“The Walking Dead” doesn’t cheat readers when it comes to portraying the violent nature of living in a zombie apocalypse, with every story featuring an abundance of violence and death. In the latest issue of “The Walking Dead: Deluxe,” co-creator Robert Kirkman shared which deaths he considers some of the saddest and most brutal of the entire comic book run.
In “The Walking Dead: Deluxe” #83 (by Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn, and Rus Wooton), which reprints the original comic in full color with additional commentary from Kirkman, the series’ creator said the issue features one of the darkest deaths in franchise history. In the comic, the leading group of survivors tries to navigate through a horde of flesh-eaters, covering themselves in zombie guts. But when the fear of the situation paralyzes a young Ron Anderson, he’s engulfed by the undead. His mother, Jessie, tries to save him, but as Carl Grimes attempts to pull her out of the horde, Rick Grimes cuts off her hand to save his son, leaving the young boy to watch her die.
Kirkman acknowledged the gruesome nature of Rick and Carl’s survival, saying, “This is the ‘Carl-gets-his-eye-shot-out’ issue. When I have a huge event like that in an issue, it’s all just a matter of building to that moment. Also, I’ve got the Jessie and Ron deaths… which are ROUGH, possibly the saddest and most brutal deaths in the series. I mean, she sees a guy she trusts hack her hand off to kill her to save his son. Sheesh! Top 10 at least, right?
The issue also permanently changed Carl Grimes
“The Walking Dead” #83 isn’t just the end of the Anderson family’s story; it features one of the most violently game-changing moments for Carl Grimes. In the wake of experiencing the Andersons’ deaths, Douglas Monroe pulls out a gun amid the chaos of the swarming zombies. In a poor decision, he chooses to fire on them, believing he’s protecting his fellow survivors. However, the noise just directs the zombies back in the group’s direction, and Douglas is eaten as he fires wildly into the air. Unfortunately for Carl, one of the bullets hits the side of his head, obliterating the young boy’s right eye and taking a massive chunk out of his face.
Kirkman revealed in “The Walking Dead: Deluxe” #83’s notes that he initially wanted a more realistic wound for Carl so that it was evident his brain wasn’t impacted by the gunshot. However, Kirkman said that when artist Charlie Adlard drew the scene (which was later adapted for “The Walking Dead” television series via incredibly believable prosthetic eye makeup on star Chandler Riggs), the gruesome nature of the injury was too compelling not to keep. “Which honestly, we both know looks like a wound that is impossible to survive,” Kirkman said of the published version of the accident, “but it was so striking, powerful, and haunting… I just had to keep it unchanged … I just love the shock and awareness of Carl’s face. He KNOWS what happened, and he’s terrified.”
The story differed between comics versus the show
“The Walking Dead” television show adapted some of the comic’s saddest deaths in similar ways, such as the bloody death of Spencer Monroe (Austin Nichols) at the hands of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). However, Carl Grimes had a much more long-lasting presence in the Image Comics/Skybound series than on the hit AMC show, even after being shot in the face. The live-action version of Carl dies in Season 8 after tragically succumbing to a zombie bite. But in the comics, he survives the entire series and is among the group seen in the final pages, showing that Carl could have become the main character of the “Walking Dead” show if it had followed the original storyline.
The TV series also departed from the source material when adapting Jessie and Ron Anderson’s deaths. Instead of Ron (Austin Abrams) being devoured and his mother dying trying to save him, Jessie (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Sam (Major Dodson) — another Anderson son who was created for the show — are eaten by zombies. This leads Ron to pull a gun on Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and the other survivors, blaming them for what happened. Before he can kill anyone, Michonne (Danai Gurira) stabs him with her sword, killing Ron instead, but not before he shoots Carl in the face.
Though the show’s events were shocking, they were also different from the original version reprinted and discussed in “The Walking Dead: Deluxe” #83. There, Ron and Jessie’s deaths are even more impactful and pack significant emotional weight, making it easy to see why the moment sticks out in Kirkman’s mind, years after it was initially published.
