Before The Walking Dead sold 45 million copies, author Robert Kirkman was told "zombie books don't sell"

Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead — (Image credit: AMC)

Robert Kirkman will likely be dining out on this anecdote until the end of his career – and we're not talking about munching on brains here.

According to former Image Comics publisher Jim Valentino on Robservations with Rob Liefeld (H/T Popverse), Kirkman was once told "zombie books don't sell."

"Walking Dead from the time it was published had a positive sales slope," Valentino recalled. “And [Robert Kirkman] loves to tell this story, because I told him zombie books don’t sell."

In Valentino's defense, he added, "I wouldn’t consider Walking Dead a zombie book. It’s a survival book."

“[Kirkman] hit me with the first thing which was, ‘I want to call it The Dawn of the Dead.’ No Robert, you can’t do that. It’s already a movie. ‘What do you think of Planet of the Zombies?’ Kirkman [then] says, ‘How about The Walking Dead?’ Boom. That's it. Call it The Walking Dead."

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

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