On the 31st of October in 2010, The Walking Dead’s riveting pilot episode re-ignited the modern man’s interest in the fight for human survival. The Philippines, just like many other countries in the world, found itself bitten hard by the zombie bug. Local viewers awaited each episode with bated breath, exhaling in relief when Rick Grimes’ band of weary survivors made it out alive, and joining the rest of fandom in mourning when a beloved character succumbed to the horrors of the apocalypse. For some fans, the hit TV show had become a reason to pick up Robert Kirkman’s masterfully-written graphic novel series of the same name.
Being a big fan of the series (and of zombies and survival concepts, in general), I jumped at the chance to have a one-on-one with Charlie Adlard, the man whose striking, realistic technique has heavily contributed to bringing Kirkman’s world to life. While doodling his take on a zombified Batman onto one of my copies of The Walking Dead graphic novels, he gave me a little glimpse into his thoughts as the resident artist for this extremely popular franchise.
Question: How did you get into drawing? Was this a childhood interest, or something that developed at a later stage in your life?
Charlie Adlard: “It was a childhood hobby – if you could call it that. I was drawing ever since I could remember; around the age of four or five. I think my Mum and Dad could see that there was a talent there. What specifically got me into comics, though, was my Dad bringing home a copy of the comic called ‘The Mighty World of Marvel’, which was a British reprint of Spider-man, the Fantastic Four and the Incredible Hulk all in the same universe. I don’t have any real grand reason; the series just really hit a note with me. From about the age of six, instead of me just drawing houses and trees or whatever kids draw, I suddenly found myself drawing comic books with superheroes and stories of science fiction.”
Did you take formal classes?
“Not in comic book artwork. Back then, there wasn’t anything in the UK for these kinds of things. I just really had to learn on my own.”
And how did you find yourself roped into the world of The Walking Dead?
“Haha! Robert roped me and pulled me in, that’s for sure. He and I met a few years back through mutual friends. One day, he just emailed me saying, ‘Hello, do you remember me? Would you be interested in drawing a little comic book I’ve written about zombies and the apocalypse?’ Thankfully, he caught me in between jobs. So I said, ‘Yes, of course!’, because I was looking for something to do.”
Given the plot, how does it feel like bringing an apocalyptic world and its characters to life through drawing?
“That’s an interesting question. You know, it feels great to be in charge of a world, definitely – especially one that has now branched out into other platforms such as television shows and video games. To think that all of this has sprung from something that we did is fantastic.”
How did you and Robert work together to create the character designs?
“Robert just goes, ‘Oh, here’s a new character’. Whether he chooses to give me a really detailed description or a fairly small one is really up to him. Sometimes, I just get a sentence and just go with it. Of course, I add my own little things if I think they work.”
Is there any particular The Walking Dead scene or character that you enjoy drawing the most?
“Yeah. In terms of characters, I like Michonne and Andrea, who are probably my favourite characters in the book. As for characters that I like to draw, I prefer to draw the older ones. Or people like, let’s say, Ezekiel, who have more fancy. Ezekiel is so out there, and it’s really fun to be able to draw characters like that.”
Is there any character on the show that is not in the comic book that you would like to draw?
“Not really, actually. The TV show is there, and it does its thing. I’m fully aware that Daryl, who is an original from the TV show, is the most popular character right now. While he’s cool, I have no compulsion to incorporate him into everything out there. We’re happy plowing our own furrow.”
With regards to the page to screen translation, what do you think of having your characters being played by actual people? Are the actors representative of what you have imagined and created?
“I’m not naïve. I don’t really think in terms of, ‘Rick should look like Rick’ or ‘Carl should look like Carl’. In the end, it’s who’s going to play the character the best. Andrew Lincoln, for example, before this, he was famous in Britain, but not really worldwide. The characters he played prior to getting the role of Rick were, well, very different from Rick – really like his character in Love, Actually. I wasn’t sure of it at first. And then I saw him and thought he was pretty good. Now, he’s totally Rick. On The Walking Dead, I can’t see Andrew Lincoln anymore. He is that good at playing Rick, even if he doesn’t look like the comic book Rick.”
Apocalypse time! You have to form a zombie survival team with three characters from The Walking Dead. Everyone else is likely out there to sabotage you or make life harder for you.
“God, that’s easy! I’d have Michonne there, obviously. She’d be way in front with the katana. Well, I could befriend him or if he’d even allow himself to be swayed to my side, I’d get Negan. He’d be quite good in a fight. I’d have Shiva, too. As long as she won’t eat me. That would be a very good weapon to have against zombies.”
What would your advice be to young artists who would want to make it big someday?
“If you’re really serious about getting into comic books, I’m going to go all cliché and tell you to keep going and to keep believing in yourself. Also, you cannot beat meeting people in the flesh. If you’re going to see editors, you have to go to conventions then and there and present yourself to them. When I was trying to get in the industry, actually meeting people was the only way. Nowadays, people can post art to Facebook or Instagram or wherever. More people can see your art that way, but they won’t necessarily be the right people. Editors can ignore you online, but if you meet them face-to-face, they’ll have to give you a response then and there. Whether it is negative or positive, it can only be helpful.”
What other kind of stories would you like to work on, given the chance?
“Any story that has a good script. Just… please, no zombies. Not for awhile.”
Manila, through Fully Booked, was fortunate enough to play host to this talented, candid man. His bold, deft strokes and clear execution of Kirkman’s post-apocalyptic visions are one of the many reasons as to why we enjoy The Walking Dead today.
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Additional images courtesy of Fully Booked.
