Good evening, boils and ghouls. Welcome to a spooktacular conversation with comics scribe David Dastmalchian, discussing his devilishly delicious and wickedly personal horror comic Count Crowley. Currently, two volumes are available from Dark Horse Comics (Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter and Amateur Midnight Monster Hunter), and a third chapter is nearly upon us (Mediocre Midnight Monster Hunter hits the comic shops and graveyards on November 8th).

To celebrate, Dastmalchian pulled up a coffin and put it all out there in our Zoom room. From the moment we first read Count Crowley, we were hooked. Obsessed. Not so much by its clever twist on the late-night horror host trope and its loving tributes to B-movie monster mashes (although we adore them too), but by the excavation of its central character's complicated inner life. We see so much of ourselves in Jerri Bartman, and, as David Dastmalchian states in the first paperback afterward, we could sense the author's life in her, too. 

We discuss his unique collaboration with artist Lukas Ketner and editor Megan Walker and how the lessons they taught him apply to the world outside of comics. David Dastmalchian ruminates on vulnerability and the anxiousness he experienced when crafting Count Crowley. Putting so much of yourself into a book is a precious thing and requires tremendous commitment, strength, and trust.

However, before we get into it with Dastmalchian, we review our recent trips to the Fantastic Fest and Lost Weekend film festivals. We marvel at the lunacy of consuming so many movies in such a short time, detail our experience with living legend Malcolm McDowell, and select the best movies we saw and which ones you need to be on the lookout for next year.

As always, Omnibus, the Digital Comic Store and Reader, sponsors our Referrals segment. This week, we selected two comic book titles available on the app that satisfyingly align with this episode's themes. We won't spoil what they are here, but if you click the links below, you'll be immediately escorted to the books.

• Brad's Referral

Continue the conversation with David Dastmalchian by following his Instagram and Website. Purchase the Count Crowley books at your local comic book shop. Find the nearest one to you HERE. Stay up to date on all things Count Crowley via Dark Horse Comics.

FINAL ROUND OF PLUGS (PHEW):

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