The Walking Dead's Final Issue Is Being Rushed Back to Print

The Walking Dead knocked the socks off fans thanks to a surprise series finale in the pages of The Walking Dead #193, and that has also caused a surge of sellouts across the country as fans hear about the news. Now Image and Skybound are sending the big issue back to print, and the 2nd printing of the issue will hit comic stores on Wednesday, July 31st. If you're a comic retailer and want to get the 2nd printing you'll need to order the 80-page finale by Monday, July 8th, though no special incentive cover for the reprint was revealed.

It was a big enough surprise that Rick Grimes, the lead character in Robert Kirkman's hit series, was killed by the end of issue #192, becoming what he had fought against for so many years. Things end on a somber note in that issue, but in #193 we see that things have changed quite a bit over the years with a massive time jump. We see an older Carl living in a world that has pretty much fully recovered from the Zombie apocalypse, and he's even started a family with Sophia (Carol's daughter), and they have a daughter named Andrea.

For Kirkman, this wasn't about getting tired of working on the book, but more about staying true to what the story called for, and for him, it was making it clear that now was the time to bring it all to a close.

"I'll say it again, I love (loved… oh, god, I'm not ready for past tense) writing this series," Kirkman wrote in the letter. "I really don't want it to end. In fact, I've been… kind of unsettled since I wrote the script for this issue. The whole thing just feels… weird. In a way, killing this series has been a lot like killing a major character. Much, much harder… but the same feeling. I don't WANT to do it. I'd rather keep going… but the story is telling me what it wants and what it needs. This needs to happen. Whether I want it or not."

The Walking Dead #193 is written by Robert Kirkman and drawn by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn, and you can check out the official description below.

"THE FARMHOUSE: Out in the countryside, trouble is brewing for a certain someone."

The Walking Dead #193 is in comic stores now.