Patrick Coyle Interview - Bixby Grant

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[00:00:54] Hello and welcome to Comic Book Yeti's Cryptid Creator Corner. I am one of your hosts, Jimmy Gasparo, and I have a first-time guest on the podcast today. He's been kind enough to sit down with me on this Sunday morning as we record this to chat about the current Kickstarter campaign for his comic, Bixby Grant.

[00:01:13] Issue 4 of Bangs and Brimstone is on Kickstarter right now. If you're listening to this shortly after the episode comes out, the campaign will run until April 16th. And you can check out Bixby Grant. We're going to talk all about it, but please welcome to the podcast, Patrick Coyle. Patrick, how are you doing this morning? I'm doing all right, Jimmy. Thanks for having me. I'm a longtime listener and I'm excited to be on the show.

[00:01:42] Oh, well, thank you. Thanks for listening. Of course. Thanks for coming on the podcast. Yeah, before Melissa Mazaris had reached out to me from Don't Hide PR, I've worked with Melissa before. Melissa's great. And I had seen your name before and come up on a couple of other things in terms of other podcasts or, you know, just on social media somewhere.

[00:02:08] But I had not really gotten the chance to check out Bixby Grant previously. So I immersed myself in it yesterday to prepare for this. I read the first, I guess it was done as a graphic novel that Wolf decried. Yes. And so I read all of that and I've read the first four issues of Fangs and Brimstone. So I won't spoil anything for the issue we're going to talk about.

[00:02:39] But yeah, I love it. Love the noir elements of it. I love the supernatural stuff. I kind of love this, your character of Bixby Grant. Well, I'll let Patrick explain it, but just for, you know, more about it. But for listeners that don't know, Bixby Grant is, he's a private detective, but he's been cursed and he's essentially an immortal mummy. So it has a very 1930s, the universal monsters type feel to it.

[00:03:06] But he's a, he's a, you know, a man out of time. He's in the, in the modern world, kind of being a private investigator. And, and I'll say wallowing in self-pity quite a lot of, of the comic. But yeah, I really, I really love it. I really enjoyed reading it. I'm a big fan of the universal monsters. There's, I kind of, I like his quote unquote sidekick, especially in Fangs and Brimstone.

[00:03:34] He has just like a, like a vampire who loves guitar and is an Elvis fan, I think. And yeah, I, I love the, the kind of the, the, the genre mashup. I don't know if that's exactly correct, but I, just in terms of all the different elements to it, really enjoyed it. Um, I also liked how I think it's like anybody can read this.

[00:04:00] I mean, it, it, it has, there are some like a darker tone to it. There's like a, a cult and some other things, but I mean, you know, I, I think this is anybody could sit down, you know, eat kids even, and kind of get into this. There's nothing that I, um, you know, it was, it was really, it was really fun. It was really enjoyable. Um, it's funny at times. Yeah. It has a lot of great stuff in it.

[00:04:27] Um, so, well, why don't you tell, tell listeners that they're probably tired of hearing me, um, podcast. No, please keep telling me how much you love my stuff. Well, I do like to do that. Um, but yeah, I really enjoyed it. Uh, so why don't you tell listeners who might not be familiar with it? What, you know, kind of, what is Bixby Grant all about? Sure. Um, I mean, a lot of what you mentioned is pretty dead on, right?

[00:04:53] So it's, it's definitely a noir or mashup, although it's horror with a little H, not a capital H in that it uses monsters and, um, some horror elements. But it's not, you know, it's not slasher horror. It's not, um, it's not, um, ah, it's more, like you said, more universal monster old school horror, which is like scary and suspenseful.

[00:05:19] Um, but then I kind of mash that with, um, some of the characteristics from classic noir detective story. Um, you know, Fangs and Brimstone, um, is a bit of a buddy, uh, kind of action story, uh, also with those elements. Um, but like you mentioned is, uh, Diego Diaz is a rockabilly vampire, um, who's kind of a goofball, uh, to put it mildly.

[00:05:46] And he, uh, because like you said, Bixby Grant is kind of a miserable cuss. Um, he's been around, he's over a hundred years old. All his friends and family are dead. Um, you know, he's from, grew up during the depression and fought in World War II. Uh, he became a mummy in the 1930s. So he's been around a long time. You know, his friends and family disappear, die. Um, and now he's just kind of wants to be left alone because he's sick of it all.

[00:06:13] Um, but he always gets pulled into a case somehow, because that's the classic noir, uh, device, right? Is you have a, a, uh, a reluctant detective, uh, who gets pulled in maybe for money, maybe for some other reason, but then really kind of gets involved for emotional reason.

[00:06:31] So the, the particular, this particular case, uh, in the, that is the core of the Fangs and Brimstone story is that Bix is trying to not deal with some deep-seated emotions about his long, long dead brother. Um, it turns out that his brother who raised him after their parents died, uh, turned out to be a criminal and a, uh, uh, a practicer of the occult.

[00:06:59] And Bix is got some, let's say mixed feelings about that. And because, you know, he's so old school and you know what? I say that, but a lot of people today also don't deal with their emotions. It's something that I think I've struggled with. I think a lot of people have struggled with over the years. Um, but particularly for people of that generation, like my grandfather, it did not talk about things that were quote unquote tough to talk about, um, because it made them feel weird and odd.

[00:07:26] And so he swishes this stuff down and it comes out in weird ways. Like he ends up, you know, kind of barking at Diego all night. And, uh, Diego even says in the story that, uh, Bix isn't his usual lovable gruff, uh, gruffy self is even worse. So, um, there's some stuff going on with Bix that he's going to try to, I won't say come to terms with, cause I don't think that's, there's not going to be a nice little bow on it at the end of this story.

[00:07:54] But, uh, he is going to have to try and face, uh, what's going on because, and this is not a spoiler. We find this out in the very first issue as part of the setup is that the, the, the weapons, the knives being used in the cult murders today were originally owned by Bix's brother a hundred years ago. So now he's got an emotional tie to the case. He's going to try to put his feelings aside so that he can stop, uh, literally hell coming to earth. Yeah.

[00:08:23] You've really set him up in, in thanks and brimstone, uh, because he's dealing with these feelings about his brother, dealing what happened to the past. These, this, these ritual killings have, have come about now that have, you know, involved those same daggers. So he's got to kind of deal with all of that. Also, it's his birthday, which he hates because all these things in his past have also happened, you know, on his.

[00:08:51] He's on his birthday. So that, that too has set him up and that's right. Um, yeah. Uh, giving him kind of like the sidekick slash foil of, of Diego. And I really enjoyed cause Diego's, you know, kind of a knucklehead, um, but means well, which Bix acknowledges, you know, in the comic. Also, I think it was issue, issue three. Was it the last issue that was narrated by Diego?

[00:09:21] Yes. Uh, which I just, I, I thought was so great. And it's, and as soon as I started reading it, like you could, you know, it's, it's not, I think from, from page one, it's not like this is Diego talking. Like if you just kind of get into the narrative captions and it's very clear that the voice is off from what, you know, I I've been reading. Cause I have immersed myself in, like I said, in Vixby Grant most of the day yesterday. So it's, it's clear right away that the voices is all.

[00:09:48] And then like, when you, you get to like the end of the first page, you're like, Oh, Oh, it's Diego. And it's like, Oh, of course. And like, it's just, it's, it's tonally, it's very fun. It's kind of a different perspective. Um, I thought that was a really great choice to kind of have seen that played out from Diego's perspective. It kind of made the comic feel, you know, a little like fresher and had a different type of a spin on it.

[00:10:15] And it was interesting to see Vix through Diego's eyes, not just in like what was happening on the page, but because noir is so, you know, one of the tropes of noir is voiceover narration, you know, in terms of film. So it was very interesting to see that from Diego's perspective, because it kind of gave it a nice little, a nice little, uh, a change, uh, to the tone of the comic. So I really liked that. Yeah.

[00:10:43] I wanted to inject a little something different just so it's not the same tone throughout the whole story. And Diego is going to come back as the narrator in issue five, uh, which I just finished writing. So, um, you have that to look forward to if you enjoyed it in issue three. Yeah. Yeah. I definitely, I definitely enjoyed it. Oh, I do want to say, I know this is a podcast. So what we do sometimes put these on, on YouTube when Byron, the editor in chief of comic book, Yeti and the other host edits them.

[00:11:09] But I do want to point out, cause I just noticed that you have a spinner rack behind you. Um, which is awesome. Thanks. Nice. Yeah. I got this, uh, on a Kickstarter. Um, I think Jim, uh, DeMonicos from the comic book store in Seattle, uh, did these a few years ago, maybe five years ago. And, uh, you know, I'd always, I love spinner racks. I grew up with spinner racks in your local stores.

[00:11:34] Um, so it's definitely a nostalgia hit for me, but I had looked at them on like vintage ones online and either they were too far gone and you'd have to do a lot of work to kind of rehab them. Uh, or they were just too damn expensive. So when these came on, on Kickstarter, um, I, I had to have one. So you can see I've got, you know, I've actually got a turned obviously right now because it's all my stuff, but, uh, yeah, it's great. It looks, it looks great.

[00:12:04] Uh, so I just wanted to point that out cause that's, um, that's awesome. I love, I love that. Uh, so, I mean, I think reading the comic, it's, it would be clear to me that in terms of some of your influences, like, uh, you do seem to be big fan of the traditional universal monster movies.

[00:12:28] And, you know, traditional noir, uh, when I say traditional noir, I mean like when we, when I think of noir, I think of, I think of like the Maltese Falcon. I think of, uh, double indemnity, films like that. Yeah. Our, our listeners, um, are familiar with any of those. Yeah. So I'm just curious, like, I, or what are your like other influences that you're bringing into this that might not be as obvious to readers?

[00:12:56] Uh, let me go through the really obvious ones real quick, just so I can get them out of my head. Uh, so there's Hellboy, definitely. Um, Raymond Chandler, like you mentioned, um, Dashiell Hammett, he wrote Maltese Falcon. He also wrote the Continental Ops, which is what, um, Miller's Crossing, the Coen Brothers movie was kind of based on. Um, and, or influenced by. And, um, yeah, of course, now my mind's going blank. Should've made crib notes. But, uh, uh, Batman, the animated series.

[00:13:25] Uh, big influence. Uh, you can probably tell from the tone. Uh, in fact, a couple of the characters, I have my own, um, um, uh, Bullock and Montoya characters in there. Um, and, um, I always liked, uh, Batman, the animated series. I wasn't a kid when that came out, by the way. I was already in college. So it was, but it was, it's always been great storytelling. And it shows what you can do with short stories, good characters, and good plotting and pacing.

[00:13:55] Um, and I've, I've always loved one and dones, even though this is a six-parter. Um, that is a lost art. And I hope to do some one and done Bixby Grant stories in the near future. But my other, oh, Darwin Cook is a huge influence on me. Um, whether it's his Batman stories or his cat work, work on Catwoman or his, um, honestly, Parker, his Parker graphic novels. Um, because I love crime, crime novels.

[00:14:22] Um, yeah, his, his Parker graphic novels are phenomenal. The best. Um, and I, if in my head, Darwin Cook would have been drawing Bixby Grant. Not that I don't love my team. Uh, but you know, an RIP, um, uh, to tip Darwin. He was, uh, a unique talent. And, you know, I know friends and family certainly miss him, but the rest of us are. It's a, it's a, it's a sadder world for him not being able to continue to make his, his art. Uh, I agree.

[00:14:52] Yeah. I'm a big Darwin Cook fan. Uh, I mean, uh, his new frontier was, you know, very influential in terms of comics. But I, I have a big collection of the Parker that I don't know that a few years ago they did like a big omnibus, uh, you know, of, of a lot of those stories, which I, I have.

[00:15:14] Um, I also have a big, um, actually this is, uh, I got a present one year from my, my mother got me an, an art book. He knows nothing about comics. I'd never mentioned that. She just knows that I like them. Yeah. And, you know, was, was, was, it was starting to do stuff in terms of comic book Yeti and wanting to try and write. And, um, it got me a Darwin Cook art book. Just. Nice. A happenstance.

[00:15:44] Because the cover of it was like a ton of DC characters and a diner scene, which is called Jimmy's, which I think Jenny Palmiati has said that Darwin named, you know, the Jimmy's after him. Yep. So it had Jimmy on the cover. She bought it and I was like, you know what this is? I'm like, this is one of the best presents I've ever received. It's just like a huge Darwin Cook, you know, with a bunch of shorts, you know, shorter comics in it, a bunch, a ton of stuff. It's the gorgeous hardcover Darwin Cook book.

[00:16:14] Back she got it right behind me. Where the hell did I put it? Yeah. It's the, the DC art of Darwin Cook, right? Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. But she just got it because it had Jimmy on the cover. Yeah, it's great. I've also shot the, uh, DC art of Frank Quietly. I don't remember picking that one up, but here's the Darwin Cook one. Oh yeah. Yeah. I love this. It was. Yep. Yeah. Me too. It's fantastic. So good. And it's got so much stuff. Um, but yeah. Yeah.

[00:16:41] Well, I, I think with the penciler and, you know, and anchor on Bixby Grant, uh, Gonzalo Martinez, um, uh, and the color artist, uh, Arthur Hesley. I mean, you, you found a team that, you know, it's the fangs and brimstone are very similar to that, you know, Darwin Cook kind of style. Um, it has a very, you know, something about a Darwin's art.

[00:17:07] I felt always very comic booky, but very approachable. Uh, if that makes sense. And I feel like the Bixby Grant books do that same thing very well. Um, you know, Gonzalo's work, I think is phenomenal. And it also, I think adds to the, you know, all ages type of feel to it. Like anybody can kind of pick that, pick up a Bixby Grant. You kind of know what you're getting. It's great.

[00:17:34] Colors are a ton of fun, you know? So yeah. Um, Gonzalo is a wonderful storyteller. I, if for some reason he's listening to this, I don't think he is. Um, his, uh, English is not his first language. Um, and he lives in Chile, but he's a fantastic artist. Uh, I didn't mean to, it was no shine on my art team to say that I'd rather have Darwin Cook. It just, in my head, the dream team was always Darwin Cook.

[00:17:59] But that said, um, you know, I, I came across Gonzalo's work a few years ago. We did a short story together just to kind of test the waters. Um, and we, we clicked like he really liked the concept. Um, and he's hasn't been published in the States all that much. Um, but, uh, and then Arthur came on board. Arthur in the last three years has really blown up and he's doing a ton of work for Marvel now. Um, and he is phenomenal.

[00:18:27] Uh, he really, I think defines the look cause we've got kind of that painterly kind of, uh, throwback, uh, kind of graphical color. And he puts a lot of texture into it. And I, I told him, um, this is another influence is Greg Smallwood. Uh, and I love human target books that he did, uh, two years ago. Uh, with Tom Kane. Oh yeah. Me too. It's Tom Kane. Sure. And it's got that sixties throwback painterly vibe.

[00:18:54] And I said to Arthur, I said, do your version of whatever this is. Cause that's what I'd like. Uh, and, and he, this is what he's come up with. And I think it looks, I think it looks really fantastic. Oh yeah. Issue four in particular. Um, you know, it issue three ends where it looks like Bixby and Diego get, get picked up by some thugs. We're not really sure exactly what's going on. We find out early on in issue four what that is about, but yeah, I love the opening of it.

[00:19:23] I mean, there's kind of like this, um, yellow tone in the beginning. Like there's some interesting, like light choices, uh, or color choices for like the, the lighting. And, um, I just, it really has a great, you know, great feel, uh, a great look to it. And it just gets better. Like all of the issues, you know, have that. But, um, the, the other thing I really liked in terms of issue four, and it's, it's come

[00:19:49] up in other issues as well in terms of the color choices, whenever something is, uh, you know, there's some underground stuff here, whenever anything is lit by candles, it just looks real. It just looks really cool. Like, I don't know, for some reason I was like, I don't feel like I see this a lot, but, you know, in comics, like things that buy, buy candlelight and it just, you had like the, there's one where there's like a candlelight kind of, you know, chandelier, not, it's not really like a chandelier, but whatever the fixture is where all the candles are hanging from.

[00:20:18] It just looks really cool. Like the light is out of work. I, I really enjoyed. Yeah. And again, that's all Arthur. Um, you'll notice if you look at the art that Gonzalo is light on ink on the page, which is, uh, fine, but, and it's because I think he knows Arthur is going to go in and really kind of, uh, play with all the colors. Um, and it's yeah. In the, the beginning of issue four, I have it in front of me.

[00:20:44] There's there under that classic trope of they're in a warehouse with just that one light over them after the, again, uh, taken by those goons. And it's just, he does this really nice thing where he has squares things off, but then layers them. And so the light is, um, kind of spotlighted, uh, literally in one spot and, but it kind of glows and shimmers without moving, which I think is, is really awesome.

[00:21:10] And then he throws that over the other characters and it's not a very literal shadowing, but it gets the point across and it looks super cool. And it kind of has like this mid century, early sixties, uh, art direction, uh, vibe, which is exactly what, what we were going for. So, um, I can't, you know, every issue has gotten better, I think, because we've been working together now for three years. I can only do about two issues a year.

[00:21:36] Um, uh, financially speaking, uh, and time wise, because like you, I have a day job, I have a family and, uh, there's only so much time and money in the day. Right. Um, but I think we've been working better together over the years, gelling better as a creative team, feeling more comfortable with one another and trying new things and pushing it just a little bit, if that makes sense. Yeah, no, it definitely does. Um, and I, I agree. I mean, I've, I mean, I really enjoyed Wolf. Uh, she cried.

[00:22:06] Um, I just thought, you know, it was a very interesting kind of tale. Like you, you get all of your nods to like the universal monsters in it throughout it. Like, I like how the, the mystery of it, you know, plays out. I like all the, you know, you kind of hit all the marks of, um, of a noir and, uh, yeah, really enjoyed it, really enjoyed through that story, kind of getting to know, uh, Bixby Grant. And I still like that. I've read Wolf. She cried.

[00:22:35] Uh, and I've read the first four issues of fangs and brimstone, and there's still plenty of mystery to Bixby Grant, you know, like you've, you've, you've slowly revealed like a couple of things about what happened to Dolores, what, what happened to his brother. Right. Um, you know, so you, you've hinted at some things you've, you've kind of peeled back,

[00:22:58] um, you know, the wrapping of speak, uh, but there's still plenty to, uh, plenty to uncover. Sorry for me. Sorry for making mummy puns. There is, there is, uh, I'm glad that you picked up on that. So Dolores, uh, for the listeners, it was Bixby Grant's girlfriend. And the night, uh, that he became a mummy, uh, she also tragically disappeared, presumed dead.

[00:23:26] Uh, and I say that very specifically because I have a future story that's going to address that. We haven't actually shown Bixby's full, uh, origin yet. And that's because there is a larger story around it with, uh, filled with some tragedy and some action and, um, some other fun stuff that we will get to, but I wanted to build up to that. So this first bigger story, Fangs of Brimstone does kind of unpack some of that stuff that happened back in the thirties.

[00:23:54] Um, but only, like you said, only kind of just like gets a peek behind the curtain really. Uh, so there'll be more, more coming, uh, about more stuff about Max, his brother, I mean, definitely more stuff about Dolores. His, uh, his girlfriend. Nice. Yeah. One of the other brew lines, uh, you know, or like the plots, I guess of Fangs and Brimstone is the mayor running for reelection.

[00:24:19] And there's a, you know, the campaign is basically, he's trying to kick all the monsters out. So you have this, uh, you have this storyline, which feels very right now in terms of like, uh, current, uh, political climate, climate stuff. Yeah. Um, I mean, just, I mean, in terms of like, uh, what's currently going on in the world, not just in the U S but other places as well. For sure.

[00:24:46] Um, one of the things I wanted to bring up though, that I, you know, a very serious plot line. Um, and there are like rallies and protests that the, the mayor is having and there were, you know, you do the crown has protest signs. One of the ones that I don't know why I just thought it just really struck me was the Van Helsing was right.

[00:25:09] Like, I don't know why, but the crown has like monsters go home and those types of things. But yeah, the one sign that was Van Helsing was right. Just really kind of tickled me. I was like, yeah, somebody would have that sign. So when I, um, yeah, definitely. Um, what, why did you want to bring in like that other, the other type of storyline with like the, with the mayor running for reelection?

[00:25:35] Was it just, was it something that on your mind, was it a way for you to get, you know, uh, Bixby to a place where he could talk about some of these, you know, underlying issues or flesh out more of, uh, the city? It's, it's all that, honestly. Um, uh, the, so, you know, one of the other things with noir is that it's, there's always a big secret revealed that has something to do with, uh, people in power, right?

[00:26:01] Whether it's the rich people or it's the politicians or it's the heads of your police department, it's always some big scandal that they are detective or the protagonist starts pulling a thread at. And then suddenly, you know, uh, James Elroy's books are always like that, like LA confidential or, um, uh, Chinatown is a lot like that too, where you're finding out, you know? Um, yeah.

[00:26:25] Again, these are also influences, but, uh, they, so, so that just as a storytelling device is kind of, I won't say necessary, but fun and makes it immediately vibe with noir, right? So, so, so that was the back of my head. You know, you make a little bulleted list of things that you might want to consider to make it feel like a certain kind of story or some people intuited that. I don't, I have to think I have to put it down.

[00:26:52] Um, that's just part of my process, but I also wanted it to reflect a little bit of what's going on in the world right now. I'm, you know, I, uh, I am politically active. Uh, I am not in people's faces about it, but I am for equality. I am for, um, just treating people fairly. That's a, that's a put too fine a point on it. And it's, um, I, I see a lot of hate.

[00:27:18] I see a lot of intolerance and, uh, you know, it's always been here. Um, but it's really prevalent right now. And I, I am involved, you know, I donate to charity. I, I get out there and I, I am part of, um, uh, protests when, uh, when they arise in my local neighborhood. I, I, so I wanted that to be reflected a little bit in, in, in, in what I do.

[00:27:44] Like I, as you said earlier, the tone of this book is not super serious, right? It's not, um, it's not really heavy, but it's got some themes that are important to me. So, um, being able to talk about, um, spreading hate and, uh, finding public villains for problems that are not made from a certain population, whether it's the LGBT community or whether it's immigrants or whether it's minorities, um, that stuff is important to me.

[00:28:14] So being able to have a villain that reflects what's going on right now is therapeutic for me. And also hopefully, you know, it, it's not so in your face in this book that it is trying to like bark at you or yell at you and say, you, you need to change your mind and you're a bad person. If you think this way, it's just presenting things the way I see it. Um, and, um, if you're not thinking about it, then it won't really affect you. And it's just part of the story.

[00:28:39] And that's the bad guy, um, Harbor City, um, just to give a little bit of background, whereas the town is the fictional, the fictional city where Bix lives, there was a corrupt mayor there who's widely unpopular. And that might sound familiar. Um, and he is up for reelection and it's looking like he's probably not going to get reelected. So he's chosen, um, this population, the supernatural population who Harbor city since Bix became

[00:29:07] the mummy, um, a hundred years ago, over that a hundred years, Harbor City has really become kind of a safe haven for otherworldly, uh, people. So whether you're a werewolf or a vampire or, um, uh, a ghost rule or what have you, um, it's kind of become a place where everybody could go, uh, and feel safe. And, uh, some of those people are, most of the people are good. Some of those people are bad, just like any other population.

[00:29:37] Right. So, um, but the mayor is targeting them saying that we're going to kick these people out. We're going to make our city what it once was. And that's kind of the platform that he's running on and he's getting some steam. So, um, it's also a nice platform because then as you know, cause you, you read it as recently as yesterday, you get Diego's two cents on that. He starts yelling, yeah, TV. Um, and then we start to get some other people's, you see the protests, you see, uh, the, uh,

[00:30:07] the rally in, in, uh, in an upcoming issue. And, um, ultimately you will get some, the more opinions from other characters. So it's, it's a nice device to be able to have different, uh, opinions and a pop up in a story. So it's not just my opinion. I'm trying to look at it from different angles and see how it affects different people and just share that a little bit. Again, not preachy. Uh, I think of interest and a reflection of what's going on so much as a story about a

[00:30:36] mummy private eye can reflect the real world. Yeah. Well, well, it is interesting to see it from Diego's perspective and to see it from, from Bixby's perspective. Cause we've seen if you've been following along, you know, and have read Wolf, She Cried and read like the first three issues of Fangs and Brimstone. And I mean, Bixby is someone that is kind of a little, I mean, self obsessed is maybe the wrong word, but he, you know, he does his job.

[00:31:05] He does care about the city. He doesn't like to talk about his problems, but he does come across as like a character who is content to kind of be in his own little world unless he has to go out and do a job. Yep. So it is kind of interesting to see like his perspective, like, cause it's not, it's not overt, but he seems like, yeah, this is all, this is all BS, but he's, it's, it's

[00:31:32] not like in, in your, in anybody's face about it. And it does really flesh out like the rest of the town, but the rest of the city in a very interesting way in terms of, um, in terms of what's, what's going on, which, you know, it's, it's always nice to kind of do a little bit more of that world building and get a glimpse of, um, is going on in the rest of, uh, in the rest of the city. But yeah. Yeah.

[00:31:58] I mean, I really kind of like the, the plot point. Uh, I kind of like the, the intersection of everything and kind of how it dovetails into the main mystery that Bixby ends up investigating. Also, um, in issue four, Diego gets a nice moment, which I felt was a nod to one of my favorite books and, and, and movies as well. But the Diego gets this kind of to kill a mockingbird, uh, moment, which I'll, I'll call it. Um, yeah.

[00:32:27] If anyone's familiar with, well, I know it's in the movie. I don't know how the, I can't recall how the scene plays out in the book. It's been a lot longer since I've read the book than I've seen the movie, but, um, yeah, there's a moment where, you know, um, I guess scout kind of confronts the people in the town and, you know, cause she recognizes all of them and Diego gets like a little bit of that. That's a very, yeah. The very nice moment, uh, in the, in the book, it plays really well. So thanks. Thanks. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:32:56] That, um, that moment kind of happened, uh, organically, like in, in the, in the outline, it was, uh, written very quickly as outlines are as Diego distracts crowd. And then when I got there, um, you know, having thought through some of the other things we were just talking about, I was like, well, it's kind of in keeping with Diego's character. He wouldn't probably willingly deceive these people.

[00:33:21] And in fact, he, so one of the other backstory that I should mention to, to, to listeners is that Diego is, I think, and I think at one point or other, we've all known this guy. He loves music. He's a rockabilly vampire. He loves rock and roll. And he's in like five bands at any one time. And all of those bands are not good. Um, or I shouldn't say they're not necessarily not good.

[00:33:47] It's just that they're, you know, they play like local bringer shows where they're like playing the Elks Hall or they're playing the back room at a bar. And so he's always like out pimping his, his, uh, his gigs and saying, Hey, could you come, you know, to my gig on, on Friday night? We're playing, you know, the, the lions, the lions club out in Reseda or wherever the, the, the, the, you know, the shittiest gig you could imagine. Right. Right. Because they're probably going to be playing to two drunk people somewhere and, uh, just

[00:34:16] kind of, uh, it's one of those kind of comedians go through it. Uh, bands go through it. And so anyways, he supports this music habit. I think Bix even says it that way. He supports a music habit with odd jobs around town and he's very affable and very lovable aside from being a vampire. Um, he's, uh, he's very quirky. He's very fun, fun loving. And people just really, if they don't think about him being a vampire because he's not, he's not bloodthirsty.

[00:34:46] Um, then people just kind of love him and open up to him. And so he's good in the past, uh, as a, um, as an informant because he knows everybody. He's, he's worked as a bar back. He's worked as a delivery guy. He's worked as a, um, you name it, but, you know, you know, he's worked in bodegas. He's worked in, uh, anywhere that you might be able to work weird hours, you know, and only a couple of days a week so that you can run off to gigs. That's Diego's bag.

[00:35:17] Um, so in this scene that you're talking about, and I won't get into specifics, like turns out, like he knows a lot of these people who were at this rally. And, um, so yeah, I wanted to show, uh, as I was writing, I was like, huh, he probably knows some of these people because that's been the reality for all of us. No matter what side of the political spectrum you're on in the last couple of years, you're like, oh, people I know feel this way or that way.

[00:35:45] Um, and it's been kind of eyeopening. And I also think humanizing oddly, um, not always in a good way, but you know, um, the point that I do, I understand. I think you obviously get what, what's going on in that scene. And I'm glad that you mentioned to kill a mock work because I, can we swear in here? Um, sure. I fucking love that book.

[00:36:08] Um, and, uh, it's, um, you know, the, the, the, the, there's a reason why Aaron Sorkin brought that play back to Broadway a couple of years ago because its message is as pertinent now as it was when the book came out. So, um, sorry, I'm just kind of rambling. Um, but, uh, it's fine. I, I, I mean, Diego is definitely the type of guy like Diego is never going to have a career.

[00:36:37] He's just like a series of jobs. And, um, yeah. And what in one of the other issues or maybe it's even in, in Wolfsheik pride, but yeah, it's mentioned that Diego like feeds his music addiction by just having a bunch of job, odd jobs, like all over town, you know, he's like, he's a, a very, a very interesting idea of like, you know, Sherlock Holmes had the, uh, the irregular as I, I think they were called, but yeah. Yeah.

[00:37:05] Diego is just like a, a, a, a very funny, like fun version of that. Like, you know, the, the rockabilly of it all, the, the vampire, the jobs all over town and like desperately wanting to be, uh, fixes, you know, partner. Yeah. You know? Yeah. Well, I love the bit of telling people that they're partners and they're, you know, the, the name he comes up for them. Like, yeah.

[00:37:35] And the immortal bros. Yeah. The immortal bros. Yeah. I just love it every, every time, every time he says it to try and, you know, make, make that happen. Jimmy is too humble to do this. So as his stalwart ride or die, I wanted to tell you about his new graphic novel, Penny and the Yeti with artist Amber Aiken. What started as a comic short with his daughter that I've known about for ages now, and it's

[00:38:01] evolved and has become one of those annoying can't talk about it in comics things for too damn long. Yes. I'm predisposed to be supportive, but after reading an advanced copy of it, I have to admit it's way better than I anticipated. No shade, but it's really good. Remarkably so. Does it have a Yeti? Yeah. Is it cute and adorable? Yeah. But it straight flies in effectively tapping into the all too familiar family dynamics that

[00:38:26] we all are facing in 2026 and approaching it in a way that doesn't insult the book's target audience. Kids! They are way smarter and perceptive than we adults give them credit for. So I really appreciated Jimmy's narrative approach tapping into his own experiences as a dad and a spouse. I can hear his wife saying, get off your phone, Jimmy, through the pages. She's going to kill me for saying that. It's hitting shelves on April 21st, and I dropped a link in the show notes where you can preorder a copy today.

[00:38:54] Yeti or not, here we come with Penny, Perry, Fenton, Maxine, and the magical, mythical, magnificent Yeti. On behalf of us both, we appreciate your support. Yahoo! Yowawa! And yeah, like all the other sidecats, I just do want to mention, you know, for anyone who hasn't gotten in, like me, and hadn't yet gotten into Bixby Grant, and I'm sure there'll be something on the Kickstarter that they can back and get, like, the prior issues. Oh, for sure.

[00:39:24] You know, for this Fangs and Brimstone to try and figure out exactly what's going on, he's, the Bix has to investigate some other members of the, of the city who are involved in the occult or, you know, or, well, one's a cat burglar, somebody else is kind of like, you know, kind of a mystic, a magician. Exactly. All of that stuff, all those other characters are great.

[00:39:53] And I also love, like, one issue, I guess it was, maybe it was issue three or two or three where we meet Mo, like somebody else that has helped Bixby. I really like how we get, like, just enough in terms of who this person is, why they are in Bix's life. Yeah. But you don't, you don't stop the, the issue to give us, like, a whole lot of, like, information. Like, you allow the art and the, like, the visual aspects of the storytelling to kind

[00:40:22] of let us fill in some of the details on our own maybe about who Mo is. Right. What is this dog? Chef? Like, what's his, like, I kind of, I kind of like how that, it really helps with the pacing. The story never gets bogged down, you know, because you already have a hurdle to get through with the voiceover narration of the noir of it all, you know? So, yeah, really appreciated all of that. I love all these interesting characters, like, we're meeting throughout the series. Oh, thanks. Yeah.

[00:40:51] I mean, the intention was, it's a good opportunity to, like you said before, world build, right? So we start, the very first issue, it's really just Bix and Diego in that issue. So we get to learn their dynamic. And then we also, oh, you get to know the mayor, but he's on TV. So we get to leave the background there. And then by the end of that issue, we find out, you know, what the bigger mystery is. And then each following issue, we get, we start to get a little wider in the world of Harbor City, right?

[00:41:19] So, like you said, in the second issue, we meet a mystic and we meet Mo, who we needed somebody who's known Bix for a while so that we understand why this case and why his brother being brought up into it is so important, right? And so I had never, until I sat down to write that script, had never come up with the idea of the vault or any of the other things that are in it. I won't, I won't wreck the big reveal there, but it was conscious.

[00:41:48] Like, we don't need to know all the story of how they met 30, 40 years ago and what her background is. That's going to be another story. And one I hope to tell at some point. But yeah, you just need, again, it serves a purpose in the story. You get just enough, you move on. And then in the third issue, or no, I'm sorry, at the end of that issue, then we meet the

[00:42:12] cat burglar and Bix does something to the cat burglar that I won't mention. And that is, he gets a little angry. I'll put it that way. Love that. We're starting to see his blood starting to boil because he's sick of all this. And he really doesn't want to have to deal with this. The whole setup, as you mentioned earlier, is his birthday.

[00:42:37] And his birthday in 1920 something or other, I have to look back at the issue, is the day he found out that his brother was both an occultist and the head of a local mob, the McSorley gang, a local Irish mob. Yeah. And he had just become a police officer at that point. So, and his brother had raised him after his parents died.

[00:43:05] So he felt super betrayed and a hundred years later still hasn't worked through all that stuff. So, um, uh, so yeah. So then, then in issue three, we start to meet a couple more. We, it's kind of escalating, uh, uh, people magically and supernaturally speaking as we go. And then the fourth issue, we really, uh, kind of pull back both curtains and you start to meet literally the underground there.

[00:43:32] And we start to see, um, what the, the kind of breadth and width of the, uh, the monster population is in, in, in Harbor city. So, um, for those who haven't read it, issue four is a great place to jump on. There's a lot of action. There's a lot of monsters. Um, there's a lot, it's really starting to ramp up. You know, it's a six issue series. Issue four is the end of the second act, which is really setting up what's, uh, going to be coming in the next one.

[00:43:59] And having just finished the script for issue five, uh, I'm really pumped and I don't necessarily think that people are going to see exactly where it's going. Um, which is, uh, or maybe I'm, uh, just tooting my own horn on that one. But I think, uh, if you read issue one, I don't think you will have seen where issue six is going to, is going to take things. So, uh, it's exciting. Like you mentioned, there is, uh, in the Kickstarter, a new reader catch up bundle.

[00:44:27] So, and it's a discount as opposed to buying each individual issue. You get Wolf, She Cried and you get issues one through four fangs and brimstone for a reduced price. Uh, and if you get it on day one, uh, you actually will get a free Diego enamel pit. So there's a little, that's cool on us. Yeah. Yeah. Nice. Yeah. I, I mean, I, I think, uh, and even if he didn't want to like, you and I, you don't even have to read, like, I think you should, like, if this is your type

[00:44:55] of thing in terms of these mystery, noir, supernatural stories, but I mean, you really don't have to read Wolf, She Cried to get into fangs and brimstone, like get everything you need. But if you are able to get it and catch up, like I, I do recommend it. I really liked Wolf, She Cried. It's a lot of fun. Thanks. Um, I feel like it's a good story. Real quick, before I let you go, Patrick, I did want to talk about, there is kind of a, a, a second story that runs through fangs and brimstone.

[00:45:24] The zombie zombie town. Yeah. It's a different artist, uh, Gonzalo Ruggieri and, um, very different, uh, very different look and feel to what is going on in the main Bixby grant. Um, I think it is, it's, it's especially after what I, I've just read, uh, it is, it's much darker. Yeah. It is literally darker. Yeah. I mean, literally darker. Yeah.

[00:45:52] But, uh, also, yeah, there's some bad stuff that happened, uh, to the characters, to the main character. Um, yeah. Ramirez in, um, yep. In a zombie town. Yeah. Yeah. So detective, uh, Marisa Ramirez is one of the characters from Bixby grant. We introduced her in wolf. She cried. She doesn't appear in fangs and brimstone because she's in the backup store. So, but her partner, uh, uh, Braddock is, uh, again, she's my Montoya because I just love

[00:46:21] those characters from Batman, the animated series. And then they brought them into the, um, Oh, obviously Harvey Bullock was in, um, the comics before that, but, um, I just love those characters and I'm probably never going to get to write Batman. So this is, this is my opportunity to use them. So, uh, Marisa Ramirez is a police detective and her father was a beloved, um, police captain, um, in a, they are both like one of the good cops in a bad town kind of thing.

[00:46:51] Like that, that's another trope in, uh, in noir too. Um, but yeah, mostly in all crime and all, uh, all police, uh, uh, uh, fiction. And he, her father, police captain Ramirez went missing 20 years ago. And so once she became a cop, um, she was bound and determined to figure out what the hell happened to him because it was a cold case. No one ever figured it out.

[00:47:16] So the beginning of this, uh, story of zombie town, uh, I should, uh, she finds a fresh, um, lead. She hasn't had in years. And some guy came back into the country, um, gives her a tip. And the tip is that he last saw her dad the night he disappeared and saw him go into zombie town, which is a section of Harbor city. It's like a five square block section where there was a zombie outbreak 30 years ago.

[00:47:45] And rather than deal with it, they just walled it off. And so it's been, you know, this kind of demilitarized zone of zombies for the last 30 years. And there is also a zombie, a zombie mafia called Il Cosa Morto, um, uh, which means our dead thing. Uh, and, uh, after the real mafia, which means, you know, our thing. Um, yeah. Il Cosa Nostra is this thing of ours. Yes, exactly. Thank you for the correct. Yeah.

[00:48:13] Oh, but, uh, and, uh, so I just thought it'd be fun. Uh, so she goes into, she tries to get into a zombie town and go to the, she figures logically the only reason that he would go into zombie town is that she was going to the headquarters of the zombie mafia. And, um, so she's going to go there and try to get some answers. And, um, you've read issue four, so you know what happens at the end there.

[00:48:39] And I'm not going to ruin you that, but she, she is going to get closure on what happened to her dad. Um, but, um, I think it is darker for sure. Uh, I wanted to show what I love about good comic properties, actually just good fiction in general, um, for ongoing properties, James Bond, Batman, uh, other characters like that is they can have different flavors, right? So you can have a super serious Batman.

[00:49:08] You can have superhero Batman. You can have action adventure Batman. You can have detective Batman, like, and the same with Superman, same with James Bond. Like James Bond was super cool in the sixties. And then he was kind of goofy in the seventies. And then he was just kind of action and suave in the, in the nineties. And then you got kind of super serious in the aughts. Um, and so I wanted to show a different side, not necessarily of Bix, but of Harbor city, like the cover, it says a Harbor city mystery.

[00:49:36] Um, which means that it's, you know, a larger world than I do have plans to do stories with other characters. Um, and this is one of them. So, uh, I, I love Gonzalo Ruggieri. I've been following him on Instagram for a while and I had backed one of his notebooks, uh, on Kickstarter a while ago. And he's just super talented. Like he's got a real painterly, he works digitally, but it works. It looks like it's, um, ink washes and then followed up with paint.

[00:50:04] Um, and that's essentially what he does just in, in, uh, with digital tools. And it gives it a really textured, um, moody kind of feel. It's still kind of, still kind of cartoony. Like his, his, um, his proportions for his people are kind of lanky and long. It's all consistent. Like it doesn't look bad. It's just his style. Um, and I always loved it. Like, uh, I, he's done a couple other, uh, projects. He did one for a comiXology last year.

[00:50:35] Um, and, uh, I just hit him up on, I slid into his DMs and I said, Hey, you want to work on something? And he said, sure. And here we are. So, um, I think it fits the tone of the book really, really well. It shows a different side literally to Harbor City. Um, and for those who, uh, this hasn't sounded, uh, interesting yet, the very first issue, we have a zombie fight club.

[00:50:58] Uh, and I think that was kind of a fun idea, uh, to introduce, um, uh, again, a darker side of what goes on in Harbor City when it's populated by monsters. Yeah. I thought that was very interesting, you know, cause you don't, it's in that issue. It's not revealed at first. Like you hear the same, well here you read. Yeah. Yeah. The, the captions that it sounds like, Oh, folks are betting on something. Yes. And then it, and then it's revealed that it's, uh, it's like a zombie.

[00:51:28] It's a zombie fight that these folks are, are betting on. Um, yeah, which it does seem, uh, very much that, that somebody would find a way to, um, to do that, to bet on it. I mean, well, yeah, nowadays with, you know, like poly markets stuff online, you can literally bet on anything. So clearly zombies, somebody would be setting up zombie zombie fights. I'm pretty sure. Yeah.

[00:51:58] Yeah. But yeah, it is, it, it does look great. It looks very different, which I like about it. And like I, you know, as I said earlier, I feel that it's, it's darker in tone. Um, but it is interesting to see, uh, another artist tackle some of these characters that we've seen in Bixby Grant. And yeah, it's, it's a, it's a very compelling, interesting story.

[00:52:21] And, uh, um, issue four did not expect to go where, where it went in terms of the zombie town story. Oh, good. That's not there. I, yeah, I mean, I, I had some thoughts, but that was not, that was not one of them. What I realized, what I think I realized it maybe like in the issue a little, maybe a tiny bit before it happened.

[00:52:46] I, I had a feeling like what was about to occur and I was like, oh no, oh, oh no. That's great. I'm glad to hear that. But really, really interesting. Really enjoyed it. Um, but yeah, uh, well, well, Patrick, this has been wonderful. This is a great way to start my, my Sunday. Awesome. It's been fantastic. Thank you so much. It's the listeners. If you're listening to this, uh, this is, this episode should be coming out. You're listening to it. The day it came out, uh, March 17th.

[00:53:16] So, um, my episodes come out on Tuesdays. So happy St. Patrick's day. And, and yeah, and the Kickstarter will have just gone live and there'll be a link in the show notes. So you can go, it'll, it'll, it'll be running. You're somebody who can't get to this, uh, to listen to this, like right when it comes out, uh, the Kickstarter will run till April 16th. We'll have till then, till back it. And yeah, if you haven't checked out Bixby Grant, it's a really, it's a really great series.

[00:53:42] If you like, if you like noir, you like supernatural stuff, you know, if you're a fan of, um, of hell boy or, um, what is it? BPRD things. BPRD. Sure. Yeah. The Rock and Tear. I think six. Yeah. Lobster Johnson, Black Beetle. Like a lot of this kind of stuff that has that kind of pulpy horror vibe. Oh yeah, that's true. Especially even the, even like the, the art style of something like the sixth gun, you

[00:54:09] know, Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurt. Yep. Um, yeah, that I'm a big fan of the sixth gun and that, that is, that, that's very true. There's, there is definitely some kind of like connective tissue between that story and this. So yeah, if any of those things are sound interesting to you, I really think you're going to find a lot to love about, uh, Bixby Grant. So check it out. Um, but Patrick, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. Uh, listeners, thank you so much for listening.

[00:54:39] A shout out, uh, as I do every episode to my brother, Bobby, the cryptid creator corners, number one, most dedicated fan. Bobby listens to all my episodes and I say, hi Bobby, every, every episode. Um, uh, so yeah, listeners, thank you so much for listening. Rate, review us, do all the things they, they tell you to do about podcasts. It really does help, especially if you can go wherever you listen and drop like a review if you've enjoyed listening to it and you'll find me on blue sky or, um, that's mainly where I am.

[00:55:08] If, if you're, you let me know what it is you're reading and especially if you end up backing Bixby Grant and check it out, let me know what you think. Love to talk to you about it. So thanks a lot for listening. I'll see you next time. This is Byron O’Neal. One of your hosts of the cryptid creator corner brought to you by comic book Yeti. We hope you've enjoyed this episode of our podcast. Please rate, review, subscribe, all that good stuff. It lets us know how we're doing and more importantly, how we can improve. Thanks for listening.

[00:55:38] If you enjoyed this episode of the cryptid creator corner, maybe you would enjoy our sister podcast into the comics page. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.