DF Interview: David Pepose reveals that man’s best friend may be humanity’s last hope in the ‘Ten-Ton Titan Terrier’ OGN

By Byron Brewer

When an asteroid unleashes a horde of alien monsters known as Bio-Titans, Earth must turn to a suit of extraterrestrial battle armor to save the day — but there’s just one catch. Because the only creature on the planet capable of turning it on… is an 11-inch-tall terrier named Holly. With the Bio-Titan threat escalating by the second, Holly and her scientist owner Sam will find their unique bond tested, as he trains his mischievous mutt to become not just man’s best friend, but humanity’s only hope.

From Ringo Award-winning writer David Pepose (Savage Avengers, Space Ghost) and artist Ornella Greco (Star Trek: Picard’s Academy, Total Suplex of the Heart) comes Ten-Ton Titan Terrier, a heart-warming sci-fi adventure graphic novel about a boy and his dog… with 10 tons of over-the-top, monster-battling action. Of course, I was already on board with the book title alone! I sat down with old pal David to discuss his coming comic.

Byron Brewer: Well, David, we have discussed some rather unusual comics in the years I have been interviewing you, but Ten-Ton Titan Terrier is definitely different! What was the inspiration, the muse behind this latest project? And a spin-off of that question: Are you a dog owner? (LOL!)

David Pepose: Yes, I am definitely a dog owner! Ten-Ton Titan Terrier was actually inspired by my real-life terrier Holly, who passed away in early 2020 after a year-long battle with melanoma. I actually wrote this book while I sat in the waiting room during her radiation appointments. Beyond wanting to write a story that was appropriate for all ages, I think this book really came from this unique place of love and anxiety, as I tried to tackle my own challenges as a dog owner through fiction. In the real world, I felt powerless; but through my writing, I could make our sweet dog immortal. So I’m very excited for the world to get to meet Holly as I knew her — she was as loving, feisty and rambunctious as any puppy I’ve ever met!

Byron: Wow, David, that is such a cool way to handle such emotions, such a situation. Praise and sincere condolences, my friend. … Before readers are sat down into this world you and artist Omella Greco are creating, what can you tell us about this canvas?

David Pepose: Ten-Ton Titan Terrier is set in a world where a meteor has crash-landed on Earth, containing a clutch of interstellar kaiju eggs… and an alien battlesuit. These Bio-Titans come in a variety of different species, but their common trait has been destruction across the planet — and the efforts of the Planetary Elite Protectorate have only made incremental progress at best. Which leads us to our lead characters, scientist Sam Dawson and his pet terrier Holly, who suddenly find themselves as the unlikely heroes that Earth needs.

Byron: Tell us more about Holly and Sam please. Who are they each as individuals, and what can you say about their rather unique bond?

David Pepose: The bond between Sam and Holly was inspired a bit by the dynamic between Ash and Pikachu in the classic Pokemon cartoons, but also influenced by my own experiences as a dog owner. Sam and Holly have been inseparable since Sam was a kid, but their dynamic sometimes veers into the realm of codependency — Holly’s definitely got a big personality and a feistiness that’s cute when she’s only 13 pounds, but has a lot more complications when she’s piloting a ten-ton alien battlesuit. At the end of the day, though, Holly would do anything for Sam, and watching their unique bond evolve and strengthen is a core theme in our book.

Byron: What other characters important to the book can you tell readers about? Can you spotlight a few here please?

David Pepose: Sam and Holly will be dealing with General Sterling Armstrong, the hard-nosed leader of the Planetary Elite Protectorate, as well as his daughter Penny, a gifted scientist who doesn’t immediately take kindly to Sam moving in on her turf, let alone giving his mutt Holly so much free reign across the labs. The Armstrongs will add plenty of complications to Sam and Holly’s journey, as they aren’t necessarily comfortable with a wild animal being in control of this one-of-a-kind battlesuit. But Sam’s ongoing dynamic with Penny and General Armstrong will evolve over the course of our story, which will add some new wrinkles to his relationship with Holly along the way.

Byron: Tell us about the titular Ten-Ton Titan Terrier itself. And what are Bio-Titans, what is their alien origin?

David Pepose: The Ten-Ton Titan Terrier is an alien battlesuit that crash-lands on Earth, along with a clutch of alien kaiju eggs which quickly run amok around the planet. The Terrier suit is interesting in that it doesn’t start off as anything dog-themed — instead, it morphs that way to better reflect the suit’s pilot, which only activates for the worthiest possible candidates on any particular planet. In the case of Earth, that means the best option we have happens to be an 11-inch-tall terrier. That means there’s going to be a pretty massive learning curve in terms of teaching this dog some new tricks – namely, how to master the Terrier suit’s various offensive capabilities without wiping out any nearby civilians!

As far as the Bio-Titans go, my big influences were trying to mash up the coolest parts of the kaiju genre with the off-kilter creature concepts of Pokemon. Each Bio-Titan has their own unique powers as a species; creatures like Irradigator possess gamma-powered breath, while Thunderkraken has electrical abilities. Sporangutan is another fun one, a hulking beast who emits mind-controlling spores. And that’s not including the secrets of the mysterious behemoth known as Annihilocust! The Bio-Titans all have very cool designs and different ways of causing trouble, so they’ll push the Ten-Ton Titan Terrier to the limit!

Byron: Talk about the awesome art of Ornella Greco.

David Pepose: Ornella Greco is truly one of the most incredible artists I’ve ever had the good fortune to work with. She’s got such an amazing versatility to her style — not only is it cartoony and bouncy and expressive, but Ornella handles the heartfelt emotional beats just as deftly as she does the larger-than-life robot-versus-kaiju action. Her character designs are so beautiful — especially Holly, who really is a super-fun character to follow both in and out of the suit — and I can’t wait for you to see all the various species of Bio-Titans. And Ornella is also a dog owner just like me, and so her dog Wilma definitely helped influence Holly’s look as well. She is truly the best person to draw this book — every page is a treat!

Byron: This seems, while certainly action-packed sci-fi, a really upbeat and fun adventure. How did you decide to take that path with this passion project of yours?

David Pepose: Beyond the semi-autobiographical elements, as someone who’s written books like Spencer & Locke or Punisher or The Devil That Wears My Face, I’m fully aware that my catalog hasn’t always had the… most age-appropriate fare on the comic convention floor. (Laughs) So I’ve long considered writing a story that can appeal to all ages as the missing “food group” of my bibliography. My ultimate goal as a writer is to have at least one book for readers of any genre or demographic — I wanted this book to be unabashedly upbeat and fun in the Pixar sort of vein, while still giving kids (and their parents!) the kind of action-packed and emotionally driven comics that I grew up with.

Byron: David, what other coming projects of your own can you tell readers about?

David Pepose: I’m definitely keeping very busy right now, with my ongoing series Space Ghost continuing full steam ahead with artist Jonathan Lau over at Dynamite — we’ve got our heroes under siege at Ghost Planet, as all of Space Ghost’s greatest enemies have united to form the Council of Doom! Meanwhile, we’re also entering the back half of my time-traveling Marvel miniseries Cable: Love & Chrome with artist Mike Henderson — we’ve got Cable grappling with his own mortality in the face of the Techno-Organic Virus in that series, with some crazy sci-fi twists that’ll make for some explosive pyrotechnics in our final two issues.

I’ve also got two more series that will be launching soon — my brand-new reboot of Captain Planet with artist Eman Casallos at Dynamite, kicking off on the week of Earth Day. That’s a super-fun, exciting new take on the classic cartoon, leaning into the international cast and the elemental action of the core concept. (And with a slick new redesign of Cap to boot!) And finally, starting on Free Comic Book Day, we’ll see the launch of my new Speed Racer series at Mad Cave Studios with artist Davide Tinto. This is a high-octane, action-packed relaunch that puts readers in the drivers’ seat as we follow Speed’s journey to become a Formula X champion. We’ve got a lot of fun stuff coming, so tell your comics shop to preorder all of it for you!

Dynamic Forces would like to thank David Pepose for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. The Ten-Ton Titan Terrier OGN from Papercutz and Mad Cave Studios is slated to be on sale October 7!

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