| This article is about the Comic Universe character. For other pages with the same name, see: Austin |
| “ | The Governor's gonna keep us safe. This is the best situation in the world to start a new life.
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” |
Austin Ballard is a survivor of the outbreak in Skybound Entertainment's Comic Universe. He is a main character in Thomas Dunne Books' The Walking Dead and a minor antagonist in Image Comics' The Walking Dead. Woodbury, a member of the Woodbury Army, and the boyfriend of Lilly Caul.
He is described as "boyish with long dark espresso-brown curls, having deep-set eyes that sparkle with mischief." "In his leather bomber jacket and multiple strands of bling around his neck," he affects "the air of a second-tier rock star, an incorrigible bad boy." He served as the deuteragonist of The Fall of the Governor.
Pre-Apocalypse[]
Atlanta, Georgia[]
Austin was born in 1981 and grew up in innocuous suburbs full of cul-de-sacs & Scout troops & weenie roasts and having had a good relationship with his two brothers, John and Tommy, who he thinks were great musicians. Every Halloween, he and his brothers would make a fire in a clearing in the forest and hold a ritual to burn the deceased's relics or their one-time items as a farewell and drink wine as sobriety.
In 2001, he went to Atlanta Technical College and got a degree from there, which he was studying to be a paralegal. He also spent his free time on the beach, surfing off the coast of Panama City Beach, Florida.
Post-Apocalypse[]
Woodbury, Georgia[]
Austin lost his brothers to zombies in the early days of the outbreak in Atlanta. He later came to Woodbury from the north in bad shape along with ten other survivors. He has easily shined to be the better at combat and is known as a flirt around town. He can also be seen being constantly mothered by Barbara Stern. He ends up having a relationship with Lilly Caul and can be seen helping her.
The Fall of the Governor - Part One[]
While he, Lilly, Martínez and others are on a supply run, they run into a bit of trouble in a store that ends with Austin being mere milliseconds away from death, but he is saved by Lilly. He is grateful towards her afterwards and the two spend a lot of time together.
One night, at Lilly's apartment, the two share a drink and proceed to have sex, which, unbeknownst to them, gets Lilly pregnant. Austin expresses that he will take care of the baby with Lilly and will do his best as a father. He mentions that he is happy about the situation, and feels even safer knowing the Governor is keeping Woodbury safe.
After they decided to keep the baby, Austin and Lilly did a ritual to bid farewell to their past, they dig a hole on the ground, then Austin threw in his beloved marijuana, said "Time to put away childish things, here's to a lifelong love affair with weed, you got me through a lot of rough shit, but it's time to go."
Then Lilly threw in Megan's photo, saying "Here's to my BFF, my gal pal, my old friend Megan, may she rest in peace."
Austin then threw in his brother's harmonica, saying "I'd like to drink to my brothers, John and Tommy Ballard, who got killed by walkers in Atlanta last year, great musicians, good dudes, I hope they're in a better place right now."
Finally Lilly bid farewell to Josh Hamilton: "Here's to an old friend of mine, he saved my life more than once. Hope we meet again someday."
After the ritual, Austin told Lilly he loves her, both of them look forward to the future, it is the first time since they settle down into Woodbury, they believe they could make it work and both of them and their baby will have a future here. Thus they are marching toward the tragedy.
The Fall of the Governor - Part Two/Made To Suffer[]
Austin is seen in Issue 43 in the Woodbury arena whilst the Governor is making his first appearance to the town after his mutilation from Michonne Hawthorne. He is shocked at the site of Martínez's severed head.
Austin later participates in the assault on the prison where he witnesses the Governor's death at the hands of Lilly Caul and takes refuge inside the prison. Austin reveals to Lilly that he was bitten while pinned down on the ground by a walker and decides to sacrifice himself to let the others flee, by distracting the herd.
Death[]
- Killed By
- Himself (Sacrifice)
- Zombies
After the prison assault the remaining Woodbury survivors including Austin hold up inside the prison, with no other way to escape. Austin, after revealing that he was precedently bitten by a walker, decide to distracts the horde of zombies to allow Lilly and the others to escape; he is killed and devoured in the process.
Killed Victims[]
This list shows the victims Austin has killed:
- Himself (Sacrifice)
- Numerous counts of zombies
Relationships[]
For a more in-depth look at Austin's relationships, read here: Austin Ballard (Comic Universe)/Relationships
Allies[]
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Enemies[]
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Appearances[]
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| Novels | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rise of the Governor | |||||
| The Road to Woodbury | |||||
| The Fall of the Governor | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Descent | ✔ | ||||
| Invasion | |||||
| Search and Destroy | |||||
| Return to Woodbury |
| ✔ | Appears | ✔ | Voice is heard |
| 👁 | Appears with no lines | ✔ | Appears in a flashback |
| ✔ | Appears as a walker | 🖼 | Appears in a photograph/video |
| ✔ | Appears as a corpse | ✔ | Appears in a hallucination/dream |
Trivia[]
- The picture used on this wiki is an assumption of what Austin looks like based on his novel description paired against background characters seen in the comics.
- When Volume 8 was originally released, it appears Austin was originally the same character as Earl due to their similar appearance and the position they're sitting in Issue 43. The novel series retconned this and they are canonically separate characters.
- Austin is the first character in the Novel Series that sacrifices himself to a mega-herd in order to save the group, with the second being Meredith Dupree and the third being Miles Littleton.