How to Discover Negan’s Origin in The Walking Dead

Last week we reported that The Walking Dead producer and showrunner Scott Gimple has plans to include new villain Negan’s origin in the television show.

It’s exciting stuff that will give fans even more of the great Jeffrey Dean Morgan and his stunning turn as the biggest of bads in this sprawling series. Those plans are still in development though and it could easily be a year or more before any Negan flashbacks appear on AMC. However, for fans wanting to find out more about the villain today, there’s already one way to read about his origins in comics.

The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman and artist Charlie Adlard have been producing “Here’s Negan” in the pages of the magazine Image+ each month. Each issue features 4 new pages of what is planned to be a 48 page story. With 8 issues of Image+ published to date, that means it’s already two-thirds complete, and will be wrapped up by spring of next year.

“Here’s Negan” is everything you want from The Walking Dead on television or in comics. It’s a character study that doesn’t veer away from ugliness in heroic moments or bravery in ugly ones. It throws twists, turns, and cliffhangers at you as fast as it possibly can. Characters change and evolve quickly, responding to the new normal of constant chaos. There’s plenty of tragedy that will lead you to sympathize even with the monstrous Negan. Oh, and it features a whole lot of zombies and plenty of gore. On top of all that, it fills in some key elements about the character every fan is talking about.

Here are a few key questions the series has already answered:

Where does Lucille’s name come from?

What did Negan do before zombies first appeared?

Who were the earliest members of Negan’s gang?

Was Negan always such a tremendous a-hole?

There are a few different ways to get your hands on these chapters, which are exclusive to Image+. If you can, be sure to check in with your local comic store. They should be able to order new issues in and may carry all previous issues in their backstock (some of which were issued for free). If that doesn’t work, all but the most recent issue of Image+ will be available on Comixology here.

Of course, $1.99 may seem a bit steep for just 4 pages of comics, but each issue of Image+ contains a whole lot more than “Here’s Negan”. It provides a comprehensive look at the newest offerings from Image Comics, a regular series of columns highlighting favorite comics, local stores, and other issues, and lots of previews and other original art. Image+ is a lot more than a preview catalog for one publisher, it’s an insightful and entertaining collection of stories that’s perfect for longtime comics fans and those looking for places to start.

So whether you’re a fan of the TV show looking to learn more today or already a big fan of comics, we definitely recommend checking out Image+. You may start at the back of each issue to see the newest installment of “Here’s Negan”, but it won’t take long to devour the entirety of each issue like you’re a walker coming across fresh meat.

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The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.