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The Walking Dead #17-24
The Walking Dead: Compendium, Vol.3
The fan- favorite, New York Times bestselling series returns with its third massive paperback collection! With over 1,000 pages, this volume contains the next chapter of ROBERT KIRKMAN's Eisner Award-winning continuing story of survival horror. Rick Grimes's dream of rebuilding civilization is tested as the people of Alexandria come into contact with other communities that have developed their own methods of survival.
Collects THE WALKING DEAD #97-144.
Collects THE WALKING DEAD #97-144.
1057 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 13, 2015
500 people are currently reading
4220 people want to read
About the author
Robert Kirkman
2,741 books6,932 followersRobert Kirkman is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Walking Dead, Invincible for Image Comics, as well as Ultimate X-Men and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt. He is one of the five partners of Image Comics, and the only one of the five who was not one of the original co-founders of that publisher.
Robert Kirkman's first comic books were self-published under his own Funk-o-Tron label. Along with childhood friend Tony Moore, Kirkman created Battle Pope which was published in late 2001. Battle Pope ran for over 2 years along with other Funk-o-Tron published books such as InkPunks and Double Take.
In July of 2002, Robert's first work for another company began, with a 4-part SuperPatriot series for Image, along with Battle Pope backup story artist Cory Walker. Robert's creator-owned projects followed shortly thereafter, including Tech Jacket, Invincible and Walking Dead.
Robert Kirkman's first comic books were self-published under his own Funk-o-Tron label. Along with childhood friend Tony Moore, Kirkman created Battle Pope which was published in late 2001. Battle Pope ran for over 2 years along with other Funk-o-Tron published books such as InkPunks and Double Take.
In July of 2002, Robert's first work for another company began, with a 4-part SuperPatriot series for Image, along with Battle Pope backup story artist Cory Walker. Robert's creator-owned projects followed shortly thereafter, including Tech Jacket, Invincible and Walking Dead.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 709 reviews
February 26, 2020
4 αστέρια με το ζόρι αυτή τη φορά. Ευτυχώς που ανακοινώθηκε αυτές τις ημέρες ότι το Walking Dead τελειώνει, και η ανακοίνωση αυτή επηρέασε προς το θετικό την κρίση μου.
Οφείλω βέβαια να πω ότι η δράση σε αυτόν τον τρίτο τόμο ήταν καταιγιστική, ίσως πολύ περισσότερο από τους δύο πρώτους - ιδίως η ιστορία με τον Negan, αλλά πέρα από αυτό, είναι ξεκάθαρο - και απροκάλυπτο θα έλεγα - ότι οι δημιουργοί βρήκαν την κότα με τα χρυσά αυγά και τραβάνε την ιστορία όσο δεν παίρνει.
Η ομάδα συναντά νέα γκρουπ επιζοντων, υπάρχει πάντα το ερώτημα αν μπορεί να τους εμπιστευτεί, κάποιοι κύριοι χαρακτήρες πεθαίνουν αναπάντεχα και δως του απ την αρχή.
Απ ότι είδα ο τέταρτος και προφανώς τελευταίος τόμος βγαίνει κάπου τον Οκτώβρη. Θα τον περιμένω, για να δω πως ολοκληρώνεται η - κατά τα άλλα - σημαντική αυτή σειρά.
Οφείλω βέβαια να πω ότι η δράση σε αυτόν τον τρίτο τόμο ήταν καταιγιστική, ίσως πολύ περισσότερο από τους δύο πρώτους - ιδίως η ιστορία με τον Negan, αλλά πέρα από αυτό, είναι ξεκάθαρο - και απροκάλυπτο θα έλεγα - ότι οι δημιουργοί βρήκαν την κότα με τα χρυσά αυγά και τραβάνε την ιστορία όσο δεν παίρνει.
Η ομάδα συναντά νέα γκρουπ επιζοντων, υπάρχει πάντα το ερώτημα αν μπορεί να τους εμπιστευτεί, κάποιοι κύριοι χαρακτήρες πεθαίνουν αναπάντεχα και δως του απ την αρχή.
Απ ότι είδα ο τέταρτος και προφανώς τελευταίος τόμος βγαίνει κάπου τον Οκτώβρη. Θα τον περιμένω, για να δω πως ολοκληρώνεται η - κατά τα άλλα - σημαντική αυτή σειρά.
February 16, 2016
Holy Moses what a ride ! Two favorites die, new characters change the game, the action never stops, the illustrations were fabulously disgusting where they should be, and the drama was .just right. Beware the whisperers ! Need more, NEED
March 15, 2022
This was a great graphic novel. This third volume continues from the previous volume. Again, I feel both the graphic series and the show are great ob their own. My more in-depth thoughts on my review for Compendium Vol. 1 carry over throughout this volume too. Thanks!
March 13, 2017
Damn those Whisperers!
November 20, 2016
THAT ENDING!!! That bitch...... Ugh..... I don't want to spoil anything so I wont.
TWD is my favorite!!! I love the show, I love the comics.... and I'm dying for more!
TWD is my favorite!!! I love the show, I love the comics.... and I'm dying for more!
October 29, 2015
These problems might not apply to the story when read on a month by month basis, but when it's collected in this huge edition the story is very repetitive: Rick and his people gain some peace, progress, and confidence before yet another group of violent, screwed up individuals go on a murderous rampage to destroy it. Rinse, lather, repeat. Also, while Negan is fun in short bursts, month by month, collected like this there is way too much Negan and he seems gimmicky.
Unlike the ensemble feel of the TV show, here The Walking Dead is 93% Rick Grimes, 6% Carl, and 1% everyone else, which can be a problem if Rick and especially Carl annoy you.
Unlike the ensemble feel of the TV show, here The Walking Dead is 93% Rick Grimes, 6% Carl, and 1% everyone else, which can be a problem if Rick and especially Carl annoy you.
December 11, 2015
This one packed a punch with the introduction of new villains and new groups. The group is trying to get back some normalcy and build a stronger community. I don't know how much I can say other than to say this series still has me as excited as ever. This compendium covers issues 97-144 and I can say that 144 issues in and I still cheer for Rick and his group, I still mourn the death of characters, and I'm still excited to continue reading this and wanting to know what will happen next. I'm like a drooling fangirl when I read these books.
The next part are just notes to self on some key things in this issue. They contain spoilers and may bore someone to tears. Warning issued.
Thing in this compendium:
--Negan, a villain as bad as can be. He rules by intimidation and has other groups giving up half of their supplies to him in exchange for protection, but that protection seems to be protection from his own self.
--Communities: Alexandria, the Hilltop, The Kingdom led by Ezekiel.
--New relationships:
--Deaths of main characters:
--Progress: Making of ammunition; a mill; mapping the surrounding communities; patrol of the incoming roads; a community fair; Carl wants to be an apprentice for a blacksmith; fishing.
--Jesus is a new character who is bad ass and loyal enough to fit in very nicely with Rick's goup.
--The Whisperers, a strange, villainous group .
The story ends on the cliffhanger of cliffhangers:
The next part are just notes to self on some key things in this issue. They contain spoilers and may bore someone to tears. Warning issued.
Thing in this compendium:
--Negan, a villain as bad as can be. He rules by intimidation and has other groups giving up half of their supplies to him in exchange for protection, but that protection seems to be protection from his own self.
--Communities: Alexandria, the Hilltop, The Kingdom led by Ezekiel.
--New relationships:
--Deaths of main characters:
--Progress: Making of ammunition; a mill; mapping the surrounding communities; patrol of the incoming roads; a community fair; Carl wants to be an apprentice for a blacksmith; fishing.
--Jesus is a new character who is bad ass and loyal enough to fit in very nicely with Rick's goup.
--The Whisperers, a strange, villainous group .
The story ends on the cliffhanger of cliffhangers:
March 31, 2017
Over the last few months, I binge-watched the entire run of the TWD TV show, even had to buy some episodes on iTunes so I could finish Season 6 before its likely August release on Blu-Ray. Then I bought and read all the compendiums of the comic book series. I remember how happy I was to read the best stuff from the show, like the prison episodes, the Governor, etc. But all of that is just a prologue to this Compendium. In fact, when I look back at my favorite TWD stories, they are pretty much all in here: Negan and the Saviors, Carl's field trip with Negan, All Out War, Carl's day job, The Whisperers, Carl gets busy, Gregory gets his, Lydia and Alpha, Carl's second field trip. The ending is just ridiculous. It's not just that the comic book has maintained a high quality over 144 issues, it's amazing that it continues to hit higher and higher marks.
November 22, 2021
4.25 stars. As I said in my review for volume 2, I’ve never watched the show. I’ve only hear people talk about this Negan character. Well, this is the book where he shows up so I said I guess I’ll see it he’s as bad as everyone says he is. He didn’t disappoint. The first time he comes on to the page and makes his first appearance, he does something that’s just the most horrifying thing. It was tough to read though it and to see the visuals. So right off the bat ( no pun intended) you hate this guy. Rick bows down to his demands, which is half off all their supplies, but it’s a rouse. Rick is secretly planning to strike back. Rick, Jesus, Andrea and others from the other towns gather up man power and put a plan into action. This leads into another huge war. Just like the battle at the prison in volume 1, Kirkman and Adlard do a great job showing us what a war is like when none of the participants are trained soldiers. It’s just complete chaos. This puts you on edge because a character you care about can just get taken out at any minute. This battle gets crazy. Eventually, Rick and company win the battle but not without casualties and a lot of property damage. The big take away is what Rick does with Negan. Definitely didn’t see that coming and I feel like that’s going to come back and bite him in the ass. Afterwards, Kirkman pushes the story forward a year I believe. They have rebuilt the towns and have worked together to clear the path between their places so they can now travel back and forth between the communities without worrying about a zombie attack. But now they have a new problem. Why are the zombies talking? Why are they using knives to attack? The answers to those questions are a whole new bag of worms that heavily involve Carl and may now have them about to go to war again. Can’t wait for the final volume to see how all this comes to an end.
January 10, 2018
Another good, if massive section. Kirkman isn't frightened to make hard choices, even if the story does seem to be largely male driven. I'm not sure, for instance, if WD would pass the Bechel test. The developments regarding Maggie do make up for much of this, and the shading of Michonne's character is wonderful. I do wonder if I am the only one who wants to smack Carl.
October 17, 2015
Forgot how amazing this series is! Now I'm at a bit of an impasse. Do I buy individual issues, or do I wait until the next compendium?
March 20, 2023
Erschreckend, was Menschen sich gegenseitig so antun...
Die Geschichte ist faszinierend, vielleicht gerade weil sie so brutal und erschreckend ist. Menschen in Extremsituationen "beobachten" quasi. Das Comicformat ist, wie immer, für mich schwierig, aber diesmal bin ich damit ein wenig besser damit klargekommen, konnte meistens die Figuren auseinanderhalten. Trotzdem bin und werde ich wohl niemals ein Comicleserin werden. Aber mittlerweile hege ich doch wieder den Wunsch, die Serie weiter zu verfolgen, die hatte ich damals abgebrochen.
Die Geschichte ist faszinierend, vielleicht gerade weil sie so brutal und erschreckend ist. Menschen in Extremsituationen "beobachten" quasi. Das Comicformat ist, wie immer, für mich schwierig, aber diesmal bin ich damit ein wenig besser damit klargekommen, konnte meistens die Figuren auseinanderhalten. Trotzdem bin und werde ich wohl niemals ein Comicleserin werden. Aber mittlerweile hege ich doch wieder den Wunsch, die Serie weiter zu verfolgen, die hatte ich damals abgebrochen.
April 21, 2016
The Waking Dead is back once again in this third compendium!
This is the third volume of “Compendium Edition” of The Walking Dead, collecting the comic book issues from #97 to #144.
My general rating is an average result of the sum of the ratings of each chapter in the collected edition.
Creative Team:
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Illustrators: Charlie Adlard
Additional gray tones to inking: Cliff Rathburn
Chapter Seventeen
SOMETHING TO FEAR
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
I’m just getting started. Lucille is thirsty.
A new compendium of The Walking Dead begins, this time, the third one, and we get back to Rick Grimes and his group of survivors in a dystopian world where zombies roam it.
At the ending of the previous compendium, Rick’s group realized that their world is larger than they thought. They meet the community at The Hilltop. Rick negotiated a deal with Gregory (Hilltop’s self-appointed leader) that, in change of supplies (mostly food), to eliminate the threat of “The Saviors”, a violent group that sells protection in change of half of everything of value of each community. Rick’s confidant to be able to beat those so called “Saviors”.
Rick was wrong, deadly wrong…
Enter: Negan…
…the fearsome leader of “The Saviors”.
Rick’s group has dealt with merciless enemies like The Governor and also The Hunters, but nothing of that was any useful to prepared them to face Negan, and soon enough they would know that they were out of their league, paying it that learning with precious blood.
Negan isn’t only the new villain, but also is the most complicated and hard-to-predict character ever appeared in The Walking Dead so far.
Zombies are easy, humans are hard. You know what to expect from a zombie, but a human? You never can be certain. And Rick isn’t certain of anything about Negan and his Saviors.
Chapter Eighteen
WHAT COMES AFTER
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
Let me put this to you as clearly as I can. I’m not in charge anymore. Negan is.
Rick doesn’t know too much about Negan and his Saviors’ army and without knowledge would be reckless to engage against them, so Rick will have to do one of the most difficult things to do…
…kneel before Negan.
Enter: Ezekiel…
…the eccentric leader of The Kingdom (oh, and he has a tiger… really, I’m not kiddin’!).
Rick’s world is getting larger and larger. First, Rick’s group settled in Alexandria, then they knew about The Hilltop, later came the Saviors and their secret headquarters “The Sanctuary”, and now there was The Kingdom.
The Kingdom is yet another community (with certain offbeat customs) under the extortion of Negan.
However, while Rick is aware of how larger his world has become, he is aware of something else.
Each time, there are more other communities in the area…
…and only one community loyal to Negan.
And something more important, if The Hilltop has a Jesus, it seems that The Sanctuary has a “Judas”.
Chapter Nineteen
MARCH TO WAR
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
You’ll get out of this. We don’t die… you and me… That’s the rule. We don’t die...
Negan yet again proves that you never can guess what he will do next.
Meanwhile, Rick is making alliances and preparing to go to war.
However, Rick still doesn’t know enough about Negan and his Saviors and that terrible lack of information will turn Alexandria in a earlier war zone.
Chapter Twenty
ALL OUT WAR – PART ONE
Rating: *** ( 3 stars )
…I believe in Rick Grimes.
It was odd that the war in this compendium is easily the weakest part in the narrative.
Maybe because, Negan started to make clumsy mistakes in his strategies against Rick’s group.
That’s the problem when you are presented with a villain, larger than life, complicated, hard-to-predict, and suddenly he is shown as just another member of human race, able to err like anybody else.
That’s the impossible dilemma. You want that good guys save the day but also you don’t want that the villain would loss his garbo.
Chapter Twenty-One
ALL OUT WAR – PART TWO
Rating: *** ( 3 stars )
…go get Rick. I know he’s in there. The adults need to talk.
The war of Rick’s group against Negan and his Saviors continue.
The chains of command suffered some shaking in certain communities.
And Negan still commits negligent mistakes in his war strategies and as I commented before, I can’t manage to have such big stuff villain to be turned into something mundane.
Also, taking in account the bloody bodycount in a title like The Walking Dead, I think this is the “safest” war ever, where nobody of importance is falling. Wars have casualties, it’s not something any good, but it’s part of it, and when nobody that you care about dies in the middle of an “all out war”, well, you have trouble to regard it as something any really epic.
Chapter Twenty-Two
A NEW BEGINNING
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
It was the dead. They were speaking.
The war was over since some time ago, you have a “time jump” in the narrative of the story and all the communities are thriving, developing systems to provide valuable assets to trade between them. The roads are being patrolled to keep them free of zombies. They are accepting new groups into their towns. Even killing other living humans is forbidden, trying to get back the sense of civilization that they lost before the zombie apocalypse.
Everything is looking good and hope is in the air.
However, you know that this is The Walking Dead and hardly a good life can last here…
…and the zombies seems to become weirder…
…or are they?
Chapter Twenty-Three
WHISPERS INTO SCREAM
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
You will fear us.
The different communities are doing their best to get civilized again, but how smart can be trying to get back that in a world where modern society collapsed beyond any hope to rise again?
Survival instinct has been the way of life since zombies started to walk. Killing has been the only safe way to remain alive. They thought that they were safe now.
Zombies. The Governor. The Hunters. Negan.
Rick’s group seemed already having faced all the possible worst that this apocalyptic world could bring.
Hardly.
Enter: The Whisperers.
And the shit hit the fan. Hard. And the filth is everywhere.
They won't be safe anymore, anywhere...
Chapter Twenty-Four
LIFE AND DEATH
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
This isn’t a world for victims. This is a world… for… the strong.
Rick thought that his world was getting larger.
However, that was a cruel delusion.
Rick’s world is actually getting smaller…
…and it seems that the communities instead of growing up, they will got trapped.
New borders are set upon them…
…in blood…
…in too much blood…
The dream of a new society turns into a deadly nightmare.
Rick’s group are made of tough humans, but at the bottom, they still are humans.
How they will be able to fight against a force of nature that left humanity behind?
This is…
… THE WALKING DEAD!!!
This is the third volume of “Compendium Edition” of The Walking Dead, collecting the comic book issues from #97 to #144.
My general rating is an average result of the sum of the ratings of each chapter in the collected edition.
Creative Team:
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Illustrators: Charlie Adlard
Additional gray tones to inking: Cliff Rathburn
Chapter Seventeen
SOMETHING TO FEAR
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
I’m just getting started. Lucille is thirsty.
A new compendium of The Walking Dead begins, this time, the third one, and we get back to Rick Grimes and his group of survivors in a dystopian world where zombies roam it.
At the ending of the previous compendium, Rick’s group realized that their world is larger than they thought. They meet the community at The Hilltop. Rick negotiated a deal with Gregory (Hilltop’s self-appointed leader) that, in change of supplies (mostly food), to eliminate the threat of “The Saviors”, a violent group that sells protection in change of half of everything of value of each community. Rick’s confidant to be able to beat those so called “Saviors”.
Rick was wrong, deadly wrong…
Enter: Negan…
…the fearsome leader of “The Saviors”.
Rick’s group has dealt with merciless enemies like The Governor and also The Hunters, but nothing of that was any useful to prepared them to face Negan, and soon enough they would know that they were out of their league, paying it that learning with precious blood.
Negan isn’t only the new villain, but also is the most complicated and hard-to-predict character ever appeared in The Walking Dead so far.
Zombies are easy, humans are hard. You know what to expect from a zombie, but a human? You never can be certain. And Rick isn’t certain of anything about Negan and his Saviors.
Chapter Eighteen
WHAT COMES AFTER
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
Let me put this to you as clearly as I can. I’m not in charge anymore. Negan is.
Rick doesn’t know too much about Negan and his Saviors’ army and without knowledge would be reckless to engage against them, so Rick will have to do one of the most difficult things to do…
…kneel before Negan.
Enter: Ezekiel…
…the eccentric leader of The Kingdom (oh, and he has a tiger… really, I’m not kiddin’!).
Rick’s world is getting larger and larger. First, Rick’s group settled in Alexandria, then they knew about The Hilltop, later came the Saviors and their secret headquarters “The Sanctuary”, and now there was The Kingdom.
The Kingdom is yet another community (with certain offbeat customs) under the extortion of Negan.
However, while Rick is aware of how larger his world has become, he is aware of something else.
Each time, there are more other communities in the area…
…and only one community loyal to Negan.
And something more important, if The Hilltop has a Jesus, it seems that The Sanctuary has a “Judas”.
Chapter Nineteen
MARCH TO WAR
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
You’ll get out of this. We don’t die… you and me… That’s the rule. We don’t die...
Negan yet again proves that you never can guess what he will do next.
Meanwhile, Rick is making alliances and preparing to go to war.
However, Rick still doesn’t know enough about Negan and his Saviors and that terrible lack of information will turn Alexandria in a earlier war zone.
Chapter Twenty
ALL OUT WAR – PART ONE
Rating: *** ( 3 stars )
…I believe in Rick Grimes.
It was odd that the war in this compendium is easily the weakest part in the narrative.
Maybe because, Negan started to make clumsy mistakes in his strategies against Rick’s group.
That’s the problem when you are presented with a villain, larger than life, complicated, hard-to-predict, and suddenly he is shown as just another member of human race, able to err like anybody else.
That’s the impossible dilemma. You want that good guys save the day but also you don’t want that the villain would loss his garbo.
Chapter Twenty-One
ALL OUT WAR – PART TWO
Rating: *** ( 3 stars )
…go get Rick. I know he’s in there. The adults need to talk.
The war of Rick’s group against Negan and his Saviors continue.
The chains of command suffered some shaking in certain communities.
And Negan still commits negligent mistakes in his war strategies and as I commented before, I can’t manage to have such big stuff villain to be turned into something mundane.
Also, taking in account the bloody bodycount in a title like The Walking Dead, I think this is the “safest” war ever, where nobody of importance is falling. Wars have casualties, it’s not something any good, but it’s part of it, and when nobody that you care about dies in the middle of an “all out war”, well, you have trouble to regard it as something any really epic.
Chapter Twenty-Two
A NEW BEGINNING
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
It was the dead. They were speaking.
The war was over since some time ago, you have a “time jump” in the narrative of the story and all the communities are thriving, developing systems to provide valuable assets to trade between them. The roads are being patrolled to keep them free of zombies. They are accepting new groups into their towns. Even killing other living humans is forbidden, trying to get back the sense of civilization that they lost before the zombie apocalypse.
Everything is looking good and hope is in the air.
However, you know that this is The Walking Dead and hardly a good life can last here…
…and the zombies seems to become weirder…
…or are they?
Chapter Twenty-Three
WHISPERS INTO SCREAM
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
You will fear us.
The different communities are doing their best to get civilized again, but how smart can be trying to get back that in a world where modern society collapsed beyond any hope to rise again?
Survival instinct has been the way of life since zombies started to walk. Killing has been the only safe way to remain alive. They thought that they were safe now.
Zombies. The Governor. The Hunters. Negan.
Rick’s group seemed already having faced all the possible worst that this apocalyptic world could bring.
Hardly.
Enter: The Whisperers.
And the shit hit the fan. Hard. And the filth is everywhere.
They won't be safe anymore, anywhere...
Chapter Twenty-Four
LIFE AND DEATH
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
This isn’t a world for victims. This is a world… for… the strong.
Rick thought that his world was getting larger.
However, that was a cruel delusion.
Rick’s world is actually getting smaller…
…and it seems that the communities instead of growing up, they will got trapped.
New borders are set upon them…
…in blood…
…in too much blood…
The dream of a new society turns into a deadly nightmare.
Rick’s group are made of tough humans, but at the bottom, they still are humans.
How they will be able to fight against a force of nature that left humanity behind?
This is…
… THE WALKING DEAD!!!
May 11, 2024
Something to Fear: 1.5 stars. I really like Negan (“It’s going to be pee pee pants city here real soon”!), but Rick’s complete and utter fucking idiocy ruined this volume for me. Because if he ever heard that “there is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent,” he sure as shit didn’t deem it worth remembering. And what makes it even worse is that he used to be a pretty cool/interesting/reasonably intelligent character. Such utter bullshit.
What Comes After: 3 stars.
March to War: 2 stars. Would’ve been much higher, but Rick was being Rick again in a big way. Ezekiel was annoying too.
All Out War Part One: 1 star.
All Out War Part Two: 2 stars.
A New Beginning: 2.5 stars.
Whispers Into Screams: 3.5 stars. Holy goddamn shit, it actually got good again! :O
Life and Death: 2.5 stars.
I can’t quite bring myself to round up to 3 stars here, there were just too many disappointing/infuriating/utterly boring moments in this thing, but Negan and Lucille aka the cutest couple ever sure make me wish I could. Although the dynamic duo was actually even more fun in the TV series.
2024 reread:
Something to Fear: 4.5 stars.
What Comes After: 5 stars.
March to War: 5 stars.
All Out War Part One: 5 stars.
All Out War Part Two: 5 stars.
A New Beginning: 5 stars.
Whispers Into Screams: 4.5 stars.
Life and Death: 4.5 stars.
Whoa! And the award for Most Improved goes to... :D
What Comes After: 3 stars.
March to War: 2 stars. Would’ve been much higher, but Rick was being Rick again in a big way. Ezekiel was annoying too.
All Out War Part One: 1 star.
All Out War Part Two: 2 stars.
A New Beginning: 2.5 stars.
Whispers Into Screams: 3.5 stars. Holy goddamn shit, it actually got good again! :O
Life and Death: 2.5 stars.
I can’t quite bring myself to round up to 3 stars here, there were just too many disappointing/infuriating/utterly boring moments in this thing, but Negan and Lucille aka the cutest couple ever sure make me wish I could. Although the dynamic duo was actually even more fun in the TV series.
2024 reread:
Something to Fear: 4.5 stars.
What Comes After: 5 stars.
March to War: 5 stars.
All Out War Part One: 5 stars.
All Out War Part Two: 5 stars.
A New Beginning: 5 stars.
Whispers Into Screams: 4.5 stars.
Life and Death: 4.5 stars.
Whoa! And the award for Most Improved goes to... :D
October 16, 2021
Stop using r*pe as a trope, men have no creativity
May 1, 2016
It's hard to muster the energy to discuss this compendium, a collection of comics whose continued existence is probably due to the perpetual money machine that is the comic and tv show, not to mention the spin-off series, Fear the Walking Dead (though Robert Kirkman seems to think his world is so fascinating that it can be spun out indefinitely). While I found myself plowing through the book, I'm not sure it wasn't just to hurry up and relieve the strain put on my wrists by having to balance this brick of a book while trying to make my way through its many over-sized pages.
It certainly wasn't the philosophical complexity of the themes involved, or the beauty of the imagery, or the fascinating characters, or the intricate plotting...these comics have none of those things. In fact, Kirkman set up his nihilistic world view long ago, and the comics make no room for an expansion of the basic premise that, given the chance, humanity will revert to its worst impulses every time. Therefore, what we get in these pages is the continuing story of Rick Grimes, alpha-male, and his not-so-merry band of followers, who always come around to believing that Rick knows best, regardless of the shallowness of his worldview or the number of tactical mistakes he makes, or the body count his methods invariably lead to. And since the focus of the story is always Rick (even more than in the tv series), there is no opportunity for the examination of characters who have found a different way to live (though honestly, Kirkman's blinkered approach would invariably reduce any fresh milieu to the same, reductive "kill or be killed" ethos).
Special note must be made of the character of Negan, the narcissistic, violent, foul-mouthed villain who is the antagonist for much of this collection: he's a clown, the imagined bad boy of an antisocial teen-aged boy who thinks the overuse of the word "fuck" is the height of rebelliousness. Negan is a failure of imagination and indicative of the larger failure that is the continuing moebius strip of nihilism that is The Walking Dead.
Finally, let me say that the black and white imagery of these comics continues to be the ugliest and most uninvolving of visual representations. What may be fine in small doses becomes irritating and monotonous over the course of some 1000-odd pages. And am I the only one who thinks that artist Charlie Adlard has a particular problem with drawing the human face? For a story that relies so heavily on the depiction of extreme emotion in characters, the fact that the man cannot seem to illustrate believable facial expressions is a particular failure.
I finally gave up on the dead-end story machinations and inconsistent character arcs of the tv series half-way through this current season, and I think it's time to give up on this particular comic as well. Robert Kirkman has painted himself into a narrative corner from which there is no escape, so even though he knows exactly how the comics end, I'm no longer interested in where his vision leads.
It certainly wasn't the philosophical complexity of the themes involved, or the beauty of the imagery, or the fascinating characters, or the intricate plotting...these comics have none of those things. In fact, Kirkman set up his nihilistic world view long ago, and the comics make no room for an expansion of the basic premise that, given the chance, humanity will revert to its worst impulses every time. Therefore, what we get in these pages is the continuing story of Rick Grimes, alpha-male, and his not-so-merry band of followers, who always come around to believing that Rick knows best, regardless of the shallowness of his worldview or the number of tactical mistakes he makes, or the body count his methods invariably lead to. And since the focus of the story is always Rick (even more than in the tv series), there is no opportunity for the examination of characters who have found a different way to live (though honestly, Kirkman's blinkered approach would invariably reduce any fresh milieu to the same, reductive "kill or be killed" ethos).
Special note must be made of the character of Negan, the narcissistic, violent, foul-mouthed villain who is the antagonist for much of this collection: he's a clown, the imagined bad boy of an antisocial teen-aged boy who thinks the overuse of the word "fuck" is the height of rebelliousness. Negan is a failure of imagination and indicative of the larger failure that is the continuing moebius strip of nihilism that is The Walking Dead.
Finally, let me say that the black and white imagery of these comics continues to be the ugliest and most uninvolving of visual representations. What may be fine in small doses becomes irritating and monotonous over the course of some 1000-odd pages. And am I the only one who thinks that artist Charlie Adlard has a particular problem with drawing the human face? For a story that relies so heavily on the depiction of extreme emotion in characters, the fact that the man cannot seem to illustrate believable facial expressions is a particular failure.
I finally gave up on the dead-end story machinations and inconsistent character arcs of the tv series half-way through this current season, and I think it's time to give up on this particular comic as well. Robert Kirkman has painted himself into a narrative corner from which there is no escape, so even though he knows exactly how the comics end, I'm no longer interested in where his vision leads.
November 9, 2020
Read again in 2020: Reread for the second time, I cannot get enough
After reading the last 2 compendiums I was so eager to read this one and I finished it pretty quickly as well.
To be honest I don't think this one is as good as the other two, for one reason. The "war" itself was good, but all the backwards and forwards between the camps, why couldn't everyone just fight to the absolute death in one place instead of dragging it out, that's the only bit I didn't really like too much.
Now as a person I hate Negan, but as a character I love him, I wish we could of seen more of him and I am interested to see what is Negan's fate because he cant just be left to rot in a cell, I don't see it happening.
Moving onto the whisperers. Now they are some scary shit people. Honestly I was terrified before I realised what exactly they were, its so intriguing and I like the way that you think everything has been done, such as the Negan having the idea to put the zombies flesh on their weapons but oh no here come the whisperers and they are just completely out of this world with their ideas. You think Negan is bad.... these guys are definitely worse, I actually cannot wait for the fourth one!
After reading the last 2 compendiums I was so eager to read this one and I finished it pretty quickly as well.
To be honest I don't think this one is as good as the other two, for one reason. The "war" itself was good, but all the backwards and forwards between the camps, why couldn't everyone just fight to the absolute death in one place instead of dragging it out, that's the only bit I didn't really like too much.
Now as a person I hate Negan, but as a character I love him, I wish we could of seen more of him and I am interested to see what is Negan's fate because he cant just be left to rot in a cell, I don't see it happening.
Moving onto the whisperers. Now they are some scary shit people. Honestly I was terrified before I realised what exactly they were, its so intriguing and I like the way that you think everything has been done, such as the Negan having the idea to put the zombies flesh on their weapons but oh no here come the whisperers and they are just completely out of this world with their ideas. You think Negan is bad.... these guys are definitely worse, I actually cannot wait for the fourth one!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2024
4.5/5
Wow. The way it ended... I had forgotten, for a while, that no one was safe, and Kirkman & the crew used it against me.
Can't wait to sink my teeth in the last compendium. The more I read, the more I agree it's the ultimate zombie story.
Wow. The way it ended... I had forgotten, for a while, that no one was safe, and Kirkman & the crew used it against me.
Can't wait to sink my teeth in the last compendium. The more I read, the more I agree it's the ultimate zombie story.
April 14, 2018
The optimistic note at which the previous volume ends does not last very long. Enter Negan and his Saviours, a gang of bullies which deals a lot of damage to Rick Grimes and his allies. Negan seems to be a character straight out of a Garth Ennis story.
This volume shows again how people become complacent and petty during times of peace, and makes the reader wonder whether the new world that Rick envisions for his people is even achievable.
A truly formidable enemy is introduced towards the end, and I cannot wait to see where the story heads after that bone-chilling climax.
The art was a bit of a letdown for me this time as it was difficult to distinguish some of the newer characters.
This volume shows again how people become complacent and petty during times of peace, and makes the reader wonder whether the new world that Rick envisions for his people is even achievable.
A truly formidable enemy is introduced towards the end, and I cannot wait to see where the story heads after that bone-chilling climax.
The art was a bit of a letdown for me this time as it was difficult to distinguish some of the newer characters.
April 7, 2018
Unbelievable cliff hanger!!!!! Bring on the next Compendium!
March 5, 2023
Not enough Negan.
March 7, 2016
Wow! Really, just wow. Robert Kirkman is so soft spoken and calm in person and then you read this stuff and you think "Is that just an act?"
Each of these compendium holds a lot of issues and I don't want to get spoiler-y, but I have to weigh in on the "bad guys" here. Negan is bad, I will admit that, but he is also funny in a "makes me feel guilty for laughing" way and I have never read a more inventive speaker, but the guy says a thing and means it. He isn't a welsher and if you do what he tells you to do or what you've said you will do, you can count on him doing what he's said he will. He may have said he'll kill a few people, but he WILL do what he says.
The Whisperers? Now they are terrifying bad guys. They are disgusting and I see nothing that makes their chosen style of survival even remotely appealing to anyone. It's just gross! Every time I see those cross hatches at the back of a neck I get the willies. I can see the natural, if sickening, progression of Negan's compound. We all know the power hungry exist, but Alpha just makes no sense to me. The way this group subscribes to animal instincts just doesn't resonate with what I think makes us human so I find them more scary than someone who, while repugnant, is understandable.
Kirkman does it again with this group of issues and I can't wait to read more.
Each of these compendium holds a lot of issues and I don't want to get spoiler-y, but I have to weigh in on the "bad guys" here. Negan is bad, I will admit that, but he is also funny in a "makes me feel guilty for laughing" way and I have never read a more inventive speaker, but the guy says a thing and means it. He isn't a welsher and if you do what he tells you to do or what you've said you will do, you can count on him doing what he's said he will. He may have said he'll kill a few people, but he WILL do what he says.
The Whisperers? Now they are terrifying bad guys. They are disgusting and I see nothing that makes their chosen style of survival even remotely appealing to anyone. It's just gross! Every time I see those cross hatches at the back of a neck I get the willies. I can see the natural, if sickening, progression of Negan's compound. We all know the power hungry exist, but Alpha just makes no sense to me. The way this group subscribes to animal instincts just doesn't resonate with what I think makes us human so I find them more scary than someone who, while repugnant, is understandable.
Kirkman does it again with this group of issues and I can't wait to read more.
June 24, 2025
this compendium took me a while longer to get through since it started to lose my interest towards the middle. i think negan is a good character but him and his saviors got to be too repetitive to me after a while. i also kinda thought the whisperers thing was kinda stupid and i didn’t like it much in the show either. still mad they killed off carl because i think his character got really interesting in the comics once he was getting older. and the fact that they killed rosita in the pike line up while she was pregnant?? absolutely crazy 💀 too bad i have to wait till i get the fourth compendium cuz i don’t own it just yet 😭
June 23, 2016
I thought maybe I had lost interest in this series when I first cracked this half-cinderblock of a book open, but nope--within about 3 pages I was hooked. A lot of The Walking Dead relies on not knowing what's coming next, so all I can tell you without ruining it was I totally did not expect Michonne to get together with _______, who knew Maggie had the potential for __________, and that discovery toward the end of the people who __________ has me waiting for the next giant collected volume.
In the meantime, I'll be working on the Asian cooking show spinoff: The Woking Dead.
In the meantime, I'll be working on the Asian cooking show spinoff: The Woking Dead.
January 23, 2019
I drop everything to read these omnibuses not because I'm obsessed with WD but because it takes alot out of you, alot of concentration and time is needed. WD is always very good in waves. At times it slows down and similar trends appear. Then sudden spikes in the plot occur and cliffhangers leave you wanting more. I know volumes after this have been released but due to me reading WD in this format I'll just be waiting a little longer for the next chunky omnibus volume.
December 7, 2017
I think this is a great book and once you get reading it you begin to fly through the book. It is a lot different from the show so if you are a big fan of the walking dead than this is a really good book for you to read. Most of these books are just talking between rick and some other people he meets up with but it is also filled with excitement here and there.
September 13, 2019
Here we go again. Some new villains come into play, and Rick and his crew continue to fight the living and the dead! Warning- some spoilers.
Compendium 3: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2016/11/0...
Compendium 3: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2016/11/0...
February 28, 2017
Well, what's left to say about this huh.... It's TWD!! :)
Seriously, they just keep kicking ass...
Great story developing, great new characters, great OLD characters.. what's there NOT to like!
Can't wait for the next one ;)
Seriously, they just keep kicking ass...
Great story developing, great new characters, great OLD characters.. what's there NOT to like!
Can't wait for the next one ;)
August 15, 2025
3.5
I am insanely upset right now.
I ship Eugene and Rosita Hard core and I FINALLY get them together???? AND YOU FUCKING KILL HER???????????????? No Im actually not okay
I am insanely upset right now.
I ship Eugene and Rosita Hard core and I FINALLY get them together???? AND YOU FUCKING KILL HER???????????????? No Im actually not okay
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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