When Robert Kirkman Put Aliens In 'The Walking Dead'

Given how The Walking Dead has become one of the most well-known properties in the world of pop [...]

Given how The Walking Dead has become one of the most well-known properties in the world of pop culture, it's hard to believe the comic's early readers doubted the concept's longevity. Creator Robert Kirkman recently revealed to Entertainment Weekly how a joking response to a pessimistic fan's letter resulted in a bizarre alien storyline for the series' 75th issue.

"Very early on in the series I started getting letters where people would say, 'You say you're going to do this book for a really long time, but this idea doesn't seem to have any legs,'" Kirkman explained. "My response as a joke was, 'Oh, we're going to this until issue 75, and then I'm going to run out of ideas, and then I'm going to do an alien invasion and just kind of completely ruin the book. That's when we'll jump the shark and it'll be terrible and everybody will hate it.'"

Kirkman recalled the joke he made when time came for the series' successful 75th issue, in which an alternate ending revealed that Rick had been abducted by aliens in a short scene that wasn't officially canon to the popular storyline.

"When we got to issue 75, I knew that I'd publicly joked about that and it was kind of a thing that the fanbase knew about," Kirkman noted. "Like, 'Oh, 75, that's when the aliens come in, right?'"

Passionate fans might have recalled Kirkman's comments, but to other readers not quite as familiar with the comic's history, the scene was incredibly confusing.

"You've ruined the comic!" Kirkman remembered of fans' initial reactions. "People were freaking out for a while!"

In the 14 years since its debut, The Walking Dead has become one of Image Comics' longest-running and most successful series. If dominating the world of comic books isn't enough, the TV series has also become one of the most watched cable series, regularly shattering viewership records with its tales of survivors facing the end of humanity.

The Walking Dead TV series returns for season 8 on October 22nd.

[H/T Entertainment Weekly]

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