Sci-fi, horror, and gaming: Zac Thompson talks new series 'Cemetery Kids Don’t Die'

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NEWS

1. Venom vs. Carnage: Symbiote bloodbath crossover coming March 2024
2. 'X-Men: The Animated Series' manga getting deluxe edition in fall 2024
3. ‘Star Wars: Ahsoka’ comics series coming July 2024
4. ‘TMNT: The Last Ronin’ only non-manga best selling graphic novel of 2023 in the top 10
5. Classic comic adaptation ‘Rogue Trooper’ wraps principal photography
6. 1980s nostalgia and cyberpunk-style infuse in 'The Midnight: Shadows'
7. Chip Zdarsky reveals Katie Kubert stepping in as interim Batman editor

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:

1. Marvel's Voices: Legends #1 (Various)
2. Alan Scott, Green Lantern #4 (Tim Sheridan, Cian Tormey)

Nathan:

1. Moon Man #1 (Scott Mescudi, Kyle Higgins, Marco Locati)
2. Alan Scott, Green Lantern #4 (Tim Sheridan, Cian Tormey)

Standout KAPOW moment of the week:

Nathan - Batman Superman World’s Finest 2024 Annual #1 (Christopher Cantwell, Jorge Fornes)

Dave - Wolverine #42 (Ben Percy, Victor LaValle, Cory Smith)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

1. Dave: Batman #142 (Chip Zdarsky, Andrea Sorrentino, Guiseppe Camuncoli)
2. Nathan: Ultimate Black Panther #1 (Bryan Hill, Stefano Caselli)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

1. Dave: Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees #3 (Rossmo Cover)
2. Nathan: DC’s How to Lose a Guy Gardner in 10 Days #1 (Christian Ward)

Interview: Zac Thompson (artist Daniel Irizarri) Out February 20 - CEMETERY KIDS DON’T DIE #1 – a near-future descent into a terrifying digital world where each new level has killer consequences! Plunging deep into the uncanny borderlands between science fiction and horror

1. Please welcome Zac Thompson, your sixth time on the show! To start, Cemetery Kids Don’t Die is out February 20th, blending a 21st century future, with a gaming system called Dreamwave. Where did the idea for this series start?
2. Cemetery Kids Don’t Die is such a great title, did you have it settled right off the bat or did it come organically as you were crafting the story?
3. There’s an organic nature to Dreamwave, it looks like a creature you put on your head, how important was it for you to have an organic approach to this tech?
4. Without knowing the dangers of Dreamwave, would you boot up into a system like this one?
5. Dreamwave feels like an organic (sorry for the pun) direction for a game like Baldurs Gate 3 to evolve into, how much research went into gaming be it RPGs and fantasy to develop this story?
6. Back in December AIPT exclusively revealed designs by Daniel Irizarri. Can you talk about the process of crafting the looks of the in game characters and the characters playing the game?
7. I think fans of D&D will love this, there’s a heavy vibe of that going on, do you play D&D and if so, what’s your favorite character class?
8. You’ve talked before on this show about your mood board, what sort of movies, tv, or comics did you have up while writing this series? 
9. If Cemetery Kids Don’t Die was a song what would it be and why?
10. Zac, do you have any other projects you’d like to plug today?