The Walking Dead 9: Here We Remain

Comic Info

The Walking Dead #49

Reprints The Walking Dead #49-54 (May 2008-November 2008).  Rick and Carl try to recover from the attack on the prison and the deaths of Lori and Judy, but Rick finds himself fighting for his life.  Carl tries to survive on his own, and the fate of the survivors who left the prison is revealed.

Written by Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead Volume 9:  Here We Remain is a follow-up to The Walking Dead Volume 8:  Made to Suffer. The black-and-white comic features art by Charlie Adlard and the issues collected were also collected in the hardback The Walking Dead—Volume 5, The Walking Dead Omnibus—Volume 3, and The Walking Dead Compendium—Volume 2.

With the chaos and the crisis of the Governor’s attack, the series is uprooted and Robert Kirkman pretty much recreated his comic again.  The big prison arc is over (finally) and a new storyline is introduced in this series.  With no home, The Walking Dead hit the road again.

With this new direction, the series has a new feel.  Rick throughout the series has been burdened with responsibility, now he’s burden with guilt.  Rick becomes a bit of liability at this point in the series, and he’s handicapped emotionally and physically.  With Rick in this situation, Carl is forced to grow up and takes the starring role in the first half of this collection.

The Walking Dead #52

Also with no base of operation, The Walking Dead feels dangerous again.  The comic book feel of the Governor and Michonne is over, and that is a real plus in the series.  The story is back to a gritty realism and that is what distinguished The Walking Dead from a regular zombie story.  The Walking Dead has the opportunity show what happens after a disaster like what occurred at the prison.

The second half of the collection deals with what happens when Rick, Michonne, and Carl are reunite with the other survivors at Hershel’s farm.  They learn new secrets about what could be the cause of the plague and learn that no home may be safe when it comes to the voracity of the zombies quest for food.  The whole concept of herding seems like something that should have been noticed before by the survivors, especially since they were based in the prison for so long.  They should have encountered or witnessed a herd at that point.

The Walking Dead is in a good swing right now.  The TV show dealt with the previous story arc in the third and fourth season and though it still kind of uses the comic book as a touchstone, The Walking Dead comic is generally a different animal.  There are still a ton of untouched issues (the zombies can freeze in the cold, but can they starve without food?), and Kirkman has a wide range for experimentation since the book has no threats of cancellation.  The Walking Dead 9:  Here We Remain is followed by The Walking Dead 10:  What We Become.

Preceded By:

The Walking Dead 8:  Made to Suffer

Followed By:

The Walking Dead 10:  What We Become