The Walking Dead's Longtime Artist Hasn't Watched the Show Since Season 4

The Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard, who illustrated the comic book penned by Robert Kirkman for 15 years, admits he gave up watching the television series inspired by their work because it feels like "doing homework." Adlard took over artwork duties from co-creator Tony Moore starting with issue #7 in 2004, staying on with the book through #193, its final issue, published in July 2019. Since 2010, The Walking Dead has aired on network AMC as one of the biggest hits in cable history, each episode of the series opening with the credit: "Based on the series of graphic novels by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard." But Adlard stopped tuning in after its fourth season.

"Believe it or not, I've only watched the show up to Season 4," Adlard told France's Konbini. "This is no criticism of the show, but for me, it just feels like watching the show is doing homework. I started watching it and enjoyed it, but as the seasons went on, I just feel behind, and all of a sudden I found myself having not seen it for a few seasons and probably will never catch up with it now [laughs]. Especially if they keep producing it."

Now midway through its tenth season, The Walking Dead has spawned a spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead, with a third series — The Walking Dead: World Beyond — set to debut on the network in April.

"I've never even seen any of Fear the Walking Dead, and I'm sure I'll never see anything of the new one as well," Adlard said. "I might go and watch the movie if it comes out in the cinema."

The franchise's first feature film launches a planned trilogy, each entry following the ongoing adventures of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) under the creative charge of Kirkman and TWD chief content officer Scott Gimple.

Still, Adlard previously told Skybound's Talk Dead to Me podcast it was "fantastic" seeing characters he drew or co-created be realized in live-action, including the additions of Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz), Rosita (Christian Serratos), and Eugene (Josh McDermitt) in Season 4.

"That's one of the main reasons I decided not to involve myself too much with the TV show, initially. Because, it sounds cliché, they were all fans, all the people working behind-the-scenes of the TV show were fans of the comic book to begin with," he said. "So I kind of knew it was in safe hands. I knew Robert was there supervising it anyway, and I knew they were taking all the imagery and doing a version of it."

Unlike Kirkman, a writer and executive producer on the television series, Adlard's involvement with the live-action side of the franchise has been limited.

"In the comic books in Hollywood, where an artist sort of isn't so needed, is actually post-the comic. Because a writer can go off and can be in a writers' room, they can write scripts, et cetera," said Adlard, adding artists are more likely to board productions as storyboard or conceptual artists.

"I just thought, 'Well, I'm kind of doing the production conceptual design anyway, because they're taking it from the books. So why would I need to go over there and do almost the same work again, twice?' So I kind of opted out of that option and carried on with the book. And to be honest, if I carried on with it, if I'd gotten more involved with the show, the book wouldn't have gotten done," Adlard continued. "And at the end of the day, comics are 100% my first love, and that's what interests me. That's what got me in the industry, the ability to create worlds on your own without any other interference, and it's just you. So I just carried on with that instead [laughs]."

TWD Season 10 returns with new episodes Sunday, Feb. 23 at 9/8c on AMC. For more TWD intel, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.