Stan Lee (foreground, color) with zombies from The Walking Dead in the background. 

As part of his retrospective look back at The Walking Dead comic series, creator Robert Kirkman has been quick to acknowledge his foibles as an author, as much as his triumphs – perhaps even putting more focus on the former, rather than the latter, as with his latest self-nitpick about a recycled line of dialogue, which he calls his equivalent of a “Stan Lee moment.”

The Walking Dead Deluxe #103 – written by Robert Kirkman, with art by Charlie Adlard –​​​​​​​ contains an annotation from Kirkman in which he calls himself out for duplicating a line of dialogue, delivered by the infamous and iconic Negan, which had appeared in a nearly-identical context in a prior issue.

Walking Dead Deluxe #103, Negan saying 'little pig, little pig, let me in' through iron bars

Kirkman’s evocation of Stan Lee is a reference to the legendary Marvel writer’s notoriously bad memory, which was, in fact, what gave rise to the trope of alliterative superhero names, from Bruce Banner to Peter Parker.

Robert Kirkman Couldn’t Pass Up The Opportunity To Point Out His Own “Stan Lee Moment” In This Pivotal Early Negan Scene

The Walking Dead Deluxe #103 – Written By Robert Kirkman; Art By Charlie Adlard; Color By Dave McCaig; Lettering By Rus Wooten

Walking Dead Deluxe #103 main cover, Negan looming over Rick's shoulder, forcing him to hold Lucille Walking Dead Deluxe #103 variant cover, Negan preparing to swing Lucille down on Rick's head Comic book cover: Negan looming over Glenn, as the survivors kneel at his mercy Silhouetted Negan holding a bloody bat on The Walking Dead #100 cover Walking Dead Deluxe #100 cover, Negan standing with his Saviors, holding his bat dripping Glenn's blood Walking Dead Deluxe #103 main cover, Negan looming over Rick's shoulder, forcing him to hold Lucille Walking Dead Deluxe #103 variant cover, Negan preparing to swing Lucille down on Rick's head Comic book cover: Negan looming over Glenn, as the survivors kneel at his mercy Silhouetted Negan holding a bloody bat on The Walking Dead #100 cover Walking Dead Deluxe #100 cover, Negan standing with his Saviors, holding his bat dripping Glenn's blood

Negan is a pivotal player in Walking Dead franchise lore, particularly given his redemption arc in both the comics and TV adaptation; for better or worse, Negan’s arc changed The Walking Dead’s trajectory, but at the time of his violent introduction in The Walking Dead #100, he was depicted as the franchise’s most unhinged antagonist yet. In Walking Dead #103, he ominously asserts his dominance over Rick Grimes’ group of survivors by teasing them with the “little pig, little pig” line – except as Robert Kirkman pointed out, this had already been done by an earlier, less monumental enemy.

While fans can chalk the mirrored moments up to in-continuity coincidence…it is a reminder of the vast scope of a project like The Walking Dead.

In The Walking Dead Deluxe #103, Kirkman cites this moment of Stan Lee-esque forgetfulness, noting:

Yes, this is a bit of a Stan Lee moment for me. Negan arrives saying, “Little pig, little pig, let me in.” I didn’t remember at the time that I’d ha a random group of marauders do the exact same thing about 20 issues prior. Is it believable two people would do that? Sure? Was it intentional? Definitely not.

While fans can chalk the mirrored moments up to in-continuity coincidence – or even attempt a retcon of sorts, imagining that the earlier “marauders” were current or former members of Negan’s Saviors – as a behind-the-scenes anecdote, it is a reminder of the vast scope of a project like The Walking Dead, or the creation of the Marvel Universe as contemporary readers recognize it. As such, while it might be irksome to Kirkman, it is a fun fact for fans of the franchise.

Negan Might Not Have Delivered The “Little Pigs” Line First, But It Meant More When He Said It

A “Second Draft,” So To Speak

Walking Dead Deluxe #100, Negan delivering the killing blow to Glenn The Walking Dead, Negan, with a disturbingly serene smile on his face, bashes Glenn's head in with Lucille Negan with Lucille in The Walking Dead Negan in black-and-white with red blood splattered on his face, smiling sinisterly. Negan holding up Lucille, his barbed-wire bat, in his first appearance from The Walking Dead ​​​​​​​#100. Walking Dead Deluxe #100, Negan delivering the killing blow to Glenn The Walking Dead, Negan, with a disturbingly serene smile on his face, bashes Glenn's head in with Lucille Negan with Lucille in The Walking Dead Negan in black-and-white with red blood splattered on his face, smiling sinisterly. Negan holding up Lucille, his barbed-wire bat, in his first appearance from The Walking Dead ​​​​​​​#100.

Robert Kirkman himself owned up to the fact that small repetitions, mistakes, and even plot holes are inevitable in a long-running series like The Walking Dead, concluding his apologia for the “little pigs” double-up in Deluxe #103 with:

Try as I might to keep 103 issues (eventually 193) straight in my head…I’m only human.

For readers, it is perhaps better to look at this instance not as an error, but rather as an indication that this moment felt so evocative to the author that it stuck with him, even after he had already written a version of it.

In a sense, this makes Negan’s delivery of the line akin to a second draft – one in which Kirkman delivered an even more satisfying scene. To a large degree, this is because of the build-up of Negan as a character over the preceding issues, which put everything he did under a magnifying glass. In any case, Kirkman only realized he wrote this line twice after a careful re-read of The Walking Dead comic; at the time of its publication, and in retrospect, few fans have even noticed, let alone been bothered by, this “Stan Lee moment” from Robert Kirkman.

The Walking Dead Deluxe #103 is available now from Image Comics.