The creator of “The Walking Dead” calls “the main attraction of the series” (apart from zombies)

According to series creator Robert Kirkman, readers could The Walking Dead for the zombies, but They ultimately stayed because of the carefully crafted character developmentas the author painted a largely realistic depiction of what could happen in a crisis that would spell the end of civilization. While the flesh-eating undead get most of the attention, fans of the franchise have long recognized it as a terrifying portrait of human behavior.

The Walking Dead Deluxe #93 – written by Robert Kirkman, with art by Charlie Adlard – contains author’s notes as part of Kirkman’s ongoing retrospective analysis of his series.

The most notable insight from Robert Kirkman’s comments in this part of the Deluxe His succinct description of what he called “the main draw” from The walking dead. At least apart from the appeal of the zombie genre, which Kirkman’s comic helped to experience a renaissance in the 21st century.

Related

Negan’s survival made “Walking Dead” more morally complex – but was it the wrong decision?

Robert Kirkman’s decision to keep Negan alive and give him some sort of redemption arc is one of the most important in the Walking Dead series.

The creator of “Walking Dead” calls character development the “main attraction” of the zombie comic

The Walking Dead Deluxe #93 – Written by Robert Kirkman; Art by Charlie Adlard; Color by Dave McCaig; Lettering by Rus Wooten

Robert Kirkman always believed that The Walking Dead was a comic about humanity’s response to an existential, civilization-destroying threat; zombies became the mechanism of society’s collapse because the author loved the horror genre. In other words, although zombies and blood were omnipresent in the series, these things were never the focus of the story. Instead, Kirkman described character development as the most important virtue of The Walking Dead, Write:

That was the main attraction of this series (well, apart from the zombies): the characters change over time.

While Kirkman acknowledged that his work attracted many people because of the zombies, he reiterated his belief that the series’ success was based on the human drama.

Of course, the violent nature The Walking Dead — both embodied by the undead’s relentless, savage hunger for living flesh and by the actions of the survivors themselves — often interrupted character development mid-arc as they were shockingly killed off. Yet those characters who persevered through the chaos and horror they faced from issue to issue, who survived the series’ war of attrition long enough to grow and change, those characters have remarkable character development that is the true heart of Robert Kirkman’s opus.

Robert Kirkman admits he is proud of his character’s development

The Walking Dead Was always a human drama

Instead of a mere horror action series, Robert Kirkman delivered a wild epic about the survival of humanity – not just for the individual characters of the series, but for the species as a whole, as best described in the last issue of The Walking Dead. This was achieved in part by continually testing his characters, putting them in unexpected and unpredictable circumstances, and allowing them to fail as often as they succeeded, adapting in both cases. As Kirkman put it:

I think this is more of a story where the characters learn and change over time, and I’m really proud of that.

In the author’s opinion, this is still an achievement that he can look back on with satisfaction.

The Walking Dead Deluxe has not only given readers insight into the creative process that shaped the series, but also Robert Kirkman’s opinion of the zombie series as a more mature artist. He has not held back from being critical of himself and his work, which makes it all the more remarkable when he does praise something. For Kirkman Character development is the essential success of The Walking Deadwhy readers should pay special attention to it while rewatching the series themselves.

The Walking Dead Deluxe #93 (2024)
	Author: Robert Kirkman Artist: Charlie Adlard Colorist: Dave McCaig Letterer: Rus Wooten Cover artist: David Finch; Dave McCaig (color)

The Walking Dead

Based on one of the most successful and popular comics of all time, AMC’s The Walking Dead captures the ongoing human drama in the wake of a zombie apocalypse. Developed for television by Frank Darabont, the series follows a group of survivors led by police officer Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) as they journey in search of a safe home. But it is the survivors, not the zombies, who become the real “Walking Dead.” The Walking Dead ran for eleven seasons and spawned several spinoff series, including Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond.