David Pepose

David Pepose didn’t come to comics through the traditional route—he came from the crime beat. Before becoming one of the most exciting writers in modern comics, Pepose was a journalist who covered the gritty streets of St. Louis, developing a nose for compelling narratives and the kind of hardboiled realism that would later define his creator-owned work. His transition from newsroom to comic book writer began at Newsarama, where he served as a reviewer and editor, before finally taking the plunge into creator-owned comics in 2017.

His debut, Spencer & Locke, published through Action Lab Comics with artist Jorge Santiago, Jr., immediately drew attention for its audacious premise: what would happen if the beloved Sunday strip Calvin and Hobbes grew up and ended up in a crime noir? The book earned a Ringo Award nomination for Best Series in 2018, and the 2019 sequel was named one of Barnes & Noble’s Best Graphic Novels of August. The series also caught the attention of producer Adrian Askarieh (Hitman), who optioned it for film development.

But Pepose’s ambition extends far beyond one series. His self-published works demonstrate a willingness to take familiar tropes—from Sunday comic strips to children’s literature—and twist them into something wholly unexpected. The O.Z. reimagines The Wizard of Oz as a post-apocalyptic war zone and won the 2021 Ringo Award for Best Single Issue. Scout’s Honor transforms a Boy Scout manual into the bible of a post-nuclear cult. His work has been featured in The Hollywood Reporter, Forbes, and io9, with critics describing his writing as “stunningly subversive” (IGN), “an absurdly good time” (Nerdist), and “utterly insane or pure genius” (Syfy).

This boundary-pushing creativity caught the attention of major publishers, leading to a prolific run at Marvel Comics. Pepose has written everything from Savage Avengers to Moon Knight: City of the Dead, taking on characters that let him explore his love of horror, noir, and genre deconstruction. He’s also brought beloved Hanna-Barbera characters like Space Ghost and Captain Planet into the modern era for Dynamite and Mad Cave Studios.

Raised in St. Louis and now based in Los Angeles, Pepose continues to build an ever-growing library of creator-owned projects alongside his licensed titles—including Ten-Ton Titan Terrier, a heartwarming sci-fi adventure about a boy and his dog who can activate alien battle armor, illustrated by Ornella Greco and published by Papercutz in 2025.

Perfect for fans of noir comics, genre-bending creator-owned work, and writers who aren’t afraid to take familiar premises and blow them up completely.