According to author Robert Kirkman, fans of Undead shouldn’t look too closely at biblical allusions in zombie comics – but there may be other historical references in the story, waiting to be explored in more detail. Although not much has been written about the historical parallels found in UndeadKirkman confirmed that they were on his mind while writing the series.
Undead Luxury #99 – written by Robert Kirkman, with art by Charlie Adlard, and first rendered in evocative color by Dave McCaig – reprints the issue’s original letters page, in which a fan made a convincing case that the Hilltop colony was rooted in a religious reference.
In response, Kirkman denied the connection, although he admitted that there were references to “certain elements of the story” in Undeadwithout giving more details, leaving fans space to explore the subject further.
Robert Kirkman confirms that The Walking Dead was not influenced by the Bible – although it has some historical foundations
The Walking Dead Deluxe #99 – Written by Robert Kirkman; Art by Charlie Adlard; Color by Dave McCaig; Rus Wooten lyrics
Undead It is, first and foremost, a work of speculative genre fiction. It uses the concept of a zombie outbreak to explore how humanity would react to an unimaginable crisis that would end civilization. By its nature, of course, speculative fiction looks to the past for inspiration as much as it imagines a possible present or potential future. So it was a good instinct for reader “Greg Youngblood” to look for parallels in the series with other archetypal stories – of which the Bible remains a source for Western literature.
As author Robert Kirkman concisely explained, however, when it came to Undeadthe reader was searching in the wrong place.
No inspiration from the Bible, no. But I’m trying to mirror things in certain elements of the story.
Kirkman’s comment is interesting for several reasons; on the one hand, it reiterates the religious nature of Undeadbut more critically, invites fans of the franchise to take on the task of investigating what those “elements“of history they are and how they are”mirrored“in history. In other words, as definitive as the first part of your answer was, the second part seems deliberately vague.
Kirkman says historical parallels exist in The Walking Dead, but readers need to find them
Undead #99 – First published in 2012; Luxury Reprint now available from Image Comics
Robert Kirkman previously stated that Undead is an atheist, as he considers it a fictional universe without God. While this doesn’t rule out biblical parallels in the text, it makes sense why Kirkman would be quick to dismiss religious narratives as an influence. Be that as it may, what is even more intriguing is the provocation of historical allusions – especially because the story’s influence on Kirkman’s work in general, and Undead specifically, it has not been explored in great detail.
Kirkman seems to suggest that fans shouldn’t look for individual analogies between history and Undeadbut rather that there are more abstract aspects of the human experience… the author is trying to channel.
With this in mind, historically minded readers will return to Undead with a fresh pair of eyes, looking to find out what”elements” Kirkman is alluding. To examine the author’s choice of words in a little more detail, Kirkman seems to suggest that fans shouldn’t look for individual analogies between history and Undeadbut rather that there are more abstract aspects of human experience over time that the author attempts to channel. Most notable among these, to begin with, seems to be the way societies develop.
The full arc of The Walking Dead makes at least one historical aspect clear
How civilizations rise again after a fall
Notice! Spoilers for the complete Walking Dead series!
Human history is, in short, a sequence of ups and downs. More than once, especially in the deepest corners of antiquity, civilization has rebuilt itself from total collapse. Think of the Dark Ages that followed the end of the Mycenaean Greek civilization or the chaos of the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It is a reasonable assumption to suggest that These were some of the formative historical influences on Robert Kirkman as he wrote Undead. This is especially apparent when considering the entire arc of the comic book series.
The final edition of the series, Undead #193, is essentially an epilogue, moving forward to reveal that the zombie outbreak has been contained and that a stable society has begun to re-emerge after the total collapse caused by the outbreak. This made it clear that the story was always about bringing humanity to the brink of extinction, but was not actually intended to narrate the end. For a story that was often incredibly dark, this final note of apparent optimism was surprising; fitting it into a historical context makes it more in line with Robert Kirkman’s style.
In other words, the historical parallel suggests that the series’ arc was not a question of “pessimism versus optimism”, but rather a frank assessment of humanity’s resilience. The zombie apocalypse may have been the greatest civilization-threatening worldwide catastrophe in history, but it was ultimately survivable and survivable. As a result, Kirkman chose to conclude Undead with humanity at its most hopeful – that is, while still exhibiting the potential for rebuilding society to be better than it was before.
Other story “elements” in The Walking Dead could add layers of meaning to the comics
A story of humanity under extreme conditions
Much is said about how Undead is a story of humanity facing an extreme existential crisis, and Robert Kirkman’s comments on the influence of history on his work add a new perspective to it. The zombie premise is an unrealistic mechanism through which Kirkman was able to address very real themes – and IIt’s these themes that astute fans will be able to recognize in real-world history as antecedents to the series. To mean, Undead interprets history in a less concrete but no less fascinating way than, say, Game of Thrones.
Undead…uses the specific threat of zombies to wipe the slate of civilization clean, so that the perennial themes that underpin human history can be brought back to the surface.
While Game of Thrones directly remixes and reinterprets historical figures, locations and events, Undead takes a more esoteric approach. It uses the specific threat of zombies to wipe the slate of civilization clean so that the perennial themes that underpin human history can be brought back to the surface. Kirkman’s comments on the letters to page Undead #99 pointed to a whole new path of Undead studies, of which only the surface has been scratched so far.
The Walking Dead Deluxe #99 is now available from Image Comics.