Robert Kirkman

Robert Kirkman (born November 30, 1978) is an American comic book writer, producer, and entrepreneur renowned for creating the zombie apocalypse series The Walking Dead and the superhero epic Invincible .

Raised in Kentucky as a devoted comic book enthusiast who lacked artistic drawing skills, Kirkman worked odd jobs, including at a local comic store, before entering the industry by co-founding the small publisher Funk-O-Tron with artist Tony Moore in the early 2000s. Their debut project, the satirical Battle Pope , was self-published in 2000, marking Kirkman's entry into professional comics creation and helping him gain practical knowledge of the field. By 2002, he launched Invincible at Image Comics, a long-running superhero series that became his second major ongoing title and later inspired an animated adaptation for Amazon Prime Video.

Kirkman's breakthrough came in 2003 with The Walking Dead , a gritty post-apocalyptic comic that earned an Eisner Award and spawned the highest-rated basic cable drama series on AMC, for which he served as co-creator, writer, and executive producer alongside partners like Gale Anne Hurd. The series' success led to spin-offs such as Fear the Walking Dead , where Kirkman acted as co-creator, writer, and producer, and expanded into a multimedia franchise including novels, video games, and merchandise. In 2010, he co-founded Skybound Entertainment with David Alpert, an imprint under Image Comics that publishes his works like Outcast (adapted for Cinemax), Oblivion Song , Thief of Thieves , and Super Dinosaur , while also developing film and television projects based on his properties. As Chief Operating Officer at Image Comics and Chairman of Skybound, Kirkman has advocated for creator-owned comics and produced additional projects, including the documentary series Robert Kirkman’s Secret History of Comics . Now residing in Los Angeles with his wife and children, Kirkman continues to influence the comics and entertainment industries through his focus on long-form storytelling and cross-media adaptations. As of 2025, Kirkman continues to release new comic series such as Skinbreaker and Blood & Thunder through Skybound, while overseeing adaptations like Invincible Season 4.

Robert Kirkman was born on November 30, 1978, in Lexington, Kentucky , and raised in the small town of Cynthiana, about 30 miles north of Lexington. His upbringing in this rural Harrison County community shaped his early years, where he lived a relatively sheltered life amid the area's agricultural and working-class environment.

Kirkman's family background was rooted in blue-collar entrepreneurship ; his parents owned and operated a sheet-metal fabrication business in Cynthiana, which provided a stable but modest foundation. His mother served as a homemaker, managing the household, while his father worked as a sheet metal maker and pursued side entrepreneurial ventures, instilling in Kirkman an appreciation for hands-on labor and self-reliance from a young age.

From childhood, Kirkman developed an interest in horror genres despite initial restrictions from his parents, who enjoyed watching horror films but did not allow him to view them openly. He would secretly observe these movies by hiding behind the couch during family viewings in their basement , gaining early exposure to the suspense and terror elements that later influenced his creative work . This clandestine access, combined with the quiet, insular culture of small-town Kentucky , fostered his fascination with dark storytelling themes.

Growing up in rural Kentucky , Robert Kirkman developed an early fascination with horror media, particularly zombie films, which profoundly shaped his creative sensibilities. As a child, his parents prohibited him from watching scary movies, but he would secretly observe them by hiding behind the couch in the basement while they viewed rentals.