AJ O. Mason & Dominic Bustamante Interview - Kloud 9

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[00:00:55] - [Speaker 0]
Hello, and welcome to Comic Book Yeti's Cryptid Creator Corner. I am one of your hosts, Jimmy Gaspero. I am very excited for the two guests I have on today. One of them, he and I have been kind of I I feel like in the same circle in indie comics for a while. One of them is is brand new to me, but I am I'm so excited to talk to both of them about a new comic they have coming out, Cloud9 with Top Shelf Productions.

[00:01:16] - [Speaker 0]
It'll be out July 7. Please welcome to the podcast, AJ O'Mason and Dominic Bustamante. AJ, Dominic, how are you doing tonight?

[00:01:25] - [Speaker 2]
I'm I'm doing fantastic. I'm doing really good and really excited to talk to you. Thank you so much for having us. I really appreciate it.

[00:01:32] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. We're very happy to be here. Thank you.

[00:01:35] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. No. So, Cloud9, it's book one, the star soldier. It is top shelf productions. I'm a big fan of top shelf stuff.

[00:01:44] - [Speaker 0]
I've covered covered some of their their comics before. I I really like the things that they've done. And, yeah, this was no exception. It was a comic that I'd I I like to not read, like, what it's all about and just kinda, like, dive right in. But I thought that Cal and Cosmo's story was so much fun.

[00:02:04] - [Speaker 0]
I really like the two of them. Your two side characters, is it Akhil? And I I think I was saying it Zoya. Yeah. Spot on.

[00:02:14] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Okay. I wasn't sure with the with the x how it was gonna be pronounced. Yeah. Those two crack me up.

[00:02:20] - [Speaker 0]
Absolutely love the two of them and just thought it was a really, really wonderful story. It works on a couple of different levels. It's one of these stories you can just go in, and it's it's a ton of fun. It's like big action kind of story, but also there is a lot here about Cosmo and about Cal and about who they are, about their identity, about family, about found family, about feeling like you are, somebody else trying to put you into a box and breaking out of that, discovering who you really are, especially in Cosmos situation. But, yeah, why don't AJ, if you wanna start, why don't you kinda tell listeners what, what Cloud9 is about?

[00:03:02] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Sure.

[00:03:04] - [Speaker 2]
So Cloud9 is everything that you you said. It's it's about found family, about finding your own way through the world. It's a coming of age story. And it tells the story of Cal who's an orphan from Earth. And he's been like in the foster system for a long time and he couldn't really find his place.

[00:03:29] - [Speaker 2]
Like he always moved from foster family to foster family to foster family until he decided to just run away and live on his own. And he's very secluded, very sticking to his own own guns and then one day he comes across this injured guy who he learns that his name is Cosmo. And he takes him in, starts taking care of him, and slowly they develop a friendship that slowly develops into a romantic relationship. And all of a sudden, he finds out Cosmo, this guy, is not a regular guy. He's an alien, he's a protector of a of a stars of a star system that's close to to the solar system.

[00:04:18] - [Speaker 2]
And he's actually on on the run from his adaptive mother slash commander who is looking out for is looking for him because he needs to to fulfill his job. And from there, they just like basically escape into outer space together and yeah, along the way, they they meet the the side characters that you mentioned, Akhil and Zoya, and they they find a little found family. And along that, they also find each other and just a lot of they they go through a lot, basically. And and I think there's a lot of twists and turns in that story.

[00:04:56] - [Speaker 0]
Oh, absolutely. Before we get too much further into the story, like, how did the two of you kind of come together to to work on this?

[00:05:04] - [Speaker 3]
So in 2017, I had a a dream about a boy running through this nightclub in outer space, and he was being chased by all of these robots or space cops. And I thought that was a really cool dream, so I decided to put it into a short 10 page comic that I did for my third year of university for a comics making class. And with that short 10 page comic, I actually put it up on Reddit the following year. And I this was 4AM, and I just put it up there being, like, with the mindset of wouldn't it be cool if I had a a friend who was as crazy about this world and this story as I was? And so for that Reddit post, I put out, you know, I'm looking for a writer to help me develop the story that I did in university.

[00:05:53] - [Speaker 3]
And I can't pay you, but maybe something will come out of this project together. And the I didn't expect anything out of this post at all, but there were actually a few interested writers who reached out to me about the project who wanted to join. And one of them happened to be AJ. And at the time, he was he let me know later on. He was actually pretty close to quitting comics by that point, and it just so happened that he took the leap and responded to my Reddit post, and that's really how we met.

[00:06:25] - [Speaker 3]
And we ended up collaborating together on one test project. It was a short comic that we did for Webtoon just to see if we could collaborate and click well together. And, yeah, we just haven't stopped working since. We just really had a good collaborative chemistry together, and now we're here with Cloud9.

[00:06:46] - [Speaker 0]
Wow. Did it take, you know, all of that time to to put this together? Like, how did that process work? Because it is like I mean, the PDF, I think, she said it was, like, 276 pages. I mean, have have you been working on it for six years or so, or was, like, a part work on it, part pitching it, part finding a place for this to land?

[00:07:07] - [Speaker 0]
Like, what was what was all of that like? Because I know I have a lot of listeners who also, like, make comics or wanna make comics, and I always find that folks find that interesting, like, the path to get your thing made and out into the world.

[00:07:22] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. Well, six years yeah. It's it's not just like us working on the actual comic for six years. It was like you said, it was like so basically, we started working together, collaborating together. Like like Don said, we also collaborated on like a as like a short webtoon, but at the same time, we also kind of, from my memory, like we started collaborating on Cloud9 and and seeing what we wanted it to be and and started like actually developing a pitch for it.

[00:07:51] - [Speaker 2]
So we started around like the end of of twenty eight of twenty nineteen. And then, like, we started again developing it, and and developing the world, developing the characters, and around I think it was only around like July 2021, where we officially signed a deal with IDW and now Top Shelf Productions. And then from there, that's when we, I mean, we started working on it just a little bit before that, like officially with with like IDW and the editors and everyone there. And then, yeah, so it was again still five years, but of course, like, we finished it earlier than that, because like the the marketing team and and everyone at IEW, they needed it a bit earlier, so they can like start pushing it out and and everything like that. So I would say it was, like, if we're being, like, right on numbers, I think it was, like, really four or three years of of hard work.

[00:08:57] - [Speaker 2]
It was, like, half a year of me writing and then a lot of time of of dumb and like sketching and inking and and all that and and Leo also for the coloring work that he did, he did phenomenally. So, like, it it took a lot of time, but, yeah, like, six years, we we're kinda, like, talking about the entire journey of of Cloud9.

[00:09:19] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. The rest of the creative team, Leonardo Ito and, I think is it Luke did Lucas Gattoni letter it? And, yeah, the the colors in this are so cool. And it's it's funny, Dominic, when you said you had a dream of someone, you know, some guy running through a disco and fighting with robots, I'm like, there are so many color choices in this that, like, yeah. Like, there's a lot of this comic that feels like running through a disco.

[00:09:45] - [Speaker 0]
Like, it is just bite. It it is bright. It is vibrant. So, Dominic, when you have, you know, this idea and a 10 page comic that you're you're doing for a university class and you think about, you know, ex expanding it, and you you just have, like, this one image or this one idea from the dream you had. Like, what in terms of your contribution to the storytelling of it, what was it important to you that you really wanted to kind of showcase in this?

[00:10:12] - [Speaker 0]
Like, not just in terms of your artwork and what you think you excel at, but also in terms of the story and the characters.

[00:10:20] - [Speaker 3]
Absolutely. When Eishe and I were first having discussions about Cloud9, like, he really wanted to get an idea of what I wanted it to be. And one of the things that I told him was I really want the story as a whole, like, this whole series. I want it to remind people of what we kinda feel about outer space. So I want it to feel really beautiful and almost sad sometimes and magical and even a little scary.

[00:10:49] - [Speaker 3]
Like, you might see there's a bit of horror infused into the book as well despite having this cute, you know, cotton candy kind of, visual covering for it. So that was that was really important to me that it had this range of of feeling to it. And, I I guess the the romance was also a thing that we ended up really it it developed from the 10 page comic, and I think that had a lot to do with me and AJ as individuals. AJ's a year older. Like, I'm making it sound like we're, like, years apart.

[00:11:23] - [Speaker 3]
But going into it, I felt very naive, I think. And so as I was developing as a person in real life, it was kind of shifting and affecting the romance in a story. And I think that was a really interesting part of developing this relationship between these two characters as I was as I was growing. Like, it was really affecting how I was seeing their way that they would interact and respond to each other. Because when AJ was writing it initially for the first book, I was real we were kind of butting heads, like, gently butting heads.

[00:11:55] - [Speaker 3]
But I thought I wanted it more fluffy and cute and romantic, and AJ was delivering this more, like, heartfelt, real, and even sometimes slightly angsty story, which in the end, like, now as I look at it, that was kind of the perfect way to do it because it's so I've been describing it as this really clumsy, messy first, you know, young love between these two young individuals, and it was the only way that I would have really wanted to do it. So I'm rambling now.

[00:12:22] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. No. I don't think you're rambling at all. I think it's a it's a good answer, because I do think it strikes a a really nice balance because, know, in the beginning of the story, we clearly see everything from, you know, Cal's perspective. Cal's kinda centered in it.

[00:12:35] - [Speaker 0]
He discovers Cosmo, and it it it shifts, you know, later on. We get more of, like, Cosmo's side of it. But when we we start to see the romance, there are so many or they're they're beginning of their relationship. There are so many, like, really cute things that I thought really worked well in the comic and kind of endeared, like, me as a reader to the characters. Just not only Cosmo's kind of innocence at discovering things on Earth, but, like, how Cal sees.

[00:13:03] - [Speaker 0]
We get both vantage points, like, through the writing and also, Dominic, through, like, your artwork. We kind of not only see Cosmo enjoying these things, but see seeing Cal discover Cosmo's joy. Because we we meet Cal early on. He seems like a kid who's been through a a couple of different foster homes. He's doesn't seem like somebody who's had a whole lot of joy in his life.

[00:13:25] - [Speaker 0]
He's getting fired from his job in the very beginning. And so it's really beautiful to kinda see, you know, Cosmo enjoy these earth things. And then before Cal knows exactly what's going on, just kinda see him discovering Cosmo's joy. It it was a really great way to kinda start their relationship.

[00:13:44] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. I really appreciate

[00:13:45] - [Speaker 3]
hearing that. Yeah. That was a that was a big thing that was fun to explore for me and AJ. It was Cal's, like like, that for me, that was a a big point of connection in their relationship is Cal really is lost, and he's at a static point in his life when when they meet. And Cosmo really reminds him of joy, essentially, like, why why it's important to to just kind of enjoy.

[00:14:11] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Absolutely. You know, we see with both, Cal in the beginning that he he we see him as a kid before it jumps forward that he's kind of with his new we learn new new foster parents. And, you know, Cosmo the same way. We learned that that Cosmo has kind of been raised by this commander.

[00:14:31] - [Speaker 0]
Why? Was it important, or did it just make sense for the story that you have both Cal and and Cosmo who are kind of, feel maybe a little disconnected in a way from their Cal definitely feels disconnected, I think, from his family because he doesn't really know what happened to his parents. He feels like he's with this new family, and he doesn't kind of understand. He's because he's a kid, and he kinda carries that with him, as he gets older. Cosmo, we don't really know too much about him in the beginning, but it's clear that he he is not being raised in a in a way, you know, to be like this star soldier and is is not something that he has really enjoyed or or welcomed the role of.

[00:15:13] - [Speaker 0]
And why was that kind of important for those two characters to kinda center them in those worlds?

[00:15:18] - [Speaker 2]
I think it's a great question. I think, like, I don't I don't know if it makes sense, but it just felt like what the story needed in a way. Like, I don't know if I like, at least at first, I don't know if we were ever intentional about, like, Cal being, like, from like, in the foster system and and being disconnected from it. And, like, also Cosmo. Yeah.

[00:15:43] - [Speaker 2]
Just feeling disconnected from like the whole like system around protecting the like a star system and then his upbringing and everything like that. It just like and Don, correct me if I'm wrong, but it just like at first it just came naturally. And then at some point, I do remember that we were like, like this is what actually brings them together. Like, they're they both start their story basically, like you said, disconnected from from their words, their world, running away from something. Like, Cal was at that point running away from his, like, latest foster family and and and Cosmo was running away from his, like, adoptive mother against slash commander.

[00:16:27] - [Speaker 2]
So I think, like, in the end of the day, I don't know why, but it was just, like, for me was naturally the reason why they came together. Why, like, the the relationship even started in the first place, why they find found a way to connect with each other. And also, they're, like, very attractive people. So that's also easy. But yeah.

[00:16:49] - [Speaker 3]
And it's also it starts both characters off in in, like, they're it's going back to the the space thing in a way. It's like it's that feeling of isolation and being alone. They're both at a very lonely point in their lives, and that's where we start off. And then by the end of the book, they have all these various connections, not only with each other, but with the whole found family that they end up finding along the way. And so, yeah, it's, it was just a way for them to start from one place and then go to another by the end of the book.

[00:17:21] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. Dominic, I wanted to ask you in terms of, like, your artwork and what are some of your your influences, in in terms of your approach to the the the style of the book. I wanna say that you are phenomenal at facial acting with your characters. I think it was a little bit just from reading it, it seemed like it might have been a little bit more difficult with with Cosmo because he has a he's, like, a different look, but Cal is so expressive throughout the book. It's just unreal, like, the the the detail that you are able to give him and the nuance in terms of Cal's expressions in particular.

[00:18:05] - [Speaker 0]
And it it's tough to do when you have characters that don't, like, look humanoid because we're used to faces doing certain things. So aliens can always, be a little tricky, But even even with, the Andromeda, you know, you do a tremendous job. But Cal in particular, I just felt was so, so expressive. So, yeah, I just wanted to ask about your style and your, like, approach to it.

[00:18:28] - [Speaker 3]
That's really kind. Thank you. Yeah. The the facial expressions and character acting, that's definitely something that I have the most fun with and, an area that I feel really confident in when it comes to drawing in comics. And just to speak about Cal a little bit, I think a lot of the influences that I had in mind for his character tended to come from a lot of my friends.

[00:18:53] - [Speaker 3]
I have a few different friends where they really talk with their hands a lot. That was something that ended up going into Cal. I'm sure even AJ, like, even some of your body language, I'm sure went into Cal, maybe even unconsciously. But, yeah, he he he's a bit more comedic than Cosmos, so it was just that was a character that I could really, like, play with in terms of that. But just general influences, I was a big Disney kid growing up.

[00:19:18] - [Speaker 3]
I always thought I I would be a a Disney animator. That was the that was the end goal for me. And so a lot of those movies are just in the DNA of my stylight, I think. But I also what

[00:19:33] - [Speaker 4]
got

[00:19:33] - [Speaker 3]
me into comics was Jeff Smith's Bone. So I feel like that had influence on me as a kid as well. Rumiko Takahashi, who did because I I loved Inuyasha and Ranma growing up. So them even, like, Cal's hair, the way that he's drawn is directly from the you know, it's inspired by how she draws male characters' hair sometimes. So that's definitely in there, and we've talked a lot about it.

[00:20:02] - [Speaker 3]
But She Ra and the princesses of power, that was a main point of inspiration early on for Cloud9. So that was definitely in my head, in terms of the the style that we were going for for sure.

[00:20:13] - [Speaker 0]
Oh, awesome. Yeah. I mean, it all it all really it all really works, you know, because once Cal and Cosmo kind of get together and and we we the larger adventure of Cosmo and the bigger cast of characters are are kind of revealed and the action, like, really starts to ramp up in terms of, you know, what they need to do next. Yeah. It all really works so well.

[00:20:38] - [Speaker 0]
So, a AJ, with a story like this that, you know, you the two of you connect, you know, on Reddit or social media, and, you know, this is all coming kind of from this dream Dominic had, and now you have to build and expand this world. What what attracted you to this story, and what do you feel like was, the things that you really enjoyed writing either in the plot or the the characters that you contributed to this?

[00:21:04] - [Speaker 2]
So first of all, what, like, really attracted me to this project, I'll be honest, like Dom's art from the beginning, once I saw, like, the the short comic, and then I I went went on to search like his other stuff like on Instagram and stuff like that. I was just blown away. I was like, I'm like, I see an art an artist that like, I can like collaborate with and we can definitely do something great together. So that first of all is what like really attracted me about this project. And then when I read the short comment that he wrote and then drew, again, I I could just feel that it's like just something that's ready to be great.

[00:21:45] - [Speaker 2]
If that makes sense, like, the characters were already even though, again, it was just like a short 10 page comic, like, the characters already felt kind of figured out. And sure, like, it it the characters did evolve a lot and develop from from that 10 page comic, but still I feel like the essence out still stay the same, which was something that was really important to me throughout making this this book or this trilogy. It was just fun to to develop it together with Don. Like, we basically, like, we co created this comic, like, feels like in in all type of of ways, like, because when I was writing the the the first book and again the rest of the of the series and just like developing the world, Dom was always, like, I was I was always trying to just impress him, basically. Like I was always trying to get him to say, okay, I wanna draw this so bad.

[00:22:42] - [Speaker 2]
Or if I was like a kid and and it was also that for me, but like I wanted both of us to say like, if this was a graphic novel that I would come come across like in in my teenage years, I would fall in love with it immediately. So basically, yeah, that that was my my main mission and I hopefully I achieved that. And again, sometimes it took different turns that we didn't expect. But yeah, I'm really proud of of what has become and and also like, I don't think it's talked about enough sometimes that like, the editors on that project, especially on the first book, did an amazing job. Like, I can't tell you, and and we're definitely sometimes thinking about like, what we wanted, what was the first draft when we sent the script for for the first book, and what actually ended up happening and and what Dom ended up drawing.

[00:23:41] - [Speaker 2]
Like, it was, like, so different. Like, I can't I can't stress enough how much help the editors, Megan Brown and Jake Williams, how much work and and help they they got us. Because I get it, like, it was it isn't this book is like my debut, like, first real graphic novel. And in a way, it's also like my first real official like comic book school. Because I thought I I knew stuff about comics and about storytelling, and I did know some stuff, like I I wrote some short comics and and like up until that point.

[00:24:22] - [Speaker 2]
But like I basically, throughout the process of working with the editors, throughout the process of like evolving as a writer, I had to like rewire my brain and and find new stuff about Cloud9 or just like about writing and storytelling and comics in general that now I feel like is is essential to who I am as a as a comic book creator. So I don't know if that answers really the question but yeah, it's it's been an an amazing amazing journey writing this book.

[00:24:50] - [Speaker 0]
Dominic, taking something from a 10 page story, you know, we we talked about expanding some of the characters and the story, but but the actual, like, work of it, you know, have taking a comics class, you know, is one thing and then going into, you know, something of this length. Like, what did you have to do to kind of prepare yourself for, oh, I'm gonna I'm gonna have to you know, the pitch is accepted. I now have to draw 276 pages of comics. Like, was that exciting but also, you know, daunting? Were you ready for the challenge?

[00:25:25] - [Speaker 0]
Had you done anything like this before? Yeah. It was all of the feeling. It was

[00:25:30] - [Speaker 3]
all the all the feelings that you would imagine coming from it. And I remember very vividly when I was starting I had I was putting off drawing that first page for a couple of days. Like, I really couldn't do it because my mentality was so wrapped up in the idea of, like, what if, they figure out, like, I I shouldn't be here? Like, what if someone tells me, like, oh, that's that's not how we do things around here. You should probably just go.

[00:25:54] - [Speaker 3]
And so I I didn't put pen to paper for a couple of days, but there was a project that I was working on on the first book. It was called the princess under grilled cheese sandwich, and it's a book by the artist and writer, Deya Muniz. And I did it for a different publisher. I was hired as an anchor for that book. And because I had worked on that book, it was a similar 200 page book.

[00:26:21] - [Speaker 3]
I had already gotten rid of that idea in my head that would have been there had I not done that book. The idea of, like, I can't do this because I had proof right there. It had already been printed and published. I had a 200 page book already there, and it was also a master class. Because I was an anchor for that, I was going over this artist's sketches and pencils.

[00:26:44] - [Speaker 3]
And so I was kind of directly learning how she did her book. And even though they're very different books, it was kind of just a reminder of, how someone else might do it because I was closely studying her work while I was inking over on top of it. So it was kind of just it it was very fortunate that I I had that project to work on at the time just to prove that I could actually do it. And then working on Cloud9, once I had gotten over that mentality, it was just it this it demanded so much out of me, that story. There were, you know, high high speed, like, spaceship sequences where they're chasing each other and a lot of action scenes, which I wasn't super familiar with.

[00:27:30] - [Speaker 3]
I had done them before for some other projects, but never to this extent. And all of these environments, was really intimidated by. I wasn't sure if I could create a world that was interesting and believable, but I it it was just diving into the deep end. I had to learn real quick, and it all became so much fun. And now that sci fi is actually a a space that I I feel really comfortable in in in drawing.

[00:27:57] - [Speaker 3]
So, yeah, thanks to Cloud9, I just had to learn real quick or fail, really. Yeah. Because, like,

[00:28:04] - [Speaker 0]
for listeners, you have not just the you know, we talked about the character acting, but you do. You have different planets that they're going to, different spaceships, different in environments, the Andromeda's palace, but you also have the robots. And then, like, as the story goes on, you know, to spoil anything, but it kinda culminates in this big, you know, intense action fight scene with I I mean, everybody's fighting. Everybody is kung fu fighting, to quote a song from the seventies. Yeah.

[00:28:37] - [Speaker 0]
I mean, there's a ton of action in this in this book. But I'm sorry, AJ, you were gonna say something.

[00:28:44] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. I just wanted to say something that I, remember, like, when I was writing the book. And and again, like, I think it was in the first draft, it was around like an a 180 pages, like that that was like the length. And then as like the draft developed and and it became what it became, I remember always like, from time to time texting Dom saying, Dom, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that this is like getting so long and and like, again, like the action sequences and and like some some scenes also have like a lot of like a a crowd basically.

[00:29:21] - [Speaker 2]
They have like a lot of people in it and I just remember, like, very vividly always being very thankful and being very sorry, basically.

[00:29:31] - [Speaker 0]
Talk to me about Cal and, you know, Cosmo's relationship. I mean, we talked a little bit about, you know, kind of the romance of the comic, which which I really loved. But why was it important for that to kinda be the heart and the center of of the story with Cal and Cosmo?

[00:29:48] - [Speaker 2]
I can say I can say from my perspective, it was like, again, like I said, because I read that first ten ten page comic that I just like knew from in from an instant, like, this is what the main story is going to be about in the end of the day. And and again, I also do remember that, like, while developing this book from a first draft to like the last draft, that it was a lot of like I I felt like sometimes I I can honestly say that it felt like sometimes I was pushing like for something that wasn't more centered on the the romance and like I remember the editors and and sometimes Dom and again, correct me if I'm wrong, like, that they pulled me towards like, no, no, no. This is supposed to be about the romance and about like their relationship. Because I I always like get to I always like, sometimes I start really just thinking about the world and and thinking about like what cool action sequences I can do and and like and sometimes I'm more interested in like the personal journeys that people can go through instead of like the the romantic journey, if that makes sense.

[00:31:08] - [Speaker 2]
But in the end of the day, yeah, like I always came back to to that first 10 page comic and and asked myself, And and I just knew from from an instant that this was what it's about and, yeah, I just basically told the story of of like, that was sort of a combination of of all my romantic relationship up up until that point. But funnily enough, like, the romantic relationship that Callie and Cosmo have, like, today or, like, in that book, in the end of the book, not to spoil anything too much, but, like, I have that now in my life, which I'm really fortunate to have. So yeah, like like Dom said earlier, it's we basically like this was our twenties, like writing the writing and and drawing this book, this was our twenties. And we developed so so much as as human beings and also as creators, obviously.

[00:32:04] - [Speaker 0]
Dominic, one of the things that AJ said was that he was, like, looking for more action sequences or what cool things he could add to the world and that you or the editors had to pull him back. Is that is that true, Don? Were you just at some points where you're like, AJ, this is a love story. What are you doing?

[00:32:20] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. I do remember there being some instances of that, and it wasn't even so much intentional, AJ, on your part. It was just kinda like, I wish that graphic novels had, like, kind of similar to movies where we had a director's cut because there's still so much that I feel like we didn't get to explore in Cloud9. And, yeah, there's so much I can see all of the avenues that I'm like, oh, I wish we could have, like, really delved into this aspect of it. But, also, just to add to what AJ was saying, like, with the romance aspect, it started off because I I was looking for this particular story, and I couldn't find it anywhere in the books or the comics that I was reading at the time.

[00:32:57] - [Speaker 3]
I've always been fascinated by that supernatural and human dynamic and pairing, like Superman and Lois Lane or Peter Pan and Wendy. I've always been really interested in that. And so that was really, like, the seed of what Cal and Cosmo are. And I just wanted something that was very fluffy and not super adult. Is that's what I was really kind of finding for for what I was looking at the time.

[00:33:27] - [Speaker 3]
And, also, a queer story that maybe didn't have anything to do with the traumas of being queer. I wanted this to be a happy story in the end and not revolving around kind of the horrors of being a queer person, But just it just so happened to have queer characters who were going on this really cool, crazy adventure. Like, one of my favorite movies of the fifth element. And I was like, I want a story to feel kinda like that, but with queer characters. And, you know, when's the last time you've seen a Filipino character running around in a sci fi movie?

[00:33:58] - [Speaker 3]
I was like, I want that to be the lead. There was really kind of wish fulfillment for me and AJ of, like, what have we not been seeing that we've think would be really cool.

[00:34:07] - [Speaker 0]
That's awesome. Now all of those things are I can see all of those. I can see the Superman and and, you know, kinda lowest of it. I definitely can see the the fifth element aspects to it. Yeah.

[00:34:20] - [Speaker 0]
That's that's that's one of my favorite movies. You know, I absolutely love the fifth element. But every that's a movie every once in a while, I'll pull out and watch, and I'll be like, yeah. Still holds up. Still like it.

[00:34:31] - [Speaker 0]
You just gotta check. You gotta see. Yeah. I, I I I just thought it was great. I mean, I for a a first book and the length of it, it I I mean, I I got the arc today and just flew through it.

[00:34:43] - [Speaker 0]
I just thought it was really wonderful. I just I just like, it's one of those books I read. I think I had a smile on the whole time. I thought there were moments of it that were funny. Even little things, like, from in the beginning of it where Cosmo goes to see Cal after, like, Cosmo's, like, kinda gets better from when Cal first finds him and scares Cal, I think, at the window.

[00:35:05] - [Speaker 0]
Like, that was just a really fun, cute kinda scene. Yeah. I loved I loved when we kinda see, Cal didn't wanna cause any trouble when they're at the one kind of, like, bar or space port, and, you know, Cosmo wants to stand up for the woman that's being, picked on or or neither shaken her down. Yeah. I just thought there were so many great character moments in it as well.

[00:35:30] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. It just really, really phenomenal job.

[00:35:33] - [Speaker 3]
Thank you so much. Also, AJ, did you hear that? Found it funny. We were so worried about the comedy, but it's working.

[00:35:40] - [Speaker 2]
Yeah. Well, apparently.

[00:35:41] - [Speaker 0]
The Star Wars moment where the ship is damaged and Cosmo's like, Cal, I need you to go the back thruster gun or whatever it is, which reminded me of, like, Luke, you know, having to go man the gun in in the Falcon. And but, like, but Cal has no idea how to operate it. And, like, the design on all the little things where he's like, these all look like pasta. Like, I just thought that was really funny. It, you know, really just it made me laugh, and I was just like, yeah.

[00:36:11] - [Speaker 0]
How would you have would you have no idea how to do any of that stuff. I just thought it was really fun. So, yeah, really enjoyed it.

[00:36:16] - [Speaker 2]
Thank you so much.

[00:36:17] - [Speaker 0]
The book will be out July 7, Top Shelf Productions. Before I let you go, is there anything else you want listeners to know about anything else you guys are are working on or anything in particular about Cloud9 that we didn't talk about?

[00:36:31] - [Speaker 2]
I just wanna say that it's like, we said, it's like the first book of a trilogy, so there's more to come. So if you fell in love with Callan Cosmo, and hopefully you check out the first book, like, there's gonna be a second book and a third book, and like, the the second book is currently being worked on, like, I I I need to start writing the the the last one. I need to to start hair like, better Harry. If you do read read the book, I we would so love for you to, like, talk to us, reach out, tell us what you think. We thrive on that.

[00:37:08] - [Speaker 2]
I think us creators, we thrive on people telling us that they read the book and that they liked it. Even if you didn't like it, tell me. Don't tell Dom because he no, I'm kidding. But like, yeah, tell us what you thought of it and and if you liked it, like, it with maybe a teenager or, like, someone who would find this book really interesting and really cool.

[00:37:31] - [Speaker 3]
Yeah. Share it with a loved one in your life. Yeah. If you like She Ra and Lilo and Stitch, this kinda has those vibes for you. And, yeah, I I think AJ and I are just really excited to finally, like, release this so that it doesn't just belong to us.

[00:37:46] - [Speaker 3]
It now belongs to many readers out there, and that makes us so happy. It makes me feel like the characters are alive in a way.

[00:37:53] - [Speaker 0]
Oh, absolutely. Yeah. I think people are gonna love it. I, and the fact that it's one of a a trilogy, I think, is very, very exciting. It's funny.

[00:38:01] - [Speaker 0]
So when you said you were a a Dominic, when you said you, you know, were like a Disney kid and like Disney and wanted to be a Disney, animator or Imagineer, is that what they're called? I was thinking it was very Lilo and Stitch, very much reminded me of it. So, you know, so so if anybody from, I think, you know, dynamite is listening, I think they're printing the Lilo and Stitch comics. When you need a new when you need an artist, we got somebody. Well, thank you both of you very much for coming on the podcast.

[00:38:31] - [Speaker 0]
And listeners, please rate and review us. Check out, Cloud9 from Top Shelf Productions. Let me know if you do get a copy of it and if you like it, and there'll be links in the show notes so you'll know what to tell your local comic book shop or where you can get it. And, yeah, thank you so much for, for listening. Good night, and, I'll see you next time.

[00:38:53] - [Speaker 4]
Jimmy is too humble to do this. So as his stalwart ride or die, I wanted to tell you about his new graphic novel, Penny and the Yeti with artist Amber Aiken. What started as a comic short with his daughter that I've known about for ages now, and it's evolved and has become one of those annoying can't talk about it in comics things for too damn long. Yes. I'm predisposed to be supportive but after reading an advanced copy of it, I have to admit it's way better than I anticipated.

[00:39:21] - [Speaker 4]
No shade but it's really good, remarkably so. Does it have a yeti? Yeah. Is it cute and adorable? Yeah.

[00:39:28] - [Speaker 4]
But it streak lies in effectively tapping into the all too familiar family dynamics that we all are facing in 2026 and approaching it in a way that doesn't insult the book's target audience. Kids. They are way smarter and perceptive than we adults give them credit for. So I really appreciated Jimmy's narrative approach tapping into his own experiences as a dad and a spouse. I can hear his wife saying, get off your phone, Jimmy, through the pages.

[00:39:54] - [Speaker 4]
She's gonna kill me for saying that. It's hitting shelves on April 21, and I dropped the link in the show notes where you can preorder a copy today. Getty or not, here we come with Penny, Perry, Fenton, Maxine, and the magical, mythical, magnificent We hope you've enjoyed this episode of our podcast. Please rate, review, subscribe, all that good stuff. It lets us know how we're doing and more importantly, how we can improve.

[00:40:34] - [Speaker 4]
Thanks for listening.

[00:40:36] - [Speaker 0]
If you enjoyed this episode of the Cryptid Creator Corner, maybe you would enjoy our sister podcast, Into the Comics Cave. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.