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[WARNING: POTENTIAL SEASON 4 SPOILERS AHEAD!]

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After the game-changing decision that closed out season 3 of The Walking Dead, the world of Rick Grimes' group of catastrophe-hardened survivors has become many magnitudes more complicated. Though the threat of The Governor and his private army has (seemingly) passed, how can these scarred, traumatized veterans of the zombie apocalypse hope to lead a safe community?

For fans aching for answers to that question, season 4 of The Walking Dead can't come soon enough. Fortunately for those in need of a zombie fix before the series' October 13th premiere date, a new batch of images – plus official synopses of the first four episodes of the season – should provide decent respite.

Comic Book Movie recently shared a number of new images from season 4 of The Walking Dead, featuring spotlights on both new and returning characters. You can check out these glimpses of the coming season the gallery below:

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Just as the core group of survivors became far more efficient, resilient zombie-killers between seasons 2 and 3, it seems as if the prison-based encampment has become noticeably more militarized between seasons 3 and 4. Note the far more grizzled, well-armed look for Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the automatic weaponry brandished by newcomer Bob Stookey (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.).

For all the well-polished readiness on display among the prison-dwellers, it looks as if life is going to be anything but stable for The Walking Dead's notoriously unlucky characters. Short descriptions of the first four episodes of season 4 (courtesy Geek Tyrant) foretell even more fresh hell for the survivors:

EPISODE 401: 30 Days Without An Accident – Rick and the group are as close to an ideal life as possible at the prison. Will they be able to hold on to humanity in the face of a new evil?

EPISODE 402: Infected – As the group faces a brand new enemy, Rick and the others must fight to protect the livelihood they worked so hard to create at the prison.

EPISODE 403: Isolation – A group leaves the prison to search for supplies; the remaining members of the group deal with recent losses.

EPISODE 404: Indifference – The supply mission faces hurdles; the situation at the prison worsens.

The Big Question raised by these blurbs is, of course: what is this "brand new enemy" that the survivors must now contend with? With The Governor's entire power-base now under Rick's protection (and amid rumors that David Morrissey's character may not be long for the world), it's unlikely that the psychotic warlord will return so quickly and as such a huge threat. Will this new menace return the dread to the show's somewhat de-emphasized undead?

Or – as readers of The Walking Dead comics are almost certainly wondering – will TV viewers soon see a certain baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire?

We have just over two weeks to dissect these images and speculate. In the meantime, keep your eyes glued to Screen Rant for every rotting tidbit about The Walking Dead that we can dig up.

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The Walking Dead will rise again on AMC on October 13th, 2013.

Sources: Geek Tyrant; Comic Book Movie