'The Walking Dead Volume 29: Lines We Cross' – Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard (Image)



'The Walking Dead' comic book ended it's impressive run in July last year but, true to form, I'm still a way off finishing the series. There was a time when I would have jumped on each trade the second it came out but these days... I'll finish the series but in my own time, there's other stuff that I want to do first ;o)

So that's my excuse why I'm officially three volumes behind everyone else. That, and the fact that I'm trying to finish up the series 'on the cheap' but that's another story. I'll get there in the end though and, given that I've reviewed a large number of the trades elsewhere, volume 29 seemed like a good place to start here )in more ways than one, we're looking at moving into the final chapters here). I'm not going to lie though, I know how the series ends (it was hard not to) so it will be interesting to read these last three trades with that in mind.
Now, given that the series ended last July, I'm not going to be too careful about spoilers here so be warned. Having said that though, it's hard to dish out spoilers for a book where not a lot actually happens...

The war with the Whisperers is over and the residents of Alexandria and the Hilltop (possibly the Kingdom as well, we don't hear a lot from them) are counting the cost and rebuilding. Tensions are running high already and Eugene's radio conversations with Stephanie might lead to the answers for a lot of urgent questions. Rick puts a team together to meet with representatives of this new community but what else will they find on the road to Ohio?

I've read 'The Walking Dead' for a while now and the 'storytelling cycle' that Kirkman employs is incredibly easy to spot. Basically... The survivors find shelter, the survivors encounter a foe, the survivors lose their shelter and, finally, the survivors have to start again.
We're at the 'having to start again' part of the cycle and Kirkman speeds things up a little bit by having a group set out to meet others who might be able to help... or will they? With the benefit of hindsight, it's clear to see why Kirkman is quickening the pace although he's not giving anything else away at this point. Nope, we're all about the rebuilding and starting again here and the danger of that is that it can feel a little bit, well... dull really. No-one expects the survivors to be constantly fighting zombies, and these 'soap opera interludes' help flesh out characters, but when a story has been following the same cycle for years, it can get into a rut and that's how it feels here.

To be fair though, Kirkman does bring a couple of plot lines to a close in a fairly explosive manner for one and hints of redemption for another. I liked that :o) The ending is suitably dramatic as well and hints at things actually happening in the next trade.

All in all then, Volume 29 (ably drawn as ever by Charlie Adlard) does have its moments but is ultimately another 'interlude trade' where pieces are being put in place for what we now know will be the endgame. Necessary in terms of storytelling then but a little too easygoing for my taste. Lets see if Volume 30 ups the tempo at all.

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