With the massive success of The Walking Dead TV series, it should come as no surprise AMC wants to stay in the Robert Kirkman business. Following that plan is the network’s announcement today that they are developing another Kirkman comic property, his recently launched Thief of Thieves, as a series with the writer and Walking Dead Exec. Producer Chic Eglee.

“Much like The Walking Dead brought horror to television in a unique and groundbreaking way, I feel Thief of Thieves can do the same thing for heist stories, showing the humanity of all the characters, including the criminals,” said Kirkman.

Thief of Thieves, which Kirkman reportedly based on his experience in the writer’s room of The Walking Dead, centers on master thief Conrad Paulson who, while attempting to reconcile with his estranged wife and son, vows to walk the straight and narrow, only to discover he’s completely addicted to the thrill of stealing. Now he must feed his addiction by stealing only what has been stolen, as the “Thief of Thieves.”

The first arc of the comic is being written by Nick Spencer with art by Shawn Martinbrough. Eglee will serve as showrunner of the potential TV series and will executive produce alongside Kirkman and Walking Dead Exec. Producer David Alpert.

Sounds interesting. Although, it doesn’t seem like it will have the coolness factor that Walking Dead has. No zombies.

How about you guys? Excited for this new Kirkman venture or prefer his more horror-related stories?

As we have seen, The Walking Dead franchise has already been able to support a monthly comic, AMC’s most popular show and two toy lines. Now, a third toy line will be added to the list as favorites Rick, Dale and a horde of zombies make their way to the Minimates line. This will be the first line of toys associated with Robert Kirkman’s hit series not from Todd McFarlane’s company.

After hitting 9 million viewers in the season 2 finale, it’s safe to say that the series is now more in demand than ever before. This first wave of The Walking Dead Minimates will follow the standard Minimate format of three different two packs and a fourth variant two pack featuring a chase version of one of the regular figures.

The Walking Dead Minimates will feature accessories, in addition to the 14 points of articulation, including weapons for the human characters and additional limbs for the zombies.

The first wave will feature:

• Rick with Roamer Zombie
• Herd Zombie Two-Pack
• Dale with Roamer Zombie
• Winter Coat Dale with Roamer Zombie (Rare variant)

Art Asylum has also hinted at an alternate Toys R Us exclusive line as well. Keep your eyes peeled at your local comic shops for the latest in both the Minimates and The Walking Dead when these hit shelves soon.

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One of the most surprising facets of the hit AMC show The Walking Dead is how much of a ratings blockbuster it can be. It is particularly intriguing due to the fact that genre, horror and comic book based shows rarely dominate in the ratings.

When The Walking Dead premiered it smashed all expectations and became the highest rated show in the history of AMC. It actually continued to gain momentum with the season one finale bringing in more viewers, which was in turn also true of the season two premiere.

Falling in line with that very positive trend, the season 2 finale, which aired this past weekend, again broke it’s own record by becoming the highest rated episode in show history. All of this continued succsess despite the very public problems this show had this season is telling of the over all popularity.

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(Note: This post contains mild spoilers about the season finale of The Walking Dead)

At long last, the speculation can finally be over. With the news recently that David Morrisy taking on the role of The Governor in the next season of AMC’s The Walking Dead, the other big casting question of who will play Michonne has finally been answered. That’s right, actress Danai Gurira has been cast in the role.

Most recently seen in HBO’s Treme, Gurira has wasted no time in getting into katana-wielding character. In fact, she makes a surprise appearance in the season finale of the show just in time to save the life of one of the main characters. And what an entrance it is.

If you haven’t watched the season finale yet, you’re in for a real treat. Not just due to the appearance of Michonne, however, there’s also another great reveal just as the episode ends which is sure to raise the happiness level of fans everywhere.

After a slow start and some uneven episodes this season, it’s great to see the show redeem itself the last couple weeks. In fact, the season finale is probably one of the best episodes since the pilot. Yes, it’s that good.

Sadly, we now have to wait until Fall to see new episodes. Knowing the story of The Govenor and Michonne as we do, or at least how it plays out in the comics, it will be very interesting to see how AMC handles it. Very interesting indeed.

I’m cringing a bit just thinking about it.

I can’t think of another character, except perhaps the enigmatic Michonne, that has fans speculating more as to who would play them in the The Walking Dead TV series than The Governor. He singlehandedly encapsulates all that’s evil about the new world Rick and his companions find themselves in after the dead begin to rise.

And now, we know what actor will be taking on that coveted role. He is British thespian David Morrissey and he will join the show as a new series regular for season 3.

In case you’re not familiar with the character, he’s the leader of Woodbury, a small settlement of survivors, who becomes the chief antagonist for Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his group. Of course, that doesn’t really do him justice.

Let’s just say he’s a bad man. A very, very, bad man. Now that we know Morrissey will play him, what do we think of this casting choice? At first glance, I’m not convinced. However, I’m willing to give the actor a chance to prove himself worthy.

What say you Walking Dead fans?

The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman is facing a lawsuit from Michael Anthony “Tony” Moore, who is alleging he is co-creator of The Walking Dead comic on which the hit AMC series is based. Moore, who was once partners with Robert Kirkman, is accusing Kirkman of promissory fraud, breach of written contract and other charges.

Moore claims that he was talked into assigning all his rights on Walking Dead and other properties to a limited liability corporation controlled by Kirkman. Kirkman allegedly hasn’t shared any royalties or offered any other payments for Walking Dead or any of the other works.

According to the suit, Moore alleges he and Kirkman entered into an agreement which assigned Moore 60% of comic publishing net proceeds for The Walking Dead and another title Brit, 20% of all motion picture net proceeds for Walking Dead and Brit and 50% of all motion picture net proceeds in connection with another title Battle Pope. Moore says in the suit he was reluctant to enter into the agreement.

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Just when you started to think that Walking Dead was slipping after a sub-par batch of episodes in Season 2, AMC wants to prove you wrong. The critically acclaimed network is bringing the show back in a few weeks with the rest of Season 2, but they’ve also just put in a massive order for another 16 episodes, which basically means we’ll be getting a third season.

Sure, Darabont may have left the project with a bunch of confused writers and lack of general direction, but that isn’t going to stop Kirkman, Nicotero, Gale Anne Hurd, and the rest of the producers and writers from trying to make this show the best damned zombie series on TV again.

Here’s what the network had to say about its favorite series in a recent press release.

Season 2 of the critically acclaimed global hit series continues to deliver the strongest telecasts for any drama in basic cable history against Adults 18-49, as well as, top international pay-TV ratings on Fox International Channels’ (FIC) major markets. The Walking Dead is based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics.

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In most areas of real life, endings can often be difficult. This can also be be true if you’ve created and produced a very successful television series that’s wrapping things up. In many of those cases, like withThe Sopranos and LOST, fans were very unhappy with the way those series ended.

Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner doesn’t want his show to end like those and doesn’t want fans to end up disappointed. In fact, he’s already thinking about and planning the ending to his show.

”It came to me in the middle of last season,” said Weiner. “I always felt like it would be the experience of human life. And human life has a destination. It doesn’t mean Don’s gonna die. What I’m looking for, and how I hope to end the show, is like … It’s 2011. Don Draper would be 84 right now. I want to leave the show in a place where you have an idea of what it meant and how it’s related to you. It’s a very tall order, but I always talk about Abbey Road.

What’s the song at the end of Abbey Road? It’s called ‘The End.’ There is a culmination of an experience of people working at their highest level. And all I want to do is not wear out the welcome. I was 35 when I wrote the Mad Men pilot, 42 when I got to make it, and I’ll be 50 when it goes off the air. So that’s what you’re gonna get. Do I know everything that’s gonna happen? No, I don’t. But I just want it to be entertaining, and I want people to remember it fondly and not think it ended in a fart.”

As if it were any surprise really, after two of the most successful first-run episodes in cable TV history, AMC has graciously decided to give their zombie drama based on a comic by Robert Kirkman a third season. The second season has already done gangbusters for the network, and even given the bad press surrounding Darabont’s departure from the series, fans keep coming for more zombie-killing action.

Here are the details on season two from a recent AMC press release.

Season two continues to deliver the strongest telecasts for any drama in basic cable history against Adults 18-49 shattering a basic cable record set nearly 10 years ago for a single drama telecast (“The Dead Zone”). “The Walking Dead” is based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics. Glen Mazzara serves as series’ showrunner. Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert and Frank Darabont are executive producers. Greg Nicotero is a co-executive producer.

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Last October, the world was rocked when a comic book adaptation about zombies in Georgia made its way to the home of Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Now, we can’t wait for October 16th, as the second season returns with a vengeance.

Fans of both the original comic, heavy drama, and zombies in general will get more than they can chew on when the show returns in a few weeks. Fans of the original will get appearances to the church and the farm, which many know, are pretty big parts of the story from the comic.

We’re also told that this season will bring us ten times more zombie killing, which is more than enough for 90% of the fanbase to return.

Take a look at the brand new, extended trailer after the jump and be sure to get your couch and popcorn ready on October 16th, as The Walking Dead returns with a full 90-minute season premiere.

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The zombies are back! Well, almost. You still gotta wait until October. But fear not friends and zombie lovers, we’ve got an actual premiere date, and more about the schedule, for The Walking Dead.

The thirteen episode season two will premiere on October 18th at 9PM ET and kick off with full 90 minutes of zombie killing fun. Then, six one hour episodes will follow.

After a break for the holidays (which I think is stupid, by the way) the show will return for the final six episodes on Sunday, February 12th at 9PM ET. Here’s a bit more from the official AMC press release:

The Walking Dead follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln (“Love Actually,” “Teachers,” “Strike Back”), who are traveling in search of a safe and secure home. Jon Bernthal (“The Pacific,” “The Ghost Writer”) plays Shane Walsh, Rick’s sheriff’s department partner before the apocalypse, and Sarah Wayne Callies (“Prison Break”), is Rick’s wife, Lori Grimes.

Additional cast include: Laurie Holden, Steven Yeun, Norman Reedus, Jeffrey DeMunn, Chandler Riggs, Iron E. Singleton and Melissa McBride. Recently announced guest stars include: Lauren Cohan, Scott Wilson and Pruitt Taylor Vince.

Oh, there’s also something about a new reality series from Kevin Smith that takes place in a comic book store. But really, who cares about that. We’ve got zombies!

In what has to be pretty shocking news, especially considering he was just at Comic-Con last week to do publicity for the show, Frank Darabont has reportedly stepped down from his role as showrunner of AMC’s The Walking Dead.

According to the report, it is unclear if Darabont will end up staying with the show in some other capacity or will be off the show completely. It is also unclear at this time if recent hire and The Shield alumni Glen Mazzarra will take over as showrunner on the show, which is currently filming its second season.

If you recall, Darabont wrote and directed the pilot for AMC’s breakout zombie apocalypse hit and served as Exec. Producer and showrunner for the show’s first season and into the second.

If this turns out to be true and Darabont leaves the show completely, it isn’t that hard to understand why. Darabont is a feature film writer, director and producer. That’s a world where you often have months, if not years, to craft a screenplay, cast, shoot, edit and deliver a finished product.

Series television is a grind. Turning out work day in and day out and moving so quickly is not something that’s for everyone. Having worked in TV and features I can tell you the pacing of producing a weekly TV series can be killer. Maybe he just got tired? Or, tired of having to compromise so much?

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