Kirkman then pitched it again with a new added twist that the plague was sent by aliens, and that the comic would be more of an alien invasion story. The revised pitch was again rejected, however, for being too 'normal'.

The pitch was revised into an original story, taking a more traditional approach to a modern zombie survival tale. Image Comics co-founder Jim Valentino suggested using an original concept instead so the creators would own the property outright. Romero's Night of the Living Dead, with the series taking place in the 1960s. The original pitch by Kirkman and Moore was for a follow-up to George A. Kirkman was a fan of zombie films such as the Living Dead series and Zombi 2 as well as zombie video games such as Resident Evil.

The Walking Dead franchise has also spawned multiple additional media properties, including two companion television series ( Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond), eight webisode series, video games (starting with The Walking Dead: The Game), and various additional publications, including novels (starting with The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor). The AMC television series The Walking Dead (2010–2022) loosely follows the storyline of the comic book. The Walking Dead received the 20 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series at San Diego Comic-Con International. After joining with some other survivors, he gradually takes on the role of leader of a community as it struggles to survive the zombie apocalypse. The comic book series focuses on Rick Grimes, a Kentucky deputy who is shot in the line of duty and awakens from a coma in a zombie apocalypse that has resulted in a state-wide quarantine. It began publishing colorized versions issue by issue, colored by Dave McCaig, starting in October 2020. Apart from a few specials, the comic was published primarily in black and white. Beginning in 2003 and published by Image Comics, the series ran for 193 issues, with Kirkman unexpectedly ending the series in 2019. The Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic comic book series created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore – who was the artist on the first six issues and cover artist for the first twenty-four – with art on the remainder of the series by Charlie Adlard.

Walking dead volume 3