Pete Wentz and the Dying Inside Team Preview Their New Graphic Novel

Pete Wentz, the lyricist and bassist for the beloved band Fall Out Boy, is taking his storytelling into a whole new arena. This week, fans can begin to pre-order Dying Inside, a new graphic novel co-written by Wentz and writer-director Hannah Klein with art by Witchblood and Squad's Lisa Sterle. Dying Inside is part of Vault's new Headshell imprint, which is the home of graphic novels inspired by and in collaboration with real-life recording artists. Copies of Dying Inside will feature QR codes that lead readers to a playlist curated by Wentz and Klein, original lyrics and poetry from Wentz, and so much more.

In Dying Inside, today is Ash's big finale. And by finale, she means exiting the stage permanently. Ash is a sixteen-year-old girl with more angst than Ian Curtis and Elliott Smith combined (her two idols). She's apathetic and therefore believes death is the easiest route to relief. But nothing is more embarrassing than a lame death. Unfortunately, her meticulous plans are all ruined when the beautiful knife she buys off a webstore turns out to be charmed with a protection spell. Now, Ash has to track down the witch who transformed her clocking out attempt into the worst gift imaginable: immortality. Turns out, the witch responsible is another sixteen-year-old-girl named (get this) Liv. The two vow to undo the charm together and fight for Ash's death…even as things get increasingly entangled with a strange new antidepressant called Somnia and her mom's gross boyfriend, Greg.

In celebration of Dying Inside now being available to pre-order, ComicBook.com spoke with Wentz, Klein, and Sterle about their one-of-a-kind collaboration. 

ComicBook.com: I was so excited to hear that fans can get an early look at Dying Inside on Free Comic Book Day! How does it feel to be a part of such an iconic tradition in the comic world?

Pete Wentz: It's really exciting. I'm psyched for us to be a part of something that is such an integral part of the community. Also, the fastest way to people's hearts is free stuff -- I know this from 7-11 Slurpee day!

Hannah Klein: It's so insanely cool! I've participated in Free Comic Book Day so many times as a consumer, so being represented as a writer for the first time is surreal.

Lisa Sterle: I am absolutely thrilled, this is the first time one of my books will be available as a free comic on Free Comic Book Day! I always have a table at my local shop, Laughing Ogre, so it will be so cool to be able to sign and give out the Dying Inside preview this year.

Pete, as someone who read Fall Out Toy Works, I have to say congrats on your return to the world of comics! What made Dying Inside the perfect story to go back to the medium?

Wentz: Dang, that's cool that you read that. Toy Works was an interesting art project. I'm not sure whether it was a story totally meant for a record or a comic but it was something kind of in between…and in some ways, the chaos of the in between was what made it work (or not if it didn't work for you). Hannah is one of my favorite contemporary writers, and when she had the idea for a graphic novel, I knew we had to get it done… seeing Lisa's drawing really brought it to life for me.

Pete, you and your bandmate Joe Trohman both have comic projects coming out this year, with Joe working on The Holy Roller for Image. Have the two of you chatted about that at all?

Wentz: We haven't gone super in-depth on specific projects, but we have talked about writing in general a lot over the past year. The Holy Roller is sick. Joe has a really distinct perspective and way of writing, and it's been so rad to see it come to life.

How did the initial idea of Dying Inside come about? What was the back-and-forth like of turning it into the concept we ultimately are seeing?

Wentz: Hannah had brought up the basic idea to me years ago. Like all of her other ideas, it's hilarious and morbid and heartfelt and completely sad which is an extremely insane target to hit. When it comes to collaborative art, I am a big believer in doing the job that you do best and not adding colors to the painting unless they are called for… so I think you will hear my voice here and there, but it's just a spice on Hannah's dish.

Klein: Dying Inside was originally a concept I had for a television series, weirdly enough. But throughout talking about it with Pete – I can't remember which one of us said it would be great as a graphic novel – but someone did. And then we collabed from there! 

I was really moved by the tone of Dying Inside, and how it navigates its intense subject matter with so much charm and humor. How important was it, both narratively and aesthetically, to strike that balance?

Klein: For me personally, I think making sure there's levity when talking about heavy topics is incredibly important, for a few reasons. One reason being, sugar always helps the medicine go down and a sense of humor welcomes the reader into the world/mindset of our protagonist instead of scaring them away. Another reason is, as a person who has experience dealing with my own mental health struggles, I like to show all sides of the illness. Just because someone is depressed doesn't mean every single day is the worst day of their lives. There's plenty of hope and moments of clarity and happiness so we don't need to be total downers when we make art about it.

Sterle: I have always loved making stories that express the full range of human emotion. there is a lot of beauty to be found in sadness, and humor can absolutely be an important tool to cope with darkness. I think it's those conflicts and contrasts that make for both compelling stories as well as complex characters. Personally, I also deal with depression and anxiety, and even so...I love to dwell in a heartbreaking song on a beautiful sunny day.

Lisa, I have followed (and loved) your art for years, and was blown away by your work on Dying Inside. What was it like working on a project of this scale, with so much room for expression and Easter eggs?

Sterle: Thank you so much! It has been one of my absolute favorite projects to work on, it just really reflects what I'm passionate about. Witchcraft is totally on brand for me, and mixed with teenage angst, Elliot Smith? This is the kind of book emo teen Lisa would have been obsessed with, so it felt like I was making it for her at times. I've definitely snuck in a lot of references to albums, movies, anime, etc that I loved when I was that age. It was also a great opportunity for me to develop an artistic style that's been swirling around in my head for awhile. I'm so happy with it.

The early pitches for Dying Inside have cited its similarities to everything from Fleabag to Jennifer's Body to Wednesday. Are there any specific cultural touchstones, even the more esoteric ones, that you used as inspiration?

Klein: I'd say Jennifer's Body, Scott Pilgrim, and Chekhov are the holy trinity for me in terms of inspiration on this graphic novel. And on most things I write.

Sterle: Artistically, I was inspired a lot by manga: Sailor Moon, Nana, Kimi Ni Todoke. As well as a few other comics: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, Love and Rockets, Ghost World.

What can you tease about the ways music is utilized in Dying Inside, especially with the partnership with Headshell?

Klein: We've definitely put a TON of thought into accompanying playlists for this project but also there is at least one very special exclusive track by a band Pete and I work with that will be included with the book. 

Sterle: Music is definitely a big part of this story, both narratively and aesthetically. I had a blast figuring out all the ways I could sneak it in.

I loved the very small Fall Out Boy Easter egg early on in Lisa's art: what do you think Ash's favorite Fall Out Boy album/song would be?

Wentz: I would just be guessing but I would think it would be something like "It's Not a Side Effect of the Cocaine, I Am Thinking It Must Be Love."

Klein: This is my favorite question anyone has ever asked me and I wish I could be asked this about everything I write. I think Ash's favorite album would be "Infinity on High." I don't know why but it's just what my heart is telling me. The lyrical imagery on that album feels very Ash.

Sterle: Ooo yes, gonna have to agree with Hannah on that one!:

What surprised you the most about the experience of working on Dying Inside?

Klein: I was surprised at how similar it felt to writing screenplays. I've never written for a graphic novel before so I was pretty nervous that I was going to fuck it up (excuse my language) but I found that dialogue is the backbone of graphic novel writing AND my typical screenwriting practice. That was very convenient. Also, I didn't realize how much I would love working in the graphic novel space – Vault is one of the most supportive, lovely teams I've ever had the pleasure of working with. They made the entire process so fun.

Sterle: Honestly, how much it didn't feel like work? Don't get me wrong, I love working on comics. But when you're 120 pages deep into inking a 200+ page story it can feel like a slog at times and you can burnout very easily if you don't take care of yourself. But I think it's a testament to how well this comics was crafted and how much I love the characters that I really enjoyed working on it every day.

What are you most excited to see fans respond to, once Dying Inside is released?

Klein: My biggest hope is that the girls (universal, all female identifying people) feel seen in this story. I really wanted to make an incredibly girl centric graphic novel so that is the collective reaction I'm excited to see.

Sterle: I hope everyone falls in love with Ash and Liv as much as I have! I hope that folks that are older can step onto that space of being an angsty teen again and feel love and compassion for their past selves. I hope that the kids that read this as they might be going through similiar struggles find the heart and humor as a path to make it through.

Without giving away spoilers or trying to guess the ending, it seems like there's a lot that can be explored in the world of Dying Inside. Would you all want to reunite on some sort of sequel or spinoff, if given the opportunity?

Klein: It would only be my greatest pleasure in life...

Sterle: Absolutely!!!

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Dying Inside is now available to pre-order.