WALKING WITH THE DEAD: ROBERT KIRKMAN, I

[MattBrady]

by Vaneta Rogers

Not many comics can really say it, but as readers of The Walking Dead have found out, the warning is true: No one is safe. Even the most fan-favorite characters can get shot, bitten or beheaded, with their brutal zombie-filled world showing no mercy based on gender, age or popularity.

But one thing that fans can pretty much count on being safe is the series itself, as The Walking Dead reaches a milestone 50th issue -- and shows no signs of stopping. In last week's emotional issue #49, readers were shown a few of the characters who survived the brutal battle that dominated the last few issues, leaving series creator Robert Kirkman able to take the remaining cast down a new road beginning with issue #50.

We talked with Kirkman as his series approaches the 50-issue mark for a two-part interview looking at how far The Walking Dead has come and just where it's going. But before we reminisce about the years past, in this part of the interview with Kirkman, we review what just happened during the "No One Is Safe" storyline and talk about what's coming for those few characters who are now left standing.

Newsarama: First off, Robert, before we look back at the journey through the first 50 issues, we need to talk about what your characters just survived and what's coming for them now that so much has changed.

Robert Kirkman: Yeah, there've been a few changes. [laughs]

NRAMA: A few? Before this last storyline, you warned us all that no character was safe, but it really surprised your readers when two of the casualties of the recent "war" in The Walking Dead were the main character's wife and newborn baby. What are you trying to do to poor Rick? Drive him over the edge?

Robert Kirkman: [laughs] I don't know. I hate everybody in that book, so.... no, I shouldn't say that.

NRAMA: Seriously though... this comic has put the characters through some horrific experiences, but wow... a newborn baby in its mother's arms?

RK: You can thank Rambo for that baby killing.

NRAMA: It's Rambo's fault?

RK: Yeah. Having a newborn kid running around -- my son's almost 2 now -- I couldn't stand to watch a baby or a kid getting hurt. I mean, I was watching Shoot 'Em Up, which is one of the best movies ever made, and I'm sitting there going, "I can't believe he just put a baby on a bathroom floor. That is just horrible." And they're putting the baby on the floorboard of the car and stuff, and I was wincing the whole time waiting for that baby to get a bullet flying through it. After having a kid, I found myself watching television and movies and whatnot in sheer terror that anything bad was going to happen to a child. Anybody that's a parent understands. Before I had a kid, I knew people who would complain about that. I used to laugh and say, "Whatever! It's not real! Grow up!" But after you have a kid, it's kind of bizarre. It's a weird experience.

But I've been trying to get over that. I've known since before I had a son that this baby was going to be born and eventually die. I did have some second thoughts for awhile, but then I saw Rambo. There is a baby or a child murdered in that movie every 10 minutes. So after watching that, I was like, "Oh yeah... this stuff's totally fake." So seeing that and being forced to actually watch that kind of horrible stuff going on made me able to face this. Apocalypto was another movie that was cringe-worthy.

NRAMA: So you got over the problem with babies dying, obviously.

RK: I got over it... and I killed the baby. So a happy ending for everyone!

NRAMA: [laughs] I don't know about happy, but these last few issues felt like an ending. The baby and the questions about its father and all that long story is behind us now. It's over. And along with the baby, a lot of other people have been eliminated from the series in one fell swoop. Were you cleaning house?

RK: Sure. Yeah. There was a big cast in that book, and it gets to a point where everyone's had their story told. There are definitely more things I could do with them, but in the situation that those characters were in, the majority of them would die. It's a pretty dangerous situation.

NRAMA: Although, they were getting awfully comfortable in the prison, where they've been living since issue #13.

RK: That's true. They were getting a bit of safety that isn't always entertaining in comics. And that was part of the reason for the changes as well. It was time to get them out of that prison. They were behind the safety of those fences long enough.

NRAMA: Half of the series so far has taken place in that prison, but now you're completely changing the status quo along with the cast. Are we sort of starting with a clean slate now for issue #50? Was that the intent?

RK: Somewhat. Although I guess, technically, I should have had the things that happened in #48 happen in #50, just to have the big Issue #50. But the book is continuing. You can see in Issue #49 where the book is going for awhile. For at least a few issues, we're going to have Rick and Carl pretty much on their own. Michonne showed up in issue #49.

NRAMA: Yes! Michonne survived. Before this storyline started, we talked to you about who might die and you said I shouldn't bet on Michonne sticking around. Looks like I should have bet on her after all.

RK: Maybe you should have. But yeah, I like Michonne.

NRAMA: Are we going to see any other characters?

RK: We'll see who's left over the next few issues. We're not going to just show Rick and Carl. By issue #55, we'll probably have seen most everyone that's still alive. Of course, they could be dead by then.

NRAMA: It sounds like you're returning an element of danger to the idea of people living in a world overrun with zombies.

RK: Along with the change in their situation, the focus of the characters is going to change. The zombie threat will obviously be more important now than it was when they were behind the fences of the prison.

NRAMA: Will they all come back together, everyone who survived the war of the prison?

RK: For issue #53, the solicitation copy says only, "reunion." So some people are reunited in that issue. But who knows if they survive the separation period? I don't want to give anything away. I mean, it would be a little cruel for me to kill a bunch of characters after issue #48, but I who knows?

NRAMA: Were some of the characters you kept around your personal favorites? Or were they people the fans liked? Or was it just time to get rid of certain ones?

RK: I don't know. There are definitely a few favorites who are still alive. I'm very fond of Rick and Carl, of course. And Michonne. I think Andrea's a very important character. I like her quite a bit, and she's not dead. Allen was one of my favorite characters and I killed him. I liked Hershel quite a bit and he's dead now. I don't outright hate anyone. I really liked Axel, and there was a lot more I probably could have done with him, but I just didn't see him surviving that.

NRAMA: Yeah, it was hard to watch any of them die. Except Patricia. Good riddance.

RK: [laughs] Yeah. Nobody cared about her. She was kind of a bad person anyway.

NRAMA: So Andrea's still alive?

RK: Well, she didn't die outside the prison.

NRAMA: And besides her, we'll just have to wait and see who else is still around?

RK: We'll see.

NRAMA: OK, now that the house is "clean," so to speak, and as you reach this milestone of 50 issues, does it feel pretty good to know you've hit a certain mark with this series and that you can move beyond it?

RK: I always like reaching the mark of doing another issue. I get to the end of each issue and say, "Oh, look at that! I've done 48 issues!" or "Oh, look at that! I've done 49 issues!" But yeah, the cool thing for me is moving forward and also knowing that I'll be able to move forward for a good long time. And that 50 issue mark feels good.

NRAMA: Will it be a long time? Is there an end in sight, or are you really going to keep doing this for the foreseeable future?

RK: I don't see myself stopping anytime soon. I think Charlie is with it for the long haul too. I couldn't be happier to be doing this at issue #200 in a few years. I mean in two years. In exactly two years. [laughs] No, but I just want to get this book shipping on schedule. That's one of my goals going forward.

But for me, the idea of just being able to do what I want in a book and having readers enjoying it and sticking with it for the long haul is very fulfilling, and I'm very grateful for that. And I'm not quitting anytime soon.

Now that we've looked forward at what's coming for The Walking Dead, check back this week as we stop and look back with both Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard at the first 50 issues of The Walking Dead.

[Skinshark]

Congrats, Robert.

Now maybe you can slow down a little.

=s=

[MegaPrime]

I absolutely love this comic and even though issue 49 is out I still cannot get over Lori and the baby being killed.

[Reaper]

This is a great book Robert. Thank you!

[durkadurka]

Shoot 'Em Up is a great movie. Therefore, I really need to check out this series.

[Dirk Manning]

Good interview, Vaneta!

However, should there maybe be a SPOILER WARNING in there for people waiting for the TPBs?

(For the record, I sure as heck ain't one of them... this book continues to deliever month after month!)

[cookiejar]

HANDS down, one of my favorite reads ever.... I was surprised to see that they had been in the jail since #13.... it never felt like it was that long....which right there tells me there is some great storytelling going on....

Seriously, if you want a great read, pick up the first 2 trades of this series and read em... I guarantee you will be wanting to get the rest of the series...

Great Job Robert, between this and Invincible, you got some of my money every month!

[monsterZERO]

Issue 48 was the biggest holy shite moment I have ever read.

[samnoir]

I think Michonne is strong enough to support her own solo series.

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[G Dog]

Ugh, I hated Shoot Em Up to its very core.

That said, I abandoned the book around issue #30 because....well, I just wasn't enjoying it...but it looks like i might should start picking it up again. The housecleaning sounds like a graet jumping-back-on point. I'm SO glad they're out of the prison.

[Ken B.]

The Walking Dead has lost it's sparkle for me. The first three trades were phenomenal, truly a reinvention of living and surviving among zombies. Then it started getting more and more out there, with a forced sense of cabin fever in the prison, and the Governor surviving Michonne's revenge. Now it just seems pointless. And there was always this sense of the zombies just coming up out of nowhere, despite the prison being near the middle of nowhere where, after a time, they would stop showing up outside the prison like ants. You clear out a radius, which was done on top of what the town did nearby. But I guess zombies can smell people 500 miles away or something.

Plus, Rick's wife got so effing annoying. I really thought "Just die already." And then she did. With the baby. That's weaksauce, Kirkman.

If the book can reinvigorate itself being more of Rick and Carl on the road, and finding a place where society can start again and is actually safe ( I still stand by the belief that Washington DC would be the place to go because they do have contingency bunkers and such around the area), then I'll come back. But right now, I think the book ran it's course.

[jonnynyc]

I was thinking he might jump forward in time to when Carl is an adult after the events of issue 49 but this interview makes me think otherwise.

[Xysmurf]

Mr Kirkman, I have to give you huge kudos for this series! I've never liked zombie movies or books, but a friend of mine made me read the 1st issue and I've been hooked ever since. I read the last issue at home and everyone looked at me like I was nuts when I GASPED at Lori and the baby getting shot (I wish you hadn't done it, but I realize the need for "realism" in the book), and I CHEERED when the Govenor got his goods (although I would have perferrred that Michone, Rick or someone else in compound blew him away). I also miss Tyresse, and I think your writing is so amazing as to enrapture your fans in such a way that we actually miss these characters when they're gone. I do appreciate the cull because it was being to become a little difficult to keep some of the characters seperated. I hope you're not planning on bringing Lori and/or the baby back as undead...I think that would probably destroy Rick.

Anyway, I could gush about your talents all day.......keep up the great work! I don't see how GDog could abandon the book, and for Ken to say the book has run its course is pure ridiculousness.

Justin

[Jeffrey D. Smith]

I really like this book. Sometimes, as with the Governor, it loses me, but then it quickly gets me back. Good stuff.

I also liked Shoot 'Em Up. It was like a movie version of Ennis's Hitman series. When I told my brother I liked it, his jaw dropped. When my wife said, "Yeah, it was a lot of fun," he was pretty much no good for the rest of the day.

[MikeHuffman]

You know, I've tried Walking Dead a couple of times and just wasn't feeling it -- but I applaud any author who is willing to do the unexpected and risk making readers unhappy (much like Brian Vaughan and the conclusion to Y the Last Man).

But, man, "Shoot 'em Up" is the worst. Just dogfood. If "Pulp Fiction" is Nirvana or Pearl Jam, "Shoot 'em Up" is Creed or Nickelback. Seriously, "Boondock Saints" is a better movie.

-- Mike

[Corpulent1]

Originally Posted by Skinshark

Congrats, Robert.

Now maybe you can slow down a little.

=s=

Perish the thought. One of the biggest draws in The Walking Dead is that it's never a standard, predictable comic. Anything can happen at any time and Kirkman has the freedom--and the stones--to do anything to the characters. It gives me an almost palpable sense of dread that I don't get from any other comic. So keep on throwing the curveballs, I say; never slow down.

[ThatGuamGuy]

Originally Posted by Jeffrey D. Smith

I also liked Shoot 'Em Up. It was like a movie version of Ennis's Hitman series.

Only without heart or soul or wit.

[jakew]

Two things puzzle me:

* How can someone love Shoot Em Up and dislike Apocalypto?

* How could Allen be a favourite character? His entire character arc can be summed up by "my wife died. I am sad. Oops, I'm dead".

That being said, I'm glad this book has cleaned house and is moving in a new direction. The entire "Governor" storyline was a bit too Mad Max for me.

[joecool207]

This book is fantastic. I've been buying it in its hardcover format, but make a point of reading my buddy's copy. It's about a year between HC editions, and I just can't wait that long!

[NTapalansky]

Great interview, Vaneta!

I have to say that I did abandon ship on the floppies before the Governor returned, though I've been keeping up with news of the book and intend to keep on buying the trades.

I'm SO happy about all the changes and "house cleaning" - the idea of following Rick and Carl on the road as they come to grips with changes in the status quo and all the perils of living in a world overrun with the undead is very exciting. Sounds almost like a LONE WOLF AND CUB vibe that I can totally get behind.

Looking forward to 50 and beyond!

- Nick

[350z]

Originally Posted by Dirk Manning

Good interview, Vaneta!

However, should there maybe be a SPOILER WARNING in there for people waiting for the TPBs?

(For the record, I sure as heck ain't one of them... this book continues to deliever month after month!)

Lol! I wait for the trades with this series. A spoiler warning would have saved me from learning about the wife and unborn baby's fate...

This series is great, however. The suspense of waiting each month for just one issue would kill me (no pun intended). Reading them in the trades works a little better for me even though the wait is is still a factor, at least I get a few issues when I do read them. Kirkman has really captured the anxious pathos of watching a horror movie in this series. He has really nailed the catharsis of fear and pity that readers are supposed to feel when reading/watching tragedy, and month affter month, he just keeps doing it. He's the man.

[Glasgow]

This is a top quality title. The unpredictable element in the cast creates real tension and I've not been as unsettled by a book for a long time. This new scenario from issue 49 strikes me as a type of Lone Wolf and Cub vibe which will be interesting.

If I was to try and second guess the author I'd say that Rick will die and his boy will end up with a new carer. This would allow Kirkman to continue to show the impact on a child of this dramatic change to the world which I think is one of the best elements of the book.

This is a book that really benefits from reading it in trade format. I cannot recommend this highly enough. Even my English teacher wife thinks this is well written and she normally thinks my hobby is crazy.

[Charlie Hustle]

love the book, love the lone wolf and cubbish potential, and there was some amazing storytelling in issue 48.

[EMeadow]

Originally Posted by Dirk Manning

Good interview, Vaneta!

However, should there maybe be a SPOILER WARNING in there for people waiting for the TPBs?

(For the record, I sure as heck ain't one of them... this book continues to deliever month after month!)

LOL darn right there shoulda been.

I have issue #49 but I haven't read it yet. I'm like two months behind overall. So reading the opening to that article just gave me a HUGE kick to the stomach.

Geez, if watching the season finale of Bones earlier tonight wasn't enough..........

[Corpulent1]

Pff, maybe you trade-waiters should read comics the way God intended.