No. 289: Signed by the Living (Dead Heads)

Norman Reedus, left, and Andrew Lincoln of AMC's "The Walking Dead" put ink on No. 289

Somewhere, in or around Atlanta, Norman Reedus woke up with a photo of my "Dead Heads" drawing (No. 289) in his cel phone.
Becky Losey Wyndham, one of the most fanatic fans ever of The Walking Dead,  saw to that.
She made the rounds of the huge Walker Stalker event in Atlanta in late October and early November. She met most of the cast, past and present, including Reedus, who plays Daryl, and Andrew Lincoln, group leader Rick.

No. 289, "Dead Heads" by Tom Wills, June 2015

She brought along this drawing, which she had commissioned and I completed in June.
She wrote:

"Norman took a picture of your drawing. I pointed to your name at the bottom to show him who drew it. He took a picture of it with phone.... He said WOW!!!"

"He loved it Tom!!!! He put it out on the table in front of him and stood up to take the pic of it!!!!"

"Andy said, 'Wow did you do this Becky?' I said heavens no, my friend Tom Wills did it for me.' He said, 'That's amazing!'"

"It is going in the middle of the wall surrounded by all the autographed pics and photos with the cast …"

We've been waiting for months to finish this story.  Read on!



I am somewhat a master of old technology, but not new. I manage to keep old record players, analog tape machines, ancient radios and big old televisions up and mostly running.
Sure I can make CDs but I don't have a DVR for recording television and movies and, frankly, I don't have much tube time anyway.
Except for one show. Everyone in my house knows to leave me alone from 9 to 10 p.m. Sundays when "The Walking Dead" is on.
I love to watch live television about dead people.

The other tenants here call this "Dad's Stupid Zombie Show."
But I like it.  And judging from its massive fan base, I'm right. Again.

"Tom, you should show this in one of those walking dead groups. I think the one I'm in has over 50k people and there are all kinds of people selling artwork about the show. Although some of the work people sell is good, I don't think any are as good as yours."

"I am in a few groups (imagine that) and have shared my new drawing progress and this finished product with them. I love it! Thank you!!"

Recently I was asked to do a drawing of two main show characters for a high school friend, who just happens to be part of a closed group I've also joined (by invitation) called "Walking Dead Rejects."  This should be fun when the new season heats up. But please don't reveal plot secrets! I have friends who DO watch the show later.

I tried to find a really gritty fan photo of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), and worked hard to convey that filth in this drawing. After all, they have been roaming the South for now-six seasons, whacking and hacking their way to what's hopefully left of civilization. Not pretty.

Becky Losey Wyndham, who purchased this drawing, attends a lot of fan conventions and rubs shoulders with many of these actors and actresses -- and she has the photos and autographs to prove it. We specifically made this picture small enough to fit into a suitcase -- and didn't frame it (yet). I sprayed it with a workable fixative -- one that still allowed the actors to affix their signatures.
Now that the drawing has been decorated by the zombie hunters, it's finished!