Horror Graphic Novels — The Walking Dead: Made to Suffer

“We can’t let him in here. He gets the prison, he’ll kill us all . . . eventually.”

War arrives between Rick’s community in the prison compound and the Woodbury community lead by the ruthless Governor.

TITLE:

THE WALKING DEAD: MADE TO SUFFER

WRITER:

by Robert Kirkman

ARTISTS:

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

SERIES:

The Walking Dead — Vol. 8
Reprints The Walking Dead comics #43-48

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, Prisons, Trust, Love, Leadership, War, Survival, Death, Casualties, Victims, Wounded, Escape, Manipulation,

CHARACTERS:

Rick Grimes, A Kentucky police officer who struggles to keep his community safe from zombies and other threats.
Tyreese, An African-American man and former football player who swings a mean hammer.
Michonne, A mysterious African-American woman who survived alone among zombies for a long time.
Lori Grimes, Rick’s wife who loves him but doesn’t always agree with his ideas.
Carl Grimes, Rick’s son.
Judith Grimes Rick’s daughter.
Glenn, A young Asian-American adult and camp scavenger, married to Maggie.
Dale, A older man who recently lost his wife. He owns an RV which was the camp’s primary shelter and rescued Amy and Andrea.
Andrea, Amy’s sister, 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.
Patricia, She seems like a nice person and is Otis’ girlfriend.
Hershel Greene, Former veterinarian and now a farmer where his family lives in some safety.
Maggie Greene, Hershel’s younger daughter and married to Glenn.
Billy Greene, Hershel’s youngest son.
Axel, In prison for armed robbery.
The Governor, The leader of the small community of Woodbury (His real name is Philip).
Alice, Dr. Stevens “nurse” who picks up things very quickly, including medicine.

SUMMARY:

The Governor, leading all the able bodied men and women of the Woodbury community, strikes out at Rick’s community in an effort to kill every last man, women and child and take the prison compound for themselves.

The Calm Before detailed Rick’s community in the months after Rick’s escape from the Woodbury community and ended with the Governor leading a small army in an attack on the prison. The first section of Made to Suffer covers the Governor’s recovery and decisions that lead up to him issuing the orders to “Kill them all”.

Robert Kirkman reveals how the Governor survived being maimed and tortured, hints at the excruciatingly sick relationship between him and his zombie “daughter” (or is it niece?) and the way he creates a series of lies to motivate his people to war.

The attack catches Rick’s community off guard and almost unprepared. What preparations they made — such as setting up riot armor, guns and ammo in the watchtowers — pay off. But they are outnumbered and out gunned.

Rick’s community is protected, however, by a pair of sturdy fences and a moat of zombies which slows the Governor’s advance.

The first melee ends in the Governor calling a temporary retreat but leaves Axel shot in the arm, Andrea with a head wound and Rick shot in the gut.

Alice preforms surgery and saves Rick’s life but while he is recovering he loses any advantage he might have had as people leave. Dale convinces Andrea, Glenn and Maggie to leave with the kids in the RV. Meanwhile Michonne talks Tyreese into leaving the prison to launch a preemptive strike against the Woodbury forces while they’re in retreat.

When Rick regains consciousness, he discovers he’s lost all of his best fighters.

That’s when the Governor returns with Michonne’s sword in hand, a wounded prisoner and an ultimatum: Open the gates and surrender or he’ll execute Tyreese.

APPEAL:

This book concludes a multi-book epic as two entirely different communities collide. It began in The Best Defense and ends in volume 8 Made to Suffer. This story arc causes major changes in the life of Rick Grimes and he may never be the same again.

Script writer Robert Kirkman has already proven that there is no such thing as a status quo in this series and during this extended story arc he proves it. Rick’s community has to deal with the threat of the Woodbury community and by the end, everything changes.

More than the previous volumes, Kirkman explores ideas in this epic. Two communities of humans, struggling to survive against the zombies, are a study in differences.

Rick is thrust back into the leadership position as the Governor launches his attack. Despite his reticence before, under fire he automatically steps up and issues orders in an effort to keep his people alive.

By holding everyone together (Michonne wanted to sneak out and attack while Dale wanted to leave) they survive the first wave with only a few injured. Unfortunately the worst injured was Rick. As he lay unconscious, Michonne and Dale followed their own plans leading to much death and loss.

Mr. Kirkman is not afraid to kill his characters off and this issue has a high body count. After taking so much time developing these characters and their relationships, you find that almost every death affects you. It’s a brutal war and you may find yourself wrung out by the end of it.

There is some satisfaction in the ending although the fate of several people are left up in the air. You aren’t left with a cliffhanger so much as a strong desire to get into the next collection.

One idea Kirkman returns to time and again is that the zombies aren’t the worst monsters that Rick’s community must face. The Governor and the people who have traded their humanity for his brand of safety are, in some respects, more monstrous. Neither the good guys nor the bad guys get off easily in this story arc.

NOTES:

This is a black and white comic with greytones.

The first time I read this series I stalled out at volume 6 This Sorrowful Life because the idea that Rick would be maimed was a difficult one for me to accept. Over a year passed before I picked up the series again, rereading the first five issues and pressing on. I got through This Sorrowful Life and stalled out again before The Calm Before because I knew many people were going to die and I didn’t want my friends to die — not at the hands of the Governor!

Almost a month passed before I decided to take the plunge and read both The Calm Before and Made to Suffer. I’m glad I did. I hated saying “Good-bye” to the dead but I got through it and came out on the other side. I’m reading Here We Remain and I’ve got to say that I’ve developed a deep concern for Rick and his mental health which has pushed the feeling of loss aside.

The Walking Dead Book Four reprints The Walking Dead comics #37-48 in a 304 page hardcover edition.

The Walking Dead Compendium One reprints The Walking Dead comics #1-48 in a 1088 page trade paperback extravaganza.

Do You Like This Story? Please Share!

• 

Tagged as: Horror Graphic Novel Summary, Zombies