June ‘25 newsletter: being ‘The Killtopia Guy’
Free comic inside!
Hey folks, Dave here writing from a very grey Scotland. I hope you all had a great and productive time across May.
For this newsletter, I’m going to lift the curtain a little on what comes next for my comic career and what you can expect from my next releases, now that the first arc of Killtopia is finished and the complete hardback edition is on sale.
I’ve also included a FREE digital comic in this newsletter for you to enjoy. No catch, no bullshit, just a freebie to say thanks for supporting my daft stories, whether you’re new here or you’ve followed my work for ages.
First though, I’m forever trying to bump up my rookie social numbers. You can follow me at:
I’ll be posting plenty of updates on these channels about Killtopia: Phantoms and other new projects coming soon!
Now, on with the newsletter!
1. Free Killtopia digital edition
Back in October, Titan Comics published the Killtopia: The Complete Collection hardback across the UK and US. It marked the end of my biggest creative project to date, and a huge chapter of my life.
I started working on the initial concept in 2016, so that’s almost a decade of writing, crowdfunding and, of course, years of hard work from Craig, Clark, Lou and Micah that I can’t begin to adequately thank them for.
To celebrate the end of this chapter, and to bring new people into our cyberpunk world of Neo Tokyo, I’ve made the digital edition of Killtopia #1 FREE FOREVER.
You can download your copy now via your platform of choice:
Please enjoy, and thank you again for your support. It genuinely means the world to me and the rest of Team Killtopia.
2. What’s next for Killtopia? / Being ‘The Killtopia Guy’
If you’ve followed me on social media for a while, you might know that I took an (almost) six month hiatus from writing last year. I needed time out to reassess what I wanted to get out of my comic career, and my life in general.
A big part of this was wrestling with the idea of being ‘The Killtopia Guy.’ I thought long and hard about our sequel, Killtopia: Phantoms (pictured above), and if spending so much energy on one series could have a negative effect on my career prospects.
Like, is it okay to be mostly known for one thing, or does it suggest that I’ve somehow limited or pigeon-holed myself as a one-note creator? I’m interested in your thoughts on this. Please chuck ‘em in the comments if you like.
Ultimately, I decided that being ‘The Killtopia Guy’ wasn’t so bad after all. Killtopia is a name people recognise and (hopefully) Neo Tokyo is a world they enjoy diving into through our books. It’s not everyday people can say they’ve made something like that.
I’ve also met so many people at cons who have heard of the series without knowing me or ever reading a single page. They’ve just heard the name from friends or seen it being shared online. That’s both moving and incredible.
It honestly makes the hard grind worth it, more than making money or securing big publishing deals ever could.
So what does that mean?
In short, it means that Killtopia isn’t going anywhere. I’ve already written six issues of the eight issue Killtopia: Phantoms series, and there will be a Kickstarter for issue #1 this year. Stay tuned for new artwork, Kickstarter sign-ups and more soon!
Beyond Phantoms, I’ve already got plans in place for a new spin-off set in the world of Neo Tokyo. It’s a new cast of characters and something that’s batshit crazy and lots of fun. It’s mostly me goofing around with the silliest aspects of the universe we’ve made.
You won’t see this one for a while, as I’m doing my best to focus on writing one series at a time. All being well it’ll move ahead once the next few projects are off my desk.
All I’ll say is, it stars an android J-Pop idol turned assassin. She’s trying to get revenge after her creator is murdered by a sleazy robotics corporation. Think Mega Man meets The Raid meets J-Pop 😅
Beyond this, I have more Killtopia ideas brewing, as well as early plans for a new merch store. What new merch would you like to see from us? Shirts? Other apparel? Props? Posters? Let me know in the comments!
So yeah, Killtopia’s here to stay. After a long time of reassessment and rest, I couldn’t be happier with the decision. I feel like it’s 2014 again and I’m just starting out on my very first comic. I’m writing more efficiently and the ideas are flowing more easily.
Comics feel fun again. That makes me very happy indeed.
3. What about non-Killtopia stuff?
That big publisher gig…
I mentioned this one in my last newsletter. The publisher hasn’t announced the project yet, but I’ll post about it everywhere online once they give me the green light.
Lead times can be long and ever-changing in the publishing world, but this one will be worth the wait!
Ninja Baseball Spirits #2 steps up to the plate!
Meanwhile, after some time away, artist Steve Gregson and I are (almost) ready to get back on the Ninja Baseball Spirits horse with issue #2. Life threw both of us a few curveballs which meant we had to put the series on hold, but production will resume soon - and we’ll be doing a Kickstarter this year!
If you’re new to Ninja Baseball Spirits, you can get a physical copy of issue #1 here and a mega cheap digital copy here.
The series is our official reboot of Ninja Baseball Bat Man - a 1993 arcade beat ‘em up by Japanese studio Irem. I personally know the creator, Drew Maniscalco, who kindly gave us the comic rights to his amazing characters.
Me and Steve’s series sees a bunch of evil sports teams stealing six golden relics that keep the game of baseball alive. As fans stop showing up to games and the leagues get close to going bust, four baseball All-Stars step up to save the spirt of baseball itself.
It’s basically Ninja Turtles / Power Rangers meets sports, with lots of Saturday morning cartoon-style gags, and lots of video game-inspired fight scenes.
We hope you’ll join us for our second inning later this year!
Other stuff!
Beyond these two projects, Steve and I will also be returning to our beat ‘em up inspired series (and Killtopia prequel) BPM: Beatdowns Per Minute at some point.
I’m also hoping to continue working on my two all-new series, Satanic Panic and Yuta. Like I mentioned earlier, I’m only focusing on doing one series at a time now, for the good of my own sanity and general wellbeing. I’d rather take my time and put out something amazing, without damaging my own health in the process.
It’s only taken me 11 years of doing this to realise that it doesn’t have to be stress all the time. Live and learn I guess? 😅
Wrap up!
That’s all for this newsletter. I should have some awesome comic con appearance news coming soon, but I’ll put that in a mini update when it’s announced.
Until then, have a great June, be kind to yourselves and I’ll catch you on the next one.
Thanks again everyone 👋
-Dave