Negan Lives: The Walking Dead Creator Robert Kirkman Reveals New Special

Robert Kirkman wrapped up his run on The Walking Dead last year, bringing a conclusion to one of the most beloved series in comics. Since it’s over, there’s not really a way to check in on your favorite characters from the books, but Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Skybound Entertainment, and Image Comics are changing all that with the announcement of a new one-shot story featuring everyone’s favorite villain Negan. The issue is titled Negan Lives, and it will hit comic stores this July, and the best part of the whole deal is that it won’t include freight cost for retailers, so not only do fans get a whole new Negan story, they also don’t have to worry about hurting their local comic shop, which have already been through enough recently.

“I’ve been inspired by Steve Geppi and Diamond’s efforts to shine a light on how essential the Direct Market is to our beloved industry with their #backthecomeback campaign,” said Kirkman. “While Charlie Adlard and I had laid the series to rest, this felt like something special we could do for the store owners who made our series a success to begin with. To that end, I’m happy to report that 100% of the revenue generated from this book will go to the stores selling it. The retailer community does backbreaking work to get comics into the hands of our loving fans, we should all be doing more in these trying times to show them how appreciated they are.”

Negan Lives #1 will be getting a digital release, and will only be available exclusively at comic book stores. This gives shops another welcome boost for a book that everyone is surely going to be interested in.

As for the one-shot itself, it will be showing what has become of Negan since his last appearance in the main series, which was The Walking Dead #174, which featured Maggie tracking him down and confronting him over the loss of her husband Glenn in The Walking Dead #100.

You can find the official description for Negan Lives below.

“Spurned by a slowly rebuilding society, Negan lives a life of desperate isolation… or does he? In the tradition of Here’s Negan, this all-new story in Negan Lives #1 gives readers a glimpse into what has happened to one The Walking Dead’s most popular characters in the time since his last appearance in The Walking Dead #174.

The issue will be 36 pages and will be in black and white, and it will also feature two rare foil gold and silver variants. Negan Lives #1 hits comic stores the same day as Fire Power Vol. 1 and the Free Comic Book Day Fire Power #1, which are both by Kirkman and artist Chris Samnee.

Are you excited for Negan Lives #1? Let us know in the comments!