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A feature-length adaptation of Crossed was announced in 2024, coming from Six Studios. Ennis is expected to write the screenplay, nd the project is currently under development.

Is Walking Dead's Violence Really 'Tame'?

There Aren't Many Lines Walking Dead Didn't Cross

Walking Dead shows injuries in extreme detail - something that's even more pronounced now that Walking Dead Deluxe is reprinting the story in vivid color. Torture, rape and suicide all appear, and multiple children kill and are killed over the course of the series. There's no way to call Walking Dead tame by itself, however it's also the case that the violence in the series rarely feels gratuitous on an emotional level.

Essentially every death in The Walking Dead is treated as an extreme tragedy, with the series focusing on the mental state of its characters and how the zombie apocalypse is changing them on a fundamental level. Characters struggle with the dehumanizing effects of witnessing, carrying out and being subjected to violence, and each death takes a heavy toll on even the most moral characters. While Walking Dead has moments of intense gore and horrifying content, none of it is handled flippantly, which is a charge that some have laid at the door of Crossed.

What Makes Crossed More Extreme Than Walking Dead?

On Paper, the Two Projects Sound Identical, But They're Really Not

While Walking Dead uses shambling, undead zombies (despite only using the actual term 'zombies' on a few sparse occasions), Crossed's antagonists are still very much alive. In the comic, an unexplained but contagious force turns the majority of humans into sadists. Not only do the titular Crossed perform acts of horrifying violence, but they enjoy depravity and cruelty, living only in anticipation of their next victim.

In The Walking Dead Deluxe #76, Kirkman was asked what he thought of Crossed via fan letter, and replied, "I love Garth, but it's a bit much for me, frankly." It might be surprising for fans that the creator of one gory zombie horror comic would consider another too extreme to enjoy, but there is a chasm between the two projects. Ultimately, Kirkman is right to say that Walking Dead is tame in comparison to what Crossed offers readers... but does that mean Crossed goes too far?

Is Crossed's Violence Justified?

Walking Dead Uses Violence Carefully, But Many Have Called Crossed Overly Graphic

Writer Garth Ennis (The Boys, Preacher) is known for his irreverent, button-pushing approach to violence, and yet Crossed arguably isn't the best example of his provocative style. While comics like Preacher do use violence as a punchline, Crossed is outright horror, and the constant violence communicates the claustrophobic, panicked state in which the protagonists spend the majority of the story. In the world of Walking Dead, some characters accept death-by-zombie for the greater good, but no-one would ever let the Crossed get ahold of them if they had any choice.