List of The Walking Dead (comics) characters


The following is a list of characters from The Walking Dead comic book series, created by Robert Kirkman. Plot structure and characterization between the comic and television series can be similar, derivative, or in many cases almost entirely irrelevant.

Character lifespans

The following table graphically shows each recurring character's status in each volume of the comic sorted by which volume they first appeared; a character marked as absent in one issue may appear in a later volume.

Volume 1–8

Volume 9–16

Volume 17–24

Volume 25–32

Grimes family

Rick Grimes

Rick is the group's de facto leader. He is Lori's husband and Carl's father. Before the zombie apocalypse, Rick is a sheriff's deputy in the small town of Cynthiana, Kentucky. While in a shootout against an escaped convict with his partner and best friend, Shane Walsh, Rick is wounded and subsequently awakens from a coma some time later. After finding his family in Atlanta camp, Rick quickly assumes the role of the leader of the survivor community. As the story progresses, Rick adopts a more dark and assertive nature. He lost his wife and daughter during the fall of the prison. Lori's death leaves Rick an emotional wreck. Rick suffers frightening hallucinations of her, and for a while seems to hear conversations with her on an old phone. For the heavy loss of lives that have occurred, Rick constantly blames himself. At the same time, he never backs away from a difficult decision affecting his community. Rick is very protective of Carl, while at the same time he feels detached from Carl's now bleak outlook of the world. Eventually Rick begins a romantic relationship with Andrea in Alexandria. Rick is the leader of the Alexandria survivors community. As the war with Negan escalates, Negan forces Dwight to shoot Rick with a bolt, but as Rick does not turn, Dwight is proven a trustworthy ally and not a surreptitious foe. He takes Negan captive and ends the war. Two years later, he is still leading the Safe-Zone and dating Andrea. After The Whisperers attack the Safe-Zone during the fair, Rick's leadership is questioned. To divert this, Rick manages to move the survivors anger towards The Whisperers through propaganda and army campaigns. Rick begins to trust Negan after the latter brings Alpha's head to him. Rick then kills Sherry after the Savior's betray his alliance, and then he learns that Andrea was bitten and is dying, causing him great grief. Rick is killed after Sebastian Milton shoots him multiple times and leaves him for dead. Carl later finds his father's reanimated body and puts him down.
Lori is Rick's wife and Carl and Judith Grimes' mother. During the Governor's second attack on the prison, she is shot by Lilly while holding Judith, whom she crushes after falling.
Carl is the son of Rick and Lori as well as Judith's elder brother. Carl begins as a normal and innocent child, but as the events of the new world order force him to grow up, he becomes colder and competently makes sometimes brash decisions for the good of his group of friends. When the group arrives at the prison, Carl starts dating Carol's daughter Sophia. However, their relationship ends as they part ways during the conflict with Negan. During an invasion by walkers at the Alexandria Safe-Zone, he is accidentally shot in the eye and loses it. As a teenager, Carl resides at the Hilltop Colony as a blacksmith apprentice but still remains close friends with Sophia, while contacting and later forming a sexual relationship with Whisperer, Lydia. He is currently back at Alexandria, with the rest of the survivors of the walker attack on the Hilltop. Since his father's death, Carl is the last remaining member of the Grimes family.
Judith is the newborn daughter of Lori Grimes and younger sister to Carl. Though Rick is acknowledged as her father, it is strongly implied that Shane is her biological father. During the Governor's second attack on the prison, Lori is shot by Lilly while holding Judith, and Lori falls, crushing Judith.
Andrea was one of the comic's longest-living survivors, alongside Rick, Carl, Maggie and Sophia Peletier. Andrea worked as a clerk for a Law firm before the zombie apocalypse, a job which she says she hated. She is shown to be one of the greatest rifle shooters in the Walking Dead universe, known for sniping at foes of the group whether they are human or zombies. After having a relationship with Dale in the prison, she is later in a relationship with Rick at the Alexandria Safe-Zone after Dale's death. She acts as a motherly figure to Carl and plays an important role in running the Safe-Zone, often seen as a Vice President figure. Andrea was bitten by a walker whilst saving Eugene from the herd that attacked Alexandria. She dies in her room with Rick, and various members of Alexandria and the Hilltop say goodbye to her before she dies.
Andrea is the daughter of Carl and Sophia, who rekindle their relationship and eventually get married. Sophia later gives birth to a baby girl, whom they name after Carl's stepmother Andrea Grimes.

Duane Jones

Duane Jones was a young boy hiding out with his father, Morgan, in various 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 with Rick, potentially to meet again some day. Much later, at Christmas, Morgan and Duane are seen alive and well, living in a cabin on a snowy mountain. Later still, Rick encounters the two, but while Morgan is alive, Duane has turned. Morgan now joins Rick, but leaves his reanimated son to roam freely within the house.
Morgan was the devoted father of Duane Jones struggling to get over the recent death of his wife. He and his son seek refuge in Rick's hometown after the outbreak occurs. He is the first living person Rick encounters after waking up. He informs Rick of the outbreak and what has been happening within the world the past couple months. Sometime within the following weeks/months, Duane falls prey to the walkers and gets turned. Morgan, unable to cope with the death of his son, resorts to locking Duane in the house with chains. Later Rick takes him in as one of his community. He develops an attraction and consequently a complicated relationship with Michonne. While helping fight off zombies with Michonne, Rick, and the others, he is caught off guard and bitten on the arm by a walker. Michonne chops off Morgan's arm, and from there he is left bedridden. He is shortly thereafter killed by Michonne before he has the chance to re-animate.

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. He confides in Rick and the two became close friends. Andrea tried to offer him comfort, due to her similar loss of her sister, but, Allen rejected her sympathy and maintained a bitter relationship with her. 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 blood loss, 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.
Amy was Andrea's younger sister. They join the survivor group on the outskirts of Atlanta. Amy is bitten by a zombie in the opening stages of a zombie attack on their exposed camp. She dies of the bite, and Andrea shoots her in the head to prevent reanimation and buries her in the nearby forest.
Donna was the wife of Allen and mother of twins Billy and Ben. She is strong-willed, loving and caring to her family. Before the events of the series, Donna made all the big decisions in her relationship with her husband, while leaving the financial responsibilities with Allen. After the dead rise, Donna and her family join the group of survivors encamped on the outer limits of Atlanta, where she makes a point of resenting that the women of the group have to take care of most of the group's domestic chores. Shortly after, when the group attempts to settle at Wiltshire Estates, Donna is killed by a zombie and her body devoured by more of the undead, leaving Allen permanently devastated.
Ben was Allen and Donna's twin son. He is unofficially adopted by Dale and Andrea after their parents die. He does not seem to understand what is happening in the world as it is and believes zombies to be people too. On the road to D.C., Ben brutally slaughters Billy, convinced that he will come back. The group debates killing Ben to protect themselves, but takes no immediate action. In the night, Carl sneaks into the van where Ben is locked up, and executes him. Billy and Ben are buried side by side.
Billy was Allen and Donna's twin son. He is unofficially adopted by Dale and Andrea after their parents die. On the road to D.C., Billy is brutally slaughtered by Ben, who is convinced that Billy will come back. Andrea and Dale are devastated by his loss.
Dale was shown to be the wisest member of the survivor group. Without telling the group he had been bitten, Dale goes off to die but is knocked out by the Hunters who then cook and eat his leg. After Rick's group finds and kills the hunters, they take Dale back to the church. After he dies, he is shot by Andrea to prevent reanimation and his body is burned. Andrea keeps and wears Dale's fishing hat which she uses to talk to him.
Jim joins the survivor group after his entire family is killed by zombies. 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, and the rest of the group realize that he has been bitten on his arm. Jim is left under a tree on the outskirts of Atlanta, in the hopes that, upon reanimating, he can be reunited with the undead members of his family that may still exist.
Carol was a 24-year-old housewife and the mother of Sophia. She is portrayed as a fragile woman, relying on others for emotional and physical support. She becomes Tyreese's girlfriend until he cheats on her with Michonne, which contributes to her continuing psychological breakdown. She dies in the prison, feeding herself to a walker tied up for medical observation after convincing herself that the walker wanted to be her friend. This comes after Tyreese's infidelity and Rick and Lori's rejection of a polyamorous relationship. Her daughter is taken in by Glenn and Maggie.
Sophia is the daughter of Carol and adopted daughter of Maggie, and the longest running female character in the series. Early in the series she develops a friendship and later a relationship with Carl until they are separated within the two different communities of Alexandria and the Hilltop 22 miles apart. After Carol dies at the prison, Sophia pretends that Maggie and Glenn are her real parents, until she admits she is aware of Carol, and was simply repressing the bad memories around her suicide attempts. Four years into the apocalypse, and two years after the war with Negan, Sophia and Carl reunite as he becomes a blacksmith apprentice at the Hilltop, and becomes skilled in fighting, She is brutally beaten by two bullies after she tries to stop them from harming another child, before Carl defends her and leaves them in a critical condition.
Glenn was Maggie's boyfriend. Glenn delivered pizzas in Atlanta before the events of the comic which gave him the skills to make supply runs. On one of these runs, he found Rick and brought him back to the group, reuniting him with his family. He is a key member of Rick's group throughout his life, often acting as a supply runner. He also makes a very close friend named Heath after the group comes to Alexandria. He planned to live with Maggie at the Hilltop Colony, So Maggie, Sophia, and their baby could be safe. He is beaten to death with a baseball bat by Negan.
Shane was a police officer and longtime friend of Rick Grimes. After Rick is shot and put into a coma, and the zombie outbreak occurs, he rescues Rick's family and leads a group of survivors, becoming romantically involved with Rick's wife, Lori. When Rick returns to his family alive, Shane grows increasingly jealous of their relationship, as well as Rick's role in the group. He is shot in the neck by Carl and is later put down by Rick.

Chris

Chris was a disturbed, sixteen-year-old boyfriend of Julie, living with her and her father, Tyreese before the zombie crisis begins. The three eventually join Rick's group in Atlanta's outskirts, and move with them from Wiltshire Estates to the prison. Unbeknownst to the others, Chris exhorts Julie into a youthfully idealistic suicide pact, and haphazardly executes it one night, in the prison, shooting her. Julie reanimates in her father's arms and Chris shoots her a second time. Tyreese, in furious rage chokes Chris to death, then beats his reanimated corpse until he is nothing but pulverized pieces, which he then burns. Tyreese later confesses his enraged manslaughter to Rick.
Julie was Tyreese's teenage daughter. She is shown to be affectionate to both her father and boyfriend. The end of the world has not 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. She soon reanimates in Tyreese's arms, and almost kills her father before being fatally shot by Chris again.
Tyreese was shown to be a devoted father as well as an able-bodied fighter and leadership figure to those around him. However, he is also a very flawed individual, suffering from emotional fragility. Despite this, he is greatly admired by his fellow survivors and is a role model to Carl, while acting as Rick's right-hand man. He is killed by The Governor outside the prison, being decapitated with Michonne's sword.

Arnold Greene

Arnold was Hershel's second son. He is shown as loyal and reliable to his father. He is bitten by his brother, Shawn, who had become a zombie and has been kept locked inside the family's barn. He is shot by a distraught Hershel to prevent reanimation.
Billy was Hershel's youngest son. Depicted as in his teens, brash and rebellious, he acts as one of the best shots of the group, second only to Andrea. Billy ends up having a one-night stand with Carol before she commits suicide, which causes him to feel guilt. He is killed in the final stages of the assault on the prison by the Woodbury Army; his death leads his father to allow himself to die as well.
Hershel was the patriarch of the Greene family and owner of the farm where Rick's group are invited to stay after Carl is shot. He later joins up with Rick's group at the prison after the farm becomes too unsafe only to be killed during the Governor's second attack on the prison.
Lacey was Hershel's eldest daughter. She is shown as sarcastic and weary of her father. Lacey shared her love of reading with Carol. She is killed by the zombies that were kept in the family's barn while attempting to save Arnold.
Maggie is Hershel Greene's tomboyish second oldest daughter and Glenn's lover. She eventually becomes Glenn's wife and later widow, and takes the role of being a surrogate mother to Sophia Peletier following the suicide of the girl's biological mother, Carol Peletier. She soon discovers she is pregnant while living at the Alexandria Safe-Zone in Washington DC. After Glenn's death, she moves with Sophia to the Hilltop Colony. She successfully overthrows Gregory as leader, outing him as a coward for siding with the man who murdered Glenn, only caring for his own safety. Eventually she becomes the de facto leader of the community as she moves enforcements to save the civilians of Alexandria in the war against the Saviours during the bombings. Two years after the war, she remains a strong and capable leader, while also taking care of her two-year-old son, Hershel Greene II She continues to come into conflict with Gregory, who orchestrates a plan to kill her with other parents who disagree with her actions towards their sons' injuries after Carl Grimes had beaten them to save Sophia. Gregory manages to poison Maggie as she is dealing with one of the Whisperer captives, Lydia. The Hilltop is attacked during the Whisperer War arc, and Maggie is forced to lead the survivors to Alexandria.
Rachel was one of Hershel's youngest twin daughters. Along with her sister, she is decapitated by Thomas when alone in the prison barbershop.
Susie was one of Hershel's youngest twin daughters. Along with her sister, she is decapitated by Thomas when alone in the prison barbershop.
Shawn was Hershel's oldest son and the first member of the Greene family to be killed by zombies, as shown in the video game adaptation '. He is reanimated and locked in Hershel's barn until a cure for the epidemic can be discovered. He eventually escapes the barn and kills his brother Arnold. He is shot by Hershel when Hershel realizes that his son will never again be normal.
Otis was the boyfriend of Patricia and a neighbor of Hershel Greene. He accidentally shoots and almost kills Carl while out hunting for a deer. Otis remains at the farm while the Greenes leave to join Rick at the prison. Otis later follows, and is saved from zombies by the newly arrived Michonne. He rejoins the group. Later, when the prison is temporarily overrun by zombies, Otis is attacked by zombies and killed. When Rick and his group return from Woodbury, Otis has turned into a walker. Rick shoots him in the head.
Patricia was Otis' incredibly naive girlfriend. After Thomas kills Hershel's twin daughters, Patricia attempts to free him so the other survivors don't kill him. Thomas almost kills her soon afterward, but Patricia manages to fight him off until Maggie arrives and shoots him. Rick is wary of allowing Patricia to stay with the group but decides she is ultimately harmless. Her naiveté allows the inmates of the prison to convince her to help them take back the prison from Rick, though their plan is thwarted after Dexter is killed. Patricia then becomes an outcast amongst the survivors, but regains acceptance by saving Rick's life via a blood transfusion before the attack on the prison. She is shot and killed by a member of Woodbury during the final assault on the prison.

Andrew

Andrew was a dreadlocked former drug user who believes God sent the zombie apocalypse to help him "get clean". He is of African-American background. He has a relationship with Dexter, apparently in love with him, probably due to the amount of time spent locked up alone with him and the two other convicts. When Dexter is accused of 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 is extremely distraught; he subsequently flees the prison during the time Michonne and Otis arrive. His fate remains unclear. Later on, the writer stated that Andrew is probably deceased. In the novel ' it is revealed that Andrew has turned into a zombie. Shortly afterwards he is shot by Lilly Caul.
Axel was described as a grizzled old white biker imprisoned for armed robbery. When Dexter tries to force the survivors out of the prison, Axel stands up for them. Being the only of the four convicts to remain with the survivors over the majority of the story, he eventually finds their trust through hard work and earnest commitment. He has a brief relationship with Patricia after being shot in the arm during the first prison assault. After helping the survivors set up defenses, he is shot in the head, an early casualty of the second prison assault.
Dexter was a towering, physically intimidating African-American 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 relationship with Andrew, but is purely in said relationship for sex. After the murders of the Greene twins, Lori leads the group to wrongly lock him up on account of being the only convict known to murder. After Thomas is revealed to be responsible and not receiving any apology, he loses his patience and orders Andrew to scavenge the prison's riot gear. Amidst the confusion with Thomas, Dexter gathers Andrew 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 by Rick, who covers it up as a friendly fire mistake.
Thomas was a nerdy 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. Patricia attempts to free him so the other survivors would not hang him, nearly getting herself killed in the process. He is later shot repeatedly by Maggie Greene after his attempted escape. His deceased body is thrown to the zombie hordes outside of the prison.

Michonne

Michonne is a katana-wielding survivor who saves the life of Otis and thereafter joins Rick's group at the prison. Over the course of the series, she finds herself repressed and unhappy over the deaths of her loved ones, believing she doesn't deserve any happiness or a chance to start over, due to the pain of leaving her daughters behind, assuming they've been killed along with her ex-husband, Dominic. She journeys to Alexandria with the group and after two years, returns from a long sea voyage. She is the supposed leader of The Kingdom after the death of Ezekiel, but is currently helping at the Hilltop Colony after delivering a near-dead Aaron.
Mike was the reanimated boyfriend of Michonne who is used for camouflage with the other zombies. In the Michonne special, it is revealed that Mike and Terry met up with Michonne before staying in a secluded house where a zombie tried to gain entry and bit him in the arm. He is decapitated by Michonne when she gains entry into the prison, but she still speaks to him nonetheless.

Terry

Terry was the best friend of Michonne's boyfriend, Mike.

Woodbury

Rosita Espinosa

Rosita was a woman who joins up with Sgt. Abraham Ford and Eugene in their mission to reach Washington D.C. She is a foil to Abraham's potential brutality; kind, gentle, and understanding, capable of neutralizing and abating Abraham's emotional instabilities or inhumane talk and urges. After Abraham has an affair with Holly, she moves in with Eugene and begins a relationship with him. She mourns Abraham along with Holly after his death. After two years, she is pregnant but tells Eugene he is not the father. After Alpha marks a border between the Whisperers and the other communities, Rosita is one of the many casualties who has been decapitated with their reanimated head on a spike.
Abraham was a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. Sometime after the zombie crisis began, Ford came into contact with Eugene, who claimed he had information that 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 reveals he has crucial information about the zombie's origins. At the Alexandria Safe-Zone he has an affair with Holly, which leads to him breaking up with Rosita. He is murdered by Dwight, a member of the Saviors.
Eugene is a high school science teacher who has lied about being a scientist working on a cure for the outbreak disease in order to receive protection from others. He is known for his intelligence, as he knows how to make bullets, and he contributes to the group by suggesting ideas to Rick. He lived with Rosita and they were in a relationship, but he is not the father of her child but promised to raise him as his own. However, Rosita is one of the victims at the hand of The Whisperers. After her death, Eugene becomes distraught, but eventually finds a woman on the radio he built who says she is from Ohio.
Gabriel was a priest who comes across the group after leaving his church, where he had been hiding from the undead. The group is very suspicious of his story, and does not trust him. He had survived over several months alone in the church by turning away his followers and any other civilians when the zombie attacks started, saving him from internal conflict. As a consequence, however, he now feels remorse. Since arriving at the Safe-Zone, he believes that God's plan for him has been to meet the survivors so that he could eventually preach at the Safe-Zone's church. He eventually redeems himself. During the conflict with the Whisperers he joins Rick's army, training intensively with Dwight and proving to be an excellent shot. While at the guard tower, the Whisperers approach with a zombie herd. Gabriel tries to warn Rick but falls and breaks his leg. Begging for mercy, Beta disembowels him, leaving him for zombies to feast on.