The Walking Dead in French: Volumes and US Issues

For anyone looking for a specific issue of The Walking Dead in French, one simple rule saves time: the French volume almost always has the same place as the matching American collection. You still need to check it on the cover, because the French titles do not resemble the original titles and the editions are not all numbered the same way.

As always in this guide, only verified information (creators, issue numbers, dates) is stated as fact; the analysis is our own, with no reproduction of protected art or dialogue.

The original US run in brief

The Walking Dead is written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics in black and white, from 2003 to 2019. Tony Moore draws the first six issues, and Charlie Adlard takes over from issue 7. The series runs to 193 issues, collected in the United States in 31 collections of six issues, then a 32nd (Rest in Peace) of seven issues, from 187 to 193.

This regularity is the key to everything that follows: apart from the very end, one collection equals six consecutive issues. The US issue numbers of a volume can therefore be calculated: up to volume 31, volume n covers issues 6n-5 to 6n.

The French editions, in order of publication

Semic, a first volume with no sequel (2004 or 2005)

The first French edition of Walking Dead is not from Delcourt. Semic published volume 1, Passé décomposé, in its Semic Noir line, based on issues 1 to 6. The date is given sometimes as 2004, sometimes as 2005 depending on the listing: sources differ. The publication stops there, leaving French readers without a sequel until Delcourt arrived.

Delcourt, Contrebande line (2007 to 2020)

Delcourt republished volume 1 in 2007, in a translation by Edmond Tourriol, then continued the series at a pace of two or three volumes a year. Volume 1 and volume 2 came out the same year, 2007. Delcourt's series runs to volume 33, Épilogue, published in January 2020: only 71 pages, devoted to the last issue of the American series. Nothing in the sources consulted indicates a change of publisher along the way: Delcourt publishes all the volumes.

Volume 1 saw reissues or reprints reported by booksellers in 2011 and in 2017; the listings speak of different "editions" for the same cover. One review also mentions a special Image issue from 2005 in Delcourt's volume 1; this point is backed by a single source, to be checked on your copy.

The Art Books

Delcourt published two bound collections of covers commented on by Kirkman and Adlard: the first in 2011 (143 pages), for issues 1 to 50, the second in 2021 (147 pages), for issues 51 to 102. They are not volumes of the series and have no volume number.

Walking Dead Prestige (2016 to 2021)

The Prestige line reprints the series in oversized bound format, with two volumes per book. It has sixteen books, published from 2016 to 2021. Book 1 contains volumes 1 and 2 (277 pages according to a library record); book 10, dated November 2018, groups volumes 19 and 20, in a format of about 29 x 20 cm. Book 9 came out in September 2018. Book 16 closes the line in 2021: we could not verify whether it includes the content of volume 33. A separate book, Negan : l'alpha & l'omega, came out in 2021 in the same format.

The digital issues (2019)

From March 2019, Delcourt also offered the American episodes as monthly digital issues, one complete episode per issue, almost simultaneously with the US release. These issues are not paper collectibles, but they explain why the end of the series was read in France before the corresponding volumes came out.

US to French correspondence

Here is the alignment of the 33 Delcourt volumes with the American collections. The French titles are those found in publisher and bibliographic lists; the years are those of the French publication.

How to read this table honestly: for volumes 1, 2 and 3, the French listing cites the original title of the collection; for volumes 18, 19, 21, 22, 31 and 33, a French or bibliographic listing gives the range of issues; for the others, the alignment rests on the order of the volumes and on the matching of titles. Volume 32 is deduced between two verified boundaries (volume 31 stops at issue 186, volume 33 contains issue 193). When in doubt before a purchase, the back cover remains the arbiter.

One particularity to remember: American collection 32 gathers issues 187 to 193, whereas Delcourt splits this book in two: a volume 32 (187 to 192) and a volume 33 (193 alone). The French series therefore has one more volume than the American series has collections.

Which edition to choose for your profile

You want to read the story

The Delcourt softcover volumes are the logical choice: all of them exist, volume 33 included, and their numbering is readable. To gauge how far along a reading is, this table is enough: one volume equals six US issues.

You want to complete a numbered collection

Aim for the complete softcover series, from 1 to 33, checking volumes 1 and 2 (same year of publication, multiple reissues) and the last one, thin and easy to forget. The Art Books do not count in the numbering but complete a set well.

You like the oversized format

The Prestige line: sixteen books with two volumes each, thicker, with a binding. It replaces the volumes for reading but does not add to the softcover numbering: book 10 corresponds to volumes 19 and 20. You will find both formats on the secondhand market, mixed together.

You are looking for the first French edition

Semic's volume 1 is the oldest. It is also the one that raises the most identification questions: its date that differs depending on the source, a line mention (Semic Noir) to check, and contents that reprint the first six issues.

To compare your French copies with their US equivalents, see US and French editions: the limits of equivalences.

Pitfalls and points to watch

French titles that do not resemble the originals

"Cette vie derrière nous" for Miles Behind Us, "Sains et saufs ?" for Safety Behind Bars, "Terrifiant" for Something to Fear: the titles are freely translated, sometimes with different punctuation depending on the listing ("Deuil et Espoir" or "Deuil & espoir", "Lucille…" or "Lucille"). Search by volume number, never by title alone.

A particularity around volumes 18, 19 and 20

Volume 19, "Ezéchiel", corresponds to March to War, the prelude to the great war. Volume 20, "Sur le sentier de la guerre", is the first part of All Out War, and volume 21 the second. The French title of volume 20 literally recalls March to War: a buyer who relies on the translation will pick the wrong volume.

Reprints and multiple dates

Booksellers report several publication dates for volume 1 (2007, 2011, 2017) and, for volume 31, a date of 2025, most likely that of a reprint and not of a first edition. To date a volume, use the legal deposit and the printing mention, not the date on an online listing.

A common misconception about the publisher

You sometimes read that the series changed publisher along the way. The sources consulted (publisher list, bibliographic records, specialist press) give Delcourt from volume 1 to volume 33, with 31 volumes published in 2019. So check the ISBNs rather than believing in "lots" from several publishers.

Do not confuse Prestige and softcover numbering

A "Prestige book 10" is not volume 10 of the softcover series. The first contains volumes 19 and 20, the second issues 55 to 60. Always check the "Prestige" mention on the spine.

What these editions are worth as collectibles

The softcover volumes of Walking Dead are backlist books, printed in unknown quantities. Their value rests mostly on the completeness of the series and the overall condition, far more than on the scarcity of a single volume. A set of 33 volumes in good condition, with the first three checked (Semic or Delcourt, year, printing), trades better than a series with gaps.

The method for estimating: note the ISBN and the year of printing, compare completed sales for the same volume rather than asking prices, and distinguish softcover, Prestige and Art Book. The relationship between a softcover volume and its Prestige equivalent cannot be read from one edition to another without examination: a Prestige book groups two volumes, which changes the unit of comparison. To assess the value of a series under construction, see our guide to estimating a French-edition comic, and for the choice between albums and booklets, bound albums versus booklets.

No method replaces examining the copy: the spine, the edge and the printing mention make the difference between two volumes that look alike.

Frequently asked questions