Writer Kieron Gillen joins the show to talk a whole lot about The Wicked + The Divine, his Image comic with frequent collaborator Jamie McKelvie. The conversation actually starts with a bit about Darth Vader, before jumping into the concept of the faux cartoonist, how that idea has moved in Marvel and DC, how Team WicDiv works together, the importance of arc titles and taking risks, their Imperial Phase, and then a discussion about the recent survey they ran starting at 35:30 that touches on the makeup of their readership, variants, building a community and more. The episode closes with a quick chat about Warren Ellis’ influence, before Gillen pulls back the curtain on what to expect from the Kevin Wada drawn 23rd issue of WicDiv at 1:04:00.

You can find Kieron on Twitter and his work in The Wicked + The Divine, Darth Vader, Modded and Mercury Heat. Also, make sure to pre-order The Wicked + The Divine 1831 today, as it’s at FOC. Talk to your local comic book shop on the double.

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Header image is from The Wicked + The Divine #21, art by Jamie McKelvie and Matt Wilson. Intro and outro music is Vulfpeck’s Outro from their album Vollmilch. Thanks to the band for letting me use the track.