STRUTT ls Da 182 WHISPERER Wa PART 6 OF 6IMAGE COMICS PRESENTS THE WALKING DEAD: 182: THE WHISPERER WAR parr 6 or 6 a TS 2 thy DAVE SEAN A ee CU ST ee a CT a ATTN The Whisperers may have burned Hilltop tothe ground, but Maggie's forces succeeded in turning away ther attackers, Eugene departed for ‘exandria with a wagon loaded with ammunition to help turn the war. Meanwhile, Sherry Keeps the Saviors away from the fray plotting to move in only once Rick and the Whisperers have worn each other outI'M HOPING... THIS —/ 1S THE NEXT BEST THING, THIS 1S THE N I'M SORRY I NAMED ‘A STUPID FUCKING BALL BAT aH \A ryayy AW.) A PSE %wy ALA Sa Ds KNEW THE RISKS... THIS IS E WHAT WE DO. We HELP EACH OTHER.THIS ISN'T. THE FIRST TIME MY PEOPLE HAVE DONE THIS. THE WHISPERERS... THE THINGS WE'VE DONE,NOW WEE. Y WE DON'T SO WE NEVER HAVE TO GO BACK TO THAT. SO WE NEVER HAVE TO DO THOSE THNGS AGAN. THIS... THIS 1S. NOTHING, WELL GET OVER THIS. THIS IS JUST A HICCUP.REST FOR V_ YOU'RE NOT BACK AMOMENT. "TO FULL HEALTH YET WE SHOULD “ay LONCeR a HS HAS TO BeJUST TELL ME ONE MORE TIME, JUST_SO TM SURE. i 1 eC Nee Re ou: SURE I'VE GOT IT’ STRAGHT. ‘THE TOOTHPASTE IS OUT OF THE TUBE. T DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANYWANTED TO MAKE SURE JUST REST. YOU DD IT. IT's EUGENE! YOU TOOK A BiG RISK HERE—WHAT IF YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAD TO MAKE PEOPLE HERE CHOOSE ONE OR THE OTHER, THEY’D PROBABLY-~edYEAH, IT NEVER QUITE WoRKS OUT THAT WAY, DOES reWE THOUGHT WE'D HANDLED THE BULK OF THEIR NUMBERS, WHEN THEY HIT Us WITH A SECOND WE SPLIT INTO GROUPS, MIXED IN “AMONGST THEM WITHOUT THEM KNOWING IT, WE KILLED ‘OUT THE SYSTEMATICALLY. YOURE SURE YOU GOT. THEM ALL? BETA WAS NEARLY BEATEN TO DEATH--BUT HE GOT AWAY. HE'S STILL ‘OUT THERE. : ey » I ix ¢ 5 | e EASY? SS Ee W" TRUST ME WHEN. SL we : HAD HUNDREDS WBS Rapgens \ ees, \ WAS QUITE AN \ Wine AAA XN i ( liPROBABLY RICK? ¥ WHERE ALMOST A THOUSAND. THERE WERE YOU HAVE you WouLD HAVE HEARD THEM SCREAMING TOWARD YOU--IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN DAYS TO STEER THEM AWAY— KILLING THEM? DON'T THINK KILLING, THEM WOULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE.IT THE REST OF THE WAY WITHOUT US. THERE IS NO STOPPING THEM Za NOW. HAVE STARTED.LETTER HACKS WRITE TO US AT: WALKINGDEAR@[Link] Welcome back to the first issue of TWD in 2017! As the war ends, the Whisperers go NUCLEAR with a HORDE of walkers. Alpha’s threat from the end of #143 is finally unleashed, and there's really no preparing for it... right? It’s gonna be insane! Make sure you come back here next month for #163, which will be 25 cents— and longer than usual! And #164 will also ship in February. Exciting times! Let's read some exciting Dear Mr. Kirkman and co., just finished reading issue 160 and had to thank you for the cliffhanger you left us with. Not only does it confirm Lydia's loyalties, but we'll be picking right back up again next month with the whisperers wreaking hell on the Hilltop! What is the deal with Beta and his face? He's willing to kill his own people to keep his identity a secret? Are we going to see his face? What's the story on that? It’s very intriguing and I hope we find out more about Beta before he dies. I felt that Alpha died a bit prematurely with a lot of her story left untold and It would be nice to get to know Beta as a character. He’s an interesting guy. Just this evening I had a former colleague from DC email me about this self-same topic! He hypothesized that Beta is really... Shane. The fact that Shane was killed, then dug up and killed AGAIN didn’t dissuade him. Unless Dr. Manhattan shows up, I really don’t see how this can happen... but it’s fun, right? Which is all a long way to say I have no fucking idea who Beta is, or if that’s important. He seriously could've been a guy named Joe Shitstick once, but now he’s Beta, and that’s much more interesting. Wow, DC editors are STUPID. Ignoring for a minute that Shane is dead... why would “Shane” give a shit if the Whisperers see his face? They don’t know who Shane is. The Whisperers are going to go, "Holy crap, you're Shane—Rick Grimes’s former partner?!” No. They wouldn't. Bad guess, unnamed DC editor guy! loved how you addressed the situation with Maggie and Dante. I gotta tell you, I really thought you were {going to go the other way with it. Both of them were Clearly flirting with one another and I was relieved that Maggle is still in love with Glenn and turned down Dante’s advances. It was brilliantly timed as well to coincide with what's going on in the show. It gives us as fans a little more closure to Glenn’s death and honors his memory. That had to be planned right? Unfortunately I can see either Maggle or Dante dying before the war is over. We better be getting at least one major character death in this arc! Cheers, Brad McTaggart from Fresno, CA. I’m not CAPABLE of planning to that level. Eric ‘Stephenson was complimenting me the other day on the fact that Negan has come back in the comic ina really prominent way exactly when he debuts on the show. That WAS NOT planned. When he said that, I said, "Huh... yeah... I hadn't realized that.” And Maggie talking about Glenn... that was just the next step in the Maggie/Dante story... that T’d been building to for a while. Didn't plan for that to line up with Glenn's death in the show at all. Happy accidents! I wish I WAS capable of that level of timing, though. That'd be sweet! Hey Kirkman et. al, ‘So much awesomeness in Issue #160! Great to badass Michonne in action; can’t wait to discover Beta Mctwoknives’ identity; love the intertwining stories & paneling. While I wouldn't have blamed Maggie if she gave Dante a chance, it was heartwarming to know that her heart belongs to Glenn, PLEASE don’t kill Hershel Jr.! Hasn't Maggie suffered enough?! And yes, I loved the Season 7 premiere, but it left me utterly bereft & aching. Anyway, the T.V. show obviously uses the comics for inspiration, now more than ever. Are there times where you let the’ show inform the comics? Like, do you bring some of the actors’ personalities and the way they play the characters into the comics? Definitely not on purpose. I look at the comic kind of as the “tip of the spear.” It’s the thing that came first, started it all, etc. Without the comic there is nothing else... so I do my best to keep the comic pure, trying not to let the existence of all this other stuff influence it. ‘Thanks againt....unless you kill Hershel Jr. If so, go get chomped by a walker. Not really. ;) Karen Los Angeles, CA A lot of unexpected love for Hershel (who technically can’t be a junior... so Young Hershel? Hershel the Younger?) in this month's letters. Pockets of love for minor characters come in waves. You'll get tired of him eventually, too. Dearest Waking dead crew, A. Whisperer wars is a stellar story arc and one I can't walt to See be interpreted and put into the show. As I'm typing this, I'm watching the TV show \dapt TWD #105, which is one of my favorite issues. They did good! Yeah, that was really cool. Turned out great. B. After every new episode, my co-workers swarm me, asking about the differences between the comics, the show, and what might happen in future episodes, with that being sald, do the comics have a spot on audible,com or something? I work with hair dressers and barbers (myself included) , however they don’t read as ‘most of them fall into the Stylist/barber stereotype of. being stupid (myself excluded). To make TWD an audible series would be a great option for those who are illiterate such as my curious but naggy co-workers. ‘And if the option is already available, then damn. I may be having a "Flowers for Algernon” moment and am in fact as stupid as my aforementioned co-workers. Autumn T, Colorado Springs, Colorado Sorry, no audio version of of the comic series. Kind of comes with the territory of comics (words + pictures). But I’m glad your co-workerscan’t read, otherwise they'd all see how you called them “stupid.” SHEESH! Even if I thought some of my co-workers were real dumb-dumbs, I'd NEVER allude to it in a letters column. No fucking way. Yeah, I'd never call a DC editor I'd never met, whom I have on good authority is a nice guy, STUPID ina letters column. That'd be a real dick But yeah, audio comics... no good. The art is kind of ESSENTIAL. Hi, Robert and Sean. T've been a huge The Walking Dead fan since the TV. show aired. After season 5 ended I started to read the comics from #1 to the actual one (#160), and man... You guys have made me be in the edge of my chair reading this amazing comic book all day and night long, By the way, let me just tell you that the work you're doing with the whole Dwight leader thing is going super great! And also I'm dying to know what happens next between him and Negan. But, I have to ask, in #159, just after Lucille dies :(, and Negan is upset as fuck, Isee a roamer bitting his left arm. That actually happened!?!? Because he seemed so calm after that frame. Thick coat, He's fine. Well, now I'm moving to the TV show. And, holy damn, I get why Abraham had to be killed, and also Glenn, but why the fuck the two of them in just one episode!? Guys, you barely gave me a heart attack that past Sunday, and T know that makes Kirkman feel good. ‘And I'd like to ask... Would you take the TV show to the 10th season? I know you would... I just need to read it from you, guys. Sure. I have no say in the matter, but absolutely. Let AMC know Sean Mackiewicz is all for a 10th season. Thank you, Robert, Charlie, Sean and Dave for being there since the beginning and make us all live an amazing experience with your work, Loves you, Hammurabi Herrera México Yeah, no telling how long the show will last. Very hopeful that we will last to Season 10 and beyond. Robert, I mentioned previously that I have a coworker (Mark) I discuss TWD with regularly. We've wrestled with the Idea of Shane vs. Negan and you were cool enough to address our "what if” concept. Now we're debating a new question, with the recent developments of Negan's ache story IMAGE (Which eagerly aval wih each new issue! What does Negan *really* want? (Aside from the obvious basic needs: food, shelter, safety) It’s not a simple question, because we can see he's not entirely evil. An evil person wants to kill, and take, and thinks only of himself. Our perspective Is: That's not Negan. If we had been following Negan for the last several years, we may have viewed Rick’s team as evil. It’s important to remember: for as many people as Negan has killed (albeit ruthlessly), Rick’s team has also killed ~'many of those being Negan’s very own Saviors. A point mirrored in the conversation between Carl and Lydia this issue as well. But the difference between Rick and Negan does appear to be the level of brutality involved with achieving the goal, whatever that is for Negan. So, back to the question. What does Negan really want? Whatever he ultimately strives for, he has somehow developed an “ends justify the means” approach that involves some pretty gruesome kill strokes..while at the same time making it clear that some things are still not ok - like rape. Adam Clements & Mark Hilliard Connecticut Yeah, I can't really answer that in the letters column... just stay tuned. There's a fot to be learned about Negan in the coming issues... 50, y‘know... stay tuned! First of all, let me say I love the comic. It moves forward at such @ great pace and all the characters are so realistic and well written, It’s a goddamn shame that most people only know of TWD from that crappy TV show where every single character is an idiot and everything is, super drawn out and boring. Secondly, how the hell old is, Carl supposed to be? At the beginning of the series, it’s very clearly stated that he's 7 years old, Then by the time we get to the whole war with Negan, It’s been 2 years, as evidenced by having seen two winters go by. At one point when Morgan is dying in Alexandria, Carl even tells him that he's 8 years old, and that his birthday is in April ‘Assuming the All Out War arc takes place sometime in the spring or summer, that would make him 9 years old by the end of that arc. Then you do the time-jump, which is supposed to be 2 year. Not only do you specifically say 's been 2 years, but every online timeline I could find confirmed it. Now I’m not math wiz but if he’s 9 before the 2 year time-jump he should be about 11 after it, right? But that’s clearly not the case, To clear things up, we've never officially said how Jong the time jump is. Suuuuuure, it was printed a letters page, but half of what we say here is lies, and most continuity fuzziness can probably be contributed to the meddling of Dr. Manhattan. Why's he always trying to fuck reality? Because he has blue balls. Not only does he look and feel much older, but Andrea refers to him as a teenager, and according to the Walking Dead wiki, he's 13. He also has sex with Lydia, who's 46, so unless you're saying he lost his virginity to a teénage girl at age 11, he’s definitely older. So what's the deal? Something doesn't line up there. He went from 9 to 13 in the span of 2 years? You're usually so good about continuity, so this one glaring error has really been bugging me. Can you offer any explanation as to where those extra 2 years came from? Was the time jump longer than we thought? Has it really been 6 years since the start of the zombie apocalypse? Any response would be appreciated, thanks and keep up the good work otherwise. Ben, From Canada The time jump was more than two years. There. Dear TWD Crew, I know Robert enjoys torturing us (it’s ok, we like It) and that Sean Is dead inside and all, but can you please not hurt baby Hershel? I just finished #160 and it made me nervous that the last little bit of Glenn that's lived on is in danger. You already crushed baby Judith. Not the biggest fans of kiddos, are you? Regardless, I devour every issue and will continue to even if y/all go the baby killer route, That's true fan devotion, right?! Thanks for everything, love you guys! -Kendra Shackleford Knoxville, TN Toddler Hershel. We're out of the babykilling game, and offic ito slaughtering toddlers. Heh.Hi from the UK you awesome motherfuckers I read Issues 1-112 in a block a few years ago when undergoing hospital treatment for Crohn’s disease (A disease which causes ulceration and shrinking of the bowels - shit huh! -see what I did there!) and I absolutely fell in love with everything about it, the pacing, the artwork, the characters etc, I've always been a bit meh about the TV show due to too many filler episodes and the pacing of the show (kinda ironic as Tlove the pacing of the comics), the TTG video game rocks though. Long story short I recently found myself up shit creek (Crohn’s Joke part two!) when the symptoms flared up again after a period of remission and I began to spend more and more time in bed dosed up on morphine. I once again turned to TWD and have now read all the way up to 160 and thankfully it seems my symptoms are once again in remission. Coincidence...? I think not. The healing power of Messrs Kirkman, Adiard and all you other talented MoFo’s Is now confirmed. Seriously though, your comics have helped me through some of the most painful, and depressing periods of my life, and there is no way I can ever thank you guys enough for that. Keep up the good work, and keep ‘em coming because I won't be in remission forever and aside from that I fucking love this comic. I'm gonna give kill or be killed a go and see how I get on with that, it'll be my fourth comic ever (along with Lobo, Preacher, and TWD) but my heart belongs to TWD and always will So as I said you fine gentlemen saved my life along with my sanity, and for that I thank you sincerely. Much love from The UKi Wezza, Sevenoaks, UK ‘That sounds absolutely awful, Wezza. Glad you're a bit better and we could cure your boredom. If you're giving new comics a shot, try INVINCIBLE. There's a shit-ton of issues available, and it’s definitely better than Lobo. If you like Lobo, you'll love OUTCAST. Hey boys Firstly - big fan. I've been reading the walking dead since day 1. And I've stuck with the show all the way through. Surprisingly this is the first time I'm writing In. 1 was just thinking the other day. Sophia Is stil alive in the comics. But aside from that random (almost rape) in 2015. NOTHING has happened with this character. She's the surrogate daughter of Maggie, she’s a sort of friend of Carl, But really, that’s It ‘There are so few of the original survivors left. Everyone has changed and grown and everyone gets a few pages to prove something, heck you even had Gabriel go through army training. But Sophia? She’s about as relevant as an empty tollet roll. But its such wasted potential. This is a girl who has lived through everything (iF not more) than Carl Grimes. She's been there since the beginning. Lived through her loopy moms suicide, her surrogate father getting his brains bashed in, She herself went through a loopy stage. But why? Rob, I think maybe you have a plan for this character, maybe not, but from what it looks like, she's just used as a prop every now and then to remind the readers she still exists. And when she Is used she's a victim. She spent years crying "mommy" in the comics, and when we saw her again post time jump, she’s a victim of redneck bully teenagers. What did she learn about life from Glenn and Maggie? How Is she contributing to the new world? Whats her future at Hilltop? What skills does she want to develop? Eventually In a post Rick Grimes world I see the story line being taken on by Carl. And I think Sophia will be his right hand man. Please give this character some humanity. Please give her some relevance. She deserves as much. Kind Regards Tim Yeah, I can admit Sophia definitely deserves more page time. It’s just a big juggling act at this point. There's a jot going on. I need to burn down the Hilltop or something to get rid of some of these characters. All joking aside, there IS a plan for Sophia. We'll get around to it sooner or later. Hello Kirkman, I am a fan of Jesus in the comics and the show. I just want to say I still am pissed off about the last name change. Monroe is way better than Rovia and I loved how realistic it was to have two different Monroe's, Tdon't think there was a really good reason to take Jesus’ last name in the show because in real life we meet people with our last names. My last name is common and I had people in my classes with my own last name. Tt was cool to see that in the comics. They could have just explained on Talking Dead or in dialogue that Jesus wasn’t related with Spencer. Also... Spencer won't live much longer if it follows the comics and Jesus goes by Jesus anyway so changing it was pointless to me and other fans. My friend came up with the idea of Jesus having Monroe as his real birth last ame in the show, but used °Rovia” as in honor to a past on partner or something along those lines. So it keeps Jesus real last name instead of smacking comic fans in the face. My friend brought this up to Tom as well. I hope you two can make this happen (PS T hope we see Alex soon as Jesus’ partner!) ‘Thanks for reading this if you do, You're awesome! Danny Rovia. Roooovia. Roviiiia. Roviaaaaaa. Yeah, I like Monroe better, too. All you Jesus freaks, have you played the new Telltale TWD game, The New Frontier? Why, you ask? Oh, no reason. No reason at all. I think if you're angry over a last name change like this... you need more problems in your life. It’s different from the comic, sure... but half the characters don’t even HAVE last names... 50 who cares if one is different, right? I love you guys, and you in particular, Danny... but "a smack to the face” is a bit extreme, I think. It’s not like we made him straight or anything in the show. THAT would be a smack in the face. He's still the exact same character, and that’s what's important. Hey dudes! I'm just gonna make this quick and go the point. Are we ever going to find out who the real father of Rosita and Eugene's baby would have been??? Like, seriously, man, Tm starting to think we need to bring Maury Povich or Jerry Springer into the equation...well, maybe a zombified version of elther one, You guys are the best! -Dalton Faulder Jackson Center, OH Far too often there are questions like this that 1 choose not to answer in the letters column or I just say “stay tuned” or "keep reading.” So here Ili say that will DEFINITELY be revealed within the next 12 issues. It’s already plotted out! Next month we celebrate Image’s 25th anniversary with TWO issues! So the story continues in #163 for the low, low price of 25 cents (see what we did there?), and then later in February #164 comes out. We're working twice as hard because THAT'S how much we love you. Sean Mackiewicz See you then! “Robert KirkmanCHRIS DINGESS MATTHEW ROBERTS OWEN GIENI VOLUMES 1-3VOLUMES 1-3 ALSO AVAILABLE! ee hash \ oeSURVIVAL ISN’‘'T JUST A HUMAN INSTINCT He RIZON BRANDON THOMAS JUANGEDEON FRANK MARTIN AVAILABLE JANUARY 2017ep roly deb 5/5" p compte asereort™ te! of mttolos! ‘nd monte escree ae od ent wait 15 ve wiher® TRY 104° annex” ‘ Benny Coen safes? now voir eee on! parry 19 canta ony "9 jes toe fontostical ealty j., no " words mans prove? mys Fe pees seater tho! to red sve ov next evel: cates go! en apror® spor enero bt on pare ise com ei wonted moks pees Shor vyhen 1 youn © ig PE ig sete Dont ‘ops Cotes 5 vy no imeles® cool coments Gnd it ook goo? going it Yoyo" riled Weer " GoD unrest peat deo" ond G8 pele ou miss