NPC.com: Thanks for your time today, Dave. Can you start by telling us a little bit about Big Monster and Special Ed?:

DD: Big Monster Productions is basically a studio I started with Brian Roberts a bunch of years ago. We were drunk at a comic-con and brainstormed a few ideas poolside. Big Monster was the first thing we agreed on... a place for likeminded creators to come to... and just have fun. Special Ed is the mission statement -- a comic that you can do anything with. All bets are off when I work on that book!

NPC: Do you consider Special Ed a super hero book or a satire?

DD: A little of both, really. And a whole lot more. There's going to be a lot of teen drama, too. I'm a big fan of crappy nighttime soaps, and you'll be seeing a lot of 90210-like moments thrown in there just for the hell of it.

NPC: You write, draw, and color Special Ed. Just how does one guy do that?

DD: Dude, you have NO idea! All I can say is I have a really understanding fiance, 'cause I swear there isn't enough time in the day!

NPC: Where do you see the book going in the next few issues?

DD: The first arc (#'s1-4) will have a lot to do with the relationship between Doctor Zero and Baron Zima. I'll be fleshing out the friendships shared in the class, and by issue #5, you'll see Ed's parents -- finally. The poo is really gonna hit the fan in #6, and someone dies. Really. It's going to be a crazy ride from there, and the next arc will continue through #8.

NPC: Lets talk about BMP's other title, Life&Death.

DD: Life&Death is actually the first concept Brian and I came up with. We pitched it at Vertigo and actually had a really talented pro interested in doing it. A few months passed, and so did DC. We couldn't keep the artist on board without the Vertigo deal, so we decided to do it ourselves!

NPC: Just what's so important about these two kids, Nora Chumai and Tyrell Borden?

DD: I don't want to give away too much, but the kids are essentially reincarnated gods who, if sacraficed in an ancient ritual, can recreate reality. Trippy stuff.

NPC: So what makes the villain, Johnny Ammon, such a bad ass?

DD: He's basically been slowly driven insane over the course of his exceptionally long life. He's mad with power and has no regard for anyone or anything around him. He's the ultimate bastard and a complete joy to write!

NPC: Hows does L&D play to Brian's artistic strengths?

DD: Cinematic storytelling. When I started writing L&D, I had the notion that I wanted to do a really unique supernatural action flick in comic book form. Brian's pages are pretty much exactly how I would want to see it onscreen. He gets better with every page... I wish I could say the same about my inking on the book!

NPC: Is issue 4 of L&D the end of Nora and Tyrell's story?

DD: For now. I've been kicking around ideas for the sequel. I've got a series of one-shots in my head that would answer any lingering questions fans might have and would lead directly into LD2. If there's a call for it, I might just do it. Only time will tell.

NPC: Why bring these titles to NPC?

DD: Creative freedom is the key. On any given day I have a billion ideas floating in my nugget, and it's very liberating knowing I have a place that will not only encourage those ideas, but publish them!

NPC: And finally, what's next for Big Monster?

DD: The Big Monster is going to have a full year in 2006. Special Ed will continue until someone tells me to stop (or they let me write Daredevil). Brian and I have a horror/suspense anthology we're going to put together. I'm also developing a new top-secret project that is bound to kick ass. It's in the early stages, but if this thing happens, it's going to kill! I mean it. Kill.

NPC: Thanks, dude!

DD: No, thank YOU!