So simultaneously, Kirkman gives them their wish, but with a price. But the more powerful aspect of this issue is the deaths of many, many characters, people we just enjoyed for issues and issues who suffer a bullet from the guns of the Governor and his posse, and my, what an enormous body count in only thirty pages. Kirkman has a definite reason for it, but it was painful enough watching one of my favorite characters Tyreese be decapitated, and that lovable lug Axel take a bullet to the head, but after this issue, you'll feel like Rick.

Bruised, battered, and pretty much grieving for the loss of friends, and fellow survivors.

Issue 48 is the issue that pretty much everyone's been waiting for. After the second wave of the invasion with the Governor discovering the prison and attacking the entire group, Rick is left to lead the charge with the dwindling number of characters to fend off against his advances. At the end of issue 47, Lori was found by Rick with a shotgun pointed to her head, and we finally learn who is holding the gun, and how he proceeds to pull them from the clutches of the Woodsbury mob.

If you're dodging spoilers, skip the next paragraph: Kirkman seeks not only to close the prison arc once for all with the fences being brought down by the tanks, and the walking dead finally seizing control again, but he snuffs out almost every single survivor we became so closely tied with throughout the many issues. Tyreese suffered a cruel war time death, Axel was taken down, and Kirkman doesn't stop there. Patricia? Gone. Billy? Gone. Nurse Alice? Gone. Herschel? Gone. But the twists of fate come from the final three deaths. Though Lori and baby Judy didn't die in the opening panel, they're pretty much destroyed by gun fire in the midst of escaping the prison, with the poor newborn suffering the worst of the gunfire. And of couse, we have the governor, who is taken out by a traitorous member of his group who curses his name and shoots him to leave him for the feeders.

Eventually, they're pushed back into the prison as the dead advance in numbers. The art is absolutely fantastic as always with Kirkman knowing full well which shots to zero in on, and the effect is dynamic. When he wants us to hurt, dear god does it hurt, and Rick will be suffering the brunt of the pain for issues to come. And his son now has to face what's occurred, as they venture off into the wilderness to likely meet up with the rest of the survivors.

What we do know about "The Walking Dead" at this moment?

The prison arc is over. People are dead. And Woodsbury won... but are now literal prisoners in the facility. Oh the irony.

Kirkman you magnificent bastard.