The Walking Dead #5
The Walking Dead #5 delivers the first full-scale zombie assault on Rick's survivor camp — a watershed story beat that raises the permanent cost of life in Kirkman's world from theoretical to visceral. Amy's death and Andrea's act of mercy-killing her sister crystalize the series' central emotional thesis: that grief and violence are inseparable in the apocalypse. Carl shooting a zombie to save Lori marks the earliest on-page moment of the child's forced adulthood, a character trajectory the series would pursue for years. The issue also quietly establishes Andrea as the group's deadliest marksperson, planting a defining trait that shaped her decades-long run as a fan-favorite lead.
In "The Best Defense," Rick, Michonne, and Glenn venture beyond the prison's walls after spotting a crashing helicopter, leading them to the unsettling town of Woodbury. There, they encounter a community under the control of a charismatic but dangerous leader known only as "The Governor." Cover by Charlie Adlard, this pivotal issue from Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard's early run delivers a tense, character-driven turn in the series, marking a significant shift in the group's journey.
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Issue #5 was written by Robert Kirkman and drawn by Tony Moore — the childhood friends who launched the series together in October 2003 under Image Comics. The issue shipped on February 1, 2004, a remarkable four days after issue #4, making it the fastest back-to-back release in the entire 193-issue run. Moore illustrated all interior art and cover for the original printing; he would remain interior artist through issue #6 before Charlie Adlard took over from #7 onward, though Moore continued providing covers through issue #24. In 2020, Image Comics and Skybound Entertainment republished the issue as The Walking Dead Deluxe #5 (December 16, 2020), fully colorized by Dave McCaig and augmented with 'Cutting Room Floor' material — including Kirkman's handwritten scripts and commentary on scenes that were drafted but cut before publication.
Trivia · 9 facts
- Originally published February 1, 2004 by Image Comics — the fifth part of Volume 1: Days Gone Bye — written by Robert Kirkman with interior art and cover by Tony Moore.
- This issue was released only four days after issue #4, making it the fastest consecutive-issue turnaround in the entire Walking Dead run.
- First zombie attack on the survivors' Atlanta-area camp: Amy is fatally bitten by a zombified Reggie — the same escaped convict who shot Rick in issue #1, providing a full narrative callback across the opening arc.
- Andrea shoots her dying sister Amy in the head to prevent reanimation — the first time a primary character is killed and mercy-shot by a loved one, establishing a recurring moral motif of the series.
- Carl Grimes saves Lori by shooting a zombie when she drops her gun — his first act of lethal violence in the comic, which Kirkman used to set up the child-soldier theme running through the series.
- Jim is revealed to have been bitten during the attack but conceals it (dismissing the wound as 'just a scratch'), seeding his arc into issue #6.
- Andrea's superior marksmanship is first explicitly acknowledged by Rick and Shane, establishing the character trait that would define her throughout the comic's run.
- The Deluxe colorized reprint (The Walking Dead Deluxe #5, December 16, 2020) features full color by Dave McCaig, cover variants by David Finch and Tony Moore, a connecting Charlie Adlard variant, and 'Cutting Room Floor' bonus content from Kirkman; the first print sold out, prompting a second printing with new David Finch main cover art.
- The issue is collected in The Walking Dead Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye trade paperback, the hardcover Book 1 edition, and subsequent omnibus and compendium collections; it was also reprinted as part of the weekly single-issue reprint program launched by Image Comics in January 2011 following the AMC television premiere.
Cast · 23 characters
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Reprints
↩ Reprints The Walking Dead #25 (2006), The Walking Dead #26 (2006), The Walking Dead #27 (2006), The Walking Dead #28 (2006), The Walking Dead #29 (2006), The Walking Dead #30 (2006)
Reprinted in The Walking Dead #5 (2007), The Walking Dead #3 (2008), Walking Dead #5 (2008), The Walking Dead #5 (2009), The Walking Dead Deluxe #65 (2023)
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