I'm Robert Kirkman, Creator of The Walking Dead. AMA!

Who is your favourite character to write in the comic, and why is it Carl?

Nice.

THANK YOU FOR KILLING OFF THE BABY SNUFFER IT WAS SO GRATIFYING

SICKO! SHE WAS A CHILD!

Hello Rob I have three questions for you.

1. How many walkers have you killed?
2. How many people have you killed?
3. Why?

1. None.
2. None.
3. I'm an extremely boring person.

Hey Robert! I’ve been doing weekly timeline updates over at r/thewalkingdead to try and keep track of things this season. This is the latest version. I would love to know what you think of it, and what I should change to make it more accurate! I love the show, so I don’t want to accidentally lead people to false conclusions. Thanks!

I'm doing a Reddit AMA right now so I don't have time. But I'll try to check it out after I get done. Fingers crossed!

Is Rick Grimes a 'safe' character?

ABSOLUTELY NOT. Although when I look in Andrew Lincoln's piercing blue eyes I FEEL safe.

How does popularity, if at all, effect the survival rate of characters? Have you ever killed a character just because they were popular and you wanted to shake things up?

P.S: The last episode of the TV series was awesome.

In my opinion, I feel like characters ripen like fruit. So while I wouldn't say the more popular a character is the more likely they are to die, they do have to reach a certain level of popularity before they've "earned" the death.

No character is too popular to die. (Suck it, Reedus!)

How long do you think Chris Hardwick would survive as a character in The Walking Dead?

Forever. He wears so many layers of clothing a zombie bite would never get through.

Do you consider a hamburger to be a type of sandwich, or an entity of its own?

It's its own glorious thing.

Have you ever been on r/thewalkingdead, and just looked at the theories just to see what people come up with?

Sadly, this is my first time ever being on REDDIT. If I spent more time here I'd get nothing done. It's the same reason I still haven't played THE LAST OF US despite really really wanting to.

Do you think there will ever be a conclusion to the Walking Dead on your on terms or will you keep writing until its not longer profitable?

I'll end it on my own terms eventually. I have more control over when the comic would end than I do of when the show would end, obviously. But I'm hoping both will wrap up in a cool satisfactory way in a hundred years or so.

Hey Robert, longtime fan here, I've been reading TWD since the very start, and have picked up every issue on release day (except 98 and 99, which I for some reason decided to buy digitally, and now can't track down anywhere)

My question is: are we ever gonna get an idea of what's going on in the rest of the world? Like in canada, or even overseas?

Thanks for writing awesome comics. I can't wait to see what happens after All Out War!

Oh also, what's Rob Liefeld like in real life?

We'll only see what's going on if the characters we're following go there. So we'd never randomly cut to Canada or anywhere, randomly. So it's likely we're not going to see most of the world.

How much does the TWD TV shows censoring stop you from doing what you wish you could, and how has that effected the story as a whole?

There honestly haven't been any moments that had to be cut from scripts or edited out of the show due to content. AMC is pretty great when it comes to that stuff. There are clearly limitations. We can't use "FUCK" for instance or show nudity or things like that. Be we know that going in, and I think as evidenced by the most recent episode there's nothing stopping us from getting as dark as the comic series is at times.

How much do you have to do with the Telltale seasons of The Walking Dead? I really enjoy them but damn they're brutal.

At this point, I feel like if I got too involved I'd just screw things up. I was slightly more involved in season one, I think, but really it was just a matter of me approving their story when they ran it by me. The team there did an enormous amount of work to get the tone and feel in line with what I do in the comics before they ever came to me.

Before we started season 2, they asked me a lot about where I was going in the comic and some things they should avoid, and I gave them some notes, but for the most part, those guys have taken the ball and run with it... to what I think we can all agree is great success.

It's no SURVIVAL INSTINCT.

Man, this is fun.

Is there any possibility of Lee, Clementine or the other characters from the Telltale game making an appearance in the comics or TV series? That would be a cool crossover!

It's not impossible... but I wouldn't be looking for it any time soon.

Why did you pick Georgia as the setting?

Because I write what I know and I lived relatively close to Georgia at the time. Laziness? Sure... let's go with that.

In a showdown between The Governor and Negan, who would you imagine winning?

Also, there has been some confusion regarding the pronunciation of Negan, can you clarify?

It's pronounced KNEE-GAN. Negan would beat The Governor, I feel like he's stronger, smarter, saner and more control. But David Morrissey could take anyone in a fight. LITERALLY ANYONE. The guy is a monster.

This is Matt from London KY. Giant fan of TWD and never realized you hailed from Cynthiana. Probably saw you driving around when I was a young dude when I'd go to stay with my Best friend for the summer. You doodled an alternate cover for me a while back! Just wondering, next time you come in, maybe I could buy you a burger?

Stay Blue,

Matt

No thanks, weirdo! I don't even know you!

Was that too harsh? I take it back. Call me.

Mr. Kirkman - Thanks for the zombie stories! I recently read that George R.R. Martin was concerned that the television series of Game of Thrones was moving faster than his writing. I was wondering - Do you have a plan for the end of the series? Do you have a plan for the beginning (like a prequel)? Are you concerned at all with the pace of the television series? Thanks for doing this and for everything!

Edit: Words, typo

I'm comfortably ahead of the series. We do at least 12 issues a year (sometimes more) and the show does 16 a year... so it's possible it could eventually catch up, but I'm currently so far ahead I don't think it will happen. That said, George R.R. Martin better get to writing! I want my GAME OF THRONES!

Why did you not like the mention about France at the CDC in season 1?

I feel it revealed too much of the world and gave the characters too much information. I prefer the way they're more in the dark about the rest of the world in the comic. For instance, for all they know in the comic, the outbreak is contained on this continent.

I did like it more than I liked... SURVIVAL INSTINCT. ZING!

Of all of the show-created characters on The Walking Dead, is there any that you begrudge at all for taking away from the characters that you created for the the comics? Thank you for your time today and all the work you've shared.

No way! I love the differences to the show and those are the things that excite me the most about working on the show. It makes it something new for me to work on instead of the same old same old of working on the comic stories again. So... I begrudge none of them.

Is it safe to have sex with a walker as long as it doesn't bite you?

What's the point of having sex with something if it doesn't bite you?

Too much?

SURVIVAL INSTINCT!

(I've been doing this for too long.)

Hi Robert Kirkman :) Which character do you think was best adapted from the comic books to the TV series? Which has been your favorite scene from the TV series so far?

It's hard to pick a favorite scene. Off the top of my head, the talk between Rick and Morgan in CLEAR is high on my list. The scene between Hershel and Glenn in season 2 when he talks about whether or not Glenn is good enough for Maggie and gives him the watch is also a favorite. Michonne stabbing the Governor in 408 was pretty rad, too.

MAJOR SPOILER IN THE COMMENT

In the Nerdist podcast you said that you wished you hadn't had (*SPOILERS*) Rick's hand cut off as it was hard to draw him buttoning up a shirt (and a lot more but this covers it.) When it came time to do the same in the show, you didn't. Was this a financial CGI decision or just a "I get a re-do" decision.

Also, is there anything else from the comics that you wish you could change/alter for the show?

To clarify, I think cutting Rick's hand of when we did was GREAT for the comic. It's just that in another medium it would be harder to pull off, we cheat in the comic because things aren't moving. You can't do that on the show. You'd see Rick not being able to reload his gun, and things like that.

The CGI of cutting off Rick's hand would be expensive, but we did it with Hershel's leg so if we felt strongly about Rick losing a hand, we'd do it.

Is there anything you can give us about Beth's outcome after the supposed abduction?

We will see Beth again... eventually.

Hello Robert! Huge fan of TWD.

If you had to sum up the season finale in one word, what would it be?

SAVAGE. Honestly... people are going to be talking about this one. The cliffhanger at the end of season 4 will make the wait between seasons 4 and 5 the hardest wait we've ever had. ENJOY!

Hello Mr. Kirkman, I'm reading the novels about the governor and I'm really enjoying them, any chance of more novels with other character back-stories or different storylines? Thanks

There will be more novels. Jay Bonansinga is killing it with those books and I'm really excited about doing more. Stay tuned to the news over at thewalkingdead.com (look at that plug!)

Hi Robert, thanks for doing this AMA. In the beginning of the show we saw walkers do things like using a rock to help bash the doors in or turning a door knob, is there a reason we've stopped seeing them do that?

Older zombies are less together and capable or doing things like that. Fresher zombies, which there were more of in season one, are able to do more than older, more rotted zombies.

Hey Robert! Love the show and the comic book. You are totally rad! What is the funniest thing that ever happened on set while shooting the show? Also what will happen to the show when it catches up to the comic books?

I'm somewhat childish, so I'll go with during the filming of episode 402, EVERY SINGLE TIME Andrew Lincoln would pick up one of those pigs, it would shit all over him. Every single time. I think there was one pig he picked up three times over about 20 minutes and it was like the pig was holding shit inside him so that it could have enough to keep shitting on him next time he picked it up. By the end of that shoot, Andrew was covered in pig shit and he would just come over to the monitors where the producers were and hang out. He didn't shower for a few days after that. I think Andrew has a thing for being covered in pig feces. (Okay, that last part was a lie).

Hi Robert,

If you had written every episode of TWD so far, what would be different?

We'd still be on Season 2.

Will we see Ezekiel tiger destroy zombies in the TV series?

I'm hoping so. Season seven?

What is your favorite depiction of zombie excluding your own? I personally think yours is the best.

I like all zombies, fast, slow, shooting lasers out of their eyes. Whatever. I really like the movie UNDEAD, cool zombies in that. The Snyder/Gunn DAWN OF THE DEAD remake is glorious. And of course ROMERO was/is the best. Better than Walking Dead. Kirkman is to Romero as Stephanie Meyer is to Bram Stoker.

Hey Robert,

First thanks for doing this AMA, its very exciting. I started reading your stuff when I was 10 (I'm now 21!), My godbrother had black and white copies of battle pope and I found it hilarious so I picked up Invincible and begged the guy at my shop to let me buy walking dead (I was too young to read it), I've been a fan since.

1. The recent inks done by Stefano Gaudiano have been awesome, how long are you guys keeping him on board?

2. How involved are you in Thief of thieves and Invincible Universe in terms of writing ?

3. Invincible is going through some insane changes in recent issues, are there any road maps you have to keep everything organized ?

4. What's going to happen in the next issue of The Walking Dead ?!

5. Outcast is coming out in June right?

Also my friend Omar sculpted this piece of the governor I thought you might enjoy it here

thanks for passing by and I can't wait to read Outcast !

FUCK YOU, don't remind me how old I am! Oh, god... I've been doing this comic for over ten years. TEN YEARS! Yeesh. That said, I have socks that are ten years old, so it's not that big of a deal... but wait, only OLD PEOPLE have socks that old.

Where was I? Oh yeah.

1. Stefano is on for the foreseeable future. Charlie enjoys inking himself so he may eventually come back and ink issues here and there but for now, Stefano is sticking around. Which everyone is excited about.

2. I oversee the writing. I give notes sometimes. In the case of Thief of Thieves, I came up with LOLA and his back story, but I've never actually "written" him. So I'm making sure things are awesome. But the vast majority of the work falls on Andy Diggle and Phil Hester's shoulders.

3. I know where I'm going and have a ton of notes, yes.

4. We learn Rick's final fate.

5. Yes and it's going to be awesome. Paul Azaceta and Bettie Breitweiser are doing phenomenal work, I'm really happy with how that book is turning out.

Why did you allow them to make Survival Instinct?

I'm pretty sure there's an AMC logo before the title of that game and not a picture of my face. If there was a picture of my face in front of the logo then I'd be completely responsible for that. I can only oversee/be involved in so much... and my efforts were focused more on the TELLTALE games series.

In all honesty, it was at least cool getting to play Daryl Dixon, right? RIGHT? Come on, guys.

My coworker, who is inclined to believe everything he reads, says that the show will be deliberately pushed into a storyline that is nothing like the comics. Can you confirm or deny this?

BIG denial. We will never completely abandon the comic as source material on the TV show. There's already another 4 seasons of material at least, in the comics always doing new material.

Did you have any idea when you were writing the first issues of this comic series that it would turn into the phenomenon that it is today? Did you ever dream that it would become a show at all, or that the show would receive the amount of attention and praise it's gotten?

At that time I dreamed of reaching issue 7 without getting cancelled. My life is totally insane. I never expected this. I only ever wanted to be able to pay my mortgage from writing comics. I'm a pretty happy dude. Seriously, THANK YOU ALL.

Is there anything that the show has added that you would rather they not include?

I thought revealing what was going in FRANCE during the CDC storyline wasn't the best idea. Mostly I'm really happy with everything... aside from SURVIVAL INSTINCT (should Is stop making that joke? I love you, ACTIVISION.)

You're working on a movie with Reedus? Interesting. How's your relationship with Reedus and the rest of the cast? Does it influence in their character's fate?

It honestly doesn't. Everybody knows the score and everyone knows what they're getting into when they sign on. I think I have a good relationship with all the actors. I love them all, except for Steven Yeun, I fucking hate that guy.

Who is the easiest and hardest charcters to write?

Negan is a blast. Carl is fun. I like them all to be honest. None of them are really "hard."

Are you aware of your huge following in the gay bear community where you have fanboys of a very different nature?

I'm totally aware and completely flattered. It's good to know I have a lot of options if my wife ever leaves me!

I'd like Eli Roth, AKA The Bear Jew, to play Negan. What do you think?

I think he'd be GREAT. I love Eli Roth.

-Robert

How did you come up with the idea for Invincible?

It's everything I ever loved about superhero comics rolled into one book. Cory Walker and I knew Image was putting together a new line of superhero comics so we sat in a room and spit balled things until Mark Grayson came into existence.

How are you planning to bring Negan into the TV series? Would you censor him or try something else?

We've got time to figure that out. Scott Gimple is a genius and I think we'll be able to make it work.

Hey Robert. I was wondering if you could speak at all about the circumstances surrounding the trend of multiple showrunners (Frank Darabont, Glenn Mazzara, & Scott Gimple) and what you thought each of them brought to the show?

Our SHOWRUNNER musical chair routine is not entirely uncommon in television. There have been countless shows that have changed showrunners and some even from season to season. It's unfortunate that this show exists under such a microscope and the behind the scenes drama has been pushed into the spotlight... but it's a SMALL price to pay for the success that we've had, so I'll take it.

It would be wrong for me to go into any details on the various changeovers because for the most part I was really only on the sidelines during the changes. Although, I will state for the record that I do agree with AMC's decisions in each case and strongly feel they were only acting with the shows best interests in mind.

I think Frank set the show up with a solid foundation to build upon and gave us a directing and visual style for the show that we still use because it's superb and has been a big part of what makes us stand apart on television. This show wouldn't exist without him and his work on the pilot still holds up as one of our strongest episodes. We were lucky to have a director of his caliber involved in the show from day one.

Glen was a shot in the arm that the show needed in its second season and his instincts to move story up and really heighten the pace at times was a welcome addition to the show. The level of energy he brought to the show is something we still try to maintain. Personally, Glen was very good to me as a novice television writer and I feel that he was a great teacher whose lessons I still use often on the show. I owe him a lot.

Scott Gimple is an absolute rock star. I think that looking back at Season 4 as a whole it is by far our strongest season. The show is intense when it needs to be and slows down and digs into the interpersonal character drama in ways we never achieved without him. Scott's been integral to the show since he came on board for season 2 and honestly knows more about this world than I do. (And he definitely remembers the ins and outs of the comic book WAY better than me).

I think we'll keep him.

Most importantly, none of them were responsible for SURVIVAL INSTINCT.

And with that... I'm wrapping this up. This was fun. THANKS EVERYONE!!

How long does it take for one individual issue to be completely finished?

Less than a month, thankfully. Charlie Adlard, Stefano Gaudiano, Cliff Rathburn, Rus Wooton and (I GUESS) Sean Mackiewicz are miracle workers.

Hey Robert! Huge fan of your work, especially The Walking Dead. Started reading the compendium a few years ago, and I've been collecting them issue to issue since #96. Really enjoying All Out War right now!

I remember reading an interview from a while back in which you said you planned on having The Walking Dead span about 300 issues. As of now, is this still the plan for you, or could it continue indefinitely? If so, could we ever see the story shift to a new group/location entirely?

I do plan on doing at least 300 issues, but if I'm having this much fun then I won't stop there. Also, if I suddenly start having a lot LESS fun, I may end it earlier, but I don't see that happening. I'm in for the long haul, and Charlie Adlard is too. As far as a new group/location... not exactly... although there are some REALLY cool changes coming up in issue 127.

Hiya Kirkman, longtime fan (Battle Pope), but I've never written, but this thing has been bugging me since the Governor era!!

Negan recently has his guys dirty up weapons in zombie gore for infection attacks. I'm curious if this works due to "Phillip" kissing a zombie and Tyreese and other characters getting bloody all over their face, but nobody changing. This also made me question Dale's "tainted meat" logic back during the Fear the Hunters arc.

Are you explaining that stuff soon or is Negan unaware of that method probably doing no harm?

In other words, can zombie blood or spit change you after apparently having no effect on characters previously?

The weapons would create an open wound, and getting that material in an open wound and have contact in that way would be bad news. Kissing a zombie, getting stuff on you... not so much. It's more like direct contact with the blood stream. Make sense?

Mr. Kirkman,

You're pretty liberal in the comics with killing off characters, what is the process you have to get rid of a character?

It's different for every character. Sometimes it's something I've planned and built to for many issues. Other times it's just me thinking "it's been a while since something really interesting happened" and killing a character on the fly. It's a lot of fun having the freedom to shape the story however I want.

Hi Robert, my question is how would you survive a zombie apocalypse?

For a limited time.

Hey, Robert Kirkman. Thanks for doing this! Long time fan of the comics, and now the TV show. I'm a big Paul "Jesus" Monroe fan, among others. I found it very awesome that you recently revealed him to be gay. Any reason in particular that made you do this?
Also, have you seen the Herschel rap?

In my opinion there should be more awesome gay people in fiction because there are plenty of awesome gay people in real life. I want Jesus to be a character where his sexuality is as unimportant as Rick or other heterosexual characters. So we won't focus on it constantly and it won't be the focus of any big storylines for him... but he'll make it with a dude every now and then... before going out and drop kicking zombies. He's one of my current favorite characters.

Hello Mr. Kirkman, I have 3 questions that I would like to ask you.

1. What made you want to become a comic book writer?
2. Would you ever want to cameo as a walker in the TV show?
3. I heard Norman Reedus offered to sleep with you, if you would put him in the comic. What would I have to do for you to put my name on one of the characters in the comic?

1. I loved reading comics growing up and still do. I feel like they're a fantastic medium for telling stories and are far superior to television or movies or novels or campfire stories because they're more intimate an experience and so much of the pacing, tone, dialogue delivery is dependent on the reader.

2. NAH. I hate cameos, they always take me out of movies, etc. So no. It's a pet peeve of mine, as much as I like seeing myself, never.

3. Sleep with Norman Reedus.

Will there be a character on the tv show that will replace comic Andrea? She's so great in the current parts of the story!

There are, if you're familiar with the comics, storylines that we just HAVE to do in the show. And some of those stories are dependent on characters that have already died in the show. We've seen other characters take on different comic characters stories in the show before, and that kind of thing will continue to happen as needed. SPOILERS, so for instance, HERSHEL took Tyreese's death scene from the comics. So if TYREESE ever dies in the show... maybe he'll take another comic characters death. Don't read into that. My love of CHAD COLEMAN knows no bounds.

Kentucky resident here, your books are incredible.

My favorite thing about The Walking Dead graphic novels is how we're starting to see more and more of a weird post-apocalyptic/medieval culture develop. Do you have plans to develop this theme further and really flesh out more of the innovations and hardships of human society as it struggles to rebuild?

Oh yeah and PS... can't wait to see what Earl makes for Rick.

Be sure to read issue 127.

Thanks for the AMA, Kirkman. Big fan! My question: How did you come up with Negan's obscenity? Also: Are you planning on giving him a larger backstory? Perhaps a novelization?

No novelization for Negan. He'll get a larger backstory if he doesn't DIE before the end of the ALL OUT WAR storyline. As far as the obscenity goes... I've known people that talk like that. And there are times when NEGAN says things that I say all the time. Anytime I delivered good/awesome/crazy/horrible news to someone I usually ask them "do you have your shitting pants on." So I worked that into Negan's vernacular. Other times, I'm just thinking of the most outrageous horrible thing for him to say... something I'd never say, honest... I mean it... I'm really not that vulgar. I swear.

Looking back, what criticisms would you have for yourself over past issues/episodes if you were the reader? And how would you improve it if you had the chance?

Are there any characters you regret adding to the comics, and any you regret killing off?

I have no regrets but as a writer I have a ton of criticisms of my own work. I mean, I'm thrilled people love the comic, but it's far from perfect. But I could rewrite every issue 100 times and I'd still be unhappy so at a certain point you just have to let it go. Frankly, what is popular is not always the "best" thing and that's subjective anyway. So while Walking Dead is popular, I'll be the first to admit it's not perfect, but you know... we're all trying are hardest and I will say it's one of the coolest things out there. If I wasn't involved I'd be losing my mind over the existence of a zombie show.

Hey Robert, big fan of your work, on print and on air.

How different has the story turned out from what you envisioned when you started the comic? Are there any characters you wish died earlier, died later, or didn't die at all? And how do you respond to criticisms concerning the differences in the TV show and the comic? Thank you for your time!

the story has evolved and continues to evolve. Originally my idea was that they live in a high school for a while... that changed to a prison very early on. There were characters that were going to die very early on... but didn't, and vice versa.

I honestly considered killing RICK in issue 6 and making the comic about Carl having to grow up with this guy he saw kill his father. But in the end, I decided against it. That was never the plan, but it was a thought that popped up that I entertained while I was writing issue 6.

Have you ever considered giving Daryl his own spinoff of some sort in the comics?

No. I think it's great that the TV show is your one-stop shop for DARYL DIXON action. I think it could dilute his coolness if we do too much with him. Did you play Survival Instinct?

I loved your marvel team up run.

This is not a question.