The Walking Dead, Volume 15: We Find Ourselves

One of the most interesting parts of The Walking Dead is how it deals with the psychological trauma of living in a post-apocalyptic world. While, yes, I would love to learn more about what caused The Plague, how it affects people, if the zombies are sentient in any sense of the word, etc... those questions largely take a backseat to the very human question of survival and the drama of trying to sustain a community in the most extreme of conditions. Yeah, it's a bit soap operay, but at least they have reason to be.

While all the human drama and the way people change is interesting, the series really shines with how it portrays the children. In my opinion, at least. Carl is a fascinating character, and the way he tries to change and adapt, show more and in many ways succeeds is what makes him so compelling to me. Living like this should change people, and kids more than adults in many ways. Adults have seen a better world, kids largely haven't. How do they deal with that? Contrast Carl with the kids in this community and... well, you got some good narrative.

Add to it Rick trying to be a better person, tension due to classism in the community. This is a great issue, and they only seem to be getting better. I'm thoroughly enjoying these comics. Also, poor Glenn. Man does he get the short end of the stick a lot of the time. show less

Ordinarily the "treading water" volumes like this one haven't entirely done it for me, but in this case it seemed like it the characters (and readers) earned it, and while zombies weren't flying out on every page, the tension and pacing were still maintained.

[full review here: http://spacebeer.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-walking-dead-volume-15-we-find.html ]

The community decides their future after the events of the last volume. Some people aren't too happy about it. Plus, a surprise at the end!

A good, solid volume. The growth of the characters since the beginning is evident. They begin thinking about their future, rather than just how to survive the night.

After 15 volumes there isn’t much new to say about the Walking Dead Graphic series. In this volume there is a shift from Rick’s previous stance of keeping his group separate and apart from others. In the aftermath of the last zombie battle, he is now trying to pull together with the other residents of the community to create a place of safety with the long term goal of re-establishing an organized civilization.

I am a little concerned with the direction that the story is taking as I fear it could become more of a character drive soap opera than an action packed adventure. But I am still interested in the characters and hopefully another crisis or conflict will arise that will keep the series from becoming stagnant.

***May be spoilers ahead***




This was the worst volume yet.

There isn't much action going on, it's the aftermath of destroying the zombie herd, so everybody cleans up and talks a lot. There was a failed scavenger hunt for food, and people had sex. I really wanted Carl to die, it looked like a chunk of his head was missing, it's strange he survived being shot in the face. The ending was weird, Andrea kisses Rick. I mean what the actual fuck. It is really starting to get ridiculous - it feels like Kirkman gets a bit horny whilst writing his plots and so sticks in a random romance scene. I mean has everyone had sex with everyone by now? How are people not getting pregnant?! It's a good job they aren't because the next generation would all be show more related to each other. It's so odd.

Also the guy that tried to lead a mini rebellion against Rick, took him all of 2 seconds after Rick threatened him to do a whole 180 and start to parrot Rick's values. That's just not realistic to me.

I really hope the story picks up again because this was a complete snooze fest. show less

Rick reveals his reorganization plan to the community, Carl works his way out of the coma, and a rebellion is defused in a manner not common to this group. After the last action-packed installment, there's a lot of calm in this one, especially with Rick rethinking his whole approach to living life in this new world. The danger that comes about is from inside the community and it shows how Rick is trying to change when he negotiates a solution rather than "solving" the problem with a gun. Let's see how long this relative serenity lasts.

What impressed me: The group, Rick in particular, is starting to really see a future in their current lifestyle. They're becoming optimistic and the tone of this volume reflects that. Generally, this signals something really gory and mind-blowing in the near future and I can't wait for that.

What disappointed me: Lots of regrouping and introspection. Not much in the way of action or plot progression, making this volume really sort of boring. As always, everything that transpires here will most likely be important in the future, but current entertainment value is severely limited.