TPB Review: The Walking Dead vol. 7

by: Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, and Cliff Rathburn

Collects: The Walking Dead #37-42

Premise: An apocalyptic zombie epidemic has swept the area, or the nation, maybe even the globe. Nobody knows how far and wide this epidemic reaches, why it started, or how to even stop it. This series follows a small band of survivors as they deal with the changing world around them. As the tag-line reads: "In a world of the dead, we are forced to finally start living."

Review:
This review contains very minor spoilers for many previous volumes, you have been warned!

And so it continues, volume 7 of this series is cleverly titled "The Calm Before" as in "the calm before the storm." So you know some shit is going to go down soon, probably starting on the last page of this volume. But really, you have to get through the calm before you can get to the shit storm.

Really, for this series at least, this was rather a relaxing chapter. In this chapter, Kirkland tries to reconnect you with the main band of survivors in this book and reconnect you to their world because previously we were jumping back and forth between characters in different locations at the same time. So here we have a reuniting of sorts. It's really a character driven volume and not a lot of action really happens. We also get less of the larger thematic, societal elements and more of the character psychoanalyses. Every character gets their moments and is in their element.

Since this is a very character-driven volume, Adlard is at his best here, etching the emotions expertly and making the characters come alive. Adlard is at his best when Kirkman decides to do character moments, and since this is a volume full of them, Adlard really takes the show here.

Kirkman also does a fine job here pulling back on the exposition a bit. Kirkman is a very wordy writer and a very state the obvious writer, while he still hasn't kicked that habit, he does pull back a bit, letting Adlard take the reigns more often. In terms of plotting, Kirkman still fills up this volume with logical events and development. Rick just warned the prison gang about the other town, so the gang gets prepared for the other town to attack. Pretty simple and straight-forward, which is perfectly fine for this volume. This volume really focuses on a lot more happier moments and the few victories in life and in this series, are small things that we probably would never consider. Sure these are life moments for anybody, but how monumental is the moment when your life could end at any time. This is really the theme Kirkman attacks here, it's mainly good moments in this book, but Kirkman really shows the consequences of previous life-moments, the not so happy ones.

If one has been following the series up to this point, they may feel the repetition. It's a downtrodden book, with a band of survivors, and the themes on the destruction of society and the human angst and brutality. So what next, how long can Kirkman continue this?

Who knows. It's still a fun ride and Kirkman throws in new twists every once in a while to try and keep it fresh. But at this point the shine is wearing off. Kirkman is really twisting with the wind in this series. It's been fun but at some point that type of plotting just won't cut it. At least not with me.

Final Thoughts: This particular volume is rather up-front about what you're getting right in the title. It's a slower volume, but very rewarding for those who have followed along. For others it's probably not the best place to start. This volume takes a look at the psyches of the characters instead of dwelling on the large-scale nature of society which has been the focus for most of the series. If you're into that thing, it's good, I just think Kirkman has shown more skill at handling bigger themes.

Final Grade: 7.5/10