Al Mega chats w/David Dastmalchian at NYCC 2025

WEPA!!! Hold on to your comics and your popcorn, people, ‘cause when David Dastmalchian walks into the room energy shifts! From Gotham to Arrakis, from The Suicide Squad to Ant-Man and beyond, this man’s been through it all literally.

Now he’s bringing that same cosmic creative fire to his own works: the haunting new graphic novel “Through”, the east-meets-west battle epic “Knights vs Samurai”, a stellar run on Murderbot, and an upcoming powerhouse role as M. Bison in Legendary Pictures’ Street Fighter!

When I asked David about Through, he didn’t just talk he opened up.

“It was therapy… creative exorcism,” he said. “You dig into yourself trying to figure out what’s wrong, why life’s still hard after all these years. The things that haunt you they live deep. This book was me opening those locked doors.”

He credited outsider artist Henry Darger as a major inspiration a man whose secret art collection was discovered after his death. Add in vibes from Alice in Wonderland and Pan’s Labyrinth, and you get Through a haunting and human story illustrated by Cat Staggs, with a cover from David Mack.

“This might be the most important thing I’ve ever written,” he said.

Let’s talk about that Image Comics fire Knights vs Samurai.

I asked the obvious question: Who wins?

“Samurai,” David laughed. “Sorry, knights! The artistry, the discipline it’s unmatched.”

He broke down his love for both aesthetics the pageantry of knights and the spiritual artistry of samurai while throwing all realism out the window to make room for dragons, witches, and oni.

“Sometimes you just gotta say, screw it this world is pure imagination.”

With Murderbot renewed for Season 2, Dastmalchian’s excitement is sky-high.

“If Murderbot were my roommate, it would hate my schedule,” he joked. “I’m chaos! But at least my fridge is stocked with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups!”

Respect. Pure WEPA-level snack discipline right there.

Then came the big one M. Bison. Fans lost their collective minds when the casting news hit.

“Thousands of spinning head stomps in the mirror,” he said with a laugh.

But make no mistake David’s bringing his own dark, soulful take to the role. “We’ll talk more soon,” he teased. “I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”

From Kurt in Ant-Man to Veb, from Polka-Dot Man in The Suicide Squad to Creature Commandos David has become a multiverse constant.

“If 12-year-old me saw this, he’d lose it,” he said. “I was a kid from Kansas obsessed with knights, samurai, and Wonderland. Now I’m living it.”

The secret behind balancing all that creative chaos?

“Sobriety,” he said proudly. “Twenty-three years. Every night I hit the pillow, I do a gratitude check. I remind myself to keep showing up, keep creating, keep loving.”

He praised his team at Good Fiend Films for keeping him grounded and motivated, producing hits like Late Night with the Devil and collaborating on new projects with the Boulay Brothers.

“I’m surrounded by people who elevate me that’s everything.”

When I asked what he wants fans to feel after his work, David went deep:

“I want people to feel seen. To know they’re not alone. The world tells you you’re on the outside, that you have to buy something to belong. That’s all noise. You already belong. You’re already enough.”

Mic dropped.

Let’s be real David Dastmalchian isn’t just another actor. He’s a storyteller, a world-builder, a fan who made it, and a creative who never forgot where he came from.

He’s out here proving that art and heart can hit just as hard as a Psycho Crusher.

Grab Through from Z2 Comics, cop Knights vs Samurai from Image Comics, and get hyped for Street Fighter because when it drops, Bison Power is coming for us all!

Until next time…
Keep it real. Keep it geek. And as always… WEPAAAAA!!!

Author Profile

Al Mega

I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!