????最近，《行尸走肉》（The Walking Dead）漫畫書在堪稱宅文化圣地的2013圣迭戈動漫展（San Diego Comic Con 2013）上慶祝了10周年紀念日。生日宴會播放了根據這部長篇連載漫畫改編的電視劇，有多位好萊塢明星捧場。羅伯特?柯克曼長期以來受到這部漫畫書迷們的擁戴。由于AMC電視臺那部備受歡迎的收視冠軍劇集以及Telltale Studios公司制作的獲獎視頻游戲，《行尸走肉》已經變成了一個主流現象。

????34歲的柯克曼如今已經從肯塔基州里奇蒙德搬到了洛杉磯。從外表來看，他的謙遜務實依然沒有改變。他現在是Image Comics公司的創始合伙人，2010年還創建了自己的出版公司Skybound。作為《行尸走肉》電視劇的制片人，柯克曼正在與AMC合作開發第二部根據漫畫改編的電視劇《賊中大盜》（Thief of Thieves）。這位多媒體大亨擁有自己創作的所有漫畫的版權。最近，柯克曼接受了我們的獨家專訪，闡釋了數字技術為漫畫產業帶來了的機遇，還討論了在娛樂行業里實現跨界發展的秘訣。

如今創作熱門的新漫畫會遇到什么挑戰？

????幸好那些挑戰正在以相當快的速度消失。讓人們嘗試新東西歷來都不是一件容易的事情，但漫畫界最近已經意識到新想法和新觀念是多么地激動人心。我看到各種各樣的新漫畫、新觀念得到了大量讀者的全力支持，與漫威（Marvel）和DC的長篇連載漫畫相比也不遑多讓。這種現象很好，我希望能夠延續下去。10年前，很難讓人們觀看《行尸走肉》這樣的漫畫。這類黑白恐怖漫畫被漫畫行業里的超級英雄們重重圍困。但幸好，情況正在發生變化。

數字技術對漫畫行業產生了什么影響？

????影響很大。數字技術改變了可獲得性，使漫畫與大眾的距離無限縮短，取代了20世紀60、70和80年代的那種報攤模式。那時，孩子們和媽媽一起走進雜貨店，閱讀、挑選漫畫書。如今，他們可以在iPad上玩游戲，然后閱讀、購買漫畫，而且它們總是在那個地方。數字技術極大地增加了讀者數量，帶來了大量的新讀者。

你在與AMC共同制作《行尸走肉》電視劇的過程中有什么令你感到驚訝的事情嗎？

????有很多令我感到驚訝的地方。這是全新的媒介，有很多故事處理手法和電視劇制作訣竅是我不知道的。有很多規則我們必須遵守，但我并不知道。因此，弄清楚電視節目這種東西到底是怎么運作的，這對我來說是非常有益的學習經歷。其中有很多樂趣。為一檔電視節目效力的人多得令人吃驚?！缎惺呷狻冯娨晞〉难萋毴藛T有1,000人左右，是個大制作。

????The Walking Dead comic book celebrated its 10th anniversary at the nerd Mecca known as San Diego Comic Con 2013. Its birthday party here featured the cast of the television show based on the long-running series as well as other Hollywood celebrities. Robert Kirkman has been popular with this comic book crowd for a long time, but thanks to the critically acclaimed and ratings champion AMC program and award-winning video games from Telltale Studios, The Walking Dead has become a mainstream phenomenon.

????Kirkman, 34, has moved from Richmond, Kentucky to Los Angeles. But by all appearances, he remains a humble, down-to-earth guy. A founding partner of Image Comics, in 2010 he launched his own imprint, Skybound. A producer on The Walking Dead TV series, Kirkman has a second comic-based TV series with AMC in development, Thief of Thieves. The multimedia mogul, who owns the rights to all of his creations, explains what opportunities digital technology is opening up for the comic book industry and discusses the secret to wearing multiple hats in the entertainment business in this exclusive interview.

What are the challenges in creating something new that will catch on in the comic book industry today?

????Thankfully, those challenges are going away and at a fairly quick pace. Historically, it's been very difficult for people to try new things, but the comic medium has awoken recently to just how exciting new ideas and new concepts are. I am seeing across the board new comics, new concepts being supported wholeheartedly by the readership in droves, pretty much at equal levels with long-running Marvel and DC titles. That's a really cool thing and I hope it keeps up. Ten years ago it was very difficult to get people to read something like The Walking Dead, a black-and-white horror comic, surrounded by the super heroes of the industry, but thankfully things are changing.

What impact is digital technology having on the comic industry?

????It's having a huge impact. Digital changes availability. It makes the book infinitely available to the masses and it really has replaced the newsstand model of the 1960s, '70s and '80s, where kids could go into a grocery store with their mom, see comics and pick them up. Now they can be playing a game on their iPad and then pop over and buy a comic and it's always there. Digital is growing our readership in really great ways and is leading to an influx of new readers.

What surprised you working on television with AMC and The Walking Dead?

????There were a lot of surprises. It's a completely new medium, so there were a lot of story processes and tricks of the trade and things that I just didn't know. There are a lot of rules we have to follow that I wasn't aware of so it was a really cool learning experience for me to come in and figure out exactly how this whole TV things works. It was a lot of fun. The amount of people who actually work on a television show is pretty startling. It's a 1,000 or so people who are working on The Walking Dead show, so it's a huge operation.