Which pieces from your own collection are really special?

The signed, sketched and graded “Walking Dead” No. 1 is from the printer’s crate of the first “Walking Dead” issues sent to my house around October 2003. Back then, I was taking them to conventions and selling them for $3 a piece, and I thought they were all gone. One day my wife and I were cleaning out the garage and found a box of long lost No. 1s. I sent a handful into the CGC comic grading service and I got several back with really nice, high grades. This one is sketched on twice and signed.

Another rare piece is the 11 × 17 “Walking Dead” Artist’s Edition that’s got a color painting of a lady zombie’s face on the front. They recently printed 500 blank ones and gave them all to me. To date, I’ve only painted 13. They’ve never been sold anywhere; it’s a one-of-a-kind piece on a book that’s pretty rare to begin with.

What other pieces are special to you?

There is a very large painting of a robot that’s actually from my BFA graduation show at The University of Louisville. I had the show, but I actually got offered a job before I could complete my BFA.

What comic book character made the biggest impact on you?

Batman, for sure. The drawing I created exclusively for the sale was pretty much Frank Miller’s version of Batman from his Dark Knight series; a flash forward to an older version of Bruce Wayne trying to deal with a new world. My mom bought it for me for my 10th birthday and when I read it, I thought, “This is brutal.” This wasn’t Adam West’s Batman and that’s what made it so cool — it was gritty and bloody and heartbreaking. That book changed the tone of comics for about 30 years and impacted creators for a couple generations. I just happen to be one of them.

What’s it like to be a part of the cultural resonance of “The Walking Dead?”

The instant something gets made from your comic that’s beyond the actual comic it’s euphoric and surreal. To know that it’s had a deep effect on millions of people I will never meet is really cool and an honor. When I first started drawing, I treasured the comics that I loved and that were super influential to me. One of the things that has always motivated me to do the best work I can is the thought that it could be some other kid’s first comic. It could be the thing that gets another kid super excited, so I better make it good.