Robert Kirkman, creator of Invincible and Walking Dead, can’t stop fans from getting the zombie series’ art tattooed on their bodies, but he’s on record as personally not being a fan of the idea. In response to a question about zombie tattoos, Kirkman half-joked that the uncertainty of what audience-members with Dead tattoos will do if they stop liking the franchise is among those that “keep [him] up at night.”
The Walking Dead Deluxe #83 – a reprint of the classic issue, written by Robert Kirkman, with art by Charlie Adlard, lettering by Rus Wooten, and now featuring color by Cliff Rathburn – contains a letters page, in which Kirkman responded on Adlard’s behalf to a fan asking for permission to get a Walking Dead tattoo.
“Uhmm, Charlie won’t mind,” Kirkman wrote, giving the reader the official seal of approval, but not before adding: “I am whole-heartedly against it on the other hand…“
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Robert Kirkman Is Flattered By Walking Dead Tattoos – But He Still Doesn’t Like Them
Zombie Tattoos Are Highly Popular
Even before it became a cultural phenomenon, thanks to the long-running AMC television adaptation, Walking Dead was a stand-out comic book title, thanks in large part to the book’s evocative, often gruesome artistic style. Developed by artist Tony Moore in Dead’s first arc, and then subsequently taken to increasingly visceral heights by Charlie Adlard for the remainder of the series, the series’ art is understandably attractive to both tattoo artists and enthusiasts. Walking Dead tattoos have become increasingly popular as the franchise has continued to expand – but it is not creator Robert Kirkman’s favorite aspect of the series’ legacy.
“I mean, it’s flattering when you guys show us all these tattoos you’re getting, I think its great and all...” Kirkman wrote in the letters page of Walking Dead Deluxe #83, while admitting that he didn’t think it was the best idea. Kirkman had some questions for people with Walking Dead tattoos – and more importantly, those who are considering getting one:
…What if this book starts to suck? What if you really like something like, say, tattoos, and I come out and admit that I DON’T like them, and then you start hating the book because of it?”
“Then you’re STUCK with this tattoo of the book?” Kirkman concluded, before adding on the addendum: “I mean…these are the things that keep me up at night.“
Walking Dead Tattoos Are A Lasting Part Of The Series’ Legacy
Kirkman Will Have To Get Used To Them
Long after the Deluxe reprint of the iconic series finishes its run, and long after the last Walking Dead spin-off has ceased airing, Walking Dead tattoos will remain. They are a lasting part of the franchise’s cultural impact, whether Robert Kirkman is thrilled about it or not, and are an actual embodiment of the gamechanging appeal of the series’ art. Readers will continue to gravitate toward the series, and get excited about it. More than just a part of pop culture, Walking Dead has become a part of tattoo culture; in that way, it now exists independently of its creators.
The Walking Dead Deluxe #83 is available now from Image Comics.
