‘The Walking Dead’ Creator Robert Kirkman Quietly Launched a TV Series In Canada

Super Dinosaur, an animated television series inspired by the eponymous comic book from The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, quietly debuted on Canadian television last month.

The 22-minute, 26-episode CG-animated series airs on Canada’s Teletoon, in conjunction with toy company Spin Master Entertainment, Atomic Cartoons (Angry Birds Toons, Spider-Man Unlimited) and Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment. Super Dinosaur was officially announced during San Diego Comic-Con in July after the series was first put into motion in November 2017.

The series follows young big-brained inventor Derek Dynamo and his T-Rex Super Dinosaur, a.k.a. “SD,” who pilots a robotic suit of armor. The pair work to stop the evil machinations of villain Max Maximus, a scientist out to destroy the Dynamo family and take over the world with his genetically-engineered army known as Dino-Men.

Kirkman launched the all-ages book in 2011 under Image Comics’ Skybound imprint with artist Jason Howard after the pair teamed on The Astounding Wolf-Man. He recounted to USA Today upon launching the book the series was inspired by a sketch drawn by Howard’s young son, who drew Tyrannosaurus Rex sporting a superhero cape.

“It will have some of the layered elements like The Walking Dead… but instead of people getting their heads cut off, it’ll be dinosaurs shooting other dinosaurs with lasers,” Kirkman said in 2011.

Super Dinosaur marks Kirkman’s first animated series. He’s now developing another at Amazon as part of an overall deal inked with Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service.

That “adult animated” series, Invincible, is inspired by Kirkman’s mature-rated comic book and will be as gory and violent as its counterpart, Kirkman said at Comic-Con in July.

Despite an ongoing lawsuit against The Walking Dead producers AMC, Kirkman remains involved with the series and spinoff Fear the Walking Dead, which he co-created with Dave Erickson. His Cinemax live-action series Outcast, also inspired by his comic book of the same name, was cancelled earlier this month after two seasons.

Kirkman has since said he gains more financially from his comic book series than he does from The Walking Dead television show. As the CCO of Image Comics, Kirkman encourages creators to craft their own books and develop original ideas instead of creating for bigger comic book houses like Marvel and DC Comics.

“I sometimes will be like, ‘Do your own comics, guys.’ Like I get real snotty and annoying, and some people hate me because I do that, where I’ll be like, ‘Why are you working for Marvel or DC? Create your own stuff, do an Image comic, what the heck?’” Kirkman said.

“It’s because I know how the economics work. And then people will be like, ‘Well, Walking Dead is like a one in a billion thing.’ And it’s like, yeah, yeah, cool, but if you did a tenth of The Walking Dead, you’d be making more than I ever thought I could have made in my entire life. Doing a creator-owned comic is like buying a lottery ticket where the odds are somewhat reasonable.”