“Walking Dead” creator Robert Kirkman has decimated all hope for Rick Grimes to ultimately survive the zombie apocalypse. In issue #192 of the comic series by the same name, the central character meets his ultimate demise in a dramatic fashion.

In the previous installment, a teenager named Sebastian, who is the son of governor Pamela Milton, broke into Rick’s home and shot him once in the chest. That shocking event ended the issue, which left fans to wait a full month before learning the protagonist’s fate.

Unfortunately for loyal Rick fans, #192 picks up in the same place, even though some were hoping for a time jump or medically-induced coma, both of which have been utilized in the “Walking Dead” universe before.

Once we were interjected back into the story, we found that Sebastian would ultimately kill Rick and that he would die alone in his bed. Eventually, his son, Carl would be the one to discover his zombified body and be forced to shoot him in the head as the final blow, as reported by Digital Spy.

Kirkman had hinted that this issue may be extremely important in the saga of the “Walking Dead,” as he tweeted last month, “It’s almost like this issue is… a big deal or something… #nocomment,” which gave fans a bit of a heads up about the impending tragedy.

The monumental event triggered fans to speculate that the twist came as a result of the plot on the television version of the "Walking Dead." However, Kirkman also killed those rumors, saying, "I don't like addressing the TV show, simply because it has no bearing on this series. This series informs the show, not the other way around.”

“I’ve been working toward this since I started writing issue #1. It doesn’t make it any easier, but it’s been something I’ve been getting more and more used to as the years got down to months and then weeks… I knew it was coming,” he added.

Kirkman understands the fragility of making such pivotal narrative choices while still retaining the true core of the show, as evident in a recent interview with The New York Times. In contemplation, he said, “I can make crazy decisions that could outright destroy this book if I’m not careful. Walking that tightrope is exhilarating.”

Rick Grimes
Andrew Lincoln teases “exciting” things ahead for Rick and “The Walking Dead” cast in the Season 7 finale. AMC