The Walking Dead fans were flooed when creator Robert Kirkman brought the long-running comic book series to an end after 193 issues last summer, but now the writer has announced that he’s returning to pen one more tale set in the post-apocalyptic universe – a special one-shot titled Negan Lives. As you can probably guess, it’ll focus on the fan favorite villain played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan on AMC’s TV show.
Kirkman wrapped up the comic’s original run in July 2019, so it’s only fitting that Negan Lives will be released exactly 12 months later. The one-shot will clock in at 36 pages and is set to exclusively hit comic book stores on July 1st. Note the word “exclusively,” as as things stand, there are no plans to release Negan Lives digitally.
Kirkman revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that this move is an effort to support comic book stores in the wake of the pandemic affecting business, saying:
“I’ve been inspired by Steve Geppi and Diamond’s efforts to shine a light on how essential the Direct Market is to our beloved industry with their #backthecomeback campaign,” Kirkman says. “While Charlie Adlard and I had laid the series to rest, this felt like something special we could do for the store owners who made our series a success to begin with. To that end, I’m happy to report that 100% of the revenue generated from this book will go to the stores selling it. The retailer community does backbreaking work to get comics into the hands of our loving fans, we should all be doing more in these trying times to show them how appreciated they are.”
You can see the unveiled cover of Negan Lives in the gallery above, which captures the former Savior smirking at the “camera” with blood splattered across his face.
Negan last appeared in the final issue of the comic, which jumped several decades into the future. The redeemed villain was revealed to be living a lonely, but somewhat content, life in Springhaven. The adult Carl would drop off food and supplies for him, but Negan always made sure to avoid him, a sign that he regretted his many sins.
While Negan Lives awaits us in a couple of weeks, Negan is likewise set to return in TV’s The Walking Dead for its delayed season 10 finale sometime this summer.
