"The Walking Dead" comic book creator Robert Kirkman has opened up about the difference between his creation and the AMC TV show adaptation ahead of the Season 5 premiere.

Kirkman, who writes for and executive produces the AMC show, marvels at how the actors have found new dimensions in the characters he originally created.

"I'll never get used to the fact that the actors know more about their characters than I do," he said in an interview with the AMC blog. "So it's fun to sit down with Steven Yeun and talk about [his character] Glenn and have him say things to me that I hadn't considered; or sit down with Chandler Riggs about where he thinks Carl's at and what his thought process is. It's definitely one of the benefits that you get from working in television."

Meanwhile, some aspects of the hit show weren't even in Kirkman's comics originally. For example, the character of Daryl Dixon, played by Norman Reedus, was created for the AMC show.

"I think it's great that there is something in the television show that you can only get from the television show," Kirkman said of Daryl Dixon. "He's a tremendously important character in that when we go to adapt stories from the comic, there's always this X-factor that automatically makes us change stories in some way."

According to Kirkman, his comic books are not a Bible for the TV show but rather a starting point.

"The best part of doing the show is looking at my comic like a rough draft and sitting down with the writers to make it better," he said.

Although Kirkman is the brains behind the "The Walking Dead" story, he won't be getting behind the camera any time soon.

"No, I wouldn't wish that on anyone," he said. "I'm not qualified for that."

Season 5 of "The Walking Dead" begins in October.
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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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