Starting out as a horror comic, The Walking Dead has become a multimedia behemoth, with multiple spin-off shows and games. However, despite the many different ways of experiencing The Walking DeadThere is one character that can only appear under specific circumstances, despite being a breakout favorite among fans.
The character is Norman Reedus’ Daryl Dixon. Daryl first appeared in the third episode of the first season of AMC’s television adaptation, ‘Tell it to the Frogs’ alongside his brother Merle (Michael Rooker.) But, as critical as Reedus, Daryl was to walking deads room, Franchise creator Robert Kirkman revealed that he does not own the character and was not allowed to include him in the original comics..
in The Walking Dead Deluxe #98Kirkman shares his creator’s notes about the character, explaining that because he was created for the show, AMC owns Daryl Dixon outright. Not only that, but AMC basically banned Kirkman from using the character in the original comics, since he is “A Licensing Goldmine for them.”
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Walking Dead’s Daryl Dixon belongs to AMC
The character is an original television creation
Meanwhile, Image Comics is published The Walking Dead Deluxe – A reprinting of Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Tony Moore’s original run of 193 comics, now with coloring by Dave McCaig. These issues include new covers, reader letters, and creator notes where Kirkman adds commentary to his original written draft for the issue. In the latest issue, Kirkman explains that despite being the franchise’s creator and working as an executive producer and writer on AMC’s adaptation, he has none of the rights to Daryl, writing:
Since Daryl Dixon was created for the show, AMC owns Daryl outright. And since I still own TWD as a whole and actually compete with AMC on licensing, they’ve always been very adamant that I could never do anything with Daryl in the comics. Since he was a licensing goldmine for them. This is why Darryl is never seen in any of the various video games that are based on the comics, but he is usually front and center in the games that AMC makes… like Survival Instinct.
This is an interesting detail for fans of the franchise who may wonder why – after Daryl became a breakout character in the show – Kirkman never worked him in the comics, despite the two projects overlapping. It’s also a funny detail knowing how omnipresent Daryl is in AMC’s spin-off games and tie-ins with other properties such as Fortnite. While Norman Reedus’ performance is inarguably great as Dixon, His ubiquity takes on an extra dimension once it’s clear that the character is one of the few solely owned by AMC, and which they can use to compete against Kirkman when it comes to securing licensing deals..
Is a Walking Dead character based on Daryl Dixon? Despite similarities, Kirkman doesn’t say “official.”
The revelation also explains why Dixon never appeared in the popular walking dead Games from Telltale Games, which include characters like Michonne, Glenn and Jesus. Since the games are tied into the comic continuity, Daryl does not appear. Fans desperate to see Daryl in comic form can check out the front cover by David Finch and Dave McCaig for AMC The Art of the Walking Dead Universewhich recreates Dixon in the semi-zombified style of Finch’s variant covers for Kirkman’s Deluxe comics.
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… but The Walking Dead has a suspiciously similar character
Was Dwight inspired by Daryl? not “official”
While Daryl does not appear in The Walking DeadKirkman arguably found a way to get as close as possible to using the character. in Walking Dead #98Readers meet Dwight – a member of Negan’s Saviors who goes on to become an ally of Rick Grimes. Dwight has some visual similarities to Daryl DixonMainly his characteristic use of a hunting crossbow. In the last issue, Kirkman skirts the issue of Dwight’s similarities to Daryl, writing that it is “official” No connection between the two. Kirkman writes:
Is he in any way related to a certain someone? Officially, no. … Dwight is an original character, but as we give the Saviors unique weapons, I thought, hey … crossbows are cool!-
While Dwight follows a similar path from “antagonist to ally” as Daryl in the show, there are some major differences between them. Visually, Dwight has a large burn on his face caused as part of a punishment by Negan, and his relationship with Rick ends Very Otherwise. Upon meeting the authoritarian leader of the Commonwealth, Pamela Milton, Dwight immediately fears that she is another corrupt leader like Negan, holding her at gunpoint. In order to prevent a bigger conflict, Rick makes the decision to shoot Dwight Before he can kill Pamela, gunning down his former ally.
Even in the last issue’s flash forward, which follows an adult Carl, a point is made that among the many people who now see Rick as a folk hero, there are still those who remember his killing of Dwight and don’t like him. Forgiven. It’s a far cry from Daryl getting his own spin-off The Walking Dead: Daryl DixonIn which he travels across France on his own immortal odyssey.
Although some fans may be suspicious of Dwight’s crossbow-wielding enemy-turned-friend with similarities to Daryl in his performance, it is undeniable that Dwight has his own backstory, look and narrative journey in the comics, completely disconnected from Reedus’ character. Further distancing the two, Dwight is a distinct character in AMC walking deadPlayed by Austin Amelio.
It’s not just AMC banning Kirkman from using Daryl – he has his own reasons for not wanting Dixon in the comics.
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Ultimately, it’s a good thing the comics didn’t use Daryl Dixon
Kirkman’s comics tell their own story
AMC’s The Walking Dead Made a lot of changes from Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard’s comic history (for example, revealing the origin of the zombie plague, which Kirkman pledged never to do in the comics.) Indeed, Kirkman even included details to wrong-footed fans who already knew The comic story, for example, because Negan kills Abraham instead of Glenn… only then too Kill Glenn. Among the differences, the presence of Daryl Dixon is arguably the biggest, with the show adding a major new character to Rick’s group of survivors.
However, it’s not simply the case that Kirkman wanted to use the character and AMC banned him – It’s also something the writer said he wouldn’t feel comfortable doing. In a 2018 panel at San Diego Comic-Con (per ComicBook.com), Kirkman explained
While I had a hand in creating Daryl and Merle, it was very much a team effort with other season one writers… it would feel wrong to bring the work of so many other people into the comic. I never wanted the show to change the comic, since the comic is what made the show possible, and I worried that it might be a snake eating its tail.
Ultimately, it’s a good thing for The Walking Dead Fans that there are such significant differences between the original comics and TV show. While a faithful adaptation is a nice tribute to the original, it’s also basically the same story all over again. Thanks to the presence of Norman Reedus’ Daryl Dixon and various other changes, walking dead Fans have two significantly different versions of the story to enjoy.
The Walking Dead Deluxe #98 is available now from Image Comics.
Source: Cameron Bonomolo, ComicBook.com