That sense of being trapped in a juggernaut of commerce and culture is central to the new Dark Horse comic Dead Mall, written by horror writer Adam Cesare (Clown in a Cornfield) and illustrated by Denver artist David Stoll. The first two are already on the stands, with a growing fan base. Issue 3 hits stores on Wednesday, February 15; that same day, Stoll will make an afternoon appearance at Time Warp Comics in Boulder, where he’ll sign comics, offer quick sketches and meet fans.
Dark Horse Comics
Stoll says his visual take on the spaces in Dead Mall required him to visit several shopping centers in the Denver area; he visited several, including Colorado Mills, taking notes and pictures, drawing quick sketches. “As a kid, I remember malls feeling like freedom,” says Stoll. “Visiting those malls now, in my thirties, they feel like giant meat grinders. Like huge cattle troughs designed to force people to spend as much money as possible before they’re let out. I recognize now how they’re predatory, and it’s weird to realize just how hungry malls can seem.”
The mall at the center of Dead Mall — the fictional Penn Mills Galleria — is a ravenous entity in the literal sense, taking the history of horror in mall culture one step further than in the past. Mall horror arguably began with Dawn of the Dead in 1978, but it’s slain a lot of teens since then, from Chopping Mall to the Fear Street series to Zombieland 2 to Stranger Things 3 and beyond. In Dead Mall, the mall itself operates much like the Eagles' "Hotel California": Patrons who enter through the ad-laden vestibule may never leave.
“In most of those movies,” Stoll says, “the mall doesn’t really take center stage. It’s not the focus; it’s just the setting. We wanted the mall to be a character, not in the metaphoric sense. We wanted it to be active and alive.”
Stoll says that his primary contribution to the project wasn’t so much story, but design. “Not only did I go out and measure the spaces in the malls, literally pacing out distance, but I ended up creating a 3D model of Penn Mills," he says. "Not only did that give me a better sense of the visuals in the book, but it also let me get these cool perspective shots that I wouldn’t have otherwise considered.”
Stoll was born and raised in Arizona, and got his master's degree in sequential art at the Savannah College of Art and Design. He ended up in Denver because his graduate school cohort had connections here; the comic world is very much based on connections, and several of them have found themselves in Colorado. They share a studio space called Jam House at a former machine shop in Englewood.
The creatives sharing who studio with Stoll read like a who’s who of Denver-based comic artists: Jorge Corona (The Me You Love in the Dark); colorist Sara Stern (By Night); Morgan Beem (Crashing); Jeremy Lawson (Teen Titans Go!); and Rye Hickman (SFSX). Stoll says that the artists, their work, and the bullpen they share keeps him motivated. “It doesn’t allow inertia to take hold, as it can sometimes working from home,” he says.
“We’re super excited to be able to bring Dave to Time Warp for a signing anytime,” says store owner Wayne Winsett, “but especially for a book like Dead Mall. It’s a slick-looking comic with a great story, and we love supporting our local artists. We hope to see a lot of fans come out to support them, too.”
David Stoll will be at Time Warp Comics from 2 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, February 15, in connection with the release of Dead Mall #3. For more information, see the Time Warp Comics website.
