When we talk about The Walking Dead here we talk about it in full.  That means if you haven’t read the issue yet don’t read this review.  Read something else.  There are over 3000 other articles on this site you can read.  For those of you who read today’s issue, or don’t care, carry on!

From Image Comics, Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard.

One of my co-workers watches the Walking Dead TV show.  He always comes to me complaining saying, “nothing happened!”  I try to explain to him that things need to be set up so that when a situation explodes there is an emotional impact for the viewer.  He would hate this issue.

Sure, “nothing happens”.  Maggie is now living at the Hilltop, with Sophia.  Jesus is walking around, talking to people.  Back at the community Rick has some talks with Carl, Michonne, Andrea and a tense one with Spencer.  There is not a zombie to be found.  Nor a gun, or death, or blood.

And it is absolutely captivating.

So much is coming, and it is all bad.  Maggie is trying to live without Glenn.  Hell, I’m still having trouble believing he’s gone.  Her mourning is influencing people.  Some of them want to go back to the “old way”.  In Glenn’s memory, Maggie could lead.  Her father was a religious man.  There is a lot missing in the world of The Walking Dead – government  rules, society, but also religion.  Maggie has always been a great character but she has so often been on the sidelines.  A strong religious voice rising up among the survivors could be an amazing character development.  This is all speculation, but something big is building with Maggie.

Then there is Jesus.  Oh, Jesus.  Too smart for his own good.  He wants to be the leader, he wants to be strong, he wants to be Rick.  But there is something holding him back from this.  In so many issues he knows more than Rick (and thus more than anyone else we’ve known).  He keeps information to himself until it is necessary to reveal, and of course beneficial.  The problem is that Jesus isn’t as smart as Rick.  Maybe this would make more sense if we knew who he was before the zombies came.  Rick was a cop, and a good one.  Jesus could have been anyone, but most likely not anyone of authority or respect.

All of this comes to a head when Jesus royally fucks up.  (That was an oddly uncomfortable sentence to write.)  We wont be sure until the next issue, but there’s a good chance he just revealed all of the plans to one of Negan’s secret agents.  If Jesus did mess up, he ruins everything.  Every life, every community, every bit of society that they have scratched and clawed to reclaim.  Jesus may go down as the new world’s greatest goat.