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The Walking Dead

A Certain Doom

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In the aftermath of The Whisperer War—ALL IS LOST. Collects THE WALKING DEAD #163-168

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 3, 2017

57 people are currently reading
1929 people want to read

About the author

Robert Kirkman

2,746 books6,937 followers
Robert 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.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 477 reviews
Profile Image for Baba.
4,070 reviews1,515 followers
April 4, 2025
Yikes, the Whisperers take 'bad losers' to a whole new level, as they unleash, aa H is for humongous hoard on to Alexandria, and this volume covers that battle; and we already know that there's signs of discontent in The Sanctuary and The Kingdom! Yes, when it rains, it bites!

A hard volume, it was always going to be. The Whisperers take no prisoners, literally! Negan, Negan, Negan - his character development, is it working for you? I'm not so sure, either way, his language is wonderful! A biting Four Star, 9 out or 12.

2019 and 2017 read
Profile Image for Matthew.
1,223 reviews10.3k followers
October 21, 2017
Not much going on here - while there are a couple of big revelations in the end, this was basically just a good ol' fashioned zombie cattle drive. Seemed like more of a transitional volume. Not much more to say, I guess.

So, for those of you who stop by for my Pulitzer Prize winning reviews, sorry that this is all you get!

Also, it appears like I might be in the minority with this opinion . . .

Profile Image for Sam Quixote.
4,802 reviews13.4k followers
October 3, 2017
I never know what to expect with The Walking Dead because the quality ebbs and flows - two books in a row might stink but the next will be great, and so on like that. So I’m delighted to say that Volume 28: A Certain Doom is not just one of the good ones but also one of the best additions to the series yet!

The biggest challenge Rick’s group has ever faced is upon them: a thousands-strong herd of zombies sent their way by the Whisperers. Even if they survive, some are bound to fall - but who?

From the first page to the last, Robert Kirkman keeps up the tension and suspense fantastically. Right away it’s all hands on deck as Rick and co. battle against an almost impossible number of zombies and it’s really exciting to see the various splinter groups trying different tactics to deal with them.

Negan in particular has a lot of great scenes. The conversation he has with Rick after they’re penned into a house by the herd revealed a lot about his worldview and gave his character more depth. I think I like him so much because he’s still such a wildcard. Even though he seems to be a good guy now, given that he’s done such fucked up shit in the past, I keep expecting him to turn back into the psycho villain he was when we first met him. He gives a brilliant speech at the end too but I also wouldn’t have been surprised if he had turned to Rick, sucker-punched him and walked off with a new group to raise hell once again.

But definitely the most memorable part was the death of a longtime major character. Of course I won’t spoil who it was here but I will say that Kirkman had me guessing the whole time as to who it was gonna be. You think it’s this one and then, nope, they’re safe, it’s gonna be someone else, nuh-uh, and then… The storytelling is absolutely gripping and surprising.

And full credit to Kirkman for his writing here. The plotting is perfect and so is the execution. Looking back to earlier clunkers in the series like the “WE are the walking dead” line (and he’s still dropping the occasional eye-roller here - “I’m too scared to be scared”), Kirkman’s clearly grown as a writer and realised that sometimes the most powerful thing a character can say is nothing at all. He handled the death scene masterfully, letting Charlie Adlard’s visuals say what his words can’t (and Adlard also does some of his best work in this book) making for an unexpectedly emotional but beautiful farewell for this character.

There’s more in this volume than just the herd and the death but I won’t give anything away here. Suffice it to say there’s a helluva lot going on in this one and the drama never lets up at any time. I loved it.

28 volumes in and, like its own unstoppable zombie herd, The Walking Dead still shows no sign of letting up. “There is still so much to do” says Rick. I may have a love/hate relationship with this title but so long as we continue to get books of this quality every so often I’m gonna keep reading to see what these characters do next!
Profile Image for Sarah.
456 reviews147 followers
September 9, 2017
MY GOD, MAN. This volume broke my heart. It was a great volume and definitely one of my favourite volumes but I'm so sad about how things ended. It's hard to write a review without giving anything away so I'm going to leave it at that. I would 100% recommend this series.
Profile Image for Michael Finocchiaro.
Author 3 books6,268 followers
January 8, 2024
Negan and Rick BFFs? This particularly gory episode shows that Negan seems to have turned the corner and seen a dark corner of Rick's soul. We lose a fan favorite and another important secondary character, but the action is blistering and the graphics as always are intense. Another great volume of TWD.
Profile Image for Chad.
10.3k reviews1,061 followers
February 4, 2018
The best volume I've read in quite a while. Alexandria is dealing with the final F.U. from the Whisperers, thousands upon thousands of zombies descending upon the town. They come up with a creative way of dispersing the herd, treating them almost like a herd of cattle. Meanwhile Negan and Rick are forced to spend time together, which is full of great character moments. Then, this story just breaks your heart as they deal with the fallout and cleanup after disposing of the herd.
Profile Image for Ryan Buckby.
704 reviews92 followers
May 13, 2020
First Read: October 20th 2017
Re-read: May 14th 2020

there's still so much to do.

This volume and in a long time has left me so emotional and sad after reading it, Robert kirkman did something that i haven't seen in this entire series is make a death so impactful and so meaningful that you feel so sad that it's happened.

Plot: The comic picks up straight up after the events of volume 27 where a huge is herd headed towards Alexandria so the residents inside those walls have to gear up and take out the looming threat of a thousand walkers. I can honestly say that Andrea's death was meaningful and so impactful i feel as though that this was the first death in the entire series that i was sad about. She is one of the four remaining original characters to die and this comic shows that any character in this series is not immortal to death anymore and i have a feeling that we can expect this in the future.

So what now? what happens next and how does Rick move forward and cope with the lose of Andrea, will he crumble or will he step up and be the strong leader that everybody needs because he has done so much for so many people that they would be lost without him.

I loved the little hint of Carl becoming a leader and how far he has come in this series and i feel like we will see him take more of the leader role and will probably will take over from his father because the way the story is headed its highly likely that this will happen soon.


I don't know where this series is headed and i'm not sure how much more story you could tell honestly, a lot of it has been covered but i'm sure Robert will find some storyline to keep this series going.


Volume 28 was a very strong and emotional volume and one of my favourites of the entire series but i don't want this series to keep going much longer because all these wars and deaths will start to become boring.
Profile Image for Artemy.
1,045 reviews964 followers
December 26, 2017
This was a pretty run-of-the-mill volume of TWD... Right until it wasn't. A major death happens, and for the first time in the entire series Robert Kirkman manages to make it a meaningful and emotional moment, which is something I was never expecting from him. Kudos to him for handling it in such a way. A Certain Doom is an incredible volume of Walking Dead, one of the best in the series.
Profile Image for Shadowdenizen.
829 reviews45 followers
October 7, 2017
Warning- Rant ahead. Also, a confession: I finished Invincible Vol 24, and it started bringing to a close 13 years of continuity in a super satisfying manner, and it undercut the strength of this volume of TWD.

If you read my prior reviews, you'll realize this title is super frustrating to me. The quality (IMO) seems to dip up and down seemingly at random, and title itself seems to lack a clear long-term focus, lately focusing on mini-arcs (which isn't inherently a bad thing, but I just want an indicator that there's an ultimate goal, as this book's been running for over 10 years.)

We're 28 volumes in: where is the series GOING? It feels like this title is just meandering with no direction, and the title is beginning to have TOO mich of a reliance on Negan (the same way that "Heroes" began to suffer from an overreliance on Sylar.)

That said, Kirkman does have a knack for creating "Holy Shit" moments, and there's at least one of these in this volume, that brought this rating up to a (reluctant) four stars.
Profile Image for Brendan.
1,277 reviews53 followers
July 6, 2017
I have lost interest in the tv show but this long series has kept me hooked for the majority of the story. There have been dull plots and the chapters repeat a lot of the stories over and over but the series is very consistent. This chapter really stepped up the action and like great storylines, it has a consequence for the good guys. I have those moments when I think the walking dead is on the way out, the plots are boring or its the same arc, but I have started to understand why this is done. The series does the basics really well, character is genuinely first and the arcs grow from these plotlines. The final panel will leave you gut punched and I can't even contemplate where the storyline will go next, this chapter has expanded the world into something unpredictable. This chapter proves Kirkman is still at the top of the authors and I really hope the team continue with dark series.
Profile Image for Melki.
7,285 reviews2,610 followers
April 27, 2018
"Holy shit, Rick. Can you believe it? We're working together!"

You're right, Negan - it IS hard to believe!

While some group members are working to herd a massive mob o' zombies into the ocean, Rick and Negan end up hiding together . . . swappin' stories, and havin' a grand ole time. Then they go out and stab some walker heads. And then - it's Miller time! (Well, not exactly, but, yeah . . . the dynamic has changed.)

The first half of the book is nonstop action, so I'm not sure why I didn't like this one more. Maybe I'm just getting tired of this series.
Profile Image for Dave.
3,661 reviews452 followers
July 6, 2018
"A Certain Doom" is in many ways a return to beginnings where the main problem in the zombie apocalypse was ... drum roll ... zombies. This harks back to earlier times when the crew is forced to deal with giant herds like the cowboys used to out on the range. The end though has a few twists.
Profile Image for Alex.
322 reviews51 followers
September 1, 2022
3.5 stars!

As much as I like the concept of the walkers not being the only threat in this new world, but in this situation I expected more stakes at risk and more challenging events to occur.
Profile Image for Chris Lemmerman.
Author 7 books123 followers
October 7, 2017
Wow. It's been a long time since I've said that about Walking Dead; it's consistently good, but this is the first volume in a long time that I've gotten halfway through, went to put down to go to sleep, and then decided that no, I have to know how this all ends.

With the enormous horde of zombies at their door, the Alexandrians have to deal with that as well as the remnants of the Saviors making their move.

The first half of the volume deals with the defence of Alexandria, and has a very interesting introspective look at Negan that I was hugely surprised at since I'd mostly written him off as a character, and then the second half deals with the aftermath of the attack, the negotiation for peace, and Rick dealing with the death of a character I thought would never get killed off in one of the most affecting deaths of the series.

I feel like Robert Kirkman is trying to kill Charlie Adlard. Not only are there some huge double page spreads with thousands of zombies on them, but there's also at least three sixteen (!) panel pages, where you can always recognize the characters involved in each one. Insanity.

Outstanding. A very pleasant surprise.
Profile Image for Cathy .
1,930 reviews295 followers
July 18, 2024
Seamless continuation of the previous volume. Alexandria fights for survival against the largest horde of walkers they've ever faced.

They are not doing so great. But at least Negan and Rick get to spend some quality time together.

And then the quality time ends and the fighting begins. And it all leads to a pretty shocking ending. Good one.

Collects THE WALKING DEAD #163-168.
Profile Image for Mika (Hiatus).
589 reviews87 followers
December 15, 2025
Never seen so many zombies before!

Andrea kinda cool with that horn. I would be too scared to lead so many zombies away. What if the horse gets exhausted? All these zombies are behind you, I would be in such an unfortunate situation then.

Wow, girls throws tables. I thought I would only see such stuff in TV.

The only character I started to like only in the comics and not in the television series is Andrea. I felt like the television series put her too much into the background. Before I read the comics I felt quite indifferent about her. Only disadvantage is that Michonne is feeling somewhat less important in the comics now that Andrea has a bigger focus.

StoryGraph review
Profile Image for Fred Klein.
584 reviews27 followers
November 19, 2017
Not the best in the series. Kind of using up space as we move from one plot to, I assume, another. Except for one big event.
Profile Image for Koen.
895 reviews1 follower
October 31, 2017
An ocean of walkers... not bad, quite some drama in there besides this herd..!
Don't think it was the best story in the series, but it still packed quite a punch.. emotionally..
<3 TWD <3
Profile Image for Alondra Miller.
1,090 reviews60 followers
December 25, 2017
4-4.5 Stars

Action from start to finish. The Whisperers set in motion a massive zombie herd that has never been seen before by any of the survivors. We lose quite a few folks. Some unlikely heroes step up and give us even more action and heroics.

Can't say anymore without giving out spoilers. Read for yourself.
Profile Image for Judah Radd.
1,098 reviews14 followers
July 1, 2020
I didn’t review each volume separately. This is the full review I promised upon series completion.

**************************

Well God Damn

It’s been a ride. The thing that stands out to me the most about this series is how quickly it flew by. I’ve never flipped pages as frantically as I did with this title. The intrigue was as relentless as the violence and emotional peaks.

This really isn’t a series about zombies. It’s about everything around the zombies. The main focus is the nature of humanity stripped bare, and that’s highlighted on a micro level (individual characters and relationships) as well as a sociological macro level.

Throughout this run, we are shown the boons and pitfalls of pretty much every form of government. Egalitarian societies, extreme capitalism, tribal communities that have abandoned humanity, and everything in between.

Each time our cast encounters a new society, it changes them.

We also see people grow and wither. This book explores what matters most about us when we’ve been reduced to our most basic and primal elements.

There were parts of this story that moved me to tears. The suspense often invaded my dreams. I was so incredibly invested, and this tale remained with me even when it sat closed on my nightstand.

I really cannot recommend this series enough. The entire damn thing. It’s just too beautiful, too sincere and too real. The show is NOTHING compared to this comic. It’s not even a pale imitation. It’s simply unworthy. These pages are mighty. Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Stefano Guadiano and Cliff Rathburn and Image comics created magic here. This is literature and should be taught as a class in universities.

Well done!
Profile Image for Nancy.
1,704 reviews53 followers
October 15, 2017
Rick, Andrea and their crew face the largest herd of zombies yet, heading straight towards Alexandria due to the Whisperers pushing them in that direction. The town is a well oiled machine under Rick's guidance and they no longer strictly react, they have a plan of action. That's not to say things don't get out of hand or verge on chaos, especially when a minor power coup occurs, but the team works well together. We even get some character development and some enlightening banter between Rick and Negan when they are stranded in a building together for some time. But a quip by Negan about avoiding being bitten is a foreshadowing about what soon happens to a beloved original character. The conclusion of the book gives this person a proper send off and the chance for many to be able to say goodbye before the inevitable death. The death will be sure be reverberate in future volumes, and will lay a heavy weight on remaining character's psyches.
Profile Image for Cassandra Rose.
523 reviews60 followers
September 12, 2017
ORIGINALLY POSTED: https://bibliomantics.com/2017/09/11/...

The latest collection of The Walking Dead series once again finds our heroes trapped in an anticlimactic showdown with the real monsters of the apocalypse: humanity. Pretty standard stuff. What sets Volume 28 apart however is not a potential bromance brewing between the pages, or definitive proof that Rick is the worst, but a lengthy love letter to a main character Kirkman didn’t even know he was going to kill off … until he did
Profile Image for Jim C.
1,780 reviews35 followers
May 8, 2019
Our group of survivors are in some major trouble. A huge herd of zombies are heading towards them and destroying everything that they have worked so hard including their lives. This issues shows how as a team they work to overcome a major obstacle.

This was a difficult issue to rate. The writers devoted a vast amount of time with their solution of handling the herd and it started to drag along. I understand that this was needed as a simple solution just wasn't plausible. The highs of this issue are amazing and that is why I decided on the four stars. We lose a major character and the loss was palpable as we see character after character affected by the impeding death. I really enjoyed this display of grief. The second high was Negan and his turnaround. I applaud the writers for making me really enjoy this character now. I would have never imagined that happening. He really does steal the scene when he is a part of it. I did like the contrast of losing a valuable member of the core group but also gaining one? This was well done.

This collection definitely had some valleys but also had some amazing peaks. This collection must be read because it does change the dynamic of the group and it will be most interesting what these changes mean.
Profile Image for Subham.
3,072 reviews102 followers
June 22, 2021
Talk about the ultimate war and it starts off with that with the horde of Zombies attacking Alexandria and so many people falling and dying, doom everywhere but its Andrea and Eugene who drive them but she gets bitten yet she continues to chase them away. Then we have Negan and Rick team up to fight them and others are fighting, Hilltop allies arrive and also Saviors led by Sherry. But in the end when most or all zombie hordes die, we see Andrea and her funeral procession and her last rites and talks with everyone and that got me. It was so emotional. Especially her talks with Carl and Rick and how he had to kill her again and what he does in the end!!

AHHHH! This got me good, its purely action at first and then emotional in the end and Kirkman brings out the feelings and he gives this thing time to breathe and you feel the emotions throughout and especially showing how this love story has grown and the artist brings it out wonderfully in the course of these panels and some amazing moments for Negan one might be forced to say redemptive. It has left a big scar and things wont be easily healed and its only gonna get intense from here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Ginger .
725 reviews29 followers
December 19, 2017

*caption should read: Town takes on biggest herd ever*

This is how it is done. Action Action Action and NO cliffhanger at the end.
Bless you.
Profile Image for Gavin Hetherington.
681 reviews9,714 followers
Read
December 31, 2022
To celebrate the series finale of the TV show, one of my favourite shows of all-time, I decided to read through the graphic novel series for the first time. You can check out my thoughts in a nearly 4-hour video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/iJkZPl2ANOU
Profile Image for Dan.
2,235 reviews68 followers
March 27, 2018
Feel like the show this series is getting stale....
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