There's a nice little surprise tucked into issue No. 193 of The Walking Dead comic book series, most notably the end of it all.
"As a fan, I hate it when I realize I'm in the third act of a movie and the story is winding down," creator Robert Kirkman writes in the closing pages of the super-sized issue, perThe Hollywood Reporter. "I hate that I can count commercial breaks and know I'm nearing the end of a TV show. I hate that you can feel when you're getting to the end of a book, or a graphic novel."
Kirkman added that the success of the series, which we all know ultimately grew to include multiple AMC properties and a great deal of TV money, is due in no small part to the element of surprise.
"It's been the lifeblood that's been keeping it going all these years, keeping people engaged," Kirkman said. "It just felt wrong and against the very nature of this series not to make the actual end as surprising as all the big deaths ... from Shane all the way to Rick."
To maintain the secrecy surrounding this surprise move, the team had even previewed additional covers beyond No. 193, covers we now know will not be used.
As for the story's AMC expansions, the network said recently that fans can look forward to it continuing for the foreseeable future.
"This extraordinary comic created a world that already lives in multiple forms, and in the hearts and minds of millions of fans around the world, and will for many years to come," a network rep said.
The main Walking Dead series, which has proven to be a financial juggernaut for the network despite eventually veering away from its source material, returns for a 10th season this year.
