What’s worse than hundreds of zombies shambling toward your unprotected house on a farm? Thousands of zombies. Still hungry. And shambling toward your unprotected house on a farm.
The Walking Dead #60: Surrounded 
Publisher: Image
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Charlie Adlard
Inker: Charlie Adlard
Colorist: Cliff Rathburn
Covers: Cliff Rathburn
Summary: Kirkman follows up his nail-biting cliffhanger in the previous issue with further exploration of what makes the zombies tic in this all too close encounter with the dreaded ‘herd’. Rick, Carl, Abraham and the recently recruited, albeit a tad disturbed, Morgan, all rush to escape the impending zombie herd while Dale, Michone, Glenn and the others get a little too comfortable waiting back at their farmhouse.
Review: While some may argue that TWD is an experience best absorbed through trades, issues like #57 and this one make the monthly wait all that more worthwhile. Kirkman once again turns the tables on the central antagonists, and decides to impart some science back into the story. All this time, our fear skimmed over the zombies themselves and landed instead on the sadistic souls of other survivors. However, with the introduction of Abraham, who at first appeared to be a ticking time bomb of disaster, the ‘brains’ of the zombie are brought into the light and take center stage. In earlier issues, he warned of zombies that amassed in quantities that sometimes numbered thousands, and in this segment we experience it full-force.
Kirkman once again does an excellent job of breaking up the tension by moving from Rick and his group’s desperate escape from the scuffling herd to a soft moment between Maggie and Glenn. This issue finally addresses the reasons for Maggie’s attempted suicide and plants a seed of hope back into the story. (Which, of course, will probably soon be squashed by his mighty hammer of “Kill All Who Thou Like A lot”). We also see how some of the kids are starting to exhibit some rather unpleasant signs of ‘sociopathy’.
After plenty of build up with all the herd-talk and zombie motivation, this issue fails to deliver a truly satisfying showdown. With a bit of clever trickery on Carl’s part, Rick’s gang was able to successfully outmaneuver the thousands of zombies shambling their way without breaking a sweat or acquiring a single bite or scratch. That’s a first. While this brief period of luck relieves one eighth of your tension, you know it’s only a matter of time before Kirkman destroys your high hopes, turns your world upside-down, and kills off yet another one of your favorite characters in an inescapable plot twist. This was made all too clear by the obvious reservation Dale harbors towards Rick and his decisions.
While a solid addition to the story, The Walking Dead #60 fails to pack a lot of punch. Some issues were addressed, a new plot twist appeared on the horizon, and the herd provided some pretty good tension. But come on- thousands of zombies with zero slayage and no losses? Something worse must be lurking around the corner…
April 21st, 2009 at 10:23 am
Unfortunately I can’t read your review since I’m only on like issue 24 or something, but I’m sure it was good. =)
April 21st, 2009 at 6:09 pm
I’m pretty sure Melissa should do comic book reviews more often. The Comic Chicks Squad might steal her, William.
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:41 am
I’m such a fan of Kirkman’s “Battle Pope” but I’m afraid TWD is far too emotional for me (according to my husband). Ron is very addicted and cruises through a trade in one night because he can’t put it down. I’m sure it’s worthy of all the praise it gets.
April 24th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Thanks guys
And Amber, it is *really* addictive, I was behind like 3 trades, and when I picked up the first one, I went the very next day to buy the rest…it’s sooo good. My boyfriend picked it up a couple months ago and read through them all within a week.
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:01 pm
I really liked this issue. I liked that the zombies were a threat for the first time in forever, and the brewing conflict between Dale and Rick has me intrigued.