As another part of our 10-Year Anniversary, we asked a few of Skybound’s best to share their memories of The Walking Dead.
Chris Dingess, writer of the upcoming Manifest Destiny:
What’s your favorite moment from The Walking Dead’s first 10 years?:
My favorite moment has to be the massacre at the prison. It wasn’t the first crazy, messed up game changer of the series, but it was the big one for me. It cemented the fact that ANYTHING can go down in this book and character’s you are attached to can and will be killed. It raised the stakes dramatically for me.
When did you first get into The Walking Dead?:
I was lucky enough to hop aboard on issue #1. I was the comic shop and it was a time when I was starting to get really bored with superhero books. The cover and the title jumped out at me. Then I saw it was black and white and I thought “This is an beautiful, artistic way to cover up the fact that you are broke as hell and can’t afford colors!” It also reminded me of the original “Night of The Living Dead,” which I am a GIANT fan of. From the moment Rick got to that boarded up door in the hospital, I was hooked.
What do you love about The Walking Dead?
I love that I have absolutely no idea where the story is going to go.
What would be your zombie-slaying weapon of choice?
I dunno… a sword? I know in my heart I wouldn’t last long in a zombie apocalypse and I’m comfortable with that.
Chris is on Twitter as @realdingess.
Matthew Roberts, artist on Manifest Destiny:
What’s your favorite moment from The Walking Dead’s first 10 years?
Probably Michonne vs The Governor. “Hi. I’m a fairly popular comic and I just nailed a dude’s wang to the floor.” *mic drop*
What impact do you think The Walking Dead has had on the industry?
The industry, on a corporate level, seems to have taken the readership increases that The Walking Dead and others have helped to bring in as an excuse to polish up the old furniture and sell it as new. The real impact, as far as things actually changing, seems to be at the creative and consumer levels. The growing success of The Walking Dead and other creator-driven titles seems to have highlighted the importance of what Image has become, beyond the original founders. That your creative career can veer away from, or avoid all together, established properties is a huge thing. And the customers seem to be more and more comfortable supporting new content.
What would be your zombie-slaying weapon of choice?
The company of well-armed and influential people.
Matt’s Twitter handle is @shinolahead . Be sure to check out Manifest Destiny when it comes out this November. It’s a story and a half and the artwork is gorgeous.
David Schulner, Clone writer extraordinaire:
What do you love about The Walking Dead?
I love that the covers provides the only color you’re going to see in each issue. It would have been so easy and so gratifying and completely obvious to drench each issue in massive amounts of red blood. But without color every death, dismemberment, beheading, decapitation (I could go on) becomes less about the gore and more about the character being killed. The horror is not sensationalized. The emotion is fucking brilliant.
David has Clone #11 coming out this month. Clone started good and has only gotten better and bigger. Don’t sleep on this series. You can grab the first trade paperback direct from us.
Shawn Martinbrough, artist of Thief of Thieves:
What’s your favorite moment from The Walking Dead’s first 10 years?
The scene where the Governor cuts off Rick’s hand was the major moment for me. This really showed that no character was safe in the world of THE WALKING DEAD.
Who’s your favorite character? Why?
This is a tough choice because there are a LOT of great characters in THE WALKING DEAD. I love Glenn’s development as a character and Rick has been put through the emotional gauntlet, but I’d have to say Michonne.
In addition to her amazing character arc, Michonne’s first appearance with those two chained zombies in tow has to be one of the coolest character intros ever.
When did you first get into The Walking Dead?
After Robert invited me to work with him on THIEF OF THIEVES, the folks at SKYBOUND gave me the first seven hardcover collections. I burned through the first three in record time and have been a fan ever since.
What do you love about The Walking Dead?
I love that the THE WALKING DEAD is all about the characters. I always tell folks who haven’t read the series that it’s not about people getting attacked by zombies. THE WALKING DEAD is about how people REACT when getting attacked by zombies. As a reader, I’ve been on the edge of my seat during sections of the story where there are no zombies present at all.
What impact do you think The Walking Dead has had on the industry?
THE WALKING DEAD has really re-energized the market place for creator-owned books and concepts that go beyond the standard superhero archetypes and subject matter. It has also attracted a lot of readers who are not comic book fans, which is a great thing for the comic book industry.
What would be your zombie-slaying weapon of choice?
That would be a huge gatling gun like the one used by Jesse Ventura in the first PREDATOR film. I’d want to be able to mow down a crowd of zombies from across the street. None of that “up close and personal” zombie killing for me!
What do you have coming up?
More THIEF OF THIEVES with writer Andy Diggle!
To hear more from Shawn, you can follow him @smartinbrough or check out his awesome website www.shawnmartinbrough.com
What do YOU love about The Walking Dead? When did you first start reading? What’s your favorite moment?
