The Walking Dead creator goes 'apocalyptic adjacent' in new comic

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Robert Kirkman brought us zombies (The Walking Dead) and demonic possession (Outcast), and already forayed these comics onto our TV screens with plans to do the same for his bloody hardcore superhero take (Invincible). Now, he hopes to break new ground with Oblivion Song.

“I wanted to do something that was apocalyptic in a sense, but also not. So, I like to think that we’re creating a new genre that’s like apocalyptic adjacent,” Kirkman tells Entertainment Weekly: The Show in his first interview on the comic since it was announced at New York Comic Con.

He teamed with Italian artist Lorenzo de Felici to envision a world where four square miles of Philadelphia swapped places with another dimension, trapping its inhabitants in a monstrous domain. For 10 years, a government-sanctioned organization has been trying to break into this dimension to bring back as many civilians as possible, but they’ve largely given up — except for Nathan Cole.

When the comic begins, Nathan, an agent of this ex-organization, has been working with his home team, Bridget and Duncan, to do whatever he can to rescue those lost in the dimension, equipped with whatever artillery and gear he can scrape together. Some back on earth believe this dimensional shift to be God’s wrath against sinners, but for each person Nathan saves, he goes to the memorial to scratch their name off the wall of remembrance.

“I hope that I’m breaking into new territory with this,” Kirkman says. “I mean, it’s not horror, it’s not superheroes, so it’s definitely a version of science-fiction, but I think it’s a somewhat unique kind of science-fiction story so I’m very excited about that.”

Oblivion Song launches next year on March 7, 2018. Watch Kirkman discuss his project in the video above.