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• How do you go about creating a realistic villain in The Walking Dead? "Suffering," says Clementine's Tillie Walden
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Queerness has long colored both mainstream and underground American comics. But it's been within the past decade that cartoonists like Tillie Walden have ushered in a new era of representation with books like On A Sunbeam and Spinning. On A Sunbeam won the 2018 Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and since then, Walden has acknowledged that her storytelling sensibilities have changed. 

Speaking to Popverse about her new graphic novel, Clementine Book 3, the final installment in her Walking Dead graphic novel series, Walden expanded upon the type of queerness and queer characters that she wanted to explore with this book. "[Clementine] Book 3 was the first time I ever sort of waded into the idea of a queer woman who is not a good person and who is doing harmful things," Walden said, about the book's antagonist, the Gardener.

"It was really fascinating to work on and it suits where I'm at right now with queerness and queer stories, which is that, at this juncture, I'm craving complexity. Like when I wrote a book like On A Sunbeam, I just wanted gay people to be happy and safe and people like that book because that's what it is but now, I want to explore the dark side because I feel like as I get older I see that dark within me more frequently, especially as you get further and further away from having come out and dealt with that initial blow of accepting who you are. All of your understanding of your identity really changes and really morphs and really does not fit the molds that I think people want it to."

In perfect Walking Dead fashion, The Gardener is a villain with a ton of complexity, who has suffered losses of her own. This makes her actions across the book all the more compelling, because from a certain standpoint, we can all empathize with her position. 

You can read our full interview with Tillie Walden here.

Clementine Book 3 is available now wherever comics are sold. 

Get ready for what's next with our guide to upcoming comics, how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to Free Comic Book Day 2025.