The Walking Dead, Vol. 19

The Walking Dead, Vol. 19: March to War collects issues #109-114 of Robert Kirkman's ongoing series, illustrated by Charlie Adlard with gray tones by Cliff Rathburn. As tensions between Rick's community and Negan's Saviors reach a breaking point, Rick and Jesus quietly recruit allies from the Hilltop and the Kingdom, building a coalition strong enough to challenge Negan without his knowledge.

The volume opens with the deliberate, tension-filled build typical of Kirkman's plotting before violence erupts in its second half, when Negan's men arrive at Rick's community to collect tribute, unaware of the war being assembled against them. Alliances are tested and the cost of survival is laid bare as the story moves toward the series' next storyline, "All Out War."

Published in 2013 (ISBN 978-1-60706-818-1), this volume is the prelude to one of the series' most pivotal arcs, deepening the moral complexity of its cast, Rick, Ezekiel, Gregory and Negan among them, as each decides what he is willing to do to protect his people.