Fans have been arguing about Carl Grimes’ age since the zombie apocalypse began. It’s one of those debates that never really dies, much like the walkers themselves. In the comics, Carl starts as a 7-year-old boy. The TV show keeps him roughly the same age at first, though Chandler Riggs was closer to 10 in Season One.
Fast forward to now. Comic Carl declares himself a leader. TV Carl looks like a late-teen. Riggs is 17. The timeline is broken. We know where they started. We have no clue how much time has passed. This gap creates confusion for both Rick and Carl’s current ages.
How Old Is Rick Grimes Really?
The confusion hits hard in Letter Hacks of The Walking Dead issue #164. Writer Robert Kirkman and editor Sean Mackiewicz address a fan letter about ages. The fan claims Rick was 27 when the series started. Carl was 7. Mackiewicz shuts this down immediately.
“Rick’s age has never been revealed in the comic,” Mackiewicz said. “Its true! Enough’s revealed that you can figure out he was 23 years old when he started getting serious with Lori… which invalidates your theory because Rick can’t have been 27 at the same time Carl was 7.”
So Rick is older than 27 at the start. He is closer to 30. The math simply doesn’t work for the younger theory. Kirkman and Mackiewicz disagree on everything. Carl’s age is their biggest fight.
“Robert and I disagree on many things, but maybe none more so than Carl’s age,” Mackiewicz noted.
Mackiewicz admits Carl is 7 because Kirkman wrote it in issue 5. But post-time jump? It’s up for grabs. As long as Carl doesn’t state his age in dialogue, the writers are making it up.
Where Does The TV Show Stand?
The show plays fast and loose with time. Riggs has aged seven years. The story hasn’t moved that far. This discrepancy explains why the timeline feels off. The show never gives clear dates. It just lets actors grow up.
If Kirkman is right about the comic timeline, Carl is about 13 now.
“It’s totally possible that Carl has aged five years since the beginning of the series,” Kirkman concluded. “Kids age fast!”
The comic time jump between issues 126 and 127 isn’t tied to a specific number. It seems like two years. Could be more. The ambiguity is intentional.
TV Carl is aging faster than the plot. Riggs will be at least 20 by the time the show catches up to the comics. Andrew Lincoln, who plays Rick, is nearing 50. They are outpacing the source material’s internal logic.
Maybe we should just pretend they are younger. It’s hard to imagine looking good while surviving years in a zombie apocalypse. The characters might look older than they are. Or maybe the writers just stopped caring about the calendar. Either way, the debate continues.
