What Went Wrong? The Walking Dead Creator Reflects on the Moment That Changed the Series

The Walking Dead ’s first issue premiered over two decades ago, with series creator Robert Kirkman putting his characters through harrowing situation after harrowing situation as Rick Grimes and his fellow travelers did whatever they could to survive the zombie apocalypse in one piece. Incorporating dozens of iconic moments sprinkled throughout his epic undead saga, Kirkman has revealed how one brutal event changed The Walking Dead’s story in a way he never imagined, forcing him to rethink how he wrote his main protagonist entirely.

Concluding its 193-issue run with a surprise flash-forward finale that featured an older Carl Grimes as he navigates the new world his father helped build, The Walking Dead was always a comic series that didn’t shy away from killing off major characters while piling on jaw-dropping twists and turns — often to the surprise and utter horror of fans.

Asked in the “Letter Hacks” section of The Walking Dead Deluxe #105 if Kirkman regretted cutting Rick’s hand off way back in The Walking Dead #28, Kirkman admits that while he didn’t regret the decision itself, it definitely “led to some difficulties.”

Robert Kirkman Says Rick Losing His Hand Made Writing His Character More Difficult at Times

The Walking Dead Deluxe #105 – 2025 (Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, and Dave McCaig)

Losing his hand after refusing to reveal the location of his group to the Governor, it’s noted by the fan posing the question how Rick getting his hand chopped off “was a vital part of the book and made him into what he is ‘today’” — an accurate and entirely valid comment that Kirkman wholeheartedly agrees with. Saying, “I don’t regret doing it, I never regret story decisions on this book,” Kirkman further reveals that while the decision did make writing Rick more difficult at times, he’s able to use “storytelling cheats” as needed to make up for Rick’s physical limitations.

Admitting how “Every now and then Rick does something he just shouldn’t be able to do,” Kirkman further leans into the already high suspension of disbelief The Walking Dead’s zombie story demands by allowing Rick to accomplish feats that aren’t always possible or probable even for the most adept one-handed person — consistently fighting off the undead hordes being the most obvious example. Eventually giving Rick a nifty hook attachment that no doubt made some of his story cheats easier to write, Kirkman ensured that Rick losing his hand didn’t stop the character from being the leader he needed to be.

Rick Grimes Became an Even Better Character After Losing His Hand

Though Kirkman doesn’t regret cutting Rick’s hand off in the slightest, he has expressed that he might have done it too early in The Walking Dead’s almost 200-chapter run — a creative concern that makes sense considering Kirkman now had to come up with 100-plus issues of ways for Rick to do things he “just shouldn’t be able to do,” without constantly resorting to the aforementioned storytelling cheats. But credit where credit’s due, Robert Kirkman made Rick Grimes a one-handed protagonist to be reckoned with, turning this iconic Walking Dead character into an even more impressive hero than he already was.

The Walking Dead Deluxe #105 is available from Image Comics.