Interview: The Bloody Chaos of 'Dead by Daylight' Comes to Comics
Mar 13, 2023
Interview by Nicki Faust
Dead by Daylight™- the smash-hit video game from development studio Behaviour Interactive - will be getting a spin-off comic this May. Published by Titan Comics, the series will explore the shocking back story of one of the game’s most notorious group of killers, The Legion.
In all physical editions of the comic series, you will find a unique code which can be redeemed in-game. The code will unlock an exclusive in-game charm featuring the main cover A of the corresponding issue to show off in The Fog!
Want to know how frightened you should be for 2023’s hottest horror comic? We spoke to Dead by Daylight writer, Nadia Shammas.
PREVIEWSworld: Hi Nadia! First off, we know you’re a fan of the Dead by Daylight game. How did you feel when you were asked to write a spin-off comic for the hit horror game?
Nadia: This is actually a funny story! The whole thing started as a cold call. Dead by Daylight was my first multiplayer game ever, and it quickly became the space I’d spend time with friends during the earliest and most isolating days of the pandemic. I feel like I learned HOW to play games with DBD, and about 500 hours in, I asked my agent (Charlie Olsen) if he could find out if anyone has the licence. We found out it was Titan Comics, and so I asked Charlie to reach out. They asked for two pitches, and upon sending them, I heard back that Behaviour and Titan picked the option I hoped they would: THE LEGION. To find out later that my artist and co-creator (Dillon Snook) had been in the same queer DBD gaming Discord I was in makes this even more special to me. The project seems fated!
PREVIEWSworld: This series is about the formation of Dead by Daylight’s menacing band of misfit Killers, The Legion. What draws you to these characters?
Nadia: I love garbage teenagers. I was one myself! Greasy, heartbroken, and finding something in each other to find some meaning in a world that says they’re inconsequential. I think there’s something even more real, though, in the absolute thrill of finding a group of people who bring out the worst version of you. Members of The Legion appear interchangeably as one Killer in the game, but they’re STILL individuals. How did they get there, from each of their perspectives? This series lets me explore how, and why.
PREVIEWSworld: Who has been your favorite member of The Legion to write so far?
Nadia: This is a really tough one. It has to be a toss-up between Frank and Susie. I feel like they couldn’t be more different in some ways, but in other ways, they carry the same hurt, and the same depth of feeling for Julie. Frank’s dialogue is super fun to write, and Susie…she breaks my heart a little.
PREVIEWSworld: Your Dead by Daylight series is set in the 90s. How did you and artist Dylan Snook make sure that the comic felt authentic to the time period?
Nadia: Between lots of Daria rewatching, I’ve been doing a lot of research from historical websites and local museum sites in Alberta in the 1990s to give Ormond a very grounded feeling. I’m definitely pulling from 90s slashers, some Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Ginger Snaps, Cherry Falls, etc. In high school, I was pretty obsessed with grunge/riot grrl music myself, so I feel right at home honestly
PREVIEWSworld: Finally, without spoiling anything, what can readers expect from Dead by Daylight #1 in May 2023?
Nadia: Drama, slashing, BLOOD, iconic game locations and cameos, dirtbag teens, and eldritch tentacle horrors… it’s going to be a good time.
Dead by Daylight #1 is available May 2023. Issue #1 features a host of covers by IVAN TAO (MAR231030), CHRIS SHEHAN (MAR231031), LENKA SIMECKOVA (MAR231033), DILLON SNOOK (MAR231034), and superstar artist JAE LEE (JAN238339)! Reserve your copy with PREVIEWSworld Pullbox.
Keep an eye on PREVIEWSworld.com's Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram for more artist spotlights!
Readers can unlock an exclusive in-game charm using the unique code found inside the comic!
When the rebellious FRANK crashes into the lives of JULIE, JOEY and SUSIE, together they'll unleash bloody chaos onto the sleepy, dead-end town of Ormond. Witness the terrifying origins of THE LEGION.
Readers can unlock an exclusive in-game charm using the unique code found inside the comic!
When the rebellious FRANK crashes into the lives of JULIE, JOEY and SUSIE, together they'll unleash bloody chaos onto the sleepy, dead-end town of Ormond. Witness the terrifying origins of THE LEGION.
Readers can unlock an exclusive in-game charm using the unique code found inside the comic!
When the rebellious FRANK crashes into the lives of JULIE, JOEY and SUSIE, together they'll unleash bloody chaos onto the sleepy, dead-end town of Ormond. Witness the terrifying origins of THE LEGION.
Readers can unlock an exclusive in-game charm using the unique code found inside the comic!
When the rebellious FRANK crashes into the lives of JULIE, JOEY and SUSIE, together they'll unleash bloody chaos onto the sleepy, dead-end town of Ormond. Witness the terrifying origins of THE LEGION.
Readers can unlock an exclusive in-game charm using the unique code found inside the comic!
When the rebellious FRANK crashes into the lives of JULIE, JOEY and SUSIE, together they'll unleash bloody chaos onto the sleepy, dead-end town of Ormond. Witness the terrifying origins of THE LEGION.
Readers can unlock an exclusive in-game charm using the unique code found inside the comic!
When the rebellious FRANK crashes into the lives of JULIE, JOEY and SUSIE, together they'll unleash bloody chaos onto the sleepy, dead-end town of Ormond. Witness the terrifying origins of THE LEGION.
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Nicki Faust's heart is as cold as concrete in the Chicago winter. When not writing for PREVIEWSworld, Nicki is busy playing Limbo on Twitch, writing about the great robot uprising on Medium, and completing the untitled follow-up to the 2012 best-seller, Sue Storm: A Nude Photobook.
