Much to the delight of comic book and horror fans around the country, on Halloween, October 31, 2010 at 10PM/9C on AMC (check your local listings to see what channel AMC is with your subscriber), Robert Kirkman’s zombie masterpiece comic book will come to life thanks to the 90-minute debut episode of The Walking Dead. Subsequent episodes of this highly anticipated series will then be 60-minutes in length. This is definitely one series that I will watch as I am a huge fan of the comic book.

Set in a world suffering from a zombie apocalypse, police officer Rick Grimes awakens in a hospital alone after being wounded while on duty. Making his way home through the desolate streets, he discovers his wife and son missing as well as realizing the delicate predicament he is in. Banding together with other survivors, this small group of people do anything they can to survive the hordes of zombies in their way as they travel across the country looking for safety. But as their situation gets more and more grim, how long can they survive before turning on each other in order to survive?

The Walking Dead television series is being brought to you by executive producers Frank Darabont (director of The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist), Gale Anne Hurd (producer of The Terminator, Aliens, and The Incredible Hulk), Charles H. Eglee (co-creator of Dark Angel and executive producer for Dexter and The Shield), as well as Robert Kirkman, creator and writer of the comic book series the show is being adapted from. Music for the series is being provided by famed composer Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica, Eureka, and Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles).

Set to star in the series are Andrew Lincoln (Afterlife) as series protagonist Rick Grimes, Sarah Wayne Callies (House M.D.) as Lori Grimes, Jeffrey DeMunn (The Mist) as Dale, Laurie Holden (Silent Hill) as Andrea, Jon Bernthal (The Pacific) as Shane, Lennie James (Human Target) as Morgan Jones, and Michael Rooker (Tombstone) as Merle Dixon.

This is a series that I know a lot of both comic book fans and horror fans have been waiting for since it was announced back on January 20th of this year. Most fans were even more excited when it was announced that filming began in May of this year and that the show would be ready to air on AMC sometime in the fall. AMC has ordered six episodes for the first season but many fans are hopeful that more seasons will follow given the length of the comic book series it is adapted from and how strongly supported the show has been throughout many conventions - particularly Comic Con International where the trailer and scenes from the pilot episode received huge praise from fans in attendance.

From what many people have seen, myself included, it seems as though the show will closely follow events in the comic book. If this is a true adaptation of the storyline, the series should be filled with heart breaking moments, betrayals, death, and plenty of zombie action and suspense. With so many fans eagerly waiting for this series to begin, I really do hope that it is as true to the original as they are stating it is. The Walking Dead comic book series has been met with much critical and fan appraisal since it debuted in 2003 from Image Comics. It was because of his success with The Walking Dead and his other creator owned series, Invincible, that led to Kirkman becoming a full partner at Image.

If you would like more info on The Walking Dead check out its Official Home Page and then tune in to AMC on Halloween night to catch the first episode in what I hope turns out to be a long running series. I know I’ll be watching.