Alien Lie Saved The Walking Dead!

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Summary

  • Kirkman saved The Walking Dead by lying and pitching it as an alien story to Image publishers.
  • The comic’s main premise is similar to the TV series but features different character fates.
  • The Walking Dead comic series has a new issue coming in 2025 and an expected season 2 of Dead City.

Even though “The Walking Dead” wasn’t the first to explore the zombie genre, its post-apocalyptic comic book series left an indelible mark on fans who craved tales of the undead. It’s almost hard to imagine a world without Robert Kirkman’s “The Walking Dead,” but considering the abundance of zombie media over the years, there was indeed a time when such a world was conceivable.

Originating from the minds of writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore in 2003, the comic series titled “The Walking Dead” presented unique twists on character deaths and outcomes compared to its renowned television counterpart. Despite these differences, the fundamental plotline remained consistent as it centered around Sheriff Rick Grimes, who emerges from a coma into an apocalyptic world overrun by zombies. Finding refuge among fellow survivors, including his son Carl, Shane, Daryl, and Carol, Rick assumes leadership and guides them through a perilous journey of survival marked by numerous heartrending incidents.

The Walking Dead Almost Didn’t Happen, but Kirkman Told a Lie To Save It

According to Screen Rant, the popular TV series The Walking Dead almost never came to life because Image Comics wanted a different direction for the series in order to steer clear of the zombie genre. In a 2018 panel, Robert Kirkman shared that he had to mislead the publishers by claiming that the story of The Walking Dead would focus on aliens instead of zombies in order to get the comic approved. This was because Kirkman initially proposed a zombie storyline, but Image Comics declined it due to its lack of originality given the extensive history of zombie stories. Kirkman admitted that he had originally pitched a zombie concept to Image, but they found it lacking in substance, which is reasonable considering the vast amount of zombie narratives already existing at that time. The challenge for Kirkman was to present something fresh and unique about zombies that hadn’t been explored before.

Later on, when the first issue came out, Eric Stephenson was reading it and remarked, “I read the issue, and it was quite fascinating, but I couldn’t find any hints about the alien invasion. Did you provide any clues? Was there something I missed? What’s going on?” To which I replied, “To tell you the truth… that part isn’t going to occur. I was being a bit playful and really wanted to focus on a straightforward zombie story.” At this point, the book was gaining quite a lot of attention and there was a great deal of anticipation surrounding it. So Eric responded something like, “Well, that’s good because while reading the book, I was thinking, maybe he’ll mess it up by adding aliens to it.

It’s great news that Kirkman’s deception regarding ‘The Walking Dead’ proved successful, and Image ultimately agreed to his proposal for the comic series. This development has been warmly received by both fans of the comic and show, as well as Image themselves. In later interviews, Kirkman mentioned he would occasionally hint at the real cause of the zombie apocalypse being extraterrestrial in nature. While it may sound far-fetched, this could provide a humorous explanation for the outbreak if Kirkman decides to extend ‘The Walking Dead’s comic book narrative. In issue #75 of ‘The Walking Dead’, Kirkman subtly introduced this alien concept, with the Governor mysteriously reappearing as a cyborg and demanding Rick’s surrender to the alien forces – all part of an April Fool’s joke.

On February 19, 2025, The Walking Dead Deluxe #107 will be available for purchase, and it’s predicted that the second season of The Walking Dead: Dead City will premiere in the spring of 2025.

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2025-02-20 15:57