Love the Carl sebastian interaction at the jail. He just screamed Negan at me then the ta ta at the end

 

Someone shared the 2 panels on twitter yesterday. It was all I could do, to not come here and share them.

I sure hope Kirkman doesn't get too much grief over this, as I believe the comic story can still be strong.
Now I am off to read the rest of the issue.

 

Yes. Carl honored his father's ideals by respecting the law, but if Sebastian ever gets out of his cell, Carl will honor Negan's ideals and seek revenge.

 

Have some really mixed feelings about the way it went down. Am definitely surprised that Rick was killed off like this but am in no way upset about it and am looking forward to what the story ends up being like with him not around.

The thing that has me scratching my head a little more though is the fact that it seems the last 25 issues was largely put in there just to lead up to one characters death and now everyone is just going back to where they came from. Now I'm sure the Commonwealth story isn't entirely done but it really is looking like the story can just reboot back to issue 170 now minus Rick and with the addition of a few added characters.

Kirkman says that he has had this planned out for a decade now and while I buy that regarding Rick I am not sure though this was how he originally intended on handling the Commonwealth story. Again we will have to see how much more development we get out of the Commonwealth but the way this played out it really is looking like Kirkman could just be taking the story largely back to the way it was before Commonwealth was introduced.

The Commonwealth didn't seem to be a very popular arc amongst readers and the sales for the series dropped sharply while the arc was going on. Before the arc monthly sales were consistently in the 70-80k range and now monthly sales are in the 40k range. So if we do infact see what seems to be a bit of a reboot prior to when the Commonwealth arc took place that could be a reason for it.

 

I’m a few issues behind but I just saw this news on Facebook. So I came running here. I’m not sure how I feel about Rick dying.

 

Loved the show of Negan’s influence on Carl during his checking in on Sebastian. All those hours spent down in that dank, dark cell come full circle in a kind of way. Not to mention finally having a true grasp of why it is sometimes better to imprison rather than execute. I always knew Rick would go, but agree with Neuro that this isn’t my ideal death. That being said, it kind of fits. I feel like a glorious heroic death, martyrdom or sacrifice or something of that nature would have felt contrived. I kind of like that he died as if he were nothing special, at the hands of someone who is a worthless and meaningless nothing. I’m glad Sebastian won’t be able to make his “bones” on Rick’s killing either. According to the letter hacks, Negan is going to come into sharp focus now, we’ll see. Could be interesting. I’m curious to see his behavior and role in Carl’s life knowing he’s now in a world minus his mortal adversary. Could completely change his behavior in some ways. Also, I’m kind of looking forward to “Sheriff Kapoor” in 194, even though he appears to be Rick 2.0.
That all being said, damn; 16 years later and our favorite protagonist is gone. End of and era. The king is dead, long live the king. Here’s to Carl rising!

 

I don't think The Commonwealth Arc was popular either: it was too slow, it had strong SJW undertones, Dwight's death angered fans, and it continued the familiar loop of Rick discovering a new group, and that new group suddenly looks at Rick and pleads with him to be their leader.

 

Oh God. Someone complaining again about SJW's. THe rest of your post was fine but if you want to complain about SJW's it's best to find your way to one of the clown channels out there.

 

I finally caught up on the issue yesterday, and am not surprised. I felt like Rick's impending death was being telegraphed over the last few issues - especially him coming full circle with "We are NOT the walking dead" and his talks with Carl about how he'll know what to do, how proud he was of the man he'd grown into, etc. I hate that he died to a sh*tstain weasel like Sebastian, but it's almost fitting, too. Rick Grimes did so much in this world and became larger than life - it would make sense for him to go out in some blaze of heroic glory, but that's not usually how life works. Most of the time, you just... die. In some mundane way, natural causes, an accident, a murder... rare is the battlefield Valhalla death once peace has largely come to pass.

Peace is the legacy Rick leaves behind and his death during a time of peace after having made peace makes much sense in this current arc.

I've been anticipating the Rise of Carl and am excited to see where it leads. Of course, I'm a little concerned with his suicidal thoughts in the last panel, but he'll bounce back. I remember feeling the same way after Mom's suicide, how could I go on in a world without her, but you do. He's got too much of his father in him to simply give up, lay down, and waste away. This is new and fresh and tragic. The boy needs time.

And I am absolutely IN LOVE with the bits of Negan that Carl has. I first saw them at Hilltop when he attacked the boys that were harassing Sophia. The parallels were so very clearly drawn - literally, in the illustration - of this issue. His eye and facial shape behind the bars, the profile of his face while talking to Sebastian, and of course him walking away in a jacket with his shoulders a bit drawn up/hunched with that infamous "Ta ta..."

Loooooooooooove it.

I, too, hope Kirkman doesn't get brutally slain in the Letter Hacks, but I'm sure he will. Which is why, for the second time, I'm gonna send a letter in. This issue was too damn good not to send my voice of support. I am okay with how everything went down and am at peace with it. I loved Rick, but it did feel like it was time. Time to rise, Carl. And what is Negan boy up to...

 

I'm not going to lie I fell off a bit durring this arc but i am sure back on board to see what happens after this