Robert Kirkman

The Walking Dead Season 7 has already begun production, kicking off a new round of fan investigation to fill the void of Game of Thrones‘’ latest twist, and giving producers one hell of a challenge to keep Negan’s victim under wraps. That said, creator Robert Kirkman isn’t done defending the controversial cliffhanger, likening it to the best episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and wanting fans to hope, not grieve.

The Walking Dead has become a titan of independent comics since its debut in 2003, and despite the television shows, novels and video games, the actual comic franchise has been heavily guarded by its co-creator Robert Kirkman. Very few people can say that they’ve worked on Walking Dead comics, but as of today Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin can be counted among that select group thanks to the release of the digital one-shot The Walking Dead: The Alien, available now via Panel Snydicate.

And lo, The Walking Dead has come to yet another end, closing out Season 6 with at least someone’s “Last Day on Earth,” though it’s safe to say fan reactions to Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s introduction as Negan proved … divisive. Now, showrunner Scott Gimple and creator Robert Kirkman open up on the big twist, possible backlash, and what it means for Season 7.

The dead will surely walk for Robert Kirkman this coming weekend, but may do much worse by the time Cinemax’s Outcast premieres. A new trailer for the exorcism horror series puts the emphasis on evil in town, pulling out every scary camera trick in the book.

Fans of The Walking Dead are gearing up for a long-awaited debut with next week’s finale, but may have missed that Sunday’s blood-spattered “East” dropped a significant hint toward Season 7, potentially setting up comic community “The Kingdom,” and its leader Ezekiel.

The Walking Dead fans know in their bones the Season 6 finale will prove a skull-crusher, what with Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan finally making his anticipated appearance. Fans have driven themselves batty trying to figure out who might suffer the fate in line with Negan’s first comic appearance, but a leaked finale report claims we might not learn at all.

Comic adaptations from write Robert Kirkman have something of a pedigree already, to the point that Cinemax is already doubling down on exorcism thriller Outcast. Not only does the comic drama have an official June premiere, but already second season ordered months before a premiere.

As The Walking Dead increasingly embraces its comic roots, fans both count down to and dread the arrival of Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan, a larger-than-life villain whose ilk we’ve not yet seen. One at least wonders how the foul-mouthed foe will express himself under AMC standards, and it seems showrunners have filmed alternate takes to accommodate his sinful swearing.

At the dawn of 1992, comic books were booming. Tim Burton's Batman had kicked off a new wave of big-budget film adaptations. Superhero products could be found in nearly every aisle of every department store and supermarket. New comic shops were springing up in shopping centers and malls, publishers were seeing their highest sales figures in years, and new companies were making names for themselves as serious players. And Marvel Comics was the unquestioned big fish in the pool, with their stock booming in the six short months since they'd gone public, and an unparalleled creative stable. But big changes were afoot. In December of 1991, Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, and Jim Lee, Marvel's three biggest artists, informed publisher Terry Stewart that the company's policies toward talent were unfair, that creators were not being appropriately rewarded for their work, and that they were leaving, effective immediately. In the month thereafter, they joined forces with a few more like-minded artists from Marvel's top-selling titles, worked out a deal with small publisher Malibu Comics for production and distribution, and decided on the title for their new company --- recycling a name that Liefeld had originally intended for an aborted self-publishing venture. On February 1st, 1992, a press release was sent out announcing the formation of Image Comics.

What a week! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to sit back and read some comics. The weekend is finally here, and the world can relax and rest once more --- but the comics industry has been busy too, you know, and the last seven days have seen a flurry of comics-based news and announcements fly past at high speed. ComicsAlliance have got your back, though: when it comes to comics, we never slow down, and so here’s a look back and just what’s been going on. New comics, new stories, new hirings, new podcasts, new art being made --- it’s all part of the ComicsAlliance Weekender!