One question has always lingered in the back of the minds of the fans of The Walking Dead comic: how the hell is Robert Kirkman ever going to end this story? Did he even have any sort of idea of how to conclude the saga of Rick Grimes and his group of survivors? Well, at San Diego Comic Con this year, Kirkman told fans that he has an ending in mind, and is actively directing the story towards its final chapter. He’s not releasing an official date yet of when the series would end, but he’s been carefully steering his series towards that ending.

However, though Kirkman said he’s got an ending in sight, he’s made it clear on Twitter that he’s not ending up the series right now. We reported earlier he was actively wrapping up the series, but fans can breathe a sigh of relief. Kirkman’s clarification explains he just knows where he’s ultimately taking the series, but who knows how far away that final moment could be. Thank goodness.

The idea for the series’ conclusion came to him two or three years ago, and has helped him as he continues to craft story lines. After all, The Walking Dead is an incredibly intricate series with lots of complicated story lines and character arcs. With so much story left to tell, it could take a while for him to decide he is ready to wrap up the hit comic book series.

Of course, any spoilers for how the comic series wraps up would be a pretty hot commodity–especially this far out from the actual final issue. To keep the arc safe, Kirkman explained that he hasn’t even written the ending down yet to keep the finale a secret until he’s ready to reveal his plans.

Fans still love it and flock to it in droves, so despite our earlier report, we might not see the final installment of the series for some time. Still, with the series (and its television counterpart) doing so well, Kirkman wants to make sure the story ends in a way that both he and fans will love.

How would you like to see the characters’ stories wrap up? Tell us what you think in the comments!

Images: AMC, Image/Skybound