According to author Robert Kirkman, fans ofThe Walking Deadshouldn’t look too closely for Biblical allusions in the zombie comic book –but there may be other historical references in the story, waiting to be explored in more detail.While not much has been written about the historical parallels to be found inThe Walking Dead, Kirkman did confirm they were on his mind as he wrote the series.
The Walking DeadDeluxe#99 –written by Robert Kirkman, with art by Charlie Adlard, and rendered for the first time in full, evocative color by Dave McCaig – reprints the original letters page for the issue, in which a fan presented a compelling case that the Hilltop colony was rooted in a religious reference.
In response, Kirkman denied the connection, though he admitted that there were references to “certain elements in history” inThe Walking Dead, without elaborating further, leaving fans room to explore further on the topic.
The Walking Deadis, first and foremost, a work of speculative genre fiction. It uses the zombie outbreak concept to explore how humanity would react to an unimaginable, civilization-ending crisis. By its nature, of course, speculative fiction looks to the past for inspiration as much as it imagines a possible present, or potential future. So, it was a good instinct for reader “Greg Youngblood” to look for parallels in the series to other archetypal stories – of which the Bible remains a fount for Western literature.
As author Robert Kirkman tersely explained, however, when it came toThe Walking Dead, the reader was searching in the wrong place.
No inspiration from the Bible, nope. But I am trying to mirror things to certain elements in history.
Kirkman’s comment is interesting for several reasons; for one, it reiterates the areligious nature ofThe Walking Dead, but more critically,it invites fans of the franchise to take up the task of investigating what those “elements” of history are, and how they are “mirrored” in the story. In other words, as definitive as the first part of his answer was, the second part seems deliberately vague.
Robert Kirkman has previously stated thatThe Walking Deadis atheistic, as he considers it to be a fictional universe lacking God. While that wouldn’t preclude Biblical parallels from the text, it does make sense why Kirkman would be quick to dismiss religious narratives as an influence. Whatever the case, what is even more intriguing is the tease of historical allusions – especiallybecause the influence of history on Kirkman’s work in general, andThe Walking Deadspecifically, has not been explored in great detail.
Kirkman seems to suggest fans shouldn’t look for one-to-one analogues between history andThe Walking Dead, but rather that there are more abstract aspects of the human experience…the author is trying to channel.
With this in mind, historically-minded readers will return toThe Walking Deadwith a fresh set of eyes, seeking to uncover what “elements” Kirkman is alluding to. To scrutinize the author’s word choice in a bit more detail, Kirkman seems to suggest fans shouldn’t look for one-to-one analogues between history andThe Walking Dead, but rather that there are more abstract aspects of the human experience throughout time the author is trying to channel. Most notable among these, for starters, seems to be how societies develop.
How Civilizations Rise Again After A Fall
Warning! Spoilers for the complete Walking Dead series!
Human history is, in short, a sequence of rises and falls. More than once, especially in the deepest recesses of antiquity, civilization has rebuilt itself from complete collapse. Think of the Dark Age that followed the end of Mycenaean Greek civilization, or the chaos of the Western Roman Empire’s fall. It is a reasonable assumption to suggest thatthese were some of the formative historical influences on Robert Kirkman as he wroteThe Walking Dead. This is especially apparent when considering the complete arc of the comic series.
Walking Dead’s Creator Names the Moment It Went from ‘Zombie Survival Horror’ to Its Final Form
According to series creator Robert Kirkman, the conclusion to “The Walking Dead #96” signaled a shift in the direction of the legendary zombie series.
The series' final issue,The Walking Dead#193, is essentially an epilogue, which flashes forward to reveal the zombie outbreak has been contained, and a stable society has begun to re-emerge in the aftermath of the total collapse brought on by the outbreak. This made it clear that the story was always about pushing humanity to the brink of extinction, but wasn’tmeant to actually chronicle the end. For a story that was often incredibly bleak, this final note of apparent optimism was surprising; fitting it within a historical context makes it more in line with Robert Kirkman’s style.
That is, the historical parallel suggests that the series' arc was not a matter of “pessimism vs. optimism,” but rather a frank assessment of humanity’s resilience. The zombie apocalypse may have been the greatest, globe-spanning civilization-threatening catastrophe in history, but it was ultimately surmountable, and survivable. As a result, Kirkman opted to concludeThe Walking Deadwith humankind in its most hopeful state – that is, while it still displayed the potential of rebuilding society to be better than it was before.
A Story Of Humanity Under Extreme Conditions
Much is made of howThe Walking Deadis a story of humanity facing an extreme existential crisis, and Robert Kirkman’s comments about history’s influence on his work adds a new perspective to that. The zombie premise is an unreal mechanism through which Kirkman was able to approach very real themes – and it is those themes that astute fans will be able to recognize in real-world history as having been antecedents for the series.That is to say,The Walking Deadinterprets history in a less concrete, but no less fascinating, way than say,Game of Thrones.
The Walking Dead…uses the specific threat of zombies to wipe clean the slate of civilization, so that the perennial themes that undergird human history could be brought back to the surface.
WhereasGame of Thronesdirectly remixes and reinterprets historical figures, locations, and events,The Walking Deadtakes a more esoteric approach. It uses the specific threat of zombies to wipe clean the slate of civilization, so that the perennial themes that undergird human history could be brought back to the surface. Kirkman’s comments from the letters page toThe Walking Dead#99 pointed toward a whole new avenue ofWalking Deadstudies, of which only the surface has been scratched so far.
The Walking Dead Deluxe#99is available now from Image Comics.
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.
