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Robert Kirkman
Kirkman at the 2011 New York Comic Con
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Writer, Editor, Letterer
Notable works	The Walking Dead Invincible Marvel Zombies

Robert Kirkman is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Walking Dead and Invincible for Image Comics, and Ultimate X-Men and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt. He is one of the five partners of Image Comics, and the only one of the five who was not one of its co-founders.

Career

Robert Kirkman's first comic book work was the 2000 superhero parody Battle Pope, which he co-created with artist Tony Moore, and self-published under the Funk-O-Tron label. Later, while pitching a new series, Science Dog, Kirkman and artist Cory Walker were hired to do a SuperPatriot miniseries for Image Comics. While working on that book, Kirkman and E. J. Su created the 2002 Image series Tech Jacket, which ran six issues.

In 2003, Kirkman and Walker created Invincible for Image's new superhero line. The story surrounded the adolescent son of the world's most powerful superhero, who develops powers and starts his own superhero career. Walker later failed to meet the monthly title's deadlines and was replaced by Ryan Ottley. In 2005, Paramount Pictures announced it had bought the rights to produce an Invincible feature film, and hired Kirkman to write the screenplay.

Shortly after the launch of Invincible, Kirkman and Moore began The Walking Dead (2003). Moore, himself struggling to keep deadlines, was replaced by Charlie Adlard, beginning with issue #7. Moore continued to draw covers until issue 24 as well as the first four volumes of the trade paperbacks for the series.

Kirkman was first hired by Marvel Comics to pen a revival of the 1990s Sleepwalker series, but it was canceled before being published; the contents of its first issue were included in Epic Anthology No. 1 (2004). He soon became a mainstay at Marvel, writing the "Avengers Disassembled" issues of Captain America vol. 4, 2004's Marvel Knights 2099 one-shots event, Jubilee #1–6 and Fantastic Four: Foes #1–6, a two-year run on Ultimate X-Men and the entire Marvel Team-Up vol. 3 and the Irredeemable Ant-Man miniseries.

At Image, Kirkman and artist Jason Howard created the ongoing series The Astounding Wolf-Man, launching it on May 5, 2007, as part of Free Comic Book Day. Kirkman edited the monthly series Brit, based on the character he created for the series of one-shots, illustrated by Moore and Cliff Rathburn. It ran 12 issues.

Kirkman announced in 2007 that he and artist Rob Liefeld would team on a revival of Killraven for Marvel Comics. Kirkman that year also said he and Todd McFarlane would collaborate on Haunt for Image Comics.

In late July 2008, Kirkman was made a partner at Image Comics, thereby ending his freelance association with Marvel. Nonetheless, later in 2009, he and Walker produced the five-issue miniseries The Destroyer vol. 4 for Marvel's MAX imprint.

In 2010, he also began producing the television adaption of his comic book series The Walking Dead, the pilot of which is directed by Frank Darabont. Kirkman wrote the fourth episode, "Vatos".

In 2009 Kirkman and Marc Silvestri took over the 2009–2010 Pilot Season for Top Cow Comics. The 2009/2010 Pilot Season contains a series of five one-shot pilot comics that readers will be able to vote on which becomes an ongoing series. Each series is co-created by Silvestri who also provides cover art.

In July 2010, Kirkman announced he would launch and run a new Image Comics imprint called Skybound.

On February 9, 2012, Tony Moore filed a lawsuit alleging that Kirkman, in 2005, had deceitfully engineered him into surrendering his rights to The Walking Dead comic book and eventual TV series in exchange for payments that never materialized. Kirkman said in a statement the following day that he and Moore "each had legal representation seven years ago and now he is violating the same contract he initiated and approved and he wants to misrepresent the fees he was paid and continues to be paid for the work he was hired to do." Kirkman in turn sued Moore. On September 24, 2012, the two released a joint statement saying they had reached a settlement "to everyone's mutual satisfaction."

Personal life

Kirkman lives in Kentucky. He named his son Peter Parker Kirkman after Spider-Man's civilian identity, Peter Parker.

Bibliography

Early work

Titles published by Funk-O-Tron, Kirkman's own publishing company, include:

• Battle Pope #1–13 (with Tony Moore, Matt Roberts, Jonboy Meyers, Cory Walker and E. J. Su, 2000–2002)
• Battle Pope Presents: Saint Michael #1–3 (with Terry Stevens, 2001)

Image Comics

Titles published by Image include:

• SuperPatriot:
  • SuperPatriot: America's Fighting Force #1–4 (with Cory Walker, 2002)
  • SuperPatriot: War on Terror #1–4 (with E. J. Su, 2004–2007)
• Tech Jacket #1–6 (with E. J. Su, 2002–2003)
• Invincible (with Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley, 2003–...)
• Masters of the Universe #1–3
• Capes #1–3 (with Mark Englert, 2003)
• Tales of the Realm #1–5 (with Matt Tyree, MVCreations, 2003–2004)
• The Walking Dead (with Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard, 2003–...)
• Noble Causes #2: "Rite of Passage" (with Cory Walker, 2004)
• Youngblood: Imperial (with Marat Mychaels, Arcade, one-shot, 2004)
• Savage Dragon: God War #1–4 (with Mark Englert, 2004–2005)
• Four Letter Worlds: "Blam" (with Matt Roberts, graphic novel, tpb, 144 pages, 2005, ISBN 1-58240-439-9)
• Image Holiday Special '05: "The Walking Dead" (with Charlie Adlard, one-shot, 2005)
• Suprema: Supreme Sacrifice (with Jon Malin, Arcade, one-shot, 2006)
• The Astounding Wolf-Man (with Jason Howard, 2007–2010)
• Image United
• Sea Bear & Grizzly Shark: "The Origin of the Bear, and the Origin of the Shark" (with Jason Howard and Ryan Ottley, 2010)
• Guardians of the Globe #1–6 (with Benito J. Cereno III, Ransom Getty and Kris Anka, 2010–2011)
• Spawn #200: "Prologue" (script and art, 2011)
• Outlaw Territory: "Man on a Horse: A Dawson Brothers Tale" (with Shaun O'Neil, anthology graphic novel, tpb, 240 pages, 2011, ISBN 1-60706-321-2)
• Super Dinosaur #1-ongoing (with Jason Howard, 2011–...)
• The Infinite #1-4 (with Rob Liefeld, 2011)
• Thief of Thieves #1-ongoing (co-writer, 2012–...)

Marvel Comics

Titles published by Marvel include:

• Epic Anthology: "Sleepwalker: New Beginnings" (with Khary Randolph, Epic, 2004)
• X-Men Unlimited #2: "All the Rage" (with Takeshi Miyazawa, 2004)
• Spider-Man Unlimited #4: "Love Withdrawal" (with Cory Walker, 2004)
• Captain America #29–32: "Super Patriot" (with Scot Eaton, 2004)
• Jubilee #1–6 (with Derec Donovan, 2004)
• Marvel Team-Up (with Scott Kolins, Jeff Johnson, Paco Medina, Cory Walker, Andy Kuhn and Roger Cruz, 2005–2007)
• Fantastic Four: Foes #1–6 (with Cliff Rathburn, 2005)
• Amazing Fantasy #15: "Monstro" (with Khary Randolph, 2006)
• What If?.. featuring Thor (with Michael Avon Oeming, one-shot, 2006)
• Marvel Zombies:
• Ultimate X-Men #66–93, Annual No. 2
• New Avengers: America Supports You: "Time Trouble" (with Alex Chung and Scott Hepburn, one-shot, 2006)
• The Irredeemable Ant-Man (with Phil Hester and Cory Walker, 2006–2007)
• Destroyer #1–5 (with Cory Walker, 2009)
• X-Force Annual No. 1 (with Jason Pearson, 2010)

Other publishers

Titles published by various American publishers include:

• 9-11 vol.1: "Untitled" (with Tony Moore, anthology graphic novel, tpb, 196 pages, Dark Horse, 2002, ISBN 1-56389-881-0)
• Top Cow: Hardcore (2012, ongoing)
• Tales of Army of Darkness: "Weekend Off" (with Ryan Ottley, Dynamite, one-shot, 2006)
• The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor, with Jay Bonansinga, Thomas Dunne Books, 2011.
• The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury, with Jay Bonansinga, Thomas Dunne Books, 2012.

References

1. ^ "WonderCon Special Guests"; Comic-Con magazine; Winter 2010; Page 19
2. "Frequently Asked Questions". ImageComics.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2010. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; July 16, 2011 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
3. "Robert Kirkman on Invincible", IGN, 2007-12-10. Retrieved on March 15, 2008.
4. "Feeling 'Invincible'", Variety, 2005-03-01. Retrieved on March 15, 2008.
5. "Interview with Charlie Adlard". Comicgate.com. August 25, 2006. Retrieved March 15, 2008.
6. "Kirkman revives Sleepwalker for Marvel this February". ComicBookResources.com.
7. "Wizard World Chicago 2007: Rob Liefeld and Robert Kirkman to Breathe New Life into Killraven". Marvel.com. August 14, 2007. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved March 15, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
8. "Todd McFarlane and Robert Kirkman Announce 'Haunt'". Spawn.com. August 3, 2007. Retrieved March 15, 2008. {{cite web}}: |archive-url= is malformed: liveweb (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
9. Writer of the Undead Is Reborn as a Partner at Image Comics, The New York Times, July 22, 2008
10. Robert Kirkman: Image Partner, Done at Marvel, Newsarama, Jul 22, 2008
11. Per The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators, the earlier volumes star an unrelated character adapted from The Destroyer  series of novels: The Destroyer (1989–1990), The Destroyer vol. 2 (1991) and The Destroyer vol. 3 (1991–1992)
12. "Dispatches From the Set – Comic Creator and Series Executive Producer Robert Kirkman". AMC. June 21, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
13. "Dispatches From the Set – Writer, Director and Executive Producer Frank Darabont". AMC. June 9, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
14. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?id=23838&page=article
15. "Robert Kirkman Announces Skybound, a New Division of Image Comics". Skybound Entertainment press release via DreadCentral.com. July 19, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
16. Molloy, Tim (February 10, 2012). "'Walking Dead's' Robert Kirkman Joked About Tricking Illustrators —- Then Got Sued by His". TheWrap.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
17. Molloy, Tim (September 24, 2012). "'Walking Dead' Writer, Artist Settle Lawsuits". TheWrap. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
18. Truitt, Brian. "'The Infinite' teams Image's past and present". USA Today. March 7, 2011
19. "Buy My Books". ComicBookResources.com. June 14, 2006. Retrieved March 15, 2008.
20. The Comics Journal No. 289 (April 2008)

External links

• Official website
• The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
• Buy My Books, a column by Robert Kirkman.
• Robert Kirkman on the State of the Comic Book Industry – Video and Transcript
• Robert Kirkman at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)

Interviews

• 2010 Interview on the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast
• An Excerpt of George Khoury's Kirkman interview from IMAGE COMICS: THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE at PopImage
• Podcast interview at comiXology
• An Interview with Robert Kirkman about Pilot Season with the Legion of Dudes.
• Nerdist Podcast #93: Robert Kirkman May 2011 podcast, recorded live at NerdMelt

v t e The Walking Dead franchise
Charlie Adlard Robert Kirkman Tony Moore
Comic books	The Walking Dead
Television series	The Walking Dead Episodes season 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Accolades Soundtrack Vol. 1 2 Fear the Walking Dead Episodes season 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Other series The Walking Dead: World Beyond Tales of the Walking Dead The Walking Dead: Dead City The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Aftershow Talking Dead episodes
Web series	The Walking Dead Torn Apart Cold Storage Fear the Walking Dead Flight 462
Video game series	Telltale series Season One Season Two Michonne A New Frontier The Final Season Skydance Interactive Saints & Sinners – Chapter 1 Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution Other games Survival Instinct Road to Survival No Man's Land Overkill's The Walking Dead Onslaught Survivors Destinies Crossovers Tekken 7 The Escapists Brawlhalla Fortnite Battle Royale Rogue Company Funko Fusion
Novels	Rise of the Governor The Road to Woodbury The Fall of the Governor, Part One and Two Invasion Search and Destroy Return to Woodbury
Rides	The Walking Dead: The Ride
Characters	Comic book series Aaron Alpha Jessie Anderson Andrea Beta Connie Dante Rosita Espinosa King Ezekiel Abraham Ford The Governor Gregory Hershel Greene Maggie Greene Carl Grimes Judith Grimes Lori Grimes Rick Grimes Lance Hornsby Dale Horvath Morgan Jones Lydia Magna Caesar Martinez Mercer Pamela Milton Paul "Jesus" Monroe Spencer Monroe Michonne Negan The Prisoners Carol Peletier Sophia Peletier Eugene Porter Princess Glenn Rhee Sherry Siddiq Stephanie Gabriel Stokes Shane Walsh Tyreese Yumiko Television series The Walking Dead Daryl Dixon Merle Dixon Elijah Enid Beth Greene Jadis Jerry Dawn Lerner Milton Mamet Lizzie and Mika Samuels Simon T-Dog Sasha Williams Fear the Walking Dead Alicia Clark Madison Clark Daniel Salazar Victor Strand Video game series Clementine Lee Everett
Category

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• 1978 births
• Living people
• American comics writers
• Invincible (comic)