Walking Dead #98 Review

Written by Comicbooks.com editor Chris J. Harder

I came into The Walking Dead late. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I was introduced to the world through the TV series adaptation. I found the premiere intriguing, but the rest of the series fell flat for me, and I wasn’t quite sure that zombies were my thing, especially after seeing zombies become a legitimate subculture in their own right. Then, after resisting for so long, I kept hearing that the comics were much better than the show and finally gave in and bought the Walking Dead compendium. My opinion changed after the first 10 issues. I became a Walking Dead fan.

That compendium was devoured in less than a week, as was the rest of the series through a mixture of trade paperback volumes and Comixology purchases. I’m all caught up now with issue #98. The series continues its crescendo up to issue #100, and in typical Robert Kirkman fashion, the story is not stagnating in service to the milestone. This story could have lulled right up to #100, but it shocks within the first few pages, and only ramps up the tension for what is to come.

As always, Charlie Adlard’s art is fantastically gruesome, the panel progression is well thought out, and the story is compelling as an issue and in the larger plot.

The last time this series hit a milestone, half the cast was killed off in an epic war, and it looks like history may be repeating itself. Kirkman has been successful, especially after this issue, in proving that nobody is safe in his narrative. I wouldn’t be surprised to see another major character die in issue #100 and really turn this series on its head. Interestingly enough, Kirkman says in the ‘letters’ section of this issue that he feels like the entire series is not even at its half-way point, meaning there are so many more possibilities to be explored as this series progresses. I might be a newcomer, but it looks like we’re all just getting started with this world.

Tags: Walking Dead Review, Walking Dead 98, Robert Kirkman