Review: The Walking Dead comic book issue 164 ‘A Fallen House’
By Adam Carlson
Was issue 164 of The Walking Dead comic book series any good? Or did it fail to met expectations? The big points of ‘A Fallen House’ are discussed.
Getting a new issue of The Walking Dead after waiting only 2 weeks is amazing. That’s been the situation in February, as a second release came on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 in issue 164 titled ‘A Fallen House’.
If you haven’t read issue 164 yet, it is HIGHLY recommended that you do so. Either that, or catch up with the FULL RECAP POSTED TO UNDEAD WALKING upon the issue’s release on new comic book day.
***WARNING: The Walking Dead 164 spoilers below***
For such an intense situation. the desperation of the people of Alexandria and their struggles in dealing with the massive undead army unleashed by The Whisperers failed to come alive in the pages of this comic.
Instead of an action packed issue, ‘A Fallen House’ focused on developing the awkwardness and bitterness between Rick Grimes and Negan into more of a camaraderie while having the ‘action’ being people riding around on horses.
It is just disappointing to see a massive group of the undead being treated more like an annoyance than a true threat to the living. In essence, they knocked down the gate and killed Paula when there should have been at least more destruction to the community if not more lives taken.
While not everything in The Walking Dead universe needs to be a non-stop thrill ride, the fact that this massive army of the undead only claimed one life and did minimal damage goes even further to lessen the impact that The Whisperers made despite being one of the most intimidating group of villains ever assembled in the comics.
Keep in mind that these shortcomings don’t mean this issue was bad. There were plenty of great things to keep the comic moving in the right direction. Carl taking command over the people of The Hilltop was awesome, Eugene’s radio transmitter being discovered could lead to an interesting development, and Negan finally telling the story of his wife in the main comics were all solid things to come out of this issue.
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Of course, the biggest takeaway now that the walkers are exiting Alexandria is that The Saviors are ready to pounce on the weakened and frightened community. John and Tara have the look of individuals who are ready to wipe out the entire settlement to claim as their own, which should make for an interesting next batch of issues.
A major positive of this issue was the fake-out of Negan possibly closing the door on Rick. For a moment, it seemed like something that might actually happen before he was pulled inside the house. However, the shoe is on the other foot now. Negan is outside the door and Rick is on the inside. Will Rick close the door if Negan starts to get overrun by the undead?
Next: The Walking Dead 165 cover spells trouble
Overall, issue 164 of The Walking Dead was a bit of a disappointment. However, that disappointment is likely only because of the incredibly high standards placed on the series and the excellent setup from last issue. Hopefully, March’s installment will bring back some of the drama and desperation ‘A Fallen House’ missed the mark with when it is released on March 1, 2017.