Book cover for The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor by Robert Kirkman and Jay R. Bonansinga

The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor

2011 Released
Ebook Unavailable
Hardback Unavailable
Macmillan AudioISBN 9781427215208

Following in the footsteps of the New York Times bestselling graphic novels and the record-breaking new television show, this debut novel in a trilogy of original Walking Dead books chronicles the back story of the comic book series greatest villain, The Governor.

In The Walking Dead universe, there is no greater villain than The Governor. The despot who runs the walled-off town of Woodbury, he has his own sick sense of justice: whether it's forcing prisoners to battle zombies in an arena for the townspeople's amusement, or chopping off the appendages of those who cross him. The Governor was voted "Villain of the Year" by Wizard Magazine the year he debuted, and his story arc was the most controversial arc in the history of The Walking Dead comic book series. Now, for the first time, fans of The Walking Dead will discover how The Governor became the man he is, and what drove him to such extremes.

Robert Kirkman

First and foremost a comic creator, Kirkman has seen groundbreaking success in the adaptation of his comic book titles into major franchises in all forms of content. In 2010, his Eisner award winning series, The Walking Dead, was developed into an AMC television series. It has become a worldwide phenomenon as the highest-rated basic cable drama of all time. The property has also been extended into a blockbuster game franchise, licensing business and ongoing publishing success.

Additional Kirkman comics include Oblivion Song, Die!Die!Die!, Invincible, Outcast, Super Dinosaur, Battle Pope, Astounding Wolf-Man, and Thief of Thieves.

Kirkman also serves as consulting producer of The Talking Dead, the popular talk show hosted by Chris Hardwick that deep dives into each week's episode of both The Walking Dead and its companion series Fear the Walking Dead. Kirkman is co-creator, writer and producer of The Walking Dead's companion series, Fear the Walking Dead.

He is also executive producer of the AMC series Robert Kirkman's Secret History of Comics, and the Korean pre-apocalyptic drama, Five Year. Kirkman's popular demonic-exorcism comic, Outcast, was adapted and produced for Cinemax. His second longest running coming book series Invincible is currently being adapted for a live action movie for Universal and an animated series for Amazon. Kirkman will serve as Executive Producer on both adaptations.

Robert is also the Chairman of Skybound Entertainment. Robert, an advocate for creator rights, co-founded Skybound alongside his longtime business and producing partner David Alpert in an effort to ensure creators are able to maintain their intellectual property rights and creative control.

More by Robert Kirkman

Jay R. Bonansinga

Jay Bonansinga is the New York Times bestselling coauthor of eight novels in The Walking Dead series, and Stan Lee’s The Devil’s Quintet series, as well as many horror novels and screenplays. He lives in Chicago.

More by Jay R. Bonansinga

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