'The Walking Dead' Creator Robert Kirkman Apologized to Fans for Latest Comic Book Death — but Was It Necessary?

Note: The following article contains significant spoilers for The Walking Dead comic books.

In the latest issue of Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead comics, we bid farewell to another beloved longtime character: Andrea. She was bitten by a walker in Issue #165 while saving Eugene from a horde of walkers.

While fans of the AMC series already said goodbye to Andrea in Season 3's finale, she was still around in the comics until now.

In the comics, Issue #167 depicted Andrea's last moments, proceeded by Rick then putting a knife through her reanimated head. This major character death was definitely a shock to fans — and probably just as shocking as Glenn's death in Issue #101.

Robert Kirkman Pens Apology Letter to Fans

Apart from the shocking nature of Andrea's death, a big surprise is that The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman felt the need to sugarcoat the matter. He addressed the character's death with an apology letter to fans:

"I'm sorry. I’m sorry to my fans and to myself and to Andrea. I feel like I killed a close friend. The deaths in this series are never taken lightly, they’re never done with a sense of glee. They weigh on me the same way they weigh on you. These characters are very real to me, and their deaths are upsetting even to me."

It sounds like Kirkman was saddened by the loss of Andrea as well. And while it's good to see that Kirkman cares about his fans, it doesn't seem like Andrea's death necessitated an apology letter.

Kirkman has made unpopular decisions in the past. One of his biggest controversies came when Kirkman killed off Glenn. It's understandable why he doesn't want fans to be upset with him, but sending out an apology letter feels like damage control to preempt a hullabaloo — which comes quite soon after The Walking Dead television star Josh McDermitt just quit social media over death threats. Are these extreme fringes of TWD fandom making it impossible for the franchise to tell its stories?

Nevertheless, Kirkman has provided some context to his decision, and perhaps it will give some closure to fans of Andrea. But was an apology letter really necessary though? As Andrea herself tells Rick, "There's nothing between us that needs to be said out loud." Of course, Rick' on-screen love interest might be singing a different tune if she winds up in a similar positioN. Michonne being Rick's love interest on the tv show could inevitably wind up just like Andrea in the comics. We've already seen Michonne embodying Andrea's character by working as the lookout for Alexandria so it's fair to assume her death might be similar to Andrea's death in the comics.