Alexandria Safe-Zone (Comic Series)

The Alexandria Safe-Zone is a few blocks of cleared streets in Alexandria, Virginia, about six miles from Washington, D.C. When Rick Grimes' survivor group arrived, Douglas Monroe stated that the community had existed for less than a year. To date, this is the longest lasting location the survivors have lived in, with a lifespan of almost three years.

In the war, Alexandria suffered considerable damage and was temporarily abandoned. After the war's end, the survivors came back to Alexandria and started to rebuild it. Two years after the war, Alexandria was completely rebuilt and has been vastly improved, with the addition of new houses, crops and orchards.

Background Information
A man named Alexander Davidson began to build the wall, and later invited his good friend Douglas Monroe to be his co-leader in the society. However, sometime after the wall was built, Davidson began to abuse his power by taking advantage of some of the women in Alexandria and assigning others to dangerous jobs that he himself refused to do. This forced Douglas to do something that he dreaded; he burned a zombie to double as Davidson's body and then banished Davidson to the outside world, which he considers as good as killing him.

After this setback, things in Alexandria seemed to be going smoothly. This peace is temporarily shaken by the arrival of Rick's group to the Safe-Zone. Due to the combined attacks of both Peter Anderson and the D.C. scavengers, Douglas realizes he can't lead the community as well as he thought. He then resigns his commission and subsequently puts Rick in charge, feeling that Rick would be a far better leader than himself.

The Herd
Due to the noise of the firefight with the D.C. scavenger group a massive herd of roamers is drawn towards the Safe-Zone. The walls of Alexandria are surrounded by roamers, the group notices that Andrea is still in the tower. An expedition party is mounted to search for her, however the plan backfires and the party becomes separated from the rest of the group.

The roamers eventually break down the walls killing many residents, including Bruce and Tobin. Rick and Morgan try to get to safety, but Morgan is bitten on the arm, he tells Rick to leave him and get to safety. However, seconds later, Morgan changes his mind and says he wants to live, Michonne comes to his aid and slices his arm off with her katana. She and Rick rush him to the clinic, where he collapses.

Rick rushes back to his house, where he is greeted by Carl, Jessie Anderson, and her son Ron. After she and Rick make out they devise a plan to escape. They cover themselves in roamer guts and make a run for it, however, Ron is grabbed by a roamer and is bitten. Jessie rushes to his aid, but also ends up being swarmed and is devoured along with Ron. She attempts to get Carl's help and grabs his hand, however, she won't let go and Rick is forced to cut her hand off. Douglas soon comes to their aid and starts shooting wildly at the roamers, he is bitten and a stray bullet hits Carl in the eye, destroying the right side of his face.

Douglas is swarmed and devoured, when Carl collapses. Rick picks him up and sprints for the clinic. He makes it and asks Denise to help him, she tells him that she will do everything in her power. Rick heads outside and makes a stand alongside Michonne. They are both fighting the roamers alone, until Abraham and Holly see them and decide to assist. Eventually the whole community joins the fight and together they successfully repel The Herd.

Aftermath
After the zombie herd is defeated, things begin to go back to normal until Nicholas attempts to take the Safe-Zone away from Rick, who he perceives as a threat to their lives and the community. Rick is able to defuse the situation and calm Nicholas down.

The community is later approached by an outsider named Paul Monroe, who wishes to establish a trade route between the Safe-Zone and several other communities around the area. For some reason, the community still does not grow food even though it would be much easier than scavenging all the time. Paul later reveals that he also brought them to the community of the Hilltop for help against The Saviors.

The War against The Saviors
"You can't have a war without... casualties."

- Rick Grimes.

Rick Grimes and Paul Monroe, with the help of Ezekiel, devise a plan by using all three of their communities to fight off The Saviors. Rick lies to his colony to make it seem as if they are following orders to give Negan whatever he wants. When Negan comes to the colony unannounced, Rick sees it as an opportunity to end this once and for all. He tries killing Negan, unaware that he has backup hidden. They are then saved by an army of survivors from The Kingdom, including Ezekiel and Shiva.

The armies from Kingdom, Hilltop and Alexandria itself spend the night preparing for war. The following morning Rick gathers a meeting, revising their battle plan, and leaves with the survivors, leaving Carl in charge of the safe-zone, along with Andrea, who is still badly injured from the skirmish the day before.

Soon, Negan and a large group of Saviors arrived, bringing Holly who got separated from The Militia in the Battle of Sanctuary. They release her back to the Safe-Zone, just as Denise takes off the bag on her head, they realize Holly died and reanimated, being a roamer. She bites Denise's arm and is shot by Rick, just as Negan orders an attack. Several grenades are used, blowing and setting on fire a good number of houses. The number of casualties is unknown, they are saved in the last minute by a group of Hilltop survivors led by Maggie Greene, with this, they manage to repel The Saviors away.

Exodus
As of this, half of the safe zone's houses were destroyed or burnt down, though the walls are still intact Rick declares the zone unsafe, taking everyone in Alexandria back to Hilltop with Maggie.

Alexandria is mentioned several times by the survivors, and Rick states several times that they are going to rebuild it after the war is over.

Reconstruction and Improvement
During the two year period following the war, Alexandria has been vastly improved, with several houses being built, and also farms, orchards, crops and animal pens. The population of the safe-zone also increased considerably. It is connected to the other safe-zones by a reinforced road.

Layout
The area runs on an isolated power grid and was put together by the government in case of a major disaster. However, the power grid does not work the way it was intended as half of the houses do not have hot water and there is not enough power to run all of the lights at the time.

The zone originally contained two streets of houses, a meeting house, an armory/storehouse, and infirmary, and was expanded by Abraham and Tobin's crew to include more houses, a general store, and a church.

There are under 60 residents of the Safe-Zone before Rick Grimes' group arrived, and with their inclusion there are "over sixty" residents.

It is mentioned in Issue 103 that the Safe-Zone contains about twenty houses and about fifty survivors.

In the aftermath of the war with The Saviors, the damaged community was returned to and rebuilt. Now there are several more houses, a community cafeteria, a mill, crops, orchards and one jail

Grimes Family

 * Rick Grimes - Leader of the Safe-Zone.
 * Carl Grimes - Son of Rick.
 * Andrea - Girlfriend of Rick.

Monroe Family

 * Douglas Monroe - A former U.S. Congressman and former leader of the Safe-Zone. Husband of Regina and father of Spencer. Killed by zombies.
 * Regina Monroe - An elderly woman. Douglas' wife and mother of Spencer. Killed by Pete Anderson.
 * Spencer Monroe - Douglas' and Regina's son. Killed by Negan.

Recruiters

 * Aaron - A former recruiter for the Safe-Zone that meets and invites any survivors to the Safe-Zone if he deems them to not be a threat.
 * Eric - Aaron's loving partner. Eric would accompany Aaron on his recruiting missions and kill anyone who attempted to harm Aaron. Killed by The Saviors.

Supply Runners

 * Heath - A male survivor and supply runner.
 * Scott - A male survivor and supply runner. Died due complications and infection caused by a broken leg.

Ammo-Crew

 * Eugene Porter - A male survivor who arrived with Rick's group.
 * John - A male survivor. Killed by zombies.

Construction Crew

 * Abraham Ford - A male survivor who arrived with Rick's group. Later leader of the work crew. Killed by Dwight.
 * Holly - A female survivor and formerly part of the construction crew and Abraham's girlfriend. Killed by The Saviors.
 * Tobin - The former head of the construction crew. Killed by zombies.
 * Bruce - A male resident. Part of the construction crew. Killed by zombies.
 * Siddiq - A male resident who serves on the construction crew after the war.

Nicholas' Family

 * Nicholas - A male survivor. Husband of Paula and father of Mikey. Killed by The Saviors.
 * Paula - Nicholas' wife and Mikey's mother.
 * Mikey - Nicholas' and Paula's son.

Anderson Family

 * Peter Anderson - Jessie's husband and Ron's abusive father, former doctor. Killed by Rick.
 * Jessie Anderson - Pete's wife and Ron's mother. Killed by zombies.
 * Ron Anderson - Jessie's and Pete's son. Killed by zombies.

Other Survivors

 * Paul Monroe - Former Hilltop Recruiter. Member of the herd-crew.
 * Negan - Prisoner and former leader of The Saviors.
 * Denise Cloyd - A female resident and doctor. Killed by a zombified Holly.
 * Rosita Espinosa - A female survivor who arrived with Rick's group.
 * Gabriel Stokes - Resident of the Safe-Zone who runs the church.
 * Olivia - A cheerful young woman living in the Safe-Zone.
 * Josh - A teenage boy living in the Safe-Zone.
 * Erin - A female resident.
 * Barbara - A female resident.
 * Annie - A female resident.
 * Carlos - A male resident who serves as a lookout.
 * Anna - An unseen female resident.
 * Wesley - An unseen resident.
 * Delbert - An unseen resident.
 * David - Unseen male resident.
 * Carter - A male resident. Killed before Rick's group arrived.
 * Beth - A female resident of the Safe-Zone. Killed before Rick's group arrived.
 * Jessica - A female resident of the Safe-Zone. Killed before Rick's group arrived.
 * Barnes - A male resident and formerly part of the construction crew.
 * Richards - A male resident and formerly part of the construction crew.
 * Charles - A male resident. Killed in the second Savior attack.
 * Betsy - A female citizen living in the Safe-Zone. Killed in the second Savior attack.
 * Alexander Davidson - Founder and former leader of the Safe-Zone. Banished for indiscretions with women by Douglas and later killed by zombies.
 * Mr. Orson - Unseen male resident. Killed in the second Savior attack.
 * Mrs. Orson - Unseen female resident. Killed in the second Savior attack.
 * Orson Children - The children of Mr. and Mrs.Orson. Both killed in the second Savior attack.
 * Other Unnamed Residents.

Newcomers

 * Magna
 * Luke
 * Yumiko
 * Kelly
 * Connie

Animals

 * Greene Family Horse - A horse brought to the Safe-Zone. Possibly killed by the herd or from the Savior attack.
 * Buttons - A horse brought to the Safe-Zone. Was stolen by a female survivor when on a supply run.
 * Other unnamed horses
 * A few unnamed pigs

Deaths

 * Carter - Died from an unknown cause before Rick and the rest arrived.
 * Jessica - Died from an unknown cause before Rick and the rest arrived.
 * Richards - Died from an unknown cause before Rick and the rest arrived.
 * Barnes - Died from an unknown cause before Rick and the rest arrived.
 * Beth - Committed suicide before Rick and the rest arrived.
 * Alexander Davidson - Exiled and confirmed dead by Kirkman.
 * Scott- Died due to complications when he broke his leg on a supply run.
 * Regina Monroe - Killed by Peter Anderson while attempting to stop him from attacking Rick.
 * Peter Anderson - Killed by Rick after killing Regina.
 * Derek - Shot in the head by Andrea.
 * Bruce - Died during the zombie invasion.
 * Tobin - Died during zombie invasion.
 * Morgan Jones - Bitten during the zombie invasion and killed before reanimation by Michonne.
 * Ron Anderson - Grabbed and devoured by a herd.
 * Jessie Anderson - Grabbed and devoured by a herd.
 * Douglas Monroe - Grabbed and devoured by a herd.
 * Abraham Ford - Shot through the head by Dwight with a crossbow during The Saviors first counterattack.
 * Spencer Monroe - Killed by Negan by cutting Spencer's stomach open.
 * Seth - A Savior, who was shot just outside the gates by Rick.
 * Connor - A Savior who fell to his death after being pushed out of a window of the belltower by Andrea.
 * Holly (Zombified) - Shot by Rick.
 * Charles - Killed by a grenade.
 * Betsy - Killed by a grenade.
 * Mr. Orson - Killed by a grenade.
 * Mrs. Orson - Killed by a grenade.
 * Orsons Children - Two children killed by a grenade.
 * Unnamed horse - Killed by zombies or The Saivors.
 * Gary - A Savior killed by a grenade.
 * Davis - A Savior shot by Maggie.
 * Denise Cloyd - Bitten and later put down by Michonne.
 * Many Unnamed Scavengers - 5 or possibly more unnamed Scavengers died at the gates of the Safe-Zone when trying to attack the residents.
 * Many Unnamed Saviors - Many unnamed Saviors died at the gates of the Safe-Zone when trying to attack the residents.
 * Many unnamed Safe-Zone residents - Died before Rick and rest arrived to unknown reasons.

Trivia

 * This is so far the longest running refuge of the Comic Series, being used as refuge by Rick's group since #70 to its destruction in #121, then rebuilding after #126.
 * Robert Kirkman confirmed in #116's Letter Hacks that more Alexandrians will be introduced in the future.
 * The Alexandria Safe-Zone is a buyable property in The Walking Dead Monopoly.