Season 3 of the hit AMC series “The Walking Dead” is almost here and in the anticipation of Season 2 being unveiled on DVD and Blu-ray, the series creator Robert Kirkman spoke at length in featurettes about the process of adapting the comic series to television.
One specific featurette on the dvd release is called “The Ink Alive” in which Kirkman focuses specfically on the differences between the television series and the comic series.
::::Note: Spoilers Ahead::::
While the series may deviate heavily from the events of the comic series, the show tries to preserve specific key moments as well as the overall spirit of the story. Major plotline such as Hershel’s Farm in season 2 and the prison setting of season 3 are kept in tact while minor liberties are taken with the characters.
Robert Kirkman explains:
“There are things that happen in the comic that you absolutely have to put in the show, otherwise you’re not doing the comic justice. But maybe we move it up, maybe we move it back, we add different characters into the mix. We just do little adjustments to make it a little more compelling for the audience that is invested in the source material.”
Fans of both series’ may notice one of the biggest deviations is the storyline of Shane. Viewers of the show saw Shane die in a tragic way, however, in the comics, the event of his death is much different and takes place much earlier in the storyline than the show presents.
Kirkman explained that in the television series, he was able to delve into Shane’s descent into madness and his conflict with Rick.
“To have that extra little notch. That’s a cool byproduct of really smart writers being able to look at that material and go, ‘Hey good job Robert, now let’s do this.’”
However, keeping Shane alive longer also had a larger effect on the series as it resulted in new storylines and one of the biggest deviations between the series and the comics.
The death of Dale occurs much sooner in the television show much to the frustration of fans. In the comics, as Kirkman points out, Dale goes on to have a relationship with Andrea, but in the series, because Shane is still around and Dale is suspicious of Shane, Dale is snuffed out much earlier.
It was a moment in the series that upset fans immensely, but Kirkman thinks that fan enthusiasm is “cool.”
The first half of season 2 was dominated by the gang focusing on finding Sophia. Kirkman felt that the search and discovery of Sophia was important to several of the characters and wouldnt have had the writers change a thing.
“To not do that story simply because I didn’t think of it when I was writing the comic, or because I did the comic a little differently is absurd to me. Staying true to that stuff is great when it’s necessary, but there are so many great ideas thrown around in the writers’ room that you just have to do that stuff. And I think it makes the show that much better.”
Now, with season 3 almost here, Kirkman spoke about the major turning points of characters as the show moves to one of the most anticipated location of the comic series and the introduction of much loved characters Michonne and The Governor.
“The most important stories over the life of the comic book series start when they find that prison. Comic book fans know now we’re really getting to the good stuff. Now we’re going to see Michonne, we’re probably going to see the Governor, we’re going to see Woodbury, we’re going to see all of these different things that people know and love from the comic book and they know is on the horizon just some from seeing that image at the end of the second season.”
The Walking Dead season 3 premieres October 14, 2012 on AMC.