From: Walking Dead #48 by Robert Kirkman (script), Charlie Adlard (pencils) and Cliff Rathburn (inks) It is difficult to be shocked by any character death that takes place within the confines of Robert Kirkmans apocalyptic Walking Dead universe, and yet there is one fatality that manages to stand out from the rest for its sorrowful impact on the series and the reader. Lori Grimes, wife of the Walking Deads protagonist, Rick Grimes, is shot and killed, along with her infant daughter Judith, by one of the evil Governors henchmen during the series famed prison arc. Lori and Judiths deaths are seen as true game-changers for the series as Rick, and his surviving son, Carl, are emotionally and mentally never the same afterwards. On a broader level, the death of these two characters gives credence to the idea that nothing is sacred in Kirkmans dystopian world. If an innocent woman and her infant daughter could be sacrificed to advance the plot of Ricks nightmare, then truly any character in the Walking Dead series, save for maybe Rick, could be killed off at any time. With that in mind, Loris death manages to be sad and gut wrenching while also heightening the overall anxiousness of a series that is already an extraordinarily tense read.
17. Captain America The Symbol
From: Captain America #113 by Stan Lee (script), Jim Steranko (pencils) and Tom Palmer (inks) This beautiful splash page from 1969s Captain America #113 combines a striking image of Cap standing tall atop of a scrum of Hydra soldiers with powerful narration that perfectly describes what has made the Red, White and Blue Avenger such a comic book icon for decades. The panel questions, how do you destroy an ideal a dream? referring to the premise that Captain America is much more than just a man in a costume with a shield. The narrative concludes that Captain America the ideal is unconquerable, a fact that is difficult to argue with. Over the years, Cap has evolved from cheap American propaganda during World War II to a man out of time, trying to find his footing as a superhero in a modern world. But the Lee/Steranko panel all but pushes Captain America to God-like status. For many Marvel readers, this is the definitive Captain America image from the Silver Age.
Mark is a professional writer living in Brooklyn and is the founder of the Chasing Amazing Blog, which documents his quest to collect every issue of Amazing Spider-Man, and the Superior Spider-Talk podcast. He also pens the "Gimmick or Good?" column at Comics Should Be Good blog.
