A second graphic novel is released today, continuing the story of Telltale’s The Walking Dead
Clementine: Book Two – the second book in a planned trilogy of young adult graphic novels featuring the heroine of Telltale’s video game series “The Walking Dead” – goes on sale today (October 3).
It follows on from (you may have guessed it) last year’s Clementine: Book One and is considered canon to the games from Skybound, IP holders of the entire Walking Dead series founded by the author of the original comics, Robert Kirkman became. You may recall that Skybound stepped in as publisher to revive the series like one of its own Wanderers after Telltale suddenly announced the “closure of most of the studio” in 2018, with two episodes of the final season still unfilmed.
The Clementine Trilogy’s premise is admittedly somewhat controversial among fans of the games, as it almost immediately overrode the happy ending of The Walking Dead: The Final Season, in which – spoiler! – Clem has finally found a home with her ward AJ and (optionally) the love of her dreams. The latter is particularly controversial, as multiple-choice romance novels obviously don’t do well in media other than video games; So both the beautiful Louis and the fascinating Violet were quickly excluded from the off-screen in favor of an original character as Clem’s new partner in the graphic novel series.
However, if you can get past that downer (and for the record, I for one will never fully get over Louis), the Clementine books are compelling sequels to the game series that, while neither uplifting nor fan-serving, are tonally undeniable for the game The Walking Dead universe is suitable. That means: dark. But hey, if you’ve gotten this far, you probably really like this sort of thing.
The Clementine Trilogy is the work of author and illustrator Tillie Walden, who has won Ignatz and Eisner awards for her previous original graphic novels, most of which tell the stories of LGBTQ+ young adults like Clementine; and who was recently named Vermont’s 2023-26 Cartoonist Laureate. The publisher is Skybound Comet, Image/Skybound’s in-house, teen-focused graphic novel publisher, which launched last summer with the first Clementine book.
Telltale’s The Walking Dead consists of four seasons, a spin-off miniseries and an interquel DLC, released episodically between 2012 and 2019. All 23 episodes are now available as The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series (published by Skybound). which is currently playable on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
Clementine: Books one and two can be purchased at most booksellers. Book three is expected in 2024 and is currently the final planned entry in The Walking Dead’s Telltale/Clementine sub-franchise.
