The Walking Dead: Invasion Book Cover Released

Starting with 2011’s The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor, author Jay Bonansinga has been doing his part to expand the universe of The Walking Dead. Set in the same universe as the comic book series, Rise of the Governor dove straight into the backstory of arguably the most brutal villain of the series, The Governor, and established how he wound up as the man in charge of Woodbury. The book was criticized for its writing style, but offered a heavily compelling storyline with one hell of an ending— and I won’t even get into how heartbreaking it was to read about Penny’s demise.

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Bonansinga followed up Rise with three sequels (The Road to Woodbury and Fall of the Governor parts 1 and 2), but while each was an interesting read, none of them quite captured the magic of the first book. The final volume in that four-part series was especially disappointing because of the large number of inconsistencies with the panels from the comic book, despite Robert Kirkman’s insistence that these novels are considered canon with the comics. The Geeky part of myself wants to never forgive Bonansinga for changing the most iconic line from the series, The Governor’s “KILL THEM ALL!” into, “Destroy them all, now!”

Following the conclusion of the Gov’s story was The Walking Dead: Descent, which continued the story of Woodbury survivor and new leader, Lilly Caul. The novel was surprisingly an addictive page-turner that was more on par with the compelling story of Rise of the Governor, documenting the [SPOILER ALERT] potential destruction of Woodbury and Lilly’s feud with the sociopathic cult leader, Jeremiah Garlitz. Readers who have been following Lilly’s story through these books were left with our protagonist stuck in a series of underground tunnels with her nemesis still alive and out there somewhere.

Now, we know when we’ll get to find out what happens next. The folks over at the official website for The Walking Dead have released some new details on the book, including its release date, which will be October 6th of this year. Also revealed was a synopsis that has filled me with anticipation:

"Out of the ashes of a devastated Woodbury, Georgia, two opposing camps of ragtag survivors develop – each one on a collision course with the other.Underground, in the labyrinth of ancient tunnels and mine shafts, Lilly Caul and her motley crew of senior citizens, misfits, and children struggle to build a new life. But a secret ambition still burns in Lilly’s heart and soul. She wants her beloved town of Woodbury back from the plague of walkers, and now the only thing that stands in her way currently roams the wasted backwaters of Georgia…Way out in the hinterlands, amidst the rising tide of walkers that seem to be pushing in from all directions, the psychotic Reverend Jeremiah Garlitz rebuilds his army of followers with a diabolical secret weapon. He has designs on the destruction of Lilly and her crew – the very people who vanquished his cultish church – and now, for the first time, he has the means to bring a special brand of hell down upon the tunnel dwellers.The final confrontation between these two human factions unleashes an unthinkable weapon – forged from the monstrous hordes of undead, perfected by a madman, and soaked in the blood of innocents."

The nifty cover for the upcoming novel was also revealed, and you can check it out below. I think it’s pretty rad because, technically, this might be the first time we’ve seen anything “live action” from the comic book universe – even if it’s just a photo. The girl who portrays Lilly Caul hosts a Youtube channel called Geekin’ Gorgeous, and you can check out her behind-the-scenes video on the creation of the Invasion book cover here.

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