In The Walking Dead’s comic book universe, series creator Robert Kirkman put Rick Grimes and his fellow survivors through deadly wanderers, wannabe despots, cult-like ringleaders, and more through its almost 200-issue journey. Now Kirkman confirms he named one of Rick’s worst Walking Dead enemies after a school bully from his own past, immortalizing his tormentor in a way that guaranteees he'll be loathed by millions.
In the supplemental “Cutting Room Floor” material in The Walking Dead Deluxe #101, Kirkman explains how one of the series’ first true “Big Bads” got his name, revealing that The Governor aka Philip Blake is based on Kirkman’s Breckenridge Elementary bully:
"ALSO, fun fact, the character's name was GREGORY. In elementary school, the school bully of Breckenridge Elementary in Lexington, Kentucky was a boy named Phillip. So that's usually my shorthand for sh*tty characters. I will never name a good character Phillip. They will always be a villain to some degree. I also have to be careful not to use that name for every bad/sh*tty character across all my books. And the funny thing is, it's not like this poor kid Phillip was all that bad. He was just the first instance of a human being I encountered who did mean things for no reason, it made an impression. F*** that guy. "
Robert Kirkman Named The Governor "Philip" After His School Bully
The Walking Dead Deluxe #101 (2024) by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, and Dave McCaig
Describing his creative process in this back-of-the-book column reserved exclusively for readers of The Walking Dead Deluxe, Kirkman talks about his plotting for this issue, and eventually reveals the surprising look into his childhood's influence on the creative process. In the process, succinctly explaining why the name "Phillip" is a perfect fit for the infinitely terrible person that is The Governor; a man who hurt Rick and company in ways that famously traumatized them all (they were adults, not children, but the comparison holds).
The Walking Dead comic book ended five years ago with a finale no one saw coming, with Robert Kirkman admitting there's a possibility it could return.
A fun behind-the-scenes fact about a villain who upended The Walking Dead’s status quo when he was introduced in The Walking Dead #27, Philip Blake, or Brian Blake as he was known before he took his deceased brother’s name, was the driving force behind the story's iconic prison massacre. Removing one “l” from his bully’s name to slightly differentiate the two, Kirkman nevertheless admits that the young boy made a lasting mark.
The Governor Was a Ruthless Villain, in Both Versions of The Walking Dead
As fans of the television series will recall, the live-action version of Walking Dead's Governor flips his name’s origin story. In this version, the character (portrayed by actor David Morrissey) was always known as Philip Blake, with him having used the false name of 'Brian Harriet' later in the series, subtly paying homage to his character’s dueling identities in the comic.
Coming into conflict with (and ultimately triumphing over) the likes of the sadistic Governor, the foul-mouthed Negan, the silent but deadly Whisperers, the corrupt leaders of the Commonwealth, and more, Rick and the rest of the characters in The Walking Dead never have any shortage of villains to face, including some originating from within their own ranks. But it is downright poetic that Morrissey's depiction of Blake, itself a 'child' of sorts to the original incarnation, managed to heighten his hatred to a global level. A harsh legacy for a child who was not, in Kirkman's words, "all that bad."
