Jeffrey Dean Morgan Reveals Why He Stopped Reading 'The Walking Dead' Comics

As fans of comic books, all of us have a favorite title or story arc we want to see adapted to [...]

As fans of comic books, all of us have a favorite title or story arc we want to see adapted to live-action. The problem with that, however, is that comic book plots don't necessarily translate well on-screen. Because of that, actors might choose not to read the comics their characters are featured in.

That's especially the case with The Walking Dead star Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who hasn't read an issue of The Walking Dead since his character's introduction dozens of issues ago.

"I stopped reading after introduction. Wanted to form my own reactions," Morgan tweeted to an inquiring fan. "And also not fall in love with comic storylines and then not follow."

Morgan then went on the admit he owns all of the issues of The Walking Dead, which his son reads.

"I own them all. Gus reads," he reflected. "I will look at particular scenes if we film...but I'm saving them for when Negan is no more. Or show ends...ha!"

Morgan plays Negan on AMC's hit zombie apocalypse show, a character who debuted in Image Comics' The Walking Dead #100 (2012) as created by TWD creators Robert Kirkman and Charle Adlard. Negan made his live-action debut in "Last Day on Earth," the highly-anticipated finale of season six.

Although Negan has been imprisoned for the duration of season nine, the character escaped in the midseason finale. According to The Walking Dead showrunner Angela Kang, she's excited to see where Negan goes next.

"I am excited for fans to watch and see what happens, because I think Negan is a complicated character and we've seen that he's a guy who will bash in people's heads to make a point," Kang told Comicbook.com. "We've also seen that he was at the lowest of the low point earlier in the season, was suicidal. We've also seen that he has a particular relationship with Judith Grimes that seems like pretty friendly and nice. And so, all of these things are kind of churning within Negan, and that's part of his story going forward. So I think that there's some interesting twists and turns to be had with Negan one way or the other."

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET. Fear the Walking Dead will return for its fifth season in 2019.

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