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4[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_walking_dead_comic_001.jpg]]
5[[caption-width-right:350:''"[[HeWhoFightsMonsters You think we hide behind walls to protect us from the walking dead!]] [[DoubleMeaningTitle Don't you get it?]] '''[[TitleDrop We ARE the walking dead!]]'''"'']]
6
7->''"One of the most compelling aspects of The Walking Dead comic was watching Generic Good Guy Rick being slowly but completely ruined by a lawless world. He started off as a cliche small town sheriff, sure, but only because it was fun to explore exactly what it takes to break [[Series/TheAndyGriffithShow Andy Griffith's]] mind and make him eat the rest of Mayberry."''
8-->-- '''[[http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-reasons-the-walking-dead-has-to-get-better/ Robert Brockway,]]''' ''{{Website/Cracked}}''
9
10''The Walking Dead'' is a {{zombie apocalypse}} {{comic book}}, written by Creator/RobertKirkman with art by Charlie Adlard,[[note]][[ComicBook/BattlePope Tony Moore did the first six issues]][[/note]] featuring an [[{{Ensembles}} ensemble cast]] ([[AnyoneCanDie which is constantly in flux]]) of survivors [[AfterTheEnd struggling to survive]] over the long-term duration of the zombie uprising. The de facto main character is Rick Grimes, a [[FairCop police officer]] who was shot in the line of duty; when he wakes up from a ConvenientComa, all hell has broken loose. Rick goes in search of his family and safety, both of which end up being more tenuous than not.
11
12While most zombie apocalypse comic books focus on MoreDakka and improbable fighting skills in order to showcase BigDamnHeroes, ''The Walking Dead'' focuses more of its action on {{survival horror}} and the [[DramaTropes psychological and personal relationships]] which result from [[ItNeverGetsAnyEasier the stress of being constantly on guard]]. As one critic (and the main character himself, eventually) put it, the title is specifically ''not'' referring to the zombies, but the survivors.
13
14The series began in October 2003 to great fanfare. In June 2019, it was revealed that the series would come to its conclusion with July 2019's Issue #193 -- a giant-sized issue -- ending a 16-year run in as an abrupt fashion as the deaths of many of the comic's lead characters. However, Kirkman noted that this was a stylistic decision and his intended ending, and he even commissioned a few covers for fake issues past #193 in order to preserve the big plot twist in the final three issues.
15
16There is also a LiveActionAdaptation television series that is based on, but also [[AlternateContinuity deviates a bit]] from the comic; [[Series/TheWalkingDead2010 it has its own page]]. There is also an episodic {{adventure game}} series by Creator/TelltaleGames set in the same universe as the comic. [[VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadTelltale It also has its own page.]] Kirkman has also co-written a planned trilogy of prequel novels to the series, the first one being ''[[Literature/TheWalkingDeadRiseOfTheGovernor Rise of the Governor]]''. The second, ''[[Literature/TheWalkingDeadTheRoadToWoodbury The Road to Woodbury]]'', was released in October 2012 and the final novel of the Governor trilogy, ''[[Literature/TheWalkingDeadFallOfTheGovernor The Fall of the Governor]]'' in 2013. Subsequent releases have been ''[[Literature/TheWalkingDeadDescent Descent]]'' and ''[[Literature/TheWalkingDeadInvasion Invasion]]'', with others likely on the way.
17
18There is a [[ShoutOut/TheWalkingDead shout out]] page here.
19
20----
21!!''The Walking Dead'' contains examples of:
22
23[[foldercontrol]]
24
25[[folder:A-F]]
26* AbandonedHospitalAwakening: The first issue starts with Rick getting shot, then awakening weeks later to find the hospital completely deserted. While looking for help, Rick finds a rotting corpse outside an elevator and things quickly go FromBadToWorse.
27* AbsurdlySharpBlade:
28** Michonne's blade. Starts as an [[AvertedTrope Aversion]] - it gets stuck in a skull once, when we [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness first]] meet her - but later it cuts through everything like a hot knife through butter. Rick's hatchet, on the other hand, is as sharp as the plot needs it to be at any given time.
29** She knows to take blade sharpeners when they raid weapons shops. Presumably, she keeps her sword in top condition.
30* AccidentalAdultery: Rick's wife Lori [[GladToBeAliveSex sleeps with]] best friend Shane when Rick is presumed dead, as they left him in a coma in the midst of what appears to be TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. When Rick returns, Lori considers it a mistake and wants [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain to forget it ever happened]], but Shane [[MurderTheHypotenuse has other ideas]].
31* ActionGirl: {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in the case of Michonne. The ZombieApocalypse has honed her into a stone-cold badass, but at the cost of most of her sanity and compassion. Instead of straight-up [[spoiler:killing the Governor, she tortures him and leaves him alive, allowing him to mount an attack on the prison and kill the vast majority of the folks there. Following that, she leads Tyreese]] on a two-person counterattack that results in his beheading. NiceJobBreakingItHero.
32* AffablyEvil:
33** The leader of the cannibal gang. There's really nothing personal about cutting off your leg. After all, a man's gotta eat.
34** Negan zigzags all over the place. His surface-level personality is extremely abrasive, rude and domineering. However, he is very straightforward and fair, and quickly shows that his larger-than-life persona hides a deeply intelligent, tactical and insightful mind. [[spoiler:If only he didn't kill Rick's friends without any hint of hesitation.]]
35* AlasPoorVillain: The Hunters were definitely not nice people but its hard not to feel at least a little sad when [[spoiler:Rick's group brutally kills them all to prevent them from following and attacking his people.]]
36* AlternateHistory: Downplayed, the world of ''The Walking Dead'' is similar to RealLife; pre-zombie apocalypse. The difference is that ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'' was not released and thus, zombies never became a part of pop culture. This leaves the ZombieApocalypse survivors GenreBlind at first.
37* AmputationStopsSpread: It's possible to survive being bitten by a walker, but only if the infected limb is removed immediately and the victim receives proper medical treatment. Even when things go well its still possible for people to die from bacterial infection, blood loss or a combination of both, especially if the cut was made with a weapon that was recently used against the undead.
38* AnyoneCanDie: The comic lives on this trope. {{Mauve Shirt}}s are in high number, but in this series, main characters are no safer than supporting ones, and eventually, it's not a matter of if the characters will die--it's WHEN they'll die.
39--> '''Days Gone Bye:''' [[spoiler:Amy, Jim, Shane]]\
40'''Miles Behind Us:''' [[spoiler:Donna, Arnold Greene, Lacey Greene]]\
41'''Safety Behind Bars:''' [[spoiler:Julie, Chris, Susie Greene, Rachel Greene, Thomas Richards]]\
42'''The Heart's Desire:''' [[spoiler:Dexter, Andrew, Allen]]\
43'''This Sorrowful Life:''' [[spoiler:Harold, Eugene Cooney, Dr. Stevens, Otis, Cesar Martinez]]\
44'''The Calm Before:''' [[spoiler:Bruce Cooper, Sam, Carol]]\
45'''Made to Suffer:''' [[spoiler:Tyreese, Axel, Patricia, Billy Greene, Alice Warren, Lori Grimes, Judith Grimes, Hershel Greene, The Governor]]\
46'''What We Become:''' [[spoiler:Duane Jones, The three Marauders]]\
47'''Fear the Hunters:''' [[spoiler:Billy, Ben, Greg, Charlie, Theresa, Albert, David, Chris, Dale]]\
48'''Too Far Gone:''' [[spoiler:Scott, Regina Monroe, Pete Anderson, Derek and his group]]\
49'''No Way Out:''' [[spoiler:Bruce, Tobin, Morgan Jones, Ron Anderson, Jessie Anderson, Douglas Monroe]]\
50'''A Larger World:''' [[spoiler:Ethan]]\
51'''Something to Fear:''' [[spoiler:Abraham Ford, Glenn]]\
52'''March to War:''' [[spoiler:Spencer Monroe, Connor]]\
53'''All Out War (Part One & Part Two):''' [[spoiler:David, Eric, Richard, Shiva, Holly, John, Denise Cloyd, Kal, Mike, Donnie, Nicholas, Marcus]]\
54'''A New Beginning:''' [[spoiler:Bernie, Doug]]\
55'''Whispers Into Screams:''' [[spoiler:Joshua]]\
56'''Life and Death:''' [[spoiler:Gregory, Olivia, Josh, Carson, Tammy Rose, Luke, Erin, Ken, Amber, Larry, Oscar, Rosita Espinosa, Ezekiel]]\
57'''No Turning Back:''' [[spoiler:Morton Rose]]\
58'''Call to Arms:''' [[spoiler:Brandon Rose, Alpha]]\
59'''The Whisperer War:''' [[spoiler:Gabriel Stokes]]\
60'''A Certain Doom:''' [[spoiler:Paula, Sherry, Andrea]]\
61'''Lines We Cross:''' [[spoiler:Beta]]\
62'''New World Order:''' [[spoiler:Dominic, Colette]]\
63'''The Rotten Core:''' [[spoiler:Anthony Keith, Dwight]]\
64'''Rest In Peace:''' [[spoiler:Rick Grimes, Stephanie]]
65* AnArmAndALeg:
66** [[spoiler:Allen's leg is severed in an attempt to save his life after he is bitten by a zombie. It doesn't work.]]
67** [[spoiler:Rick has his (already useless) right arm hacked off by the Governor.]]
68** [[spoiler:The Governor himself loses an arm, an eye and his penis, when Michonne tortures and mutilates him. She had already taken an ear from him in an earlier encounter.]]
69** [[spoiler:Dale's leg is amputated to prevent the infection from spreading, and thanks to Alice's medical knowledge, he survives. Eventually, he has his other leg chopped off by cannibals.]]
70** [[spoiler:Michonne amputates Morgan's arm after it's bitten during an attack. Morgan dies in almost the exact same fashion as Allen.]]
71** [[spoiler:Heath has his leg blown up by a grenade during an attack of the Saviors]]
72* ApocalypseAnarchy: We don't see much of it first-hand, since Rick SleptThroughTheApocalypse, but according to the other survivors, things got bad ''fast'', with society collapsing in a matter of weeks, and people turning on each other in the middle of it all.
73* ApocalypseHow: Class 1, bordering on Class 2; the vast majority of national and local governments have ceased to exist, leaving only scattered communities and roving bands of survivors. [[spoiler:The epilogue shows humanity has almost recovered to its pre-apocalypse state.]]
74* TheApocalypseBringsOutTheBestInPeople: While a lot of people became [[HumansAreBastards bastards]] after civilization fell to the walker hordes there are several who became much better human beings. One good example would be Axel from the prison arc. Before the world went to shit he was serving time for armed robbery, afterwards he ended up becoming one of Rick's greatest allies and was an important asset to the group during their time at the prison.
75* ApocalypticLogistics: Averted; much of the early plot revolves around the survivors trying to scavenge enough supplies to stay alive, which becomes increasingly difficult the more time passes. By the time they settle in Alexandria, about two years into the apocalypse, Rick points out that this is unsustainable - no new food has been produced since the outbreak began, and what's left is going to expire sooner rather than later. Instead, the survivors begin focusing on producing their own food, and even their own ammunition. They also switch from cars to horses and wagons whenever possible.
76* ArrowsOnFire: [[spoiler:The Whisperers use these during the Whisperer War story arc to burn the Hilltop to the ground and kill several of its guards.]]
77* ArtEvolution: The first story arc was drawn by Tony Moore and had a noticeably cartoony style with exaggerated facial expressions. Charlie Adlard takes the reigns afterwards, giving the comic a more realistic approach. It starts off a bit rough around the edges but around Issue 40, the art gets smoother and Adlard pulls off some amazing feats in character expressions and general detail.
78* ArtificialLimbs:
79** [[spoiler:Dale]] gets a makeshift wooden leg after a zombie bite [[LifeOrLimbDecision forces them to amputate one of his real ones]].
80** [[spoiler:Rick]] gets a modern prosthetic arm after the time skip.
81** [[spoiler:Heath]] also gets a prosthetic after the time skip, replacing one of his legs.
82* AscendedExtra:
83** Lilly, who only appeared for a couple of pages during the end of ''Made to Suffer'', is the protagonist of the novel ''Literature/TheWalkingDeadTheRoadToWoodbury'' and other books that follow.
84** Hershel's unseen son Shawn, who was mentioned as having died not long before the events of the comics, is present in the first episode of [[VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadTelltale Telltale's adaption]], and as a major character at that.
85* AttackAttackAttack: [[spoiler:The Governor thinks his superior numbers and a salvaged tank will give him a quick victory; instead his mooks get slaughtered as they can't get past the prison fences (which they want to preserve so they can use the prison once it's emptied) and their marksmanship isn't as good as those holding the prison (Rick has made a point of training everyone). The prison only gets overrun when the tank is finally used to knock down the fences, but this also lets the zombies in.]]
86* AttemptedRape: During the All Out War one of Negan's men attempts to rape a captured prisoner. [[spoiler:This earns him a knife to the throat when his boss catches him red handed.]]
87* AxCrazy: Several people, both in the group and out. The most prominent examples are [[spoiler:Thomas Richards]] and the Governor, both of whom are sociopathic murderers with the latter also being a rapist.
88* BadassBoast: When Rick decides to [[spoiler:go to Chris' group of cannibals]]:
89-->'''Rick:''' They're fucking with the wrong people.
90* BatterUp: Negan's weapon of choice. [[ICallItVera It's a love affair, really.]]
91* BewareTheLiving: Several examples of this, particularly The Governor, who happily feeds survivors from outside his town to the zombies in order to keep them 'docile'. [[spoiler:You know this is going on pretty hard when the eventual TitleDrop is not describing the zombies, but actually ''[[DespairEventHorizon the despairing protagonists]]'' after one time too many of this Trope being used to YankTheDogsChain.]]
92* BigBad: Due to zombies being treated more as a force of nature than a central threat, humans take up the reigns as one temporary BigBad or another. Three have shown up so far.
93** Philip "The Governor" Blake from Issue 27 to 48.
94** Negan, leader of the Saviors, from Issue 96 to 126.
95** Alpha, leader of the Whisperers, from Issue 130 to Issue 156. After [[spoiler:her demise at the hands of Negan]], her [[TheDragon 2nd in command Beta]] has became the new {{Big Bad}} as of Issue 157.
96* TheBigGuy: Shane, Tyreese, Abraham, and [[LightningBruiser Jesus]]. Basically, Rick's current [[TheLancer Lancer]] is usually the biggest dude in the current group.
97* BittersweetEnding: By the end of Volume 32, [[spoiler:Rick Grimes gets killed by Sebastian, who in turn gets to spend the rest of his life in prison. In Issue 193, which takes place at least over two decades after Rick's death, it turns out that human civilization managed to recover and rebuild itself -- thanks to Rick, who, sadly, never got to see the result of his altruistic actions.]]
98* BlastingItOutOfTheirHands:
99** Happens all the way back in issue 1 during the shootout Rick and Shane had with an escaped convict. Ironically enough, it was the criminal blasting the gun out of the lawman's hands in this particular instance.
100** Also happens much later in Issue 112 when Rick [[spoiler:attempts to ambush and kill Negan only to find that he has several snipers hidden nearby as backup. Nobody in his group manages to get a single shot off before having their guns blown right out of their hands.]]
101* BleedEmAndWeep: Carl breaks down after having to kill Shane when the latter is pointing a gun at his dad. He runs to his father and cries that it's not the same as killing Walkers.
102* BoomHeadshot: The only way to kill a Walker permanently is to destroy the brain, leading to many instances of this.
103* BoringButPractical: As the characters discover early on, melee weapons are much more practical than guns when dealing with Walkers, especially indoors. Guns require ammunition, and are very loud, which attracts ''more'' Walkers, while things that can be used as melee weapons, such as axes, knives, bats and even tools like hammers or wrenches, are relatively easy to find or replace. As a result, the more time passes, guns are saved for dealing with large herds of Walkers, or other hostile survivors.
104* BreakTheCutie: Any nice characters do not stay in good mental health for long.
105** DrivenToSuicide: Several of said cases result in this. [[spoiler:Carol, Hershel, Maggie. Only Carol has eventually gone through with it by herself.]]
106* BrickJoke: In Issue 7, Dale and Rick discuss how Andrea has estimated that Christmas is the following day, with Rick having Dale keep the revelation to himself to avoid having to explain to Carl "how Santa can't find him". Come Issue 67, when finding a van full of mattresses elicits a Christmas joke from Andrea, Carl realizes they skipped Christmas the previous year.
107* BringMyBrownPants: [[spoiler:When the walls to the Alexandria Safe Zone break down in Volume 14 and the Andersons try to escape, Ron, the son who is about Carl's age, urinates down his leg. Hard to blame him, however.]]
108** A more humorous example occurs between Dwight and Negan when they see [[spoiler:the massive incoming horde of walkers the allied settlements lured to the Sanctuary]] during the All Out War arc.
109-->"I hope you have your shitting pants on."
110* CarFu:
111** When Martinez tries to flee back to Woodbury to report the Prisons location to the Governor, Rick catches up to him and runs him down with Dale's RV.
112** Rick and Abraham does this to a Walker herd while returning from Rick's hometown with Morgan, but unlike the previous example, this does almost nothing, as Walkers don't care one bit about broken bones.
113* CelebritySurvivor: Subverted by Tyreese -- he used to be a pro football player, but he was already washed up by the time of the ZombieApocalypse.
114** A far darker example would be [[spoiler:Beta]] who was a pro basketball player who appeared in several commercials before the world went to shit. In this case its used to show just how far he has fallen by [[spoiler:wearing human skin and living like an animal out in the woods.]]
115* CessationOfExistence: This is implied a couple of times.
116** After her death, Rick's hallucination of [[spoiler: Lori]] says that she wishes she could tell him that she and everyone he's lost is in a better world, but reminds him he was never one to believe in the afterlife anyway.
117** After her HappilyFailedSuicide, [[spoiler: Maggie]] tells Glenn that there is nothing after death and that she will take what she can from the ZombieApocalypse.
118* ChildrenForcedToKill: Carl does this to protect his own parents.
119* ColdBloodedTorture: [[spoiler:The Governor does this to Michonne, who returns the favor after being freed from her prison.]] What happens to [[spoiler:the Hunters]] could count as well.
120* ColdSniper: Andrea can be this when she has to be.
121* ComicBookTime: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. Everybody ages.
122* ConvenientComa: As noted, Rick sleeps through the intital zombie-outbreak. When he finally wakes up, he shakes off a gunshot wound and being bedridden for who knows how long in very short order.
123* CosyCatastrophe: The devastation isn't as complete as one might expect and the ecosystem seems generally intact. Also, the zombies are mostly opportunists - they usually don't actively hunt the humans.
124** This trope is especially invoked after [[spoiler:the two year time skip. After a pretty hard first year in the ZombieApocalypse the main characters have banded together to create a network of settlements to begin rebuilding civilization. As such they now have farms to grow food, workers to make weapons, tools and ammunition, and even riders to draw away large hordes of walkers. The biggest threat to their safety at this point probably isn't even the zombies anymore, but other human survivors who have also established a permanent society in this new world, though time will tell how long this lasts...]]
125* CountryMatters: Several characters have used this word when sufficiently pissed off. Negan and Laura in particular use it like other people would use punctuation.
126* CrapsaccharineWorld: Woodbury.
127* CrapsackWorld: Unusually so, even for the ZombieApocalypse genre.
128* CreepyChild: All children become this after growing up with everyone they know being murdered and eaten warps their moralities and sanities out of all recognition. [[spoiler:Ben]]'s the first to go irretrievably nuts.
129** Negan lampshades this after he [[spoiler:captures a young Carl, who had hidden in a truck with an assault rifle in order to get revenge on Negan for killing members of his group, calling him a "little future serial murderer".]]
130* CripplingCastration: [[spoiler:The Governor]] has his penis nailed to a board and then severed after raping and torturing one of the main characters. Needless to say, he deserved it.
131* CultOfPersonality: The Saviors. Their leader Negan is seen as a godlike figure who commands their total loyalty, respect and devotion. [[spoiler:Well, most of them anyway.]]
132* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler:The battle between the Washington community and the raiders; the raiders are all killed moronically attacking the fortified community.]]
133* DeadGuyJunior: Maggie names her and Glen's son after her father, Hershel. [[spoiler:Carl names his daughter in the last issue after his deceased stepmother, Andrea.]]
134* DeadlyScratch: Walkers can cause victims to become fatally ill from any sort of wound that comes directly from the Walker themselves -- usually bites, but even a scratch obtained from their clawing or gripping will do the trick. Negan exploits this by coating Lucille (his barbed-wire-tipped baseball bat) in "zombie gunk", making even a light grazing from it fatal.
135* DeathOfAChild: All the child characters besides [[spoiler:Carl and Sophia]] have died so far. However, only one child death is seen [[spoiler:in Issue 83]]. It's even pointed out by Douglas Monroe how extremely common this has become in the post-apocalyptic world, as children are virtually helpless without their parents, and even those who have been trained to survive, like Carl, can only do so much against a walker, much less other hostile survivors.
136* DecapitationPresentation: Issue 144, just issue 144. It makes the [[spoiler:prison massacre]] in issue 48 and [[spoiler:Negan's batting practice with Glenn's head]] in issue 100 look like nothing. [[spoiler:After capturing several people from the fair Alpha kills them and leaves their heads impaled on sticks as a warning to Rick. Olivia, Rosita... Ezekiel... and so many others gone forever in the blink of an eye...]]
137** The Governor also does this with [[spoiler:Martinez]] after his corpse is recovered to stir the Woodbury citizens to battle.
138* {{Deuteragonist}}: ''The Walking Dead'' is as much Carl's storyline as it is Rick's. In fact, Kirkman stated that Carl will be the one character most likely to reach the end of the series. The final issue shows that [[spoiler:he stuck to that plan.]]
139* DevouredByTheHorde:
140** [[spoiler:In Issue 8, the group is surprised by a horde of zombies in Wiltshire Estates, that they thought was safe, causing Donna to be bitten in the face and forcing the survivors to leave her to this fate.]]
141** [[spoiler:In the "Made to Suffer" volume, when Lily discovered that she shot Judith, a baby, she's furious at the Governor for making her shoot them which makes her shoot him and shoves him into the horde of walkers while she leads the surviving Woodbury citizens out of danger into the prison.]]
142** [[spoiler:When Alexandria is hit by a horde, Jessie and Ron are devoured right in front of Rick, who even has to chop Jessie's hand almost off, to force her to let go of Carl, so they can escape.]]
143* DidIMentionItsChristmas: In issue 7, Dale tells Rick that Andrea has been counting the calendar days and believes it's Christmas Eve. Rick instructs him not to mention it to the others: "I don't want to have to explain to my son that on top of all this other shit, Santa can't find him."
144** In issue 61, [[spoiler:the group finds a van with mattresses in it,]] and Andrea comments on how it's like early Christmas time, then Carl asks nobody in particular if they skipped last Christmas. The question is ignored.
145* DisasterDemocracy: Most survivor groups use some variety of this, albeit inofficially, with natural leaders rising to the top and people supporting them since they get the job done. This is in contrast to the antagonists who enforce their authority through violence, such as The Governor (despite his name), Negan and Alpha. Subverted by The Hunters, who are effectively a collective.
146* DisposablePilot: Though the Governor would have likely just killed him anyway it's mentioned that the pilot of the helicopter seen during the prison arc died in the crash while his partner was taken alive. (And then killed afterwards.)
147* DisproportionateRetribution: All over the place. Laws, order and government are a thing of the past so most crimes and offenses are punished severely even in relative civil places. Then there are people like the Governor who do things like [[spoiler:rape and torture]] over minor slights.
148* {{Doorstopper}}: The first Compendium version of the comic is one of these, each one having 8 volumes (48 issues).
149* DrivenToSuicide: Quite a few characters, some even to the extent of letting themselves be eaten alive by zombies.
150* DrowningMySorrows: A few mourners can be seen doing this in issue 146 right before the funeral scene at the church happens.
151* DwindlingParty: Happens to the group during the "Made to Suffer" arc that concludes the first compendium. Glenn, Dale, Andrea, Maggie, Sophia, Billy, and Ben all leave the prison once they decide it's too dangerous to stay with the Governor's impending attack. Andrea comes back later to help, but is quickly forced out of the fight. Then, [[spoiler:Tyreese is killed]], and Michonne is forced to flee after being attacked. During the final assault, [[spoiler:Axel, Patricia, Billy, Alice, Lori, Judith, and Hershel are ''all'' killed, leaving only Rick and Carl to flee the prison.]]
152* TheDulcineaEffect: Carl falls for this extremely hard of Lydia, bonding with her when they're both locked up, defending her over the lives of two residents of Hilltop, and throwing away everything to be with her after knowing her for less than two days. A few male characters point out that no matter how idiotic this is, it's not surprising, as Carl is a young, teenaged boy, a demographic not known for making rational decisions, especially not when it comes to girls. The ZombieApocalypse has not changed that.
153* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: It starts off as a fast-paced adventure about one man with a clear goal to get to his family and keep them safe until the zombie problem passes. After volume 2 it becomes a more long-term plan to establish a new society with the survivors they've found, becoming a soap opera of sorts and after volume 5 a small-scale war story on top of that. After volume 8 it becomes a far more dystopian story where there's genuine danger that people within the group are going to go nuts and kill each other.
154** Rick actually has little trouble with the first human characters he meets (Morgan and Duane), which almost seems rather strange [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters considering the running themes]] of the work. The TV Show reworked the scene to have Morgan panicking when Duane hits Rick with a shovel, but because he's afraid Rick might have been bitten.
155* EarnYourHappyEnding: The whole comic series ends [[spoiler: With the reveal that the whole series was a story an older Carl Grimes was telling his daughter (also named Andrea). It turns out that the walkers are now dying out, the remnant under control and human civilization rebuilding. A surprisingly upbeat, hopeful ending.]]
156* EliteZombie: Averted; there's only one type of zombie. Instead, there's differing level of danger depending on how the zombies act. Early on, the Atlanta survivors begin refering to them as Roamers or Lurkers - zombies who are constantly on the move looking for prey, and zombies who barely move unless provoked. Ironically, one of the most dangerous kinds are zombies who have been injured badly enough that they can't stand up anymore, as they often end up in hidden spots where survivors might overlook them, and attack when someone gets close enough.
157* EvenEvilHasStandards: Negan. When one of the people from Rick's town tries to convince Negan to kill him so he can become leader, Negan literally eviscerates him for being a traitor. Later, when one of his own men tries to rape a prisoner, Negan is adamant that his people don't rape and stabs him through the neck.
158* EverybodysDeadDave: The ending to the Prison Arc, with only Rick and Carl escaping the Prison alive, spending several days alone while Rick recovers from his injuries. They eventually reunite with Michonne (thought to have died with Tyreese), and move on to Hershel's old farm, where they find Andrea, Maggie, Glenn and Dale, who had left the Prison earlier.
159* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Philip[[spoiler:,[[DeadPersonImpersonation or rather, Brian]]]], better known as "The Governor".
160* EvilCounterpart: The Governor is arguably one of these for Rick. The Hunters are this for the group in general.
161* ExcellentJudgeOfCharacter: When Magna and the group of survivors that she leads first encounter [[TheHero Rick]] and the Alexandria Safe Zone, they're deeply suspicious of the main characters, especially the fact that they insist on disarming the new survivors. This makes them worried that Rick and company mean to kill them and that Alexandria is a TownWithADarkSecret. This would seem to be confirmed when they poke around at night and find [[spoiler:Negan, the BigBad of the previous arc]] imprisoned and claiming that Rick is a cruel despot who has had him tortured. The other members of the group are ready to jump on this as proof of their suspicions, but Magna almost immediately sees through the story and realizes that [[spoiler:Negan]] is trying to con them into freeing him. When asked about it, author Robert Kirkman credited Magna with having "[[LivingLieDetector a really good bullshit detector]]."
162* EyePatchOfPower:
163** [[spoiler:Carl]] creates this effect with a pair of sunglasses with one of their lens removed. [[spoiler:After the giant time skip between issues 192 and 193, he's upgraded it to a massive leather one that covers the damaged half of his face as well.]]
164** Also [[spoiler:The Governor.]]
165* EyeScream: Michonne scoops the Governor's eye out with a spoon while torturing him. [[spoiler:When we next see him he's donning an EyepatchOfPower.]]
166** Douglas tells the story of when he first realized the depths humanity could sink to, when he saw a news report about a man who got stoned and ate his four year old son's eyes.
167** [[spoiler:Carl]] gets shot in the eye by a lost bullet; the shot blows a part of his head. [[spoiler:He survives, and becomes increasingly creepier, to the point where Rick thinks he lost his son.]]
168* FailedASpotCheck: Inverted for some cases, as Michonne ''always'' makes her spot checks.
169* FanservicePack: Eugene loses a lot of weight and generally becomes more handsome as the series goes on. Compare this [[http://walkingdead.wikia.com/wiki/File:Dr._Eugene_Porter.jpg image]] of when he first meet Rick's group with this [[http://walkingdead.wikia.com/wiki/File:Eugene_127_(5).jpg image]] of him after the time skip.
170* FauxAffablyEvil: The Governor is pretty charismatic and well-liked by his people, but behind closed doors is a complete psychopath who [[spoiler:cuts off Rick's hand within ten minutes of meeting him and rapes Michonne.]]
171* {{Foreshadowing}}: "For all we knew, you guys could've been a pack of roving [[ImAHumanitarian cannibals]]."
172** Also, in Issue 12, while looking for food, Andrea jokingly says to Dale that she could "gnaw a piece off of him".
173** In Issue 71, when Rick is trying to decide how to divide their party of twelve into three houses, Glenn says he doesn't care where they sleep so long as the couples stay together. Rick agrees and among those he groups with him and Carl in their house is [[spoiler:Andrea.]]
174* ForcedToWatch:
175** Volume 5 has a variant of this. Glenn and Michonne are locked into rooms right next to each other by The Governor. Afterwards The Governor [[spoiler:begins raping and beating Michonne as Glenn stares at the wall horrified and powerless to stop him.]] He doesn't see a single thing... it's what he HEARS that drives him to tears within seconds.
176** Volume 11 features a notable inversion of this trope in which the "good guys" inflict it upon villains. In this volume, Rick and his crew are pursued by a gang of vicious cannibals. After capturing and disarming the cannibal gang, Rick and his companions execute them one by one (using horrifically brutal methods) while others are forced to watch until it is their turn to die. At the end of the volume, Rick says he feels his actions were justified, but realizes he has crossed a moral line from which there can be no return.
177** In Volume 17, Rick and his group are captured by Negan and his "Saviors". Negan then forces them to watch as he executes a member Rick's crew chosen at random, hoping this will convince Rick to submit to the Saviors' dominance.
178* ForgottenFallenFriend: Averted constantly. Several survivors are still mentioned dozens of issues after their deaths and the many losses the remaining cast have suffered through has greatly affected their sanity. One major example would be in issue 134 with Carl mentioning [[spoiler:Allen]], a minor character who had died over 100 issues ago during the prison arc.
179* FromBadToWorse: Pretty much the main point of the series.
180** Hershel starts off [[spoiler:with seven kids. By the time he dies, he's down to one. And as pointed out further below, two of the deaths are his fault]].
181** After issue 48 things get so much worse that it might very well count as a {{Retool}}. All pretence to safety goes out the window, several beloved characters are gone forever, and those that remain start to go insane. It's like the author heard someone say the comic was dystopian and replied "You thought THAT was dystopian?"
182** [[spoiler:[[BittersweetEnding Subverted]] with [[EarnYourHappyEnding the ending]] of the series.]]
183* FromNobodyToNightmare: Most of the antagonists were just regular people until the outbreak; The Governor was a failed music store owner (as revealed in ''The Rise of The Governor''), Negan was a gym teacher and The Hunters were regular family men.
184[[/folder]]
185
186[[folder:G-O]]
187* GenreBlind: The characters aren't very familiar with zombie tropes, but they learn fast enough. This is because [[WordOfGod Kirkman says]] that ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'' was never released in their universe.
188* GenuineHumanHide: [[spoiler:The Whisperers are actually people who have made suits out of walkers' skin, disguising their looks and scent. This allows them to pass by walkers as long as they walk slowly and speak quietly, and make survivors mistake them for comparitively harmless walkers.]]
189* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: Many examples, but a standout would be [[spoiler:Michonne bashing Rick on the head with a rock when he nearly kills Douglas Monroe in a rage after attacking Pete Anderson]].
190* GhostCity: The cities became deathtraps when the outbreak began, and things only got worse when the government tried to turn them into safe zones, leading to the Walkers multiplying out of control, and the deaths of virtually everyone living there. By the time Rick wakes up, there's almost no one left alive in the cities, and most survivors either huddling together in scattered groups, or in fortified small towns and compounds. Both Atlanta and Washington are filled with Walker hordes when the survivors visit, and after the TimeSkip, Pittsburgh is shown almost completely empty, as most of the Walkers have wandered off into the countryside.
191* GladiatorGames: The Governor runs these in Woodbury to keep the citizens entertained and occupied. He even puts walkers along the sidelines to up the danger factor.
192* GoodStepmother: Andrea becomes one to her stepson Carl over time. The two are fairly affectionate after the TimeSkip, and call each other "mom" and "son" without any problems or issues. [[spoiler:Even on her death bed, she spends part of what little time she has left to give him some good advice. In the final issue, we discover that the adult Carl named his daughter after her.]]
193* GroinAttack: Reasonably common, and usually unreasonably horrible. An example would be when Eugene bites Dwight's crotch so hard it draws blood, and refuses to let go of it in issue 98. It doesn't seem to have resulted in permanent injury, as it's not brought up, even after Dwights HeelFaceTurn.
194** One of several horrific, and well-deserved, mutilations the Governor recieved from Michonne.
195* HeCleansUpNicely: Carl after the time-skip looks rather grungey until he cleans up for a quasi-date with Sophia.
196* HeroicBSOD: In high number, given the massive psychological stress the characters are under.
197* HeroicSacrifice: Numerous examples. Most of the main characters have at least attempted this or considered it an option to protect their friends and family.
198* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Issue 71 subtly paints the protagonists as this with a very creepy and disturbing final line spoken by Rick. Though this was hinted at as far back as the Prison story arc. The ''Fear the Hunters'' story arc really pushed the group into some serious dark territory as far as behavior... and sanity.
199* HideYourChildren: Averted. Several of the principal characters are minors. Also several of the background zombies.
200* HisStoryRepeatsItself:
201** [[spoiler:Gabriel tells Rick about how he kept a door to his original church closed when the dead came, keeping people locked out in fear. In Volume 14, Eugene yells for him to open the Alexandria Safe Zone church doors, and he does so, letting them in, then going out and helping in the fight against the hordes.]]
202** [[spoiler:Negan pre-TimeSkip had his throat slashed by Rick right after a possible HeelRealization. Post-TimeSkip, he makes Alpha show her vulnerable side right before slashing her throat.]]
203* HistoryRepeats: [[spoiler:Amy died by a walker biting her on the right side of her neck, and is put down by her sister, Andrea. Then, Andrea's lover, Dale, dies the same way, once again put down by the same person. Come issue 165, Andrea gets infected the same way, and two issues after that, she is stabbed after reanimation by Rick, who was her SecondLove]].
204** The Whisperers War has many similarities with All out War both have a slow buildup to the new villain who shows up to ruin a happy moment by [[spoiler:killing some characters]]. Rick is then forced to take a passive stance on the conflict much to everybody's anger while he plans to take action in secret. [[spoiler:Both times he ends up getting help from a Savior who pulls a HeelFaceTurn with the leader of the villains having their throat slashed right after a moment of vulnerability.]]
205* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:The potential cure for the plague waiting in DC? Eugene made up that story just so he could have a group protecting him. He's not even a scientist, but rather a high school science teacher.]]
206* HowMuchMoreCanHeTake: Rick vs [[spoiler:Tyreese]].
207* HumansAreTheRealMonsters:
208** The inevitable ZombieApocalypse "humans are the real threat" has been used a couple of times; the Governor does far more damage to the cast than the zombies have, Thomas [[spoiler:decapitates two children]], and then there's [[RapeAsBackstory Abraham's back story]].
209** The residents of Woodbury, by and large, realize that the Governor is a monster but are willing to tolerate him because he keeps them "safe", and entertained.
210** When Tyreese is first introduced, he tells Rick that a man he knew attempted to rape his daughter when his back was turned for a second.
211** The Saviors and The Whisperers in the later part of the comics, who are all convinced their idea of rebuilding society is justified no matter how monstrous they are. The Whisperers take this even further than the Saviors.
212* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Rick most commonly, but this applies to pretty much everyone.
213** Rick [[spoiler:runs over the most sympathetic citizen of Woodbury to stop him from reporting their position back to the evil Woodburians. Martinez claims he was sent as a spy but is really going to bring the good civilians to the supposedly safe shelter of a county jail. Rick doesn't believe him and strangles him]].
214** Another one from the "Fear the Hunters" arc; After the groups has been attacked by a group of cannibals, (who in their minds, were only doing what ''they'' had to do) Rick goes to parlay with them. When it becomes clear that the hunters aren't going to leave them alone, Rick reveals that he didn't come alone, and the others are all armed. They disarm the hunters, then [[spoiler:hold them down over a picnic table and hack them apart one by one.]] Gunshots attract zombies, you see.
215** Carl [[spoiler:taking it upon himself to execute Ben]] when no one else was willing to.
216** Alpha claims that all the horrible shit she has done is for survival and that the Whisperers are just embracing the "true animal" that humans are meant to be. [[spoiler:Negan]] easily sees through her excuses and tears her motivations to shreds, pointing out that she's just pretending because she's too scared to face what she's done in the name of blind survival, all of which is completely pointless if you're just going to live like animals in the woods.
217* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: The Governor repeatedly rapes Michonne after Rick and his crew first arrive at Woodberry. She later dishes out some major retribution when they escape.
218* ImAHumanitarian: The Hunters, a band of survivors who resorted to cannibalism after they ran out of food and couldn't get a grasp on hunting animals. Their first victims ''were their own children!'' Otherwise surprisingly rare, as no other characters are shown eating human flesh, no matter how hungry they got. This includes the otherwise savage and repulsive Whisperers.
219* ItAlwaysRainsAtFunerals: The sky is shown getting very dark as the various residents mourn the friends and family they lost in [[spoiler:Alpha's massacre]]. By the time it cuts to the scene after the funeral where they begin cleaning up the fair grounds it is already raining very heavily.
220* IWantThemAlive: After Michonne bites the Governor's ear off, one of his goons subdues her and offers to break her neck.
221-->'''The Governor:''' No! Don't do a ''fucking thing'' to her! I don't want this girl to get a ''bruise'' that doesn't come from ''me''. She'll ''suffer'' for what she's done--she'll ''wish'' she was dead.
222* ImprovisedImprisonment: When Ben murders his twin brother Billy, the group realize he's fully sociopathic and lock him in a van while they debate how to handle the situation. Unfortunately for Ben, Carl has no qualms about how to handle it; when the adults fall asleep, Carl sneaks into the van and coldly shoots Ben in the head.
223* InterruptedSuicide: [[spoiler:Maggie tries to hang herself after finding out about her father's death, but is saved by Glenn.]]
224* InvincibleHero: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] with Michonne; after a while everyone just calls on her whenever they encounter a stray roamer. [[DeadpanSnarker She finds it sort of annoying.]]
225* ItNeverGetsAnyEasier
226* IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure: Negan loves doing this. When Rick defies the Saviors he has his friends lined up and chooses one to make an example of to put the survivors in their place. Later on at the Sanctuary it is revealed that Negan has a personal harem of wives that are for him only. If one cheats on him he takes their lover and burns his face as a mark of shame.
227* JawBreaker: Martinez is currently the page image.
228* JustifiedTitle: Either by the [[TheUndead primary threat]], the [[ZombieApocalypse setting]], or [[HeWhoFightsMonsters what said setting does to many people within it]].
229* KangarooCourt: An inversion in the final issue: [[spoiler:After the final time skip, a now adult Carl goes on trial for destroying Hershel's (Maggie's son) traveling walker exhibition, which is seen as Hershel's property under the current law. The High Court trial is overseen by one judge, who's verdict is final; said judge is none other than ''Michonne'', who has zero intention whatsoever of sending Carl to jail.]]
230* KarmicDeath:
231** Thomas [[spoiler:gets shot six times by Maggie, after brutally killing her two little sisters.]]
232** The Governor [[spoiler:is killed by one of his own soldiers, Lilly, after making her kill a baby.]]
233** Alpha [[spoiler:is decapitated by Negan after doing the same thing to at least ten others, including Rosita and Ezekiel.]]
234* KatanasAreJustBetter: Michonne. Somewhat inverted as she's shown to be skilled with them, but [[spoiler:guns still win out.]]
235** There have been several instances when the guns could not be used because the sound would attract more zombies. In those cases, melee weapons like axes, clubs, and Michonne's ever-present sword prevail.
236* LanternJawOfJustice: A few characters when drawn by Tony Moore. Rick had a pretty heroic jawline, while Shane sported a much beefier, Creator/BruceCampbell-esque one. Rick's became a lot less pronounced when Charlie Adlard took over as artist, and, notably, [[spoiler:Shane's has disappeared completely by the time he's dug up as a zombie and re-killed by Rick]].
237* LeaveNoSurvivors: Both [[spoiler:the Governor and Beta]] give this order when fighting against Rick's group. [[spoiler:Both come dangerously close to accomplishing it as well.]]
238-->"KILL THEM ALL!"
239* LethallyStupid: Patricia. Why the HELL did she free a child murderer, [[UngratefulBastard thinking he would be grateful]]?
240* MadeOfPlasticine: Selectively used. The combat is generally realistic, but zombie skulls occasionally get penetrated WAY easier than they ought to...the human skull is one of the hardest biological substances on earth. Rick's hatchet? Yes, that could do the job. Tyreese's hammer? Sure. Thinning out the zombies by the fence by driving ''kitchen knives'' through their skulls? Doubtful, but not impossible. Driving a ''pitchfork'' through a zombie's ''forehead?'' Less probable. That said, it's used more as a hammering chisel mechanism, making it easier to get.
241* MarkOfShame: Dwight and (humorously enough) Mark both had their faces burned by a hot iron as punishment for sleeping with one of Negan's wives.
242* MauveShirt: It's hard to care for some of the characters when you know that they ''will'' inevitably pick up the IdiotBall and get themselves eaten or shot somewhere down the line.
243* MayDecemberRomance: Dale and Andrea.
244** A definitely squicky one between the Governor and [[spoiler:his zombified daughter/niece. This is pretty much one sided as he had to pull out her teeth in order to kiss her]].
245* MilitariesAreUseless: The U.S armed forces (and presumably those in other countries) were completely useless at pushing back the ZombieApocalypse, to the point that by the time Rick wakes up in the hospital, they appear to have been wiped out completely. According to different survivors, the main strategy appears to have been to concentrate uninfected civilians in the cities so the army could easier defend them, which just led to the zombies multiplying out of control and made the urban centers near-total death zones. Military survivors are also very rare, as few of them seem to have managed to make it through the apocalypse.
246* MilkingTheMonster: In the epilogue, a character who was born too late to remember a time when zombies were a threat, has taken to exhibiting them as part of a traveling show. An older character, who remembers the horror, kills them.
247* MistakenForUndead: The survivor protagonists had to disguise as [[NotUsingTheZedWord walkers]] (getting clothes and even covered with blood and skins from them) to get unnoticed by them. This later goes up to eleven with the "Whisperers", a nomad group of survivors disguised all the time as walkers that even served as antagonists for the protagonists.
248* TheMole: [[spoiler:Martinez]], at least until [[spoiler:he tries to return to Woodbury and Rick kills him]].
249* MolotovCocktail: Commonwealth citizens can be seen using these during the riot that takes place during issues 183 and 184.
250* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
251** Rick verbatim when he [[spoiler:attacks Pete Anderson and pulls a gun on Douglas Monroe before figuring out how far over the line he has gone]].
252** More ''My God What Did I Almost Do'' but Abraham is positively freaked out after Maggie wakes up mere moments before he can shoot her to prevent her from turning.
253* {{Namedar}}: Averted, every group encountered has [[NotUsingTheZWord a different name for the zombies.]] From Biters to Ghouls to just plain Zombies.
254* NeverBringAKnifeToAGunFight: Issue 112 has a very memorable scene where Rick, fed up with Negan's rule over the allied communities and brutal murder of [[spoiler:Spencer]] goes to confront him in an ambush. This leads to the following exchange when [[spoiler:Negan one-ups him with a crew of hidden snipers that shoot his gun out of his hand before he can even fire it.]]
255-->'''Rick:''' You ever hear the one about the guy that brought a baseball bat to a gun fight... FUCKER?
256-->'''Negan:''' [[spoiler:You ever hear the one about the stupid fuck named Rick who fucking thought he knew shit but didn't know shit and got himself fucking killed?]]
257* NeverGoingBackToPrison: Yelled by the escaped convict at the beginning of issue 1. Ironically, Rick's group would later find sanctuary in a local prison that keeps them safe for most of the first compendium. In fact, if [[spoiler:the Governor hadn't drove a tank over the fences and let the zombies in]] they might never have left it.
258* NominalImportance: Averted constantly.
259* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Rick to Thomas Richards.
260* OffWithHisHead: Done to quite a few of the zombies. Also [[spoiler:to Rachel and Susie Greene by Thomas]] and [[spoiler:to Tyreese by the Governor]].
261** The Governor also does this to [[spoiler:Martinez]] after he's already dead, in order to impress the Woodbury people with a subsequent DecapitationPresentation.
262** The Governor actually does this a lot and even [[spoiler:keeps a stack of fish tanks in his house that he fills with the heads of all of his victims, such as Scott Moon.]]
263* OhCrap:
264** Rick seeing the [[spoiler:ALL DEAD INSIDE sign outside the 'safe' gated community.]]
265** After months of quiet [[spoiler:the inhabitants of the prison look up to see the Governor advancing towards them on a Bradley IFV screaming for his soldiers to kill them all]].
266** Driving over a hill [[spoiler:straight into a 'herd' of hundreds of zombies]].
267** [[spoiler:Finding that 'herd' of hundreds of zombies just outside the walls of the community.]]
268** Topping all of these is [[spoiler:Alpha showing Rick the thousands strong horde of walkers the Whisperers have under their control, followed up by her making a line to mark her clan's territory composed of ''the severed heads of at least a dozen people from the fair.'' Talk about one upping the horror factor]].
269** Connected to the above, when [[spoiler:the Whisperers launch their attack on Alexandria, it takes the co-ordinated efforts of everyone to drive off the massive herd rampaging through. Because Rick is apart from much of the action (he's trapped in a house with Negan), he doesn't see their efforts. When he reunites with the triumphant group, they proudly proclaim their victory... until Rick tells them that it wasn't even ''half'' of the herd that Alpha shows him.]]
270** When Carl [[spoiler:comes to wake Rick in issue 192, and discovers the result of Sebastian's visit the night before. This actually becomes a MassOhCrap, as the news of Rick's death spreads like wildfire.]]
271* OneSteveLimit: Averted, due to Kirkman finding it unrealistic that various random groups of people wouldn't feature anyone with the same names.
272** An interesting aversion isn't a name, but a ''title'', as issue 176 introduces us to the leader of the Commonwealth, ''Governor'' Pamela Milton. It's not long before Rick has to explain to her why her title makes his people so uncomfortable.
273* OurZombiesAreDifferent: The zombies are intentionally identical to the George Romero style, with the one difference being that they simply rot over time, as opposed to gaining more and more intelligence.
274[[/folder]]
275
276[[folder:P-Z]]
277* PapaWolf:
278** Rick goes absolutely ''berserk'' on [[spoiler:a pair of bandits when one of them tries to rape Carl. He tears one's throat out with his teeth, then chases down the last of the three and brutally stabs him to death while he begs for mercy.]]
279** In issue 193, [[spoiler:the adult Carl kills a walker that had escaped from Hershel Greene Jr.'s traveling show and was approaching his farm house, an action which gets him in trouble with the law, as Hershel's zombies were considered valuable private property. His (very reasonable) justification is the potential threat it posed to his daughter, Andrea. This justification leads to him killing the ''rest'' of Hershel's zombies, and being willing to be sent to prison for it.]]
280* PeekABooCorpse: The first sign Rick gets at how bad things have gotten after he wakes up in the AbandonedHospital is a corpse that falls into the elevator when the doors open.
281* PlatonicLifePartners: Rick and Michonne develop into this. After the final time skip, [[spoiler:Carl and Lydia, who work together doing deliveries throughout Alexandria, seem to have shades of this too.]]
282* PowerFist: Rick acquires one for his right hand in the joke alien invasion story.
283* PsychoKnifeNut:
284** The Whisperers are nearly wholly seen using kitchen knives in fights. This fits with their tactic of sneaking underneath the notice of the living and walkers, as guns would draw too much attention and create too much noise.
285** This actually applies to most of the antagonistic characters who have shown up in the comic with [[spoiler:Thomas Richards, Ben, Pete Anderson]] and Negan all shown using knives prominently alongside several minor characters.
286* PummelingTheCorpse: Happens to both humans and zombies several times, though the worst by far is what Negan does to [[spoiler:Glenn.]]
287-->"You bunch of pussies. I'm just getting started. Lucille is thirsty."
288* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler:Woodbury as a whole suffers this, but especially the Governor himself. After knocking down the fences and ordering his men to shoot the fleeing survivors the Governor renders the prison useless as a stronghold and gets himself shot by his own minion for ordering the death of a baby. The last we see of the surviving members of the Woodbury militia is them being forced inside the main building to get away from the incoming hordes of walkers.]]
289* PlayingDrunk: Glenn does this at the Alexandria party so that [[spoiler:he could help Rick steal the group's guns back from storage.]]
290* PlotArmor: Infamously absent for a comic series. Kirkman has even admitted that Rick, the series' protagonist, is in no way safe, but that the character who is least likely to die is Carl. [[spoiler:The end of the series shows that both of these points came to pass.]]
291** Pretty much all of the original surviving characters have suffered at least one [[ScarsAreForever major injury or disfigurement]] at this point. Rick and Carl are the most noticeable with [[spoiler:a missing hand and eye]], but even Maggie Greene suffered permanent damage to her throat and vocal cords after [[spoiler:her suicide attempt]], its just hard to notice because the comic doesn't have any sound. (If not for the other characters commenting on it readers would have never found this out.) At this point, the only one who hasn't suffered any serious physical scar or injury is [[spoiler:Sophia.]]
292* PoliceAreUseless: Rick certainly isn't, but he's the exception; according to Martinez, most police, along with other first responders such as firemen and medics, were wiped out almost to a man when the city safe zones were overrun. Rick and Shane are among the few survivors who appear.
293* PoisonedWeapons: An extremely nasty example. [[spoiler:Right before the final battle of the All Out War Negan orders the saviors to coat their weapons in zombie guts, making even minor injuries inflicted with them lethal. This leads to the deaths of several of the Hilltop soldiers, including Nicolas]].
294* PrecautionaryCorpseDisposal: Anyone who dies will come back as a [[NotUsingTheZWord walker]] shortly afterwards, unless their brain is destroyed.
295* PrettyLittleHeadshots: Played straight for the most part. While The Walking Dead is no stranger to gore most bullets leave small little holes and cause light blood spray. The exceptions to this rule are saved for only the most dramatic moments such as [[spoiler:The Governor getting half of his face blown off by a near point blank shot from Lily in issue 48 and Carl getting his eye blown out in issue 83.]] In the latter case the victim survives but suffers brain damage as a result.
296* PublicExecution: Rick's group plans on doing this to [[spoiler:Thomas Richards]] early on in the prison arc, but the condemned is gunned down before it can happen. Much later in issue 141 the Hilltop successfully carries out a public hanging of [[spoiler:Gregory]] for his [[spoiler:attempted murder of Maggie.]]
297* PunchClockVillain: The Woodbury citizens are either this or MyCountryRightOrWrong at the raid on the prison, they are visibly disturbed with the attack at the prison and [[spoiler:Lily eventually turns against the Governor when it all goes too far.]]
298* RapeAndRevenge: [[spoiler:After being raped and tortured by the Governor over several days Michonne tracks him down at his house and brutally tortures and maims him.]]
299* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil:
300** Negan has no qualms about [[spoiler:beating people's heads in with a baseball bat]] but refuses to let one of his men rape his prisoner.
301-->'''Negan:''' Repeat after me. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis We. Don't. Rape.]]
302** This trope is also used to show that the two other [[BigBad Big Bads]] The Governor and Alpha are the worst of the worst with The Governor raping and torturing [[spoiler:Michonne]] in retaliation for biting off part of his ear and Alpha [[spoiler:allowing her own daughter to be raped by her group.]]
303** Also applies to the Marauders who attack Rick, Abraham and Carl while they're on their way to check in on Morgan and Duane, as well as getting the supplies from Rick's police station. Two of them hold the adults at gunpoint while the third tries to rape Carl. They only show up for a few pages but manage to appear just as repugnant as The Governor.
304* {{Reconstruction}}: Of ZombieApocalypse stories. While TWD looks like a pretty traditional example at first, it diverges from many zombie apocalypse plots in a number of important ways. First, the undead outbreak is not treated as a be-all-end-all, instead being more of a in-universe global natural disaster. Similarly, the zombies are rarely if ever treated as true villains, being more of a [[TheUsualAdversaries environmental hazard or a generalized threat]]. Second, the series has no HighConcept, instead being a more subdued and gradual story about regular people trying to survive and make the most out of their situation. [[TropesAreTools This makes for a more believable and authentic story in spite of the genre]].
305* RememberWhenYouBlewUpASun: A variation. [[spoiler:Tyreese]] during the "clearing out the prison" arc is still talked about by survivors to people who didn't know him in Volume 12, long after his death.
306* {{Retirony}}: Averted so far, but they love to set the table for this every time Glenn kisses his family goodbye for one last supply run (including an extended period of covers that showed him in near death situations that did not appear in the books).
307** Surprisingly, when Glenn [[spoiler:does die, he's with his family]].
308* {{Retool}}: While the story had changed direction many times before, the ''"A Larger World"'' and ''"Something to Fear"'' storylines really turn the whole concept of the series on its head, introducing a massive and totalitarian pyramid of human society and placing the protagonists squarely at the bottom.
309* {{Roofhopping}}: Glenn and a few other characters do this to more easily get around the zombies and scavenge for supplies.
310* RoomFullOfZombies:
311** Happens in the very first issue when Rick wakes up in the hospital and discovers that the cafeteria is full of Walkers.
312** Happens when Rick and the crew find a seemingly safe gated community. The house they decide to spend the night in has several Walkers locked in the basement.
313** The protagonists have been staying on Hershel's farm for a while when he reveals that he has Walkers locked up in his barn. Rick's group are aghast at this, but he's equally horrified at their suggestion that they just shoot the Walkers (including members of Hershel's family) when there might be a cure for them.
314** Happens again in the prison; while clearing out C-Block, Rick and Tyreese opens the doors to the prison gym hall, only to find it filled with Walkers. They promptly bar the doors again, and decide to save clearing it out for later.
315* RousingSpeech: More than one attempted, none really come off very well. The Governor in particular [[spoiler:immediately gets shot in the head from behind and kicked into a zombie swarm]].
316** Issue 191 has Rick deliver one to the people of the Commonwealth in an attempt to quell the rebellion which had risen up against Governor Milton. This time, it actually sticks, so much so that [[spoiler:after the time skip in issue 193, the moment of Rick delivering the speech has been immortalised as a ''statue''.]]
317* SanitySlippage: A constant theme through the series is that ''nobody'' can go through the events that the characters do without it taking a toll on their psyche. From the very first volume we have people becoming deeply traumatized, losing their grip on reality, or cracking under the strain. Even those who are doing their very best still need sometimes strange ways to vent, such as Rick "talking to" Lori through a disconnected phone. By the time of the Saviors or the Whisperers arc, people often say that nobody who is still alive is really completely sane anymore. Several times someone who is keeping up a MaskOfSanity will suddenly let the mask slip and we see what's underneath it, and it's seldom pretty.
318* ScarsAreForever: Upheld constantly. There's no plastic surgeons in the post-apocalypse.
319* SceneryGorn: The first few issues do a great job setting the mood with shots of Rick's devastated home town and Atlanta. You've got collapsed buildings, overgrown grass, dozens of wrecked vehicles littering the empty streets and more. Later issues also show several areas where nature has started to reclaim civilization in the absence of humanity. It's beautiful and depressing all at the same time.
320* SchizoTech: Later in the series, and particularly after the time skip, survivors have pragmatically developed older technology to fulfill their needs. Alexandria develops a wind-powered flour mill while using solar panels in their houses, and the Hilltop uses a medieval-style blacksmiths to make swords and spears to supplement their guns. The coalition's mounted soldiers use swords, horses, modern body armor and flares for their duties. In one panel in issue 129 anti-tank defences and a horse-drawn cart even appear together.
321* SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou: The covers for issues 38, 87, 105, 115, 125 and 171 each feature a different character about to blow the reader away.
322* SecondLove: [[spoiler:Rick and Andrea, for each other. Tragically ends in issue 167, with Andrea dying]].
323* SerialHomewrecker: Michonne is accused of being this by Heath; he believes it's because she feels the need to prove she's "better" than other women. There's a more likely explanation, though: her romantic history strongly suggests that she's [[HasAType only attracted to]] [[LikeGoesWithLike black men]], and there are few enough of them around that she'll go after any that seem receptive, whether they're currently attached or not.
324* SexForSolace: The survivors indulge in this often, especially during the early parts of the story and the Prison arc. Understandable since it's one of the few ways of finding comfort they have left in the post-apocalyptic world, though it has nasty consequences on one occasion when it leads to Shane's FaceHeelTurn thanks to his obsession with Lori after their one-night stand when they both thought Rick was dead.
325* ShellShockedVeteran: Though not always related to a war, most of the characters suffer from PTSD in on way or another.
326* ShootTheDog: Lots of characters. Frequently. Another reason why cast keeps on changing.
327* ShowerScene: Lori and Carol get one early on during the prison arc but are [[ThePeepingTom interrupted when Axel "accidentally" walks in on them.]]
328-->'''Axel:''' [[BlatantLies I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't know anyone was in here!]]
329* SleptThroughTheApocalypse: The apocalypse began while Rick was in a coma.
330* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: The characters frequently struggle with exactly where they should be on this scale.
331* SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: Rick gets distressingly more amoral with each passing issue as he suffers more and more. He's aware of it himself, and constantly struggles with his own diminishing conscience, reaching it's peak with his brutal massacre of The Hunters. It's not until the group settles in Alexandria that Rick slowly begins to return to a semblance of his old self, though the realities of the savage new world means he'll never be the same. Negan even mocks Rick for it, claiming that the only reason Rick had him imprisoned after the Savior War instead of executed is so Rick could have someone worse around to feel morally superior to.
332* SmallSecludedWorld: Relatively speaking, the plot is limited to part of the U.S East Coast and Midwest. With no long-range communication and travel being severly hampered by the walker hordes, even after the time skip, there's no hint to the fate of the rest of the U.S, much less the rest of the world. The only exception is ''The Alien'', a one-shot story focusing on Rick's brother Jeff, who was visiting Spain when the outbreak began, and got stuck in Madrid. Unsurprisingly, things were just as bad in Europe as they were in the U.S.
333** The final issue shows that [[spoiler:the years during the time skip have been spent rectifying this, with communication between the colonies a regular thing. Eugene is even shown supervising construction of a railroad to the West Coast.]]
334* TheSneakyGuy: Glenn, the first Atlanta survivor Rick meets. He's quick and sneaky enough that he can actually get inside the overrun city to scavenge for supplies by using the alleys and rooftops to get around.
335* SpeciesTitle: It's named after the In-Universe term for zombies.
336* SpoilerCover: The first "Compendium" cover shows all the characters wearing [[spoiler:prisoner uniforms]], and Rick [[spoiler:missing a hand]].
337* StartOfDarkness: The Governor gets this in the novel ''Literature/TheWalkingDeadRiseOfTheGovernor''.
338** Negan, the second major antagonist also got a comic miniseries called Here's Negan that details his life before and during the early days of the apocalypse.
339* StraightGay: Aaron, Eric, and Jesus.
340* TalkingToTheDead: Several characters are seen doing this as a coping mechanism when their loved ones die. [[SanitySlippage Some take it further than others.]]
341* TankGoodness: A downplayed example. The Woodbury Militia has a tank that they found at a national guard depot, but they barely know how to drive it and can't fire any of its weapons, making it only good for intimidation and cover during a firefight. [[spoiler:Ultimately, it deals the final blow to the prison survivors when the Governor has his men drive it over the fences and storm the building during the end of the first compendium.]]
342* TeamMercyVsTeamMurder: When Ben reveals himself as a psychopath and stabs his brother Billy to death, the group locks him away in a van and debate on how to handle the situation. Half of them want to find a way to help him, while the other half (Abraham being the most vocal) want to kill him, reasoning that he's too far gone. Carl, realizing the adults are deadlocked on the issue, sneaks into the van and [[BoomHeadshot solves the problem himself]].
343* TemptingFate: The characters are all surprised about how smooth their escape from Woodbury is going and comment on it. After they get over the wall, [[spoiler:Dr. Stevens]] exclaims how relieved [[spoiler:he]] is that things are going so well, [[spoiler:only to be bitten by a zombie a few seconds later]].
344** In the first volume, Amy tells Donna, "Oh, bite me." [[spoiler:Guess what happens to both of them a few issues later?]]
345* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodSandwich: When Michonne is reunited with [[spoiler:her daughter Elodie]], who has just finish making a cake and she drops it on the floor as she [[spoiler:hugs her mother]].
346* TimeSkip: [[spoiler:Between Issue 126 and Issue 127, there is a two year time skip. The next time skip occurs between issues 192 and 193, and although we don't know how long it is, it's clearly ''at least'' 10-15 years, given that all of the child characters in the series are aged up into adults. WordOfGod confirms that the final issue takes place ''two decades'' after the apocalypse.]]
347* TitleDrop: By Rick following [[spoiler:his recovery from his fight with Tyreese]].
348-->'''Rick:''' ''WE'' ARE THE WALKING DEAD!
349** He invokes the same line in his Rousing Speech to the Commonwealth in issue 191, but with a more positive spin.
350-->'''Rick:''' WE ARE ''NOT'' THE WALKING DEAD!
351** A similarly important example happens at the very end of Volume 30: New World Order.
352-->'''Pamela:''' That's the world order, always has been.
353-->'''Rick:''' Then maybe we need a NEW WORLD ORDER.
354* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Their reaction when [[spoiler:The Governor arrives with a small army at the prison.]]
355* ToiletHumour: It's pretty rare but even The Walking Dead can't help but use this trope a couple times. A good example would be [[spoiler:Thomas Richards]] being locked in the room everyone at the prison was using as a bathroom or Negan eating some bad food and swearing up a storm from behind a bush immediately afterwards.
356* TokenShipping: An interestingly realistic case, where Michonne seems to be primarily attracted to black men.
357* TookALevelInBadass: Pretty much required by the circumstances - either you become a badass or you're a liability.
358** Eugene is a notable case, going from a portly wimp [[spoiler:lying about being a scientist for protection]] to being spurred to action against the Saviors [[spoiler:after Abraham gets killed]]. He later becomes [[spoiler:one of the most productive members of the community, not least because of his ingenuity in dealing with the various problems they face. By the end of the series, he is completely calm when trapped in a metal box surrounded by a huge herd of zombies, as he's learned to trust his own intelligence to see him through situations.]]
359* ToThePain: What Michonne does to [[spoiler:the Governor, who captured, imprisoned and viciously tortured and raped her]]. Provides the page image.
360* TooDumbToLive: As with GenreBlind, the characters fall victim to common mistakes of the genre which usually just serves to [[JustifiedTrope reinforce them]].
361** At the beginning of the second volume, when the group finds a fenced off housing development, they don't see any zombies in the streets, and ''immediately'' decide it's their new home. While they do check a few of the houses before going to bed, no one sees the obvious method of just driving the RV into the street and laying on the horn to see if any guests show up for dinner. [[spoiler:The fact that only one of them gets killed that evening is a freaking miracle.]]
362** [[spoiler:Patricia deciding to help Thomas escape, believing that he was NotEvilJustMisunderstood, even though he ''decapitated two little girls''.]] As a result, the survivors ''hate'' her.
363** [[spoiler:Hershel keeping a barn full of walkers ''on his property''. The reason was that he thought the walkers might still be alive, and that their condition could somehow be cured.]]
364** Alexandria surviving as long as it did was basically just luck; they didn't even have a ''lookout'' until Rick suggested it (pointing out a perfect spot in a clock tower right outside the walls), the walls weren't properly reinforced in a few spots due to a lack of materials (eventually leading to a Walker horde breaking in), and they'd lost a bunch of people because their scavenger groups didn't have competent leadership. Rick even calls them out on it, accusing them of being more intersted in pretending life was still normal rather than adapting to reality.
365* TragicKeepsake: [[spoiler:Andrea starts wearing Dale's hat after he dies.]]
366* TrophyRoom: The Governor keeps a particularly ghoulish version in one of the rooms of his house. Specifically, he [[spoiler:cuts off the heads of the people he kills and throws them into fish tanks.]]
367* UndeadChild: At least three parents, Hershel, The Governor ([[spoiler:It's actually his niece]]) and [[spoiler:Morgan]], keep their children around after they turn. See WhatHappenedToMommy below.
368* UnderestimatingBadassery: The cannibals make this mistake when they follow their usual tactic of scaring their victims before they attack them. Unfortunately these victims include a HandicappedBadass, a katana-wielding schizophrenic, and a crack markswoman.
369** The bandits who tried to intimidate their way into the Washington DC gated community really didn't consider the possibility that the residents were ''far'' better armed and skilled than they were.
370** Happened to Rick a lot after settling in Alexandria, as he thinks his group is the baddest and toughest one alive. Monroe at first made it clear he won't be afraid to kill him if he goes overboard and Negan shows him what it means to be the baddest group.
371* UnfriendlyFire: Has happened twice so far:
372** The first time was way back during the prison arc when Rick shoots [[spoiler:Dexter]] in the head under the cover of a large zombie attack to prevent him from [[spoiler:kicking the entire group out of the prison.]]
373** The second time was much later during the war arc when [[spoiler:Dwight massacres his own men so he can give their grenades to Rick's group as a show of good faith that he is truly on their side.]]
374* UnspecifiedApocalypse: A smaller example. We know that the dead walking again caused the end, but why it started happening is never really discussed. Word of God has even said that he has no plans to explore the reasons either.
375* UnexpectedlyAbandoned: During the journey to the Commonwealth, Michonne and her group discovers that Pittsburgh has been completely emptied, with the exception of Juanita, the self-proclaimed "Princess of Pittsburgh" and a handful of stray zombies wandering around.
376* UpdatedRerelease: '''The Walking Dead Deluxe''' started being released in late 2020, featuring colored pages.
377* VerbalTic: Axel's "you follow me?"
378* VillainDecay: Happens very sudden between episode 80 and 90. TheUndead themselves make a sudden turn to "manageable threat", in Rick's words. Turns out all you really need to beat a herd of them is about twenty people with melee weapons and some self-confidence. Extremely large groups of them are still a threat, and actions involving them have to be carefully planned out.
379* VillainEpisode: Issue 43 focuses entirely on the Governor and his recovering [[spoiler:after being mutilated by Michonne]] while showing his side of the events that occurred from issues 34 through 42.
380** Issue 174 follows Negan [[spoiler:during his exile from the main communities.]] Aside from Maggie and Dante no other characters even appear in the issue, not even Rick.
381* VillainProtagonist: Rick is acutely aware that he's becoming this, and doesn't like it one bit. Fortunately he never crossed any MoralEventHorizon and so always manage to come back to AntiHero or sometime heroic status.
382* TheVirus: This trope is partially [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] and partially [[AvertedTrope averted]]. A normal instance of TheVirus is a virulent plague that's highly infectious and easily communicable that spreads like wildfire. In this instance, no one really knows what the pathogen that causes the dead to rise is but everyone is already infected with it. It only activates after the host dies. The zombies don't spread the pathogen, their bite and fluids are just fatal (a normal person has tons of bacteria in their mouth and could cause gangrene or even kill with a deep bite if left untreated never-mind a filthy walking corpse).
383* VomitIndiscretionShot: A few in the first volume. You'd lose your lunch too if faced down with a shambling pile of rotting flesh and muscle.
384* WarArc: The Made To Suffer, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin All Out War]] (Part 1 and 2) and Whisperer War arcs.
385** Averted with The Rotten Core and Rest in Peace, which ''seem'' to be building up to a war Arc, before Rick swiftly stops the situation from escalating.
386* WarIsHell: If you thought watching zombies rip people apart was bad just wait until the survivors come into conflict with each other. Without any rules or laws to stop them both sides in all of the major conflicts take part in what would be considered war crimes in modern society... even the protagonists. [[PoisonedWeapon Poisioned Weapons]], UnfriendlyFire, [[LeaveNoSurvivors execution of surrendering or fleeing combatants]], the murder of [[spoiler:a baby]], [[PyrrhicVictory Pyrrhic Victories]], SanitySlippage... [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters the list of negative war tropes goes on and on.]]
387* WeCanRebuildHim: Averted in most cases. [[spoiler:Except for the Governor.]]
388* WeJustNeedToWaitForRescue: Shane insists on the group staying next to Atlanta so the military will be able to easily find them, even as winter begins to set in and food becomes scarce. This contributes to his SanitySlippage as the others begin blaming him for keeping them there instead of trying to find a safer location.
389** Otis likewise expects the military to be able to protect people, and was planning on leaving for Atlanta before learning how bad things were there.
390* WhamEpisode:
391** Issue 48 may just be the whammiest episode of anything ever, essentially cutting almost all of the evolving plotlines dead in their tracks, and putting all of the rest on long-term hiatus, and killing off several major characters that the audience had come to take for granted would be the core cast in the long run.
392** Issue 83, which has all of the citizens of Alexandria [[spoiler:trapped in their houses after their wall is breached and the entire settlement is overrun with walkers.]] During Rick's planning of an escape [[spoiler:Morgan dies from his infection and is put down by Michonne]] and while Rick, Jessie, Carl, and Ron try to make their way through the horde to safety [[spoiler:Ron panics, getting both him and his mother eaten right in front of Rick, who severs her arm to save Carl.]] Finally, just when it looks like things can't get any worse [[spoiler:a stray bullet fired by Douglas Monroe as he commits suicide by zombie hits Carl in the eye, which leaves a large hole in his head and causes heavy brain damage.]] The last scene has Rick standing on Dr. Cloyd's porch [[spoiler:begging her to save his son's life.]] End of issue.
393** Issue 100, and its killing of [[spoiler:Glenn]].
394** Issue 144. You think [[spoiler:the Governor wiping out half of the main cast at the prison]] was bad? How about Alpha [[spoiler:killing off about a dozen members of the three main communities (both major and minor) right under everyone's nose and leaving their heads impaled on posts]] as a warning to the survivors? The fact that everything happened off panel in the last issue only makes it worse. Shit just got real.
395** Issue 156, and [[spoiler:Negan's killing of Alpha on the eve of the Whisperer War]].
396** Issue 192. [[spoiler:Rick dies.]]
397* WhatHappenedToMommy: Hershel, when we first meet him. [[spoiler:Harboring his zombie son eventually results in the deaths of two more of his kids.]] And then...
398** [[spoiler:Morgan]] has taken this path as well.
399* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: After their introduction in issue #1, it's a ''long'' time before we see Morgan and Duane again.
400* WhatYearIsThis: None of the protagonists know what the exact date is after a year of events. [[spoiler:The date is never mentioned by the residents of Woodbury, Christmas is approximated, and even the residents of the Alexandria Safe Zone have lost precise track of the date fourteen months after Z-Day. Digital watches did not survive the apocalypse.]]
401* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: [[spoiler: Issue 193 takes place 20 years after the main series, revealing a world where society has been rebuilt, and the lives of the characters who made it this far.]]
402** [[spoiler: Carl and Sophia are married with a daughter.]]
403** [[spoiler: Maggie is the new President of the Commonwealth.]]
404** [[spoiler: Michonne has resumed her legal practice and is now a Commonwealth judge.]]
405** [[spoiler: Eugene is overseeing the construction of a railroad that will connect the Commonwealth with the Western Alliances, a similar network of survivor communities on the west coast.]]
406** [[spoiler: Hershel Jr, the son of Maggie and Glenn, runs a controversial travelling carnival featuring live walkers, as the undead are now so rare inside resettled areas that many people barely remember what they look like.]]
407** [[spoiler: Though he hasn't been seen by the other survivors in years, it's shown to the reader that Negan is still alive, living a solitary existance in the same isolated outpost where he buried the remains of Lucille.]]
408* WhosYourDaddy: Lori Grimes' pregnancy. Kirkman has confirmed that it was [[spoiler:Shane]].
409* AWorldHalfFull: [[spoiler:Issue 193 reveals that ''decades'' have passed since Rick's death. By that time, the number of walkers have dropped significantly to the point that the only ones who ''are'' left are probably those who are caged for people's amusement. Humans, on the other hand, managed to rebuild civilization and overcome the undead. Of course, people still turn when they die, so this is still a problem.]]
410* WreckedWeapon: Shockingly happens to [[spoiler:Lucille]] in issue 159 during the fight between [[spoiler:Negan and Beta.]] The owner takes it about as well as [[BerserkButton you'd]] [[BigNo expect.]]
411* ZergRush: One of the biggest threats of the post-apocalyptic world, especially after the two-year time skip, are the massive Walker hordes that have wandered away from the cities and are now drifting aimlessly around the countryside. Due to the way Walkers work, they're drawn by sound and once enough of them begin moving one way, the whole herd begins to move the same way. The herds are big enough to easily overrun settlements, so the survivors who have lasted this long have learned how to lure the hordes away using mounted riders with horns. [[spoiler: The Whisperers have learned how to weaponize the hordes by moving alongside them in disguise and directing their movement]]
412* ZombieApocalypse
413* {{ZombieInfectee}}: Many characters across the series, notably [[spoiler:Jim]] in Volume 1. The trope is a partial split between ZombieInfectee and SecretlyDying because the zombie bites don't communicate the pathogen that causes the dead to animate but are simply fatal. The pathogen is already everywhere and in everyone as it doesn't matter how you die, if your brain is intact, you will rise. Technically, everyone is already a zombie infectee.
414** As shown during the [[spoiler:All Out War]] a zombie bite isn't needed for this to happen. [[spoiler:Weapons coated in zombie remains will do the trick even if the wound they inflicted was minor.]]
415* ZombieGait: Naturally, since they're based on Romero's shamblers.
416[[/folder]]
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