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Letter Hacks is Robert Kirkman's letter column at the end of most issues of the Comic Series. Questions are answered or there is a note to the readers.
In response to why the hospital and police station still had lights on and functioning elevators in the previous issue, Kirkman states, "Places like police stations and hospitals would have back up generators and I'm thinking for the most part that power would remain available until something went wrong."
Kirkman establishes that he is never going to provide a rational explanation for how the outbreak occurs. He thinks any explanation would disrupt the normalness, and border "science fiction". He is more interested in what happens post-outbreak than what had happened leading up to it.
Kirkman confirms the rule that everyone has the same infection (of unknown origin) that causes zombies. Unless your brain is damaged, however way someone dies, they end up a zombie. A zombie bite kills due to infection or blood loss, not because of the zombie virus.
Robert Kirkman states that he is sorry to see Tyreese die but he has planned his death almost since his introduction. He asks readers not to "flip out" saying that there is a future for the series without him.
Kirkman originally had intended Lori and Judith's death in #47, not this one. He writes this, however, makes the "twist" with Alice possible, but also equates to most of the deaths in this arc taking place in this issue, which had not been Kirkman's plan.
Kirkman also writes he is not officially saying all the Woodbury survivors were killed, but "the prison is dead to me. I've moved on and so have the characters."
Kirkman states that zombies have no real need for food and their urge to eat is due to a "false sense of hunger" they have come to possess after reanimating.
It is stated by Robert Kirkman that "...whatever is making them [zombies] walk around is also keeping them from rotting to bones in a matter of weeks."
Kirkman confirms that Maggie's last name remains "Greene", as a way of keeping her family's legacy alive, and because Glenn's surname is nonexistent in the book.
Kirkman and Sean discussed that the war, up to this point, had been about a week and a few days, with #115 and #116 being one day. #118 being approximately a week, with all the quick, smaller attacks on the outposts. And then #119 and #120 being another day.
Robert Kirkman implies the timeskip length was supposed to be a secret (regarding Sean revealing it in the previous column). He also reveals that he planned to keep both Rick and Negan alive since the beginning.
It is explained by Kirkman (regarding Magna not finding any survivors during seven months on the road) that anyone who made it that far into the apocalypse, most likely did so by forming community of survivors who are far away from each other and hard to stumble upon during seven months of traveling.
Kirkman explains in the letters that he prefers comic covers that are "striking" and "a surprise" rather than having an accurate cover or one that reflects what is happening in a particular issue. This explains why so many issue covers do not contain anything in the story or are misleading.
Kirkman jokingly says that each time a reader asks about Michonne, he pushes her reappearance or death confirmation back by two issues. It is also mentioned that issues without Rick might become a trend from now on.
It is revealed that The Kingdom and The Saviors had more casualties than any other faction during the war.
It is revealed that Negan was a used cars salesman before the apocalypse. Robert Kirkman alludes to the possibility of releasing a set of maps of the comic series, showing faction territories and other things.
It is suggested that the horde of walkers seen at the end of this issue could be the largest the communities have ever faced.
Kirkman jokes that Andrea will die in Issue 150. He also says that Negan liked the younger Carson brother and forced him to come back with him as his assistant.
Kirkman states that Alpha's zombie skin is clean on the inside, dirty on the outside and that she probably put a little perfume before arriving at the fair.
Kirkman teases that fans will have to "watch out" for Negan's next evil smile because of the Rule of Three.
He also says that Gabriel will be more involved soon, very soon.
Robert Kirkman says he loves 16-panel grid comics and that he had used this format for The Irredeemable Ant-Man and random issues of Invincible.
Sean Mankiewicz promises that everyone featured in the last page will have drastically different lives by the end of the volume. This includes Rick, Carl, Andrea, Maggie, Michonne, Eugene, Gabriel, Aaron, Jesus, Dwight, Negan, Magna, Hershel, Dante, Lydia, Laura and William.
About the recent deaths, Kirkman says that killing Alpha was one of the hardest deaths ever and Gabriel's death was one of the most unpleasant deaths yet.
In response to a reader comparing Siddiq to Axel, Kirkman claims that the two characters are drastically different and more of Siddiq will be seen soon.
Kirkman says that something that hasn't happened in a long time will happen in the next issue.
He also briefly explains how we plans issues: Has as some ideas for 50 to 100 issues out, and then knows exactly what happens for the next 25 issues out. Example he used he knows all the details up until Issue 178.
It is confirmed that Eugene is on the autism spectrum. Kirkman states that he was "The most important character for the potential rebuilding of society"
It is explained that some characters are aware of what happened in the past, such as Andrea knowing Carl killed Ben and gives a glimpse into what to expect in future issues. Such as Eugene finding out who got Rosita pregnant, that Maggie will find out that Negan is allowed to run free, and Eugene's connections to Stephanie will be revealed.
Robert Kirkman also claims that he thinks that Rick's physical limitations make him a better character.
Kirkman says that "there are so many other deaths on the horizon you have no clue are coming."
It was confirmed that Negan was originally going to be killed off in Issue 108. As a result, Dwight was not originally planned to defect to Rick's side.
It was also confirmed that in the future, an existing or new character will be confirmed to be a lesbian.
It was also revealed that the next issue will be a "big deal".
Kirkman says Magna was originally not planned as a lesbian and admits he changed this due to the series not featuring a lesbian couple. He also states he knows exactly what's going to happen in Issue 200.
Robert Kirkman confirms that there is only 1.6 million people still alive in the world. There are vast dead zones and Montana only has a population of ten people. He later rectified this, saying it was a joke.
A fan asked how long Robert Kirkman planned for Michonne and for one of her daughters to be reunited. He responding by not knowing exactly when he got the idea, but it was before Issue 100 for sure.
It was confirmed that there will be no deaths in Issue 200, but there will be at least one before then, which will include one of the characters mentioned in this issues Letter Hacks.
Kirkman hints that there was a chance we may never see Negan again. Implying that his last appearance was the end of his story. However, he may have not been serious.
Kirkman reveals that Michonne has spent many months in the Commonwealth since she first arrived there, and that it takes at least a week to travel from Alexandria to the Commonwealth and vice-versa.
Sean Mackiewicz says that there will be no snow in the following issue.
Robert Kirkman reveals that Magna was a leader of a community before she arrived to Alexandria, and cites this as the reason she was left in charge in Rick's absence instead of Heath, and also Health doesn't want such responsibilities.
Robert Kirkman confirmed again that Negan isn't dead.
In regards to a question about the technique and difficulty about stabbing zombies in the head, Kirkman stated that everyone that is alive (most of them anyways) have become experts at stabbing walkers.