Publisher:  Image Comics

   The Walking Dead Vol. 5 "The Best Defense" continues the epic zombie saga as it collects issues 25 - 30 of the regular comic series. Volume 5 is a bit lighter than previous volumes and has a more leisurely pace to it as the survivors have been able to find safe haven in a deserted prison, safe behind layers of chain link fences. The men search the prison to find and destroy the last of the zombies in order to secure the facility for the women and children. They now think they have a place they can call home as each member stakes their claim to a different cell block to get the privacy and...hopefully...the peace they desire.

   The prison even has a large generator and the only thing they need to make it run is gas...and the prison parking lot is filled with abandoned cars as Rick and Glenn go out to siphon gas while others keep watch on the biters and make a distraction. But soon Glenn & Rick have their own distraction as they spot a helicopter overhead that crashes in the nearby woods. Taking a chance to see if it was military, the pair, along with Michonne, set out to find the chopper and see if there are any survivors. This will eventually lead them to the small town of Woodbury where they find a large group of survivors who have managed to control a few blocks of the town.

   Back at the prison, the rest of the group are facing their own problems as pregnant Lori receives a disturbing proposal from Carol and Dan and Andrea plan to be parents to the orphaned twin boys.

   While "The Best Defense" was a bit slower paced than other volumes, it allowed Kirkman the opportunity to give his characters a breather of sorts, and to give some additional depth of personality to many of them. Kirkman uses the respite to start developing some new sub-plots that should prove very interesting down the road. That's not to say there isn't some head-chopping, intestine-devouring action, because what would The Waking Dead be without that! The art by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn continues to be fantastic and captures this grim, gritty world in all its stark glory. I really like the development of Michonne in this latest volume as she proves herself to be one of the toughest members of the group. These are the little touches that the series needs to rise above just being about zombies which has been done to death...no pun intended.

 - Tim Janson

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