All Out War stands as one of the most famous story arcs in The Walking Dead comics. Now that it has reached the show, how did the premiere episode compare to the source material? Similar to our comic/show posts from Season 7, we compared the biggest moments of the Season 8 Premiere to its comic counterparts (mostly from Volume 20: All Out War Part 1) below:
Rick’s “Dream”
Sorry, but the Season 8 Premiere did NOT answer the question of whether the the Old Man Rick sequence from the trailer is real or a dream. While Rick didn’t experience any strange flash-forward-like dreams in the comics, there IS a time jump following the events of All Out War. In fact, the town fair Rick and Michonne mention in the show is actually PAST the time jump. The jump occurs in Issue #127, and the fair (pictured below) occurs in Issue #142:
Preparing for War
(Before we dive in – note that in the comics Rick is still with Andrea. A lot of Andrea’s personality has been attributed to Michonne in the show). MOVING on, in both the comic and show Rick bids farewell to his family, checks up with Ezekiel and Jesus, and heads to The Sanctuary. The preparation takes WAY less time in the comics, where the show gives each character room to check in with each other.
Carl’s Scavenging Mission Didn’t Happen In The Comics
Those scenes with Carl scavenging around the gas station and interacting with a starving survivor did NOT occur in the comics. However, it WAS a great homage to his father Rick from the pilot episode, which we edited side-by-side together here.
Daryl’s Side Mission Didn’t Happen Either
In the comics Daryl and Tara don’t exist and Carol and Morgan are dead, so this side mission to divert walkers to The Sanctuary didn’t happen. Then how did the walkers reach Negan? In the comics, Rick instructs his people to shoot out the windows and create a cacophony to lure the undead right to The Sanctuary.
Rick’s Entrance
Finally, some comic/show comparisons we can get behind. The iconic scene in the comics of Rick and his allies arriving at Negan’s doorstep and shooting guns over their head played out nearly identically as the show. In both cases, Rick gets Negan’s attention by shooting in the air and tells him they don’t have to go to war. In both instances, Negan is frustrated by Rick’s intrusion but DOES have a back-up plan…
The Gregory Plan
Negan’s grand plan to use Gregory to lure The Hilltop to his side failed miserably in the show and the comics. After realizing no one cared about Gregory and he wouldn’t gain any new followers, Negan kicked him off the balcony. Some minor differences: in the comics, eight people from The Hilltop stepped forward whereas zero did in the show. Also, in the comics Negan kicks Gregory off the balcony, where it was Simon who shoved him off in the show. In both instances, Jesus loyally stuck by Rick’s side.
The Battle
In both the comics and show Rick’s group overwhelms the Saviors and force them to retreat. Some minor differences: in the show, Negan’s forced to hole up in a trailer, where he sees Father Gabriel and delivers the shitting your-pants-line. In the comics, Negan uses the line on Dwight as they watch the walkers close in. Also, that mini stand-off where Rick had Negan pinned didn’t play out in the comics at all. Negan was far less vulnerable.
The Aftermath
As Negan and The Saviors get surrounded by walkers, Rick and his crew leaves. In the show, Rick tells his people whatever happens they’ve already won. In the comics, Rick’s remarks are more brief and less awe-inspiring:
And that wraps up our comic/show comparisons for the Season 8 Premiere! What were your favorite comic/show moments? Let us know in the comments and stick around for next week’s comparisons.
Holly was on the tv show. She was killed by the wolves
That’s what I was thinking. Her character even looked super similar to the comic to, just with darker hair. She didn’t have any character development and was never a very important character in the show.
You’re thinking of Francine who is still alive. She did do the scene from the comics where Abraham saves her from walkers but not holly. The real holly was introduced as she died.