February ‘25 newsletter: Killtopia’s new direction revealed!

Big changes are coming (slowly!)

Hi everyone, Dave here wishing you all a great weekend. I hope February has been good to you all, and that life’s going great.

Before we dive into this month’s newsletter, I want to highlight all my active social channels - as I’m no longer using Twitter (aside from a few rare, big updates)

I’m trying to bump up my numbers on BlueSky specifically, so if you’re on there, you can follow my account here: https://bsky.app/profile/davecook.bsky.social

I’m also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/davecookcomics

Let‘s dive into February’s updates!

1. A quick follow-up from January’s newsletter

I wanted to give a massive shout out to everyone who sent me kind messages of support following my January newsletter. In it, I talked openly about recent mental health struggles and how they were affecting my comic work due to massive writer’s block.

I’ve since got back on my ADHD medication, with new anti-anxiety meds thrown on top, and since then I’ve been writing like I’m possessed. The ideas are flowing more freely and I’m hoping it continues that way for a long time, as I’ve got some fun and interesting new projects on the go - some I’ve already shared online, like Satanic Panic and Yuta - and some that are still unannounced.

Regardless, I’ll always speak about my mental health openly where it’s relevant to my comic work, as I know from experience that many of my fellow comic creators are dealing with a wide range of mental challenges. We talk openly about it while at comic cons - sharing our struggles and coping methods.

So if me talking openly about it online helps you or anyone else feel less alone with these sort of issues, then that can only be a positive thing. And if you ever want someone to talk to, just know that my email inbox and DMs are always open - whether we know each other well or not. It is absolutely never an inconvenience to hear from you, I promise.

Okay, now that the serious stuff is out of the way. It’s time for some big news!

2. Killtopia’s future: Phantoms

Right now, I’m working on issue #4 of Killtopia: Phantoms - the direct sequel to our first story arc - which was recently collected as a hardback edition by publisher Titan Comics. You can get it now from Amazon, Forbidden Planet, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones and you can even pop into any comic shop in the UK or US and ask them to order a copy in for you.

I’m starting discussions with a publisher next week about signing Phantoms, and even if I land a deal, we’re in talks about maybe also running a Kickstarter for each issue. I’ve stressed that a big chunk of our audience is on that platform and I think it would be a shame to overlook the Kickstarter readers who have supported the series since day one.

It’s up in the air at the moment, but as soon as I’m able, I’ll share updates on our game plan. The series is shaping up amazingly well, and I think it’s a step up in quality from the original arc. The plot is far darker than what you’ve seen before, but it also has more heart and I think the character building is the best I’ve done so far.

(but of course, it wouldn’t be Killtopia without bursts of satire and stupid humour, so I’ve been careful to sprinkle those moments throughout the script as well)

Killtopia #3-5 artist Clark Bint is on board for Phantoms, too, and we’re targeting April to start launching into getting the pages made. So if we go down the Kickstarter route, it’ll be sometime after April (timing still TBC)

3. Killtopia’s future: spin-offs and more!

Phantoms isn’t the only Killtopia project I’m working on right now. I’m slowly but surely fleshing out an arc for the first spin-off in the world. To make this clear - it WILL be canon to the core series - but is set about 100 years after the first arc.

I can’t say anything about what this new project will involve, but we already have an artist lined up for it. The reason for making it 100 years after Killtopia #5 is that I wanted to have fun with Neo Tokyo’s technology in ways I couldn’t before.

While Killtopia #1-5 is set in a cyberpunk world, the technology was more grounded, as I wanted most of it to be plausible. For this spin-off, absolutely anything goes, and I’m having fun dreaming up all sorts of weird tech and advancements that will lead to many wild moments of action (and more of that classic Killtopia comedy).

The only other thing I can say is that this project will be more of an action-comedy, heavily inspired by a major gaming franchise from Capcom (any guesses as to what it might be?), and lean into bizarre tech and with over the top battles full of gnarly kills and inventive tech.

But that’s not all…

I’m also toying with the idea of doubling down on Killtopia - as it’s clearly the comic thing I’m most known for. That’s not to say I won’t make other comics (because I absolutely will - I’m even working on some unannounced non-Killtopia stuff now!)

There are many pockets of the Killtopia world I want to explore - not just as straight up comics. I have an idea for something a bit more interactive (not a video game, sorry!) that I’ve never seen done in comics before, which I’m keen to explore (and rest assured, it’s not AI or anything like that - because fuck AI).

I won’t say any more than this for now, as it may never happen, but in the meantime I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

What areas of the Killtopia universe would you like to see explored in more detail? What types of stories would appeal to you in the world of Neo Tokyo?

I’m genuinely keen to hear what you think, as your feedback always means a lot to me and the team.

4. Last bonus bits

First: my next con is Power Con at the SEC in Glasgow on March 8/9 - be sure to stop by and check it out if you’re local. It’s a great show!

Second: my online store is open again! It was closed while I was off on holiday for a few weeks. So normal service has resumed.

It’s here:

https://davecookcomics.bigcartel.com/

Until next time…

Have a great weekend and see you in the March newsletter!

-Dave