Interview: Talking Murder And Cults With ‘Seven Wives’ Writer Zoe Tunnell

A violent murder in an isolated compound. An isolated cult. A victim with seven wives and many children. And dark secrets around every turn.

It sounds like a hell of a set-up for a murder mystery, and, well, that’s exactly what it is. Seven Wives is the first release of IDW Publishing’s new IDW Crime line. The limited series comes from Zoe Tunnell, V. Gagnon, Tesslyn Bergin-Dercoi, Maria Keane and Antonio Del Hoyo.

We got an opportunity to sit down with Tunnell ahead of Final Order Cut-off today, and discuss the series, her research process, and why Seven Wives will grip you from beginning to end.

Tony Thornley: Zoe! We’ve been friends for a few years now, so it’s weird to be talking in a professional sense. So my first question is, why on Earth are you starting your crime comics career with a story tailored to me? (Though in fairness, I didn’t tell you about once dating someone that escaped a polygamist cult until after this was announced.)

Zoe Tunnell: I told them “Hey, gimme one for Tony, he deserves it!” and IDW immediately went “who are you? Who is Tony? Get out of our office.”

Tony: Hah, one day, that’ll be reality. One day…

In all seriousness, where did your inspiration come from for Seven Wives?

Zoe: I can’t take full credit for it as Riley Farmer–my incredible editor–approached me with the very basic concept of the elevator pitch from above. From there, I spun out the characters, our detective leads, the twists and plot beats, etc. My inspiration came from what I love in a good crime story. Rich characters, messy morals, and leaving the reader hooked on every page.

Tony: For readers who haven’t heard about the series yet, what’s the elevator pitch for Seven Wives?

Zoe: To steal a phrase from the great John Rogers in his wonderful blurb for our debut, Seven Wives is a locked-family murder mystery. The patriarch of an isolated cult is murdered, and the primary suspects are his seven wives.

Tony: Cults are a common trope in crime fiction, and organized crime is as well. When did you realize that Utah’s polygamist cults are a unique blend of those? How did that make the story appealing?

Zoe: Oh god, researching ahead of the actual writing was…quite a lot. Lots of documentaries. Lots of survivor accounts. It was absolutely horrifying, but simultaneously fascinating. The layers of indoctrination and ritual mixed with the raw, harrowing impact on those affected. It provided such a rich well to pull from, but also a challenge to make sure Seven Wives remains as empathetic and fair as possible to the real-world survivors.

Tony: This murder mystery’s unique because the motive is clear from the jump. Matthew Dunn is a monster, to put it very simply (though there is some nuance beyond that). How did you approach plotting the story from there, having laid that part of the mystery out practically from the beginning?

Zoe: Honestly, I loved it. The best part of a murder mystery for me isn’t figuring out the motive for the murder itself, but the motive for the murderer. Having a victim who is so abhorrent and awful that no one would argue the world isn’t better off without him cleared the stage for me to dig into all of our suspects, as well as whether our detectives even want to find the killer.

Tony: That’s a big part of your first issue for sure, and leads me to what I was wondering next.

There’s quite a large cast of characters in the story (naturally for a story about a polygamist family AND a police investigation). Who are the key characters in the story and what do we need to know about them?

Zoe: I would say the closest thing to a proper lead we have is detective Olivia Aguilar. She’s from the area, born and raised, and is as familiar with the Dunn family as an outsider can be…which is to say not very familiar at all. Beyond her, we’ve got our seven wives, all of whom get their time in the spotlight. Sarah and Lucy get their focus in our first issue, and they are very different women, but over the course of the series you’ll get time with each of them and see their role in the family.

Tony: Tell us a little bit about your collaborators in this criminal enterprise, and what they bring to the table!

Zoe: I am absurdly lucky as our full creative team is absurd. V. Gagnon, Maria Keane and Antonio Del Hoyo’s work on issue #1 is just stunning. V’s work in incorporating the actual architecture of the Dunn compound into the layouts of the pages gives such a claustrophobic, weighty sense to every page. For our second and third issues we have Tesslyn Bergin-Dercoi taking over the art duties and the way she carries forward V’s aesthetic while also putting her own dynamic sensibilities is just jaw-dropping. Bonkers stuff. 

Tony: Most recently, you’ve told more stories of the fantastic — monsters, costumed heroes and more — why did the jump into a relatively straightforward crime fiction story appeal to you?

Zoe: I like to flex my writer muscles! I love writing the fantastical, but it’s been really nice having space to just dig into some real-ass people and the real-ass stories they have. Plus, it’s always nice to show I do have more range than folks give credit for!

Tony: You’ve gotten busy lately. What can we expect to see from you in the near future?

Zoe: Hoo boy. I’ve got another miniseries that…I think should be announced the week this interview goes up? Very different than Seven Wives but still deeply exciting! I’ve also got a fun run of 3 weeks of new releases starting with Seven Wives! The week after Wiccan and Hulkling: Raid of Ultron releases from Marvel and the week after Monsters in Love: A Pride Special hits from Dark Horse/Tiny Onion, and I’ve got stories in both of those wonderful anthologies!

Tony: Anything else you want to tease us with, either about Seven Wives or your upcoming slate as a whole?

Zoe: With Seven Wives, I can promise I followed one of the cardinal rules of mystery storytelling for me: you have all of the clues, and you can put them together before the end of the series. Good luck! Have fun!

Tony: I can’t wait to try to figure it out! Thanks Zoe!

Final Order Cut-off for Seven Wives is today. To order the series, reach out to your local comic book shop, or order today on the digital comics platform of your choice.