Robert Kirkman is considering writing a The Walking Dead Volume Zero, which would reveal how the characters Lori, played by Sarah Wayne Callies, and Shane, played by John Berenthal fell in love after the death of Lori’s husband Rick, who was Shane’s best friend. 

According to TV Guide, some elements of this pre-apocalypse romance will be revealed in a flashback sequence that will be included as part of the new season of The Walking Dead.  Callies told the magazine about shooting the flashback scenes, “It was fun to step out of the zombie world and show Lori with a blackberry… I hope it will finally put an end to the ridiculous rumors that an affair was going on before Rick died.” 

TV Guide’s John Keck also reports that “creator Robert Kirkman is considering penning a (The Walking) Dead graphic novel, Volume Zero, which would show how the two went from grieving friends to lovers.”  It is interesting that Keck mentions “graphic novel” right away rather than “comics,” which could possibly mean the creation of an original graphic novel rather than the standard The Walking Dead format of comics first and then collections.  But there is so much confusion about the difference between “comics” and “graphic novels” outside the comics industry that the omission of “comics” could be just a misunderstanding of the process. 

Hopefully Kirkman, who has a full plate of ongoing comic book writing projects (see “New Creator-Owned Titles at Image”), and who appears to be more involved than ever in the creation of The Walking Dead TV series with the departure of Frank Darabont (see “Walking Dead Bombshell”), will clarify his intentions in the near future.