THE END OF ALL OUT WAR! We know you (probably) haven’t read Issue 126 yet, but as we’ve been doing lately, we’re getting this post in place early, so as soon as you have it you can talk about it. And you’re probably going to want to talk about it. Love it or hate it, that ending will elicit a reaction. And we’d love to hear what you thought about ALL OUT WAR now that it’s over. I can’t believe Robert and the crew pulled off 12 issues in less than 7 months. Super impressive. Good work, gang!
Also, as per usual, we’ll be giving away a signed copy of 126 to one semi-coherent, possibly humorous, possibly life-changing comment in the section below. Be concise. Be clever. Don’t be a dick. Upvotes don’t win, but they help spotlight good comments. Don’t task your Twitter followers/Facebook friends/cellmates with voting for you, but do be a good community member and if you like a comment, give ’em props with an upvote.
Now get to it and Lizzy will be back tomorrow with some updated discussion points (I’ll be off to Baton Rouge and Houston for the Escape, so come say “hi” if you’re there!).
UPDATED: Discussion points!
Dwight for Saviors President 20… what year is it? Anyway, do you think the Saviors are really just going to return home, following another bat-wielding leader without complaint? Are they still a threat without Negan leading them?
Rick’s leg vs. Negan’s life. Rick made the altruistic choice… but did he make the right one?
What did you think of the conclusion of Carl’s storyline this arc?
And, of course, the final page, the end of All Out War. What did you think about Rick’s choice to leave Negan alive, rotting in jail?
Was All Out War everything you hoped it would be?
Issue #127 predictions, anyone?
UPDATED AGAIN: And the winner of best comment is joe, whose comment about Rick Grimes’s strength is summed up by one of the last sentences of his post: “Loved All Out War or hated it, you have to admit, it’s given us yet another example of why our hero of our franchise is up there with the best — you can’t keep Rick Grimes down.”
Wait, what?! Negan killing Andrea was so stupid. The dude just got a knife stuck in his throat, how did he do that? Oh well, at least the time jump was done in a kinda cool way.
And i am Batman… Now go try to troll somewhere else (pss… moron don’t tell to the mortals the ending, let them wait)
You better be wrong!!
Oh, you certainly had me going!……..
NOT!!
The introduction of Bruce Willis was pretty predictable but the way they explained how the moon turns the tides which in turn made the first zombie from stardust was bananas .
So that lever looking thing coming up on the cover of 129 must be the switch to throw when summoning The Expendables. I can’t wait to see if it works like the bat-signal!
I was thinking John Hartigan .
You Sir get an up-vote simply for being a Sin City reader . Violent Marv vs Negan. That’s a fight I’d love to see.
Right on
I think Marv would take him out .
Yeah I reckon he would. Wallace for sure could take him out. That guy could drop Jesus in an instant.
Agreed
Much better than Die Hard!
When the pelican attacked the beagle I almost peed my pants .
LOL, another hilarious comment from you!
Thanks for that .
You my friend are a funny man
Thanks man so are you
Dude what did you think of the ending?
Not too shabby. Rick getting his butt handed to him was something else. Negan getting to live I know thats what we wanted I just wonder how it will all pan out. Negan is a tough dude to have his throat cut and still open a can of whoop ass on Rick. It makes it interesting from here on out
Me too I’m looking forward to the next few months . I hope we see what Dwight’s up to .
BULLISHNESS!
FUCK YOU FUCK YOU I GOT SO SCARED YOU HAD ME FOR A SECOND FUCK YOU
but good one. you actually gave me a heart attack.
I wasn’t expecting that to happen when they pulled out the giant cork.
even if Rick dies Michonne can just cut his
arms off rick will never stop
Can’t wait to see how it goes….guess it releases tonight at midnight.
What really!
Killing off andrea was a bad idea, however could lead to better things.
She’s not dead
Looks like Carl and Michonne are gonna stop rick from smashing Negans brains in
It wasn’t what I was expecting, that’s for sure. One thing I know, is that Rick’s decision is gonna come back to bite him in the ass.
What was his decision?
He decided to leave Negan in a cell for the rest of his life
just a few hours away, by the end of the Phillies/Dodgers game…all shall be revealed
The Saviors will find out
the knife was infected and expect that Negan is toast. Negan has
dominated all of them for a long time, but the saviors submission is
psychological. The fear getting their faces ironed or not having enough
points to eat…. but at any time, any of them could have killed Negan
fairly easily. But the psychological grip that Negan holds on them is
powerful. Once they understand that Negan is going to die no matter
what else happens, Negan’s control will crumble and his influence on the
saviors will die before he does.
Who might pick up Lucille now that Negan’s dropped her? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – look to the man with half a face.
The Saviors will find out that
the knife was infected and expect that Negan is toast. Negan has
dominated all of them with an iron fist for quite a long time, but the saviors submission is
psychological. The fear of getting their faces ironed or not having enough
points to eat has driven them to do things they may not have wanted to do, regardless of whether it was ETHICAL. Ironic that at any time, any one of the Saviors could have killed Negan
fairly easily. But the psychological grip that Negan holds on them is
powerful. Once they understand that Negan is going to die no matter
what else happens, Negan’s control will crumble and his influence on the
saviors will die before he does.
Negan is a gangster. He will survive.
True
can someone post a synopsis once they’re done reading? won’t be able to get the issue online or in store for a while.
This issue was not as shocking as I thought it would be, actually I feel a little disappointed.
What happened?
I just read it and that’s how I felt too. The cover was even deceiving. No one stood over Negan with Lucille (Dwight picked it up, but that was it). The TV show pulls those sleight of hand things too in teasers, but I was expecting Negan to be dead by the end of the issue. I didn’t feel like anything game changing happened.
I have to admit that when Negan broke Rick’s knee i thought “OMG shit just hit the fan” and then Dwight grabbed Lucille and my expectations went through the roof. I turned the page and it was like I was reading a totally different comic. I don’t even think there was a cliffhanger at the end, when I turned the page and saw the letter hacks I actually looked for torn off pages in my book.
I did the exact same thing. I was like “is that it”.. I thought someone took out some valuable pages here and there.. Now we gotta wait a month for the next one.. of course there wasn’t really to much of a cliffhanger in this one like there was with #125
I have to say I was also disappointed but after thinking about it the story can go in many directions… Negan could escape which is predictable. Or he could ‘change’ but behind ricks back create a uproar with the saviours. Or I think some saviours don’t cooperate with rick and go against him and set Negan free similar with the Eugene situation. Ether way I think that the issue was good. And it can now go in many ways.
I’d be worried that it would drag on too long. It’s time to be rid of Negan. I liked the Governor in the comics, but in the TV show it dragged on far too long. That’s what I fear will happen with Negan in the comics. Because he’s such a great villain, he might overstay his welcome.
I agree. But he has been around for 26 issues. He needs fleshing out. Like flashbacks and stuff about his past. Things which made him so messed up.
You must not have been reading TWD very long if you think the issue covers are representative of the content inside the issue. TWD covers are notorious for being deceptive.
I actually read through all the collected volumes early this year and got caught up at the end of All Out War. Now I’m buying and reading them monthly. So my experience up until recently was just the paperbacks.
Makes sense, No worries, man. Just take note that about 80% of TWD covers have absolutely nothing to do with the content in the issues. Kirkman liked to troll us.
yet again, an odd tone and mundane conclusion, but a safe exit into a new story.
!!!MAJOR SPOILERS!!! DON’T CONTINUE READING IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!!!!
Rick cuts Negan’s throat, and announces his men they can still fight him or leave. Rick still states the war is over, and they have a doctor who can still save Negan, proving the knife wasn’t infected. Negan attacks Rick outrageously, and Jesus and the back-up crew start to slaughter Saviors from behind.
Rick and Negan fight, and Negan manages to break Rick’s leg, before passing out. Dwight grabs Lucille and tells the Saviors to stop shooting and listen to him, and commands them to leave with him. Saviors stop, and Harlan reaches Rick and Negan. Rick tells him to heal Negan, then him.
Andrea, Carl and Maggie aren’t satisfied with Rick’s decision, but Rick tells them they are better than Negan. Rick then gets up and tells his people they can finally live their lives without war. Later on, Rick finds Carl from Negan’s room, where he is being captured. Rick explains Carl why he is being chained, and reveals they are going to punish him.
Rick then tells Carl to leave, and Negan wakes up. Rick tells him they are going to put him in a cell for the rest of his life.
MAJOR SPOILERS! You got that from Wiki! You did not type this up. You copy and paste it from Wiki.
Still it’s the summary of the issue. Just couldn’t be bothered to put in my own words
Funny thing about Wiki. Everybody can change and edit the summary..
Admin will probably give him best comment lol
well, issue 126 left the TV show with plenty of wiggle room…
the decision to jail Negan, certainly unexpected but not bad writing…no survivor deaths to end this arc, that is highly unexpected as well…
they had 2 suspenseful nothings in this arc…rick shot by the bolt…then negan slashed in his throat…
no major cliff hangers moving forward…
Perfect ending to an amazing story arc.
Agreed!
Negan will eventually break out of jail and kill as many people as possible. Rick will end up regretting his decision after all.
Yep. Just like The Governor. When you have someone who’s a danger to EVERYONE AROUND THEM, why would you leave them in a position to return when you could just as easily end it?
Agreed. Negan is too dangerous to be allowed to live. Rick will regret this decision
You think so? I think the reason that we’re now moving to thee new characters in 127 is that for now at least, Rick’s arc is done. They’re on the road to rebuilding civilization… so now we go back to another group who is still struggling to survive.
THE WALKING PRISON BREAK STARRING NEGAN
( Considering he just took a knife to the throat that’s the best ending for him. )
I like that idea. Maybe they could give him T-bag as his cellmate. Or that Avocado dude that shared with Tweener. Could explain why Negan keeps a jacket on it’s to hide his escape plan tattoo’s.
GENIUS!
So wow. The ending to this issue makes me think about the “The Hollow Men” poem by T.S. Elliot.
This arc certainly did not go out with a bang, but with a whimper.
Sure, “Everything Changes” on page 22, but ultimately in my opinion, Kirkman picked the wrong road to go down. Hopefully the story to come proves me wrong.
It’s true, if Carl would have killed Negan, it would have continued the cycle of violence that they wished to stop, but why stop him from doing?! It’s in Carl’s character to do something like that… but maybe it’s true that Carl wasnt too far gone, but I would have loved to see you nail Carl’s personal transformation, from someone good to evil, into the coffin.
Carl was slowly starting to realize how fucked this world really is, and he was slowly turning into someone like Negan. Someone who realizes the strong and the weak mentality. Rick on the other hand still thinks it’s possible to salvage civilization…so I guess I’ll wait and see what this new world really is. And maybe Rick’s decision to keep Negan alive, and go the route of rebuilding civilization wont be such a good idea after all.
Gotta go get that Lori phone
solar panels yo
Because they supposedly still have power and running water. At least, that’s what I think.
For this:
In the TV series, a decision like this cost Rick, Lori’s life…
This is what they wrote, nothing we can do about it…keep reading…or don’t…
Unexpected, that is what I call it…nothing more, nothing less…
I will keep reading…
Did Negan get life with or without parole?…
Meh.
So what exactly changed? That they are all going to work together? What an anti-climatic ending to the arc. To say I am disappointed is an understatement.
Dwight needs to sneak in and iron Negan’s face at least… 🙁
Dwight was the dude who assaulted and killed good old Abe in the most cowardly way..
Is Rick’s story over? Is 127 going to begin with a new group??
That would be abrupt
*DON’T READ THIS COMMENT UNLESS YOU HAVE ALREADY READ #126!!*
Thank goodness Comixology lets you download new stuff at 8 am central time, because I could not wait until my local shop opened at noon today to read #126!! I have to honestly say that All Out War ended just how I thought it would, with Negan not dying and his long-term fate of being “tortured” by being forced to see people actually getting along and not bullying each other. (Him dying would have been too easy and too Governor-esque!) I think it would be funny if Negan was locked naked in a cage in The Hilltop’s “town square” while everyone goes about their business; that way, he’d be forced to see all the Kumbaya going on around him. (Maybe Shiva’s now-empty cage can be moved to The Hilltop for Negan?) I kind of wish Rick severed Negan’s vocal cords so his foul-mouthed voice could be silenced forever- now THAT would’ve been torture for him! Or slice off his schlong. But of course a few variables/unknowns remain (while I love of course!)- namely, Dwight. He has Lucille and is apparently the new leader of The Saviors BUT CAN HE REALLY BE TRUSTED?? Plus, he killed Abraham which puts him at odds with many people, especially Eugene and Rosita. Maybe Father Gabriel will hold confession every week for people like Dwight and Negan to confess their sins, LOL. Also, what if Negan tries to escape? He’s a bulldog so it’s totally going to happen, unless Rick cuts off his legs or something. Maybe I missed something but where is that coward Gregory? He can’t be trusted either. Looking forward to Lilly Caul’s reintroduction in #127 and that new storyline! (Assuming that was her on the cover of 127) ALSO looking forward to Rick’s new prosthetic arm- can’t wait to see what it is!! Also would like to see Negan’s origin story- what did he used to be, a professional wrestler or bouncer or something? Cuz he snapped the shit out of Rick’s leg pretty easily.
Rick’s prosthetic arm is a crutch. Didn’t you see it?
ha. i like your way of locking up Negan… i think Gregory was left crying at the hilltop after Maggie decked him.. also thanks for the Lily Caul mention.. i’m getting road to woodbury today just encase ..
Yes I definitely want to see a Negan origin story as well .
How cool would that be to see his rise to power. I bet he wasn’t as bad as everyone thinks. I bet he worked at PetCo
lol
Lily Caul ISN’T ON THE COVER TO 127! Didn’t you read the letter hacks? I was in it, and I asked why Lily is on the cover (I assumed, also) and he replied saying, “THAT IS NOT LILY!”
I saw them emphatically say in Letter Hacks that it isn’t Lilly Caul. But I think they be lying because I read the most recent novel, The Fall of The Governor, and the lady even the NUMBER of people in her small group on the cover of #127 TOTALLY matches the Lilly and small group of good Woodbury folks described at the end of the most recent novel. Right down to the “signature” brown, fingerless glove that Lilly wore in the book (and which the lady on the cover of #127 has on as well). I mean, c’mon, of course they’re not going to come out early and say “Yup, y’all guessed it- Lilly is on the cover of #127- welcome to our new storyline!” That’s why I think they’re lying in #126’s Letter Hacks. But I could be wrong and all these similarities between the novel and the cover for #127 could be 100% coincidence. I just read #126’s Letter Hacks again they said “it isn’t Lily Caul” (with one L)- but isn’t Lilly’s name in TWD spelled with two L’s? So, yes, technically it’s not Lily with one L. Maybe I am over analyzing all this and need to get back to work, eh…
The misspelling is exactly what I was thinking but thought I would definitely be over analyzing! Feel better now that someone else picked up on it!!!
And if that does indeed apply, it would not be out of the norm for the type of replies I’ve seen in Hacks.
Great to know that someone else picked up on the misspelling of Lilly’s name!!! I think Sean and Kirkman were trying to be crafty in #126’s Letter Hacks. Well, whoever is on the cover of #127- be it Lilly or not- I am excited for some new storylines in the comic! Not that I am sick of Rick and the gang, not at all, just would be cool to see what’s up with some other survivors.
Same here, but sure hoping for Lilly Caul!! That chick on the cover looks like she’d have the same persona as Lilly!
Lilly (With two L’s) is from the TellTale game, and Lily (One L) is Lily Caul from Woodbury. Very confusing, I know. And also, something I noticed is that you don’t see the woman’s left arm AT ALL in the covers that show her. Issue 127, can’t see it. Issue 128, again, you can’t see it. But 129 shows it man it seems… hm.
When I go home, I’m definitely gonna pull my comic out, but I can tell you that the novel has it spelled “Lilly”, which can be confirmed right here online & I’m almost certain the comic does, too.
Maybe, but look at how Robbie K. said it, “THAT IS NOT LILY!”
I know. Kirkman’s the serious one & I’d expect an off-the-wall witty comment from Sean. That really has me confused. I simply cannot wait to find out!
Same here, dude. I’m just surprised I’ve consecutively been put in letters hacks, my first was 125 and now this issue but I’ve changed names. I was Andy Gasal and this issue I was my wiki name AndyTheZombie
That is so cool, especially imagine how many letters they must have to rift through & decided on not 1 but 2 of yours! I would print a copy of your sent letter to keep outside of the comics.
Yeah when Issue 125 came out I brought it to my class and my homeroom teacher was impressed and photocopied the page with the letter and highlighted my letter and right now it’s in a picture frame in my room. 😀 I hope they will publish my letter for 127 and 128 and if they do I’m just gonna flip the fuck out!
Ok…. not what I expected, or really wanted. So here is my re-write.
After slashing Negan, Rick tackles Dwight. Rick triggers an M60 machine gun he rigged up, and it swivels back and forth killing all the Saviors except for Negan. Dwight then strangles Negan, snapping his neck. Rick looks down and realizes he was shot in the abdomen. Realizing he will die, he hands Dwight his sidearm and tells Dwight “You want this.” Dwight admits “I want this” but drops the gun realizing Rick is going to die. Dwight gets in a van and drives off like a maniac back to the Savior compound, both laughing and crying hysterically out of his bad eye. Rick turns around, having succeeded as a leader and says “The War is Over”. He gives one last look at his empire before falling onto his back, looking up at the sky smiling as he dies.
And yes, I completely stole that from Breaking Bad, but I much rather have preferred that to what we were just spoon fed.
Still love this novel though.
I died laughing reading this. Thank you.
Lol. You’re welcome. I can’t get these visions out of my mind now. I can picture these events pane by pane.
In issue 127 I bet Kirkman will add a monolog for Rick. Andrea will turn to him and say
Andrea: Rick, it’s getting really dangerous out there nowadays. We got really lucky out there, you more than anyone… So I don’t think you should continue being the leader of the human race.
Rick: Who are you talking to right now? Who is it you think you see? Do you know how many Walkers I kill per year? I mean, even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe it. Do you know what would happen if I suddenly decided to stop going out there, killing Walkers? A leader as strong as me just goes belly up. Disappears! The human race would cease to exist without me. No, you clearly don’t know who you’re talking to, so let me clue you in. I am not in danger, Andrea. I am the danger. A guy opens his door and gets killed by a bunch of Walkers, and you think that of me? No. I am the one who knocks!
I’d die happy 🙂
Didn’t that happen about the time Carl decided he wanted to be called Lance, so Rick gave him keys to a mustang to win his love over Lori’s? God, I could go on with this. They really could make a Walking Bad and I’d read it.
thats almost as good as when rick strapped a bomb to judith and blew half of the governors face off
Hell yeah! You remember that too?! They could have easily ended it there. Best line ever was when Rick called ghost Lori and said “I won.”
This is great. I wanted to make a “Rick throws pizza on top of the prison” joke but couldn’t find where to put it in. Still good though.
That would have been much more awesome
I do not understand why it has been said, after 22 pages of this issue…things change forever…
Negan could easily die in the next issue…Maggie grabs Lucile and bashes Negan’s brains in…and no one could ever think less of her for doing that…
At this time, Negan is being held captive…sure, Rick has strong words to Negan, he will be captive forever…plans change…one thing I am pretty sure of though, no one is in a hurry to rescue Negan…
So disappointed in this issue. Negan deserves nothing less then a slow agonizing death, and we didn’t even get that closure! Wrong path indeed. Wish yall could pump them out faster!
In the end, the All Out War arc was a serious disappointment. I don’t think i’m alone in saying I expected a LOT more from this series but the last 12 or so issues have been mediocre at best.
Things will never be the same? How so? What the hell even happened? Nothing. Negan’s alive. Umm, cool. Kirkman McFucked up BIG TIME.
I 100% agree. You can’t kill Glenn, have all this fanfare for the story arc and then end it on such a damp squib… It was terrible ending to a terrible arc.
But I don’t want kirkman writing this criticism off as “haters”. We love TWD, that’s why we’re here. I just hope he realises and acknowledges the serious deficiencies with the writing since around issue 100
Nah. The issue in writing didn’t start quite then. Issue #100 was a real show-stopper and the beginning of the All Out War arc was amazing. The first few issues felt really charged like there really was going to be a lot o blood and a lot of violence. And a part of me doesn’t mind that this didn’t continue because as it’s been stated by many fans before at other times, these characters have been through so much they know how to survive. They can make it through almost anything. BUT it felt like these issues never really took the risks you wanted it to as a reader. And I could forgive even that if it wasn’t for the fact that this arc was hyped up SO much by its creators. New direction, nothing will be the same, everything changes, etc. Bullshit. None of that happened.
I think the “This changes everything” relates to what we will see as a result of how things went down. It is the end of the war, but what changes is from here on out. It is BOUND to be different! There are so many ways this story could go! For instance, Rick’s decision could have caused such a rift in the Survivors (although we don’t see it right away) that this could alter his leadership role & ultimately lead to his death. Carl can do what needs to be done & no telling how that would pan out. Negan could find a way out & all hell break loose. It’s the end of the war but by no means the end of the story!
I completely agree 100%. Although the ending wasn’t nearly as epic as we all had hoped, it left it open for endless possibilities for nearly every single character. It can only get better from here.
Let’s hope. I’m on the fence here. A few think this arc was great. A lot are ultimately disappointed. I thought it was okay… But my confidence in the direction is not the highest it’s ever been, to put it lightly.
I have to somewhat agree. I liked the issues. I liked them all individually and it was a good arc but holy FUCK, was it played out. I get that Kirkman gets excited because it’s natural for an artist to get excited about his work but you hit the nail on the head when you said: “Things will never be the same? How so? What the hell even happened? Nothing.” If they didn’t play this up to be the biggest most amazing arc ever I think a lot of people would have walked away happier. But they had to push this idea that this arc is a show stopper and everything till change. But, really. Nothing’s changed.
I still think Carl should have killed Negan. He’ll escape the “jail” and cause more crap for Rick and Co. to deal with. and if the knife Rick used to attack Negan was mucked(which Rick knows the saviors did during the final attack), Negan will die anyway meaning Carl would have done the humane thing by preventing him from turning while Rick is going to let him turn
Great series, but i cant help but feel a little let down.. Only savior’s deaths!? Come on Kirkman, someone had to be ripe for picking. Not even Negan? Issue 1 of this arc brought back “you kill, you die.” Thought for sure we’d see that fucker go. I get that having Carl kill him would have been copy/paste of the Ben situation.. But michonne is fed up with the same bullshit, and after seeing her straight up deck a blubbering Ezekiel, I kinda expected her to walk up and end Negan during Rick’s pussy speech. Regardless, love the series, keep on keepin’ on.
Araya Storm
Seriously what the fuck did I just read. That was ridiculous and why is Negan still alive?
Because Rick wanted to prove a point that they can finally stop being monsters and be human again, that to rebuild civilization, they have to forgive, to start being civilized once more. I thought it was great that they didn’t kill him, and instead started on the road going back to being civilized creatures once more. Moving away form the savages they had to become, or to put it more symbolically… They no longer have to be The Walking Dead, they can start living again, start being human.
Well… in the season 4 finale of Walking Dead the only major death we had was farmer Rick. It looks like the only major deaths in this issue were Rick’s balls. It’s safe to say that Carl and Andrea both have bigger balls than Rick, and that Rick has essentially learned nothing over the course of the apocalypse. RIP Rick’s Balls. Issue 1 – 126. He had them, occasionally used them and finally lost them. May they rest in peace in this new beginning, and in a kinder, gentler world where madmen will still want to kill you.
Oh no! Rick, a person who has killed countless times, is trying to be sensible and not kill someone! Yeah…. He lost his “balls.” If that’s what balls are I have to wonder why he ever wanted them. God damn.
Right….
No, no. I agree. Let the guy that killed Glenn live after telling him you are going to kill him not long ago. Have a sudden change of heart. Negan won’t break out or try. Everything will be fine and dandy. Rick and Negan are bestest buddies now.
Yeah. Pretty sure Rick lost his balls. Like Negan said, should of killed him when he had the chance.
The best way to restart society is to, of course, be a massive hypocrite.
I agree. Highly hypocritical to say you kill, you must die. Then let the offender live.
Rick Grimes is really just so strong. I mean that’s all I can really say at this point. The dude’s taken bullets, buried a beloved wife, been in fistfights that have left him within an inch of his life, buried his dearest friends, had his right hand cut off, been shot through his side by a crossbow, watched one of his closest friends get his head bashed in, watched his one child take a bullet to the face and lose his eye, he’s had to essentially kill a woman he held dear to save that child, he’s watched that child nearly get raped, he’s been to war against sheer maniacs twice and kept (remnants of) his group alive both times, and now, he’s had his leg broken by Negan. I just couldn’t help thinking how strong Rick was reading #126. Especially when Negan broke his leg, I just really felt his pain. I hope to be half the man Rick is one day. Loved All Out War or hated it, you have to admit, it’s given us yet another example of why our hero of our franchise is up there with the best — you can’t keep Rick Grimes down. Damn. So here’s to you, Rick. Thanks for an awesome ten years.
SO WELL PUT!! Comic book Rick is the man!
The Rick I know would have not thought twice to kill Negan, and should have. Rick ought to know by now that for every Negan, or Governor, there will be five more. Might as well kill them all, because in the end, they will stop at nothing to kill again.
Ricks making a huge mistake. He’s going to load up a prison filled with serial killers rapist governors and negans ready to one day make an escape plan or worse. Someone sick or demented like the joker to release them out in the new world and raise mayhem!! N
Depending on what comes next this was pretty lame.? Good writting though but kindve feel like ive been let down especially because kirkman kept bragging about how awsome and cool it would end/be!!! But like I said depending on whats going to happend next will either make me love/appreciate the whole all out war issues…
They’ll will continue Rick’s dream of rebuilding society. Maybe Kirkman will include detailed blueprints for houses and farming techniques with examples. That’s why the issue will be so big.
Ik that much but will it be interesting and be able to justify why all out war ended the way it did idk I guess I expected to much I like the idea of negan being kept alive to see how stupid he actually is or was but still wouldve been nice to see some ceazy shit/death go down lol
At least some major character should’ve died in the goriest possible way
what a great way to tie up all/most of the story lines!
In a good story, most get what they truly deserve. I enjoyed how Rick did not actually get to kill Negan as he promised in Issue 100(?) or so but he did an equal, if not a worse, justice in this decision.
This sentence of Negan will make him suffer a lot worse than execution. I believe a life sentence is a worse sentence than death. Negan was not a good person but one could argue that he wasn’t an evil person. He was a mirror of rick and some of the decisions that he made in the early comics. Negan did the best things that he though would help his people survive and the selfishness of his power and decisions led him to become the character that he is.
Wtf was that? You spend 7 months bigging this up to a crescendo and then unplug the record player? That was a god awful ending. Actually it was worse than that – it was a non-event. I was prepared to either love it or hate it but it was just a nothingness ending. Very disappointed. I’d naively thought this was the start of a new dimension to the world. Same old goes on.
“You spend 7 months bigging this up to a crescendo and then unplug the record player” I don’t think there’re better words to describe it. I still hope something amazing will happen on next issue that justifies how this one ended.
well said well said
What are you talking about? How would you have ended it? I’m guessing if Negan had died you would have been happy? I will never understand why people can only be happy if finale’s end in typical ways.
I thought it was great, the war is over and Negan was captured, good finale for me. This issue opened up a world of possibilities and I can’t wait to see how Negan adapts to a life of being a prisoner after being a leader for so long.
Groundbreaking
Nothing will be the same
This changes everything
It’s just marketing guff now. We’ve become the walking dead.
Is that so wrong? Kirkman even jokes about the marketing schemes that comic books use in an issue of Invincible, where Invincible talks about how he hates that they do it but will stop buying because he needs the full collection.
Disagree. I was prepared to see either Rick die, or Negan die. Neither happened, and once again, Kirkman made the story unpredictable.
The absence of one or the other dying doesn’t make it unpredictable – and even if it did, that particular unpredictability doesn’t make it a good or worthy plot twist (or even a twist at all). It’s not enough churning this same rubbish out anymore – I just hope (as a fan of many years) that they see that now. I think they are in desperate need of fresh creativity and imagination as to what to do with the story and where to take TWD universe.
As much as I think Negan is one of the greatest characters ever…126 should have been his death. I really think they could have knocked this issue out of the park. I think a lot of people would have been a lot more satisfied with Carl defying Rick and putting a bullet through Negan’s skull then having Rick let Negan live. Definitely a pretty disappointing ending to all out war…but opened up some crazy new possibilities that’s for sure. Can’t wait to see where the story goes next.
I think that this was the right ending. I know we are all blood-thirsty and all that, but this let’s us keep Negan and allows Rick and Carl to grow as characters. It’s like Kirkman said of the show, the most shocking thing that they can do with the series is to not kill someone.
but but but but but but but but blooooood….. haha no seriously i think i agree with you. however i think it might be one of those things Rick eventually regrets doing…. i predict a new group comes to the town negan is in jail in and doesn’t know that a herd they ran into earlier has been following them and they bring it to the town rick decides they need to leave and he lets negan out negan helps them get through the herd to survive but then the whole group just stares at him because of how weird it feels for them to be so close to him outside of jail and their not sure if he helped them to save his own ass or if he changed…. if this were to happen i think he did it to save his ass but when everyone was staring at him that’s when he changes and realizes how wrong he was so he decides to attack them so they’d put him down … i think that’d be cool
that’s why rick would regret it no one would know he is attacking them so they would kill him
what would have been truly satisfying would be rick limping in the room only to see Carl bashing Negan’s face in with Lucile!! that would have been epic
I thought that was gonna happen actually. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN AMAZING!!
now that i look back at it none of this cool story changing stuff would have happened the way it has im happy negan is in jail and i know he will die eventually
All I wanna know is how is Rick leaning in to that crutch with his stumpy?
I was disappointed that there was no “Oh Snap” moment in this issue but delighted that it ended in a way no one predicted & even better, set itself up for future suspense. The war is over but what we have to look forward to is whether or not Negan gets killed, who does the killing, does Carl take matters into his own hands, does Maggie, does Rick get killed, what effects will this decision have, what is up with Dwight & Lucille, etc. True that there probably should have been some dramatic death, but the way this issue went down was to extend the life of the story without the question of “What now…since it’s all over & there’s really nothing to look forward to?”
Rick is a great & honorable man. This issue proved it in full force, although we strongly disagree with his decision. He’ll likely live to regret his decision, which is sure to bring about events in the future that will keep us hooked to this story!
And we still get to read about the baddest thug in TWD history!
I actually enjoyed the issue….I do not understand all the negativity…
Rick did what Rick does…”the right thing”…..even Maggie says thats what Glen would of done…and she’s right…Negan is too good of a character to just kill and move on from…I’m stoked we haven’t seen the last of him…….As always TWD is unique and does not conform to the standard comic way to do things and thats why i love it…well done Mr. Kirkman Weell done
the reason i like this comic is how realistic it can be. rick doesn’t always do the right thing.. i think its when kirkman make these decisions that he conforms to the ‘standard comic way’… doing the right thing is what makes superman a easy to write comic. i feel like kirkman is getting fan friendly and its making it hard to connect with newly introduced characters, and making his core characters flimsy. i dont want to shiva blast, but people felt more for that damn tigers death then any alexandria character…
I think he is making decisions now with the TV show in mind. With so many people jumping to the comics from the TV show, the worst possible thing to do would be to kill off Rick. Even more so that the TV viewers are moving into a world where Daryl doesn’t exist.
Hate to say it, but agree. Same reason I feel Daryl is immortal on the show…..
catering
Yep. Its what happens when something becomes very popular. Not a bad thing, and its good for the franchise. I just posted a longer rant about this. Walking Dead is a lot different than it was 10 years ago. It’s a nation-wide phenomenon now.
I remember when people had never heard of The Walking Dead when the show first started out…. people were just coming out of the vampire craze & looking for the next big thing.
Exactly. Twilight had ended or was ending. Just look at how much viewership has gone up from season one. They pulled in what… 14 million viewers for the finale? That’s a gold mine. Prime time network T.V doesn’t even do that. I think Big Bang theory comes close. That’s all money for AMC, sponsorships. For better or for worse, Kirkman has to think about that partly. It just business.
Look out everybody, the Walking Dead hipsters are out.
Call it like you see it, but I’m still a cool cat…even cooler because I recognized a great thing when it was starting up & I hopped right on. And that’s without being on the vampire/Twilight train!
We are the original zombie crew
No doubt
The Founding DeadHeads for this site… we RUN this joint!
Right. He’s CLEARLY thinking about the TV show by introducing Negan, a character whose every other word can’t be said on AMC. Good thinkin’.
If you read what I wrote, I think I clearly stated “Kirkman has to think about that PARTLY”. It’s not going to drive every action or decision. Good understandin’.
Rick just wants to restore law and order. He is a cop. So he falls back on his ingrained ethics from law enforcement. He wants to Create a system that works without becoming a monster like neagan. Kirkman has the right idea. People gravitate to the good In others. Besides, rotting in jail is a worse fate than death and a slap in the face to watch people succeed without you.
yeah i’ve reread 126 a few times now and i still say it was the easy way to end the arc, and set up for what ever new direction the comics gonna go. that being said, i totally get what everyone thinks as far as justice being served and mercy being harder… its just not real… the plan is to keep them jailed up for the rest of his life? seriously… has anyone been able to stay in one for even a year? they’re gonna give him rations for the rest of his life? wait.. werent people just running out of food a little bit ago? in an apocalypse i dont think luxuries like prison are probable.. Like i said great book, but lost me as far as being realistic.. Farmer rick echos..
So Rick the cop wants to restore a world of law and order, where mass murdering war criminals don’t get executed like in real life?
I enjoyed this issue up until the last three pages. Rick did the wrong thing by letting a mass murdering war criminal live. Rick fucked up again. Don’t get me wrong, I love that Rick fucks up sometimes and that makes him human and relatable. What I don’t like is that Rick does not learn from many mistakes, ending up in good people getting killed. Some Saviors will still be loyal to Negan and attempt to break him out of some non-existing jail. Some Survivor, Hilltop, and Kingdom members will be pissed that Rick is letting the guy who killed their loved ones live, while consuming extra resources. Letting Negan live serves one purpose, a Negan escape and people turning on Rick. Maggie “believes in Rick Grimes”, which is why she goes along with what Rick says. Andrea and Carl have it right. Negan is a bad villain. I don’t mean he’s bad in the sense that he kills innocent people; I mean he’s bad in the sense that his character relies on constant cursing, dick jokes, and Andrew Dice Clay type antics. The way this arc should have end is Carl blowing his stupid fucking mother fucking fuckitty fucking brains all over the floor.
Agreed on the unique part. I wonder if he comes back later and has Carl kill Negan, how many people would say that he’s catering to the fans? But, imo trying to be “better” than Negan by letting him live is just dumb, not the right thing.
I think away it can go is: Carl goes to where Negan is kept prisoner to kill him. He doesn’t agree with rick at all on keeping Negan alive. So he goes in the jail and try’s to kill him (a like what he done to Ben and billy.) but Negan kills Carl. Which makes rick flip! He goes insane and kills Negan brutally and the rest of the saviours.
That would be brilliant!!!
Maybe if Kirkman’s intention is to kill Rick off, Rick finds himself checking in on Negan…steps in to remind him how f’cked he is. Negan kills Rick. Carl snaps & goes Full Shane (yeah, man, I get to use that again!). Except Carl’s not quite right from there on out.
I agree with you it could go ether way…. But Carl can’t lead yet he’s 9
He’s too young to lead right now but he is a boss, no doubt about it!
Hell yeah! These days he gets more action then Rick!
Wow, is he really only 9? It’s hard to tell with how he looks now. He’s totally badass I think he looks 12!
Carl = Last Man Standing!
I think so. I mean he was 7 at the start. Don’t think it’s been more then like 3 years at most. I’d say 9/10.
OMG Guys! I was in the letter hacks for the second time in a row! I’m AndyTheZombie! I’ll upload a video soon about that on my Youtube channel! WOO!
Read you…nice letter! Hated the reveal on the 127 cover, tho! Was sure hoping for Lilly!
I honestly just wish Kirkman would have let Carl fall into a life of depravity. The darkness in Carl has be swelling ever since he witnessed Rick viciously murder that bandit, and also when he killed Ben.
Rick Grimes has had a lot of failures since the apocalypse started…but out of all of them, it seems as if he still hasnt failed his son, and is able to truly be a good example to his son. WHICH, I think is one of the last bits of guiding light in this comic.
BUT, it would be so deliciously cruel to just rip that away from Rick. Maybe a little down the line, his greatest failure will still be Carl losing his light. What better antagonist to the series, than a man’s own son?
Carl could be a mix of Negan and the Governor, but even smarter and more lethal, since he grew up in this world.
Make it happen Kirkman! It’ll be a Darth Vader/Luke Skywalker story, except roles reversed
Issue #127 Prediction: Since Kirkman said we’re going to have a “drastically” different book starting with Issue #127, I think we’re either
A.) Focusing a new/existing group of survivors. (Woodbury 2.0 to those that read the novels. Great shit btw)
B.) Time skip, but not likely.
C.) A new group within Rick’s existing community that plans to overthrow him due to Rick being a softy and letting the war end without killing Negan.
From these 3, my bet is option A, but with existing characters. Mainly because it wouldnt make much sense for Kirkman to do a completely new Character shift, without said characters already existing and having some background. But who knows….
Just bring back something fresh. Our current characters story arcs are kinda almost dried up…so I cant wait to see what new dynamics come about.
I highly doubt a time skip due to the rapidly decomposing Walkers.
I think it is evident that it will probably be Woodbury. I think it will be even more so because of the book coming out in October focusing on Woodbury.
I don’t think it’s A nor B, since what Seanem44 about B and for A, the cover shows a woman and people assumed it was Lily from Woodbury, but Robert Kirkman published my letter (In this very issue!) and I asked why Lily is on the cover and he replied, “THAT IS NOT LILY.”
Great letter!
Thanks! 😉
Amazing to see so many people upset about Negan living because that’s “stale and disappointing” when just as many thought if he died it would be a repeat of the Governor, i.e. stale and disappointing. I’m not saying that’s what I think about it. It just seems that no matter what Kirkman did, people would have complained.
Right on, well put! Sometimes I feel like Kirkman is damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t.
Which is why I think this issue is just fine the way it is… left the door wide open for many possibilities.
Fuck. You.
Excuse me?
Initial reaction – pissed
Several hours later – excited
Reasons:
At first I felt cheated there was nothing new that happened that I cared about, e.g. no major deaths, no earth shattering changes, no cliffhangers.
Although I loved negan as a badguy I was hoping Maggie would bash his brains in with Lucille, that would have been fun to see!
Then I had the realization that kirkman is a complete mindfu@k. He is so good at getting everyone to want something and then finding a way for that not to happen but at the sametime not piss off his customers. Truely masterful with this entire series.
So I became excited with the possibilities this just opened up, here are a few I came up with but others have already posted some good ones as well
– negan escapes or is broken out and bam entire new arc
– Dwight or someother Savior drunk with their new found power becomes the second coming of negan and bam new arc
– hell with so many people between the communities you could have internal struggles for power with rick and his friends and a new fraction within because of decisions rick makes the sompeople may not like, bam new arc
-new bad guy for a few arcs then bring back negan, bam new arc
– new badguy just as bad as negan, causes tons of problems and finds out about negan in jail, breaks him out at the end of one arc, then teams up with him in the next arc. At the end of the teamup arc negan kills new badguy and vows to kill rick for an third arc where the ultimate bad guy negan is once again raging war with rick and co.
*favorite* – new bad guy, worse than the governor, worse than negan, about to kill rick but who saves rick but none other than negan who now becomes a main character in the series on the good side. Bam best new arc.
Anyway thanks for keeping me entertained!
Wow, very well thought out! There are a LOT of Saviors who appear to be just straight-up thugs and lowlifes. So to expect them to just peacefully co-exist with all other communities in the surrounding area is a stretch. Some of them are gonna be itching for a fight, some kinda action ‘cuz that’s been their life under Negan- being bullies and pushing people around, and that’s what they’re used to. Just sitting around planting crops and whatnot would be too boring for them.
but thats where building up small armys to combat walkers would come in, those people would be the militia to thin the heards. With the way Rick made it sound he plans on rebuilding the world for the better, but in order for people to live safely the walkers would have to be eliminated no?
Things have changed. And not in a bad way. But face the facts. 10 years ago, Walking Dead was relatively unknown. Now it is a universal name. It is a nation-wide and global enterprise. It is popular. Very popular. For better or worse, because of the show, and now the novels, Kirkman and the rest are going to think harder about the actions they make and take in the comics. The results; less shocks than before. Can I say had the series not reached the popularity it has, Rick would have died in this issue? No. But I can guarantee that Dwight taking over the Saviors would and could eventually make an intriguing novel. I highly doubt that money is driving these decisions. But the popularity definitely is. And though the show and comics are two different entities, and not entirely the same, they are not entirely different. The show is at the peak of its popularity. You can’t kill Rick because of people watching the show jumping to the comics at this point. This is what I think at least. Could be wrong though. And that’s what I like about Kirkman. He keeps us on our toes and doesn’t appear to be in it for the money. But… rest assured, there is money involved. AMC has sponsors.
Nice post. I don’t think AMC has a direct control over the comic but they could have something in there contract with RK to protect the show by not wanting certain things to happen and effect it. AMC care about there product only and not the book. Like you say they got sponsors.
I agree. I doubt they have direct control over the comic, but I’m sure there is a clause or something to protect both interests.
By letting negan live and ‘jailing’ him shows all survivors that order, justice, and ultimately peace can be achieved as it did before the outbreak. Of course though with roamers in the world as rick and co. Have now things will always be chaotic whether they like it or not.
Q: Anyway, do you think the Saviors are really just going to return home, following another bat-wielding leader without complaint? Are they still a threat without Negan leading them?
A: Maybe. I think this has been Dwight’s plan all along. Let someone else take care of Negan and he gets to be in charge. I don’t think we know enough about Dwight to determine if he is bad enough to just pick up where Negan left off but it concerns me that he ran off instead of staying behind to try to convince the Saviors to switch sides.
Q: Rick’s leg vs. Negan’s life. Rick made the altruistic choice… but did he make the right one?
A: Eh – what’s a hobbly leg when you’re already missing a hand and planning to rebuild the world all rainbows and ponies?
Q: What did you think of the conclusion of Carl’s storyline this arc?
A: Carl has shown time and again that he may not agree with his dad but he’ll follow his lead. I’m not entirely convinced Carl isn’t holding the monster inside until circumstances require him to bring it out again.
Q: And, of course, the final page, the end of All Out War. What did you think about Rick’s choice to leave Negan alive, rotting in jail?
A: I think Rick is choosing to ignore this particular problem until it SWIMS UP AND BITES HIM ON THE ASS!
Q: Was All Out War everything you hoped it would be?
A: Yes. Yes it was.
Q: Issue #127 predictions, anyone?
A: Time skip. Not sure anymore who that woman on the cover is since I’m guessing 129 is Rick’s old man silhouette…but for now I’m sticking with Maggie and Glenn’s daughter. Wherever it goes…can’t hardly wait (oooh maybe that’s Jennifer Love Hewitt on the cover!)
Kirkman said in the letter hacks once that he hates time jumps. Paraphrasing and recalling info without 100% remembering: I believe he said he thought it would be fun to write the “15 years later” story, but that he didn’t want to do a time jump. I can’t remember 100% if he said that he wouldn’t ever do it, but he made it very clear he was not a of fan of time jumps.
My opinion; I doubt he will do it.
Ooooh. Thanks for letting me know that – I guess I didn’t read that one. I caught up in about 4 days through a combo of the compendiums, TP’s and hardcovers before buying individuals not yet in any of the above lol. So I’ve only enjoyed a handful of letter hacks. With issue 128’s plot being “after all this time she should be more prepared” and 129 is “Even now, they still find new ways to dispose of the dead” the time skip seemed imminent. Kirkman is good at alluding without confirming though. We’ll see in two weeks!
Still no comic available on Amazon in the UK for the Kindle – tis’ bullshit, bullshit I say!!
It’s MIA in the US, too. Made me go over to Comixology.
Not wanting to sound dopey as I aint the most tech savvy guy around but can you not download it from Image? That’s what I did but it was to my laptop.
How soon are the comics available for DL at Image? I just switched from Comixology, realizing Image is DRM-free. Hope they eventually make subs available!!
I think at midnight USA time ( I live in UK). I came home from work in the evening and it was there. It was first time I have downloaded it, as I normally get it in the post. However for issue I just couldn’t wait!!!
Appreciate it! I’m just hoping that I’ll be able to download it to my jump drive in the early morning & take it to work to read on my break.
As much as I applaud Rick’s hopes for what jailing Negan will bring (both for Carl and the community as a whole) I feel like as long as Negan is held captive he will either instigate or support any plots to overthrow the current leadership. I feel like it’s not going to end well for anyone.
By the way – I was RIGHT in my analysis of the motives behind Rick’s speech in the last issue (thank you mean ‘ol Senior English teacher Mrs. Williams) and thereby WON
It was awesome! So happy Negan didn’t die. Him being in jail sucks(didn’t even think The Hilltop had jails but ok i guess they’ll make em) but its all good i think things will handle smoothly with Dwight in charge of the saviors and the 4 communities(4 IF they go back to Alexandra) will cooperate with eachother somewhat nicley. Even though Negan is the best, he let his ego get further then his leadership but whatever just good job keeping him alive for future issues to come!
Not exactly what I was expecting but enjoyed it nonetheless.
I expected Negan’s tackle but that’s about the only thing I guessed right. I didn’t expect their brawl to have been ended by Andrea. I didn’t expect that Dwight would survive the battle (I kinda thought he would die a half sympathetic death, at the hands of one of Rick’s men, not knowing which side Dwight was on, and that we as an audience would never truly know Dwight’s intentions.. I Was wrong). Speaking of not surviving, I’m really surprised there were no major deaths in the conclusion to the war. The biggest surprise being that Negan didn’t die but my guess is that he will come back; I don’t think he will rot in a jail cell. He will either get out or kill him self in his “prison.” speaking of which, where will his makeshift cell be? Can they really build a cell to enclose a madman like Negan? I think there’s a future plotline in Negan’s eventual escape from whatever prison they concoct for him.
Oh well. I’m rambling. I’m not at all upset that I was surprised by this issue. If I could guess everything that was going to happen, it would be kind of pointless to read them. Kirkman must, and does, lead the story where we aren’t expecting.
Andrea did not end the fight. He passed out from blood loss
Thanks. I read that elsewhere too. The way he fell, in only the second frame after she was getting into position, I thought she shot him. Makes more sense that he passed out with him living.
That was my initial thought from the frames until later when it showed he was alive, then I realized what had actually happened, lol
Looks like Negan done FUCKED FUCKITY FUCK FUCKED himself.
I just feel so fucking underwhelmed…….
Two weeks ago I made a comment about wrapping my head around Rick’s decision to kill Negan. It just didn’t make sense to me and I’m honestly so fucking happy that’s not the route Kirkman chose to take. Everything Rick said in his speech in #125 was spot on and killing Negan just didn’t correlate with that. I believe death was too good for him. This arc, to me, was one of the best yet! The art evolved perfectly and it really hasn’t looked better. The plot had me counting the days till the next Wednesday release every time and I can’t wait to see where the book goes from here.
So about that #129 cover now. That is 100% Rick with a cane cause Negan broke the shit out of his leg.
A cane, yes. It’s been modified, tho (wire). Maybe this “new way of disposal” just means this cane is now Rick’s weapon of choice.
It also could be that attachment Rick was talking about with Earl Sutton. Now THAT would be bad ass.
The cane gets a cool, secret knife attachment from a button that Rick can only press with his stump, and it be optional to add a gun like a shotgun or assault rifle. AWESOME.
Sounds like something you get on Pawn Stars. “Zombie killing device with multiple functions? Let me call a buddy of mine”.
Ha!
A cane that acts as a weapon, brought to you by Earl Sutton and Eugene Porter!
Issue 127 prediction: The issue is set XX years into the future when the civilization Rick hoped for has been built. It’s not perfect, but it is mostly stable and functioning with regional connections of smaller cities, trade, laws, security, etc. Rick, Negan, Andrea, etc. are still alive but older obviously. The mysterious girl on the new covers is Glenn and Maggie’s baby all grown up. The next volume will follow her and a new crew as they confront a new problem… one that will eventually lead to the root cause of the zombie disease.
Yup. Agreed.
I agree. Not sure on looking for what caused the apocalypse though. I think Kirkman once said he wouldn’t go there in Letter Hacks. Wherever it goes can’t wait to get the next issue.
Holy hell did I cringe when Negan snapped Rick’s leg! I knew that he wasn’t dead when Rick cut his throat. Negan is too much of a bad ass to die that easily. I’m almost glad Rick kept him alive though, but I;m not too sure about letting him rot in jail until he is old. That seems to be letting him off too easily. Negan will certainly become the “evil villain” later on in the series after he escapes somehow. Thats my prediction. and as he would say, “Every last mother fucker out here will mother fucking die!” Long live Negan!
If you read the Letter Hacks at the back of this issue, Kirkman confirms that the mystery woman is NOT Lilly. I guarantee you there is going to be a time jump. That woman is the baby of Glenn & Maggie
Yeah, you know who that letter was from? ME.
Congratulations!
Thanks, handsome. BTW, I got my letter published 2nd time in a row! Issue 125, I was first published, but I had my name as Andy Gasal, my whole name, and in this Issue, I was under my Wikia Name, AndyTheZombie (There’s a 75 too, but I guess I forgot :D)
“handsome”, lol!
It’s true, dude. 😉
Andy, you bastard, you! Way to go again!
Thanks, can’t wait to rub this letter in my friends’ faces when Spring Break is over 😀
It could still be Telltale Lilly though… He never said no to that(I don’t think).
I’ve been on the fence about the time jump theory, but I’m leaning towards it. Brand new characters and a new beginning starting with the next issue + the left arm holding the cane on the issue of cover 129 looks visibly old + Kirkman promised groundbreaking. On the other hand, TWD issues are notorious for having absolutely nothing to with the cover art. It could be a Kirkman troll. I’ve been toying around with the Old Man Rick concept with my gf, but she’s not buying it. Let’s face it, a time jump is the only way to have Carl become the main protagonist where he can actually be of age to lead people.
Was the arc everything I hoped it would be? It was barely worthy of being called an arc. Start at the beginning and go to the end – what was the point of it? What changed? What did we learn about TWD universe and its people? What was so groundbreaking about it? Why will nothing be the same? Rick would never in a million years risk leaving Negan alive. He’s a psychopath, like the governor – who incidentally killed his wife. What was my feeling about Carl’s conclusion to the arc? I don’t know how to answer that. What happened to him in this last issue? He wanted to kill Negan and Dad said no…??
Seriously, this is really worrying if you think this passes as acceptable writing. I think Mr K may be over-stretching himself.
While I think your assessment was a BIT harsh, I agree with the vast majority of it. A lot of people on this site don’t like to call out Kirkman for some hard truths like: he’s stretching himself too thin, the television series is a piece of garbage and everyone knows it, nothing really happened in this arc etc. Bravo for the ballsy and honest post.
Yeah a lot of people think everything he touches is golden. I’ve said before, the show and season 4 in particular have lacked pace and had no real direction. To be honest people wont complain about him for fear of abusive replies. I’ve seen some nasty stuff on facebook to anyone who has shown any form of criticism. As for AOW the conclusion was ok but didn’t finish with a bang like I thought it might.
The second half of season 4 was the best material from the entire tv show. Maybe it’s just because between the prison assault and before Alexandria was my favorite period of TWD, but there’s no way season 4.2 was bad.
two words. season finale.
Care to elaborate?
point was i shouldnt have to.. but since you asked.. kinda the same thing as AOW.. a lot of great build up for a nothing finale… great character development, but it doesnt belong in a finale… the first half of the episode felt super cramped.. they did good job with the daryl/rick meet up and death of the claimers.. but the flashbacks eh.. the whole episode just felt like ‘oops came to the end of the season too fast, guess we’ll pick up the season five..’ if you think about it nothing about the terminus hunters was confirmed.. didnt see the skeletons till the second time i watched it… didnt hear beth yelling for help til viewing number 5…. mid-season finale was much more of a finale.. if that makes sense..
Bad point and you should “have to”, because you made a statement that you think everyone knows and agrees with. There’s this thing called cliffhanger, which you should be familiar with if you follow TWD arcs or any comic arcs for that matter. The reason it felt too fast for the end of a season is because season 4.2 was the start of an entirely different story arc than 4.1, which was the end to the governor arc. They did a great job of incorporating scenes from the comics, while using different character to get the job done. To top it off, there was major foreshadowing, stories told out of sequence, easter eggs, and major clues to put the overall puzzle together. Check reddit in case you were following the story map over there, but 4.2 was phenomenal in contrast to anything outside of season 1. I totally agree that the flashback scenes were overdone, but whatever; it wasn’t that big of a deal when I look back on it. I complained about this same shit with my gf when I first watched it because of time constraints, but it’s not as bad as you make it out to be. If anyone is complaining about anything in season 4 is should be episode 12, “Still”, which was complete garbage. They wasted 43 minutes telling a 15-20 minute story and the big reveal was that Daryl is exactly who everyone already though he was. I will conceded that season 4.1 had a slow, boring start, but that picked up the moment Rick abandoned Carol. There was not supposed to be a definite “these are the hunters”, because of the whole cliffhanger thing I mentioned previously. I saw the skeletons the first time through because I was looking for “these are the hunters” clues, but I understand where you are coming from because my gf didn’t noticed them until the third time she watched it. I also agree that the mid season finale was much more of a finale, because it was the true end of a story arc, whereas the season 4 finale was not; it was a cliffhanger ending to an incomplete, ongoing story arc. I also agree with you to some extent about the ending to AOW. The arc itself was mostly good, but ending was just stupid and Negan is a horrible villain. In no world does Rick logically let Negan live. What you say does make sense, I just think we are examining it in a different context, if that makes sense.
ha okay mr. offensive…. sorry if i struck a bad cord, but you asked for me to elaborate on my opinion.. i didnt want to get super into the show because this is a comic book discussion… i get that the show/comic likes cliffhangers, but not typically on season finales.. i think the reason for ‘still’ and other filler episodes after mid-season was to purposefully draw out the finale to a ‘cliffhanger’… i also think they are leaving gaps in the comic/show for people to ‘fill in the blanks’ because people are more likely to get hooked if they are allowed to read into things and find greater symbolism in them.. like andythezombie said..
catering…
It’s all good man I’m not offended; I’m passionate. I was just trying to explain how season 4.2 was the start of a new story arc and for some reason some people didn’t catch on to that. I think this is the first mid season premiere that has started with a new arc on the show. I actually agree with you on a lot of stuff, but don’t make blank statements about your opinion upon which people are just supposed to automatically agree with you and know what you are talking about by leaving a vague response if you don’t like having heated debates. Personally, I think the “Still” episode happened because it starred Daryl, the most popular character, and it aired during the weekend of one of those stupid award shows (Oscars, Emmys, or some other bullshit).
We learned that Rick rarely learns from his mistakes and makes a lot stupid decisions that get good people killed. This arc should have ended before it started when they discovered Negan’s base and Andrea sniped him.
Wow, that was a fantastic ending! I love that we’ve moved past killing people, or rather, that Rick has. Keeping Negan alive was the best thing they could’ve done to show just how far they’ve come, just like Rick said. Dwight being the leader of the Saviors seems to be pretty good too, it will mean that the Sanctuary will probably be nothing more than just another Community in this new cradle of civilization that the D.C area has become.
And Carl’s arc was finished up pretty nicely, also Maggie saying that it’s what Glenn would have wanted… Because that’s totally right. I’ve never much liked Carl, but it seems that he’s finally being convinced that Rick is right, they don’t have to be monsters to survive any more, and that’s a good thing.
Altogether, a great arc(in my opinion, the best so far), and a fantastic ending.
Rick is not a survivor. he is broken and needs to die. Negan understands the brutality of the apocalypse and is better suited to lead. hopefully Carl will usurp his father violently and this comic can move somewhere, as it has been stagnant for a while.
Now that’s just bullshit. Doesn’t understand the brutality of the apocalypse? Really? The guy who hit someone with a car then choked him to death? The guy who saw his wife gunned down? The guy who ripped someone’s throat out with his teeth and then gutted his sons would-be-rapist? THAT guy doesn’t understand the apocalypse? Rick is finally trying to move in a POSITIVE direction. NOTHING will change if they keep killing. Negan took and took and took and gave nothing back to the communities he was taking from. He was bleeding others dry but he’s the one meant to lead?
No. Just no to all of that.
I agree with you in part. But what should Kirkman do? continue this circular fight, flight, find shelter, build up defensive, attack enemy, scatter, repeat? honestly I am just ready for it to be over. can you ever see an ending? I mean, they aren’t going to rebuild society; so unless a cure is coming, the story is dragging and becoming quite repetitive.
Rick is definitely smarter than Negan but I don’t like him either. I would rather have Michonne be leader. aside from those points, I just want the series to end so Kirkman can focus on Invincible. for me, issue 96 was the best ending. what do you think? where can/will the story go?
Not sure… But Kirkman has taken both TWD and Invincible in numerous unexpected directions before. My confidence isn’t the highest currently but I’m putting faith in Kirkman’s ability to write and I’ll wait to see what happens. Hopefully something good.
I got my letter in the letter hacks! So stoked!!!
Me too, though we had better chances than normal since they did a double letter hacks.
I got mine too. Second time in a row. TIP: They don’t pay attention to e-mail addresses, so all you need to do is change your name at the end (I put my whole name at the end of my letter in 125, Andy Gasal, and in 126, I put my Wikia name at the end, AndyTheZombie, there’s also a 75 in the name but I was lazy to put it.)
I’m happy all our Characters made it out, but a disappointing Issue. One of the worst of all the comics, by far worst of the arc. Now we’ll have a whole ‘Country’ for lack of a better term. With Rick leading, Dwight, Ezekiel, and Maggie as his under’s. They’ll all take control of their own communities, but Rick is still in charge overall. These new people coming in (Bad guys?) should be interesting. Maybe Lilly Caul? What about the return of Jim?
That isn’t Lily isn’t on the cover (Read my letter in 126, I’m AndyTheZombie), and Jim was bitten and reanimated.
Yes, but Jim was only slightly bit, no chunk came out. Could very well be Lily Caul (I don’t have the Issue, can’t read Letter Hacks anymore :((
Lily’s not there, I asked and RK said it isn’t 🙁 And Jim’s skin went off, like, that’s nasty…
Robert Kirkman says a lot of shit that turns out to be false. We cannot trust that man. We all know that.
What do you know? You’re dead! JK, you might be right.
I would have loved to hear Rick just pull out a cheesy one liner such as “The Sheriff is back in town” Plus that hand, I’m excited for that baby. I really hope Negan doesn’t bite us in the ass later though.
This issue sucked balls. What is Rick going to do? Put Negan in a cell and feed him and wipe his ass? Negan will eventually turn his people on Rick and kill him. He killed Glenn so he dies, period. I think Carl should shoot him and then leave the group and take Michonne with him. I used to think the comics would not last without Rick, but now I’m not so sure. All Out War had a shitty payoff.
The reason Rick put Negan in a cell is so he can watch as Rick and Co. enjoy life while he’s behind bars, where he can’t do anything but watch, sleep, eat (They’ll most likely feed him since Rick wants him there until he’s old as fuck), and piss. I highly doubt Negan will be able to talk to “his” Saviors nor would they want to talk to him because:
– Since they’re not living at the hilltop with Rick and Co. so there’s way to contact them.
– Back at the Sanctuary, Negan made them rack up points to get things like meds and probably other things (If you remember 105, some guy asked if Negan got anything good, meds, for Molly, who still hasn’t appeared), which is SO STUPID, considering the fact that they want to survive, not wasting their time getting points like a Call of Duty: Zombies match, so that’s another reason.
– Some even don’t want him, like Dwight, His wives (They should, just think of diseases OTHER ladies have which I won’t name, phooey), Mark, Carson (And he’s Negan’s man of trust inside the base!), and most likely A LOT more, maybe even all of them.
Also, even Maggie said Glenn would like the monster to be imprisoned instead of execution (Never mess with a pregnant woman! Experience :D). and there’s no way Carl would run off with Michonne. He has a dad and hope-to-be mom (Andrea)! Michonne even has a boyfriend (Can’t wait for him to get cursed by Michonne to die! But that would suck, right?), so what I’m getting at is, the things you said were pretty foolish.
This isn’t the modern world where Rick and Co. Can hand Negan over to the authorities and continue on with their lives. They have to WATCH him 24 hours a day and feed him and care for him. That’s a lot of resources to waste on someone who would kill you as easy as breathing. And he will get loose and kill someone Rick loves. It’s fucking stupid to let him live. And you’re an asshole for saying my response to lazy writing was foolish.
Sorry, but YOU just said it was your writing was LAZY *sighs*
Of course Negan can’t be handed to authorities (BUT, Rick was a cop and there was a time where he got to be cop again :D), and they WON’T need to feed him everyday, they can leave him to starve once a while for a punishment, and they WON’T need to watch him 24/7 either, if they just keep him the way he was the last three pages of 126, all handcuffed on a stretcher (I think), he can’t get out so they don’t need to watch him everyday.
Wow, they can starve him but not kill him. Why not put his head in a vise and poke his balls with a ice pick, as long as you don’t kill him, it’s okay. And I was talking about Kirkman’s writing you dumbass.
There was no reason to call me a dumbass since YOU’RE the one who was lazy to say “And you’re an asshole for saying my response to ROBERT KIRKMAN’S lazy writing was foolish.” Now, I did see you said “to” between “response” and “lazy”, so my mistake, but there was no reason to call me a dumbass. You could’ve just corrected my error nicely, but it seems you are the indeed asshole. And, hey, I’m not Kirkman, I was just guessing on what they can do with their prisoner, jeez.
You’re the person that started the post trying to make me look stupid, so hence the aggression. I was trying to make a point that letting Negan live WILL cause tons of trouble for the group. Letting an enemy live and then letting them come back and cause trouble for the protagonist is fucking lazy writing. The first time Batman realized the Joker would kill or maim everyone he loved, he still just took him back to Arkham like a dumbass and many of his friends have suffered because he has no backbone. I see this happening with Negan and it needs to stop. And it’s lazy. If all we have to look forward to is Negan getting loose and causing trouble for the group, it’s a COMPLETE SELLOUT. And I’m calling BULLSHIT! I have no ill will against you. You’re Batman, I’m the Punisher. Have a good day sir.
Well, I was just correcting you, Andrew, *smiles* friends?
Oh yeah, it’s Batman’s fault Barbra Gordon is a cripple. Look it up.
I don’t think the problem was that this issue sucked; I thought it was mostly good. The problem is that the last three pages sucked. Carl should have shot Negan. This is not going to end the way Rick wants.
Kill the Governor, but keep this one dimensional villain alive? Carl better finish that job down the road!
> The Governor literally being everything “evil”
> Negan being the one-dimensional character.
Right.
Evil…charismatic…calculating. It’s all semantics.
#127 Enter Michael Schofield.
This 3 week wait is going to kill me…….
Oh yeah, hold up. Rick on TV will bite a man’s throat out who says he’s going to kill them, but won’t kill the man that brutally bashed Glenn’s head in, in front of his wife. I think Maggie needs to shoot him and then point the gun at Rick and tell him to get the fuck out of town. As long as Kirkman stays away from the video game, I think I’ll be OK. Leave Clementine alone Kirkman!
At least he didn’t say “screwed” on that last frame.lol
Well, Andrew, he wants Negan to be tortured by letting him see happiness in everyone but him since he is trapped in a cell forever until he’s old and rots away, and the TV series is not really IMO. Why would Maggie kill Negan after what she said about that Glenn would want him to be imprisoned? She would be crazy about making Rick move out ESPECIALLY with him having more power (Not being sexist here, what I mean is, he has Andrea, a sharpshooter, and Carl, the badass, and MANY MORE!). By the way, Kirkman has NOTHING with the game except that it’s in the same universe as the comics and also, he doesn’t really collaborate with it, I think.
Everyone is saying how much they hated this issue but I couldn’t disagree more. There was more character development and closure than any other ending could have possibly had.
Rick developed and evolved so much in this chapter. For the first time since the early issues he was one hundred percent Officer Rick Grimes. Ever since the beginning, this story has been about Rick and how the zombie apocalypse changes you until you’re nothing like who you used to be. Rick changed from a law abiding citizen and upholder of peace, to a cynical ruthless killer, willing to do absolutely anything to defend his family. Finally, after 127 issues he has finally come back to the Rick he once was. A defender of peace and a man who believes in justice, not death for all who oppose him. He was even willing to save Negan’s life before letting the doctors work on his leg. He’s become the just leader that he was destined to become.
Other than that, Carl evolves as well, as he finally listens to his dad. He starts seeing things Rick’s way for once instead of having a constant argument with him. He’s changed as well, not being as fast to kill as he used to. (Though he did want Negan dead just like everyone else at first.) Especially after last chapter with all he said to Mikey, you know Carl will also be a great leader one day.
Michonne finally had a smile on her face and tells Rick he’s a great leader? Took a little while. Ezekiel finally stands up like a man and defends Michonne when she’s in danger. Also, Dwight finally stands up and becomes the leader the Saviors need. He may not be anything close to a “good man,” but I think he will turn out to be a great leader and gain redemption for all the evil he has done. (We still miss you, Abraham!)
The fuck, fucking, fuckity man himself, Negan…you know there’s no chance a psychotic, and all around awesome villain like him will remain locked up forever. When he does get out, I’m sure he’ll be as happy as a fuckless fuck on free fuck day, and hell might break lose. Till then, I can’t wait to see what next month’s double issue holds! So many great ways they can take this from here.
Yeah, he could wake up in the hospital and realize it was all a dream. And then shoot himself.
WHY?
Then we wouldn’t quite have a story, now would we?
Rick is fucking up huge by not killing Negan.
I couldn’t disagree more. It’s the single thing that is bringing them closer to humanity and civilization. Not only with how it was before the apocalypse, but better. Again, sometimes justice doesn’t mean killing.
I have a whole post reasoning why Rick is fucking up, so I’m not going to retype it here; but you are welcome to read it and respond with counterpoints. I’ll bring up the one that’s most relevant to your point about being closer to humanity and civilization. Since when does humanity and civilization not execute mass murderers? You are right, sometimes justice does not mean killing, but Negan is a mass murderer and a war criminal in terms of humanity and civilization.
Yes! Negan Lived!
Negan must still have a few loyal followers he will escape.. No prison can hold him .
no diggity no doubt
I like to bag it up
“I like the way you work it”
Hey yo hey yo hey yo hey yoooooooo!
Oh, you fit right in with us quite nicely!!
… and so it ends. I really wish Carl had just blown Negan apart in those last few panels.
I was personally a little relieved to see no major characters die. Honestly, we were all expecting Kirkman to kill off either Rick or Negan, and he (in a sense) shocked us all by doing neither! Kirkman navigated this huge story arc to a conclusion without banking off of the “shock value” of killing a major character. I think that it shows a bit of maturity. If we want gratuitous death, we can always go over to “Game of Thrones.” I don’t think Kirkman has established any of the new wave of characters well enough for any of them to carry the story. I’ll admit, when Nicholas died I had to rack my brain and remember which one he was. However, I am glad to have Negan still around. He was/is a much more enjoyable and complex villain than The Governor, and I look forward to seeing what will happen now that everybody has joined forces and Negan is now under restraints. Kirkman did flesh out these villains well, with Negan and Dwight being two of the most interesting characters to read in years. My only complaint is that I’m getting a little sick of the Washington DC setting, and I kind of wish they moved on already…
Ok, so, interesting issue. All I can say is that it seriously not what I expected. In the last frame of 125, I thought, well Negan is definitely done for. Of course, like most predictions I make for the comic, I’m way off. Do I think Negan should live? Not exactly, but Rick made a good point, Negan didn’t kill either him or Carl when he had the chance, so I guess it was a tolerable decision on his part. If he would have died, Carl definitely should have been the one to do it though. Any way’s, while it wasn’t the over the top ending I was expecting, it was fairly satisfying and looking forward to future story arcs. I’m hoping they actually do show a little of Dwight’s rule of the Saviors, maybe start by changing the name since they won’t technically be “Saviors” any more, or maybe they’ll find some groups to mooch off of.
Damn, All Out War REALLY fucking sucked…
If you hated the ending to All Out War, just don’t buy the next issue and they’ll figure out they fucked up. That’s all you can really do.
This story arc ended in a similar way to how season 3 ended. Rick trying to lead the group to restoring civilization and Carl wanting to shoot everything that moves. This was definitely a great way to end a story arc.
Rick should of given Negan the right to a speedy trial (all of about 5 minutes) and then had Negan strung up from a light pole. Justice. Served. Bitches.
almost certain this action will lead to a major character death when negan inevitably escapes
so the 12 issue arc was filler? lol
At the end where Rick wanted to make sure that Negan would live also I felt like we’ve taken a turn for the anime side of good guy vs. evil guy.. it’s like in DBZ Goku be trying to save the bad guy at the end of the fight all the time. Predictable good guy stuff.. That sends a weird signal though, “hey I just tried to kill you and cut your neck open with a knife but now I want you to live”….If you’re going to stab the dude then stab him and let him die… Also I was hoping that there was going to be some important main character deaths, but alas, I was hoaxed into thinking there was going to be one awesome battle and that a lot of people were going to die….
Rick finally will get to build what he has dreamed of for the last 125 issues of this comic…it is a perfect ending. Brilliant by Kirkman.
And…it was a shocker…all the major characters we love (good and bad) survived the All Out War. That shocked me! Bring on 127!!!
I was SO surprised when Maggie gave birth to Negan’s baby. The way that Kirman made you believe that Negan killed glen out of spite was such a surprise. And that baby coming out with a full head of hair!?!?! crazy issue for sure!
In the apocalypse, Carl quickly adopted a kill or be killed sensibility. His survival depended on it. In this issue Rick moves Carl past mere survival towards a meaningful existence. This father-son relationship has always been the core of The Walking Dead, so altruism is Rick’s only option.
Nice article but you mentioned that Andrea’s bullet stopped Negan from killing Rick. It looked to me like Negan was passing out from loss of blood, therefore he was falling as Andrea shot & obviously missed. There was nothing to indicate that he’d been shot. And the comments section in your article is closed, otherwise I would have mentioned it there. 😉
Oh boy- that’s what I get for reading too quickly. I just saw the gun in the frame before Negan drops…jet lag kept me from observing it was a different gun. Der, O’Donnell, lol. Thanks for pointing that out to me. I appreciate the feedback. I’m going to fix it now.
I did a double take on it & then went back to it, lol! No worries!
Thanks again. All fixed. I just have to figure out why the comment section is closed- my editor has been tinkering with the program, so the system is a bit screwy.
But seriously, this was a big turning point for the entire series. The fight, and the struggle, and all the people we have lost on our way to this point has finally all become worth it. We will all miss the ones we have lost, but now the paradise that Rick has been dreaming of is possible. More than anything, I’m glad that Rick is happy! Andrea is the perfect person for Rick! They are always there for each other and both know how to survive, NO MATTER WHAT. Sadly, we all know that something has to go wrong… SOMEONE has to die. They always do….
I agree. We see people letting go of painful pasts with renewed hope for a sustainable, dare I say pleasant future. I like that they are focused on the business of living with an awareness of obstacles to come. Negan is a living reminder- a breathing warning label. Time will tell if he can be contained, but the uncertainty creates a realistic picture of humanity.
If Negan gets loose and kills someone or punches someone in the balls or insults someone and everyone laughs at their expense, IT’S RICK’S FUCKIN’ FAULT! Signed, Batman.
I love how Rick is gonna lock up Negan in jail, with Rick being a police officer before the Apocalypse started. That ties into the story very well assuming Kirkman intended this. Cop locking up the bad guy…
Rick never learns from his mistakes. Reasons why Rick is wrong for keeping Negan alive: 1) They will never be able to keep Negan in a nonexistent jail until he’s an old man. This will create an opportunity for dissenting Saviors to plot a Negan escape. Killing Negan is the only way to prevent that. 2) It is going to cause division amongst the remaining survivors of All Out War. Negan is responsible for the deaths numerous loved ones of AOW survivors and some people just won’t accept it no matter how much Rick tries to optimistically sweet talk them into doing so. This will create an opportunity for dissenters in the Survivors, Hilltop, and Kingdom to coup de’etat current leaders. 3) Rick is striving to move back to a more civilized society, similar to what existed before the walkapolypse; which is exactly the kind of society where Negan would have sat on death row before being executed for mass murder (and possible attempted regicide :P). 4) If Negan escapes and kills one single more person, “I believe in Rick Grimes” becomes “no one believes in Rick Grimes”; including Carl. Reasons to keep Negan alive: 1) To appease Negan fans. 2) To build a utopian society where people don’t get executed for mass murder, but instead sit in a jail cell plotting revenge and consuming resources. 3)….?
“This changes everything.”
Like?
Looks like we all are split in regards to this issue. I can understand the disappointment, but for me, I think the issue was just fine as it is, except maybe there could have been a major character death. Then again, that may be Kirkman’s way of rattling the predictability scale. So I’m completely satisfied.
I know you disagree with how this issue ended, but when I read your post, it really hit home on just how tactfully the story was set up for so many possibilities to keep us engaged! Some other poster mentioned AOW being filler, but that’s not it. The rules are changing (Rick’s kill/die rule, for one). Apply any one of your scenarios and we’ve definitely got more to look forward to, if you ask me!
To quote Skybound was nothing pointed at you…I just wanted to shine a light on it because it may change things for people who were like me, a little disappointed at first. I took this issue as the end of the war…and it is…but it is obviously not the end of the story and if we keep that in mind, it might not be so disappointing after all.
I thought all out war was good. Kirkman must have done something right because it’s getting alot of talk good and bad. I’m sure the next death that happens is going to be shocking
I’ll admit, I was moderately disappointed in this issue at first. Rick getting his leg broken was a shocker. But after a little while, I realized that it was a great issue. I love the fact that Rick was the bigger man in the end. It shows that him and his group are still humane. That there are still good people in this God-forsaken world. Sure, he could’ve bashed his head in with a baseball bat, which we all know he deserves. Imagine how much restraint you have to have to do THAT. He bashed in his best friend’s head right in front of him and has killed many, MANY other innocent people. So for that I have a whole new respect for him. I believe in Rick Grimes. 🙂
I agree. A true warrior isn’t ruled by emotion- Rick’s decision was void of vengeance and anger. In fact it wasn’t about Negan at all. I like that Rick’s decision totally empowers the new world by not even acknowledging Negan as a factor. If Rick killed him, Negan would have won. It would be rule by fear or endless fighting for the rest of the survivors. It was a show of true strength.
By far the best and most accurate comment yet. Rick has come full circle. He’s just a guy who loves his family and wants what’s best for them.
Yes, great interpretation! I agree with all of that. I’ll admit at first I was thinking, “What?! You’re going to let him live?! But… but, he’s crazy! He might kill you in your sleep!?” After the initial shock wore off, it made sense what he was doing and Rick was being consistent in everything he’s told the people. I hate people who can talk up change, but don’t practice what they preach. Rick is strong and keeps true to his convictions even if he did go a bit crazy with the PTSD and Lori’s death. I too believe in Rick Grimes! I can’t wait to see what happens next, although I am afraid of who will die next!? A main character… I know it’s coming!
Sidenote: I still miss Glenn… I’m with Maggie when she and Andrea were talking and Andrea mentioned moving on and Maggie said that she never could. Ah, it still hurts!
If Rick wants to rebuild civilization, then end the Ricktatorship, elect a council and have them decide Negan’s fate. The fact is that none of these truly evil villains like Negan stop killing people by being put in jail. He’ll find a way to get out. If Rick was more concerned about the safety of the people in the Hilltop and Alexandria and his family like he used to be, then he’d want Negan put to death. Now he’s worried about his image, and he needs to show people he’s “better” than Negan. Lame! Put your damn ego back in the closet and pull back out the cautious, protective father part of your brain, Rick. Does anyone really think that Negan is the last crazy, murderous psychopath in the DC area? Aside from all of that, I am very excited to see what Lily Caull has been up to in #127. The novels are awesome if you haven’t read them.
I agree with everything except the Lily part. Kirkman says in the hacks that it’s not Lily. I’m leaning time jump theory at this point, but I’ve been known to be wrong. 😛
Oh, wow. If it’s not Lily, then who is it?
That’s the million dollar question. The theories I know of are the following: 1) Time jump theory: It’s Maggie and Glenn’s daughter. 2) Flashback theory: It’s Sherry, Dwight’s wife, pre-ironed face period . 3) Unknown group theory: It’s a completely new character no one knows about.
Only one prediction : 127 will begin with the woman on the cover looking at us and the woman isn’t Lily Caul
If they end up putting Negan in “jail” I would be interested to see how that character reacts to the setting of imprisonment. There’s no high horse he can sit on from inside and he’ll be left to think about his actions in a way. He’s the most cocky character we’ve seen so I wanna see all that taken away from him.
I’ve read that Robert Kirkman isn’t thinking about writing a Negan novel. If this is true it’s a great opportunity to get a back story from this beloved villain. Maybe another prison inmate shares his story and he gets all emotional and lonely leading to a prison brake. Or maybe some hilltop resident decides to be curious and befriends Negan and leads him out of prison. You’ve seen it before in movies and shows. Some side character who has no will easily gets manipulated by someone who has all the right answers.
I would love to see a Negan feature issue! He is just so fucked up… I want to know why and where it originated from… Maybe Kirkman will be tying his story in future issues…
Damn. Not really expected. The majority of the readers including me was expecting them to at least hang Negan by his balls and play pinata with his head using Lucille. At least. But, maybe you have just turned us all into homicidal maniacs 🙂
I think Negan will die in a time we don’t exept it, in issue 126 it was oo obvious, so kirkman let him live, he’ll probably die in 127 or 128
:-/
when will we see the 130 cover ?
The ending is great, because it is unexpected, eerybody thought that Negan dies in 126 but it’s not the case, kirkman did a great job in surprising us, and having negan emprisonned is very interesting and i’m looking forward to issue 127
While I can’t say I’m totally thrilled about the ending, it was kinda cool to see “Sheriff Rick” start to come back. The more I thought about it, the more it kinda made sense to me. Although I think we can all agree that this wont end well for someone, somehow whether it’s Negan escaping or someone going after him.
I’m going to admit I didn’t see Rick intentionally keeping Negan alive but the way they ended it was just too anti-climatic. I’m not saying specific characters had to die but for the TWD we know there’s usually at least a few major deaths by the end of a story arc, whereas the only deaths that come to mind are Shiva, Eric, Holly and Denise. I know it sounds like quite a few but compared to earlier story arcs it feels like too many main characters got away without consequence. The TV Series has the same issues but they’re even worse. I really hope Kirkman doesn’t completely sell out to AMC with critical design choices anymore than he already has. So far I think Telltale Games have done best at keeping on track without exhausting story options. Regardless I’m still somewhat interested by Rick’s plans for the future.
I guess Rick is retiring “You kill — You die.” I think Robert Kirkman is hell bent on putting Rick in a wheelchair…LOL!
I’m happy with the way All Out War ended, I never expected Negan to live, nor did I think anyone did and I think it is actually better for the story that he lives. I love Negan and hope to see him sprung from his jail in the future. I actually feel bad for Negan a little bit, now he only has “Lucille Two” to keep him company. 😛
I don’t think Carl will be to happy about Negan living, which may lead to another Shane scenario. I’ve never seen Carl have any interest in things returning to the way they were and I think deep down he can’t after the things he has witnessed and had to do.
I saw Dwight taking over as the leader of The Saviors coming and I loved when he picked up Lucille. I really want to see more of Dwight, I do think Dwight playing both sides is true though, I think when it comes down to it Dwight we always be on the winning side.
Thank you, Robert Kirkman for a satisfying finale to one of the best story arcs in The Walking Dead and keep us guessing on the future. (Also: Thank you for not killing Rick, Carl, Michonne, Jesus, Andrea and Negan!!! Yet…)
Well said ! And Lucille 2 LOL
first i would like to say something about issue 126- rick, you’re a damn fool. ok, now thats out of the way lets get down to the nitty gritty of the whole story. walkers. the war with negan was ok, but the fact of walkers has been somewhat removed from the story. when the whole savior deal began, the title of the comic should have changed to “the fighting living with a chance of walkers that are dead”. why have they derailed so much from the real problem? maybe this will be the turning point where the walkers will return to the forefront and become the main focal point once again. its ok to encounter a new threat every now and then, but we have to remember that there are more things that can be done besides just fighting each other all the time. if we look back from the beginning, we can see that walkers played a major part in the whole series. from rick trying to get out of atlanta, to the group being overran at the camp, to the farm being overran, to the trying to clean out the prison, being attacked at the gated community, to being overran at alexandria. throw in a few bad apples such as the governor, the hunters, and negan, but dont drag them out for so long, focus on the main problem with the world once again. as many live people they have encountered all the way up the east coast, there are 300 million people in the u.s. and now they are up next to one of the most populated sections of the u.s. and only little packs of walkers? come on now, are you kidding me? 20 million walkers in new york alone should be making there way south by now! lets see how far the story is going to get away from its roots.
No. Just no
I think everyone is missing or forgetting something pretty important: Rick’s a goddamn police! And he wants to do the right thing, and bringing the old justice to this new world is the better way to show that they can change, turn things to the way they used to, just for concerning about the only threat: WALKERS.
Killing Negan just would be repeating the Governor story, or the Hunters story. This is not fucking Dragon Ball Z, for God sake.
I really want to know how this is going to impact in the next issues. I can’t wait to see Dwight leading the Saviors (that moment when he holds Lucille as a scepter of power, and everyone just follow him without any complain… classic), Negan being locked in a jail (?) with the possibility of an escape in the future to mess things again, and, of course, I want to know about that “new beggining”.
Jesus, The Walking Dead always surprises me. I love this comic book!!
Has anyone thought of this yet…what if the new girl on the covers of 127 & 128 is…Negan’s Daughter…and she is headed towards imprisoned poppa?
Negan has already stated that he does NOT have any kids and never did. Seems like a longshot. Time Jump is happening, just accept it.
Time jump is not happening, just accept it.
It’s actually an alternate universe, you dig? Just accept it.
personally wanted Carl to be smashing Negan’s face in with Lucille when rick walked in the room. however now that i look at in retrospect and think about what could come next in the walking dead i think the right decision for the story was made but i think this will probably end up being something Rick Grimes will regret doing . “you kill, you die”
Would’ve been interesting to see Carl go on a dark path. With the support of the clan. And with Rick disapproval. Change the dynamic, because this issue was boring as hell.
carl becomes a villain in a few years kills rick and becomes the darth vader to Negans darth sidious
Has anyone speculated on the possibility of the woman on issues 127 & 128 being related to Negan?
Other than Lilly Caul (& I’m still not convinced that she’s 100% ruled out), I was thinking about a disgruntled “wife”.
Dwight’s wife? It doesn’t really look like her. She looks like a “new” character; one we haven’t been introduced to yet.
My buddy Jason Thomas mentioned this a little while back. I compared panels but didn’t think it was her.
thanks kirkmen for the great issue…..
said no man ever…..you better have 127 locked down because ill go full shane if I have to shell out another 2.99 for the shit you feed me yesterday
I’ll wait to see if a time jump is in the works…everyone is always making crazy guesses…guess we will have to wait 2 weeks to be sure.
I’m thinking if there is a time jump coming, it’s not so significant for that to be Maggie’s daughter on 127. That’s just too much!
I agree, that’s WAY too much time passing.
Minor spoiler!
I don’t think it’s likely that the time jump goes so far as having Sophia grow up
for the issue #127 cover everyone is predicting about; however I’ve been duped many times by Kirkman, which I love because it keeps me reading the series! There are so many different reactions to the AOW arc, but I think it ended the way he was intending because I sure as hell thought Negan was going to die somehow. It looks like a new group or maybe it was a group already living in one of the communities, but now will have a focus in the new story arc. Is it just me or does Carl look like he’s getting older, but Sophia isn’t? She just doesn’t look like she’s maturing like him, unless it’s also psychological where she needs to go through some real shit like Carl did to look older? Maybe she looked taller…, but that girl needs to carry a gun and learn to live in this Zombie Apocalypse world! I don’t like how they baby her so much. She seems so damn helpless. As a fan of the TV show too, I know Sophia was helpless there, but I think it would be awesome if she really grew into a badass in the future! Even though Rick says the world is changing, you still have to defend yourself no matter what! I’m actually surprised she hasn’t died yet. I’m excited for Issue #127! May can’t come soon enough! I’ve read the entire comic series since I saw the TWD finale this year because I needed my TWD fix on Sundays. I can’t believe I read through them all so quickly. In my opinion, if you haven’t read the comics, read them all! 🙂
Not sure if I’m happy that Rick seems to have control of his destiny again, or upset that he could be so naive as to believe the group can afford to house/feed/watch/etc. Negan indefinitely. It’s good fodder for the story, but an incredibly risky/questionable decision on the part of Rick.
The whole issue felt very anticlimactic, and a complete change of tone from the previous 11. That’s not a condemnation of the comic, just the feeling I was left with at the end. I was really anticipating something big, some kind of twist, but things went incredibly smooth for Rick’s group. I’m left waiting for the other shoe to drop…
That said, I’m really excited about the open nature of “What comes next”. Rick is talking like he’s ready to move past living in separate communities, and struggling to survive. It would be amazing to see him start coordinating a nation of sorts; gathering up communities, opening trade, forming some kind of democracy/republic with representation for all. With each challenge passed, Rick’s vision grows… and I can’t wait to see if his vision can be realized.
Oh, and watching Dwight pick up Lucille and raise her in the air as though he had just pulled the sword from the stone was awesome…. He is the “one true king” of the saviors.
Scary how many people are calling for Negan’s blood. What would you do if it just ended with Negan dying? YAY!!!! THE WICKED WITCH IS DEAD! Boring! I think this was a great issue with good decisions and opened up so many possibilities for Negan’s inevitable escape/release/Carl manipulation
I agree. I thought he was going to die when Rick slashed his throat, but when he let him live it reminded me of his speech in #125 and it all made sense… Who thinks Carl will just kill him anyways a la Ben… He may have not at the end of #126, but you never know in the future!
Despite not being as satisfying as negan getting his head bashed in by Lucille, I thought this was a great ending that moves the story into the next logical step. Now that the enemies are gone, all that is left is to rebuild what they’ve lost with hopes of creating a society where all can live safely. That is what they’ve been fighting for since the beginning, and now it’s finally time for them to enjoy the spoils of war; the war with the living and the dead.
So, it is clear to me that issue 127 will be many years into the future (which is somewhat hinted at in the quote for issue 128 “After all this time, she should be more prepared.”). It will likely follow another group whose home has just been destroyed and they have been forced to abandon it. They will eventually find one of rick’s territories which brings the old gang back into the mix. Carl will likely run his own territory, as will Dwight, michonne/Ezekiel, and Maggie. Their communities will be like the Roman Empire, the only place to go is up. In issue 129 we see an unknown man with a cane. This is likely rick because his leg didn’t set right after negan broke it.
The potential story arcs could include:
1) one of the new people knows of negan (if not Lucille herself) and wants revenge in some way, on him or rick
2) the new people’s city was destroyed by another group. If this is the case then the other group is likely some remnant government military force that hopes to “restore order”.
That’s all I can think of. Any thoughts?
This may not be the ending most people expected (or wanted), but it’s the best possible way for things to end, imo. Rick’s reasoning is perfect: They’re not killing him because now is the time to begin anew; killing Negan simply doesn’t fall in line with the future Rick is planning for these people. And Rick is right, if they don’t stop using killing as a form of punishment, they’ll never escape that mindset or lifestyle. Establishing this kill-free form of punishment HAS to start with Negan because of who he is and what he represents. If they can restrain themselves from killing someone like Negan, then there is hope in moving forward into a civilized society. Granted, I too wanted Negan dead and I think he would/should be if the circumstances were different, but the role he is to serve makes him more useful alive than dead – both in regards to the general story and the future Rick is striving for.
To answer all the discussion points:
1.I think that the saviors will work with Rick and Co. and probably return to Sanctuary because it is their home and camp. They will most likely follow Dwight unless he becomes another Negan. At the moment it appears that Dwight is a leader who is more patient and less violent than Negan was. So the other saviors would appear to have nothing to fear..(Did anyone else think of the end of “Braveheart” when Dwight said “Now follow me as you followed him”).
2. In regards to Ricks choice to keep Negan alive I think in a perfect world it was a good choice. The punishment of having to watch the world be reborn while he sits in a cell is far worse then just allowing him to bleed out in the field or even publically executing him. Rick wants to rebuild the world and remake civilization. So the choice makes sense because he wanted to be better than Negan. He wanted everyone to be better than Negan. For civilization to work Rick cannot start their new lives with an act of violence as Negan probably would have, so Rick in most parts made the right decision.
3. Carl has been pretty interesting in this whole arc. he seems to have grown up very fast and seems really philosophical in a dark way… As in the time he told the kid whose Dad was dying to hold on to the pain and never forget. With the last scene that we see carl in, is the perfect scene because carl I believe sees the world in a very black and white manner. there really isn’t any grey to be found.. It was odd to see him though give up on wanting to kill Negan. Rick gave his little speech to Carl about why they couldn’t kill him and Carl just says “Okay”.? He gave up on it pretty easy, no argument at all.
4. On Rick keeping Negan alive which I think I already stated my opinions on that earlier, I think in the kind of world that Rick wants to create, it was the right thing and probably the only way that Rick saw this confrontation ending. The choice to throw Negan into a jail cell(or whatever it is that they’re going to put him in) is a punishment worse than death. Now Negan has to sit in jail thinking about all the wrong that he has done and how he was actually impeding the recreation of society. So overall it was the correct choice to put Negan in jail.
And finally 5. Now when I first read the issue I was somewhat disappointed at the ending of this great arc. My original expectations for the conclusion were that Negan would die in an epic battle and that a few very important main characters would die(from Ricks group). After thinking about the conclusion though I realized that it was actually probably a better ending because it opens up more future arcs and possibilities such as what if someone sets Negan free or if he breaks out, What will happen with the remaining Saviors and other questions. Originally I was let down by the ending but now I see that its a better end to the arc. Overall All Out War was probably my favorite so far.
This issue was a relief. I did not want to see any major death in this issue.
This issue shows that any human being can change. That is why Rick was trying to say before he slash Negan throat. The real threat was the walkers and not the people who are trying to live another day. Walker can not change but a human being can. That is why no one should not question Rick decision about keeping Negan alive. I bet, Rick saw a human being, not a psycho monster before he slashed him, but that was a mistake to do. When Negan and Rick had their fight. You can see that Rick was the bigger man then Negan because he did not try to fight him back. He was trying to show everyone that Negan is still a maniac. I was pleased to see a smile on Negan before he almost died. Rick wants him to understand an world with Negan can cause destruction. I bet, that the reason he keeps him alive. To make him understand. A world without Negan is much better to live. Heck, maybe Negan can change or not but he got all the time to think about his mistakes.
I love seeing the layers of Carl, but let’s be serious when you hear the phrase “Carl ___”
with a command in there somewhere you know the kids going to do something completely different. However, he has turned a corner. Idk I just hope that Carl gets cuter…. :P. BTW I hope Lucille gets a little more life out of her she was a character in herself… and Negan was a pretty good villain.
Well if you ask me, Lucille should be executed. She killed those people, not Negan.
Interesting ending, not what I was expecting. I’m not sure how I feel about it. Good that Rick took the moral high ground and is trying to create a new civilized society and bad because Negan deserved to die. He killed Glenn!
I didn’t really like it at all, I enjoyed 125 more than it.
I liked where they were going with it, but I they didn’t execute it very well in my opinion.
Totally thought when Dwight reached for the bat that Negan’s face was getting caved in. I’ll admit I was ready to see Negan get what he had coming to him, but I thought it was a nice twist to have Rick decide to reintroduce incarceration into the world again. It surprised me, but definitely leaves a recurring role possibility open for him. If you think about it in a world like this, Negan could end up being one of the luckier ones by being locked away safely with his meals given to him freely. Of course the series has touched on this (Safety Behind Bars) already, but that was an entire group living together. This is one man, no one locked up with him to worry about, living or dead, and no need to go out and risk his life for food and supplies. No stress. Negan wins in a way, if you think about it.
I was entertained throughout all out war Negan was a cool new villain to bring into the walking dead universe. Now the ass whipping he put on Rick with a cut throat that was bad ass truly showing how tough Negan is. I was waiting for his shirt to get ripped off and see THUG LIFE tattooed on his belly. Now for Rick not killing him he could have went the way the joker went with Jason Todd and beat him with a crowbar and blew him up in a warehouse but Jason Todd came back as the red hood so not a good idea cause Negan was crazy enough. But yeah I see Negan getting out and here is a big plot twist he will save Rick or Carl’s life. I think Dwight will turn whatsoever left of his group around . Now it not going to all be rainbows and sunshine but he will prove to be a good leader. All in all it was a good read.
Haha @ THUG LIFE.
Let’s just get on with the 15 year time jump and see how Glenn and Maggie’s daughter handles herself in #127 already!
Probably pretty easily considering all the Walkers will have decomposed into nothing more than bones.
I think that the ending seems logical. Death would have been way too good for Negan. After everything Negan has done, it is good that he will just watch everyone enjoy this second civilization. Additionally, it could allow for a cool story later because Negan will escape later on, because we all know that a main villain can’t be captured for long. Overall, I thought it was a logical ending.
I think that the ending seems logical. Death would have been way too good for Negan. After everything Negan has done, it is good that he will just watch everyone enjoy this second civilization. If Rick had killed Negan, wouldn’t Rick have been just as bad as Negan?
Additionally, it could allow for a cool story later because Negan will escape later on, because we all know that a main villain can’t be captured for long. Overall, I thought it was a logical ending.
The more I think about it, the more i start to realize, we were fed a total crock. All this build up… all this acclimation to main characters dying. And this is what you give us. You took the easy way out Kirkman. Not even the easy way… this is garbage. No one dies and Rick has a new messed up body part…. Way to re-hash the same old plot lines. Dude… you really had a chance to do something unique here. I feel as though you failed at this opportunity with flying colors. Not all writers have the balls to kill off a main character, in fact very few seem to. Not everyone can be George RR Martin, and actually progress a plot-line, while killing off main characters. LIFE STILL GOES ON YO! Even if we lost Rick, you would still have the evolution of Carl.(which would have been awesome by the way) The books were fun… a roller coaster ride… but i fear this may be the death of “The Walking Dead” as we know it. Now with the writers proven ineptitude to write anything with real meaning or substance, I am pretty confident I know what to expect from here on out. If Rick never dies, the plot ceases to move forward. We are continually stuck in the Limbo of Rick Grimes. I now understand what you meant by riding this train into the ground… your going to pound us with the same old story for the rest of eternity. TWD ends for me at issue 129 since that is my last subscribed issue.
In summary: You better have something good up your ass for the next three or you just lost a reader. Step it up homes!
LP
Letter Hacks material…hot off the press!
Dude, Kirkman knows what he’s doing, everybody thought Negan dies in 126, but he lives and that’s what is unexpected and surprising. And the story began with Rick, continues with Rick and ends with Rick.
Well, that was different. As I’ve flipped through AOW the longest arc in TWD history I couldnt help but think, what more could Rick possibly go through? From the beginning of Somthing to Fear, the introduction of Negan, Lucille, and possibly the most brutal beating ever in the story, the ammount of suffering, loss, and injury this man has endured may outweigh everything to this point. And yet he remains optimistic. He has a vision. Hes a changed man. Thats the biggest surprise I think. We all expected the absolute worst from Rick. After he cuts Negan we all fully expect Rick to finish him. After Andrea shoots Negan we all fully expect him to die. Instead, Rick fights to keep him alive, Broken leg and all! Who is this man? Do I trust this new Rick? And how long before the old Rick I’ve come to love rears his ugly head? I guess only time will tell…
Good lord people! I thought it was a great ending.. Because, you really think Negan is going to STAY in Jail? Hell no. Kirkman knows what he’s doing. Negan is going to break out or the other Saviors are going to break him out. This war isn’t over yet.
I promise you this.
At first reading I was disappointed the ending but after a re-read It began to grow on me. RK is thinking long term with Negan/rebuilding the world. After 10 years any book can become stale and this arc is trying to keep it fresh. Overall AOW was a solid story. As with any war story there was action packed moments like the assault on the camps. There was quieter more intimate moments such as Ezekiel explaining his failed attack on an outpost and shiva’s death which was very moving. 2 characters who have really stood out are Eugene and Carl. A short while ago Eugene was wearing thin on me with the creepy to women useless to guys persona. However this arc has breathed new life into him. He has a purpose now and is revelling in it. His acts of bravery and willingness to commit suicide to protect his people was a sign of how Kirkman can change characters in a short space of time. Carl is another. It seems he has only known violence and not how things were before and has developed a “murder solves everything” attitude and with what he has seen and been through its easy to see why. He almost cant see the difference between walkers and humans. All he knows is a bullet to the head ends any trouble.
I love how you tagged Eugene…”creepy to women useless to guys”!
Not really any other way I could describe him!!!
Rick definitely made the right choice. Amidst the terrors and violence of the world of The Walking Dead, he made a choice that may have been controversial, but nonetheless right. Rick’s moral compass is spinning back into place, and while we all know Negan’s going to sneak out, it just lets us look forward to another story in the future. Kudos to Kirkman!
Rick made a bad choice. He doesn’t have a supermax prison to put Negan in, and escape would be easy…. Unless someone puts a bullet in his eye first…
All these people bitching think the big change was supposed to be in #126. You’re bitching because you misinterpreted. The big change is #127. You all really think Kirkman is stupid enough to say something big will happen and then have nothing big happen?? You REALLY think that?? Ya’ll are just looking for a reason to complain. And you still love the comic. Otherwise you wouldn’t be posting on the site. Game. Set. Match.
Rick did what Rick does….what he thinks is right. Sometimes, Rick has been forced to do things in ways he doesn’t like, but it’s always for the greater good in his eyes. This time, he saw a situation in which he gets to do the right thing, and not be the bad guy doing it. This is why I’m team Rick all the way. This is the kind of leader that this world needs…..a leader that brings hope. This is a major step forward for our characters not being the walking dead themselves.
This arc lost momentum around issue 123 and just kind of fizzled out. The assault on Alexandria was the last really powerful moment, in my opinion.
I feel like this is gonna be the governor all over again. (At least the TV spin on the governor) they can kill him but they don’t, and he ends up coming back and wrecking shit.
I don’t know, you can argue to death the morality of the death penalty in a truly “civilized” society, but in the situation and world that these characters live in (not civilized regardless of what Rick wants), not killing Negan doesn’t make Rick better, it just makes him naive at best and downright stupid at worst. Until now he didn’t strike me as either. Carl was right when saying to Rick “You’re wrong.” They don’t have adequate holding facilities, guards, etc to really ensure Negan’s guaranteed permanent incarceration, nor should they be wasting valuable resources (like food and medicine) on keeping him alive. And regardless of how Glenn may have felt about it, if someone caved in my head with barbed-wire wrapped baseball bat, those who survive me better darned-well do worse to him to return 🙂
I was very surprised! I too was expecting Negan or Rick to die. I’m excited though, I can’t wait to see where this new chapter leads us!
I like the idea Rick has to keep him looked up so he can watch how everything works out without violence. Also keeping him locked up away from his woman would make him wish he was dead. The new leader is a little shady but he is definitely an improvement over Negan. Issue #127 I bet it begins with Maggies daughter all grown up and the world still full of zombies. What is worse is now many new civilations will be made and food would probably be even harder to find. Cant wait another 14 days.
Rick and Earl Sutton survived the war! Now hopefully we will get to see Rick’s stump get a makeover.
Ricks knife should have been tainted with Walker blood. It would have been a fitting payback. Negan would have known his goose was cooked, and Rick could have had an epic speech about it. As is…..Meh.
Issue 127 is not set in the future…In the Letter Hacks of issue 67 Kirkman states he hates time skips and at the very most would skip time ahead a couple weeks, but it’s not Maggie’s daughter.
I like how Rick chose to leave Negan rotting in jail. It does a good job of showing Rick’s new stance on not making the Walkers job easier by killing their own.
It also leaves open the possibility for a Negan return. It is obvious he has been one of the greater characters in the series. I for one will openly welcome a return even years down the road!!