Walking Dead: key issues, variants and specials

Created in 2003 by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore, The Walking Dead is a modern-era series: there are no Golden Age, Silver Age, or Bronze Age issues. Every key comes from the Image Comics run launched in October 2003 and concluded with #193 in 2019. Tony Moore drew issues #1 through #6; Charlie Adlard took over from #7 and remained the primary artist until the end. The AMC adaptation (2010–2022, 11 seasons) and its spin-offs — Fear the Walking Dead, Dead City, Daryl Dixon, The Ones Who Live — drove demand for first printings to levels rarely seen in modern independent comics.

This guide draws a clear line between two things that are often confused: first printings of regular issues (the only thing that matters for serious collectors) and variants or reprints (generally common and low-value). Our eBay estimator returns a median of €12 across 101 listings for The Walking Dead #1 — but that figure is dominated by later printings and reprint editions. The October 2003 first print is an entirely separate grail, and its price has nothing to do with that median.

Key issues and variants overview (eBay data and documented records, June 2026)

Our estimator returns fewer than 15 active eBay listings for issues #19, #27, #92, and #100: the volume is too low to cite reliable medians for those issues. The records below come from documented sources (Heritage Auctions, sellmycomicbooks, recalledcomics).

The Walking Dead #1, first printing (October 2003): the modern grail

The October 2003 first printing is identified by two details: the absence of any printing notice on the cover or in the indicia (page 1), and the "Walking Dead" logo in dark red (later printings shift toward near-black). Its print run of roughly 7,500 copies — modest even for Image Comics at the time — makes it one of the hardest Image series to find in high grade. In CGC 9.8, a first-print copy sold for $24,200 at Heritage Auctions in March 2022, and a 2024 sale exceeded $32,000.

Our estimator returns a median of €12 across 101 listings for "Walking Dead #1" — but those listings aggregate the 2nd, 3rd, 4th printings and later reprint editions, which account for virtually all of the active supply. These should not be confused with the first print: the 2nd printing (December 2003, marked "Second Printing" on the cover) trades around €800–1,500 in CGC 9.8 — roughly twenty times less than the first print. Later printings and the Image Firsts 2010 reprint are worth a handful of euros in reading condition.

The Walking Dead #100 (July 2012): 20 variants, Negan, and a print-run record

The Walking Dead #100 was ordered in excess of 383,000 copies in July 2012, making it the best-selling comic of the century for Image Comics and the second-highest-ordered single issue across all publishers since 1997. The issue introduces Negan and his barbed-wire bat Lucille and ends with the death of Glenn. It shipped with 20 different covers, including several in limited printings:

• Hero Initiative: approximately 105 copies, each with a unique hand-drawn sketch cover by a different artist. Sketches have sold between $600 (modest contributions) and over $12,000 for Charlie Adlard's cover. Un-sketched blank copies are extraordinarily scarce.
• Red Foil: limited to 250 copies, depicting Lucille on a metallic red background. Documented guide record in CGC 9.8: approximately $370.
• Lucille Edition & Comixology Ottley Sketch: 500 copies each. The Ottley Sketch variant trades around $250 in CGC 9.8.
• Standard cover (Adlard, cover A): the vast majority of the 383,000 print run; accessible for a few euros without CGC grading.

Our estimator returns only 5 active eBay listings for issue #100: the volume is too low to cite a reliable median. Prices for limited variants rest on documented sales and specialist price guides.

Image Firsts: The Walking Dead #1 (2010) — a common reprint, not an original

In March 2010, Image Comics launched its "Image Firsts" line, reprinting debut issues of flagship series at $1 to attract new readers. Image Firsts: The Walking Dead #1 reproduces the content of the original first issue with a FCBD 2010 advertisement on the back cover. It has been reprinted multiple times (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2022, 2024), making it extremely common. Its collector value is a few euros at most. It is a reading entry point, not a collectible — and should never be confused with the October 2003 first printing.

Days Gone Bye TPB (May 2004): the first collected edition

The first Walking Dead trade paperback, subtitled Days Gone Bye, collects issues #1 through #6 with Tony Moore's original artwork. Published in May 2004 by Image Comics, it is the first book-format edition of the series. First printing copies hold modest but real collector appeal — partly because they preserve Moore's distinctive art style, which ended with #6. Later printings of the TPB (numerous) carry no particular premium. Ungraded first-print copies typically trade between roughly $20 and $80 depending on condition; no graded auction record distinguishes this volume in the same way the single issues do.

Other series keys: #19, #27, and #92

The Walking Dead #19 (June 2005) introduces Michonne, one of the series' most prominent characters and a lead in the AMC adaptation (played by Danai Gurira). The Walking Dead #27 (April 2006) marks the arrival of the Governor and the town of Woodbury. The Walking Dead #92 (December 2011) introduces Paul "Jesus" Monroe. All three have fewer than 5 active eBay listings each: no reliable median can be drawn from those numbers. Documented CGC 9.8 guide records stand at roughly $650 for #19 and #27, and around $180 for #92 — levels that reflect the collector premium for television character first appearances, without approaching the heights of the #1.