The Walking Dead #87 Review
Happiness is relative, as two simple words can turn the most joyous event into a terrible and heart breaking moment… even if you did call it.
The Walking Dead #87
Back in our review of issue #85, while talking about where Carl could go from there, being in a coma, apparently I hit the nail on the head with my first presented guess: “Given his wound, he could live and be left without a memory, which could make things harder for Rick than if he were to die.”
Two words. Two simple words turn the joyous moment of Carl’s awakening to a terrible moment as he looks up at his father and asks, “Where’s mom?” Of course this tells us very little as to what he actually remembers. Has his memory simply been flushed back to before his Mom was killed? Or does it go even farther? Could it be that he has lost all of the memories pertaining to the walking dead? What if his last memories were of his dad being shot and sent to the hospital? This could be utterly devastating, and not just to Rick. So many people know and care for Carl now. Will he remember any of them? Will he remember how to shoot? If he doesn’t remember anything of the series, how will he react to the idea of the post-apocalyptic world he’s now being thrust into? So many questions.
I think its apparent now that Rick’s next big obstacle is dealing with his son.
It doesn’t help that certain persons are beginning to doubt Rick’s worth. The next few issues promise to be extremely interesting as we see the human side of things taking center stage once again, with the roamers now barely a mild threat. Kirkman is a great character writer, and its moments like these that let his talents shine. Arguably, the conclusion to this issue is more shocking than so many character deaths that have come out of left field. And its always good to see a writer who can pull these things off without making them seem cheesy or boring. This issue, just like the last two, has been a very realistic look at people, and while that simply aligns itself with much of what has come before it, I always find it fascinating when a writer can pull off normal human behavior properly in comics (maybe because its a skill set that most superhero writers lack, even if they’re okay with characterization itself), and while Kirkman has proven he can do this many times before, I still find myself engrossed in such things more so than when there’s big action going on, which there is very little of in the book right now.
All in all, its another solid issue that manages to make the wait for the next one even harder than the last. There are so many questions to be answered now, almost anything is possible. Now with the stirrings of dissent beginning to come from the ranks, and Rick’s own sanity becoming totally justifiable to speculate on, only time will tell what is coming next.
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATING
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The storyline is being propelled and it looks to be leading to something massively emotional for Rick. | We still have to wait for answers. |
| Rating |
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2 Comments
I kinda figured something like this would happen. If Carl would have died that would have probably ticked off a lot of readers. I honestly think he should have died. For one, it was a pretty nasty shot to the head he got. Most if not all people that get shot in the head normally do die. I think it would have made Rick harder and more ridged.
I agree to an extent, however, there is a long history of people being shot in the head and surviving. They almost always come out of it deformed, and often do have memory loss… it is a small percentage compared to how many die, but nevertheles, it does happen. And I agree that it would’ve made Rick more ridged, but would that really be a better way to take the story? I think Kirkman has always been twisting our arms with this series, and another death at this point wouldn’t have mattered too much, imo. This is something different, and could turn out to be far more devastating for the characters. But we’ll see.