The Devil That Wears My Face with David Pepose

And welcome again to another really fun creator talk episode of Play comics, where we are here talking to a creator about a cool thing that they made, or in this case, are making because it's still an ongoing thing. Today we have the return of David Pepos here. David, how are you today?

I'm doing great. Thank you so much for having me. And, yeah, excited to talk comics with you tonight.

I'm really excited you're here, too. I was worried that this episode was going to be cursed for anybody who didn't look at the title of this episode before they started listening to it. We are looking at the devil that wears my face. And David, I have one question that I'm jumping straight to the front here, because I just really have to know, are you okay?

I am doing great. Yeah. I've had a few people ask me that since the first issue of the devil that wears my face came out. It's been a book that's actually been a long time coming. I started work on that around the same time that I started on Savage Avengers. So it's been about a little over two years since I started work on it, but, yeah, really happy about, it's my first horror book, and the cool thing about that genre is you really do get to kind of cut loose and working with an artist like Alex Cormick, I really couldn't have asked for a better collaborator on this series. And he takes that ball and he runs with it even further than I could. So it really has been such a cool matchup with the two of us. This certainly will not be the last book that Alex and I do together. He's such a gifted and gracious collaborator, and he really is, I think, one of the leading horror artists of a generation. So I feel so fortunate to be able to be working with him on this book. But, yes, Alex and I really are taking turns trying to one up each other about how far we can take this book.

Well, for anybody who has missed it, or especially for anybody whose shop is like mine and is smaller and doesn't always take a chance on smaller published books. Why don't you, first off, tell your shop to stop doing that? Because you should get the good books no matter who prints them. But also, David, can you please give us a little bit of an elevator pitch on the devil that wears my face?

Yeah. For those who haven't read the devil that wears my face, it's face off meets the Exorcist. It follows Father Franco Vieri. He's an 18th century priest in the Vatican who is grappling with a pretty profound crisis of faith, and his superiors send him to Spain to perform an exorcism on the son of a spanish nobleman. Unfortunately for poor Vieri, the ritual backfires, and so he finds himself stranded in this nobleman's body while the demonic being known as Legion hijacks Vieri's body and hightails it back to the Vatican to wreak havoc. So it's a really fun horror story. It's got some fun action in it. It's a nice little game of cat and mouse. If you're a fan of face off, if you're a fan of the Exorcist, if you're a fan of the Monte Cristo, there's a lot of stuff to love about this book. And like I said, I don't think there's really anything else on the stands like it right now. And I really do feel like Alex and I are delivering some of the best work of our careers on this really is. It's been an incredible experience, and so far, the reviews have been absolutely stellar. One of the best reviewed books of my career, and, yeah, can't wait for people to check it out. We just released issue three last week.

So you've already sung the praises of Alex Cormack. How did you two get together for this one?

I've been a fan of Alex's for a long time, even back to his work at comics tribe in a book called Sink, which is just a really creepy serial killer crime book set in Glasgow, I believe. And so I've been a huge fan of his. And we have a mutual friend in Rich Dewick. Rich and I have kind of come up together, and Rich has worked with Alex on many books like Road of bones and Sea of sorrows and Breath of shadows over at IDW, as well as the new series drive like hell over at they've been. I've traveled in similar circles as Alex for some time, and yeah, it was really cool to finally get to work with him. It really came down to we were putting this book together. I had written a few scripts for devil, and I started talking with Mark London and Chris Fernandez over at Mad Cave, and we were talking know who would be the best artist for this book. And I immediately volunteered Alex. I said, but Alex would be so great. And Mark and Chris, to their credit, said, oh, we love Alex's work. Would you mind introducing us? So I was able to kind of give Alex the quick pitch over Twitter DM and say, hey, would you be interested in doing this? It took a little bit for Alex's schedule to open up. He's very prolific, but he's very in demand. And so it was actually kind of the timing worked out that earlier this year, early in 2023, his schedule opened up, so he was able to really hit the ground running to get started on the series. So Alex, he's almost wrapped up with the series now. I think he's rounding the bases on issue five as we speak out of, yeah, I mean, he's really superhuman. He draws incredibly fast. He's so talented. He's such a gracious collaborator to boot. So he really is a unicorn. I don't think I've worked with anybody quite like Alex, and I'm excited to continue that streak.

What made you bring this one to.

Know this was, this really came out of conversation with know they've wanted to work together for some time. They've been very supportive fans of mine since my first book, Spencer and Locke. And so for some time, they've been, David, you know, we'd love to work with you on something. And the schedule never really quite worked out. And it was about two years ago, it was New York Comic Con in 2021 that they said, we're really looking to expand. We're bringing on a bunch of creators like Chris Sibella and Steve Orlando and Colin Bunn, all people that I really respect. So I said, yeah, you know what? That would be great. It'd be really cool to work together. As we were sort of batting ideas back and forth, we all really gravitated towards devil very quickly. For me, it really checked off a couple of boxes and that I've always wanted to do a horror book that felt like kind of the missing food group that I hadn't done anything with in comics of any substantial length. And also I wanted to do something sort of a body swap story in the vein of face off. So this really was able to kind of kill two birds with 1 st. And, yeah, it's been a really wonderful and smooth process, especially working with Mike Martz, our editor in the book, and Christina Harrington, who I had worked with previously on my book scouts honor, back when they were at aftershock. So, yeah, it really was kind of a win win all around and I'm very pleased with how that book has come together.

How long has this one been sitting in your head, then? Because it sounds like it's been a while.

Yeah, it's been a minute. It's been, I guess, over two years. The research of it all really kind of. There was a lot of research that went into it that really kind of shaped the story a bit more from even what I had initially discussed with Mat Cave. I did all the research. I read up on the history of the catholic church. I read up on the history of every single pope. We picked 1740 for a reason, which it was, was the final days of Pope Clementi, who was in poor health. He was blind and bedridden, doing church business from his bed in his waning days. So, yeah, this was all very deliberate, but learning the history really kind of shaped the stories and really kind of added in a few new, interesting twists and turns that I hadn't had when I was originally coming up with the idea. So, yeah, it's been a really fun experience, but definitely one that's been a long time coming.

How much of your own life have you been able to push into this one?

Well, thankfully, I haven't had a lot of first hand experiences with demonic possession.

Well, good, because that's what I was really worried about.

Yeah. But, no, I think I tend to gravitate towards these characters who are having crises of faith and dealing with their own internal traumas, and how do they kind of get to the other side of that? I do think that's a character archetype that I tend to gravitate towards, but, yeah, think. Yeah, I think. I think that's most of the extent that I can say that I brought my real world experiences to not having grown up in 1740. But, yeah, I think in a lot of ways, it really felt like a reflection of my last big creator owned book, Scouts honor, in that that book was about somebody having a crisis of faith at the jump and us kind of watching as they find their feet afterwards. And this is going to be a little bit more of a slow burn, but it does feel like very much a companion title to that, albeit in a different genre. But Vieri, just like kit, in Scout's honor, he is also kind of dealing with a seismic shift in his faith and his belief, and not just how he views his religion, but how he views himself. And as the series progresses, we're going to kind of dig more and more into what exactly that is, and I'm very excited for, I think, when people see what we're building towards in this series, it's going to turn the whole thing on its ear, and I think people will then have to reread the thing with some new knowledge, and I think that the book will, I think, be even richer the second time around.

So kind of on the lighter side of your own life experience, how much Spanish do you speak?

Boy, it's been a minute since, I think my first semester, freshman year is the last time I took an actual spanish class, but I did take six years of Latin in high school, so actually, my Latin wound up being a help, and I want to give a shout out to my high school Latin teacher, Hashila McCarthy, who actually, I reached out to her just to be, hey, like, is my Latin grammar still up to snuff on this? And so she was very excited to help out. She's also a big comics fan, so, yeah, six years of Latin, I didn't know how that would wind up working out for me, but it did.

Honestly, it is probably more useful than anybody else that I've heard that took that much Latin besides maybe some lawyers.

Yeah.

One thing I've noticed here is that the demon really has some biblically accurate angel energy going on. Was that a you decision or an Alex decision?

Yeah. Well, looking at the biblical demon legion, that was a composite, was it was a whole bunch of demons kind of all stitched together in one horrifying, almost like, chorus of a creature. And I thought that was such a cool idea to lean into. So I had said to know, let's do something sort of in the same way that Batman, when you see Bruce Wayne walk into a room and you see the shadow with the bat ears as a signifier of who he really is, I said, let's do something like that, but let's do, like, thousands of demonic eyes. And that wound up kind of being the visual signature that's gone into legion. And Alex really took that challenge and ran with it. I know he was he when he first got, he's like, oh, man, how do I do this? That it doesn't just look like a bunch of googly eyes, but Alex really kind of took that challenge by the horns, and I think did a really stellar job with it. Yeah. I mean, honestly, I don't think Alex gets enough credit for the acting that he gives his characters. I mean, he, of course, relishes on the bloodshed, and he does such great work with the designs and the creepiness of it all. But I think what really kind of anchors a book like this is all the know, they're all making choices, they're all acting. Nobody's just reciting dialogue. And so I think Alex is doing just. He is the perfect artist for this book. And so he's able to balance kind of the creepy spectacle of it all, but really reinforcing the humanity that's underneath all of it.

Is it Alex doing the inking as well?

Yes. Alex is a one man band as far as his art is concerned. He does pencils, inks, and he really. The fact that he's able to do that and keep to a monthly schedule and on top of that, juggling other projects on top of it, his speed isn't human. And to be at that level of quality, it's really something. So, yeah, I can't say enough good things about working with him. Just a really talented and smart guy.

During the whole process of this, did you ever worry that Alex might be a demon and have stolen your future soul?

I definitely think he sold his soul for sure to have that level of talent and speed. Yes. And also just the fact that he loves drawing violence and bloodshed. I think issue three just came out, and that was our big decapitation issue. I think we had four decapitations that issue. Yes, I think four. And Alex kept sending me Austin powers memes of, like, that's not hire the head of a major. He seems like a friendly guy on the outside, but think. I think he cut a deal with Satan, but I think he seems to be getting the best end of the deal right now.

So how does starting a world from scratch here compare with working on something like Moon Knight, where you've got this already established world and lore that you have to worry about.

Yeah, well, luckily for a book like devil, it's rooted in real life history. So that I'm actually able to do research and really kind of learn the lay of the land a bit. The Vatican itself kind of being its own character. But, yeah, it is different. Something like Moon Knight or Punisher or Savage avengers. I know the lay of the land pretty well. I grew up with it. I'm a Wednesday warrior. I read the books every week. Whereas I had to really dig in deep and do a lot of history and learn a lot of history as far as the catholic church and the Vatican in Rome is concerned. But, yeah, I think, you know, the cool thing about something like devil is that you are able to kind of learn enough about the structure of the church and that you're able to kind of build certain archetypes based off. So that way you can have the head of the College of Cardinals, where he's a little bit more of a learned, scholarly guy. You can have the secretary of state, who. He's the guy who's constantly cutting back room deals, and he's a little on the shady side, or you can have the head of the Inquisition, where it feels like a shorthand of, this is a guy who thinks that might makes right, and he's willing to pick a fight. So we were really kind of able to take preexisting history, real life stuff, and then kind of build archetypes based off of all that. But, yeah, every creator owned book has its own challenges. I mean, I will say for a licensed book working in the Marvel universe, it's a little more like archaeology. It's a little more like journalism, where you're able to kind of take what already exists and build on it and find new connections. Whereas, yeah, trying to create something brand new on its own with no backstory to go off of, it's very challenging. I mean, I think it's sort of the difference between a marathon and a sprint. But, yeah, you can't argue with a final product. And I will say, having put together a creator own book, it's certainly harder and more challenging, but ultimately, you do have the most control that you will have over it. And I do find that my creator own work, I'm just as proud of it as I am getting to work on my marvel work.

Out of all the research that you did for this one, what are some of the coolest things you've learned? Whether they'll get into the book or not?

Let's see. Hold on. Let me find the name of the guy. There was Pope Stephen Vi, who he had the corpse of his predecessor exhumed and put the corpse on trial. That's pretty metal. That's like a new definition of petty. There were some elements there. Let me think. There was one other element that I don't really want to spoil because it becomes a pretty seminal part of the book later. But, yeah, I think the thing that was so interesting for me was seeing how in the 21st century, we often see religion as purely a spiritual entity. But back, you know, back then, and I think it's easy to forget even now, the Catholic Church in particular. You know, it's. It's a political entity just as much as it is a spiritual one, and it certainly was back then. I mean, that was sort of like a core. They were a core constituency when it came to international diplomacy, just like the French and the Spanish. And the english kingdoms. So, yeah, that was kind of fun, being able to really explore the church, not just in a spiritual sense, but just in a hierarchical sense, and figuring out, like, okay, there's all these people that are in the curia, the pope's inner circle, and what are their different roles? And how does that sort of political jockeying? It impacts the church just as much as it would any sort of political organization. So, yeah, that was really cool and interesting, and I think watching a show like the young pope with Jude law, that was, like, a really fun way to kind of get in that headspace a little bit, that it's not just, oh, well, we're going to do the prayers, and these are human beings just like everybody else, and they are jockeying for the same position that anybody in any major organization might be doing.

And one of the things I've appreciated about this one is that you haven't gotten too political in the book itself, mostly because this is set in 1740, and it would not have been such a huge issue back then.

I'd say, yeah, it's one of those things. I'm sure there are some who would say, oh, just showing the humanization of the Catholic Church might be an inherently political act. And I suppose there's something to. Yeah, I mean, I think this book, ultimately, it's very character driven. It is sort of this cat and mouse. So much of our energy is going into. Vieri had a life as sort of the leading exorcist in the church during a time where exorcism was frowned upon. And then he gets that life kind of snatched away. And then meanwhile, legion now has to kind of navigate, or sometimes buck, these expectations that are how everybody else sees. Um, and sort of the hole that Vieri has kind of dug for himself in terms of how he's built his life. Now, Legion's got to navigate that, and sometimes he will sort of play it cool, and other times he will absolutely not play it cool. And so it's kind of nice to just have this story that's about two fishes out of water and really kind of just watching them kind of make their way back towards each other and then kind of explosively come apart and then kind of fight their way back together again. So, yeah, I guess it's probably not the most political book I've ever done, but, yeah, I think there's a lot of other ground to cover for us. There's the horror, there's the action, there's the characterization, and there's all the twists and turns. Behind it. But yeah, suffice to say, I don't think that the church necessarily comes out as the good guy in this book, so I guess there's some degree of that. But yeah, there's a lot of ground to cover in this one. But eagle eyed readers, they might be able to notice some of the breadcrumbs that I'm putting down, and if not, they'll certainly find out by the time the series is over.

Well, that's what rereads are for, right?

Yes.

What kind of horror stuff did you watch and read and everything growing up?

Let's see. A big fan of tales from the crypt when I was a kid that I loved because it really kind of like, it towed that line between terrifying and really silly. So I love that. I bought myself all the tales from the crypt dvds recently. I just kind of watch them when I'm bored. 28 days later. I think was kind of the most seminal one for me as a teenager. It kind of scared me off the genre for a while. I just thought all horror things were that visceral and scary. And I had recurring nightmares of super fast, super virulent zombies chasing me for years where it's like there's no good way of going out. You either get ripped apart or like a drop of blood falls in your eye and then you lose your mind in 10 seconds in your humanity. But let's see. I think since then I've kind of really come back into it. The Exorcist, obviously, the haunting of Emily Rose is a fun one. The possession with Jeffrey Dean Morgan is a really cool one. Wreck or it's american version quarantine. I love that one. That was kind of a big influence on my hulk annual that I did earlier this year. What else is there? Yeah, the fly. Really great one. Child's play is a really good one. Yeah, I'm sure a bunch more that I haven't even thought of yet. Oh, I watched a found footage recently, the bay. That was really cool. But yeah, for me, I'm always trying to try new things. What was it? Searching. I don't know if that necessarily counts as horror, but that was such a good one. And they came out with another one recently from the same people. And I'm trying to remember what it was called. I don't remember. But yeah, I try to be pretty omnivorous with my tastes and I'm always looking for new things. I mean, I think the stuff that's purely like sadism or purely bloody, I do tend to kind of shy away from a little bit. I'm not necessarily like a hellraiser fan, but I understand why there are people who do enjoy it. What else is there? Oh, Zack Snyder's dawn of the dead again, I think, kind of similarly visceral to 28 days later. But yeah, I'm sure once I'm done with this podcast I'll think of a bunch more and I'll be kicking myself for not saying them. But yeah, there's a lot of cool stuff out there.

Spooky season is all year long, so we'll be fine. Yeah, this whole story so far, from what I've been able to see of it, is I hesitate to say that it's my favorite thing from you because I feel like whatever I've read most recently is my favorite thing from you. But it's definitely, I'm going to say, very safely, top three on a permanent basis.

Well, that's very kind of you to say. This really did feel like a return to my roots in a way, but. And also it sort of feels like a continued chain because like I said, I started working this shortly after I started on Savage Avengers. So I feel like, at least for me, the production of my books always takes a lot longer than I would like for it to. Like for know, my Kickstarter series, the Oz, which we're looking to bring back early next know, like, the art on that has moved much slower than I would have liked because that book has been written for some time. But at the same know, Ruben Rojas and Whitney Kogar are delivering such quality work that I can't complain too much about it being behind schedule. At least we're not on a monthly release schedule with that book. I know a lot of people have been like, oh, this is Pepos'first creator own in a while. And I'm like, well, not I. I guess I had taken like a year hiatus, maybe between scouts honor and when I started on devil, but yeah, it just so happened that this year in particular and last year happened to be pretty busy years for me in the fact that Marvel was throwing such great work at me. But thank you for the kind words. Yeah, it really did feel like we hit the sweet spot on this one. This really felt like I found kind of that core overlap that really clicked in a satisfying way. And I feel like, I felt like that was the biggest click that I had felt since the Oz, really, and Spencer and Locke before that. And I find that there are books where you get a good overlap and then there's ones that you get like a real satisfying click. And I think this is definitely the latter category, so thank you. I'm really proud of it, and I think it speaks to the incredible collaborator that I have with Alex Cormick and Justin Birch. They're just really talented, great people who are leaving it all out in the field, and I'm extremely pleased with what they've been putting together on this one.

So this one is being made right now with the idea of six issues, is that it? Or could we possibly see more never.

Say never if we thought of a good idea for another story involving Vieri or involving legion? Never say never. But I am a big believer in not overstaying your welcome. And so this was written, the intention was to do this in six? Yeah, if the demand is there and we think of the right story and if Alex is know, I could certainly be open to it. I mean, Vieri is a really fun character, but at the same time, I think we'll see his character arc, I think will be resolved in a pretty satisfying way by the time issue six rolls around. But who knows? Maybe there's room for more.

That kind of answer is why I have so many completed miniseries on my Pol list at the shop, just in case something comes back. Because I really appreciate when you tell the story you're going to tell and you're done and you don't stretch it out and have a dragon Ball z moment where there's five episodes just to throw a punch.

Well, I see it as making comics is hard. It's the best job I've ever had, but it's the hardest job I've ever had. It's exhausting. And I think the market is in a precarious place right now, for sure. And I think especially in the creator own standpoint, where you don't have corporate backing, it's hard to put out a series that's considered to be perpetual. I think that's a tricky road to hoe. And so for me, it's kind of like, all right, let's get concepts together. Or in the case of something like Spencer and Locke, maybe there are other arcs that you can tell if the first one is successful. But yeah, I think it's a lot of extra work to go for something ongoing that for the creator and sphere, it's very difficult to kind of get that financial traction to do. So it's not like something at a marvel or a DC where these are long running characters and they have corporate backings, so there's more financial wiggle room in order to tell a longer run. But yeah, like I said earlier, it's the difference between a marathon and a sprint. And not to say that there aren't creator owned books that are able to kind of go that kind of distance. I think of things like, or that Texas blood, but even that Texas blood, that feels like it's still kind of a little more arc to arc. But launching a book like Killadelphia, it's tough. That's something that maybe you're able to do that at, like, an image. But I feel like outside of that, it's very challenging to find even a publisher that would be willing to let you go that kind of distance on something that's a non licensed property. And even that. No spoilers, but I'm working on a licensed project right now where they've given me a generous Runway, but it's still a limited Runway that we are looking to tell this story over the span of about a year and change. And that's an exceedingly generous Runway these days. So, yeah. Not to say that I don't have an ongoing in me, I would love to do it, but, yeah, I think though, the opportunities and availability to do that, it's an increasingly rarefied field, for sure.

Well, I can't wait to read redacted. Brought to you by redacted publishing. That's going to be fun.

Yeah. I'm very excited. I just turned in my first issue of that last week, and so far, so good. I'll probably write the second issue of it over the holiday weekend. Yeah, well, it's a book that I think a lot of people would not expect me to write. But I think when you see it and when it's all said and done, I think you'll realize it's certainly a book that feels very much like me.

Give it a peach momoco cover, and then it will have two of my favorite things with it, and I don't.

Even know what it is yet. You know what? You know what? I'll see what I can swing. I would love a peach cover. Did she do? She did. No, I don't think that was my issue.

Because she did city of the dead, that's why.

Yeah. Extreme venom verse, peach. Oh, no. She did a variant on one of the issues of extreme venom verse that I did. Yeah, I think I was in that issue. I think I was in issue two of that. One, she did a black cat cover, so not one of my characters, but she did do a cover on one of my books. Yeah. Okay, so that's a bucket list item. Checked off. Sweet.

I'm glad I can help you figure that out.

Yeah.

But first we have to finish up with the devil that wears my face. I am so excited to see where this one goes. I have only seen issues one and two in their entirety. My to read pile is way too big. It's the problem of having too many good things out available right now.

Yeah, I can't blame you for that. But yeah, boy. Okay, well, if you've only read issues one and two, buckle up because issues three and four are pretty pedal to the metal. Yeah, I can say as we're kind of reaching, we're rounding third on issue five, and then we'll start on issue six in the new year. Yeah, just expect a lot of punch and counterpunch between Vieri and Legion. A lot of people getting caught in the crossfire along the. And let's just say Legion's setting his sights pretty high with this. And he is really a creature of manipulation and deceit, and that will take him surprisingly far in all of. Yeah, Vieri is really going to have to dig in particularly deep, and I think he's going to have to face some scary truths about himself in order to get there. But yeah, I think we've got some satisfying things coming for everybody. The best is still to come on this one.

Anyway, one of the things that I also appreciate about you is that you are always out there trying to convince people to read stuff from people, no matter who it is. So other than David Peppo's books, because obviously you want everybody to buy all of those, what else are you reading and would you recommend to people right now?

Oh, great question. Let's see. There's a few books that I'm really enjoying. Philip Kennedy Johnson is doing an incredible job on Incredible Hulk. Right know, I really love what Tom King is doing in Wonder Woman. I think that might be my favorite book at DC right now. Let's see. Of course, drive like hell by my pal Alex Cormick and Rich Dewick. I don't know if I mentioned swan songs over image. That's a spectacular book, really. Nothing else like it on the stands. Just a real capital a art book I just read today. Beast World Central city tour I think is the title of it. It's sort of a flash anthology that takes place during that event. But I thought sysperrier and Alex Pac, Nadell and company did a tremendous job on that one. Obviously, I'm digging everything that Al Ewing and Kieran Gillen are doing over in the X office. Right know, just really stellar work. Ryan north on Fantastic Four. I can't believe I almost left Ryan out, but I think Ryan is quietly doing one of the best books, the best superhero books in the. Just the way that he paces it. I have done the math, and it's mind boggling. The precision that he brings to every script is just really second to none. And Jed's work on Moon Knight is unimpeachably good, as is his work on Avengers and Doctor Strange. So, yeah, just a real smorgasbord of terrific, terrific work out there. Daniel Warren Johnson on Transformers. I just read Joshua Williamson's first issue of Duke with Tom Riley, and honestly, I might like that just as much as Transformers. It's a really cool kind of spin off book on that. Beneath the trees where nobody sees over at IDW. Great book. Yeah, those are the ones that are springing to mind immediately. But there's so much fantastic work out there that really, you can't throw a rock in a comic shop without hitting a great comic. So, yeah, lots of really cool stuff out there that I think is definitely worth checking out.

And finally, to kind of tie things in with this show, if you were going to compare the devil that wears my face to a video game, which game would you say that it was the most like?

Let's see, a game that it might be the most like. I'm debating whether or not one of the Assassin's Creed games are maybe, like, dishonored. Maybe dishonored. But, boy, I'll have to dig those games out. It's been a minute. I've been playing stuff like cassette beasts or Super Mario RPG, stuff that is decidedly not like the devil that wears my face.

Yeah, but Super Mario RPG is so good.

Yeah, I don't have a PS five, so I've just been watching it play through of Alan Wick, too, but it looks dope. And Spiderman two looks fantastic as well. But, yeah, I guess I'd say dishonored. Or maybe Assassin's Creed feels probably the most like what we're doing on devil.

Well, David, just like always, it has been great getting to talk to you about all of this. If people want to hear more from you, where else can they find you? Around the Internet?

Yeah. Thanks so much for having me. You can find me on Twitter, Instagram, and bluesky at Pepposd or David Pepposcomics on Facebook. You can visit my website@davidpepos.com, or subscribe to my newsletter, pep talks at Slash Pep news.

Gosh, it sounds like you might have done that before?

Only every night before I go to bed. But no. Thank you so much for having me. It was so great chatting with you about the devil. Where's my face? For those of you who are still reading or listening, you can call your local comic shop. You can tell them to add issue four, five, and six to your pull list. If you haven't read the series, ask your local comic shop to order you copies because, yeah, I think it's one of my favorite books that I've done to date and I think the work really does speak for itself. Alex is just a sensational artist and yeah, you really owe it to yourself to check out all the crazy stuff he's been doing.

And just off the top of your head, if anybody has missed it and wants to get issues one, two and three, and the issues are not sitting at the shop. Do you know if they are still going to be able to get them ordered?

They should be able to. And the worst case scenario, go to madcavestudios.com. I know they've also got some options in terms of getting books as well.

That's exactly the answer I was hoping to hear for a friend.

Yes.

Also, Mad Cave is just pretty sick with what they have and they almost always have copies of stuff.

Yeah, they've been putting out some really cool stuff with Eden Frost and dear editor, that's coming out in March. Spectacular book by Ryan K. Lindsay and Sammy Cavella. Let's see, there was a new book that I just read today that was spectacular. Morningstar, of course, by DB Andrew and Tim Daniel and Marco Finnegan. And also charred remains that just came. Know Bad Cave is on a real streak lately, especially in the horror genre. So yeah, we're doing some really cool stuff. Yeah, I'm really excited to kind of be helping lead the charge with devil that where's my face?

Well, this is a great time to be jumping into Mad cave, I think, to be jumping in David Peppos. And I'm just excited to see where this one goes.

Well, I really appreciate and thank you so much for taking the time. Thank you for all your. Yeah, like I said, the craziest stuff is still to come on this book. Alex really is going to put pedal to the metal for issue four and then he really cranks it up for issue five. And the stuff I've written for him for issue six might be the icing on the cake. So I can't wait for you to.

Read it with all of that evilness in mind. If you want to hear more from me. The best place is still to head on over to play comics, where there's links to all the social media things, including Twitter and Facebook and Blue sky and all that fun stuff. Because, yeah, clicking links over there is also more fun than trying to remember how to spell things or how each place wants to make their own usernames. Formatted because it's weird. If you want to be one of the cool kids, you can help support the show like, oh, no, look, class Dan McMahon and Carla Antonovich on. You know, you can just share it with your friends. That's cool, too. Or tell me that you appreciate it, because that would be very nice after this scary, scary story. What's not scary is that play comics is a part of the gunageek.com network, home to such wonderful shows as capes on the couch, which I'm gonna need to go get counseling. After hearing all of this from David, I'm worried that I might be being possessed or legends of S-H-I-E-D-L where I get to talk about other things, except when my Internet decides not to be working. So you can go hear everybody else talk about the last three episodes of what if? And wonder what was I building up to this entire time? Because they don't know either, and I didn't tell them. If you like the music that I'm rudely talking on top of right now, head on over to Soundcloud.com. Best day to check out best day's music. But most of all, just grab a game, grab a stack of comics, and go find yourself a new favorite character.

It also go buy this book or.

I will halt your soul. There's a weird echo for me, and I will be able to edit around that, but it was just weird because that's where it popped off and it threw me.