The Walking Dead: "Rick's Word is Law"

Warning: Full spoilers follow for The Walking Dead Season 3 premiere episode, "Seed," and minor spoilers for Robert Kirkman's Walking Dead comic book series.

So how about that for a Walking Dead season premiere, huh? Pretty exciting and gruesome stuff. And, as tradition here at IGN, we got to talk to comic series creator and show EP/writer Robert Kirkman about what we just saw. Months have passed, Rick's fully in command, Carl's now clearing houses with the likes of Daryl and T-Dog, there's a walker-filled prison that needs cleansing, Lori's not giving Rick any disapproving looks or pushback and Andrea and Michonne are still off on their own. There's just so much happening.

The Walking Dead: Season 3 Premiere Review

IGN: Well, we're finally here. We're at the prison now. What's it like to finally be tackling a big set piece and storyline that the comic fans have been anticipating ever since the show started?

Robert Kirkman: My experience in having the Walking Dead comic turned into a TV show has been indescribable. It's not something that I've ever heard of anyone really experiencing. It really is quite bizarre. I've gone from seeing comic book characters that I've written for nearly a decade come to be represented by flesh and blood human beings who you can have conversations with. Which is really awkward. But now I'm actually seeing an entire world built up that I can walk around in. I can go into cells inside the prison. I can walk the prison yard. I can play basketball on the basketball court. I can go up into the guard tower. It's really strange to see it all come to life and I think AMC's done a really good job in working with very talented people who really dedicate themselves into making this show the best that it can be. I know a lot of time and effort went into making this prison and it looks absolutely remarkable on screen. In person though, it's overwhelming for me to be there.

IGN: A lot of things have changed within the group since the last time we saw them. Exactly how much time has passed?

Kirkman: Well, we don't really like to nail things down too tightly, but we were getting into winter pretty much by the end of Season 2. The leaves were starting to fall off and it was getting pretty cold and so we were definitely approaching winter when we last left off. Season 3 picks up now with the end of spring and the beginning of summer. So we skipped through a little bit of fall, winter and a little bit of spring.

IGN: What was behind the decision to have Rick be so fully in charge? I think the term that was coined was "Ricktatorship."

Kirkman: I think it was very important, after the last scene in Season 2, to show that Rick's decision to not take any advice from his people and to make it his way or the highway has really made it so that they've all survived the winter, despite not being able to find a solid place to live in for any real length of time. I think we really wanted to show that Rick is a capable leader and that he does know what he's doing. And I think the first two episodes of the season will show everyone that this is a different guy; much more harsh, much more deadly and way more serious. A hardened leader.

IGN: He really has no opposition, at this point, from anyone. And they're a head-strong group.

Kirkman: For better or for worse, Rick's word is law right now. And that's something that has kept them alive. But we'll see, as the season progresses, sometimes he makes mistakes and sometimes bad things happen. But for now, at least, Rick's in charge and we're seeing a very different person. This is a guy who was a small town cop who was just kind of feeling his way through this world. And to a certain extent, he was scared out of his mind. Over the course of the first two seasons, he's become this guy that we have now who is running head first into a prison yard and taking walkers out. And doing whatever he has to do to keep these people around him safe.

IGN: Another big change, and more evidence that Rick's word is law, is how much Carl has changed. Rick would have gotten an earful if he'd tried to have Carl shoot walkers last year.

Kirkman: Carl has really evolved into a child soldier over the course of the winter. He's now there in the mix with Rick and Daryl when they're cleaning out that house in the beginning. He knows how to clear a room now. He knows how to run through a house that could be infested with zombies. And, as you can see, this is something he's done before. This is Carl growing up. Having that time jump in between the seasons has really facilitated turning Carl into a different character. A much more capable character. Someone who doesn't have to hide in the house while all the cool stuff happens. He's out there shooting guns, taking out Walkers and being a little badass.

IGN: What can you tell us about Rick and Lori's relationship? It seems pretty cold at this point. He's providing for her, but little more.

Kirkman: It's definitely damaged. Despite all the other changes that happened over the winter that we didn't get to see, they really haven't reconciled. For the most part, they're not really speaking. Lori has done something that Rick hasn't forgiven her for yet. And Rick did something that Lori wasn't too happy about, as we saw at the end of the second season. So they're really distant and struggling through the fact that they have to live together. She is carrying a child. Could be his child, could be Shane's. Nobody really knows. It is definitely a big sense of source of tension within the group this year.

IGN: Now this is close to the time, in the comic series, that Michonne would become a part of the group, but you've chose not to do that here. She's off with Andrea, which is a pairing we never saw in the comics. What was behind that decision?

Kirkman: I think as the season progresses, and we see our entry point into Woodbury and meeting The Governor, it will become pretty clear this pairing was a really cool change that came with a lot of great story in it. That's really the key to making changes to the comic book. Asking ourselves "what does it add?" or "how could this enhance the story?" And I think this enhances the story in a big way. Having these two warrior women out on the road, surviving together, is kind of a cool thing. And we've seen that they've bonded quite a bit over the winter. One thing that I really like about this season is that if you notice and do the math about how long Rick and the group were with Andrea, she's been with Michonne longer than she was with the rest of the survivors. So their bond has grown very strong over time. If these groups were to meet, if Andrea and Michonne were to encounter Rick and the others, her new bond might add some conflict to the reunion. ...Were it to take place this season.

IGN: Keeping things with the comics here... poor Hershel. We saw his leg get hacked off, but in the comics it wasn't him. It was a different character.

Kirkman: It's a pivotal moment in the comic series, but it happens to Allen, a character that hasn't been introduced on the television show. So we decided to do it to Hershel. And having that moment that comic book fans remember adapted for the show -- in a cool way that calls back to the comic series and the stories that were told there, but also done in a way that comic fans can still be surprised when it happens -- really is the meat and potatoes of the show. I want the comic fans to still go "Oh my god!" That's the really cool stuff, when people don't know what to expect. Even though it's still familiar.

Source : ign[dot]com

The Walking Dead Producers Talk Season 3 and Introducing Michonne, The Governor, the Prison and More

With The Walking Dead returning for the much-anticipated Season 3 this Sunday, I recently had the chance to sit down with executive producers Robert Kirkman and Glen Mazzara to discuss what fans can expect this year.

Kirkman, the creator of The Walking Dead, and Mazzara, who serves as showrunner, talked about the introduction of key comic book elements this season, how the characters are evolving and much more.

For those who are super spoiler-phobic, no big twists and turns are revealed, beyond previously and officially revealed story elements of Season 3, though some basic plot details – and one cool zombie-visual -- from the season premiere are discussed.

IGN TV: How did you decide to do the time jump? Robert, you’ve about how, if you think about it, the first two seasons were pretty compressed, time-wise. This is a pretty big leap to make just as far as how much we’ve seen these people to this point.

Robert Kirkman: I know that one of the vehicles that come from television that I really like is the gap between seasons. I really love it when shows do that. I think The Sopranos did it really well. They were off the air for 18 months, and when they came back 18 months had passed in the lives of the characters. I think that’s a really cool thing. To me, it’s always fun to come in a little late in the game and see the characters in a much different light, and then spend the first episode going, “Oh, that’s what this person is doing now,” and, “Oh, they have this opinion now,” and, “Oh, these behaviors are a little bit different.” You know, it casts the characters in a bit of a different light. It also helps you separate things from season to season, which I think is really cool.

Glen Mazzara: Yeah, and I think it was important to show the effects of Rick’s leadership on the group. They’ve come together, they’re a tight-knit group -- that’s interesting. It was kind of exciting for us to advance the story and let the audience catch up. I guarantee people are going to say, “Are we ever going to see a flashback episode of what happened during the winter?” I’m going to go on record and say, “No. You’re seeing the story we want you to see, and this is part of a new story.” So we really wanted to advance things, move things forward and let the audience catch up.

IGN: Going in, you’ve got two characters that you’re introducing, both from the comics and both with a lot of expectations and a lot of popularity. On a visual level, Michonne is obviously matching with the comics much more than the Governor. How much did you debate did you have about how much you wanted to stick to the comics with those two characters?

Mazzara: First of all, we went with the best actors, who came in and really got the roles and got the characters and we’re very, very happy with the work that David [Morrissey] and Danai [Gurira] are doing. And they’ve added so much throughout the season. The question came up about Michonne’s iconic look, with the dreads, and that was something that was important to Robert - that she match the look of the character in the comic books. So we worked on that. Originally, I wasn’t so sure. I was afraid a wig might look fake. But we had conversations and experimented with the wig until it was to everybody’s satisfaction. We went ahead with it. With the Governor, he’s a developing character, so what you see is just what you’re getting now. But that’s a character that will continue to evolve and change, and we’ll see what happens with him. But that character did change in the comic book. People tend to forget that.

IGN: Robert, I’m sure it’s been funny for you to see that there can be super fans of the comic who are more precious about things being changed than you are and want everything to stay exactly the same. How do you go about making those decisions on what’s really important to you to look or stay the same, both visually or in other ways?

Kirkman: Yeah, I think it’s very important to recognize that the television show and the comic book series are two different things. I think that there are really cool, really memorable, really important moments from the comic book series that have existed over the life of it. There are some of those that I absolutely feel need to be adapted into the show in order for it to be a Walking Dead show, and there are other things that I think can be changed and should be changed. This is an adaptation, and keeping things fresh and lively and changing things up actually makes it better. I think that those diehard fans that are saying, “Oh, it’s not exactly like the comic. I want the exact same stuff,” I think they would be bored with the show if they had gotten their wish. I think it’s very important to add new material to this and make it as exciting as possible, just because the comic book is exciting and new. That’s one of its charms.

IGN: The first two seasons have a lot about Shane versus Rick and their differing styles of leadership. Now we’re going into this new season and Shane is out of the picture, but Rick has changed himself. At the place he is now, how does his style of leadership match or not match the Governor?

Mazzara: That’s a great question. I think Rick is initially a lot more honest than the Governor. I think the Governor is playing a game and a long con. He has an ultimate agenda that’s very important to him. Rick’s face is sort of pressed right up against the glass, and he has very immediate needs of keeping this group alive, finding a safe place, preparing a safe place where his wife can have a baby so that when the baby’s born, everyone’s safe -- they’re not out on the open road and the crying baby isn’t summoning walkers -- this is what he’s thinking about, the problems at hand. The Governor’s looking down the road a little bit more.

IGN: Some fans weren’t in love with Lori last season. Can you talk a bit about Rick and Lori and what their dynamic is like this season? Can they get past all that’s happened at this point?

Mazzara: That’s something that will unfold this season, their relationship. That’s something that’s important to them. I don’t think there’s been any time while they’re out on the road where they could push in and spend time with each other and work out their problems. That’s what she’s saying when we meet her in the season premiere. So I think Rick’s job is to find a safe place for her to have the baby. Then he’s probably thinking they can deal with this problem. But, you know, it’s business first. So Rick’s using life on the road, in a way, as an excuse to avoid repairing his marriage. They’re in conflict, and I think both actors have done a great job of really making you feel like you’re watching a marriage in distress in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. This year, I really think you’ll really feel sympathetic for both characters.

Kirkman: I think one cool element of this season that we’re going to be exploring throughout is the fact that these are two people that are a married couple, who may just need to take a break. They have come at an impasse in their marriage, they have both definitely done things that the other is not very happy about, but they can’t really do the things that we would do in this world -- step back, try and figure out if we want to stay with this person and what our relationship is actually built on. These people are forced to live together in order to survive. They’re basically on top of each other at all times and not able to deal with their issues. That’s something we’ll be dealing with a lot moving forward.

Source : ign[dot]com

The Death of Invincible?

Robert Kirkman certainly pulled out all the stops for The Walking Dead #100, so it's probably safe to assume that he'll be doing the same for his other hit series, Invincible. In a teaser for issue #100, Image Comics/Skybound sent out this rather ominous teaser:

Update 8/14: It seems it's not just Invincible himself that is in trouble. I would venture a guess that we'll be seeing new teasers every day this week.

Update 8/15:

Update 8/16: Update 8/17:

Update 8/20: It seems the teases aren't over yet!

Update 8/21: Uh-oh...

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator himself. Follow Joey on Twitter, or find him on IGN. He loves superhero pets so hard.

Source : ign[dot]com

The Death of Invincible?

Robert Kirkman certainly pulled out all the stops for The Walking Dead #100, so it's probably safe to assume that he'll be doing the same for his other hit series, Invincible. In a teaser for issue #100, Image Comics/Skybound sent out this rather ominous teaser:

Update 8/14: It seems it's not just Invincible himself that is in trouble. I would venture a guess that we'll be seeing new teasers every day this week.

Update 8/15:

Update 8/16:

Update 8/17:

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator himself. Follow Joey on Twitter, or find him on IGN. He loves superhero pets so hard.

Source : ign[dot]com