For most comic book stores, you know what you’ll be getting when you walk between the aisles. DC, Marvel, Image, and some indie jewels that caught your fancy last visit in the IDW section. Browse the comics, graphic novels, and the manga and you’ll have heard of it already, or knew it was coming.

While you certainly knew you could find collections of Robert Kirkman’s nuclear blast-grade hit The Walking Dead in your local shop, you certainly would not expect to see a new title from him, until today with his newest blood fest DIE!DIE!DIE!

Die!Die!Die! is Kirkman’s revitalized endeavor into the world of comic books, and it’s been kept tightly under wraps for some time now. Kirkman has expressed to a multitude of outlets that the reason for this hush-hush release of his and Scott Gimple’s brain child has to do with a nostalgic desire he yearns for of fresh discovery within comic book shops. When speaking to ComicBooks.com, Kirkman said:

“There’s something magical about going into a comic shop. For me, the heyday of this magic was in the early ’90s… Back then… you didn’t know what was coming out months in advance. There were ads in comics, sure… but when you walked into a comic shop and looked at the new comic rack, it was full of something that I think modern comics is very much lacking… SURPRISE…I want to bring that excitement back. I want the comic shop, the place you’re probably standing in, to be a place of discovery again! I want it to a place where a customer can come in and find out about something new and exciting!”

Honestly, it’s easy to empathize with this sentiment. While 24/7 access to information and rumors of our choosing is a luxury we certainly take for granted, it’s arguably hard to top that endorphin rush of excitement when you dive into a series that has not been announced months in advance, or received commercial coverage and hyped up to being a near disappointment.

Image via IMDB

Point being, it’s hard to go into something with unnecessarily high expectations when you don’t know what it is (be it browsing your local comic shop or rent-a-video store).

As mentioned, Scott Gimple has also taken on a role as a writer for DIE!DIE!DIE!. The two have teamed up with Batman Inc. artist Chris Burnham and colorist Nathan Fairbairn under publisher Skybound. The series is set to be scheduled for a monthly release.

It is worth mentioning that the series may have been kept under wraps in part to Batman #50 being spoiled by the New York Times a few days before its release; consequently, this could have served as encouragement for the team to keep everything tucked away until the day before its release.

Image via IMDB

DIE!DIE!DIE! is a step away from the zombie genre, but in no way tones downs the hyper-violence. Full of “blood-soaked, bullet-riddled, ultraviolent mayhem”, DIE!DIE!DIE! follows a covert faction within the U.S. government that strategically plans their assassination missions to line up with executing notorious evildoers and infamous villains.

The comic has a Walking Dead style with a part Tarantino, part Guy Ritchie flair. DIE!DIE!DIE! shows within its few preview pages that it’s not going to hold back from smart-ass quips and gore.

You can now pick up the first issue with other Image brand comics at your local shop. As mentioned previously, you can expect another issue to be released in the coming month(s)!

While Kirkman seems to be moving on from The Walking Dead, there could be good reasons. While there’s been a bit more audience hesitation about the AMC show’s next season, there was also an incident in which The Talking Dead host was accused of sexual assault (you can check out our coverage on that fiasco here). If he was hoping to take a step back to work on new projects, this isn’t necessarily a bad time to do so.