Horror Graphic Novels — The Walking Dead: Here We Remain

“You are not safe, Carl. No matter how many people are around — or how clear the area looks — no matter what anyone says, no matter what you think — you are not safe“

The prison was lost and many died on both sides, including Lori and baby Judith. Rick and Carl Grimes managed to escape — unfortunately their problems don’t end there . . .

TITLE:

THE WALKING DEAD: HERE WE REMAIN

WRITER:

by Robert Kirkman

ARTISTS:

by Charlie Adlard (penciler, inker)
Cliff Rathburn (gray tones)

SERIES:

The Walking Dead — Vol. 9
Reprints The Walking Dead comics #49-54

PUBLISHER:

Image Comics

GENRE:

Graphic Novel (collection), Horror Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Suspense

DESCRIPTORS:

Horror, Zombies, End of the World, Survival, Psychological Studies, Life and Death, Disaster, Trust, Love, Leadership, Survival, Death,

CHARACTERS:

Rick Grimes, A Kentucky police officer who struggles to keep his community safe from zombies and other threats.
Michonne, A mysterious African-American woman who survived alone among zombies for a long time.
Carl Grimes, Rick’s son.
Glenn, A young Asian-American adult and camp scavenger, married to Maggie.
Dale, A older man who recently lost half his leg. He owns an RV which was the camp’s primary shelter and rescued Amy and Andrea.
Andrea, Rescued by Dale. She is a sharp shooter.
Sophia, Carol’s daughter now in the care of the community after Carol killed herself.
Ben and Billy, Alan and Donna’s sons, now in the care of the community after they were killed.
Maggie Greene, Hershel’s younger daughter and married to Glenn.
Doctor Eugene Porter, A chubby scientist who claims to know what caused the zombies but won’t tell.
Abraham Ford, A huge man — a professional problem solver with anger on a hair-thin trigger.
Rosita Espinosa, A capable fighter, she is also the only one who can calm Ford down.

SUMMARY:

The battle for the prison between Rick’s community and the Woodbury community is over and neither side won. Rick and Carl escape but Lori and Judith were killed. The rest of Rick’s community were killed or scattered.

Michonne opens up this collection, still alive and reunited with her sword. She impales Tyreese’s decapitated zombie-animated head as she scouts the battlefield outside the prison and discovers Dale’s wrecked RV. A trail of bloody sneaker prints leads her off into the nearby woods.

Rick and Carl travel through the woods for over a day until they discover a road that leads them to town. Setting up in an abandoned house, Rick falls victim to an infection from his bullet wound and is unconscious for six days.

Alone, and unprotected save for his gun, Carl finds he has to defend the house from a trio of roaming zombies, lest they find their way in the house. He also has to cope with his father’s possible mortality and his own anger and fear.

Rick recovers from his infection and begins to scavenge the nearby houses for food when he hears the distant sound of a phone ringing. Running full out he finds the phone and answers it in time to hear a surprised female voice on the other line.

They talk over the phone for the next few days until Rick’s supplies run low. When Rick tells the woman he cannot stay, he gets a horrible surprise.

Later, on the road, Rick and Carl are found by Michonne who asks to come along. They agree. Soon they encounter Glenn and Maggie who lead them to Hershel’s farm where the rest of the survivors have gathered. The reunion is bittersweet.

Peace descends but never for long as a trio of strangers are caught attempting to raid Hershel’s farm for needed supplies. Surprised to find more zombie survivors, Doctor Eugene Porter, Abraham Ford, Rosita Espinosa attempt to recruit them into their quest to reach Washington D.C.

But when Dr. Porter explains the reason why he needs to get there, violence breaks out. Can these two groups of survivors work together or are they doomed to be at each other’s throats?

APPEAL:

This collection begins a new cycle of stories about Rick Grimes, his son Carl and the survivors from the prison community.

Script writer Robert Kirkman launches on a new cycle of stories that continue changing life for Rick and his friends. We learn more about zombies — “herds”, need I say more? — and dangles the teaser that some long standing questions might be answered one day.

Starting with this volume, we begin to see more of what the world is like one year after being devastated by zombies. Rick’s family and friends were relatively sheltered in the prison and now that they’re back on the road, they’re beginning to learn things about life with zombies they never knew.

Rick and Carl’s character get a lot of development. Rick’s confidence is shattered while Carl discovers he can protect himself if the need arises.

I found it interesting that when Rick met up with Michonne and later with Dale, he blamed himself for the deaths and not them. As the story progresses, you find out what he thinks his error was. Its up to you to decide if you agree or not.

One idea Kirkman returns to time and again is that the zombies aren’t the worst monsters that Rick’s community must face. Sometimes the monsters inside your own head are more dangerous. That seems like it might be part of the up coming story arc.

NOTES:

This is a black and white comic with greytones.

The Walking Dead Book Five reprints The Walking Dead comics #49-60 in a 304 page hardcover edition.

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Tagged as: Horror Graphic Novel Summary, Zombies