“You must remember that other people’s children are not our responsibility.”
These words from Rick Grimes on the final page of The Walking Dead #82 hinted at the possibility of abandoning Alexandria. The settlement has been overrun by walkers, and the survivors are trapped in a house with no way out.
“If it came down to my child or someone else’s, I’d choose mine without hesitation,” Rick explains in issue #83. He then devises a plan to evacuate and assist those trapped within the horde. To disguise the group from the infected, Rick dismembers a walker and uses sheets as guts-covered ponchos, enabling them to navigate through the zombie masses.
Maggie and Sophia remained behind as Rick, Carl, Michonne, Denise, and the Andersons faced the horde. However, young Ron’s fear caused him to draw attention and he was consumed by walkers. Jessie, clinging to her son, nearly brought Carl to his demise as she too was devoured, leaving Rick no choice but to sever her hand with his hatchet.
Fleeing their captors, Carl and Rick faced a perilous moment when Douglas Monroe’s stray bullet struck Carl’s eye.
In issue #83 of “The Walking Dead Deluxe,” creator Robert Kirkman reflects on the impact of graphic violence.
“This issue features Carl losing an eye, Jessie and Ron’s brutal deaths, and Carl’s horrific gunshot wound,” Kirkman states. “These scenes are among the most intense and emotionally devastating in the series.”
Kirkman’s inspiration for Carl’s wound came from Todd McFarlane’s depiction of Kraven the Hunter’s suicide in “Spider-Man.” The graphic portrayal of the aftermath serves to emphasize the extreme violence that permeates the “Walking Dead” universe.
Inspired by the “Torment” storyline in Spider-Man, Kirkman envisioned Carl’s head with a horrifyingly visible gap, similar to Kraven’s void where his eye once was. Kirkman aimed for realism while maintaining the visual impact of the wound. Adlard’s straight-on shot, which made it into the final issue, presented a wound that appeared impossible to survive. Despite its shocking and haunting nature, Kirkman kept it unchanged, drawn to Carl’s awareness of his condition and the terror it elicited.