Summary

Throughout its run , The Walking Deadcomic book series was unrelenting in its approach to on a regular basis killing off devotee - favorite characters – and as writer Robert Kirkman once explained in an audience , his own personal attachment to his creative activity was normally a clear sign that it was time for them to go .

As part of a discussion with Entertainment Weekly , Kirkman was ask who his favorite character in the comedian was . At first , he demurred from answer , beforeelaborating on why his favouritism was , in fact , a bad signaling for the characters ofThe Walking Dead .

Rather than affording them a greater function in the plot , or tribute from the most vile mass murder the series had to offer , Kirkman ’s discrimination actually leave in more suffering for his fictitious character , most often leading to them being dispatch in the franchise ’s most brutal , if memorable , moments .

walking dead with stephen king’s cell

Horror legend Stephen King ’s 2006 novel " Cell " provide a perfect explanation for the zombie outbreak in Robert Kirkman ’s walk Dead comic .

Robert Kirkman Explains Killing His Most Beloved Characters

For The Sake Of The Story

More than just a agency of setting the series ' feeling , or a product of its genre , character mortality was life-sustaining to shapingWalking Dead’sstory flight from start to finish .

While Robert Kirkman at one point went on recordnaming Negan as his favoriteWalking Deadcharacter , his earlier answer to the question – from an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2016 – offered a remarkable insight into the process of crafting the zombi comic ’s story . At the clock time of the consultation , The Walking Deadcomic was still several year from its unexpected conclusion , which came just shy of its two - hundredth issue . Kirkman explain to EW that his warmth for certain characters could , at times , cut off his focusing on the overall story he was telling .

Though Rick Grimes was certainly the cardinal character of the series – and ultimately , as close asThe Walking Deadcame to receive a hero – creator Robert Kirkman averred that the tarradiddle had no true , single protagonist . Rather , the plot was driven by the central question put down out in its early issues , which postulate whether humanity could band together in the typeface of a civilization - finish scourge , or if subsister of the zombi eruption would destroy themselves before the undead could . As flesh - out and lifelike asWalking Dead’scharacters were , they always survive in avail to their Maker ’s large thematic fear .

A man with nuclear explosions going off behind him in The Far Side.

To this end , if a type became too significant to Kirkman , it was usually an meter reading that their doomsday was imminent . As he explicate :

You know , I do n’t really have a favourite . I tend to kill those , just because when I find myself real bind to a type , or if I observe myself wanting to write them more and more and steering more narrative toward them , I kind of substantiate that that means that audience investment in that character is extremely in high spirits , and I do n’t need it to affect the story too much by focalise too much on that reference . And that be given to make me want to vote down them .

This approach to narrative may seem counterintuitive , in contrast to the methodologies of other creators , butWalking Dead’ssuccess piss it evident that Kirkman ’s instincts were almost always correctwhen it came to character deaths . More than just a agency of setting the series ' tone , or a production of its genre , character mortality was vital to shapingWalking Dead’sstory flight from start to finishing .

peanuts' charlie brown and snoopy

Death Was Never Cathartic In The Walking Dead

A Constant Reminder Of Mortality

With its zombie eruption assumption , The Walking Deadwas , of class , root in decease , while its story was ultimately about what remained of humanity ’s struggles for survival . Without a doubt , the comic had more than its share of evil individuals , but clock time and time again , creator Robert Kirkman refused to indulge in the common tale practice of delivering readers catharsis through the deaths of particularly tough character reference . Even when the most reprehensible people inThe Walking Deadmet their ends , it was at most something to be quietly grateful for , rather than celebrate .

That is n’t to say , however , that Kirkman was n’t keenly cognisant of the effect killing off lover - favorite characters had on his audience . As he detailed to EW , he took his own attachment to fictitious character as being reflective of the fact that " audience investment in that character [ was ] passing in high spirits , " think of that the opportunity for an emotionally resonant death was at its tip . While the author frame in his plan of attack to character destruction as being in service to the story , Robert Kirkman is too successful of a Maker not to have an skilful reach on how and when to push his readers ' buttons .

The Walking Dead Was Defined By Its Character Deaths

A Story Of Endings

As one classical written material adage go : " No tears in the writer , no tears in the reader . " In social club to create deeply resonant fiction , author like Robert Kirkman … must be educate to emotionally prosecute with their work as they ’re create it .

When it comes to the most memorable moments throughoutThe Walking Deadcomic serial , character deaths are always at the forefront of the conversation . In part , this is a effect of being a horror genre story , particularly a zombie story – though without a dubiousness , Robert Kirkman effectively repeat down on this at every turn , by crafting some ofthe most memorable , heartwrenching demisesin mirthful record book history . This descend fromKirkman ’s unflinching willingness to inflict the worst fortune on his own favorite characters , knowing that if it emotionally affect him , it would almost certainly have an encroachment on fans .

As one classic writing byword proceed : " No binge in the author , no tears in the reader . " In social club to create deeply resonating fiction , author like Robert Kirkman first have to develop a good sense of what they are react to themselves , and must be machinate to emotionally lease with their employment as they ’re produce it . Kirkman ’s quotation about kill his favoriteWalking Deadcharacters expose a vital awareness of this . In turn , this get going a long mode towards explainingThe Walking Dead’sgreater achiever as one of the most influential multimedia franchises of the past several tenner .

Walking Dead live-action Rick (left); color comic book version (right); scenes from the comic (background.)

Source : EW , Robert Kirkman Interview ( 11/8/2016 )

Your Rating

Your gossip has not been saved

Cast

Based on one of the most successful and popular comic books of all clock time , AMC ’s The walk Dead captures the ongoing human drama succeed a zombie Revelation of Saint John the Divine . The series , acquire for TV by Frank Darabont , come after a group of survivors , led by police force officer Rick Grimes ( Andrew Lincoln ) , who are traveling in search of a secure and unafraid home . However , rather of the zombies , it is the living who remain that truly become the walking dead . The Walking Dead live on for eleven seasons and spawned several spinoff shows , such as concern the walk Dead and The Walking Dead : World Beyond .

The Walking Dead Season 11 Poster

Based on one of the most successful and popular comic books of all time, AMC’s The Walking Dead captures the ongoing human drama following a zombie apocalypse. The series, developed for television by Frank Darabont, follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), who are traveling in search of a safe and secure home. However, instead of the zombies, it is the living who remain that truly become the walking dead. The Walking Dead lasted for eleven seasons and spawned several spinoff shows, such as Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond.

Headshot Of Steven Yeun IN The 35th Annual Producers Guild Awards

Headshot Of Andrew Lincoln In The Los Angeles Premiere Of AMC+’s ‘The Walking Dead