Doug Wagner Talks I Love Apocalyptic Zombie Misfits, Murder Chickens & His Creative Partnership With Daniel Hillyard

Doug Wagner joins Jace on The Comic Source for an in-depth conversation about I Love Apocalyptic Zombie Misfits, his latest collaboration with artist Daniel Hillyard. The project began when Hillyard gave Wagner a list of supernatural things he wanted to draw — slashers, vampires, zombies and more — and Wagner eventually came to the simplest possible conclusion: why choose? Do all of them. The resulting story follows Cecil, a pacifist from the 1980s reincarnated into the body of a supernatural slasher, on a road trip alongside an increasingly bizarre group of supernatural misfits attempting to prevent either Heaven or Hell from winning a battle that would wipe humanity out. Doug talks about why character always comes before plot in his work, how he and Hillyard keep even their most violent and absurd stories grounded in emotional sincerity, and how characters including Pavla, Yoel and the zombie truck Tuck continued evolving while they created the book. The conversation also looks back at Wagner and Hillyard's collaborations on Plastic, Vinyl, Plush and Narco and how years of working together have created a level of trust that allows Hillyard to interpret layouts, camera angles and even character moments without Wagner dictating every detail. Wagner recalls moments where Hillyard added something that wasn't in the original script and actually changed the way Wagner understood his own character. Then it's a deep dive into the crowdfunding campaign: the oversized hardcover, die-cut Murder Chicken slipcase, complete behind-the-scenes process companion, Chris Bachalo artwork and an Uno-inspired Murder Chickens card game Wagner unexpectedly designed and play-tested with his wife. And before wrapping up, Doug reveals that I Love Apocalyptic Zombie Misfits is already completely finished — and he and Daniel Hillyard have already finished their next two books as well. 🐔 Support I Love Apocalyptic Zombie Misfits on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cloverpress/i-love-apocalyptic-zombie-misfits-ogn-by-wagner-and-hillyard?ref=9npbkr 🔗 Doug Wagner: https://shocknoggin.com/ 📸 Doug Wagner on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doug.wagner13/ 📸 Daniel Hillyard on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielbhillyard/ 🔗 Find The Comic Source everywhere: https://linktr.ee/comicsource CHAPTERS 00:00 Doug Wagner Joins The Comic Source 02:08 I Love Apocalyptic Zombie Misfits 07:39 Character First — Even With Serial Killers 10:43 Building an Ensemble of Misfits 13:08 How the Characters Changed 15:08 Meet Tuck — The Zombie Truck 17:45 The Origin of the Murder Chickens 20:51 Wagner & Hillyard's Creative Partnership 25:16 When Daniel Hillyard Makes the Story Better 30:07 Heaven, Hell & Saving Humanity 32:15 The Oversized Kickstarter Hardcover 35:09 The Complete Process Companion Book 37:56 Chris Bachalo Joins the Project 39:16 The Murder Chickens Card Game 41:39 Two More Books Are Already Finished 42:36 Where to Follow Doug Wagner 43:41 Letting the Book Speak for Itself 44:11 Doug Wagner's "20-Year Overnight Success" 46:23 Final Thoughts