Review

"You're some brilliant Scientist … working for the Government … and you wear a mullet?" - Andrea

After the disastrous attack by the Governor's forces on the prison Rick's group have splintered as they make their escape. Rick and Karl are on their own, with Rick falling ill and leaving Karl to fend for himself for the first time since the outbreak. Thankfully the big fella pulls through and the pair meet up with Michonne, which works out fine as the zombie hordes seem to becoming thicker on the ground. Glenn and Maggie arrive and offer some sembelance of sanctuary at Hershel's farm. Surprisingly a few others have survived as well and things are starting to look up.

One night some strangers arrive, never a good sign in the post-apocalyptic wastelands, looking for supplies. Sergeant Abraham Ford is astonished Rick's team would use guns on "roamers", Rosita Espinosa remains something of an enigma, and Doctor Eugene Porter claims to have a solution to the walking dead problem. Ford proves to be an expert on zombies and is on a mission to get Porter to Washington where presumably the last vestiges of Government have dug in. Rick decides they should team up with Ford's group, gives everyone some direction I suppose, though there are members of his team who want to find somewhere secure to settle down. Rick is about to find out what a "herd" is, and meet with an old friend. Not surprisingly a few people have gone a little crazy which doesn't bode well for the future.

As usual we get two story arcs in Book Five, Here We Remain and What We Become, as Kirkman continues his epic yarn of the post-apocalyptic survival. There's a slight issue with repeating story lines in this book, Rick discovers an old friend who just so happens to have the same kiddie issues the Governor was facing, but overall I'm still on board this progress through the wilderness as the survivors seek some sort of shelter from the zombie hordes. Interestingly Kirkman hasn't yet had to face a major story development during the first four books as the whole survival thing and taking stock has been high on the agenda, but with book five he introduces a fixed goal, with perhaps a solution to the current crisis being achievable. It certainly helps add some focus to the intra-group conflicts that at stages threaten to derail the narrative.

Slight spoiler territory here, so skip to the next paragraph if you want to avoid knowing what goes down. Rick goes a bit unhinged as he reaches a new low and surprisingly Michonne suffers from the exact same condition. So Michonne has a few less Roos bouncing around in the top paddock than we thought, which is just as well really considering three other characters are completely bonkers. Kirkman here is certainly setting things up for some shenanigans in later story arcs, can hardly wait for that one as we say Downunder.

Of course our zombie mythos is increased, and I have to say in one of those awesome story developments that just make you an instant fan! Seems zombies aren't necessarily solo but came come in waves dubbed "herds", this is real bad news for everyone in their way as a few might be easily dealt with but a dozen or more present some major issues. Rick and team face a tidal wave of roamers as they set out to try and increase their firepower, and are once again on the run as their position is engulfed.

Perhaps for the first time in the comic's running time I was slightly disappointed in the artwork, some of the panels are pretty poorly created for mine. There's plenty of awesome stuff, but there is also what looks to be some rushed drawings that do detracted from the overall enjoyment of the book. Not sure if a more critical approach should have been adopted by the Editors or the art team simply ran out of time in keeping up with the publishing schedule. It's probably not going to overly detract from your expierence between the covers, but if a purist then this might be a deal breaker.

Kirkman's script of course rocks along, mixing in the dramatic elements, with the horror, and stirring in a lot of action for good measure. The only issue I have with the script is the dropping in pace through various sections as the Writer spends a fraction too long exploring the relationships going down in our group. Come on we're not talking a paranormal romance outing here, a bit less soul searching and a lot more zombies please dude! About the only development of interest, besides the new characters and herd concept, for mine was Dale starting to question Rick's leadership. Is Rick always right, and is Dale as wise as he thinks he is? More on that through book six no doubt, as the entire shooting box heads towards Washington DC.

I'm starting to load up on the notion that there must be an end to this epic saga, else Kirkman is simply going to lose his audience if they keep having to trudge along with new characters from time to time. To date there have been eight books released, so we're still got a way to go to catch up, but I'm wondering how many people have lost interest along the way? With the additional of a central plot arc through book five we should at least get the fires re-lightened for the next book. There are also some ominous tones being set with the childrens' varied reactions to their situation. Is there a prototype Dexter in the mix?

While you can source the novels via specialist stores and comic emporiums I've been quite happily importing via Amazon to good effect, book six is currently on its way. My suggestion is to simply shop price, the package itself is worth the purchase, and get the best deal for your situation.