The Walking Dead #167

[cyberghostface]

Andrea is dying after being bitten. Rick tells her he can't go on without her.







Rick can't bring himself to shoot her and instead lies down next to her. Andrea reanimates and attacks him.



Kirkman wrote the following afterword (I'll remove if this violates the rules.)

Comments

[informationgeek]

Hey, I can repost this now that it is confirmed:

ZOMG! One of the last original characters is doomed and more misery porn!!!! This is soooooo oh who cares anymore? Just another body for the pile.

At this point, I be more impressed if Kirkman went several issues without killing or dooming someone.


Ah yeah, good to be right. Who really cares anymore about this person dying even though she was around since almost the beginning? This is all that there is to this series now and its the only way an emotion can be elicited. Just a meat grinder that's meant to make the characters more and more and more miserable.

[cyberghostface]

"This is all that there is to this series now and its the only way an emotion can be elicited."

Negan's redemption arc alone says otherwise. (Unless you count Lucille as a death.)

[informationgeek]

Anything else besides that?

Also, nope. Lucille is just a baseball bat that was used to kill a more memorable liked character. It's just a tool. :)

[beyondthefringe]

Welp.
Long-running female character dies to further the angst and glory of the series' nominal protagonist.

I'd rather have seen Rick die and Andrea take over in his place.
Maybe Maggie can be his next love interest. Or Michonne.

[informationgeek]

Nothing like a good old fashion Stuffed in the Fridge in action, eh? I haven't seen one like this Saga a few years back! :D

[liliaeth]

Honestly, this just has me worried for Michonne in the tv series.

It's things like this that made me stop reading the comic, just like it was Glenn's death that made me stop watching the show.

[cyberghostface]

Michonne has impenetrable plot armor. She's not going anywhere.

[shadowpsykie]

FUCK YOU!

sorry... Andrea was one of the only things keeping me interested in this series, her and Michonne. *and tis doesn't bode well for her TV show counter part...*

It should have been Rick. Andrea was twice the leader Rick was. It could have been a false flag. a scare. a cut from the fight and not a bite or claw from a walker.... it could have had all the pathos, but then the realization that, wait, we still have a chance... but no. they went for this and they freaking drew it out... all for Rick's man pain... Kirkman... I expected better.

[cyberghostface]

Andrea's been dead in the show for years now if that's what you meant.

[liliaeth]

No, the bigger worry is because Michonne plays this same role in the TV series, trusted lieutennant, partner and so on, that they might give this death to Michonne when they copy the events for the series.

[shadowpsykie]

no. that is not what I meant. Michonne has taken on the majority of Andrea's comic book storyline in the show, including being Rick's main love interest. If this storyline plays out on the show, that means Michonne will be bitten to further Rick's man pain.

[reveen]

Man, what.

If you didn't know why this had to happen then why the hell did you do it? His explanation is flouncy "muse" bullshit. You're the writer, you decide what the story is and does, and what characters live or die. Making a creative decision without knowing why isn't all that much better than just throwing darts at a board to decide who gets killed off. Without a narrative or thematic purpose whats the point other than drama?

And like, Walking Dead is the kind of story that generates it's buzz and drama with "WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT!?!111!". As in, the audience is expecting all this to eventually go somewhere, for there to be a big payoff that shows the audience the full extent of the writer's plan. If it's just you writing the stories for years and years and you don't even know where its going then you're kinda wasting the audiences time. This kind of by the seat of your pants writing can maybe work for a more mellow story, or a serialized one, but not punchy horror-action-drama like this. Like Kirkman's literally telling us here that the Walking Dead is a rudderless ship.

I honestly don't really buy this in the first place though. Because I like to think that if he was really all broken up about this and came up with it during a train ride his editor would send his script back with a note telling him to calm his tits and rethink things.

[caivu]

"I like to think that if he was really all broken up about this and came up with it during a train ride his editor would send his script back with a note telling him to calm his tits and rethink things."

I think Kirkman is his own editor given the way Image is set up, but maybe I'm wrong.

[q99]

It's the problem with 'anyone can die' storylines.

Either you eventually reach a point where you run out of people who shouldn't die to keep people caring, or you kill them too and train your readers not to get attached.

[caivu]

"The deaths in this series are never taken lightly, they're never done with a sense of glee."

I wish I could believe that.

[janegray]

I hate this.

I'd say more, but I've crossed the line of darkness-induced apathy, so I just don't care anymore.

[bj_l]

Oh, fuck this.

I'll happily still reread my first compendium over and over, but I never got around to buying the second, and I definitely won't bother with the third. Yawn, get a new trick Kirkman.

[mizerous]

OMGZ more death in a series about death what a twist. :V

[cyberghostface]

Don't think it's supposed to be a twist.

[zer0man]

*SIGH* Where to begin...

I've barely touched this series since it first started, and that's simply because when dealing with apocalyptic scenarios, so many tropes, story lines and cliches are utilized that it becomes almost formulaic. Be it internal struggles among survivors, external struggles due to lack of resources, conflict with other factions or the ever-looming threat, there will never be a true and lingering moment of peace.

Sure I can handle an occasional character death, but in scenarios like this, where death is always around it does become rather pointless, even if the whole goal is to craft a realistic scenario. In all, this makes the concept of death cheap, perhaps as cheap as the frequent super-hero resurrections that are readily mocked.

But my biggest gripe is with the writer's post script, his claim of feeling like he's not in control at times. If this was editorially mandated, then I would feel more sympathetic. But this is the writer's baby, and if I am wrong, please feel free to correct me. But if this story is fully under his hand and no one else, then I find that claim to be incredibly insulting, and I see it as almost an underhanded way of admitting that he's running out of steam.

[liliaeth]

Honestly, I'd probably respect him more, if he realized he was running out of steam, and decided that that's the best moment to push the series towards a finale and end it.

[goattoucher]

The Danger-Safe-Compromised-Relocate-Danger-Safe-Repeat bit has gotten pretty old.

It's also gotten to the point where no community as large as the Whisperers could subsist by scavenging. All the humans left would be in larger self-sustaining communities with developed infrastructures that would be largely safe from walkers and rando thugs.

Also, eventually the Walkers are going to finish rotting away. This is not a threat that would exist on a large, society threatening scale for longer than a decade. After that, it would just be medical personnel and first responders having to take the extra step of plunging a skewer into the brain pan of anyone who died.

[leoboiko]

I like this death. Felt a little milked too long, but at least someone's still killing core characters to keep us on our toes. Ice and Fire and Attack on Titan have been handing out plot armors lately.

[caivu]

Killing major characters just to "keep readers on their toes" is the exact problem. If anyone can die at any time for no reason, why bother getting invested in anyone?

[sarahnewlin]

fuck it. fuck it fuck it FUCK IT