The Walking Dead is without a doubt one of television’s most popular shows. Over its four-year lifespan, this AMC smash hit has broken several broadcast records and completely enraptured millions on a weekly basis. Creator Robert Kirkman catapulted from a writer of an indie comic to the top dog of a monumental television series. As one of the fortunate few who made it into the panel, I was there to witness all the excitement first-hand. And it was truly unlike anything I had ever experienced. Here are my Top 5 moments from New York Comic Con’s flagship event.
Season 5
Season 5 is kick ass, utterly relentless, and totally heartbreaking.” “Season 5 is insane.” “This new season will have some very devastating episodes.” Those three quotes were from Executive Producers Gale Anne Hurd and Greg Nicotero, and showrunner Scott M. Gimple. Combined with footage screened from the beginning of Sunday’s season premiere, the message that this season is different came across clear as a bell. Without giving too much away, the introduction is brutal and intense. It’s edge of your seat craziness and it starts right from there. As Nicotero himself said, there is no typical time gap. We jump right in where Season 4 left off, meaning there is “no point in saying where characters are.” That gives us action first, dialogue second. Even the stars reiterated this with lead Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) exclaiming his character has now gone crazy with rage.
Anne Hurd even took the opportunity to reveal when the second half of Season 5 will premiere: Sunday, February 8th. Mark your calendars!
The Astronomical Popularity
Whenever you enter the Javits center and head to the main area, you’re greeted by a massive poster of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) crouching in foliage next to this season’s tagline, “Hunt or Be Hunted.” That right there is a good indicator of what The Walking Dead is at Comic Con: A monumental program. What this means is that getting into the panel is notoriously difficult. I was able to get into line around 8:15 thanks to my press pass, but the crowd was growing fast. Within about 30 minutes or so, the line was closed. It was unfortunate that many fans missed the panel, but its rapid closing time made the event that much better for those who could get in. A woman even declared that the cast was like The Beatles. A stretch, yes, but when you heard these people screaming as loud as I did, you can see why a comparison was made. Bottom line, we all felt like we were VIP just being there.
It’s For The Fans
When the cast and crew weren’t talking about the intense new season (and the crowd wasn’t screaming their brains out at Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, and Danai Gurira), another message was presented loud and clear: The Walking Dead is a show for the fans. Unlike a lot of the main stage panels where phones had to be kept away and all we had was the cast talking to a crowd, this panel had people taking photos constantly and running up to microphones for questions. This even allowed us all to learn some truly emotional stories about how The Walking Dead has inspired real people to persevere through immense hardship. This might just be a show about zombies to some, but to those closest it’s something else entirely.
Andrew Lincoln gets…a Coke?
While the Q&A session was primarily a means for some fans to either deliver heartfelt stories or babble in excitement, one kid took the opportunity to get a little weird. In fact, it was weird from the beginning as he was wearing a horse mask and didn’t take it off. What was his question you ask? “Hey Andrew, do you want a Coke?” He then held out a normal looking can of Coca-Cola. That’s right. In front of 3,000 people, this kid in a horse mask wanted to give the star of The Walking Dead…a beverage. No one knew how to react. Once people realized this was completely innocent and harmless though, it all became fun. Lincoln ran off the stage to the barricade, met the kid up front, and took the drink while shaking his hand. After he sat back down, Lincoln took a little sip…and then collapsed on the floor to roof-shaking laughter. If there are two things this exchange proved, it’s that the cast is quite comfortable with its diverse and crazy fanbase, and they’re perfectly willing to get sucked into gags no matter how bizarre they are.
The Saints Go Marching In
Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon) was the undisputed star of the day. His appearance was saved for last and the crowd went completely bonkers the moment he walked on to the stage with a GoPro. It’s obvious that not only do the people love Reedus with a burning passion, everyone behind the show is completely aware of this. But unlike most of the people up there, Reedus already had a background where he was a cult favorite: Boondock Saints. He was Murphy MacManus long before he became more popular as Daryl. So it wasn’t a surprise at all when, as the last question of the day, a fan asked if there’s any news about another Boondock Saints. What was Reedus’s response? “I can’t say anything more, but we are talking about it.” That’s right people, Boondock Saints 3 is in discussions.
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