By Matt Sernaker

There are a few moments in comics these days that really make you stop and reflect on what you just read (the shocking death of [REDACTED] in the penultimate issue of Y: The Last Man was a massive jaw dropping shocker that still makes me sad to this day). For those of us who have been reading the ongoing story of The Walking Dead, we have become accustom to Robert Kirkman’s knack for keeping his audience guessing…and the newest issue (#83) again not only pushes the envelope, but is also rather disturbing on multiple levels.

So many spoilers in the rest of this article. Read at your own risk.

The recent story arc is titled “No Way Out” and features Rick and his fellow survivors at odds with an impending swarm of zombies that threaten to overtake their newly found community. While trying to avoid the zombies Rick tries to recycle an old plan (the same from early in the apocalypse involving being covered in zombie parts) and things go wrong…and fast. People are overtaken, shots are fired, and someone gets a bullet accidently.

Again I am giving you fair warning. This is a big one.

Rick’s son Carl is accidently shot in the face (which we are shown in a horrifying double page spread). We are left with a massive cliffhanger with Rick saying that Carl is still breathing, and asks the doctor to try and save his son.

When I first saw this image I was in total shock. I couldn’t believe the extreme detail laid out before me. This is a character that we have gotten to know and love (and really has been the heart of the book) for 80+ issues. While we are left to ponder the fate of Carl for the next 30 days…the real question becomes why did Kirkman do it? While it was expected that some (if not many) of the more recent characters would not make it out alive from this current story, Kirkman decides to take it a step further, and does something gutwrenching (no pun intended), that really makes even the most seasoned of comic book reader unformfortable. To quote my Editor-in-Chief, “I’m physically ill after reading that.” This level of shock caught everyone off guard.

Here is the thing to keep in mind with this book: The Walking Dead is an ongoing story of survival. Kirkman has said from the beginning that no one is safe. NO ONE. The last major game changing moment from this book came at issue #48 when Rick’s wife and the baby didn’t make it out of the prision and were gunned down by the Governor and his men, and since that time readers have come to expect the unexpected. But this move was done to reaffirm the fact that this is Kirkman’s world. We are just along for the ride. In his world, the dead walk among us. There are no rules and boundries must be pushed. That was the point of this book in the first place.

So what happens now? We will do what we faithful comic book fans have always done: we will wait until next month to see what fate has befallen our heroes. For 80+ issues Kirkman hasn’t let us down. This story has been epic. Many might be turned off by what we just experienced, but again, go back and read issue #48. This a gamechanger my friends…it is time to prepare for the next round. Load up your shotguns… cause here they come.

ComicsOnline gives The Walking Dead #83 4 out of 5 stray bullets.

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