The Walking Dead #27

Another camp

The Walking Dead #27, cover-dated April 2006, opens with the line "You mean like another camp." The survivors had been living in a prison, and this issue begins the arc in which they discover that they are not the only organized community left. The town is Woodbury, Georgia, and its leader is a man who calls himself the Governor.

Woodbury looks almost idyllic, a town reclaimed from the chaos. Its ruler turns out to be the series' most sadistic villain: Rick soon learns that he feeds unwanted visitors to zombies. In the arc that follows, the Governor cuts off Rick's hand and holds Michonne captive and abuses her, and she takes a brutal revenge on him.

He was finally killed by his own followers, who turned against him.

The team in 2006

Robert Kirkman, born on November 30, 1978, in Lexington, Kentucky, had started in comics with the self-published parody Battle Pope in 2000, drawn by Tony Moore. When he pitched The Walking Dead, Image Comics balked at what looked like another zombie story, so Kirkman told them the zombies were part of an alien plot, an idea he never intended to use. The series launched in October 2003.

Charlie Adlard, born in Shrewsbury, England, in 1966, had taken over the art from Moore with issue #7 in 2004, and by #27 he drew the covers as well as the interiors. Cliff Rathburn supplied the gray tones and colored the cover, and Rus Wooton lettered the story.

Kirkman, Adlard and Rathburn are credited as the Governor's creators. In July 2008 Kirkman became a partner at Image, and in July 2010 he founded Skybound Entertainment to develop his properties across comics, television and film.

Brian Blake on page and screen

Later stories revealed the Governor's real name to be Brian Blake; Philip was his deceased brother. The novels Rise of the Governor (2011) and The Fall of the Governor (2014), written by Kirkman with Jay Bonansinga, told his origin and downfall.

On television the British actor David Morrissey played the character in seasons three and four from 2012, under the name Philip Blake, and earned a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In the show's version he is shot by Lilly after he kills her daughter Meghan.

IGN ranked the comic-book Governor 86th among comic book villains in 2009, and Rolling Stone placed the television version 19th among the greatest TV villains.

An affordable key

Orders were modest. Monthly order estimates show #26 and #27 both shipping in March 2006, at about 19,382 and 18,866 copies, ranked 127th and 131st among comics that month.

Despite the villain's fame, #27 remains one of the more affordable Walking Dead keys in top grade. Between January 2025 and October 2026, CGC 9.8 copies sold mostly between $100 and $225, with a high of $260 in November 2025 and a low of $78 in September 2025. A CGC 9.8 white-pages copy sold at auction for $149 on December 2, 2025. At least one copy has been graded CGC 10.0.

One price guide gives the issue's record 9.8 sale as $650 but no date for it. No public census count was available in the sources consulted.

The numbers

Cover price

$2.99 US; $3.50 Canada

Story length

22 pages

Estimated orders, March 2006

18,866 copies to North American comic shops; ranked 131st (issue #26: 19,382)

Census

Not available in the sources consulted; at least one CGC 10.0 sale is on record

CGC 9.8 sales on record

28 dated sales with a single clear price, January 2025 to October 2026

Series

193 issues, October 2003 to July 2019

Timeline

1. Oct 2003

   The Walking Dead #1 is published by Image Comics.

2. 2004

   Charlie Adlard takes over the art with issue #7.

3. Jun 2005

   Michonne debuts in issue #19.

4. Mar 2006

   The Walking Dead #26 and #27 ship; #27, cover-dated April 2006, introduces the Governor and Woodbury.

5. Jul 2008

   Kirkman becomes a partner at Image Comics.

6. Jul 2010

   Kirkman founds Skybound Entertainment.

7. Oct 31, 2010

   AMC's The Walking Dead premieres.

8. 2011

   The novel Rise of the Governor is published.

9. 2012

   David Morrissey debuts as the Governor in season three.

10. 2014

    The novel The Fall of the Governor is published.

11. Jul 2019

    The comic ends with issue #193.

12. Nov 2, 2025

    A CGC 9.8 copy sells online for $260, the high in the period reviewed.

13. Dec 2, 2025

    A CGC 9.8 white-pages copy sells at auction for $149.

14. Oct 1, 2026

    A CGC 9.8 copy sells online for $114.

The world in 2006

• Jan 19, 2006

  NASA launches the New Horizons spacecraft toward Pluto.

• Jan 31, 2006

  Samuel Alito is sworn in as a Supreme Court justice.

• Feb 5, 2006

  The Pittsburgh Steelers win Super Bowl XL.

• Mar 5, 2006

  Crash wins Best Picture at the 78th Academy Awards.

• Sep 4, 2006

  Steve Irwin is killed by a stingray while filming.

• Oct 10, 2006

  Google buys YouTube for $1.65 billion.

• Nov 7, 2006

  Democrats win control of Congress in the midterm elections.

• Nov 19, 2006

  The Nintendo Wii goes on sale in the United States.

Price record

This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.

By reference price, The Walking Dead #27 is number 93 of 100 in the comics entries of the FLOAT 100. 92 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (71 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• The Governor's real name in the comics is Brian Blake; Philip was his brother.
• Kirkman sold The Walking Dead to Image by pretending the zombies were part of an alien invasion.
• Issues #26 and #27 both shipped in the same month, March 2006.
• Negan, the series' other great villain, does not appear until issue #100.
• David Morrissey's television Governor earned a Saturn Award nomination.
• The Governor's story was expanded into a pair of novels, Rise of the Governor and The Fall of the Governor.