Popverse's top stories

• Netflix loses its Black Mirror creators as Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones have used a loophole to get out of their exclusive deal with the streamer
• 3 essential Superman stories to watch or read after seeing the new James Gunn movie from DC Studios [FYC]
• Netflix Wakfu fans rejoice: Ogrest graphic novel prequel hits Kickstarter July 15

The Walking Dead synthesizes some core elements that define mainstream America. Take, for instance, one of the most iconic weapons within the world of the franchise: Negan's Lucille. A baseball bat covered in barbed wire, Lucille transforms a symbol of "America's greatest pastime" and reimagines it as a weapon of immense brutality. Sure, quite a bit of the horror in The Walking Dead comes from the creatures that the series is named for, but it's twisted figures like Negan that add fuel to the flame for why the story is so disturbing. 

Moving beyond the original comic by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charles Adlard, The Walking Dead universe has expanded with the Clementine graphic novel series from Tillie Walden. Following a character named Clementine, who was first introduced in Telltale's Walking Dead video game, Clementine's story has taken her from the United States to Canada, and now Greenland, in Clementine Book 3. 

Speaking with Popverse about the decision to use Greenland as the setting for Clementine Book 3, Tillie Walden explained that diving into a culture outside of America gave her the chance to examine the core themes of The Walking Dead in a new light.

"...I was just like, ‘What is going on with survival? And other groups of people and other places that have other histories,’ like America has such a specific and short history. And the rest of the world is ancient. I mean, America is actually technically ancient. But I was so curious about how it would feel to tell one of these stories in a place that wasn't predominantly American," Walden began.

"And it brought about a lot of challenges because there was such a learning curve. But I think it's so cool. And it's also like if The Walking Dead is to continue, like in my mind, this is the future of it. It's looking outward and it's looking beyond because we've sort of done a lot of what we can in this American, especially southern, especially male, especially white, especially able-bodied context. It all adds up. But when you enter these new spaces and you bring about new voices and new perspectives, I just think it's a little more interesting to read."

It's a big world out there, and Clementine Book 3 does a great job at making the case for why it would benefit all of us as readers and fans to get curious as to what international Walking Dead stories would look like. Your move, Skybound!

You can read our full interview with The Walking Dead: Clementine author Tillie Walden here.

Clementine Book 3 is available now wherever comics are sold. 

Get ready for what's next with our guide to upcoming comics, how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to Free Comic Book Day 2025.