Warning! spoilers!
You are reading: Walking dead comic books summary
rick grimes, a kentucky sheriff’s deputy, is injured in the line of duty and emerges from a coma to find the world overrun by the undead. then they take him to a small camp of survivors; They include Rick’s wife, Lori, his son, Carl, and his cop buddy, Shane. After a fatal zombie attack, Shane attempts to murder Rick, having had a one-night stand and becoming obsessed with Lori. Carl then shoots Shane to protect the father from him. Rick becomes the leader of the group. The survivors leave Atlanta and travel through hostile territory in search of a safer haven, during which it is revealed that Lori is pregnant. after a few failed attempts, the group finds new friends and eventually an abandoned prison.
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Inside the prison, the survivors come across some living inmates. two of the group members commit suicide and one of the inmates is executed after committing a massacre. the group manages to put down the inmates’ attempted rebellion. A woman named Michonne arrives at the prison seeking refuge, causing tension among the survivors. Rick’s leadership is questioned and the survivors form a council with four co-leaders. Rick, Michonne and Glenn find a small town called Woodbury, where a well-armed and organized group of survivors have taken refuge. Woodbury’s leader, the Governor, captures Rick’s group, then interrogates and tortures them. Rick and his group manage to escape Woodbury with the help of other Woodburians. the governor is severely mauled by michonne. Rick informs his group of what happened at Woodbury and tells them to prepare for battle.
The group goes on with their lives and Lori’s baby is born, until the Governor arrives at the prison, ready for battle. the governor’s army attacks the prison but withdraws. some of the survivors decide to flee the prison to avoid the expected reprisals of the governor. the governor attacks again, killing almost everyone inside. The guilt-ridden soldier who killed Lori and her newborn daughter on the Governor’s orders kills him. With the prison on fire and in ruins, Rick and Carl escape. After the destruction of the prison and the breakup of their gang, Rick and Carl seek refuge. Rick’s physical and mental state begins to unravel, while Carl becomes increasingly independent and apathetic. they are eventually reunited with their other survivors. Three strangers, Abraham, Rosita and Eugene, arrive and inform the group that they are on a mission to Washington D.C. to cure the plague. Rick’s gang decides to join his journey.
rick, abraham and carl head to rick’s hometown to find weapons. Morgan, whom Rick met when he awoke from his coma, is discovered and joins Rick’s survivors. Rick and company continue their journey to Washington and begin to suspect that someone is stalking them in the woods. They meet a pastor, Gabriel, and join him at his church. Dale is kidnapped from the church overnight by a gang of cannibals. Dale meets with his friends before he dies. Rick’s group, enraged, hunt down the cannibals and torture them to death. The group continues to Washington, during which they discover that Eugene was lying about having a cure to stop the outbreak. They meet a friendly man named Aaron who claims to be trustworthy and can escort them to a large, walled-off community of survivors called the Alexandria Safe Zone, a community run by a man named Douglas Monroe. Rick’s tired gang finds Alexandria’s stability a welcome change, though they remain suspicious.
rick’s crew settles in alexandria’s safe zone and takes jobs in the community. rick, as an agent, tries to increase security and stability when he arrests a dangerous man within the community. scavengers arrive and threaten the community. Alexandria wins the battle, but alerts a huge herd of hundreds of zombies to her presence. rick takes command of the community. Rick and company become leaders in the community despite the objections of some of its residents. The citizens of Alexandria find themselves in bigger trouble when they discover that the zombie horde is breaking down the walls of Alexandria and invading the community. During the battle, Douglas dies after accidentally shooting Carl in the eye. The residents of Alexandria face the horde and save their city. Alexandria’s safe zone recovers from the Horde attack, and Rick makes decisions that will lead to Alexandria’s long-term sustainability. Carl is in a coma after injuring him; his survival is unclear. Some residents question Rick’s bold decisions for their community and attempt to take control of Alexandria. rick calls off the rebellion. Carl wakes up with amnesia.
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Alexandrians meet a man named Paul Monroe while searching the waste for supplies. Monroe claims that he is a recruiter for a nearby gang of 200 or more people called the Hilltop Colony. Rick and others go to the hilltop colony and discover that his appearance seems to be even safer than Alexandria’s, although he has a dangerous enemy, the saviors. the saviors demand half of the colony’s food and supplies, in exchange for killing nearby walkers. Rick and the team take on the Hilltop Colony’s enemy, the Saviors, a brutal gang led by an enigmatic man named Negan. Rick underestimates the Saviors and dismisses his threat level until his best friends, including Glenn and Abraham, are savagely murdered. Alexandria is forced to start paying tribute, half of her supplies, to the Saviors. Enraged, Rick vows to kill Negan. Rick’s gang learns what it really means to live by Negan’s rules. Rick devises a new strategy to deal with the Saviors, but a member of his group goes missing after the Saviors collect their payment from Alexandria. Rick is forced to stop his plan. Paul takes Rick to seek help from an exotic man named Ezekiel, leader of a community called the Kingdom. The Kingdom is based in Washington, D.C., where one of the Saviors makes an independent bid to help fight Negan.
rick, paul and ezekiel decide to trust dwight, a savior, and embark on their quest to end the reign of the saviors. The three communities band together to mount an assault, but Negan arrives early to collect his tribute from Alexandria. The Alliance seizes the opportunity to assassinate Negan, but Negan retreats and declares war. Rick leads his united army, Hilltop and Kingdom, in an attack on Sanctuary, the Saviors’ base. Rick’s forces seize an early advantage and trap Negan inside the sanctuary, but his attack on Negan’s outposts falters when many of Rick’s closest friends fall. they wonder if his initial victory was sheer luck. Negan mounts an eventual counterattack on Alexandria, and his situation goes from bad to worse. With the war raging, Negan attacks Alexandria and Hilltop and destroys the former’s defenses. On the brink of defeat, Rick offers Negan a truce as a trap. Negan falls for Rick’s ruse. Rick cuts Negan’s throat and demands that the war cease. Negan survives the attack as Rick’s prisoner.
Two years pass after the war with Negan. civilization is rebuilt and communities have established a successful trade network. Carl moves to the top of the hill. a new group arrives in alexandria and encounters the imprisoned negan. A new threat arises when living people disguised as walkers attack, they call themselves the Whisperers, whose leader is called the Alpha. Tensions arise at Hilltop after Carl loses his temper. some residents question both him and the leader maggie of him. Meanwhile, Paul captures a member of the Whisperers named Lydia and learns the full implications of this new threat to Hilltop. Carl continues to learn more about the whisperers and begins a romantic relationship with Lydia. Alpha kills a large number of civilians (including Ezekiel) and mounts their heads on spikes as a warning to Rick and his people.
rick reveals the survivors who died at the hands of the alpha and the whisperers. Community dwellers demand retaliation and some question Rick’s leadership. Rick declares war on the Whisperers and must use an old enemy as a last resort. With the conflict against the Whisperers drawing near, Rick ensures the readiness of the community’s newly formed militia while he also deals with various conflicts within each community’s walls, including Negan’s escape. To everyone’s surprise, Negan infiltrates the Whisperers and assassinates Alpha in retaliation for his attack on the communities. militia war with whisperers begins; both sides suffer tremendous casualties. the whisperers attack the top of the hill and destroy its defenses, burning it to the ground. With one last trump card, the whisperers lead an ocean of walkers towards Alexandria.
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