The Walking Dead Comics - Special Issues and Volume 1 (Days Gone Bye)

Comics and Graphic Novels, Special Issues, The Walking Dead, Volume 1,

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Special Issues

The Walking Dead - The Governor Special

The Governor enlists Scott Moon's help in obtaining fish tanks for his apartment. When asked about their purpose, The Governor tells him that he has a responsibility to lead the people of Woodbury and be strong, decisive, and brutal. However, he admits that those qualities do not come easily to him, and he needs prepare himself for the horrors of the new world. To do this, he tells Scott that he plans on filling the fish tanks with severed heads and make himself stare at them, until they no longer frightened him and he starts to become amused by them. He then tells Scott that he plans on starting his collection, with his head being first.

The Walking Dead - Tyreese Special

The story begins with Tyreese surrounded by zombies near some stores on a run. He uses a gun to try and shoot their heads, but ends up shooting them in the shoulder, arm, and stomach. He has to get close to them to get a shot in the brain. Soon, he runs out of ammo and uses the gun to smack them in the head while he runs. He throws the gun and makes it over to a tool box as one walker is right behind him. Right as the walker is about to bite him he smashes its head in with a hammer. He fights his way through a small herd of zombies only using the hammer.

He runs to a big house and opens the door. As he steps inside, he is almost hit with a fire poker by Chris. Chris apologizes and Tyreese complains that zombies don't know how to use doors. Julie comes out and asks if Tyreese found the gun. He explains it was in his office right where he left it and saw the keys for cars for a dealership but before he could open the gates, he was swarmed. Tyreese says there were enough of them for him to learn they don't need guns because he's a terrible shot.

Chris asks for the gun and Tyreese responds by saying he threw it when he ran out of bullets. Chris yells and says he could have helped and Tyreese should stop treating them like kids. He asks what he did get and Tyreese says a hammer that he is about to put through Chris's head. Chris backs down. Julie sighs and apologizes to Tyreese. She admits that she and Chris are scared. Tyreese tells her to not be scared and that he will protect her and never leave her alone with Chris, no matter how much she wants him to. Julie laughs and mentions that they have a hammer at their house already. Tyreese agrees but says that this one is special because it saved his life.

The Walking Dead - Michonne Special

The story begins with Michonne running towards home, the street full of zombies. Michonne gets home and finds her boyfriend, Mike and his best friend, Terry. When Michonne enters, a zombie attempts to follow, and in the process of killing it, Mike gets bitten. At that time, Michonne bandages Mike, unaware that he has become infected. That night, Michonne searches the neighbor's house for supplies, finding her trademark sword. She becomes pinned down in the house during the night and returns home the next day, finding that Mike and Terry have become zombies. She survives their attack and manages to lock them away. Her noisy encounter with them causes her street to become overrun, and she becomes trapped and runs out of food. Then, noticing that the zombies don't attack one another, she hacks off the arms and lower jaws of Mike and Terry, and chains them up to use them as escorts for an escape. The story then ends with Michonne narrating aloud to the zombies of Mike and Terry, to help remember who they were, and because she has no one to talk to.

VOLUME 1 (Days Gone Bye)

The Walking Dead 001 - Days Gone Bye 01

The story opens with Officer Rick Grimes and his partner, Shane, in a standoff with a criminal that has escaped from prison. As Rick attempts to flank the criminal, he is shot.

It immediately cuts to Rick in a hospital bed waking up. With no nurses or doctors around, he slowly makes his way out of the room to discover that the hospital is overrun by zombies. He is attacked, but, able to get away unscratched. He attempts to find some means of transportation and, only finding a bicycle which is guarded by a half-eaten zombie. After stumbling back in disgust Rick grabs the bicycle, which he uses to ride to his home. When he arrives at his house he finds it ransacked and deserted. Upon exiting, he is hit over the head with a shovel by Duane Jones, and knocked unconscious. Duane's father, Morgan Jones, comes running up and scolds the young boy, telling him that Rick is alive and not a zombie.

Rick wakes up in the Jones' residence and, after having dinner, Rick and Morgan explain their situations. Rick reveals how he was shot, put in a coma, and doesn't know what is going on. Morgan tells Rick that not much is known about what caused the outbreak, but, that the media was informing everyone to relocate to large cities so that everyone could be protected. Morgan decided to take his chances in a small town, and says the power has since gone out and he knows nothing else. Rick mentions his wife had family in Atlanta and that she may have gone there with their son.

After talking, Rick, Morgan, and Duane go to the police station where Rick works. Rick equips himself with guns and a car. He also gives Morgan some guns and a car. Morgan and Duane plan on staying in the small town, so Rick and Morgan wish each other well and Rick mentions he will come back later for the two. Before Rick leaves for Atlanta, he walks over to the bicycle zombie and shoots her in the head.

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After traveling all night, Rick runs out of gas. He walks to a nearby farm, and after going into the house and discovering that the family is dead, heads out to the barn. He finds a horse and an axe inside and continues traveling to Atlanta on horseback. On the way to Atlanta, he started rambling to the horse about when Carl was born to make him feel better, but it doesn't.

Rick finally makes it to Atlanta only to find it overrun with zombies. He gets thrown from the horse and as some of the zombies attack and devour the horse, others turn their attention to Rick. He uses the axe he found at the barn to protect himself, but is soon surrounded and begins to use his gun. Suddenly, a young man named Glenn grabs Rick and tells him to follow him and to stop shooting. They climb to a rooftop and jump from roof to roof to get close to the edge of town. Glenn says that the zombies are slow and that they should easily manoeuvre around them. He also warns that one bite from a walker will infect you and turn you into a walker as well.

The two finally make it to the edge of town near a wooded area. Glenn explains that everyone came to Atlanta, but people started dying and turning into walkers. In the space of a week everyone in Atlanta had died. Rick falls to the ground as he fears that his wife and son are now dead. Glenn consoles Rick and tells him that he is with a small camp of people and brings him along.

Just as Rick gets to the camp, he sees his wife, Lori Grimes, and his son, Carl. All three embrace, happily reunited.

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Shane comes up to greet Rick. Rick is happy to see him and Lori says that Shane helped her and Carl escape to Atlanta. Shane then shows Rick around the camp and introduces everyone. The young man that helped Rick in the city is Glenn. There is Allen and Donna and their twin boys, Ben and Billy, Dale (who owns the RV), Jim, Carol and her daughter Sophia, and sisters Amy and Andrea. Everyone leaves Rick and Lori to be reacquainted.

That night, Rick and Lori talk. Lori apologizes for leaving Rick at the hospital. He forgives her saying that he was happy that she was doing what was best for Carl. Rick asks if Dale is enough to keep watch. Lori begins explaining the situation of how very few zombies have come near them. Rick, finally thinking about the situation they are all in, admits that he is scared.

The next morning, Rick wakes up and meets Shane as he comes out of his tent. Shane mentions that Dale's camper has a working shower and he wants to go hunting with Rick after he takes one. Rick takes his shower and upon exiting, meets Dale. Dale tells Rick that he shouldn't trust Shane. He says Shane is a good man and helps out around the camp, but Shane isn't happy that Rick is back because he has had his eye on Lori. Rick appreciates Dale's concern, but reassures him that Shane was only keeping Lori and Carl safe. Rick laughs it off as he leaves the camper and heads off with Shane to hunt. Meanwhile, Lori, Carol, and Donna go down to a stream to wash clothes. The others stay at camp to watch the kids.

As Rick and Shane are hunting, Shane mentions to Rick that he is glad that he brought some guns. So far they only had Shane's side arm and Dales' rifle. It's been hard to hunt and they have only been eating what Glenn can get from his trips into the city. They hear a rustle and come across a zombie eating a deer. They note that it is oblivious to them standing there. They question whether it would be safe to eat the deer.

Back at the stream, Lori tells the story of how she met Rick to Carol and Donna. They finish the washing and head back to the camp. Just before they get to the camp, Allen, who is keeping watch atop the camper, sees a walker right behind the women and yells for them to look out. Allen tries to shoot the walker, but Donna is in the way. Suddenly, Dale, who was out cutting firewood, comes up from behind and decapitates the zombie. They are relieved until they notice that the head of the walker is still sputtering and moaning. They are shocked to see it still alive.

Back at Rick and Shane's position, the two are debating taking the deer when the walker finally notices them. It starts to stand up but Rick impales it in the head with his axe. They suddenly hear a gunshot and run back to the camp. They get back to see that Allen has shot the head of the walker that attacked. Allen tells Dale that they should get the body into the woods and away from the camp. Rick immediately runs up to Lori and consoles her as Shane looks at the couple with jealousy.

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That night after the zombie attack, Shane is keeping watch. Rick visits with him and the two discuss the situation. Rick believes that the group needs to move on. He feels that it's too dangerous to be near Atlanta where so many zombies could attack the small group. Shane believes the group should stay put, believing that the government is coming to clean up the mess and if the group stays put, they will be easily found by rescuers. Rick finally concedes, but, says that they need to train everyone to use a gun and that everyone should be armed. Shane asks how they will get enough guns and Rick says he will think of something.

The next morning, Rick talks to Glenn and asks him if he has seen any gun stores on his trips into Atlanta to get supplies. Glenn doesn't recall, but, asks Jim and he gives them the location of a store. Glenn goes to find his map, and while he's gone, Rick talks to Lori and tells her he is going to help Glenn to get some guns. Lori isn't happy about it, but, he reassures her that he will be fine. He also mentions that he is going to teach Carl to shoot a gun, and before Lori can fight him on the subject, Rick and Glenn head into Atlanta for supplies.

As Rick and Glenn walk toward Atlanta, Rick asks about Jim's mental state. Glenn says that Jim is the only known survivor from Atlanta, and he watched his family torn apart by zombies when he escaped. Glenn suddenly stops and says that the gun store is about 5 blocks further than he has ever gone into the city. He says there is no way the two can possibly do it. Rick says he has an idea and takes Glenn to the roamer that he killed the day before. Rick says he notices that zombies don't mistake themselves for a living person, and he believes the reason is smell. Rick chops up parts of the zombie and tells Glenn to rub it on his clothes and put a few pieces in his pockets. Rick hopes that by smelling like the zombies, the zombies won't attack them. The two proceed into the city limits.

As soon as they arrive, they walk up to a zombie, to see how well the theory works. At first it appears that the zombie is going to attack Rick, but, it settles down as Rick moves back. As they walk further in to the city, they notice that none of the zombies come after them. Rick also mentions how it is a gloomy day.

They arrive at the gun store to see a large crowd of zombies. Rick tells Glenn to remain calm and grabs a shopping cart to carry more guns. They grab as many guns and ammunition as they can and exit. As they do, Rick mentions that it is starting to rain, and as Rick hits a zombie in the head with an axe, it begins to downpour. The two start to run as the rain begins to wash away the zombie smell. The zombies take notice of Rick and Glenn and attempt to attack them. A zombie bites Rick's shoulder and Rick starts firing at the crowd of zombies to make a path for Glenn, who is pushing the shopping cart. The two get outside of the city limits and Rick tears off his jacket, relieved to see that the roamer did not break his skin. Rick asks Glenn not to tell Lori about the close encounter.

Meanwhile, back at camp, Shane and Lori are talking. Shane tries to console Lori, saying that Rick will be fine. He tells her to come back to the camp, and that he will keep her company. Lori refuses Shane and tells him that he needs to stop trying to make advances at her since Rick is back. Shane says, "But what about that night when we - on the road down here?" Lori, her back to Shane, says, "That night was a mistake."

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Three weeks after getting the guns, Rick and Shane are teaching everyone how to shoot. Everyone is impressed with Andrea's skill. Both Rick and Shane agree that she is possibly the best shot of the group. Rick also insists on teaching Carl, despite Lori's disapproval. After Rick announces to everyone that Carl will be carrying his own gun, Rick and Lori have a fight.

When everyone makes it back to camp, Donna shows her disgust of Andrea and Amy sleeping in the camper with Dale. A couple of days later, Rick, Shane, and Dale go to get firewood and they talk about the girls living with Dale. Rick says how he sees nothing wrong with it and Dale says that nothing is going on. He says that the two simply keep things clean, and give him some comfort since his wife passed away a couple months ago. After Rick mentions how cold it's getting, Shane yells at him, saying how tired he is of hearing Rick talk. Rick is left shocked, and Shane leaves with firewood. Dale says to Rick that Shane has issues.

That night they talk about what they did before the outbreak. Dale mentions he was a salesman, retired, and on the road with his wife. After the outbreak, she died, and afterward he found Amy and Andrea. Andrea mentions she was a clerk at a law firm and was driving Amy back to college. Glenn was a pizza delivery boy. Allen says that he was a shoes salesman supporting the rest of the family. Jim simply says he was a mechanic. Rick and Shane recount their stories, and Carol mentions that she used to sell tupperware and her husband was a cars salesman, who had killed himself after watching his parents die in front of him. Amy goes to the RV to use the bathroom when she is attacked by a roamer, which bites her in the neck. The survivors are suddenly invaded by zombies. Lori is nearly killed by a roamer, but is saved when Carl shoots it. Jim launches into a rage and attacks a roamer, while yelling that it killed his family. When all the zombies are killed, Andrea shoots Amy in the head in order to prevent reanimation. It is then revealed that Jim received a bite to his arm, while killing the zombie.

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The survivors hold a funeral for Amy. Shane says he loved Amy because she always had something to say. Donna also says how Amy and her may have not gotten along, but she loved her. She states how she loves everyone and that everyone loved Amy, especially. Jim has perhaps his biggest speech and says nobody deserves to die like this and that she should have lived her life and went to college. Rick and Dale also bring forth their sadness. While everybody leaves, Andrea is still crying over Amy's grave.

Jim's health starts to deteriorate after being bitten by a zombie during the camp attack. Jim tells Donna about his garage boss, who he says was the first person he saw who turned. Jim thinks he's lucky because his boss turned in a couple of hours. Donna suggests that maybe it won't happen to Jim and then exits the tent where Jim is incapacitated. Allen asks how he is, and Donna says that he's worse. She says Dale's wife, Erma turned in half a day. Lastly, they both think it might not happen to him.

Meanwhile Rick, Carl, and Shane go hunting and Carl tells Rick that they don't need as much food, because Amy is dead and Jim is too sick to eat. Shane yells at Rick saying it wasn't his fault. Rick tells him they should have left the camp when they had a chance. Shane still thinks the army is going to save them. Carl is seen crying and runs off. Rick goes after him. Meanwhile, Dale is trying to cheer Andrea up, and Donna tells everyone Jim's request. They bring him to Atlanta and leave him under a tree where he tells them to leave him, and that maybe he will meet his family once again. They say their goodbyes and then depart.

The following day they wake up and Shane tells Rick to get ready to go hunting. Rick tells Carl to stay behind so that he and Shane can talk. Shane starts yelling at Rick and punches him. Lori then punches Shane, which causes Shane to mentally snap and run off. Rick goes to follow Shane, and Carl follows his father in turn. Dale asks Lori if she is okay, and she replies, saying that they'll never be normal again at this rate. Rick catches up to Shane and Shane starts yelling at Rick about how he can't live like this anymore and goes off ranting about how he has nothing left and how Lori would have changed and loved him if Rick hadn't returned. Shane then points his gun at Rick, and is about to shoot him when Carl shoots Shane in the neck. Shane dies, choking on his own blood. The book ends with Carl saying: "It's not the same as killing the dead ones, Daddy", and Rick replying, "It never should be, son. It never should be."