Eric (Comic Series)

"Whatever is happening to Holly right now, that's what we're fighting for."

- Eric to Aaron regarding Holly.

Eric is a character first encountered in Issue 68 of Image Comics' The Walking Dead and is a resident living at the Alexandria Safe-Zone, also Eric is Aaron's work partner and boyfriend in the Alexandria Safe-Zone.

Location Unknown
Nothing is known about Eric's life before or as the outbreak began. It is likely that he lived in Alexandria before the outbreak occurred.

Alexandria Safe-Zone
Eric is a recruiter for the Alexandria Safe-Zone, along with Aaron. He would watch groups and see if they were good or bad; after that, Eric would watch Aaron enter the survivors' vicinity. If anything went down between Aaron and the group, Eric would step in and deal with the group by killing them. After Aaron finds Rick Grimes' group, Aaron explains that Eric is his "insurance policy...because he is supposed to kill you and save me if you turn out to be bad people."

While little is known about him or his past, he appears very friendly. A bit cautious, but still very vigilant as he helped Aaron watch the group from a safe distance to see if they'd be good for their community. While he's remained very quiet, he does seem to want to gain the group's trust.

It is revealed in Issue 79 that Eric was stabbed by a woman, probably the one who belongs to Derek's group. Aaron and his boyfriend were scouting for survivors outside the walls of the Safe-Zone. The woman had tried to steal one of their horses in the middle of the night while the three were sleeping. Eric had woken up and tried to talk to her, resulting in her stabbing him and leaving with the horse. Aaron takes Eric back to the Safe-Zone, where Eric is treated by Denise Cloyd He turns out to be okay, and Aaron apologizes to him, as he felt guilty as to what happened to Eric.

Alexandria Safe-Zone Chaos
When a group of zombies invade the Safe-Zone, Eric and Aaron are both seen hiding in their house in Issue 84. However, after seeing Michonne and Rick fight off the zombies alone, Aaron feels he should go out and help and bravely goes, while Eric reluctantly goes with him. He gets over his fear and assists the group in killing the group of zombies.

Conflict With The Saviors
Eric is not seen interacting with the Saviors much, he is seen on the wall of the Alexandria Safe-Zone alongside Carl and Rosita. He tells Carl not to try and shoot Negan, however, Carl shoots anyway and hits Negan's bat, Lucille. This causes the Saviors to open fire on his and Carl's position. When Negan asks the people of Alexandria to throw Carl over the wall, Eric tells him to "go fuck himself."

Negan and his men parade outside waiting for Carl, when finally realizing that Carl will not be thrown over, he begins picking a victim for Lucille. Just then Paul Monroe appears in the trenches and begins dispatching many of The Saviors. After briefly holding Negan up, Ezekiel, his people, and Aaron appear and begin attacking them. Negan and most of his men escape as they are fired upon.

The War Begins
Soon after this, Eric joins the ranks of Rick's coalition and he, and Aaron set off to face The Saviors. At The Sanctuary, Rick gives Negan an opportunity to surrender, which he declines. He instead pulls out Gregory who informs them that the Hilltop will not partake in the war and that those who do will not be allowed back at the Hilltop and will not be allowed to see their families. Several Hilltop members, including Kal, leave the scene. Only 8 in all walk away from the scene which angers Negan. Gregory is kicked off the platform and is given one last chance to surrender, he declines again and his snipers shoot at Rick and his soldiers. Eric is one of the many who take cover and partake in the firefight between the two groups. After killing some of The Saviors and damaging their base, the militia retreats back to a rendezvous point.

At the meeting spot, the soldiers rejoice in their victory, including Eric and Aaron. Rick soon appears and ceases the celebration warning them that this is only the beginning. Later, Eric and Aaron meet up with a worried Heath. Heath tells the couple that he is worried for Holly and Eric admits he is as well. Aaron tells his partner to look at it as something to fight for and to fight for Holly. Rick reveals the plan to attack two of four nearby major outposts. Rick, Paul, and the rest, along with Eric, and Aaron are with them while Ezekiel and his people lead a charge on another.

Later, as Rick's squad storms the Savior outpost, Eric is one of several to be killed during the siege with a shot to the head. Aaron, who runs up behind him, catches him as he collapses and mourns his fallen partner as bullets fly by. Rick tells Aaron to take cover to which Aaron collects his rifle and tells Rick to lead the way. A vengeful Aaron is seen one of the first to breach the outpost as they make their way inside.

After the siege, Rick and Paul oversee the burning of the Saviors bodies. Rick walks up to check on Aaron who is seen sitting next to Eric's body, holding his hand. Rick asks him if he will be alright to which he replies, "Not until every last one of these motherfuckers [The Saviors] are dead".

Rick and his troops return with Eric's body where it is presumed he is set to be buried there. Aaron is found standing in his home by Heath where he continues to mourn him. Heath consoles his depressed friend and they embrace, remembering the better times of Eric when he was alive.

Killed By
While storming a Savior outpost, Eric is shot in the head by a Savior. He collapses in a shocked Aaron's arms who briefly grieves over him before laying him down and moving on with the fight.
 * Unnamed Savior

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Eric has killed:
 * Numerous counts of zombies.

Aaron
At some point before or possibly even after the apocalypse, Eric fell in love with Aaron and the two have become ferociously protective over one another. Hired by Douglas as scouts for potential new citizens of the Alexandria Safe-Zone, the two were the ones to enlist Rick's group after some minor, albeit understandable trust issues with the group. When they attempt recruiting another lone, female survivor, they are betrayed and Eric is stabbed by her which would go onto show Aaron's true concerns and feelings for him after they made it back to the safe-zone. Eric would make a full recovery and in his passive nature, it could even be assumed that Eric is more passive about his feelings than Aaron. After this incident, Eric and Aaron decided to retire as recruiters and have a more active role within Alexandria. As time would go on, Eric would become a vital cog within Rick's leadership of the Safe-Zone alongside Aaron. Aaron is devastated by Eric's death, but it appears to fuel his drive to fight the Saviors.

Appearances
{{scroll
 * content =

Volume 20: All Out War - Part One

 * }}

Trivia

 * Robert Kirkman answered the question whether naming characters the same name, Billy, Chris, Jim, Eugene, Eric, and Bruce was an oversight, "It's not oversight at all. It's completely unrealistic for a group of people to meet at random and never encounter the same names."
 * Eric, Aaron, Tavia, and Jesus all have similar roles as recruiters for their respective communities.
 * Eric's death is very similar to Axel's.