Wow.

This episode was one of the finest hours of television I’ve ever seen and it made a promise for the next season that I’m not sure it can keep.

There will be minor spoilers in this review, so, please bear that in mind. I’m very glad I wasn’t spoiled beforehand, so unless you’ve already watched the episode, I’d recommend skipping my review.

As I write this, my heart is still beating faster and my adrenaline is up. This show jolts my emotions every episode and this episode accomplished that much more than any other. I didn’t think it was possible to give us a better episode than the one that came before it, or the one before that. But they built so cleverly and carefully toward this season finale that I’m sure even Frank Darabont is proud, despite being mysteriously let go.

The thing I loved most about this episode was the handling of Rick’s confessions about Shane. He spent as much time in the episode as possible deflecting it, first from Carl, and then from the entire group, but when he has Lori alone he tells her. The scene was stirring and the acting was top notch. Andrew Lincoln gave it everything he had, but the more stunning performance in the scene was Sarah Wayne Collins. I’ve always thought the test of an actor is not what they’re doing when the focus is on them giving lines, but what they do when they’re reacting. And the look on Sarah Collins’ face as Rick makes his confession… top notch. You could truly see the gears working in her head, turning over the consequences in her mind. For an actor, to do that over and over again in the course of many takes is difficult. It’s truly a gift to perform dramas for us.

But the next time Rick confesses, in front of the whole group, Andrew Lincoln succeeded in sucking all the oxygen from the air with one, brief line. “I killed my best friend to save you people.”

It was an incredible moment.

But not more incredible than the two hints of what season three holds. The first, was Andrea’s saviour, Michonne. Michonne is one of my favorites from the comic and with announcements about the Governor coming into the story next season, her involvement had been a massive question mark hanging over my head. Now that she’s in it, I’m dying to see more. Her entrance into the show is, perhaps, one of the greatest and most satisfying moments of television I’ve ever seen.

The second hint of season three was the final shot of the episode: the pan up over the lake and our first glimpse of what looks to be a prison.

The tone and tenor of the next season is going to be as different from season two was from the first season. And I think Hershel will be filling the void Dale left and Andrea, angry for being left behind, might become the loose cannon Shane was.

But who knows?

I certainly don’t. I’m just along for the ride. And between this show and The Clone Wars, the wait over the summer may well kill me with anticipation.

The reason I like The Walking Dead, both the comic book series and the television show, is that it ties me up in knots. A good issue or episode will keep me sick from intensity, almost like I’m ready to throw up.

I don’t want to have to be in situations that would cause that feeling myself, but I love when a piece of finely crafted art can force those feelings from me, without even trying too hard. Perhaps I invest too much of myself into a story when I decide I like it. At the point where I decide I’m all in, I trust the ride it’s going to take me on and I’ll probably like the end result (like LOST). And unless it gets just completely godawful (the way Heroes did) I’ll stick it through to the end.

As far as The Walking Dead is concerned, I’ve never been given a reason to whine or complain. Every episode, no matter how long they’ve stayed in one place or stagnated as a group, it’s been for a reason. The writers on this show are much more clever than people give them credit for. This entire season has been an epic, stakes-raising game that led directly to this episode. That we’re getting another after this is just icing on the cake.

This episode begins with Dale’s funeral and takes us all the way to the moment we’ve all been waiting for: Carl killing Shane.

Perhaps more has happened in this episode than any other in the season, and it felt like someone lit a fuse and we just had to watch the fireworks. This episode is about very, very hard choices. That’s what the whole series is about. And I think we’ve seen Rick at his absolute lowest now. It’ll take a lot of doing to bring him lower.

But all the credit for the impact this episode had goes to Jon Bernthal. He is an amazing actor and I’ve loved to hate him over the last season. He’s caused problems, made terrible decisions, driven wedges into the group, and now he’s tried to kill their leader. His constant manipulation of situations to get them to play out exactly how he feels they should go finally bit him in the ass and the group will be better for it.

This episode was a carefully constructed piece of music, building to a crescendo that played out beautifully, but the musical notes were tensed emotions and the cymbals crashing were lives at stake. Plenty of things have come to light that need to be discussed with the group (Shane’s plot, they’re all infected, etc.) but that is just going to have to wait.

In classic Walking Dead fashion, the bullet that saved Rick’s life from zombie Shane is also the shot heard ’round the woods, calling a herd of walkers down on the farm.

Just because Shane is dead, it doesn’t mean things are going to get any easier. Will the season finale be the episode that puts the group back on the road and off of Hershel’s farm? Or will be left hanging until October?

We’ll just have to wait until next week to find out.

On a side note: I want to speak to some comments that were made on my review of last week’s episode. There are two things that are completely surprising to me about this show. The first is that there seems to be a contingent of conservative Walking Dead viewers who couldn’t empathize in the least with Dale’s calls for humanity, but actually revelled in his death because “liberals have somehow convinced people [that] standing by and not stopping those crimes is fine.” That comment was particularly scary to me and I think for obvious reasons.

The other thing that I still can’t wrap my head around is that there are people who only watch this show because there are zombies on it, and if there aren’t zombies, or not enough zombies, they couldn’t care less. This is a drama. This is essentially a soap opera. Zombies are the canvas this story of survival is being painted on. Embrace it. Care about the characters. That’s the point. Don’t get upset if there’s an episode that deals with the relationships of the characters. Because THAT’S what this show is about. Not zombies.

If you don’t like that, fine.

But don’t complain to me that there aren’t enough zombies, just go re-watch Zack Snyder’s mindless, soulless Dawn of the Dead remake one more time.

This show is much more mature than that and I’m grateful of that fact.

This episode of The Walking Dead was nothing short of brutal, but has it pushed us over an edge we can’t return from?

There’s really no way to avoid spoilers in talking about this episode in any scholarly fashion. So, consider that your warning.

After the events of last week, the group spends most of this episode deciding the fate of their prisoner. Most everyone is arrayed against Dale who is working tirelessly to prevent the execution of this kid. He’s absolutely right, too. Can they kill him for a crime he might commit without selling out themselves and their ideals and their humanity.

I think the answer is clear that they can’t. But because Shane is pushing so hard to prove Rick, Rick can’t back down on the execution. He can’t get out of it and expect to lead the group. And he can’t let Shane lead the group, because that way leads to madness.

Though Dale pleads his case well to everyone, his pleas are falling on deaf ears and the course of action is set.

The character who really plays the most important part in this drama, though, is Carl.

One of the things I love most about the comic book is trying to imagine what a world like this would look like to the next generation. How would they act? How would they see things? How would their sense of morality and justice, right and wrong, be shaped by the volatile nature of constant survival?

Carl is so damaged by this world that he seems almost sociopathic. He has no empathy whatsoever. He breaks in to observe the prisoner, not because he wants to help him or set him free, but to observe him like an animal in a cage. Somehow, the world seems less dangerous to him under that harsh light and he has no qualms exploring in the woods. There, he finds a walker and there is absolutely no fear for him until it’s actually trying to eat him. Up until then, he’s content to get close enough to observe so long as he’s out of reach.

But the walker gets loose and Carl runs.

Does he go running home to cry? No. He internalizes everything, never mentioning the incident. What good would it do?

Then, after he gets back, he wants to witness the execution. It reminded me quite a bit of Yukio Mishima’s “The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea” about the adolescent boys who commit a murder as a lesson in objectivity.

I found it ironic that the only thing that invoked Rick’s sense of empathy was Carl’s lack of it. When Carl chides him to kill the boy, Rick simply can’t continue. How do you react to a world where your innocent little boy is egging you on to kill a man in cold blood in some misguided attempt to “save” the group.

But Carl’s lessons in objectivity have consequences. His adventure with the walker came back to haunt him.

For all of Dale’s logic and reasoning, he’s still no match for the walker that Carl let loose and is literally torn open. And somehow, killing this man, this friend, out of mercy seems so much easier to do than killing the unarmed stranger execution-style. But will Dale’s hope of retaining their humanity die with him?

This is the part of the episode that’s troubling me. I thought this was a fantastic episode on its own face, but the show needed the balance Dale provided. He was a steady voice of reason, a man of logic, and an incredibly entertaining character. Now we’re left with Shane, Rick, and Daryl to lead the group, all super-macho alpha males, nary a thinker among them.

Will Dale’s death throw the show out of balance along with the group?

As we gear up toward the season finale, only time will tell.

Well, I’m a little surprised, to be honest. This series has taken its time meandering through the comics and I’m a little taken aback by this move.

AMC announced that David Morrissey has been cast as the Governor and will be appearing in Season 3. Will Season 2 finally bring us to the prison.

According to them:

David Morrissey has been cast in the role of The Governor in the network’s critically acclaimed hit series The Walking Dead. The Governor, a character from Robert Kirkman’s graphic novel, is the leader of Woodbury, a small settlement of survivors, and becomes the chief antagonist for Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his group.

The Governor will appear in The Walking Dead Season 3, a 16-episode order from AMC, which begins production this spring in Atlanta.

Morrissey is a BAFTA winner and has appeared in a bunch of British television shows that I’m not at all familiar with, which means he’ll probably be amazing. I wonder how his red neck accent is.

Season 2 continues Sunday night.

Well, if last night’s episode doesn’t quell the constant belly-aching of those who claim there isn’t enough zombie action on the show, then there is nothing that will shut them up.

Last night’s episode was tense and heartbreaking, forcing each character to make horrible choices to protect both the group and more importantly their loved ones. The pair of fellas Rick was forced to kill Old West Style last week had friends and they’re not about to move on without putting up a fight, so naturally Glen, Hershel, and Rick spend as much ammunition fighting walkers as they do living, breathing humans.

Back at the camp things aren’t going any better and Shane is going off the deep end, telling lies confessing his love to people, and asserting as much control over the situation as possible.

For me, the situation with Shane is far more interesting than the business with the zombies. Shane is a barreling freight train, running down the tracks at top speed, ready to crash headlong into whatever gets in his way. And if the comic book is any indication, it’s not going to be pretty.

Since day one, I’ve been saying that I find the human element more interesting than the zombie one in this series, comic or otherwise, and I think after this episode people might start seeing things my way. The fractures in the group, the decisions the people are making, are vastly more intriguing than assholes being pinned down in a firefight by zombies. Look at the decisions Glen is making as far as Maggie is concerned? Every decision he made fighting zombies was predicated on the last 6 episodes of relationship building between them. This episode wouldn’t have been half as good without the so-called “boring” episodes.

Though I will give one bit of concern: Now that Sophia has been found it feels like the writers have no idea what to do with Daryl. If he’d have been in the town with the boys, there wouldn’t have been a contest and it would have turned into an action movie, so it was the right decision to keep him out of the action, but I hope they know what they’re doing with the character. By all accounts though, they’ve made all the right moves so far, I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this one.

Also: that dude’s leg?

Wow. That was one of the best moments of gore on the show since they had to chop up zombies to rub their parts on their clothes.

I don’t think I’m off base on my assessment of these episodes at all, but I’d still like to hear your opinion. Especially if you disagree with me.

And I also hope to see you come out to see our screenings of The Walking Dead on the big screen in coordination with Brewvies and City Weekly. (More info here.)

I’ll be honest. I’m not sure what it is people do or don’t expect out of this show. After every episode this season I hear about half of the people collectively on the Internet scream and moan that not enough happened in a given episode, that there weren’t enough zombies, that the characters were acting in frustrating ways, or that no one died.

The other half praises the show for being fantastic.

There doesn’t seem to be a middle ground.

I would have thought the mid-season finale had laid to rest any uncertainty about the abilities of the showrunners. The final moment of the mid-season finale was built to with such delicate, dramatic care that even thinking about it gets me a little teary eyed. Thinking about what the aftermath of Shane’s actions and the fate of the girl would be has turned my stomach in knots over the winter. Every time I think about it, I want to shake my fist in the air and shout “Kirkman!” as I’m wont to do while I’m ingesting stories he’s written or had a hand in.

This episode delivered on the goods as far as I’m concerned.

I’m watching this because of the characters, not for zombies, or gore, or death. I want to see these people grope in the dark for answers to their survival and try to survive in the long term. Thanks to Shane’s actions there are very definite stress fractures in the group. Because of the heightened tension of the situation, cooler heads simply aren’t prevailing. Laurie in particular seems to have simply lost it, taking actions that don’t make sense out of a maternal helplessness.

Carl seems to have the most level head of all the characters. This is his world. This is the world his generation is inheriting.

And the scene in the bar?

Worth every minute of this episode. First, the final philosophical debate between Rick and Hershel was well-played and well-acted. Then, when the newcomers arrive, it has all the feeling of a Tarantino film. It reminded me of the bar scene in Inglorious Basterds and had the same uneasy rise of tension, making it one of the best scenes of television I’ve witnessed.

Did “a lot happen” in this episode? Maybe not in the traditional sense, but the dynamic of the group is changing, and the circumstances are ever evolving, providing nuance to a show that could easily beat us over the head with a zombie every twenty seconds.

I’m on the record as admiring their restraint and this episode worked very well for me.

For those interested in next week’s episode, be sure to join us at Brewvies Cinema Pub every Sunday night to watch it on the big screen! Arrive early. Full details here.

Welcome to the first of a weekly glance at some the digital comics and magazines I’ll be picking up around the web.

First up is Archie comics. Consistently delivering fun comics at great prices, they get at least one purchase from me a month.

Archie #628 Archie meets KISS part 2 is must read comic book fun.
https://comics.comixology.com/#/archie

DARK HORSE COMICS
The new android version of the DH reader doesn’t offer in app purchases yet but it’s very smooth and works perfectly on my new tablet. If you weren’t turned off by all the negative back and forth from DH and shop owners give it a shot.
Only one book you might want to pick up this week, I like to wait for the bundles which usually group 2 to 5 books together with a few dollars off.
STAR WARS CRIMSON EMPIRE III EMPIRE LOST #3 (OF 6)
https://digital.darkhorse.com/

DC COMICS
If these darlings of the digital comic world weren’t ‘Drawing the line at $2.99’ I don’t think they’d be in the position they are now. It seems I’ve dropped a few books from the New 52 but I’ll give them all a try again around issue 6 when new creative teams kick in and give my reasons for staying or going.
AQUAMAN #4
FLASH #4
I VAMPIRE #4
VOODOO #4
https://read.dccomics.com/comixology/

IDW
I’m loving all the G.I. Joe craziness and I know nothing of this title so I’m going to jump in and see what happens.
DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS #14 (is ridiculously priced at 3.99 so issue 13 will get the glance.)
https://comics.comixology.com/

IMAGE
HACK SLASH #11 Always awesome horror comic, jump in anywhere!
WITCH DOCTOR RESUSCITATION ONE SHOT If you missed the first 4 issues of my new favorite book check this out I’m sure it won’t disappoint. You can also get the issues 0-4 with bonus pages for only $5.99.
https://comics.comixology.com/#/image

Marvel
I see no reason in paying an extra dollar for a 23-25 page digital comic book. Marvel has priced their paper books reasonably but carrying the price over is absurd. Until this is fixed they won’t get much business from me.
FF #13 $2.99 and worth every penny.
http://www.comixology.com/Marvel/comics-publisher/2-0

That’s it this week. I have a hard time figuring out what’s going to be available digitally and where to find it. If you’ve got any tips feel free to drop me a line: ken at bigshinyrobot dot com

If you haven’t been reading The Butcher Baker: Righteous Maker series from Image this past summer you’ve been missing out on a really cool comic and today the 7th issue comes out to a bang.

Some things you need to know, first this book is written by Joe Casey, you may remember him from his run on Adventures of Superman. After finding out that little tidbit I can see why he’s writing Butcher Baker. Butcher is the anti-Superman, he’s still a hero but he’s the kind who doesn’t care about ethics and he’s also the kind to take all the perks that come with being a super hero. His super powers come from his heart being replaced with a motor engine.

The story starts after he’s basically rid the world of all of his evil doers and the government comes to him to do one last mission. To blow up their world’s equivalent of Arkham Asylum, the jail housing all of his super villains. He does so, exterminating many of his old foes but also letting loose his most powerful enemies who survived the blast and they all have a literal hard on to get revenge on Butcher Baker.

I say literal hard on because this book has quite a lot of nudity and crazy violence, this is not a book for the feint of heart, but thanks to artist Mike Huddleston we have some really good and crazy artwork to match the overall tone of the story. His art perfectly embodies the idea of a super human having the stamina to survive an orgy and then get into an all out brawl when they try to interrupt his spoils.

The story also has some great Batman style villains, a police officer ready to take out Butcher himself and a disembodied entity who utters such fantastic lines such as, “But… My cosmic hymen…”

Joe Casey has a nice way of writing where I could see this book ending soon, but I could also see him turning it into a long journey. Either way I’d be satisfied because this book is really good right now.

The Walking Dead: The Rise of the Governor is the latest of multi-platform installments in the ever-expanding saga of The Walking Dead. It’s a prose novel set in the early days of the zombie outbreak and follows Phillip Blake, his daughter Penny, and his brother Brian. They have a couple of friends with them that they lose along the way and they end up leading into the situation before we meet “The Governor” in the comics in Walking Dead #27.

I’ll be honest, I had a hard time with the beginning of this book only to find myself enjoying it by the middle. The end lost me again, though.

I was rubbed the wrong way first by the writing style. The book is written in 3rd person present tense and it just feels…off. It doesn’t read easily and doesn’t have a whole lot of suspense or finesse to it. I don’t get the impression Kirkman had a hand in the actual writing of this book, more just the story. I’ve known Robert Kirkman to be a better writer than this.

The other thing I was bored with was that the first third of the book plays out like every zombie movie I’ve ever seen and the thing that’s always made The Walking Dead stand out was that it didn’t feel like your average, every day zombie story. Like this one.

Phillip Blake, whom we know as the Governor, is on his way to Atlanta with his daughter and brother and they encounter all of the standard zombie fare. It’s not until they find another group of survivors (a pair of adult women and their father who travelled state fairs as a family musical act) and try to co-exist. The Walking Dead is always at its best when it’s exploring the compelling psychology of survivors and this middle part of the book was by far and away the standout for me.

But I read the book wanting to know how someone could become as vicious and sociopathic as The Governor and how that person would come to power and I really didn’t get that out of this book. The book ends abruptly with a rug-pull in the last couple of chapters that are as ham-fisted and preposterous as an M. Night Shyamalan film and almost feels twice as stupid. The character who eventually turns into the Governor shows nothing in his character whatsoever that he’ll become the person we love to hate in the comics series. It felt cheap and pointless and far below the quality Kirkman has proven himself capable of. (Which is really why I’m not sure he really wrote this book.)

The authors actually do a good job with developing the character’s psychology and then seem to throw it all out the window in the last ten chapters of the book in an attempt to fit it into the comic book continuity.

I really, really wanted to like this book. I’m in LOVE with this series. I read the comic and watch the show religiously.

This should have been a home run instead of a foul ball.

The book comes out Tuesday, October 11th. If you’re a fan of The Walking Dead, you’ll want to check it out for yourself, don’t take my opinion for it. You can order it from Amazon and have it the day of release. Check for it at your local comic book stores, too.

The Strange Talent of Luther Strode #1

This follows the basic origin story of a geek becoming a total badass. It’s the first in a 6 part series and it’s got decent artwork and an interesting story. The one thing I will say about this issue is it’s incredibly violent, over the top violent. Blood, guts and gore galore, at least it is whenever a fight occurs. If the art were a bit better it might feel justified but at the moment it feels more like they want to gross the audience out then tell a cool story. I’ll keep reading but at the moment I wouldn’t recommend a buy.

When does this come out: Oct. 5th
Cost: 2.99
Will I read on: Yes
Will I buy it: I don’t think so

The Last of the Greats #1

The Last of the Greats is an intriguing read, it’s basically about a group of supermen who are preparing the world for an alien apocalypse. These supermen have the power to distinguish human’s true intentions and so they’ll willingly kill people with impure intentions. The first issue however ends in a way which doesn’t really look like the series could go in many different directions. It feels like I could predict everything that was going to happen from here on out. At the moment I don’t recommend this one but in the future that might change.

When does this come out: Oct. 5th
Will I read on: Yes
Will I buy it: Doubtful

Xenoholics #1

This was a surprise to me, the front cover isn’t at all the kind of art that is in the book, it’s a bit more jokey comic book art. The book follows a group of Xenoholics, in other words a Alcoholics Anonymous for Alien Abductees. The story has a funny edge to it and it does actually show aliens so we know they’re not completely crazy. It also takes the whole crop circle thing to a new level. I quite fancied this book and I’m looking forward to seeing where it’s going. I’d recommend people take a look at this one in store and see if you want to add it to your hold.

When does this come out: Oct. 19
Cost: 3.50
Will I read on: Yes
Will I buy it: Likely

Heart #1

Apparently Blair Butler who is a stand up comic and star on G4TV is the writer on this comic about a young MMA fighter. I’m a fan of MMA and so reading a comic about MMA was really quite interesting. I’ve had desire to train with MMA fighters but I just never want to be punched in the face so I wouldn’t really do too well. This story was actually pretty good but I’m afraid people won’t get it unless they’re actually into MMA. I liked it so if it continues to be good I may end up getting the trade.

When does this come out: Nov. 2nd
Cost: 2.99
Will I read on: Yes
Will I buy it: Not yet