The Walking Dead, Vol. 12: Life Among Them
Kirkman’s post-zombie-apocalypse tale is a road epic par excellence, filled with compelling characterizations, gut-wrenching status-quo shifts, and gritty monotone art paying high homage to the granddaddy of the genre, The Night of the Living Dead. This volume trails ex-cop Rick and his group into the care of a tightly knit community that welcomes the ragged group with open arms. But in a reversal characteristic of Kirkman’s sharp writing, it is not the community but the main characters who aren’t ready to cooperate. As good a jumping-on point as any, but ideally you should have the entire fantastic series, right alongside Vaughan's Last Man series. --Jesse Karp