So this is it. It was a hell of a ride, with highs and lows, but always great. And, throughout the last 16 years, it managed to shape popular culture in a way that Robert Kirkman could not have predicted when he started it.
I will miss these characters. Thank you, Mr Kirkman. ( )

SPOILERS!!!!





I will admit that I was not caught off guard by the ending of the walking dead story. I had the ending spoiled for me before I picked up the final issue. I found the ending quite satisfying. I was sorry to see Rick be taken out by such a menial threat but I think in the end it rings quite poetic. And he hasn't been the same Rick for a long time so there is that too. I enjoyed this series immensely. I was always frustrated by the ending of Romero's Dawn of the Dead (the first zombie movie I ever watched) when they take the helicopter to nowhere. I always found this ending to be equal parts frustrating and thought-provoking. Well now I have a story that carries on past that, years and years into the zombie apocalypse. How do people change? What do they value? What are they willing to do to survive? I found it fascinating to discover that Kirkman had intended to end the run of this series back when they first arrive at Alexandria. In a way, the original story that Kirkman was telling ended there. I love the imaginative turn that the series took after the arrival at Alexandria. King Ezekiel and Shiva, the completely over-the-top introduction of Negan (RIP Glen), the war with the Whisperers. These storylines are iconic in the run of the walking dead but I don't think anything gets better then the series from the beginning to the Rick's rousing speech to Alexandrians after they defeat the walker horde in Alexandria. It is tight, well told, and full of deadly surprises and situations. If you read any part of the story, read Volumes 1-14. ( )

When I heard the comic was ending, I was surprised, but OK with it. I wasn’t sure if I was that interested in the Commonwealth storyline or if there was really much more story to tell. It seems Kirkman had this planned as the end point for a few years. Without his heartfelt letter to the reader at the end, I would have rated this four stars. But his final words for the readers got me, people, and made me want to give that man a hug.
I have immensely enjoyed Charlie Adlard’s artwork throughout the series. This last installment had some really powerful spreads—more than once I turned a page and found myself exclaiming aloud.
“Why are you swearing?” my husband asked, silly man.
I’m very happy with how this ended, all of it, who survived and who didn’t make it. It’s a bummer Rick went out the way he did—killed by a vengeful punk instead of dying in battle—and Carl finding him as a zombie was a shock I should have been prepared for but wasn’t. I still thought killing him off was the right move.
Herschel seems to be the Kylo Ren (OK, maybe not that bad) of the story, and that was surprising, but I loved the ending Carl got after the time jump. I’m curious to know how he ended up with Sophia, but I was happy with that too. His relationship with Lydia was kind of creepy.
There were a few bumps along the way, but I have really enjoyed this series, and I’m glad to have seen it through to the end. ( )

Not the ending I expected, or even necessarily wanted, but I think it was mostly the one that was needed.

The last chapter with Carl was a little drawn out, and the hero worship of Rick a touch over the top, but overall, the message came through loud and clear: forget the past at your peril.

16 years later, the Walking Dead finally stop walking. Well done, boys, well done. ( )

When you run out of shocking character deaths, the only thing left to kill is the series itself. Kirkman impresses with the ability to cram in one final repetition the exact same plot beats and twists that have been repeated for the last decade in this last volume. ( )