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by **alaska1125** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:06 am

I really felt a gut punch with this one. It's part of the reason I threw it out as Comic of the Week. I could bitch about how I hate that a character I cared about was brutally written out, but to be fair, Mr. Kirkman has stated from he start that no one was safe. In this world, it may suck, but everything pretty much sucks.

by **sinosleep** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:52 am

Holland Oats wrote:
That's not really my problem, as a reader.

"Kirkman is stuck, so he has no choice but to stay the course" is not a good defense for the book being repetitive. Maybe he should plan to end it?

And there's nothing wrong with using deaths for shock value - but that's all that happens in the book anymore. It's the same plot recycled time and time again, and then Kirkman throws in a big death for the hype.

It's your problem if you didn't see it coming. I mean just look at damned near any show on network television. There's a reason they call them procedurals. It's your mystery of the week, or your funny situation of the week, or your insert easily repeated plot here of the week. I see it in every other form of media and at this point I'm used to it. I don't need the book to end, and I don't need a new situation since I know there really isn't one.

So long as the repeatable plot of the week has different characters and they have some kind of effect on the characters then I'm fine with it. Sure, things have been going in circles, but characters have changed and characters have died and that's good enough for me. I know what I'm going to get. At that point it's not the writer's problem, it's your problem for expecting something that's not feasible. You don't go into an action movie and complain that there wasn't enough drama.

And again, I don't buy the death for hype argument for a second. You know what death for hype is? When a superhero book kills off some 3rd rate character that like 6 people actually give a shit about in a crossover. Or when they kill off a major character just to bring them back 6 months later, or even in the same arc. That's death for hype. If Spider-Man died tomorrow I wouldn't give a rip. Glenn getting killed made me nauseous. The thought of Andrea possibly not surviving this arc is driving me crazy. It's not death for hype when death actually matters.

by **Chris** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 9:00 am

I've seen it coming for a few arcs now. But Kirkman's job is to keep the reader interested and recycling the same story every arc isn't doing that for much longer. Not at the price of comics today.

by **48THRiLLS** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 8:21 pm

This issue was brutal. I did not see this coming at all and I am pretty sure this is the first time in my comic reading history that I truly felt shock... I actually closed the book and said holy shit out loud.

by **alaska1125** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 8:52 pm

48THRiLLS wrote:... I actually closed the book and said holy shit out loud.

Ditto.

by **Victorian Squid** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 9:02 pm

Negan is modeled after Henry Rollins.

Now if only he gets bit later by zombie-Glenn Danzig.

by **sinosleep** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 12:02 am

Holland Oats wrote:I've seen it coming for a few arcs now. But Kirkman's job is to keep the reader interested and recycling the same story every arc isn't doing that for much longer. Not at the price of comics today.

I'm curious as to what you do find worth your comic book dollar considering the more I think about it the more the whole repeatable plot thing is all over the place.

[Reveal] Spoiler: Click to Expand

I'm sitting here watching the season premier or Breaking Bad and this thread just popped into my head. They've managed to some how tie up Walt's money each and every season. Why? Cause the instant he has all the money he needs he loses motivation and the show ends.

Why did it take 4 seasons of Burn Notice for Michael to fix his problems? Cause they knew it'd be bad for the show if he solved the major issue in his life which is why the kept dragging it out. The ratings dip it's experienced since then seems to confirm that.

Not even sure why I put spoiler tags on that considering both shows have been on the air more than 5 years but whatever, courtesy I suppose.

This kind of stuff is all over the place which I mentioned earlier but only provided specific examples. I understand everyone's got their own reasons to like and dislike things, but when you really think about it a rinse and repeat plot on an ongoing series is simply one of the facts of life. Just seems weird to single out Walking Dead for it when I'm having a hard time thinking of any ongoing that doesn't do the exact same thing. Super hero books have their villain of the week, crime books have their caper of the week, etc, etc, etc.