The Walking Dead: How Glenn And Maggie's Wedding Happened In The Comics

So you say you want to get married in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, but you're not sure how to do it? After all--who do you invite when half of the people you know want to kill you? What do you serve when 80% of the world's population are craving "braaaaaaains"? Well, you're in luck, because believe it or not, somebody already did your wedding more than five years ago--you did! That is, if you're Glenn Rhee and Maggie Greene, who just got engaged on today's episode of AMC's The Walking Dead and who were married in the comic books the show is based on way back in 2007. So how did their wedding go the first time? And what might we be able to guess about the upcoming season finale based on the events surrounding it?

Who: In spite of the lovely picture at top, Merle didn't actually appear at the family affair in the comics--mostly because he doesn't exist. We mention this simply because while it seems like common knowledge to those who know, we still get a couple of questions a week from fans wondering what Daryl and Merle are doing at any given point in the comics. Given the nature of his relationship with Maggie and Glenn, it seems unlikely he would have been invited even if he did exist. That's alright, though; Billy Greene appears in the issue (The Walking Dead #37), and he--the brother of the bride--is a character who doesn't exist on the TV series, so it all kind of comes out in the wash. Patricia was there, too--although she didn't make it through the second season on AMC. Other characters present in the comic book who are currently dead on the TV show include Axel and Dale. Tyreese was there (and seeing Michonne at this point in his character history, which played a role in the issue as well), as well as Ben, Billy and Sophia. While Tyreese might show up (he's been waffling in his loyalties), Billy doesn't exist in the TV show and Ben is loyal only to his father--who seems pretty happy in Woodbury. And Lori--who was alive and pregnant at that point in the comics--was in attendance, although her death in the TV series certainly doesn't preclude her from appearing, as you can count on one hand the number of episodes she's not been in since her death. Maybe Maggie can borrow that wedding dress she's been wearing! Also in attendance: Hershel's other leg. Missing in action: Most of Glenn and Maggie's hair. When: The Walking Dead #37, the first chapter of the trade paperback collection The Calm Before. By this time, Rick and Michonne had been taken hostage and tortured, with Rick's hand cut off and fed to the Governor's daughter. The Governor had been left for dead after Michonne hacked him up in retaliation for sexually assaulting her, and it was nearly a year (publication time) before the final confrontation with the Governor and the Woodbury Army. Whether that suggests that next week might not be the end of the Woodbury story is not clear; after all, we're pretty far afield from things following the comics this year. Other events that are a bit out of sequence? At the end of the issue, Lori finally tells Rick that they need to talk about Shane, giving him (long after Shane's death) the bad news that he might be the father of their unborn child. Shortly before that, Michonne takes the newlyweds, along with Tyreese and Andrea, on a mission to loot a National Guard post in the hopes of finding enough weapons to stand up against Woodbury.

In the prison cafeteria. While we've only seen it once this season--and Hershel might not want to wander back there lest he find bits of himself hanging around--it was a fairly secure location for the wedding, located in an uninfested part of the prison far from prying eyes of people like the Governor who might take such an occasion as an ideal time to spring. It should also be noted--in the comics, our heroes were much more willing to embrace the prison uniforms as an alternative to those same outfits they've been wearing for the last year.