Brian Level and Kurt Belcher talk The Unsleeping Eye

[00:00:00] Your ears do not deceive you. You've just entered the Cryptid Creator Corner brought to you by your friends at Comic Book Yeti. So without further ado, let's get on to the interview!

[00:00:30] Here is the Jaguar, the Hummingbird and the unicorn to defend the children from an ancient evil of Hauntster nightmares. I got an advanced look at this and it blew me away!

[00:00:39] Artist Stefano Simeone is top level talent having worked on Mega Man, Radiant Black and Star Wars among other things. And this is a perfect fit for a story that has something of a cross between so many of the team-oriented 80s cartoons I love.

[00:00:52] I interviewed David a couple years ago for his graphic novel, Finding Gossamer and I've been looking forward to seeing what he does next.

[00:00:58] This has the look of something that will definitely get picked up by major publishers so get in on the ground floor. Head over to Kickstarter and search for Battle Mechs to sign up for notifications when this thing goes live.

[00:01:09] I've also dropped a link in the show notes to make it easy for you. It will be available in both English and Spanish which I absolutely love.

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[00:01:29] This is Byron O'Neill, your host for today's episode of the Crypto Creator Corner. I have two great guests hanging out with me today.

[00:01:35] Artists Brian level is a returning guest which had it seems like ages ago now about his graphic novel project, Seal Kills.

[00:01:41] Kurt Belcher is a newbie to the program. They are collaborating on an amazing new crowdfunding horror comment called The Unsleeping Eye.

[00:01:48] I got a chance to read over an advanced review and it is delightfully diabolical before we dive in. Brian and Kurt, welcome to the show. Great to have you on.

[00:01:57] Thanks for having me.

[00:01:59] Let me see if I can set the stage on The Unsleeping Eye for everybody. The town of Mercurial is under siege from a Ghoulish group of Satan worshiping intruders called the Odd Fellows.

[00:02:09] Churches are burned, animals are mutilated and a few folks are producing of all things. A newspaper about it emits all of this chaos but circulation is limited as it seems like the town is cut off from the rest of the world. Is that kind of about sum it up?

[00:02:23] Yes, pretty accurate man right on point.

[00:02:26] Good good. Well, let's dive into some of the kind of narrative themes in a minute but let's start how you cooked up this beast like how did you guys get together how do this thing all start?

[00:02:38] This was kind of I guess I'll start Kurt if it's all the same.

[00:02:42] I kind of started like putting down notes for this. I've done a couple like mood drawings, something about the idea of people kind of like hiding, producing like a secret newspaper as their only active resistance against like a sort of like hell on Earth scenario seemed like attractive to me but then like as I started to kind of like draw the characters particularly the bad guys they got like weirdly funny.

[00:03:10] So I was kind of like these got like as awful and wretched as you can make these you know assholes like there's still something weirdly likable about this world whether it's like the tenacity of the eyes or the sort of weirdly like dark darkly comedic like odd fellows is like I kind of want to spend time here.

[00:03:27] I was once I kind of got like some base stuff put together and I had like the first story that I wanted to do like which was just kind of like fucking psychic terrorism like what happens if people knock on your windows all night.

[00:03:40] Yeah, and I that was kind of the germ of the thing and I reached out to Kurt I remember I called you when I was driving I think back from North Carolina or from somewhere but it was as far but when was that what how many years back was that it was quite a while.

[00:03:55] That was probably like two years ago yeah when we first started talking about it I think you were driving back from heroes gone yep which we're just talking about earlier.

[00:04:05] Yeah, we are and so the funny thing two years ago like Kurt is about as fast of a artist and his diligent of an artist as you get so two years ago certainly was like just how long it took to just make this thing and for me to get it written like it.

[00:04:19] Yeah, well I told my earlier we were talking before you got here I was told him you know there were some hiccups there I forgot that I even had a script in hand and I was like where's the script of the waiting on script and Ryan's like I sent that to you like months ago.

[00:04:33] And so finally I got started on it and we've been pretty smooth sailing there.

[00:04:38] Yeah, so that was I mean I bring it curtain like there was a lot of talks about kind of what the content was I remember I was kind of nervous to talk to him about it because some of the content that was in it was pretty sinister and you know I know Kurt likes horror stuff you know I still is I want to make sure that I'm you know kind to people sensibilities but also you know like making sure that the story feels like what it is.

[00:05:00] You know I don't believe in half measures so if you're not going to if you don't want to do it all the way don't do it you know like it's just kind of how I feel about the genre in general.

[00:05:10] Like the horror genre and I say that I don't say that as a hard and like it's just kind of a quick rule like there's obviously half measures to be.

[00:05:18] Yeah, I'm sleeping on you know you read it you know there's some pretty nasty stuff in it the second issue gets nastier like it's a sad book like I love that it's sad.

[00:05:28] Like I don't usually write particularly emotional stuff and I think you know bring in Kurt into it you know like his art style is very immediate in like he draws darkness and just sinister stuff so well while also managing I don't know you can talk about your art all day long but I would guess about you for a second.

[00:05:47] Like in addition to just being super liable and like super great to work with an awesome and creative like there's just something he does that nobody else does and it was like I can't see the town of Mercurial any other way now.

[00:06:00] Like I mean obviously if Kurt and I were like hey let's do a side story and have somebody else write and draw it or whatever like I could you know make peace with that but like the tone is defined entirely by what curb rings of the table.

[00:06:14] No keep going keep going I want to hear more or more now I'm can yeah I mean as for me it's just I'm a big horror fan Brian didn't really know me very well but when he was like you know I don't know if this is your kind of tone or your kind of style of story and everything but yeah I was all in as soon as I heard the pitch for it it was great.

[00:06:38] Yeah you can't from being a horror I knew Kurt from being a horror guy but I never really know what people's triggers are or limitations are and stuff yeah sure so it was kind of like I wanted to make sure that I wasn't tripping but you know of course now that I get to know him it's like oh he'll watch about anything just like.

[00:06:52] Yeah I watch every piece of crap this on to be yeah hell yes we will.

[00:06:58] Well I want to touch on the newspaper because I think everything kind of circles around it and I found it fascinating because the like the physical nature of a newspaper and how vital a piece of connection and provided to people in their communities and you know and the connection with the wider world but all that is essentially gone.

[00:07:15] Day right for the younger generation because like local newspapers exist but their importance kind of woven into the fabric of American cultures mostly kind of you know these days so why did you want to use the the newspaper is it's kind of a focus on a lifeline for the community.

[00:07:33] Well so I personally like I have my tattoo shop in a small town and we still get papers you know what I mean and funny about the paper is that because it's a small town thing it's not just the news it's also for the grocery store which is a local grocery store.

[00:07:49] You get like typos and shit in it and it becomes like so human that you're like oh my god like I want to meet these people I want to know these people like you're like it's like a portal into real people and it's like a thing you hold in your hand it's you know I kind of have this belief and everybody can think I'm nuts but like when everything that you do is on one device.

[00:08:10] It actually spoils the power and meaning of the individual action so whether you're reading your news watching a movie listening to music reading comics everything on one device like it steals the power from the actual action.

[00:08:23] Of reading the news in the newspaper because it's not a set apart ritual and so like roping in the ritual of reading a newspaper with the ritual of producing a newspaper with the ritual of.

[00:08:33] Satanic fucking people in town like just you know to me it's like about it's about being a person in an analog reality and if you know if you read it like there's no you know they're there use pages they don't use like cell phones you know like it trying to eliminate as many digital and I'm not trying to be lazy about it where it's like I can't figure out how to integrate digital stuff I just don't find it to be compelling like on like very often or maybe I'm just not capable of making it compelling.

[00:09:02] But the newspaper is like as tangible of a thing and it's also repurposed you can burn it like at one point I think it's an issue to like there's a there's a brick that's thrown through a window that never ceases to be hot like it's just a perpetually hot brick but the newspaper can pick it up like you could pick it up with the newspaper so it's like time using these weird like.

[00:09:22] Almost like there's something enchanted about the fact that this thing exists at all is kind of neat to me at least and that's just kind of where my head is with it is like this thing is special like it's an actual artifact that's important.

[00:09:36] Yeah I mean it's easier I certainly to set things up a little bit in the past I mean it was chatting with Steve Fox about all eight eyes and I was like why did you said it and you know the early 90s well we didn't have cell phones and it was just way easier because I didn't have to explain.

[00:09:51] You know why people couldn't take pictures of all these things and that's.

[00:09:56] Yeah, yeah, and that's one thing I like about this not to give away too much but it's kind of a nebulous time period you know there's a lot of mixes of cars and clothing styles and architectural styles and you're never quite sure what time period is supposed to take place in so it kind of leaves you off balance from the get go.

[00:10:17] Yeah well there I mean there's definitely a vibe here to me this is my read anyway that was so representative kind of the current political climate in our country and maybe that's just where my brains are right now but you know you have two very split sides a whole lot of fear in the media sort of tying it all together.

[00:10:36] So what were you kind of wanting to explore big picture thematically you know without giving everything away.

[00:10:43] Yeah I'm not going to really talk about that okay like largely because I think the math like the themes of each.

[00:10:51] On sleeping eye story are kind of inherently their own like what we see in look you lose has a lot to do with the way we deal with family the way that we deal with loss the way that we deal with.

[00:11:03] You know like our place in the world or lack thereof like there's a lot of things that we're dealing with in look you lose but then you know I think the story one of the stories that we want to do after this deals with something completely different.

[00:11:15] I think the broader world of the unsleeping eye if I would say anything is really just kind of about like like I don't know how I don't have the right words for it like municipal identity.

[00:11:32] Yeah yeah.

[00:11:34] Locational identity and what that's derived from and what that's what that's built on you know like like there's so much in the book that's hidden away that I think you know like a student observers might catch things make what is this connected to you know one thing

[00:11:51] I heard from a theologian one time was like you'll have a much more fruitful time reading the Bible and this guy was a Christian he's like you'll you have a much more fruitful time reading the Bible as a work of fiction.

[00:12:02] Then you will as a work of fact because when it comes to fiction you pay attention to the details that have been decided to be included.

[00:12:10] And so then when those details come back like it or they change shape everything means a lot more and so he's like when you read the Bible when you read it like just like a see like someone's just writing a bunch of facts like you don't you don't commit to your brain but what you know it's like if you have a shot in a movie where there's two guys at a table there's a gun on the desk and they leave in the shot lingers on the gun on the desk you know that guns coming back later much stable with the Bible is written much in the same way that I try that we try to write the unsleeping eye which is like we try to not do things on intent.

[00:12:39] I'm not doing to not do things unintentionally whether it's whether it's narratively structured I'm not big on efficiency like I don't think that the story needs to be efficient and that some things are necessary and I'm unnecessary I think it's defining what then what is necessary so sometimes there is mood stuff and vibe stuff.

[00:12:54] Like if you see someone watching somebody with a baby they don't they're not necessarily longing for a child you know it's not necessarily that kind of thing but there is like attention and sometimes mood is more important than plot.

[00:13:07] But you know like it's still all very meaningful and I think that finding those little details throughout the thing will kind of hopefully tie some things together for people the longer that they ride with us.

[00:13:16] Okay yeah I mean one of the visual on this really stuck out to me always devil in the details on my end was was the lighthouse right there's a little more house than light there and I'm not sure if you can give an explanation you know it'll give everything away but you know you have a beacon of hope in the darkness so it's metaphorical

[00:13:35] and I'm not even going to try to do the taser face.

[00:13:37] I wanted a user face now you have to do it.

[00:13:41] I don't even know what I mean.

[00:13:43] Taser face.

[00:13:44] Oh my god from guardian to the galaxy that you at least should like YouTube the taser face scene from guardians of the galaxy.

[00:13:50] I'm absolutely gonna do that as soon as we get all areas.

[00:13:54] Taser face thing where everybody's kind of truckling on their hands.

[00:13:58] Yeah, there's a yeah go ahead if you want to talk about it at all or if you want to kind of leave that.

[00:14:04] Really your.

[00:14:06] No what I was going to say is a.

[00:14:09] You know like Brian said it's about loss it's about grief I mean the story is good versus evil you know that's the basics for.

[00:14:16] But the themes behind it depression desperation grief loss all that family love family dynamics it's all in there.

[00:14:27] And they feel stuffical ideas.

[00:14:29] Yeah, this is wild shit that will start to get unpacked I hopefully by like the last five pages of issue two people's like you're going to be like what in the blue fuck is this book.

[00:14:39] Like the last five to ten pages of the last issue or like of issue two are kind of like fuck.

[00:14:45] For the record any listeners that's concerned about the Kickstarter like first issues done I just got to do one more dialogue pass on issue two cuts on like just finished the last page today.

[00:14:54] I just send him the last page like an hour ago.

[00:14:57] Oh nice.

[00:14:58] Arts done we just have to gray and letter it so it's work we're cooking now the lighthouse is obviously like as metaphorical as it is maybe literal like I you know I shy I don't want to like kind of be overly cagey to imply more than there might be.

[00:15:15] But I also don't want to be overly open to spoil any significance that might be there.

[00:15:21] And the issue one we see the inside of the place you know like the inside matters.

[00:15:27] You know the outside of it matters its location matters like the function of what a lighthouse is for is also it also matters.

[00:15:38] Like the lighthouse was chosen very specifically honestly the lighthouse was one of the first visual that came to me that I had to process like why do I love this and what does this mean.

[00:15:48] The book was originally going to take a lot more like time in the lighthouse than originally then than what ended up shaking out in the story but yeah there's a lot of shit going on in this book and so I hope that we kept it tight enough.

[00:16:00] Like with the look you lose story to where you feel like you get a good narrative it to me it's an X file type thing where you're not like because there's aliens or something but it's like I just want to we just want to give you these stories that you can enjoy.

[00:16:12] And then there's this huge world outside of this that we're slowly going to chip away at for you that's that's kind of our at least my hope.

[00:16:20] Yeah, the first thing to struck me about that the lighthouse was that it's kind of symbolic that's the name I mean it's an unsleeping eye that's always you know looking around the area that light in the lighthouse actually so that's kind of like it boils down to that one image so I mean it makes sense it's kind of like the first image that he kind of bought up the book perfect.

[00:16:41] Yeah, yeah, okay. Yeah, I definitely should have thought of that. I feel stupid now.

[00:16:46] There's a bazillion things in this thing that we don't bother to explain at all so like that's kind of for me I so like I loathe being treated like I'm stupid.

[00:16:57] I agree.

[00:16:58] And so I would much rather run the risk of people missing things and treating them like they're smart enough to get it than the alternative.

[00:17:05] And also it's a mysterious book so like come in and enjoy the mystery I'm not going to pontificate to you.

[00:17:10] I'm not going to download my bullshit on you like I'm just going to show up and give you something and hopefully you find something in it to grab on.

[00:17:17] Yeah, I mean what I grabbed onto was this really interesting.

[00:17:22] Dynamic of being a witness right so it's where my brain is but we're all like bearing witness now to atrocities on a scale our grandparents were never exposed to you because as video becomes.

[00:17:34] The dominant means of communication school shooting take crimes tick-tock videos of a war in Ukraine like live videos from Gaza it's like this huge long list and many of us are glued to this.

[00:17:44] Predatory news cycle you know that's happily petting atrocity while selling ad space for discrete erectile dysfunction pills like this is this is my view of America right now it's a bit dark but it's an interesting choice to have the reader get pulled into like double duty right because there's the newspaper itself and then there's the storyline.

[00:18:03] So is the paper functioning as a reliable narrator or the characters functioning as a reliable narrator so it's really fast named to me to kind of as that read through with all these other chaotic things going on.

[00:18:15] The figure out how they're going to get meshed in this complex story.

[00:18:21] I'm going to say my take because there's certain things that I feel like I want to stay in the dark for me as well but my take is very simply that the people writing the articles and distributing the newspaper all have their own point of view.

[00:18:38] That newspaper also has its own point like it is not entirely a product of its creator there is something about it that is special and when I say special you know like there's something set apart about it there's a reason that it functions the way it functions is a reason that they're tell us when it's function the way they function.

[00:18:59] I don't mean in a scientific end but in a more mysterious one so like I think like to I would even argue that like we're not at least I'm personally not interested in kind of looking at the modern news cycle as much as looking at like.

[00:19:13] Like to me the newspapers a point of view of individuals not the point of view of cooperation and so like to me this is like people coping with their completely collapsed way of life.

[00:19:26] And very few people like we don't really give you any insight as to who the eyes are or what their backgrounds are outside of individually like this little I think examples of like you know other people but like we want to make sure that like when we explore the kids a book about people like it's you know it's about individuals even the broader narrative is about people and so in the end like what you get to know about bow or what do you get to know about Rivera doesn't mean that you don't necessarily you don't get to know about all the other eyes until maybe later.

[00:19:55] And so like and it's not a book and it's honestly not a book about bow or there either like they're just a part of which in the same way that you know like everybody.

[00:20:04] Yeah I mean I really like bow he's a fun flawed character and and those are my favorite and any kind of horror story and I love me some guilt you know kind of my favorite example is Robert Carlisle's character in 28 weeks later where he abandons his wife in the zombie overruns the college and he has to watch her but he watches her die right.

[00:20:24] But it's he has to live with that choice and that scene is always stuck with me so you know bow as a character what was what was curious that you wanted to explore kind of of making him a guilt written ultimately very flawed man over say okay he's a traditional hero archetype.

[00:20:41] For me I just kind of don't love writing those characters and less like they unless I can be convinced by them.

[00:20:50] I'm just not convinced that bow is that guy you know like like bow is like both more me than Superman you know.

[00:20:59] I mean those blood characters are always more interesting you know it's harder to sell characters that are like perfect you know Superman type character who is like always good always perfect all the time you know and so a character like bow is like us and someone we can kind of relate to mentally.

[00:21:19] The kind of agony that he goes through in the anger issues and you know sort of the stages of grief sort of that he goes through in the book that's always interesting for people to read I think.

[00:21:33] Yeah Rivera seems to have her shit together a little bit more bow but I also think the Rivera is like I think she comes off like she's hiding a lot of her suffering you know.

[00:21:45] The only real like person I think has it together in that whole book is little Lily the daughter of the understand yeah she's no one is like I got this I don't care.

[00:21:57] I mean are you the ones that got it together the odd follows themselves right what I loved about this is you know they they don't remain nameless you know.

[00:22:08] So sitting this up to be way more complex and I know what I originally had it you know like more like a zombie type thing so when you name them or when they name themselves in some cases it changes the narrative as each of them can have kind of their own thread to.

[00:22:24] To expand upon so yeah did you put your guys bounce back back and forth with like demon ghoul ideas here how to.

[00:22:32] For sure okay yeah I mean that was pretty much fully formed the idea of the odd follows from Brian but we bounce back a lot of design ideas and a lot of like narrative and storytelling ideas in there I always think it's interesting when you personalize villains rather than just have like baseless you know zombies running down the street after so.

[00:22:53] It's always more interesting to know what those characters are like what they're thinking then it is to just have you know a faceless crowd basically yeah I think I think evil is more interesting and.

[00:23:08] The evil is maybe interesting is the only right term I have for it right now but to me evil is that it's also most frightening when it when it desires something and it delights in something like in those two sort of categories like I think the odd fellows all distinctly have their own desires and delights and it's shown honestly like in the pages of the book right.

[00:23:32] But then like this sounds like a sales pitch I don't need it to be like the odd the odd fellows edition of the book like cover C has an article written by one of the odd fellows.

[00:23:42] It gives their point of view on what it's like to live here and it's more like a journal entry but they have like like some of the stretch goals like we have prayer cards so I'm going to have like like fuck faces lament.

[00:23:54] Out is like what fuck faces dealing with like as an odd fellow on positive or negative you know and kind of gives us a little insight is to who these things are what these things are in what they're dealing with and what they want you know which I think is distinct to them as well right like this is all individuals.

[00:24:15] Alright let's take a quick break.

[00:24:18] What in the sand hill is happening right now what is that?

[00:24:22] No one is wrong.

[00:24:24] You like Bart?

[00:24:26] Yeah what are you doing?

[00:24:28] Oh you like band of Bart it's not my fault you muffle.

[00:24:32] Oh no!

[00:24:34] That makes sense they're dropping some great new series right now there's that one about a heavy metal guitarist in the 1970s with monsters working class wizards

[00:24:43] you know how we love monsters around here and my friend Dakota Brown he's working on a project

[00:24:49] Grandma Tillies held tech mech with Lane Boyd I saw the preview for that that is crazy.

[00:24:55] Jimmy even contributed to their anthology from the static and had Matt Sumo on the podcast to talk about his project the Bardic Versus which makes a lot of sense that the project landed there.

[00:25:05] Yeah where you are boy!

[00:25:07] Where can you find them?

[00:25:09] You need to get out. They are in previews or you can visit their website bandabars.com for all the latest.

[00:25:15] Can we turn the music off now?

[00:25:17] Oh no!

[00:25:19] Thank you no more surprises, menstruals or anything like that or I'll rinse you out to the rim fair as a children's ride.

[00:25:27] Let's get back to the show.

[00:25:29] Yeah I mean they were they were a lot of fun which was it was a bit surprising because I guess I just didn't expect that humor element too.

[00:25:37] But I mean I immediately had that you know face palm where knocking on the door you know have you heard about Satan and paraphrasing of course but you know I immediately immediately got that shit.

[00:25:49] This is that guy who's calling me on my phone every day trying to like sell me car insurance you know like send a car warrant.

[00:25:57] I'm calling to talk to you about your cars extended warrant.

[00:26:01] Yeah exactly that's how it came out to be.

[00:26:03] Yeah I think that's a pretty accurate statement.

[00:26:07] I mean those guys are just they're so weird and I think we we were in a little bit more about their pro-colibuities and the things they're interested in and number two you know we get a little deeper into that so that should be fun.

[00:26:23] They find out a lot about like yeah they're they're they're they're wretched thing for sure but they're they're also complicated.

[00:26:31] But I like the fact that it's humor as well because you don't get that a lot of horror you know yeah a lot of horror is just straight up blood and gore and terror and everything but when you have some of that humor in there to kind of defuses that a little bit so that you don't feel quite as overwhelmed by it.

[00:26:48] Yeah the best example of that that I've ever seen is one of my favorite books either of you read it is Jesse Bullington's the sad tale of the brothers cross part.

[00:26:57] I'm there in her to this oh my god oh my god you should like one of my highest book recommendations for people who like really sick dark humor.

[00:27:07] It is not for everybody let me tell you like it Brian I dare I know you well enough you really enjoy this but yeah you ought to check it out they made a cameo appearance in one of the Witcher video game but yeah it's a fantastic book but just deeply embedded by end to the story.

[00:27:26] By end to gallows humor and it is yeah that's that style good book it's my hope that the humor like because it one of my hopes with the humor in it is like if you don't find it funny it doesn't take away from the reading experience yeah try to make the jokes or the humor almost like integrated and just like how they live instead of trying to set up punch lines or whatever.

[00:27:48] So I'm kind of hoping that it's more like comedy and the absurdity and if you don't find the absurdity funny it doesn't hinder the reading experience I hope that we achieve that.

[00:27:56] Well what are some of your other inspirations that that y'all are pulling from you know it's definitely giving me kind of a wayward pines vibe.

[00:28:02] Yeah well wayward pines I think you could even say like one step back from what inspired wayward pines for me like I was kind of always pitching this to people is kind of like if you're a fan of Silent Hill twin peaks and Stephen King you're in business.

[00:28:16] I like it feels like all of those two degree.

[00:28:20] I don't know if you have anything you're bringing to the table specifically Kurt.

[00:28:24] For me it's just horror you know I mean I just like horror I like you know some of my artistic inspirations or guys like Keith Giffon you know Richard Corbin and guys like that and those are the kind of guys who style I kind of try to emulate as much as possible.

[00:28:40] Yeah Richard just a little lunch just of Richard Corbin's like the goat when it comes to you know horror comic god level.

[00:28:50] Somebody asked me one time if you had a career that could emulate anybody like if you're trying to figure out what direction you want to go if you can pick somebody to emulate as like Richard Corbin like that's the guy you know I also like I tend to think in terms of like what would David lap him do as well.

[00:29:06] I feel like a straight bullets is such a huge influence on me that when I you know wrote when I write anything like there's a lot of.

[00:29:13] Lapem in my process I think by just my husband says to reading him for so long okay okay well Kurt when you're kind of.

[00:29:22] You see this grip and you're kind of putting together the character form language if you will so you know I wasn't as familiar with your work before but you know it is fairly blocky which works out really well with this.

[00:29:35] Like I really enjoyed it because the presentation of it.

[00:29:40] It's it's a little bit muddy so it really makes kind of those distorted odd fellows figures really stand out and it gives them that their moment to shine.

[00:29:52] To stand alongside I guess you know the quote good guys if you will so how did you put the look together when you when you first saw this really I mean it's just from what Brian scripted.

[00:30:04] You know in the ideas that he had for their looks and the ideas that they had for their the way they dressed you know those kind of loose you'll fitting black suits you know the way their faces are.

[00:30:16] Kind of twisted and everything is like it's like monsters wearing human skin kind of that kind of idea and they're all distorted and everything and I love that I love the fact that these characters are so distinct looking you know and that was straight from the writing.

[00:30:33] I was straight from the character description you know these these characters have a distinct look and then you have you know like the eyes themselves the white suits obviously that stands out against.

[00:30:44] A lot of the background a lot of the colors and the tones that were doing the book but yeah I mean it was all Brian's idea you know that those ideas of what those characters represent visually what they should represent visually and it's just being twisted as twisted or.

[00:31:02] What their personalities turn out to be in the book.

[00:31:05] I think he's giving me a little too much credit but I do.

[00:31:10] I will say one of the things that I the way that a lot of the way that Kurt draws a lot of the odd fellows movement they remind me a lot of like how the tarman moves in return of living dead.

[00:31:23] Yeah that's sort of puppy type look almost yeah like they're like Marionette's or something like gross goblin sort of people and that you know like that was never part of the script I think he just kind of.

[00:31:35] Pulled that you know like just like this is how they would move you know like these little guys that run around being awful.

[00:31:44] Yeah I mean one specific thing I wanted to add to that was that saying that the car crash where the or the odd fellows are like looking at the little girl and waving at her you know I was like that's perfect that's perfectly what the odd fellows are about.

[00:32:01] Just just terrorists essentially yeah just like emotional terrorists yeah.

[00:32:07] So I'm a huge lovecraft fan I will obviously the caveat him being a racist all that stuff I mean he's got his issues right but it's what I grew up reading is you know probably my foundational influence in horror and fantasy for that matter but.

[00:32:25] When I think of in Smith right and I'm in my head as a kid I've carried on this is legacy of you know people having to live in this environment with these other creatures.

[00:32:37] The work here encapsulated that then like I think that's the first time that in Smith quote you know that place in my head actually match something that I'd seen done on paper so I just want to say I really really enjoyed it because there is.

[00:32:54] Because there is a balance between the bad guys the good guys you know creating that atmosphere that really carries to this and it sells it so I thought it was really nice.

[00:33:05] Thank you yeah I'm a big lovecraft guy and it hurt your two right yep yeah like that's so that's hugely flattering like I tend to skew somewhere in between lovecraft and Arthur Mocken is kind of like where my like weird fake sort of the happy spot is okay and so like you'll see pieces of like Mocken.

[00:33:23] Asks sort of bulk or shit kind of mixed into this with some of the insmithie sort of East Coast feeling shit too but that that whole feeling of these like I like cosmic or whatever and I guess more accurately weird thick is kind of a huge thing but you can't a lot of people don't know like chat over in Smith like a lot of like people that you want to buy a horror comic maybe haven't read that a lot of people do know it too but it's way less of a cultural staple than say sign the hill.

[00:33:52] You know or something like that so what part of the sales pitch is like what do people know and what a people they toward but if I'm you know from me and really honest like obviously like lovecraft Mocken and then even some like weird old Val Luton like horror films from the 40s like cat people like Tommy and shit like that like that's all big for me.

[00:34:12] So like there's just stuff that's kind of obviously easy comics like there's a lot of EC influence in.

[00:34:17] Unsleeping eye as well I think it's pretty obvious if you look at the way the world is and how everybody's fucked up like yeah yeah so there's just I mean it's it's a weird world man we've been I think I've been personally having a blast and it seems like Kurt has been as well.

[00:34:33] Yeah well I mean okay so I read this and I want to emphasize to folks just how creepy the book is I mean I could see Brian.

[00:34:41] Like leafly putting this the script together honestly and I don't want to give anything that's always part of our conversation he's like I love this so much I know it's terrible but I love it so much I love that there's that horror in there and that creepiness.

[00:34:56] Those all the terrible things that the odd fellows do you know is terrible but I love it I love that you know it's not just the odd fellows right and this is the thing I'm associated now with Brian but whatever those Bobby yoga leg.

[00:35:10] Half balls you know that that should give me the willies right you know I've got to go back to my old D&D monster manual because I swear that fucker is in there like.

[00:35:21] I really don't mean for me yeah yeah you know the mocking pies there's what they're called okay okay yeah and I won't go too much in detail because like people need to see this for themselves right but but this is now the Brian level it's this is where I think a Brian level every time he puts something together where he's giving.

[00:35:39] Creative control I'm going to find something that like truly freaks me out because it was the zombie deer and whatever fuck that thing was like was a zombie deer from still kills right and I read before I go to bed so thanks for I am for always making dreams far more entertaining.

[00:35:57] Before you want shame on shame on me for you twice shame on you Byron I know what I'm buying into now I get it but but it's not just a unit dimensional thing.

[00:36:08] Right I want to emphasize people they're not buying a zombie book you have the odd fellows you have whatever you know the puff ball fucking thing is.

[00:36:18] And so there's a true of him standing in front of them is so fucking good to like me that's I love that page that was so much fun to draw that that white and that dark shadow against that background and the shadows coming out you know.

[00:36:34] I think that's a thing to you that maybe I didn't do a good enough job selling on the book is like it's not like survivors are like surviving deal with dealing with like a you know it's not demons to whatever demons like the Argento like it's not like monsters that there it's way weirder yeah.

[00:36:54] No.

[00:36:55] You know and like there's yeah I think I feel like I could have probably sold that a little bit or I know I know that everybody says it you know our book is very different from everything else out there you know it's totally a different take on things but I think that really applies this case you know I mean I think is you haven't seen much like this out there I can't think anything else pop my head.

[00:37:16] Yeah we just immediately went to Kickstarter to like we didn't even consider pitching it I don't think I kind of knew it was an unpublishable concept in terms of like the format is so important like they can when you buy it like I don't know if you saw the Kickstarter but like or if you saw like how the covers are structured but like they don't even they're not even right side up they're like sideways like papers like see photo open like newspapers and there's articles on the covers that kind of add context to things and if you like a little bit of extra context and information on what's going on in the world.

[00:37:45] So even the physical object like is extremely important to for the reader to kind of take part with so like there's no part of this that wasn't extremely well considered and virtually unpublished.

[00:37:56] I don't know if I totally agree with that I mean it did it it's around like 40 odd pages you know what what I saw was.

[00:38:06] Yep yep yep you know about Mac matter but yes yeah yeah yeah so so people are getting like some meat to this so it feels like

[00:38:14] as it more of a Dean type of format you know like the 40 pages you know so so how does that give you room to do.

[00:38:24] A different amount of storytelling right you're not constrained to 22 or 28 you know or did you even like we're just going to do this and however long it takes is what we're going to include.

[00:38:34] Yeah that's pretty much what it was I mean he wrote out so long and then he was like well I want to add a few more pages just kind of stretch out some moments there's.

[00:38:42] Okay so what a really originally we were going to do it as one long issue and then like just for the like because it was like I was kind of thinking between 60 and 90 pages and then when you get into like paper size and and then like it started to get to put with the saddle stitch would be a little uncomfortable in the form out of the bowl was really important.

[00:39:00] We actually found a really nice like sort of break point in the script so that way we decided to break it into two issues but we want to keep everything as many self contained issues as possible.

[00:39:09] Okay okay yeah.

[00:39:11] Page agnostic course.

[00:39:13] Okay.

[00:39:14] Yeah and beyond horror I want to emphasize to people too there's a mystery at play here too you know there's there's some stuff going on in the town.

[00:39:24] The current project part one the lookie lose of Franklin Avenue it's part two then gonna wrap it up or do you have like a lot more okay.

[00:39:34] If you wraps up the lookie lose story we've got a couple that were juggling for the third story well for the second story third issue.

[00:39:43] So we'll play it we'll play it by ear we've got a couple things to do also depends on if you know if we like one of our stretch goals on the kick star is another short story in the back matter so we will kind of expand this one a little bit like I've got stuff that I would get there.

[00:39:56] Yeah yeah a lot of stories.

[00:40:00] So what I saw was was black and white it looks like from the Kickstarter launch the intention is going to be to keep it that way did it always start that way you didn't want to color it or black and white the whole time.

[00:40:10] Okay nice well okay full disclosure when I have time I'm gonna use these as coloring practice so I think it would be really fun to put it together so.

[00:40:21] By as many copies as you want.

[00:40:24] Yeah if you need a if you need digital files to we can have you.

[00:40:29] Cool because I could we did the so the process part was like I you know I would write the script and then he would send me layouts and pencils like I mean I think it's funny how in court you can confirm or deny this like but I'm not sensitive so you can say however you want.

[00:40:43] Like I think I try to be really easy to work with and then you'll get to these little kernels that I'm hyper particular about it's very like where it's like you have 10 pages where it's just like looks fucking sick looks awesome and then I'm glad it'll be one panel be like can we do this like and I'm going to be really really a pain in the ass about it and I feel really shitty.

[00:41:03] But I don't know like it's just how I know we get to kind of a point like that at the end of number two you know there's one there's a couple of pages there was like.

[00:41:12] This is very specific you know I'm going to lay this out for you completely and you just draw it from you know the layout that I draw for you and I was like absolutely that's exactly what I want I want to get it exactly the way that you want.

[00:41:25] I don't I don't ever want to be a control free because there's a reason that Quartz here is not to facilitate some bullshit that I thought of but it's because he's fucking great at what he does and so I always tend to feel guilty if I try to involve myself in certain ways but you know I think is our as we work.

[00:41:40] Together I feel like we kind of find our rhythm and we like I think you know he appreciates whatever into the table advice versus so yeah.

[00:41:50] And I should stress that this is the first time we've seen each other face to face so it's you know we've talked on a lot of times you know but this is the first time we've actually.

[00:41:59] Kind of chat face to face it's weird I've seen your photo so much and I've heard your voice some anytime but I didn't actually read it.

[00:42:06] It's one of those things where it's like there's a disconnect there and it's like I haven't quite connected that voice with that base yet so it's nice to get this opportunity.

[00:42:17] Like so is there we got two Kentucky boys on is there is there an aesthetic that you find working together that kind of works its way into this like either intentional or otherwise.

[00:42:32] Not that I'm aware of I think we probably have similar notions of what wilderness looks like largely because of the part of the country that we're in.

[00:42:40] If you go to certain other parts of the country like the wilderness is going to have some variation but you know where you know he's near Appalachia and I'm Appalachia adjacent so like we get a lot of a lot of that you know type of landscape those old those old hills that seem to be the other older than phones are like.

[00:43:00] And you know when we talked about this with so kids like I'm a big you know I love Appalachia anything that I can kind of bring back there I love to.

[00:43:08] Actually this cup that I'm drinking water out of is from Apple it's a big old lemonade thing that I took from Appalachia fast.

[00:43:16] I remember those the fair had big old lemon cups like that I'm not do they'll take a big cup and I'm taking it home.

[00:43:24] I love big cup like I still have I still have big cups from like burrowing from my years and years ago like plastic cups that you would usually throw away.

[00:43:34] I've still got them in my cabinet I still use them.

[00:43:37] There's a big water bottle and that's all I ever drink out of it and so like you know like 32 plus ounces so.

[00:43:43] There was an Appalachian tick topper who is who asked like is it normal does everybody have like a big cup in their in their bathroom on the bathtub shelf.

[00:43:53] Like it seems like every bathroom has the big cup yes from raising kids you got to rinse their hair yeah oh my god that's the aesthetic right so like I'm going to look in the background and see if Kurt put in like a cup in a.

[00:44:06] You know no one goes in the bathroom in this but I assure you if there's a bathroom we're going to.

[00:44:12] Think up is going to be on that I'm not sure I want to know what these guys are going to do in a bathroom so you do quit live okay sure fine I do.

[00:44:21] You know it doesn't even it doesn't even take the bathroom I mean some of the rooms that they do stuff in and this could cause it's just.

[00:44:29] Yeah yeah that's that's you need that line in the in the pitch there somewhere in a Kickstarter.

[00:44:39] Well is there is there seen in Kentucky I know it's not like comics Maca like Portland or something but I'm always curious about these little creative pockets of the country that have people working.

[00:44:51] Since he has a lot of different people that make comics you know like from like people that are a real big deal.

[00:44:58] People that are indie creators that are kind of like it's yeah I mean it's there's a lot of people I don't think there's like a lot of get together there's still like the comic book creator can be like a meet ups that happen in since he.

[00:45:09] I don't get a chance to go to them as much as I'd like largely because I've got two kids and I'm going to have to shop and they come.

[00:45:16] That's too much shit coming on.

[00:45:18] But there's a there's a scene so to speak but it seems like a lot of the working pros that live in town don't get out much.

[00:45:27] Now I mean there's some conventions and Lexington.

[00:45:30] There's a local convention here in Pikeville Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky that's pretty good you know it has some.

[00:45:36] A couple of big name guests every year so I think that's coming up in August or July somewhere around.

[00:45:42] Where's that going where is that.

[00:45:44] Pikeville Kentucky.

[00:45:46] Yeah about 30 minutes from here I think.

[00:45:50] Something like that.

[00:45:52] I got to connect you guys with the Acme over there in Greensboro great shop it's like my local shop they amazing really really great folks over there.

[00:46:03] Let's go do a signing over there.

[00:46:05] Yeah.

[00:46:07] All right I'll do signing wherever I can get to where how far away with Greensboro in which state.

[00:46:15] North Carolina.

[00:46:17] Yeah we have to find a way to make that's a long drive for my ass but.

[00:46:22] Which which part of North Carolina.

[00:46:25] If you Charlotte's probably your Charlotte rally or your two points so it's sort of like North.

[00:46:32] It's going to be west of Raleigh and sort of north east of Charlotte.

[00:46:39] Kind of sort of in between there okay okay second our I guess it's for Greensboro for where I am it's like hour and 15 minutes outside of Asheville but.

[00:46:50] Nice for me is what that is it's how long.

[00:46:54] Oh wow okay I didn't think it's that far yeah yeah all right again I guess makes me ten and a half to get the Charlotte.

[00:47:01] Okay okay probably ten to eleven to get there.

[00:47:05] Well maybe if you come down for heroes you can do something there afterward.

[00:47:09] Yeah I have to check it out well I'll take a look at it on the map.

[00:47:13] Okay yeah great people I mean they do signage all the time they just had the guys who did.

[00:47:17] Howling with the mad cave on nice Sam and what's his camera.

[00:47:24] Now I'm seeing like an asshole.

[00:47:27] I mean there's a lot coming out it there's so much stuff good though enjoyed it yeah cool well Brian what else you got cooking I haven't been by the shop to pick up the first issue of night people that recently came out and I need to hear about El Camino though.

[00:47:42] Yeah so I mean I've got that like night people came out.

[00:47:46] I've got obviously the kick start is running right now for unsleeping eyes so that's kind of priority in terms of comics and I just finished a marble thing for that venom verse.

[00:47:57] You know I've got a couple of work for higher gigs lined up some like like kind of a two well I've got three work for higher gigs lined up for the next couple of months while also kind of trying to angle.

[00:48:11] Another you know we got to figure out when we're going to do the second kick starter for unsleeping eye like Kurt.

[00:48:18] So that's going to be you know when that's going to happen I don't know but I've got all that stuff and El Camino.

[00:48:25] Launched for those of you that don't know what El Camino art is it's a sort of art collective with myself Abraham Mustafa Tony Gregorio Ramon Bill Lobus and Justin Greenwood.

[00:48:37] The group of us kind of banding together and trying to you know represent ourselves in a certain respect for selling commissions and selling selling commissions and selling original art via our newsletter it's al Camino art.

[00:48:53] But essentially we're doing limited art for limited time on drops so we'll drop maybe five pages and then after a couple weeks like they're gone.

[00:49:03] And so like we're just kind of offering these up at limited you know just trying to you know like curate a sampling essentially of art for people instead of just having 20 you know like 20 to 100 pieces of art for people to pull through where you can then and then there's going to also be some YouTube like live streaming cut.

[00:49:22] Up and all that stuff i'm going to shut my door for a second it sounds like there's no problems but why people yell across house for each other.

[00:49:32] Okay yeah so it's just kind of us getting together trying to see if we can kind of lead this sort of charge with ourselves because it's the thing you know we've all worked with reps before and I don't think anybody has any hard feelings toward the reps like we all get along like like Cam at in couples was who I was with before and Cam and I are still boys so it's not like.

[00:49:50] It's not like there was a falling out it wasn't like a cadence thing where.

[00:49:54] Yeah fleeing and that's going to say you know that's kind of the thing that's been in the news recently so yeah we can.

[00:50:00] And it's up because there was bad timing because I didn't want anything like there was anything associated with Cam that was causing me to leave it was just there was.

[00:50:08] You know just it made sense to give this shot when it made sense so we kind of went for it and you know like can I talked about it and it's cool like we're still good you know.

[00:50:17] It's just yeah it's transfer us to kind of interact with people and you know I think we get like.

[00:50:22] It's hard to say this without their feeling like there's like some sort of i'm not trying to like below this into a bigger thing that is like between the five bus we've got a decent amount of fans and like to interact with people and so this is kind of a way where you know we can offer them up things but then also build a community around YouTube.

[00:50:39] So sort of live stream stuff that we plan on doing it.

[00:50:42] You know just kind of let people in a little bit on what we got going on so it's just a different way to connect and then my patreon name or that's like.

[00:50:50] Stuff that I'm running like a little like very intermittent podcast over there.

[00:50:56] Okay and the dream cult umbrella you know what's going on with that that's just kind of the home for all the stuff that I kind of work on that's i'm trying to kind of keep.

[00:51:07] It's a very specific type of thing.

[00:51:10] I don't know if you read saying Jane of the orchard yeah like you know like that i'm sleeping on and saying Jane are very of a style together as well as some of those individual one shots like good night stars.

[00:51:27] Yeah we need it I don't think like all those projects all seem to have a certain vibe you know like this and stuff that feels outside or e like the brothers James but if you read that last issue of the brothers James you're just like what the fuck like you can still walk.

[00:51:42] So like sort of the unsleeping I do mean talking about our art yeah like the unsleeping I is absolutely like.

[00:51:50] It's fucking right in like with everything that I want to be doing and I feel like being able to brand it and all that stuff you know Kurt was cool with it because I actually brought it up to him as like is it okay if we branded into this like when we started it because I do feel like.

[00:52:04] Giving people that little like like that badge mean something like you're in for fucking something that's not what you would get everywhere else so we're just trying.

[00:52:13] To build that out and you know obviously like everything it's not like a publishing company or anything like that it's just kind of a branding of like for people they can come with expectations.

[00:52:24] And that expectations to have something strange and unusual and hopefully satisfying and fucked up.

[00:52:31] That's the end that's the end keep doing that my wife kind of helps me run that a bit she doesn't like a lot of this sort of ghost editing shit so I don't ever want to cut her out but she's not like a public facing.

[00:52:42] Type of person you know yeah so we kind of run a lot of that stuff together and we have to that business and all that so that way we kind of keep that going and hopefully it stream lines it because of just you know Kurt you know how it works like working in it like we're working in the entertainment.

[00:53:00] As weird as that sounds like it and it is like kind of maybe like the sewer of you know the entertainment business maybe from the perception on the outside from the general public nobody you know the average person he doesn't be comics very often but you know Kurt had rotten tail right like as a motion picture.

[00:53:20] And so those conversations have happened with things that I've worked on throughout the years and so kind of being able to have this hub is like an opportunity for when someone comes to me with something it's like well here's also the stuff under this banner.

[00:53:32] So hopefully it can benefit you know whoever so like if somebody down the road is like well unsleeping I would make a great you know like web series or whatever like animated web series that's like all right cool so that look at the touch you know like like maybe they would find that to seeing saint in the music.

[00:53:47] It's just a way to kind of consolidate and streamline things for buyers whether they're consumers of the product but also you know like any trans media people but I think the thing I'd like to drive home with dream cult is like i'm just trying to make things easy for people that aren't me and so like but for me like it's just don't want to make comics which is the hardest thing.

[00:54:13] Because you have to do stuff like you know talk to people like me all the time to promote your stuff I mean.

[00:54:18] Well this part I don't know if this is if you can relate to this but like making comics is is is arguably the most labor intensive one of the hardest things that you can do but it's the labor that I want to do like it's not that hard to send an email but it's really hard for me to get my brain around.

[00:54:38] Like it's really challenging the admin is so like trying to find a way to streamline all that so I can just kind of have everything in one place and make it.

[00:54:48] Well Kurt what about you I know you wrapped up the world front or the end of last year the crowdfunding stuff so what is your problem with the group.

[00:54:56] Well first of all I wanted to mention that we're building on what wrong was talking about the original art.

[00:55:03] This is on the Kickstarter but we have a couple of variant covers by.

[00:55:08] Riley Rossmo and Ian Lowry that are fantastic you know Ryan's up there so messed up you know they're they pretty perfectly represent the book you know if you look at him it's like yeah you know what you're getting into.

[00:55:23] Yeah I didn't even like that article for Riley's like the article that's on the cover with Riley's art like I didn't have the idea for the article until I got the art he was like so I can.

[00:55:33] And I was like bro you can draw anything you want to make my fifth world I will I will make it fit and did this like the art you read the article that I wrote for didn't you yeah like the god like it was so fun coming up with it was so fucked up so he's a genius but anyway go ahead Kurt.

[00:55:52] Yeah yeah building on what Brian was talking about with the right until I'm drawing the sequel right now again written by David Hayes who probably very familiar with.

[00:56:06] It's called son of rotten Hill I'm working on it slowly right now I have about 30 odd pages left on that so that's going to be fun we're looking for a publisher if anybody you know wants to take a chance on that.

[00:56:18] It already has a built-in audience obviously with the first book in the movie but yeah I mean it's just that unsleeping eye which we have to start talking about what our next story is going to be and what do we want to do with that.

[00:56:34] And just other little odds and ends really you know short stories for Travis Gibbs, Couture Blue Books yeah drawing stuff for that drawing stuff for holiday spirits by.

[00:56:47] Is around down your own.

[00:56:50] Yeah just stuff like that I mean it's it's not really any one big thing is just a lot of little things that I'll be working on over the next year.

[00:56:59] Yeah I mean I really do hope personally I hope it gets picked up I mean obviously once you guys get funded but I really do hope a publisher like latches on to what this is and I feel like we're in a bit of a new Renaissance even with horror stuff I mean you're.

[00:57:13] You've got the relaunch of EC stuff that's coming out and I don't know how true that's going to be to.

[00:57:19] The old stuff it seems like it's going to be at least relatively embracing kind of the outside or nature of that so i'm hopeful.

[00:57:28] I have some insight on that actually if you if you want it the like so buddy mine was at comic was a comics pro the retailer summit when they announced yeah yeah.

[00:57:38] He texted me about it just like do the re launching these news on the cd and he was like they gave us like a 15 minute long video presentation about the history of EC comics and are there working with the games family specifically in the whole aim is like.

[00:57:58] Keeping in the tradition of EC without it being a cash grab or nostalgia like they want to tell stories new titles that feels like it's exactly what if you never stop what they still that's kind of the that's kind of the ring so I think they're taking it pretty seriously.

[00:58:13] Okay i'm glad to hear that because i mean okay not a cash grab and then Jason Aaron so i'm kind of like okay yeah i mean yeah you gotta do what you gotta do.

[00:58:23] What are some other people do that i'm aware of that are working on it so it ought to be very exciting.

[00:58:29] Brian you recently showed up in a comic or at least your name did because I was reading Jason Copeland's full tilt i finally got my.

[00:58:35] My belt down and and it was so funny because at the beginning he's he's crediting like all his inspirational artist friends and stuff and you were in there and yeah all these other folks and then i was like okay so there's a level character and there's like a subella character and there's a sink average character and so i love that Jason just.

[00:58:52] Real like i got the book and i was going through it how beautiful it was i know i but i haven't read it yet i had no fucking clear that he did that that's crazy now i have this is i get off here i'm not to go up and like shovel food in my face while going to that book.

[00:59:11] Jason is about a suite of a dude as they come it's funny because i'm really got to spend probably a couple of cons with him.

[00:59:19] But man he's just easy to just latch on to right away.

[00:59:23] Yeah so happy so happy for him just to get to be able to fund something like that i mean that's such a labor of love to be able to undertake that and like have no no.

[00:59:35] He's never going to actually have that with the public he doesn't want to and just to stay as india's it can be they i'm so glad he got that got to do that so huge i mean it's a thick thick book you know and the fact that he got that funded was just amazing i mean it just shows.

[00:59:52] How what a hard work and guy is and what a talented guy.

[00:59:56] To get people to latch on to that and throw as much money at it as possible.

[01:00:00] Yeah beautiful well where can the folks find you guys online or where you want them to these days.

[01:00:06] I mean twitter is probably the place that i'm most consistently an idiot on instagram like i don't know how to do instagram very well so i'm just fumbling through that space.

[01:00:17] And i'm on blue sky as well as threads but threads i never open and blue sky rarely open i'm not really do much on facebook but i do pop in periodically.

[01:00:30] That's the place to find me is honestly patreon.

[01:00:34] And twitter.

[01:00:36] me i'm on twitter i'm on facebook usually curred belcher belcher curts on like that some variation of that i'm on instagram i have a patreon also.

[01:00:50] That's about it really yeah i guess i should say in my name i don't have like a moniker on instagram it's my tattoo shop the women ought to tattoo.

[01:01:00] That means you know if i'm easy enough to find it's usually a blacked out face like spooky blacked out face like a shadow of.

[01:01:07] Because i'm very scary and very stupid serious.

[01:01:11] It may be the stories you tell but like you're not you're pretty approachable dude i gotta be honest so i hope so it's what i hope to always feel you know like i always want to have a warm vibe you know.

[01:01:23] Suck them in yeah killing with kindness and then take them for everything they've got exactly.

[01:01:30] I mean everything i've got to.

[01:01:33] I mean you got to it's the hustle i mean and i hate it for folks i really do is that i mean you guys are great but there's some people you know when you interview they're just they're just.

[01:01:42] They're not interview ease like it's not it's not natural to them and it's and it is a.

[01:01:48] It's something that has never come naturally to me but i you know you have to learn to do that you have to learn to sell yourself you have to learn to.

[01:01:55] Put yourself on the line in order to get people to read your stuff and.

[01:02:01] That's just a nature of the business yeah sales is weird i mean i've been into it for 20 years and if it if it's tell me anything about sales is that people appreciate honesty about everything.

[01:02:11] So even when people come to my table at show is it's kind of like well this book super fucked up and it's not for everybody pretty ugly that's turned out to be the most.

[01:02:18] The best sales pitch ever has like oh super fucked up it's not for everybody well it's definitely for me and it's like i put that barrier in front of you so now you think it's like sacred so it's like oh i can handle it.

[01:02:29] Not these other wins but me and it's like i'm not pitching you do them just telling you it's fucked up like i've got ugly material in it like i remember when.

[01:02:37] It takes the best challenge yeah i don't mean it to me i'm just trying to be honest you know like this is like a psychosexual book that's super personal and you might think bad stuff about me by the.

[01:02:45] Like some of it might be true i don't know i'm working through here buddy like.

[01:02:51] It's just where i'm at having come up to me one time after like on the second day of the show and he bought a saint jane of the orchard the first day.

[01:02:59] Think you know what to me i was walking out to get a bunch like hey man and i was like oh hey what's up.

[01:03:03] He's like i bought first issue of saint jane now and i was like yeah i remember he came in and he was like i read it last night man that was i really like that book it was really refreshing i was like thanks a lot dude and he was like.

[01:03:13] Yeah that's kind of fucked up i was like yeah i said that.

[01:03:17] That's my bitch that was your bitch but and he was like no i was but it was still refreshing and he was like but he's not going to like.

[01:03:24] I was like he's not going to what he's like he's not gonna like and it's like he's not going to fuck that dead body and he was like right and i was like last part of the way i keep reading guy.

[01:03:34] Oh no he is he is.

[01:03:35] What does he you know like this is the you know this is the tension of saint jane of the orchard is he gonna fuck that dead body or not.

[01:03:44] Okay so it's a surprise you gotta keep reading.

[01:03:47] I said look baby.

[01:03:49] To dispel anything for my recommendation should anybody out there listening with the sad tale of the brothers cross part yes yes there there's corp fucking in this okay so there's your disclosure it is in the book.

[01:04:01] I mean as I can be in the pages of the books that I do I don't ever feel like it is like a nick wreathin or whatever like we watch the neon demon like it's such a mean movie.

[01:04:13] Like it's just full of mean shit and i'll never go as mean as nick wreathin so you can at least count on that from me is that i'll try to make your.

[01:04:22] You're reading experience a little bit less punishing.

[01:04:24] I mean you just gotta know what you're in for that's this.

[01:04:29] I agree every every good book should have some corp fucking right.

[01:04:32] I honestly i don't even like the book because I haven't.

[01:04:37] I don't know like with this scarlet letter be made better with that and i mean i'm just maybe not but.

[01:04:46] I don't know if you've ever seen a never feeling such a snowball in here just no.

[01:04:49] But no but that like joke society right like we really we really joked a lot about necropelia but.

[01:04:58] The you know like sorry mom.

[01:05:01] She doesn't just very true maybe she does she doesn't.

[01:05:07] James not about that right like that's just kind of like this guy's falling in love with the dead body and he's attracted to it and so but people then.

[01:05:14] They push that to the next place and when you see you know like you're going to get some of that non sleeping eye which is just kind of like these leering awful people and you're like what do they want you know and start to project what they want.

[01:05:25] And it says a lot about you as a reader too which I like you know like it's kind of like if you can't handle what your own imagination is producing in between the lines here then like that's not my problem.

[01:05:35] Like i don't mean to open certain doors some of them I definitely do but some of them I don't.

[01:05:39] And Kurt I think does a great job of leaving these spaces for people to they're like pregnant spaces you as busy as the pages can get he has these nice pregnant spaces where your eye can just kind of like.

[01:05:52] Wander and be full of terrorists you know.

[01:05:56] Yeah i mean i was scarred as a young man after watching the cemetery man so i feel like everything i just recommended that yesterday yeah everything else is sort of downhill yeah that's a great movie i have to do the 4k.

[01:06:07] The the severed films edition of it is funny because a friend of mine the other day was like i just watched this fucked up movie the other day i was wondering if you'd seen it i was like what was it.

[01:06:18] Cemetery man have you ever heard of that and i was like yes cemetery man i love that fucking movie cemetery man Renaissance yeah because i was just rewatching the church yesterday so i was like i'm.

[01:06:28] I just watched that like a month ago i movie kicks ass man so wow.

[01:06:32] Yeah it's funny with the cemetery man i think back and i was like was i high was watching that weird no it was i was.

[01:06:38] That was weird it was just that weird.

[01:06:41] The good one i asked my wife yesterday i was like what are we doing in my watching cemetery.

[01:06:46] No of course not.

[01:06:48] No it's like a lie we're watching love is.

[01:06:51] Every nice recommendation is like hey honey are we gonna listen to a man tonight no hey honey are we gonna listen to.

[01:06:56] Yeah it's not a timer like on my like every.

[01:07:01] Your mind you're on your phone like we can ask why if you're doing a motion man ask yeah.

[01:07:07] Well that was one of the most beautiful endings to a movie that just left me scratching my head and i was like i love that i absolutely love that wonderful yeah.

[01:07:15] I love those movies but don't explain everything to you you know that kind of leave you asking questions and even i mean they can wrap up some things to give you an entertaining ending but.

[01:07:26] Those things are just leave you asking things after you watch the wall in the wash in some cases when i make you want to go back again yeah i mean like anything by david lunch you can watch anything by a little for you can go back watch and be like what does that even mean you know what is.

[01:07:42] Like this woman's peaking up sheep intestines what the hell is that even about you know what i'm yeah it's a nasty scene but so far of all the place yeah you wanna do it.

[01:07:54] I'm pointing eyes and all that it's like what the fuck did luchio full sheet experience when he was a kid that left him scarred like.

[01:08:03] It's wild.

[01:08:05] Yeah, bad.

[01:08:07] Bad.

[01:08:09] Well circling back to the unsleeping eye if you're a horror fan this is about as big of a no brainer as you're likely to find i think if you listen to to our chat here you know what you're getting so like you're probably going to enjoy it if you think you're going to enjoy it.

[01:08:24] I enjoyed the hell out of it is just like really strange amalgamation of like in your face but new on storytelling that pulls from familiar horror roots and expands the limbs into fun and exciting visual territory which is my fancy way of saying i liked it is fucking good so go buy.

[01:08:40] Curtain Brian thanks for hanging out with me today spend fun thank you so much for having you.

[01:08:45] This is byron o'Neal on behalf of all of us at comic book yeti thanks for tuning in and we will see next time take care everybody.

[01:08:51] Thanks so.

[01:09:21] You get your podcasts.