Steve Orlando Interview- The Vision and The Scarlet Witch

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[00:01:29] Head to 2000AD.com and click on subscribe now or download the 2000AD app and why wait? Start reading today. I'll put links in the show notes for you. Hello everybody and welcome to today's episode of the Cryptid Creator Corner. I'm Byron O'Neill, your host for our Comics Creator Chat. As we continue our celebration of Pride Month on the show, I've got returning guest Steve Orlando hanging out with me today.

[00:01:51] Steve is an Eisner, Glad and Ringo nominated comics writer with a slew of projects hitting shelves right now. He's at the helm of the longest solo run and then some of the Scarlet Witch. Now starting a new five issue miniseries, The Vision and Scarlet Witch, which recognizes their 50th wedding anniversary.

[00:02:09] Venom Original Sin jumps from Marvel Unlimited Online into print. The exciting conclusion of Ripperland, who he's co-writing with John Harris Dunning, who's one of my personal favorite new writers on the scene. And that just wrapped up issue four and will be dropping as a trade fairly soon with Dark Horse Comics. And the trade of Avengers Assemble, the Serpent Scenario just hit and I think announced yesterday was the Magical Mysteries of Shazam, a new webcomic for DC Go.

[00:02:39] That's a mouthful, but Steve, it's good to see you again. How are things aside from clearly very busy? Things are good. Things are good. And yeah, there's a lot coming out right now, but it's a good place to be. You know, like you, it is a. This is a job still, you know, but look, we get to make things up for a living. And so it's a dream job. It's one of the best jobs in the world, in my opinion. So there's a lot out there, but I think that's because I mean, what else would I be doing?

[00:03:07] You know, like if I if I sit idle too long, I start coming up with new ideas anyway. So that is you'll always see, hopefully, knock on wood, a plethora of stuff out there. We try not to pigeonhole ourselves. So, you know, I can be hopefully I can be the Ripperland guy and the Magical Mysteries of Shazam guy. Time will tell, but that is the plan. Yeah, it is kind of hard to pigeonhole where you find you don't really have a pocket, which is kind of refreshing, too.

[00:03:35] And I've been keeping up with Josie Campbell's Shazam run. Tell me a little bit about that new project that's dropping. It's DC Universe Infinite, right? I think I think it's DC Go, you know, like. Oh, OK, OK. But to be clear, like there are so many very somewhat similar names. It's almost like we are from the same company that has Max and HBO Max and Max again. So, you know, but yes, I believe we are DC Go. You are not out of this world, though.

[00:04:03] The DC Infinite, I believe, is the reader for like existing. OK, OK. Yeah, he said he thinking that was true. So but Magical Mysteries of Shazam is its own continuity. We are doing the C.C. Beck meets Miyazaki vision of Shazam. And I think that's really, really exciting, you know, but we're not just inspired by the Beck. We're also pulling a lot from the Johns and Frank run.

[00:04:33] The best of all of it, hopefully. You know, there's a whimsy to the original C.C. Beck work that when I sat down with Chipota, who already has a Miyazaki influence style, though, through a really cool Italian lens. He's Italian himself and the real kind like living in Italy, not me living in Boston. There's no one my last name. In fact, two of them. But it the back stuff has this whimsy, you know, it has talking animals.

[00:04:58] It has like a certain kind of design that I think fits really well into that Miyazaki style and that kind of world. So we're leaning into that with this. This is, like I said, inspired by all of the runs and all of the Shazam that's come before. So that shouldn't be intimidating. The fact is we're pulling the best poor folks who've never seen him before. Back in the day, Billy was raised by his Uncle Dudley. Here, Uncle Dudley has unexpectedly passed away.

[00:05:26] So he is raised by Dudley's best friend, Tawny. Okay. We're taking that piece from the Beck. We're taking, I think, the foster home narrative that Jeff and Gary came up with that is just a beautiful narrative. Two of my in-laws are adopted. Two of my brother and sister-in-law. So I feel very strongly about that. And I think that's something really beautiful that came a little later on in the Shazam mythos. So here, Tawny runs, is a foster father for humans.

[00:05:55] He's an outcast among tigers who are culturally solitary because he wants a family. And so because, and it's Dudley that sort of taught him the value of family bonds and things like that. So when Dudley passes away, Tawny has to fight for Billy to join his family as well. So Billy joins along with Darla, Pedro, and Freddy to start. Mary is already off at college and ripe to appear in the future.

[00:06:23] And we have a plan for the rest of the family members as well. But he joins in and is new to Fawcett City. He's a suburban kid. He is now new to the big city, learning a new family, a new world. And wouldn't you know it, after his first day of school, there's a monster society attack. And he comes face to face with, shall we say, an auspicious wizard. And what I'm most excited about, well, there's a lot. I mean, like seeing Shazam through the eyes of Japota is amazing.

[00:06:51] But I also am really excited about the little twist we can make, little updates. Traditionally, Billy is on the run during his origin. You know, he is, it's kind of a passive action. He's running for his life and then the wizard scoops him up. Here, we'll find, it's an idea I've been talking with for a little bit, but I really think it shows who Billy is. The wizard is crash landed after a battle that you'll see in the book. During the monster attack, he's crash landed in Fawcett City and he's, you know, he's asking for help. But of course, everybody sees him.

[00:07:21] They just think that he's crazy. They think that he's unhomed. They think that he's dangerous. So everybody passes by, even Billy's other sibling. But the one person who can't walk by, the one person who has to take the wizard's hand when it's outstretched is Billy Batson. So when he actually does that, takes that risk, when he makes that leap of compassion, that's when he first gets the power of Shazam. And it's a real, it's an action that shows who he is amongst other people. So he gets the powers. He gets the magic word.

[00:07:51] Uh, and, and he becomes Captain Marvel, which is really, really exciting. That's rad. Yeah. It's cool to hear you talk about that. I grew up a Marvel kid, so I just didn't have a lot of a, a reference point with Shazam as a character. So it sounds like you definitely had some investment in it. I saw him blue sky today. I guess it was a post with, with the artist and their style. So you, you're clearly very excited about the series. It sounds really cool. I am. I've been pushing it for a long time.

[00:08:20] We are, we are well ahead and I just think it's really going to be something special. I mean, I haven't really done anything quite in this tone before, but Gio's art is, is, is the main attraction. He was made to draw this kind of story and it's going to look great and digital. If you go to print, I just can't wait for people to see it if that happens. Um, and yeah, I mean, it's a dream book. We were cooking it, uh, with Andrew Marino at DC for quite some time. And so it is very exciting to finally be able to talk about it. That's awesome.

[00:08:50] Well, it is pride month and this is the pride month feature on here. Thanks for joining me to talk about that. I've been thinking about my own pride month experiences over the years. 2025 has taken on a different tone for me. And as we, you know, watch the systematic erasure of the history of queer people in the United States, hard not to be moved in a certain direction with that. I was watching an interview recently with Pedro Pascal, which succinctly, I think sums up my own feelings.

[00:09:19] And he said, fuck the people that try to make you scared and fight back. And this is the perfect way to do so in telling stories and don't let them win. I love that. So what does pride month mean to you? What's your personal story with it? I mean, look, in a way, nothing's changed, right? Like pride, uh, began as a riot, you know, pride began, began as a protest that began and defined. Uh, and so, I mean, in a way, yes, of course, a lot has changed.

[00:09:48] You know, it feels like many, many steps forward, uh, have now been taken back. Um, but the core hasn't changed. You know, we didn't need a government. We didn't need government sponsorship. We certainly didn't need corporate sponsorships, you know, toyifying us and, you know, doing fucking bottom friendly menus at Taco Bell, which almost makes me want to the ocean. Want to walk into the ocean, you know, like, uh, it might not be Taco Bell. It might be Chipotle, but I did definitely see. Wow. Menu somewhere.

[00:10:16] And like, like that's all nice and shit, but it's also kind of crass if I'm being honest. Uh, so we don't need that shit. Uh, we need each other. Um, and, and we still have that. So yes, I mean, my opinion is that, I mean, you meet the old boss, same as the, or the new boss, same as the old boss in some ways. If we really thought that the golden era of the government saying, yay, we love you. Uh, and corporations saying, yeah, we love you was always going to last. I mean, it never lasts.

[00:10:44] So, but we do, and we're still here. So, I mean, that is, that is both my opinion on it and my own experience. You know, it's not as like I, you know, for myself, um, I'm doing well now, but there have been times in my life. Needless to say, when folks are not excited about where I stand, uh, where I worry about my sexuality, uh, it's always been something that I've had to defend.

[00:11:06] Honestly, in my case, from nearly all sides, uh, being bisexual, I get, I get a lot of judgment and, and, and bullshit from the gay community, just like the straight community. It's not an indictment of all of them. It's an indictment of specific people. Uh, but the point is, is, I mean, I was, I've always had to defend it on some level. Um, and I'm ready to defend it now, defend myself, defend my people, defend my family. Uh, and, and that's where we have to be as a community too. We didn't need them at the beginning. We didn't ask for permission at the beginning.

[00:11:35] So we shouldn't be asking or waiting for permission now. That's a powerful statement. I always try to kind of check the temperature of how people are feeling in terms of the comics medium. So how do you feel like we're doing in terms of queer representation in your mind? I think we're waiting to see. I mean, like if you had asked me last year, I think that, I mean, every year that I've been in comics, which is 12 years now, things have gotten better. Uh, not to side quote the, the big quote of the community.

[00:12:05] Uh, but, um, you know, I don't think anybody knows. I don't think anybody knows. I don't know. Certainly if, you know, we're going to have official legislation and things against, against representation. So I have no idea. You know, I think, I think everybody is sort of waiting with bated breath as far as people on the page, uh, and people behind the scenes, at least until January. Um, I think we were doing better than ever before.

[00:12:32] Not that there's not more work to do, but you know, it's a weird thing to say, but like, I don't need to be in the pride anthologies anymore because we have a wealth of new queer creators that are there that, uh, that can enjoy the spotlight. And I think that's a great way to be, you know, I think that's a great place to be. Uh, I shouldn't be the only one. Uh, not that I am the only one, but the, the few of the, the relative few of us that were there 12, 15 years ago. Um, it's an exciting moment that there, that there's a wealth of people coming up, uh,

[00:13:00] to fill that, to fill that and expand that part of the industry. So I would say, you know, if you look at the raw numbers, I think there's, there's always room. Uh, of course, uh, there's always more work to do. Um, but it, it is an exciting time. I think it's especially, especially queer genre is, is, is bigger than ever. Uh, and I don't just mean, I mean, things like queer horror. Uh, I mean, look at, look at how, uh, James Tynan and tiny onion have taken a massive bite out of the industry. Yeah.

[00:13:30] I mean, they, they have completely changed the paradigm and not just them. Uh, so I, I think that as far as right now, um, I do think that we are seeing, I mean, this exponentially more, even when, then I began and that's exciting. Where will we be going? We don't know. It might be harder to publish these kinds of things. You might see, um, you know, businesses that are beholden to shareholders, uh, which is just how business works. You, you might see them pumping the brakes.

[00:14:00] You might see some caution. You also might not, you know, I mean, like it feels like a non answer, but I'm not, you know, none of us are prognosticators. You can see, you know, easily publishers could take the, could take the target route or easily publishers could take the Costco route. Like if you want me to be blunt and we don't know until we know. Uh, but the, the key is, is that you can't stop, you know, like I lived in Russia for some time as folks know it are probably sick of hearing me say, but a big thing Soviet era

[00:14:26] there was Samy's dot self-publishing, uh, and, and, and, and networks of spreading stories around and getting them out there. Uh, even, uh, under the radar, uh, of, of what was officially allowed. So I hope we don't have to go there. And I really don't. Well, yeah, I, I really don't think we will. Um, at least as far as it could go, but nobody really knows. So the answer is we have to be ready. Uh, and, and also we can't stop no matter what, maybe the delivery system changes, maybe

[00:14:56] the medium changes or the means change. Uh, but we can't stop. And, and to again, side quote my college life, we can't stop and we won't stop because, uh, it was like, again, just like pride itself before we had Bezier publisher saying, yes, we love, you know, we, we love these things come to us. Look, the stories were still there. So stories are always going to be there, uh, and, and we'll continue to grow. Not even the old ones, new ones will emerge.

[00:15:22] Uh, the question just becomes how, you know, the means, uh, and, and the method of consumption. But I, I, I, we can't, it's an imperative, uh, that we can't go anywhere. So as somebody who works in both the indie space and with the big two, are you seeing a disparity there in terms of how they're embracing representation or not? Not yet. Okay. Uh, you know, I mean, but it's only been what, you know, like half a year.

[00:15:51] Um, I haven't seen, you know, the only disparity is not necessarily related to the current moment. I mean, in the indies in a way it's easier to do, uh, to get representation across the plate, but that's not because indie publishers are magically, you know, more enlightened or, or more open to the idea than, than big publishers. It's actually just because they have less people to answer to, uh, and, and less risk involved.

[00:16:19] Um, and I'm here to give the very boring, perhaps business laden answers for people to consider. That's great. But that's just the way it is. If you do a book at a small publisher, who's not paying you a rate and you're funding everything out of pocket and all they're covering is printing and distribution, their risk is relatively low. If you're doing a publisher or a book for a major publisher and you know, like without getting in too much, too much, how the sausage is made, they're investing.

[00:16:43] I mean, the average comic you buy in the stands, like say a random issue of the flash or Captain America doesn't matter. Uh, you know, probably cost the publisher realistically between 20 and $50,000 to produce. So when you think of everybody's rate and salaries, uh, so, you know, they are looking at things differently because they answer to more people and the risk is higher, which is the way that's just the way the business is. Uh, especially as industry contracts as, as shipping numbers contract, uh, pardon me,

[00:17:12] contract and are rather delivery numbers, not shipping numbers. Uh, and, and consumption changes because a lot of people are still reading comics, but again, the, how they consume, uh, is changing and the metrics of success aren't necessarily changing as fast. You'll always see bigger publishers be more risk averse. Uh, and it's not in the same way that they don't necessarily do things for moral reasons. Their objections aren't also aren't always for moral reasons. It's just a different calculus.

[00:17:38] So in that respect, it will always be easier, uh, on the indies. The counterpoint is the spotlight is much smaller. You know, you fight harder for a much bigger voice, you know, doing a queer story in a DC Marvel or image comic or in a, a big license is a bigger spotlight than, than doing it in one of your indie books, you know, unless you're like a super megastar, which I am not.

[00:18:02] So it's easier, uh, you know, but, but, but I hope folks can hear the, the reticence there because it's, it is also just different. It's, it's, it's easier. Uh, but it's also often, uh, just in a number sense, not in a quality sense, uh, heard or seen by less people. Uh, so the fight is just different, uh, when you're working on big license stuff. Yeah. I mean, I can't help but wonder if I was writing a big two title or something and coming from the

[00:18:28] perspective of somebody from the disability community, as I am, how I'd navigate the pressure of representing the community, you know, kind of through my characters. So given what's happening lately, I'd probably have visibly, visibly disabled people saving the world and every single story out of spite, but that's me. I'm an impulsive guy. Is that a thing you ever grapple with as a writer? Uh, well, I mean, not necessarily.

[00:18:57] It's just about, again, how you, yeah, for better or worse, I guess I'm making this sound unromantic, but it's not that I grapple with it as much as we have to understand as creators, the publishers we work for do things if they're good business. So you might try to put those characters you're talking about, or I might try to put those, these types of characters in every single book, but eventually, uh, if it becomes more about it's morally right versus it's business, right?

[00:19:25] Someone will say, you know, either don't do that or prove why it makes sense. Um, and look, we know, uh, from any marginalized community that things should be done because they're the right thing to do. But I don't think I'm telling any tale at a school when I say the corporations do not have morals. They have bottom lines. So it's more about how you pitch these things, how you present them. Uh, and, and honestly, once you sort of learn how that I get the hang of that, uh, it does become easier and you can get, make these things happen.

[00:19:53] Um, a fight is something I learned very on from, uh, an editor that I've, uh, an immense amount of respect for who I will not, um, name at the same time, because it would be a little unprofessional, but early on, I really, really appreciated that. One of the first editors I ever had, and one of the best would be very blunt, uh, about what fights were winnable and what fights were not winnable. Uh, and, and that is, uh, unfortunately, uh, that is a reality of the licensed publishing business.

[00:20:23] But the good news is, is when you get people on your side, like this, this person who was, you know, well, he's one of the editors on Midnighter. So it's one of my first works. And that book got no pushback, literally no pushback. Um, uh, was that you then know it's, you know how to lean in and when to lean in. When he said something is worth fighting for, you knew we could get over the plate. When something is not, listen, that's disappointing to hear. Um, but it's also a reality when you don't own the book.

[00:20:52] So that's the big thing. That's why you turn to the indies, right? Like when I went off exclusive with DC, I did commanders in crisis at image. And part of the market was, Oh, these are all the ideas that DC wouldn't let me do. Well, also it wasn't a marketing hook, you know, it was true. Um, and that's not, Ooh, DC, the bad guys, not at all. I loved working there and I'm very excited to be back. There's just different points of view. And different, uh, different rubrics. And at the end of the day, when you're working for a company like that, uh, as you know, as

[00:21:22] much as it might feel like you do, you don't own the characters, right? It's not your Batman run. It's DC's Batman run that they have hired you to write. And that doesn't mean the ideas don't come from you. It more means that they are your customer, right? And the customer is always right. Uh, within reason. So I can be hard. You want to do everything all the time. And, and, and I think as an extension of being a creative anyway, you know, the phrase kill your darlings exists for a reason.

[00:21:49] Uh, and, and if you lose a fight for something like this, it doesn't mean it's gone. Um, it means it's, it's, you tuck it to the side for a moment. And then when you have an opportunity again, it comes back, uh, whether it's in a license book, whether it's in an original. Um, and that's, you know, that is perhaps not as exciting as folks want to hear, but it is a reality like, and by the way, like it's a reality of being a creative in any type of situation. You know, we're talking about representation.

[00:22:19] Uh, but look, I may have won, you know, and, and, and representation is more important than lore things, but you know, I might love the gentleman ghost, right? And I just haven't found a way to work him in. That's the way it goes. Eventually I will, or I won't. Um, I'm actually ambivalent towards the gentleman ghost, uh, it's just an example, but, um, you're actually hitting on that. That is one of the reasons that it's important to do in the end license work at the same time, because you can sort of, if something doesn't work in one scenario, boom, you can pivot and

[00:22:47] maybe you can find a different way into that story you want to tell. And I think, um, that's the beauty of having both on your plate. Well, let's jump into how you are navigating it then with a, with a big two character. Sure. So the Scarlet Witch, I absolutely have loved the series, uh, really top shelf stuff. There are a few writers out there now working with Marvel who are doing amazing things with really strong female leads. And I am here for it.

[00:23:13] And this has been a feature of the book, even with the numerous protagonist antagonists that are winding their way in and out of it. Polaris, Lore, Agatha, Darcy. It's a really long list. So Wanda as a character has embraced the broken woman trope for far too long. So thank you for breaking out of that mold and interpreting her in a very, very different way. Uh, it's a pleasure, Gary, speaking my language.

[00:23:38] Uh, the, the, these were certainly the goals along with, as you hinted as well, sort of a return to, uh, what I would call sort of classic comic storytelling, okay. The, the, the, generally the one-off versus the decompression. So we have wanted to reintroduce Wanda with a forward thinking style. Uh, and also, um, bring back, we don't always do the one-off of course, but we do it fairly frequently. And, and one of the reasons is, is like, those are the kind of books that I grew up reading

[00:24:06] and loving is the kind of books that the editorial team grew up reading and loving. And hopefully it's, it's the kind of book that anyone can pick up and, and they find out about Wanda for the first time and get the full story. They get a statement on who she is. Uh, and of course the advancement of, uh, of, of the macro story as well. So listen, I've been very lucky. Like you said, we have had a variety of different titles as we celebrated Quicksilver and, uh, and the Scarlet Witch's anniversary as we celebrate the wedding anniversary of,

[00:24:35] of Vision and Scarlet Witch. Um, but at the end of the day, this team has done more solo Wanda than anyone in history. Uh, and with, and with what we have approved already, um, more than double. Uh, so, so I, I'm extremely proud. Uh, I mean, it would be, it would make me a douchebag to say I'm proud of myself. I'm extremely proud of Sarah. I'm extremely proud of Lorenzo, of, of Jacobo, of Alana, uh, Caitlin Linfett, who began editing

[00:25:03] Sydney Stubbs is, uh, editing now along with Alana, uh, Ruth Redman, who's doing colors for us, uh, Frank Martin, uh, and Matt Wilson, who were on before that. Just, I've been extremely lucky for the, with the collaborators I have. Oh, and Carlos Nieto from the annual. Um, I've been extremely lucky and, and everybody's firing on all cylinders. Lorenzo Tometa and Jacobo are both future megastars in my opinion. Sarah already is, you know, she doesn't need me to put her over. Uh, but Scarlet Witch is a hard book to draw.

[00:25:33] You know, uh, there's, there's difference every, almost every issue is a new setting, new creatures, new villains to design. And every single time I'm wowed, you know, we, we are almost in the midst of the vision and Scarlet Witch art right now, along with, uh, Ooh, what comes after? And, uh, it's just a joy to see this stuff come in, uh, because the flavor of each mini and each, any, I shouldn't even say each mini, each, each sort of period of the book is different.

[00:26:01] You know, Scarlet Witch and Vision is heavily influenced by like, uh, by, by the great old ones and, and Lovecraft type stuff. Um, and then what comes after has, it's, has a different flavor, which you'll find out about soon. And before we were doing sort of a, in the second, our, uh, run where we were solo, um, you know, we start off with this bigger cosmic threat, cosmic threat with the griever at the end of all things. We slowly expanded Wanda's magic and cosmic side.

[00:26:28] Uh, and then, you know, with the influence, with the appearance of Amaranth, who I'm really, really proud of, uh, added a big new piece to the magical board with this character, who's a living truce between witchcraft and, and chaos. I mean, as a creator who legit has a Jack Kirby wedding ring, uh, doing the, doing the origin for Amaranth and creating the sort of magical version of what I would consider like a classic kind of origin, the King would do, uh, sort of a little Orion, a little Mr.

[00:26:57] Miracle type thing, uh, was, was really, really exciting. So, um, I've been really lucky to build one up. I hope folks have seen that, you know, she has had, I hope, uh, a pretty human arc for a while folks, you know, there was, Oh, she's, she's, she always thinks she's right. She's here. Everything is too easy. Well, it was, you know, and now that is starting to come back and bite her in the ass as she does, she's having to realize she doesn't know everything. She doesn't have all the answers. And I think just like us, um, it's not a coincidence, right?

[00:27:26] She was down for so long, as you said, that now she's almost overcompensating. She's, she's, she's desperate for everybody to know, not think to know that she's fine. Like, don't worry. She's fine. But of course it's not all black and white in life. And even people who have struggled and overcome massive, massive things, the expectation is not that they're perfect, uh, because nobody is. So she's wrestling with that right now. And, uh, you will see that, uh, grow in Scarlet Witch and Vision. Um, and, and as well as what comes after that series.

[00:27:56] And I just have to say as well, like one of the first books I ever bought, in fact, the first book I ever bought was an issue of what, uh, was what, let me start again. West coast Avengers. Uh, and so to be the person who can put vision for the moment, at least into his white look again is really, really exciting. I mean, that's, I vision is a character I love. It should not surprise people because Marshall Manhunter is my favorite DC character and they sort of occupy a similar role in their team.

[00:28:23] So they are very different characters and, um, getting to work with him in the previous runs has been great. Getting to put a little more focus on him has been really, really exciting. And I will say the take we have on the all white vision is definitely not what came before. Uh, and I'm really, really excited for people to see it. You'll hear him say and do things that he's certainly never done, uh, which will make sense after, especially after issue two. All right, everybody, we're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

[00:28:55] Far in the future and deep in space, humankind has been lost to the star. Quiet rumors circulate of righteous heroes willing to fight and save the enslaved and oppressed masses. Stories of beautiful habit-clad saviors are giving hope to those crushed under the thumbs of tyrannical rulers and alien parasites. These are the stories of the Order of the Nenya. Interesting. Interesting.

[00:29:23] Now, if I can avoid all the Nenya knock-knock jokes in my head for a moment, this is a great new Kickstarter project from a few Yeti friends you should check out. With a story inspired by a 1937 Vatican photo, these weapon-wielding heroines strike me somewhere between warrior nun and 80s sci-fi adventurers like Flash Gordon. Who doesn't like a nun running around with a collapsible battle axe? Halberd? Hey, it's future check, so I don't ask questions. And she's trashing robots in stylistic fashion, riding around like Marty went fly on a...

[00:29:52] Well, I can't tell you more. But if it piqued your interest to hear about it, head on over to the Order of the Nenya on Kickstarter so you don't miss it. I'll put a link in the show notes for you to make it easy. Y'all, Jimmy, the Chaos Goblin strikes again. I should have known better than to mention I was working on my DC Universe meets Ravenloft hybrid D&D campaign on social media. My bad. He goes and tags a bunch of comics creators we know, and now I have to get it in gear and

[00:30:21] whip this campaign into shape so we can start playing. Another friend chimes in, are you going to make maps? It's fair to say it's been a while since I put something together, so I guess? Question mark? It was then that I discovered Arkenforge. If you don't know who Arkenforge is, they have everything you need to make your TTRP more fun and immersive. Allowing you to build, play, and export animated maps, including in-person Fog of War capability

[00:30:46] that lets your players interact with maps as the adventure unfolds while you, the DM, get the full picture. Now I'm set to easily build high-res animated maps, saving myself precious time and significantly adding nuance to our campaign. That's a win every day in my book. Check them out at Arkenforge.com and use the discount code YETI5 to get $5 off. I'll drop a link in the show notes for you. And big thanks to Arkenforge for partnering with our show.

[00:31:13] I think I'm going to make Jimmy play a goblin warlock just to get even. Welcome back. We were talking last time about how foundational that late 80s West Coast Avengers run was first both. And I had been previously reading a lot of solitary superhero stuff like Spider-Man. And then West Coast Avengers changed my outlook on what comics could be. Now, granted, I was really little at the time. But you had this group dynamic that I hadn't been exposed to before.

[00:31:42] Very different, unique individuals that could all contribute to solving a problem, which has continued to serve me well. It actually taught me lessons and shit. So what about you? What was so important about that run and foundational for you? Well, I was two when I bought that issue of West Coast Avengers. Really? So what was most important to me was that I couldn't read and the costumes looked really cool. I was older than that, which is, you know, that's why I love Hank Pym and his Mike Myers, his Red Mike Myers outfit.

[00:32:12] Michael Myers, Michael, not Mike Myers. I suppose I should not shorten that name because there are two different people. I love Red. I love Red Jumpsuit Hank Pym. I'm like, you get him in that right now. Man, I would be the only one who cares. But I do really like it. That being said, later on, I still loved West Coast Avengers. I think there's something about what I would consider the underdog team. You know, like they are thought of as, you know, well, that's why they're not the main Avengers, right? They are the spinoff book.

[00:32:43] And yet it had all those sort of outcasts and weirdos that I found really appealing. I don't know why as a younger person. More quote unquote, more obscure characters appeal to me. I think it could be that I didn't actually get into print comics first. I bought those at flea markets. But of course, I was very young. But I also bought my father was a sports memorabilia salesman at one time.

[00:33:13] And so a lot of these characters I learned about from trading card sets, where I learned about from things like the Marvel handbook or DC Who's Who. The thing about that is, it's not like the entry for Superman is four times as long and in bolder font than the others. You kind of don't necessarily learn the hierarchy. You just learn who you like, who sounds interesting. So yeah, as a kid, I was really into vision, but I was also really into swordsman. I'm, I'm still really into swordsman.

[00:33:38] I'm, I can't believe he's on TV at all, which he, you know, is popping in and out. But I, I think I was basing for better or worse. I sort of met these characters where they were with a clean slate and no real expectations of, oh, this is a big character. Right in the go. Silver Centurion, Iron Man, Iron Man is much bigger deal than swordsman. No, I was just like swordsman looks cool. Worth noting, Silver Centurion is my favorite Iron Man armor as well.

[00:34:05] So maybe West Coast really just was, maybe I just really like Steve Englehart. I do really like Steve Englehart as a person. So maybe I should, maybe he's a bigger influence on me than, than I knew. But, um, the, the, I think that notion, you know, people think of me as the obscure character guy or whatever. It doesn't necessarily, I'm not like trying to sit here and play comical trivial pursuit. If anything, um, it's because like, I really do love them all, you know, or, or, or I feel like the joy is finding something to that.

[00:34:34] I, I love them all as a douchebag thing to say. I think the joy is finding something to love in all of them. Uh, and, and that's kind of probably because I was buying these relatively like the, the B team books. Uh, and then I was getting these trading card sets and, and, and reading handbook and book of the dead, Marvel handbook, book of the dead. And, uh, and I, I don't know. Uh, I, I came to these characters on an even playing field. I love tarantula too.

[00:35:00] And I, and I may be one of like 10 people that love that guy, but, uh, I do always love him. If I ever write Spider-Man for real, you might see tarantula pop back in. Well, that's awesome. Yeah. I love, there was that cover way back when, where he has the, um, uh, the bandana on, he's all stretched out and he's got the little pointy toes. Those it's, I love tarantula is great. Okay. And I'm personally hoping as a fellow old school West coast Avengers fan, because I went back and read actually the giant size of Avengers number four, thanks to wonderful

[00:35:29] things like Marvel unlimited. Cause I don't want to try to track down a 1974 issue, but I'm hoping that you might just infuse some of the stuff in the future. I won't try to pin you down. That includes the swordsman or includes Mantis or some of those old school characters like that. Cause they're fantastic. Mantis is very different now. They are. That's one thing. Well, I will say since I've been, so we didn't Scarlet Witch and vision or vision and Scarlet witch, pardon me, uh, is very focused on them.

[00:35:58] Uh, however, uh, a lot of the flavor you're looking for is in astonishing Avengers right now, which is coming out in a Marvel unlimited. I also write the ongoing, uh, vertical scroll Avengers comic and that as folks who read Avengers assemble could tell is heavily influenced by West coast Avengers. Uh, it is a team where pretty much anyone can activate in the Marvel universe. Um, sadly, I don't think swordsman and Mantis are in it, but I, I have had a lot of guest stars that I I'm really, really excited about. Uh, Mr.

[00:36:27] Immortal, I believe is in the arc that's coming out right now. I forget because we do is so, so far ahead. Um, but we were able to get Mr. Immortal in. We were able to get, um, a guest spot by she thing. Perhaps my favorite arc so far has been, has been a pro wrestling arc featuring she thing and some of the female Avengers going undercover with the unlimited Federation. Um, we have, uh, we have a very brief appearance by sleepwalker. We have moon dragon.

[00:36:56] Uh, we have, which I really enjoyed having the dragon in the book. I would love to have her back. Um, and, uh, and there's, and there's more to come the arc right now that I'm, that I just turned in. Um, is I think like, you know, like everything you want out of unlimited because it is not necessarily like something you would find in a main book. It's a little like, like it's a little out of the box. We are doing the idea verse, which we had in, uh, scholar wish number seven.

[00:37:24] Uh, so you'll see what's, what bookworm has been up to, uh, after Jarvis gets sucked into a mystery novel, uh, and into the idea verse, but you will also see Jarvis's own Avengers team, uh, called the avenging literary society, uh, which is, which is made up of Jarvis, Jay Gatsby, Captain Ahab, um, and, uh, and Hester Prynne from, from the Scarlet Letter. That's right. I'm going to have to check that out. Cause I just like last month actually started, uh, subscribing to Marvel unlimited.

[00:37:54] So that I will definitely put that on my list. And let me tell you, Mr. Immortal was a blast. I like you talk about a character I've been wanting to write for a long time. And just like, he was just a joy to have in, uh, maybe Great Lakes Avengers in the future for me, this is not a secret spoiler. I've told no one, but maybe I would love to do that. All right. Very cool. Well, one of the things I've become accustomed to with the Scarlet Witch now and your iteration of the character is the humor is these one liners.

[00:38:21] Thank you for including a blazing saddles reference in there, by the way, chewing gum in line a caught that. Um, wait, I did. You did. Absolutely. And I was like, okay, did he put a blazing saddles in there? And then there's another bubble below it that actually references gum. So I was pretty sure. Wait, Byron, I, I'm going to be honest with you. Uh, where is that? Because I don't think I knowingly did that. However, I am such a big Mel Brooks fan that it's possible it's in out of my, like out of my, my low brain.

[00:38:50] Where does that happen? Like if folks want to see what happens when you write a book every week forever, this is what happens. Um, I will definitely, I'll, I'll, I'll get the page number and everything. I'll email it to you. So it's gotta, it's gotta be a dark. Oh, wait. I hope you brought enough for everybody. Yes. I do. Yes. Doing that, but I don't remember where it is, but I do. Yes. And like, I, I probably laughed like a jackass in my office when I wrote that thinking nobody would notice. I'm glad you did. I can like picture writing it, but I genuinely don't remember what book it's from.

[00:39:20] Um, that's what, I mean, I don't know that that's what happens with greater brain, but yes, that is very much me. Chewing gum online is a favorite of mine though. Also everything that Harvey Korman says in that movie is a favorite of mine. I actually am like physically incapable other than when I'm telling this story of saying Raisinets, not like Harvey Korman in blazing saddles. Uh, there's a variety of lines in life when you know me because I'm an idiot that I'm basically just always quoting movies, but they're just such tiny quotes that you would never know.

[00:39:50] And saying Raisinets is one of them. I also can't say I got it in any other way than when Anne Hathaway's cat woman says it to Batman after he like bats planes, how to use a motorcycle to her. Um, so there's a couple, but yes, Raisinets also, but why am I asking you? Um, I could go on for blazing saddles. Haley, United States, Haley seven, United States, nothing. It can be done. Um, this will be a long podcast. I get in that, but you can see how it happens.

[00:40:20] I do the same thing. I spent 15 years working with rock bands on the road. So I will constantly pull out song lyrics and, and response to our teenage son. And of course he's too young. He doesn't know any of it is, but my wife will just cackle. So I, I feel it 100% what you're going through. Someday I'll get a, uh, is it like, is it kiss? Lick it up where the line is you're good looking and you're looking like you should be good.

[00:40:46] I would have to go back and look, but I, I was not a big kiss fan. I will admit that. Well, interview over. It's been fun. It's been a real, Hey, I'll send you a backstage pass. I think I got a couple from work in the show. His shows back in the day for sure. But as long as you disinfect them, if it was the jeans room, I'll take it. Uh, we're not going to get into that, but that I've got stories, not, not about kiss, but man, that just triggered so many different kinds of memories.

[00:41:16] The humor element anyway, in, in the Scarlet Witch, I'm curious about tone because if we're reintroducing white vision, you definitely said it was a little bit different version of it, but that was the substantive portion of the nucleus of Wanda's trauma from back when. So you've successfully transitioned her into us thinking of her as a stable character. So I'm kind of curious why you wanted, and there's this whole,

[00:41:43] family arc that she's sort of completing that he feels like full circle. And it almost feels like, hold my beer, honey, we're just getting started. And you've alluded to that already of, of how this, how far this thing is, is going and what you've already got approved. So is this going to be a shift in tone? I guess is what I'm getting. So sort of, but not in the way you think it's hard without revealing what white vision is like in this version. Okay.

[00:42:10] But that being said, seeing him like this absolutely does give Wanda pause. As you'll see, the circumstances that bring him into this new form mean that she doesn't really have time to worry about that, even though it does bother her. And, and, and that comes up in the second issue. But this is a moment for Wanda and vision as well. Vision, once he becomes this man, it's really hard to dance around what happens in issue one. But, uh, sorry, no, it's all right.

[00:42:39] This is why I get, this is why I'm a professional. Uh, no, but once he enters this new form, you know, he thinks wanted it for him or did it for herself. But there's this moment where she says, well, I wasn't thinking about you. I wasn't even thinking about me or us or what happened. Um, I was thinking about Viv, uh, and, and making sure she still had a father and, and, and that's sort of the key, you know, um, looking beyond herself is, is, is, is, is part of Wanda's character now.

[00:43:07] Uh, and yeah, it definitely is hard for her to see him like this. Uh, that being said, the alternative, uh, after you see issue one and issue two would be even more challenging for her. So, uh, it is definitely a shift. Uh, it's a seismic shift for how vision behaves and how he is and, and even what he can do. Um, but it's worth noting, uh, as, as a bit of a spoiler. And I mean, my spoilers, because my influences are also obscure are also tangential, but if

[00:43:36] folks have seen the husbands of river song, uh, which is a doctor who Christmas special, uh, that's probably one of the main influences for vision and Scarlet witch. So whoever looks at that, the fine tooth comb, uh, might sort of see an idea where we're going, but it's, so it's, it's a, it's obtuse enough that I haven't really spoiled anything, but that is the main, uh, influence. And, you know, that is, shall we say a tragically romantic episode?

[00:44:04] Uh, and, and, and that's where we'll go for there. Uh, as far as what's to come along with, of course, big googly aliens and monsters, because, uh, it's the grim reaper. It's, it's the great old ones. And, and, and you need some, some grotesque, some grotesquerie. We got to have that. It's a Scarlet witch book. You got to do that. Well, yeah, she can, you know, Wanda can exist in a lot of different spaces and we've done whimsy a lot. So, you know, now we are throwing her far away from that, uh, and into some, some true

[00:44:32] horror, some true cosmic horror. That's great. That, that is my wheelhouse. I love to hear that. One of the other things that you've used that I wanted to check about kind of what sucked you into wanting to use them is it's doors. We have the last door that has kind of been a fixture and lock kill. And now we're seeing a different version of doors. These are doors that are sort of popping up all over the place. This is how my understanding anyway of how vision sort of gets involved in the story to begin with.

[00:45:02] And what has captivated your attention that you wanted to keep returning to doors? Well, I mean, the death stores are what they are as a mockery of Wanda's last door, as you'll see, as you'll see in the first issue. I mean, this is made to enrage her, uh, because it is the exact opposite. You know, the, when, when you are in need, the last door summons you from anywhere because you have nowhere else to go. The death stores, you can enter from pretty much any city, but what's behind them is the

[00:45:31] unknown and, and, and, and death and danger. Uh, so it is, it's a perversion of, of the promise of Wanda's last door. That's very purposeful, uh, from, from the villain of the book. Um, okay. That being said, uh, there's a question of what, if any doors will make it through and beyond the vision and Scarlet Witch miniseries, uh, as someone who just wrote a singer scene, there's a question, if any will truly make it through. Okay. Okay. Yeah. I was interviewing Kit Anderson recently.

[00:45:59] Um, has two fantastic books out. And she uses portals doors a whole lot in it. And we talked about how doors are an invitation, you know, of, of, of a sort you have to either embrace or not opening it because you don't know what's on the other side of it. So it's kind of a metaphor for how characters can change over time. So here you talk about the inversion and polarity, which is something you've explored actually a lot of already in this series. Sounds really excited.

[00:46:29] I'm pretty hype about it. I hope so. I mean, this, the, the, the vision and Scarlet Witch has been a blast. Um, it is, uh, it's like I said, it's a new track. I mean, we know from, from issue two that the Grim Reaper is involved. Uh, it's been really fun to lean into his like sort of trashiness. Like he is a scumbag, even though he's got a fancy suit on, uh, he's not like a, uh, an elite mustache twirling villain. He's, he's a scumbag piece of shit with a scythe for a hand.

[00:46:58] So it's been pleasing to me to have him in the book because it's just a different kind of voice as well. I mean, Wanda, she's not as casual in the, in the book as she is in, in, in TV, but she is more, uh, but she is, you know, so her speech is somewhat elevated. Uh, you know, she, she is, she's somewhat formal. Um, while not being like a Thor type, like she's well-spoken, I should say.

[00:47:24] And so to have some guy that is, you know, just, just a bigoted piece of trash with a, with a, with a vendetta, uh, is a fun foil for her. And of course, you know, like he, he's a fun foil specifically for Wanda because he is sort of a dark mirror to her when it comes to vision. Not because the Grim Reaper is in love with vision. He, in, in his own way, they're brothers, uh, in the, in the comic book way. Uh, they're, they're, they're brothers. But, uh, as it comes to vision's humanity, you know, Wanda has said even an issue too,

[00:47:54] when she goes inside live's mind, um, or Viv's mind, I'm sorry. Um, you know, she's never seen vision as anything but alive despite all, uh, any sort of evidence to the contrary. Whereas despite all the evidence to the contrary, Grim Reaper will never see him as alive. Uh, and, and we'll always hold that over him and consider him secondary. So, um, for that reason, I've had it to be a fun mirror for the, for Wanda and, and villain

[00:48:23] for the book and antagonist for the book, but also because he's such a schemer, uh, and, and is willing to cut any deal to get what he wants. The big question is how he came back from the dead. Uh, cause we saw him in Valhalla and Jane Foster, I believe, uh, how he got back there and what kind of deal he made, uh, to get back among the living for his revenge. And, uh, you know, if that debt's not paid, uh, as you might imagine, well, his, his, his, his creditor is going to come calling and it's probably, probably one of the great old ones.

[00:48:54] Ah, I love the Lovecraft angle in here. Did you pull that from the, the giant size Avengers? Because they definitely talk about, I guess the main protagonist antagonist there is Dormammu and then there's like demons that they're fighting or something. I'm just curious where the Lovecraft thing popped up. Uh, you know, I would love to take full credit for that, but Grim Reaper already has an existing, um, relationship with Yor, uh, with Yorgaroth. So I, I, uh, we, we pulled that from some of his Avengers appearances where he had previously

[00:49:24] cut a deal with Yorgaroth for more power. Um, and so is it him this time? You know, well, you'll see. Uh, but, but his, he already had, I was just existing relationship with the great old ones, the nameless ones. I'm always like great old ones. Um, and when we had to figure out how are we going to get this guy out of Valhalla where he's supposedly having eternal rest, which for him is torture, uh, even though it's supposed

[00:49:50] to be a reward, um, you know, we've got to think who could the people in heaven, um, H E V E N, um, who could they, thank you comics. Uh, who could they, you know, who, who could be leveraged against them in sort of a John Constantine way, uh, to get him out of there. And the, and the great old ones are from beyond the universe. You know, they're, they're orange or they're extra dimensional, extra universal beings. Um, especially if you look back to things like the gray,

[00:50:19] the dweller in darkness older than this universe herself, they don't necessarily follow our rules. They don't necessarily have our same dimensions even. Uh, and, and that was a power that we thought we could leverage against Valhalla to get the grim reaper out. And then as you know, that's, that's how you build, that's how you sort of find the story. You know, once it's out, it's like, well, what does he have to pay? What does he owe for getting out? And then you start to build out from there. So, um, in addition to the fact that I love that shit and, and getting one to

[00:50:49] in front of it is really exciting. It did feel like he could press that lever and pull back cause he had that existing relationship. I don't know. I I'm constantly amazed at how y'all have these encyclopedic knowledge of all of these different characters. I mean, I'm in it. I, as you can see, I read a lot and I still can't keep up with everything. So it's, it's, I don't know. It blows my mind sometimes to just hear writers talk about all these, just pull all these little things from everywhere. And yeah.

[00:51:20] Yeah. Well, we're trying. There's always someone to let us know when we get it wrong. Don't worry. That's what editors are for. Yes. Editors and the internet. They're both there. Oh, doing a public service. Okay. You can call it that. Well, before I let you go, what else you got cooking? I think it, well, Mark broke anyway that you've, you're working on the mad cave studios project revolution nine for the next arc.

[00:51:49] That's after the endless night, big, big summer event. That's that's jumping off now. So how'd you get involved with that? Oh, well, uh, I, I'm a big fan of the folks at mad cave. I joined them during the pandemic, which God is now five years ago, uh, with a book called exorcist never die, which folks shouldn't check out. Uh, I'm extremely proud of that book. It is like the raid meets, uh, let's say the raid meets.

[00:52:16] Legion, the, uh, the, the Paul Bettany movie I had to reach there, but, uh, with a little bit of final fantasy. And, um, so we started off business there and man, we've been cooking every year where almost it feels like with stuff. So I'm, I'm working on gotcha man with them now. And when Mark wanted to expand revolution nine, uh, he reached out to me because we had been long time, you know, collaborators as far as business, but we would never really work directly together.

[00:52:42] So, uh, he pitched me the story of, of rep nine and it just felt, it was an exciting opportunity for me. You know, we're talking about how I try not to be in one bucket as a creator, you know, but something I haven't actually been able to do recently that much is a pure, uh, like a pure action book, something like midnight or, or something like global frequency. If you want me to like call back to back in the day and, or like atomic blonde and movie form or in movie terms rather.

[00:53:11] So with revolution nine, that's, you know, the, the inspiration is like global frequency or the, the Alice shall be moon night where we're doing these one-offs that are action focused. Of course you still find out something about rebel nine. Uh, but there it is a high end or high end action focused book. And that's been really, really refreshing for me to get back to, because I haven't had that sort of field to play in, uh, in a long time.

[00:53:36] So we got five issues of the, of the, of the, of the gnarliest, most kick-ass action, uh, that you're going to find in a mad cave book. George Jenty is, uh, is drawn it and I'm, I'm really, really excited. Um, it's funny thing about, you know, the, I'm going to pivot cause you asked what else is coming up. Uh, not only am I now back to doing a pure action book, I also finally have a gore book again, uh, and a violence book, uh, since I haven't really had one since midnighter,

[00:54:01] uh, on and off at least, but I'm also doing XO manor war, uh, at valiant with Guillermo Faiardo. And, uh, this is, I mean, it is a grizzly book. Uh, I've never really done stuff before. I mean, that's not to say that's not the sell, but it's just, um, I haven't been able to press these buttons and work these muscles in a minute. Uh, and Ark of Dacia is really, I mean, I, I, he's a midnighter type and he's not, he's

[00:54:27] obviously not a quipping, uh, gay homicidal, uh, homicidally just maniac. Uh, but he is, uh, at the core, a very similar character. He's, he's stoic, he's powerful. He does exactly what he says, uh, basically no matter what. And I mean, he's a monolith. He's a pillar and, and midnighters like that. So, um, I can't wait for folks to see that. I, I read the hell out of valiant, uh, in the nineties.

[00:54:55] And then I read the Venditti and Carrie Nord run like, um, like a motherfucker back in the day. And the, even better than that, a couple of years later, I became close friends with Rob Venditti himself. So, uh, to, to the extent that Rob will be at my wedding. So, uh, to be able to take over XO, uh, and Rob is one of the nicest guys in comics. I am not, uh, but I am here, uh, to write this book regardless. And, uh, it feels karmically right. It's an honor to be walking in Robert's footsteps.

[00:55:24] And you'll just say the people that came before. Um, but it's a blast. I mean, I'm having an amazing time and, and it is man. Like it's, it's Conan in the Iron Man suit. Like I think XO is one of the most, most fun books, uh, that you can find out there regardless of who's working on it. Uh, and when it's me and when it's Guillermo, you know that the type of gonzo gore and violence with a heart, ironically, uh, you found in Midnighter, you know, you're going to get that.

[00:55:51] Uh, with in my run, of course, a little bit of Doom Patrol vibes as well, which folks may not be necessarily expecting of, but that's part of the fun mashup. You know, Arik himself is a sort of gonzo character. He's a Visigot in a high tech suit of armor. Uh, and those things don't necessarily always, uh, aren't always a natural fit though. It is when it's him. So we have a cast of weirdos, uh, that we are, we are introducing the book as well.

[00:56:18] Uh, partially from Valiant's past, uh, the group called the punks. Uh, we have some of the characters from the previous run and then we're introducing some new characters as well. A character inspired by Magnus robot fighter, um, and a character inspired by Nikolai Gogol. So I think if there was any sentence, I don't think you could have a more steep Orlando sentence in that one character is inspired by Russ Manning and one character is inspired by a long dead, uh, Russian author. Uh, and, and, and those are both in the book.

[00:56:46] So XO matter war is, um, it is coming out. Valiant beyond hit a little bit of a speed bump with the diamond bankruptcy, but we are coming back. It's all solved and is, it is a kick-ass book. Uh, so, so I, I need to mention it because every time I get new pages from Guillermo or I see a cover, my mind is blown. Uh, and I'm having a great, great time. So for folks who like Midnighter, for folks who love the previous XO run, um, for folks who like, uh, you know, barbarians lopping off heads. This is the book.

[00:57:16] Uh, and I'm very, very excited for people to see it. Well, you weren't the only one who read the hell out of Valiant stuff back in the day. So the, I'm, I'm probably the biggest Turok fan around. So, oh, I know. And I think I don't even know where that license is right now. Cause I think those were technically like gold key characters, but gold key, the company doesn't have them anymore either. So I will, they're floating around, but I love Turok. Magnus was my boy, but I did have N64. So I have to love Turok as well. All right, Steve. Well, where can people find you online?

[00:57:47] Um, you know, blue sky is where I talk about work stuff. So I'm the Steve Orlando at blue sky. Uh, I'm also the Steve Orlando on Instagram. You'll find, uh, an esoteric collection of news and random art that I find compelling in my story. Um, I say my story because my Instagram is there and I'm reachable, but the feed is mostly personal, like my actual feed that is that said, you will see the portal into my mind of the things that amused me in my story. So I encourage everyone to check it out and you will see, you know, random sculpture that

[00:58:16] I find interesting stills from silent movies and drum core performances mixed in with strange, you know, Slavic masked holidays. And of course, comic book things. All right. Well, we'll be looking forward to wedding pictures someday. Congratulations, by the way. Thank you. Very welcome. All right. I always wrap these things up on a positive note now with a shout out. So this can be someone who recently did you a solid or something that inspired you. I'll go first to give you a minute to think I'm a big shark guy. I love them.

[00:58:45] And my favorite animal in the world is the short fin mako so much that it was my road name for years. And some people would still identify me as mako over Byron. And I came across a short couple of nights ago as this guy, a couple of guys actually trying to help save a 10 or 11 foot mako that had trapped itself on the beach in Pensacola. And this was not without a fair bit of peril on their part. And given humanity's relationship with sharks, this gave me a little bit of hope for all

[00:59:14] of us and that we can coexist. And that there's actually this vast reservoir of empathy that normal people have and that they do heroic things every single day. And that is my foil to the shit show that has been 2025. It made me happy. So I'll throw a link up in the show notes so people can check it out if they're curious. What do you got? Oh, man. I have something that is actually semi-news, but it's definitely not as earnest as yours. It's all right. It's fine.

[00:59:43] But I don't know exact line about what I'm allowed to say, so I'm going to say what I know I can say. But I would have to chat out my friends, the Boulay Brothers, who, if folks know, host a horror drag show called Dragula on AMC Plus and Shudder. It's great. And after years of back and forth and misfires and misconnections for a Craigslist quote,

[01:00:11] I was actually out of town last week and you will see me as a guest judge on the next season of their show. So. Oh. And you will see me with a comics industry pillar that you would never expect, never expect to be on Dragula, but who was a perfect, perfect fit as well. And for folks who want to speculate, someone who I myself, despite my 12 long years in the industry, had never face to face met and was actually a little nervous to me.

[01:00:40] So you'll see that the other one is soon. But yes, I have to give them a shout out because I mean, I was honored to be on the show. I love it. I love their aesthetic. I love their point of view. And to be able to come and give my commentary, you know, it's an unprecedented moment in my life. So I have to thank them for it. Wow. That's really special. That's awesome. I have to look forward to that. I watch the show regularly. We actually watch it with with kiddos. So. Yeah. Well, then your kids and then said kiddos have a tough stomach for that because even I can't watch all of the filth challenges.

[01:01:12] He's he's pretty stout stuff. He wants to go into biomedical engineering and help kids with neural link prosthetics. So that is my kid. I don't know. Nobody knows, but he is nonetheless. Well, Steve, thanks for hanging out with me today. It's been a lot of fun. I appreciate you. It is my pleasure. All right. Well, I'll wrap this up with my soapbox refrain. If you want to see more diversity in comics, you have to buy it as as Steve illustrated here.

[01:01:40] The strongest way to signal the market is to actually spend the money because that's what they pay attention to. And what people are doing deserves more space and more legs and more focus. So please buy it, including the Scarlet Witch, which I highly recommend. This is Byron O'Neill. And on behalf of all of us at Comic Book Yeti, thanks for tuning in and happy pride, everybody. Take care, everybody. This is Byron O'Neill, 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.

[01:02:10] 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. Bye.