AIPT Comics

Pornsak Pichetshote goes deep on ‘Exquisite Corpses: Lone Gunman’ and ‘Absolute Green Arrow’

Episode Summary

Pornsak Pichetshote is having one hell of a year. He’s helping expand James Tynion IV and Michael Walsh’s Exquisite Corpses universe with Exquisite Corpses: Lone Gunman, while over at DC, Absolute Green Arrow has given him the chance to build a very different kind of mythology around one of comics’ most familiar mantles. Today, the AIPT Comics Podcast brings you an unedited conversation with Pornsak. We dig into Lone Gunman, what happens to a final girl after she survives, the history behind that mysterious golden mask, the 13 Families, and how the series expands the world of Exquisite Corpses. Pornsak also talks about what working with James Tynion IV has taught him about writing comics and creating memorable new characters. Then we get into spoiler territory for Absolute Green Arrow, including the Merlin reveal, why the original mystery was designed to resolve in six issues, and how the back half of the series operates almost like a sequel to that opening story. Pornsak also teases why Merlin was theOK right choice once we learn who makes up the other half of Green Arrow. Plus, Dave and Alex recap the week in comics with reviews and news!

Episode Notes

Pornsak Pichetshote is having one hell of a year. He’s helping expand James Tynion IV and Michael Walsh’s Exquisite Corpses universe with Exquisite Corpses: Lone Gunman, while over at DC, Absolute Green Arrow has given him the chance to build a very different kind of mythology around one of comics’ most familiar mantles.

Today, the AIPT Comics Podcast brings you an unedited conversation with Pornsak. We dig into Lone Gunman, what happens to a final girl after she survives, the history behind that mysterious golden mask, the 13 Families, and how the series expands the world of Exquisite Corpses. Pornsak also talks about what working with James Tynion IV has taught him about writing comics and creating memorable new characters.

Then we get into spoiler territory for Absolute Green Arrow, including the Merlin reveal, why the original mystery was designed to resolve in six issues, and how the back half of the series operates almost like a sequel to that opening story. Pornsak also teases why Merlin was the right choice once we learn who makes up the other half of Green Arrow.

Plus, Dave and Alex recap the week in comics with reviews and news!

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NEWS

  1. IDW teases two major reveals for NYCC 2026 panel, reveals full signing schedule
  2. Dark Horse Comics reveals NYCC 2026 signing schedule and booth plans
  3. ‘Something is Killing the Children’ #50 gets blind bags with mystery covers and trading cards
  4. Zoe Thorogood and Joe Whiteford sink their teeth into ‘Vampire on Aisle 6’
  5. Marvel reveals bloody new ‘Midnight’ art as universe tops 1 million orders
  6. 'AMAZING SPIDER-MAN' #1000 VARIANTS ALLOCATED
  7. Joshua Williamson and Bruno Redondo announce ‘Batman: Justice Year’ at SDCC Málaga

Our Top Books of the Week:

Dave:

  1. Tomb of Apocalypse #2 (Ashley Allen, Domenico Carbone)
  2. Amazing Spider-Man #1000 (Various)

Alex:​​

  1. Smart Division #2 (Zack Kaplan, John Pearson)
  2. Aliens vs X-Men #1 (Gillen, Geraldo Borges)

Standout KAPOW moment of the week:

Alex: Uncanny X-Men #36 (Gail Simone, Luciano Vecchio)

Dave: Queen in Black #5 (Al Ewing, Iban Coello, Paco Medina)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

Interview: Pornsak Pichetshote - EXQUISITE CORPSES LONE GUNMAN #1 (OF 5) FOC Oct 12 - Release Date: Nov 4 - Day 2 Newsletter

Artist: Alberto Ponticelli; colors: Jordie Bellaire

  1. You’ve described Lone Gunman as “Season 1.5” of Exquisite Corpses. What did you realize you needed to explore between the end of the first series and the beginning of Season 2 that made this story necessary?
  2. Laura won the game, but surviving twelve killers doesn’t exactly mean she gets to live happily ever after. What interested you about treating the “Final Girl” as the beginning of a story rather than the end of one?
  3. The golden mask was such a striking piece of the Lone Gunman mythology in Season 1. How much does digging into its history change what we thought we understood about the Lone Gunman and the game itself?
  4. Two years have passed for Laura, Xavi, and Jason. They have money and seemingly escaped the Families, but they're still carrying what happened to them. How differently has each of them processed surviving that night?
  5. You mentioned bringing lessons from Absolute Green Arrow into Lone Gunman. Those seem like very different books on the surface, so what have you learned writing Green Arrow that unexpectedly became useful when writing a horror story like this?
  6. You’re working with Alberto Ponticelli again after Unknown Soldier, alongside Jordie Bellaire. Alberto has talked about bringing roughness, textures, and “dirty marks” to this world. What are those two bringing visually that makes this chapter of Exquisite Corpses feel distinct from Season 1?
  7. For one fun one to wrap up: If surviving Exquisite Corpses earned Laura an actual two-year, all-expenses-paid vacation with absolutely zero killers, billionaires, or golden masks allowed, where would you send her, and what would she do with herself?