Ups and Downs from issue 190 of The Walking Dead comics

Take a look at the good, bad, and interesting things from issue 190 of The Walking Dead comics titled “Storm The Gates” which was released on Apr. 3, 2019!

A new installment of The Walking Dead comics was released on Apr. 3, 2019 when issue 190 of the popular series was released and continued the story of troubles and the recently discovered community of the Commonwealth.

Let’s take a look at all the positives, negatives, and interesting things that happened in “Storm The Gates”. Of course, it is highly advised that you read the comic or at least THE RECAP before continuing!

**NOTE: SPOILERS FROM THE WALKING DEAD 190 BELOW**

The good things

1. Rick trying to have the middle ground. There is nobody better to be a go-between than Rick Grimes. His ability to speak to just about anyone from a place where peace is promoted is a wonderful thing because he gains the respect of everyone he meets. The communities are lucky to have him.
2. Michonne looking after Elodie and her friends. Heading into this issue, I was worried about Elodie and her friends being among the first to be on the front lines of the revolution. While I was partially right about that, Michonne was definitely there to put a stop to that dead in its tracks.
3. Banding together to fight the stray walkers. It would have been easy to just let the soldiers from the Commonwealth fight against the dead who didn’t leave with Maggie and the others, but instead, Rick, Princess, and others joined the fight along with people from the community. This was both a nice gesture and symbolic of what the community needs.

The bad stuff

1. Feeding into the chaos. It was crazy to see just how quickly things changed. Once Pamela and the other elites made their exit people were willing to do crazy things just to show their power or exert their will on others. This included basically kidnapping Lance to hold him against his will for interrogation.
2. Brushing off the undead. A group of walkers should have been a significantly bigger problem for the survivors. However, it seems as though their numbers were just a minor inconvenience despite the size of the herd. With the damage the Whisperers have done in the past, it’s hard to imagine the undead being such an easy “problem” to deal with.
3. War is set to begin. Rick has been doing everything he can to not cause problems in the community. Even with his best efforts, he still ended up being seen as a villain when Pamela interpreted his moves and the surprise arrival of people from the Hilltop as an act of aggression.

The interesting things

1. Where is Tara? The woman who got the Mercer and other soldiers wound up to the point of creating an explosion and breaking a man out of custody was nowhere to be seen in this issue. Is she cooking something else up or is she pleased with the chaos she’s created? Either way, she’s gotta feel good about doing this for Dwight.
2. Not worth the effort. So, Eugene and Stephanie made no effort to redirect the horde of walkers away from the Commonwealth. In addition, Maggie drove all the way into the community with no issues to round them up! Add in Pamela and a bunch of soldiers arriving on foot and not dealing with any undead, and you have a disappointing aspect of the plot.
3. The governor has become the Governor. The final panel of the comics drew a huge comparison to how The Governor angrily directed his people to fight against Rick and the others at the prison. But will her soldiers attack their own people along with Rick and the others? That has yet to be seen.

Overall impression

It was hard to know what to expect from this issue. but it featured one of the quickest turnarounds ever seen by a character in The Walking Dead comics.

Pamela went from being super grateful to Rick for everything to accusing him of overthrowing the community in the drop of a hat. The fact she showed up with an army shows she was distrusting of him anyway, despite everything he was doing to try to keep her in power while realizing what she was doing was wrong.

Of course, the purpose of this issue was to set up an intense showdown between the groups. It did an excellent job of that with some misdirection and victories along the way. It was a solid issue, but one that is mostly intended to move forward toward the removal of Pamela Milton from power.

ISSUE GRADE: 8.0/10

What did you think of issue 190 of The Walking Dead comics? Did you enjoy “Storm The Gates” or did it fail to meet your expectations? Let us know your opinions in the comments section! Also, pick up your copy at a local comic retailer or get it digitally on Comixology.com!