The Walking Dead #108 Review

By the end of the previous issue, it seemed clear that Robert Kirkman was poised to make his most significant introduction to the Walking Dead cast since introducing Negan in issue #100. Issue #108 adds Ezekiel to the fold as the leader of yet another conclave of survivors. Ezekiel has his own interesting character traits to help distinguish him among the books other big power players. Aside from the fact that he has a pet tiger (no word on how he's managed to keep the bigger fed), Ezekiel comes across as a man acting out a LARP fantasy rather than a hardened ruler of men. He's a surprisingly humorous addition to the series. And humor is something The Walking Dead could always use more of.

But even with Ezekiel making his debut, this is more of an ensemble issue that focuses on a number of simultaneous characters and conflicts. There's a zombie-slaying team-up between Michonne and Carl, another glimpse of life in Negan's realm, girl talk between Andrea and Michonne, and plenty more material. Most of it is handled well, though some of the later pages suffer from Kirkman's tendency to include too much unnecessary dialogue that impedes the flow of the script. The issue can also feel a bit disjointed with the scenes changing every page or two. There's one scene set in a church that feels particularly random and out of place.

Visually, this issue one of the weaker installments we've seen in a while. Every so often Charlie Adlard's pencils start to lose detail and become more loose and haphazard. That problem persists for much of the issue, and any panel with the characters not in close focus will see the figures devolve into glorified silhouettes with only basic facial features. In addition, the contrast of the ink washes isn't strong enough, creating a muddy effect. I've said it before, but I'd much rather see the series ship on a slower schedule if it meant the art quality could remain more consistent.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

Source : ign[dot]com