For the record, I want to share that waiting in line for the WALKING DEAD panel in Ballroom 20 at Comic Con felt very much like being part of a zombie Apocalypse. Even as I arrived at the convention center more than a full hour before the show started, I had to march to the end of a queue that snaked all the way over the complex and down around to the shore. I was told by the staff that I was the 6000th or 7000th attendee in line and that I’d have to wait six hours for any hope of reaching the ballroom.
That, friends, is unequivocal demand.
Expect some photos and video of my experience to come but, suffice it to say, I had no hope of ever making it to the WALKING DEAD panel, let alone seeing Frank Darabont speak about the show in person. And now it seems like I might not ever have that chance.
Deadline’s saying that Darabont’s stepping down as the series’ show-runner, even after being directly attached to it as recently as last Friday’s spectacularly-unreachable panel. Fans shouldn’t stop breathing easy, though. The show’s still on track for its return in October and Darabont may still be attached to the show in a different capacity. He fought to get THE WALKING DEAD on the air for half a decade, so I honestly doubt he'd part ways with the zombies this abruptly.