Talk Panels To Me #2 – Writer Dave Cook

This week I dig into the world of Killtopia with head architect Dave Cook. Cook has previously written for Boom Studios! and Titan Comics. In recent years he has had success with two gaming history books in; ‘Go Straight’, the guide to side-scrolling beat ’em ups and ‘Run ‘n’ Gun’, a history of on-foot shooters. Recent time has been dedicated to shaping the world of Killtopia. After a popular first volume and a spin-off anthology, everything is taking shape for volume two… Phantoms!

Hello Dave, What was the first comic you read?

Growing up in Scotland, reading the Beano was something of a staple for most kids. I read it every week for a big chunk of my childhood, so characters like Dennis the Menace and the Bash Street Kids were some of my earliest memories of reading comics.

When did you start following a series, and what was it?

I don’t really read comics issue to issue, week to week. I typically buy an issue #1 or a few issues to get a feel for a series, then I wait for the collected edition to come out. The first large series I did this with was Transmetropolitan. I always hesitate to bring that one up due to the shady stuff its creator ended up doing, but I was studying journalism at uni at the time, and my flatmate gave me the complete collection to read. It was a solid recommendation, as it’s all about a journalist in a cyberpunk future, battling forces of corruption with his words. It inspired me to start thinking about writing my own stories. Not necessarily my own comics. That revelation came much later.

Where do you fall in the argument that, as you get older, you follow creators rather than characters?

To be honest, I haven’t heard that one at all, as I tend to just do my own thing. I don’t pay too much attention to debates like this, really. I don’t think age has anything to do with it, to be honest, and instead, it’s more about the kinds of comics you’re into. For example, the indie comic scene is full of creators who are just lovely, talented people putting out brilliant work. So naturally, I gravitate towards supporting their work regardless of genre, usually by backing it on Kickstarter. That said, I’ll always check out anything by Rick Remender or Garth Ennis, my two favourite comic creators. So maybe there’s some truth in that.

What’s the elevator pitch for your Killtopia universe?

Killtopia is our cyberpunk comic series, inspired by the likes of Cowboy Bebop, Akira, Ghost in the Shell and a ton of my favourite videogames. The first arc has won several awards, raised over £175,000 on Kickstarter and is now published as a hardback collected edition by Titan Comics. It’s set in Neo Tokyo in the not-too-distant future, following an explosion that levels the city’s Sector-K district. From the explosion, a horde of rampaging Mechs spawns, destroying everything and everyone in their path. Ten years later, Sector-K is reborn as Killtopia, the hunting grounds of the world’s most popular bloodsport.

People flock from around the world to Tokyo to hunt the Mechs (and each other) for money, fame and fortune. The first arc stars Shinji, a rookie Wrecker who stumbles across Crash, the world’s first sentient Mech. Together they set off to cure a nanomachine plague that’s killing humanity, while being chased by Yakuza crime lords, android assassins and every bounty hunter in the city. It’s a wild trip full of action, dark humour, satire and a ton of twists.

How does Phantoms connect to the already established Killtopia world from the first arc? Will there be familiar faces returning?

Killtopia: Phantoms takes place five years after the events of Killtopia #5. I won’t spoil how the first arc ends, but our second arc stars Bloody Mary, a Mech hunter readers first meet in Killtopia #4. I wanted to explore how the city of Neo Tokyo has changed following the explosive finale, and to dig deeper into the arc’s final scene. I always had a potential sequel in mind, which is why Killtopia #5 ended on a definitive note, with some shades of ambiguity. I wanted to keep the door open to keep the plot going.

In the Phantoms arc, Mary’s given up on Mech hunting to become a work-for-hire cop for Phantoms, an elite police unit dedicated to tracking and killing a mass mind hacker. The hacker manipulates the minds of millions on Halloween night, making them see their worst fears come to life before their eyes. Mary and the rest of Phantoms Unit enter a deadly race against time to locate and neutralise the hacker before they strike again.

I wanted Phantoms to be a completely fresh take on our world of Neo Tokyo, as it’s more of a cyberpunk psychological horror, with a layered detective mystery woven throughout. Who is the mind hacker, what do they want, and how are the city’s various Yakuza clans, shady government agencies and hacker cells involved?

The team this time is me on writing, returning artist, Clark Bint, colourist Emma Oosterhous and returning letterer, Micah Myers. We’ve been quietly cooking up something truly special for a while now, so we can’t wait to share our twisted new era of Killtopia with our fans.

Outside of comics what has gone into influencing the story told in Phantoms? The first arc touched on real-world events; does that theme continue?

Phantoms is very much inspired by the world around us today. The first arc touched on many things, such as healthcare inequality, toxic fandom, the power of protest, and how our society has been divided so badly by politicians and other parties, to the point we can’t seem to rally together to help make our world a better place.

In the Phantoms arc, our notorious mind hacker is a metaphor for the disinformation that manipulates us on a daily basis. The hacker messes with people’s heads to make them see their fears come to life, believe obviously fake conspiracies, and turn against their fellow citizens. It’s happening around us right now. How can seemingly intelligent people believe obviously false information and verifiable lies like the Earth being flat?

It’s troubling, and something I wanted to explore in more detail through the warped Killtopia lens. I also projected a lot of myself into the book, as Mary and other cast members battle the horrific manifestations of their own imposter syndrome, doom spirals and other mental health challenges many of us face. The key lessons from this arc are, ‘it’s okay to not feel okay,’ and ‘let’s work together for the greater good.’

Am I being foolishly optimistic with that last lesson? Maybe, but I like to think we can turn this world around and eventually get back to a time where we weren’t constantly berating or fighting each other. That’s the core of this story.

What is one positive you will take away forever from doing self-published comics?

I get to make my books, crowdfund them and self-publish them far and wide without having to wait for a publisher to take my pitch. Kickstarter and all the tasks that come with it are bloody hard work, but my books are out there in the world now, far and wide. If I can entertain even just a few people and make them smile with the time I have on this Earth, then in my mind, I’ve done something worthwhile. Without self-publishing, this wouldn’t have happened. I owe so much to self-publishing and the wonderful, talented people who make up the indie comic scene.

And for balance, one negative?

The workload is still a bit much on top of my 9-5 job, but at the start of this year, I decided to work slower and smarter for my own well-being. I’ve burned out before thanks to comics, and it’s not something I’d wish on anyone.

I often see people on social media saying that comic writers have it easy and that they don’t do as much work as everyone else on a project. But in reality, as the creator/writer, you have to own so much of the process, and always for minimal or no pay by the end of the Kickstarter. This includes the marketing, running the Kickstarter, shipping the comics, managing the finances, making sure that everyone gets paid on time, and a million other things. It’s never easy, but it is incredibly rewarding.

To be clear, this doesn’t in any way imply that writers do more than the other members of a project, or that they’re more talented. Trust me on this one; every person involved in a comic project is doing a hell of a lot of work. Their individual roles are not directly comparable. Ultimately, comics are a collective team effort, with talented, hard-working people giving it their all to make the best books they can. It’s a wonderful thing indeed.

Name three stories that have stood the test of time?

The first one that springs to mind is Berserk, by the late Kentaro Miura. It’s the best manga /comic I’ve ever read. It paints such a tangible, vast, terrifying and oppressive world that leaps off the page. The whole cast is superbly fleshed out, and the plot twists are both gut-wrenching and unexpected. I can’t recommend it highly enough. I’d also put Preacher and The Boys by Garth Ennis up there. They’re phenomenal.

What is the one piece of advice you would give anyone wanting to get into self-publishing comics?

Don’t rush it. Make comics at your own pace, and never compare your progress to anyone else, as we’re all doing this on completely different trajectories. If you rush this or put too much pressure on yourself, you’ll burn out or start to resent the work. Comic creation should be fun and rewarding, so try not to turn it into something negative by pushing yourself too hard. Enjoy the ride, enjoy the friendships that come with being part of the indie scene, and never forget why you started doing this to begin with.

What does the future hold for Dave Cook, Killtopia: Phantoms and the larger Killtopia world? 

I’m going to finish writing the last issue of Phantoms very soon, and from there, I’m going to take a little time out before returning to a completely separate series set in historical Japan. But for Killtopia, I already know what the third arc will be. All I can say for now is that it’s going to be another tonal shift, set several decades after Phantoms. Without spoiling anything, it will absolutely still link back to the first two arcs, but in a way I can’t reveal yet. Stay tuned for more on this one down the line.

What’s the best way for people to buy your comics and follow your work?

These days, the best way to keep up is to subscribe to my free newsletter over on Substack. I do timed exclusives over there, comic tutorials and behind-the-scenes stuff I don’t put on social media, like work-in-progress art and more.

Otherwise, you can follow me on BlueSky and Instagram. If you want to buy any of my books, you can hit up my store. Lastly, there’s the official Killtopia site and my own personal portfolio site for everything else, or if you want to hire me to write words for you. My inbox is always open!