The Walking Dead Volume 5 ‘The Best Defense’ – Review
This book contains all of issues Twenty Five to Thirty
HOLY CRAP, SHIT JUST GOT CRAZY!!!!!
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
Details
Writer/Creator: Robert Kirkman
Art: Charlie Adlard
Paperback: 136 Pages
Publisher: Image Comics
Language English
ISBN-10: 158240612X
ISBN-13: 978-1582406121
Ok so the group have been settling into the prison and making it a home whilest exploring the buildings in the camp. It doesn’t say how long since the end of Volume four but i would guess a month or two.
Where the first four volumes take you from Atlanta to an abandoned prison which have now become their new home via Hershel’s farm i thought we would see this volume based mainly in and around the prison so i was shocked when they see a helicopter and realise that LIFE is out there!
They then see it crash and they want to learn where they are from and see if there is any survivors.
We have already seen the gang watch family and friends die at the hands of the zombies and indeed be turned themselves so you genuinely cannot tell which way it will go when Glen, Michonne and Rick decide to go and find out with Rick and Glen wearing the riot gear outfits they found in the prison.
On the journey to the copter they loose the car and walk the last little part allowing you to see a little zombie action but volume five in general is a tad zombie light.
When they make it there they see heaps of footprints on the grounds realizing there is another camp close by who came and saved them (or so they thought).
Glenn, Rick, and Michonne decide to follow the tracks and end up at a nearby city.
This ladies, gentlemen and geeks is where the walking dead gets more messed up than you could ever imagine it could, this indeed is a volume of the series that you will not forget in a hurry.
We are introduced to a horrible despicable excuse for a human in the Governor, he is a man with no morals, no regard for any living being other than himself and we are talking torture, rape and murder type of monster who is worse than any of the zombies our gang have encountered who even keeps his zombie daughter and feeds here humans.
If i had to some up volume five in one word it would be BRUTAL.
Some of the characters get put through some very nasty ordeals in some plot directions that will turn your stomach.
It’s actually a very zombie light volume and in truthfulness i didn’t really miss not having them in as much, ive been reading through the volumes at a steady pace where my partner has just read all five volumes in less than a week and we both agree that it doesn’t need zombies in it every couple of pages.
Im always impressed by the writing, art and plot as it flows very nicely and doesn’t need awesome zombie images every couple of pages (although they are still epic).
I like the fact that in the comics the survivors are not just cookie cutter stereotypes unlike the television show.
I mean let’s get this straight Kirkman isn’t a great writer, well not great as in Grant Morrison, Alan Moore or Scott Snyder level good but he seems to suit writing this type of story.
I have had a couple of gripes and mainly the two bog ones are the fact that during this volume when Glen, Michonne and Rick were captured and going through the ordeal that they were it kept cutting back to the prison for some rubbish story (in comparison) and i felt it was just interrupting what was happening in the camp with the Governor.
They easily could have finished with a couple of pages at the prison so it didn’t loose its flow.
Lastly my other beef is why the only put the six issues in as it finishes with a ‘to be continued’ and i read that volumes 5, 6, 7 and 8 are all one arc so why couldn’t they put it all in one trade?
I’ve come in to this from reading ‘Origin of generation X’ and ‘Age of Apocalypse Epic book 1’ so they can put more into it, even have v5 and v6 together and v7 and v8 as i now have to go and purchase sic today as me and the misses are both desperate to see what’s happening to Rick and the guys with the cliff-hanger ending.
PS
The Walking Dead Volume 1 ‘Days Gone Bye’ – Review HERE
The Walking Dead Volume 2 ‘Miles Behind Us’ – Review HERE
The Walking Dead Volume 3 ‘Safety Behind Bars’ – Review HERE
The Walking Dead Volume 4 ‘The Hearts Desire’ – Review HERE
About the Author
Alex Giles Family man but quite possibly more childish than his two kids, loves Sci-Fi and is a renowned Whovian of over twenty years, collects comics (OCD about having first prints), poet and writer or randomness.
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