Review of "The Walking Dead Volume 28: A Certain Doom," by Robert Kirkman et. al.

Review of

The Walking Dead Volume 28: A Certain Doom, by Robert Kirkman et. al. ISBN 9781534302440

Four out of five stars

Up to this point in the series, I have been a great fan of the “Walking Dead” series, applauding the authors for never hesitating to kill off characters beloved by the main character Rick Grimes. They have also not hesitated to keep human nature active in its most ugly forms, where people remain jealous, petty and hungry for power even while fighting for survival against tremendous odds.

 In this issue, the Whisperers have succeeded in herding a massive number of the undead to the outpost where Rick and his main group have their settlement. Rick’s group has established solid defensive structures such as solid walls, a metal gate and pickets designed to tear creatures apart when they try to go over them.

 The problem is that there are so many of the undead that some of them are dismembered on the pickets while those following simply walk on their “corpses” to get over the pickets. So many are massed against the gate that they simply collapse it and invade the compound. After taking shelter, the members of the community understand that they can leave their secure houses, go out and kill a few of the undead, then retreat inside for some R & R. There are also teams outside on horseback that manage to peel off small groups at a time and drive them off a cliff into the ocean. Even thousands can be eliminated if you cleverly deal with small numbers at a time.

 When this battle ends, another erupts when another member of the living challenges Rick’s position as leader, which is getting to be rather routine at this point. As this volume ended, I began thinking that with what the living under Rick’s leadership have managed to build amidst all the incredible death and destruction against such long odds, that the story should have reached the point that no one would be stupid enough to challenge Rick’s authority as a leader. Much less try to kill him. Again, the expected happens, one of the people closest to Rick is killed in the conflict.

 All great stories told in serial form eventually reach a point where the newness has worn off and it takes on the appearance of retread. Based on this volume, that point may have been reached.