The Walking Dead #63

[cyberghostface.insanejournal.com]

So the priest character, Father Gabriel Stokes, has appeared for a couple of issues now, and since his arrival has coincided with that of the Hunters--a group of mysterious people stalking Rick and co.--a lot of readers have guessed that something is up with him and that he might be a spy. In this issue, Gabriel takes them to his abandoned church. Andrea realizes they are being watched from the trees, and Rick assumes that Gabriel is in on it. He calls bullshit on Gabriel's previous story--that he had just holed himself up in his church all this time with no problems--and the priest admits that he was lying. He now realizes that Rick was sent by God to punish him.





Needless to say, I'm glad that Kirkman didn't make the priest one of the 'villains'. Granted, he has a lot of skeletons in his closet, but this way there's a lot more potential for the character to grow. Having him be a 'spy' for the Hunters would have been too predictable.

And what of the Hunters? They've been little more than shadowy figures for the most part...until now. 

Dale, who had been kidnapped earlier, wakes up to find himself being greeted by a man named Chris. "You probably think I am crazy, and I understand that. Why wouldn't you?" He says. "But I'm not, none of us are. I don't expect you to believe that, but it's important to me that I say it."

Comments

Um - just a second...

[(Anonymous)]

Okay. It's after a major zombie outbreak, there's probably nothing to eat. All of the cows are - well, actually, all of the cows are probably fine because the zombies don't eat them and they're not that high maintenance; eat grass, poop, sleep, repeat. Probably sheep and chickens too, both of which are edible. Also, there's eight billion kinds of vegetables whose seeds can be found in pretty much any small town. Plus, corn and wheat, if you can find a variety that isn't genetically engineered. Also, there's got to be some supermarkets open that haven't been utterly looted.

Barring all that: There's still squirrels, innumerable small animals and - most importantly, now that there's no cars and no organized hunting, the deer are going to be breeding completely out of control. Probably to the point where they'll walk up to you to get a kiss.

So: All that being said, why are these guys eating human flesh, except because the author wanted to do Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" with zombies? I mean, I don't mind grim, but this seems grim without really backing it up. The world's ecosystem hasn't been destroyed, just the human portions of it.

-Darren MacLennan

Re: Um - just a second...

[cyberghostface.insanejournal.com]

Keep in mind that the cannibalism was just introduced--I'm sure Kirkman will explain why these people are eating people by the end of the arc.

Re: Um - just a second...

[suzene.insanejournal.com]

I disagree on this being just Kirkman going for pure shock value without the world-building to back it up.

Once food delivery systems collapse, then things get really nasty, really quickly. At this point, I think they're a little more than a year into the zombie apocalypse, and most of the food sources people would immediately turn to in the event of disaster would have become much harder to come by, if not dried up completely. The first arc of the series showed that lot of the urban areas are packed with zombies, so scavenging is risky at best and any easily accessible stockpiles would have already been looted by other survivors. Planting crops or doing any kind of farming in general means staying in one place, which, as recent issues have shown, is a crapshoot and generally a bad idea unless you have a fortress that will stand up against herds of drifting zombies (which our group did, but it got wrecked). Livestock aren't as hardy as you'd think without human protection and not typically found in large numbers outside of factory farms these days, not to mention that chickens and sheep are pretty easily picked off by smaller predators, especially coyotes and stray dogs. Almost all dairy cattle would have kicked it fairly soon after they were abandoned by their keepers, likewise most horses -- they both need more than just grazing space to thrive. Beef cattle (if you're in ranching country and they've been able to find pasture to sustain themselves), deer and small game would be their best bet...except that hunting with any kind of firearm makes noise that attracts zombies and so would any noise your prey makes going down, so you've got to be really careful about making kills and aware that stopping to butcher anything bigger than a rabbit means you're waiting for the local undead to descend on you.

All in all, a pretty bleak outlook without a lot of hope for rebuilding. I'm not surprised that some group of whack-jobs decided that stalking humans is the best, easiest way to keep themselves fed.

Re: Um - just a second...

[houbanaut.insanejournal.com]

Agreed. Once society collapses (whether or not due to zombies), our food supply is fucked and most people are going to starve to death. Cannibalism is very likely/certain. Jared Diamond's Collapse has a pretty gruesome account of how this probably played out among the Anasazi.

I'm also reminded of a macabre short story by Roald Dahl, "In the Ruins (http://www.roalddahlfans.com/shortstories/inthtext.php)."

Re: Um - just a second...

[suzene.insanejournal.com]

One of the things about Walking Dead that has bugged me a bit is that I think Kirkman's had the cast successfully scavenging for food and supplies more often than I think would be plausible this long after the fall of society, but there's enough wriggle room to play with there and things have been getting more desperate since the compound fell. Generally speaking, I've enjoyed the book a lot more since they got out of the prison and hooked up with Abe and company; just when you think the cast has hit bottom, Kirkman cackles and pulls out a backhoe.

[greenmask.insanejournal.com]

Holy fuck

Why have I not yet learnt my lesson about clicking on scans from this comic?

D:}

[oldmanrain.insanejournal.com]

Yikes.
Damn, The Walking Dead just does not let up

[gargoylekitty.insanejournal.com]

Dale just can't get a break.

[gargoylekitty.insanejournal.com]

Also, I think(aside from what happened with the boys) this starts seriously explaining his response to a question I'd had for him not too long ago:

[cyberghostface.insanejournal.com]

What issue is that letter from?

[gargoylekitty.insanejournal.com]

#57, I think.

[aaron_bourque.insanejournal.com]

How do you think he lost that leg?

::badump-tish::

[cmdr_zoom.insanejournal.com]

"A pig like that, you don't eat him all at once."

[suzene.insanejournal.com]

So glad someone beat me to this. And I'm giving Kirkman mad props for reprinting Chew #1 in the back of this book for no extra cost to the customer. It's an excellent series and needs more love.

As for Dale...well, it's gruesome, but it kinda makes sense. Any canned supplies that can actually be reached have likely been raided by now, most livestock won't last long without human protection, deer are fucking hard to catch...humans are probably the easiest prey around right now.