Comics Review: "The Walking Dead" #126

- by Señor Editor, 25 April 2014

“The Walking Dead” #126 is not just some random issue. It’s the conclusion of the comic’s first real event, “All Out War”, and a culmination of plotlines that started nearly 2 years ago, in #100. So it’s a big deal and it was promoted as such. Does Kirkman’s and Adlard’s comic deliver the goods after all the hype?

This review contains big ol’ SPOILERS.

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First off, I have to say that “All Out War”, and pretty much everything that happened after Glenn’s death in #100 was a breath of fresh air for TWD. A lot of people compared Negan, the villain of the event, to the Governor, but honestly, it’s a crappy comparison, based not on their character or the things they do, but simply on the fact that they are both major bad guys in the series. Negan was an opponent unlike anything the survivors faced, and Kirkman managed to make him a character that’s a joy to read about, and one that you love to hate. The strained relationship between Rick’s group and the Saviors (Negan’s group) had to turn into a full-on conflict, and when All Out War started, I was excited.

When AOW got into full swing, I was pretty much pleased with every issue. I didn’t mind Ezekiel or his tiger (RIP), I liked that Maggie finally stepped her game up, that Eugene showed some signs of being a badass, and the whole arc had a real good flow (helped considerably by the now mostly-bi-weekly schedule).

Issue 125 ended on a real high note, with Rick telling Negan how stupid the whole war is, and showing him the bigger picture – the things they could accomplish if Negan wasn’t such a closeminded bully. And then, when Negan was really beginning to see Rick’s point, Rick slit his throat on the last panel. So yeah, that was good and I was all ready to see the big finale in #126.

I can’t help but feel that this issue was the worst anticlimax possible. After all this build up, All Out War ended with a wimper. Negan kept fighting with his throat slit and managed to break Rick’s leg before finally falling down. Dwight took control of the remaining Saviors forces and lead them back to their base. Rick insisted that the medics save Negan’s life before they even begin to take care of his leg. Why? Because Rick had a change of heart, and he decided that they should imprison Negan, show him how they’re better than him, and start on their way to rebuilding civilization.

Negan, fighting to the end. All images here are © Image Comics.

While I can see why Rick finally stepping away from the violence, going back to his old cop ways and wanting to be an example for Carl, has merit as a new direction for the book, I can’t help but feel that it’s a terrible way to end All Out War. Negan is a good character, and I see why Kirkman would want him to stick around. But he was also the reason behind this whole storyline, and I feel that his death was needed to really close that chapter of TWD (especially considering that NOBODY IMPORTANT died during the whole war). I think that Rick could still act the way he did, but I don’t buy that Maggie, Heath or anybody else that lost something or somebody in the war, would let Negan live.

Where All Out War turned sour.

Maggie is probably the worst offender here, as the moment when she says that letting Negan live in prison and not killing him is something that Glenn, her husband and the father to the child she carries, would want. Glenn would want it? The same Glenn that was begging Negan not to kill him as he was getting his brain bashed in in front of Maggie? Glenn was a good guy, sure, but I doubt he would want Negan to live. Glenn had a lot to live for, and Negan killed him while making jokes. I doubt that’s what Glenn would want, and I doubt that Maggie would go along with Rick’s idea, no matter if she “believes in Rick Grimes” or not.

For me, the only winner of All Out War is Dwight. He got his revenge on Negan (in a way) and now leads the Saviors. I don’t know if he will be a good guy or a bad guy (he was kind of unpredictable during the whole story), but he certainly achieved something.

Dwight, the real winner.

Here’s something I have to give to Kirkman: I do think that the whole “we’re gonna be better now and we will rebuild civilization” is a good and potentially interesting angle for future issues. It’s entirely possible that I will enjoy some of these post-All Out War issues a lot. My problem is that Kirkman introduced this whole new direction without giving any satisfying closure to All Out War. It just wasn’t a satisfying resolution after all these issues. It feels cheap, like the whole storyline lead to nothing. Wouldn’t restoring “civilization”, in whatever shape or form, be something that Rick’s group would try to do next, with or without All Out War happening? They were on their way to making relationships with the Hilltop and other communities before the whole war started. It’s safe to say that Rick’s idea from #126 isn’t exactly something revolutionary. So without any real consequences, it feels that the whole, mostly really enjoyable and really long event was pretty pointless.

After teasing so many important things, deaths and changes, I think Kirkman ultimately wussed out a little at the end. Suddenly, the writer who never backed out of killing a popular character if the story lead to it, leaves all the important characters alive, giving us just a few insignificant, redshirt-ish deaths. All Out War really changed nothing, and it’s a shame, because I was with it right until the very end. I hope what follows is much better, but at the same time I’m disappointed that it seems like AOW was nothing but passing time.


Were you following "All Out War"? What did you think of the event and its finale? Let us know in the comments!

Tagged: comics, Reviews.

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