Imagine the sheer audacity of fibbing to your publishers just to launch a zombie comic that would redefine the genre – that's the jaw-dropping tale of how Robert Kirkman got The Walking Dead published! In the early 2000s, when zombies weren't the cultural phenomenon they are today, Kirkman approached Image Comics, a well-known independent publisher known for titles like Spawn, with his idea for a black-and-white zombie series. At the time, the zombie craze hadn't exploded yet; groundbreaking films like 28 Days Later hadn't even hit U.S. screens, making the concept feel a bit stale and unoriginal to industry insiders.
But here's where it gets controversial... Kirkman faced immediate pushback. The publishers, Jim Valentino and Eric Stephenson, who were steering Image at the time, thought the pitch was too straightforward: just a group of survivors navigating a zombie apocalypse, with its real strength lying in the characters' gradual development over many issues – something that wouldn't shine through in the very first comic. For beginners in the comic world, think of it like pitching a story where the plot unfolds slowly, like a long TV series, rather than a quick, action-packed movie. The hook wasn't there, and they hesitated.
Kirkman's clever workaround? He stretched the truth a tad, telling them it wasn't just zombies – oh no, it was going to be an epic clash between zombies and aliens! As he later shared in a 2007 IGN interview, he spun a yarn about how the series would reveal aliens as the masterminds behind the zombie outbreak, weakening humanity's defenses for a massive invasion and a grand human-alien showdown. 'That sounds awesome! Let's greenlight it,' they said, approving the project based on this fabricated twist.
And this is the part most people miss – Kirkman doesn't regret the deception much, but he does acknowledge the fallout. It wasn't long before the publishers caught on after the first issue dropped. Stephenson, after reading it, admitted he loved it but hadn't spotted any alien clues. Kirkman came clean: 'Okay, full disclosure – that alien stuff? It's not happening. I was just exaggerating to get you on board. I really want a pure zombie story.' By then, the comic was gaining traction and buzz, so Stephenson replied something like, 'Phew, good thing, because I was worried aliens might wreck it!' Valentino, on the other hand, wasn't thrilled about being misled. Kirkman expressed guilt, especially since Valentino had been a huge supporter of his other hit, Invincible – another long-running series Kirkman juggled alongside The Walking Dead, which also got its own TV adaptation.
Kirkman even feels a twinge of remorse sharing this story, as it paints Valentino unfairly, despite his respect for him. Yet, fans eat it up, much like the legendary tale of how J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected by a dozen publishers. It paints Kirkman as the underdog who knew better, reinforcing that comforting notion that doubters often miss the mark. But let's be real – the publishers' skepticism was spot-on. Injecting aliens would've been a disaster, as we all see now, but back then, it wasn't so clear-cut. Was Kirkman's white lie a harmless hustle or an unethical shortcut? Some might argue it was genius marketing, while others see it as a breach of trust. What do you think – does the end justify the means in creative pursuits? Would you have fallen for the alien pitch, or do you side with the publishers' initial doubts? Drop your opinions in the comments and let's debate!
