The Commonwealth (Comic Series)

The Commonwealth is a group and a network of communities who first appeared in Issue 173 of Image Comics' The Walking Dead. The Commonwealth has advanced equipment and almost fifty thousand survivors living in different settlements. It also has an event arena for different sports and concerts by surviving musicians of the outbreak, whom the apocalypse made popular. It also has its own army.

Overview
The Commonwealth is a strong community of 50,000 survivors, consisting of various connected towns, which are all under the control of Pamela Milton, The Governor. She counts with an army of guards led by Officer Mercer at their disposal, all of whom are donned in white armour and wield rifles/spears and shields.

A class system stems throughout the community with people being rated based on the jobs they did before the apocalypse, with a high class and a low class. The lower classes work average jobs such as baker, tailor, butcher, while the upper classes can act as lawyers, sub-governors, etc. Due to their bratty nature, the higher-ups of the Commonwealth have a very pompous attitude of any potential other communities, and view themselves as superior.

There are also various entertainment activities like sports games held in arenas, concerts at a stadium, and restaurants.

Pre-Apocalypse
Nothing about the Commonwealth prior to the apocalypse is known. Most of its citizens lived across the Midwestern United States.

Volume 29: Lines We Cross
The Commonwealth first appears when Michonne, Eugene, Magna, Yumiko, Siddiq and Juanita encounter them at an agreed meeting place. Their first encounter of them is strong as them point weapons at them, yelling to get their hands up.

Volume 30: New World Order
Eugene, Michonne, Magna, Yumiko, Siddiq and Juanita are taken to the Commonwealth by Lance Hornsby and his soldiers. Lance demands the survivors to reveal their identities and locations, which becomes difficult as Eugene resist on talking to him. Eugene demands Lance to take them to Stephanie, but Lance is resistant to do so. Michonne then asks if they could just do the interviews. As they do them, the people get to know each other better. Lance asks if they use extreme ways to survive, and uses an example of a man they received who covered himself in blood every day in order to survive. Michonne assures they have tried it only couple times but have not adapted to it. As Eugene still insists on meeting Stephanie, Lance then takes the group deeper in to the Commonwealth.

On the way to the Commonwealth, one of the soldiers tells Michonne that Lance is "kind of a prick" but they need him to be one in order to survive. Soon, survivors encounter walkers. Lance puts a pin on that Eugene's crew have "nerves of steel" around the undead, and they continue their journey.

Lance reveals that the Commonwealth is composed of nearly 50,000 survivors. While looking at the community's board for missing and/or lost loved ones. Michonne looks and sees a picture of herself signed by her lost daughter Elodie, tears stream down Michonne's face as she realizes that her daughter is most likely alive.

Lance leads the group to the actual city of the Commonwealth where they come across Stephanie. Lance forbids them to speak to her because she wasn't even allowed to make contact with Eugene or reveal their location. Eventually the group comes to meet Maxwell Hawkins. He picks Michonne to speak to Pamela Milton on only the basis that she was a lawyer as her occupation before the apocalypse. Pamela explains to Michonne that the point of the Commonwealth is to establish order in this world, that civilization is a like a machine, everyone has a part to play otherwise chaos will ensue. Then Michonne confuses about her daughter possibly being alive and says she would that rather hear from her about the Commonwealth. This stuns Pamela who immediately volunteers to take Michonne to the baker, where Elodie wrote on the picture where to find her. Once they get there, sure enough Elodie works at the bakery. When Michonne and Elodie see each other they immediately burst into tears and hug each other.

Volume 31: The Rotten Core
TBA

Locations

 * Event arena
 * 6th street
 * Wall of the Lost
 * Bakery
 * The Whitmore
 * Train Yard
 * Greenville

Inhabitants

 * Pamela Milton - (Leader)
 * Mercer - (Chief Officer)
 * Michonne - (Lawyer)
 * Lance Hornsby - (Book keeper)
 * Maxwell Hawkins (Assistant)
 * Stephanie
 * Sebastian Milton
 * George - (Soldier)
 * Samuels - (Soldier)
 * Frost - (Soldier)
 * Elodie - (Former bakery worker, Michonne's assistant)
 * Matt - (Bakery manager)
 * Kayla
 * Jerome - (Soldier)
 * Rufus - (Soldier)
 * Cloris - (Greenville Leader)
 * Curtis
 * Curtis' Mother
 * Curtis' Sister
 * Curtis' Brother
 * Nancy
 * Anthony Keith
 * Fendersons
 * Almost 50,000 other survivors.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims the Commonwealth have killed:
 * Anthony Keith
 * Dwight (Indirectly Caused)
 * Numerous amounts of zombies.

Deaths

 * Anthony Keith - beaten to death by the Commonwealth soldiers.
 * Dwight - shot in the head by Rick Grimes.

Volume 29: Lines We Cross

 * Issue 173

Volume 30: New World Order

 * Issue 175
 * Issue 176
 * Issue 177
 * Issue 178
 * Issue 179

Volume 31: The Rotten Core

 * Issue 181
 * Issue 183
 * Issue 184
 * Issue 185
 * Issue 186

Volume 32

 * Issue 187
 * Issue 189 (Cover)

Trivia

 * The Commonwealth is by far the largest network of communities in the series, with a population of almost 50,000 residents.
 * The rifles used by the Commonwealth military appear to be FN FNCs, which is odd considering the FNC has never been used by any American or Canadian law enforcement or military organization.
 * The Commonwealth is one of the three communities located in Ohio, the other being Wellington and Greenville.