Almost exactly one year after “The Walking Dead” ended, Robert Kirkman will return to the comic book for a special issue called “Negan Lives”…
Robert Kirkman shocked the entire comic book world in 2019 when he brought “The Walking Dead” to an abrupt end with issue No. 193.
There was no major announcement involving the final issue, which is exactly what Kirkman wanted when he was plotting out the end of the long running series that also serves as the basis for the popular AMC show of the same name.
Now almost exactly one year later, Kirkman and artist Charlie Adlard will return to “The Walking Dead” for a special one-shot issue that will be released in comic book stores on July 1.
“Negan Lives” will be a special 36-page comic devoted to the barbed-wire wrapped baseball bat wielding former leader of the Saviors, who is portrayed by Jeffrey Dean Morgan on “The Walking Dead” television series.
In the comics, Negan disappeared after issue No. 174 when Maggie tracked him down and nearly killed him as vengeance for her husband Glenn. Negan made his infamous introduction in “The Walking Dead” issue No. 100 when he brutally beat Glenn to death with his baseball bat named Lucille.
Ultimately, Maggie spares Negan’s life — a scene that played out in similar fashion during “The Walking Dead” season 9 on AMC — but afterwards the character is never seen again. In the new special “Negan Lives” issue, Kirkman and Adlard will find out what he’s been doing in the wake of his disappearance after breaking apart from the survivors who previously kept him alive.
“Spurned by a slowly rebuilding society, Negan lives a life of desperate isolation… or does he? In the tradition of Here’s Negan, this all-new story in Negan Lives #1 gives readers a glimpse into what has happened to one The Walking Dead’s most popular characters in the time since his last appearance in The Walking Dead #174.”
The special issue of “The Walking Dead” will serve as Kirkman and Adlard giving back to comic book stores, which were hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, “Negan Lives” will not be available digitally and it can only be purchased in comic book stores across the world.
“I’ve been inspired by Steve Geppi and Diamond’s efforts to shine a light on how essential the Direct Market is to our beloved industry with their #backthecomeback campaign,” Kirkman said. “While Charlie Adlard and I had laid the series to rest, this felt like something special we could do for the store owners who made our series a success to begin with. To that end, I’m happy to report that 100% of the revenue generated from this book will go to the stores selling it.
“The retailer community does backbreaking work to get comics into the hands of our loving fans, we should all be doing more in these trying times to show them how appreciated they are.”
“Negan Lives” will land in comic book shops exclusively on Wednesday, July 1. You can see the cover below:
