It is part four of the five part "Fear The Hunters" story arc and Kirkman has taken off the preverbal gloves for this one. There are very few books that can claim to deliver a great storyline, great art, and a surprise or two after 65 issues of being published but The Walking Dead does just that each and every month.
As the last issue concluded Dale was returned to the Rick Grimes survivors missing another leg and left for dead. The survivors were attacked and Glen was shot in the leg. This issue kicks off with our resident mullet-wearing scientist, Eugene, showing that he might actually be as smart as he says he is as he tries to help patch up Glen's gunshot wound. There is still an air of suspicion surrounding Eugene being a top government scientist and somebody who could potentially help with the zombie problem. In this issue he showed if nothing else he had a merit badge for watching wounds.
Team Grimes learns the truth behind the hunters and what had happened to Dale and they do not take it lightly. Rick and company decide the only move they can make are the ones that the hunters would not be suspecting and take a more proactive posture in dealing with the situation that we have seen from the group in the past.
Going into this story arc I was almost anticipating a repeat of the actions from the Woodbury story from issues #43 through 48 when Kirkman taunted all of us with his "no one's safe" promotion. However, I continue to be surprised and impressed with every twist and turn that this title takes month-in and month-out. I really felt the hunters being cannibals was going to be contrite and pointless approach to this story arc but Kirkman and company have kept it fresh and interesting every step of the way.
This story arc wraps up in the next issue and more now than ever Kirkman is pushing the human drama to new heights and readers continue to ask the age old question "what would I do if that were me in those situations?" This book more than any other I have read conveys a sense of reality that allows you to relate to the terrible things that characters go through and the choices they make just to survive. I have truly enjoyed this story arc and look forward to seeing how it all wraps up next issue.
Rating: 9 out of 10
