Zack Kaplan Talks Smart Division, Kill All Immortals and More!

We're joined today by Zach Kaplan, acclaimed indie comics author, to talk his recent Dark Horse work, how the world has shaped and inspired it, navigating all these different genres, and more! Get some details on the many books we discussed below and check out the interview!

Last week, I got to chat with Ram V, writer of beloved books such as The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, Detective Comics, These Savage Shores, and the newly released Deicidum. The last time I got to chat with Ram was two years ago, so it was good to catch up and talk about a variety of subjects, such as Deicidium and adaptations of his work, since The Many Deaths of Laila Starr was announced as an opera. You can read our review of Deicidium here. About Ram V Ram V is an Eisner-nominated, award-winning author and creator of comics & graphic novels such as  GRAFITY'S WALL, THESE SAVAGE SHORES, THE MANY DEATHS OF LAILA STARR & the Eisner-winning BLUE IN GREEN. Since publishing his first book in 2016, Ram's work has garnered critical and popular success, earning multiple awards. In addition to creating original work, Ram has written for iconic characters & titles such as Detective Comics, Swamp Thing, Justice League Dark, Catwoman, Venom, and Carnage at DC Comics and Marvel. Ram lives in London-- dog person, doodles, argumentative, melancholic.  

On this episode, Dan sits down with author Matilda Zeller to talk about her debut adult horror novel, It Looks Like You in the Dark, from Tor Nightfire. Zeller sums it up best herself: Stranger Things meets Reservation Dogs in the Arctic. The book is set in an Iñupiaq village in the 1990s. A group of Alaska Native kids are trying to mind their own business, but miners and an ancient shapeshifting monster called the Kushtaka won't let them. Zeller's maternal family has roots in the Kotzebue region going back at least ten thousand years. She talks about the stories she grew up hearing, the real-world shadow of the Red Dog Mine, and how the Cold War cut off thousands of years of trade and connection between Alaska Native and Siberian communities. She also shares the unsettling origin of the book: a published account of a man pressuring a local girl into telling him the Kushtaka story at midnight. Zeller wanted to reclaim that story from the girl's point of view. They also get into the sunlit dread of Midsommar, a raven who grants wishes you'll regret, and the music that fueled her drafting. And she explains why a horror novel needs a love story: "Nothing is actually horrific unless you care and unless you have something to lose." About It Looks Like You In the Dark Tapeesa is newly out of high school and working in a fish processing plant in the Inupiat village, Chukchi, where she's lived her whole life. Maybe that's why people tend to assume she isn't that bright—or maybe her mama is right and she does have bad blood. Either way, she knows the legend, and she knows the history. Her Ahna told her that the hungry creature—the kushtuka—appears to us in the form of someone we love. It will try to get us to follow it. Follow it where? Those who have gone no longer have throats to tell us. The Kobuk River Valley of remote Alaska draws greedy white men time and time again. But whenever they come, death comes too. This time the white men are here for the long term, to create an open pit, a rare earths mine just north of the village. When her sister Esther goes missing, Tapeesa will do anything to get her back. Seeking justice, Tapeesa must track down the kidnapper in the darkening Arctic. What awaits beyond the warmth of her village is more horrible than she could imagine and closer to her than she knows. IT LOOKS LIKE YOU IN THE DARK is a fast-paced, grab-you-by-the-throat story about love, loyalty, and all the fearsome monsters that emerge when we turn our backs on the land and each other. About Mathilda Zeller Mathilda Zeller writes horror and fantasy. She is of Inuit descent and her family and roots extend deep into the Kobuk River Valley, which inspires and informs her writing. Mathilda Zeller is a pen name, honoring two of her resilient great-grandmothers.  

In this episode, we chat with Taylor Grothe about their new book, Lethal Kiss, and so much more. We discuss writing a book from a two-POV angle and what that offers a storyteller, especially in a love story. Taylor explains to Dan everything there is to know about Academia and Dark Academia style, including outfits and architecture. Taylor also breaks down her monster, vampires, and the Nordic Saga to dig into some of their influences. Be sure to pick up Lethal Kiss by Taylor Grothe, on sale now from Tor Nightfire!   About Lethal Kiss LETHAL KISS follows two professors at Preston University. One is an exhausted scholar on the tenure track; the other is a draugr in disguise (think succubus, but worse) hoping to leave minimal bodies in her wake. But when a grisly murder occurs on her watch and not by her hands, the two are thrust together and discover an even deadlier creature that slinks beneath the marble floors. Digging deeper into the mystery brings certain death, but they're as drawn to the truth as they are to each other. And they're determined to kill for both. About Taylor Grothe Taylor Grothe (AKA T.G. Laine) is the USA Today bestselling author of adult and young adult horror, horror romance, and dark fantasy. They hold a nonfiction MFA from Fairfield University, served as the graduate Assistant Managing Editor of Brevity, and their short works appear in esteemed publications such as These Dreaming Spires (Titan Books), Brevity's craft blog, Haven Speculative, and Shortwave Magazine. They are a scholar of medieval literature and Nordic Saga. They live with their family in New England, and on the rare occasion they're not writing, they can be found playing with the cats, on the cello, or in costume! Taylor is the author of the YA books Hollow and Monstrous Beautiful Things (Peachtree Teen), as well as adult books Lethal Kiss (Tor Nightfire) and The Mage and the Liar Knight (Little, Brown).  

Content Warning: Topics in this interview include death, dead bodies, and a number of topics related to thalassophobia (fear of the ocean and other underwater areas). Umm yes hello! It's Spooky Lake Month, where GateCrasher Patrick Dickerson (he/him) interviews artist, educator, and the creator of the viral October internet sensation Geo Rutherford (she/her). As we are fans of horror in all of its forms here at GateCrashers, it was only natural that we talk about all things haunted hydrology with Geo, who posts her educational video series for 31 days each October on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. This video series, though called Spooky Lake Month, covers all the weirder, wilder, and downright horrifying facts about all of the underwater places on our planet. From lakes to rivers, oceans to glaciers, and even manmade watery places like nuclear spent fuel pools and killer fountains, Geo covers it all. Started in 2020, Geo has discussed (and rated 1 to 10 out of 10 spookies) almost 200 topics and counting about creepy wet places around our world. This series has also spawned two books: Spooky Lakes (2024) and Spooky Rivers (2026), which both also feature beautiful original illustrations created in gouache paint by Geo herself. Patrick and Geo talk about classic Spooky Lakes topics, like the Great Lakes, soap mummies, and manmade horrors, while also saturation diving into Geo's artistic inspiration. The Spooky Lake Month series can be found on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook at Geo Rutherford's account, @geodesaurus, and this year's series will run through October 31. Geo's books, Spooky Lakes and Spooky Rivers, as well as an accompanying coloring book, are published by Abrams and available wherever you buy your books, including many independent bookstores and the Abrams website. Spooky Lake Month merchandise, including prints of Geo's gouache paintings, can be purchased at spookylakes.com.  

Golden Axe is now out on Paramount Plus! We spoke with co-creators and showrunners Mike McMahan and Joe Chandler about the show. We dove into what it means as storytellers to work in a fantasy setting and more. We also spoke with Danny Pudi and Carl Tart about their respective roles in the show. We discussed what it takes to craft a distinct voice for each character they embody. The show is another instant classic, which I expected from the former Mike McMahan and Joe Chandler shows. The mix of humor and heart makes this a must-watch for fans of the original Sega series and newcomers alike. Even though I played the games when I was younger, I was unfamiliar with the world's lore, but I had no trouble diving headfirst into the show. Plenty of references and easter eggs cater to longtime fans of the SEGA series, but it never feels inaccessible. The cast is stacked with some of the best voice talent working in the business, with Emmy Award winners like Matthew Rhys or the absolutely hilarious improv god Lisa Gilroy. It makes for an extremely fun watch, with plenty of sword-swinging action and all the emotion you expect from a McMahan show.  

We got the chance to sit down and chat with the incredibly talented Dawnn Lewis about her role in the new season of Futurama. Her new character is Coco Charm, a pop star. Dawnn co-composed Episode 5, "The Charm Offensive." She created the original melodies and vocal arrangements for all of Coco Charm's songs in the episode. She also sang all of the harmony parts in one session. We talk about what it was like working on music for a show like this, what music means to her, and more. Check it out!

We talk to one of the biggest writers at Marvel today, Jed MacKay, known for Black Cat, Moon Knight, Avengers, and of course X-Men. Ahead of 2026s big X-Men event DNX, we dive into how Jed crafted his X-Men team and their new antagonists, 3K, how he keeps sneaking Black Cat into books and how it feels to write one of the longest running books in recent Marvel history. Jed MacKay is a Canadian comics writer best known for his work at Marvel Comics, including notable characters like Doctor Strange, Taskmaster, and the Daughters of the Dragon. He first worked with Marvel in 2011 for a short story in X-Men: To Serve and Protect #4 but had his big breakthrough with Black Cat in 2019.  

Archie is entering a new era for the character and all of Riverdale's favorites with Oni Press and Archie's new #1s. Ben H. Winters, the acclaimed novelist, takes up the main title, Archie! We spoke with him about bringing his mostly serious literary background (dark mysteries, drama television) to pure comedy for the first time, tracing his sense of pacing back to his college comedy troupe and punk band roots. He describes his Riverdale as infinitely elastic, a setting that can stretch from the diner to a mountaintop while staying instantly recognizable, and explains that his debut arc centers on a film festival specifically so he can reintroduce the whole core cast at once, each filtered through a different genre pastiche. Beneath the gags, Winters talks about weaving in a quieter thread about the anxiety of late adolescence, using a recurring Jughead's Journal backup feature to hint at an unfolding, faintly sci-fi mystery about why Riverdale never seems to change, while also pushing to diversify the town's cast to reflect a more realistic version of the world.

Nicholas Binge's new novella The Abyss opens with an idea that horror fans will recognize immediately, even if they've never set foot near a Lovecraftian tentacle: the soul-crushing claustrophobia of showing up to the same job, on the same loop, until the walls start to feel less like walls and more like a death sentence. In our interview, Binge breaks down how he built a cosmic horror story from something as mundane as an open-plan office (the absolute worst idea), and why he thinks late-stage capitalism is the closest thing we have to a real-world Lovecraftian entity. We also get into the book's eerily prescient AI subplot (written years before ChatGPT was a household name), the self-directed rage that fueled its doom-scrolling horror, and that unforgettable scene from The Matrix that's haunted Binge since he was eleven years old.