At conventions and on Twitter we get a ton of questions about how the trade paperbacks (individual volumes) relate to the hardcovers, how the hardcovers relate to the compendiums, and how to switch between them. The short version is that The Walking Dead is generally broken into 6-issue arcs. Every trade paperback volume collects 6 issues. Every hardcover “book” is 2 trade paperbacks, or 12 issues. And then there are the compendiums, which are each comprised of 48 issues (8 trade paperback volumes). Oh, and if you want to get fancy, we sell Deluxe Hardcover Onmibuses, which collect 24 issues (or 4 paperback volumes, or 2 hardcover books). The Omnibuses are over-sized editions which also include cover artwork and come inside a slipcase.
Individual issues of The Walking Dead come out each month.
The release cycle for paperback volumes is generally every May and November. Certain marketing factors can fudge the release a bit.
The hardcover books generally come out once a year, late fall.
Here’s a super helpful map of the different versions:
Our “Story” page in the comics section has an issue break down as well as plot details (so don’t expand unless you want to know.
I wish the covers were inserted in the books at the beginning of the issues instead of at the back of the books. That would kill a couple birds with one stone.
About what issue would align with the show where it stands now?
About which issue would the show be at, right about now?
Given the variations between the show and the comic it’s hard to say, but I think through Volume 7 is a good guess. Volume 8 wraps up the Governor/prison story line, and that’s still playing out on the show, so maybe hold out on that one.
Could I safely read “Rise of Gov”, “Road to Woodbury”,& “Fall of Gov”?…Well, maybe the first 2 & hold off on that 3rd?
Yeah I think you’d be fine with the first 2. The Governor is very different in the comics. More straight evil from the outset. And the prison storyline is so different I’m not sure how many spoilers there would be.
I was reading the comics well before watching the show and I never felt like anything was “spoiled.” Robert does a really good job keeping you guessing on the show by intentionally changing the sequence of events, character introductions, character deaths, etc.
Thanks for that! Neither the comics nor the show is predictable & I love that! Happy to have something to read while I wait for Season 4.
Hey Bastet..It’s very safe to read the books you mentioned. They are pretty damn awesome and as a fan you have to check them out..I think the newest one comes out in October and I can’t wait. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
I’m enjoying them a lot more than I expected! Was trying not to read past where the show is but it’s reeeeeeaaaallllly hard!!!
They’re so damn good..Enjoy them. I find the Printed media like the comics and novels is just so different then the TV show…It never really spoils anything.
Now, I’ll TRY to wait for Volume 19 before reading new issues… I say I’LL TRY. 😛
It might be time to revisit this
I’m curious what content that’s in the monthly comics is cut from the Trade Paperbacks? I ask because while tracking down the issues that have reference material for the Minimate figures, I notice some of the official reference material doesn’t show up in the TPB Volumes