The Walking Dead (comic book)

The Walking Dead
File:Walkingdead1.jpg Cover art for The Walking Dead: Days Gone Bye trade paperback. Art by Tony Moore.
Publication information
Publisher	Image Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing
Publication date	October 2003 - Present
Creative team
Created by	Robert Kirkman Tony Moore
Written by	Robert Kirkman
Artist(s)	Charlie Adlard

For other uses of Walking Dead, see Walking Dead (disambiguation).

The Walking Dead is an American monthly black and white comic published by Image Comics beginning in 2003. The comic was created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore (replaced by Charlie Adlard from issue #7 onward) and chronicles the travels of a group of people trying to survive in a world stricken by a zombie apocalypse.

Synopsis

The Walking Dead is centered around a small-town police officer from Cynthiana, Kentucky, his family, and a number of other survivors who have banded together in order to survive after the world is overrun with zombies. As the series progresses, the characters become more developed, and their personalities shift under the stress of a zombie apocalypse. Fighting growing despair — and occasionally each other — the group searches for a secure location which they can finally call home.

Days Gone Bye (issues #1-6)

The story opens with Rick Grimes and his partner Shane in a gunfight with an escaped convict. While trying to disarm the criminal, Rick gets shot and blacks out. When he awakes an unspecified time later, he finds himself in a hospital bed, completely alone.

Finding the hospital abandoned, Grimes sets off to find out where everyone went. He finds the hospital's cafeteria crowded with the living dead, and barely escapes with his life. He returns to his home, only to find it abandoned as well — and he catches a shovel in the back of the head. When he awakens, again, he learns that a young boy named Duane Jones had hit him, believing him to be a zombie. After a brief introduction, Duane's father Morgan explains what has happened while Rick was comatose: a plague of the dead has swept all civilization. Duane and Morgan have taken up in Rick's neighbor's house, hoping to ride it out.

Rick allows Morgan access to the police armory and a squad car, hoping it will help them survive. Then, Rick makes for Atlanta, Georgia, believing his wife Lori and son Carl went there to find shelter. When Rick reaches Atlanta, he finds a scene of utter carnage: bodies stacked chest-high, ruined military equipment rusting in the street. He is soon surrounded by zombies, and escapes alive thanks only to the aid of a young man named Glenn. Glenn leads Rick to an encampment outside the city, where he meets several other survivors as well as his family and Shane: shoe salesman Allen, his wife Donna and twin children Billy and Ben; Dale, a traveling salesman and older man whose RV is used by the group for a base; mechanic Jim whose family was killed by zombies; Carol, a single mother, and her daughter Sophia; and finally, college junior Amy with her sister, ex-clerk Andrea.

Rick adapts quickly to life in the encampment, soon becoming its de facto leader alongside Shane. He and Glenn daringly raid a gun store in the city, avoiding detection by rubbing pieces of a zombie on their clothes and skin to smell like a zombie. Rick teaches the group to shoot — including his son Carl, much to his wife Lori's disdain. The training comes in handy when the camp is beset by zombies; unfortunately, Amy is killed, and Jim is bitten, which will eventually change him into one of the monsters. He decides to be left behind as the group moves on, believing that if he becomes a zombie, he will be reunited with his family in some way.

Jim performs a eulogy at Amy's funeral, while Rick finds himself at odds with his partner, Shane, who wishes to stay behind. Rick argues that the camp is unsafe so close to the city and that the coming winter will soon make hunting impossible. Rick also hears rumors that Shane is infatuated with Lori. Things come to a head when Rick confronts Shane in the forest while hunting. Shane informs Rick that "he should have stayed dead", and how he wasn't supposed to come back. Rick is unaware that while he was gone, Shane had an affair with Lori. Shane feels that everything will be okay if he kills Rick. In an attempt to defend his father, Carl kills Shane by shooting him in the throat. He remarks, crying, that "It isn't like killing the dead ones." Rick, in tears, replies "It never should be, son. It never should be."

Miles Behind Us (issues #7-12)

A flashback at the beginning of this volume reveals that, the night they arrived at the outskirts of Atlanta, Shane and Lori had made love — an act Lori now considers a mistake. Flashing forward to the present, the survivors have piled into Dale's camper and have left for safer ground. They encounter another group of survivors: Tyreese, his daughter Julie, and her boyfriend Chris. Lori discovers she is pregnant, and tells Rick, who is still unaware of the affair with Shane. The group wants her to keep it a secret from him, because he is their adopted leader, and the knowledge could ruin him. Banding together, they continue on the road, eventually coming to a posh, gated community called Wiltshire Estates. They clear out one house and sleep inside, grateful for the opportunity to get out of the camper. Dale and Andrea start up a relationship, having spent the most time together. The next day they spread out, intending to clean out the other houses one by one. They do not notice the snow-covered sign at the gate reading "All Dead Inside — Do Not Enter"--until it is too late. The group is again attacked by a great horde of undead. Allen's wife Donna is bitten and killed, putting him into a funk from which he will not recover. The survivors cram back into the RV and depart.

Low on food, the group stops to allow Rick and Tyreese to hunt. Carl joins them — and catches a stray bullet from another hunter. The boy is badly hurt, but not killed, and Otis, the hunter, leads the group to the farm of Hershel Greene. A veterinarian, Hershel tends to the boy and allows the group to take shelter at his farm while Carl heals.

Tensions quickly build up at the farm. Glenn begins a physical relationship with one of Hershel's daughters, Maggie. Rick soon learns that Hershel is not killing the zombies he encounters, but instead luring them into his barn. He hopes that one day they might be "cured" — especially since his son is among them. Rick sees this as madness.

Eventually, the inevitable happens: the undead escape Hershel's barn, killing two more of his children and leaving Maggie, Billy, and his youngest children, twins Rachel and Suzie. After dispatching the zombies, Rick and his party are obliged to leave, though Glenn stays behind with his girlfriend, Maggie. Rick and the others eventually come to a prison. Secure from the outside, with large fields which can be used for farming, the prison seems like what the survivors have been searching for since they left Atlanta. Rick announces, "We're home."

Safety Behind Bars (issues #13-18)

The prison has great fences which seal it off from the outside, but a number of ghouls still stalk its grounds. Rick and the others begin the arduous task of cleaning it out. They discover four inmates using the prison as a shelter: Dexter, Andrew, Axel, and Thomas. Some survivors, including Lori, are reluctant to trust the criminals, but Rick reasons that they are all in the same mess together. Rick invites the Greenes to come to the prison with them, since there is plenty of food and plenty of room. The Greenes, whose farm is becoming increasingly unsafe, oblige, bringing Otis' girlfriend, Patricia.

Carol and Tyreese begin a relationship, but peace continues to elude the survivors, as Tyreese's daughter Julie and her boyfriend Chris sneak away during the night to fulfill a suicide pact. Chris shoots too quickly, killing Julie before they can die together. Tyreese and Rick hear the gunshot and run to where it came from. Rick arrives to find Chris huddled in a corner with a gun in his hand, and Tyreese with Julie dead in his arms. Chris tries to explain, but a homicidally furious Tyreese chokes him to death. Only Rick is witness to the assault. This tragic incident also reveals a frightening new fact to the party: reanimation occurs in all dead bodies, not merely in those who die from bites. Haunted by this knowledge, Rick departs the group to take care of some personal business: killing Shane, who had been buried before he could reanimate, so he can finally rest in peace.

While Rick is gone, more horror befalls the group. Rachel and Suzie Greene, the youngest members of Hershel's clan, are brutally murdered while playing alone. Suspicion falls on Dexter, the only convict known to have been incarcerated for murder. When Rick returns, he finds that his wife (among others) locked Dexter up in a cell. Dexter protests his innocence (of the current murders, not his other ones), but no one believes him. He recruits Andrew, another convict (who is also his lover), to steal several shotguns from Block A, which contained the armory and which had not been cleaned out yet. Together, they make plans for mutiny. Soon, Thomas, one of the other inmates, is found trying to kill Andrea, one of the younger members of the party. Dexter is freed, and Rick beats Thomas to within an inch of his life, severely breaking his own hand in the process. Setting down a decree that "You kill, you die," Rick orders Thomas to be lynched. Patricia, who was having difficulties in her relationship with Otis and was befriending Thomas, frees him, only to be attacked as the deranged killer spews misogynist remarks. Before that can take place, Maggie Greene shoots Thomas and kills him. His corpse is thrown over the fence to be devoured by the zombies, watched by Hershel.

Shortly afterward, Dexter, Andrew, and Patricia confront Rick and his party, ordering them out of the prison. Armed with small-caliber pistols, and improvised weapons, Rick and his party are no match for the prisoners' riot shotguns. Axel, the last remaining inmate, tries to reason with Dexter, but when he himself is threatened with expulsion, he remains silent. It seems they have no choice but to hit the road again.

The Heart's Desire (issues #19-24)

Fortunately for Rick, Andrew had forgotten to seal the doors to Block A, and a horde of the living dead pour out. The prisoners and the other survivors are forced to work together to wipe out the throngs of zombies. Rick picks off a zombie which was about to kill Dexter, but the convict merely says, "Don't change a thing. Smart man woulda let him get me." Taking a hint, Rick waits for an opportunity and shoots Dexter through the head. When the battle ends, he claims Dexter must have caught a stray round. Tyreese saw the shot, but says nothing. Andrew takes off through the open prison gates without a word. Axel allies with the other survivors.

Meanwhile, outside the gates, Otis is making for the prison. He had stayed behind at Hershel's farm to manage the livestock, and only now decided to head for safety. He stops to watch the battle inside the prison, and soon ends up surrounded by zombies himself. He is rescued, however, by Michonne, a mysterious woman with a katana and a pair of chained zombies. She is taken in by the survivors (minus the zombies which she decapitated without a second thought after being told that she could not bring them in), and things settle down again. While cleaning out the rest of the prison, Allen is bitten on the leg. Despite the warnings of others, Rick amputates the affected leg, hoping to catch the infection in time. He succeeds only in making Allen's last days miserable. Turmoil rises again when Michonne seduces Tyreese and performs oral sex on him. Tyreese had been involved in a relationship with Carol prior to that, and when Carol spots them, she has a breakdown and attempts suicide. Carol survives, and Rick learns of the affair. He confronts Tyreese, claiming that the entire group is on edge and that it was basically Tyreese's fault that Carol tried to kill herself. Tyreese counters that Rick is a hypocrite, having vowed "You kill, you die," then having murdered Dexter. The two have a fist fight, during which Rick falls from the upper level of a cell block and is once again knocked unconscious.

When he awakens, he learns that the entire group now knows of Rick's action. They do not blame him for it, but they have decided that the pressure of being their "leader" is beginning to cause him to crack, and they have made him merely one of four "co-leaders," with the others being Tyreese, Dale, and Hershel. He does not object. Carol confesses her gratitude for Rick's defense of her in the fight. She kisses a startled Rick, and subsequently apologizes. Rick insists that he is not cracking up, but merely realizing that life will never return to normal, and that he and the others must learn to do terrible things in order to survive. Shocking his fellow survivors, Rick closes by making the assertion that they, not the zombies outside, are the Walking Dead.

The Best Defense (issues #25-30)

Glenn discovers the prison's armory, complete with shotguns and full riot gear. Inspired by the new equipment, the group plans to siphon gasoline out of the remaining cars in the prison parking lot for future needs. Armored, Glenn and Rick head out and soon spot a helicopter in the sky, which suddenly descends, smoking and on fire. Glenn and Rick form a team, along with Michonne, who now has her sword. The three eventually find the crash site, but it is deserted, the only clues are many footprints, and tire tracks heading from the wreckage. Rick decides another group must have taken the survivors, and they follow the tracks.

Back at the prison, Carol continues to act bizarrely toward Lori and starts developing an obsessive care for her and Rick, to the point of suggesting a polyamorous marriage. A shocked Lori attempts to talk to the clearly disturbed Carol, but she reacts angrily and storms off. Dale and Andrea informally adopt Ben and Billy, who have been orphaned since the death of Allen.

Rick, Glenn, and Michonne eventually end up in the town of Woodbury. There they turn in their weapons after meeting a guard, Martinez, and find a well-armed and well-organized group of citizens, led by a man known as The Governor. The Governor explains that the National Guardsmen abandoned a nearby station, leaving behind weapons and equipment. The Governor leads the group to an arena surrounded by a ring of leashed zombies, which is used for gladiatorial combat, with two combatants fighting inside the ring. The Governor tells Rick they feed the zombies people that stumble into Woodbury, something that only the Governor's close confidants seem to know. One of the latest meals for the zombies was the helicopter crew.

Before Rick can respond, Rick is forced down on a table and interrogated at gunpoint by the Governor, who wants to know where Rick's camp is. When Rick and the others say they are the only ones, The Governor cuts off Rick's right hand. A raging, restrained Michonne tackles the Governor and rips off his left ear with her teeth. Rick is sent to the infirmary for immediate treatment, because the Governor wants whatever information he has. Glenn is locked in solitary confinement, and Michonne is raped and tortured by The Governor. She weeps, but defiantly tells the Governor that she is crying for him, and that she is thinking about her revenge.

The Governor returns to his home, where he has his zombie daughter restrained, and places Rick's hand in her bucket as a meal for her. He is able to yell at her to make her back off. He has several aquariums with zombie heads inside them, including the newly severed heads of the Helicopter survivors as well. Later, he talks to Glenn, who has become deranged from his lengthy stay in the darkness of The Room. He tells Glenn that he plans to question him, but wants to "stack the deck" in his favor, so he heads to the next room over and tortures Michonne again, making sure Glenn hears her cries of misery.

In the infirmary, a now conscious Rick talks to the local doctor, Dr. Stevens, about the Governor, whose real name is Philip. Dr. Stevens tells Rick how he came to power: Phillip emerged as a leader, a tough man who ultimately kept people safe. Gradually, it became apparent that he was evil, concerned with his enjoyment more than others' safety. No one challenges him because he keeps everyone safe from the zombies, which satisfies the majority. The Governor then enters and manipulates Rick into revealing that there is indeed a nearby camp, and he wants its items found for Woodbury.

Back at the prison, the group begins to worry about Rick, Michonne, and Glenn, who have now been missing for two days. Otis tries to patch things up with Patricia. Lori worries about Rick, and when Carol tries to help, she is roughly turned away, as Lori mistakes her friendly comfort for another romantic approach. Tyreese returns to the prison after searching for the missing survivors and tells the others that he found the car stuck in the mud, but that was the only trace of their presence.

This Sorrowful Life (issues #31-36)

In Woodbury, Rick is bonding with Doctor Stephens and his nurse, Alice, when one of the town's gladiators, Eugene, arrives and kills his opponent. After the confusion, one of the guards who let Rick's team in, Martinez, comes to check on the doctor and is surprised by Rick's injury.

Low on gladiators, The Governor offers Michonne a deal: he will give her back her sword and let her fight it out in the arena in exchange for a rest period from her daily torture. He explains that the arena fights are staged to look good, but not deadly. She agrees to fight Eugene, and in the arena, kills him and then the surrounding zombies. The onlookers protest the extreme violence, and Michonne is quickly knocked out again.

Meanwhile, Martinez breaks Rick out, taking Stephens, Alice, and Glenn with him. When they rescue Michonne, she says she will catch up later. In the confusion of escape, Stephens is bitten, but asks to stay a zombie rather than be killed.

Back within the city, Michonne arrives and tortures Phillip to the point of severe mutilation. Among general physical abuse, she insures he will never rape again by nailing his penis to a board and later severing it. She pulls of his fingernails with pliars and pulls out one of his eyes with a spoon, severs his arm then cauterizes the wound with a blowtorch, and unsuccessfully attempts to sever the artery in his leg. When she is interrupted, she quickly escapes (leaving Phillip's zombie daughter unharmed). Phillip's saviors, such as they are, wonder if he is still alive. It is hinted in the letter column that he still is. Michonne later arrives at the crashed helicopter, meeting her friends. Upon being questioned, Michonne seems to have suppressed her memory of the Governor, and a disturbed Rick tells Glenn to watch over her.

Suddenly, zombies attack, and after a long fight back to the prison, they return to find the gates open, the prison overrun by hordes of zombies, and Dale's RV seemingly abandoned. Rick's group finds Dale and Andrea, who tell Rick the other survivors are hiding elsewhere. Rick kills an undead Otis, but is reunited with everyone else, who is still alive.

Hershel says his wound was just a scratch from friendly fire, and Glenn finds a female zombie and takes its ring off, presumably to ask Maggie to marry him. Andrea catches Michonne talking to her other self, and Tyreese takes Rick off zombie duty due to his injuries.

In the confusion after clearing out the zombie infestation, Rick notices Martinez is missing, and assumes that he has gone back to Woodbury to tell where the prison is. Rick immediately sets off after Martinez on Dale's RV. He catches up to him before he makes it to Woodbury and proceeds to kill him - perhaps unnecessarily - in a rather vicious manner (he runs him over then strangles him), despite his pleas that it is 'selfish' not to allow the Woodbury people the security of the prison compound.

Back in the prison, Glenn asks permission to marry Maggie from Hershel, to which the tearful father agrees. Glenn then proceeds to propose to Maggie and the two become engaged.

After Rick's return, he calls for a group meeting where he finally reveals where Glenn, Michonne, and he have been for the past few days. He instructs the group to prepare themselves for the upcoming fight with the Woodsbury survivors.

The Calm Before (Issues #37-42)

The issue starts with a flashback regarding Lori's sexual encounter with Rick's partner Shane, who is implied to be the father of Lori's unborn child. Lori confronts Rick about this information, but before she can fully admit her mistake, Rick tells her that he knows, and that he just can't hear her say it. Glenn and Maggie were married by Hershel in a small ceremony in the prison's cafeteria.

Tyreese, Andrea, Glenn, Maggie, Michonne and Axel go out to search for the military base to stock for the incoming onslaught from Woodbury. The group finds the base and takes several guns and canisters of gas. To prevent the people of Woodbury from taking more supplies, they blow it up as they leave for the prison. They then stop at an abandoned Wal-Mart for additional supplies, where they are confronted by armed thugs from Woodbury. The group rushes to hide before the men spot them, but Glenn approaches the Woodbury men and attempts to peacefully negotiate, telling them that they are on an innocent supply run. The leader of the thugs sees through the story and recognizes Glenn from his time in Woodbury, and fires his rifle into Glenn's chest, sending him sprawling to the ground. A gunfight breaks out, and the Woodbury men are handily defeated. A concerned Maggie rushes to Glenn's body, thinking he is dead, but he is alive, having been saved by the prison riot armor.

Back at the prison, Lori goes into labor. Billy is sent to keep the generator on. He brings Dale with him, and they realize there is hardly any gas left to power the generator. They leave the prison gates to siphon gas from the cars, and Dale is bitten in the leg by a zombie. Glenn's party arrives at the same time and brings Dale and Billy inside. The issue ends with Lori delivering a baby girl. If she is truly healthy or not, can be speculated upon. Shortly after the birth, Dale is brought into the surgical ward and his injured leg is hastily amputated by Rick. Lori then decides on the name Judith for her newborn daughter.

Dale, despite being bitten, seems to show no signs of turning. Following Dale's injuries, Andrea is spending more time with Tyreese. Dale suspects something, but Rick is convinced he is simply overreacting. Outside, the others capture a zombie and hold it hostage for study. Carol meanwhile is losing her grip on her sanity. After having sex with Billy she goes outside and allows the captured zombie to bite her on the neck. Both she and the zombie are shot. Dale learns to walk with a peg leg that Tyreese and Andrea made for him. Glenn and Maggie decide to try and have a baby. Their happiness is short lived however as outside the prison fences, The Governor (minus an arm, an eye, an ear and a penis) returns with an army of people and a Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle.

Made to Suffer (Issues #43-48)

The next issue reveals what happened to the Governor between Michonne's torture and his army's arrival at the prison. Badly mutilated, he is treated by Bob, an alcoholic and former combat medic with little experience who is forced into the job after Dr. Stevens' departure. The treatment goes well, leading some of the Governor's men to suspect that Michonne intentionally avoided a lethal wound.

After recovering, he speaks to the Woodbury people and manipulates them into thinking that the prison survivors are a group of savages who must be destroyed. After saying goodbye to his zombie daughter, the Governor and his army depart Woodbury and arrive at the prison.

Immediately upon arrival, the Woodbury army opens fire into the zombie masses between themselves and the prison. Rick tells Lori to head underground and hide while he and the others dive for cover. Andrea heads to the tower with her rifle, and despite a few minor wounds, begins picking off men from the Woodbury army.

Despite superior numbers, the Woodbury army is poorly trained. Few, if any, were soldiers in their prior lives. In fact, it is all they can do to drive the IFV and they have no idea on how to fire its 25mm gun (they incorrectly refer to it as a "tank," despite it being nothing of the sort, further displaying their lack of familiarity with the vehicle). They are forced to fall back and regroup after considerable losses, and Rick's group begins to debate whether they should remain inside the prison or capitalize on their victory and go on the offensive. Before they can decide, Rick emerges from the prison with a bullet wound in his abdomen and collapses.

Dale, Andrea, the twins, Sophia and, at the last minute, Glenn and Maggie flee the prison in their RV in order to avoid the confrontation they expect from the Governor. It is only a temporary departure, but Hershel cannot shake the feeling that he has just seen his daughter for the last time. Rick gets a blood transfusion and starts to recover nicely. Tyreese and Michonne decide to tail the Governor and the townspeople in the hopes that if they kill a few more it will discourage their attack. Tyreese is captured after killing a couple townspeople and we are told that Michonne had her head blown off.

The Governor returns to the prison with Tyreese as his prisoner. He tells them he has Michonne as well, and he gives the survivors an ultimatium. Let him in, or Tyreese dies. Rick says it was stupid of Tyreese and Michonne to venture off. The survivors refuse to let him in, and in a fit of anger (and after multiple hacks), the Governor decapitates Tyreese with Michonne's sword. They leave Tyreese's body in front of the prison gates. Billy shoots at the Governor and his men as they flee, but to no avail. Rick then tells the survivors that they have to make sure Tyreese did not die in vain. The Governor tells the Woodbury people a false story about how Rick and his people killed Tyreese. Michonne then shows up right behind him with a gun to his head.

Gabe, the Governor's second-in-command opens fire at Michonne, but she fires back, clips the Governor, kills one of his men and escapes with her sword. The Governor and his army return to the prison and attack it in exactly the same manner as their initial assault. Axel is shot dead, but the prison survivors are able to successfully defend themselves using the cars as shields. The Woodbury army is further decimated and demoralized by Billy hurling a grenade into their midst, killing several of them. Gabe tells the Governor that Woodbury's army must regroup because they are scared and sloppy, but the Governor insists it's now or never. Gabe is shot dead by Andrea as it is revealed that at least she has returned but the rest of the group of survivors who left in the RV are not shown. One of the Governor's henchmen drives a truck into the RV, injuring Andrea. As his army seeks to retreat, the Governor loses it, and orders the IFV to drive over the fences. Rick and his group rush to escape while the Governor and his army invade the prison. Rick rushes into the cellblock, looking for Lori and Judith and eventually finds them with Alice pointing a gun at them. They tell him they were only faking in case they were discovered by the Governor's men.

Rick, along with his family and Alice, attempt to escape to the truck. Meanwhile, Patricia and Billy are shot dead. Billy's death demoralizes Hershel, causing him to refuse to even try to escape when Rick calls out to him. The Governor and his men open fire, and kill Alice, Lori and Judith. Rick and Carl escape, as they never stop moving, and only Rick sees Lori and Judy die. As Rick and Carl escape, The Governor orders his men to stop firing at them, as he is convinced the zombies will get them. Angered that Hershel is still alive--the Woodbury people believed he was surrendering--the Governor heartlessly executes him. At that point, Lori and Judith's killer, Lilly realizes that Lori was carrying a baby, and tearfully calls the Governor a monster. He is outraged, but she is no longer in his thrall as she hits him with her rifle and puts the barrel in his mouth, preparing to execute him. Then, a horde of zombies breaks through the hole in the fence and attacks the Woodbury army. The Governor gets up, and urges that the group calmly move into the prison and stick together. At that point, Lilly shoots him in the head and pushes his corpse into a mass of zombies, where it is immediately eaten. She leads the remnants of the army into the prison, but their guns fall silent quickly and it is implied that they are killed by the zombies, as the prison is rendered uninhabitable.

Rick and Carl manage to run to safety, and break into tears upon realizing that Lori and Judith are dead.

(Issues #49-54)

Michonne returns to the ruins of the prison, and upon finding Tyreese's undead decapitated head by his corpse, drives her sword through it, and sheds a tear for putting her dead lover out of his misery. The only other survivor she finds is the Governor's henchman who drove a truck into the RV; the man is alive, but badly wounded and unable to speak. Michonne, clearly furious at him for being part of the Governor's army, quickly chops his head off. She investigates the wreckage of the RV, but finds no one and nothing, except footprints leading away from the battle. She follows them.

Rick and Carl are holed up in a nearby town. Rick tries to get Carl to eat, but he refuses to. Carl opens a can of food for his father, as Rick is unable to even operate a can opener. They investigate a nearby store, but are attacked by a zombie. Rick tries to drive his axe through its head, but is unable to penetrate its skull. Carl shoots the zombie after Rick lures it outside, and Rick asks Carl for his gun to dispose of another zombie that has come out.

They hide in a nearby house, but it is clear that Rick is still pained by his gunshot wound. That night he takes a huge dose of antibiotics he finds in the house's bathroom, but is still clearly in pain. Carl tells Rick that he misses his mom, only to find Rick unconscious, his eyes glazed over. It is unclear if Rick is comatose, passed out or dead.

The current known survivors at this point are Rick, Dale, Glenn, Michonne, and Maggie (adults); and Carl, Sophia, Billy, and Ben(children). The current whereabouts of Andrea are unknown, as she went missing during the battle with the Governor.

Influences

The series borrows many of its concepts as well as much of its tone from George A. Romero's zombie movies (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead and Land of the Dead). Creator Robert Kirkman, expressing frustration that zombie films always had a clear "end", wanted the series to be a continuing chronicle of the long-term effects after a "zombie apocalypse", showing the changes to both the world and the characters. The character Duane Jones, son of Morgan Jones, the first living people Rick meets after he comes out of his coma, is named after the actor who played Ben in the original Night of the Living Dead. Also, the opening sequence is similar to the one John Wyndham used in his classic horror The Day of the Triffids, which was also used at the beginning of Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, as well as the intro to Resident Evil: Nemesis.

Moore got inspiration for the faces of his zombies from a web forum he frequented - http://www.nocarlno.com. Moore asked the forum regulars to post pictures of their faces for an upcoming project he was working on, which turned out to be The Walking Dead. Most zombies drawn by Moore that have any distinct characteristics are most likely caricatures of the forum members. This is not confirmed by Moore, however, and the website requires visitors to register.

The Dead

The zombies of The Walking Dead share a number of traits with the ghouls of George Romero's films. Below is a short summary of what is known about them, along with some additional notes. Kirkman has stated in letter columns that the survivors (and therefore, the readers) know less of the zombies than they think they do, and he has no intentions of revealing the source of the outbreak.

• The zombies that wander around and do not just remain in the same spot are referred to as "roamers". The zombies that just remain in the same spot not doing much unless provoked are referred to as "lurkers". However, these are terms adopted by the protagonists; other survivors use different terminology — in Woodbury, all zombies are called "biters", and Alice even comments that it's silly to differentiate between two kinds of ghouls.
• Zombies cannot die conventionally. They can only be killed by destroying or removing the brain, so even decapitation won't work. The zombie must suffer some form of brain trauma.
  • If the brain is intact, heads of decapitated zombies will reanimate, though the bodies will remain inert.
• Any human who dies with their brain intact will become a zombie, even if they have not come into contact with other zombies.
• Reanimation can occur anywhere from minutes to hours after death.
• Zombies will attack and try to feed on humans and other animals, such as horses. Animals do not appear to reanimate as zombies, judging by crows often depicted with the masses, that do not attack the living.
• Zombies will not attack each other.
• Zombies don't need their organs. They can survive severe damage and decomposition.
• Zombies do not have much flowing blood. All they need to survive is an intact brain.
• Though zombies consume the flesh of their victims, they can function without eating for prolonged periods of time.
• Zombies can survive being frozen solid.
• Zombies are attracted by loud sounds, such as gunshots, but cannot differentiate between forms of noise, like human talking and zombie grunting.
• Zombies may differentiate between humans and themselves by smell. They apparently can be fooled by rubbing zombie "filth" or innards over one's body. (Kirkman acknowledged in a letter column that this has not been confirmed.)
• Zombies are significantly less likely to attack humans if they have been well-fed, but will revert back to their usual aggressiveness when they grow hungry again.

Cast of Characters

The cast of The Walking Dead is in constant flux as new survivors join Rick's group and old characters meet gruesome ends. The following table is a list of the main characters in The Walking Dead, more or less in the order in which they appear.

Name	Description	Status
Rick Grimes	The story's primary protagonist, Rick is a small-town police officer who is wounded in a shoot-out at the beginning of the series. When he awakens from a coma, he finds his neighborhood, and the world, populated with walking corpses. He is initially highly idealistic; as months pass, the zombie apocalypse takes a clear psychological toll on him. His signature weapon is a hatchet, unseen for months until issue #49.	Living
Shane	Rick's partner Shane somehow survived the rise of the dead and escorted Rick's family to Atlanta to find safety. When they found the city destroyed, they joined a group of survivors camped on the outskirts of the city. He was revealed to have had a secret affair with Lori shortly after the outbreaks began and it can be inferred that he may be the father of Lori's current child. Died: Shot by Carl ("Days Gone Bye")	Dead
Morgan and Duane Jones	A father and son trying to ride out the zombie epidemic in Rick's neighborhood. They are only briefly in the story to date, as Rick heads to Atlanta to look for his family. They are alive and well as of the Image 2005 Christmas Special, where Morgan gives Duane a present. This mini-strip takes place five months after the start of the epidemic and was reprinted in The Walking Dead issue 34 and is available in the The Walking Dead hardcover book 1. In the letter column, Kirkman has stated a desire to eventually have Rick re-encounter the two.	Living circa Image Christmas Special (reprinted in #34)
Glenn	An Asian-American man who rescues Rick on his first, ill-fated excursion into post-apocalyptic Atlanta. Was a pizza delivery boy before the zombie epidemic. While the group is camped outside the city, he frequently ventures into town to scavenge much-needed supplies. Later develops a relationship with Maggie Greene and eventually marries her.	Living
Lori Grimes	Rick's wife. Believing her comatose husband would be safe in the hospital, she, her son, and Shane went to Atlanta to find her parents and reach a rescue station. When the city was overrun, she fell in with the survivors camped outside the city limits. Lori had overcome the odds and survived the birth of her new baby girl. Died: She is shot during the assault on the prison by a woman from Woodbury. ("Made to Suffer")	Dead
Carl Grimes	Rick and Lori's 7-year-old son who along with his mother seem to be the only reason Rick is able to keep on going. Carl's father also seems to think that his son should be taught to defend himself so he now carries a gun with him and he is fully capable of using it. Playmate and childhood "boyfriend" of Sophia.	Living
Allen	A big, bearded, former shoe salesman; Donna's husband. He has twin sons named Billy and Ben. Died: Died of blood loss after having his bitten foot cut off; shot by Rick before being reanimated ("The Heart's Desire").	Dead
Donna	Allen's wife. She, Carol, and Lori take care of most of the group's chores, such as laundry. Donna rather resents it. Died: Consumed by Zombies at the Wiltshire Estates ("Miles Behind Us").	Dead
Billy and Ben	Allen and Donna's twin sons. Said to be rambunctious, they play little part in the series to date, but are unofficially adopted by Dale and Andrea. They don't seem to understand what is happening in the world as it is.	Living
Dale	Dale is an older gentleman who owns the RV the group uses as their primary mode of transportation when looking for new places to live. He did a lot of traveling before everything changed, and his equipment and know-how have made life without modern conveniences much more bearable for the group. He eventually becomes involved with Andrea. Dale was bitten on the ankle at the Prison, however, after having the leg successfully (if painfully) removed, he shows no signs of turning. He is the first to survive a bite.	Living
Jim	Jim is a former mechanic who lost his entire family to the undead. It has affected him badly, and he is the most taciturn member of the group. Instead of undergoing a mercy killing or choosing to stay with the group despite his post-bite illness, he opts to be left to die and reanimate near the border of Atlanta in hopes of being reunited with his reanimated family. Died: Bitten, left to die/reanimate. ("Days Gone Bye")	Undead
Carol	Sophia's mother, Carol assists the other mothers in domestic duties. She becomes romantically attached to Tyreese until he cheats on her with Michonne. Seems to be mentally unbalanced, possibly due to the stress of what has happened to the world. Carol also has been pushing the issue to have a polygamy or plural marriage with Rick and Lori. After being shot down by Lori for the idea of marriage she takes a liking to Billy, which leads to a one night stand, after which she commits suicide by letting herself get bitten by a zombie. Died: Shot by Andrea when she turns ("The Calm Before").	Dead
Sophia	Carol's daughter Sophia is a young girl whose father was killed by zombies. She is Carl's playmate & childhood "girlfriend".	Living
Amy	A junior physical-education major, Amy was returning to college for a new school year when the dead rose. Andrea is her sister. Cared for the four children. Died: Bitten by a zombie at night, killed and shot by her sister before reanimating ("Days Gone Bye").	Dead
Andrea	Amy's sister was a clerk at a law firm. She was driving her sister back to school when the zombie epidemic began. She eventually becomes involved with Dale. Cares for the four children. She was facially disfigured when Thomas, a deranged psychopath, sliced her ear lobe off and left a long scar across her face with a knife. Andrea is the group's best shot with a firearm. During the fight with Woodsburry she was badly injured. Whether she is alive or dead is unknown.	Unknown
Tyreese	Tyreese, his daughter, and her boyfriend joined Rick's group shortly after they began their journey away from Atlanta. A one time pro football player he is much like Rick in many ways: he is a strong, capable fighter, a stern but loving father, and a generally sensible person. A terrible shot, his signature weapon was a hammer. Died: Decapitated by the Governor ("Made to Suffer")	Dead
Julie	Julie is Tyreese's teenage daughter. The end of the world hasn't stopped her from seeking independence where she can find it. She had an ill-fated suicide pact with her boyfriend, Chris. Died: Shot by Chris in a suicide pact ("Safety Behind Bars").	Dead
Chris	Chris is Julie's boyfriend. He distrusted Tyreese and was later killed by him after accidentally murdering Julie by firing too soon while enacting their suicide pact. Died: Choked to death by Tyreese after he killed Julie. He reanimated after the choking & Tyreese killed him again. This continued until the boy was nothing but mutilated pieces ("Safety Behind Bars").	Dead
Otis	A neighbor of Hershel, staying with him until the zombie apocalypse "blows over." He meets Rick after non-fatally shooting Rick's son, Carl, having mistaken him for a zombie. Died: Turned into a Zombie when the prison was over run. Shot by Rick ("This Sorrowful Life").	Dead
Hershel Greene	The owner of a farm where Rick and the other survivors take temporary refuge. As a veterinarian, he has medical experience which comes in handy for the survivors several times. After an altercation with Rick, he joins them at a semi-abandoned prison where they next take shelter. His farm-work knowledge also comes in handy when he aids the group in growing fresh crops in the prison fields. He is deeply religious. Died: Shot by the Governor after Billy is shot. ("Made to Suffer")	Dead
Lacey Greene	Hershel's oldest daughter. Died: Bitten while trying to save her dad. Had to be killed by her father ("Miles Behind Us").	Dead
Arnold Greene	Hershel's oldest son. Died: Bitten while trying to save his dad. Had to be killed by his father ("Miles Behind Us").	Dead
Maggie Greene	Another daughter, who eventually becomes involved with Glenn, to her father's initial displeasure and eventual acceptance. She marries Glenn in a ceremony performed by her father.	Living
Billy Greene	Hershel's youngest son. Billy is in his teens and plays little part in the over all story but from what is known he is helpful around the prison and is always complaining about all the "Good looking ones" or women being spoke for. Billy ends up having a one night stand with Carol before she commits suicide. Died: Shot dead by the Governor's men while escaping. ("Made to Suffer")	Dead
Rachel and Suzie Greene	Hershel's youngest daughters (Suzie and Rachel are twins) and they were the first of Thomas' victims. Died: Heads cut off by Thomas. ("Safety Behind Bars")	Dead
Patricia	Otis's incredibly naive and overly trusting girlfriend. They broke up after moving to the prison. Has sex with a wounded Axel. Dead: Shot by the Governor's henchmen. ("Made to Suffer")	Dead
Dexter	An inmate at the prison where the group takes residence. Convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, he ironically trusts the other survivors far less than they trust him. He has a covert homosexual relationship with Andrew, but is purely in said relationship for sex. Died: Shot in the head by Rick. ("The Heart's Desire")	Dead
Andrew	A dread locked former drug user who believes God sent the zombie apocalypse to help him get clean. He had a homosexual relationship with Dexter and is apparently in love with him. After Dexter's death he fled the prison during the time Michonne and Otis arrive.	Unknown
Axel	A grizzled old biker imprisoned for armed robbery. A peeping tom, but apparently otherwise harmless. When Dexter tries to force them all out of the prison, Axel stands up for them. He has earned their trust, and always helps whenever anybody asks for it. Died: Shot in the head by Woodbury. ("Made to Suffer")	Dead
Thomas	A nerdy, balding man who claims to be in federal prison for tax evasion. He is actually a homicidal lunatic who murders two of Hershel's daughters by decapitation and attempts to murder Andrea before he is beaten senseless by an enraged Rick and later shot by Maggie Greene after his attempted escape, which was assisted by Patricia who was nearly killed. His deceased body was thrown to the zombie hordes outside of the prison. Died: Shot by Maggie (remains fed to zombies). ("Safety Behind Bars")	Dead
Michonne	A mysterious black woman armed with a katana. She shows up with two zombies in shackles and causes no small consternation among the group. She gives fellatio to Tyreese, previously having recognized him from his days in the NFL, and causes the break-up of Tyreese and Carol. Michonne was previously a lawyer coming out of a marriage where she lost her children. She and Tyreese share the same passion for working out. She tortures the Governor after he rapes her and she escapes. She disappears during the battle at the prison, but has since returned to look for the RV survivors.	Living
The Governor	His real name is Phillip, he is the leader of a settlement of humans in Woodbury. While initially hospitable, his true intention is to find the location of Rick's encampment to take their supplies. He repeatedly rapes Michonne and cuts off Rick's hand, and in turn, Michonne dismembers him brutally. Missing an arm, ear, eye, and penis, he led an army to the prison looking to take it over. His entire family have been turned into zombies, including his daughter, to whom he still lives with and feeds severed body parts. He is revealed as the monster he is after assaulting the prison, where he orders a woman to shoot and kill Lori Grimes. When the woman realized that she had killed a mother and newborn infant she subsequently shoots The Governor in the head and leaves him to distract the zombies while the other attackers attempt--and fail--to escape. Died: Shot by the murderer of Lori and Judith Grimes, then fed to zombies. ("Made to Suffer")	Dead
Dr. Stevens (alternately "Stephens")	Woodbury's primary doctor. While he resents working for The Governor, he understands that he would be killed if he did not cooperate. Died: Bitten while escaping the settlement with Rick. ("This Sorrowful Life")	Undead
Alice	Dr. Stevens' assistant. Is a fast learner and becomes the de facto physician of Rick's group. Previously an interior design student. Died: Shot by the Governor. ("Made to Suffer")	Dead
Caesar Martinez	Former gym teacher who conducted Rick's party's entry to Woodbury. Later helped Rick's party escape, and fight their way back to the prison. Eventually left the prison to go tell the people of Woodbury the location of the prison to escape from the Governor. By an apparent proofreading error he is referred to as "Rodriguez" several times. Died: Ran over by Rick before he could get back to town and strangled to death. ("This Sorrowful Life")	Dead
Judith Grimes	The newborn daughter of Rick and Lori. Killed during the Prison assault. Died: Killed along with Lori by a female from Woodbury, under the Governor's orders.	Dead

Artists

• Tony Moore: #1-6 (2004) (interior & covers), #1-24 (covers) (2005), collected trade paperback volumes 1-4 (covers).
• Charlie Adlard: #7-present (interior), #25-present (covers), collected trade paperback volumes 5-present (covers).

Collections

The series has so far been collected into the following collections:

Softcovers

The trade paperbacks collect six issues each, but contain only the story and no cover art.

#	Title	ISBN	Release Date	Collected Material
1	Days Gone Bye	ISBN 1-58240-358-9	May 12, 2004	The Walking Dead #1-6
2	Miles Behind Us	ISBN 1-58240-413-5	November 24, 2004	The Walking Dead #7-12
3	Safety Behind Bars	ISBN 1-58240-487-9	May 18, 2005	The Walking Dead #13-18
4	The Heart's Desire	ISBN 1-58240-530-1	November 30, 2005	The Walking Dead #19-24
5	The Best Defense	ISBN 1-58240-612-X	September 27, 2006	The Walking Dead #25-30
6	This Sorrowful Life	ISBN 1-58240-684-7	April 11, 2007	The Walking Dead #31-36
7	The Calm Before	ISBN 1-58240-828-9	September 26, 2007	The Walking Dead #37-42
8	Made To Suffer	ISBN 1-58240-883-1	??June 29??, 2008	The Walking Dead #43-48

Hardcovers

All hardcovers contain the material from the comics including the covers, and are slightly larger than the paperbacks. The deluxe hardcover collects the first 24 issues in a slipcase with several extras. The limited edition version of the standard hardcover (12 issues) is autographed by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard with 300 pieces available.

• The Walking Dead Volume 1 Deluxe HC (Collects #1-24; ISBN 1-58240-511-5; Released 12/14/05)
• The Walking Dead Book One (Collects #1-12; ISBN 1-58240-619-7; Released 7/19/06)
• The Walking Dead Book One Limited Edition (ISBN 1-58240-620-0; Released 8/2/06)
• The Walking Dead Book Two (Collects #13-24; ISBN 1-58240-698-7; Released 3/7/07)
• The Walking Dead Book Three (Collects #25-36; Released 12/19/07)
• The Walking Dead Days Gone Bye Retailer Giveaway (Limited Hardcover of softcover Vol. 1, with black and red foil binding)

Tie-Ins

Four Zombie minibusts are available from CS Moore (One is a repainted variant). In March, a Rick Grimes vs. Zombies was made available as well. As a companion to this piece, a half zombie statue was released. Future Walking Dead statues will connect to the base to form a diorama.

Aircel series

In 1989, a mini-series named The Walking Dead was published by Aircel Comics. It was followed by a one issue special in 1990. Other than the shared zombie theme, there is no relationship between the Aircel and Image titles.

External links

• Image Comics' Robert Kirkman Messageboard
• Tony Moore Messageboard
• Tony Moore's The Walking Dead Cover Art Gallery

Interviews

• Interview with Charlie Adlard about The Walking Dead
• WEEK OF THE DEAD I: Robert Kirkman, Comic Book Resources, May 19, 2008
• WEEK OF THE DEAD II: Charlie Adlard, Comic Book Resources, May 20, 2008
• Walking with the Dead: Robert Kirkman, I, Newsarama, May 20, 2008