The Walking Dead Vols. 1–2: Days Gone Bye & Miles Behind Us

Rick Grimes, a small-town Kentucky cop, gets shot on duty and wakes up in an empty hospital. The dead have taken over. He heads to Atlanta to find his wife, Lori, and son, Carl, and finds them at a camp outside the city, looked after by his best friend, Shane. Things sour, and Shane ends up pointing a gun at Rick; Carl fires first and kills Shane. With nowhere safe, the group hits the road, passes through an infested gated community, picks up Tyreese and shelters on Hershel's farm until they're sent away. Along the way, Lori reveals she's pregnant. The volume ends with the group spotting a fenced-in prison.

1. Behind the scenesThe alien trick

   To get Image to accept a zombie story it found "too normal," Kirkman added an alien-invasion twist to the pitch. He later said he never meant to use it.

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2. Behind the scenesNew artist at #7

   Tony Moore drew issues #1–6 and did covers through #24. After missed deadlines, Kirkman brought in Charlie Adlard, who took over at #7 and stayed to the end.

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3. ReferenceShane goes early in the comic

   In the comic, Shane dies in issue #6, shot by Carl. On TV he lasts until the end of season 2, and Kirkman said he prefers the show's fuller take.

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4. ReferenceMaggie arrives in #10

   Maggie Greene first appears in issue #10, on her father's farm. On TV she shows up in season 2, in "Bloodletting."

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5. Behind the scenesA $20,000 page

   Page 7 of issue #1, drawn by Tony Moore, was appraised at $20,000 on VH1's For What It's Worth in 2013.

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