The absolute key number ofWalking Deadremains the#1(Image Comics, October 2003), only a few thousand copies were printed before the phenomenon exploded: a copy in CGC 9.8 condition sold for $24,200 at Heritage Auctions in March 2022. Just behind, the#19(first appearance of Michonne), the#27(first Governor) and especially the#100(first appearance of Negan and Lucille, death of Glenn) form the heart of any serious collection of the series created by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore.
Few contemporary comics embody the trajectory of a “small confidential edition” that has become a monument of pop culture as well asThe Walking Dead. Launched in 2003 at Image Comics without much communication, Robert Kirkman's series took several years to find its audience before AMC's television adaptation, started in 2010, transformed previously innocuous issues into collector's items competed for at auction.
This guide lists the truly decisive issues of the original publication — from the first 24 issues drawn by Tony Moore then Charlie Adlard to the final issue #193 published in 2019 — based on verifiable facts: publication dates, creators, known print runs, and values actually observed during documented sales. No figure is put forward without a source; When market data is not available, rarity and editorial context are specified instead.
Historical and editorial context of the series
The Walking Dead#1 appeared on October 8, 2003 from Image Comics, written by Robert Kirkman and drawn by Tony Moore, who visually co-created the universe with him. At the time, Image operated on a "creator-owned" model with no guaranteed mass distribution: orders from North American comic shops via Diamond amounted to around 7,200 copies for this first issue, and total print run estimates (including additional copies printed to meet initial demand) were around 7,500 units according to specialist sources - a paltry figure compared to the print runs of the Marvel or DC series of the same period, and which alone explains the current rarity from the comic. The series changes artists from issue #7, published in April 2004: Tony Moore, prevented by deadline constraints, hands over the pencils to Charlie Adlard, who will remain the official artist of the series until its final issue fifteen years later - a rare case of such long artistic continuity in the history of the American comic book. Moore nevertheless continued to sign the covers until issue #24, creating a transitional period where two different hands coexisted on the same copy. Critical success precedes commercial success: the series received several nominations for the Eisner Awards in its launch year, but it was the draws that really exploded after the announcement, then the broadcast from 2010, of the television adaptation produced by AMC. The issues published between 2003 and 2009, printed in a few thousand copies each, then become objects of active research for readers who discover the comic strip after having seen the series. It is this time gap between the confidential original print run and the massive retroactive request that today structures most of the price on the secondary market.
Walking Dead #1
The founding number of the entire saga: we discover Rick Grimes waking up from a coma in the hospital in a world ravaged by the zombie apocalypse. With a print run of approximately 7,200-7,500 copies in the first printing according to specialist estimates, this issue did not benefit from any particular promotional campaign upon its release: Image Comics was then banking on a niche readership for a creator-owned series without a pre-existing license. It was precisely this low initial print run, combined with the explosion in demand after the AMC series launched in 2010, that made this issue one of the most sought-after modern comics on the market.
Walking Dead #7
This issue marks a major editorial turning point: Charlie Adlard succeeds Tony Moore as drawing artist, a change of artist which will nevertheless become the lasting visual identity of the series since Adlard will draw all the issues until #193 in 2019. On a storyline level, the issue introduces Tyreese, his daughter Julie and her boyfriend, Chris, while revealing that Lori is pregnant - two narrative threads which will irrigate several major arcs of the series. Moore retains the cover until #24, creating a hybrid period sought by purists in the title's editorial history.
Walking Dead #19
Michonne makes a stunning entrance into the story: she appears crossing a field of walkers, katana in hand, dragging behind her two unarmed, jawless zombies used as olfactory camouflage. This character will become one of the pillars of mythologyWalking Dead, both in the comic and in its television incarnation by Danai Gurira from season 3 of the AMC series. Demand for this issue remains strong on the secondary market, with graded copies regularly offered for sale; the original 2005 circulation remains much more modest than that of issues published after 2010, which maintains constant pressure on the high grade supply.
Walking Dead #27
Opening of the second major antagonistic arc of the series with the appearance of the Governor, his right arm Martinez and the fortified town of Woodbury. This character will become one of the most notable major villains in comics, adapted for the screen by David Morrissey in the AMC series from season 3. The issue is actively sought after by collectors who are building a complete "first appearances" collection, in the same way as the issues linked to Negan or the Governor in the original continuity of the comic - well before the prequels in novels devoted to the character.
Walking Dead #28
One of the most violent and memorable scenes in all of comics: the Governor cuts Rick Grimes' right hand with a knife. This pivotal moment, which remains one of the most discussed passages among readers of the original series, had never been adapted for the screen in the classic AMC series — until the spin-offThe Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live(2024) finally picks it up from its opening, eighteen years after the publication of the comic. This issue clearly illustrates how interest in recent adaptations reactivates demand for issues published almost two decades earlier.
Walking Dead #53
Three major characters from the middle season of the series make their simultaneous appearance: Eugene Porter, Abraham Ford and Rosita Espinosa, all three subsequently adapted for the screen and central to the narrative arc of the search for the cure for the infection. This issue remains a good example of an “accessible key”: less spectacular than #1 or #100, it retains a limited original print run while remaining affordable for collectors starting a thematic collection per character.
Walking Dead #100
The most commercially important issue in the series' history. Published in the midst of the AMC adaptation's popularity explosion, approximately 379,000 copies were ordered across all covers, making it the best-selling comic of the entire 2010 decade according to distribution data. It was available in around twenty variant covers signed by artists like Todd McFarlane, Bryan Hitch, Frank Quitely, Sean Phillips and Marc Silvestri, some of which were printed in only 250 or 500 copies (“Lucille” edition in red foil, in particular). The issue marks the entry on the scene of Negan and his baseball bat surrounded by barbed wire, as well as the death of Glenn Rhee, one of the most commented on narrative shocks of the entire series.
Walking Dead #193
The conclusion of sixteen years of publication continues, revealed without prior announcement: Robert Kirkman deliberately kept the end of the series a secret, going so far as to have false covers produced for the following three issues in order to preserve the surprise until the actual release in bookstores. The story takes place twenty-five years after the events of #192, the largest time jump of the entire saga, and remains the only issue to take place in the future of the timeline. Published in the middle of a period of strong distribution (post-AMC boom), its circulation is significantly higher than that of the very first issues of 2003-2006, which limits its relative rarity despite its symbolic importance as a closing collector's item.
The impact of adaptations on the rating
Few comics illustrate the “retroactive request” mechanic as clearly asThe Walking Dead. The AMC television series, broadcast from October 2010 to November 2022 over eleven seasons, multiplied the readership of the comic strip well after the publication of the founding issues — creating a lasting imbalance between a tiny original supply (a few thousand copies for the 2003-2008 issues) and a demand which was built ten years later on the basis of several million viewers.
This phenomenon is observed number by issue: Michonne, introduced in the comic in 2005 (#19), only appears on screen from season 3 in 2012, played by Danai Gurira; the Governor, present in the comic since 2006 (#27), becomes a major television antagonist the same season, played by David Morrissey; Negan, who appeared in the comic in 2012 (#100), made his television debut only in 2016 during the season finale of season 6, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan – a cliffhanger which considerably revived interest in the original issue at the time of its broadcast.
More recently, the scene of the amputation of Rick's hand by the Governor, published in the comic in 2006 (#28) but never adapted in the original series, was used inThe Walking Dead: The Ones Who Livein 2024. This type of narrative “catch-up”, specific to the post-2022 extended universe (Dead City, Daryl Dixon, The Ones Who Live), continues to periodically revive interest in old issues whose original edition remains permanently frozen. This is a mechanism to keep an eye on for any collector: each new spin-off release potentially reactivates demand for comic issues corresponding to the arc adapted to the screen, without the physical supply ever being able to adjust upwards.
Conversely, the issues published after 2010, at the height of the television series' reputation, benefit from significantly more generous print runs (the extreme case being #100 and its ≈379,000 copies), which explains why their relative rarity – and therefore their rating – remains structurally lower than that of the very first issues, despite sometimes greater narrative importance.
Buying guide
- Clearly distinguish the prints from #1.The first issue has seen several reprints over the years (second, third, fourth printing, special convention editions such as the Wizard World Chicago variant). Only the very first printing from 2003 carries the maximum collectible value: always check the indicia code and, ideally, have authenticity confirmed by a professional before any high-priced purchase.
- Cue the Moore/Adlard transition.Issues #1 through #6 are drawn entirely by Tony Moore; From #7, Charlie Adlard takes over the interior design while Moore keeps the covers until #24. This hybrid period has particular documentary value for collections focused on the artistic history of the title.
- Favor white pages (white pages) in CGC grading.As the series is printed in black and white, the quality of the paper and the absence of yellowing are rating criteria particularly scrutinized by the graders - a copy with white pages systematically trades above a copy with cream pages on old issues (2003-2008).
- Do not confuse original editions with colorized reissues.Since October 2020, Image Comics has been publishingThe Walking Dead Deluxe, a complete reissue fully colored by Dave McCaig, accompanied by previously unreleased bonus features (“Cutting Room Floor”). This collection, rich and sought after for its own sake in variant covers, does not however have the same collector's value as the original black and white issues: the two markets must be considered separately.
- Focus on original low-run issues rather than just narrative peaks.An issue with a strong storyline published after 2010-2012 (like #193) has often been printed in quantities much higher than an appearance issue published in 2004-2008: the original print run remains the number one factor of rarity, even before the importance of the plot.
- Check out the variant covers for #100.This issue was available in around twenty different covers, some with only 250 or 500 copies printed (such as the red foil edition “Lucille” or the ComiXology variant signed by Kirkman and Adlard): identify precisely the version proposed before assessing its interest, the gap in rarity between standard cover and limited variant can be considerable.
- Systematically document provenance.For the most sought-after issues (#1, #19, #27, #100), always ask for the CGC/CBCS grading history and, if possible, photos of the spine and spine before purchase: these are black and white comics, where spine micro-defects are particularly visible and have a strong impact on the final grade.
To follow the evolution of your collectionWalking Deadissue by issue — key appearances, print runs and condition of your copies — thecollection management applicationallows you to centralize this information and track the estimated value of each piece over time.