DF Interview: Doug Wagner sews together hideous horror and cool camp in ‘I Was a Fashion School Serial Killer’

By Byron Brewer

Rennie Bethary has just been accepted into New York City’s most prestigious fashion school. Her designs are daring, edgy, and singular…and made of human flesh. Did we forget to mention Rennie is a serial killer who simply wants to be a fashion designer instead? Stupid, pesky, murderous urges!

From Image Comics, the creative team behind Plastic, Plush and Vinyl—writer Doug Wagner & artist Daniel Hillyard—will re-team for an all-new, campy horror story in the coming I Was a Fashion School Serial Killer. I sat down with my pal Doug and discussed his murderous mag.

Byron Brewer: Doug, how does it feel to be re-teaming with your artist from Plastic, Plush and Vinyl, Daniel Hillyard, on this new campy horror miniseries, I Was a Fashion School Serial Killer? Talk about your collaboration throughout these series with Daniel.

Doug Wagner: I’ve been working with Daniel pretty much non-stop since 2014, so that kind of says it all, doesn’t it? I LOVE working with Daniel. He’s not only an amazing artist and a truly wonderful human being, but more important than all the mushy nonsense, he and I have the same sick sense of humor. When we started on this dark comedy/horror path with Plastic, we decided to really push each other. I agreed to share everything from plot summary to scripts with him to give feedback on, and he’d show me everything from layouts to inks. It’s always been an amazing experience to work with him. We put our egos aside and spend all of our energy on one singular focus… the story.

Byron: What was the inspiration behind this new miniseries? What was the muse you followed to this multi-word title?

Doug Wagner: This is always a tough question for me to answer, because the muses, or my crazy grey matter, whisper sweet ideas into my ear all the time. This idea just happened to come to my mind’s eye when I was doing research on female serial killers and bumped into Elizabeth Bathory. I was fascinated by her rumored blood baths, and I couldn’t help but wonder what did she do with all those bodies and how would I find a good way to hide so many. My brain immediately went to recycling everything like the Native Americans used to do when they hunted buffalo for meat back in the day. They didn’t waste a thing. Hide, meat, bones, eyes, everything was used for a purpose. From there I thought why not just make clothes and accessories from the human remains of your kills. You know, hide the bodies in plain sight. Huh? That kind of sounds crazy when I say it out loud.

Byron: Introduce readers to Rennie Bethary, a young lady who is a serial killer... although she’d rather be a fashion designer. Without spoilers, can you give us any backstory on Rennie and her “stupid, pesky, murderous urges”?

Doug Wagner: Well, you covered the basics there. I’ll add she believes she has a skin condition that can only be soothed by taking a bath in fresh human blood. The more irritated or annoyed she gets, the more her skin itches. Now, you may ask if that’s a manifestation of her inner serial killer rage. I’d say you’d have to ask Rennie. I’m too scared to.

Byron: When did she begin using her very unique material for her wares: human flesh?

Doug Wagner: She started this when she was a teenager, around 15. That’s when a kind-hearted, more mature serial killer showed her the way. No. I’m not saying any more than that.

Byron: What other characters are important to this oddball horror saga? Can you spotlight a few here and maybe give their relationship to Rennie?

Doug Wagner: There’s quite a few in this college-aged horror romp. There’s Sofie, another aspiring fashionista and classmate that is irresistibly drawn to Rennie. There’s Ms. Porschia, Rennie’s favorite fashion professor and mentor. And there’s Constance, the bane of Rennie’s (and everyone else’s) existence. None of them know or even suspect Rennie’s dark nature, and the only way one can find out is to… well, be skinned alive.

Byron: Daniel and you seem to have a great enthusiasm for this book! I imagine it was fun to write and illustrate. Would there be any plans for a lengthening of its 5-issue status if sales are good, or is this (as it kinda seems) a finite tale? Are Daniel and you ready for more in this world?

Doug Wagner: Yeah, we both love how this book turned out and are crazy excited to see what readers think, but we feel that way about every book we work on together. This story was definitely meant to be a 5-issue mini, and we’d be ecstatic to do more. As with all projects, it just depends on if it’s successful enough. Fingers crossed!!

Byron: Talk a little more about what Daniel brings to this collaboration in particular.

Doug Wagner: Oh, wow. Daniel brings so much to our partnership that it’s actually hard to quantify. He’s one of my best friends, he’s my sounding board and treasured collaborator, and man, he always brings the heat when it comes to the visuals and storytelling. Every book we do he just gets better and better in every aspect. Lately, I’ve been blown away by the simple things. Such as his ability to draw just about any expression, no matter how subtle. As a writer, I can’t tell you how much I cherish not having to spell out every single thing through dialogue. Sometimes, all I have to do is ask Daniel to give a character a particular expression and I don’t have to write a single word of dialogue for that panel. His ability to convey subtleties without having to depend on dialogue is just so key to creating horror, in my opinion. This skill was vital to pulling off I Was a Fashion School Serial Killer. I didn’t want Rennie to be overly talkative, so I had to lean on Daniel. And to add to that, Daniel had to create one new fashion outfit after another throughout this book. I’m not sure I could have pulled that off without him.

Byron: Doug, what other projects in which you are involved can you tell readers about?

Doug Wagner: I wish I could say, but as you know all too well, I have to keep my lips sealed until the publisher announces it first. Well, if I want to keep my job(s)! (laughs)

Dynamic Forces would like to thank Doug Wagner for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. I Was a Fashion School Serial Killer #1 from Image Comics is slated to be on sale April 2!

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