The first picture of Michonne, a major new character for Season 3 of The Walking Dead, has been revealed, courtesy of EW.

In the show Michonne is played by actress Danai Gurira. Comic fans need no introduction to the character but for everyone else, she is a deadly warrior who joins Rick and the survivors.

The character turned up briefly in the Season 2 finale as the hooded, katana wielding figure who saved Andrea’s life. She was accompanied by her two “domesticated” walkers.

Asked how similar the character will be to the comic, creator and producer Robert Kirkman said: “The essence of the character — her personality, her motives, everything that makes Michonne Michonne — remains intact from the comics,” “But like a lot of things on the show, there will be little tweaks and differences here and there. We saw that her introduction is slightly different from how it was in the comic, and her interaction with Andrea is really going to be a really cool addition to the character that I think will get television viewers up to speed, and they’ll get to know her a lot faster than comic book readers did.”