Chris Condon Interview - Green Arrow

[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. 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.

[00:01:53] 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 can start playing.

[00:02:35] 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? 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.

[00:02:52] 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.

[00:03:25] 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.

[00:03:33] I am one of your hosts, Jimmy Gasparo, and we have a returning guest today.

[00:03:37] I believe this is his third time on the podcast, which is very exciting.

[00:03:43] You will probably know his work from That Texas Blood or the Enfield Gang Massacre.

[00:03:50] He was on recently due to the EC Comics revival with Epitaphs of the Abyss and Cruel Universe.

[00:04:02] And now we're here talking about Green Arrow, the new writer of Green Arrow, part of DC's All In initiative.

[00:04:12] He has a story that started on issues in issue 17 with Montos handling the art.

[00:04:19] But please, welcome to the podcast, Chris Condon.

[00:04:22] Chris, how are you doing?

[00:04:24] I'm well.

[00:04:25] That was a great introduction.

[00:04:26] Thank you very much.

[00:04:27] Oh, no.

[00:04:28] Well, thank you.

[00:04:30] Yeah.

[00:04:30] So I get excited when folks come on anyway.

[00:04:35] I'm always excited when anybody wants to come on and talk comics and talk about the podcast.

[00:04:41] But because we're, you know, comic book yeti and we mainly focus on indie comics and, you know,

[00:04:49] there's still so much talk on social media and in the industry about how do you like break into comics?

[00:04:55] How do you how do you do it?

[00:04:57] And I get even like more excited when there's someone that I've talked to because of their indie book or their image book or just something that's not the big two.

[00:05:06] And then, you know, now Green Arrow.

[00:05:11] I'm just like, I feel like I don't know what it is.

[00:05:13] It's just like I talked to that guy.

[00:05:16] He's a great writer.

[00:05:17] I love his stuff.

[00:05:17] And now, you know, it's awesome.

[00:05:20] So congratulations on being the new writer taking over where I guess we're kind of where Josh Williamson left off on Green Arrow.

[00:05:31] Is it is it a surreal experience for you?

[00:05:35] Is it a lot of like pressure?

[00:05:38] Are you able to enjoy the fact that you're now writing Green Arrow or are you will you enjoy it?

[00:05:43] You know, once once you're past it.

[00:05:47] I think I'll probably enjoy it more when I'm past it.

[00:05:50] But I mean, the initial email that I got was that that was kind of an amazing moment for me because I mean, you know, I had done a couple of things for DC and Marvel previously.

[00:06:04] Jake and I did a Harley Quinn story and I'm a big Batman fan.

[00:06:08] So it was kind of fun to, you know, right within the realm of Batman.

[00:06:13] So, you know, that was fun.

[00:06:15] I got to, you know, write Joker and Jacob Phillips got to draw Joker and that, you know, that was kind of a fun thing.

[00:06:23] But this was, you know, came out of nowhere, which is the first thing.

[00:06:26] And then the second thing is that it just it was it blew my mind because it was Green Arrow and I love Green Arrow.

[00:06:30] So it was like it was kind of a.

[00:06:34] Wow, how did this happen?

[00:06:35] Kind of moment.

[00:06:37] Like I literally just I was in Ithaca for Ithacan, which is a small convention at Ithaca College.

[00:06:46] And it's run by the students.

[00:06:47] So it's very small, but it's really cool to Walt Simonson, Roger Stern.

[00:06:54] It was like all these like classic creators and then me like I was the only guy there that had was like had new books out.

[00:07:01] Oh, and and that was like really exciting.

[00:07:05] I went back to my hotel room.

[00:07:07] I got an email from a guy named Chris Rosa.

[00:07:11] And he it was, you know, the email from DC Comics and I clicked on the email and it just said, like, are you interested in doing more work with DC Comics?

[00:07:22] I said, wow.

[00:07:24] Yeah, I'm interested in doing more work with DC Comics.

[00:07:27] And then he goes, do you have any interest in Green Arrow?

[00:07:31] And I was like, I love Ollie.

[00:07:32] And that was my first.

[00:07:34] That was my response.

[00:07:34] And I'm thinking I'm going to get like a short and like a holiday anthology or something like that.

[00:07:40] And then he says, Joshua Williamson is leaving and we're looking for a new writer to take over duties.

[00:07:46] And I was like, whoa.

[00:07:49] And so I went for this long walk outside.

[00:07:51] I just I was like, I need to get out and get some fresh air because I just kind of can't believe this because, you know, this is a big deal.

[00:08:00] You know, I mean, this, you know, I have three volumes of that Texas blood, the intro game massacre and a bunch of other stuff that I've done.

[00:08:06] But I'd never done anything like this.

[00:08:08] And I kind of set up this year for myself creatively where I'd sort of be a gun for hire.

[00:08:16] I knew Jake and I weren't going to be doing anything Texas blood related.

[00:08:20] So I kind of set myself up in the way where I wanted to be taking on a lot of work and be, you know, stretching what I can do creatively and show that I'm, you know, not just a one trick pony.

[00:08:32] I can do X, Y or Z as well.

[00:08:34] And so that was kind of the idea behind this year for me, at least in terms of what I had hoped for.

[00:08:40] And I didn't plan on getting an ongoing DC.

[00:08:44] But yeah, that happened.

[00:08:46] And then, you know, not that long after that, Ultimate Wolverine also happened.

[00:08:50] Yeah.

[00:08:50] Which was the same way.

[00:08:52] I just got an email from Will Moss saying, like, can you hop on the phone?

[00:08:55] And I'm like, I know he does Thor.

[00:08:58] I know he does Avengers and I know he does Ultimates.

[00:08:59] And I was like, he's probably going to offer me like Ultimate Daredevil.

[00:09:02] That was like my immediate thought.

[00:09:04] That's like, you know, no R-ish kind of thing.

[00:09:07] And he was like Wolverine.

[00:09:08] And that was another one that I'm like, oh, my God.

[00:09:11] Like I literally right here next to me, I actually had him in the arms of Thawman Grundy.

[00:09:16] But I have my Wolverine toy from my youth.

[00:09:20] Oh, that's awesome.

[00:09:20] And so it was just funny that it's like, you know, doing this stuff is kind of just came out of nowhere.

[00:09:30] I, you know, I know a lot of people will reach out to editors and will be trying to get this work.

[00:09:35] And I just sort of, yeah, I stumbled into it, which I guess if you're asking like that, you know, that question that you asked at the beginning of this where it's, you know, how do you break in?

[00:09:46] And for me, it was my indie work spoke for me and proved that I could write and how I write and like prove that I have integrity and that I could, you know, create characters and worlds and all that.

[00:10:02] Yeah. And that kind of led into this work.

[00:10:04] It wasn't that, you know, it wasn't that I was seeking the work and then, you know, had to prove myself some other way.

[00:10:10] It's just, you know, I proved myself because I just kept doing what I wanted to do and doing in my own way.

[00:10:16] And it's actually worked out really well for me in that way where I am in Green Arrow and in Ultimate Wolverine able to do what I want to do.

[00:10:26] I'm really allowed to play, which is unique.

[00:10:29] I know that there's obviously stories out there, people, you know, coming up against editorial and all that.

[00:10:35] And I certainly had a little bit of that here and there, but nothing like this.

[00:10:40] This is I'm very much allowed to do interesting things, I think.

[00:10:45] You know, I'm finishing up a Ultimate Wolverine script for tomorrow.

[00:10:50] Yeah. And I'm pushing, you know, the extreme to the extremes of what I think a Marvel comic can be.

[00:10:59] It's quite weird for a Marvel comic. So that's why I was like, well, let's see if they'll go for it.

[00:11:05] So, but it's it's fun to be able to do that kind of stuff.

[00:11:08] And yeah, it's just it was pretty wild.

[00:11:11] That's awesome. Yeah, I.

[00:11:14] I didn't mention when I spoke so focused on the DC stuff, but I want to talk about and Ultimate Wolverine to the extent, you know, you can.

[00:11:23] I don't you know, obviously I'm sure there's things you can't talk about and spoil yet.

[00:11:27] I don't think that launches until January.

[00:11:30] January.

[00:11:31] But yeah, I want to I want to touch on that as well.

[00:11:34] First off, I want to say you and Jacob were both on the podcast and we were talking about that Texas blood.

[00:11:43] I think that was before even the Enfield gang massacre was a thing.

[00:11:49] And I mean, I'm a huge fan of that Texas blood.

[00:11:51] I was a little bit late to it, but I'm all caught up.

[00:11:55] I read all the issues recently.

[00:11:57] I think you saw I put on Blue Sky that I which I've migrated to like a lot of other comic creators.

[00:12:04] I reread just, you know, the Enfield gang massacre just, you know, before we were going to talk today, just because I love it.

[00:12:14] The thing I love, I mean, I love the whole.

[00:12:18] World that you and Jacob have created.

[00:12:20] One of the things I really loved about.

[00:12:24] The Enfield gang massacre is it very much.

[00:12:29] It still feels very character driven, which I think, you know, the characters you've created in that Texas blood are phenomenal.

[00:12:38] Growing up, my grandfather always watched Westerns.

[00:12:41] I might even mention this the last time we did the podcast.

[00:12:44] And like the Enfield gang massacre just really reminded me of like coming in from outside on a Saturday afternoon and just sitting down with my grandfather and watching a Western that I didn't know the name of it.

[00:12:57] I didn't know any of the people in it, but would totally get lost into it.

[00:13:01] And that's what the Enfield gang massacre really felt like.

[00:13:05] So I loved it.

[00:13:06] I just wanted to mention that.

[00:13:09] But yeah, with the with the Green Arrow, with with with Ultimate Wolverine.

[00:13:18] Do you have to like do you when you first get into it, are you like, all right, why no Green Arrow from either the comics or the cartoon or the TV show?

[00:13:28] Like what is the amount of like, I guess, research for so you're not retreading the same old ground that you have to do?

[00:13:37] Or is that more of what like editorial kind of handles?

[00:13:41] Yeah, I mean, there was no real mandate from editorial.

[00:13:44] The one thing that they said was they wanted to go street level.

[00:13:47] In fact, what they had mentioned was it's almost sacrilegious, I feel like.

[00:13:51] But they were like, we want to go more like Daredevil was their comment.

[00:13:55] And I kind of understood what that meant, which was let's go street level.

[00:14:00] Right.

[00:14:01] You know, a little bit grittier, a little bit more street level.

[00:14:04] So I was like, OK, got it.

[00:14:06] Because, you know, I for me, I was already a Green Arrow fan.

[00:14:11] And I really only I never watched the television show Arrow.

[00:14:17] I know that was on for years, but I never watched it.

[00:14:20] I'm not one.

[00:14:21] I'm not a big TV guy.

[00:14:23] I watch a lot of movies, but not TV.

[00:14:25] I don't know why that is.

[00:14:27] I think it's perhaps because it's like a one and done thing.

[00:14:30] Like, I'm just like, I'm not, you know, beholden to.

[00:14:33] And also, I'm not a big binge watcher.

[00:14:36] I don't really like to sit for, you know, 36 hours and watch one thing.

[00:14:40] I really like to, you know, explore a character and then like get into a different.

[00:14:45] I like that sort of stuff.

[00:14:46] But anyway, with Green Arrow, I was sent the Josh Williamson issues.

[00:14:54] But knowing that they wanted to go street level and knowing where he was at the, you know, at the end of the arc, the Williamson arc, he would be, you know, essentially betraying everybody that he knows and loves.

[00:15:10] Yeah.

[00:15:12] Yeah.

[00:15:12] So it's how do you go from there?

[00:15:15] Yeah.

[00:15:15] Um, and so I, you know, talking about street level for me, that is.

[00:15:23] Basically, the idea would be going back to basics for Green Arrow, because of the Green Arrow that I know and love was the Denny O'Neill, Neil Adams, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, that series.

[00:15:35] Hard, hard traveling heroes, right?

[00:15:37] Hard traveling heroes.

[00:15:38] Yeah.

[00:15:39] I love that.

[00:15:40] Which that was one of, you know, it was a formative comic for me.

[00:15:44] I read it in high school.

[00:15:45] It was very important for me.

[00:15:48] And, you know, I also really enjoyed the Mike Grell, Green Arrow.

[00:15:54] And in particular, I also really liked the four issue miniseries from 1983 that Mike Barr and Trevor Von Eden did.

[00:16:02] But there was, you know, I, you know, enjoyed other stuff, too.

[00:16:05] But that sort of was like, I'm like, OK, that's going to be my Bible.

[00:16:08] That right there is going to be the Bible.

[00:16:12] And knowing that, you know, that's the kind of style that sort of more crime based street level social issues were going to be important.

[00:16:27] I kind of knew exactly where I wanted to go from there.

[00:16:30] OK.

[00:16:31] So it wasn't mandated by DC, but it sort of it all clicked into place based on that one note from them that they wanted to go street level, you know, because I mean, if I was going to be following what Josh Williams is doing or was doing, I would be, you know, doing something a little differently than what we're doing, which is, you know.

[00:16:55] I just did an interview where I sort of described how he is now as being on an island again.

[00:17:02] And I think that that's kind of symbolizes how I'm thinking about it, is that he did the things that he did and he's got a, you know, backtracking sort of like, you know, find himself again.

[00:17:15] And that's what this, you know, arc is doing.

[00:17:19] Oh, nice.

[00:17:20] Yeah.

[00:17:21] For listeners who don't know, I mean, I don't want to spoil too much of it if they want to go back and check it out.

[00:17:26] But, you know, the events of absolute power and what basically just to kind of I haven't read all of it.

[00:17:35] But from what I have read, you know, Ali does some some terrible things.

[00:17:40] You mentioned betraying folks in order to he sides with Amanda Waller.

[00:17:45] And, you know, it's like a whole thing.

[00:17:48] But, yeah, he kind of ends up in a very, you know, being on an island, maybe emotionally and spiritually, if not necessarily physically.

[00:18:02] But I really like the I mean, it's what it's an eight page kind of backup in Green Arrow 17 that starts off your arc.

[00:18:13] I really liked it.

[00:18:15] There's another very popular DC character that you got to write that makes a cameo, which I just I just love that that dynamic.

[00:18:24] I did watch some of the TV show.

[00:18:26] I watched a couple of seasons of Arrow, you know, throughout the years.

[00:18:31] And there was quite a number of things I did like about it.

[00:18:37] One of the things I felt was always missing sometimes was the Ali sense of humor.

[00:18:46] Stephen Amell, who played the character, is great.

[00:18:48] But I just feel like in terms of the writing at times, they didn't.

[00:18:53] He was a very serious character, which Ali is.

[00:18:56] But I always like those moments where they, you know, I feel like Ali did have a sense of humor.

[00:19:04] Yeah, I think it's important.

[00:19:06] Yeah.

[00:19:07] What's I like?

[00:19:08] Good.

[00:19:09] I'm glad.

[00:19:10] I'm glad you look great.

[00:19:12] Yeah, no.

[00:19:13] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:19:14] I 100 percent agree.

[00:19:15] And that's what, you know, started trying to put that in there right from the get go.

[00:19:20] Yeah.

[00:19:20] And I'm not going to, you know, I'm not going to skirt around the issue here.

[00:19:26] We this is a pretty we deal with some pretty serious issues in our story arc and we get pretty dark.

[00:19:34] But no matter what, I mean, even if he's dealing with dark things, that sense of humor will remain.

[00:19:38] Because I think that it's important.

[00:19:39] I think it's an important part of him.

[00:19:41] And I think that's, you know, at the end of the day, that's something that for all of us,

[00:19:44] I think that's something that makes us all human is the ability to laugh in the darkness.

[00:19:50] Oh, yeah, I agree.

[00:19:52] Absolutely.

[00:19:54] But other than that, that sense of humor, you know, you mentioned the Denny O'Neill and

[00:20:00] Neil Adams are car traveling heroes.

[00:20:02] And I mean, you know, the Mike Grell, Von Eden and Mike Barr.

[00:20:09] Is it Von Eden?

[00:20:11] Am I saying that right?

[00:20:14] Yeah, I think so.

[00:20:16] It's weird because you only ever see it, you know, in print.

[00:20:19] I've never heard anybody say that.

[00:20:20] I always just say Von Eden.

[00:20:22] Yeah.

[00:20:24] You know, there's some variations in terms of the story they're telling, of course, but also

[00:20:30] like the characterization of Ali.

[00:20:32] What do you think are the kind of the core components of Ali that you really want to focus

[00:20:38] on?

[00:20:38] Because you're so good at writing characters.

[00:20:42] I'm just curious, like what what do you really want to drive home or is going to be the driving

[00:20:47] force of your version of Oliver Queen?

[00:20:52] Yeah, I mean, I think one of the you know, the humor is obviously there.

[00:20:55] I think that the other thing is that's very important to me is his his leftist politics.

[00:21:02] I think that's something that's like really core to him.

[00:21:06] And it's something that I've, you know, not to, you know, denigrate Joshua Williamson's

[00:21:12] run, which was fantastic.

[00:21:13] But I, you know, felt like the sort of the leftist politics and, you know, that side of

[00:21:17] Ali was kind of put to the side a little bit in favor of making more of a team book with

[00:21:22] the family.

[00:21:23] Yeah.

[00:21:24] And in, you know, again, going for a solo adventure and kind of putting him off on his

[00:21:31] own.

[00:21:32] Um, I wanted to kind of get back to that core essence of that character.

[00:21:37] And especially, you know, in our day and age, um, where politics kind of permeate everything.

[00:21:43] Um, I kind of thought it was an important thing to include, uh, and to, um, dissect.

[00:21:52] So that that's one of the things that I wanted to bring back to the character.

[00:21:57] Um, and yeah, I, I just, I think that he's got, uh, uh, his own moral compass, uh, based

[00:22:04] on his, those leftist beliefs.

[00:22:09] And, and, but he is, he is a humanist at the end of the day.

[00:22:13] Um, but I think that his sense of, uh, morals of right and wrong of justice is a little different

[00:22:21] than somebody like say Batman or Superman.

[00:22:24] Um, he's got a little bit more of a gray view on things.

[00:22:29] And I think that's something that's really important.

[00:22:31] Um, and something that I'm striving to, to get into the character.

[00:22:35] Um, so.

[00:22:38] With it being street level.

[00:22:40] I wish I could tell you more about the story.

[00:22:43] I know.

[00:22:44] Cause there's, there's things that are, you know, there's some stuff at play, um, regarding

[00:22:49] that that I would love to talk about.

[00:22:51] I guess I'll have to come back when the arc is over.

[00:22:53] Yeah.

[00:22:53] Unless everybody hates it.

[00:22:54] Then.

[00:22:55] No, we can do a, uh, yeah, we'll, we'll, we'll do a green arrow recap.

[00:22:59] I'm, I'm down for it.

[00:23:00] Um.

[00:23:01] Yeah.

[00:23:01] We'll do it.

[00:23:01] We'll do a post-mortem.

[00:23:03] Yeah.

[00:23:04] All right.

[00:23:05] Let's take a quick break.

[00:23:06] I love comic books.

[00:23:07] Hey, children of the algorithm.

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[00:23:17] Dan has been a comic book yeti contributor since before I was around and the show delves

[00:23:21] deep into comics history, analyzing it from the wider cultural landscape at the time.

[00:23:26] I learned a lot just listening in and they are keeping it fresh too with Sienna reporting

[00:23:30] in about the current Marvel offerings.

[00:23:32] I love seeing the next generation excited about comics and it's cool to see a family participating

[00:23:37] in comics journalism together.

[00:23:39] This season, they are focused on the history of everyone's favorite Hell's Kitchen vigilante

[00:23:43] daredevil.

[00:23:44] It's a fantastic show that you're going to want to add to your rotation.

[00:23:48] You can find them at Comics Over Time on your favorite podcasting platform or at their

[00:23:52] website, comicsovertime.podbean.com.

[00:23:55] I'll drop a link in the show notes to make it easy for you.

[00:23:58] He's a daredevil, Ned.

[00:24:00] After a string of unexplained disappearances in the southern parts of the United States,

[00:24:12] retired Detective Clint searches for his white trash brother.

[00:24:16] While searching for him, he ends up being abducted by aliens.

[00:24:20] He is now in the arena for Big Gun's Stupid Rednecks, an intergalactic cable's newest hit

[00:24:26] show, which puts him and other humans in laser gun gladiatorial combat.

[00:24:30] And his brother is the reigning champion with 27 kills.

[00:24:35] That's the premise for a new book from Band of Barnes, Big Gun's Stupid Rednecks.

[00:24:40] I got a chance to see an advanced preview of this book, and being from the south, honestly,

[00:24:44] I was a bit skeptical going in.

[00:24:46] But they won me over, and nothing is more powerful than an initially skeptic convert in

[00:24:51] my book.

[00:24:51] In Jimmy's words, Big Gun's Stupid Rednecks is many things, but it isn't subtle.

[00:24:56] It tells you exactly what it is up front, then it delivers with a great premise, fantastic

[00:25:00] art, and a whole mess of fun.

[00:25:02] I had a great time reading Big Gun's Stupid Rednecks, and what I thought was going to be an indictment

[00:25:07] of redneck culture quickly showed it was actually a love letter.

[00:25:10] A family mystery, brother pitted against brother, aliens, fighting for profit in a big arena,

[00:25:16] this truly has it all.

[00:25:17] Issue one is out already, but you can still pick up a copy on the Band of Bards website,

[00:25:21] and current issues are available via your previews or lunar order form, or just ask your LCS.

[00:25:27] Don't miss it.

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

[00:25:29] But with Ollie being street level, you know, is he kind of confined to Star City then?

[00:25:36] And are we going to see, in terms of the villain, is this a...

[00:25:40] I don't know if you can say, is it like a villain we've seen before?

[00:25:44] Have you and Montos kind of gotten to create your own for this story?

[00:25:50] Yeah, so...

[00:25:52] He is confined to Star City again.

[00:25:55] He is...

[00:25:56] This is all just...

[00:25:58] It's really about...

[00:26:01] You know, there's the potential that we're going to be doing more.

[00:26:05] Um...

[00:26:06] But right now, in this just this one storyline, what we're doing, um...

[00:26:10] His community is what's important.

[00:26:13] Nice.

[00:26:13] And so that's what we're diving into, is Star City, his community, um...

[00:26:20] And how corporations and his role in corporations has affected his community.

[00:26:27] And, um...

[00:26:28] In terms of the villain, yeah, this is a completely new villain.

[00:26:34] Um...

[00:26:34] It's something that I'm very excited to have people read.

[00:26:39] Because I think that it's going to...

[00:26:40] I think it's going to surprise people.

[00:26:44] I think it should be exciting.

[00:26:46] Um...

[00:26:47] Especially fans of that Texas blood.

[00:26:49] I think that they're going to really enjoy it.

[00:26:50] Because it's...

[00:26:51] It's...

[00:26:52] I don't think it's something that you typically see.

[00:26:54] Especially in a villain.

[00:26:56] Um...

[00:26:57] But yeah, it's just, uh...

[00:26:59] We're getting to do something new and unique and different.

[00:27:03] And, uh...

[00:27:04] Yeah.

[00:27:05] Um...

[00:27:05] I'm excited to try to do something, uh...

[00:27:07] Like that.

[00:27:08] But, you know, I...

[00:27:09] I know that a lot of people will kind of...

[00:27:11] I did one of those Reddit AMAs.

[00:27:13] I was going to ask you about that.

[00:27:15] I...

[00:27:15] Yeah, I...

[00:27:16] I saw that and I was looking through some of the...

[00:27:18] Some of the questions and answers.

[00:27:20] Um...

[00:27:20] But yeah, it was...

[00:27:21] That was fun.

[00:27:22] Right?

[00:27:22] Did you have a good time?

[00:27:23] It was fun.

[00:27:24] Yeah, I mean, I was a little terrified.

[00:27:26] Because I was like,

[00:27:26] Was somebody going to, like, throw some technology at me?

[00:27:28] I'm going to be like, I don't know.

[00:27:30] Well...

[00:27:31] Um...

[00:27:31] Yeah.

[00:27:32] Uh...

[00:27:32] But yeah, like one of the questions...

[00:27:35] A lot of people were like,

[00:27:36] Well, we really don't think that his roast gallery has been,

[00:27:39] you know, treated fairly.

[00:27:40] Or that he doesn't have the most interesting roast gallery.

[00:27:43] And, you know, I do like his roast gallery.

[00:27:45] But...

[00:27:47] Um...

[00:27:47] In doing this storyline,

[00:27:49] it didn't...

[00:27:49] A...

[00:27:50] When you're offered a gig like this,

[00:27:54] Where, you know, somebody comes to you and says,

[00:27:56] Hey, would you like to write Green Arrow?

[00:27:59] Um...

[00:27:59] You have to come up with a storyline.

[00:28:02] Right?

[00:28:02] And so...

[00:28:03] What I went back to was something...

[00:28:06] I had another idea for...

[00:28:07] Um...

[00:28:08] It was actually going to be a non-fiction graphic novel

[00:28:10] that I was going to try to do.

[00:28:13] Um...

[00:28:13] Which is something unique that I hadn't done before.

[00:28:16] Um...

[00:28:16] Which is one of the things I always try to do.

[00:28:18] I try to do different things creatively.

[00:28:21] Just to push myself.

[00:28:22] Like, Night People was one of those things.

[00:28:26] Um...

[00:28:26] But, uh...

[00:28:27] You know, I was going to do this non-fiction graphic novel

[00:28:29] about Love Canal.

[00:28:32] Um...

[00:28:32] And so that was this...

[00:28:35] That idea sort of was like in my head of, you know,

[00:28:38] a community that was, um...

[00:28:41] Affected by corporate greed.

[00:28:44] Um...

[00:28:44] Corporate malfeasance.

[00:28:46] And so that was sort of the idea.

[00:28:47] And so...

[00:28:48] It didn't really fit to do it with one of his...

[00:28:51] Established villains.

[00:28:54] Um...

[00:28:54] And so...

[00:28:55] We had to create a new one.

[00:28:56] I mean, you could try to fit a...

[00:28:59] You know...

[00:29:00] A villain in there.

[00:29:01] But it just...

[00:29:02] Right.

[00:29:02] It would feel like you're shoehorning something in.

[00:29:04] I felt like it should be a new villain

[00:29:06] to make it unique.

[00:29:07] Oh, wow.

[00:29:08] And then especially doing...

[00:29:09] Going, you know, like I said, with street level.

[00:29:12] You kind of want to...

[00:29:14] You know...

[00:29:15] I really wanted to get down into the dirt with him

[00:29:18] and establish something new and different.

[00:29:22] So...

[00:29:23] Well, I can't wait.

[00:29:24] I love the preview pages.

[00:29:25] I mean...

[00:29:26] Montos' work.

[00:29:27] Adriana Lucas.

[00:29:28] They look great.

[00:29:29] Love the colors in it.

[00:29:30] For listeners who don't know

[00:29:32] or aren't sure what Chris just said

[00:29:33] in terms of a non-fiction book about Love Canal.

[00:29:36] I mean, that's...

[00:29:37] That was like a neighborhood in New York

[00:29:39] that was...

[00:29:42] Years of pollution.

[00:29:43] I mean, it was a super fun site, right?

[00:29:45] It ended up being cleaned up.

[00:29:47] It had been super fun.

[00:29:48] But, like, it killed residents.

[00:29:50] It was, like, one of the worst...

[00:29:52] man-made disaster...

[00:29:54] environmental disasters in, like, U.S. history.

[00:29:58] Yep.

[00:29:58] So, listeners, if you're, you know,

[00:30:01] too young to know what that is,

[00:30:03] Google it and have nightmares.

[00:30:05] Because it is...

[00:30:08] Yeah.

[00:30:09] So...

[00:30:09] I mean, I still hope I get to do that

[00:30:11] the non-fiction novel at some point.

[00:30:13] I'd read it.

[00:30:14] I mean...

[00:30:15] But...

[00:30:17] It's just that idea of doing that

[00:30:20] as a story,

[00:30:21] of bringing that to comics,

[00:30:22] sort of...

[00:30:23] Once you're given the opportunity

[00:30:25] to have a mass audience

[00:30:27] in Green Arrow,

[00:30:29] kind of made sense to me

[00:30:29] to take some elements of that story

[00:30:33] and bring it into him.

[00:30:34] Because, again, he is that...

[00:30:35] He's a character that you can do that with.

[00:30:38] Where environmental issues

[00:30:40] would be important to him

[00:30:41] as a character.

[00:30:43] You know, it's...

[00:30:45] It's part of what his core beliefs would be.

[00:30:49] Right.

[00:30:49] So, it made sense to go that route with him.

[00:30:53] Yeah.

[00:30:53] Well, I mean, like...

[00:30:54] You know, one of the...

[00:30:56] You can definitely read, you know,

[00:30:58] hard-traveling heroes as...

[00:31:01] Essentially,

[00:31:03] Ollie taking Hal around

[00:31:04] and showing him, like...

[00:31:06] You got...

[00:31:06] You can do all these things in the universe,

[00:31:08] but, like...

[00:31:09] How much change can you actually affect

[00:31:12] for, like...

[00:31:13] Everyday, like, people?

[00:31:15] Like, what are you really doing?

[00:31:17] There's somewhat of a cynical,

[00:31:18] you know, view of that.

[00:31:20] I don't know if that really was the intention,

[00:31:22] but there are moments of it where...

[00:31:25] It's heartbreaking.

[00:31:27] It's difficult.

[00:31:27] I do.

[00:31:29] And I think that that's something

[00:31:30] that we're bringing into what we're doing,

[00:31:33] which is...

[00:31:34] I think that, you know,

[00:31:35] at some point,

[00:31:37] it does feel a little bleak

[00:31:39] when you're looking at things

[00:31:41] and trying to, you know,

[00:31:42] hack when he fixed certain things.

[00:31:46] But, yeah, I think that that's...

[00:31:48] Again, that's part of his character.

[00:31:49] I mean, he's...

[00:31:50] You know...

[00:31:51] Speedy was a heroin addict during that,

[00:31:53] you know...

[00:31:54] Yeah, during that run, yeah.

[00:31:55] Sure.

[00:31:56] You know, they really pushed the boundaries of things,

[00:31:58] and so that was kind of...

[00:32:00] You know, knowing that that's where I wanted to go with it.

[00:32:03] I mean, I know that it's, you know,

[00:32:05] 50 years old now,

[00:32:07] but I do think that there's something fresh

[00:32:09] about the idea of going that route

[00:32:11] with Green Arrow as a superhero.

[00:32:14] And I think that's a core part of him,

[00:32:16] and I know that that's something that,

[00:32:18] you know, even if you're reading something like,

[00:32:19] you know, Kevin Smith's Quiver,

[00:32:22] which is very superhero-y,

[00:32:26] you know,

[00:32:27] very, you know, wild,

[00:32:29] and, you know,

[00:32:31] essentially, like, he's brought back to life.

[00:32:33] Like, it's this wild sort of metaphysical...

[00:32:37] Is Quiver the one they introduce onomatopoeia?

[00:32:40] Or is that a different arc?

[00:32:41] Oh, okay.

[00:32:42] Yeah.

[00:32:43] And I mean, I'd love to do something

[00:32:45] with onomatopoeia at some point,

[00:32:46] but, you know,

[00:32:47] it's like you can't do something

[00:32:48] that's based around Love Canal

[00:32:50] and do onomatopoeia.

[00:32:52] That's too much.

[00:32:53] It's too far, Chris.

[00:32:55] But, you know,

[00:32:56] it's just, you know,

[00:32:58] I do think that there's something that's,

[00:33:00] you know,

[00:33:01] it's been a key part of the character ever since.

[00:33:03] I mean, I think that the way

[00:33:04] that Danny O'Neill wrote the character

[00:33:05] and the way that Neil Adams illustrated the character

[00:33:07] has just permeated the character since.

[00:33:11] I really, truly believe that.

[00:33:13] I mean, that's, you know,

[00:33:13] nobody's really touched that Neil Adams beard.

[00:33:19] You know, they might change the outfit,

[00:33:21] but nobody's touched the beard.

[00:33:23] Although we have established a new thing,

[00:33:26] which is in those,

[00:33:27] the eight page story,

[00:33:30] which was just, you know,

[00:33:31] I thought he has,

[00:33:33] he always has this scarf around his throat.

[00:33:37] What if he just pulls it up over his face?

[00:33:39] So people are automatically like,

[00:33:41] oh, you're obviously Oliver Queen.

[00:33:44] So that was something that we added as well,

[00:33:47] which the idea sort of was when,

[00:33:49] you know, the editor,

[00:33:50] I didn't know we were going to get the chance

[00:33:52] to redesign the costume or anything.

[00:33:57] And Chris emailed me and was like,

[00:34:00] let's come up with a new costume.

[00:34:01] And I was like, okay,

[00:34:04] let's do it.

[00:34:05] And so my thought was,

[00:34:07] you know,

[00:34:07] I obviously love the Mike Grell design.

[00:34:10] So the hood was a no brainer.

[00:34:12] Um,

[00:34:13] but also I really loved the,

[00:34:15] um,

[00:34:16] the idea of,

[00:34:17] you know,

[00:34:17] again,

[00:34:18] going street level.

[00:34:19] So the idea was what if he's sort of more like,

[00:34:21] you know,

[00:34:22] we take all the armor stuff away from him,

[00:34:25] um,

[00:34:26] which people try to do sometimes they try to,

[00:34:28] you know,

[00:34:29] armor them up.

[00:34:29] And again,

[00:34:30] you know,

[00:34:30] it makes sense to a certain extent,

[00:34:32] but to me,

[00:34:33] I was like,

[00:34:34] well,

[00:34:34] I feel like he'd want to be sleek.

[00:34:37] He'd want to be able to move fast.

[00:34:40] And you know,

[00:34:40] how would he do that?

[00:34:41] He'd probably dress like a cat burglar.

[00:34:43] So that was kind of the idea was to approach it.

[00:34:45] Like he's almost like a cat.

[00:34:47] So that was the idea behind the redesign.

[00:34:49] Oh,

[00:34:49] nice.

[00:34:50] I mean,

[00:34:50] I love that.

[00:34:51] It's like the,

[00:34:52] I have it here.

[00:34:53] I'm looking,

[00:34:53] I keep opening the book to look at it,

[00:34:55] but that,

[00:34:56] um,

[00:34:59] I mean the,

[00:35:00] the,

[00:35:00] the,

[00:35:01] the second to last page,

[00:35:02] um,

[00:35:03] you know,

[00:35:04] there's a couple of the panels and the big panel kind of opens up with the

[00:35:07] storm and lightning and Holly.

[00:35:10] I mean,

[00:35:10] it looks great.

[00:35:11] Montez just,

[00:35:11] and Adriana Lucas just did a fantastic job in terms of the look of that.

[00:35:15] It just looks,

[00:35:16] it looks awesome.

[00:35:17] I love the idea of him,

[00:35:19] you know,

[00:35:20] especially coming off that,

[00:35:21] the,

[00:35:21] the Josh Williamson arc,

[00:35:24] um,

[00:35:26] you know,

[00:35:26] to go to,

[00:35:27] um,

[00:35:29] the street level.

[00:35:30] I mean,

[00:35:30] I think it's a smart idea.

[00:35:32] And,

[00:35:32] um,

[00:35:33] I mean,

[00:35:33] just knowing your work,

[00:35:35] like you said earlier,

[00:35:36] uh,

[00:35:37] being,

[00:35:38] you know,

[00:35:38] having already proven that you can write,

[00:35:41] which is,

[00:35:41] is helpful.

[00:35:42] But with that Texas blood,

[00:35:43] I,

[00:35:44] I mean,

[00:35:44] I,

[00:35:44] I think I'm excited to see,

[00:35:47] well,

[00:35:48] where this,

[00:35:48] uh,

[00:35:49] where this arc goes for green arrow.

[00:35:52] Well,

[00:35:52] thanks.

[00:35:53] I mean,

[00:35:53] it's,

[00:35:53] it is exciting.

[00:35:54] Um,

[00:35:55] it's different.

[00:35:55] I,

[00:35:56] it's weird that it's like,

[00:35:57] you know,

[00:35:58] I've,

[00:35:58] I've always had,

[00:36:00] you know,

[00:36:01] I think interesting stories to tell,

[00:36:03] but it's,

[00:36:04] it's unique to be in this circumstance where I can't really talk about things,

[00:36:08] um,

[00:36:09] you know,

[00:36:09] that are happening down the road because it's like,

[00:36:12] then it's a spoiler and I,

[00:36:14] I have to kind of keep things under wraps,

[00:36:15] but like,

[00:36:16] I'm really excited for people to read it.

[00:36:18] Um,

[00:36:18] I'm really curious to see the reaction to it.

[00:36:21] Um,

[00:36:21] I know that there's a lot of people that are big fan of the arrow family,

[00:36:24] for example.

[00:36:25] And unfortunately they're not in this arc,

[00:36:28] uh,

[00:36:29] which was sort of,

[00:36:30] again,

[00:36:30] uh,

[00:36:31] the idea was street level.

[00:36:32] He's on an island is on his own.

[00:36:35] Um,

[00:36:36] which we established in that eight page story.

[00:36:38] Um,

[00:36:39] and so I,

[00:36:40] I really am curious to see how those folks will,

[00:36:43] um,

[00:36:44] feel about our story and,

[00:36:46] and how we're approaching things and whether it will connect in the way that I hope that it will.

[00:36:50] Um,

[00:36:51] because I do think at the end of the day,

[00:36:53] I'm just trying to do what I do on the Texas blood or the infield gang massacre.

[00:36:56] I'm just trying to tell a human story and trying to tell it well.

[00:37:01] And I'm trying to,

[00:37:01] you know,

[00:37:02] have it be as impactful as it possibly can,

[00:37:05] um,

[00:37:06] within the parameters of doing something with DC where you can't,

[00:37:09] you know,

[00:37:09] obviously go as,

[00:37:10] you know,

[00:37:12] all that as you can in something like an image,

[00:37:14] uh,

[00:37:14] an image comic,

[00:37:15] but,

[00:37:15] um,

[00:37:16] you know,

[00:37:17] trying to do,

[00:37:18] trying to push things a little bit where,

[00:37:19] where it can.

[00:37:26] Coming up with,

[00:37:27] uh,

[00:37:28] prick arrows.

[00:37:29] Like,

[00:37:29] are we gonna,

[00:37:30] are we gonna be treated to,

[00:37:32] uh,

[00:37:33] you know,

[00:37:33] are you,

[00:37:33] I love sneak,

[00:37:34] sneak in some weird stuff in a quiver.

[00:37:38] Yeah.

[00:37:38] So,

[00:37:39] I mean,

[00:37:39] I,

[00:37:41] because of the,

[00:37:42] the way that the story is,

[00:37:44] I don't think that he can pull out of his quiver,

[00:37:46] a,

[00:37:47] uh,

[00:37:47] boxing club arrow.

[00:37:49] That's bright red,

[00:37:50] you know,

[00:37:51] shoot that at somebody,

[00:37:52] but,

[00:37:52] you know,

[00:37:53] right in the first issue,

[00:37:55] uh,

[00:37:55] the first full issue,

[00:37:56] 18,

[00:37:56] he has a grappling,

[00:37:58] uh,

[00:37:58] arrow.

[00:37:59] And,

[00:38:00] you know,

[00:38:00] so he's,

[00:38:01] you know,

[00:38:01] that was one of the preview pages that they put out.

[00:38:04] Yeah.

[00:38:05] It's him sort of gliding along the,

[00:38:07] you know,

[00:38:07] star city skyline.

[00:38:09] And,

[00:38:10] um,

[00:38:11] and he's also got a different version of the boxing glove arrow.

[00:38:15] It's a,

[00:38:15] it's a sort of a more,

[00:38:17] you know,

[00:38:18] a little bit more street level idea of like,

[00:38:20] how do we incorporate that idea,

[00:38:22] but have it be something that doesn't look like,

[00:38:24] you know,

[00:38:25] the hamburger,

[00:38:26] the hamburger,

[00:38:27] the hamburger hand flying through,

[00:38:28] uh,

[00:38:29] um,

[00:38:32] no,

[00:38:32] I,

[00:38:33] I,

[00:38:33] I love the,

[00:38:34] I don't get me wrong.

[00:38:35] I love the trick arrows.

[00:38:37] I mean,

[00:38:37] one of my favorite writers is Bob Haney,

[00:38:40] who's brave and the bold issues are just wild and wacky.

[00:38:44] Like Batman dies in one of them.

[00:38:46] And at the atom is inside of him and he just bounces around inside of his body

[00:38:50] and like makes Batman like lurch around.

[00:38:52] And it's just like,

[00:38:53] it's wild stuff.

[00:38:54] And I love that stuff.

[00:38:56] And I've,

[00:38:56] you know,

[00:38:56] been able to write some,

[00:38:58] luckily I've been able to write some comedic stuff.

[00:39:01] Um,

[00:39:01] one of them's out next week.

[00:39:02] I did a judge dread story.

[00:39:04] That's about,

[00:39:04] uh,

[00:39:05] the insurrection at the Capitol,

[00:39:07] which we'll read differently today.

[00:39:11] Yeah.

[00:39:12] As opposed to,

[00:39:13] uh,

[00:39:14] where we could have been today.

[00:39:16] Um,

[00:39:17] yeah,

[00:39:18] I might be drawn in court.

[00:39:20] You never know.

[00:39:21] Um,

[00:39:21] but,

[00:39:22] uh,

[00:39:22] yeah,

[00:39:23] that one read it.

[00:39:23] But it was,

[00:39:25] it was,

[00:39:26] the idea was,

[00:39:27] uh,

[00:39:27] what if it was just,

[00:39:28] uh,

[00:39:29] the insurrection on the Capitol,

[00:39:30] but,

[00:39:30] uh,

[00:39:30] it was all chimpanzees.

[00:39:32] So,

[00:39:34] you know,

[00:39:35] I,

[00:39:35] I like that kind of stuff.

[00:39:36] But,

[00:39:36] um,

[00:39:38] I think you have to know as a creator,

[00:39:40] when you're approaching a story and when you're approaching a character that you have to do what fits the story and what serves the story.

[00:39:48] And at the end of the day,

[00:39:50] some of the sillier ideas with trick arrows,

[00:39:53] which I do love,

[00:39:54] um,

[00:39:55] they kind of had to take a backseat to the story.

[00:39:58] Um,

[00:40:00] but that doesn't mean that we're not going to have trick arrows,

[00:40:02] um,

[00:40:02] of a different variety.

[00:40:03] Like,

[00:40:03] they're going to be there.

[00:40:04] They're just not going to be,

[00:40:06] you know,

[00:40:06] he's not,

[00:40:07] it's not going to be like Mike grow where all he has are like lethal arrows in his quiver,

[00:40:11] you know?

[00:40:11] Right.

[00:40:12] He's got,

[00:40:13] um,

[00:40:13] he's got a little bit of everything in there.

[00:40:14] Well,

[00:40:15] I mean,

[00:40:16] I,

[00:40:16] look,

[00:40:17] I,

[00:40:17] you,

[00:40:18] the work you've done before has totally earned,

[00:40:21] you know,

[00:40:21] my trust.

[00:40:22] Um,

[00:40:22] so I'm very excited to see what you can do with green arrow.

[00:40:25] And I,

[00:40:25] I mean,

[00:40:26] I'll be honest with you.

[00:40:27] If anyone at DC is listening,

[00:40:28] like,

[00:40:29] I don't think I've,

[00:40:29] I mean,

[00:40:30] I've read a lot of,

[00:40:32] you know,

[00:40:33] when I started,

[00:40:33] when I got back into comics was just before,

[00:40:36] I guess,

[00:40:37] new 52.

[00:40:37] So like 2010,

[00:40:40] maybe a little before them.

[00:40:41] And I read,

[00:40:42] like I got from the library or hoopla digitally.

[00:40:45] And I,

[00:40:45] I read,

[00:40:46] I've read a lot of the new 52 and into like rebirth green arrow.

[00:40:49] And I've gone back and read some of the past stuff as well.

[00:40:53] But,

[00:40:53] um,

[00:40:54] yeah,

[00:40:54] I mean,

[00:40:54] I,

[00:40:55] I,

[00:40:55] I have not picked up a floppy of,

[00:40:58] of green arrow.

[00:40:59] Um,

[00:41:00] but,

[00:41:00] uh,

[00:41:01] I'm,

[00:41:01] I'm getting them now.

[00:41:02] Cause it's got your name on it.

[00:41:03] And,

[00:41:03] uh,

[00:41:04] I'm just a huge fan.

[00:41:05] So,

[00:41:06] um,

[00:41:07] well,

[00:41:07] thanks.

[00:41:08] I,

[00:41:08] all I can tell you is that I think that especially fans of that Texas blood volume three will probably like what we're doing.

[00:41:18] Oh,

[00:41:19] it's very much steeped in.

[00:41:21] I mean,

[00:41:23] I,

[00:41:24] I,

[00:41:24] one of the things that I like to do when I write these big two characters,

[00:41:27] um,

[00:41:27] which is important for me to do,

[00:41:29] um,

[00:41:30] just cause I'm a fan,

[00:41:31] you know,

[00:41:33] I'm a fan and I got my toys from my youth.

[00:41:36] Yeah.

[00:41:37] Um,

[00:41:39] but you know,

[00:41:39] one of the things that I would love to do is that these characters have history.

[00:41:43] Um,

[00:41:43] so even if I'm establishing a new villain,

[00:41:46] I want to play with the history of the characters,

[00:41:48] um,

[00:41:49] and dive into that history.

[00:41:50] I mean,

[00:41:50] that's something that I've done on,

[00:41:52] you know,

[00:41:52] stuff that sort of,

[00:41:53] a lot of people may think is like toss away stuff like,

[00:41:56] uh,

[00:41:57] Venom or Daredevil.

[00:41:58] But I mean,

[00:41:58] I really spent a lot of time trying to,

[00:42:01] you know,

[00:42:01] absorb as much of,

[00:42:03] uh,

[00:42:04] Electra and Daredevil that I could and try to put as much history into that book as I could.

[00:42:09] And,

[00:42:10] um,

[00:42:11] you know,

[00:42:11] I think that I'm pretty proud of the work on that book.

[00:42:13] And then same thing with,

[00:42:14] you know,

[00:42:15] what Jake and I did with Harley Quinn.

[00:42:16] Again,

[00:42:17] we did a sort of play on Mad Love,

[00:42:19] the,

[00:42:19] one of the great Batman,

[00:42:20] uh,

[00:42:21] animated stories,

[00:42:23] um,

[00:42:23] both in comics and in the show.

[00:42:26] And yeah,

[00:42:27] I,

[00:42:27] you know,

[00:42:27] it's something that's important to me is to,

[00:42:29] to play with the history of the character.

[00:42:30] So,

[00:42:31] you know,

[00:42:31] and that's even in that Texas blood and Enfield game master,

[00:42:34] obviously.

[00:42:35] Um,

[00:42:36] although I've made up all the history,

[00:42:38] but I like to play with history.

[00:42:40] So it's,

[00:42:41] it's fun to get to go back and,

[00:42:43] and show reverence for those things and to bring things back that people probably haven't thought about since 1983 or,

[00:42:49] you know,

[00:42:51] 1971 or whenever.

[00:42:52] So it's,

[00:42:53] it's fun to get to play with that kind of stuff.

[00:42:55] Nice.

[00:42:55] Yeah.

[00:42:55] I think the,

[00:42:56] the first green arrow I think I ever read was,

[00:42:58] um,

[00:42:59] issue one of the,

[00:43:01] the Mike bar,

[00:43:03] um,

[00:43:04] that,

[00:43:04] that Mike bar wrote.

[00:43:05] And actually,

[00:43:06] I think I was lucky enough.

[00:43:07] He was one year at Baltimore comic-con somewhere around here.

[00:43:11] I have issue one of that sign by,

[00:43:13] uh,

[00:43:14] signed by Mike.

[00:43:15] Um,

[00:43:16] but that was my first exposure to,

[00:43:18] to green arrow.

[00:43:19] Um,

[00:43:20] just before I let you go,

[00:43:22] go ahead.

[00:43:22] I just want to say this.

[00:43:23] You mentioned,

[00:43:24] you,

[00:43:25] so you have that.

[00:43:27] Horton chemical is mentioned in these issue 17,

[00:43:32] a pager that we did.

[00:43:34] Yes.

[00:43:36] That is from the Mike bar run.

[00:43:39] Is it really?

[00:43:41] So an integral part,

[00:43:43] an integral part of our story arc is from that series.

[00:43:48] So I,

[00:43:49] I recommend people read that if,

[00:43:50] if they can.

[00:43:51] Oh,

[00:43:52] nice.

[00:43:53] Yeah.

[00:43:53] I mean,

[00:43:53] it's a,

[00:43:53] you can,

[00:43:54] you can,

[00:43:54] you can get it.

[00:43:54] It's a,

[00:43:54] and it's a,

[00:43:55] you know,

[00:43:55] it's from 83,

[00:43:56] but it's a,

[00:43:57] it's a four issue series.

[00:43:59] Yeah.

[00:44:00] Yeah.

[00:44:00] It was also the first,

[00:44:01] it was the first time green arrow had his own series,

[00:44:04] which is another thing,

[00:44:04] you know,

[00:44:05] it's pretty wild to think about that.

[00:44:06] He was been around since 1941,

[00:44:08] but never had his own series.

[00:44:10] Yeah.

[00:44:10] It took 40 years.

[00:44:12] Yeah.

[00:44:13] So it's pretty fun to read even just with that historical context.

[00:44:18] Yeah,

[00:44:18] absolutely.

[00:44:19] And if you can find the single issues like,

[00:44:22] you know,

[00:44:23] somewhere at a,

[00:44:24] at your local comic shop,

[00:44:25] there's,

[00:44:26] there's nothing better than the original 1980s ads that are.

[00:44:34] Yeah,

[00:44:35] no,

[00:44:35] it's great.

[00:44:36] And like the great thing about that series is that it's,

[00:44:39] it's not too expensive.

[00:44:40] You know,

[00:44:40] you can get,

[00:44:41] you can pick up the issues and,

[00:44:42] you know,

[00:44:42] maybe not even break 12 bucks or something like that.

[00:44:45] So it's,

[00:44:46] it's really good.

[00:44:48] Maybe if our,

[00:44:50] our series is our arc is successful enough,

[00:44:53] maybe that will bump up a few bucks for,

[00:44:55] for speculators,

[00:44:56] but,

[00:44:57] but,

[00:44:58] but no,

[00:44:59] it's,

[00:44:59] it's,

[00:44:59] it's affordable and it's,

[00:45:01] and it's good stuff.

[00:45:01] I really enjoy that series.

[00:45:03] So,

[00:45:03] yeah,

[00:45:04] that's awesome.

[00:45:05] Well,

[00:45:05] just before I let you go,

[00:45:06] I did want to talk a little bit for whatever,

[00:45:08] you know,

[00:45:08] you can about ultimate Wolverine.

[00:45:10] I know you're talking about it earlier,

[00:45:11] kind of came about the same way.

[00:45:15] And again,

[00:45:17] whenever,

[00:45:18] you know,

[00:45:19] to kind of piggyback off of what I said earlier,

[00:45:22] I,

[00:45:23] I have,

[00:45:25] I'm almost as,

[00:45:27] as filled with anxiety.

[00:45:29] When I hear somebody else is taking on one of these characters,

[00:45:33] not,

[00:45:33] not because I'm worried what they're going to do.

[00:45:35] I always think like,

[00:45:37] man,

[00:45:37] if,

[00:45:37] if I would have no idea,

[00:45:39] like I've watched and read so many things about these characters,

[00:45:44] and I'm just so impressed with writers and artists that when they get the opportunity,

[00:45:49] or like,

[00:45:49] yeah,

[00:45:50] I got an idea or we're going to figure it out.

[00:45:52] And especially a character like Wolverine,

[00:45:55] that is one,

[00:45:55] has so much history in the comics,

[00:45:57] in cartoons,

[00:45:58] in the movies,

[00:46:00] you know,

[00:46:01] and something like ultimate Wolverine.

[00:46:05] And,

[00:46:05] uh,

[00:46:06] I mean,

[00:46:08] where,

[00:46:08] where,

[00:46:08] where do you begin trying to figure out what,

[00:46:12] what we're going to,

[00:46:13] what we're going to do with Wolverine?

[00:46:16] Like,

[00:46:16] do you just say,

[00:46:17] all right,

[00:46:17] I have something in my back pocket,

[00:46:19] or is it more so something like with green arrow where you're like,

[00:46:22] Ooh,

[00:46:22] I was going to do a nonfiction and maybe I can take some elements of that and

[00:46:26] infuse it with this.

[00:46:28] Like,

[00:46:28] cause Wolverine is such a different character from green arrow.

[00:46:33] Yeah.

[00:46:33] Um,

[00:46:35] for me,

[00:46:36] so I,

[00:46:38] on that phone call,

[00:46:39] when Wilmos offered me ultimate Wolverine,

[00:46:42] I ate in immediately.

[00:46:44] So yes,

[00:46:44] just cause I was like,

[00:46:45] I do have a few things going on.

[00:46:47] I need to figure out if I can do it.

[00:46:50] Um,

[00:46:51] cause it would be my,

[00:46:52] I would be writing three consecutive,

[00:46:56] um,

[00:46:59] series at which one of them is not announced.

[00:47:01] So I can't talk.

[00:47:02] Okay.

[00:47:02] We can't talk about that.

[00:47:04] Um,

[00:47:04] but it's with Jake.

[00:47:05] So I will say that.

[00:47:07] Um,

[00:47:08] yeah.

[00:47:09] So,

[00:47:10] um,

[00:47:10] but yeah,

[00:47:11] so with that,

[00:47:12] I just,

[00:47:12] I,

[00:47:13] I really love,

[00:47:15] um,

[00:47:16] the Barry Windsor Smith 12 issue.

[00:47:19] Well,

[00:47:20] sort of 12 issue,

[00:47:21] but it's from Marvel comics presents the weapon X series.

[00:47:24] I think that it's one of the greatest comics of all time.

[00:47:27] Um,

[00:47:27] I absolutely love it.

[00:47:28] I think that it's,

[00:47:29] if not one of the greatest comics of all time,

[00:47:31] it is absolutely one of my favorite comics of all time.

[00:47:34] Um,

[00:47:35] I put it up there with Batman year one,

[00:47:37] you know,

[00:47:37] um,

[00:47:38] some really just excellent,

[00:47:39] um,

[00:47:40] work in the craft.

[00:47:42] Um,

[00:47:43] yeah,

[00:47:44] I just love how I,

[00:47:46] I really just,

[00:47:47] I mean,

[00:47:47] it's,

[00:47:47] it's a fantastic book.

[00:47:49] I mean,

[00:47:49] if people haven't read it,

[00:47:50] obviously I'm sure everybody knows weapon X,

[00:47:52] at least,

[00:47:52] um,

[00:47:53] the idea of it,

[00:47:54] if they haven't actually read the book,

[00:47:56] but,

[00:47:56] um,

[00:47:57] it really is worth picking up because it's just a,

[00:47:59] the artwork is phenomenal.

[00:48:00] Um,

[00:48:01] and B,

[00:48:02] I love how he plays with the lettering of it.

[00:48:05] Um,

[00:48:06] and so I really kind of thought to myself,

[00:48:08] well,

[00:48:09] I'd like to do a spin on weapon X and knowing that Colossus magic and Omega red are running Russia in the ultimate universe.

[00:48:23] Um,

[00:48:23] the idea of doing winter soldier came to mind.

[00:48:27] Um,

[00:48:27] what if we sort of subverted,

[00:48:29] uh,

[00:48:30] weapon X and did a different thing with it.

[00:48:34] And so that was really the idea of it.

[00:48:35] The crux of the idea was that,

[00:48:36] um,

[00:48:37] I didn't go into it with any ideas.

[00:48:39] I never thought to myself that I would be writing Wolverine.

[00:48:42] So I didn't really think that I'd,

[00:48:44] I'd have that opportunity.

[00:48:45] So I didn't have anything prepared.

[00:48:46] Um,

[00:48:48] and also the,

[00:48:49] the way that the ultimate,

[00:48:50] uh,

[00:48:50] universe books are set up is,

[00:48:52] you know,

[00:48:52] each issue is in real time so that not like,

[00:48:57] you know,

[00:48:59] 20 pages,

[00:49:00] you know,

[00:49:00] is 20 minutes or whatever,

[00:49:02] but,

[00:49:02] um,

[00:49:03] each issue is one month in time.

[00:49:06] So January is January,

[00:49:08] February is February,

[00:49:09] March is March.

[00:49:10] Um,

[00:49:11] so you don't have this continuous story,

[00:49:14] you know,

[00:49:15] where you pick up in issue two,

[00:49:18] exactly where you left off.

[00:49:19] Um,

[00:49:20] so it sort of sets up this in here,

[00:49:22] almost one shot sort of storytelling,

[00:49:25] um,

[00:49:26] which I think is really interesting.

[00:49:27] So I didn't,

[00:49:28] I don't think that there would have been a story that I would want to tell

[00:49:31] anyway.

[00:49:31] Um,

[00:49:32] but what I rather,

[00:49:34] what I really wanted to do was,

[00:49:35] uh,

[00:49:36] dive into the character again.

[00:49:38] That was,

[00:49:39] you know,

[00:49:39] at the end of the day,

[00:49:40] one of the things I think about is why they hired me for the job.

[00:49:45] Um,

[00:49:46] you know,

[00:49:47] I'm one of many writers out there that could have hired anybody,

[00:49:52] but they hired me because I do a thing certain way.

[00:49:56] Um,

[00:49:57] and yes,

[00:49:58] like I said before,

[00:49:59] I,

[00:49:59] you know,

[00:50:00] I can showcase that I can do,

[00:50:02] you know,

[00:50:02] comedy or some other thing.

[00:50:04] Um,

[00:50:05] but at the end of the day,

[00:50:06] you know,

[00:50:07] a book like Wolverine or a book like Green Arrow,

[00:50:09] uh,

[00:50:10] when they come to me for a thing at the end of the day,

[00:50:13] I'm thinking,

[00:50:13] well,

[00:50:13] they want something that's like that Texas blooded,

[00:50:15] the Anfield being massacred.

[00:50:16] So what they're looking for is character.

[00:50:18] Um,

[00:50:19] they were,

[00:50:19] they're looking for something that's going to be probably dark.

[00:50:22] Um,

[00:50:23] something that's emotional.

[00:50:25] And so that's what I wanted to bring to the table.

[00:50:27] And I,

[00:50:27] I really,

[00:50:28] truly believe that people will be crying at the end of the ultimate Wolverine.

[00:50:36] And,

[00:50:37] uh,

[00:50:37] and I think that would be a mark of success,

[00:50:41] um,

[00:50:41] because I,

[00:50:42] I really wanted to push this,

[00:50:45] this,

[00:50:46] uh,

[00:50:47] idea to its extreme.

[00:50:48] And,

[00:50:49] you know,

[00:50:49] when you're playing with ultimate universe stuff,

[00:50:52] you're kind of allowed to,

[00:50:53] you know,

[00:50:54] push things a little bit further than you could,

[00:50:56] if you're doing like the mainline Wolverine book.

[00:50:59] So,

[00:50:59] um,

[00:51:00] knowing that and knowing that we kind of had,

[00:51:02] we're putting our own spit on this character,

[00:51:04] which,

[00:51:05] you know,

[00:51:05] everybody knows Wolverine.

[00:51:06] I mean,

[00:51:06] he's in all,

[00:51:08] but one of the,

[00:51:09] you know,

[00:51:10] X-Men movies and he's in every,

[00:51:12] you know,

[00:51:13] animated series.

[00:51:14] And there's Wolverine has like how many books,

[00:51:17] you know?

[00:51:18] Um,

[00:51:20] so it,

[00:51:20] it was important to me that a,

[00:51:23] like pay,

[00:51:24] you know,

[00:51:25] attention to the character and have that,

[00:51:29] you know,

[00:51:30] have things be true to the character,

[00:51:32] but also put your own spin on it and,

[00:51:34] and push things and,

[00:51:35] and make things,

[00:51:36] um,

[00:51:37] different enough.

[00:51:38] And,

[00:51:38] and,

[00:51:38] um,

[00:51:39] at the end of the day,

[00:51:40] put my stamp on it.

[00:51:40] That was,

[00:51:41] that was really the important thing for me.

[00:51:43] Right.

[00:51:43] And,

[00:51:44] um,

[00:51:44] you're working with,

[00:51:45] uh,

[00:51:45] is it Alessandro Capuccio?

[00:51:48] Alessandro Capuccio.

[00:51:49] Capuccio.

[00:51:50] He's fantastic.

[00:51:51] He's the,

[00:51:52] he's the best.

[00:51:53] He's the best.

[00:51:54] Uh,

[00:51:54] you know,

[00:51:55] uh,

[00:51:56] Montez is amazing as well.

[00:51:57] So I want to just say that outright.

[00:51:59] Um,

[00:52:00] I know that you were talking about Montez before,

[00:52:01] and I actually just was getting pages in for,

[00:52:04] um,

[00:52:05] issue 19 of green arrow and 18 wasn't great.

[00:52:09] 19 is amazing.

[00:52:11] It,

[00:52:11] he just is pushing it.

[00:52:12] Um,

[00:52:14] um,

[00:52:14] but I think it's,

[00:52:15] it's strange having a,

[00:52:17] an artist like Alessandro who it's almost like Jacob where we just kind of get each other,

[00:52:23] um,

[00:52:24] creatively.

[00:52:25] Um,

[00:52:26] um,

[00:52:27] there's no,

[00:52:28] you know,

[00:52:29] I don't ever have a moment where I'm going,

[00:52:31] Oh,

[00:52:31] can,

[00:52:32] what do you,

[00:52:32] you know,

[00:52:33] maybe we could change this or maybe we could change that or,

[00:52:36] um,

[00:52:37] or vice versa.

[00:52:38] He doesn't come to me and say,

[00:52:39] maybe we could change those,

[00:52:39] maybe we could change it.

[00:52:40] It would just like lock in and like we'd get each other,

[00:52:43] which is really a unique thing.

[00:52:45] And I,

[00:52:45] I thought I,

[00:52:46] you know,

[00:52:46] was lucky to get it once.

[00:52:47] And I'm,

[00:52:48] I've gotten it a second time and even more amazing.

[00:52:51] I got it on a Wolverine book.

[00:52:53] So,

[00:52:53] um,

[00:52:54] so it's,

[00:52:55] it's really cool to see the stuff that he's churning out.

[00:52:58] And,

[00:52:58] uh,

[00:52:59] I think it's going to be really exciting for people.

[00:53:01] I know that some people are kind of bummed that he's not going to be on moon night anymore,

[00:53:03] but I hope that they're going to be,

[00:53:06] uh,

[00:53:08] just,

[00:53:08] you know,

[00:53:08] over the moon for what he's doing.

[00:53:10] And Wolverine,

[00:53:10] cause I'll tell you,

[00:53:12] I am,

[00:53:12] you know,

[00:53:13] I may be the writer,

[00:53:14] but I,

[00:53:15] I,

[00:53:15] I'm one of the great things that I have is this ability to shut off,

[00:53:20] uh,

[00:53:21] the writer thing and just,

[00:53:22] you know,

[00:53:22] look at it as a fan.

[00:53:24] Um,

[00:53:25] and I can especially do when I get my comps in,

[00:53:27] I can sit down with the book and read it.

[00:53:28] Like I was reading a book on new comic book day.

[00:53:32] Um,

[00:53:33] and I,

[00:53:35] you know,

[00:53:35] just sitting down when I was just proving letters for,

[00:53:39] um,

[00:53:39] for ultimate Wolverine one this morning,

[00:53:43] actually,

[00:53:44] and going through the book and I was like,

[00:53:45] dang,

[00:53:46] this is good.

[00:53:47] This is really good.

[00:53:48] And it's,

[00:53:48] you know,

[00:53:49] I wrote the words,

[00:53:50] but what's making it sing is Alessandro,

[00:53:55] you know,

[00:53:55] and same thing,

[00:53:56] same thing with Montez,

[00:53:57] same thing with Jacob.

[00:53:58] Um,

[00:53:59] it's just,

[00:54:00] you know,

[00:54:01] at the end of the day,

[00:54:02] I'm,

[00:54:02] I'm very aware that this is a visual medium.

[00:54:05] And so I always try to let the,

[00:54:07] um,

[00:54:08] the artist,

[00:54:09] um,

[00:54:10] have their room to do what they can do.

[00:54:13] And,

[00:54:13] uh,

[00:54:14] yeah,

[00:54:14] it's just,

[00:54:15] it's,

[00:54:15] it's,

[00:54:16] uh,

[00:54:16] you know,

[00:54:17] I'm a lucky guy.

[00:54:18] What can I say?

[00:54:19] I don't know what I could say other than that.

[00:54:20] It's just,

[00:54:21] it's amazing.

[00:54:22] Um,

[00:54:23] like the,

[00:54:24] uh,

[00:54:25] Reddit AMA that you had done about like green arrow.

[00:54:29] Like,

[00:54:29] is there anything that you've heard yet from,

[00:54:31] I mean,

[00:54:31] it was announced,

[00:54:32] I think at New York comic-con about ultimate Wolverine.

[00:54:35] Have,

[00:54:36] have you heard anything similar to that?

[00:54:39] Um,

[00:54:40] like what fans expect or what they're looking for,

[00:54:43] or we hope you do this,

[00:54:45] you know,

[00:54:45] with it.

[00:54:46] Uh,

[00:54:47] no,

[00:54:48] I actually,

[00:54:49] that's funny.

[00:54:50] Um,

[00:54:50] there are some like rumors I've seen that it's like,

[00:54:53] Oh,

[00:54:53] he's this person or,

[00:54:55] Oh,

[00:54:55] I think he's this person or,

[00:54:57] Oh,

[00:54:57] I think he's this person.

[00:54:58] Cause we have the man.

[00:54:59] Ask on him.

[00:55:00] Um,

[00:55:01] the,

[00:55:02] the muzzle that we put on him.

[00:55:04] Um,

[00:55:06] and I'm,

[00:55:07] I'm just reticent to reveal who he is,

[00:55:09] even though I think that it's pretty clear.

[00:55:12] Yes.

[00:55:13] Oh,

[00:55:13] just cause I like it's fun.

[00:55:15] Uh,

[00:55:16] but you know,

[00:55:17] it,

[00:55:18] I don't think people know where it's going to be going.

[00:55:21] And,

[00:55:22] um,

[00:55:23] you know,

[00:55:23] even if like the broad strokes,

[00:55:25] they might be able to,

[00:55:26] they're to understand.

[00:55:27] I don't think that you're going to,

[00:55:29] know where we're eventually leading to and what characters are going to show up and all that.

[00:55:35] Um,

[00:55:36] but yeah,

[00:55:37] I,

[00:55:37] I think that people seem to be excited by the idea of winter soldier Wolverine,

[00:55:42] um,

[00:55:42] which a lot of people felt was sort of like a,

[00:55:45] why didn't anybody ever do this before kind of thing?

[00:55:48] Um,

[00:55:49] which is how I felt about it.

[00:55:50] And especially with,

[00:55:51] you know,

[00:55:51] again,

[00:55:52] knowing,

[00:55:52] um,

[00:55:53] um,

[00:55:54] what they're,

[00:55:55] the Eurasian Republic is in the ultimate universe,

[00:55:58] it sort of seems like a no brainer to me that,

[00:56:00] you know,

[00:56:01] let's make him,

[00:56:02] you know,

[00:56:03] but the weapon X is the,

[00:56:05] you know,

[00:56:05] the sort of,

[00:56:06] you know,

[00:56:07] brainwashed guy.

[00:56:08] I was like,

[00:56:08] well,

[00:56:09] let's just do that.

[00:56:10] It seemed like a really simple idea.

[00:56:13] And I,

[00:56:14] when I talked to will on the phone and kind of pitched him the idea,

[00:56:17] just like,

[00:56:17] I was like,

[00:56:18] Hey,

[00:56:18] you know,

[00:56:19] I didn't have anything prepared.

[00:56:20] I was on the phone with him for the first time.

[00:56:22] Like,

[00:56:22] I'm kind of think this might be a cool idea.

[00:56:24] And I was like,

[00:56:25] well,

[00:56:25] you know,

[00:56:25] let me think about it a little bit more,

[00:56:26] but I think it might be a good idea.

[00:56:27] And then I just couldn't come up with anything better.

[00:56:30] And I was like,

[00:56:30] I think that's just the way to go.

[00:56:32] Um,

[00:56:32] which sometimes that's just the way it is.

[00:56:34] You know,

[00:56:34] sometimes the first idea is the best idea.

[00:56:38] Yeah.

[00:56:38] I mean,

[00:56:38] especially if nobody's done it before.

[00:56:41] Yeah.

[00:56:42] Yeah.

[00:56:42] I mean,

[00:56:42] I mean,

[00:56:43] obviously,

[00:56:43] you know,

[00:56:43] winter soldier exists and Wolverine exists,

[00:56:45] but it's fun to kind of put a spin on a classic character in that way

[00:56:49] where it's,

[00:56:50] it's just something that people haven't seen.

[00:56:52] So.

[00:56:52] Awesome.

[00:56:53] Well,

[00:56:54] Chris,

[00:56:54] um,

[00:56:55] I,

[00:56:55] I'm super excited,

[00:56:56] uh,

[00:56:57] for both of these,

[00:56:59] for both green arrow and for,

[00:57:01] uh,

[00:57:01] ultimate Wolverine.

[00:57:03] And,

[00:57:03] you know,

[00:57:04] for the unannounced,

[00:57:06] uh,

[00:57:06] other series you said you have coming out with,

[00:57:09] with,

[00:57:10] I mean,

[00:57:10] I'm,

[00:57:10] I'm super excited about that.

[00:57:12] Yeah.

[00:57:13] Honestly,

[00:57:14] best work Jacob's ever done.

[00:57:16] And I think he'll tell you that.

[00:57:18] His dad said that.

[00:57:19] Oh,

[00:57:19] if that means anything to you.

[00:57:21] I mean,

[00:57:21] that's,

[00:57:21] um,

[00:57:23] his dad knows a little bit about comic book art.

[00:57:26] I just,

[00:57:26] a little,

[00:57:27] a little,

[00:57:30] so yeah,

[00:57:30] no,

[00:57:31] it's,

[00:57:31] it's,

[00:57:31] uh,

[00:57:32] it's going to blow people out of the water.

[00:57:34] I think it's going to be really cool.

[00:57:35] I'm really excited to have that announced.

[00:57:37] I don't think it's going to be announced for a long time though.

[00:57:39] Well,

[00:57:40] we'll wait.

[00:57:41] We'll,

[00:57:41] we'll,

[00:57:41] we'll be here.

[00:57:42] We'll put links in the show notes so they can find you on social media.

[00:57:45] So they'll,

[00:57:46] you know,

[00:57:47] the listeners will know when it,

[00:57:48] when it does come out and listeners,

[00:57:49] if you have not read that Texas blood,

[00:57:50] do that please.

[00:57:51] And,

[00:57:52] and also that the Enfield gang massacre,

[00:57:54] because as much as I love that Texas blood,

[00:57:57] that last issue of the Enfield gang massacre,

[00:58:01] um,

[00:58:01] especially,

[00:58:02] uh,

[00:58:03] the,

[00:58:04] the whole,

[00:58:05] um,

[00:58:06] I mean,

[00:58:07] the last few pages,

[00:58:08] I won't,

[00:58:09] well,

[00:58:09] not like the epilogue,

[00:58:10] but the,

[00:58:11] the nod to an occurrence at Alcreek bridge and Jacob's work in terms of the

[00:58:18] aftermath of that.

[00:58:19] I mean,

[00:58:20] it is gut wrenching and visceral.

[00:58:24] And I mean,

[00:58:27] everything in terms of the lettering as well,

[00:58:29] it,

[00:58:29] that was,

[00:58:31] that was,

[00:58:31] that was,

[00:58:32] that was tough.

[00:58:33] And it was just like,

[00:58:35] um,

[00:58:37] yeah,

[00:58:37] it was,

[00:58:37] it was awful,

[00:58:38] but felt inevitable.

[00:58:40] And I,

[00:58:41] I,

[00:58:42] I just was like,

[00:58:43] I had to pour a whiskey and sit with myself for,

[00:58:47] for a minute.

[00:58:48] After that.

[00:58:49] And I,

[00:58:50] but I,

[00:58:50] it's,

[00:58:50] it's just beautiful storytelling.

[00:58:53] It's,

[00:58:53] it's beautiful comic book making.

[00:58:55] Um,

[00:58:56] you guys,

[00:58:57] you know,

[00:58:57] your,

[00:58:57] your work on that.

[00:58:58] So,

[00:58:58] but yes,

[00:58:59] green arrow issue 17 is out,

[00:59:02] which has the,

[00:59:03] it ends,

[00:59:04] uh,

[00:59:04] Joshua Williamson's run.

[00:59:05] It has the backup story.

[00:59:07] Chris Montos,

[00:59:08] Adriano Lucas,

[00:59:09] and Hassan,

[00:59:10] Otzman,

[00:59:11] El Howe.

[00:59:12] Uh,

[00:59:12] and then 18 is like the first full issue,

[00:59:16] but,

[00:59:16] but get 17,

[00:59:17] get,

[00:59:17] get the backup.

[00:59:18] It's,

[00:59:18] it's really good.

[00:59:19] There's a nice little interaction between Ali and another popular DC character,

[00:59:23] which I'm not going to name.

[00:59:24] You got to get the issue and read it and find out who it is.

[00:59:26] And you're going to like it.

[00:59:27] You're going to laugh and you're going to smile and you're going to feel like

[00:59:29] Chris is the right guy to be doing this.

[00:59:32] Um,

[00:59:32] and yeah,

[00:59:33] an ultimate Wolverine's coming out in January,

[00:59:34] but Chris,

[00:59:35] uh,

[00:59:36] sorry,

[00:59:36] I'm running off at the mouth.

[00:59:38] Like I always do,

[00:59:39] but thank you so much for coming back on the podcast.

[00:59:41] I really appreciate it.

[00:59:43] Absolutely.

[00:59:43] Thank you so much for having me.

[00:59:45] It's always a pleasure to talk to you.

[00:59:46] So listeners,

[00:59:47] let us know what you're reading.

[00:59:48] Let us know if you like the podcast.

[00:59:50] Um,

[00:59:51] and,

[00:59:51] uh,

[00:59:52] yeah,

[00:59:52] thank you very much for listening.

[00:59:53] I appreciate it.

[00:59:54] You,

[00:59:55] you fellas and ladies and whoever else listens,

[00:59:58] you're why we do what we do.

[01:00:00] Thank you very much.

[01:00:01] And I will see you next time.

[01:00:03] Good night.

[01:00:04] This is Byron O'Neill.

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