"There are over 4 million podcasts online… but this will be the last one you hear." After the hosts of a popular true crime podcast mysteriously disappear, their viewers still find a new episode of Dead Sounds waiting in their feeds, and that's when the true horrors begin in Murder Podcast, the new comic book series from Jeremy Haun (The Beauty) and Mike Tisserand (The Dragon Prince) that is the inaugural release from the newly founded Ignition Press!
Before Murder Podcast releases this fall, Jeremy and Mike are giving readers a unique entry into the world of Murder Podcast with the introductory comic The Cold Open, which is now on Kickstarter, and we caught up with Jeremy and Mike in a new Q&A feature to discuss the "weird, creepy things" that await readers in their new series!
You can read our full Q&A below, and to learn more about Murder Podcast: The Cold Open, visit:
Thank you for taking the time to answer questions for us, Jeremy and Mike, and congratulations on Murder Podcast! How and when did you initially come up with the idea for this comic book series?
Jeremy Haun: Some ideas come fast and completely skip the line in the “stories I want to tell” queue. MURDER PODCAST was definitely one of those. Most people I know listen to at least one podcast or another. And a LOT of those people are huge true crime fans.
One night a group of us were having drinks and talking about true crime podcasts and I got to thinking about what REAL horror they are. Look—I’m a person that loves the horror genre. I can watch anything. Give me your ghosts, zombies, demons, or chainsaw-wielding maniac and I’m fine. But true crime… is kinda more than I can handle. That night, after everyone left, I walked into my studio and wrote the title MURDER PODCAST on a Post-it note. By the end of the next day, I had the story and knew exactly where it was all going.
Now, granted, because development and schedules take time (not to mention I helped build a publishing company in the midst of all this) this was over a year and a half ago. Of course, the real magic happened once Mike came onboard.
Jeremy, in addition to writing comic books, you’re also the host of the video podcast series Curious Haunts. Did your real-life experience in the world of podcasting impact how you approached the story of Murder Podcast?
Jeremy Haun: I’m not sure the world needed another, another, ANOTHER podcast. But here we are. CURIOUS HAUNTS comes from a place of pure love… and, well, curiosity. When I’m working on a project I tend to deep dive into things. I already listened to a lot of podcasts, but I found myself listening to even more. Yes–even ones that I’m kind of too much of a wimp for.
As part of all that, and part of the production on MURDER PODCAST, I ended up writing the whole “podcast within the podcast.” It was a lot of fun. And because I’m a bit of a masochist, I’d been thinking about new things I could do that added to my comics work. I made a list of the kinds of things that I love—exploring strange places, drinks, oddities, physical media. CURIOUS HAUNTS was born out of that.
Mike, I really dig your artwork that I’ve seen in preview pages from Murder Podcast: The Cold Open. What was it about this story that made you want to bring it to life visually, and what has it been like to collaborate with Jeremy and pair your artwork with his powerful prose and excellent coloring by Nick Filardi?
Mike Tisserand: I think the initial attraction to MURDER PODCAST was that it was horror, and coming from the world of animated cartoons it seemed like a nice marriage of two contrasting aesthetics.
Working with Jeremy and Nick has been great as well. To use a hockey reference, I’m like the rookie playing wing on a line with two veterans. I just try to keep up with them. Jeremy is weaving a killer story, and it’s making for an awesome book.
Murder Podcast centers on the missing hosts of a haunted true crime podcast called ‘Dead Sounds’. How much fun was it to create a fictional podcast within the world of Murder Podcast?
Jeremy Haun: That’s definitely part of it—definitely the germ of the whole thing. It gets… pretty crazy from there. Creating a fictional podcast was… not easy.
Again, I don’t really do things in half measures. I knew that we were going to hear a lot of the dialogue from the podcast in the comic. It’s part of a whole thing. I realized pretty quickly that I didn’t just want it to be weird, ambiguous things that they were saying.
So, you know, I wrote a whole show. Of course, while there are similarities, writing a narrative podcast is a different animal than writing a comic script. In the end, for as ridiculous as it is, I had a blast doing it.
True crime as a genre seems to have never been more popular than it is right now, especially in the medium of podcasts. Why do you think so many people are enthralled with true crime?
Jeremy Haun: While podcasts are for everyone, I think when it comes to true crime, especially for the women I know, it’s about taking all of the horror that’s out there in the world and understanding it a bit more.
The unknown terrors of the things we do to one another as humans can be paralyzing. But maybe if you listen to it—get a look at the WHY of it, you can avoid it yourself. Also, you know… people like weird, creepy things.
The creepy concept for Murder Podcast feels like if the cursed tape from The Ring or “The Pulse” signal in Stephen King’s Cell were infused into the world of true crime podcasts. Were you both influenced or inspired by any other stories—horror or otherwise—while working on Murder Podcast?
Jeremy Haun: I mean—it’s impossible to not be influenced by all the things that have come before, at this point. Hell—I was a child of the ’80s and ’90s—the creative product of a single parent household, with a library and video store card and too little supervision.
Talk to any of us making things now and you can definitely see the connective tissue between the things we loved as kids and the stories we tell as adults. Even though it has nothing to do with MURDER PODCAST, I kept thinking of Stephen King’s short story THE SUN DOG as I was writing this. It was a story about a cursed camera with a monstrous dog inside. I loved that story.
My favourite bit of research for MURDER PODCAST was actually interviewing a few people from our friend group on loving true crime and podcasts and their lives. So much of those talks has subtly worked its way into the relationships in our happy little murder book.
I too am a child of the ’80s and ’90s, so I’m always wanting to recapture the terror one felt when they had yet to reach double digits in age but were watching Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th for the first time.
You’ve launched a successful Kickstarter campaign for Murder Podcast: The Cold Open, which introduces readers to the world of Murder Podcast through a standalone short story that connects to the main narrative of this series. What type of story can readers expect to encounter in The Cold Open, and what ghoulish goodies await supporters of the Kickstarter campaign?
Jeremy Haun: We wanted to do something different with the MURDER PODCAST: THE COLD OPEN Kickstarter. We were making this book no matter what. And honestly, people in the comics community seem really excited about what we’re doing. Both with the book AND as IGNITION PRESS. Part of our mission at IGNITION is to reach outside of the standard comic book audience and reach new readers. Sure, we could play the variant cover boosted sales number shell game. We’ve seen that done and absolutely know how to do it.
What we want to do is be true to our existing readership AND build new readers. And more importantly—KEEP those new readers. We want them reading books from IGNITION, Image, BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse, and every other company out there. We created THE COLD OPEN as an opportunity for new readers (as well as our tried and true existing fans) to get a look at the story of MURDER PODCAST in a one and done, full, finished story…that then leads into the larger, multi-issue series. And because we’re doing it as a Kickstarter initially, we can roll out a bunch of cool bonus goodies, like stickers, enamel pins, t-shirts and more. If you like it and are curious, it’s an easy way to check it out.
Do you each have a favorite moment in Murder Podcast that you’re especially excited for readers to experience?
Jeremy Haun: Is it ridiculous to say there’s at least one in every single issue? Mike does SUCH an amazing job bringing both character and emotionality to this story AND live to some of the most disturbing moments I could ever imagine. There’s one moment in THE COLD OPEN that just hinges on three panels. You see them and are like “OH NO!!! YOU WON’T!” Mike makes you feel that—hell—maybe ever SCREAM that at the page.
Mike Tisserand: I’ve had some moments that were a blast to draw, but with each issue there is something new for me to dig into. Things that have never been expressed with a pencil and my hand, so the joy is in trying to articulate these scenes, mainly the horror, as well as I can. I think I’m excited for readers to see these moments Jeremy has crafted.
Murder Podcast is the first series from Ignition Press, a new comic book and graphic novel publisher that you co-founded, Jeremy. What has it been like to work with the rest of the team at Ignition Press to bring Murder Podcast to life, and what made this series the perfect launch pad for Ignition Press?
Jeremy Haun: Look, I’m a founder of IGNITION. Everyone is going to expect me to say that I’m loving this– that I’m so proud of every single member of our team and the unwavering work that they are doing—that I’m blown away by the contributions that everyone from editorial to marketing are making to all of the projects. Every company pops up in every medium and the folks working there always say that it’s the greatest thing ever. But…
WHAT. IF. IT’S. TRUE.
One funny thing is that I was really hesitant to have one of my projects be a launch title for the company. I’m weird like that. One of the most touching moments of my career was having my partners Filip Sablik and Jamie S. Rich pull me aside and say “No… this is really good. We believe in it.” As much of a self-loathing creative as I can be, that moment meant the world to me. Because the truth is, if they DIDN’T genuinely feel that way, they wouldn’t have begun to suggest it.
Ultimately, what do you hope readers take away from Murder Podcast?
That comics– even when they’re gross and horrific, are fun. That horror is easily the best genre out there. And that IGINION PRESS is absolutely devoted to story and bringing those stories that creators NEED to tell to life. No matter what.
Mike Tisserand: I think it’s just a great story. Jeremy is boiling over with ideas and it’s spilling out beautifully into these issues.
In addition to The Cold Open installments, how many issues of Murder Podcast can readers look forward to?
Jeremy Haun: I don’t know that we can say that quite yet… More than five. Less than twenty? The thing that matters is that we’re getting to tell the exact story we need to tell.
What advice would you each give to writers and artists who are just getting started?
Jeremy Haun: Know what you want out of your art/stories and always work towards that goal. Not some arbitrary goal that others set out there for you. Understand that working in comics is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time and perseverance. When people talk about putting in the ten thousand hours… there’s truth to that. Finally, I’d say to genuinely listen. Take the advice. Do the work. Get better.
In addition to Murder Podcast, do you each have any other projects coming up that you can tease for our readers? Are there any updates on Ryan Murphy’s adaptation of The Beauty that you can share?
Jeremy Haun: We’ve got a lot coming up at IGNITION. I’m actively involved in building the company and am incredibly proud of what we’re doing. On top of that, I have several projects that I’m currently writing and developing. Everything at IGNITION– it’s going to be that way, well… forever?
Ryan and his amazing crew are hard at work on THE BEAUTY show right now. It’s going to be absolutely gorgeous and just as disturbing as you’d expect. But, let’s be real, anything that Ryan Murphy produces always is.
Mike Tisserand: Blood of Zeus season 3 is out on Netflix! I boarded some heavy-duty sequences on that show, and they turned out great. A lot of insanely talented people worked on it. It’s a great series, check it out!
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To learn more about Murder Podcast: The Cold Open, visit:
MURDER PODCAST is the new original comic book series from writer Jeremy Haun, co-creator of The Beauty, which is currently in production as an FX series by Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, Pose). Best known for his terrifying horror comic series including The Red Mother and The Approach and more recently as the host of the video podcast series, Curious Haunts. Murder Podcast promises to be Haun’s most disturbing dive into the world of horror to date. Joining Haun on this horrifying journey is series artist and animation veteran Mike Tisserand (The Dragon Prince, Diary of a Wimpy Kid) along with colorist Nick Filardi and lettering and design collective, AndWorld Design
MURDER PODCAST is the inaugural title from Ignition Press, the new Los Angeles-based comic and graphic novel publisher. Ignition Press was co-founded by publishing and media industry veterans Eric Gitter (CEO), Filip Sablik (Publisher), Jamie S. Rich (Editor-in-Chief), and Jeremy Haun (Creative Director) in July 2024 and will exclusively publish creator-driven original series beginning in Fall 2025.
Cover Art by Jeremy Haun:
Cover Art by Mike Tisserand:
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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