I’m pretty sure that The Walking Dead is the only long-running continuous comic book series that I stuck with from beginning to end. I was planning on seeing how it all ended, but I was really surprised that it ended this year, since I remember creator Robert Kirkman once saying that he planned on this being 300 issues. However, The Walking Dead is officially done and over with now (at least in comic form), and Compendium Four is a collection of the final set of issues, issues #145-193.

This set of issues picks up amidst all of the Whisperer stuff from the end of Compendium Three. Basically, the Whisperers were introduced in the last set of issues, and then that compendium ended with (spoilers ahead here) the Whisperers putting some heads on spikes. So, Compendium Four finishes up this storyline with a war between the Alexandrians and the Whisperers. From here, the group meets its largest society yet, and we see how this final group plays into the inevitable journey to the end.

So, I did like the whole Whisperer War, but I also thought it went on for too long. Still, it was compelling enough to keep reading. After that all ended, I thought the comic found itself in a bit of a lull again, and I was worried that I was going to start losing interest. That’s why I’m kind of glad that the comic has now ended, because I feel like things were starting to get a bit repetitive, and we’ve kind of run the well dry with this franchise. Ending it allowed it to go out on a satisfying note, and so I do definitely have to give high props to the final issue. Kirkman wraps it all up in a really great way, and we do get an actual ending, which is awesome.

This compendium of issues isn’t the best the comic has ever been, but I also don’t think it’s the worst. If I have to rank these “eras” of The Walking Dead, I’d have to say it goes compendium 1 > 3 > 4 > 2. Things are still interesting, but like I said, you can kind of tell that the writers were running out of steam here.

Now that it’s all said and done, I’m very thankful to have been able to go on this journey. The Walking Dead had its highs and lows like any other series, but I thought that this was an interest adventure to take. When reading the final issues, I felt that bittersweet feeling you get when a great series ends, so I feel like that’s a good sign that this was a journey worth taking. I’m going to miss this series, but I’m also incredibly happy that it got to end. Compendium Four is a bit of a mixed bag at times, but in the end it does leave you feeling satisfied.

3.5/5