At this point, The Walking Dead has become the family member I should turn my back on, but I just keep giving the relationship one more shot. Then, as always, I am kicked in the nuts by said family member’s actions. What will it take before I say “NO MORE!!” and give tough love a chance? It could possibly be issue #108, where writer Robert Kirkman not only jumps the shark, he filets it and serves it as the kind of fish sticks you’d find in a seedy carnival in a soiled part of town.
When we last left Rick, he had just involved himself in fisticuffs with Negan over Carl. After discovering all that Carl had seen during his time in Negan’s camp, Jesus decided it was time for Rick to meet… … wait for it… … Ezekiel. Apparently, there is another leader of another camp who doesn’t like Negan. Rick and Jesus arrive in Ezekiel’s territory, only to met by two men on horseback speaking as though they’d just been fired from Medieval Times.
Meeting Ezekiel, we discover that he’s an older African-American gentleman with long white hair and he owns a tiger. Yep, you heard me. He owns a tiger. Then, in what could be the greatest example of deus ex machina I have ever encountered, Negan’s henchman Dwight just happens to be in Ezekiel’s camp and he wants to help Rick and the others take down Negan. If you’ll remember, Dwight was the member of Negan’s camp that Rick captured, the one with the half burned up face whose wife Negan was screwing.
Once again, Uncle Walking Dead completely disappoints me and I’m left feeling like a sap for believing in it. Where to start with this mess? First, Ezekiel? Really? All the people in the world for Rick to join forces and he just happens to stumble on one with a biblical name? Second, a tiger? Are you kidding me? Exactly where did they get this tiger and when did some random guy decide he needed a tiger? Why would his followers allow it? A tiger must take up a huge amount of supplies. Not to mention, a tiger? How lame B-movie can you get?
Then there’s Dwight. He just happens to be at Ezekiel’s place when Rick gets there? After all the horrible things he’s done, suddenly now he wants to attack Negan? Another problem is why didn’t Jesus hook this meeting up earlier? Why be coy when so much is on the line? Logic opens up the nearest window and leaps to its death with Walking Dead #108. Nothing happening here works, nothing flows, and the randomness of it all is maddening. Kirkman has taken the harsh reality that made Walking Dead so wonderful and flipped it into a bad movie, a serial fantasy with boring one-note villains and heroes who can never do anything until the last second.
Perhaps the most unforgivable part of this is Negan himself. A villain is supposed to be somebody we hate or love to hate or react to in some way. Negan has none of that. He is a boring villain, one seemingly made up of Governor outtakes. At one point, Negan grabs Dwight’s wife after a ping-pong game and says “I’m gonna ping-pong my dick all over these titties.” Okay Kirkman, we get it, he’s crazy and an asshole. We don’t need silly one-liners to understand it. Negan’s ultimate death won’t be cheered because of his comeuppance but more because, at last, a villain more boring than the one in Die Hard 2 will be out of the picture.
As for the art. Bring back Tony Moore.
