[DISPATCH] Dan Watters Talks SACRIFICE + [Rewards] Update
The writer of THE SIX FINGERS, COFFIN BOUND, and LUCIFER stops by to chat about his new 3W/3M story with DaNi.
Welcome to a new installment of the [DISPATCH], a weekly-ish direct report from us to you, with news, recaps, exclusive content, and more.
A brand new comic is headed your way this Thursday, written by Dan Watters and drawn by DaNi. The frequent collaborators have cooked up a really special two-part story for you. The first part will be available to read this week exclusively for our paid subscribers. If you haven’t yet, you should:
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Thursday, we’ll be releasing SACRIFICE: PART 1. Ahead of its release, we spoke with the writer, Dan Watters, about his Akva-set story, his frequent collaborations with his Coffin Bound partner in crime, and what’s beyond the horizon. Enjoy today’s interview, then head back here later this week for the debut of SACRIFICE: PART 1.
And stick around after the interview for a quick [REWARDS] Update!
3W/3M: Hi Dan, let’s start off with the obvious one – how’d you arrive at 3 Worlds / 3 Moons, and what drew you to wanting to work within this creative sandbox?
Dan Watters: I was brought in by Molly Mahan, who was my editor on Lucifer back in the days of Vertigo. She was actually the first editor I worked with at all in American comics. So that was a very nice, full circle sort of moment.
Because the entire universe and company are still fairly new, it’s rare air for anyone outside of the core team and the folks who helped develop some of the universe’s systems to be able to write stories here. What was your experience like, and how did you find a way in based on the world-building and stories that have been published thus far?
It's been a great time – I’ve worked with everyone on the team before in various places, so that side of things was seamless, and has also made me realize that I’ve actually been making comics for A While at this point. As for the creative experience, it’s always a joy to be handed such a fleshed-out world with so many corners and concepts to play with. I sifted through it all and saw what caught my eye. As soon as I read the term “filth priests,” that felt like an inevitable place for me to start. From there the story popped into my head rather fully formed.
The first part of SACRIFICE arrives Thursday. Other than the pretty safe assumption that some sort of sacrifice will be involved, what’s your story about?
A wealthy Akvan who has everything taken away from him – so seeks to change sides and curse the gods his family have worshipped. From there, things get nasty. When I was originally recounting the second chapter of the story to DaNi she was worried I was going to leave off with a happy ending. Her glee when I told her about the final page did make me laugh.
Because [MAPS] was so heavily focused on the different locations, did you figure out the story based on the specific elements intrinsic to Akva and the Holy City, the character journey, or somewhere else?
It was really the idea of the filth priests that was my in, and their philosophy which led to the entire story. These people who give up everything in the name of religion, who own nothing, ask for nothing, seek only enlightenment. For whom is that a sacrifice? And could such a thing be done selfishly?
Your White Noise studio mate Ram V, of course, helped design the Economic system for 3W/3M. Did you consult him during the creation of this story at all?
Honestly, not too much for this one. I knew pretty well what I was going to do with it, but I’m sure we discussed it at some point or other. We usually do.
Did stepping into Jodorowsky & Mœbius’ world for The Incal: Dying Star with artist Jon Davis-Hunt prepare you in any way to do the same with 3W/3M? Was either one more challenging than the other?
The Incal is definitely a softer sci-fi than 3W/3M. Jon’s and my story takes place over a few thousand years, and in new corners of that universe. So we were creating and developing a lot of ideas from scratch to suit our purposes. New planets, new factions, new apocalypses building on glimpses of ideas in Jodorowsky and Mœbius’ original book.
Sacrifice is a smaller story, tightly wound into the lore and laws of Akva. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily more difficult, at least once I had my head wrapped around those.
You’re once again working with DaNi, your partner in crime on past books like Coffin Bound and Arkham City: The Order of the World, to bring SACRIFICE to life. The results speak for themselves, but she isn’t really known for doing sci-fi or even fantasy. Was this written so you could see her unique take on the story, or was it a desire for both of you to stretch and do something unexpected?
I’ll work with Dani any time the opportunity presents itself. She’s one of the best artists working in comics right now. This was very much written for her; the way we work together has constantly evolved, and here I wanted to let her take more and more of the reins in terms of how we laid things out and combined the words and visuals to tell the story.
The script makes mention of a Sergio Toppi-inspired approach to the visuals. Why did you decide to go that route for this story?
To let Dani play. It’s a side to her work that I don’t think is always fully utilized when she draws for writers, myself included, so I wanted to give her the leeway to create big, almost religious iconography as comic pages. Stained glass windows in black ink.
What makes your collaborations with DaNi so successful? Is it the working process you’ve developed, pushing each other, or just having a sense of what she’s do the moment you’re writing?
All of the above, to an extent. We always work closely on things, swapping ideas back and forth, and at this point we pretty much have a shared language as far as our creative process goes. We’ve also worked in the same spaces a fair bit. I remember visiting her in Athens a few years back when I was writing Lucifer and she was drawing an issue of The Dreaming, and realizing that half of the entire Sandman Universe was being created in one apartment.
I was back in Athens for most of the summer, so we were able to sit down and talk about the story in person whenever we needed to.
For anyone who hasn’t yet read Coffin Bound, what’s it all about, and why do you think it would appeal to fans of 3W/3M?
Coffin Bound is a book about self-annihilation. It stars Izzy Tyburn, a woman who discovers she has an unstoppable hitman set on her – who decides that rather than attempt to survive, she’s going to try and erase every trace of herself from the world before he catches up to her. There’s a little more to it than that, including strippers who tear their skin off as performance and divination through geophagia.
3W/3M is a wonderfully big swing, letting something build itself slowly and organically, readers and artists both trusting each other to let it unfold. Coffin Bound was probably my own biggest swing.
We mentioned Ram V earlier, and the two of you recently created two books that are, at the moment, mysteriously connected. What can you tell us about his and Laurence Campbell’s The One Hand and your and Sumit Kumar’s The Six Fingers?
The One Hand is about a cop in the city of Neo Novena hunting a serial killer who cannot be. The Six Fingers is about a serial killer in the city of Neo Novena whose murders seem impossible even to himself, who’s trying to find out what’s happening to him before he’s caught by the dogged cop on his tail. Other than that, the books have nothing to do with each other and both creative teams are baffled as to why you’d think otherwise.
Is that really all you can share…?
Alright, fine. Both books are complete stories in themselves, but if you pick up both you’ll find the real story somewhere in the gaps between them. It’s an experiment Ram and I have wanted to do for ages, so we’re very excited for people to start digging into what we’ve made.
Outside of The Six Fingers, what else is on the docket for you in 2024?
I’m writing the new Doctor Who comic over at Titan, which is a satisfying Bingo square to check off as a British genre writer. Destro just launched from Skybound, part of their new Energon Universe line. Other than that, I have another two other series for publishers I haven’t worked for before, in worlds I haven’t worked in before. Plus two longform DC projects with astounding collaborators. Plus being deep in the works on my next big creator-owned project, which will follow The Six Fingers. It’s a busy six months ahead – sci-fi and horror and more horror to come.
Wanted to give everyone a brief update on this year’s rewards.
We’re happy to report all items are making progress at the printers and we expect the process to be finished here in the next couple weeks. From there, the books will be rush-shipped to our fulfillment center, who will be putting together the entire [Rewards] packages and sending them out to you.
Barring any unforeseen delays, we expect most people will receive their packages sometime in August.
Plenty of you still need to submit your shipping info/costs. We’ll be sending out an email reminder later this week giving you the opportunity to do so. Keep an eye out- you don’t want to miss it!
Excited for this one! I've been a fan of Dan's since Limbo and have loved seeing his rise. Sword of Azrael is an all-time favorite. Incredible character work, fascinating story, and some high-octane art that perfectly fits the vibe.