Jimmy and Bobby Gaspero - The Baltimore Comic Con Special

[00:00:00] Your ears do not deceive you. You have just entered the Cryptid Creator Corner brought to you by your friends at Comic Book Yeti.

[00:00:07] So without further ado, let's get on to the interview.

[00:00:13] When we started this podcast, we knew inclusion and diversity were going to be at the forefront of what we wanted to do with it.

[00:00:20] Now two and a half years in that mission hits home for me.

[00:00:24] Being disabled myself, I know the likelihood of me getting to a con or doing, frankly, most of the other things that can bring the

[00:00:30] comics community together is not likely in the cards, but this podcast has connected me with people in ways I never would have imagined possible.

[00:00:39] I know the similar challenges disabled creators face trying to get their work seen.

[00:00:43] So it should come as no surprise that I'm excited about the new unseen, unheard disability and neurodivergence anthology on Kickstarter.

[00:00:52] This 64 page, 12 story anthology covers a wide range of genres, including slice of life, horror, sci-fi, fantasy and romance.

[00:01:01] And features at least 50% of each creative team being comprised of people who are neurodivergent or have a disability.

[00:01:08] I know that editors and can assure you it's in good hands.

[00:01:12] And after having seen a few sample pages myself, I'm excited to see the rest of what all these amazing creators have cooked up.

[00:01:18] If they do a second one, you best believe I'm subvitting.

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[00:01:38] Y'all, Jimmy, the chaos goblin strikes again.

[00:01:42] I should have known better than to mention that was working on my DC universe meets Ravenloft hybrid D&D campaign on social media.

[00:01:48] My bad.

[00:01:49] He goes and tags a bunch of comics creators we know.

[00:01:52] And now I have to get it in gear and whip this campaign into shape so we could start playing.

[00:01:56] Another friend chimes in, are you going to make maps?

[00:01:59] It's fair to say it's been a while since I put something together.

[00:02:02] So I guess question mark.

[00:02:05] It was then that I discovered Arkham Forge.

[00:02:07] If you don't know who Arkham Forge is, they have everything you need to make your TT RPG more fun and immersive,

[00:02:13] 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.

[00:02:26] Now I'm set to easily build high res animated maps saving myself precious time and significantly adding nuance to our campaign.

[00:02:33] That's a win every day in my book.

[00:02:35] Check them out at arkhamforge.com and use the discount code Yeti5 to get $5 off.

[00:02:41] I'll drop a link in the show notes for you.

[00:02:43] And big thanks to Arkham Forge for partnering with our show.

[00:02:46] I think I'm going to make Jimmy play a Goblin Warlock just to get even.

[00:02:51] Hello and welcome to Comic Book Eddie's Cryptid Creator Corner.

[00:02:55] I am one of your hosts, Jimmy Gispero.

[00:02:57] And we have a very special episode today.

[00:02:59] I'm here with the Cryptid Creator Corner is number one most dedicated fan, Bobby Gispero.

[00:03:04] My brother, he listens to all my episodes and he's here to talk about Baltimore Comic Con.

[00:03:11] It is our favorite Comic Con.

[00:03:14] We have been going every year for the past couple of years and we're going to go again this year.

[00:03:20] It is in September and we are super excited to go.

[00:03:26] And we want to tell you all about some of our favorite memories from Baltimore Comic Con.

[00:03:32] This year, September 20th, 21st and 22nd.

[00:03:35] They're going to have a lot of great guests.

[00:03:37] And yeah, we're going to tell you all about some of our favorite memories from Baltimore Comic Con.

[00:03:44] So Bobby, why don't you?

[00:03:45] I've shouted at your.

[00:03:47] OK, he's shaking his head.

[00:03:49] No, this has been a real struggle to get him on the podcast.

[00:03:53] I've been trying for a while now and he always just keeps telling me that he hates his voice.

[00:03:58] So Bobby, why don't you come on, just talk, just say at least one.

[00:04:02] One of your favorite memories when you think of going to Baltimore Comic Con, what have you think of?

[00:04:08] Well, Jimmy, I think about the time I met Greg Pop.

[00:04:12] See, Bob, you don't sound like Mickey Mouse.

[00:04:15] That is just a lie.

[00:04:17] I think you should just just jump right in there and say your favorite memory.

[00:04:21] Talk about meeting Greg Pop.

[00:04:26] This is the worst.

[00:04:28] It's the most dedicated listener I've ever seen.

[00:04:31] OK. No, so it was awesome.

[00:04:36] That's something that I always think about when I think of Baltimore Comic Con and somebody asked, like,

[00:04:42] what is it you like about it?

[00:04:43] And it's very centered on comic creators, writers and artists, more so than like media guests or other celebrities.

[00:04:53] Right.

[00:04:54] And I just think of how accessible everyone is.

[00:04:57] And I mean, you went there and you wanted Greg to sign something.

[00:05:02] He's a creator that means a lot to you.

[00:05:04] But you also had brought, like, one of your kids' Hulk hands and you asked him to, like, put it on and take a picture.

[00:05:12] And he was just like 100 percent game for it.

[00:05:17] He was ecstatic.

[00:05:17] He got up.

[00:05:18] He said, oh, sure.

[00:05:19] Biggest smile in the space, ran around the table and took a picture and posed.

[00:05:23] And there's like a little kid there in the background.

[00:05:26] He was looking like, this is happening, you know?

[00:05:28] And that's how I felt.

[00:05:29] I was that little kid.

[00:05:30] This is really how dreams do come true at Baltimore Comic Con.

[00:05:33] Well, no, I know you were like worried about it beforehand.

[00:05:37] Like, oh, is this weird that I'm asking him to do this?

[00:05:40] And I remember saying, like, look, just ask him.

[00:05:43] And he just seemed very down to like meet everybody, sign comics, talk to folks about the stuff he had written.

[00:05:51] You know, because both of us are like and when I interviewed him on the podcast, I told him, like,

[00:05:56] both of us are like huge fans of, you know, Planet Hulk.

[00:06:01] I mean, World War Hawk as well.

[00:06:03] But he's in general.

[00:06:04] I mean, I like his writing style.

[00:06:07] Yeah, I was super excited about that.

[00:06:09] That was definitely that and the supernatural, the baby car when we got to make photos.

[00:06:17] We thought it was just standing in front of the car for $20.

[00:06:21] I'm like, I got it.

[00:06:21] I'll pay for it.

[00:06:22] You know, no big deal.

[00:06:24] And you get to dress up.

[00:06:26] Oh, my goodness.

[00:06:27] Yeah.

[00:06:27] That was so cool because like I was telling someone today about, you know, Baltimore,

[00:06:35] Comic Con and like some of the stuff that I had coming up there.

[00:06:37] Like, oh, well, like, you have anything coming up comic wise?

[00:06:40] And I was like, oh, we're going to go to Baltimore, Comic Con.

[00:06:41] You guys dress up.

[00:06:43] I said, no, we don't.

[00:06:44] We don't dress up.

[00:06:45] There's some great cosplayers that do they have a cosplay contest at Baltimore,

[00:06:50] Comic Con, which is on Saturday.

[00:06:52] Yeah.

[00:06:53] But it's not something that we typically do.

[00:06:56] But I, yeah, I still remember.

[00:06:58] I think it was two years ago.

[00:06:59] They had a replica of baby like one of the cars they actually used on the show.

[00:07:05] Supernatural.

[00:07:06] And they had a guy who looked so much like Jim Beaver, who plays, you know,

[00:07:12] Bobby Singer in the show and they had clothes from the actual show.

[00:07:17] They had a replica of like the Colt and the Angel Blade.

[00:07:22] And everybody signed the mirrors inside.

[00:07:27] There was all different writings and quotes from the from the show,

[00:07:33] which was really cool to see all that stuff.

[00:07:36] And the assortment in the trunk went back there like everything

[00:07:40] that was in the show at one point or another that was used as a weapon

[00:07:44] was a good deal.

[00:07:46] Yeah, no, like for fans of, you know, for fans of the show.

[00:07:51] Like all of that stuff was like real from the show.

[00:07:55] And I just remember you looking over and seeing and you're like, oh,

[00:07:57] you were 100 percent doing that.

[00:07:59] I was like, come on, I don't want to dress up.

[00:08:01] You're like, no, we're doing it.

[00:08:03] And I think you had like a flannel shirt that like Jared

[00:08:07] had a lecky war on the show and I had Dean's leather jacket.

[00:08:11] Yeah.

[00:08:12] And yeah.

[00:08:14] Then we thought it was one picture.

[00:08:16] Like, oh, one picture.

[00:08:17] Like every deal they must have taken like 30,

[00:08:19] 30 pictures and then you only get one for the $20.

[00:08:23] The one you picked, they were nice enough to print us two pictures.

[00:08:26] Yeah, they they they were they were great.

[00:08:28] And they took a bunch of photos with our cell phones,

[00:08:32] like as many as we wanted.

[00:08:33] I think they were more excited that we were brothers as well doing.

[00:08:36] Yeah, I think I think they like that that part of it too.

[00:08:40] Yeah, I've always enjoyed, you know, going there,

[00:08:44] the different creators that we've met.

[00:08:46] I mean, I've told the story on the podcast before

[00:08:48] about Cullen Bun.

[00:08:50] Greatest, greatest time of my life.

[00:08:53] I have this something you really want to talk to me.

[00:08:56] And I had a beer with him at the bar.

[00:08:59] I was waiting in line.

[00:09:01] I was holding our spot.

[00:09:01] I don't think you demonstrate the importance of the spot.

[00:09:05] Yeah, no, I think I do neglect the fact that you were holding

[00:09:08] our spot in line and I ran across the street to have a beer

[00:09:12] and just happened to be having a beer next to Cullen Bun.

[00:09:15] And I was I still really I mean, Cullen's been on the podcast,

[00:09:21] I think like two or three times now and we've talked about it before.

[00:09:25] But I just still like when I said, you know, I said it all up that,

[00:09:29] oh, yeah, I'm here in town and I'm going to the comic convention next door.

[00:09:33] My brother and I have a bunch of creators we want to meet.

[00:09:35] He was like, oh, who do you want to meet?

[00:09:37] Like one of my brother's favorite creator is Cullen Bun.

[00:09:39] And he turned and like put his hand out for me to shake.

[00:09:42] And he's like, I'm Cullen Bun.

[00:09:44] And just as happy when I am ready to hand my Darth Maul number one

[00:09:49] and we come around the corner, I'm like, everything's fine.

[00:09:52] At least I'm going to meet him and we come around the corner

[00:09:54] and he looks up because I'm first and then he ends right to you and says,

[00:09:57] hey, friend.

[00:09:59] And I was like, just crushed.

[00:10:01] He signed my comic so you guys can finish.

[00:10:03] I will say that when I do tell that story, though,

[00:10:06] everyone thinks that I am the villain.

[00:10:09] So if that makes you feel any better, I feel 10 times better.

[00:10:11] Yeah, everyone is just like, you should have switched places

[00:10:16] with your brother in line so that he could go to the bar and meet Cullen Bun.

[00:10:19] And I was like, oh, yeah.

[00:10:24] Never going to happen.

[00:10:25] I sort of, but I didn't do that.

[00:10:28] But that's the thing.

[00:10:29] You go to Baltimore, you had a beer with Cullen Bun.

[00:10:33] I did. You know what I mean?

[00:10:34] You didn't pay for that.

[00:10:36] You know, it's not like a meet and greet.

[00:10:38] Right. You just just happened the things that can happen there.

[00:10:40] Awesome. That just happened.

[00:10:44] It meant a lot to me.

[00:10:46] I mean, Tom King, who is a writer that I really like, has been there

[00:10:50] like a number of years.

[00:10:52] And I've gotten I've gotten Tom King to sign several things.

[00:10:56] But I was in an anthology through

[00:11:00] Banda Bard's comic publisher.

[00:11:02] It was called From the Static.

[00:11:03] And I had a comic in there that I wrote.

[00:11:07] Sam Owens illustrated it.

[00:11:08] Ben Humaniac colored it.

[00:11:12] Micah Myers, who's been to Baltimore as well,

[00:11:16] lettered it and like one of

[00:11:19] like a real treat for me was like I got to hand Tom King

[00:11:23] like a copy of that anthology.

[00:11:26] And there's they like, hey, like I wrote a comic.

[00:11:30] I'm a big fan of yours.

[00:11:31] Like you've really inspired me to start writing.

[00:11:34] And, you know, it was really cool to kind of do that.

[00:11:37] That's like, you know, I similarly when Scott Snyder

[00:11:41] a few years ago and Greg Capullo were there and get to tell Scott

[00:11:44] how much the series he did with Jeff Lemire, AD after death,

[00:11:50] like how much that meant today and how much I thought that

[00:11:52] like there's one panel in there that is just like a perfect description

[00:11:55] of what experiencing anxiety is like

[00:12:00] and getting to talk to Scott about that.

[00:12:03] Well, you use two things, one with Tom King

[00:12:06] and then I thought you were spiraling into the other one.

[00:12:09] You said treats, but usually he was sitting with

[00:12:12] the next generation who I'm looking forward to get him to sign

[00:12:15] because Tom signed Riddler one bad day.

[00:12:18] Yeah, but Mitch wasn't there that year, but he's here this year.

[00:12:21] So I'm looking forward to that.

[00:12:23] But do you want to tell your treat story?

[00:12:25] You can't have me.

[00:12:27] No, so we spent time shopping.

[00:12:29] Yeah.

[00:12:30] Before head for what kind of treats were they?

[00:12:32] I think on social media, like on Twitter,

[00:12:34] Mitch was talking about how he loved, like, you know,

[00:12:39] gummy snacks, like whatever they are.

[00:12:41] And I think we went and bought like three different types of

[00:12:44] gummy snacks. We put them in.

[00:12:46] I'm almost Scooby Doo.

[00:12:48] Scooby Doo snacks.

[00:12:49] And we put them in a big bag.

[00:12:50] And I just have I have this great picture of Mitch.

[00:12:55] He like afterwards he had like he reached his hand to the bag.

[00:12:58] So he has the bag in one hand and I think a bunch of gummy

[00:13:01] snacks and the other that he's holding up.

[00:13:03] I mean, can you imagine like you were going in depth?

[00:13:05] We were going to go to the library and 3D print a mother box.

[00:13:08] Like you were going on this Mr.

[00:13:11] Miracle kind of thing was pretty cool.

[00:13:13] I love Mr. Miracles like just one of my favorite series.

[00:13:16] I recommend it, you know, to everybody.

[00:13:19] Yeah, but I had Tom and Mitch sign my

[00:13:22] favorite issue of that when they were both there.

[00:13:26] Yeah. And I talked to I heard from them later.

[00:13:29] I think like the next year where I said, oh, I was the one,

[00:13:32] you know, my brother and I were the ones that brought like the

[00:13:34] gummy snacks and like they kept us going.

[00:13:37] The whole pond.

[00:13:39] But that's one of the hardest things when you go like you're

[00:13:42] paying for these issues.

[00:13:43] Like which one do you get signed?

[00:13:45] You know, if you come down to like you picking one, you know what I mean?

[00:13:50] Getting stuff signed.

[00:13:51] Are you? Yeah.

[00:13:53] Is there someone that you're looking forward to this year specifically?

[00:13:57] I mean, I think there are a lot.

[00:13:59] There are a ton of folks this year, like some returning guests,

[00:14:04] but also some people that like we have that we've been going the

[00:14:07] past few years and there are a few that I don't think

[00:14:11] have been there the past couple of years that we've been there.

[00:14:15] Just in terms of like podcast guests who I haven't met in person

[00:14:19] and would like to like one of the big names, Rodney Barnes,

[00:14:22] who I got to enter.

[00:14:24] I was lucky enough to interview for the podcast, but like

[00:14:26] Philadelphia is just such a good series.

[00:14:29] I mean, I think so.

[00:14:32] I mean, I've read at least the first four volumes.

[00:14:36] I don't know if volume five is like out yet, but I have the

[00:14:41] first four volumes.

[00:14:43] It is such a great series.

[00:14:46] Rodney Barnes, the artist Jason Sean Alexander and it is so good.

[00:14:52] So I would love to, you know, to get Rodney Barnes to like

[00:14:55] sign one of those, you know, not just like the Philadelphia of it

[00:15:01] all, but also it's just like such a fun take on like vampires.

[00:15:08] And yeah, it's awesome.

[00:15:11] So I would love to be able to meet him in person.

[00:15:15] But yeah, they're said you're going to win in line with me for

[00:15:19] Ben Edwin.

[00:15:20] Yeah.

[00:15:22] That's that somebody else because like not only is I think he's

[00:15:26] associate, you know, did the tick, which I mean, I absolutely

[00:15:31] love the comic of the tick.

[00:15:33] I love the cartoon of the tick.

[00:15:35] But, you know, Ben Edlin does somebody else that was also

[00:15:38] involved with Supernatural, you know?

[00:15:41] So yeah, 100 percent.

[00:15:43] And I don't think he's ever been a guest when we've

[00:15:46] been there before.

[00:15:46] So that's pretty exciting.

[00:15:48] And yeah, I mean, the tick is such a phenomenal comic.

[00:15:53] And like the cartoon of it was really good.

[00:15:56] I mean, I really even like the live action live action show

[00:15:59] with Patrick Warburton.

[00:16:01] Yeah, that version of the tick.

[00:16:04] And then Amazon did one as well.

[00:16:09] With I know that.

[00:16:12] Yeah, they did they did like two seasons of it on Amazon.

[00:16:17] Like cartoon.

[00:16:18] No, no, it was live action.

[00:16:19] And that was pretty funny too as well.

[00:16:24] Yeah. So that'll be that'll be pretty exciting to get to meet him.

[00:16:29] I think what I might do this year is start out in artist

[00:16:32] out. I know we usually put that on the back half.

[00:16:36] But if there's something like, you know, obviously, if you

[00:16:38] want to stand in line for the four mentioned people will do that.

[00:16:42] But I was looking at one place called Action Pig Studios.

[00:16:47] OK, so I'm going to definitely see if I can pick up a copy of Hard

[00:16:53] Carol kill Harry.

[00:16:55] Oh, I don't know that. What is Action Pig Studios?

[00:16:59] Not a pig.

[00:17:01] So you just want that because you own a big.

[00:17:04] Yeah, exactly.

[00:17:06] You're doing that for Stella then.

[00:17:07] Yeah, which is also there's a guy.

[00:17:11] That's pretty cool.

[00:17:12] Yeah. But OK.

[00:17:13] Yeah, I'm going to go do that.

[00:17:14] And then I was looking there's Dark Child Studios or Corey Taylor.

[00:17:20] All right, the Black Death.

[00:17:24] See if I can pick something up like that.

[00:17:26] You know, just random people like I was just going through like I want to.

[00:17:29] Yeah. And then if they're, you know, open to it

[00:17:33] and other people and you can have on the podcast.

[00:17:36] Oh, yeah, I love that aspect of it too.

[00:17:38] I mean, there are some great people that I met last year,

[00:17:40] you know, in artist alley that I ended up having on the podcast.

[00:17:45] You know, like Mark is McNeil from Odyssey Comics.

[00:17:51] I had the the guy in charge of Black Box Comics who I met there

[00:17:57] and read some of his series and they're really good.

[00:18:01] I've liked all of them.

[00:18:02] I had him on the podcast.

[00:18:04] Yeah, I'm excited about artist alley this year

[00:18:07] because there's a lot of folks that I like know from online

[00:18:10] indie comics being that have you been on the podcast

[00:18:13] or who I've interacted with on Twitter that I'm going to get to meet in person.

[00:18:18] In particular this year, Alex Breen is going to be there.

[00:18:22] Alex is a fellow comic book yeti contributor

[00:18:26] who has published a couple of comics and I'm excited to meet him in person.

[00:18:31] Wells Thompson, who is the first like person that edited my reviews

[00:18:35] when I started at comic book yeti, who he's going to be there as well.

[00:18:39] So I'll finally get to meet Wells in person

[00:18:41] and Wells has some great comics.

[00:18:45] He has Mechaton, which he kick started and then Scout picked it up

[00:18:50] and put out some of those issues.

[00:18:52] He also has another series called Frankenstein, the unconquered,

[00:18:57] which is very good and very different for Mechaton.

[00:19:00] Mechaton is more like all ages.

[00:19:03] A guy gets a glove and everything he punches turns into like a robot

[00:19:07] that can fight these big insects that have now invaded Earth.

[00:19:12] Frankenstein, the unconquered is much darker and, you know, Frankenstein

[00:19:18] has basically been alive for a very long time and he goes to sleep

[00:19:21] and he wakes up and he's not in a good mood essentially.

[00:19:26] But I'm excited to get to meet Wells in person.

[00:19:30] So yeah, I'm looking forward to doing that.

[00:19:34] Plus, there's a couple of others, comic book yeti folks that I've interviewed.

[00:19:40] Dylan Gilbertson, Jason Piperberg, who I got to hang out with a few weeks ago

[00:19:44] in Philly, they're sharing a table.

[00:19:47] They have a comic right now that their episode is going to come out soon

[00:19:50] on the Cryptid Creator Corner.

[00:19:53] But my neighbor, Necro Mansor, number two, is going to be kick started

[00:20:01] soon and they're both going to be sharing a table

[00:20:05] this year. So I'm really looking forward to seeing them.

[00:20:08] Yeah, Big Footnose Karate, Casey Allen and Dan Price.

[00:20:13] I've met them before.

[00:20:14] Well, I met Dan Price before.

[00:20:15] I've never met Casey Allen, but both of them, those guys are great.

[00:20:21] They Big Footnose Karate is just like such a wild concept.

[00:20:25] You gave me that.

[00:20:25] I was reading it on the way to the beach one day

[00:20:28] and I was in the very back with two boys.

[00:20:30] They're looking at my shoulder like, what are you doing?

[00:20:31] I was like, well, I'm reading a comic and they're like, what is that?

[00:20:34] I want to read that comic.

[00:20:35] Not the ones that you tell me, not my school list of books to read.

[00:20:40] And I was like, all right, well, oh, he just lost his head.

[00:20:42] Never mind.

[00:20:43] Let's not talk about don't read any more.

[00:20:46] Spoilers, sorry.

[00:20:47] But you should read that anybody.

[00:20:49] Yeah, I mean, they have a couple issues of Big Footnose Karate

[00:20:52] and they've done a couple of really cool things with it.

[00:20:56] I just think it's another one like Cryptids and Fighting.

[00:20:59] And, you know, it's a pretty fun series.

[00:21:04] But yeah, definitely write up your kid's alley.

[00:21:12] You gave me that or not.

[00:21:14] You recommended I got from the library that cooking with monsters.

[00:21:20] Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[00:21:21] So I read that was really good.

[00:21:22] I gave it to Autumn because I have until like the beginning of September.

[00:21:25] Yeah, the writer of that, Jordan Alsaka.

[00:21:27] I interviewed him on the podcast and I really like cooking with monsters.

[00:21:32] And Charlotte has read it as well.

[00:21:34] But I just went to give it to Autumn and she didn't read it right away.

[00:21:38] And my one son, Cas, who doesn't read at all,

[00:21:43] because he's lazy, but he has ADHD and dyslexia.

[00:21:49] But anyway, he's not lazy.

[00:21:51] He's also lazy.

[00:21:53] Anyway, he wanted to read it.

[00:21:54] So I was just like, OK.

[00:21:56] Did you like it?

[00:21:58] Well, he read a little bit of it.

[00:21:59] But yeah, it's lazy.

[00:22:00] So he put it down.

[00:22:03] All right, we did.

[00:22:04] We did not get you calling your the kids don't listen to the podcast.

[00:22:09] Yeah. All right.

[00:22:11] Let's take a quick break.

[00:22:20] After a string of unexplained

[00:22:22] disappearances in the southern parts of the United States,

[00:22:24] retired detective Clint searches for his white trash brother.

[00:22:28] While searching for him, he ends up being abducted by aliens.

[00:22:32] He is now in the arena for big guns, stupid rednecks,

[00:22:36] an intergalactic cable's newest hit show, which puts him

[00:22:39] and other humans in laser gun gladiatorial combat.

[00:22:43] And his brother is the reigning champion with 27 kills.

[00:22:47] That's the premise for a new book from Banda Barnes, Big Guns, Stupid Rednecks.

[00:22:53] I got a chance to see an advanced preview of this book.

[00:22:55] And being from the south, honestly, I was a bit skeptical going in,

[00:22:58] but they won me over and nothing is more powerful

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

[00:23:04] In Jimmy's words, Big Guns, Stupid Rednecks is many things, but it isn't subtle.

[00:23:08] It tells you exactly what it is up front.

[00:23:10] Then it delivers with a great premise, fantastic art and a whole mess of fun.

[00:23:14] I had a great time reading Big Guns, Stupid Rednecks.

[00:23:17] And what I thought was going to be an indictment

[00:23:19] of redneck culture quickly showed it was actually a love letter.

[00:23:22] A family mystery, brother pitted against brother, aliens,

[00:23:26] fighting for profit in a big arena.

[00:23:28] This truly has it all.

[00:23:29] Issue one is out already, but you can still pick up a copy on the Banda Bards website

[00:23:33] and current issues are available via your previews or lunar order form

[00:23:37] or just ask your LCS. Don't miss.

[00:23:39] Let's get back to the show.

[00:23:41] There's a lot of great creators, you know, this year.

[00:23:46] Cliff Chang, who's been there before, is back.

[00:23:51] So that's exciting.

[00:23:53] Oh, creators that I haven't met before that I'm really excited to talk about.

[00:23:57] Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Connor.

[00:24:01] I'm so excited that both of them are there.

[00:24:04] I mean, just they have created so many amazing comic.

[00:24:09] Yeah. And to get them to meet them, to get them to sign something is awesome.

[00:24:14] Go with you to meet them.

[00:24:15] I already have them.

[00:24:16] They signed a Harley Quinn that I have with doing the whole Spider-Man

[00:24:23] Mary Jane thing where I tied up upside down kind of thing.

[00:24:27] Oh, nice. So yeah, that's down the basement wall.

[00:24:31] Awesome comics that are signed by awesome creators.

[00:24:35] Yeah. And but not just them.

[00:24:37] Some other ones that have not been at Baltimore Comic Con,

[00:24:41] at least since the few years that we've been going.

[00:24:44] But so far, Kyle Higgins is going to be there for any fans of, you know,

[00:24:49] Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Radiant Black.

[00:24:51] That's going to be awesome.

[00:24:53] I think J.G.

[00:24:55] Jones has been there before, but he's supposed to be back again.

[00:24:59] Joel Jones.

[00:25:01] I haven't seen before at a Comic Con and I'm a big fan of Joel Jones.

[00:25:07] Another one, Dan Jurgens, Freddie, you know,

[00:25:11] Booster Gold, Death of Superman fans.

[00:25:15] That's pretty exciting.

[00:25:18] And there were a few others.

[00:25:20] Jay Lee, you know, who's done a ton of really cool covers.

[00:25:25] He's also done some interior work on Dark Tower, Batman Superman.

[00:25:29] I think he did some stuff with Greg Pak as well when they did their

[00:25:33] like he did covers, I think, for some of the Batman Superman,

[00:25:37] if not interiors.

[00:25:39] You know, Jim Lee is going to be there Saturday,

[00:25:42] which I'm sure that'll be next to impossible to get Jim Lee to sign anything.

[00:25:47] Yeah.

[00:25:48] But like Jeff Loeb is going to be there.

[00:25:51] Batman Long Halloween is like one of my favorite

[00:25:53] Batman stories of all time, plus Superman for all seasons is

[00:25:57] like just classic, classic Superman story.

[00:26:01] So that will be awesome.

[00:26:04] Somebody I'm I'm excited to try and get to sign something.

[00:26:07] Sam Maggs is going to be there.

[00:26:09] I don't know if Tell No Tales Pirates of the Southern Seas is like really fun.

[00:26:14] If anybody has read that, Ron Mars is going to be there.

[00:26:18] He's been there a couple of times that we've been.

[00:26:22] I had you get back and pick up that Silver Surfer.

[00:26:25] Yeah, last year.

[00:26:26] Yeah, I got to talk to Ron a little bit.

[00:26:29] I think when I had him sign, I think he did one of the Amalgam

[00:26:34] comics that I have a copy of like the it might be the

[00:26:41] Doctor Strange Fate, you know, the Amalgam one.

[00:26:46] And I think I think I had him sign that.

[00:26:50] Friend of the podcast, Charlie McKelvie is going to be back.

[00:26:54] We're here.

[00:26:55] Spider Squirrel, Trash Panda.

[00:26:58] Charlie puts out some great comics.

[00:27:01] He was doing one with some other writers, American Yakuza,

[00:27:04] which he kickstarted.

[00:27:06] I'm sure he'll probably have copies of that.

[00:27:08] So I do like that there instead of like getting it

[00:27:12] on the web, getting it from them in person.

[00:27:14] Like when you're there, you know, helping out with extra sales.

[00:27:18] Yeah, Joshua Middleton supposed to be there this year.

[00:27:21] I mean, his like covers that he's done and his artwork is incredible.

[00:27:27] So that's like.

[00:27:30] That might be a place to stop.

[00:27:31] Yeah, that's a pretty big deal.

[00:27:33] I'm excited. Drew Moss is supposed to be there.

[00:27:35] I interviewed Declan Shalvy and we talked about, you know,

[00:27:37] after we, you and I met him at Dublin Comic Con.

[00:27:42] I got to interview him for the podcast.

[00:27:44] Drew Moss has done some of the interiors for his Thundercats run.

[00:27:50] So Drew Moss is supposed to be there.

[00:27:52] So that's pretty exciting.

[00:27:54] I'm excited about that.

[00:27:55] Fabian Nisesa there, one of the creators, I think of Deadpool.

[00:27:59] Right? Yeah. Yeah, I got a couple of those.

[00:28:01] I'm trying.

[00:28:03] Looking forward to meeting him for the first time.

[00:28:06] Nick Batara is going to be there.

[00:28:08] I don't know if anybody here has read Axe, Wielder, John, but it is phenomenal.

[00:28:14] It is one of the most brutal comics I've ever read, but it is so good.

[00:28:21] Like it is get the I think they have a hard cover of it,

[00:28:24] but like get the hard cover, put it on your bookshelf.

[00:28:28] It is incredible.

[00:28:30] So I'm super excited to meet him this year

[00:28:34] because Axe, Wielder, John is just like a phenomenal read.

[00:28:38] It's just one of those things that you read and you're just like,

[00:28:40] oh, this is why I love comics

[00:28:42] because this might not work in any other medium, but it works in comics.

[00:28:48] So yeah, I'm really excited about that.

[00:28:51] Is there anybody else that you're really excited to kind of meet

[00:28:53] and get to sign something this year?

[00:28:55] No, that's pretty much everybody.

[00:28:57] I think he went down the whole list.

[00:28:59] I mean, there's that I always stop at Rich Heneman's table because

[00:29:03] he did that awesome. That's a scam.

[00:29:06] That awesome flash cover that you thought was a scam.

[00:29:11] Yes, I got like just give you my money and my comic

[00:29:14] and you're going to mail it to me.

[00:29:16] And he did. So he did.

[00:29:18] And it is worth it.

[00:29:19] I had a picture of.

[00:29:23] A vinyl sticker I got from Etsy

[00:29:26] and it had on the wall and I just wanted it replicated on a comic.

[00:29:30] It was a flash seven fifty or something like that.

[00:29:35] Flying cover all red.

[00:29:37] And that's what my wall is, I painted it all red and I have black stickers on it.

[00:29:40] And I showed him a picture of my phone.

[00:29:43] He's like, oh, yeah, here, send it to me. I'm like, OK, so he gave me his number.

[00:29:47] I'm like, that should be trustworthy enough, right?

[00:29:48] But no, not for me because I don't trust anybody.

[00:29:50] You don't trust anybody.

[00:29:51] And then I sent him the picture and he's like, oh, yeah.

[00:29:54] All right, I'll mail it to you.

[00:29:56] And that was the end of the conversation.

[00:29:57] So I was like, I am never going to see that again.

[00:29:59] I just gave him my money, Jimmy.

[00:30:03] Jerk. And I said, don't worry about it.

[00:30:05] He is going to send you the comic and it's going to be great.

[00:30:10] And. And he.

[00:30:12] That'd be a teaser picture.

[00:30:14] He did keep in touch and I got the comic and it is fucking awesome.

[00:30:20] Yeah, is the coolest thing.

[00:30:21] It's like my favorite.

[00:30:22] My kids are always like, what's your favorite comic?

[00:30:24] I'm like, I'm not going to tell you because you're either going to try

[00:30:26] to sell it or you're going to feel it.

[00:30:28] Right. They're going to murder you and sell your comic.

[00:30:31] But yeah, but it was a sketch cover and he just did a phenomenal job.

[00:30:36] Just like it.

[00:30:37] Yeah, just like the.

[00:30:38] He just did a good job in a different pose.

[00:30:41] You know what I mean?

[00:30:41] Yeah. And it was.

[00:30:43] It was awesome.

[00:30:44] Yeah.

[00:30:45] A couple other folks that I'm excited.

[00:30:47] You know, I'm really excited to meet in person like people

[00:30:49] that I've like have been on the podcast or I've interviewed.

[00:30:52] But I haven't interviewed Ethan Sacks, but he was on Byron.

[00:30:56] I believe interviewed him.

[00:30:59] His haunted girl, the story, the comic that he's done with his daughter.

[00:31:03] So I'm excited to talk to him at Baltimore Comic Con.

[00:31:08] Alex Segura, who I did interview Alex along with Michael Marisi.

[00:31:14] Alex is one of the writers of the I think the Dick Tracy from

[00:31:17] May at Cave Studios, but his comics that he's also done like Secret Identity.

[00:31:22] I'm excited or a book that he's done, Secret Identity.

[00:31:24] I'm excited to talk to him about that.

[00:31:27] Jeff Shaw, who is going to be there.

[00:31:30] God Country is one of my favorite comics.

[00:31:33] Jeff was the artist of that.

[00:31:36] You know, that's absolutely a phenomenal comic.

[00:31:40] So I'm excited to get my God Country number one signed by him, hopefully.

[00:31:43] Of course, you know, Walt Simonson and Louise Simonson are going to be there.

[00:31:48] And they're just the comics.

[00:31:50] Ever longest line.

[00:31:52] Totally worth it, though.

[00:31:54] Like comics royalty.

[00:31:56] I have.

[00:32:00] Walt's, you know, Orion that he has done with a bunch of different artists.

[00:32:06] And I've had a couple people sign like in there.

[00:32:09] So like in that soft cover book that I have, Walt signed it.

[00:32:15] Chakin signed it.

[00:32:17] I think.

[00:32:19] I think a couple other people who have done work on it like signed it as well.

[00:32:24] But I think that was the same year that we got a picture in front of baby.

[00:32:30] Yeah, I think so down and we were leaving.

[00:32:34] And I was like, where the hell did I set it down?

[00:32:38] And you like came out of the bathroom and the look on my face.

[00:32:40] You were like, what's wrong?

[00:32:42] And like, I said that picture and I can't find it.

[00:32:45] So like ran back and Walt, it was at his table, but to the side.

[00:32:51] And he got it and turned it in.

[00:32:53] Yeah, he had the picture of us.

[00:32:55] But I just handed it to one of the people that worked here.

[00:32:58] I was like, I love you so much. You're the best. Thank you.

[00:33:00] Walt saved the day.

[00:33:01] He saved the day. He's the name.

[00:33:02] Absolutely.

[00:33:03] Ryan Stegman is going to be there this year.

[00:33:05] I don't think he's ever been to Baltimore Comic Con in the past few years.

[00:33:08] Do it just so he draws a dinosaur on you.

[00:33:11] So that's pretty exciting.

[00:33:13] Yeah, Babs Tar.

[00:33:14] I don't think it's been to one before.

[00:33:17] Yeah, so Robert Venditti has, but Charlotte has recently gotten into the

[00:33:24] reading the Percy Jackson books and watching the Disney Plus series.

[00:33:28] Yeah. But the Percy Jackson graphic novel adaptations.

[00:33:34] Robert Venditti has written them.

[00:33:36] And just recently at Brandy 100 Library this past Tuesday, Charlotte and I went

[00:33:41] because the illustrator of those Orpheus Collar was at the library.

[00:33:45] Oh, awesome.

[00:33:46] So Charlotte, her favorite one was number four.

[00:33:49] Okay.

[00:33:50] And so she has that in graphic, in the graphic novel.

[00:33:54] She got Orpheus Collar to sign it.

[00:33:55] So I'm probably going to bring that too to get Robert Venditti to sign it as well.

[00:33:59] Good to see you.

[00:34:00] Yeah. That's pretty exciting.

[00:34:02] Good dad, you are.

[00:34:03] Yeah, I'm the best.

[00:34:04] I mean, honestly.

[00:34:07] Hey, I don't know if anybody just heard my wife, but I think she got fall.

[00:34:11] And that is no good falling on the podcast.

[00:34:15] Really?

[00:34:16] Jeremy Whitley is going to be there.

[00:34:18] I'm super excited to talk to him.

[00:34:20] He has a new graphic novel out that looks really good.

[00:34:23] So I want to talk to him about that.

[00:34:25] So yeah, Stephanie Williams who did newbie in the Amazons,

[00:34:32] G Willow Wilson, who I don't think has been there in the past few years

[00:34:36] that we've been there.

[00:34:37] Linneal Francis, you.

[00:34:40] Yeah. So I mean, there are.

[00:34:43] Yeah, just the fact that they fit that many people in the room.

[00:34:47] Yeah.

[00:34:47] Plus media guest plus artist alley.

[00:34:50] Oh yeah. And even like artist alley, like some of the names on artist alley

[00:34:53] are just like, you know, there's some incredible comic creators on

[00:34:58] artist alley as well.

[00:35:00] So yeah, it's I'm super excited about it again.

[00:35:05] It's just one of my favorite shows.

[00:35:07] It's so it's very much geared towards comic creators,

[00:35:12] folks in artist alley.

[00:35:13] And I just yeah, I just think it's it's just just awesome.

[00:35:19] And we've gotten an opportunity to meet just some fantastic

[00:35:22] creators and get some stuff signed and say that we really like

[00:35:25] your work. We really appreciate it.

[00:35:27] You know, like Brian K Vaughn Garth Ennis, you know,

[00:35:31] yeah, his his we only got his because you were there when they

[00:35:36] were starting the line, which they capped before he even showed

[00:35:38] up. Yeah.

[00:35:40] So I was able to get a punisher signed and it was put

[00:35:46] cheers on it.

[00:35:47] But it was cool. Yeah.

[00:35:49] That and then you learn who the talkers are like, yeah,

[00:35:52] I was in line for Dan slot at the time that was a dance

[00:35:56] lots of talker.

[00:35:57] Yeah.

[00:36:00] I there was one time where I one year you had got you.

[00:36:05] I got in line first and then I wanted to go somewhere else and

[00:36:08] you really wanted to meet Garth Ennis.

[00:36:11] So you took both of our things signed by by him and I went

[00:36:15] and did whatever else like we really plan out getting

[00:36:18] things signed by people.

[00:36:20] And I like that they'll do that like they'll say like this

[00:36:23] is the Bob and he signs it's just a Jimmy and they do

[00:36:25] that whatever they want to do.

[00:36:27] But I think the next year or the year after Garth Ennis was

[00:36:32] there again and I had a demon number one that I wanted

[00:36:36] signed and I had went over to his line it didn't look like

[00:36:40] there were many people in it, but they had capped it

[00:36:43] like you said before.

[00:36:45] And I was standing there and he noticed me and he was

[00:36:49] like, what is it you want?

[00:36:51] He's like, what does he do it and I'm like, oh, I just

[00:36:52] I just want this demon number one signed and he was like,

[00:36:56] yeah, okay.

[00:36:57] And he signed it and like just real quick to the signature

[00:37:01] signed it handed it back and it was just like, you know,

[00:37:06] great.

[00:37:07] So great, you know, um, yeah.

[00:37:11] Unlike Denny O'Neill who had to go to dinner and rest

[00:37:16] in peace.

[00:37:16] Denny O'Neill one of the best to ever do it in terms

[00:37:19] of like writing comics, but I was like right there.

[00:37:21] I had a green lantern comic on one side.

[00:37:23] He's like, that's dinner time.

[00:37:25] He's like, come back tomorrow and I was like, but we're

[00:37:27] not, we're not, we're not going to be here tomorrow.

[00:37:32] But yeah, he was sitting down in the handler got him

[00:37:37] standing up and I don't even remember him picking

[00:37:39] his face up.

[00:37:39] He was out.

[00:37:41] They ushered him.

[00:37:42] They ushered him off.

[00:37:43] I had two of them.

[00:37:44] I had that for him and then Joe Giella.

[00:37:48] He was supposed to be there.

[00:37:50] He also passed away.

[00:37:52] He passed before the show.

[00:37:53] He was sick, I guess.

[00:37:55] So he didn't go to the show.

[00:37:56] He canceled and then he passed after that.

[00:37:59] So that was two heartbreakers for that.

[00:38:03] Yeah, but there, um, I'm looking through on the

[00:38:06] website, artist alley in terms of some other people

[00:38:08] that are going to be there, but, um, uh, especially

[00:38:12] folks that have been on the podcast that I'm

[00:38:14] excited to meet in person.

[00:38:15] Jason McNamara is going to be there past tense.

[00:38:17] I'm bringing it.

[00:38:18] That was great.

[00:38:19] Yeah, I love past tense and he's going to be there.

[00:38:22] So that's pretty exciting.

[00:38:24] Uh, yeah, whenever I get to meet somebody that I've

[00:38:27] like talked to on the podcast and see a comic

[00:38:30] creator in person, lesser known comics, they're

[00:38:33] going to be there again.

[00:38:34] We talked to those guys last year or they

[00:38:36] really put out some really fun indie comics.

[00:38:39] Lewis Souther.

[00:38:40] Uh, he's been on the podcast before he had

[00:38:42] that series Midnight Western Theater.

[00:38:44] Okay.

[00:38:45] And, um, he actually kickstarted a really fun

[00:38:47] series, which it was like him and a hundred

[00:38:51] different artists and it was all one page comics.

[00:38:54] Oh, awesome.

[00:38:55] Yeah.

[00:38:55] Uh, so that's going to be, you know, pretty cool

[00:38:57] hopefully to get, uh, to say hi to him and

[00:39:00] talk to him about what other stuff that he's,

[00:39:03] uh, working on Oscar Osario.

[00:39:05] I haven't had them on the podcast yet, but

[00:39:07] he's another indie comic creator.

[00:39:09] Um, he, uh, had a project in anthology

[00:39:13] push the red button, which was based off

[00:39:15] of the, you know, the story where somebody

[00:39:17] comes to you.

[00:39:18] They tells you push a button, you get a

[00:39:19] bunch of money, but somebody dies and like

[00:39:21] do your take on that.

[00:39:23] And he successfully, I think crowdfunded

[00:39:25] a anthology about that.

[00:39:28] And he's also put out some other projects.

[00:39:30] So he's going to be there.

[00:39:32] It's going to be fun to meet him in person.

[00:39:34] Yeah.

[00:39:35] There's Rich Heneman.

[00:39:36] Yeah.

[00:39:37] Uh, Richard sucks, which is Richard

[00:39:39] fair gray, who, uh, I got, he had like my,

[00:39:43] my favorite T-shirt of last year out of

[00:39:49] all the creators were in T-shirts.

[00:39:50] It was like a grimace, like a sexy grimace

[00:39:55] in a bikini.

[00:39:56] Can you have a sexy grimace?

[00:39:57] Yeah.

[00:39:58] Yeah.

[00:39:58] You know, I'll try and find a picture of it

[00:40:00] to show you, but, you know,

[00:40:04] it awakened some things in me.

[00:40:09] Yeah.

[00:40:10] Yeah.

[00:40:10] Yeah.

[00:40:10] Yeah.

[00:40:10] Yeah.

[00:40:10] Yeah.

[00:40:12] Yeah.

[00:40:12] Yeah.

[00:40:12] Give me one of them purple shakes.

[00:40:15] Um,

[00:40:16] Trevor Fernandez, like the wits he's been on the

[00:40:18] podcast before he's a, you know, he has his, uh,

[00:40:21] his really good series that he's crowdfunded

[00:40:23] recently rise issues one and two.

[00:40:26] Um,

[00:40:27] but he's been on the podcast before.

[00:40:29] So yeah.

[00:40:30] And hopefully after this one we'll meet a bunch

[00:40:32] of other folks who we can, you know, have,

[00:40:35] have more people who we've met up Baltimore Comic Con

[00:40:37] on the podcast and talk to them about the awesome

[00:40:39] comics that they're making.

[00:40:41] Right?

[00:40:41] Sounds like a plan.

[00:40:42] Yeah.

[00:40:43] Anything else you want to say about Baltimore Comic Con?

[00:40:45] Absolutely not.

[00:40:46] Did we cover everything on your list?

[00:40:48] Yep.

[00:40:48] All two things.

[00:40:49] You told me minimal talking.

[00:40:51] That's it.

[00:40:52] Two things.

[00:40:54] Yeah.

[00:40:54] You got more than two.

[00:40:55] Yeah.

[00:40:56] It's like one section and that's another.

[00:40:58] Okay.

[00:40:59] All right.

[00:40:59] Well,

[00:41:01] we're really looking forward to Baltimore Comic Con.

[00:41:04] And, um,

[00:41:05] we'll be back after the show this year to talk.

[00:41:08] Yeah.

[00:41:08] We're going to do two episodes.

[00:41:10] You have to do it again.

[00:41:12] Not.

[00:41:13] Nope.

[00:41:13] Can you just record this and just say no.

[00:41:16] No.

[00:41:17] You're going to have to do this again and talk about all

[00:41:20] the things that we did at Baltimore Comic Con 2024.

[00:41:24] I'm already sweating.

[00:41:26] You'll be fine.

[00:41:27] Yeah.

[00:41:27] You just, who did you meet?

[00:41:30] Was it fun?

[00:41:31] What did you like?

[00:41:33] I was just pointing.

[00:41:33] You can pronounce everybody's name.

[00:41:35] That's who cares.

[00:41:36] Jeff Lemire.

[00:41:37] Lemire.

[00:41:38] Honestly, nobody knows.

[00:41:41] That's so weird.

[00:41:43] James Tynan.

[00:41:44] Tinian.

[00:41:44] I don't know.

[00:41:45] I don't know.

[00:41:49] Yeah.

[00:41:49] Don't do that.

[00:41:50] Sorry.

[00:41:51] Don't do that.

[00:41:53] All right.

[00:41:53] Over comic book yeti's,

[00:41:55] cryptid creator corner.

[00:41:57] I'm Jimmy Gasparo with my brother Bobby.

[00:41:59] I'm Jimmy Gasparo.

[00:41:59] I'm the cryptid creator corners.

[00:42:00] Number one most dedicated fan.

[00:42:02] And we were talking about Baltimore Comic Con and we'll be

[00:42:04] back after the show in September to tell you about all the

[00:42:07] cool people we met and who might be upcoming guests on this

[00:42:13] year's cryptid creator corner as we close in on episode 300.

[00:42:18] Rover 250 now.

[00:42:22] It's great.

[00:42:23] I really like that.

[00:42:24] Was that like the sloth thing from crudes?

[00:42:27] Yeah.

[00:42:27] Yeah.

[00:42:28] That was very nice.

[00:42:29] All right.

[00:42:31] I'll see you next time.

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