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The Walking Dead Creator Reveals Pivotal Rick Moment ‘Led to Some Difficulties’

Published

2 days ago

January 28, 2025

Christoph Rediske

Summary

Table of Contents

Rick losing his hand in the comics created challenges for the protagonist’s narrative later on by limiting his abilities.
Kirkman adapted Rick’s storyline with storytelling cheats like a hook to ensure survival after hand amputation.
The decision to remove Rick’s hand led to creative challenges but ultimately shaped the character in a unique and compelling way.

Even though AMC’s The Walking Dead hit screens all the way back in 2010 with that iconic first episode of Rick Grimes waking up from a coma in a hospital crawling with walkers, its comic book series predates the beloved post-apocalyptic series by six years. Created by Robert Kirkman, the comic series was initially going to be a follow-up to George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and taking part in the 1960s, but Kirkman and artist Tony Moore decided to swerve that idea for a more modern take on the zombie genre.

The Walking Dead not only had some of the best and most harrowing storylines seen on TV at the time, but its incredible cast helped piece its narrative into something truly special. Taking many aspects from the original comic series, the zombie survival show saw many acclaimed moments that went down in TV history, like the shocking scene surrounding the birth of Judith, Carl getting shot in the eye, Rick revealing what Dr. Edwin Jenner had told him to the group and poor Hershel getting beheaded by Michonne’s katana, but one particular savage Rick moment posed a problem later on for Robert Kirkman with how he would continue with his story.

This The Walking Dead Character’s TV Arc Differed From The Comics More Than Most Others

The Walking Dead drastically altered Andrea’s character from the comics, trading a strong, resourceful leader for a polarizing figure on TV.

Robert Kirkman Reveals That Rick’s Hand Chopping Moment “Led to Some Difficulties”

As highlighted by Screen Rant, Robert Kirkman was asked by a fan in the “Letter Hacks” section at the back of the recent publication of The Walking Dead Deluxe #105 comic if he regretted chopping Rick Grimes’ hand off in issue #28 of The Walking Dead when it first came out in 2006. Although Kirkman states that he isn’t sorry for giving Rick’s hand the old heave-ho, he does say that in doing so it certainly did lead to “some difficulties” with the protagonist’s narrative. In the comic, Rick ended up losing his hand after the Governor chopped it off because he wouldn’t reveal the location of his camp, which is quite different from how the TV series played out.

“Every now and then Rick does something he just shouldn’t be able to do”

The fan also stated in their question that the brutal removal of Rick’s hand changed him as a person, leading him to become the character he is later in the series. Kirkman replied that even though he agreed with this, expressing that he didn’t regret any narrative aspect of the series, Rick not being able to use his hand for the remainder of his time did make it more challenging due to only being able to survive with one arm, where the creator needed to adapt “storytelling cheats” like giving Rick a hook so that he could fight off walkers and maintain his status as a leader. Kirkman reveals that he had to constantly conjure up 100-plus issues and creative ways to make sure Rick wasn’t at the mercy of his severed arm and that he could fight and survive just as well as any of the other characters – probably even more so.

Recently, Kirkman also revealed an interesting fact about one of The Walking Dead‘s most ruthless and cruel villains, who he apparently named after his high school bully. For fans who have missed seeing original characters such as Maggie and Negan, season two of The Walking Dead: Dead City airs this year. However, a release date hasn’t been disclosed as yet.