The Walking Dead (franchise)

The Walking Dead is a media franchise created by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore including a comic book series, two television series, six novels, video games, and various other media such as audio books and sound tracks.

Comic book series
The Walking Dead is a monthly black-and-white comic book series chronicling the travels of Rick Grimes, his family, and other survivors of a zombie apocalypse.

First issued in 2003 by publisher Image Comics, the series was created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore (who was later replaced by Charlie Adlard from issue #7 onward, though Moore continued to do the covers through issue #24.) The Walking Dead received the 2010 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series at San Diego Comic-Con International. The 193rd and final issue was released in 2019.

The Walking Dead
Sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes wakes up from a coma in a post-apocalyptic world where the undead, known as Walkers, have taken over. Rick must fight for his survival to protect his family and friends while along the way he meets new allies and confronts enemies who try to take over communities Rick and co. run into.

Fear the Walking Dead
Set initially in Los Angeles, California, the series follows a dysfunctional family composed of high school guidance counselor Madison Clark, her boyfriend and English teacher Travis Manawa, her daughter Alicia, and her drug-addicted son Nick, at the onset of the zombie apocalypse. The four must either revamp themselves or cling to their deep flaws as they come to terms with the impending collapse of civilization.

Untitled female lead spin-off
In July 2018, during San Diego Comic Con, executive producer Scott Gimple announced that a new spin-off is in the works. In April 2019, AMC officially announced the 10-episode female lead series would begin production during the summer in Virginia and is set to debut in 2020.

Timeline of the series
The first season of Fear The Walking Dead takes place just after the outbreak and before Rick Grimes wakes up from his coma. The third season of Fear the Walking Dead then catches up to after Rick wakes up in his coma in the episode "Days Gone Bye" of the first season of The Walking Dead. The fourth season of Fear the Walking Dead picks up after the All Out War that occurred in the eigth season of The Walking Dead indicating Fear the Walking Dead had a time jump. According to executive producer Scott Gimple, it was confirmed that the fifth season of Fear the Walking Dead takes place nine months before the premiere of the ninth season of The Walking Dead.

Films
In November 2018, Scott Gimple confirmed on Talking Dead that three AMC Original Films of The Walking Dead are in development with Andrew Lincoln signed on to reprise his role as Rick Grimes, which the films would be focused on after his exit on the television series. Pollyanna McIntosh will reprise her role of Jadis. Production on the first film is set to begin in 2019. It was also confirmed by Gimple that the films would air exclusively on AMC.

The Walking Dead: Torn Apart
The Walking Dead: Torn Apart is a six-part web series based on the television series The Walking Dead. It aired in its entirety on October 3, 2011, on AMC's official website.

The web series tells the origin story of Hannah, also known as "Bicycle Girl", the walker whom Rick Grimes killed in the first episode. Rick risks a walker encounter to go back and find Hannah before he sets out for Atlanta. After telling her he is "sorry this happened to you," Rick shoots her in what is clearly a humanitarian gesture, which reveals much about Rick's own character and sets a tone for the rest of season one.

The Walking Dead: Cold Storage
The Walking Dead: Cold Storage is a four-part web series based on the television series The Walking Dead. It aired in its entirety on October 1, 2012, on AMC's official website, two weeks before the premiere of the third season of the show.

The web series follows the story of a young man named Chase as he seeks shelter in a storage facility commanded by a malicious employee named B.J. This web series marks a second installment, following The Walking Dead: Torn Apart, which aired a year earlier.

The Walking Dead: The Oath
The Walking Dead: The Oath is a three-part web series based on the television series The Walking Dead. It aired in its entirety on October 1, 2013, on AMC's official website.

This series tells the origin of the "Don't Open, Dead Inside" paint on the cafeteria doors of the hospital Rick Grimes awakes in, post-apocalypse. It follows Paul and Karina as they escape their zombie-overrun camp in search of a medical station. The central theme of the series examines the will to persevere in the face of inevitable death.

Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462
Fear The Walking Dead: Flight 462 is a 16-part web series based on the television series Fear the Walking Dead. The series premiered on October 4, 2015, on AMC's official website.

The web series tells the story of a group of passengers aboard a commercial airplane during the earliest moments of the outbreak. Over the course of the series, the plane and the lives of its passengers are put in jeopardy once they discover an infected traveler. Two of its characters, Alex and Jake, are introduced in Fear the Walking Dead season 2, episode 3 "Ouroboros".

Fear the Walking Dead: Passage
A second 16-part web series, debuted on October 17, 2016, and episodes were made available online weekly and aired as promos during the seventh season of The Walking Dead. The web series follows Sierra, a capable survivor, who helps an injured woman named Gabi.

The Walking Dead: Red Machete
A six-part webisode series entitled Red Machete first premiered on October 22, 2017. The web series tells the origin story of Rick Grimes's red machete. The series starred actors Jose Rosete, Anais Lilit, Sofia Esmaili, and Jeff Kober, reprising his role as Joe, the leader of the Claimers from the fourth season of The Walking Dead.

Board games
Multiple board games for the franchise have been released.
 * Cryptozoic Entertainment has released two board games based on the TV show:
 * The Walking Dead Board Game (2011)
 * The Walking Dead Board Game: Best Defense was released in 2013, as well as an expansion
 * Keith Tralins, Brian-David Marshall, and Matthew Wang have released two games based on the comic:
 * Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead: The Board Game (2011), released by Z-Man Games
 * The Walking Dead: The Prison (November 2014), released by Alliance Game Distributors
 * A The Walking Game version of Monopoly has been released
 * A The Walking Game version of Risk has been released

Card games

 * Cryptozoic released The Walking Dead Card Game in 2013

The Walking Dead: All Out War
In January 2016, Mantic Games announced plans to release a tabletop miniature wargame based on The Walking Dead, named The Walking Dead: All Out War.

The Walking Dead: Season One
On February 18, 2011, Telltale Games announced plans to create an episodic video game based on the comics, was scheduled to debut in fall 2011, but finally was released on April 24, 2012. Kirkman has said that, unlike typical zombie games such as Left 4 Dead, it focuses more on characterization and emotion than action. The video game includes known characters and also introduces characters not shown in the comic or TV show.

From April 24, 2012 to November 20, 2012, the game released five episodes, and then released a DLC Pack in June 2013.

The game was met with critical acclaim, winning several Game of the Year awards.

The Walking Dead: Season Two
Following Season One's success, a sequel was announced for release. Its first episode was released on December 17, 2013. Its final was released on August 26, 2014.

The Walking Dead: Season Three
Telltale Games confirmed that it will produce a third season of Walking Dead, following the success of the first two seasons. The season began on December 20, 2016.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season
In July 2017 during San Diego Comic Con, Telltale Games announced that the fourth season of the series will be the final season of the game. The first of four episodes was released on August 14, 2018.

The Walking Dead: Social Game
Flash based social game on Facebook, launched in 2012 and shut down at the end of 2014.

Survival Instinct
On July 6, 2012, Activision announced a first-person shooter based on the television series, which is being developed by Terminal Reality. It was released on March 19, 2013 in North America. It was met with negative reception.

The Walking Dead: Dead Reckoning
Game for the AMC website

The Walking Dead: Road to Survival
The Walking Dead: Road to Survival is a role-playing video game developed by Scopely based on the comic book series. It was released initially on the Android platform, later on iOS. Players complete various missions using teams, in exchange for further rewards, and more challenging stages.

The Walking Dead: No Man's Land
Game for Android/iOS

The Escapists: The Walking Dead
The Escapists: The Walking Dead is a spin-off from The Escapists, a puzzle role-playing video game about escaping prisons.

Overkill's The Walking Dead
In August 2014, Starbreeze Studios announced that a The Walking Dead co-op first-person shooter is in development by Overkill Software. The game is called Overkill's The Walking Dead, and it claims to deliver a "completely new co-op experience" to The Walking Dead universe that will explore new characters and storylines. It is scheduled to launch on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows in 2018. The game is being made with The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, who says he was certain from the first day he saw the project that it was the "co-op action game fans have been waiting for." It is also the result of a new "long-term" partnership between Starbreeze and Kirkman's company Skybound Interactive. This partnership will extend "into the next decade" and marks a new era for Starbreeze, the company said.

Other products

 * McFarlane Toys manufactured action figures resembling the characters in the comic book for September 2011 release. In addition, action figures resembling characters from the TV series, including Rick Grimes, Daryl Dixon, and a dismemberable "walker", were set for release in November 2011.
 * Taverncraft has produced The Walking Dead pint glasses and steins, and has a license to release lighters for the series as well.
 * Titan Magazines has published The Walking Dead, The Official Magazine since October 2012.
 * Vannen Watches has produced two limited edition wrist watches featuring artwork from Charlie Adlard. The first watch was released February 2012, and came with packaging that was hand-signed by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard. The second watch was released June 2012, and came with packaging signed only by Robert Kirkman.
 * Two pinball tables based on the series were released: a physical table developed by Stern Pinball and a virtual one developed and published by Zen Studios, based on Telltale Games' The Walking Dead: Season One.

Parodies

 * Dave Sheridan starred and produced the parody film The Walking Deceased (2015).
 * The Mocking Dead, by Fred Van Lente and Max Dunbar is a graphic novel that also involves a zombie apocalypse and imitates the art found in The Walking Dead comics. It also parodies Ash from the Evil Dead franchise.