The Walking Dead vol. 20: All Out War, Part One

There’s not a whole lot to say about this, save for the fact that it was exactly what I was expecting and just as good as that too.  Rick raises his army, pulls up to Negan’s pad and unleashes hell — in the form of an army of zombies.  From there, the conflict evolves with the same shifting of momentum between the sides that has marked the last several volumes.  Every time you think the conflict is going well for one side, something will happen to undermine it and it’s a credit to Robert Kirkman that these shifts feel natural within the context of the story and not like a conscious effort to jerk the audience around.  Yes, the volume does end with the pendulum swinging towards Negan’s side, but it’ll likely hit him in the crotch when it swings back in the next volume.  That’s appropriate given the boner-centric exchange between the man and one of his lackeys which provides a genuinely funny moment amidst all the carnage.

Talking about the nature of the conflict in this volume would only boil down to summarizing its many plot points, so I’ll just say that there are plenty of surprises as familiar characters die, one person gets bit, and Rick’s side gets some help from some pleasantly surprising quarters.  That said, the main thing that bears mentioning in this volume is that as the issues collected here were shipped twice-monthly, an inker was brought onboard for the first time in series history to help out regular artist Charlie Adlard with the schedule.  Stefano Gaudiano, an industry veteran usually seen working with Michael Lark, turned out to be the right man for the job as the change is almost indistinguishable in the art itself.  You’d have to compare the previous volumes to see a difference and that’s the sign of a job well done as far as Gaudiano is concerned and for the overall content.  War may be hell in real life, yet it’s tremendously exciting to watch unfold in the pages of “The Walking Dead.”