‘The Walking Dead’ Season 9 Premiere Comics Comparison

The Walking Dead followed its source material quite closely with the Season Nine premiere.

Spoilers for The Walking Dead Episode 9×01 follow. Major spoilers!

The AMC show aired its Episode 9×01 on Sunday night, with Gregory having been killed in true-to-the-comics form and Maggie and Daryl not exactly seeing eye to eye with Rick Grimes. While some bits of the episode were unique to the TV series, deviating from the source material for the sake of drama (or compensating for characters who were not around on AMC’s show anymore), it largely followed Robert Kirkman’s original work.

Check out some of the side by side comparisons, courtesy of Skybound, below.

Time Jump

Though the time jump in the AMC show didn’t seem to be quite as long as the time jump in The Walking Dead comics, there was still a significant gap which followed the All Out War story. 

Episode 9×01 was titled, “A New Beginning,” just as the first issue of the comic to follow the war was. In it, the survivors have crafted comfortable and safe places to live and raise families. They are using tools which humans had used prior to modern technology and creating resources for themselves.

How far they have come since that pilot where Rick rode into Atlanta!

Hilltop

As seen in the comics, Maggie enjoys looking out from her Barrington House balcony in the TV series. Of course, it’s worth noting the Hilltop on television has evolved just as it did in the comics.

The community now has a water tower, several more buildings, and enjoys the safety of its walls. In Season Eight, Maggie was paid of visit by Georgie and given some tips on how to innovate her community to improve it. Georgie and her Key to the Future book did not exist in The Walking Dead comics. 

Execution

Gregory met his comic book fate in Episode 9×01, being hung at the Hilltop after trying to have Maggie killed.

In the comics, Gregory tried to poison Maggie but was caught by Jesus. When Maggie survived, he was killed. On the television series, Gregory enlisted the help of Earl for an attempt on Maggie’s life similar to the attempted murder of Rick Grimes in issue #150 of The Walking Dead comics. 

Cut Him Down

Much of the dialogue was pulled straight from the pages of Robert Kirkman’s comics (though some of it was abbreviated). In fact, the last line of the episode was pulled straight from issue #141: “Cut him down.”

Did you catch any Easter eggs or references in Episode 9×01 of The Walking Dead? Share them in the comment section! Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. The Walking Dead returns for its ninth season on Oct. 7, 2018. For more updates and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter!