The Walking Dead Comic Creator Robert Kirkman on Possible Sequel or Spinoff

In 2016, Image Comics published The Walking Dead: The Alien, a spin-off story set in The Walking Dead comic book continuity about Rick Grimes' younger brother traveling in Barcelona, Spain, at the onset of the zombie apocalypse. From writer Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man) and artist Marcos Martin (The Amazing Spider-Man), it was the first Walking Dead story not written by creator Robert Kirkman, who ended his comic saga after 16 years and 193 issues in 2019. Kirkman returned to pen the one-shot comic Negan Lives in 2020, and in 2021, writer-artist Tillie Walden created the graphic novel Clementine continuing the Telltale Series of Walking Dead video games. 

While The Walking Dead might not live on in another ongoing series, Kirkman isn't ruling out revisiting the comic book continuity. In the latest issue of the colorized reprint series The Walking Dead Deluxe, Kirkman answered fan mail about a Walking Dead sequel comic — something the creator has addressed in past issues — even if it's not Kirkman writing the book.

"I suppose it sounds stingy, but I can't see myself ever allowing anyone else to write a series in this world. It was hard enough letting Brian K. Vaughan write a single issue. I HAVE talked to another writer about doing another self-contained thing, but I don't know if that will ever come together," Kirkman revealed in the letters column in The Walking Dead Deluxe #61. "I definitely couldn't see myself ever allowing anyone to do a full-on sequel. I'd come back and write more stories myself before I allowed that to happen."

In October, Kirkman said there are no plans for a sequel to Negan Lives, a one-off comic revealing what happened to Negan after he disappeared from the flagship series in The Walking Dead #174. With the looming final season of AMC's Fear the Walking Dead, Kirkman wrote in a recent issue of Deluxe that a comic continuation or adaptation of the spin-off he co-created with Dave Erickson is "extremely, extremely unlikely." 

Also unlikely is a new ongoing Walking Dead comic book. "I gave 16 years of my life to this world. I may dabble in it at some point in the future, but I doubt I'll ever return to do a full series. But... I'd never say never," Kirkman wrote in January's The Walking Dead Deluxe #55, adding: "The closest we'll likely come to this is an entirely new series from me that's completely separate from TWD but has subject matter that would appeal to TWD fans. That's the best I could do at this point."

The Walking Dead Deluxe #61 is on stands now from Image Comics.

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