Following up on the news we broke on March 21st, Image Comics has made it official, announcing Charlie Adlard as the new artist for their hit series, "The Walking Dead."

Official Press Release

Orange, CA -- 25 March, 2004 -- Robert Kirkman's THE WALKING DEAD will launch its second story arc in April with veteran artist Charlie Adlard (X-Files, White Death, Astronauts In Trouble) taking the reins from the departing Tony Moore. In addition to Adlard handling the pencils and inks, Cliff Rathburn will be applying gray tones to the book.

THE WALKING DEAD #7 will feature both Adlard's debut, and the debut of a new story arc, following hot on the heels of the first trade paperback, THE WALKING DEAD, VOL. 1: DAYS GONE BYE.

When Tony Moore decided to step aside and move on to other projects, series creator Robert Kirkman made a short list of artists he would have liked to see replace Moore. According to Kirkman, Adlard was at the top of the list from day one.

"I've been a fan of Charlie Adlard for a long time." Kirkman admits. "His work on White Death, Astronauts in Trouble, Nobody and the billions of other things he's done is just superb. I couldn't be happier that he's taking over the book. Charlie brings a level of professionalism to every project he comes to. The confidence seen on every page is a sight to behold."

The book, which centers around the experiences of human survivors in a zombie filled post-apocalyptic Atlanta, continues to generate tremendous buzz, and retailers have had trouble keeping shelves stocked with back issues. With orders increasing monthly, and with early issues selling out in multiple printings, April will provide fans the opportunity to catch up on everything they might have missed, and to take the first step in the book's new direction. THE WALKING DEAD trade contains the full first six issues of the book, at a special price of $9.95.

"I'm trying to make sure nobody has an excuse not to give this book a shot," Kirkman explains. "At that price for six issues I'm hoping people who are still on the fence about trying it will leap over to our side. The second story arc of THE WALKING DEAD promises more of everything that made people like the first arc."

As to what direction the new story arc will take, Kirkman has a few hints, but doesn't want to provide any spoilers.

"We're going to move away from Atlanta and show a little more of the world of THE WALKING DEAD. Issues 7-12 will feature our little team of survivors desperately searching for a safe place to live."

THE WALKING DEAD #7 is available for order now in the February issue of Previews and is scheduled to go on sale April 7.

Image Comics is a comics and graphic novels publisher formed in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Since that time, Image has gone on to become the third largest comics publisher in the United States. There are currently four partners in Image Comics (Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino), and Image is currently divided into three major houses (Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions and Image Central, which is the home of THE WALKING DEAD). Image comics and graphic novels cover nearly every genre, sub-genre and style imaginable, offering science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. Visit www.imagecomics.com for more information.