Darabont's Walking Dead pilot breathes life

Robert Kirkman's zombie comic lurches toward the small screen, thanks to Frank Darabont.

The Shawkshank Redemption writer/director has been given the greenlight to make a Walking Dead pilot for AMC, the American network where Mad Men and Breaking Bad call home.

Kirkman, The Walking Dead's creator and writer, is quite pleased.

Speaking from the confines of a press release, Kirkman said, " The Walking Dead's road to the small screen has been a long one, but so far it's looking like the best of all worlds."

"Given AMC's track record, combined with Frank Darabont writing and directing, I couldn't possibly be more excited for this to come together. Having the pilot green-lit is a huge leap forward to this becoming a reality."

The Walking Dead, published by Image Comics with art by Tony Moore and Charles Adlard, is an ongoing comic series about America in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse.

The story follows Rick Grimes, a police officer from Kentucky, and a small group of survivors, all trying to stay sane and keep the zombies at bay.

The Walking Dead has been a hit on the comic stand because it's been able to accomplish something a zombie movie has never done before; It's been running since 2003 - that's over 60 issues of character development.

As great as George A. Romero's brain chewing outings have been, there's only so much time to get to know the zombie fodder before the inevitable happens.

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