Maybe it is just me, but I have been reading this comic in the collected paperback editions v. 1-14, and the swing of the story lately is just starting to piss me off. I can understand that this is a comic book and that what I am reading is actually three discreet issues jammed together so that there are there is rising and falling action of plot and narrative happening three times and that cliff-hangers seem to occur in each book far too often for comfort. I get that... There needs to be action every 20 pages, there is going to be an odd rising and falling action every twenty pages. But does is really have to make so little sense?

Primarily my question is: why are these characters so #@$% stupid? They constantly whine they should not make gunfire noises, but they never pick up weapons that do not make noise like bows & arrows. They hit upon wearing 'riot gear' to prevent the more grievous cuts in the prison, but the very second that gear is not interesting to the story it is as if they concept NEVER existed. Sheriff Grimes himself points out that he screws up by jumping to conclusions, running when he should stay, staying when he should run OVER & OVER & OVER -- but despite pointing this out to himself and others repeatedly he keeps believing in himself and the people around him that five seconds ago told him he was really dumb fallow him...whereupon more people die.

People tell Rick he is wrong, yet when that proves correct - that he was indeed wrong - he then insists he has to do what he does to protect his family.... WHAT? Rick...you wife and baby are dead...Carl is a mess with half a head; how is that any proof he is worth a damn at protecting anyone? No dude, anyone could have done the same thing - killl everyone. The only dude who would have done worse was a duchebag who nailed your wife. And guess why Rick? Because your damn son had to solve that issue for you!!!!

How are we supposed to like this drivel?

so what you want them to be perfect? That's not how things work...you don't get good stories out of characters making perfect decisions and never making mistakes....there has to be some threat or consequence for there to be anything interesting happening in the book....would you rather the entire series be Rick and his family sitting in a over protected room with tons of supplies and have no possible threats....that would get boring REALLY quick....my guess is that you really don't understand what the series is about at all

Robert Kirkmen said this about the series

Yeah, it’s definitely a ‘give and take’ for the series. If it were completely depressing and violent all the time, readers would have to be total masochists not to get burnt out. You have to balance that out with different scenes and different moments in the book to show that there’s still living to be done, and a life worth living for. To provide some shred of hope that civilization can be reestablished is giving the characters a goal to move towards instead of just surviving. Otherwise, when things get crazy and dark I wouldn’t have anything to balance that with to give those dark moments such an impact. I constantly have to kind of pull back and give both the characters and readers a breather.

The series is a cycle of ups and down, which is kind of cool. The real game for it is what are the lengths of these breaks; is it a long respite or a quick one? The readers and the characters shouldn’t know when the other shoe is going to drop. Readers know of course that things will eventually get ugly again, but it adds to the tension to not know when or how.

Walking Dead has been brilliant start till now and issue 100 proved it