Second 'Walking Dead' Novel Release Date Set

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Publisher Thomas Dunne Books revealed that The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury, the newest novel spinoff of the hit comic book and TV series, will arrive in bookstores on Oct. 16, roughly timed to coincide with the expected debut of the third season of the AMC TV show. 

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Series creator Robert Kirkman and collaborator Jay Bonansinga will co-write the novel, as they did the first time. 

The book will pick where the events of the first novel, Rise of the Governor, left off. Kirkman previewed the story in an interview with Amazon:

"It’s going to be a direct sequel to Rise of the Governor. We’re going to meet new characters as they come to Woodbury and see how Woodbury is founded, and how the Governor continues to grow as a character. It all takes place before we met the Governor in the comic book series, and there’s a lot more story to tell with that guy. We’ll also look at others—Lilly is going to be another focus. It’s going to be fun to explore those characters again."

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Rise of the Governor was published in Oct. 2011 and won the Diamond Gem Award for Trade Book of the Year. The book chronicled the backstory of the Governor, one of the most popular characters in The Walking Dead comics. The novel's story is considered part of the canon of the comics' universe.

Kirkman announced that the Governor will appear in season three of the TV show for the first time.  AMC cast British actor David Morrissey (State of Play) in the role. It is unclear if the TV version will deviate from the print version.

During promotion for Rise of the Governor, Kirkman described his creative aspirations for the book. "I always kind of looked at it like Rick and the Governor were two sides of the same coin, and if Rick had gone down a certain path he could have ended up exactly like that guy. And so I had a story in mind of how he became that guy and what caused him to be that bad of a person."