Summary
Robert Kirkman, creator ofThe Walking Dead, once explained why some dead bodies in the comic book series seemingly didn’t reanimate – noting that, in line with traditional zombie lore,a death that involved traumatic damage to the brain would not result in that individual returning as one of the hordes of undead.
The Walking Dead Deluxe#95 – written by Robert Kirkman, with art by Charlie Adlard – is a reprint of the original issue, including the original letters page. Published as the early seasons ofWalking Dead’sTV adaptationwere airing, the comic at the time was witnessing an influx of new readers, many of whom asked the same old questions.
Most notably, there was always perennialfan interest in zombie physiology– and while Kirkman was often quick to note this wasn’t the priority of the story, he did set the record straight for fans when he could.
Walking Dead Writer Admits the Reason the Franchise HAD to Address Religion
According to Robert Kirkman, the Southern U.S. setting of “The Walking Dead” made it a necessity that he engage with the influence of religion.
Robert Kirkman: Traumatic Brain Damage At The Time Of Death Prevents Reanimation
Robert Kirkman’s answer to the question of how and why zombies reanimate reiterates that the zombie science ofThe Walking Deadwas ancillary to the book’s focus on human experience pushed to an unheralded extreme.
Walking Deadreaders and TV viewers quickly familiarized themselves with the idea that the way to definitively kill the undead for the second time was to destroy the brain. According to Robert Kirkman,the appearance of non-zombified corpses in the comic – especially early on – was simply an extension of this premise. In the letters page toWalking Dead#95, Kirkman wrote:
Any non-zombie corpse you saw on the highway, either suffered severe brain trauma in a car crash that resulted in that pileup, or had another brain damaging event that killed them.
For fans who might have suspected an inconsistency, this is a reassurance thatThe Walking Dead’szombies did follow a consistent logic– even if Robert Kirkman wasn’t always keen on explaining it to readers in-depth.
Kirkman also went a step further, pointing out that there has always been more going on in theworld ofThe Walking Deadthan what readers were privy to. About seemingly inanimate corpses encountered by Rick in early issues of the comic, Kirkman stated:
They could have even been zombies in that car for awhile – until someone came along and killed them.
In any case, Robert Kirkman’s answer to the question of how and why zombies reanimate reiterates that the zombie science ofThe Walking Deadwas ancillary to the book’s focus on human experience pushed to an unheralded extreme.
A Human Drama At Its Core
For Kirkman, zombies were a mechanism through which to explore the extent of humanity’s capacity to respond to a civilization-ending catastrophe.
The Walking Dead Deluxehas offered an opportunity for fans of the franchise tore-live the comic’s odyssey of survival, as well as the chance to reflect on what made the series so popular that it transformed from a cult-favorite comic book to a worldwide phenomenon. While the “rules,” or the logic behindWalking Dead’szombies were important, they could often distract fans from the core story of human survival that Robert Kirkman crafted over the course of nearly two-hundred issues.
In a way, this is perhaps an issue of the zombie genre at large, and it isone that Robert Kirkman routinely downplayed the importance of. For Kirkman, zombies were a mechanism through which to explore the extent of humanity’s capacity torespond to a civilization-ending catastrophe. What this meant was that, as long as the nature ofThe Walking Dead’szombies maintained an internal consistency, readers could have faith in whatever the author ultimately chose to do with them in the story.
The Walking Dead
The Walking Deadis a massive multimedia franchise that began with a comic book series created by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. The franchise gained widespread popularity with the launch of the television seriesThe Walking Deadin 2010 on AMC, which chronicles the lives of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, referred to as “walkers.” The success of the original show has led to numerous spin-offs, web series, video games, novels, and other media. The franchise explores themes of survival, human nature, and the breakdown of society in the face of an existential threat, making it one of the most successful and influential horror series of the 21st century.
