Review of "The Walking Dead: Volume 21 All Out War," by Robert Kirkman et. al.

Review of

The Walking Dead: Volume 21 All Out War, by Robert Kirkman et. al. ISBN 9781632150301

Five out of five stars

 The number of undead continues to outnumber those that still live, and the number of people considered alive continues to decline. Some of this is due to natural causes, some succumb to the clutches of the zombies, but the greatest problem is war between groups of the people still considered human.

 Rick’s band is under heavy attack by the group led by the sadistic Negan, a man that rules by terror, he will have one side of the face of a person disfigured by heat to punish what he considers transgressions.

 The story opens with Rick’s band forced to leave their now compromised compound and moving to share quarters with another group. Negan orders an attack and before the attack he has his soldiers smear their weapons with the flesh of the undead. That way, even the slightest scratch will cause the “fatal” infection.

 Yet, there is serious dissension within the ranks of Negan’s men, not all are as loyal as he believes, leading to a confrontation that is completely unexpected. Throughout the story, Rick demonstrates once again that he has significant leadership qualities, keeping his band alive against enormous odds.

 While there are casualties on both sides that neither one can afford, there is a victory of sorts, with optimism once again emerging from the slime of defeat.