Review

"You're men were attacked for intruding into our lands" - Alpha

Carl is in deep trouble for protecting Sophia, though he did beat up a couple of other teenagers most grievously in the process. On the bright side he does get to meet Lydia, the captured daughter of Alpha, the leader of the Whisperers. Whoops should mention a party of Hilltop patrolmen ran into what they thought were the walking dead but in reality were a bunch of whisperers masquerading as the undead. Unfortunately for Carl and Lydia Alpha leads her troops to Hilltop to retrieve her daughter, and has some bargaining chips in the form of captured Hilltop troops. Maggie Green decides a trade is in the best interest of peace but also has to deal with Gregory who is fermenting trouble. It doesn't end well for Gregory who discovers you cannot talk your way past attempted murder.

Adding to the problems Hilltop are facing Carl decides to head into Whisperer land to try and retrieve Lydia which is going to play havoc with Rick's festival plans. Still everyone wants to party so let the good times roll, unfortunately the Whisperers decide to make the scene with a different agenda on their minds. While Rick, Michonne, and some others head out to retrieve Carl some handy fence work is put in by the Whisperers. Things do sort of work out, but expect one hell of a culling of the herd with some notable characters consigned to comic postscript time.

Besides the present danger of the meandering dead, Rick and crew have faced some tough opposition through the post-apocalyptic from human foes. The Governor pretty much put paid to the transient safety of the prison while Negan threatened the continued survival of the crew's current abode. Team Grimes have been doing it tough but somehow stand tall in the face of almost overwhelming adversity. That was all primary and high school level danger, they have now graduated and are facing a college level threat with the Whisperers not taking kindly to incursions into their territory. The Whisperers make the Guv and nifty Negan look like cuddle bunnies compare to their own special form of viciousness.

Some spoilers following in the next two paragraphs kids jump ahead if you have not read the twin story arcs Book twelve throws on the table.

The Whisperers have worked out their own unique method of survival out in the open, wearing human skin to be precise. This allows them to move unimpeded amongst the walking dead and also serves as camouflage. They do not believe in the personal, hence no names except for their leaders Alpha and Beta. Have no moral fixations to get in the way of their life choices, talk about your free love hippy daze, and are quick to pull knifes on the unwary wondering into their domain. Actually some clever writing right there, they don't use guns as this would attract the attention of the dead they are moving amongst, two thumbs up to scribe Robert Kirkman.

Initial contact between Hilltop patrols and the Whisperers lead patrolmen to believe the dead had somehow learnt to speak and use weapons. Only after the capture of Lydia did they learn the truth, but are not aware of the full extent of the danger they face. Rick Grimes uncovers more details as he journeys deep into Whisperer territory to retrieve the errant Carl, who will not leave without Lydia forcing Alpha to make a decision. Rick further learns Alpha has a huge number of the walking dead corralled at a local stadium and can guide the massive herd where she wants. At book's end we also learn the Whisperers are one pack of nasty customers, which I reckon is going to lead to an explosive confrontation when people find out what has been going on at the border.

For mine I'm loving the introduction of a new protagonist given the Negan storyline sort of petered out to a pretty much tame ending, though the saga of the former Saviours leader still has some twists in the tale I'm sure. The Whisperer society is completely alien to Rick's notion of the return of civilisation and for sure Alpha would not be allowing Negan to draw another breath of air. Actually this book would indicate Maggie is also in the execute Negan camp, which she has repeatedly stated in the past to be honest, Gregory gets a public execution for crimes against society and being generally a douche.

In some of the less exciting developments for me personally, though others are no doubt digging on them, some individual storylines are advanced which makes the final few pages even more of a shocker, don't worry folks no spoilers here. Rosetta, who is pregnant via someone else, not sure if the person was named, isn't rejected by Eugene, who simply does not want the general populace to know the baby isn't his, so full-scale acceptance there. Michonne turns up on a fishing boat, having decided to put distance between herself and Ezekiel. She is still holding the big dude at arm's length as the book threatens to descend into chick moments central. There are a number of other subplots happening, but as you can probably tell that's not what floats my boat with this ever-growing graphic novel.

Guess I really should be naming some of the minor characters, though that would be a job of work in itself as The Walking Dead is becoming a sprawling masterpiece. Surprisingly, and this once again shows how good a scriptwriter Robert Kirkman is, you will not confuse or wonder who anyone is. Each character has a distinct look and personality that must be a major pain in the bum to keep up to date with from a creation standpoint. Both Kirkman and artist Adlard on top of their game with this, making each new volume in the series a delight to read. I'll take note of some of the more prominate minor characters next book and keep us up to date with background happenings.

The final few pages of Book twelve take The Walking Dead in a really vicious direction, something that hasn't been seen really since the Governor decided some impromptu surgery might be the go. Adlard handles the script visualisation well with a number of frames really knocking the reader about. No holds barred folks, this comic is heading down a dangerous and rocky road, which has me reaching for the next book with heavy anticipation kids.

We are up to book twelve folks and the Rick Grimes saga shows no evidence of coming to an end any time soon. Some new enemies to keep our interest, old enimities coming to the fore, and I guess enough drama to keep chicks interested. Once again a highly polished and professional release, black and white comic panels in a hardbound issue. We are still getting gallery of sketches and colour comic covers at the back of the book, which should keep everyone happy with their purchase. For those wondering I'm picking up my releases in this series at King's comics here in Brisbane at a sensationally good price. Once again I'm recommending this series to all and sundry and am sweating on the next book's release.

Short footnote here, thanks to the U.S fan of the series that took time out of his no doubt busy schedule to send me a limited release tee of the show, you the man Jess and yes I am wearing the tee while typing this.

ScaryMinds Rates this read as ...