But thanks in part to Andrew Lincoln’s portrayal of Rick Grimes, on top of all the other qualities that make the TV series stand out, The Walking Dead is now a global phenomenon that produces video games, board games, clothing, toys, tie-in novels, glassware, and everything else in the marketing spectrum.
Because at this point, The Walking Dead is far bigger as a pop culture entity now than it was when the TV show first started.
As Frank Darabont and comic co-creator Robert Kirkman were working together on the AMC adaptation, The Walking Dead was merely a bestselling zombie book that comic fans loved to talk about, and there were no guarantees about how successful it might be in other formats.