Caitlin Yarsky Interview - Living Hell

[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.

[00:00:10] Hey everyone, this is...

[00:00:13] Hi Byron.

[00:00:14] Who is this?

[00:00:15] I'm your fairy godmother.

[00:00:17] I have a fairy godmother?

[00:00:18] Of course you do.

[00:00:19] I'm 50 years old, why haven't you shown up before?

[00:00:22] I appear when I'm needed.

[00:00:24] And I didn't need you in all these years?

[00:00:27] Do you want my help or not?

[00:00:29] Um...

[00:00:30] Sure.

[00:00:31] Exactly.

[00:00:32] I was just about to pitch our Patreon. Why would I need help with that?

[00:00:36] Because you're an idiot sometimes.

[00:00:38] That's hurtful.

[00:00:40] What were you going to put on there?

[00:00:42] We do comic stuff? So something along those lines?

[00:00:45] And this is why I'm here. You do know what people put on Patreon most of the time, right?

[00:00:52] Honestly, no.

[00:00:54] People need something a little bit spicy to entice them to support you.

[00:00:59] Nobody wants to see me shirtless.

[00:01:01] I doubt that's true. You are in pretty good shape considering your age.

[00:01:06] Thank you. Let's see. A little spicy. I've been bugging Jimmy to figure out what he's going to do.

[00:01:12] I know lately he's been playing around with his **** all the time.

[00:01:16] He loves to take it out and show it off. There's even a specific TikTok channel now. How's that sound?

[00:01:21] Not a bad start. People like Jimmy. What else you got?

[00:01:24] I told a story recently about being in a strip club with some of the four horsemen when I was working for WCW back in the day.

[00:01:30] I picked up an infection on my-

[00:01:32] Woo!

[00:01:33] From the experience, I hate strip clubs. Is that better?

[00:01:37] Getting there. But maybe spicy shouldn't include infections you get in strip clubs.

[00:01:42] That's not sexy. We'll workshop it.

[00:01:46] Like I need more meating.

[00:01:47] At least tell them where to find it while we figure this out. Mother goddess, help this poor man.

[00:01:52] You can find us on Patreon at Cryptid Creator Corner Pod. I'll put it in the show notes.

[00:01:58] Anything else you'd like to remind me that I'm bad at?

[00:02:01] How much time do you have?

[00:02:03] Why do you look like Rosario Dawson anyway?

[00:02:05] I appear the way you want me to look.

[00:02:07] Okay, that's disturbing. Wait, have you been showing up in my dreams?

[00:02:12] I'll never tell.

[00:02:14] And we're done here.

[00:02:16] Y'all, Jimmy, the Chaos Goblin strikes again.

[00:02:20] I should have known better than to mention I was working on my DC Universe meets Ravenloft hybrid D&D campaign on social media.

[00:02:27] My bad.

[00:02:28] He goes and tags a bunch of comics creators we know, and now I have to get it in gear and whip this campaign into shape so we could start playing.

[00:02:34] Another friend chimes in, are you going to make maps?

[00:02:38] It's fair to say it's been a while since I put something together so I guess?

[00:02:42] Question mark?

[00:02:43] It was then that I discovered Arkhamforge.

[00:02:45] If you don't know who Arkhamforge is, they have everything you need to make your TTRPG more fun and immersive.

[00:02:51] Allowing you to build, play, and export animated maps, including in-person, fog-of-war capability that lets your players interact with maps as the adventure unfolds while you, the DM, get the full picture.

[00:03:04] Now I'm set to easily build high-res animated maps, saving myself precious time and significantly adding nuance to our campaign.

[00:03:12] That's a win every day in my book.

[00:03:14] Check them out at arkhamforge.com and use the discount code YETI5 to get $5 off.

[00:03:20] I'll drop a link in the show notes for you.

[00:03:22] And big thanks to Arkhamforge for partnering with our show.

[00:03:24] I think I'm going to make Jimmy play a goblin warlock just to get even.

[00:03:29] Hello and welcome to Comic Book Yeti's Cryptid Creator Corner.

[00:03:32] I'm one of your hosts, Jimmy Gasparro, and I am very excited for today's episode.

[00:03:37] This is a guest, an artist, but also now a writer that I have long admired.

[00:03:45] I was lucky enough to meet once at Baltimore Comic-Con and get a print of something that was from one of my favorite, actually my favorite episode of Star Trek The Next Generation.

[00:03:57] But she has a new comic out from Dark Horse that she is writing and doing the art.

[00:04:04] Clayton Cowles is lettering.

[00:04:05] It's called Living Hell.

[00:04:07] Issue one came out in November.

[00:04:08] I think issue two comes out January 8th.

[00:04:11] I can't wait to talk all about it.

[00:04:13] Please welcome to the podcast, Caitlin Yarsky.

[00:04:16] Caitlin, how are you doing today?

[00:04:18] I'm good.

[00:04:18] I'm good.

[00:04:19] I'm running on kind of little sleep, but otherwise good.

[00:04:23] Okay.

[00:04:24] Still working on Living Hell, so it's a bit of a mad dash to the finish.

[00:04:28] Oh, I cannot imagine.

[00:04:32] But yeah, I think I first became familiar with your work with Coyotes that you did with Sean Lewis.

[00:04:43] Mm-hmm.

[00:04:43] And then I think that the next big thing for me was Bliss.

[00:04:48] I just, I fell in love with that story.

[00:04:50] Fell in love with your artwork on it.

[00:04:53] Just thought it was tremendous.

[00:04:57] Loved what you did in the Black Hammer universe as well.

[00:05:01] Wow. Thank you so much.

[00:05:03] But yeah.

[00:05:04] And yeah, I think you were at Baltimore Comic Con maybe two years ago or so.

[00:05:09] Mm-hmm.

[00:05:09] And yeah, I got a, I've mentioned it on this podcast before because it, I think it, actually,

[00:05:15] it came up in the episode of the podcast that came out today as we're recording this with Christopher Cantwell.

[00:05:22] Wow.

[00:05:23] Because we talked, we talked a little bit about Star Trek and I said, and I think both of our favorite episode was The Inner Light.

[00:05:30] Mm-hmm.

[00:05:30] And I think I picked up a print that you had done of Picard with the flute from that episode.

[00:05:38] And Chris said, you know, when I mentioned your name, he said, perfect artist to put that together.

[00:05:46] That's nice.

[00:05:47] It's a great series.

[00:05:49] I think Next Generation is definitely my favorite of all the Star Treks and that's my favorite episode too.

[00:05:54] So yeah, it's a lot of people's favorite. It's just a great, like one, like complete story from beginning to end and like adds to his canon and into his character so well. It's just, yeah.

[00:06:05] Yeah.

[00:06:05] And just a great, like encapsulation of what I think the best of, of Star Trek and that type of storytelling can be, you know?

[00:06:16] Yeah.

[00:06:16] And he got to have his family.

[00:06:18] I know.

[00:06:19] He was like never like a family dude and he got to have his own experience.

[00:06:24] Exactly.

[00:06:25] And, and it gets, and you can, you know, get into like very Star Trek-ian type of, you know, it wasn't real, but it, it was real to him and what is real.

[00:06:35] Yeah.

[00:06:36] And you can, you can really go off on a tangent, but your new series from Dark Horse, Living Hell, Clayton Cowes is lettering.

[00:06:44] You're writing it.

[00:06:46] You're doing the, the, the artwork for it.

[00:06:50] And, um, I read issue one and I, this is one of my, I've mentioned it before on the podcast listeners, you know, who, who regularly listen will understand that one of my favorite, I don't even know if it's a genre, but sub genre.

[00:07:08] One of my favorite things is to kind of mix, um, supernatural elements with some sort of, you know, whether or not like mundanity or bureaucracy.

[00:07:21] It doesn't have to be supernatural.

[00:07:23] It can also be science fiction, like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

[00:07:26] The fact that, you know, there's, there's so much red tape in certain things with these fantastical stuff.

[00:07:32] Oh yeah, the Vogons.

[00:07:33] Exactly.

[00:07:34] Exactly.

[00:07:35] But, um, but like supernatural, the, the television show where, you know, death kind of kept like records and a book and everything.

[00:07:46] And there were certain like rules to it or even elements of like Beetlejuice where you go to the afterlife and you got to like take a number and wait.

[00:07:54] Um, so you've set up this world now to tell listeners who aren't, might not be familiar with it with living hell.

[00:08:03] Essentially your, your, your main character is a demon that has escaped from hell and he's just kind of like living a life.

[00:08:12] He's, he's, he's tendon bar.

[00:08:14] He has a wife.

[00:08:16] He, he has a kid.

[00:08:18] Um, we see their relationship and a lot of typical family stuff.

[00:08:25] There, there are some things that are, that are heightened.

[00:08:27] Um, but he, you know, in the beginning when we kind of get, see this world set up, it, he's just kind of like a guy doing a thing.

[00:08:37] And, and that instantly drew me in.

[00:08:41] Um, not just your artwork, but the, that, that whole setting, like the idea of this guy who's a demon now, now, now human.

[00:08:50] And he's, he's just kind of tendon bar, just, just, just trying to get by.

[00:08:54] Um, could you just set it up, you know, a little better than I can for, for listeners in terms of what living hell is, is all about and kind of, you know, what led you down, down this direction?

[00:09:10] Sure.

[00:09:10] I mean, you, you got it, uh, you got it pretty good there.

[00:09:13] I, it's basically this guy who's, you know, he was a, a God and like ancient Egyptian times.

[00:09:19] And he's part of this sort of a community, I guess, of like just deities and spirits and, um, kind of anything supernatural that at some point in history was, they were all relegated to hell and had to, they were kind of imprisoned there.

[00:09:35] So, occasionally, some, one, some of these demons, well, they were like reclassified as demons, right?

[00:09:40] And they're, they're literally demonized.

[00:09:42] And they, uh, occasionally, like leave hell, like escape from hell and find their way into back to earth.

[00:09:50] And they kind of just, they live sort of men in black style, like just among people trying to get by and living like humans.

[00:09:57] And, um, you know, so he's, he's kind of like a, I took some, some aspects of his, of the God that I was influenced by, Set, who's a Egyptian God.

[00:10:07] And which he's in some instances, he's described as sort of a trickster.

[00:10:11] So I kind of took that and went with it as like, he's kind of, he kind of jokes a lot and doesn't really take things seriously.

[00:10:16] And he can't really hold a job down.

[00:10:17] And like, you know, he's just, he's just kind of goofy.

[00:10:21] Um, and yeah, but he had, he's kind of finally like, he's kind of happy.

[00:10:24] He's settled with his life.

[00:10:25] I think he's kind of got some strife with his wife and he loves being a dad.

[00:10:28] And, um, yeah.

[00:10:30] And so everything kind of changes when hell catches up to him and finds him.

[00:10:34] And they have these, uh, bounty hunters called shepherds and one of the shepherds finds him and they start to have a fight.

[00:10:42] And then he basically by transitive properties, I guess he, he, he kills that shepherd in self-defense and becomes the next shepherd.

[00:10:50] And there's a lot of, that's a big trope in, in, in fantasy and things like that. Right.

[00:10:54] There's, um, there's one with like Pierce Anthony where death, uh, death is killed by this guy and he becomes the next.

[00:11:00] Yeah. So it's like, it's definitely like a trope. Um, but I thought it would be a really fun one to play with.

[00:11:05] And so he's the next shepherd and he has to kind of hunt down his own, his own friends basically.

[00:11:10] Um, so the next few, you know, issues are all about him grappling with the, uh, the ethical issues around that and, and not wanting to do it, but he's kind of, you know, between a rock and a hard place because they threatened his daughter and it's, it's hell.

[00:11:26] And what are you going to do? Right. So it's kind of just like this anti-hero and, um, yeah, so that's, that's kind of how, I mean, it was one of the few ideas that I pitched to dark horse.

[00:11:36] And, uh, um, I, I kind of brought a lot of stuff from my own childhood into the, you know, the, the family dynamic stuff, like not necessarily the conspiracy theory stuff with the mom, but like, you know, between like, you know, me and my dad are really close.

[00:11:52] And so we've just always had a goofy relationship and our, uh, we've, we've always like me and my siblings and my dad's that mom have always been really jokey with each other, giving each other a hard time.

[00:12:03] And so I thought that would be like a really fun element to bring in and kind of get you to like the characters and get close to the characters and kind of care what happens to them.

[00:12:11] So that was kind of the idea behind that.

[00:12:13] Uh, yeah. And I mean, I, I really thought it worked so well because his, his wife has, is a bit of a conspiracy theorist and he doesn't take that very seriously, which seems to cause strife between them.

[00:12:29] Um, but it, you know, it's the, his wife, although also is, is also dealing with like feeling a bit like ostracized from the family because like the daughter does a,

[00:12:43] a video project and it's a lot of pictures of like her and dad having a good time.

[00:12:48] And that type of like relatable, like grounded dynamic, like really makes the, the more supernatural elements like stand out and sing, which I, you know, like really appreciated.

[00:13:05] And again, it also ties into that this, he was a God and he escaped from hell.

[00:13:11] And, and it's like, he has power, but you know, he's still getting in trouble for, you know, just kind of like joking around and didn't pick up the laundry and he's got to deal with his mother-in-law.

[00:13:24] And he's trying to, you know, he's trying to, to manage all of these things.

[00:13:28] Um, yeah, I just, I, I just thought I had such a good time.

[00:13:33] It was just such, it was just, just the type of thing that's like, just right.

[00:13:38] Like in my wheelhouse of, of the stuff I like.

[00:13:42] Um, I just, I thought it was great.

[00:13:45] And the, I mean, I love, and I love your artwork, which just helps you.

[00:13:49] You just, you have a, a, a very unique style.

[00:13:53] Like, I feel like when I see like one of the Black Hammer issues that you've done, like I can just tell, you know, because each, for listeners who don't know with like Black Hammer, a lot of the different series are different artists that Jeff Lemire has worked with.

[00:14:09] Um, but when I see some of the stuff that you've done, I can just like tell like bliss, I feel looks like is so distinctive in terms of your art for that.

[00:14:18] And, um, I, I just really enjoyed, you know, seeing it again and working with a letterer like Clayton Cowles.

[00:14:25] I don't know if it's done in the art or the lettering, but one of the things in particular, when they're going through the daughter's video project and the dad and daughter are laughing and there's ha-has all over the page.

[00:14:35] And the mom just kind of make the, there's a panel of mom making a hand gesture during it.

[00:14:41] And one of the ha's like flinging off.

[00:14:44] She's like, she's like flicking it away from her.

[00:14:46] I, it's, it's so good.

[00:14:48] It's like one of those things where I'm like, I don't know that I've actually seen that before a character interacting with the, like the sound effect lettering in such a way to kind of convey mood more so than like anything else.

[00:15:03] And like what an emotion.

[00:15:04] I thought that was, that was fantastic.

[00:15:08] I, I, people are going to steal that because I don't know that I see that quite.

[00:15:12] I hope they do.

[00:15:14] I hope they do.

[00:15:15] I hope there's like a little bit more kind of like fourth wall breakage with lettering.

[00:15:19] Cause I feel like we've done that in movies, you know, I feel like they do that in film sometimes, but they don't quite do that in a, like, I don't know if you remember the movie Stranger Than Fiction.

[00:15:28] Yeah.

[00:15:28] Yeah.

[00:15:29] Will Ferrell movie.

[00:15:29] Right.

[00:15:30] Yeah.

[00:15:31] And Maggie Gyllenhaal.

[00:15:32] And it's, it's kind of one of those under, under, under the radar movies that I thought was really good.

[00:15:35] Um, but the, the whole beginning, like opening scene was like kinetic typography with like all the letters were interacting with the environment.

[00:15:44] Um, and I just thought that was really cool.

[00:15:46] So yeah, the, the ha ha ha's were like also part of another, you know, family thing.

[00:15:51] Like my dad has this booming laugh and it's like, it, it really, it feels like there are giant ha's in the room with you that you like can't get rid of.

[00:16:00] So I thought that was kind of the inspiration for that.

[00:16:02] Um, but yeah.

[00:16:04] Uh, yeah, no, I, I, I, I thought it was great.

[00:16:07] Um, you know, because.

[00:16:09] And Joe has the same hat.

[00:16:10] Ha ha ha.

[00:16:11] Like she has the same style of laughter throughout the rest of the series.

[00:16:13] Yeah.

[00:16:14] Oh, I mean, that's, that's, that's perfect.

[00:16:17] Um, I mean, Clayton, you know, the lettering throughout is, is, is wonderful.

[00:16:22] Um, one of the things I was wondering in terms of, you know, the going from the ID.

[00:16:30] To actually like planning out the issues.

[00:16:35] Um, like what was your, I guess, background or, or, or research in terms of, oh, I always

[00:16:41] kind of have an interest in, you know, different mythologies or different gods or, you know,

[00:16:49] even there's, there's things out there now, you know, especially with T I mentioned supernatural

[00:16:53] before, but all the different demons, uh, you know, how do, how do you kind of get into

[00:16:59] that for like, I guess just to, to name characters, just to kind of figure out who it is you, like

[00:17:05] what pantheon you want to take from in order to use, is that something you had an interest

[00:17:09] in, in an interest in, or were you like, oh, demons.

[00:17:12] And then, okay, how am I going to flesh this out with other characters that might, you know,

[00:17:18] is it, was there things you created whole cloth or did you rely on certain things that

[00:17:22] you, you know, research?

[00:17:23] Oh yeah.

[00:17:24] They were all definitely things that, that are from like folklore and mythology around

[00:17:28] the world.

[00:17:29] So I definitely did research for those.

[00:17:31] Um, like issue two is going to focus on these, um, Japanese demons, like corpse eating demons

[00:17:36] called the cheeky ninky, um, which is the best name ever, but, uh, they're just there, but

[00:17:44] you know, what's really fun is like you find out, you figure out like what creatures or demons

[00:17:49] are interesting to you.

[00:17:50] And then you go, okay, now how would that translate to like a regular world?

[00:17:56] If they were going to hide among people, what would they do that would kind of relate to what

[00:18:00] they used to do?

[00:18:01] And so like, for example, in issue two, that there are these like, there are these like

[00:18:04] two little Japanese ladies, old ladies that are sisters that own a crematorium.

[00:18:10] And instead of actually cremating the bodies that they get, they just eat them.

[00:18:14] That's how they like, so like they just sit on their porch and like look at people

[00:18:18] and like kind of people watch and like imagine how they would taste when they died.

[00:18:23] Um, so it was just really fun coming up with that.

[00:18:26] Like, that's my favorite.

[00:18:27] I love stuff like that.

[00:18:28] Um, you know, I think things like Buffy and the Sandman, um, were have, were big influences

[00:18:34] for me for this kind of story because it brings in like horror, but also humor and, you know,

[00:18:40] bringing that supernatural, like you said, into like the mundane world.

[00:18:43] And, um, you know, uh, so yeah.

[00:18:47] So it was, it was really fun to find those demons that I thought were interesting and then

[00:18:51] kind of turn them into like their counterparts hiding among people.

[00:18:56] Right.

[00:18:56] Yeah.

[00:18:56] And I thought that would be good.

[00:18:58] Okay.

[00:18:58] No, go ahead.

[00:18:59] It's your, I want to hear from you.

[00:19:02] Well, I was just going to say they're not really afterthoughts as much as they're more

[00:19:06] like monster of the weeks.

[00:19:07] So like they're monster of the weeks, but also they're, you're supposed to kind of

[00:19:12] empathize and sympathize with them as like, they're just, again, they're all, they're all

[00:19:16] just trying to get by and he's going off hunting these demons and you're, and, and you're, you

[00:19:20] know, the idea is like they're classified as demons, but they're really just people and

[00:19:25] they're just trying to like live and they're not hurting anybody.

[00:19:28] Um, so yeah.

[00:19:31] So the, the hope is that you, you like the characters that he hunts because it makes

[00:19:36] his job more controversial and more kind of messy.

[00:19:41] Right.

[00:19:41] Yeah.

[00:19:42] I, I, I appreciate that.

[00:19:44] I mean, with you mentioned Buffy and that's another, you know, another series that, um,

[00:19:50] there was a sinisterness, right?

[00:19:52] There's always like, oh, this thing is hiding amongst us and it's killing or it's, it's

[00:19:56] doing, you know, whatever.

[00:19:58] But the more interesting idea is I think the one that you've kind of created where you

[00:20:04] have somebody tasked with hunting these things, um, but they're, they're not really, you

[00:20:10] know, like, what are they really, like, what are they really doing?

[00:20:13] Like, you know, they're, they're, they're really just, just trying to assimilate.

[00:20:17] And then you have, that's like, that's a much different, like, you know, conundrum.

[00:20:23] Um, and you, you, your, your style really lends itself.

[00:20:29] And I, I don't know what it is about it.

[00:20:31] Um, to, it's to, to humor.

[00:20:36] I don't know how I'm terrible at, I love comics and I'm, I, I should be better by now having

[00:20:40] done this for a number of years, but I'm really terrible at describing like artistic styles.

[00:20:44] Um, cause it's not cartoony, but there's a certain like whimsy to what you do that, that

[00:20:51] it can be threatening when you have drawn monsters and characters.

[00:20:55] And I think you recently put something on, I think, you know, um, on blue sky or Twitter,

[00:21:02] um, from, from bliss.

[00:21:04] And it was like a very sinister looking woman with like a think of bones sticking out of

[00:21:09] her mouth.

[00:21:10] I think that, I think that, and that's actually, that's the cover for the next issue.

[00:21:14] Oh, is it?

[00:21:14] Is that what it brought?

[00:21:15] Oh, yeah.

[00:21:15] It just reminded me of something from bliss.

[00:21:16] I thought it was, um, Kiki Niki.

[00:21:17] Oh, okay.

[00:21:18] Yeah.

[00:21:19] Um, I, I wasn't sure.

[00:21:22] Um, but yeah, so you, you do these things that they can look very, you know, sinister,

[00:21:28] even the, the, the monster that we see or the, the, the shepherd that we see in, um, in

[00:21:34] issue one.

[00:21:35] Uh, but yeah, your, your style also kind of does lend itself to, I don't know, maybe it's

[00:21:41] the expressiveness of your characters that I just, there's a, there's an easy going

[00:21:47] ness to your style that I, I find very enjoyable to, to read and to get into and to, to look

[00:21:57] at.

[00:21:57] So, um, well, thank you.

[00:21:59] Yeah.

[00:21:59] And I think it helps with the humor in the story too.

[00:22:03] Mm-hmm.

[00:22:03] Um, I mean, I think, uh, part of it is, is just that, um, I, a lot of my influence comes

[00:22:09] from outside of comics.

[00:22:10] So, you know, like I love, I love the animation world and I considered for a little while getting

[00:22:16] into animation and I've done some, I mean, I've animated a lot for video games over the

[00:22:20] last, you know, since like 2008, I've been working in games.

[00:22:23] Um, so I've done some 2d animation stuff, but, uh, I think that yeah, animated film has really

[00:22:30] been a big influence for me, you know, iron giant and Don Bluth movies and Sylvain Choumet

[00:22:35] who did like, um, triplets of Belleville and, um, yeah, all sorts of stuff.

[00:22:40] And, um, with those characters, I love, like, like I love for how in like the iron giant, like

[00:22:45] they're, they're cartoony, but they're also grounded and there can be really serious moments,

[00:22:51] but also really funny moments.

[00:22:53] And it's just, it's like some, it's kind of this liminal state with these character designs

[00:22:57] that can kind of be really versatile and play both, you know?

[00:23:01] Yeah.

[00:23:02] So, yeah.

[00:23:04] All right, let's take a quick break.

[00:23:14] After a string of unexplained disappearances in the Southern parts of the United States,

[00:23:18] retired detective Clint searches for his white trash brother.

[00:23:21] While searching for him, he ends up being abducted by aliens.

[00:23:25] He is now in the arena for Big Gun's Stupid Rednecks, an intergalactic cable's newest hit

[00:23:31] show, which puts him and other humans in laser gun gladiatorial combat.

[00:23:36] And his brother is the reigning champion with 27 kills.

[00:23:41] That's the premise for a new book from Band of Bards, Big Gun's Stupid Rednecks.

[00:23:46] I got a chance to see an advanced preview of this book and being from the South, honestly,

[00:23:50] I was a bit skeptical going in, but they won me over and nothing is more powerful than an

[00:23:55] initially skeptic convert in my book.

[00:23:57] In Jimmy's words, Big Gun's Stupid Rednecks is many things, but it isn't subtle.

[00:24:02] It tells you exactly what it is up front.

[00:24:04] Then it delivers with a great premise, fantastic art, and a whole mess of fun.

[00:24:08] I had a great time reading Big Gun's Stupid Rednecks.

[00:24:11] And what I thought was going to be an indictment of redneck culture quickly showed it was actually

[00:24:15] a love letter.

[00:24:16] A family mystery, brother pitted against brother, aliens, fighting for profit in a big arena.

[00:24:22] This truly has it all.

[00:24:23] Issue one is out already, but you can still pick up a copy on the Band of Bards website.

[00:24:27] And current issues are available via your previews or lunar order form.

[00:24:31] Or just ask your LCS.

[00:24:32] Don't miss it.

[00:24:33] Let's get back to the show.

[00:24:34] When you go to approach something like this and you're designing these types of characters,

[00:24:42] is there, you know, because you're doing the writing and the art, are you looking for influences

[00:24:51] or like in terms of creating these characters?

[00:24:56] I'm just kind of curious because I know before with a series like Bliss, there were characters

[00:25:02] that definitely looked very, like, you know, were nods to certain folks.

[00:25:07] Like, are you doing that again in like living hell?

[00:25:09] Or is it too tough to make somebody that might be recognizable a demon?

[00:25:16] Right.

[00:25:17] Well, it's funny because Bliss, I know who you're talking about.

[00:25:20] The main character looks a lot like Lin-Manuel Miranda.

[00:25:22] I swear to God, it's not.

[00:25:23] But it's so, okay.

[00:25:25] The cast for Bliss, the people I drew in Bliss look like the people that modeled for me.

[00:25:32] They were friends of mine in Rochester, New York that got together and literally acted out

[00:25:36] the series.

[00:25:37] And we took pictures of all the frames.

[00:25:39] And like, I used their likenesses to like almost to the T, like slightly exaggerated.

[00:25:44] But I found people that I thought looked, I found people like friends of mine that I

[00:25:48] thought had a really interesting look to them.

[00:25:50] And Matt was the guy that played the main character.

[00:25:53] And he does have a lot.

[00:25:55] He looks a lot like Lin.

[00:25:58] But no, for this series, it was all just, I just was online researching, you know, celebrities

[00:26:05] and people that I thought had really interesting faces.

[00:26:07] And that's been a really good way for me to find reference.

[00:26:11] Because if you're already a celebrity, then you probably have tons of pictures of your

[00:26:14] face at different angles.

[00:26:15] And it makes it easier for me to kind of figure out how I'm going to draw.

[00:26:18] And it's also like, you know, I can, I can make it loosely based on that person rather

[00:26:22] than, you know, you don't want to get too close and then be like taking someone's likeness.

[00:26:26] So that's no good.

[00:26:27] Sure.

[00:26:27] Absolutely.

[00:26:28] You know, just, you're just a slight homage maybe or.

[00:26:33] Yes.

[00:26:33] Yeah.

[00:26:33] You like somebody in the shape of somebody's face or the way that they're, you know, their

[00:26:36] nose or their eyebrows or whatever it is.

[00:26:38] And you kind of just go from there.

[00:26:41] It's nice to have just something to base something off of and then kind of go from there,

[00:26:44] you know?

[00:26:45] Sure.

[00:26:46] Sure.

[00:26:47] So, uh, I guess I'm just so much more familiar with your artwork, but you know, um, how long

[00:26:53] had you been writing?

[00:26:55] And is like writing your own series and doing both something you always wanted to do?

[00:26:59] And how did you find it with Living Hell?

[00:27:01] Like, like having to do both?

[00:27:04] Are you someone that scripted everything for yourself or because you're doing both, you

[00:27:08] were just like, all right, I kind of have an idea what I want to do here.

[00:27:10] Like how, how do you, what's the practicalities of doing that?

[00:27:14] Yeah.

[00:27:14] Uh, well, this was my first time writing a whole series.

[00:27:17] Um, and I've always wanted to try it.

[00:27:19] I've never like, I, I didn't think of it as a real possibility until about a year ago

[00:27:24] when I was thinking like, I think I could do this.

[00:27:27] I think I could at least try it.

[00:27:28] And so I started pitching stuff around and I had a bunch of ideas.

[00:27:31] So I, I do think I, I mean, I really, this kind of lit a fire for me.

[00:27:35] I think I want to keep writing.

[00:27:37] Um, the first, the first spark for me was getting to write a 10 page short story for Buffy the

[00:27:42] Vampire Slayer for Boom.

[00:27:44] Um, it was originally, I thought I was just going to be drawing a 10 page story.

[00:27:48] And then they were like, okay, do you have any ideas?

[00:27:51] And I was like, what?

[00:27:55] So they were like, yeah, you're writing it.

[00:27:57] And I was like, oh, so, um, but it was perfect because like, I knew Buffy, the whole universe,

[00:28:04] like the back of my hand.

[00:28:05] So I gave them like 20.

[00:28:06] I was like, I was like, how about this?

[00:28:07] Or how about that?

[00:28:08] Or how about this?

[00:28:08] And they were like, well, we like all of these, but here's this one.

[00:28:11] Um, and you know, I got to put all these little Easter eggs in for people who are hardcore

[00:28:15] fans about the lore.

[00:28:17] Um, and it was such a blast.

[00:28:19] I was like, oh my God, this was the perfect introduction into writing for me because it

[00:28:23] was like a universe that already existed that I knew really well.

[00:28:26] And it just got me excited.

[00:28:28] So I thought like, okay, now I had this in the back, in my back pocket as a possibility,

[00:28:33] something to like add to, you know, my skillset if possible.

[00:28:37] And, um, eventually I just thought, all right, you know, screw it.

[00:28:41] I'm going to try it.

[00:28:41] So, um, yeah, it's, and I don't, I do, I do write the whole thing out.

[00:28:46] Um, I don't, I don't break down the panels as much as I write it.

[00:28:51] I break down the pages, but I don't break down panels when I'm writing the script.

[00:28:54] I kind of just write like a script script.

[00:28:57] Um, and when I get to the art and I start doing the art, then, then I started thinking

[00:29:01] about how I'm going to do the panel breakdowns and how I'm going to lay it out.

[00:29:03] But while I'm writing it, it's just like a script and there's barely

[00:29:07] anything else going on.

[00:29:08] There's no like specific stage direction as much as there's a little bit, but not a lot.

[00:29:12] Okay.

[00:29:13] Yeah.

[00:29:13] I was curious.

[00:29:14] I was curious about that.

[00:29:15] Well, I mean, I, I, I hope, I can't wait to see the rest of the series and I, I hope,

[00:29:19] uh, you, you keep doing it.

[00:29:22] Um, in particular, I, I, I love the family dynamic.

[00:29:26] I just think you, you captured, like I said before, something so relatable.

[00:29:31] Um, but, uh, even when, um,

[00:29:37] you know, when your main character is talking to, uh, I can't, the name Jamila, I can't remember

[00:29:43] his first name, Jerome?

[00:29:45] Jerome.

[00:29:46] Jerome.

[00:29:46] Yeah.

[00:29:47] Uh, and when he's talking to, when he's talking to his friend, like the little conversation,

[00:29:50] like that they have beforehand, like sitting down, talking at the bar, like there, there's

[00:29:55] just, there's such a flow to the dialogue between your characters.

[00:30:00] And, um, I mean, I also, I really liked how the story is like structured.

[00:30:05] Like I love the, I love the setup.

[00:30:07] I love we, we, you know, just the, the outside of the bar.

[00:30:10] He's telling us about all the patrons.

[00:30:13] You instantly get a sense of this guy's personality of Jerome's personality when he's going through

[00:30:18] like, here's the local, you know, sex pest.

[00:30:21] And here's this person.

[00:30:23] And then here's the health inspector.

[00:30:25] I wish I could help him out.

[00:30:26] He's, he's okay.

[00:30:27] Like, just like.

[00:30:29] He's so miserable.

[00:30:30] Poor guy.

[00:30:32] It just, um, it instantly, you know, you hear living hell and you hear demons and he's

[00:30:37] this and that, but it instantly sets like the tone for what you're going to get here.

[00:30:42] You don't have somebody who is, you know, the type of demon that's still trying to trick

[00:30:49] everybody and send folks back to hell and do all of these things.

[00:30:53] Like, and it really had that feel of like a bartender who's been there a while, even

[00:30:58] though I don't think he has been like two months and like knows the place.

[00:31:02] Um, I just really thought, but that was great.

[00:31:05] And then, um, I mean, is the name of the place is, is, I mean, is horse feathers, uh,

[00:31:11] like on, on purpose for, um, I get the Marx brothers or.

[00:31:17] Yeah, it was, it was a Marx brothers reference, but it was also kind of a nod to like Jerome

[00:31:21] being kind of a silly guy.

[00:31:23] And like, I just thought it was in that.

[00:31:25] It's also just like a great word.

[00:31:26] And I have like never seen that word.

[00:31:28] Like I never see that word anywhere.

[00:31:30] And I was just like, you know what?

[00:31:31] This is, this is going to be.

[00:31:32] Yeah.

[00:31:33] Um, and a lot of stuff is honestly like, you know, nods to places I've lived or people

[00:31:38] I've known.

[00:31:38] So like, I mean, I'm sure that's what a lot of people do.

[00:31:40] This is my first time writing.

[00:31:42] So I was just like, just take from all the places in your life and things that you, you know,

[00:31:45] experience because I'm scared.

[00:31:48] And, um, yeah.

[00:31:49] So like Bedlam is very much based on upstate New York, Rochester, where I was for a really

[00:31:53] long time.

[00:31:53] Sure.

[00:31:54] Um, even the outside of the bar is like the outside of a coffee shop that I went to a lot

[00:31:58] called Starry Night Cafe.

[00:32:00] And, you know, uh, the, the, the waterfalls in the middle of the city, that's all based

[00:32:06] on Rochester.

[00:32:07] Uh, it's called High Falls.

[00:32:09] It's in the middle of downtown Rochester.

[00:32:11] Um, and then like, even like there's like graffiti in the tunnel before the shepherd gets to them,

[00:32:16] gets to Jerome, um, that has like bands that I used to hang out with.

[00:32:21] Um, friends of mine who had like a parody rap group called Garden Fresh Rap.

[00:32:25] Okay.

[00:32:27] Yeah.

[00:32:27] I was wondering, I was, because there's, there's something on the left side that I, I, I'm like

[00:32:32] scrolling through to the page.

[00:32:34] I have it on my iPad.

[00:32:35] There was something on the left side that I recognized.

[00:32:38] Old Lang Syne.

[00:32:39] And then I was like, I wonder what, what Garden Fresh is.

[00:32:42] So yeah, Garden Fresh is a rap group by my two friends, uh, um, Pete and Chris.

[00:32:48] And they come there, they have a song later on that actually makes it into the last issue.

[00:32:53] And then, uh, Old Lang Syne was a band that I played with for a long time in Rochester

[00:32:57] that they were awesome.

[00:32:59] Uh, so I was just, again, it was all just like pulling from stuff I, you know, I thought

[00:33:04] that my friends would enjoy.

[00:33:05] But I mean, the, the, being able to do that stuff, I mean, I think is great.

[00:33:09] Like, you know, leaving little, like little Easter eggs and little nods, little things.

[00:33:15] And, you know, um, I, I love that stuff in a comic and.

[00:33:22] You know, it's, you're thinking about, you're trying to tell a story, you're, you're, you're

[00:33:27] focusing on so many different things.

[00:33:29] But I love when a writer, artist is, you know, letterer, whatever it might be, is going to

[00:33:34] take the time, you know, to just put a little something, you know, just to say that, you

[00:33:39] know, if you take it all in, if you pay attention.

[00:33:42] Um, I mean, I think even at the bar at Horse Feathers, you have things in, in terms of like

[00:33:48] either the names of the specials or the name of the, the, the drinks on like the back wall.

[00:33:52] I can't believe you caught that.

[00:33:53] That's crazy.

[00:33:55] Oh, no, I, I, the bar was Horse Feathers.

[00:33:58] You really paid attention.

[00:33:59] The bar was Horse Feathers.

[00:34:00] I was paying attention to everything.

[00:34:04] Very impressive.

[00:34:07] That's awesome.

[00:34:08] Yeah, I, uh, no, I just, like I said, I, I'm, I'm the, you know, I, I'm the, the perfect

[00:34:15] mark for this, for this type of thing.

[00:34:17] This was just right up, right up my alley.

[00:34:20] Um, I mean, not just being a fan of your work artistically, I just, I think the idea

[00:34:25] is great and, um, I can't wait, wait to see where it goes.

[00:34:29] I just thought, um, yeah, I just, I, I can't say enough good things about it.

[00:34:34] I just thought it was so good.

[00:34:37] That's so nice to hear.

[00:34:39] It's really exciting to hear that just because it's, it's, there's so much self-doubt,

[00:34:43] especially when you're doing your first book, you know, and you're just like, oh my God,

[00:34:45] like, it's not just like, I described it at a panel, uh, um, at Rose City as like, you

[00:34:53] know, when you're an artist, you feel like you're in an orchestra or, you know, you're

[00:34:56] in a band where you're kind of in the background, you, you can kind of fade out a little bit.

[00:35:00] Like if you're just doing the art, you know, and hide behind the writer a little bit,

[00:35:04] but like, if you're doing both, it's like so terrifying because whatever people say about

[00:35:10] it, it's like a criticism of you, you know what I mean?

[00:35:12] And that's what it feels like.

[00:35:13] It's just like this, this takedown or this, like, you know, this judgment for the whole

[00:35:17] world and you're just, there's nobody else.

[00:35:19] So you're just kind of in the spotlight.

[00:35:21] Um, and, uh, so I, I kind of get it now when writers talk about that feeling, it's like,

[00:35:27] oh yeah, okay.

[00:35:28] I understand.

[00:35:30] Um, what do you think, um, was the, the, the toughest challenge in terms of like putting

[00:35:38] the whole story together, you know, so you, you pitch it, you get it, you got your concept,

[00:35:42] you got your characters, you're starting to build out the world.

[00:35:45] You got, you know, you got a solid foundation and then you start building everything out,

[00:35:51] um, without giving anything away about future issues.

[00:35:54] Was there anything that was kind of like tough to crack or whether or not in the writing,

[00:36:00] the dialogue story or even, you know, artistically like?

[00:36:05] Sure.

[00:36:06] Um, yeah, I think definitely there were a couple of things.

[00:36:09] Um, one was the pacing and trying to connect all of the subplots and secondary characters.

[00:36:16] And, you know, I've, I realized like, oh, you know, I'm in the third or fourth issue and

[00:36:20] I haven't mentioned this character and it, you know, or, or this, this person's character

[00:36:24] trait, it's like third tier character.

[00:36:26] Hasn't like their character trait didn't like come back to have like a point in the story

[00:36:30] or to like, you know, uh, serve the plot.

[00:36:34] But then I'm like, you know what?

[00:36:35] Not everything has to serve the plot.

[00:36:37] Sometimes a character can just be quirky or have this thing happen and you're like, okay,

[00:36:41] that's, that was just like part of that world.

[00:36:43] You know, it can just be, it can just be by itself and it can be entertaining in its own

[00:36:47] merit, or at least it can just contribute to that feeling of the world.

[00:36:50] So I think I kind of got over that, you know, I was like, oh, not everything connects

[00:36:54] to everything connects to everything.

[00:36:56] And I was like, you know what?

[00:36:57] That's okay.

[00:36:58] Like not everything has to be, has to be sewn up like in a perfect bow.

[00:37:02] Uh, and as long as you have the main plot work, work out and you care about what happens

[00:37:09] to the characters and the world feels believable.

[00:37:12] If I think that's okay.

[00:37:13] I mean, again, this is my first time, so who knows, but that's kind of where I'm at.

[00:37:17] Like, and you know, so that was a little bit tricky.

[00:37:19] And then, um, you know, like the grandma, like I love the grandma, but she's like her,

[00:37:24] her hoarding, uh, I thought would become a, would be in integral in the story somehow.

[00:37:32] And it's not really, not to spoil, but you know, this is a little thing, but like, it's

[00:37:36] not really that important to the story, but it's just a part of her.

[00:37:39] And it kind of explains a little bit about her daughter.

[00:37:42] You know, there's kind of just stuff in the family going on there.

[00:37:44] So I don't know.

[00:37:45] So stuff like that.

[00:37:46] And then I guess the other thing would be humor.

[00:37:49] Like, so like I said, like I grew up with a very jokey family.

[00:37:53] We've, we have very Simpsons as kind of humor.

[00:37:55] We're always kind of like, you know, giving each other a hard time.

[00:37:58] And it's like very sarcastic and sometimes dark and kind of like insult comicky.

[00:38:03] And like, we, so I wanted to bring that in, but also that is so hard to translate into

[00:38:11] a comic book and also to reach a lot of different kinds of people and also be funny to those

[00:38:18] different kinds of people.

[00:38:19] Like, so I kind of like, I bring in a lot of jokes and a lot of like, you know, characters

[00:38:24] ribbing each other, but I'm also like, you know what?

[00:38:27] I'm going to hide behind this.

[00:38:29] He's just, he's a dad.

[00:38:30] So he's making dad jokes and doesn't really jive with people.

[00:38:34] He's a dad.

[00:38:35] He's making dad jokes, whatever.

[00:38:36] So that's my, that's my big excuse for him.

[00:38:39] You know, they, they kid around a lot and I hope that it comes off if not funny, then at

[00:38:44] least sweet, you know, but that's, that's been a really tough one because, you know,

[00:38:50] you can't make references to too many things because of copyright issues.

[00:38:53] You know, you can't make pop culture references.

[00:38:55] Like it's like a, it's a tricky, the tricky place to walk for sure.

[00:39:03] Yeah.

[00:39:04] I mean, I mean, humor is tough, you know, to begin with.

[00:39:08] Period.

[00:39:09] You know, to write.

[00:39:10] Yeah.

[00:39:11] And, and to do it in a comic, it just depends.

[00:39:14] Like you, you, certain sight gags, maybe you can, you can get away with visually, but

[00:39:20] yeah, you're absolutely right.

[00:39:21] Like so, so many times, like when you look at what's, I mean, what's been popular in

[00:39:28] terms of comedy, let's say the past decade or the past 20 years, um, references like

[00:39:34] a big, you know, a big part of it because we, we know certain things and we can reference

[00:39:40] a certain character or make fun of somebody because they remind us of like somebody else.

[00:39:44] You can't really do any of that.

[00:39:46] And also when you're talking about your, your family and that, you know, getting almost insult

[00:39:54] comic-y like, yeah, I, that's like my family as well.

[00:39:57] I totally get that.

[00:39:58] The problem is sometimes if you've ever had like a, a, a sibling's friend come over who

[00:40:05] have not experienced that, they, they walk away and they're like, your, your family's

[00:40:09] a, they're kind of a bunch of jerks.

[00:40:11] And you're like, oh no, that's right.

[00:40:13] Because if you don't have that context, it can be tough.

[00:40:17] So if you don't, you know, when you're writing something like that, if you're going to do

[00:40:21] that, you, I would think that you would have to kind of like build those relationships at

[00:40:26] the same time.

[00:40:27] You're kind of playing the humor of it.

[00:40:29] I will say there was a dad to two kids myself.

[00:40:32] You do get away with a lot with dad humor.

[00:40:34] So, you know, if that's what you got to go with, that's fine.

[00:40:38] I thought it was great.

[00:40:39] I mean, the first issue, I can't wait to read the rest, but I, I thought instantly I

[00:40:44] got what a good relationship he has with his kid.

[00:40:48] And, um, I mean, he reminded, it also helped that he reminded me a little bit of me where

[00:40:54] I, I think he seemed like the type that relies a little too much.

[00:40:58] And maybe that's because he was a trickster God, unlike me.

[00:41:01] Um, for purposes of the podcast, I have to say that, um, you know, a little too much

[00:41:08] on humor to the part, to the point where like his, his wife, who's already dealing with

[00:41:13] a bunch of things is just exasperated with him.

[00:41:16] And you were able to convey all of that in, you know, what 20, well, like 20 some pages,

[00:41:22] you know, um, I, I thought, I thought it struck the right balance.

[00:41:28] Um, so just, I understand how difficult that is.

[00:41:34] Like that's, you know, totally relatable in terms of trying to do all that.

[00:41:38] But, uh, issue one though, 10 out of 10.

[00:41:41] So, ah, well, thank you.

[00:41:43] Yeah.

[00:41:44] I mean, I think it visually helps when it comes to like the infill comic stuff with each

[00:41:48] other, with the, with the family that they're still smiling as like, they're joking with

[00:41:52] each other and they're like ribbing each other, but they're also like laughing.

[00:41:55] So it's, it's, you can tell that they're, that they're okay with it.

[00:41:58] And it's just like the way they communicate.

[00:42:01] Yeah.

[00:42:02] Um, so I, I guess, um, not to, I, again, don't want to spoil anything, but is there,

[00:42:08] you know, any kind of like, um, any, anything you're excited about, anything you

[00:42:13] can kind of tease for what your, you know, the, the upcoming issues?

[00:42:18] Yeah.

[00:42:19] I mean, you know, get ready for some crazy demons and, uh, you know, he's going to have

[00:42:25] a few more coming up and, uh, they're all really unique.

[00:42:30] And I think that you're going to, you'll, you'll have a few more scenes with like, you

[00:42:35] know, the, with, uh, Jerome and his, and his daughter, like having fun and, um, and you'll

[00:42:41] also have some, some darkness and some, a little bit of peeks into hell and hell's

[00:42:46] whole deal.

[00:42:47] And the guy that's kind of the intermediary between hell and earth.

[00:42:51] Um, and that will be developed a little bit.

[00:42:55] So yeah, I think there's, there's plenty to dig into.

[00:42:57] Um, I mean, uh, Joe and her friend, Toby, you'll just meet them and have, you know,

[00:43:03] have fun with them together.

[00:43:04] Cause they, they're like best friends and, and they both have dads who are demons and not

[00:43:09] a spoiler really cause it's from issue one, but, um, yeah.

[00:43:13] So yeah, there's, there's lots more is about to happen.

[00:43:16] It's, it's just the beginning.

[00:43:17] So yeah, I like the intermediary guy.

[00:43:20] I'm assuming that, uh, that Wade who shows up in issue one, but man, just what a weird

[00:43:27] little guy he is.

[00:43:30] You know, his character design, his face was very loosely based on, uh, the guy who plays

[00:43:37] Igor in young Frankenstein.

[00:43:39] Oh, Marty Feldman.

[00:43:41] Yes.

[00:43:41] Marty Feldman.

[00:43:42] Yes.

[00:43:42] Yeah.

[00:43:43] Yep.

[00:43:43] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:43:44] Yeah.

[00:43:46] Maybe it was his glasses and, but for, and the suit, but he, he gave me a little bit

[00:43:52] of a Burgess Meredith in a time enough at last that twilight zone episode.

[00:43:59] Oh, is that the one where the guy where it's the end of the world and his glasses break?

[00:44:02] He just wants a, yeah.

[00:44:03] He just wants to read and then his glasses break.

[00:44:05] Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't seen a 60 year old TV show, the Burgess Meredith,

[00:44:11] uh, you know, Burgess Meredith of Penguin from the Adam West Batman and, uh, Rocky fame.

[00:44:17] Um, yeah, he gave me a little bit of a, you know, Burgess Meredith clicked in all the

[00:44:22] books before his glasses break.

[00:44:24] But, um, that's funny.

[00:44:25] I think that's fair.

[00:44:27] Oh yeah.

[00:44:27] Marty Feldman.

[00:44:28] Yeah.

[00:44:28] Big, big young Frankenstein fan.

[00:44:30] And, and all, I mean, Marty Feldman was somebody that Mel Brooks worked with.

[00:44:34] Um, gosh, I think he was also in silent movie, which has to be a Mel Brooks film that not

[00:44:42] many people, I feel like not many people my age have even seen.

[00:44:45] Yeah.

[00:44:46] I think it's called silent movie that, that Marty shows up in as well.

[00:44:49] But, um, well, that's great.

[00:44:52] That's, that's fantastic.

[00:44:53] Um, and you're still, while you're doing this and have been doing this, you're still,

[00:44:57] you know, been doing a lot of cover work.

[00:45:01] Um, I, I, I keep seeing, you know, your name pop up on covers and variant covers.

[00:45:07] Do you find it difficult to, to balance that with, with writing the own, you know, writing

[00:45:12] your own series and doing the art for it?

[00:45:15] Yeah.

[00:45:15] I mean, the, uh, the, the working on interiors is so much more arduous to me that I feel

[00:45:21] like a cover is like a break.

[00:45:23] Oh, okay.

[00:45:23] Like I cover cause I, you know, I went to school for illustration.

[00:45:27] So illustration is much more where I went to school for fine art and illustration.

[00:45:31] And so it's kind of like a, I love being able to kind of have a finished drawing.

[00:45:36] I know if that makes any sense, like it's been a, it's been a weird transition trying

[00:45:41] to get into comics and like realize like, okay, these are panels and you don't have to

[00:45:45] have like finished illustrative illustrations for each panel.

[00:45:48] It's not supposed to be super detailed and super rendered and super this it's supposed

[00:45:52] to be, you're supposed to read what's happening.

[00:45:55] Right.

[00:45:55] So it's right.

[00:45:56] You, you just, you just leave what's necessary.

[00:45:58] And so it's nice, you know, to take a break and go back into like what I'm more familiar

[00:46:03] with, with like just doing a full illustration and spending a lot of time on one image.

[00:46:06] And kind of getting it where I wanted to be.

[00:46:09] So it's fun.

[00:46:09] I love getting cover work.

[00:46:11] Awesome.

[00:46:12] Awesome.

[00:46:12] Well, I, um, I am, I'm a huge fan.

[00:46:16] I am so, I mean, I was delighted when I saw that you were going to be, you know, in Baltimore

[00:46:21] two years ago, uh, and, and got to meet you and pick up that print.

[00:46:25] And this has been fantastic that you've, you know, come on the podcast.

[00:46:28] Um, I, yeah, I cannot wait for the rest of living hell.

[00:46:33] I just, it was just delighted reading issue one.

[00:46:39] And, uh, you know, I, I mean, I love comics and listeners are probably sick of me cause I,

[00:46:44] I love a lot of stuff and I, I try to, you know, I, I'm always appreciative when folks

[00:46:49] come on and I, I, you know, I do like a lot of different things, but, um.

[00:46:55] Um, well, I appreciate how much, you know, effort you put into like reading this and,

[00:47:00] and, and like reading into all the details and Easter eggs and like, man, it just makes

[00:47:05] me, honestly, it's like, it made my day just to like know that there are people who are

[00:47:08] like really excited about all the little things that I thought people would miss, but it's,

[00:47:12] it's, it's really nice to hear all that.

[00:47:15] So thank you.

[00:47:15] Yeah.

[00:47:15] Um, I, I really loved it.

[00:47:17] I mean, a hundred percent.

[00:47:19] I, I really, really did.

[00:47:20] I cannot wait.

[00:47:21] I think issue two is out January 8th.

[00:47:25] Yeah.

[00:47:25] There was a little bit of a, of a schedule mixed up on my end.

[00:47:28] So it's, it's skipped a month.

[00:47:30] So it should have been out this month, but it's coming out January 8th and then every month

[00:47:34] after that.

[00:47:34] So there's only four issues, but yeah.

[00:47:36] Awesome.

[00:47:36] Well, um, listeners, I, you know, if you've heard me talk all about, uh, living hell and

[00:47:45] you know, the kind of things I like if you listen to the podcast, because you know, I, like,

[00:47:49] I tell you like all the time.

[00:47:50] Um, but, uh, yeah, this is something.

[00:47:53] And my brother and I watched like every episode of supernatural.

[00:47:57] I'll give a shout out to my brother, Bobby, the cryptic creator corners, number one, most

[00:48:00] dedicated fan.

[00:48:01] Bobby, you know, goes to Baltimore with me every year.

[00:48:04] And, uh, he listens to all my episodes of the podcast and, um, I think he'd really love

[00:48:09] it too.

[00:48:10] So we'll, we'll have to talk about it when he listens to this episode and I'll, I'll

[00:48:13] put, I'll make sure I put, uh, the issues aside for him too, at the comic book shop.

[00:48:17] Cause sometimes he doesn't get to listen to them right when they come out.

[00:48:21] And then that's like a week or two later, did you order this for me?

[00:48:24] And I'm like, yes, I knew you'd want it.

[00:48:25] I ordered it for you.

[00:48:27] Don't worry.

[00:48:28] That's my job.

[00:48:29] Um,

[00:48:29] Got his back.

[00:48:30] Yeah, I got him.

[00:48:31] But Caitlin, this has been phenomenal.

[00:48:33] Um, I just really appreciate coming on.

[00:48:36] Loved living hell.

[00:48:38] And I really hope that this is not your, you know, first and only creator owned series where

[00:48:43] you're doing the writing and the artwork.

[00:48:45] Hell no.

[00:48:46] Hell no.

[00:48:47] This is just the start, man.

[00:48:49] I cannot wait to get into it.

[00:48:50] I cannot wait to, to write more stories.

[00:48:52] This has been so awesome.

[00:48:54] And I honestly, you pump me up cause I'm working on the last two pages of the whole series right

[00:48:58] now.

[00:48:58] I've been like, I'm a slog.

[00:49:00] And so this has been such a pick me up and I really appreciate it.

[00:49:03] Well, I know I, I, I appreciate you.

[00:49:05] I appreciate you coming on, uh, anytime, please.

[00:49:08] Maybe when the whole series is done, you can come back on and we'll do like a, a go through,

[00:49:12] you know, like a, a spoiler intense breakdown before the trade.

[00:49:17] Absolutely.

[00:49:18] I would love it.

[00:49:18] I would love that.

[00:49:19] Yes.

[00:49:20] All right.

[00:49:21] Well, listeners, uh, please, if you pick up living hell, let me know what you think about

[00:49:25] it.

[00:49:26] Uh, you can find me on blue sky or, or, or tick tock until it's a band.

[00:49:31] Um, but womp womp.

[00:49:37] I am honestly really bummed about that.

[00:49:39] My, my wife is too.

[00:49:42] Um, but, uh, yeah, I thank you so much for listening.

[00:49:46] I, I appreciate you.

[00:49:47] And, um, uh, I will see you next time.

[00:49:51] Good night.

[00:49:52] Thanks so much, Simi.

[00:49:54] This is Byron O'Neill, one of your hosts of the Cryptid Creator Corner brought to you

[00:49:58] by Comic Book Yeti.

[00:49:59] We hope you've enjoyed this episode of our podcast.

[00:50:03] Please rate, review, subscribe, all that good stuff.

[00:50:07] It lets us know how we're doing and more importantly, how we can improve.

[00:50:11] Thanks for listening.

[00:50:13] If you enjoyed this episode of the Cryptid Creator Corner, maybe you would enjoy our sister

[00:50:18] podcast, Into the Comics Cave.

[00:50:21] Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.