Joe Casey talks Jonny Quest

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Your ears do not deceive you. You've just entered the Cryptid Creator Corner brought to you by your friends at Comic Book Yeti.

[00:00:07] [SPEAKER_00]: So without further ado, let's get on to the interview.

[00:00:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Y'all Jimmy the Chaos Goblin strikes again!

[00:00:15] [SPEAKER_01]: I should have known better than to mention I was working on my DC Universe meets Ravenloft hybrid D&D campaign on social media.

[00:00:21] [SPEAKER_01]: My bad. He goes and tags a bunch of comics creators

[00:00:24] [SPEAKER_01]: We know and now I have to get it in gear and whip this campaign into shape so we can start playing.

[00:00:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Another friend chimes in are you gonna make maps?

[00:00:32] [SPEAKER_01]: It's fair to say it's been a while since I put something together, so I guess?

[00:00:37] [SPEAKER_01]: Question mark?

[00:00:38] [SPEAKER_01]: It was then that I discovered Arkham Forge.

[00:00:40] [SPEAKER_01]: If you don't know who Arkham Forge is, they have everything you need to make your TTRPG more fun and immersive.

[00:00:46] [SPEAKER_01]: 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.

[00:00:59] [SPEAKER_01]: Now I'm set to easily build high res animated maps saving myself precious time and significantly adding nuance to our campaign.

[00:01:06] [SPEAKER_01]: That's a win every day in my book.

[00:01:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Check them out at arkhamforge.com and use the discount code Yeti5 to get $5 off.

[00:01:15] [SPEAKER_01]: I'll drop a link in the show notes for you and big thanks to Arkham Forge for partnering with our show.

[00:01:19] [SPEAKER_01]: I think I'm going to make Jimmy play a goblin warlock just to get even.

[00:01:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Hello everybody and welcome to today's episode of the Cryptid Creator Corner.

[00:01:28] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm Byron O'Neill, your host for today's Comics Creator Chat. Today I'm joined by comic writer Joe Casey.

[00:01:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Joe's comic CV includes writing for big Marvel properties like Cable and the X-Men,

[00:01:38] [SPEAKER_01]: automatic Kafka for Wildstorm, Wildcats, Superman for DC or the Eisner nominated Godland.

[00:01:43] [SPEAKER_01]: Beyond the realm of comics he's part of the Man of Action Entertainment studio who created the wildly

[00:01:47] [SPEAKER_01]: successful Ben 10 and generated Rex cartoon franchises and they are the producers and story editors for Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble for Disney

[00:01:56] [SPEAKER_01]: and let's not forget that big hero 6 thing either.

[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_01]: He's now turning his attention towards revitalizing the Hannah Barbera cartoon classic Johnny Quest for

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Dynamite Entertainment in comics form or at least for the purposes of our chat today. So

[00:02:08] [SPEAKER_01]: cartoon fans don't get too excited about a relaunch yet of Johnny Quest.

[00:02:12] [SPEAKER_01]: He's working with artist Sebastian Perris. I hope I'm announcing Sebastian's last name correctly there.

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_01]: But Joe, welcome to the show. Having a good week so far?

[00:02:20] [SPEAKER_02]: Pretty good Byron. Thanks for having me then.

[00:02:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah absolutely. Well I want to start off here by saying thank you for helping me sort of retain

[00:02:28] [SPEAKER_01]: my sanity a while back. Ben 10 was such a breath of fresh air as a father who had to set through

[00:02:35] [SPEAKER_01]: boys watch phases and with the prior iteration of yeah exactly the prior iteration was like

[00:02:40] [SPEAKER_01]: blues clues which I've always found creepy as hell and Caillou which drove me absolutely bananas.

[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_01]: So thanks and much gratitude to you and the Man of Action team for that run around

[00:02:51] [SPEAKER_01]: 2010 and keeping me sane so thanks a lot. You're very welcome. That's great.

[00:02:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah well jumping right into Johnny Quest you know I have fun memories of the show as a kid and

[00:03:04] [SPEAKER_01]: like when I was going back and doing some research I honestly thought there were way more episodes

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_01]: than just kind of that one season which apparently was they say was canceled due to these

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_01]: high production costs. It was like an interesting cartoon from a historic perspective too as it

[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_01]: was designed to run on ABC in prime time and on Friday nights and it was way more like violent for

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_01]: the times anyway. And I only saw an syndication in the afternoons on WGN which younger people

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_01]: have no concept of what TV was like for that time for us and you know in the South WGN was huge

[00:03:39] [SPEAKER_01]: just why everybody's like a Cub span but you know Cable included like 11 channel options at

[00:03:45] [SPEAKER_01]: that time and now that I've dated myself as a dinosaur what was your kind of first exposure

[00:03:51] [SPEAKER_02]: to Johnny Quest? Listen I remember WGN, I remember the Atlanta station that was big on the cable.

[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_02]: My Johnny Quest beginnings was when I was a kid you know you're right about that having only one

[00:04:08] [SPEAKER_02]: season and that being very strange because it was so ubiquitous to me as a kid because what

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_02]: happened is they did that one season and then and it did run in prime time and then every two or

[00:04:22] [SPEAKER_02]: three years a new network would license the show and run it as part of their Saturday morning

[00:04:28] [SPEAKER_02]: programming. So to me it was always on and I didn't I thought wow they must have made hundreds

[00:04:36] [SPEAKER_02]: of episodes of the show even though exactly even though sometimes it seemed like I was seeing the

[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_02]: same one over and over but no it was just that one season that I think the quality was so high

[00:04:51] [SPEAKER_02]: all around from the voice acting to the art to the music the stories that it was just

[00:04:58] [SPEAKER_02]: a solid performer on Saturday morning throughout most of the 70s and the early 80s I would think

[00:05:05] [SPEAKER_02]: so that was how I became familiar with it. It was just on all the time. Yeah it really was and I guess

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_01]: that you know oh my god I didn't want to admit how long ago that was for me turning 50 so that I mean

[00:05:19] [SPEAKER_01]: 40 years probably when it was exposed to me a lot yeah that's a long time.

[00:05:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Well I've interviewed a few other folks already who are part of this

[00:05:28] [SPEAKER_01]: classic cartoon revival that Dynamite is kind of involved in producing right now

[00:05:33] [SPEAKER_01]: so how did you become involved with the project to begin with?

[00:05:37] [SPEAKER_02]: Well I've done work for Dynamite over the years and they just basically just called me and asked

[00:05:45] [SPEAKER_02]: me if I wanted to do it. The editor Matt Addison and I worked together way back when he was at Marvel

[00:05:52] [SPEAKER_02]: and we haven't worked together since I guess he was curious. He's found out now but

[00:06:01] [SPEAKER_02]: yeah they just asked me I knew they'd gotten all the licenses this was probably about

[00:06:06] [SPEAKER_02]: two months or so after they announced it and when they said Johnny Quest it took me

[00:06:13] [SPEAKER_02]: not very long to say yes because the thing about Johnny Quest that really connects to me

[00:06:19] [SPEAKER_02]: aside from being familiar with it from when I was a kid is that it's really comic book

[00:06:26] [SPEAKER_02]: centric in its origins you know Doug Wilde was you know a comic artist who created the show

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_02]: Alex Toth obviously big legendary comic artist who did a lot of the designs so it had this pedigree

[00:06:41] [SPEAKER_02]: that I just couldn't deny as a big comic book fan so and also the show itself was so well done

[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_02]: and there was also I'm sure some people remember this there was a Johnny Quest comic in the 80s

[00:06:58] [SPEAKER_02]: that was published by Kamiko that was written by William Mester Loves and that was fantastic

[00:07:05] [SPEAKER_02]: and very lauded at the time everybody loved this comic when it was coming out

[00:07:11] [SPEAKER_02]: so I remembered that as well so it was not a difficult decision to jump on and write the

[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_01]: comic okay well kind of to the project itself you know issue zero was part of free comic book day

[00:07:24] [SPEAKER_01]: in May with I was reading 80,000 copies ordered by retailers for shops you know that's a nice

[00:07:30] [SPEAKER_01]: number that is a free number but you know I got a chance to read it and and it it's kind of a

[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_01]: really exciting new direction I felt like for the series you know we're going to get into a

[00:07:39] [SPEAKER_01]: little bit of spoiler territory in this episode not for issue one but for issue zero which

[00:07:44] [SPEAKER_01]: already came out so just be warned everybody the single biggest question mark for me as is

[00:07:49] [SPEAKER_01]: kind of how you're going to to properly modernize this and and the that question was answered to

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_01]: some extent an issue zero or at least it appears so with time travel question mark

[00:07:59] [SPEAKER_01]: that's what it looks like so if that was a solution was that something that you know

[00:08:05] [SPEAKER_01]: dynamite kind of gave you or did you just come up with that idea when you're kind of

[00:08:10] [SPEAKER_02]: talking and chatting out with the editor well yeah dynamite had nothing but the license

[00:08:15] [SPEAKER_02]: so whatever happens in the stories is I'll take I can take all the credit or take all the blame

[00:08:21] [SPEAKER_02]: depending on how you feel about it um but you know one thing that Johnny quest has never

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_02]: done in comics this had a couple of comic book appearances even since the 80s as far as I know

[00:08:34] [SPEAKER_02]: it had never been done as an original period piece that had never been done

[00:08:38] [SPEAKER_02]: in the 60s when the cartoon was you know modern and up to date and I wanted to keep that because

[00:08:46] [SPEAKER_02]: I wanted you know to modernize those characters they wouldn't be the same characters if you

[00:08:53] [SPEAKER_02]: you know put them in 2024 yeah and I wanted to write I wanted to write the characters from the

[00:09:00] [SPEAKER_02]: cartoon also that look of the of the early 60s that art deco look I'm a big fan of I wanted that

[00:09:11] [SPEAKER_02]: sensibility to carry through now like you say the big question mark in the story is definitely there

[00:09:22] [SPEAKER_02]: but that that was also kind of the fun of what I came up with which was how would these characters

[00:09:28] [SPEAKER_02]: fare in let's say a different context than than where they originally started and that's sure

[00:09:36] [SPEAKER_02]: that's one of the big that's one of the big conceits of the first storyline is is taking

[00:09:40] [SPEAKER_02]: them out of their comfort zone uh and seeing how they how they operate been been fun I'll

[00:09:47] [SPEAKER_01]: tell you that yeah I mean to me trying to put myself in your shoes as the writer I guess for

[00:09:53] [SPEAKER_01]: that significant hurdle that that I would kind of mull around was how to address kind of the racism

[00:09:59] [SPEAKER_01]: of the original series which is a little bit more of a unique problem with Johnny quest and some of

[00:10:04] [SPEAKER_01]: the other Hannah Barbera stuff which is kind of more fantastical or sci-fi in nature like that's

[00:10:09] [SPEAKER_01]: not going to be as direct to deal with with space ghosts for instance you know so I want to

[00:10:14] [SPEAKER_01]: start off kind of with your approach to that you know when I think about the body of your

[00:10:18] [SPEAKER_01]: work one of the things that sticks out to me is the the creation of America Shabbat's for

[00:10:21] [SPEAKER_01]: for Marvel you know you introduced a strong Latin lesbian superhero in 2010 when the landscape

[00:10:27] [SPEAKER_01]: for a character like that looked way different than it is today and the big one is haji and haji as a

[00:10:35] [SPEAKER_01]: writer seems really tough you know he's in many ways I think the character you have to get right

[00:10:39] [SPEAKER_01]: even though Johnny's name is on the book um especially trying to pull in that new

[00:10:44] [SPEAKER_01]: generational audience which we're always trying to do with with comics you know

[00:10:48] [SPEAKER_01]: historically he's the adopted son in regard to this a brother to Johnny um which was super

[00:10:53] [SPEAKER_01]: so for sure in the 1960s you know but he's a character of seemingly you know seek origin with

[00:10:59] [SPEAKER_01]: an Islamic name so how did you reimagine him well I played him pretty straight

[00:11:08] [SPEAKER_02]: I feel like that's what you have to do I didn't feel like it was necessary to really

[00:11:17] [SPEAKER_02]: dive in and deconstruct that character based on maybe some of the misinformed tropes of the time

[00:11:25] [SPEAKER_02]: sure I just thought that puts too too bright of a light on something that was done

[00:11:34] [SPEAKER_02]: either out of ignorance or innocence depending on how you want to look at it in 1964

[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_02]: but going back to the sort of the premise of the first story taking a character like that out

[00:11:47] [SPEAKER_02]: of context then it's possible to confront some of those inaccuracies a little bit

[00:11:58] [SPEAKER_02]: and um so you know Johnny Quest was always a very globe hopping kind of show they went all over the

[00:12:05] [SPEAKER_02]: place and explored all different areas of the world and we do that in this series too but

[00:12:12] [SPEAKER_02]: again the new context that we put them in it's very interesting to see a character like Haji

[00:12:20] [SPEAKER_02]: in in um let's just say in an India that is not the India of the 1960s yeah so there's

[00:12:31] [SPEAKER_02]: there's you know it's an interesting juxtaposition you know we don't get too heavy handed with it

[00:12:38] [SPEAKER_02]: because it's still an adventure book and it has a pace that doesn't necessarily lend itself to

[00:12:44] [SPEAKER_02]: stopping for too long to analyze things you just kind of have to take them as they come

[00:12:51] [SPEAKER_02]: but um you know there is that was I had the I had that question too when I came up with this story

[00:13:00] [SPEAKER_02]: my first question to myself was how do I handle Haji because you know all the things that you

[00:13:07] [SPEAKER_02]: mentioned are pretty blatant on first glance but I will say this when you watch the show

[00:13:16] [SPEAKER_02]: aside from again the innocence slash ignorance of the time the way they treat the character of Haji

[00:13:25] [SPEAKER_02]: is pretty progressive yeah in the sense in the sense that his his ethnicity and all that

[00:13:32] [SPEAKER_02]: stuff is not really an issue when it comes to the dramatics of the stories that they're telling

[00:13:37] [SPEAKER_02]: you know and the stakes of the stories it's he's he's just there like the rest of them and

[00:13:43] [SPEAKER_02]: that to me is the most progressive thing you can do in situations like this it's a

[00:13:48] [SPEAKER_02]: just all characters are treated dramatically equal and uh where they come from or their skin

[00:13:58] [SPEAKER_02]: color or their religion or whatever is not an issue within the story itself within the

[00:14:05] [SPEAKER_02]: events of the plot okay and if everyone is treated equal in that in that way

[00:14:10] [SPEAKER_02]: you know that to me is progressive because you're choosing to say they're all in the same boat

[00:14:16] [SPEAKER_02]: they're all in the same uh jeopardy and who they are where they come from is not an issue when

[00:14:23] [SPEAKER_02]: it's a life or death uh adventure situation whereas if you took some weird detour some

[00:14:31] [SPEAKER_02]: weird dramatic tangent to really pick it apart or address it well then you're you're probably not

[00:14:38] [SPEAKER_02]: servicing it very well and you're not servicing the adventure well either and ultimately johnny

[00:14:44] [SPEAKER_02]: questin adventure series so i i always tend to lean towards that side of it even when there

[00:14:51] [SPEAKER_02]: things that if you look at them too closely yes they could be seen as somewhat problematic but

[00:14:58] [SPEAKER_02]: um you know the thing about the johnny quest show and those characters that's a family unit

[00:15:06] [SPEAKER_02]: you know doctor questin johnny and haji and race they're they're a family unit they're extremely

[00:15:11] [SPEAKER_02]: loyal to each other uh they stick together no matter what no matter what the what the um

[00:15:17] [SPEAKER_02]: situation is no matter what the challenges are they stick together they have each other's backs

[00:15:24] [SPEAKER_02]: again considering the times that kind of found family is also somewhat progressive so you know

[00:15:34] [SPEAKER_02]: i don't want to go so far to say johnny questin ahead of its time and it was it was what it was but

[00:15:38] [SPEAKER_02]: there are aspects of it that that um really deathly sidestep some of those you know what we

[00:15:48] [SPEAKER_02]: call problem areas sure and i just tried to i just tried to maintain that uh in the comic too

[00:15:55] [SPEAKER_01]: okay well trying to get a full in the history and you know obviously don't elaborate if we're

[00:16:02] [SPEAKER_01]: giving it anything away issue zero is out we didn't necessarily see this here but with with haji

[00:16:08] [SPEAKER_01]: you've got this you know kind of seven son of a seven son angle a bit of magic you know to

[00:16:13] [SPEAKER_01]: play with the sim sim salabim a little bit so are we going to retain that or is that giving too much

[00:16:21] [SPEAKER_02]: away at this point well that we that to me was a problem area okay that was me that was the

[00:16:32] [SPEAKER_02]: that was the one of the stereotypical aspects of that character yeah and we do that's one thing

[00:16:37] [SPEAKER_02]: we do address in kind of a fun way but um but yeah it's it's in the character itself

[00:16:45] [SPEAKER_02]: i decided to sort of downplay that that aspect of it because that that gets into tropes that

[00:16:52] [SPEAKER_02]: probably aren't i don't think they're inappropriate they're just not they're just not relevant

[00:16:59] [SPEAKER_02]: and if they're not relevant they're probably not worth uh

[00:17:05] [SPEAKER_02]: you know it's not worth peeling that onion too much okay sure yeah one of the things that really

[00:17:12] [SPEAKER_01]: stuck out to me um and you kind of touched on there um and i from my read i really pulled out of it

[00:17:18] [SPEAKER_01]: and it's kind of what sucked me into the story was the dynamic of this generational platform

[00:17:23] [SPEAKER_01]: kind of talk about legacy between dr benton and and johnny and it's it's kind of turned on its

[00:17:28] [SPEAKER_01]: head with the introduction of time travel or seemingly that anyway do you have an imminent

[00:17:33] [SPEAKER_01]: global scientist in the 1960s who would immediately feel out of depth you know dealing with 70 years of

[00:17:40] [SPEAKER_01]: scientific and technological progression than the blink of an eye so it makes that familial bond

[00:17:46] [SPEAKER_01]: between him and johnny a way more important narrative element because they're both kind

[00:17:51] [SPEAKER_01]: of exploring the world as newborns you know so to speak so being his father would be

[00:17:55] [SPEAKER_01]: way more relevant right being dad than a rock star scientist whose shadow he's sort of living

[00:18:02] [SPEAKER_02]: under and trying to live up to that legacy yeah the the familial aspect the generational aspect

[00:18:08] [SPEAKER_02]: the father something that's definitely something that i wanted to unpack um because it's it's a big

[00:18:17] [SPEAKER_02]: deal i mean you know i i had a father i am a father those are that's a that's a relationship

[00:18:25] [SPEAKER_02]: that means a great deal to me and i've never seen it explored certainly not in the show

[00:18:33] [SPEAKER_02]: and not in any not in the comics even um just what it what it means to those two to be father and

[00:18:42] [SPEAKER_02]: son you know the family unit of those two and haji and race tend to be the focus that the whole

[00:18:51] [SPEAKER_02]: the whole of them you know all four of them but in this story at least the initial story

[00:18:57] [SPEAKER_02]: that father son thing is a big deal and it's you know it's not uh deconstructed but it's

[00:19:07] [SPEAKER_02]: you know the fact that like i said you know as we're alluding to and trying to be very

[00:19:14] [SPEAKER_02]: not you know non-spoiler about it yeah um there is they are in this new contact

[00:19:23] [SPEAKER_02]: and you know the last page of the uh free comp with a story you probably know who that is already

[00:19:33] [SPEAKER_02]: but so so the dynamic is let's just say it's flipped in a very strange way

[00:19:40] [SPEAKER_02]: and a very interesting way and it really to me an emotionally dramatic way

[00:19:45] [SPEAKER_02]: now again it's this you know we don't get into a lot of naval gazing because there's

[00:19:49] [SPEAKER_02]: it's an adventure story we keep it moving at a good pace but i can tell you i just wrote

[00:19:56] [SPEAKER_02]: a scene in issue four between dr quest and his son that really um went deeper than i'd

[00:20:07] [SPEAKER_02]: seen these characters go before so i was i'm just kind of you know it's not i'm not

[00:20:14] [SPEAKER_02]: it's not a pioneer move but for me it was interesting to really um explore that father son dynamic

[00:20:22] [SPEAKER_01]: between these two that hadn't seen it done before yeah absolutely and i got to say the uh the

[00:20:29] [SPEAKER_01]: villain refresh without without giving that away that looked amazing as the last page you know

[00:20:35] [SPEAKER_01]: setting up there some some weird amalgamation of dr doom and like dr claw from mr gatchel

[00:20:42] [SPEAKER_01]: with all the tech stuff going on right that was a cool cool visual moment for sure oh yeah yeah well

[00:20:51] [SPEAKER_01]: palm key uh seems like it's certainly going to play a pivotal role at least in the initial

[00:20:56] [SPEAKER_01]: issue of the story you know classically that's their home compound in the florida keys um

[00:21:01] [SPEAKER_01]: you've kind of alluded to it they're they're definitely these elements of that are pulling

[00:21:05] [SPEAKER_01]: from the original like spy thriller heavy you know with tech playing a big role to kind of

[00:21:11] [SPEAKER_01]: modernize it and so i'm trying to figure out exactly is this going to be a globe trotting thing

[00:21:17] [SPEAKER_01]: is is palm key going to be like their hull of justice right a jumping off point or is it

[00:21:23] [SPEAKER_01]: this is just this one window into a big international world of intrigue that

[00:21:29] [SPEAKER_02]: they're about to get dumped into i would say palm key is where it starts but it definitely

[00:21:33] [SPEAKER_02]: goes around the world okay um but i but i you know i had to start at palm key i mean i want people who

[00:21:41] [SPEAKER_02]: know the cartoon even just on a cursory level i want them to see the the things that are

[00:21:49] [SPEAKER_02]: recognizable about johnny quest so in terms of supporting characters uh bad guys

[00:22:00] [SPEAKER_02]: technology i think we touch on most of it in this first story so i think any johnny quest fan

[00:22:10] [SPEAKER_02]: and i hope there's some out there um will be will feel like um you know will feel satisfied that we

[00:22:18] [SPEAKER_02]: we touched on a lot of things that johnny quest is known for in terms of characters and and things

[00:22:24] [SPEAKER_01]: like that i did i mean it definitely pulled at the nostalgia heart string without making me want to

[00:22:31] [SPEAKER_01]: go back and watch the cartoon again you know as a reference point so i knew these characters i was

[00:22:38] [SPEAKER_01]: familiar with them the buy-in was similar enough um and there's an anchor there but they're being

[00:22:45] [SPEAKER_01]: pulled into you know a modern situation so i thought it was very satisfactory for for an issue zero

[00:22:51] [SPEAKER_01]: right where you have to compact so many things and and pull everybody into okay i got to grip you

[00:22:57] [SPEAKER_01]: and that's the challenge now with comics right is you get this the first issue in this case the

[00:23:02] [SPEAKER_01]: zero issue where you've got to get people invested you know and and it's challenging i

[00:23:08] [SPEAKER_01]: thought i thought the team did a really good job with that well i appreciate that i mean i

[00:23:13] [SPEAKER_02]: think a lot of that credit should go to sabastion uh here as the artist who is when we found him i

[00:23:21] [SPEAKER_02]: knew that we could do this book because i i knew that we had to find a guy who could draw in a style

[00:23:28] [SPEAKER_02]: that was um reminiscent of the cartoon but not you know a carbon copy of it right and he he gives

[00:23:38] [SPEAKER_02]: you that vibe of you know it's it's in that dug wild the alex tothe uh you know realm but it's not

[00:23:50] [SPEAKER_02]: but it doesn't just look like we took stills from the show it's got its own thing and uh so once we

[00:23:57] [SPEAKER_02]: found sabastion i realized that this this could work because getting it wrong with something that

[00:24:03] [SPEAKER_02]: is so uh has such a distinctive look if we'd gotten it wrong i mean i just don't i don't know what

[00:24:11] [SPEAKER_02]: would have happened if we'd have found the wrong guy or gone with the wrong guy we went with absolutely

[00:24:15] [SPEAKER_02]: the right guy and you know the book looks amazing the 10 the 10 page or the free

[00:24:22] [SPEAKER_02]: conference thing looked amazing and it's just gotten better since so i think people get a

[00:24:27] [SPEAKER_02]: kick out of how the book looks it's it's it does have that um classic cartoon vibe but it's

[00:24:38] [SPEAKER_02]: but it's totally updated and uh he's just he's doing a great job yeah i mean it's definitely in

[00:24:45] [SPEAKER_01]: the dna i've been a fan of sabastion's work for for some time um how was how was he pulled in is

[00:24:52] [SPEAKER_02]: did editorial airmark him did you pull him in uh i found him i'd seen his work over at ahoy and and

[00:25:00] [SPEAKER_02]: um and i just you know the stuff that he posts on his on his twitter yep it's fantastic those

[00:25:08] [SPEAKER_02]: sketches are amazing and i you know uh luckily he was able to do it i mean we just i tell my

[00:25:17] [SPEAKER_01]: blessings that he was he was free and up for the gig yeah artists take note that uh just as a pause

[00:25:24] [SPEAKER_01]: here um and this is my own soapbox right if you if you keep cranking out work you know those sketches

[00:25:29] [SPEAKER_01]: and everything that's that's how i found sabastion's work too it just came across on twitter ended

[00:25:34] [SPEAKER_01]: up following him and keep up to date with everything he's doing and that is so critical

[00:25:39] [SPEAKER_01]: to getting work so that that's my my soapbox there long keep keep at it keep cranking it out

[00:25:46] [SPEAKER_01]: all right let's take a quick break hey comics fan itty comic book publisher band of bars just got

[00:25:52] [SPEAKER_01]: a level up and announced it is now a cooperative this heralds a new era for them including a partnership

[00:25:59] [SPEAKER_01]: with dollas stories and they added several new members to the ownership group marcus himenez

[00:26:04] [SPEAKER_01]: is now chief operating officer brent fischer takes on the role of chief diversity officer

[00:26:09] [SPEAKER_01]: and joey galvez is introduced as head of kickstarter ops and social media manager

[00:26:14] [SPEAKER_01]: which is sure to increase their capabilities overall as a publisher and it further promotes

[00:26:20] [SPEAKER_01]: their mission statement of advancing representation inclusion and diversity in the media they also

[00:26:26] [SPEAKER_01]: established a new board of directors to help chart the new path of their journey with new

[00:26:30] [SPEAKER_01]: projects in the works like alaskan by dropping in june unbroken soon launching on kickstarter

[00:26:35] [SPEAKER_01]: and pond coming up with thoughtless stay tuned to this space for more exciting news from the

[00:26:40] [SPEAKER_01]: growing bards family let's get back to the show with your extensive background working

[00:26:49] [SPEAKER_01]: with animation it's more into the weeds a little bit of how you put things together so what's the

[00:26:55] [SPEAKER_01]: approach as as a writer in terms of panel construction to make to take something from

[00:27:01] [SPEAKER_01]: that that cartoon origin root right and translate it into flat panels because that again putting

[00:27:07] [SPEAKER_01]: myself in your shoes that seems like a tricky thing you have a background at it that's why

[00:27:11] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm asking the question well yeah I mean it's hard to describe the process because it's so second

[00:27:18] [SPEAKER_02]: nature okay I mean comics I feel like comics is my first language

[00:27:27] [SPEAKER_02]: so that it's those that kind of I mean it doesn't even feel like a translation to me

[00:27:33] [SPEAKER_02]: you know when you're writing something and you're trying to envision something

[00:27:37] [SPEAKER_02]: you're bringing it to life in your own head and then you're trying to describe what you see

[00:27:44] [SPEAKER_02]: in my case I'm trying to describe it to an artist to try to get as close to that picture in my head as

[00:27:50] [SPEAKER_02]: possible so there are certain things because of because it was a cartoon there's certain ways

[00:27:58] [SPEAKER_02]: I can reference things that Sebastian can go to directly and look at and you'll see some

[00:28:04] [SPEAKER_02]: of those in the various issues there you know they're kind of visual Easter eggs to the show

[00:28:10] [SPEAKER_02]: but other than that it's just you know once you do all your prep work you do the research

[00:28:17] [SPEAKER_02]: you figure out your story Sebastian gets comfortable with the characters and how they're he's going

[00:28:22] [SPEAKER_02]: to depict them then it's just like any other comic book you're just trying to execute

[00:28:28] [SPEAKER_02]: the story as best you can and as dynamically as you can the fact that it was a cartoon show

[00:28:35] [SPEAKER_02]: becomes almost irrelevant at that point because you're just trying to make a good comic okay

[00:28:41] [SPEAKER_01]: yeah there's a standout moment for me when they hit palm key and are kind of looking

[00:28:46] [SPEAKER_01]: at the compound with the the word bubbles coming in from off the page which was was a really nice

[00:28:52] [SPEAKER_01]: way to to introduce depth I'm always looking for depth in comics and like how how you can do this

[00:28:58] [SPEAKER_01]: and there there are lots of these cinematic panel frames that give you a that that classic 16 by

[00:29:06] [SPEAKER_01]: 9 aspect ratio that we're familiar with on a on a tv panel now but you're also playing with these

[00:29:11] [SPEAKER_01]: oblong vertical shapes as well there aren't as many obliques as you see in a lot of things like

[00:29:19] [SPEAKER_01]: DC and Marvel you know it's a little bit more fashionable to come up with these really funky

[00:29:23] [SPEAKER_01]: angles so at this point in your career do you spend a lot of time on layouts or I mean literally is

[00:29:29] [SPEAKER_01]: just like kind of trying to do that here's what's in my head let's translate it as easily as possible

[00:29:37] [SPEAKER_01]: and and make transmit that to the reader kind of thing my personal taste as a writer and as a

[00:29:44] [SPEAKER_02]: reader tend to go I tend to lean more towards the the cinematic storytelling as opposed to

[00:29:53] [SPEAKER_02]: the wacky panels in fact that's more the bashing early on was more inclined to go

[00:29:59] [SPEAKER_02]: very radical in his angles and panel shapes like I had to kind of reign a minute a little bit and

[00:30:05] [SPEAKER_02]: say let's let's calm this down and just use those kind of panels where it's appropriate

[00:30:11] [SPEAKER_02]: usually for action scenes or things like that yeah it was it was really you know with any artist you

[00:30:18] [SPEAKER_02]: find your common ground as you work together so you know I'll tend to come in with my own

[00:30:25] [SPEAKER_02]: vision in my head of how I want the thing to to be laid out and nine times out of ten I'm seeing

[00:30:32] [SPEAKER_02]: layouts from the artist along the way and so I'm able to you know before they really commit

[00:30:38] [SPEAKER_02]: to anything we're able to go over what he's come up with visually and talk about what might work

[00:30:45] [SPEAKER_02]: better than others and you know what what's the best approach in certain moments and things like that

[00:30:52] [SPEAKER_02]: so I think with Johnny quest in particular it's a nice blend of my sensibilities and

[00:31:00] [SPEAKER_02]: sabbatical disabilities because when he does pull out those funky panels to depict certain

[00:31:07] [SPEAKER_02]: action then it really shines on the page it really makes a statement as opposed to

[00:31:13] [SPEAKER_02]: you know wacky panels everywhere and nothing really carries any more weight than anything else or

[00:31:20] [SPEAKER_02]: if it just went with a very straightforward cinematic approach then sometimes the action

[00:31:30] [SPEAKER_02]: doesn't pop as well as it could on a page so I think me and some bastion I feel pretty happy

[00:31:36] [SPEAKER_02]: that we found a good melding of the two yeah I really enjoyed it it's clearly the action moments

[00:31:44] [SPEAKER_01]: that's that's the reserve for the pop the wow there was a laser moment in that issue zero that I

[00:31:51] [SPEAKER_01]: felt like broke things up visually visually really nicely from from a more cinematic framing so

[00:31:57] [SPEAKER_01]: I feel like the balance is certainly there yeah me too me too so we're probably of a similar age

[00:32:05] [SPEAKER_01]: um and it's something that I'm always thinking about with these older ips because those voices

[00:32:12] [SPEAKER_01]: are so critical and you've kind of worked in comics and animation so is that is that something

[00:32:17] [SPEAKER_01]: that ever enters your brain having been exposed to this stuff you know as as a kid and I was

[00:32:23] [SPEAKER_01]: talking to David proposed about this where he's doing space ghost and did you ever have space

[00:32:28] [SPEAKER_01]: ghost when you're actually trying to write that dialogue if you will that iconic voice in your

[00:32:34] [SPEAKER_02]: head is is that thing that that you deal with uh in this case yes because when I got the gig

[00:32:43] [SPEAKER_02]: I went back and you know you can watch the whole you know that one season of Johnny Quest for

[00:32:48] [SPEAKER_02]: free on Tubi yeah and I went back I watched the show just to kind of refresh my memory

[00:32:54] [SPEAKER_02]: and I realized it's a pretty good show for characterization and personality every characters

[00:33:01] [SPEAKER_02]: seem to have their own thing going on it was not they were not generic characters by any stretch

[00:33:08] [SPEAKER_02]: and so that put the onus on me more as I was writing to capture those voices

[00:33:16] [SPEAKER_02]: and you know once I wrote the the first 10 pager and looked back at it I thought yeah this

[00:33:24] [SPEAKER_02]: this reads like the show to me so once I felt like I locked into those voices

[00:33:31] [SPEAKER_02]: then it was just it was sort of easy after that I'm not easy necessarily I don't want to

[00:33:44] [SPEAKER_02]: know what I'm doing to the characters as you write them and in the case of Johnny Quest I had

[00:33:50] [SPEAKER_02]: you know this great season of animation with real voices and real characters that I could go and

[00:33:56] [SPEAKER_02]: reference so there was a sense of trying to match that to some degree but now that I'm into it

[00:34:03] [SPEAKER_02]: now that I'm about to start writing the fifth issue I'm pretty locked in and and it's

[00:34:09] [SPEAKER_02]: they're they're kind of second nature to me now which is nice I mean it's not a struggle to get the

[00:34:16] [SPEAKER_02]: voices right so that it's I hope that when people read it that know the cartoon again

[00:34:26] [SPEAKER_02]: that when they when they read the characters dialogue that they can actually

[00:34:31] [SPEAKER_02]: hear the voices in their heads as they're reading and that it feels authentic that doesn't

[00:34:35] [SPEAKER_02]: feel like you know that nobody's bumping on that doesn't sound like something Johnny would say

[00:34:41] [SPEAKER_02]: or that doesn't sound like something Ray Spannon would say I feel like everybody's in character to

[00:34:46] [SPEAKER_02]: a degree that when you read it it's fairly consistent with what you might remember from the

[00:34:51] [SPEAKER_01]: cartoon okay and you're on issue five so the first arc it's I think it's solicit is an

[00:34:59] [SPEAKER_02]: ongoing is that is that correct well these I mean with the market these days yeah you never

[00:35:05] [SPEAKER_02]: know what's what you know I'm just writing and I'm until we decide that we're done I'm just I'm

[00:35:11] [SPEAKER_01]: just going to keep writing okay yeah well that's one of my questions I'm not picking on dynamite

[00:35:17] [SPEAKER_01]: but like okay I'm a I'm abroad by product of the heyday of comics right in the

[00:35:21] [SPEAKER_01]: the late 80s early 90s as a reader you as a creator you know I get constantly frustrated

[00:35:27] [SPEAKER_01]: these days by really fantastic concepts that only ever get five to six issues of legroom

[00:35:33] [SPEAKER_01]: and it's all in service to the bottom line of the publishers and stuff and

[00:35:38] [SPEAKER_01]: recently I was going back and rereading this amazing run that Garth Ennis and John McCrae did

[00:35:42] [SPEAKER_01]: of The Demon which was like yeah mid 90s right and and I'm just curious about that

[00:35:49] [SPEAKER_01]: it gave them such a fantastic platform it's not perfect right but they got to stretch themselves

[00:35:54] [SPEAKER_01]: learn their craft work on the book you know and it and it wasn't selling particularly well

[00:35:59] [SPEAKER_01]: I went back and looked at the numbers but but it gave them and their voices room to expand and it gave

[00:36:06] [SPEAKER_01]: them that platform to do bigger and better things right Garth going on to do these iconic runs on

[00:36:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Hellblazer preacher the Punisher so it seems like the scaffolding got removed for a lot of younger

[00:36:17] [SPEAKER_02]: creatives like how do we remedy that I think it's tough because we're just in a situation

[00:36:27] [SPEAKER_02]: now with you know publishers are at least where they have to meet certain financial demand

[00:36:36] [SPEAKER_02]: that were possibly a little less stringent you know 30 years ago and let's face it the industry

[00:36:47] [SPEAKER_02]: was healthier as well I mean it's it's the margins are so slim these days on what's when

[00:36:54] [SPEAKER_02]: something is profitable versus it not being profitable and I think that we're also in a time where

[00:37:03] [SPEAKER_02]: you know The Demon I love that run too I'm a huge fan of that run and it probably

[00:37:11] [SPEAKER_02]: in its time was able to go probably about six more issues than it would have been able to go

[00:37:18] [SPEAKER_02]: right now in terms of giving it that that that much of an off ramp

[00:37:27] [SPEAKER_02]: nowadays cancellations are just they just happen out of the blue boom it's your last issue

[00:37:33] [SPEAKER_02]: yeah you're done that that much that to me says that just the financials are just a lot tighter

[00:37:47] [SPEAKER_02]: and there's there's no getting around that plus I think that also a factor I think I can't imagine

[00:37:56] [SPEAKER_02]: there was anyone at DC Comics in 1995 that didn't like what Garth and John were doing on The Demon

[00:38:04] [SPEAKER_02]: and wanted to see it go on and that in the that that was a factor of giving it more room

[00:38:12] [SPEAKER_02]: despite its obviously low sales because it was a good book people were digging it

[00:38:20] [SPEAKER_02]: they wanted to see it continue that to me that seems like less of a factor it's a little more

[00:38:26] [SPEAKER_02]: cutthroat these days the personal taste issue is I'm sure it's still there I'm sure that

[00:38:33] [SPEAKER_02]: books get canceled all the time that editors and you know people in the office would like to

[00:38:40] [SPEAKER_02]: see continue but not I feel like 30 years ago an editor might have fought for the demon's

[00:38:49] [SPEAKER_02]: continuation I don't know if any editors are fighting for their books to continue in the harsh

[00:38:55] [SPEAKER_02]: light of listen this book is losing money you're going to ultimately be responsible for how much

[00:39:01] [SPEAKER_02]: money it loses as an editor that works for this company so how how much do you want to put

[00:39:07] [SPEAKER_02]: your head on the chopping block here yeah and I think for most editors rightly so especially if

[00:39:15] [SPEAKER_02]: they value their jobs and they value their their you know supporting their families or whatever

[00:39:21] [SPEAKER_02]: are going to say I'm going to do what I can to do my job the best I can so I don't lose my job

[00:39:28] [SPEAKER_02]: that collides with artistic intention sometimes in a very brutal and and unforgiving way

[00:39:37] [SPEAKER_02]: and it sucks it sucks all around but that seems to be the world we're living in at the moment

[00:39:43] [SPEAKER_01]: yeah and it's pros and cons right because I feel like we're in a phase where

[00:39:51] [SPEAKER_01]: unlike in the 90s whatever you are into like whatever it is you can find it you know it is

[00:39:59] [SPEAKER_01]: there's so much out there and I I know that's part of the problem but it's also amazing

[00:40:05] [SPEAKER_01]: at the same time yeah it's just just a matter of sort of cutting through the den and

[00:40:10] [SPEAKER_01]: I guess keeping your your nose down and you know put the effort into the work and

[00:40:15] [SPEAKER_01]: put out the best thing you can you know and then if you were if you're putting your all

[00:40:20] [SPEAKER_01]: into it hopefully it's vibing with enough people and and it gets some some legs but

[00:40:25] [SPEAKER_01]: in thinking about it because in in my early 20s I worked in three different comic book shops

[00:40:31] [SPEAKER_01]: and it's all about to me bringing in those younger readers you know and I know from talking to retailers

[00:40:39] [SPEAKER_01]: that these classic IP relaunches seem to bring new faces into the door younger faces and

[00:40:46] [SPEAKER_01]: you know maybe that's tangential as parents or they love the property so they're like hey

[00:40:52] [SPEAKER_01]: read that's because I love thundercats and maybe the kids are getting in that way

[00:40:56] [SPEAKER_01]: but however it happens you know that's the bridge that keeps the doors open for the retailers which

[00:41:02] [SPEAKER_01]: I think is at least part of the equation for sure of of comics staying at least as we understand them

[00:41:10] [SPEAKER_01]: and I have I have no idea if targeting younger readers is something in a work for a higher

[00:41:16] [SPEAKER_01]: remit like this sort of but is that is that a consideration for you as a writer as you as

[00:41:22] [SPEAKER_02]: you work on something well I have a I really go back and forth on the younger readers thing I

[00:41:29] [SPEAKER_02]: think that there was a time and it was probably probably the early 90s maybe a little bit before

[00:41:37] [SPEAKER_02]: but the early 90s seemed to be a thing where there was really at the major publishers

[00:41:44] [SPEAKER_02]: there was there was suddenly a split between what's considered material for younger readers

[00:41:50] [SPEAKER_02]: and what's considered a more straight down the line mainstream comic book

[00:41:57] [SPEAKER_02]: and with there were obviously exceptions but a lot of those younger readers

[00:42:04] [SPEAKER_02]: comics just weren't that good they were safe and they were harmless but

[00:42:13] [SPEAKER_02]: they weren't that good and I and I only say that because my experience as a comic reader

[00:42:19] [SPEAKER_02]: was that I was reading things at six seven eight years old that were meant for

[00:42:28] [SPEAKER_02]: not for adults but for a for everybody for a broad age range now you know mainstream

[00:42:33] [SPEAKER_02]: comics in the late 70s early 80s had their own standards and practices but I was

[00:42:44] [SPEAKER_02]: you know nine years old when the dark phoenix saga happened

[00:42:49] [SPEAKER_02]: you know which is just basically a story about a good guy that gets corrupted and becomes a bad guy

[00:42:55] [SPEAKER_02]: and and then kills herself you know self-sacrifice I mean it's it's dark right there isn't in

[00:43:12] [SPEAKER_02]: 15 when I read dark knight returns and watchmen you know I um those reading that kind of material

[00:43:21] [SPEAKER_02]: at the age that I was at it it was a good thing for me it was not damaging or dangerous and

[00:43:30] [SPEAKER_02]: you know I didn't have uh parent groups or you know watch dogs that were trying to I mean

[00:43:38] [SPEAKER_02]: it was happening but I still was I mean I still was able to read electro assassin before I could

[00:43:43] [SPEAKER_02]: drive a car you know and um you know I think that comics as contraband

[00:43:56] [SPEAKER_02]: is a worthwhile endeavor you know that's what gets kids interested is should I am I supposed

[00:44:04] [SPEAKER_02]: to be reading this is this is this dangerous on some level is it risky um when you soft sell them

[00:44:14] [SPEAKER_02]: something or water down something you know I just don't think that most kids respond to that

[00:44:24] [SPEAKER_02]: kind of material and certainly that's what parents would buy their kids thinking they're

[00:44:31] [SPEAKER_02]: being responsible but I never thought that that material again with exception uh but I never thought

[00:44:39] [SPEAKER_02]: as a whole that material um hooked in lifelong comic book reader like like like the stuff that

[00:44:47] [SPEAKER_02]: I was reading hooked me in and kept me on it um so you know when I do something that I real that

[00:44:55] [SPEAKER_02]: I feel like it's very you know general audience let's say I'm just keeping in mind the kind of

[00:45:03] [SPEAKER_02]: stuff that I was able to handle when I was eight years old nine years old um

[00:45:13] [SPEAKER_02]: and that's sort of my north star with these things so again when you get when you're too safe

[00:45:21] [SPEAKER_02]: you might think you're protecting children from the evils of the world or whatever it is that

[00:45:27] [SPEAKER_02]: you're trying to protect them from I don't think you're doing them a service at all

[00:45:32] [SPEAKER_02]: by being that protective because I think in comics what gets you hooked is material that is

[00:45:40] [SPEAKER_02]: multi-dimensional and has a lot of levels that you know it has you know superhero comics

[00:45:48] [SPEAKER_02]: that I read as a kid they had all the bells and whistles and you know colorful magic of a

[00:45:56] [SPEAKER_02]: superhero comic but there was something else going on with some of that stuff that kept me engaged and

[00:46:05] [SPEAKER_02]: the reason I know that that works is because I go back and re-read some of that stuff

[00:46:12] [SPEAKER_02]: and it holds up it doesn't I don't dismiss it entirely as an adult now I don't go oh

[00:46:18] [SPEAKER_02]: boy what was I thinking or that's too simplistic no there was still nuance and some things that I know

[00:46:25] [SPEAKER_02]: those you know Marvel and DC writers were putting into amuse themselves and to keep themselves

[00:46:31] [SPEAKER_02]: interested and if you can do that for yourself you can do it for an audience of any age

[00:46:38] [SPEAKER_02]: so that's that's kind of my soapbox on all that stuff yeah I totally agree it's a soapbox that

[00:46:45] [SPEAKER_01]: I am constantly beating on is thus not kids bullshit meter is is way better than an adult and

[00:46:53] [SPEAKER_01]: they know right and I think the demon is a fantastic example of something that was

[00:47:00] [SPEAKER_01]: transitional book for me right it was from the big two but I was raised southern Baptist

[00:47:07] [SPEAKER_01]: saw those covers and I was like holy shit I've never seen anything like this in my life right

[00:47:13] [SPEAKER_01]: because I was raised on amazing spider-man west coast avengers right that's what they had

[00:47:17] [SPEAKER_01]: at the local gas station and my parents had no involvement in what I was buying they didn't

[00:47:22] [SPEAKER_01]: care because it was just on the rack at the gas station right it yeah but I got a hold the

[00:47:28] [SPEAKER_01]: demon and it opened the door for me into a whole nother realm of comics because I was like okay

[00:47:35] [SPEAKER_01]: this can be so much more than what I thought it could so I think those kinds of things

[00:47:42] [SPEAKER_01]: like you're talking about are fantastic for kids you know and we don't need to I always get upset

[00:47:49] [SPEAKER_01]: because I read quote younger readers stuff I read a lot of it and it feels it just pisses me off

[00:47:58] [SPEAKER_01]: when it feels like it's written three to four years younger than its own target audience right

[00:48:04] [SPEAKER_01]: yeah right I totally agree yeah well what else you got going on right now coming up I know Nebel

[00:48:12] [SPEAKER_01]: for Zod has been dropping with DC and I think blood squad seven is that right from image yep

[00:48:19] [SPEAKER_02]: those two things those two things are going on right now um yeah blood squad seven just

[00:48:25] [SPEAKER_02]: launched last month and it's a basically a superhero team in the in the classic shared image

[00:48:33] [SPEAKER_02]: comics universe it sort of it doesn't sort of it fills the hole that young blood left when

[00:48:40] [SPEAKER_02]: young blood was basically through unfortunate legal reasons excised from the image universe

[00:48:50] [SPEAKER_02]: okay this is which is a shame it shouldn't be that way but it but it is and something had to fill

[00:48:57] [SPEAKER_02]: that continuity gap and blood squad seven is it okay so that that book's been a lot of fun

[00:49:04] [SPEAKER_02]: people had any investment in the old shared image universe when it first started and

[00:49:10] [SPEAKER_02]: you know young blood would show up everywhere and savage dragon would guest star and other books

[00:49:15] [SPEAKER_02]: and you'd see spawn pop up in other books this this is the book for you because it

[00:49:22] [SPEAKER_02]: it explores that universe but in in a modern context it's it's 30 years on from when the

[00:49:30] [SPEAKER_02]: events of those books took place and we we tell it in real time so it does let let the time in

[00:49:36] [SPEAKER_02]: but it's interesting to catch up with that shared universe 30 years later yeah that sounds really cool

[00:49:45] [SPEAKER_01]: I have to go revisit that those are the books of my youth so I'm sure that would definitely appeal

[00:49:51] [SPEAKER_01]: to me you recognize a lot in those books I think okay anything else coming up down the pipe man

[00:49:57] [SPEAKER_02]: of action working on anything right now we're always working on stuff animation and video

[00:50:03] [SPEAKER_02]: games and things like that nothing you know the thing about those mediums is they have incredibly

[00:50:09] [SPEAKER_02]: long lead time yeah and an animated series takes forever to to develop to get off the ground and then

[00:50:19] [SPEAKER_02]: to finally air could be years so the things that we're working on now are probably the

[00:50:27] [SPEAKER_02]: things that we'll be announcing in like two years okay it's that far out we're really in the in the

[00:50:34] [SPEAKER_02]: early stages of a couple of things but that's that's sort of how it goes I'm I'm thrilled to be back

[00:50:41] [SPEAKER_02]: more full-time into comics because it is such an immediate art form I mean you know

[00:50:51] [SPEAKER_02]: you write something and it's out four months later

[00:50:57] [SPEAKER_02]: and pretty much what you write gets out there doesn't go through a lot of levels doesn't

[00:51:02] [SPEAKER_02]: doesn't go through a horrible amount of gatekeepers it goes goes through some but not too many

[00:51:08] [SPEAKER_02]: um and uh I'm just grateful that I'm able to keep writing comics

[00:51:19] [SPEAKER_02]: because it's just my favorite thing to do you know the animation stuff is great video game

[00:51:24] [SPEAKER_02]: stuff is great all the movie tv stuff fantastic but comics have always been my first love and

[00:51:34] [SPEAKER_02]: during the pandemic I was doing a lot of writing but nothing was coming out on the stands yeah

[00:51:39] [SPEAKER_02]: so now that stuff is really starting to hit um it's just been great I feel very lucky to be back

[00:51:48] [SPEAKER_02]: doing this stuff at the level that I'm doing it at the moment keep writing it we'll keep reading

[00:51:54] [SPEAKER_01]: it so that's that's the motto right um well I hope I'm really I'm I'm personally really

[00:52:01] [SPEAKER_01]: looking forward to this new Johnny quest and seeing where it's going you know I've tried to take a

[00:52:05] [SPEAKER_01]: really objective approach to all these classic cartoon ips that I love back when and make sure

[00:52:12] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm looking at them with with a proper modern lens you know I'm not just letting nostalgia

[00:52:17] [SPEAKER_01]: take over um and and I'm really into this one you know not all of them have honestly hit the

[00:52:23] [SPEAKER_01]: mark but this looks really interesting I am I'm definitely on board and when when is issue

[00:52:29] [SPEAKER_01]: one dropping officially is that was that August I thought it's in August yeah okay mid August yeah

[00:52:36] [SPEAKER_01]: okay cool well everybody look for it um make sure to call your shops and and tell them you

[00:52:42] [SPEAKER_01]: wanted on your poll list and Joe I really appreciate you coming on chatting with me today it's been a

[00:52:47] [SPEAKER_02]: lot of fun yeah it's been great Byron thanks for having me I appreciate it absolutely well

[00:52:51] [SPEAKER_01]: this is Byron O'Neill on behalf of all of us at ComeBook Yeti thanks for tuning in and we

[00:52:55] [SPEAKER_01]: will see you next time take care everybody this is Byron O'Neill one of your hosts of the Cryptid

[00:53:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Creator Corner brought to you by Comic Book Yeti we hope you've enjoyed this episode of our podcast

[00:53:06] [SPEAKER_01]: please rate review subscribe all that good stuff it lets us know how we're doing and more importantly

[00:53:13] [SPEAKER_00]: how we can improve thanks for listening if you enjoyed this episode of the Cryptid Creator

[00:53:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Corner maybe you would enjoy our sister podcast into the comics Kate listen and subscribe wherever

[00:53:26] [SPEAKER_00]: you get your podcasts