‘The Walking Dead’ Comic Book Creator Reveals Why He Killed Off That Character Recently

SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses the comic book series The Walking Dead. Please proceed with caution if you have not yet read all available issues and wish to avoid spoilers.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Issue 193 of The Walking Dead comics was the final issue. It was a surprise ending to the series that fans did not see coming. Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman said at the time that the series had been built on surprises and it seemed like the perfect time to bow out.

However, it was the issue before that one that truly shocked fans. Issue 192 of The Walking Dead comics saw the death of the main character, Rick Grimes. Awoken from his sleep and shot in the chest by Sebastian Milton, Rick died as a result and was reanimated as a walker. The next day, upon discovery, Rick’s son Carl is tasked with giving his father the final death.

Now, Kirkman has revealed the reasoning behind killing off Rick Grimes just one issue out from the final one.

“Rick Grimes fixed the world to the point where he was so safe that he could be killed by the weakest character in the book. It’s a statement on how good of a job he did,” Kirkman revealed via an interview with Comic Book ahead of the Season 10 premiere of AMC’s TV series based on The Walking Dead comics.

“At no point in the history of the comic could he have been killed that way. It wasn’t until the very end that he was able to relax.”

As yet, it is unclear if Rick’s comic book death will occur in the same way should he die on the big screen. With Rick surviving what looked like certain death in Season 9 of AMC’s The Walking Dead, it was later revealed that his story would continue on in a trio of movies.

The conclusion of the comic book series was a surprise to most. However, executive producer of the Walking Dead TV series and Skybound Entertainment CEO David Alpert was privy to the conclusion of the comics but not of the death of Rick Grimes.

“Rick’s death is sort of like, I’ll sort of hear it as the art is being drawn,” Alpert revealed.

He also noted that the people involved with the drawing of the comic art were not sure if they were supposed to reveal this stunning detail to him or not. In the end, though, Alpert finally worked out what was going on ahead of the release of The Walking Dead comic Issue 192.

The Walking Dead comics concluded with Issue 193 but fans can still tune into AMC’s TV series based on the books. Season 10 of AMC’s The Walking Dead premieres on October 6.