Duane Jones (Comic Series)

"Losing a son... takes something out of you. For me it felt like someone has cut a piece of me off... Like a part of me was gone. Still does. It'll be a while before Dale feels okay again--and he'll never be the same again. Never."

- Morgan on losing Duane.

Duane Jones is a character first encountered in Issue 1 of Image Comics' The Walking Dead, as well as a main character and the deuteragonist in the Morgan Special. He is the son of Morgan Jones. Duane and his father hid in various houses in Rick Grimes' neighborhood, attempting to ride out the zombie apocalypse.

Cynthiana, Kentucky
Nothing is known about his life before the outbreak. He may have lived in or near Cynthiana and possibly attended primary school. He had a father and a mother.

Days Gone Bye
As a delirious Rick Grimes mopes about in his neighborhood, Duane hits him over the head with a shovel, and knocks him unconscious. Duane's father, Morgan, realizes Rick is still alive, and they take him into the house they're staying at to care for him. Duane is present during Morgan's explanation to Rick about the zombie outbreak.

After talking, Rick, Morgan, and Duane go to the police station where Rick worked. Rick gives Morgan some guns and a car, and Morgan tells Duane he plans to teach him how to use a gun, because he's old enough. Morgan and Duane plan on staying in the small town, so Rick and Morgan wish each other well and Rick mentions he will come back later for the two.

This Sorrowful Life
After Rick's departure, Duane and his father return to their shelter in Rick's old neighborhood. Much later, on Christmas, Morgan and Duane are seen alive and living in a cabin on a snowy mountain, in safety and relative comfort.

Killed By
Almost a year after the apocalypse, and several months after Rick left Morgan and his son, Duane was bitten and turned into a zombie. Morgan killed four men and two dogs to feed him.
 * Zombies

Several months later, Rick re-encountered the two, finding Morgan still alive, and the zombified Duane tied up. Rick tried to convince Morgan to kill Duane's reanimated form, because the real Duane was already dead. Morgan left with Rick, but, instead of killing his son, he left Duane to roam freely by shooting the chain that held him captive. Morgan never told Rick what he really did.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Duane has killed:
 * Possibly numerous counts of zombies.

Morgan Jones
Being father and son, Morgan was very protective of his son. In the end of book one, their relationship is expressed when Morgan gets Duane a Game Boy, batteries, and game. It was likely that when Duane died, Morgan still had very strong feelings for his son, as shown with Morgan's unwillingness to kill Duane whilst he was a zombie.

Mrs. Jones
Mrs. Jones is Duane's mother; not much is known of their relationship as her death occurs prior to the comic's opening.

Rick Grimes
Not much is revealed of their relationship. Rick is still seen sad and shocked after his death. Rick didn't remember his name, and thought his name was "David". He had, however, remembered it by the time he, Abraham and Carl got to Rick's neighborhood; when someone hit Rick in the head with a shovel, Rick spontaneously exclaimed "Duane?", only to find out it was the boy's father who attacked him this time.

Volume 1: Days Gone Bye

 * Issue 1

Volume 6: This Sorrowful Life

 * Issue 34 (Flashback)

Volume 10: What We Become

 * Issue 58 (Zombified)
 * Issue 59 (Zombified)

Trivia

 * In the script book, it is revealed that Duane is 12 years old.
 * Duane was born in 1991 since the outbreak started in 2003.
 * The character's name was a homage to the actor of the same name who was the protagonist in the film Night of the Living Dead.
 * The first compendium states that the events of Morgan Special/Issue 34 flashback happen around the time of Issue 7, meaning Duane could have died anytime after that.
 * In this special Duane is seen reading a comic book called "Invincible". It's another comic book created by Robert Kirkman.
 * Duane is one of the few characters who dies (and/or reanimates) off-panel.