The Walking Dead #1 (Oct. 2003):
“Days Gone Bye, Part 1”
by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore

BELOW: Rick Grimes' prayer for strength? After being shot and gravely wounded, Rick Grimes was in coma, lying in a hospital bed for a month. He wakes up to find himself in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. After nine pages of encountering no living people - only horrific zombies - Rick drops to his knees while whispering "Oh God..." He buries his face in his hands and remains silently on his knees for some time. He then stands back up and seems to have the resolve to carry on. He mounts a bicycle he found and heads to his family home intent on finding his wife and son. "The Walking Dead" comic book series does not use thought balloons or internal first-person narrative captions. Readers are not privy to exactly what is going through Rick's mind while he is on his knees, although he was clearly in despair and clearly found the strength to carry on. It is up to the individual reader to decide if Rick's expression "Oh God..." was the beginning of a prayer, a semi-prayer, or merely a profane utterance. Similarly, it is up to the individual reader to decide if Rick's prayer (or non-prayer) was answered.

Source: The Walking Dead #1 (Oct. 2003): "Days Gone Bye, Part 1", pg. 11. Written by Robert Kirkman. Art by Tony Moore. See also: prayer; kneeling; God; Rick Grimes