Check out the zombies from THE WALKING DEAD and hear what Darabont has to say.

Ok kids, these images are not for your children (unless your children love decaying bodies) so consider yourself warned. The dude to the left is the most handsome of the bunch.

AMC has released the first images from the upcoming THE WALKING DEAD. And they ain’t of the humans.

For those of you that are not familiar with it, here is Mr. Jon’s summary:

Walking Dead was created by Robert Kirkman and is published by Image comics starting in 2003. Kirkman has since become one of the partners at Image and his other books include Invincible and Brit. The art was originally by the amazing Tony Moore, and in issue 7 art chores were taken over by Charlie Adlard.

What makes Walking Dead so much more than other comics about Zombies is the fact that the zombies are a means of telling a story, not the story itself. The series is actually about the people who survive what befell mankind and how they live now in a world over run by the walking dead, when they themselves appear to be just that.

The comic follows a a Kentucky police officer (Rick Grimes)as he finds his wife and son, and then along with other survivors try to find a safe place to live. Along the way other survivors are found and they caravan from one place to another, finding survivors and losing members of their party. They also encounter other groups and the way in which different people try to survive is a real study in human nature. The series is terrific.

Andrew Lincoln (LOVE ACTUALLY, STRIKE BACK series) has signed on to play Rick Grimes, a small-town police officer who leads a group of survivors of a zombie apocalypse.

Jon Bernthal will play Shane. Shane is a police officer and partner to Grimes. Jon recently appeared in THE GHOST WRITER and has also been in NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM II (played Al Capone) and WORLD TRADE CENTER.

Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break) is on board as Lori Grimes, wife of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln).

Laurie Holden is Andrea, a key member of the survivor group that is skilled with a rifle. Holden played Agent Olivia Murray on the final season of THE SHIELD and has previously worked with exec producer/writer/director Frank Darabont on THE MIST.

Production started this week and the plan is for TWD to debut, in October, during AMC’s Fearfest (formally Monsterfest), the network’s 14th annual marathon of thriller and horror films.

I have read a little of the series and am seriously digging it. Frank has a history of strong adaptations and I think he is just the guy to make a television series that will do the source material justice.

In addition to these pretty pictures, AMC has offered up this video of writer/director/producer Frank Darabont (THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE GREEN MILE) talking about the upcoming series.