A newly released deluxe edition of the original The Walking Dead comics reveals creator Robert Kirkman’s original plans for a villain in the franchise. The commentary is included as part of the Cutting Room Floor section of The Walking Dead Deluxe #104.

Released on Jan. 1, the new deluxe edition of The Walking Dead comic is a colorized version of the original 2012 issue, and it includes creator commentary from Robert Kirkman at the end. In the latest issue, Kirkman notes he had plans for a villain to be called “The Contractor”, but didn’t elaborate much on what the character’s role in the series would have actually been. That, ladies and gentlemen, is an unrealized villain for the series,” Kirkman wrote. “I don’t recall details on this particular villain. Cool name.”

Kirkman went on to joke about potential other villains with a similar name, saying, “Kind of [a] shame it never made it into the book.ome day I’ll have to tell everyone about ‘The Gardener.’”

The Walking Dead Deluxe #104 was written by Kirkman and features art by Dave McCaig and Charlie Adlard. The deluxe edition features two pieces of cover art for its release, one by Dave McCaig and Adlard with another by Olli Hihnala and Nate Bellegarde. Publication of the deluxe versions of the famous series began in 2020, with Image Comics revisiting Rick Grimes’s journey in full color. The deluxe editions come with special variant covers that commemorate the series’ twists and turns, and each issue features Kirkman’s Cutting Room Floor commentary.

Kirkman Carefully Planned The Walking Dead’s Plot

In the 2012 edition of the comic, Kirkman spoke at greater length about how he came up with the plot for the iconic post-apocalyptic comic book series. Kirkman originally had a “solid plot through issue 200” with “general ideas” for after that. “I’m at a point with the series where I plot in 24-issue chunks, loosely,” Kirkman wrote, “and then flesh things out as I write. I try to have at least four of those chunks planned, but there are times when a new chunk of issues is dropped in and things get pushed back. That’s why I have such far-reaching plans.”

Kirkman’s writing process for The Walking Dead involved leaving himself plenty of options for where to take the story, which is likely how villains like The Contractor were conceptualized but not included. “I like having as much track laid ahead of me as possible. So I’m always plotting ‘ifs’,” Kirkman wrote. “‘If I get to issue No. 30, maybe this,’ and ‘if I get to issue No. 50, maybe this.’ I leave myself options, so I always have some plans I can build to. But I’m careful to always leave myself room to just shoot from the hip and do whatever I want month to month, no matter how crazy the issue.”

The Walking Dead Deluxe #104 is on sale now from Image Comics.