Things are going well for once and Rick’s settlement is flourishing - they’re even putting on their first fair! Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Rick, Carl has followed his girlfriend Lydia back to her people, the dark and menacing Whisperers - is he safe? Back at Hilltop Maggie must decide what to do with her would-be assassin Gregory, and Negan reminds Rick of his ever-present danger.
I didn’t dislike Volume 24: Life and Death, but I didn’t love it either. The series at the moment is missing a driving story like when Rick and co. have an enemy like the Governor or Negan to battle against. Instead this volume reminds us of the richness of the world Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard have created with Maggie and her troubles at Hilltop, Negan and the new settlement, and the potential excitement that is the Whisperers.
It’s treading water but Kirkman provides just enough to make it not boring. Maggie does something very ballsy that’ll likely put her at loggerheads with Rick and might even develop into civil war and Negan’s up to something. Really any scene between Negan and Rick is worth it because Negan’s such an unpredictable threat - a predator just waiting to pounce when the time’s right.
Through Carl’s storyline we learn more about the warped world of the Whisperers and their leader, Lydia’s mother Alpha, who turns out to be even crazier than when we first met her. It’s clear Rick and his people are going to fight Alpha and the Whisperers very soon - especially with what happens in those last few pages - but this volume just teases the coming conflict.
Life and Death is a decent addition to The Walking Dead but definitely not one of its best entries as not enough's happening for my liking. It’s a setup book for the next big storyline but with just enough fine moments in it to make it worthwhile.
The Walking Dead, Volume 24: Life and Death
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