The Walking Dead (comics)

The Walking Dead is a monthly comic book series. It tells the story of the travels of Rick Grimes, his family, and other survivors of a zombie apocalypse.The Walking Dead Volume 5: The Best Defense

The series was first published in 2003 by Image Comics. It was created by writer Robert KirkmanSullivan, Michael Patrick. WEEK OF THE DEAD I: Robert Kirkman, Comic Book Resources, May 19, 2008 and artist Tony Moore. Moore was replaced by Charlie Adlard from issue #7 forward,.Sullivan, Michael Patrick. WEEK OF THE DEAD II: Charlie Adlard, Comic Book Resources, May 20, 2008 Moore still did the art for the covers up to issue #24.)

The Walking Dead won the 2010 Eisner Award for "Best Continuing Series" at San Diego Comic-Con International. A television series, The Walking Dead was created based on the comic. It was first broadcast on AMC in 2010. The series has been translated into languages such as Portuguese and Spanish.

Plot
Rick Grimes was a Atlanta police officer. After being shot by criminals, he  wakes from a coma in the hospital to see that his town is overrun with walking dead people.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. He goes to Atlanta, Georgia to look for his wife and son. Rick finds them in a small camp near the city.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. The group is being led by Shane. Shane was Rick's partner as a police officer. He helped Lori and Carl get to Atlanta.

After a zombie attack on the camp that caused people to be killed, Rick criticizes Shane. Shane pulls his gun on Rick, but is shot and killed by Rick’s 7-year-old son Carl. Rick, as the new leader of the group, decides the survivors need to find a better place to live.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011.

Rick’s early tries to find a place to live end very badly. A mother is killed after the survivors go into a neighborhood full of zombies. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. A farmer, Hershel, lets the group stay on his land. They stay there until zombies break free from his barn and kill several members of his family. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. Things get better when the group finds prison with fences to keep out the zombies.

Rick send a message back to Hershel and his family to come join them at the prison.  Rick’s group and four prisoners do what they can to make the prison safe from the zombies. One of the prisoners kills Hershel’s two youngest daughters.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. Rick kills another of the prisoners when they try to take control of the prison from his group.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. Because of many problems Rick chooses to not be the group’s leader. He is replaced by a committee.

Rick and two friends, Glenn and Michonne, leave the prison when they see a helicopter crash close to the prison. They find the town of Woodbury. It is a survivor town controlled by an insane tyrant called the Governor.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. When Rick and his group won't tell him where they came from, the Governor locks them up. He cuts off Rick's right hand and rapes Michonne many times.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. The Governor lets the three escape. He hopes they can be followed back to where they came from. Before leaving, Michonne attacks the Governor. She tortures him and causes much damage to his body.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011.

The group at the prison get ready for an attack by the people from Woodbury. As time passes and there is no attack for weeks, they start to feel safe. Lori, Rick’s wife, gives birth. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. Glenn marries his girlfriend Maggie.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. The two of them “adopt” Sophia, a girl in the group whose mother died. Rick and Hershel are out in the yard looking at their vegetable garden when the Governor and a small army comes to the prison fence.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011.

The group from Woodbury have better weapons and more people but Rick's group kills many of them and they move back away from the prison.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. Glenn and Maggie think they will attack again. They take Sophia and leave the prison with another family.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. Michonne and Tyreese are caught while trying to attack Woodbury. Michonne escapes but the Governor kills Tyreese outside the prison gate. He then begins a second attack on the prison.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011.

The Governor’s forces use a tank to break down the fence. Many people in Rick's group are killed in the fighting. These include Hershel, Lori and the baby.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. Rick and Carl escape from the battle. Zombies move in through the broken fence. They begin to attack the Woodbury forces. One of the Woodbury soldiers shoots the Governor in the head. The people of Woodbury fight on, but there are too many zombies.

Rick and Carl find Michonne and those who left the prison earlier.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. They soon find three people who are traveling to Washington, D.C. One of them, Eugene, says he is a government scientist. He tells them he is in radio contact with survivors in the capital.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011.

Maggie tries to kill herself after the death of her family. Rick and Abraham go out looking for supplies. Abraham is a U.S. Army sergeant who is traveling with Eugene. The two become friends when they tell each other about the killings they have had to do to survive.

The group’s oldest member, Dale, is bitten by a zombie. He leaves the group in the dark to go into the forest so he can die alone. He is captured by a group of cannibals. They eat his leg before he dies.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. Rick and the other adults find and kill the cannibals. A reverend is the only person among them who think they way they killed the cannibals was bad.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011.

When they get near Washington, Eugene tells the group that he was actually a high school science teacher and has no contact with the government. Washington is full of zombies like other cities. A man comes to the group and tells them about a peaceful walled-off town of about 40 people. It is called the Alexandria Safe Zone.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. He takes them to this town.

Rick is worried that the Alexandrians have forgotten how dangerous the world is. He slowly starts to not follow their rules. As town constable, he secretly carries a gun. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. and disobeys Alexandria's leader, Douglas, to stop a domestic dispute.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. After the newcomers help stop an attack on Alexandria by other survivors,. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. Douglas sees that Rick is a better leader and steps down.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011.

The gunfire during the attack causes a herd of zombies to move toward the town. They break through Alexandria’s wall and begin to kill people.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. The people hide in their houses while zombies fill the town. Rick, Carl and Alexandria resident Jessie try to escape the town. Jessie is killed by the walkers.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011.

When Rick and Carl are surrounded by zombies, Douglas tries to help them. He accidentally shoots Carl in the eye before being killed.. Retrieved Dec 25 2011. Rick carries Carl to Alexandria’s surgeon. He then goes back outside. Rick, Michonne and other residents destroy the entire herd. This shows Rick that zombies can be dealt with. He decides to rebuild civilization at Alexandria.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011.

Carl wakes from a coma but he does not remember everything that has happened over the past few years.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011.

Rick stops a small rebellion in Alexandria but forgives the rebels.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011.

Andrea tells Rick that she loves him. He does not love her back.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011.

A man named Paul soon comes to the town. He says he is from a nearby community of about 200 people. Paul wants to trade supplies with Alexandria. He tells them that he already does so with several other survivor groups in the area.. Retrieved Dec 23, 2011. Rick thinks this may be a trap and captures Paul. He gets Alexandria ready to defend against an attack. Rick soon changes his mind and decides to trade with Paul's group. He tells Andrea that Carl is in the house and asks her to watch him while he is gone. Rick then leaves with Paul and several other to go to Paul's group.

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

Reception
The series is very well liked by critics. It won the Eisner Award for "Best Continuing Series" in 2010."Scott Pilgrim Kicks Off 2010 Eisner Awards" , San Diego Comic-Con, accessed April 1, 2011. Eric Sunde of IGN comics called it "one of the best monthly comics available".Sunde, Eric. "Walking Dead Omnibus Review: It's a slice of fried gold.", IGN, January 10, 2006 Max Brooks told Kirkman that he read The Walking Dead and liked it.

IGN ranked Rick Grimes as the 26th Greatest Comic Book Hero of All Time in 2011. They said that Kirkman "has an endless supply of [wringers] to run Rick through." IGN ranked Michonne as the 86th Greatest Comic Book Hero of All Time the same year. It ranked the Governor as the 86th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time in 2009. They said that he was "a sadistic evil that The Road Warrior forgot." Wizard magazine ranked The Governor as the 131st greatest comic book character of all time.

Other media
Television adaptation

AMC picked up the rights to make a series based on the comic in 2009. It ordered a pilot episode on January 21, 2010. Filming for the series started on May 15, 2010.Start Date Set for The Walking Dead Pilot The series premiered on October 31, 2010. It had very high ratings. On November 8, 2010, after broadcasting two episodes, AMC wanted a second season of The Walking Dead. This season would have 13 episodes.Moorhouse, Drusilla. "The Zombies Live! AMC Gives The Walking Dead a Second Season", E! Online, November 8, 2010 The second season began on October 16, 2011. Frank Darabont wrote, directed and served as an executive producer until July 25th, 2011. Kirkman and Charles H. Eglee are currently writers and executive producers.

AMC released an animated movie of the first part of Issue #1 of the comic. It was animated by Juice Films. The voices were done by Phil LaMarr and art by Tony Moore.More Walking Dead Goodness: Robert Kirkman Tours the Set, Motion Comic, and a Contest!, Dread Central

Video game

On February 18, 2011, Telltale Games said they planned to make a video game based on the series.Schram, Kevin. "The Walking Dead Video Game Coming From Telltale Games [Adventure Game Makers Announce Zombie Adventure Game, Have Big Day Today In All]" , TFTS, February 18, 2011 It was scheduled for the fall of 2011, but was not released until April 24th 2012. Kirkman has said that, unlike most zombie games such as Left 4 Dead, it will focus more on characterization and emotion than action.

Collected editions
The series has so far been collected into the following collections:
Trade paperbacks
The trade paperbacks have six issues in each. They have only the story and no cover art. Each paperback has a three-word title.

 Title  ISBN  Release Date  Collected Material  Issues Published The Walking Dead Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye  May 12, 2004 The Walking Dead #1–6 October 2003 — March 2004 The Walking Dead Vol. 2: Miles Behind Us  November 24, 2004 The Walking Dead #7–12 April—September 2004 The Walking Dead Vol. 3: Safety Behind Bars  May 18, 2005 The Walking Dead #13–18 October 2004 — April 2005 The Walking Dead Vol. 4: The Heart's Desire  November 30, 2005 The Walking Dead #19–24 June—November 2005 The Walking Dead Vol. 5: The Best Defense  September 27, 2006 The Walking Dead #25–30 January—August 2006 The Walking Dead Vol. 6: This Sorrowful Life  April 11, 2007 The Walking Dead #31–36 September 2006 — March 2007 The Walking Dead Vol. 7: The Calm Before  September 26, 2007 The Walking Dead #37–42 May—September 2007 The Walking Dead Vol. 8: Made To Suffer   June 25, 2008 The Walking Dead #43–48 October 2007 — April 2008 The Walking Dead Vol. 9: Here We Remain   January 21, 2009 The Walking Dead #49–54 May—November 2008 The Walking Dead Vol. 10: What We Become  August 12, 2009 The Walking Dead #55–60 January—April 2009 The Walking Dead Vol. 11: Fear the Hunters  January 6, 2010 The Walking Dead #61–66 May—October 2009 The Walking Dead Vol. 12: Life Among Them  August 3, 2010 The Walking Dead #67–72 November 2009 — May 2010 The Walking Dead Vol. 13: Too Far Gone  November 23, 2010 The Walking Dead #73–78 June—October 2010 The Walking Dead Vol. 14: No Way Out  June 22, 2011 The Walking Dead #79–84 November 2010 — June 2011 The Walking Dead Survivors Guide  November 1, 2011 The Walking Dead Survivors Guide #1–4 April—July 2011 The Walking Dead Vol. 15: We Find Ourselves  December 27, 2011 The Walking Dead #85-90 May—October 2011 The Walking Dead Vol. 16: A Larger World  June 19, 2012 The Walking Dead #91-96 November 2011 — April 2012

Hardcovers
All hardcovers have the contents of the comics with the covers. Some have extra material. They are larger than the paperbacks. Each hardcover has two story arcs from the series. Signed versions of the books are available, each limited to 310 pieces.

 Title  ISBN  Release Date  Collected Material  Cover Character The Walking Dead: Book One  July 19, 2006 The Walking Dead #1–12 Rick The Walking Dead: Book Two  March 7, 2007 The Walking Dead #13–24 Michonne The Walking Dead: Book Three  December 19, 2007 The Walking Dead #25–36 The Governor The Walking Dead: Book Four  October 29, 2008 The Walking Dead #37–48 Lori and Judith The Walking Dead: Book Five  May 5, 2010 The Walking Dead #49–60 Abraham The Walking Dead: The Covers  October 19, 2010 The Walking Dead #1–50 (covers) N/A The Walking Dead: Book Six  October 26, 2010 The Walking Dead #61–72 Carl The Walking Dead: Book Seven  October 18, 2011 The Walking Dead #73–84 Rick The Walking Dead: Cutting-Room Floor  June 12, 2012 N/A N/A

Omnibus editions
Limited omnibus editions have 24 issues in a slipcase with several extras. The first volume is signed by Kirkman and Adlard. There are 300 of this edition. Later volumes were released with 3000 pieces each. There is also a deluxe limited edition (signed by Kirkman/Adlard) with 300 pieces available.
 Title  ISBN  Release Date  Collected Material The Walking Dead: Volume 1 Deluxe HC  December 14, 2005 Collects #1–24 The Walking Dead: Volume 2 Deluxe HC  February 17, 2009 Collects #25–48 The Walking Dead: Volume 3 Deluxe HC  February 2, 2011 Collects #49–72

Compendium editions
These are 48-issue softcover editions. The large books have over a thousand pages. They have no cover art. Compendium One was also released as a limited edition hardcover in 2012 at the Emerald City Comicon and San Diego Comicon with 1000 pieces available.
 Title  ISBN  Release Date  Collected Material The Walking Dead: Compendium One  May 6, 2009 Collects #1–48

Novels
 Title  ISBN  Release Date  Authors The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor  October 11, 2011 Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury  October 16, 2012 Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga

References

Other websites
 The Walking Dead Official Site 
 AMC's Official The Walking Dead TV Series site 
 The Walking Dead A Telltale Games Series 

Category:The Walking Dead
Category:2003 books