Story:
This thing has been building up nice and slowly since
September last year, the thing in question being the ‘All Out War’ arc. While
hyped up immensely and made out to be the arc to end all arcs, I can’t help but
feel as if I’ve been let down quite harshly by the arc’s ending. While I can’t
deny that the arc has had its fair share of flaws during its run, I still felt
as though I was being drip fed just enough to keep me hanging on each fortnight
for the next instalment, even waiting excitedly at times. Sadly though, this
issue, considering what it represented, namely the end of the titular war, just
wasn’t good enough to justify the reader’s anticipation. The climax of the war
was incredibly rushed and just downright disappointing to watch, culminating in
nothing more than a particularly lacklustre action scene with very little in
the way of genuine payoff. Considering how fantastic the series’ endings have
been previously, one wouldn’t be out of place to say that this issue was simply
not up to the standard. While, admittedly, the book does have what is
essentially a series’ first in terms of post arc tone, it simply isn’t satisfying
enough for me to acknowledge this unique change of direction that could have
perhaps drawn more appreciation if the ending had been dealt with more cleanly,
as the war aspect of this issue is quite swiftly expelled, leaving room for
this change of direction to awkwardly take shape. One particular disappointment
comes in the form of a section of character interaction towards the end of the
book that feels really quite pointless, with very little in the way of any
genuine emotional impact for me, which is something that ‘The Walking Dead’ has
managed to pull off effortlessly before now.
This left me asking myself, yet again, if I had already seen this before,
and unfortunately the answer was yes. This trend is becoming more and more common
in ‘The Walking Dead’, which begs the question: “Is now the time to call it a
day?”
Art:
Adlard’s performance in #126 is as usual still quite
competent, with most panels remaining true to the current series’ standard. However,
the aforementioned action scene’s art suffered from the same problem that the
interaction scene suffered from later on in the book, and that was the distinct
impression that left me saying that I had seen it all before, and the fact is
that I have. The scene was boring, uninspired, and did not live up to the
chaotic nature of what had come before it. The scenes involving Rick were
particularly clichéd in their delivery, with the usual camera angles being brought
in as yet another speech is given. However, I cannot fault Adlard himself too
much as the story plays a large role in the art feeling so rehashed and limp.
Readability:
This issue is very familiar. The same speeches,
conversations and dilemmas presented in previous books return once again to
bring this issue down. Perhaps I’m just fed up with the series now, but I found
this book particularly arduous to read, as it seemed to simply drag on in a
fashion that makes me wonder how long this series has until Robert Kirkman’s weary
character killing sword is brought down swiftly onto the neck of the series
itself.
Verdict:
While not enough to warrant a pull list removal, I would
advise all to lower their expectations for this issue, as its cliché ridden
pages feel disappointingly familiar, and the ending which the readers expected
remains undelivered, whilst the replacement, as different as it was, still does
not live up to the hype that this arc had gathered. Though it cannot be denied
that this issue has done enough to warrant my future curiosity if nothing else.
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