Issue 139

Issue 139
Release Date	March 25, 2015
Est. Sales	67,349
Creator, Writer	Robert Kirkman
Penciler, Inker	Charlie Adlard Stefano Gaudiano Cliff Rathburn
Volume	Volume 24: Life And Death
Part	1 of 6
Preceded By	Issue 138
Succeeded By	Issue 140

Issue 139 is the one-hundred and thirty-ninth issue of Image Comics' The Walking Dead and the first part of Volume 24: Life And Death. It was published on March 25, 2015.

Plot

A small group from The Kingdom head towards the coast. Ezekiel leads the way, slaying walkers and "having some fun."

They meet with the other group, composed of Rick, Heath, Aaron and Magna. Ezekiel remarks that the group is wasting ammunition on the dead, with Rick saying they have more than they really need, and that they also want to draw them away from the coast before the others arrive. They discuss that the next big project is a road leading to the coast, meant to start construction after the fair.

Rick and Ezekiel arrive at the coast and await the boat carrying their fish. The discussion turns to Alexandria's ammunition stock with Ezekiel inquiring about the price possibly going down now that the supply has increased but demand having gone down. Rick gets irritated with the suggestion but calms down quickly, explaining that he just doesn't want to make any changes to the working system they've established.

At the Hilltop, Maggie is told that no one can find Carl, who disappeared earlier that day after the Whisperers' visit. After some thinking, Maggie and the others reach the conclusion that Carl went after the Whisperer girl to which Dante crudely remarks that "the first piece of ass you get makes you do crazy things", much to Maggie's dismay. She tells the group that she isn't really worried about Carl being out there alone, but rather that the Whisperers might take it to mean he was sent out to spy on them.

Elsewhere, Carl wakes up from a brief rest to find Alpha and other Whisperers are right in front of him. She questions him, asking if he's following them. Carl explains, pointing his gun at Alpha, that he left on his own and that he just wanted to make sure that Lydia is okay. She suggests he should put down his gun before he hurts himself, and he taunts her saying the dangerous end of the gun is not pointed at him. She says that whatever his options are, shooting her or not, he'll probably end up killed by the others, and tells him to use his head and that he might just live. She then gets up, asking him if he'll come with them.

Back at the coast, a fishing boat arrives. Rick asks if Ezekiel is nervous, much to the latter's discomfort. He says it's clear that he's not over her, and that everyone knows including, including her: Michonne is the first to leave the boat. She argues if there was no one else to do it. Ezekiel mentions he was keeping her Katana warm for her. They start to load up the fish.

Rick approaches Michonne privately, jokingly asking if she missed him. She asks about the new woman. Rick tells her about Magna and her group, saying that she's smart. Michonne jokingly asks if Andrea has something to worry about, a joke misunderstood by Rick, who rebukes that he'd never do that to anyone. She apologizes, saying that they don't do a lot of talking on the boat and that she's getting bad at it. He jokes that she was always a talkative person.

He continues by asking her how life out on the ocean is. She tells him it's a hard life but that it keeps her mind off of everything else but the actual work, this prompts Rick to ask her if she found what she was looking for, but gets no response. She apologizes for everything. Rick argues that she disappeared and they spent a great deal of time looking for her, and that people could have died. She explains that it just didn't feel right, being there at The Kingdom with Ezekiel, happy, after everything she's been through and everything she's done. She says she abandoned her children because of her job and destroyed her marriage. She finally asks Rick if after everything he himself has been through thinks he deserves to be happy.

Rick says that they do deserve happiness after everything they've been through, telling her to get her shit together and stop punishing herself for stuff that wasn't her fault, and to go home.

Credits

• Rick Grimes
• Carl Grimes
• Sophia
• Maggie Greene
• Michonne
• Aaron
• Heath
• Paul Monroe
• Harlan Carson
• Brianna
• Ezekiel
• Alex
• Oscar
• Magna
• Hershel Greene
• Dante
• Alpha
• Pete
• Hilltop Colony residents
• Kingdom residents
• The Whisperers
• Oceanside residents

Deaths

• None

Trivia

• First appearance of Pete.
• First appearance of Oceanside.
• This issue features the return of Michonne and Ezekiel, who have been absent since the end of All Out War.
• The official Facebook page for The Walking Dead from Skybound teased that this issue would be "a game changer".