Ethan S. Parker & Griffin Sheridan Interview - Supergirl: Survive

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[00:00:54] Hello and welcome to Comic Book Yetis Cryptid Creator Corner. I am one of your hosts, Jimmy Gasparo. And I am excited for today's episode. These two young gentlemen have not been on in two years. I cannot believe it. Two years. Years have gone by. And we're going to catch up on all the stuff that they've been up to in the two years since Kill Your Darlings came out. They did Blink and You'll Miss It from Boom Studios.

[00:01:20] They did Marvel Zombies, Red Band, which a trade I believe is coming out soon. They have also done Godzilla. They're doing another Godzilla, which we're going to talk about. And also out June 3rd is going to be Supergirl Survive. They're doing some work for DC and I was lucky enough to see a preview of the Supergirl issue.

[00:01:47] So I'm very excited to talk about that. But please, welcome back to the podcast, Ethan S. Parker and Griffin Sheridan. Ethan, Griffin, how are you guys doing tonight? Thank you. It's great to see you doing good, man. Thank you so much for having us. Time flies. I can't believe it's been so long. Truly. Yeah. I was kind of surprised myself when I went back to check and it was February of 24 was the last time you guys were on.

[00:02:16] So yeah, it's been two years. But listeners who have been with the podcast and listening for a while or checked out your other episodes know what a fan I was of Kill Your Darlings. Thank you, sir. But it was so great having you two on and Bob Quinn joined us for one episode. I absolutely love that series. And you've done a couple of things since then. I love the Supergirl issue. I love kind of the stuff that DC is doing.

[00:02:43] And I love the the else worlds or, you know, the the alternate takes. And I really liked how this is centered on Supergirl. I kind of like what you did with it. We have so much to talk about, but I figure let's just start and jump in like right there with Supergirl because that's coming out this summer. DC is making a big push to do some of these stories. I know they have Kenny Porter and Danny Earls are also working on like a Jor-El one. Yeah, it looks really, really cool. Yeah, it's sweet.

[00:03:13] It's a good book. Absolutely. Yeah. And so I and yeah, and you guys are also wait, isn't it isn't it? Rod Reiss is doing the art for this. Yeah, it is crazy. It is crazy. This is I feel like.

[00:03:29] Yeah, I feel like this is this is like the perfect like first thing that I want anybody to know about this book is that is that it is just somehow been a miracle book where like everything that Ethan and I have hoped for it to be.

[00:03:44] He has happened and has lined up and that you know, in no small, no small part due to the great folks were working with Chris Conroy and Matt Levine editing the book and they have just totally paved the way for us to just make something that we are super stoked about super proud of and super pretty because we said honestly, our first pick is Rod Reiss. We love his work. We love his work. We've always loved his work. And we just feel like he would be such a great fit. Chris Conroy agreed.

[00:04:14] But initially schedules weren't just they just weren't going to line up. But I should say that we were kind of really saying that at first. We do. I mean, we did. We were like, do we can we really ask that? Do you think Rod Reiss? Yeah, yeah, yeah. No shit. But but Chris had said to it's the first time Rod will be providing any interiors for DC, you know, especially recently. You know, he's really come over there as a as a covers guy. He's done so many great covers for them recently.

[00:04:41] And now he's actually going to, you know, pop into the inside of a book and do some sequential stuff. And he's just like doing it. It's just every single time we get art from Rod is just like, what can we possibly say nothing like it's so good. And it just it just happened schedules weren't working and then comics take forever to make sometimes and then really fast other times.

[00:05:07] And the time warp of it all led us to a point where Rod schedule lined up with it. And here we are. It's so good. He makes the DC cosmos look as like exciting and mysterious as you would hope. But but also he's got that warmth and and like it's just it just pops off the page. It's so like alive. We're so so lucky. It's a crazy, crazy way to start out in a universe like this. Yeah.

[00:05:33] One of the things I thought of first off, actually, I did want to say that Rod did one of my favorite series from I think in 2017, where he was written by, I think, Kyle Higgins and Alex Siegel. Adrian's wall. Yeah, it's like a like a kind of a detective story in a spaceship. I absolutely loved it. Yeah. And I've been a fan of Rod for a while now. That was a particular standout. But right.

[00:06:03] So going through this book and one of the things I liked about it is, you know, trying to think of other things that it might that it reminded me of. And I could not place a Superman story that or a Supergirl story or anything in the super family that I felt looked like this. Right. So I just I love that about it. Totally. DC has so many great artists.

[00:06:28] But, you know, sometimes even with different artists, with certain big two books, you get like a certain look, a certain style. Right. You know, not to knock anybody like the books look great. But when you see something different, it really stands out. And I thought of this type of story. It really didn't look like anything else out there.

[00:06:51] And I thought not only did the more fantastical moments of issue one pay off, but there were a couple panels that really struck me when especially when Kara meets Cal for like the first time as a, you know, a baby. And like we see the two of them together in that one panel. It's it's so, you know, like you said, Ethan, it has that that warmth that is so like heartwarming. Yeah, it was it was amazing. Totally.

[00:07:19] The opportunity to to even get to do something like this and pitch kind of come about. Oh, my God. I mean, it's it's like it's funny, like trying to recall, because like this is one of the books we've done that has been in the works the longest. Like we've been we've been working on this for a couple of years now. Oh, my God. How did we even get in contact with them? Like like I know. I mean, we we put together like an absolute like ton of pitches for DC.

[00:07:46] Like we had a doc going with almost 30 pitches for different DC characters. Yeah. And and like we were like, surely one of these is gonna work. Okay. But like, I don't know. I don't know. Griffin, how did we get in contact with Chris specifically? How did that happen? I think we were just scouring for, you know, people to send kill your darlings to. And it was right when the trade came out, I think. And, you know, you know, we were talking about the book as a whole.

[00:08:16] We were talking about going to the Eisner's. I don't want to don't want to sound like that. But certainly like that happened. We started hearing back from a few more people, certainly, which is cool. And we said, hey, Chris, let's chat at San Diego. Here's the book. Hope you dig it. And Chris was very kind to give the book a read. He said he liked it. We met up for some coffee and we were just like, what do you want?

[00:08:45] And he was like, Elseworlds. Give me a bunch of Elseworlds. And we're like, fucking done, dude. We love that stuff. And yeah, like Ethan said, we had a whole bunch of stuff. And right at the top was what we thought was like, let's open with like a real simple one. Lone Wolf and Cub, but it's Kara and Cal. And they are going across the universe together and they have to get to Earth. And that was that was the one. So the other twenty nine pitches did not matter whatsoever.

[00:09:13] They were more involved, but we're keeping them in our back pocket. You know? Yeah. Chris is one. Chris is one of those people who like was great enough to to look at us having put together an image book where you are, you know, you are really running the show yourself. You're really having to like put it together from start to finish yourself.

[00:09:36] And he was one of the editors that was great enough to to really trust us and just go like, OK, like here's a direction for you to run. Just like just go for it. And like and gave us so much open road. Like the elseworlds thing is like that's the kind of news you really hope to get from from an editor is like like you have your whole own space to carve out here. You don't have to worry too much about bumping into other people's work or, you know, events or too much continuity.

[00:10:02] Like just you can take a character and their world and just go crazy with it and run as far as you can. And Chris, Chris and Matt Levine, like Griffin said, have just been like so fantastic and trusting with that. And yeah, like like they really never backed up from that initial thing of like we want elseworlds like they really like every time we had a wild idea of a new direction to take something or like a twist we could put on a character or a location or an event. They just let us go for it.

[00:10:32] And as long as it was, you know, cool. And so like it is like it's been a crazy amount of freedom, but it's like I think it's really allowed us to like take all the stuff we thought would be the most fun and and would really amp up this journey the most and fitted into this series. They've just been yeah, they've been fantastic. Well, that's great to hear. One of the things I like about elseworlds is you are not bogged down by that continuity, but you can also kind of get if it's a character.

[00:11:00] You really like or care about or like and really anyone any character that you can kind of get down to the core of what you like about that character, you know, and put that character in any setting. Like I said, not bogged down by continuity and just kind of like we'll see what happens. Like I know who Kara is, but I've never seen her in this type of setting and just kind of, you know, go off in addition to like the editorial or creative.

[00:11:30] Freedom. Did you find that as well in terms of just kind of drilling down into who this character is and let's test that? Yeah, I mean, we were the super family like is something that's been really important to us for a really long time. Like we we talked because in getting together all those pitches. I mean, even before that, like just in talking about like getting into comics, like all of the things that we want to try to do all of the like crazy goals that we want to aim for.

[00:11:56] Like when talking DC, the super family is always the first thing that would come up that because not only are those characters obviously so rich and so iconic and and so beloved to us. But that side of the world is just so special as well, where it's like it's DC space stuff. It's it's it's fifth dimensional imps. It's you know, it's like it's it's like the that Venn diagram of DC like fantasy and and science fiction.

[00:12:25] And it's just like it just feels so boundless. And then you have these characters at the heart of it who like mean so much in terms of like humanity and and goodness and hope and all these things. And so like, yeah, like we we had talked about a lot of like Superman concepts, but I don't know how far we had really gotten into a lot of Supergirl stuff until we started putting these actual pitches together.

[00:12:49] And it was really exciting starting to talk about Kara because Kara's had so many great stories, obviously, and they're and they're pulling from some of those for this movie. It's like it's really about to be this character's time to shine in a way that she never really has gotten to before on quite this scale. But it was exciting because we also felt like there were a lot of areas that hadn't quite been explored with her and that there were a lot of things that we were like, surely that's been done. Right. And then the answer was no. And we were like, well, then we got to do it.

[00:13:17] And and and so like it was really, really fun to just shine a flashlight on some of those areas where it's like, how has nobody gone over here? How has nobody checked this out? And and and just just flipping that one switch at the origin point of her and Cal at Krypton exploding, like way back at the start of what, you know, essentially is DC history. You just you really pivot the whole universe just by shifting that perspective and just centering her like you really get a whole new concept of of everything they go through.

[00:13:46] And I'll end everybody they run into. So, yeah, it was it's a very exciting process. It shows from the first issue in terms of the care everybody put into it. I mean, it's it really is a fantastic first issue. Oh, thank you. Thanks, dude. I enjoyed it top to bottom. Appreciate it. Do you having worked together now, the two of you in terms of your podcast work and writing together?

[00:14:10] And I know when we talked about Kill Your Darlings, you know, you had worked on that quite a while before it got to the point where it was out. And now having done a few more things has how the two of you work together evolved at all. It's I feel like it's it's certainly out of, you know, sheer necessity has become more efficient. Yeah, like we can really just like there's there.

[00:14:41] They're the more efficient in that, like, you know, we we are writing much more and some of them are on like really fast schedules, especially comparatively to, you know, Kill Your Darlings, like you're saying or Supergirl. Really Supergirl has been we've had the luxury of time on on that one for sure. But some of these other ones, it's just there's just needed to be even more faith in ourselves and each other.

[00:15:06] I think it's had to be so much more trust because there's not that time that we had before to get on the phone and like interrogate everything together. And so there is certainly I think more of like a I'm going to do my stuff. You're going to do your stuff. We're going to slap it together. It will be it'll be peanut butter and fucking jelly. It will be perfect. Perfect. And it will be the combo when we turn it in.

[00:15:33] And I think it has just pushed us into like further solidifying our voices as they are, you know, now. I feel like we're just really solidifying as far as the things that we like, the things that we feel like we're good at. I think have just become more clear over the past two years. And it's a lot of the same stuff from Kill Your Darlings, but on a faster and more intense sort of way. Totally. And like, yeah, like it's funny because we were talking about how time flies.

[00:16:03] Like it's crazy that it's been so long since we were on here. Like we're writing so much and we're writing so quickly and so intensely that like it really can get surreal. So we're we'll just we just like put our heads down and we crank out these drafts and we and we're just going and going and going. And then we look up and two years have passed. Like that's how it legitimately feels sometimes where it's like like Griffin and I just like text like like all day, every day, just like working through the checklist, working through the checklist. And then it's like, my God, it's May already. Oh, my God.

[00:16:32] And like so it really has. We've become like a little factory of two. And and and it has. And but what's cool, I think, is that like internally, the the there there has remained a lot of the joy of it, which I think is like is really easy for that to be the first thing to go. But like we really do try to maintain like the the the joy of like being able to stop after finishing a thing and going and like talking about it and like taking it apart and then going like, look what we did over there. And what do you think about this?

[00:17:02] And it's really cool that we did this. And so, yeah, even though it has become so much faster, so much more intense, it is in a lot of ways the same. And we try to make sure that we're still feeling like we're just messing around like we used to. It's kind of awesome. I think that's important. Yeah, I think that's like hugely important. Totally. Yeah. I was going to say it's awesome because it goes by so fast that it's kind of like I don't even have time to process it sometimes.

[00:17:31] And then the book comes out and it's like I get to just read the book for the first time. Like, I don't even know what happens in this one. And I pop it up and I and I read it and I'm just like, oh, hell yeah, there's actually an extreme like it. It really doesn't come together until not even the PDF like just doesn't do it. It's not until the book is there in my hands for me, like if that's what it's meant to be. Right. We've worked on some digital comics and those are still fulfilling, even though we don't get to hold them.

[00:18:02] But if we're writing for print and we know there's going to be the print version, like once that arrives and I can give that a read is when suddenly I'm like, we made this. Yeah. Son of a bitch. It's a whole different crazy. Yeah. Yeah. So that's just been kind of crazy and not to make it all sound so mechanical. No, no. I hope in churning them out. But it is it is the name of the game. It's just part of the job.

[00:18:30] The fastness, the pace of it. It really is. Yeah. No, I look. That's part of it for any like creators or would be creators who listen to this podcast also because they want to write comics like, you know, you can if you want to crowdfund your comic and, you know, that's fantastic. That's as legitimate as any other comic that's being published.

[00:18:53] But if you have one day aspirations of, you know, breaking into comics, breaking into the big two, one of the things most editors say is like, be kind and hit your deadlines. Like be a guy or gal or non-binary friend that they come to and they know is going to. Absolutely. But I don't think you're making it sound too mechanical. It is it is part of it, but it's it's good.

[00:19:17] I think it's important and necessary that you're still able to find some moment or some time, no matter what it is, to enjoy the fact that you're, you know, as Ethan said, we're messing around. We're making a thing, you know. And the only reason the only reason it becomes a thing that that is in any way mechanical is just because like we're still in in a stage where we're we're really trying to build something career wise.

[00:19:43] Like it's like like we we've had we've had like books and moments that we've been so happy with and like we've made so much progress that we're really happy with. But we are we are still trying to like progress the careers in a certain way. And that involves like we're taking on a lot. We're keeping the plate extremely full and like and and we like continue to like, yeah, fill our schedules up. And so like it does it does end up being just this crazy dance that we got to keep up with. But I do also kind of like that as well.

[00:20:12] Like it doesn't like that. That also doesn't that also doesn't naturally take away from the joy necessarily for me. Like like like because like keeping the plate spinning, there's something to that itself. I've always been somebody who needs to needs to have a lot going on. Just a masochist. Don't listen to him. Yeah. Take care of yourselves, everybody. You should. You should take care of yourself. I might be a workaholic. You're right. You're right. I do understand that that aspect of it, though.

[00:20:40] Like, you know, there sometimes it's like, oh, I just I want to hit this goal. I want to do this thing. I want to. Yeah. And I do it, too, whether or not it's episodes of the podcast or really like the stuff that I do in my day job in my office. It's like, yes, so they I've filled my schedule too much or we have the people in my office that do the scheduling. And one of the other attorneys will be like, well, let me take that off your plate. Let me I my my my hearing came off. My afternoon is free.

[00:21:10] Let me go handle that deposition for you because you have a deposition, you know, early in the morning. And I'm like, no, no, you don't take anything off my I can do it. I can do it all. Don't you dare take anything off my calendar. That's like you just tried to take my pork chop. I want all my pork chops. I can do it. I get it. I'm a little I'm a little crazy, a little. Why? Why else start a podcast? You want another little job for yourself? Just more and more and more. Yes.

[00:21:39] I'm I'm terrible at work about like letting somebody else, letting another attorney like help. I feel like I'm going to it's my job. I'm going to do it. I'm going to get it all done. And then, you know, because I feel some sick, perverse sense of pride if I had a crazy schedule and I did it all. Totally. Without any help. What is wrong with Ethan? What is wrong with us? I don't know. I don't know. And I don't know how to fix it. Just love the feeling of a stomach ulcer, man. Just nothing like it.

[00:22:08] It starts to become comforting at a certain point. And also comics will cheer you on for it. Comics will be like, great. Great. Keep it going, man. Be an insane person. One of the things I also want to talk about another book that you have coming out in July, which is your Godzilla book. The horror of Godzilla. Yeah. Which is a reimagining of the events of the original 1954 movie.

[00:22:32] And so, first off, I have to apologize because I was not aware of the Godzilla stuff. Every time I sit down and watch any type of kaiju movie, Godzilla, King Kong, I loved him as a kid. Like, I saw Godzilla minus one not that long ago. And I loved it. But I've not really gotten into the IDW Godzilla stuff. Totally.

[00:23:00] I knew it was happening, but I was just, it was on my radar, but I didn't really read it. I'm like, I'll get to it. I'll get to it. And so, I went back and looked, getting ready for this, and saw that, oh, I had no, I didn't even realize you guys had done with Pablo Tunica the Godzilla Escape the Dead Zone series. Yeah. So, I said, oh, well, I can't, let me at least, like, check out issue one to get a sense of what they're doing in the Godzilla universe. So, I read issue one of Escape the Dead Zone. Yeah.

[00:23:30] Holy shit. I had no idea how, like, how good the, like, the Godzilla stuff. I just did not expect it. I had no idea. I thought it was, I was like, oh, Godzilla's smashing stuff. Whatever. You know, I get it. They're having great, oh, Tim Sealy's doing one. Yeah, I get it. It's going to be good. It's just, I don't know if it's my thing. I read that first issue of Escape the Dead Zone, and I was like, I'm going to have to read so many freaking Godzilla comics now. Because it was so good.

[00:23:59] And then, like, Pandora's box has opened. And then I look, they have, like, Starship Godzilla. Yes. That's Godzilla destroyed Portland, I think. And I'm like, this sucks. You got a lot of homework to do. In a good way. It sucks in a good way. But yeah, Escape the Dead Zone. I can't wait to finish it. That issue one was so good. Oh, thank you. Thanks, man. So, I can't wait to see what you do with this series. Because they've been doing this particular Godzilla series. Like I said, they have the Starship Godzilla. Yeah.

[00:24:29] I think they have one or two other ones. But now, you guys, along with none other than Tristan Jones, who's recently coming off the Event Horizon book with Christian Ward, which has been amazing. The three of you are reimagining 1954 Godzilla. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:24:52] Out of all the different stuff that we've seen, you know, over the years, you know, going back with the Godzilla movies and, like, even stuff like the Monster Legacy show. So, what do you think is the one thing with, you know, with your story, your version of the Godzilla story? Like, how did you want to center the reader in that to maybe give them, like, a different experience? True.

[00:25:19] I mean, Jake Williams, the editor, came to us and said that he, like, really specifically wanted, like, a real hard horror angle on it. And I know we can, like, we can really definitively, yeah, the original Godzilla film, 100%. A horror property already. Of course. Like, Godzilla is a movie monster, right? So, inherently, like, part of the horror canon.

[00:25:41] But, of course, by this, we mean, like, you know, putting more, like, leaning more into, like, maybe some horror sort of, like, tropes more or, like, some more recognizable horror elements of it. Not that there are necessarily a bunch of tropes in it. I'm trying not to. But, it's certainly, I think, we just wanted, as has been the mission with all of the Kaisei era stuff, that's the banner that all of this has lived under.

[00:26:08] This Godzilla series, Escape the Dead Zone, Sealy's book, Starship Godzilla, has all been part of this universe. And so, this is also serving as the origin point for that universe. So, it's fun to be, like, you know, the original Godzilla film is, you know, a completely detached thing that just happened to spawn a 70-year-plus franchise. And so, taking that, but, like, trying to build in more of, like, how can we make it feel like this is an inception point for something bigger?

[00:26:37] Yeah. And also doing it in a way that is just good comic books, you know? Godzilla is a cinema icon, certainly. And we wanted to make something that felt as horrifying as Godzilla 54, or, of course, moments of Shin Godzilla, Godzilla Minus One, all these, and so many other ones.

[00:27:00] There's just so many in the canon that are so excellent and are so excellent as horror movies, that we wanted to do something that felt like a horror comic. That this is, like, we're really emphasizing just that singular image at a time of Godzilla. And how can we try and convey all of these things that cinema is so good at, scale and motion, how can we try and bring that to comics?

[00:27:30] And Godzilla just lends itself to that, right? And so, we got to just kind of go crazy on... The mission was give Tristan Jones the craziest Godzilla stuff to draw. We want to fill it with as much Tristan Jones Godzilla as possible, which was a great exercise for us coming from Escape the Dead Zone, where, spoiler alert, there's not a lot of seeing Godzilla in that book.

[00:27:57] Godzilla is so much more of a force in the Dead Zone. Yeah, yeah. It's more of an omnipresent sort of feeling or presence in the series rather than being a star of the show. The horror of Godzilla, completely the opposite. Godzilla, we're trying to get it on every page. While also balancing that with great character work, that's something I think that's why Minus One resonated with so many people.

[00:28:24] It was one of the more recent examples of honing in on a really solid emotional bedrock. So, we want to do a little bit of that too, really. We're trying to combine all the best elements of comic books, Godzilla, horror, and the human condition, I think is what I'm trying to say. Yeah, I think that's all we're trying to do in four issues. It's a tall order.

[00:28:48] I will say too, it is cool, Jimmy, to hear that you hadn't really gotten too into the Godzilla comic stuff and are just now kind of finding out that it's really cool and everything. Because I was not the biggest Godzilla guy going into working on Dead Zone. I had a fondness for Godzilla. There were certain films that I really loved and everything, but I hadn't really gotten too deep into the comics or expanded media or anything.

[00:29:15] And so, I was a little fresher to it and then was so stoked about this Kaisei era of the storytelling and what the mission of it was. And then it was really, really cool to like, it's a really unusual experience for us in comics so far where like being a little fresher to something like this and then coming in and then just diving so deep into it where we build out our whole own side of a universe of something.

[00:29:45] And we like tie in as many things from the lore and from the history as we can. And then now to like be going even deeper where not only are we like going back and sort of doing the origin, but then we're also doing a second season of Dead Zone. And so like, it's like some of the most we've gotten to write on any property. And so like, it has been a really fun like entering a love affair with a property and with a world and a series of characters like this.

[00:30:14] And so like, it's fun to hear you discover it because it's been a little bit of a discovery, at least for me as well. And I just love the big dude now. I love, I love that thing. I love, I love these big monsters. They're awesome. Well, it is, it is amazing when you look at the history of Godzilla and, you know, to go back to the fifties, the, I remember the 2001, was it 2001 Godzilla movie?

[00:30:44] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Was it? No, was it 99? Okay. 98? 98? Something like that? Yeah, late. Perhaps slightly underrated. Or even some of the more recent stuff. And it's one of those things, like, I remember from watching Godzilla as a kid and thinking, like, I get it.

[00:31:12] I just don't understand, like, why is it so scary? Like, you know, when you see the older movies, when I was a kid in the 80s and 90s, I'm like, I don't know, it doesn't seem like that terrifying to me. And then when you see some of the newer interpretations of it, but not just in, like, film and television, the beat had that preview of the Tristan Jones number one cover.

[00:31:41] I mean, it was inked by Tristan Jones, and it's like a low-angle shot from the street, like, looking up at Godzilla between two buildings. And, like, that sense of awe of, like, being on the ground level and seeing, like, looking up at that thing and how, like, Tristan inks it. But, yeah, that looks terrifying. We get so used to these. This is really very scary.

[00:32:08] Yeah, we get so used to these pop culture icons that, like, it's, like, easy to lose sight of, like, that initial kind of concept. And, like, the idea of a monster that's as big as a building that could just step on you and not even realize it, like, is scary as hell. And Tristan is so good at capturing the scale of that and is so good at, like, showing you exactly why that's so messed up.

[00:32:30] And, yeah, that's something that Griffin and I have, like, really had a lot of fun, like, figuring out all the different ways we can, like, where can you point the camera to show you, to the largest extent, how much you don't want to be around when Godzilla's around. Yeah, it's fun. But you see so many toys and stuff, it's easy to forget. It's pretty terrifying. A big walking mountain that shoots lasers out of its mouth is pretty terrifying. I'd say so, yeah.

[00:32:59] Yeah, I would agree. Jimmy is too humble to do this, so as his stalwart ride or die, I wanted to tell you about his new graphic novel, Penny and the Yeti with artist Amber Akin. What started as a comic short with his daughter that I've known about for ages now, and it's evolved and has become one of those annoying can't-talk-about-it-in-comics things for too damn long.

[00:33:22] Yes, I'm predisposed to be supportive, but after reading an advanced copy of it, I have to admit it's way better than I anticipated. No shade, but it's really good. Remarkably so. Does it have a Yeti? Yeah. Is it cute and adorable? Yeah. But it's straight-flies in effectively tapping into the all-too-familiar family dynamics that we all are facing in 2026 and approaching it in a way that doesn't insult the book's target audience. Kids!

[00:33:49] They are way smarter and perceptive than we adults give them credit for, so I really appreciated Jimmy's narrative approach tapping into his own experiences as a dad and a spouse. I can hear his wife saying, Get off your phone, Jimmy, through the pages. She's gonna kill me for saying that. It's hitting shelves on April 21st, and I dropped a link in the show notes where you can pre-order a copy today. Yeti or not, here we come with Penny, Perry, Fenton, Maxine, and the magical, mythical, magnificent Yeti.

[00:34:18] On behalf of us both, we appreciate your support. So one of the other things that you have coming out, the trade, I don't think it's out yet, but the trade for Marvel, Zombies, Red Band is coming out, which is, it just seemed like the two of you, and was it, I think, Jan Bazelduo was working on that.

[00:34:45] It just seemed like the two of you, basically, running through the history of the Marvel Universe and having a really good time. Basically, basically, yeah. That was 100% it. Yes. It was a really daunting order to try and do a recap of the entire history in 100 pages, all in all,

[00:35:12] and for each issue to be a recap of a 12-issue event, and also there are zombies, and also we want it to still feel like it has its own distinct continuity to it, and not just exactly what happens in the main universe. Yeah, it was a lot. It was a lot, but Ethan and I were just having a blast. The real problem was just, like, we would write these things, and they'd be three times as long as they need to be,

[00:35:39] because we're just like, I don't know, there's just so many little fun things we could do. So talk about Kill Your Darlings. We had to just take out so much stuff that we wanted to do just to preserve just the feeling of flying through Marvel history. It was a lot. Yeah. It was so much fun, honestly. What a gift as, like, our first full series at Marvel.

[00:36:07] Uh, editor Jordan White was a really great sport. Every time we were turning in, just us having, like you're saying, the best time, and here's what it's like. It's a book that's not afraid to have fun and lean into the goofiness of the Marvel Zombies characters, right? And so, uh, that was the other... It's like a sick, twisted thing, because it's gross. It's like a horrible thing to have happen to all of your favorite characters,

[00:36:34] and yet we're also trying to find ways for it to be kind of hilarious in how, like, gnarly it is. So, um, it was a real, a real fun time, yes. Yeah, I was going to mention, I mean, you said, you know, Kill Your Darlings, and this was a drinking game, that's where we all drink. Like, um, people, for anyone that imbibes. Uh, but yeah, I was curious, because it seems like it would be a series that you could really throw so much stuff into.

[00:37:04] And I was like, how do you, how do you kill your darlings? Like, how do you cut stuff away? Are you just like, all right, I know editorial's going to tell us to knock back some of this. Um, you know, how do you determine that between the two of you? Like, what serves the plot best, or what characters you might need for a later issue, or what is just, like, a really fun idea, but it's just not going to work here. Like, what is that process like to get there?

[00:37:31] I don't know that there is, like, a super nailed down process for us on that. Like, that, because that is one of the hardest parts of, of working on these books. It, like, is narrowing down, and then, and then once you have, even from there, like, like, even once you think you have it down to, like, everything that can fit into the book, you're wrong, and, and not everything's going to fit into the book. And, and, like, thankfully with a Marvel thing, like, you know, I talk about not being quite as familiar with Godzilla.

[00:38:01] Marvel is, like, our home. Like, we know exactly, we know the Marvel universe, like, the back of our hands, and we feel so comfortable with those characters, and those, those are our favorite toys. And so, like, thankfully, it, it was, like, walking into our own house, where, like, even with our eyes closed, we know where the drawers are at. Like, we know where we could find something if the lights went out. Like, that helps, like, just because it's, like, when you're working fast and furious, and you're trying to, like, churn through so much material to figure out what your,

[00:38:30] you know, what your, like, sticking points are and everything. Like, that, that's a big help, uh, because you're not constantly second-guessing yourself and making sure you're getting everything right and stuff. But, like, it is, it is, it just comes with all of its own challenges, like Griffin's saying again, where it's, like, it's, like, yeah, but I want the enforcers to be in every issue. Uh, like, but, like, you can't, you just can't. And so, like, it gets to a point where you just kind of have to get, go numb to it, and you just have to, like, you just have to be real with yourself

[00:38:57] and go, like, this is, this is, this is due tonight. And, like, we gotta be brutal. Uh, and so, like, yeah, there is just a certain level of, like, you gotta shut off your feelings. Because I just don't know, if you're trying to stay enjoying the process, I don't know if there's any real, um, getting over it. Like, it always kind of hurts when you have to cut something that you like. Like, uh, it's always a bummer.

[00:39:23] Um, and, uh, and so, yeah, it just, it just, it always just gets down to that line where it's, like, okay, well, this has to go. It just has to go. Yeah. Premising that, like, cutting stuff that overall is going to strengthen the piece, the actual, like, Kill Your Darlings as for a thing, that is still good. That's still a good thing to do. What always sucks is just, is when we're, like, cutting stuff down just for, like, just the space of it all. It's the biggest thing. Where, like, working in a miniseries format, that's a double-edged sword

[00:39:53] because on the one hand, you know exactly how much road you have, right? You can try and plan as best possible, you know, to give that, to, to give a whole satisfying experience in five issues. Uh, whereas in an ongoing, of course, you're just kind of, like, flying by the seat of your pants a little bit. We're planning a little bit ahead and a little bit, a little bit, but, like, we're just, like, flying or, like, falling through the story, really. Uh, and I feel like we must just have a hankering for it

[00:40:21] because we just keep ending up in, um, five-issue, uh, miniseries, and we're always, like, we need twice as many, I think. So, it's, it's been, um... Especially in a thing like Marvel Zombies, because that was pitched as, like, being, like, Spider-Man Life Story, like, being a Life Story-style thing. Like, we pitched it with the title Death Story. Like, we liked the idea that it was, like, it was jumping from era to era.

[00:40:50] And when you're doing that, that means it's part highlight reel. And so, for a, for a highlight reel, you're trying to get all the highlights in there, and so, and, but you can't. So, it's, like, which highlights are the real highlights? And, you know, like, God, it's, it's... And that was, like, playing 5D chess. Like, that book was so difficult. So, like, thankfully it was so much fun to balance it out. Because we were having some phone calls where we're both just drenched in sweat trying to, like, determine how to, how to find our way through

[00:41:20] just a 20-page version of, of, uh, of Civil War and 5 Other Stories with Zombies. So, yeah. How can we cater to the three, like, different ideas going on? The Marvel recap, the zombies, and the, like, any given redux of an event. How can it be a satisfying experience on all fronts? That was tricky, turns out. That was tricky. But we, yeah, we had a blast, and working with Jan was so fucking, uh,

[00:41:50] can I swear on this show? I'm so sorry if I can't go ahead and bleep that. Otherwise, um... I don't, I don't know how to do that. I don't know how to do that. Okay, you're right. Great. Well, it was so fucking incredible, um, working with, uh, with her, because that, you know, that was, uh, our, I feel like our first experience with the more accelerated timeline. Yes. We were never, I think, like, at a point where, like, we were rushing the book for anything like that, like, that we didn't have, uh, Jordan jumping down our throats, and hopefully we weren't stressing him out at all either.

[00:42:19] Uh, but, like, it's a very just steady, uh, stream of just, like, pages from Jan in our inbox, uh, for, like, five months straight, and it was just an incredible thing to watch, and, um, she was so collaborative and, uh, great, and just really, I feel like, uh, just nailed the, the horror of this book, man. Like, those moments that we are really hoping work, uh, to sell the zombie side of it,

[00:42:48] I feel like, um, she knocked it out of the park. Absolutely. That's awesome. Um, I also wanted to talk about, uh, Blink, and you'll miss it. Yeah. Boom Studios, and, uh, Keith Browning, and, um, uh, Brad Simpson, I, I believe, colored it. Yeah, I think that trade is coming out next month, like, June 16th. Yeah, yeah. Did I see that right? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, we've got, like, a whole bunch of trades coming out next month.

[00:43:16] It's, like, Marvel, Zombies, and Blink, and Escape the Dead Zone all have trades out. Yeah. Within, like, weeks of each other. It's incredible. Well, for any listeners who did, who, who did Blink and unfortunately might have missed it, but can now get the trade, well, what, can you just go through a little bit about Blink and You'll Miss It? Yeah, Blink and You'll Miss It is, um, it's, it's, it's, uh, it's like our hardest book to describe, but, but not even really. It just, I always find that we, that we, like, uh,

[00:43:45] end up stumbling a little bit right away, because it is, it is, um, quite large, but it is, and quite strange, but it does mean a lot to us. It's, like, uh, it's, it's about a girl who, uh, ends up finding herself slipping backwards through time, um, and as she does, uh, she discovers more and more, uh, that there are sinister goings-on, uh, in the town that she lives, Perennial Harbor, um, and she finds that

[00:44:14] as she's slipping through time, she's also slipping further and further away from, uh, the girl that she loves, um, and so she's having to reflect on a lot of the events of her life, um, and try to figure out what's going on with her, uh, before it's too late, and there's no time left to slip back through. Um, and, uh, it's, it's a, it's, it's a sad book, uh, but it's a sweet book, and it's, and it's like, um, it's, it's, it's like mind-bendy and strange, but it's also very reflective, and it's just like,

[00:44:43] this, the, it's really us doing, like, what we like to do with a creator-owned book when we're doing one of those at the same time as licensed stuff, where, like, with the licensed stuff, we're, we're doing so much, like, play, we're having so much fun, and we're getting to throw toys together, and, and, like, we're obviously getting as much emotion and character out of that as we can, but with the creator-owned books, like, is where we really like to stop and go, like, what's bumming us out lately? What's hurting us lately? What do we want to, you know, what do we need to work through? What's our, what, you know, that's our therapy, uh,

[00:45:13] and Blink is a book where it's very personal for us, um, and we got, we were very emotional during the making of it, um, but we also think it's, it is, like, strange in kind of, like, a fun way as well, and hopefully, like, people have fun sort of unraveling it for themselves, and, uh, yeah, if you, if you like a weird one, but you also like a love story and a sci-fi story and a strange little fable, definitely, definitely pick up that trade. We've been really looking forward to people having the trade experience, because the, uh,

[00:45:43] the issues, uh, you know, when, with them all together, I think you'll be able to see the shape of it really well and, uh, see what we were doing, and, uh, yeah, I can't wait. I'm, I'm hoping a lot of people, uh, get to have a fun experience that way. Yeah, I, I think they will. Um, I wanted to ask just, like, in terms of, like, the comic book of it all, um, it is a, it is a sad story, but a sweet story. Um, I, I had asked you to, to, you know, kind of pitch it to the, the listeners, because I thought,

[00:46:13] I think that this would have been a very, like, tough book to pitch. Like, it pays off, but there is, like, a lot of groundwork, like, to have to, like, to have to say, like, okay, this is what we're trying to, you know, giving, without giving anything away for listeners that do want to pick up the trade. Like, this is what we're trying to do. Um, so you don't have to go into, like, all the, the, you know, the, the nuts and bolts of it, but was it a tough book to pitch? Yeah.

[00:46:42] It was. It was. Yeah. And, and part of that being that, like, oh, really, this book wasn't, wasn't really what was pitched, more so that we pitched something that had elements of this in it. And the folks at Boom, um, our editor on it, uh, John Moison, um, was, uh, uh, just helping us sort of workshop it a little bit more in terms of what Boom was

[00:47:12] looking for. Um, I feel like we, we haven't had that with many publishers, but they were like, we see this, this, and this in it. How do you guys feel? And so we would just kind of keep trading it back and forth until they were like, okay, and they sort of just cut out the sentence, girls slipping backwards in time and said, go run with that part. And we were like, just that part? And they're like, just that part. We're like, all right, yeah, we will. Uh, and so it was,

[00:47:40] it was sort of like a surprising situation. Uh, but one that ended up yielding, um, yeah, something that was extremely, you know, uh, it was nebulous to us for so much of the making of it. And I think that comes through in the book, but in like an effective way where we were sort of alongside, uh, Melody in how strange this place felt and how we weren't sure what was going on completely.

[00:48:09] I feel like until we did. And then once we did, it felt like it had been there the whole time. It was this really strange thing where we felt like we had no idea where we were going or what we were doing. And, uh, I, in the best way possible, I should say, it was like one of those things where kill your darlings was meticulously like planned out and blink and you'll miss it ended up being like a weird thing of like, not that it was, uh, like tossing our laps by anything because it was our, like, uh,

[00:48:39] our pitch somehow, some way it was still like an idea that we, you know, had had, but hadn't thought about bringing it so to the forefront. Uh, and so stripping it all down to just like this girl and her struggle and what she was feeling was all, um, very challenging and very rewarding, especially working with Keith, uh, who I think was also, it was, you know, it's his, uh, his debut like series.

[00:49:08] And so he was just like, I don't know, channeling God on so much of that. Like, just bringing, bringing it as hard as he could. Right. You can just feel it. He, uh, we, he, he's, he's getting this, uh, the swing and he took a big swing. I think he just absolutely crushed it. There's like the different levels of, of, um, planning and plotting that you do before any particular project. And like, kill your darlings, like, because we had so much lead time, like was planned out

[00:49:37] almost like more so than I would even really prefer generally. Like, it's like, I really like to explore and, and find stuff along the way. And, and, and we did end up, you know, taking some detours and kill your darlings, like from where we expected and everything. But blink was just a, yeah, it was a really cool thing of like being pointed in such a specific direction that was so unexpected from what we were trying to do. It's like, it really threw us for a loop, but in a way that I think is really cool and benefited the book because it ended up being more exploratory

[00:50:07] than really anything we had done before. And it ended up being us like really having to like find our way around, um, and figure out what we wanted to say with it and what we wanted to put of ourselves in it. And I just really highly recommend that to, to, to, to our writers out there is like, maybe just do go into something, uh, sight unseen to some degree a little bit because you'll, you might be surprised what comes out of you. Like I was surprised by some of the stuff that came out in blink and that was really cool. I think it goes back to the very first question

[00:50:36] you asked us, Jimmy, about like what, what has changed with us. And those, uh, the trusting our instincts thing, I feel like as much as it was, uh, forged in the fires of like trying to get, you know, uh, uh, an issue done every two weeks for some of the license stuff. It was, I think equally so on blink where we were really leaning into just like, okay, like, you know, uh, he all I've seen star Wars and love star Wars.

[00:51:07] You put the blast shield down, you close your eyes going down the, the death star trench. That's what it is. It's just like, I'm just going to see what happens because we don't have an outline strictly speaking. Uh, and that, like I'm saying, was a weird point of contrast with kill your darling. So we're just like, let's just see where we go. Let's see where we end up. And so each time we were sitting down to write a script, it was just, where were we and where do I want to go right now? And I did that. And Ethan did that. And suddenly we were just like, okay, great.

[00:51:35] And so now it's the last issue. Now it's the last issue. I guess I have to end it. If I go from here to the end, what does it look like? It looks like this. I think I like it. Yeah. And it's just one of those things where that last issue came in and I was still just kind of had a nervous tummy about it. And then I read it and cried and was like, how did we do that? How did we do that? I can't, and a lot of that's from Keith because Keith's a genius. And Keith, Keith like has such a different understanding of what the book was.

[00:52:05] And so it was so cool to then get Keith's art. And then it was like, oh, that's what this is. Okay, cool. Thank you. Thank you, Keith. Yeah. Like, like, yeah, Keith is brilliant. Yeah. I think if anything, the, I guess the, the mystery of the series, you know, it, that maybe that feeling of, of going into it kind of lended itself to it, but I don't want to, you know, when you, you, when you're writing and you're not quite sure where you're, you're going with something, I don't, I don't want any listeners to think like,

[00:52:35] oh, that, that, that means you don't like, you know, you don't, you don't, you didn't put as much time or effort or, or care into it. But sometimes it is fun to kind of figure something out along the way and maybe discover something there that you didn't first, you know, first realize, uh, what was going to be in the story. But I, I think Blink and you'll miss it is, um, I think it's fantastic. I hope more people discover it in the trade. Um, and you're dead right too. Like I wanted to say,

[00:53:05] cause Matthew Rosenberg talks about on our show ideas don't bleed that like with what's the furthest place from here. Like he and Tyler boss were like, we know where we're driving to. It's just that we don't know every road we're going to take. We don't necessarily know the route we're going to take. Like we know some stops along the way. We know, we know generally where we're going. And, and it's like, it's like that where it's like, you know what feeling you want to end with, you know, what kind of moment you want to end with, but you like, you allow yourself to take those detours and you allow yourself to really like put the blast shield down and

[00:53:34] feel it out. And I think it's, it's, it's, it's kind of, it's like maybe we've gotten a little more mystical. I don't know, but I'm, I'm loving it. That's fine. We're now channeling the Alan more, you know, it's a magic. We're doing magic. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. had the two of you had time for, any fun other than making comics. Have you two been, been, what is that getting, getting into anything else? It's like, I don't know when, when you, you, you do something that

[00:54:03] isn't like your job or your, your, your passion. passion. Uh, it could just be just, just something else. Like, do you, do you still do anything to kind of like decompress, relax, you know, anything like to refill that creative? Well, since we're getting mystical, uh, Griffin, that's a good question for you because not only do you write comics, but you, you also work in a shop. And so you were around comics 24, seven.

[00:54:33] It's true. It is consumed my entire being for, uh, for better and for worse. Um, I, Griffin will just become comics. He'll be made of comic books. Just bundles of them. Yeah. Yeah. I would try to like find the anti-life equation of comic books so I can just like control, you know, everything. Um, yeah. No, because so certainly like reading comics,

[00:55:03] this was not the case working on Kill Your Girlings. Uh, but since, since being around them as much as I have been reading comics has become, has become harder, I think because it just feels so attached to work me. Right. Uh, even though I, I love both sides. I love the creator side. I genuinely love the retailer side of it. Um, so it's all good, but I think it is still necessary to just like step everything in moderation.

[00:55:32] Even the things that you love. Uh, and so, uh, find the times to step away from that. It's still tricky. I think my favorite thing to do to get away from that is to watch a movie and more specifically, or you to like go and be at the movie theater because, uh, I'm not supposed to take out my phone at, uh, the movie theater. I can't check the email. Like I could, I could go out and on our really stressful days, I'm still like ducking

[00:56:02] into my coat to take a look at Gmail like an idiot. But, uh, going to the movies is great because it still feels like, um, it feels like I'm taking a break. I'm not doing anything for at least two hours. Uh, but it also gets me that creative refill that I need. I find, I, you know, cinema probably, you know, it could, it's like a photo finish for who or what was my first love comics or movies. And so, I still have so much

[00:56:31] appreciation for film and I find that that is always the most inspirational stuff for me in writing is still movies because comics, I immediately start reading a book and I start to hear about that making up the book. It's like a curse. It's a curse. We have been told that. Like Donny Cates told us like early on like writing comics does completely change how you read comics and it's very true. it makes it even more telling and impressive like when I do read

[00:57:01] those books, those, the many, many books that are out there that I am reading that do make me still go like for completely forget about the job part of it and just go, holy shit, I love, I love comic books. And that does still happen. Like a lot, like, like, like there are those creators that are so reliable for me like your Dennis Camps and stuff where it's like I can still read a book and still get the feeling that I used to from comics where I'm just like, man, this is a magic medium. Like I still love comics.

[00:57:30] It just, if you, if you live and breathe comics, it does just change your relationship to it so it's no longer my relaxing hobby like it used to be. That's sort of become, movies are great. Same with movies, but I would say more, probably my biggest hobby has become video games because I, now I, I can enjoy a fictional world and enjoy maybe a narrative or whatever, but I can enjoy it in a very different way. I can enjoy it like mechanically and I can, and I can just like immerse in sound and visual and it's,

[00:58:00] it's just like very, it's just a completely different feeling. So it's like, I've just pivoted slightly where it's like, I'm still being a big nerd, but just like through, through a different medium and, and that helps because then I can come back to comics and still feel very appreciative of them in all of their own, you know, intricacies. Like, like the, the, the medium of comics itself is something I really love and I have to do work to sort of maintain that love where like,

[00:58:29] I have to step away and I have to not spend too much time of my free time. but again, it's like, that's not even always true. I think it just, it just kind of ebbs and flows. Like you just get to points where you're like, I can't look at another comic book today. I'll wake up and be like, I got to binge a whole thing. Like, it's just like, I don't know, but video games are helping. That's, that's, that's certainly true. Oh, that's good. I'm glad you, I'm glad you've, you found something, Ethan. We were, when, when Griff and I get together, we, we talk about how much

[00:58:59] I appreciate that guys. And let me tell you, me too. I don't know what's going on. The signs are all over the place. None of us do. This is a cry for us too. Well, um, I, I thank the two of you for, for coming back on. Thank you. I'm going to have links in the show notes. So, uh, listeners, you can check out and pick up the trade of blink and you'll miss it from boom studios or Marvel zombies, uh, red band.

[00:59:28] You can get, uh, Godzilla escape the dead zone and you can get ready for issue number one of the horror of Godzilla. And of course, um, super girl survive, which will be out June 3rd. Um, yeah. And if you haven't read kill your darlings, uh, definitely go get that, check that out. You can, uh, that, that was one of my favorites. It was awesome. And, um, yeah, hopefully it won't be another two years before, uh, the two of you come back on, but,

[00:59:58] Ethan and Griffin, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. Thank you so much. It is always such a joy. You're the best and you got great questions always make us feel very welcome. Thank you so much. Thank you, Jimmy. all right, listeners, make sure to rate and review us to all that stuff they say to do about podcasts. It really does help. Um, and you can find me on blue sky and tick tock and let me know what comics you're reading, especially you've read anything that Ethan and, and Griffin have made. I'd love to hear about it. A shout out to my brother, Bobby, the cryptic creator corners,

[01:00:28] number one, most dedicated fan. Bobby listens to all my episodes and, um, uh, yeah, don't worry, Bobby, I'll make sure you get, uh, the Godzilla comics. I think you're going to like it. Thank you. Thank you, Bobby. Thank you listeners. Uh, good night and I'll see you next time. Bye. Bye. This is Byron O'Neill, one of your hosts of the cryptic creator corner brought to you by comic book Yeti. We hope you've enjoyed this episode of our podcast. Please rate review,

[01:00:57] subscribe all that good stuff. It lets us know how we're doing. And more importantly, how we can improve. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode of the cryptic creator corner, maybe you would enjoy our sister podcast into the comics, Kate, listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.