The Walking Dead is 10 years old. WOW where does time go?I would never imagine that this black and white comic by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard would be such a part of pop culture. Everything from figures to my neighbor talking to me as I am walking my Dog. Well the other night I was thinking of all the great covers we saw in the past 10 years so I thought I would put together my top 10 Walking Dead covers of the last 10 years.
The Walking Dead #4 Cover by Tony Moore – January 2004
Rick tells Shane about his doubts, staying as close to the city as they are but Shane dismisses them. Rick decides if they have to to stay they all need to be armed so he and Glenn head to the city to get guns. Rich and Glenn ask Jim where the closest gun store is and to their dismay they find it far into the city. The two men decide to go anyway and on the way Glenn tells Rick about how Jim got out of the city, Jim’s family had acted as a human shield for Jim and he saw them get ripped apart as he escaped.
Rick has an idea to keep the undead away, he smears blood from a dead zombie all over his and Glenn’s body. Rick’s idea works and they are not bother by the zombies as they walk to the gun store. Finding a shopping and filling it they head back to the camp but it begins to rain and washes the blood away from them. Running out of the city Rick gets bitten but his leather jacket protects him. As Lori waits in the rain for Rick, Shane tries to comfort her and talks about a night they shared but Lori tells him that was a mistake and now that Rick is back he needs to let it go.
The Walking Dead #8 – Cover by Tony Moore -May 2004
Lori tells the camp she is pregnant, Dale tells Rick he thinks it might be Shane’s child and Rick says he can’t think about that now because it would kill him if it was true. They find a gated community and stop there with the plan to clean out any zombies and make his their new home.
Rick and Tyreese start to clean one house so they can get out of the RV and stay in a real home. Tyreese saves Rick from a zombie with and tackle and Rick learns Tyreese used to be in the NFL then a Bouncer and finally a car Salesman.
The Walking Dead #25 cover by Charlie Adlard – January 2006
Life slowly evolves for the group. They are getting rid of almost every zombie in the prison and finding more weapons, make them realize that life is possible. But maybe the latent inner conflicts and mistrust are invisible threats they are not aware yet.
The Walking Dead #33 cover by Charlie Adlard – December 2006
Rick Grimes and his young son, Carl Grimes, deal with the events that occurred last issue and try to survive in a world full of zombies.
The Walking Dead #39 cover by Charlie Adlard – July 2007
Lori finally gives birth!
A crew consisting of Michonne, Axel, Tyreese, Andrea, Glenn and Maggie find themselves in a department store, stocking up on supplies before they retreat back to their sanctuary in the penitentiary. However, their presence does not go unnoticed and they are soon surrounded by gun-wielding survivors that have established a safe haven not far away. A gruesome battle ensues as Glenn is shot and Michonne and Andrea kill all of their opponents. Glenn survives, thanks to the riot gear he had acquired in the prison, and they rush back to their home.
Back in the prison, Lori Grimes find herself in labor, ready to deliver her child. With the help of Alice, a nurse that had recently found sanctuary in the prison, Lori gives birth to a healthy baby girl. As per Alice’s request, Billy rushes off to make sure the generator has enough gas to last the night of the delivery. Billy meets up with Dale and figure out together that there isn’t enough gas in the prison, that they have to siphon gas from the parked cars that are outside of the fortification.
Dale and Billy make it to the cars where they are attacked by zombies. Billy rushes back to the prison after Dale gets bit on the leg, to find the crew returning back from the department store with supplies. To everyone’s dismay, they find Dale is still alive, but bleeding from his leg where he was bit by a zombie. It is only a matter of time before he turns into one of the zombies.
The Walking Dead #42 cover by Charlie Adlard -Sepetember 2007
Carol’s sense on loneliness finally breaks her and force her to commit suicide. Everyone is devastated by the loss but agree that life must go on and when things seemed to be working out, the people of Woodbury finally arrived. The time has come.
The Walking Dead #49 cover by Charlie Adlard –May 2008
Rick Grimes and his young son, Carl Grimes, deal with the events that occurred last issue and try to survive in a world full of zombies.
The Walking Dead #49 cover by Charlie Adlard -August 2010
The conflict escalates.
The Walking Dead #49 cover by Charlie Adlard -March 2011
“NO WAY OUT” continues.
When the walls come down… no one is safe.
The Walking Dead #103 cover by Charlie Adlard – October 2012
It is a new beginning for THE WALKING DEAD.
Rick Grimes is no longer in charge, and nothing will ever be the same again. It’s such a perfect jumping on point, it could easily have been a new first issue – but instead, the world’s best selling creator-owned comic just keeps moving forward, with #103 and counting!
Remember to catch the first episode of Season 4 of The Walking Dead this Sunday on AMC! The series stars Andrew Lincoln as Sheriff’s Deputy Rick Grimes who wakes up after being in a coma to find the world inhabited with zombies. He then sets out to find his family and other survivors along the way and make sure to come back for the pick of the week podcast as we be talking about the all new story arc that started this week in issue #115.
Simon Daoudi
Simon@ComicImpact.com