Comic-Con 2010: The Walking Dead

The Panel: Several zombies. OK, the zombies weren't actually on the panel, but they were ambling around the room. On the actual panel: AMC's Senior Vice President Joel Stillerman; executive producer Gale Ann Hurd; makeup artist Greg Nicotero; creator of The Walking Dead comic series Robert Kirkman; cast members Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies, Jon Bernthal, Laurie Holden, and Emma Bell. Kind of a lot of people, right? I'm not trying to be insensitive, but it would have been helpful if the zombies had just taken a few out.

What We Saw: The trailer for The Walking Dead looks fantastic—dark, suspenseful, all kinds of creepy. Unfortunately, it was cut down for Comic-Con. "There's a big George Romero splay of blood," Darabont said. "We couldn't show it to you here because Comic-Con said no." Lame! Who brings their kids to a panel for The Walking Dead anyway? The only downside to the footage was that they showed it twice. I would have rather we had time for few more questions than seen the same thing over again.

What They Talked About: What to expect from the show, mostly (zombies, if you were wondering). In fact, Hurd put it rather simply: "If you're a zombie fan, look no further than The Walking Dead." But because this is Comic-Con, panel attendees wanted to know how the show will relate to Kirkman's series. And they were pleased by what they heard. Kirkman is actively involved with the show—he even wrote Episode 4. To the fans, Bernthal assured, "We're really trying to get this right for you."

Most Valuable Panelist: Nicotero. I mean, he was no more interesting than any of the other panelists, but have you seen his makeup work? Unbelievable. I was also charmed by Lincoln's natural English accent. (For those who don't instantly recognize the name, he was in Love, Actually. You know, the "To me, you are perfect" guy. Sigh.)

Best Question From the Audience: Here's the thing. I purposely zoned out during many of the questions. Most of them seemed related to the comics, in terms of how they'll play out in the show. This was great for longtime fans of The Walking Dead, but no good for newbies like me.

Missing in Action: Zombies. Shouldn't they have a chance to speak, too?

Most Exciting News: There was a bunch! I already mentioned Kirkman writing for the series—a far cry from author Charlaine Harris' complete lack of involvement in True Blood. Darabont also hinted at getting notable horror directors to work on upcoming episodes. (Maybe even zombie legend George Romero? Don't quote him on that.) Battlestar Galactica fans will be delighted to find out that composer Bear McCreary will also be doing the music for The Walking Dead. Oh, and Norman Reedus and Michael Rooker have joined the cast. Is that enough for you?

Quotables: Callies admitted that the show legitimately freaks her out. "You guys, I'm not even kidding," she said. "I woke up this morning like this—shaking, fists balled, eyes squeezed shut, coming out of a nightmare. Yeah, Greg Nicotero has ruined my life." Hopefully his uber-realistic zombie effects will do the same for us, too. I also got a kick out of Kirkman's tongue-in-cheek assertion that, "This thing's gonna be chock full of dead children. Just watch out." Which is even funnier out of context.

But Wait, There's More!: Just in case some of you reading this are also fans of the comic series, I should note that the show will include the characters and plot lines you're dying to see. All in good time, though. "Patience," Darabont said. "This show's going to roll out in its pace."

The Bottom Line: I can't wait for The Walking Dead, and this panel only got me more excited about the series. It was great to see the whole creative team along with the cast—and all the insight from Kirkman really tied everything together. I love the idea of zombies on TV, if it can be done correctly. And if the panel was any indication, we're in for a flesh-eating treat.

Take a video tour of the show's booth on the Comic-Con show floor, complete with props from the show: