Review: The Walking Dead Governor’s Special & The Walking Dead #107
The Walking Dead – Governor’s Special
Timed to support the mid-season premiere of The Walking Dead show on AMC, Image has released a Governor-focused book, as an attempt to catch readers up on everything Governor as the character goes into full gear on the show.
The book contains a reprint of The Walking Dead #27, which was the survivors’ first introduction to The Governor, as well as the Governor’s origin story from the CBLDF Liberty Annual 2012. The Governor’s role in the book is surprisingly limited and only loosely parallels events from the first half of this season’s events in the show.
It’s hard to understand who this book is really for. It’s not for comic readers that might be fans of the character in issues past, as it contains no new content and is just a reprint of an issue where the Governor was introduced. It doesn’t go over the realities of what Woodbury was, what it became, the things he did or the things that were done to him.
Likewise, it doesn’t appear to be for fans of the show. The Governor as portrayed by David Morrissey is much more of a sinister Southern gentleman with brief moments of ruthlessness as opposed to the comic’s unhinged villainous Governor. The Governor Special doesn’t provide much information to highlight what’s different about the comic’s portrayal of the character as opposed to the show’s version or add anything that supports the events of the show.
The only real selling point of this special is the CBLDF origin story which many readers might not have seen, but even the origin isn’t much of an origin. It’s clear the Governor is already the Governor by the time this vignette takes place.
The Walking Dead #107
After 106 issues of The Walking Dead, I go into each new story with a sense of dread. Robert Kirkman has created a world so painful and unsafe for even the most beloved of main characters that I am always prepared to say goodbye to the survivors I’ve followed for many years.
After three issues of Carl in the clutches of Rick’s nemesis du jour, Neagan, Kirkman continues to tug on the readers’ heartstrings with issue #107. The cover implies a dark fate for Rick’s ever-changing son, and the first panel jumps right into the action with an old-fashioned Rick Grimes smackdown.Kirkman manages to make nearly every character unpredictable yet totally justified in his actions. Neagan continues his characteristic F-bombery yet responds to each new encounter in a slightly different way. He’s not just a generic bad guy, he’s reasonable. He’s got clear motivations and is weighing pros and cons while portraying a character for very self-aware dramatic effect. I think it remains to be seen how deep that character runs.
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Category: The Creator-Owned Zone
