Although the group managed to survive his escape from Woodbury, the heaven they thought the prison would be, just became shattered dreams as they powerless and helpless observed how the zombies had overrun the place. Between all their impotence, a question arises. Where are their family and friends?
And we finally see what happened with Morgan and Duane Jones who where introduced back in the first issue.
Robert Kirkman is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Walking Dead, Invincible for Image Comics, as well as Ultimate X-Men and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt. He is one of the five partners of Image Comics, and the only one of the five who was not one of the original co-founders of that publisher.
Robert Kirkman's first comic books were self-published under his own Funk-o-Tron label. Along with childhood friend Tony Moore, Kirkman created Battle Pope which was published in late 2001. Battle Pope ran for over 2 years along with other Funk-o-Tron published books such as InkPunks and Double Take.
In July of 2002, Robert's first work for another company began, with a 4-part SuperPatriot series for Image, along with Battle Pope backup story artist Cory Walker. Robert's creator-owned projects followed shortly thereafter, including Tech Jacket, Invincible and Walking Dead.
Being a huge fan of the show, I wanted to see how the original writing started and how the show writers followed and deviated from the comics. My dislikes were that the comics are much more crude, crass, and unnecessarily violent. I did like the change in relationships and how people worked together differently, and the comics have a different creepiness feel than you get watching it on TV. Overall, I prefer the show, and probably will not finish out the comic book series.
Coming off the heels of Michonne’s brutal revenge on The Governor in issue #33, I immediately dove into issue #34, eager to see what would come next. With so much tension in the air and the survivors having narrowly escaped Woodbury, I anticipated this issue would bring a mixture of reflection and action. The aftermath of Michonne’s torture scene was still fresh in my mind, and I wanted to see how the group would continue dealing with the psychological and physical tolls of their experiences. There was an eerie sense of dread from the start, as I couldn't help but feel like the calm between these chaotic moments wouldn’t last long.
Issue #34 picks up with Michonne, who has been walking through the night after her escape from Woodbury. She reunites with Rick, Glenn, Martínez, and Alice, though it’s immediately clear that she’s different. Rick, always observant, notices her strange, detached behavior—understandable given what she just endured and what she did to The Governor. When Rick asks if The Governor is dead, Michonne gives a vague response, saying he might still be alive but she doesn’t know for sure. Her uncertainty creates a lingering sense of tension, as the reader is left to wonder if The Governor, though brutally maimed, will somehow return for revenge. Rick, sensing that something is off, asks Glenn to keep an eye on Michonne. This small exchange underscores how deeply the events of Woodbury have affected everyone.
Meanwhile, Alice is still grappling with the death of Dr. Stevens, though she insists that she’s able to move forward. There’s a poignant moment of reflection when Glenn asks Martínez about his life before the apocalypse. Martínez, whose tough and resourceful demeanor has been clear since his introduction, reveals that he was once a gym teacher. His backstory is one of quiet tragedy—he tried to protect the children and their parents when the outbreak happened, but the school was overrun by zombies, and he was the only one to make it out alive. This revelation adds layers to Martínez’s character, showing that, despite his calm and capable exterior, he has experienced profound loss and guilt. Alice, too, survived a massacre, having escaped from her dormitory when it was overrun.
Martínez’s story struck me as deeply human—he didn’t have a family to mourn, which made it easier for him to run when the world fell apart. His survival was rooted in pragmatism, but it’s clear that the emotional toll still lingers beneath the surface. The comic does an excellent job of giving us glimpses of the characters' internal struggles without over-explaining, letting their actions and brief dialogues speak for themselves.
The brief respite is cut short when a group of zombies catches up to them. The action kicks back into high gear as Martínez is suddenly grabbed by a zombie. In a moment that reveals both his toughness and his sheer will to survive, he screams “Not today!” before tearing the zombie’s jaw off and kicking it away. It’s a brutal, visceral moment that highlights just how ruthless these survivors have to be. Alice then shoots the zombie to finish it off, while Glenn finds himself surrounded by a horde. Michonne and Alice quickly come to his rescue, showing once again that teamwork and quick thinking are key to staying alive in this unforgiving world.
The group manages to reach their car, which had been stuck in the mud. With Glenn at the wheel and the others pushing, they finally manage to get the car free and make their escape. Inside the car, Alice brings up the prison, asking if it’s truly safe. Rick reassures her that the prison has three gates, and the zombies haven’t even been able to breach the first one. His words seem to provide some comfort, but the question hangs in the air—how safe can any place really be in this world?
As they drive, there’s an interesting conversation about the different names people give to zombies. In Woodbury, they were called “biters,” while Rick and his group refer to them as “roamers” and “lurkers.” It’s a subtle detail, but it shows how different communities adapt their own terminologies, shaping their identities and the way they deal with the horrors around them.
Just when the group seems to be regaining some semblance of control, the final page delivers a gut-wrenching cliffhanger. When they return to the prison, the place they thought was safe, they find it completely overrun by zombies. Every gate is open, and the once secure yard is now crawling with the undead. Dale’s RV, their former refuge, looks abandoned. The sense of horror is immediate and overwhelming—the one place they believed to be a sanctuary has been compromised, and the people they left behind may be in grave danger. This revelation left me in a state of dread and anticipation, wondering how the group will react and what has happened to their fellow survivors inside the prison.
This issue was packed with tension, emotion, and action, but what really stood out to me was how it humanized the characters, especially Martínez. His backstory was both tragic and insightful, giving us a glimpse of his life before the outbreak and showing that, despite his apparent resilience, he has scars from his past. Watching your students and their families die in front of you is an unimaginable horror, and it’s no wonder that he carries that weight with him.
I couldn’t help but feel suspicious of Martínez, though. His sudden willingness to help Rick’s group and his presence at such a critical moment had me questioning his motives. Could this be part of a larger plan orchestrated by The Governor? Given how tight-lipped Rick and the others have been about the prison, it wouldn’t surprise me if Martínez was sent to find out its location. This lingering doubt made every interaction with him feel like it was hiding something more sinister.
The ending of the issue was the most shocking part for me. Seeing the prison—the group’s supposed safe haven—overrun by zombies filled me with horror. It was a brutal reminder that nowhere is truly safe in this world, and the characters’ hopes of having found a long-term sanctuary may have been shattered. The uncertainty of what has happened to the people inside adds another layer of tension, making the next issue feel like a must-read to find out what happens next.
Overall, this issue balanced action, character development, and emotional depth brilliantly. It moved the story forward while also giving us a deeper understanding of who these characters are and what drives them. The cliffhanger ending was a masterful touch, leaving me eagerly anticipating the next chapter.
Well, Rick, Michonne, Glenn, Martinez, and Alice have made it back to the prison. Somehow the gates got penetrated, and now the place is overrun by roamers. They pretty much decide to stop calling them "roamers" and "lurkers" in this issue, and switch to "biters," because that's what the Governor et al called them and it "makes more sense to have one name for them." Fuck that. Diversity is the spice of life. Generalizing has been one of humanity's greatest downfalls. I know, I am probably taking this too deep for a comic book, but I call bullshit on that one. I like "roamers" and "lurkers," damnit.
Now what the hell are they going to do? Did anyone survive? They must have. I can't believe almost all of the cast as been killed off. There's got to be something going on here that we don't know about. What the hell happened? *tears into the next issue*
Rick Grimes is a strong-willed deputy who missed the end of the world because he was in a coma for a month after getting shot in the line of duty. Shaken, starving and confused, Rick escapes the horror of the abandoned hospital only to be met with something far more terrible. Not only has the world ended, but the dead have learned to walk and to kill without mercy. After learning that his wife and son have fled to Atlanta from a single survivor and his son, Rick goes on a journey to reunite with his family and search for more survivors.
Rick quickly has to come to terms with the fact that the world has ended and only a select few survived. The dead have risen from their graves and they prey on the living. In a world where every minute feels like hours, where there's no such thing as law and order, where finding a small meal is a tremendous task, the walking dead are quite possibly the least threatening thing for the survivors to have on their breaking minds. Humanity is pushed to the brink of destruction, forcing them to embrace their cruel and primal nature in order to survive. Sometimes you have to be more concerned about who you let into your community so they don't kill you in your sleep and steal everything you once cared about. Rick has no choice but to abandon the ways of law and order that he's upheld as an officer for so long in order to protect the few loved ones he has left. He has to become a monster to protect his crew or risk being devoured by those who became more monstrous than him and even the walking dead.
Despite zombies running the world and having the series named after them, what really sets this series apart from the average zombie apocalypse tale is the focus on realism and the daily struggles, flaws and depth of the characters. There's plenty of badass zombie killing action, but the action often takes a back seat to give the characters plenty of times to share their extremely tragic yet endearing stories, grow through mutual suffering and learn to adapt to a world that has left them to die. Even after the world has ended, many people still can't see eye to eye. They turn on each other and kill each other when they should come together. Others form alliances in spite of their differences and try to rebuild over the corpse of everything that was lost. The daily human drama and conflict is more intense than any monster apocalypse could hope to be.
We watch Rick struggle to balance his old moral code with the many necessary evils he has to commit in order to survive and make the world a better place for the ones he holds close. We watch people like Glen, Dale and Maggie attempt to find love in spite of having every reason to be filled with fear, hate and self-loathing. Characters like Michonne have to learn how to forgive themselves and convince themselves they deserve to be loved despite all the blood on their hands. We watch the weak like Carl and Andrea become strong and sometimes the strong become evil like The Governor. Even monsters like the wicked yet oddly lovable Negan are given the chance to find new ways of redeeming themselves by struggling alongside the other survivors that have all been changed by the horrors of the fallen world.
The pacing is extremely slow and I can understand why that may be a turnoff for a lot of people, but I eventually learned to enjoy watching the characters grow, overcome their trauma, find meaning in life and learn to love again. The characters are forced to do many terrible things to survive and it haunts them every waking moment. The ways they overcome these regrets is very realistic, human and hopeful. The slow pacing really gives the feeling that we're living beside these people. The way every tiny detail of their lives and who they are is explored makes them feel very real and believable.
When I first started reading the series, I wasn't expecting it to have such an uplifting ending. It seemed so bleak and nihilistic for a long time and things would go horribly wrong even when they seemed to be going so well, but the finale channels all the pain, suffering and betrayal of the previous volumes and tops it off with a very touching and inspiring finish. This was never a story about hopelessness. It's about learning to appreciate the little things, learning to forgive yourself and learning to move on even when it's hard. When everything seems lost there's always more to be found, even when we believe otherwise because we convince ourselves that we don't deserve to be happy ever again. Instead of dwelling on what was lost, strive to try and make things better than they were before.
I've never been a huge fan of zombie apocalypse stories, but The Walking Dead had enough heart and strong social commentary to make me stick by the characters until the end and I enjoyed every moment of their long trial.
Martinez, Michonne, Glenn, Alice & Rick fast track to the prison, on the journey back home we find out Martinez was a gm teacher who basically witnessed his students & families get torn to shreds by the zombies. Once back at the prison we see it's been over run by said zombies with no immediate sign of the other group going about. Then we get a nice little 'hello' to Morgan and Duane. Glad to see they are both still kicking around, hope they end up with Rick's group at some point. x
This issue has some back story on Martinez, but is filled with fighting the zombies. I enjoy more character driven than action plot. We also find out more on Alice, and her just wanting to find safety. I can't say that I blame her.
The Walking Dead Issue#34 Volume#06 Robert Kirkman
Michonne joins the group Back at the prison the yard is overrun by hordes of zombies All of the Woodbury people call the zombies "biters," but, Rick and Glenn call them "roamers" and "lurkers."
I do not like that Rick was asking Michonne so many questions. I know that he is worried, but it would be GOOD if the Governor died from the stuff she did to him. It would mean that he will not be able to attack the prison at a later date.
I agree with Glenn, get the hell out of the open and go back to the prison. It would be a lot safer than just standing around out in the open so they can talk. Get a move on, people! You do not want to be out in the open again when it gets dark.
I agree with Rick. I still feel like something is off with Michonne. Obviously after what happened to her, she would be a bit messed up. But she is walking around acting like nothing happened, which is bad and possibly dangerous.
Well, for Martinez being a gym teacher, he has really stepped up in this current crappy world. He is not doing too badly for a guy that used to be a gym teacher.
Part of me thinks that Martinez's story is true, but the other part of me thinks it is utter crap that he made up, to feed some sort of sob story to Rick and the others. I guess we will see, in the end.
I wish they had not saved Martinez. I just think he is a spy for the Governor. I do not trust him at all. I hope that Rick and the group change their minds about him before he screws them over.
So glad that Glenn did not die. I am not ready to lose his character yet. Do not think I ever will be. Glad that Michonne was there to help kill zombies, also.
I am glad they were able to get to the car, and that Glenn is driving again. However, I would not be worried about a few bumps as Glenn was driving. I would be more worried about the zombies trying to break the glass of the windows to get to them.
Oh shit! Look at all those zombies that are inside the fence. I hope that the members of the group who stayed behind are alright. Though I will not be TOO sad if Lori dies. Hope it happens soon.
I have a feeling that Rick or Glenn is going to do something stupid in an effort to find Lori, Carl or Maggie. I hope that does not happen, and that they are careful as they look for the others.
Volume: The Walking Dead Title: This Sorrowful Life, Pt. 4 Creator/Writer: Robert Kirkman Artist: Charlie Adlard Colorist: Cliff Rathburn Cover: Charlie Adlard; Cliff Rathburn Letterer: Rus Wooton Publisher/Date: Image/ 1/1/2007 Length/Format: 32/ Digital Comics Issue#: 34
Although the group managed to survive their escape from Woodbury, the haven they thought the prison will be just became shattered dreams, as they, powerless and helpless observed how the zombies had overrun the place. Between all their impotence, a question arises. Where are their family and friends? And we finally see what happened with Morgan and Duane Jones who were introduced back in the 1st Issue/
The Best. Everyone is heading back to the prison. Martinez is telling his story of him being a gym teacher and how things were at the beginning of the outbreak and then wham, Michonne slices off a walker's head. After the group ends up taking out several of the walkers Michonne gets angry at Alice for stopping her from killing one when she points out that she only pushed one of them to the side and she can still kill it if she wants too, which she does and then everyone is running for the car.
The Worst. Martinez is still weird. Alice just begins to bring up how safe the prison actually is when Rick screams for Glenn to stop the car because the gates are open and all the walkers are inside the yard.
The Differences. In the TV series the walkers end up over running the prison when one of the fences breaks.
Aunque el grupo logró sobrevivir a su fuga de Woodbury, el cielo que pensaban que la prisión sería, simplemente se convirtió en sueños rotos, ya que de impotencia e indefensión observaron cómo los zombis habían invadido el lugar. Entre toda su impotencia, surge una pregunta. ¿Dónde están sus familiares y amigos? Y finalmente ver lo que sucedió con Morgan y Duane Jones, que cuando introdujo de nuevo en el primer número.
Great! If you are enjoying these particular comics with the governor, I recommend reading, "The Walking Dead, The Governor Series". That series gives you much more background and depth into the governor and what goes on in Woodbury. Really enjoy seeing the differences between the show and the comics.