Robert Kirkman has shocked fans by announcing that this week’s ‘The Walking Dead’ issue #193 will be the last in the long-running zombie series. ‘The Walking Dead’ reinvigorated the zombie genre, not just in comics– inspiring the popular ‘Marvel Zombies’ line– but in all media, with the hugely popular AMC live-action TV adaptation, which has spawned one spin-off, ‘Fear the Walking Dead’, a chat show, ‘Talking Dead’, multiple online miniseries, and the upcoming China-set ‘The Walking Dead: Typhoon’. There are also plans for additional tie-ins, including a series of TV movies, featuring Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes.
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Kirkman killed off the book’s main character, Rick, in the preceding issues #191 and #192. Issue #193 will be triple-sized. Publisher Image Comics had previously released solicitations for following issues, so Kirkman’s announcement of the end of the series at this time came as a complete shock.
The writer released a letter online, which will also see print in the comics, which read:
“I hate knowing what’s coming. As a fan, I hate it when I realize I’m in the third act of a movie and the story is winding down. I hate that I can count commercial breaks and know I’m nearing the end of a TV show. I hate that you can feel when you’re getting to the end of a book, or a graphic novel. Some of the best episodes of Game of Thrones are when they’re structured in such a way and paced to perfection so your brain can’t tell if it’s been watching for 15 minutes or 50 minutes … and when the end comes … you’re stunned.
“I love long movies for that very reason. You lose track of time because you went in convinced that you’re going to be there for a long time, but the story moves at such an entertaining and engaging pace that by the time the movie’s wrapping up … you can’t believe it’s already over. Surprise, it’s over! All I’ve ever done, all a creator can really do … is tailor-make stories to entertain themselves, and hope the audience feels the same way. That’s all I’ve ever been doing … and it seems to work most of the time.”
Though details are under wraps, the final issue will obviously deal with the aftermath of Rick’s death.
‘The Walking Dead’s final issue, #193 will be released for sale tomorrow.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
