Robert Kirkman is among the most prolific comic book creators of the last twenty-five years, responsible for bothThe Walking DeadandInvincible, two franchises that have become staples of popular culture;yet there is one comic he wrote, purportedly about professional wrestling, that he once assured readers will never, ever, see the light of day.
In the letters section ofInvincible#43, written by Kirkman, withart by Ryan Ottley, the author was asked, “did you write a wrestling comic?”, with the fan also questioning whether it would ever be reprinted.
Kirkman responded that it had never, in fact, been published in the first place, and further, that it never would be. “Trust me,” he wrote,“you DON’T want to see it.” In retrospect, however, this does leave open the question of how the fan knew about the unpublished comic, and what was so bad about it.
Invincible#43; Written By Robert Kirkman; Art By Ryan Ottley; Released In 2007
As Kirkman put it, the reason for his negative opinion of this unpublished wrestling comic stemmed from the fact that he illustrated it himself, rather than handing it off to one of his many talented artistic collaborators. Beyond that, however, nothing else is known about this comic, other than the fact that its creator disavowed it.“I don’t even like to show it to people,” he admitted in the letters page ofInvincible#43, though certainly, rather than discouraging people from wanting to read it, this makes it all the more intriguing to fans of the author’s work.
Other than this brief exchange in the back ofInvincible#43, there is seemingly no other evidence of this “lost” Kirkman comic, making it a deep-cut relic of his historic career.
That is, readers can trust Robert Kirkman to know quality work from bad; his lauded work, on thelong-runningThe Walking DeadandInvinciblecomics in particular, is the product of significant literary talent. Consequently, the idea of Kirkman humbling himself by drawing a bad pro wrestling comic that will never come out is actually somewhat charming. Curiously, other than this brief exchange in the back ofInvincible#43, there is seemingly no other evidence of this “lost” Kirkman comic, making it a deep-cut relic of his historic career.
Robert Kirkman’s Wrestling Comic Is Probably Buried For Good, As Much As Fans Want To See It
All fans can do is speculate when it comes to Robert Kirkman’s wrestling comic, and hope that maybe a future panel appearance or interview will shed some further light on it.There is a good chance it is buried somewhere deep in Kirkman’s personal archives,Raiders of the Lost Ark-style, and while it is highly unlikely that it ever becomes public, there is still the remote possibility the author could pull it out of mothballs and share it with fans ofThe Walking DeadandInvincibleone day, as embarrassing as it might be.
Everything You Need To Know About Invincible Creator Robert Kirkman’s New Sci-Fi Series
Void Rivals is just as exciting as The Walking Dead and Invincible, making it a must-read for fans of the prolific comic book creator, Robert Kirkman.
Invincible#43is available now from Image Comics.
Invincible
Invincible is a multimedia franchise that began with the graphic novel series by Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley. The series follows Mark Grayson, the son of Earth’s strongest hero, Omni-Man, as he enters into his powers at the cusp of adulthood. A television adaptation began in 2021 and retells the core story of the comics while fleshing it out and expanding on characters and concepts introduced in the medium.
The Walking Dead
The Walking Deadis a massive multimedia franchise that began with a comic book series created by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. The franchise gained widespread popularity with the launch of the television seriesThe Walking Deadin 2010 on AMC, which chronicles the lives of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, referred to as “walkers.” The success of the original show has led to numerous spin-offs, web series, video games, novels, and other media. The franchise explores themes of survival, human nature, and the breakdown of society in the face of an existential threat, making it one of the most successful and influential horror series of the 21st century.
