10 Things Only Walking Dead Comic Fans Know About Tara

Tara Chambler from The Walking Dead is generally acknowledged to be one of the best characters to debut after the first season. Like most of the others, her background and stories were changed when she was adapted for the TV series, making her original story only known to those who read it.

She was actually known as Tara Chalmers in print, with her appearance coming in the novel series titled The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor. Although some points were faithfully adapted, quite a lot about Tara was either altered or dropped for the TV series, making it worth taking a look into what the comic book/novel version was like.

10 She Was An Irresponsible Person Before The Apocalypse

While Tara of the TV series was rather naive when she was first introduced, she was still shown as a competent person who would complete the tasks given to her. The comic book Tara was said to be a total flake who couldn’t be counted on.

Moreover, her own father called her a “pothead,” and Tara was seen wearing outlandish outfits that established her devil-may-care nature. It was only after the apocalypse that she was forced to change her attitude and realize that being a slacker wouldn’t cut it anymore.

9 She Is The Older Sister

In the TV series, Tara was portrayed as the younger sister to Lily Chambler, with the former heavily relying on her sibling as an emotional crutch. In the original material, however, Tara was the elder sister to April Chalmers and their dynamic was different.

Here, April wasn’t the most composed person and was said to possess a temper that she had inherited from her mother. Tara was more flighty by personality but far calmer than her younger sibling.

8 She Used To Be A Musician

Interestingly, the Chalmers family as a whole was a band who used to tour together across the tri-state area and was relatively successful. 

Here, Tara’s role was to play bass while her sister worked the guitar, her father played the mandolin, and their mother was the singing soprano. Although nowhere near popular on a national level, Tara’s family still did pretty well for themselves.

7 Her Mother Passed Away Before The Apocalypse

The TV series adapted Tara’s father David as he was in the original story but left out references to her mother. Tara Chalmers’ mother was mentioned in passing but some exposition was provided over what happened to her and how she was in life.

By Tara’s admission, her mother Lillian was a talented singer who had lost her life five years before the apocalypse when she succumbed to pneumonia. However, she was somewhat glad that Lillian never got to see the new world as Tara claimed her mother was too fragile to have handled it.

6 She And Her Family Were At A Bluegrass Festival When The Apocalypse Began

The arrival of the apocalypse couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Chalmers as they were nowhere near their home when the outbreak began. Tara was with her family at the bluegrass festival in Tennessee when the zombies marked their first arrival.

This meant that the Chalmers had to search for a safe zone amidst the chaos that ensued, during which Tara guided her family through a number of blockades and riots to find a way out.

5 She Had To Resort To Violence To Survive

The laws of society quickly shattered when people were being blocked by large gates to keep them outside safe zones. To this end, Tara had to forsake her own sense of morality to survive and was one of the people who resorted to stealing supplies and vehicles.

Finally, she was able to locate an Amtrak train that took the Chalmers family all the way to Atlanta where they located the apartment complex that eventually became their main base.

4 She Met With The Philip Blake Group Before Brian Became The Governor

The Governor is one of the most notable villains in The Walking Dead, but the comic book version isn’t the one TV fans are aware of. In the source material, it was Brian Blake who became the Governor while his brother Philip was the antagonist in Tara’s story.

It was Tara’s sister April who came across Philip’s group and offered them shelter, after which they headed to the apartment complex. Tara was livid at her sister’s decision to reveal their base as she didn’t trust Philip.

3 She Held A Grudge Against Philip Blake For Killing Her Zombified Father

In the grand scheme of things, Tara’s father David’s demise was far from the most major death in the comics. However, his passing did hit Tara significantly as she wasn’t ready for her father to die. David didn’t die from the zombies, though, with his death arriving due to lung disease.

The zombified David ended up attacking Tara, who was saved by the intervention of Philip Blake. Rather than appreciate this, Tara started to hold a grudge against Philip for killing her father even though he was already technically dead.

2 She Kicked Philip Blake Out To Fend For Himself

Philip was far from the sharpest Walking Dead villain and became unhinged a little while after settling in the apartment complex. The TV series showed the Governor having a consensual fling with Tara’s sister, but the comic book had Philip force himself upon April.

Once Tara found out about this, she decided it was time to kick out the new arrivals. To this end, she pulled a gun on Philip the following morning and order him to take his group and leave, not even allowing them to take any food or weapons with them.

1 Her Living Status Remains Unknown

Unlike the TV series version, the comics’ Tara was never shown leaving the apartment complex. Her last appearance was when she kicked out Philip and his group and it’s up to speculation as to what happened to her.

Judging by the story, it can be assumed that Tara took her family and left the complex as she had mentioned that the place wasn’t fit to survive the winter and that she was hoping to find a heater in her supply runs. Due to this, what became of her family is still unknown.

About The Author

Saim Cheeda
(1343 Articles Published)

Saim Cheeda is an entertainment writer covering all of Film, TV, Gaming and Books. He’s been a writer for Valnet since 2017, contributing 500+ articles for The Gamer, The Things, Game Rant, Comic Book Resources and Screen Rant. Apart from freelance writing, Saim is a lifestyle blogger, co-owning the blog 3 States Apart.

http://3statesapart.com

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