Walking Dead's Creator Avoided a Huge Cliché From 'Every Zombie Movie'
At its heart, The Walking Dead isn't about zombies, but about what humans become when faced with an unprecedented threat that pushes them to their limits. It's this perspective that has made the genre-redefining franchise such a cultural juggernaut, and this outlook is fully on show in how Walking Dead's creator reappraised a major zombie cliche by thinking about how humans would actually behave.
The Walking Dead Deluxe series is a remastered version of the original Walking Dead series by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard, expertly colorized by Dave McCaig. This ongoing series takes fans on Rick Grimes' journey from the very beginning, upping the gore by abandoning the original's black and white presentation. The series also includes notes from Kirkman himself in a 'Cutting Room Floor' segment that offers insight into the writing of the series.
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In Walking Dead Deluxe #6's commentary, Robert Kirkman criticizes the classic zombie cliché of bitten characters asking to be mercy killed rather than turn into zombies. During the issue, the fan-favorite and gone too soon character Jim from the Atlanta Survivor Camp is bitten after defending the camp from walkers. In a surprising twist he ultimately asks to be left behind to reanimate as a zombie, so he can be united with his family again. This decision proves controversial for the other survivors and readers, and it was often speculated as to why Jim would relinquish his humanity in such a way, which is ultimately cleared up by the reveal of Kirkman's dislike of the 'death over zombification' trope. Kirkman says:
Every zombie movie I've ever seen has the, «I've been bit, don't let me turn
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