Walking Dead vol 22: A New Beginning back

"I want you to know, I really do appreciate our little talks. It... really breaks up my days. Helps me... mark time. I think they're good for you, too, having someone to talk to."
"Sure. I'll try and come back tomorrow."
"Wait... before you go..."
"Yeah?"
"After all this time... all these talks... the things we've shared. Do you still want to kill me?"
"Yes... you know I do."

I have deliberately left out who is talking to whom there for the benefit of those who are not completely up to date, but what I will clarify is time. Two years have passed since the events of ALL OUT WAR, and much has changed. It would seem there has been little in the way of confrontation since then, indeed the communities Rick is now fully in charge of are prospering, despite the ever-present threat of zombies. Often the device of shifting forward in time is done when a writer is running low on ideas, but here it is used to great effect to instantly set up several interesting new potential plot threads, and allow the mass introduction of several new characters, plus radical new haircuts and facial topiary on existing ones...

I am sure there will be some retrospective references that will allow us to fill in the blanks about what happened in the aftermath of the war, but after wondering how on earth Kirkman was going to follow that epic arc, and wondering if it was all going to go a bit flat for a while, I'm now reassured it will be quite the contrary.

Also, it does provide an excellent starting point for new readers in terms of the single issues. Alternatively, just start at the very beginning with WALKING DEAD VOL 1 or why not WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM VOL 1 if you're feeling flush / want to have something really heavy to hand just in case the zombie apocalypse begins...