The second season of The Walking Dead was full of drama, both on screen and off. With the bitter separation with series developer/producer/writer/director Frank Darabont and AMC, many fans side with Darabont (I was one of them). The second season was split with fans, most growing tired of the seemingly one-sided characterizations and (overly) long search for Sophia. However, the second half of the season was packed with big plot revelations and characters dying off at a steady clip.
I will admit, I was about to bail on this show after Dale bought it two weeks ago. I’ve been a huge fan of The Walking Dead since I picked up the first trade paperback in 2004. I felt that the plotting was just inching along and that the show runners were trying their hardest to “stay away” from the source material. They won me back with Rick killing Shane, only with Carl to kill him again once he turned to a zombie. The second season left our ragged troop in shambles, on the run from the remnants of Hershel’s Farm (which was overrun by a gigantic zombie horde) in search of safety.
There were three big reveals in Sunday night’s season finale, two of which are huge shout outs to fans. The first being the mysterious woman who saved Andrea from certain death. Out of nowhere there is a hooded figure with a samurai sword, with two armless, mouthless zombies fettered on chains behind her. That woman is Michonne, one of my favorite characters in the comic series. No one really saw that coming, I surely did not. Robert Kirkman announced the casting of actress Danai Gurira (Treme) as Michonne shortly after the airing of the finale.
The second big nod to fans came in the last panning shot in the closing seconds of the finale. As the camera moved away from the group, huddled over a fire the wide shot revealed somewhere safe … a prison. For those of you who are unaware of the importance of the prison, in the comic it is a crucial story arc which brings about the introduction of the villain The Governor. And for you fans out there, it was only a month ago that David Morrisey was cast as The Governor, who is a truly despicable human being. And with the third big reveal, in that Rick told the group that “everyone was infected” and he had been holding onto that secret since the end of the first season after the group’s run in with Jenner at the CDC in Atlanta.
With just these three reveals dropped on the viewing public this past Sunday, I can say now that I am fully on board for season three. Let the feverish wait commence ….
Ultimate Iron Man II #5 This mini, penned by Mormon author extraordinaire Orson Scott Card saw its first issue released in December 2007. I enjoyed the first mini as it came out right as I was embracing The Ultimates and figured that it shoe horned rather well into what I was reading at the time. I was absolutely surprised to see this in my pull list this past week. I totally forgot that we were waiting for the final issue of Ultimate Iron Man II. And all I can say is that this issue and more importantly this mini was a piece of shit. I’m sorry for all of you who loved Ender’s Game (I’ve never read it), but I reread all of Ultimate Iron Man II and it affirmed my initial suspicions … this was a waste of money. 
Wolverine #68 I’ve said it many times before, I don’t read X-Men books. For many years I’ve seen the X-Men as existing well outside the regular Marvel continuity for quite some time, that is except for Wolverine. For the last four years Wolverine has popped up in pretty much every mainline title and then some. He’s becoming the Will Ferrell of the Marvel U with the amount of cameos he has. 
The Walking Dead #51 It wouldn’t be worth counting the times I talked about how much I love Robert Kirkman’s work on The Walking Dead. It is the book that attracted me back into the comic fold, and for that I am forever grateful for. However, Mr. Kirkman … let’s move this bitch along. We can all agree that #50 which was hailed as “game changing” was far too drawn out for its own good. With the drastic changes we’ve seen in the cast of characters, it is completely understandable that Rick and his son are barely hanging onto their sanity and as we saw in this issue … their humanity. Kirkman has billed this story as the “zombie movie that doesn’t end”. This transitional arc has been dragging and with the sneak peaks we’ve been getting indicate a brand new scope in story telling … which the fans are desperate for. Come on Kirkman, pick it up! A decent read, especially for long time fans and the preview for next issue will begin to answer some post prison-attack questions.