Walking Corpses & Conscious Plants: Possibilist Ecologies in ...

1
During an interview with Daily Dead's Jonathan James, Kirkman discussed his portrayal of Rick. In the interview,
which was released on July 17 th , 2012, Kirkman reveals his strategy of character development:
“In life I think that sometimes you’re the hero or villain, depending on perspective. In telling Rick’s story realistically,
you’re not always going to like him. When you deal with human interaction, people make mistakes or decisions without
thinking and it’s certainly something I’m trying to portray. There will be times when you hate Rick and times when you
love Rick. This is much in the same way that the story has very slow and quiet periods that make the explosive, violent,
and terrifying periods seem that much more powerful. There will be periods where you absolutely hate Rick and don’t
identify with him, but that will make the later period where you are completely behind the guy that more interesting.”
2
“By mixing any two of our emotional primaries [anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, surprise] we can produce a third
expression which is often distinct and recognizable enough to earn its own name.” (McCloud Making Comics 85)
3
As Scott McCloud writes, “Backgrounds can be another valuable tool for indicating invisible ideas...Particularly the
world of emotions” (Understanding 132). In this tense and charged moment, the absence of a background highlights the
importance of text and draws viewer attention onto the characters portrayed. Minimizing artistic detail outside of bodily
renderings, the creators have focused these frames upon the intensely personal relationship between the individual
enacting violence and the individual subjected to it.