I feel like I'm coming off as waaay too negative lol.
I mean, I love the series and I'll continue to read it (though maybe not as long as I'd like, should the rumors of 127 starting things anew be true) but it's just not as good as it used to be. Not even close.
I made a similar thread with some similar complaints (except it was before issue 111): http://www.roamersan...-it-used-to-be/
And don't worry if you're coming as negative. It's better to be a critic than a fanboy. I criticize everything I love
Officer_Friendly, on 06 Mar 2014 - 02:44 AM, said:
While The Walking Dead may not be as good as it once was, I, for one, have thoroughly enjoyed All Out War thus far. Personally, I think it is the most interesting arc we've gotten in a long time, and I can't wait to see how it all ends.
Agreed. All Out War has fixed a lot of my complaints, but it's still flawed
They've been doing a good job with Ezekiel. Even being a relatively new character, he's easily one of the more developed characters and is quickly approaching the level of the main cast. His backstory and characterization have gotten some pretty generous screen-time.
I don't *like* Ezekiel but I'm interested in what they're doing with his character and glad they're giving focus to someone that's not Rick, Carl, or Michonne
I agree on a few of those criticisms, like that a lot of the newer characters aren't very interesting (I can't say I really care about a single one of the Hilltop characters), and I do feel that AOW has been rather hit-and-miss so far, but overall I don't agree that the comic's quality has hit a low since 108. The three or four issues immediately preceding AOW are actually some of my favourites.
If there's any era of the comic weaker than the rest of the series, I'd say it's the early ASZ period (volumes 12-14).
I think volumes 14-16 represent the low of the series (12 and 13 were brilliant in my opinion, even though it was clear that the story was hitting a rut and the pacing got a lot slower) but I mostly agree with the rest. The issues after 108 are good for the most part. Some of them hit new layers of boring mediocrity and none reach the heights of volumes 3-11 (besides 113 and 120), but they are still good and I enjoy them
Really? I thought they were pretty great. Really showcased how detached, unhinged and crazy some of our characters had become. Especially Rick. A sort of PTSD.
I also thought Douglas was a pretty interesting character. Unfortunately he was a little underused.
And No Way Out was a genuinely exciting part of the story.
Agreed, except for the No Way Out part :/
I thought TWD has had a slight drop in quality during Volume 18, but I have to disagree with the two most recent volumes; March To War and All Out War part one. I've enjoyed AOW so far and it could be better, but it's definitely not bad.
Volume 19 has also been one of my favourites, so many good moments came from that volume.
- Negan holding Rick and co. captive outside Alexandria.
- Andrea vs Connor.
- Kal's Betrayal (Showed just how scared people are of Negan just be the mere mention of him)
- Spencer's Death (Obvious reasons lol)
But I have to disagree with a drop in quality since 108. I think it had one before 108, but not now.
Kal's betrayal was pretty shitty (IMO. Not knocking you). It felt like he just had to resolve the cheap cliffhanger we had at the end of the previous issue and the way it was handled was kind of sloppy
Also, I want to point out some great moments in my favorite volume of the series, volume 3:
-The group acquires the prison
-We meet the prisoners (AXEL!)
-Hershel, Glenn, and Maggie rejoin Rick's group
-Julie dies. Tyreese kills Chris
-We find out everyone is infected
-Rick kills zombie Shane
-Thomas decapitates Rachel and Susie and Glenn shoots them
-Tyreese vs. the gym ("Rick, you're back. What kept you?")
-Andrea vs. Thomas (and the reveal that he's the killer)
-The group has to debate whether killing Thomas is morally right (might seem like a dumb thing to point out but reread the scene after the attack on Andrea. It's really good)
-Maggie kills Thomas
-Dexter tries to usurp Rick
Look at all that shit. A LOT happened in the previous volumes. This goes back to the amount of content in each issue that I pointed out earlier. A lot of the scenes I mentioned are some of the best moments of the series. We've had like two, MAYBE three amazing Walking Dead moments since 101
Imagine a group of a hundred motorcycles driving down a freeway. Eventually, they hit a junction. One road goes northwest and the other goes northeast. So one guy, we'll call him S, says, "Let's go northwest!" A mile past the intersection, a semi careens into the group and kills ninety of them. Ten are wounded, but they survive and keep going. Eventually, they hit 10,000 miles. S suddenly has his consciousness thrown into his past body right before the junction. Now, he says, "Let's go northeast!" All 100 bikers survive. Happily ever after, right? But what about the ten, no nine, who went northwest and survived? What happens to the reality they were living? Does it just disappear now that S has changed the past? It's not like only bad things happened on that 10,000 mile journey. Maybe one of them fell in love with a gas station attendant and got her pregnant or maybe one adopted a homeless kid that joined the adventure. That 10,000 mile journey would be full of stories. Romances, farewells, friendships...the loss of those ninety lives is horrible and unfortunate, but what would rewriting their history mean? The nine who survived lived full lives and did the best they could with the hand they were dealt. How could it be right to just erase all that? Isn't that worth something? Is there a point to a world where everything is happy? Are people who struggle for a better life just idiots? Being human is about fighting even when it seems hopeless and finding happiness in a world that hates it. Are you saying that's worthless?