“I promise Rick doesn’t bite”
– Jesus to Magna

Yes he does, Jesus. At least he did once. When he was the fearless leader of our little group of survivors years ago. I’m sure he is that same leader. That same tragic hero we all love and root for in the zombie apocalypse. A lot of people love the new Walking Dead, but I’ve read that a few people are not too thrilled with the new direction the comic took with issue #127. Is it a little different? Sure, but don’t we trust writer Robert Kirkman enough to deliver great storytelling time and time again? We have trusted him this far and we have come a long way since Rick’s coma over ten years ago. To those not loving this new arc, I say just give it time and this new beginning will grow on you, I promise.

The Walking Dead #127 was teased by Kirkman, back before the conclusion to All Out War, to be a ‘new beginning’ and a completely different feel to the story. He was absolutely right. It is an entirely different feel and reads like a new #1. We were told that All Out War would alter the story from what we were used to before it began and the biggest, and best, difference is the addition of Stefano Gaudiano on inks. Charlie Adlard is already amazing and continuing to have Gaudiano from All Out War is just icing on the cake.

Warning Spoilers Below

The new arc, appropriately titled ‘A New Beginning‘, starts us off with a few new characters. The mysterious women on the cover, that was teased a few months back and had the internet scrambling to discover her identity, is named Magna and is the leader of this small band of survivors that has been roaming the area for an unknown period of time. Her traveling companions are named Kelly, Luke, Connie and Yumiko. They have no set destination in mind and happen to come across an extremely large herd of walkers when Jesus comes to save them. At this point I could tell that the plot jumped ahead a little, but not exactly sure how much. Jesus, Heath, Eugene, Aaron and Rosita show off their skills at corralling and leading walkers where they please and this is when I think the time has skipped ahead at least a few years, thinking it must have taken some time to coordinate this talent of theirs. The only problem they had was herding the walkers right into Magna’s group, subsequently getting one of their members, Bernie, killed. RIP Bernie, we barely knew you.

After the Herd is safely out-of-the-way, Jesus and the rest of the group go back for Magna’s to bring them to Rick for approval. I really like Magna and think she will be a great addition to the comic. We then shift focus to Rick waking up next to Andrea (their relationship seems to be going strong and survived the time-jump) and he dons his new ‘hand’ or ‘claw’. I’m glad Rick finally got an artificial hand, something that was long overdue. He appears to be settled into the leadership role nicely, as well. Carl looks older and is calling Andrea ‘mom’, which I thought was a little strange. He still has some secrets, however.

The Walking Dead would not be complete without the usual twists and turns and we get one at the end (I won’t spoil it for you). I will go into more detail of it next issue. I wasn’t happy about the issue when I first read it, but after a couple more times I changed my mind. How could you not like this book? It has everything you could want. There are quite a few new characters plus old characters that seem to have larger roles also. It’s a little too early to tell where the story is headed, but, like I said, I trust Kirkman to deliver a quality book every month. Speaking of that, I kind of already miss the bi-monthly release schedule.

Thoughts and Discussion

– What was the misunderstanding Carl had with the cooper’s son, Alex? Is it important to know? I just assumed because it was in the book, but we never really know what it is.

– I’m not sure how I feel about Carl’s new look. I want the sheriff’s hat back.

– I have a theory about Magna and the time jump. Since the comic began, Rick and his group have encountered different villains that all have their own ‘community’. Now, with the time-jump, Rick is the one with the ‘community’ and groups will encounter them. Is Magna and her group the new ‘Rick and the gang’? If that is the case, I am really going to enjoy the ‘new beginning’. It will be cool to see the conflicts that arise from a different point of view.

– Where is Michonne and Ezekiel? The ‘core’ group seems to be broken up and I hope they come together soon.

Thank you for checking out my Review! Please comment below to discuss the issue further!

Story: Robert Kirkman – Art: Charlie Adlard – Cover: Charlie Adlard/Dave Stewart – Ink: Stefano Gaudiano – Gray Tones: Cliff Rathburn – Letterer: Rus Wooton
Story: 9.5 Art: 9.5 Overall: 9.5 Recommendation: Buy