Creator profile: Robert Kirkman

The Lexington, Ky., Herald-Leader profiles Invincible and The Walking Dead writer -- and local guy -- Robert Kirkman:

Kirkman, 26, is a hot property in this small, colorful world. (Fewer than 100,000 people -- mostly guys in their 20s and 30s -- read most comics, but they're a passionate bunch.) He has been interviewed on various Web sites, nominated for industry awards and given ovations at comics conventions.

"Man, the conventions are an experience," said Kirkman, who is tall and stocky, with shaggy, brown hair and a beard. "I don't want to say I'm like a movie star, but -- you know, you've got thousands of people there. They want my autograph, they ask me questions about my next project while I'm standing at the urinal.

"Then I come home," he adds, grinning, "and I'm nobody. It's great."