‘I Was A Fashion School Serial Killer’ Is A Bloody Good Time

When sartorial goals collide with homicide sprees, the massacre finally ends up producing some outfits which are (fairly actually) to die for. Welcome to ‘I Was A Fashion School Serial Killer’ — a brand new comedian ebook sequence co-created by Doug Wagner (author) and Daniel Hillyard (artist) that debuts in April of this yr.

The comedian facilities round Rennie Bethary, who simply obtained accepted into the distinguished New York Fashion and Design Institute. She is aware of how cut-throat all of it may be; so it signifies that each time she will get careworn or triggered, her pores and skin situation flares up — and very similar to an itch needing to be scratched — the ‘itch’ right here is that she actually begins slitting throats. And after all, being the resourceful, self-care fashionista she is, she bathes in her victims’ blood then makes use of their human pores and skin to take advantage of killer ‘leather’ clothes with (pun meant). And that is only the start of this dark-humored and wild-eyed story.

Rennie’s character (whose final identify, Bethary, is not any coincidence) was impressed by the notorious Elizabeth Bathory: “I knew I wanted to write about a female serial killer and pored over every piece of information I could find…I happened upon the legend of Elizabeth Bathory. She’s historically referred to as ‘The Blood Countess’. Rumors are she murdered hundreds of people and regularly took baths in their blood. I probably overthink things, but I couldn’t help but wonder what a modern serial killer would do with all those bodies,” Wagner explains.

That inspiration was coupled with him being drawn-to Native American tradition, and the way this group by no means wastes a single a part of an animal they hunt for meals. “That thought led me to thinking ‘why not just hide the bodies in plain sight, turn the skin into leather, carve accessories out of their bones, etc.,’” Wagner gives. With the meticulous consideration to those ‘creative’ particulars, for him — it made sense that this character can be obsessive about trend, “I assumed it would be the next logical step… also, I’ve always adored coming of age high school and college movies, so I thought ‘why not have her go to a fashion school’,” he says.

From these inceptive threads, it took a complete of six months of analysis earlier than he felt snug diving into the story. “In addition to loving (and referencing) Korean Street Fashion, I spent several weeks combing through magazines, thumbing through books covering various fashion periods, and watching all the episodes of every reality fashion TV shows out there like Project Runway, Queer Eye, and America’s Next Top Model,” Wagner explains. He additionally learn into the historical past of ladies designers, corresponding to Madame Grès. To amp up the sensationalism of characters that inhabit Rennie’s world (lecturers, fellow college students) he referenced larger-than-life TV personas corresponding to Tim Gunn, RuPaul, and Heidi Klum, to complement this sartorial surroundings.

He went so far as downloading trend faculty program curriculum, course descriptions, and syllabi — to depict the coed expertise as authentically as attainable, “… I was also able to lean on (my insights from) the four different colleges I went to (yes, I went to four different universities) and the decade of being an Associate Professor at an art university,” Wagner provides.

When the story was written, the artwork was subsequent. Hillyard additionally drew from his background and it helped carry the stylistic parts of this comedian ebook to life, “I went to an art and design college and a lot of the rooms were used for both the illustration and design classes and by the fashion students. So I treated it much like drawing the environments from my college days,” he says. Additionally, the synergy between him and Wagner was already established — having labored collectively for over a decade within the trade. The fashion of every character wanted to be nailed down exactly and the duo took the time to match ‘visuals and vibe’ to every particular person as precisely as attainable. This included lead character Rennie, ‘mean girl’ Constance, and cheerful BFF Sophie. “I also thank my wife for helping me build core looks for each character. There were a lot of things that I didn’t understand about fashion from a female perspective that I just don’t think I would have been able to pick up without her help. Simple stuff that would never occur to me as a man, like how having your hair up or down might inform the type of outfit you’d put together,” Hillyard says.

The most fascinating character for Hillyard to attract was Rennie as a result of her wardrobe transformation mirrors her psychological/emotional state — and what’s occurring in her life because the storyline progresses, “her vibe changes through the book. She starts off very closed, not wanting to really make any friends, but through the course of the book, we get to see her style evolve as she becomes more open to friendship and more accepting of who she is as an individual herself. In that sense, we kind of get to see her find her own personal style,” he explains.

The darkish humor in all this as a thorough-line, murdering people —bathing of their contemporary blood, and utilizing their stays to craft couture clothes — all whereas hiding the ‘evidence’ in plain sight, is all addictively witty and splendidly macabre. “She is a lot like Dexter or even Wednesday Addams. She’s odd, knows she’s different, a bit of a loner, and does not tolerate bullies. She obviously sees the world differently than most. If you’re a person that runs around with bad intentions and hurts others, well, to her, you’re only really good as a nice halter top or pair of leather pants,” says Wagner.

Ultimately, if you happen to’re searching for murderous mayhem, repartee to relish in, and fashionista friendships — ‘I Was A Fashion School Serial Killer’ — is for you.

9/10