Comics, Movies, and The Prom of the Dead - An Interview With Dave Dwonch
/Written by Neil Greenaway
Dave Dwonch poses with with his banners and books at a convention. (2018)
Dave Dwonch is the kind of guy who has done it all in the comics industry. In 2010 he founded Action Lab Entertainment, where he would go on to write comics like Vamplets, Cyrus Perkins, Double Jumpers, and Infinite Seven. As Creative Director for Action Lab, Dave helped produce several other titles for the company - including the Eisner nominated Princeless. Though he works mainly as an author and editor these days, he has accrued a list of books that include credits as penciller, inker, letterer, and colorist. He has even been the cover artist for a handful of comics.
I first met Dave in 2015 at a convention in Phoenix, where he made it clear that he was an approachable and knowledgeable point of contact in the industry. In the years since then he has become a go-to source of comics publishing wisdom for me, and a real friend. Dave has a very gentle way of exposing harsh truths, always has a few minutes worth of GENUINE advice for up-and-coming creators, and really seems to care about the direction comics are headed. He is taking chances and making the kind of comics that he wants to read. If you see him at a convention, stop by and say hello, pick up one of his books. You wont be disappointed.
Prom of the Dead, cover by Santiago Guillen.
Neil Greenaway: I see that you have several new books out and we’ll talk a little about all of them. Why don’t you start out by telling us a bit about Prom of the Dead?
Dave Dwonch: Awesome, yeah. So, Prom of the Dead is my newest creator owned book. I just nailed the publisher down on it, they’re a bunch of guys out of Texas called Behemoth. They are going to push really hard in 2019. We met each other when I Kickstarted the book, and some guy named Behemoth liked me on Kickstarter. I just started doing some research and I met up with them and they are really great guys, really enthusiastic about the business - and we worked out a deal. The book is really about three outcast friends that end up stuck in a zombie infested prom, voilá, Prom of the Dead. That said, it rapidly becomes less and less of a zombie book and more of a sci-fi horror series. It is scheduled to be a series (called SPORES) of three graphic novels, one a year. I’m just really excited to be doing something, stretching the muscles in my writing. I did Cyrus Perkins a few years back, but I wouldn’t say that was a horror book. I think it’s more in the horror / dram-edy area. It’s exciting stuff.
NG: Now with Cyrus Perkins being set in a kind of horror world, is there going to be any kind crossover? Will there be any tie in?
DD: You know it is so weird that you say that. Before Cyrus, all of my books tied in. If you read any one of my graphic novels they were all set in the same universe. Cyrus is the only one that didn’t. Prom definitely isn’t going to tie in to anything because the scope of the story is so vast and great that... I mean it’s truly the end of the world - I really can’t have that event affect all the other books that I love so much. I’m also working on a web comic that should be out soon, called Mind Palace. So, things are good. I’m not with Action Lab anymore. I was the president of the company for a couple years. I was the creative director for several more on top of that. But as I’m getting older I feel like I have the right to be a little selfish. I wanted to do me for a little bit. Now I’m working on a handful of new projects that are going to find homes, I may self-publish. I don’t know - I feel like I’m going forward and backward at the same time but it’s good.
NG: Now you had said that Prom of the Dead quickly moves itself out of the zombie horror genre. Is there going to be an introduction of other horrific figures?
Dave Dwonch (2018).
DD: Well it’s sci-fi, and I don’t want to spoil too much, but we will just say that the zombies are kind of like the first stage of the infection (if you even want to call it that). It evolves so that you will get more monsters. I wouldn’t really say there is going to be more typical monsters in that regard, but creatures.
NG: Very cool. As you had so many of your books out with Action Lab - and now that you are on your own - are we going to see continuations of any of those series?
DD: Oh yeah. In fact, Double Jumpers is getting a sequel. It’s so funny, I had it done - I’ve had the art and scripts done for like a year now - and were just waiting for the right time to put it on the schedule. But that’s going to be out in September, the first issue. There’s a deleted scene one-shot issue coming out digitally only on Comixology and I think I am going to tell them to put it out for free. I like the idea of putting books out for free. Comixology Unlimited is really good for me, a lot of my older books are on there. I’m going to put a new book on Unlimited probably to coincide with the first issue coming out.
NG: Just moving over a little bit, can you tell us about Infinite Seven, which is another of your newer series?
DD: Yeah. There was a rumor when - I think it was Skyfall came out - that James Bond was a code name, that all James Bond’s exist on the same timeline. I was really fascinated by that. It’s kind of how the Daniel Craig James Bond had the Aston Martin. I was like, yeah, that’s really cool that that can sit in the same universe. I liked the idea so much that I kind of took it and expanded upon it. So Infinite Seven is basically about seven master assassins that work for a secret world government. The only way to become one of the assassins in the group is to kill one of the members and replace them, so there is an infinite loop of agents coming into this. Well, a kid stumbles onto a conspiracy and accidentally kills one of the members. Now he has 72 hours to prove that he is worthy of it or they will just wipe him off the map completely, because he would be a liability at that point. It’s like a little fall-from-innocence as this teenage boy has to become a killer. Then, through that, gets a little motivation and honing of his skills in becoming the monster that he must become. So, we did eight issues of that. My artist, Arturo Mesa, and I are also working on another book right now called The Unbearable Grizzly Boy - an all ages hardcover series - and once we get that first hardcover done we’re back on to Infinite Seven. So more Infinite Seven next year for sure.
Some of the Nightmare Nursery plush figures from Vamplets.
NG: Changing gears a little bit, you do a lot of the darker (more adult) books - but then you have Vamplets. You were mentioning a new children’s series -
DD: Yeah, Cyrus Perkins is younger-age appropriate too. You know I don’t like to stick to one genre. I don’t like to stick to one set of readers. If you look at my table, it’s really colorful. Really diverse, sometimes really messed up and sometimes joyous right? For me it feels good to put on different hats - and that’s why I did Prom of the Dead. I love, REALLY unapologetically, LOVE teenage dramas. Don’t tell anyone, but I love The OC and I love 90210. On a long weekend you will see me eating ice cream watching really bad teen dramas. That is where Prom came from. I just wanted to write that you know? And I think it is fun. But it does speak to my darker sensibility because, like anything, I think a huge disaster like that will change people really quickly. So where it starts and where it ends are two very very different places. And then with Grizzly Boy we just wanted to do something... I have kids that come up to my tables at conventions and the little girls - they all love Vamplets. But I always feel bad about the quiet little brother that is next to them, that can’t have something to freak out over. Grizzly Boy is for them. It’s going to be the same oversized hardcover, it’s going to sit next to Vamplets and it’s going to speak to a younger reader. But like Vamplets, I feel that I don’t talk down to kids. I feel like parents might want to read it too. I have had many, many parents come up and say that they read it with their kids over and over again. So, I am hoping for the same with Grizzly Boy. I haven’t really written superhero stuff, so this will be my first real cape and tight book. For me it was important for it to have more of a social commentary element to it as well.
NG: Now with that being a hardcover in the same size and in the same age group would we expect to see crossovers or at least nods to the universe there?
DD: You know, it’s a good idea. There are some thematic parallels. In the Grizzly Boy book there is a magical place called the Underwoods and it’s very much like Gloomvania (from Vamplets) but the monsters are – I want to say they are a little sharper. They’re a little bit toothier. Imagine like a Thundercats enemy in a purply, almost upside-down world. So you will see themes that are similar but nothing that is going to crossover. Plus, I don’t own Vamplets. I am just one of the writers on the book, so it would be a little tough to navigate that.
Infinite Seven (2017) #5 C, cover by Dave Dwonch.
NG: I suppose that makes sense. It sounds like you have a lot going on! What’s next?
DD: Oh man, what’s next? Grizzly Boy for sure. More Infinite Seven. Eventually we are going to get to the Cyrus Perkins sequel, which is partially written but we were optioned a year ago and I started developing the TV show - and that informed the writing on the comic book - so we will see how they can play together. We are kind of in a holding pattern there until we can figure out where that is going to land. After that I am working on a book called Party Monster with my crazy, insane co-writer Brockton McKinney - who is just a joy to work with. The way we work is really interesting. We have a Google doc and I write a page, then he writes a page. It goes back and forth and it’s just like a swordfight or a sparring contest to see who can best the other, and the book is bananas. It’s crazy. So, you can look for that next year. After that, man I have a couple pitches - we’ll see where they land. More horror stuff - in fact, it’s really weird. I look at the stuff I’m working on and I feel like horror is pretty rad because you can cross genre on horror way easier than you can with any other genre or subgenre. It speaks to my dark side and I like that.
NG: You have said that you have another volume of Infinite Seven planned, is there a definitive endpoint to that series?
DD: I think every endpoint is just a new beginning, so we’ll see how far we can take it. I know that after the next four issues it jumps a year ahead, and because the nature of the book is so cyclical with the characters - it was a long year between the two volumes. It is a very, very different book after the next four issues. So, we’ll see how far we can get down that road. You know, it’s indie comics, it’s hard to keep a monthly book afloat. Some of the guys at Action Lab have been able to do it with books like Zombie Tramp and Dollface and Vamplets and stuff like that, but you know the fans for those books are rabid. They are what’s keeping those books out there. It’s a challenge but we will see if we can make a go of it. The reaction for Infinite Seven has been really great, it’s just trying to convince the retailers that it’s great - that’s the hard part I think.
NG: As retail space becomes harder and harder to come by for the indie comics, I’m noticing a lot of new retail options opening up - Comixology being one of them. They have recently announced they will be doing a print on demand side to their business. Are those more appealing than the brick and mortar stores?
Some of the graphic novels and trades from Dave Dwonch.
DD: For me no. I grew up working in comics shops and love the interaction that you have. You’re everyone’s bartender and I love that about comic shops. Anyone can come in and you can recommend the flavor of the month, or something that’s been hotly reviewed, or something that you just personally think they are going to like. You can’t really beat that in my opinion. Will that last? I hope so, but the industry is a tough one. Maybe digital will become more viable just because rent doesn’t go down. At $4 each, a comic shop is making maybe $2.25 an issue. Imagine that, like how many issues do I have to sell so I can pay my rent, own a business and make a living at it? It’s a tough business. We’ll see. I really do hope that the retailers get it together. The best retailers, they’re not going to go away because they understand that their retail space is based on their fans. They cater to their fans and they grow their business naturally and organically. I think that if a retailer only stocks Marvel, DC, and some Image - they are doing their fans a disservice. And I feel they are doing their business a disservice. What happens when Marvel or DC have a skip week? You’re not paying your bills. You have to cultivate the safety net for your own business, right? Whether you like it or not, it is part of the job. It’s not a vacation, it’s a job and the best retailers get that. The other ones don’t, and they go out of business.
NG: Speaking on other media - having said that Cyrus Perkins had been optioned - I am wondering about your opinion. With the Marvel universe going really strong, Valiant just sold to a media company that hopes to extrapolate the comics into a media universe. Do you think that this is the time for indie comics to start moving into the other media as well?
Dave Dwonch (2018)
DD: You know I do. Whether or not the world at large understands (or knows) that I Kill Giants was a comic book series or graphic novel - I won't know that because it’s not like the ads are saying ‘Based On the Bestselling Graphic Novel By Joe Kelly’ right? They are just letting it go unsaid. I don’t know that the movie industry is necessarily designed to help the comics industry. We have the most creative people in entertainment working in comics, right? So of course, you are going to mine it. Unfortunately, any good idea can be optioned or made into a movie - and still never help the creator sell more books. I think it’s a balancing act. But yeah, I am excited. A good idea is a good idea is a good idea, and I love when people respect and appreciate and respond to what we do. I think there is going to be a little fatigue on the Marvel thing. I am a little worried about after Endgame because they are either going to get rid of the heavy hitters (and I say this even after the fact that Black Panther was huge). I’m worried about Star Wars a little bit. I’m worried that we may be at an oversaturation point. The Marvel TV shows I am not really that keen on. I feel like they are best when short lived. The longer they go the less impactful they are, or the more there are the less impactful they are.
NG: Yes, and I have heard a lot of that. Speaking of Star Wars - when Solo came out and underperformed, Disney immediately released statements saying that they were reevaluating their release schedule. Turns out maybe two Star Wars movies a year might be overkill.
Cyrus Perkins and the Haunted Taxi Cab, cover by Anna Lencioni.
DD: Yeah, well how about this: Putting a pretty good movie on the heels of a very polarizing movie was part of the problem. I think people were over Last Jedi and heard so much bad press about Solo that they thought "I’ll just wait". Now they are like "Oh crap, what are we going to do? Should we do another Solo movie?" I don’t know. I mean clearly, they are building it up to be 3 movies. You can see by the ending of that movie that they want more. Or they did want more whether or not that happens is hearsay at this point. It’s kind of amazing to me that Deadpool 2 could just destroy. That’s another thing – you look at the big blockbuster movies that were released right up to Solo and most of them are Disney movies and most of them killed. They re-released Black Panther again and it made more money than Solo just in that re-release. So yeah, it’s really really rough. I think that Star Wars, it used to be an every 2 or 3-year event, right? I used to love that you could build excitement around that, no so much anymore. But we’ll see. They are going to do an Obi-Wan movie I think. They are going to wrap up the current trilogy which they better stick the landing on; if they don’t stick the landing on the new Star Wars trilogy that could really hurt them.
NG: So, with that opinion rendered: Are you ever writing a story with an eye on other media? Or do you just write them to be comics and hope?
DD: Everyone accuses me of writing screenplays but that is just the way I write my scripts. I started as an artist, so in my mind everything is big and widescreen cinematic anyway. That is kind of how I write, and everyone is like "Wow, if you just took out the panel breakdowns this would make a really great movie script. I think I am clever. When I come up with something that I approve of, I write it. I don’t think that I am looking for a film deal at all. Whether or not someone from Hollywood or wherever sees the validity in the work, I’m much more into kids coming over and giving me reviews of my books. I have kids that will come buy my books, go up to their hotel rooms to read them, and come back down and give me honest reviews on my Instagram. It’s the cutest thing ever. I give a money back guarantee for kids, too. It’s pretty rad. So, I don’t really think like "Ooo this would make a perfect movie, this a great launching board." With that said I have a lot of Hollywood people who are asking me to develop stuff with them and for them, and they don’t know how to write a comic book. They don’t even know what would be cool in a comic book. It’s really weird to me because it feels like Hollywood reverse engineering (we need a comic book property, someone develop a comic book, so we can say based on a graphic novel) even though they know full well they are going to make a movie. So, I get notes from directors and producers and creators on that side of things and I’m like, "That doesn’t work in comics at all", and they don’t like to hear that. You know? It’s interesting. It’s a strange pendulum.
Mind Palace Season 1, cover by Santiago Guillen.
NG: With the prevalence of other media and the rise of digital, has the industry itself changed in the time you have been working?
DD: Oh man, I have been in it for a long time. I have been in it for about 15 years. I think comics have become more accessible. I think that retailers have gotten more cautious and jaded. I think that fandom itself is stronger and people want to read anything and everything. I don’t think it’s just Marvel and DC anymore - which I find ironic because the retailers are saying the exact opposite. I mean, on my side of things I think it has just gotten stronger. Creatively it’s gotten better and bigger. If you look at artist alley 10 years ago versus now, it’s night and day. I think everyone has stepped up their game. Even just the people who make prints - and there are a lot of those people too. I can’t knock them for making a living and a lot of them do very well. Do I wish that everyone who had an artist alley booth at a comic con had a comic book that I could read? Sure, for me that would be cool. But I think that everyone has upped their level.
NG: It is always good to hear an optimistic take on the industry! I think that probably wraps this up today but one last question for you. If people want to follow you, if people want to see more from you, where can we look online to do it?
DD: My website is called outofmymind.co or you can just find me @davedwonch (Twitter), @davedwonch (Instagram) or Facebook. I get around.
NG: Thank you for your time sir.
You can find most of Dave's comics at Comixology (by CLICKING HERE) and you can follow his webcomic, Mind Palace, at MindPalaceComic.com.