Ups and downs from issue 179 of The Walking Dead comics

Issue 179 of The Walking Dead was important in moving the story along, but may have been confusing to some readers of ‘New World Order Part 5 of 6’.

Skybound and Image Comics released issue 179 of The Walking Dead comic book series on May 2, 2018 which continued the ‘New World Order’ story arc with the fifth installment in the six-part storyline.

Lately, the series has been knocking it out of the park when it comes to delivering a compelling story arc during the past 4 issues, and issue 179 of the comics continued the story of the survivors from Alexandria learning more about The Commonwealth.

However, ‘New World Order Part 5 of 6’ was a bit of a mixed bag compared to the previous installments in the arc. Let’s talk a bit about the positives and negatives from issue 179. If you haven’t read the issue, it is highly advised that you do so or check out our FULL RECAP OF EVENTS from the issue.

***WARNING: SPOILERS FROM TWD 179 BELOW***

There were several things to love about this issue. Michonne staying at The Commonwealth with Elodie makes sense and watching the relationship between Stephanie and Eugene evolve from radio communication to a possible romance were two big highlights.

One of the most interesting parts of issue 179 was the revelation of a class structure at The Commonwealth that divides their people based on their previous occupations as well as different settlements and how individuals can advance in that system.

Readers also learned that there are outlying communities that are all quite different, including one group who live on a lake in houseboats. This means that survivors may be able to choose a new location to live where they don’t have to deal with Sebastian.

Also, the artwork in the issue is amazing. The feelings that got captured in Magna’s facial expressions were done extremely well and really drew me into her part of the story from the issue.

As far as negatives, there was some incoherence in the way the story was told that was a bit confusing. One panel shows Stephanie walking and flirting with Eugene and the next has Eugene gone and her talking to Siddiq about construction.

Plus, Elodie’s ‘surprise’ for Michonne and the group was supposed to be the next day, but there was no way to tell that a day had passed while reading the issue. That led to wondering if the football game was the surprise or if something else was coming up.

While introducing a political storyline makes sense, it also makes the situations uncomfortable. The contrast between The Commonwealth and Alexandria/The Hilltop should make for an interesting conversation between Rick Grimes and Pamela Milton that is bound to happen in the next issue.

As a whole, the direction the story headed was a positive one but felt it took an uneven approach to get there. Still, the developments in the story and awesome artwork earns issue 179 a grade of 7.8/10.

Next: Cover analysis of TWD 180

What did you think of The Walking Dead issue 179? Did you have the same issues with the story, yet enjoy the overall direction of the story in ‘New World Order Part 5 of 6’? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.