on his porch, curious, Rick approaches the man and while he admittedly doesn’t know the man’s name, he knows that the man’s son has a black eye. The man, who introduces himself as Pete, says that his son is a wild kid and always gets hurt, and that he’s been sleeping on the porch because he has been having arguments with his wife. At the outset Pete seems like a nice guy, but Rick’s intuition tells him different. After a conversation with Michonne, where Rick voices his suspicions about Pete, he is finally convinced to confront the situation. Rick finds Pete’s wife Jessie taking in the laundry that was hanging to dry in the backyard. While initially hesitant she finally admits that, yes, Pete hit their son Ron, and that Pete himself is a violent man but that there’s nothing anyone can do about it because she can’t live on her own and there aren’t any jails. As Rick assures her that they will do something, Pete shows up and demands an answer to why Rick is in their house, Jessie says it was to arrange a playdate for their kids as Rick quickly leaves the house. Meanwhile Glenn and Heath, both trying to reach a drug store to pick up some meds for Scott’s injured leg, are still stuck on the rooftop surrounded by the undead, where they are startled by a group of survivors who are trying to fight off the horde. The duo make a quick escape, find 6 out of the 10 meds they need and as they make a second sweep of the store are attacked by a zombie which Heath shoots, shortening the time they have to search the store again and make a quick escape. Back at the safe zone Rick is talking to Douglas who states that while he is under the suspicion that Pete is violent towards his family, he doesn’t want to do anything because Pete’s a doctor. Rick, now enraged, says that Pete has one of two options, exile or death. And after stating that he’s got no problem making that decision and that he’s just doing his job, he storms into Pete’s house and a full out brawl ensues. Rick pulls his gun on Douglas and in an act of betrayal Michonne hits him over the head with a rock, and as she tells Rick to take a look at himself and what he’s become we see what seems like a gunshot, blasting towards her as the issue ends.
Overall, the issue is something to be revered. It concurrently builds and builds with Rick’s outrage and frustration, that boils over into a single act that may or may not judge the outcome of the series. Robert Kirkman is at the top of his game here and while he very slightly stumbled with the past few issues he wholly delivers his purest and deepest writing here. He does here what he does best, takes a familiar, and somewhat friendly situation and slowly and methodically unravels it before pulling the whole damn thing apart on us, leaving us vulnerable and helpless in the situation that is to follow. But what I think is truly the treasure here is the fact that the story balances between slow and fast, where one scene flashes past as you read it the other is slower and less frantic, they both lend to a story that builds on it’s tension, suspense, and insanity.
The breaking of Rick’s psyche is both intriguing and hard to watch all at the same time. We want our hero to be this great leader or whatever, yet he’s losing his mind, and acting on brash impulses, he is simply falling apart in front of our eyes, he has become his own worst enemy, as well as the worst enemy the safe zone has ever encountered. Rick tries to fight for what he thinks is right in a time where nothing is wrong or right, it is the (personal) moral right or wrong that rules, and while the collective feels a certain way about the righteousness of a certain act, Rick seems like he is always at an opposition towards the collective choice. Even though he is seen here as the bad guy, it only goes to show that he is a full and whole character with no expense spared. He is engaging, as we feel the same emotions and struggles that he feels, the act of taking our own personal, fully realized hero and breaking him makes him all the more tragic as we feel that we have something to lose here. It’s also what makes for great, great comic reading.
In the end, both the over arcing sense of tension and fragility, and the realization that Rick is losing it, is an interesting and thought-provoking read. The frenetic pace is one that is rarely captured by any form of entertainment and there is certainly no shortage here, it not only shows it, it shouts it. Kirkman had me going so fast that when the end came I was breathless and crying for more, only then did I come to the realization that I have to wait another month. Nothing bad can be said about this momentous 75th issue, it is truly flawless. Kirkman keeps The Walking Dead interesting and delivers on an unsaid promise of greatness all the while turning out page after page of apocalyptic imagery and vision. Looking back, we have gone through a lot, above anything the past 75 issues have been an emotional rollercoaster, up and down and side to side we have rode this ride, loving every second of it, and if we can judge the future by referencing the past, we are in for nothing but the best of the best.
-Dane
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The Walking Dead Podcast is dedicated to The Walking Dead television show on AMC as well as the comic by Image Comics. We report on news and rumors, and do an in depth analysis of both the comic and the television show. The Walking Dead Podcast is not affiliated in any way with The Walking Dead, Image Comics, AMC, or any of the owners/creators.
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Good review. One thing though – that last page after the letters to the editor is fake, it’s just an intro the Alien storyline at the end of the issue. The blast isn’t a gunshot, it’s aliens beaming up Rick. And of course, none of that stuff really happened it’s just Kirkman delivering on his promises that there would be aliens in the comic when he ran out of ideas. So it seems Michonne is safe for now.
Thanks for the comment, I do know that the excerpt after the letters is a fake, I specifically left it out because of that. I guess I just got the context of the last panel wrong, my mistake, thank you for pointing it out and thanks for the comment, it is much appreciated
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