Many characters were unhappy with Rick's seeming deference to Negan in The Walking Dead #103, least of all his son Carl. The cover to issue #104 suggests that Carl is ready to lock, load, and go all Schwarzenegger on Negan's forces. Obviously that isn't quite what happens, but this issue is still host to some interesting new developments and a further evolution of Carl's gung-ho personality. It's not that readers can't sympathize with Rick's precarious position, but it is nice to see some of the characters refusing to play ball with the dastardly Negan. Carl alone delivers a moment that would be well worth a final page cliffhanger if it didn't happen midway through the issue.

Robert Kirkman sheds a bit more light on the inner workings of Negan's community. The moral of the story is that his own people aren't much more fond of the tyrannical leader than Rick's gang. This adds another interesting wrinkle to the formula. There's little doubt that the new central villain of The Walking Dead is going to get what he deserves sooner or later. The question is who will bring him down and exactly how much damage will be caused along the way.

Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn deliver some memorable imagery this month. Though the zombies themselves continue to be an afterthought at this stage in the conflict, the grotesque display of undead outside Negan's camp is enough to remind readers that this is a zombie book. There are certain panels where the level of detail drops out and characters lose all facial features, but in general this is a pretty strong effort from the art team. The general momentum the series has built up since issue #100 continues unabated.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

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