Andrea Grimes (Comic Series)

"Your reasoning was bullshit before. 'Everyone you care about dies?' Get in line. Who can't say that? So we just resign ourselves to be miserable? I've lost people, we all have. We would just see whose curse is stronger, if mine kills you before yours kills me. We're all going to die Rick...that was true before the turn. I guess what I'm trying to say is...I'm glad you decided to stop being such a pussy. Tomorrow is a new day--and for the first time in a long time, I'm actually looking forward to it. So thanks."

- Andrea to Rick.

Andrea is one of the last remaining survivors of the original Atlanta band. A tough and skilled woman, she is an efficient defense against walkers and hostile people alike.

Pre-Apocalypse
Andrea is a member of the survivor group, and a central character within The Walking Dead series. She is a prominent figure within the survivors. She graduated from college and worked as a clerk at a law firm. She also had a younger sister named Amy. Amy was 2 years younger than Andrea. Before the zombie apocalypse went into full-force, Andrea was driving her sister back to college. They were on a road trip. The two sisters considered this a bonding trip, and despite the long journey it had become a sort of ritual for them. Along the way, Andrea's car broke down and she was forced to pull to the side of the road. The two sisters were the first of the survivors to be picked up by Dale, who had been driving along in his RV and noticed the two women were stranded.

Atlanta
Andrea and Amy traveled with Dale to the city of Atlanta, Georgia. By the time they got to the city however, it had already been overrun with zombies. They instead set up a campsite along the outskirts of the city, which soon attracted many other survivors. The first of these being, a man named Allen, his wife Donna, and their twin sons Billy and Ben. This was soon added to when Glenn, Jim, Carol Peletier, Sophia Peletier, Shane, Lori Grimes, Carl Grimes, and eventually Rick Grimes joined the group. Not much was revealed about how relationships were before Rick's introduction to the group, but they must have gone well for things to carry on the way they did. Andrea and her sister's role within the camp was primarily caring for the group's children. The two girls lived in Dale's RV, which brought them some animosity from some members of the group. i.e.: Donna, who, due to her traditionalist values, believed that this was inappropriate. Andrea was initially more closed off and shy than her sister, which had become worsened when Amy was killed in the zombie attack that occurred on the exposed camp. Andrea was forced to shoot her sister in the head to prevent her from returning as a zombie. Burdened with grief, Andrea fell into a deep depression and closed herself away from the rest of the survivors for a period of time. Dale stayed close to Andrea, and helped her cope with her loss.

Wiltshire Estates
The group soon left the camp after Shane's death. Along the way, they met up with a man named Tyreese, his daughter Julie, and her boyfriend Chris. After finding said people, the group found a seemingly nice place called Wiltshire Estates, where they swiftly stayed the night and planned on living long term at said place. Andrea formed a close bond with the much-older Dale, and the relationship became physical when the couple stayed together during their night in The Wiltshire Estates. Andrea much later confided in Rick that her relationship with Dale began as exclusively beneficial, as she and her sister would charm the older man so that they could live in the comfort of his RV. However, it turned into genuine love as time moved on and their relationship deepened. The group's happy stay at the Estates was cut short, once Donna met her death at the hands of a zombie. The group was forced to leave earlier than they had planned.

Hershel's Farm
Her involvement within the group shifted significantly when the survivors reached Hershel's Farm. She already displayed her first instances of proficiency with firearms back at the Atlanta campsite, and when the zombie hordes nearly overran Hershel when he opened his barn, Andrea helped stop the wave of undead pouring out with her acquired skills. She also attempted to emotionally comfort the devastated Allen at this time, but was ultimately rejected for speaking too soon.

The Prison
Eager to re-establish her usefulness and shed her comatose state, Andrea actively volunteered to help Rick secure The Prison. She, Tyreese, and Rick were responsible for the initial clearing of zombies and greatly helped the pair hold the line. Her assistance was acknowledged by Rick and he specifically requested her to aid in their securing thereafter. In between her role in defense, Andrea took the initiative to sew the clothes of the survivors and take care of the twins, Ben and Billy, while Allen took some time to recover.

In between the problems involving Dexter and the suspicious deaths of Susie and Rachel, Andrea was nearly caught off-guard by the dangerous and psychopathic Thomas, the real culprit, who attempted to decapitate her as she washed the laundry. She managed to escape his clutches but at the cost of a long knife wound across her face and part of her earlobe cut off. She fled out into the grounds of the Penitentiary, and led the insane Thomas to Rick who in a fit of absolute rage proceeded to beat him almost to death. While Lori attempted to stop the far-gone Rick, Andrea showed no mercy for her would-be killer. Dale patched her up soon after.

In between the time it took for Rick to re-establish the confidence in his leadership, Andrea was shown discussing with Dale the possibility of taking the R.V. and trying to make it on their own. Although she was against leaving everyone else behind, she still, at the encouragement of Dale, would consider it as a viable option.

Andrea's responsibilities increased when Allen personally asked her on his deathbed to look after Billy and Ben. She and Dale fulfilled that wish.

Andrea was a important participant within the battle against Woodbury. Her uncanny aim at this point was widely recognized by the group, and while Rick, Glenn and Michonne were missing, she and Dale guarded their home from atop The Prison towers. When Tyreese arrived back and their panicked state allowed the gathered undead at the walls to overrun the Penitentiary once more, Andrea and Dale hid in the parked R.V. Once Rick and his group arrived back, Andrea significantly helped clear the hordes.

Much later, Rick took the entire group out onto the grounds of The Prison and trained them in firearm usage in case The Governor and the Woodbury soldiers would attack. Rick displayed further confidence in Andrea when he assigned her to take the best half of the group and train them outside the walls for live-practice. Unknown to her at this time, Gabe and a Woodbury henchman observed them from the forest.

While Rick recovered from his wounds, Andrea and Tyreese took unofficial but obvious leadership of the small group heading out to find the Army Center the Woodbury hostiles were using to fuel their vehicles and load their weaponry. She attempted to train Tyreese in accuracy but ultimately failed as the latter could not adjust. Once the two lead the group to scavenge everything useful and were confronted by Bruce and three armed men outside Wal-Mart, Andrea without hesitation shot Bruce in the neck and killed another goon who wouldn't stand down. Though she showed shock immediately after, she acknowledged she needed to kill them. This showed a development within Andrea's character of adaption and rationality, but she still managed to keep her humanity unlike some of her companions.

After they arrived back and witnessed Dale's bite wounds, Andrea sunk back into extreme grief. However, the intervention of Rick, who cut off Dale's leg to stop the infection saved Dale's life, and Andrea took care of the further disadvantaged older survivor.

In the time of their relative peace and quiet, Andrea developed significant friendships with Tyreese and Alice. While Dale recovered, her close relationship and time with Tyreese nearly caused a relationship rift due to Dale's suspicion and jealousy. As it turned out she and Tyreese snuck off together to make Dale's crutches, she convinced him there would be no-one she could love than Dale.

Once the surprise attack of The Governor and his Army occurred, Andrea played a pivotal role in holding them back. She, along with Glenn made the two gate towers their sniping perch and suppressed the Woodbury group. She killed many of them, causing fear and demoralizing the group. Even though she wore the prison riot suit, she was nearly killed when The Governor recognized her threat and ordered his remaining group to focus fire on her. A barrage of gunfire ricocheted all over the tower and overwhelmed her aim; one unlucky bullet grazed her face and knocked her unconscious.

She returned by the end of the fight to drive the demoralized and strategically disadvantaged Woodbury Army back.

By this point, the overwhelmed survivor group split in their decisions of what to do next. While Tyreese and Michonne organized their small strike team to attack back first, Dale convinced Andrea the best option for all of them was to leave in the R.V. with whoever wanted to go. The pair took the twins, and Sophia with them; at the last minute Glenn and Maggie decided to go with them, leaving the already demoralized survivors with less numbers. However, this decision by Dale ultimately spared Andrea and the rest from the destruction of The Prison and almost everyone who stayed.

However, when the Woodbury Army attacked the remaining survivors at The Prison again, Andrea came back by herself with the R.V. and assisted her friends in holding them back. She sniped many of the attackers and successfully killed Gabe, making The Governor rely on his own influence to lead the scattered army. The Governor, in a desperate and furious action, ordered a Woodbury soldier to drive a truck over her. Andrea manages to shoot through the windshield of the truck, but she is struck with the truck and thrown over the R.V. as the R.V. is rammed and destroyed. She is seen coughing up blood on the other side of it.

The Road to Washington
In between the time it took for the surviving trio of Rick, Michonne and Carl to re-group, Andrea and the rest stayed at the abandoned Hershel's Farm, using the walls to keep the wondering roamers back. By this time she showed remorse for the lack of survivors left, and her experiences of the Woodbury Army evidently made her more weary of outsiders. This cultivated when Eugene, Rosita and Abraham encountered the group the following night. She was hostile to their requests for calm and was physically disabled by Abraham, who showed the group the danger of utilizing fire-arms.

Back on the road to travel to Washington D.C., Andrea was forced back into the role of an active defender. She and Michonne guarded the stationary camp at the petrol station while Rick and Abraham went to gather supplies at his old home-town. Dale found a farm house for the two to stay, as he was increasingly encouraging Andrea to remain behind with him. Unfortunately their plans were ruined by the zombie horde following the re-grouping Rick, Abraham, Morgan and Carl.

Andrea's relationship with Dale became more strained as his wounds continued to slow him down. A conflict regarding Dale's disagreement with Rick's leadership made him more distant from everyone, including her. During this difficult time, Andrea was the person who discovered the shocking sight of Ben standing above Billy's corpse. She was just as horrified and distraught as everyone else, but was less outspoken of keeping the obviously psychotic Ben alive than Dale.

When Ben was killed the following morning by Carl (who was undiscovered), Andrea broke down. Her emotional stability was further challenged when Dale, who was bitten in a small skirmish the following night, snuck away much later to die alone in the forest. When she went to find him, and the group found no clues of his departure, her blame shifted to the newly arrived Gabriel, who lead them to their church. After Rick interrogated the reverend and convinced Andrea it wasn't him, the group turned their attention to the shadowy figures who watched Andrea in the forest the nights before. After Dale's body turned up at the church's porch the next day and they realized the threat they were facing was human, Andrea along with Michonne, Rick and Abraham went to confront The Hunters head on. She showed no remorse for the slaughter.

She was shown having a last talk with Dale by his bed-side when they arrived back. The two fully expressed their love for each other before his death, and she was extremely distraught at his following burial.

Alexandria Safe-Zone
As with the rest of the survivors, Andrea successfully traveled and made it to the Alexandria Safe-Zone. The leader of the safe zone, Douglas Monroe, did admit to Rick, that he's having trouble thinking of a job for her because she, like Michonne is known more for her strength. Upon, Rick's advice, he decides to make Andrea a look out. She seems to be adapting well to living in the Safe-Zone, she's more than uneasy towards Douglas. An example is during her interview with him, he asked if she was single to which she was deeply offended.

Andrea admits that, like Rick, she's suspicious of Douglas and the others, feeling the whole thing is rehearsed. She's become the unrequited target of Douglas' attentions as seen in Issue 72 when he tries to make advances on her, even goes to say he's lonely in his loveless marriage. She gently rebuffs his advances and tells Rick she doesn't believe a word he told her. As they laugh a little about being hit-on, she begins to be depressed as she's still grieving over losing Dale. Rick tries comforting her by saying she had to let go of the past and it was alright for her to be happy for a little now and then.

She also attends the dinner party for welcoming them into the community, she's seen talking to Douglas's son, Spencer Monroe, in a somewhat pleasant conversation. He admits he's impressed about how she's a good shooter, though she modestly admits she's not that good. However their conversation is briefly interrupted by Douglas, who still clearly has his eyes set on her, much to her personal discomfort.

After the deaths of Regina and Pete Anderson, Andrea insists on going to the bell tower to keep watch, saying that it'll remind her of Dale if she stays for the funeral. She then saves Rick from Derek and the other scavengers who demand entrance to the Safe-Zone. During the attack on the Safe-Zone by a herd she is stranded in the tower, leading Glenn, Heath and Spencer to try and take some food and ammunition to her while evading the walkers. After finding out that Spencer was willing to leave everyone (including his father) in the Safe-Zone to be killed, Andrea breaks up with him and comes up with an idea to try and sneak back inside. Once inside the walls, all four help those fighting the walkers and they subsequently survive.

Hilltop Colony and The Saviors
Andrea, along with Rick, Michonne, Carl, and Glenn, are brought to the Hilltop Colony by Paul Monroe. There, they are shown around and introduced to Gregory. Another resident of the colony, Ethan, returns from a failed mission where all of his companions were killed except for himself and a woman named Crystal. Ethan then tells Gregory he has a message for him and stabs him. Rick tackles Ethan to the ground and in the struggle cuts his throat, while the rest of the residents stare at him, shocked. Later when meeting with Paul where he tells them about the Saviors, she said that the system they had in place about appeasing the Saviors was messed up, to which Paul agrees. The next day on the way back to Alexandria, they are stopped by a band of Saviors demanding all the supplies that Gregory gave them. The group kills all but one of the Saviors, issuing a warning to send back to their leader Negan and they make it back to the community.

Several days later, Rick and Andrea are told that several Saviors are at the front gates of the Safe Zone and that they have Eugene held hostage. After killing several of the Saviors and driving the rest back to Negan, Andrea follows Rick out and they discover Abraham's corpse being gnawed at by walkers. They take Abraham's corpse back to the Safe Zone to be buried and to plan their next move. When Rick tells her that he is going back to the Hilltop to get Paul and several others, Andrea insists that she comes along once more, but Rick persuades her to stay and defend Alexandria because with Abraham gone, she is "the only person I feel that can actually defend the walls." Andrea reluctantly agrees, unknowingly saving herself from the wrath of Negan.

While on patrol later, she encounters Spencer. While she is hesitant to talk to him, he tells her that he accepts that she is in love with Rick and not him and says he's happy for her. The following day at dawn, the Saviors attack the Safe Zone. When Rick, Paul and the remaining survivors return from the Hilltop (minus Glenn, Maggie and Sophia) Andrea tells Rick that they were able to successfully fight off the Saviors that attacked, resulting in no casualties for the Safe Zone residents. She also says they managed to capture one of them during the battle: Dwight.

When Dwight taunts Andrea and Rick on how Negan will slaughter them for killing more Saviors, Andrea punches him. Later on, she's taken back as Rick tells her how Negan killed Glenn. She immediately decides they should fight back by first killing Dwight. When Rick declines, she is furious and demands that he stop blaming himself everytime someone they care about dies. During a meeting the next day, Andrea interrupts Rick and tries to rally the others to support her in fighting the Saviors. Rick says that he knows what he's doing and releases Dwight to leave and go back to Negan.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Andrea has killed:


 * Amy (Before Reanimation)
 * Bruce Cooper
 * Sam
 * Carol (Zombified)
 * Gabe
 * Chris
 * Theresa
 * Albert
 * David
 * Greg
 * Charlie
 * Dale (Before Reanimation)
 * Derek
 * Numerous counts of zombies and many unnamed people.

Rick Grimes
Andrea and Rick, both original members of the group, are frequently shown sticking together to ensure the group's safety. A strong friendship and partnership grows between them over time, as Andrea relies on Rick's leadership and he in return trusts sharpshooter Andrea to protect them with her long range gun skills. They become close friends; the pair often opening up to one another on an emotional level, especially about losing loved ones and their fears for the future. In issue 90, their relationship takes a physical turn, ending with a kiss. In the following issue however, Rick pushes Andrea away, voicing his fears of losing yet another person he cares about. Rick's refusal upsets Andrea. While having a brief imaginary conversation with Dale's hat, she admits to having feelings for Rick for quite some time prior to the kiss, having been attracted to his leadership skills and heroism.

Rick angers Andrea when he decides she shouldn't join him and several others to check out a new community, Hilltop. His reasoning is to protect her but she argues that he should know by now that they always survive, time after time. In issue 96, Rick hugs and kisses Andrea on the cheek, showing that he still has feelings for her. Andrea later confronts Rick about the kiss, saying that despite the continual threat of death impending, they deserve happiness. The two officially become romantically involved. In issue 98, Carl awkwardly discovers Rick & Andrea waking up naked in bed together, after what is assumed to be a steamy night of passionate sex. In the following issue, Andrea makes a very forward offer to permanently move into Rick and Carl's house - an idea Rick warms to. In issue 103, Andrea is about to move out of Rick's house because of his idea of setting Dwight free. But Rick tells her his plan and they embrace and kiss each other.

Carl Grimes
Andrea took care of Carl and other children of the group back in Atlanta. She and Carl have a good relationship. Carl admits to Rick at one point in Alexandria that he wants Andrea to live with them. However, Andrea has yet to learn that Carl was in fact the killer of Ben.

Amy
Andrea was two years older than her sister Amy and was devastated by her death as a result of a zombie bite. It is Andrea who shoots Amy before she turns.

Dale
Dale was Andrea's first love in-apocalypse. They both are seen together after Amy's death until Issue 66, when Dale died. Andrea really loved him, and was seen crying after Dale's kidnapping. Andrea began to wear Dale's hat after his death, and talked to it as a means of coping with his death until Issue 91 where she tossed it away, realizing that she had feelings for Rick.

Ben & Billy
Andrea and Dale adopted Ben and Billy after their parents died. Andrea is not much seen with the children, but loved them still.

Allen
Andrea and Allen had a stable relationship at the forest outside Atlanta. After Donna's death Andrea tried to talk to Allen about losing someone but he said she didn't know what he was going through. This made Andrea very angry. By the time the group reached the prison Allen and Andrea's relationship had went back to how it was in Atlanta, Allen asked Andrea to look after Ben and Billy.Andrea was seen crying when she told everyone Allen had died.

Tyreese
Tyreese and Andrea established a good friendship, but unfortunately a little bit late before Tyreese's execution. Dale thought they established a such a good friendship, that Andrea might have had an affair on him. Andrea confirmed she and Tyreese are just friends.

Spencer Monroe
The son of Douglas Monroe, she seemed very comfortable at first with him. His father not so much, mostly due to Douglas trying to hit on her. It doesn't appear that Spencer knew about Douglas' advances toward her, but he didn't seem to mind their friendship. During her first few weeks at the Safe-Zone, she and Spencer grew closer and developed a romance. A slow one, as Andrea was still getting over Dale's death, but this would come to an end before anything began. After an attempted attack from scavengers, a zombie horde attacked and broke through the Safe Zone. Andrea, Glenn, Heath, and Spencer had gotten out earlier in an attempt to get supplies. As Heath and Glenn saw the horde break in, Spencer attempted to persuade Andrea to run away with him and leave the others to their fate.

When it becomes clear that Spencer had no loyalty or concern for his father or to any of the others stuck in the Safe Zone, Andrea quickly turned on him. She punched him, declaring their relationship over. After the ordeal was over and the threat was controlled momentarily, Spencer attempted many times to apologize and repair the relationship. However, Andrea stood her ground and refused, stating there never was anything between them.

Trivia

 * In the comic, Andrea is two years older than Amy, versus being twelve years older in the TV Series.
 * Andrea and Carl are the only people to survive a gunshot to the head, along with Daryl Dixon in the TV Series.
 * It is a misconception (albeit relatively unknown) that Charlie Adlard's version of Andrea is altered drastically to look like her sister Amy. The few sketches of Adlard's Amy and Andrea have the two appearing almost as twins, and this shows that Andrea more than likely simply quit wearing makeup to hide her freckles after the death of her sister as part of her maturation in the new world order.
 * Andrea is a one of the few main characters, along with Glenn, Tyreese, and Michonne, that has not revealed their last name.
 * Andrea is one of the many amputees in The Walking Dead. For other victims, see Amputated Victims.
 * Andrea managed to have her earlobe sliced off by Thomas Richards.
 * Out of all the amputations in the Walking Dead universe, Andrea's is notably the most minor, with most people having one of their limbs amputated, and one, if not the only, amputation that hasn't hindered the bearer in any way whatsoever.
 * Andrea killed both of The Governor's right hand men, Bruce Cooper and Gabe.
 * Andrea killed more Woodbury soldiers than any other member of the group, as witnessed by her sniping many of them from the top of one of the guard towers located at the prison.
 * Andrea, along with Rick Grimes, Michonne, Abraham Ford, and Brian Blake have killed the most named characters either as a zombie or as a living person.
 * Andrea's weapons of choice seems to be an Anshütz .22 LR.
 * Andrea is one of only four surviving members of the original Atlanta group, the others being Sophia, Carl and Rick.
 * In the script book, it is said Andrea is 28 years old. However, she told she is 26 in the comic. This might occur because the group skipped most of the birthdays, and she have had turned to 28.