David Pepose has been carrying The O.Z. to its conclusion for awhile. He finished writing the series during the early days of COVID, and has spent the time since making sure everything was in place to deliver the finale right.
Now the third and final issue, created by Pepose, artist Ruben Rojas, colorist Whitney Cogar and letterer DC Hopkins, is up on Kickstarter, having launched earlier this morning.
The third and final issue is a 44-page conclusion to the story of Dorothy Gale’s granddaughter, an Iraq war veteran dropped into a war-torn Oz. We talked about sticking the landing, what’s ahead for Space Ghost and Speed Racer, and why diapers don’t come cheap.
This is the third and final Kickstarter for The O.Z. Looking back at the whole series, does the ending you’re delivering now resemble what you originally imagined when you first began the story of Dorothy Gale’s granddaughter as an Iraq war veteran dropped into a war-torn Oz?
Absolutely, 100 percent. I actually finished writing The O.Z. back in the early days of covid, so this third Kickstarter has been a long time coming — we’ve been working on getting all the artwork together since the previous campaign wrapped, so the general trajectory of Dorothy’s story has been locked in since the beginning.
For those who need a refresher on The O.Z.‘s storyline, our series has always been Mad Max meets The Wizard of Oz — after learning her grandmother’s killing of the Wicked Witch plunged Oz into a brutal civil war, our new Dorothy has spent the last two issues navigating the Occupied Zone. But as readers will see in our latest preview pages, Dorothy’s quest for the Silver Slippers has gone sideways, as she’s now trapped in the evil Scarecrow’s dungeons. This third issue was always meant to be the big, blockbuster confrontation between the Resistance and the Strawman Army, and there are some big secrets that we’ll be revealing that’ll turn the entire series on its ear.
While the series was locked in enough for Ruben Rojas to draw the book, once we finished getting all of the artwork together, it was a real treat getting to revisit the finale of our series as a more seasoned, experienced writer — I did a polish on these final scripts ahead of our lettering pass, and it was fun getting to find ways to punch up what I’d written all those years ago, while still making this last issue read consistently with the others. The O.Z. still has that raw, anarchic feeling that we started with, that same voice I had as a young scrappy writer who had no idea what laid ahead of him — but at the same time, it’s been nice for us to stick the landing now that I’m even more confident.
This is your thirdc Kickstarter campaign for this series, and you’ve built a large community of backers. What have you learned about crowdfunding a serialized story that you didn’t know going in?
Ultimately, the biggest learning curve with Kickstarter has always been finding ways to streamline the process for our backers, and to find ways to make our distribution move even faster. So we’ve really built this third campaign in a way to make things as smooth as possible — we’re making it so that we’re only going to need backers’ shipping addresses once the Kickstarter wraps up.
With that in mind, the first thing I wanted to make certain of was that The O.Z. was 100 percent completed before we even hit launch on the campaign — I’m very aware that it’s taken time between this campaign and our last one, so I wanted to make sure we were off to the races to start printing the moment that Kickstarter disperses funding.
Meanwhile, we’re also working with our friends at Comic Impressions for the printing — they did our two previous issues, so they know what The O.Z. is supposed to look like. And finally, we’re teaming up with the amazing crew at Laguna Studios to handle fulfillment for the campaign — they’ve got a great track record for other Kickstarter campaigns, and they’ve already been amazing to work with.
Right now, our goal is to have everyone’s rewards in hand in time for the holidays — but given the estimates that Comic Impressions and Laguna Studios have told me, there’s a good chance we may be delivering everything way ahead of schedule.
Ruben Rojas, Whitney Cogar and DC Hopkins have been with you across the whole series. What does that kind of continuity do for a book over time?
This question really hits the nail on the head of the time gap between our previous campaign — because I really wanted to make sure we maintained continuity across the entire series.
While it took time for him to Shawshank his way through our giant-sized finale, artist Ruben Rojas is the heart and soul of The O.Z., imbuing this post-apocalyptic fantasy world with such depth and thoughtfulness, that I couldn’t imagine finishing this book with anybody else. Meanwhile, colorist Whitney Cogar has done such incredible work playing off his colors. Combine that with letterer DC Hopkins making all my dialogue pop, and this is a world-class creative team by any measure.
I could not be prouder of the work this team has done for The O.Z., and knowing how talented they were, I was determined to make sure we kept the entire crew intact for the long haul, no matter how long it took. And I’ll tell you, having read the entire thing? It’s gonna be worth the wait.
A 44-page finale is a real statement. How did you decide how much space you needed to stick the landing?
When I decided to make the leap to Kickstarter for our first issue of The O.Z., I wanted to make sure that we were giving readers their money’s worth, and so I quickly made the decision to make every single issue double-sized. And for this third and final campaign, we’ve got lots of surprises in store for our backers, to ensure that this campaign has even more value than what they’ve seen before.
Anyone who’s read any of my other series knows that I tend to go big for the conclusion, and The O.Z. is no exception — Ruben and I are really going for broke for Issue #3, between Dorothy and the Scarecrow’s forces having their epic final battle, not to mention some earth-shaking developments for each member of our cast. Trust me, this ending is going to be massive.
You’re teasing a Space Ghost/Herculoids event in the July Space Ghost Annual. What can you tell us about that?
Sure! With Space Ghost Annual being up for preorders in July, we’ll be putting an action-packed, emotional bow on our “Season Two” storyline… and towards the end of the issue, it’ll also kick off our big Space Ghost event in September, featuring Alex Toth’s other team of sci-fi adventurers, the Herculoids! If you’re not familiar with the Herculoids, it’s the story of the space barbarian Zandor, his fearsome wife Tara, their acrobatic son Dorno, and five interstellar kaiju — Zok the Star-Dragon, Igoo the mighty Rock-Ape, Tundro the living tank, and the protoplasms Gloop and Gleep — as they defend their jungle planet Amzot from invaders looking to pillage their world.
Similar to Space Ghost and Speed Racer, I watched every episode of the original Herculoids as well as the ’80s revival, and I’m very excited to inject a nice bit of science-fantasy into the mix. Space Ghost has been this ultimate found-family story, so the idea of them meeting another family from the other side of the cosmic tracks has been something I’ve wanted to explore for quite some time. Our series begins when the Galactic Federation discovers Quasarite — the energy-infused element native only to the Herculoids’ homeworld of Amzot — and kicks off a chain-reaction that puts Zandor and the Herculoids on the warpath… and right on a collision course with Space Ghost.
I’ve loved playing with some of the classic superhero tropes in Space Ghost, and a superhero team-up has been on the top of my list for ages. Space Ghost and Zandor are such a great pair, in the tradition of Superman and Batman — they’re both heroes who are used to being the toughest guy in the room, but during this first meeting, they’re not going to buy what the other one is selling. There’s going to be some massive dramatic sparks flying while these two teams clash — but at their core, Space Ghost and Zandor are both fathers who love their children, and that common thread will go a long way towards helping them settle their differences. This story is the biggest, most action-packed Space Ghost story that Jonathan Lau and I have done to date, and it all starts in our July Annual, so be sure to preorder it!
The “Demon on Wheels” storyline is coming up in Speed Racer. What can you share about where that takes the book?
We’ve got some really fun stuff planned for Speed Racer, starting with our “Demon on Wheels” storyline kicking off this month. We’re going to find Speed as he’s unwittingly exposed to an experimental street drug called “V-Gas” — while shady Formula X drivers have been using it as a performance enhancer to increase fearlessness and aggressiveness, Speed and his family won’t even realize he’s been dosed… that is, until they watch in horror as Speed is fully unleashed on the tracks.
“Demon on Wheels” is one of our most intense storylines to date, as we see Speed struggling with his own worst impulses — all while Racer X is trying to put the pieces together, as V-Gas is tied to a period in his past. This storyline is going to really push Speed’s supporting cast to their limits, as they try desperately to pull him back from the edge and stop him from doing something he might regret.
You’re juggling licensed work alongside this creator-owned Kickstarter project. How do you think about those two sides of your career — do they feed each other, or do you keep them pretty separate mentally?
My life’s pretty much an exercise in spinning plates at the moment, between my workload, the Kickstarter, and a baby on the way. (Laughs) I do my best to keep everything straight, and thankfully, with my books each having their own unique vibe to them, it means I can rest each mental muscle group after I turn in a script. I always say that “busy” is a freelancer’s favorite four-letter word, and I’m just lucky to be working on so many projects that I feel so passionate about!
Is there anything else you have in the works you’d like to mention?
Boy, between The O.Z., Space Ghost and Speed Racer, my plate has certainly been full — but there’s lots more fun stuff coming down the pipeline! I’m about to start work on my next horror series with Alex Cormack, who drew The Devil That Wears My Face, and I’m working on another big-swing action concept that I’m hoping will make it across the finish line for 2027.
Meanwhile, we’re making great progress in terms of getting the rights back to Spencer & Locke, so I’m hoping the third volume will start to percolate in 2027 or 2028. And did I mention I have a baby coming the weekend of SDCC?
It’s been an incredibly fun time for me in both my personal life and my career, and I’m so grateful to everyone who’s supported my work all this time. Maybe that should be my final pitch — make sure you back The O.Z., because diapers don’t come cheap! (Laughs)
You can find more information on The O.Z. by visiting the Kickstarter page.