Robert Kirkman● Active

Robert Kirkman was born on November 30, 1978, and has become one of the most prolific and commercially successful comic book writers of his generation. Working almost exclusively as a writer rather than an artist, he built his reputation through a remarkable run of creator-owned material at Image Comics, where he has served as a partner and COO — notably the only Image partner who was not among the company's original founders.

Kirkman's catalog spans more than 600 credited issues across a career stretching from 2001 onward. His signature achievement is The Walking Dead, the long-running zombie survival series that anchored a massive media franchise, including the AMC television adaptations for which Kirkman wrote episodes and served as producer. His superhero series Invincible similarly crossed from comics to a well-received animated television adaptation, which he also produced. Additional creator-owned work includes Outcast, Oblivion Song, Tech Jacket, and Fire Power, all published through Image. At Marvel he contributed runs on Ultimate X-Men, Irredeemable Ant-Man, and the wildly popular Marvel Zombies. He also collaborated with Todd McFarlane on Haunt.

In 2010, Kirkman co-founded Skybound Entertainment to develop his properties across comics, television, film, and eventually video games through its Skybound Games division. He also served as executive producer of Robert Kirkman's Secret History of Comics and the Korean drama Five Year.