Dave's July 2023 newsletter

Killtopia #5 + BPM #2 launches, Edinburgh Book Festival + move

Update: Something went weird with Substack when I sent this newsletter out at the start of July, so it was only sent to a total of three subscribers. I’m not sure why, but I reposted and resent it around again on July 19th. Sorry if you missed it before, I’ll keep an eye on whatever happened and hopefully it won’t happen again - Dave :D

Hello everyone and welcome to my July newsletter, where you can get the lowdown on all my comics, gaming journalism and video game history books.

As always, the best way to stay up to date with all my projects is my Twitter (@davescook) and I’m also now on Blue Sky Social. Give me a follow to get project details, art drops and much more.

Let’s jump right in!

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1) Killtopia #5 is complete (and it’s out in August!)

The fifth and final issue of our award-winning cyberpunk comic series Killtopia is now complete, and it’ll be shipping out to Kickstarter backers in August, before making its way to comic stores across the UK and US.

If you’re new to the series, you can learn more about it and buy back issues over on the BHP Comics site. In short, the series is set in Neo Tokyo, where high-tech bounty hunters known as Wreckers can earn limitless money, power and social influence by scrapping killer Mecha that have invaded the city.

But when one of the Mecha (called Crash) is revealed to possess the cure to a deadly nanomachine plague, every Wrecker, Yakuza crimelord and android assassin in the city tries to hunt him down. Crash teams up with rookie Wrecker, Shinji and his friends to cure the planet before their pursuers can claim the bounty on Crash’s head.

It’s taken over five years of tireless hard work from many people, and the generosity of just under 5000 Kickstarter backers to get us to this point, but we finally did it! I want to say a huge thanks to Killtopia #1 and #2 artist Craig Paton for getting the whole thing moving and for his help in establishing the look of our characters and the world of Neo Tokyo.

Then a huge thanks to Killtopia #3-5 artist Clark Bint, colourist Lou Ashworth and our letterer Micah Myers - who combined to make an absolute dream team throughout the run. I hope the four of us get to work together on something again.

And lastly, to our mindblowing series of guest print artists who have created some truly superb pieces for our Kickstarters over the years, including Frank Quitely, Darick Robertson, Tula Lotay, Caspar Wijngaard, Lucy Sullivan, Gustaffo Vargas, Kim Hu, Alex Moore, Laurie Greasely, Sebastien Piriz, Tom Foster and Yishan Li, among many others.

Farewell, Killtopia. You’ve been genuinely life-changing!

2) We’re doing a Killtopia talk at the Edinburgh Book Festival!

To commemorate Killtopia’s five-plus year journey from concept to completion, original artist, Craig Paton and I are doing a talk at this year’s Edinburgh Book Festival on Sunday, August 20th (we’re also on right before THE Alan Moore - so uh, no pressure….)

Our talk is called Crash ‘n’ Burn, and it’ll cover the series’ conception, evolution and beyond, with our in-development TV show and more.

If you’re going to be in Edinburgh for the festival, you can grab a ticket for our talk here.

3) Go Straight reprints drop August 1st!

A second printing of my side-scrolling beat ‘em up history book Go Straight will go on sale from August 1st, courtesy of my publisher Bitmap Books. You can hit the button on their store page to get an alert once it’s available.

The 450+ page book chronicles almost 40 years of beat ‘em up history, starting with Irem’s Kung-Fu Master in 1984, and moving through the years with detailed write-ups of such classics as Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Final Fight, Double Dragon, Battletoads, Die Hard Arcade and of course, Ninja Baseball Bat Man (which me and artist Steve Gregson officially rebooted last year in our comic series Ninja Baseball Spirits - which you can buy here!)

The book also opens with a foreword by Double Dragon creator Yoshihisa Kishimoto, and guest articles by VGC writer Chris Scullion, my regular collaborator Steve Gregson and the amazing YouTuber Sega Lord X. Check it out when the second printing drops on August 1st!

4) An update on my second game history book…

Bitmap Books very kindly invited me back to write a second history book, this time about the run ‘n’ gun genre, including in-depth features on such heavyweights as Contra, Gunstar Heroes, Mega Man, Cuphead, Metal Slug and The Binding of Isaac.

I turned the first draft into Bitmap Books at the start of June, and I’m now working proofing and editing over 450 pages, such as tightening up word counts, re-taking screenshots and much more. It’ll be a while yet before the book’s name, cover and finer details are revealed, but it’s already looking fantastic.

You can even read a preview of my feature about Treasure’s savagely difficult Mega Drive/Genesis shooter, Alien Soldier. Check it out and stay tuned for more details!

5) BPM: Beatdowns Per Minute #2 production is rolling along!

BPM is a Killtopia prequel comic developed by me and Steve Gregson. It’s a fun and chaotic tribute to old school fighting games and cheesy retro action flicks, featuring colours from Killtopia’s Lou Ashworth and letters by Rob Jones.

The plot takes place in 1993, on the night that Killtopia’s notorious soft drink, Kaiju Cola, launches across America. An evil crime Syndicate boss has spiked every can with a drug called BPM, that turns whoever drinks it into an enraged fighter, flooding the streets of Stone City with wrestlers, ninjas, gangs and more. Martial arts cops Maya, Rick and Ashby hit the streets to bring down the Syndicate and save their city!

The second issue was hit with a delay due to many work-life things, but the art and colour production is now rolling along nicely, with lots of new art snippets to share.

I’m going to close this email out with a little gallery of uncoloured panel snippets for you to check out. Thanks for subscribing to my newsletter - your support is always sincerely appreciated.

Until next time, friends! - Dave