The Walking Dead (Comic Series)

Series Synopsis

The Walking Dead is a comic and television series that revolves around the life of Rick Grimes, a small-town police officer and his family, and a number of other survivors who have banded together in order to survive after the world is overrun with zombies, or as The Walking Dead (TV series) characters call them, Walkers.

Plot summary

Volume 1: Days Gone Bye (issues #1-6)

Rick Grimes and his partner Shane are involved in a shootout with an escaped convict. Rick gets shot and blacks out. He awakens from a coma one month later alone in an abandoned hospital only to realize that the zombie apocalypse has begun. Rick finds the hospital cafeteria has been crowded with zombies, and barely escapes with his life. He returns to his home, only to find it abandoned and catches a shovel in the back of the head. When he awakes he discovers a boy named Duane Jones had hit him, mistaking him to be a zombie. Duane's father Morgan explains about the zombie plague and how they have taken up in Rick's neighbor's house.

After providing them with some weapons, Rick makes for Atlanta, believing his wife Lori and son Carl went there to find shelter and to be with her parents. When Rick reaches the Georgia state line, he runs out of gasoline. He takes his duffle bag of guns and ammunition he eventually sees a farm where the family has committed suicide. He finds a horse in the barn and takes her. In Atlanta he becomes surrounded with zombies. A young man named Glenn helps him to escape. Glenn leads Rick to an encampment outside the city, where he meets his wife and Shane, plus several other survivors as well; Allen and his wife Donna and twin children Billy and Ben; Dale, an older man whose RV is used by the group for a base; Amy with her sister Andrea; Jim, who is the only survivor of Atlanta; and Carol and her daughter Sophia.

Rick adapts quickly to life in the encampment, soon becoming its defacto leader alongside Shane. He and Glenn daringly raid a gun store in the city, avoiding detection by rubbing pieces of zombie remains on their clothes and skin to smell like a zombie. Rick also teaches the group to shoot and the training comes in handy when the camp is overrun by zombies. Several survivors are bitten.

Afterward, Rick finds himself at odds with Shane. Rick argues that the camp is unsafe, but Shane wants to stay. Things come to a head when Rick confronts Shane in the forest while hunting. Rick suspects that Shane had an affair with Lori and now Shane feels that everything will be okay if he kills Rick. During the confrontation, Shane attempts to kill Rick, but Carl, who was following them, shoots Shane and says 'Don't hurt my Daddy again!"

Volume 2: Miles Behind Us (issues #7-12)

The survivors leave in Dale's camper for safer ground. It is Christmas day. 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. Banding together, they continue on the road, eventually coming to a gated community called Wiltshire Estates. They clear out one house and sleep inside. 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, but 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 zombies. Allen's wife Donna is subsequently bitten and killed. The survivors cram back into the RV and depart.

Low on food, Rick and Tyreese decide to hunt and Carl joins them, but is shot by another hunter. Carl is badly hurt and Otis, the hunter, leads the group to the farm of Hershel Greene. Hershel tends to the boy and allows the group to take shelter at his farm while Carl heals. Glenn begins a physical relationship with one of Hershel's daughters, Maggie. Rick learns that Hershel is not killing the zombies he encounters, but instead trapping them into his barn. He hopes that one day they might be "cured" — especially since his eldest son Shawn is among them.

When taking in another stray zombie, Hershel gets knocked back by a zombie by the door, and the rest of the zombies escape Hershel's barn. Arnold attempts to save his father, but ultimately ends up bitten by his un-dead brother Shawn. Lacey attempts to save both of them but is devoured by the zombies. Hershel kills all three of his children himself. Maggie, his youngest son Billy, and his youngest children, twins Rachel and Suzie become the last remaining children. After dispatching the zombies, Rick and his party are obliged to leave after a heated argument between Rick and Hershel, though Glenn stays behind with his girlfriend, Maggie. Rick and the others eventually come to a prison and decide it would make the perfect haven from the un-dead.

Volume 3: Safety Behind Bars (issues #13-18)

Rick and the others begin the arduous task of cleaning out the prison of zombies. They discover four inmates using the prison as a shelter: Dexter, Andrew, Axel, and Thomas. Some survivors 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 agree bringing Otis' girlfriend, Patricia. Carol and Tyreese meanwhile begin a relationship.

Tyreese's daughter Julie and her boyfriend Chris sneak away during the night to fulfill a suicide pact, but Chris shoots too quickly killing Julie. Tyreese and Rick arrive to find Chris huddled in a corner with a gun in his hand and Julie dead. Chris tries to explain, but Tyreese chokes him to death. When Chris and Julie both return as zombies it is revealed that reanimation occurs in all dead bodies, not only those of people who have been injured by the un-dead.

While Rick is gone, Rachel and Suzie Greene are decapitated while playing alone. Suspicion falls on Dexter, the only convict known to have been incarcerated for murder. When Rick returns, he finds the others have locked Dexter up in a cell. Dexter protests his innocence, but no one believes him. He recruits Andrew, to steal several shotguns from Block A, which had not been cleaned out yet. Thomas, one of the other inmates, is caught chasing after Andrea, who escaped while he tried to behead her. Thomas slashes her face with a knife, cutting off her earlobe and leaving a long scar down her face. Rick beats Thomas to within an inch of his life, severely breaking his own hand in the process. Rick orders Thomas to be hanged. Patricia, who was having difficulties in her relationship with Otis and was befriending Thomas, frees him, only to be attacked. Maggie Greene shoots Thomas and kills him. Shortly afterward, Dexter, Andrew, and Patricia confront Rick and his party, ordering them out of the prison. Axel, the last remaining inmate, tries to reason with Dexter, but when he himself is threatened with expulsion, he remains silent.

Volume 4: The Heart's Desire (issues #19-24)

A horde of zombies pour out from Block A and the prisoners and the other survivors are forced to work together to wipe out the zombies. 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 who joins the survivors. While cleaning out the rest of the prison, Allen is bitten on the leg. Rick amputates the affected leg, hoping to catch the infection in time but fails.

Michonne seduces Tyreese and Carol spots them and attempts suicide. Carol survives, and Rick confronts Tyreese, and blames him for Carol trying to kill herself. Tyreese announces that he saw Rick kill Dexter. The two fight, during which Rick falls from the upper level of a cell block and is knocked unconscious. When he awakens, he learns that the entire group now knows of Rick's action. 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.

Volume 5: 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. Glenn and Rick head out and soon spot a helicopter in the sky, which immediately crashes. Glenn, Rick and Michonne 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 suggests a polyamorous marriage between her, Lori and Rick. Lori refuses and Carol becomes angry and storms off. Dale and Andrea informally adopt Ben and Billy.

Rick, Glenn, and Michonne eventually end up in the town of Woodbury. They meet 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. The Governor tells Rick they feed the zombies people that stumble into Woodbury. 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. 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.

The Governor returns to his home, where he has his zombie daughter restrained and several aquariums with zombie heads inside them. Later, he talks to Glenn, who has become deranged from his lengthy stay in confinement. He tells Glenn that he plans to question him, but first tortures Michonne again, making sure Glenn hears her cries.

In the infirmary, a now conscious Rick talks to Dr. Stevens, about the Governor, whose real name is Philip. Dr. Stevens tells Rick how Phillip emerged as a leader. It became apparent that he was evil but no one challenges him because he kept everyone safe from the zombies. The Governor then enters and manipulates Rick into revealing that there is indeed a nearby camp, and he wants it 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.

Volume 6: This Sorrowful Life (issues #31-36)

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

Low on gladiators, The Governor offers Michonne to 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 without hesitation. The onlookers protest the extreme violence, and Michonne is quickly knocked out again. Meanwhile, Martinez breaks Rick out, taking Stevens, 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. When she is interrupted, she quickly escapes. Michonne later arrives at the crashed helicopter, meeting her friends.

After a long fight against zombies 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. 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 in Dale's RV. He catches up to him before he makes it to Woodbury and proceeds to kill him.

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 Woodbury survivors.

Volume 7: The Calm Before (Issues #37-42)

Lori confronts Rick about her sexual encounter with Shane and the fact that her baby might be his, 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. They then stop at an abandoned Wal-Mart for additional supplies, where they are confronted by armed thugs from Woodbury. Glenn approaches the Woodbury men and attempts to negotiate but the leader of the thugs recognizes Glenn from his time in Woodbury and shoots Glenn. A gunfight breaks out, and the Woodbury men are defeated. Maggie rushes to Glenn, thinking he is dead, but his prison riot armor saved him.

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. Lori delivers a baby girl. Shortly after the birth, Dale's 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. Later the Governor arrives with an army and a Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle.

Volume 8: Made to Suffer (Issues #43-48)

Badly mutilated, the Governor speaks to the Woodbury people and tells them that the prison survivors are a group of savages who must be destroyed. The Governor and his army depart Woodbury and arrive at the prison. 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 begins picking off men from the Woodbury army. Despite superior numbers, the Woodbury army is poorly trained and are forced to fall back and regroup. Rick's group begins to debate whether they should remain inside the prison or 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, Glenn and Maggie flee the prison in the RV in order to avoid the confrontation they expect from the Governor. Rick gets a blood transfusion and starts to recover. 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 is told that Michonne is dead. The Governor returns to the prison with Tyreese as his prisoner. He tells them he has Michonne as well and they must let him in or Tyreese dies. The survivors refuse to let him in and the Governor decapitates Tyreese. They leave Tyreese's body in front of the prison gates as they flee.

The Governor tells the Woodbury people a false story about how Rick and his people killed Tyreese, but Michonne then shows up right behind him with a gun to his head. Gabe opens fire at Michonne, but she fires back, clips the Governor, kills one of his men and escapes. The Governor and his army return to the prison and attack it. Axel is killed, but the prison survivors are able to successfully defend themselves. The Woodbury army is further destroyed and demoralized by Billy hurling a grenade into their midst, killing several of them. Gabe tells the Governor that Woodbury's army must regroup, but the Governor refuses. Gabe is shot and killed by a returning Andrea in the RV. One of the Governor's henchmen drives a truck into the RV, injuring Andrea. As his army seeks to retreat, the Governor 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 and killed. Billy's death demoralizes Hershel, causing him to refuse to even try to escape. The Governor and his men open fire, and kill Alice, Lori and Judith, but Rick and Carl escape. The Governor orders his men to stop firing at them and then executes Hershel. Lilly realizes that Lori was carrying a baby and calls the Governor a monster. She hits him with her rifle and puts the barrel in his mouth. A horde of zombies, however, break through the hole in the fence and attack the Woodbury army. The Governor gets up, shoots a zombie and urges that the group to move into the prison. As the remnants of the army are overwhelmed, Lilly gets to her feet and shoots the Governor in the head and pushes his corpse into a mass of zombies. She leads the remnants of the army into the prison, while the walkers surround the prison. Rick and Carl manage to run to safety, and burst into tears upon realizing that Lori and Judith are dead.

Volume 9: Here We Remain (Issues #49-54)

Michonne returns to the ruins of the prison, and upon finding Tyreese's undead decapitated head drives her sword through it. She investigates the wreckage of the RV, but finds nothing except footprints leading away from the battle, which she follows.

Rick and Carl are holed up in a nearby town. 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. They hide in a nearby house and Rick takes a huge dose of antibiotics. Carl finds Rick unconscious, his eyes glazed over.

After defeating three zombies, one of which attacked him from behind, Carl decides that he no longer needs his dad to survive. He blames his father for failing to protect Lori and Judith, as well as the rest of their previous party. Rick momentarily wakes up and pleads with Carl to stay indoors. Carl agrees and holds Rick's head, taking back what he said about not needing his father's protection. Rick eventually gets better. Rick gets a call on the phone of the house they are staying in. Rick begins to talk to the voice and converse about their ordeals. Eventually, he asks for the woman's name and she answers Lori. Rick then forcefully unplugs the phone but can still hear Lori speaking on the line. This causes him to realize that the phone calls were all in his head and that he is trying to forgive himself for Lori's death. Eventually, he "hangs up" although he takes the phone with him in his backpack.

Continuing their journey, Rick tries to teach as much as he can to Carl, to help him be able to stay alive even if Rick should be killed. When Rick leaves Carl alone, in order to forage for some gas, a zombie attacks the child, who's saved by Michonne. Michonne rejoins the group, revealing that a still unknown survivor from the prison escaped. Michonne was following the tracks to find out if he/she was one of them, or one of the attackers. The next morning they are reunited with Maggie and Glenn.

Rick, Carl, and Michonne return to Hershel's farm where everyone has been staying. Carl and Sophia are reunited, where Carl learns that Sophia has repressed her memories of her mother and now thinks that Glenn and Maggie are her real parents. Michonne reveals to Rick that she's been "talking" to her dead boyfriend. Rick shows Michonne his phone and explains that every time he picks up the phone's receiver, he talks to Lori. Rick and Michonne agree to keep each other's "craziness" a secret.

The next morning, the survivors are woken by a gunshot. Outside, Andrea points her rifle at three new arrivals: Sgt. Abraham Ford, Rosita Espinosa and Dr. Eugene Porter. Ford explains that they are on a mission to Washington, D.C. He was in contact with Washington officials in the early days of the zombie disaster. Eugene, a scientist, reveals he knows exactly what caused the creation of the zombie plague, yet reveals little as he deems the details classified. After a discussion of their current situation and an attack on the farm by zombies, the group decides to travel along with the visitors on their way to Washington.

Volume 10: What We Become (Issues #55-#60)

The group travels and sets up camp along their way to DC. Rick still feels guilty for his decisions that led to so many deaths, but mainly Lori and Judith's. Meanwhile, Maggie is going through a very serious depression due to the loss of her entire family, and Glenn is unable to comfort her. The group scavenges a small town for supplies and discovers a zombie that is too weak to attempt to eat anyone. The group wonders if the zombies can be malnourished.

The group sets up camp again, and Maggie leaves to use the restroom. After a while, Glenn sets off to find her and discovers she committed suicide. Glen screams for help and Abraham cuts her down, only to find that she is not breathing. Glen wants to do CPR, but Abraham puts a gun to her head and says that she is dead and they have to shoot her or she will come back as a zombie. The group argues and just as Abraham is about to pull the trigger, Rick puts a gun to Abraham's head and says that if he shoots Maggie, he will kill him. Just then, Maggie gasps for air, alive and okay. The group goes back to camp, and Maggie does not want to talk to anyone, even her husband, about what she tried to do. Rick is watching over the camp that night until Abraham comes to relieve him and tells Rick that if he ever points a gun at him again, he will kill him. Rick replies that if Abraham ever does something that requires Rick to put the gun to his head, he won't hesitate to shoot.

Rick is attacked by a zombie but does not have a weapon and is unable to defend himself, but can see Abraham pointing a gun in his direction. Rick screams for Abraham to shoot, but Abraham just watches. Finally, he shoots the zombie and saves Rick's life. Abraham walks away from the group, and Rosita finds him shaking and crying. Abraham tells her he was pointing the gun at Rick before he even saw the zombie. He pleads with Rosita to not let him kill again. Rosita assures him that the people he killed in the past left him no choice and it was not his fault.

The group stops at a gas station and tries to decide what the best route is to Washington DC. Rick tells Abraham that he wants to take the interstate to his home town to get extra supplies from the poilce station and to check on "old friends." Abraham agrees, and the group decides to wait while they go. Rick, Carl, and Abraham set off, with Michonne saying if they are not back in 3 days, she will set off to find them. On the first night of their trip, they are surprised at knifepoint by 3 bandits who want to take their supplies. Rick tries to fight them off, but he is overpowered and beaten. The bandits then say they are going to rape Carl because Rick tried to fight. Rick bites the neck of the bandit holding him back, killing him. This causes the bandit holding a knife to Abraham to get distracted and Abraham shoots him in the head. The third bandit tries to run away, but Rick chases him down and kills him.

The next morning, Abraham tells Rick that no one is the same after doing something like that. Abraham tells Rick that at the beginning to the zombie plague, he and a group of friends and neighbors banded together. After securing a grocery store, Abraham went out in search of more weapons. While he was gone, his friends raped his wife and daughter. In a fit of rage he killed the men who did it. After that, his wife and child were scared of him and ran away. After a day's pursuit he caught up with them, only to find that they had become zombies; he had to kill them. After Abraham finishes his story, Rick recounts how he killed Dexter and Martinez to protect his wife and son. Carl talks about how he killed Shane when Shane threatened Rick.

At long last, Rick, Abraham, and Carl reach Rick's hometown. There they find an unstable Morgan and a chained zombie Duane. Unwilling to kill his own son, he chained him to the floor and killed anyone who came to their house to feed him. Rick invites Morgan to come with them. Rick gives Morgan a gun, telling him to "do the right thing", meaning for him to shoot Duane and put him out of his misery. Morgan goes into the house and they hear a gunshot.They leave, not knowing that Morgan only shot through Duane's chain and Duane is now wandering outside with the rest of the zombies. Rick, Carl, Morgan and Abraham go to the police station to get the guns. After spending a sleepless night out in the open, they are driving along when they come to a 'herd' of hundreds of zombies. Rick drives as fast as he can to get through them, but hits an abandoned car. They escape on foot pursued by zombies. Rick and company escape the herd by tricking them into thinking they've occupied a house, they do this by searching around the house for electrical appliances that would make a large noise. This plan fails and they are pursued by the herd back to the gas station. In a state of panic, they declare that they must immediately leave and get back on the road. Dale is reluctant, because he's found an isolated farm house and wants to settle down and feels that Rick is continually putting the group into serious danger. Andrea convinces him to leave.

Volume 11: Fear The Hunters (Issues #61-#66)

The story begins with the survivors finding a van with mattresses inside. During the night Rick Grimes received a "call" from his wife Lori telling him they should speak about Carl Grimes but he puts the phone down immediately.

The following morning the twins are nowhere to be seen and Andrea heads into the forest to find them and stumbles upon the body of Billy, killed by Ben, however Ben says they shouldn't worry because he didn't destroy the brains. The group attempts to decide what they should do to Ben. Andrea storms off angry once they suggest killing him.

The group encounter another survivor, Father Gabriel Stokes. The father survived all this time by turning people away even when he heard them being killed by the zombies.

In the night, Carl sneaks out of the tent, opens the van and fatally shoots Ben.

After burying Ben and Billy the group leaves, however they are being watched by somebody. Carl gets into trouble after calling Morgan a cry baby and runs off encountering many zombies. After all the zombies are killed they find Dale asking for help however he tells the group he isn't injured. At night Dale decides to leave as he was indeed bitten and wants to save the group from having to kill him.

In the woods Dale is knocked unconscious by someone. In the morning while searching for Dale a zombie attacks Abraham but falls to the ground and isn't able to stand up. They decide to spend the night in Gabriel's church however they feel they are being watched. Dale wakes up to find his other leg missing. The group explains that they are The Hunters and they find people traveling alone and they ambush them and eat them. However Dale begins laughing hysterically and reveals he was bitten, the hunters yell he is "Tainted meat" and force themselves to throw up. The next morning outside the church the survivors find Dale. They go out to get him however when going back Glenn is shot through the leg. The group begins saying their good byes to Dale, and Andrea stays behind to shoot Dale in the head.  They later begin searching distance residential areas (guided by Gabriel) and eventually stumble upon "The Hunters." Originally only Rick confronts them, unarmed. They begin talking and one of them begins explaining why they do that and says that they also ate the children that were with them. When they decide to kill Rick, he mimics a pistol with his hand and Andrea shoots from a bush, injuring one of the hunter's ears and shooting another ones finger. They then spend the night murdering the hunters.

After they burn Dale's body, Rick begins talking with whom he believes to be Abraham about the horrible things they did, however it turns out to be Carl, who then confesses to shooting Ben.

Volume 12: Life Among Them (Issue #67-#72)

Upon searching for food with Carl, Rick discovers a town overrun by zombies and the two are forced to turn around. Carl and Rick have a heart to heart talk about why Carl killed Ben and what they both must do to protect each other. Carl says that Ben was his friend but he was a threat to everyone and he pointed out that Rick knew it yet no one was going to make the move.Rick is just hungry

After regrouping with the others, Rick wants to test out the long range walkie talkie, because he is convinced they are very close to Washington DC. Eugene is reluctant to do this, claiming that "its very delicate" and that he does not want to "use up the battery power". After a small fight over the device it is dropped on the ground revealing that there is no battery inside. Eugene admits that there were never any batteries inside. Furious, Abraham attacks Eugene in a rage, screaming about how people had died to bring Eugene to Washington because he thought he was important. Eugene defends himself by admitting that he has no positive qualities besides that he is a good liar and smart and tells the group he is sorry.

After cooling off Abraham and Rick talk about what to do now when suddenly another visitor comes to the group. The man is very calm and polite to them both introducing himself as Aaron and says that he was just listening in on their conversation. Rick does not trust the newcomer and knocks him down and ties him up although Abraham does not believe he is a threat.

Later, when the group has deemed Aaron safe enough and are heading towards his safe haven, they meet Eric. Upon his introduction, the group moves closer towards Alexandria, but find a flare gonig off in the sky. Abraham, Rick, and Aaron take the van down to help out the runners, Heath and Scott.

Scott has broken his leg by jumping building to building, and zombies are slowly swarming the area. As Rick and Aaron help Heath put Scott in the van, a party of Alexandrian survivors drive in and shoot most of the surrounding zombies. The group reaches the town of Alexandria and enter the gates.

Volume 13: Too Far Gone (Issue #73-#78)

Abraham Ford settles into work with the construction crew, headed off by Jessica Scott, Tobin, seemingly one of the only hardened men in the ranks of the Alexandria Safe-Zone community. Tobin reveals to him a feeling of strong cynicism in keeping with the survivors' general consensus that there is a 'fakeness' about the Alexandria Safe-Zone. In particular, Tobin expresses a leering distrust of Douglas Monroe, from his interview process to his placement of 'pretty girls' in positions that allow him to see them on regular occasions.  The work crew is attacked by a group of walkers. Tobin tells everyone to stay in "formation" but Abraham breaks off to save a woman named Holly, this bravery and skill impresses some of the work crew. Ford angrily condemed the idea that they had to allow some to die in order to save the larger group. So Abraham spurs the group to work quickly after the attack and put up more walls before more walkers swarm the area.

Later that day, Tobin discussed a change in leadership with Douglas, in which Tobin revealed that he felt very cowardly for allowing others to die and feels strongly that Abraham has earned the right to lead the work crew. Meanwhile, Morgan and Michonne's brief tryst lead to a feeling in regret for both parties. Morgan felt of himself as an adulterer, and Michonne felt as though he was too heavily burdened by this and many other ill-conceived principles. Elsewhere, Carl bitterly reminisced Lori's motherly love while Rick attempted to unsuccessfuly comfort him. During this time, Glenn successfully put Rick's plan of re-acquiring the survivors weapons into action, by infiltrating the armory during the party, and stealing back their guns. Glenn and Heath head into DC to scavenge for more supplies, especially antibiotics to help Scott. Their trek into the city is a little rough and they are disappointed to find that the alley Heath typically uses is full of walkers. Rick expresses his concerns about Pete to Michonne and she encourages him to do something about it. Father Gabriel continues to struggle with guilt and continues to cry, pray and ask the Lord for guidance.

Father Gabriel approaches Douglas to try and convince Douglas to expel Rick and his group from the compound. He tells Douglas that they are not good people and that they did horrible things before reaching the safety of Alexandria. Douglas turns him away, saying that everyone did what they had to survive, and that Gabriel should mind his own business.

Heath and Glenn continue to wait for the walkers to clear out of the roadway, spending the night on top of a building in hopes that they will clear out by morning. Unfortunately, the road is still overrun in the morning and they look on in horror as a group of men emerge from a building and push one of their own into the zombie crowd in order to escape.

Rick finds Pete sleeping on the porch of his house and becomes increasingly suspicious that all is not well in their household. After speaking with Michonne, Rick approaches Pete's wife Jessie to find out if there is domestic abuse happening. She confirms that Pete has been changing and has become increasingly violent. When Rick brings this information to Douglas he is reluctant to act on it because Pete is a doctor. Rick and Douglas argue and Rick storms off to confront Pete. The confrontation dissolves into violence. Douglas tries to intervene but Rick pulls a gun on him. Michonne hits Rick over the head and Rick realizes that he is out of control.

Begins in Washington DC with the gang (that Glen and Heath previously saw) hearing the motorcycle engines of Glen and Heath as they leave for the Alexandria Safe-Zone.

Michonne asks Maggie to keep Carl for the night as Rick has been detained for confronting Pete about abusing his wife and son. Rick has a long talk with Douglas. Douglas explains who Alexander Davidson was and how he was forced to expel him from the community, virtually sentencing Davidson to death. He warns Rick not to make him make the same decision again. Rick confesses that he has never wanted to be a leader. He tells Douglas about what happened with Shane outside of Atlanta and that Carl killed Shane to save him after Shane became angry that he was losing Lori to Rick. Andrea heads out for her first day at the bell tower. Rick is released by Douglas and goes to see Carl. Carl is angry that Rick left him alone again and dismisses his father. Douglas tells Rick that he may carry a weapon inside the compound and that he trusts Rick to do whatever it takes to keep the community safe. He tells Rick to feel free to break the rules in order to keep everyone safe but never to question his authority again. Michonne tells Rick to get himself together and Rick goes home to sleep.

After Carl walks in on Rick talking to Lori on his phone, Rick tries to explain to Carl why he has the phone and talks to Lori. Despite the antibiotics that Glenn and Heath salvaged from a pharmacy, Scott dies from his injuries. His body is dragged out and Michonne hammers a large nail through his head so he will not reanimate. Glenn argues with Maggie about their not having sex. Maggie explains she is still coming to terms with her attempted suicide. Andrea goes on a date but is unable to kiss the man because of memories of deceased Dale. As they are having dinner they see Pete Anderson walk by with a knife. Pete interrupts arguments with Douglas and Heath over whether Scott should have a funeral. Pete threatens to kill Rick. Regina Monroe gets between the two men and Pete slashes Regina's throat. Rick pulls his gun then gets permission from Douglas to kill Pete.

The next issue opens with a group of scavengers fighting off zombies. They are discussing their plans to go the Alexandria Safe-Zone. They decide to settle in for the night, and attack the next day. Back in the Safe-Zone, a gunshot is heard, and Glenn has an argument with Maggie on whether or not he needs to leave and see what the problem is.Glenn then meets up with Morgan, who is also going to see what happened. They meet with the community to see Rick, and other members telling them to go back to their homes. He announces the situation is under control and that what occured was a police matter. Rick goes to Jessie Anderson residence and talks to her. She reveals that she is relieved by Pete's death. Rick then asks Douglas to have a funeral for Pete, which Douglas isn't too happy about. Rick has a conversation with Andrea next, asking her if she will attend the funeral. She tells Rick that Tobin is going to take her to the tower, as funerals remind her of Dale. She goes on to say that she doesn't like to think about him.

Next, Heath appears at the funeral, paying tribute to Scott. The funeral is for Regina, Scott, and Pete. Father Gabriel Stokes introduces Rick to the altar, and Rick makes a speech about how people act differently during these hard times, and does not necessarily define who they are. He says that if it were not for this situation, neither he nor Pete would have done the things that they did, and that ultimately the situation is to blame. As he is saying that everybody should remember Pete for what he was, a gun shot is heard. Rick and others go to the gate to see who fired the shot. It is the scavengers shown at the beginning of the issue. Rick talks to the leader of the scavengers, Derek, as Abraham and others prepare with their weapons. Derek threatens Rick saying they are dangerous and desperate people who need to be let in. Rick refuses. A sniper from the attacking group aims at Rick, threatening him with the red dot on his chest. Then, Andrea shoots the group's sniper, and kills Derek as he's drawing his gun to shoot Rick. A shootout occurs between the two groups. The Safe-Zone community win the conflict, but attract hundreds of zombies with the sound of the battle. The issue ends after the shootout, and bodies are burned. Rick speaks with Douglas. Douglas says that Rick is the leader of the community now. Douglas says he has nothing left for the community of Alexandria, and the person they really need is Rick.

Volume 14: No Way Out (Issue #79-#84)

Andrea walks in on Pete and Heath wearing little clothes.  Heath explains to Andrea that he and the Doctor are in a relationship. While Eric is being fixed, Aaron tells Rick that an unknown woman stabbed Eric and stole their horse. Later, Aaron tries to explain about the loss of one of the horses to Maggie, but she interrupts him and forgives him anyway. He goes to talk to Douglas and discuss the decision to put Rick in control. He informs Douglas that he won't bring any more people.

Rick tells that Eric is better and Andrea leaves so Tobin can drive her to the tower, because now it is more important than ever to keep an eye on what's going on. Morgan apologizes to Michonne in response to the fact that he can't deal with his wife's death. Carl is pleased with the assault because now everyone realizes that they're still in danger. Snow begins to fall outside the compound.

Abraham rallies a group to take out the zombies outside the walls that were attracted by the gunshots from the previous shoot out. They split up into two groups to take out the zombies on both sides but, when they gather back at the front, they discover that a massive herd of the beasts has arrived. One of the zombies bites Bruce, and Abraham kills him in mercy. He and Holly dispute over this, and it ends with her forgiving him, hinting towards an affair.

Rick reunites the community and makes a speech about increasing the security. He also suggests consolidating people inside fewer houses to conserve the solar grid during the winter. Michonne invites Morgan to join her night patrol, and also removes her katana from retirement.

Rick gives Carl a new gun and later that night, Jessie and Ron go to Rick's house and ask to sleep there for one night. Ron confronts Carl about Rick killing his father and Carl admits that both he himself and his dad killed only those that they had to. Jessie admits that she admires Rick for his courage and selflessness. Rick goes on his patrol, and retires to bed afterwards. Jessie then enters his room and kisses him passionatly. In next issue, Rick answers to her kiss.

Otherside, Glenn has woken up but tells Maggie to go back to sleep. Also Michonne and Morgan are awake, and Morgan says he deserves to be happy. Michonne becomes insulting and says he's not the only one who has lost somebody. She tells him how Tyreese died, and says it is horrible that Duane died. She goes to get some water.

Rick and Jessie have sex, and Rick leaves her to sleep. Rick tells her Ron didn't hear, and goes away. He goes by his room, where the phone he's been talking is. He says "Lori... You're not even real", and leaves.

Outside, Rick discovers the fence is giving up. Zombies are trying to get in. Tobin is holding the fence, and Rick tries to think what to do. Glenn says he, Heath and Spencer are going to look over Andrea, who needs supplies, like water. At the journey they could also treat some zombies away from the fences.

Glenn's group succesfully lands in to building's roof, where Andrea is. The fence is giving up, and zombies got in. Tobin tells Holly to get some people, when he keeps them off. Holly runs to Rick's apartment, and tells him they got in. Rick tells Jessie and others to stay there, and tells Holly to get some other survivors. Rick runs for Tobin; only to discover he's been entirely eaten by zombies. Morgan comes to help Rick, and he asks where are others. Morgan doesn't know, and notes there's too many of them. Suddenly, Morgan gets bitten in the arm, and falls down.

In next issue, Issue 82, Rick forces Morgan to get on his feet. He gets, and Michonne arrives to the place. Rick tells her they have to take his arm off, and Michonne cuts it off instantly. Morgan is about to black out, and Abraham with a group of survivors arrives to help them. Abraham tells them to get Morgan to safety, and Rick tells that they have to get him to Rick's house.

Glenn, Andrea, Heath and Spencer notice the zombies pouring into the town, and Glenn comes to the realization out loud that they are doomed. Abraham and the rest start killing off the zombies, and realize with horror that there are not enough people and too many zombies.

Denise patches up an unconscious Morgan's shoulder where he lost his arm, and tells Michonne that she has done all she can and does not know if he will pull through. Michonne calls Morgan a fool and sits sorrowfully beside him.

Rick is about to walk Denise back to her place when Maggie runs into the house, holding Sophia and ordering everyone to hide and keep quiet. Rick looks outside and sees that the zombies have taken over the streets in town and are wandering around everywhere. Meanwhile, Abraham gives up trying and orders everyone to get back to their houses and hide.

Back in Rick's house, Carl is asked to stay with Morgan in case he reanimates. Morgan reveals that he knows he will die, and asks to speak with Carl before he does. He tells Carl that he watched him kill Ben. He reassures him that it was the right thing to do, and praises Carl. He tells Carl of how important this time is for him, growing up and becoming who he will be. He mistakenly calls him Duane, and then cries as Carl cautiously puts his hand on his gun.

Outside the town, Andrea tries to plan out how they will get inside the walls and save the townspeople. Spencer suggests that the two of them leave together and abandon everyone else. Andrea punches him and storms away, ending their brief friendship.

Rick decides that his group will make a run for it until they are outside the walls. Jessie doesn't want to leave the rest of the townspeople behind, but Rick assures her they will think of a way to help everyone else once they are out, but for now, they had to think of themselves and their children first.

Michonne sits beside Morgan and apologizes for being so harsh about his difficulty getting over the deaths of his family. She reveals that she cannot open up to people, and locks her emotions away. She tells him how much she cares for him, and asks her to forgive him, but after no response from Morgan, she realizes that he is dead.

Before the group can get packed up, Maggie tells him that she and Sophia are staying behind, because they'll have a better chance for survival. Rick gets an idea to make the escape safer, and pulls in a zombie from outside.

Andrea decides that her group will lure the the zombies away from the walls until they're thinned out. Michonne kills Morgan again to keep him from reanimating, and joins the rest downstairs to tell them. Rick starts to chop the zombie to peices and explains that it will keep them unnoticed because of the smell. Denise refuses to rub the body on herself, so Michonne goes with her to defend her from the roamers. Rick, Jessie, Carl and Ron, covered in the dead flesh, walk through the crowd of roamers while holding hands. Meanwhile, Douglas steps out of his house with a gun, planning to commit suicide.

On the way through the crowd, Ron panics and draws the attention of a roamer who bites him. Rick orders Jessie to leave him, but she refuses and the zombies overwhelm her as well. Rick turns away while Jessie screams and begs him not to leave her. Rick hesistates, but only after he realizes that she won't let go of Carl's hand. He chops her hand off with his ax and he and Carl run away. Michonne leaves Denise and runs to kill some of the excited dead. Douglas decides to help by shooting them. Rick warns him to stop and Denise runs to safety in her house. Douglas is bitten and he begins firing the gun at random until he dies. Rick looks around and sees that Carl has been shot in the face. He collapses and a horrified Rick picks him up and runs for Denise's house.

Denise answers the door and Rick pleads for her to save him. After leaving him there, he runs back out with more energy than ever and he and Michonne continue killing off the dead.

While still in hiding, Abraham, Rosita, Eugene, Aaron, Eric, and others see Rick and Michonne trying to fight off the frenzy and they all decide to go help. With all the help, the fight turns into a battle and the zombies begin to thin out more and more until there are only a few stragglers, to the amazement of everyone. Although exhausted, the town continues to kill them off. Andrea and Glenn make it to the opening in the wall and are stunned at the peoples' success.

Rick sits down beside an unconscious Carl after it all and explains to him what he has realized, that the dead aren't much of a threat when there are so many people working as a team, who can prepare and organize like they did today. He tells Carl that he has discovered a chance for hope after all this time, and that he feels as though they are in a new world. He then pleads for Carl to wake up and experience this new world with him.

Volume 15: We Find Ourselves (Issue #85-#90)

The zombie invasion in Alexandria Safe-Zone has ended. Abraham, Glenn, Spencer, Aaron and the rest of the residents are cleaning the yard. Abraham states that the process will take forever. Glenn says they have to pile a new fire on. Abraham agrees and tells him to keep it away from the yards. Suddenly, Glenn notices zombified Jessie.

Undead Jessie stands up, and tries to reach Glenn with her hacked arm. Abraham tells Glenn to kill her before Rick sees her. Glenn isn't sure, and Abraham takes out his gun and shoots her. Abraham moans about having to do everything. Glenn asks where Rick is anyway, and Abraham thinks he's with Carl.

Rick is with Carl. Denise tells Rick he should eat sem a chance to escape. Denise is shocked and starts to cry. Rick further laments that the actions he took to save Carl may have been in vain, given that Carl ended up being shot moments later. Rick asks Denise to not tell anyone about their discussion, and Denise agrees.

At the yard, Andrea and Spencer are talking. Spencer asks Andrea out on a date, but she is dismissive of the topic, indicating that she doesn't want to discuss the matter now (given that she is in the middle of disposing of bodies). Spencer apologizes and helps her. Glenn and Maggie finally see each other. Glenn apologises for leaving her, but Maggie understands. She feels bad for anyone they lost, and Glenn says it's survivor's guilt. They hug and Glenn says he loves Maggie.

Abraham attempts to have a conversation with Rosita about the events that occurred that day. Rosita is non-responsive, and Abraham asks what's wrong. Suddenly, Rosita confronts Abraham over his affair with Holly. Abraham becomes speechless.

Later, everyone is having a funeral for Tobin, Morgan, Douglas, Jessie and Ron. Rick says they'll be missed.

Afterwards, Rick, admits to the group that he's been thinking about things all wrong. He remarks on how he originally thought that he would be better off alone and was wary of larger groups. Rick states that it was only "safety in numbers" that kept him around in the past. Now, however, Rick's mind has changed. He now recognizes the true potential of the group, and believes that they can accomplish a lot together as a community.

First of all, Rick recommends building a maze for roamers. Eugene says they could make walls more secure by packing some dirt against them. Michonne adds that if the dirt is packed high enough, then a walkway could be built around the perimeter to take care of roamers. Abraham recommends that everyone carry weapons from now on and receive training on how to use them. Rick confirms that these all are good ideas, and suggests that the group meet regularly to discuss these sorts of matters.

Aaron tells the group that he's done with recruiting because it's too dangerous. Heath suggests to have more people on the supply runs so they could reach more areas. Glenn says it might be good to have more community events. He would like to know everyone by name. Rick thinks these are more good suggestions, and thinks they could later make the Safe-Zone larger, and farm. Rick tells everyone to focus on the re-established civilization. He thinks the very first steps have been taken today.

Abraham arrives to his house, only to see Rosita is leaving. Abraham tells her he's sorry, and Rosita sarcastically tells him she hadn't realized that a simple apology would make it all better. Abraham tells her that he is not sorry about cheating on her, he is just sorry that he hurt her in the process. Abraham goes on to explain that when he first met Rosita, she fulfilled a need for him after his wife had died. Eventually, however, he found himself thinking about the possibility that Rosita wasn't the last woman on earth - now, of course, he's realized that she is not. Rosita curses him and leaves.

Rick sits beside Carl's bed in the infirmary, telling him about the possibilities with the community, and how he is taking this new approach in hopes of providing Carl with a better future. Rick then questions himself for telling this to Carl when Carl is still not conscious and probably can't hear him anyhow. Andrea interrupts and Rick apologizes to her for talking to himself. Andrea assures Rick that she understands, and that no apology is necessary. Andrea gives Rick some food, and they talk about Carl's condition. Andrea thinks Carl is healing. Rick, however, says that he can't imagine Carl waking up, and even thinks that Carl will die. Suddenly, Carl starts to cough.

Rick and Andrea have noticed that Carl has coughed and moved. Rick asks Andrea if she saw it and she did, but says he's not coming back yet, he barely moved. Rick is happy he didn't imagine it and runs for Denise, who is with Heath outside Carl's room, and tells her Carl moved. Denise asks in what manner was he moving, goes over to him and says it could mean anything. Denise asks Rick and the others to leave for a minute. They leave and Rick tells Andrea he's fine.

Heath is going to get some water for Andrea and Denise returns. Rick asks her about Carl and she says he's stable but still comatose. Carl was lucky, the bullet didn't hurt him badly. She doesn't know yet when he'll wake up and what condition he'll be in. Carl still isn't out of the woods.

At Eugene's house, Rosita knocks on the door, and says she needs a place to stay for a while. Eugene lets her in and asks why. Rosita says she had to get away from Abraham before she "kills" him, because he's been cheating on her with Holly. Eugene apologizes and asks why she wanted to come over his house. Rosita states that though he caused many deaths and lied all the time, he's the only friend she has.

Rick is still with Carl in the evening. Denise tells him he should go sleep in his own house and that she'll wake him up if Carl makes a move. Heath pops in and asks if everything is okay. Rick apologizes and leaves the two alone. He makes a trip to the graves, and meets Michonne sticking her katana into Morgan's grave. Rick apologizes, but Michonne says he doesn't have to. Rick says he missed Morgan too, but wasn't able to say goodbye to him. Michonne says she doesn't want to see people reanimate, and would have lived with Morgan the rest of her life. She asks if that is funny, but Rick says everyone wants a relationship. Michonne disagrees and doesn't think she'll ever be happy, starts to say something about Rick and Jessie, but stops short, and says it's getting late.

At morning, Rick, Abraham, Nicholas, Spencer and Eugene are outside of the walls. While Rick is complaining about people being chased, Eugene asks about the dirt in the walls, and it might take it's own time. Rick says time isn't their biggest problem, and wants to live in the safe-zone when Carl is in his thirties. Spencer thinks Rick's a good leader, and they hear shooting. Rick tells everyone to stay put and sprints to see what is happening.

It's Andrea, Heath, Maggie, Olivia, Aaron and Eric shooting zombies. Rick didn't remember Andrea was there, when the rest of party were mapping defenses. Andrea says they'll stop shooting soon, but Rick thinks they should fire a few more shots when they see an approaching crowd of zombies.

Everyone in the line gets scared and Andrea tells them not to panic. Olivia says she's not ready, and Andrea tells her get ready. She says this is about life and death. Zombies are not dying, and Andrea says she'll take it from there. She shoots all the zombies. She kills the final zombie and says they have to let it get close to shoot it more easily. Everyone is impressed about her shooting skills as they pack up and leave.

As Rick and Andrea walk he asks her if she can believes she's become a teacher of shooting. Andrea doesn't believe it even herself. When she first used a gun, it felt alien. She thinks aloud wondering what Shane would say if he could see her today. She apologizes to Rick after she said it. Rick says she doesn't have to, Shane was his best friend, and even with all that happened, he still misses him. Rick says he doesn't dwell on the past, because it's painful. If they just dwell and dwell, they're going to get killed. Lastly, he says he still misses Lori. Andrea says it's okay. Rick says he's so accustomed to the moment, and living day by day. that he became blind to how difficult it makes life.

While Rick is talking about safety in numbers, he starts to think he isn't making any sense, but Andrea understands. Rick keeps talking. He goes on to say they have been through a lot together, and that Andrea has been there for him. Andrea says they have been there for each other. Rick says keeping Lori and Carl safe is what drove his decisions. He's not saying he disliked any of the original group, but he just cared more about his family. Andrea understands, but he says his actions were inexcusable.

Rick says he has overlooked the most important thing in this world; community. If he watches the group, they help keep Carl alive. Like the new barrier they made, it's the key, and that is how they are going to live in this world. Rick says he's going to be a better person from now on. Andrea agrees, and asks if he thinks things are going to go well. Rick tells her to look at the Alexandria Safe-Zone, and says it's going to work.

Andrea hopes Rick is right, things are going to work here. Rick tells her if they're not going work, they will make them work. Rick asks if Andrea is going to pick back up tomorrow morning, and she agrees. Rick is going to see Carl, who's still in coma. Andrea asks Rick if he minds if she tags along.

Abraham asks Aaron and Eric to cover the gates so they are fully secured and locked. Abraham tries to speak to Rosita, but instead she ignores him and curses him. She goes right to Eugene and tells him she's making some food for them. Eugene thinks it's a good idea and they leave. Aaron is surprised that Abraham and Rosita aren't in a relationship anymore. Abraham says it's not an issue, but Aaron thinks Abraham is staring at Rosita's butt like it's an issue. Abraham glares at him and Aaron apologizes and says he took it too far.

At Denise's house, she tells Rick and Andrea that Carl has a good heart rate and his vital signs are just where they are suppose to be. She says 'things are looking good.' Rick is confused by this, and asks when he's waking up. Denise tells Rick she's not a brain surgeon, but she says Carl's brains are developing. She's optimistic that he will wake up, but doesn't know when. Andrea tries to comfort Rick and says she would like to have Rick to dinner, it seems like Andrea could have crush on Rick.

Abraham goes to his house, and discovers Holly. He tells her he's been busy, and that he saw her today. Holly said she hasn't seen Abraham in days, and didn't mean seen by twinkling. Abraham tells her that a lot is going on, but she knows this. Holly says why didn't he tell her Rosita has moved, she had found out from Olivia that Rosita is staying with Eugene, and she asks if he's feeling lonely on his own. Abraham, in a furious rage, tells her he's dealing with a lot here, and just needs some time. Holly is about to leave and says Abraham could take all time he needs.

Abraham tells her to wait and says Holly was perfect when he was with Rosita, and strong, and she didn't need protection. Abraham says he was dying to be with Holly, and feels guilty about cheating on Rosita. He feels sorry for Rosita, Holly yells at him about wanting her back. Abraham didn't mean that, what he meant was that he feels pity for Rosita. He feels good right now, but he shouldn't feel that way. Lastly, Abraham holds Holly's hand and tells her to get inside.

Rick is eating with Andrea. Rick thanks her, but Andrea says it's nothing. Andrea asks can't Rick taste what the food is, and he says it's beef jerky. Rick thinks it's good. After eating, Rick goes to Jessie's and Ron's graves. Rick apologises to both and tells he should have not dragged them outside. Lastly, he says every child is not like Carl, and leaves.

Again, Rick goes to his house, and grabs the phone, to hear Lori's voice. He hears it, and wants to hear her voice. Lori doesn't want to talk to him, and Lori says he should look at what happened to Carl and it's his fault it happened, and it's his fault Lori and Judith died. Lastly, she says it should have been Rick who should have got shot in the head. Rick gets surprised and closes the phone "call".

Michonne, Abraham and others are cleaning the zombie horde. After all are killed, Rick tells everyone to go get the signal. Rick asks Eugene if he's up for this, and he is, hoping he might lose some weight. Rick tells Glenn to keep an eye on the things, they can get dangerous very fast. Glenn says he's on it.

Rick praises Michonne of the good job, and she thanks Rick. Rick asks her feelings, and she asks how long does it take that Rick realises he already knows the answer. Michonne lastly answers, that she's getting by. Rick agrees. Michonne thinks it's nice that someone cares about her.

Abraham gathers up some people, for digging. He tells not to get too focused on the digging. He tells where to dig and where to put the pile-ups. All gets started. Nicholas asks Heath what are they doing, and why are they taking orders from Abraham and others. He asks who died and left them in charge. Heath reminds him Douglas did. Heath says the things weren't fine before they arrived, and asks what is wrong with Nicholas. Nicholas thinks they were better off them, and reminds Heath of Rick stealing a gun.

Heath says Rick was just protecting his people, and reminds Nicholas of the scavengers. The "Crazy assholes" saved their life. Nicholas still thinks they could have handle that. Heath disagrees, and reminds him of Andrea, who has perfect sharpshooting skills. Heath thinks they were just waiting for death inside of the walls. Heath is happy that Douglas put Rick on charge. Abraham asks is everything okay, and Nicholas says it is.

Olivia calls Rick into her house, and tells the news. Maggie and Sophia are checking the food situation. Olivia says the food is going low, and winter is starting. Olivia thinks they should send a team to find them food and equipment. Rick thanks Olivia and tells they might send a team maybe tomorrow. Maggie catches Rick and tells him not to send Glenn out, he's been gone far enough. He agrees, and Rick says Heath knows better the places than he does, and he won't send him. Maggie is relieved.

Rick asks Denise for any news about Carl, and she says he's still asleep. Andrea feels guilt for not being on the overwatch, and Rick tells her Abraham and others have it covered. Denise rushes out of her house, and tells Rick to get in, Carl has moved.

Denise can't say nothing for sure, but Carl starts to speak. He asks "dad", and Rick is relieved to hear his voice. Denise tells him not to touch his wound, and Carl asks what happened to him. Everyone seems to be happy, until Carl asks "Where's mom?"

Carl wakes up and he then asks where his mother is. Rick, Andrea and Denise are looking at him. Carl asks Denise who she is, and she then identifies herself. She also tells Carl that he had been shot. Carl seems sad before his father hugs him and tells it's okay. He tells Carl things are little 'fuzzy', and that he'll explain everything to him later. Rick is then relieved to see Carl alive.

Later, Denise asks how's Rick is doing. Rick swiftly asks how is Carl and Denise tells him that he is eating with Andrea. After an awkward silence, Denise tells him that Carl's cognitive skills seem intact. Denise has tested him extensively and says there is no cause for alarm. Denise thinks his memory gaps might come back on it's own. Rick asks what he is suppose to do. Denise asks what he means, then Rick answers how he's going to tell Carl Lori is dead. Rick says he's happy to see him alive, but to get him back the way he was, he would have to turn around and break his heart. He asks her if it is ever easy.

Andrea walks to her home. Spencer is at her door and tells her it 'sucks' when the phones don't work. Instead of that, he came over to talk to her and asks how does she announce herself now. Rather than looking for her, he decided just to wait at her doorstep. Spencer then mentions he fell asleep. Andrea asks what does he want. Spencer wants nothing more but to talk, but Andrea has nothing to say to him. Spencer asks why, and thinks it's the comment he said in the middle of the Alexandria Safe-Zone chaos. Also, he thinks she thinks Spencer cared more about their lives than the lives of others in the Zone. Andrea tells Spencer she gets that, and she mentioned a lot to him, but it's over. Spencer still thinks they had something special, but then Andrea tells him they didn't. Spencer asks what makes her say that, and says he could show in a matter of time they have something compatible. Andrea tells him to get off of her porch, and he leaves.

Carl asks Rick how long does he have to stay in his bed, and Rick tells him Denise is keeping an eye on him for a while. Carl is starting to remember things. When Carl asks where's his mother, Rick responds she died. Carl doesn't seem very surprised, and asks how she died. Rick says she and Judith were shot. Carl asks who's Judith, and Rick says she was Carl's baby sister.

Rick asks Carl if is sad, but he isn't. He feels like Lori was always gone. He doesn't remember Judith, and says it's sad she died. He says he misses Amy, Carol, Tyreese, Morgan, Jessie and Ron. Rick asks does he remember Jessie and Ron, and he does. Rick says he was with them, when they got attacked. Carl says he's tired, and Rick leaves him to sleep. Abraham comes to see Rick and tells him he heard the good news. Rick says he's sleeping and he needs sleep also. Abraham tells him to sleep. Rick can't, because Olivia told him they're running low on food. They need to gather a group, and go get some. Rick asks him to gather up a group, but Abraham thinks they're not running out of food today, so they could go find some tomorrow, or they'll send Glenn and Heath. Rick tells him Glenn can't be sent, and he wants to go with the group. Abraham asks why, and Rick tells him Maggie told him not to, and says she's right.

Rick wants to go, because he wants to search the area around them for residences and food. He wants to go in a safe, big, and secure group who could watch each other's backs. They won't need any more than a day because they will only search the few blocks around them. The trip needs to be done now or it yields nothing. Besides, Carl is sleeping, so he could be away for the time he sleeps, and he has forgetten a lot of things. Abraham understands.

In the hospital, Rick asks Denise to keep an eye on Carl, and tells her he's going to search for food. Denise reminds Rick that Carl is his son, and asks why would he do this. Rick becomes speechless, and leaves and asks her to watch over him.

Glenn asks Rick why he said to Abraham he can't go with. Rick tells him it's Maggie and she wants him to sit this one out. Glenn understands. Rick explains what they're doing, and would feel better if he'd sit this one out. Glenn says he'll 'do a patrol or something.' Abraham comes to tell them the gate is ready. Rick thanks Glenn.

Andrea, Michonne, Holly, Aaron, Eric, Abraham and Rick are ready to go. Spencer wishes them good luck, but Andrea doesn't feel comfortable. Rick asks what's going on between them, and Andrea tells him absolutely nothing.

Rick thinks most of the zombies are frozen like the last winter. Rick tells everyone to check out the stores, and stay in shouting distance of each other. Abraham reminds how dangerous zombies can be. Eric finds a bag of potato chips, and Aaron finds nothing. Andrea goes to see what Rick's doing and finds him crying in the office private room. Andrea asks what's wrong.

Spencer and Nicholas are in a truck, and parking it. Nicholas tells Olivia to get in there. Nicholas tells them Heath is 'overly trusting' Rick more than he thought, and tells what he was talking about. Spencer asks what he's saying, and Nicholas tells they have to make their move so Rick's group won't win everyone else on their side. Nicholas says if they leave them in charge long enough they'll be the death of all of them.

Nicholas, Olivia and Spencer (mostly Nicholas) conspire to kill Rick. Glenn hears everything, and Nicholas notes "this shouldn't go down this way". Rick asks Andrea if it was worth it to keep Carl alive, because he fears for his mental health as he displayed no emotion over hearing that his mother has died with his sister.

Glenn tries to protect himself from Nicholas with a gun (Glenn had no intention to fire the weapon). Nicholas grabs his weapon and starts to hit him. Olivia tries to stop him, but Nicholas keeps hitting Glenn. Lastly, he pulls Glenn's gun to his head. Glenn kicks Nicholas in the stomach and is able to escape. He runs to his house and tells Maggie and Sophia to lock themselves into the bathroom.

Heath asks Nicholas what he is doing. Nicholas calls him a traitor. Nicholas notes he's the only one thinking clearly. Nicholas says everything was perfect before Rick, who 'took the place over.' Spencer and Heath aren't very pleased about Nicholas' speech, and Nicholas says "if you're not with me, you're with Rick." Glenn tells Nicholas not to threaten his family and pulls Maggie's gun to his head. Rick and the rest arrive and asks why is Nicholas trying to take the place back. Rick points a gun to Nicholas' head and tells him he has no idea who is he talking to. 

Rick is able to defuse the stand-off with Nicholas. Nicholas puts down his gun. Rick advises Nicholas to come talk if there's an issue in the future, to which he agrees to.

Rick asks Denise about how Carl is doing, she tells him that Carl is awake and well. Rick visits Carl and asks if he wants to go home. While heading home, Carl asks Rick if he would be sad if he died; Rick says he would be devastated and tells him to stop being so tough because it's his job as a father to protect Carl.

Nicholas meets up with Rick and tells him he's not crazy, but scared and felt justified standing up for the survival of his family and the Alexandria Safe-Zone. 

Holly tells Abraham that he would be a better leader of the Alexandria Safe-Zone than Rick.

Maggie talks to Glenn about how she can't live in danger anymore, before running off crying.

Andrea visits Rick's house and asks how Carl is doing. Rick comes down and talks to Andrea about wanting to kill Nicholas because of his stupidity. Rick confesses to Andrea that he feels like he died a long time ago, but she tells him, "Don't you think it's about time you came back to life?" Rick and Andrea then embrace in a kiss. 

Cast of characters

Name	Description	Status	Series Lifespan
Rick Grimes	Rick is the story's primary protagonist; Kirkman has stated that the series is intended to focus on him and cover his life, and presumably if Rick dies, the series will wrap up shortly thereafter. He was a small-town police officer within Kentucky living with his wife Lori and son Carl. At the beginning of the series, Rick is wounded in a shoot-out with an escaped convict, and put into a coma. Upon awakening, Rick literally woke up to a nightmare; he found the hospital, his neighborhood, and the entire world has been overrun by the walking dead. Upon meeting up with the survivor group outside of Atlanta, which includes his family, Rick was initially highly idealistic. As months pass, however, the zombie apocalypse, as well as the growing number of deaths amongst the survivors (recently his wife and new born daughter), takes a clear psychological toll on him. While he suffers a continual psychological breakdown, Rick remains a prominent leader in the group (but mostly against his will), and continues to survive against all odds.	Living	#1-present
Shane Walsh	Shane was a small-town police officer and best friend of Rick. After Rick is shot and put into a coma, and the dead begin to rise, Shane accompanies Lori and Carl to Atlanta to find shelter, and later formed a group of survivors living on the outskirts of the city, with Shane repeatedly preaching the government would one day return to save them. Shane was initially overjoyed when Rick joined the group, but gradually became jealous of Rick and Lori getting back together. This was because, while on the way to Atlanta, Shane became closer to Lori, who had grown emotionally-upset and desperate after "abandoning" the comatose Rick at the hospital. Eventually, Lori was so desperate for closeness, she had a passionate night of sex with Shane on the highway to Atlanta, something Shane wanted for a long time. Eventually, Lori brushed off Shane's advances and said their romance had to stop. Sent into an emotional meltdown by Lori siding with Rick, Shane lured Rick into the nearby woods to shoot him dead, only to be shot in the neck by Carl, and dies seconds later from choking on his own blood. Possibly the biological father of Rick and Lori's second child, Judith.	Dead	#1-#6,#7,#37
Morgan Jones	A father hiding out with his son in houses in Rick's neighborhood, attempting to ride out the zombie apocalypse. Upon meeting Rick, Morgan and Rick instantly formed a friendship, as well as Morgan bringing him up to speed on current events as best as he can. After being provided with weapons from the police station, Morgan and Rick part ways, one day hoping to meet each other again. Much later, at Christmas, Morgan and Duane are seen alive and living in a cabin on a snowy mountain, in safety and relative comfort. Rick re-encountered the two, but found that Morgan is alive but Duane has turned into a zombie. Before leaving with Rick, Morgan broke Duane's chain, allowing him to roam freely within the house. Since joining Rick's group, Morgan has exhibited signs of severe mental illness and self-harming behaviors.	Dead	#1-84
Duane Jones	A son hiding out with his father in houses in Rick's neighborhood, attempting to ride out the zombie apocalypse. After meeting Rick and being provided with weapons from the police station, he and Duane part ways, one day hoping to meet each other again. Much later, at Christmas, Morgan and Duane are seen alive and living in a cabin on a snowy mountain, in safety and relative comfort. Rick re-encountered the two, but found that Morgan is alive but Duane has turned into a zombie. Morgan left with Rick, leaving Duane to roam freely within the house. The name "Duane Jones" was the author's homage to the African American actor of the same name who was the main protagonist in "Night of the Living Dead" (1968).	Undead	#1-59
Glenn	Glenn was a pizza delivery boy in massive debt, to the point he almost lost everything and would have forced him to crawl back to his estranged parents for help. His hopes for anything to get him out of it came true, in a way, when the dead began to rise. Glenn joined the survivor group living on the outer limits of the city, and served as their primary supply source by frequently venturing into town and scavenging much-needed supplies, becoming quickly adept at evading and fighting off zombies. On one of his outings, he rescues and befriends Rick, as well as informing him of latest details concerning the government's collapse. Much later, Glenn finds emotional comfort with Maggie Greene. Initially their relationship was purely sexual; but later blossomed into something more serious. Eventually they are married by Maggie's father. He was eventually killed by Negan in an attempt to break Rick.	Dead	#2-#100
Lori Grimes	Lori was the wife of Rick and mother of Carl. After Rick was wounded in a shoot-out, and put into a coma, the dead began to rise. Lori eventually took Carl to assumed safety in Atlanta, where her parents lived, accompanied by Shane. Along the way, Lori became increasingly emotionally-upset and desperate, due to the extreme guilt for "abandoning" the comatose Rick at the town's hospital. Eventually, Lori was so desperate for closeness, she had a passionate night of sex with Shane on the highway to Atlanta, which she immediately regretted. Upon arriving in Atlanta, and finding the city overrun by the undead, Shane forms a group of survivors and encamps outside the city limits, and eventually Rick joins them there. The group leaves for safer areas of habitation after several survivors, including Shane, die. The tenuous situation worsens when Lori discovers she is pregnant, but was advised by Dale not to say anything to Rick about her encounter with Shane. At one point, during the group's stay at the prison, Lori attempted to reveal the truth to Rick, but he implored her not to, as the truth could kill him. Lori gave birth to a daughter, Judith, at the prison. Shortly afterwards, Lori and Judith were killed in the final stages of the attack on the prison by the Woodbury Army. It is unknown whether or not Lori and Judith were re-animated into the undead. Rick is currently hallucinating that he can "hear" Lori's voice on the other end of an inactive phone he carries, apparently communicating from the afterlife. Rick, however, knows that this is a sign of his growing madness.	Dead	#2-#48,#51
Carl Grimes	Carl is the son of Rick and Lori and brother (possibly half-brother) of Judith. While only 7-years-old when the dead began to rise, Carl quickly became adapted to the new world, proving himself an expert marksman and world-weary, similar to his father. He is the playmate, and later "boyfriend" of Sophia.	Living	#2-present
Allen	Allen was the big-bearded husband of Donna and father of twins Billy and Ben. Before the dead rose, Allen was a shoe salesman gradually falling into debt. After the dead rose, Allen and his family joined the group of survivors encamped on the outer limits of Atlanta. Upon leaving, Allen suffered terribly when Donna was killed by zombies, sending him into a downward emotional spiral that he never truly recovers from. With time, he gradually gained a sense of acceptance, but this new-found peace was short-lived; Allen was bitten on the foot by a zombie, while helping the others clear out the remaining areas of the prison the group was staying in. In an effort to contain the infection, Rick made a violent and botched attempt at amputation. After a long struggle for survival against bloodloss, and serious infections setting in, Allen died. After being shot in the head by Rick before he could reanimate, his body was buried outside the prison.	Dead	#2-#23
Donna	Donna was the wife of Allen and mother of twins Billy and Ben. Strong-willed, loving and caring to her family, Donna made all the big decisions in her relationship with her husband, while leaving the financial responsibilities with Allen. After the dead rose, Donna and her family joined the group of survivors encamped on the outer limits of Atlanta, where she made a point of resenting that the women of the group (herself, Carol and Lori) had to take care of most of the group's domestic chores (e.g. laundry). Shortly after, when the group attempted to settle at Wiltshire Estates, Donna is killed by a zombie and her body devoured by more of the undead, leaving Allen permanently devastated.	Dead	#3-#9
Billy and Ben	Allen and Donna's twin sons. Said to be rambunctious, they play little part in the series to date. They are unofficially adopted by Dale and Andrea. They don't seem to understand what is happening in the world as it is.In Vol. 11 Ben Killed his brothe Billy" Don't Worry he's going to come back, I didn't hurt his brains." As he told Andrea. Later that night Carl sneeks out and finds Ben" Are you scared of me?" said Ben. "no" said Carl a gun shoot is hurd....Carl killed Ben	Dead	#3-#61
Dale Horvath	Dale is an older Caucasian 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. Despite their massive age difference, Dale began a sexual relationship with Andrea, beginning while he was consoling her following Amy's death. Despite his advanced age, Dale is remarkably strong and fit and (obviously) experienced, and even survived being bitten on one of his ankles by a zombie and the subsequent amputation without infection from the zombie virus. Dale effectively became new leader following the prison assault, after Rick declared "I'm through" with making decisions.	Dead	#3-66
Jim	Jim was a mechanic living with a large family in Atlanta. When the dead began to rise, Jim remained generally unaware of this until the city, decreed a safe zone by the government, gradually started to become overrun with the undead. Jim was among the few who escaped from the city as it was completely overwhelmed, though his entire family died in the chaos, shielding him from the zombies long enough to allow him to escape. Emotionally traumatized and devastated, when Jim joined the survivor group just beyond the city's outer limits, Jim became the most taciturn member of the group, revealing almost nothing about his past and barely saying a word. During a zombie attack on the group, Jim, failing to kill one with his gun, grapples with a zombie and violently smashes its head in, his rage over his family's death driving him momentarily insane. After coming to his senses, he found the zombie, before dying, had bitten him, taking a massive chunk of flesh out of his arm. Jim suffered the effects of the zombie plague for days. Refusing a mercy killing or staying with the group (as he knew he didn't have a chance), Jim was willingly abandoned at the entrance to Atlanta, in the hopes that, upon reanimating, he could be reunited with the undead members of his family that may still exist.	Undead	#3-#6
Carol Peletier	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. She also cuts her wrist, but it is unknown whether it was a suicide attempt or to dull the pain of the world around her. Carol also had been pushing the issue to have a polygamy or plural marriage with Rick and Lori. After being shot down by Lori, she takes a liking to Billy (unknown whether it was for sex, comfort, or she truly liked him), which leads to a one-night stand, after which she successfully commits suicide by letting herself get bitten by a zombie.	Dead	#3-#42
Sophia Peletier	Carol's daughter Sophia is a young girl whose father was killed by zombies. She is Carl's playmate & childhood "girlfriend". Her mental status is called into question following the prison assault by Carl, who finds that, to cope with her grief of losing her mother and her traumatic experiences in the new world, she is repressing all her memories of Carol.	Living	#2-present
Amy	Sister of Andrea. Amy was a junior physical-education major, and was returning to college for the new school year. When the dead began to rise, Amy and Andrea joined the survivor group existing on the outer limits of the overrun city of Atlanta. Amy and her sister cared for the group's children, and Amy herself, adventurous and out-going, became a key member of the group by keeping morale up. One night, Amy was bitten in the neck by a zombie in the opening stages of a zombie swarm's attack on the exposed camp, and died of blood loss and trauma within seconds. Amy was ensured to not re-animate by her sister, who shot her in the head. Amy was then buried in the woods.	Dead	#3-#5
Andrea	Sister of Amy. Andrea was a clerk at a law firm, and was driving her sister to college in time to return for the new school year. When the dead began to rise, Andrea and Amy's car ran out of gas but they were fortunately picked up by a passing Dale. They subsequently joined the survivor group existing on the outer limits of the overrun city of Atlanta. Andrea and her sister cared for the group's children. Andrea was more closed off and shy than her sister, which furthered when Amy was killed in a zombie attack on the exposed camp, causing Andrea to sink into a deep depression (increased by the fact Andrea was forced to shoot her sister in the head to prevent her from re-animating). To cope with her grief, Andrea became involved with the much-older Dale, and the two eventually become lovers. With time, Andrea suffered increased facial injuries, beginning when Thomas Richards, a deranged psychopath, sliced her earlobe off and left a long scar across her face with his knife, and later several bullet-grazing wounds. Nevertheless, Andrea has adapted well to the new world, and is proved to be the group's best shot with a firearm.	Living	#3-present
Tyreese	A tall, muscular African-American man. Tyreese, his daughter Julie, and her boyfriend Chris 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, a devastatingly effective melee fighter (managing to kill more than ten zombies single-handedly), a stern but loving father, and a generally sensible person. A terrible shot, and recognized for it, his signature weapon was a hammer. Shortly after joining the group he began a relationship with Carol, but shifted to Michonne and remained with her till his death. He was a valuable member of the group, generally being Rick's right-hand man in the skirmish clearings of the zombies on the road and in the prison.	Dead	#7-#46
Julie	Julie is Tyreese's teenage daughter. The end of the world hasn't stopped her from seeking independence where she can find it. During the initial stages of clearing out the penitentiary, she and Chris act as babysitters. Once settled, after having sex for the first time with Chris, she carries out an ill-fated suicide pact with her boyfriend.	Dead	#7-#14
Chris	Chris was the boyfriend of Julie, and was staying with her and her father, Tyreese, due to personal problems when the zombie crisis began. Chris, Julie and Tyreese eventually joined up with Rick's group, and moved to the prison. Unknown to everyone else, Chris was pushing Julie into a suicide pact, believing they could truly be together forever. On the night they executed their plan, Chris fired too soon and Julie was killed. Tyreese, in revenge, choked him to death. After Chris reanimated, Tyresse repeatedly killed him until he was nothing but mutilated pieces, which Tyresse then burned.	Dead	#7-#15
Otis	Otis was the boyfriend of Patricia and a neighbor of Hershel Greene. When the zombie crisis began, Otis and Patricia narrowly escaped from Wiltshire Estates and were allowed to stay at Hershel's family farm until the crisis ended. Otis, despite his mentally slow nature, is kind and good-natured, and as such took it hard when he almost killed Carl after mistakening him for a zombie and shooting him (non-fatally). Otis remained at the farm to look after the livestock while the Greenes left to join Rick's group at the prison. Otis would later follow, and was saved from zombies surrounding the prison by the newly-arrived Michonne and joined the group (though ended his relationship with Patricia after learning of her part in Dexter's attempted coup). Later, the prison was (temporarily) overrun by zombies while rescuing Tyreese following his return from searching for Rick, Michonne and Glenn. Otis was attacked by zombies and killed. Otis reanimated, and was shot in the head by Rick after almost biting him, and his remains burned.	Dead	#9-#30
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. His only reason for life is the protection and survival of his children. He gives up on life after his last son, Billy, is killed while fleeing the prison.	Dead	#10-#48
Lacey Greene	Hershel's oldest daughter.	Dead	#10-#11
Arnold Greene	Hershel's oldest son.	Dead	#10-#11
Maggie Greene	Hershel's middle 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. Following the prison assault by the Woodbury Army, where her father and brother, the last remaining members of her family, are killed, Maggie sinks into a deep depression that Glenn is unable to help with. Maggie journeyed with the group led by Sergeant Abraham Ford, to Washington D.C., until the depression was too much and, sneaking off into the forest, she hangs herself. However, she was rescued by Glenn and Abraham and is still alive.	Living	#10-present
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" (women) being spoke for. Billy ends up having a one-night stand with Carol before she commits suicide. Billy was killed in the final stages of the assault on the prison by the Woodbury Army; his death leading his father to allow himself to die as well.	Dead	#10-#48
Rachel and Susie Greene	Twins, Hershel's youngest daughters, they were the first of Thomas' victims.	Dead	#10-#15
Patricia	Otis's incredibly naive and overly trusting girlfriend. They broke up after moving to the prison. Her naivety almost costs her life when she attempts to break out Thomas after his evident murders, claiming his death sentence was harsh treatment. He almost kills her soon after, but is saved with the intervention of Maggie. Became an outcast after aiding Dexter and Andrew in their attempted rebellion. Saved Rick's life after the Governor's first attack by letting Alice give Rick a transfusion of her type O negative blood. Had sex with a wounded Axel. Patricia was killed in the Woodbury Army's assault on the prison.	Dead	#10-#48
Dexter	A towering, physically intimidating African-Amercian inmate at the prison where the group takes residence. Convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, whom he states, "were the last". 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. After the murders of the Hershel twin girls, the survivors wrongly lock him up on account of being the only convict known to murder. After this, he loses his patience and gathers up Dexter, Axel and a defecting Patricia with their new riot gear to force out the survivors. He is soon after killed discreetly in a skirmish against zombies from Block A by Rick, who covers it up as a friendly fire mistake.	Dead	#13-#19
Andrew	An African-American, dread-locked former drug user who believes God sent the zombie apocalypse to help him "get clean". He had a homosexual relationship with Dexter, probably due to the amount of time spent locked up with him alone and the two other convicts. He is apparently in love with him. When Dexter is accused or murder, he organizes Andrew to find a way into the previously unexplored Block A and gather up the guards riot gear to take over the prison. After Dexter's death, he fled the prison during the time Michonne and Otis arrive.	Dead	#13-#19
Axel	A grizzled old white 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. Says "You follow me?" a lot. Had a brief relationship with Patricia before being shot during the first prison assault.	Dead	#13-#47
Thomas Richards	A nerdy Caucasian 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. He is later shot repeatedly by Maggie Greene after his attempted escape, nearly killing Patricia in the process. His deceased body was thrown to the zombie hordes outside of the prison.	Dead	#13-#18
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 appears to have some degree of schizophrenia. 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. Finding nothing but tracks, she follows them and finds Rick and Carl, and later rejoins the other remaining members of the survivor group at Hershel's farm. Michonne later admits to Rick that she has imaginary conversations with her dead boyfriend, to keep herself from breaking down.	Living	#19-present
Brian Blake (A.k.a The Governor)	His real name is Philip. When the dead began to rise, Philip gathered together a large number of survivors, numbering almost 40, and established a semi-secure settlement in Woodbury, clearing and guarding almost 4 city blocks, upon which he declared himself "Governor" (as "President" would be going too far). Initially appearing a fair and strong leader, Philip was truly a monster; he only helped people to benefit himself, as long as they follow his every command. Philip had a daughter who became a zombie; he kept her tied up in his apartment, feeding her severed body parts of those who displeased him. When Rick and several survivors found Woodbury, Philip initially acts hospitable, though later turns on them and imprisons them. Attempting to find the location of the prison, Philip proceeded to mentally torture Glenn, cuts off Rick's hand, and have Michonne restrained, stripped and repeatedly raped her. When the survivors escape, Michonne stays behind and, after knocking out Philip, strips and restrains him, and proceeds to torture and dismember him brutally, removing an arm, ear, eye, and penis, before escaping. Philip survived, however, and eventually, after the prison was found, he led an army to the prison, looking to take it over, telling his "soldiers" the people in the prison are monsters and killers deserving death. Only after the assault makes the prison uninhabitable and leads to the deaths of most of the survivors, do the remnants of his army turn on him and kill him, before they themselves are overwhelmed and killed by the undead.	Dead	#27-#48
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.	Dead	#27-#36
Dr. Stevens	Woodbury's primary doctor. While he resents working for The Governor, he understands that he would be killed if he did not cooperate.	Dead	#28-#32
Alice	Previously an interior design student, Alice is a fast learner and, while living in Woodbury, was Dr. Stevens' assistant. She chooses to leave Woodbury with Rick and thereafter becomes the de facto physician of Rick's group. She is killed by the Governor during the assault on the prison.	Dead	#29-#48
Judith Grimes	Judy was the newborn daughter of Lori and Rick, (though it is strongly implied that Shane is her actual father) sister of Carl. Judy's life came to an abrupt and tragic end as she, along with her mother, were killed in the final stages of the Woodbury Army's assault on the prison where she and the other zombie plague survivors resided.	Dead	39
Sgt. Abraham Ford	Ford is a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. After the crisis began, Ford was able to retain contact long enough to find out Washington D.C. is the only potential sanctuary from the zombie hordes. Teaming up with Rosita and Eugene, Ford is now on a mission to get there, intending to solve the zombie crisis after Eugene discovers crucial information about the zombie's origins.	Dead	#53-Present
Rosita Espinosa	A latina woman who joins up with Sgt. Ford and Eugene in their mission to reach Washington D.C. and end the zombie crisis.	Living	#53-Present
Dr. Eugene Porter	A scientist, who was able to discover what caused the creation of the zombies after the crisis arose. Teaming up with Sgt. Ford and Rosita, Eugene is now on a mission to get to Washington D.C., intending to solve the zombie crisis using the crucial information he discovered.	Living	#53-Present

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).

Collected editions

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	R	SC: ISBN 1-58240-358-9	May 12, 2004	The Walking Dead #1–6
The Walking Dead Vol. 2: Miles Behind Us	SC: ISBN 1-58240-413-5	November 24, 2004	The Walking Dead #7–12
The Walking Dead Vol. 3: Safety Behind Bars	SC: ISBN 1-58240-487-9	May 18, 2005	The Walking Dead #13–18
The Walking Dead Vol. 4: The Heart's Desire	SC: ISBN 1-58240-530-1	November 30, 2005	The Walking Dead #19–24
The Walking Dead Vol. 5: The Best Defense	SC: ISBN 1-58240-612-X	September 27, 2006	The Walking Dead #25–30
The Walking Dead Vol. 6: This Sorrowful Life	SC: ISBN 1-58240-684-7	April 11, 2007	The Walking Dead #31–36
The Walking Dead Vol. 7: The Calm Before	SC: ISBN 1-58240-828-9	September 26, 2007	The Walking Dead #37–42
The Walking Dead Vol. 8: Made To Suffer	SC: ISBN 1-58240-883-1	June 25, 2008	The Walking Dead #43–48
The Walking Dead Vol. 9: Here We Remain	SC: ISBN 1-60706-022-1	January 21, 2009	The Walking Dead #49–54
The Walking Dead Vol. 10: What We Become	SC: ISBN 1-60706-075-2	August 12, 2009	The Walking Dead #55–60
The Walking Dead Vol. 11: Fear the Hunters	SC: ISBN 1-60706-122-8	January 6, 2010	The Walking Dead #61–66
The Walking Dead Vol. 12: Life Among Them	SC: ISBN 1-60706-254-2	August 3, 2010	The Walking Dead #67–72
The Walking Dead Vol. 13: Too Far Gone	SC: ISBN 1-60706-329-8	November 23, 2010	The Walking Dead #73–78
The Walking Dead Vol. 14: No Way Out	SC: ISBN 1-60706-392-1	June 22, 2011	The Walking Dead #79–84

The compendium edition, has 48 issues in paperback format.Compendium Edition

• Volume 1; collects #1-48; ISBN 1-60706-076-0; To be Released 5/6/09

Hardcovers

All hardcovers contain the material from the comics including the covers, and in some cases, bonus material. The trim size of the books are larger than the paperbacks. Each hardcover containts two story arcs from the series.

Title	ISBN	Release Date	Collected Material
BOOK ONE	ISBN 1-58240-619-7	7/19/06	The Walking Dead #1-12
BOOK TWO	ISBN 1-58240-698-7	3/7/07	The Walking Dead #13-24
BOOK THREE	ISBN 1-58240-825-4	12/19/07	The Walking Dead #25-36
BOOK FOUR	ISBN 1-60706-000-0	10/29/08	The Walking Dead #37-48

Other releases

Limited Edition Omnibus editions collect 24 issues in a slipcase with several extras. As limited edition versions, the first volume is autographed by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard with 300 pieces available, while the second had a larger release.

• The Walking Dead Volume 1 Deluxe HC (Collects #1-24; ISBN 1-58240-511-5; Released 12/14/05)
• The Walking Dead Volume 2 Deluxe HC (Collects #25-48; ISBN 1-60706-029-9; Released 2/17/09)

The Covers series collects the covers in hardcover format.

• The Walking Dead: The Covers (Collects the covers for issues #1-50; ISBN 1-60706-002-7; TEMPORARILY CANCELLED

The Limited Edition retailer giveaway is limited Hardcover of the softcover Vol. 1, with black faux leather cover and red foil hilights.

A 2009 calendar, The Walking Dead 2009 Calendar features twelve covers from the series.

Literary significance and reception

Max Brooks, author World War Z, told Kirkman that he had read The Walking Dead and liked it, but Kirkman said he could not read World War Z until he finished The Walking Dead which would not be "any time soon, so I’m never going read his book."

Television adaptation

On August 12, 2009, it was announced that the cable station AMC had picked up the rights to produce a television series based on the comic The Walking Dead. Frank Darabont will write, direct and serve as an executive producer.

In March 2010 it was announced that AMC ordered six episodes for the first season, the pilot will begin filming on 15 May 2010. It is scheduled to debut on AMC in October 2010.

Announced cast members include Andrew Lincoln as lead character Rick Grimes and Jon Bernthal as Shane Walsh.

See also

• The Walking Dead Wiki

External links

• tonymooreillustration.com: Tony Moore's The Walking Dead Cover Art Gallery
• comicnews.info: The Walking Dead The Walking Dead Volume 9
• Week of the Dead I: Robert Kirkman interview, Comic Book Resources, May 19, 2008
• Week of the Dead II: Charlie Adlard interview, Comic Book Resources, May 20, 2008
• comicmonsters.com: The Making of The Walking Dead by: Charlie Adlard
• The Walking Dead (TWD) Fan Club
• The Walking Dead (TWD) Fan Club: Charlie Adlard interview