“Negan Lives” gives us an eventful day in the life of the iconic Walking Dead villain

Last year, Robert Kirkman surprised us all when he pulled the plug on his beloved zombie comic The Walking Dead with Issue #193, ending a successful run of over 15 years. In that time, the series has spawned multiple video games, spinoff books, and of course, the popular AMC shows.

It has long remained a mystery if or when Kirkman would return to the world ruled by the dead. Then, Skybound Entertainment and Image Comics announced that he and artist Charlie Adlard would reunite for Negan Lives, a one-shot charity comic that chronicles a day in the life of the fan-favorite villain.

Kirkman and Adlard have gifted comic retailers with this store-exclusive comic for free, to help give them a much-needed boost amid the widespread lockdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Negan Lives, as the name suggests, is a continuation of Negan’s story from when we last saw him in the comics. That was in Issue #174, when he was pleading for Maggie to put him out of his misery. She had the opportunity to kill him but decided not to, believing that if she did kill him, she would be giving him what he wanted. She ultimately decided to let him live with the terrible things that he’s done so that his dark past can haunt him forever. On his final page, Negan destroys his baseball bat Lucille in a fire.

From here on out, SPOILERS abound. Consider yourself warned.

Negan Lives gives us a look at the character’s “new normal.” He lives in complete isolation, yet still manages to be as talkative and foul-mouthed as ever — some things never change!

You might be wondering who he is talking to if he’s all alone. Don’t worry, he’s not breaking the fourth wall, but he’s instead chatting to the flowers he picked to place on his handcrafted burial site for Lucille, the infamous baseball bat named after his dead wife.

It would be a pretty boring comic if this is all that Negan did for the entire story. Fortunately, he has visitors. When Negan is going about his business, a lady named Lucy unexpectedly arrives at the door seeking help. She claims that she’s been out in the wilderness by herself, and on the run from walkers for a long time.

Negan offers his assistance and they become friends…but all is not what it seems. Things turn ugly when Negan learns that Lucy is tricking him. She’s actually part of a small group that plans to rob and kill him. But the group, which includes new characters Derick and Barry, procrastinate over killing him. They force him to dig up Lucille’s grave. As he complies, Negan gives a lovely little anecdote about his wife. I’ve always liked it when the series focuses on Negan’s pas;, it lets readers empathize with a character it can be hard to connect to. Negan endured a lot of terrible things pre-apocalypse, losing his wife to cancer being the most awful.

While they are watching Negan dig, the group is ambushed by walkers and Barry is killed. Negan, Lucy and Derick fend off the walkers, and then Negan takes it upon himself to kill Derick with a shovel. This scene gave me flashbacks to when he kills Glenn with Lucille during his famous introduction. It’s easily the most gruesome and cool page in the entire comic. “I’m trying to see if I can cut your friend in half with this shovel,” Negan says. In true Walking Dead fashion, he succeeds.

In the final pages, Negan comes to realize that it’s not right for him to bury Lucille the bat when his real-life Lucille is still laying dead in a hospital bed. He becomes inspired to go on an adventure to find his wife and give her the proper burial she deserves. Not only that, but he invites Lucy to come along with him. The comic ends before we learn if she agrees.

For a fun bit of trivia, if you go back to the final issue of the series, it’s hinted that Negan succeeds in finding and burying Lucille. Well done!

Overall, I enjoyed Negan Lives for what it was, although it seems a bit odd to leave a one-shot comic on a cliffhanger. It sets up an adventure but ends before we can go on it. Readers are left wanting more, though we know we’re probably not going to get it. “Never say never. But probably never,” Kirkman wrote in his author’s note. Then again, this is Robert Kirkman, the same man who thrives on tricking his readers, even if it gets him in a spot of bother.

Let’s not forget, the real winners here are the comic shops that both Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard so admirably decided to support.

Skybound Entertainment and Image Comics’ Negan Lives #1 is out and can be found exclusively in your local comic store. If you’re looking online, you’ll most likely be out of luck.

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