T.S. Luther Interview - The Digger

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[00:00:54] Hello and welcome to Comic Book Yetis Cryptid Creator Corner. I am one of your hosts, Jimmy Gasparo. And I have a returning guest. And not just any returning guest. It is the hardest working man in comics right now. He's everywhere. And if you haven't seen him, it's because you haven't been looking. He's just... Well, he's my new best friend. We're gonna get together and eat chicken wings because we didn't get a chance to in New York

[00:01:20] because we were both so busy trying to take over this industry. But we're talking about The Digger. Not the movie. The comic book. And it is phenomenal. Four issues. They're gonna be doing a trade with Invader Comics. We're gonna hear all about it. I reread it again today in preparation for this.

[00:01:44] Please, welcome back to the podcast. The one, the only, the enigmatic T.S. Luther. How you doing? I'm wonderful after that introduction. That was amazing. Thank you so much. My name is T.S. and I write comics as I'm legally and contractually obligated to say every time I appear. Yeah. But I appreciate that, man. I reviewed the contract. Yeah, I appreciate that. I appreciate that, honestly. You're welcome. I mean, can you just follow me around and do that when I enter rooms?

[00:02:13] That's the coolest thing that's ever happened to me. Like, that would be wonderful. I know that, you know, you probably don't make much as a lawyer, right? So you probably have time and money to do that for me. Yep. I could record it for you and just send it so you could just play it. I'm gonna be on other people's show and be like, hold on. Like, Jimmy, like, really knocked it out of the park, you know?

[00:02:34] I have to. Yeah, I'll just, it would be like when, um, when celebrities are promoting something or musicians and they go on a radio show and they make a tag or they make a drop for the radio show, you know? Oh my God, that would be amazing. Because listen, like, everything you said is true. I'm wonderful. And I'm just, I think that the other podcast hosts don't know enough to say it. I think I'm intimidating them is really what it is.

[00:02:59] Yeah, we'll just, we'll do like old radio shock jock bits for all of the other podcasts that you go on. I'm just gonna set my soundboard. Listeners of comic book couples counseling. It is the one, the only, the hardest working man in comics. It is T.S. Luther. Digger. Yeah, just get the air horns going pow, pow, pow. Like, yeah, that sounds great. Like, uh, forget comic books. Like I need to do that.

[00:03:29] I just need to get on more, more shows. Maybe I should really start up my, uh, my morning radio business. I think that would be good. A hundred percent. That's what you need to do. Um, so let's talk about the digger. Uh, sure. Which came out. I knew about the digger before the movie. So let's get that out of the way. Before it was cool. All right. Before, before it was cool. Yeah. So, I mean, it's, it's funny. Like I think your episode when we first talked about the digger was back in December.

[00:03:57] So it's been, it's been 10 months. All four issues, you know, are out. You're, you're talking about doing a trade and you know, I, I, I said in the opening about, you know, you being everywhere, but like you, I think you really do try a lot in terms of social media, like, like tick tock, like putting out videos.

[00:04:15] And, you know, from what I've seen, not that I care about like numbers or whatever, but you, you are like increasing your, like your, your viewership, your, your folks that are getting into and checking out the digger. It's like listeners who don't know, uh, like in terms of like indie comics, I, they might have an idea, but it's, it's really hard.

[00:04:40] You're not only fighting against other comic books and other things in the direct market, but you're also fighting attention for everything else, TV, movies, like online. And, you know, uh, the digger, like it kept doing better. Like I remember like one of the videos that the invader comics made was that like order numbers, I think between either like issue one and two or issue two and three, like increased.

[00:05:07] And that look, but it doesn't happen. Everything in comic books is about attrition, right? Like you have a, you have a great number one issue and then you'll lose 30, 40, 50, like 60% for issues two, three, four, five. And so that's a testament to a number of things. Like one, like invader comics, really like putting some marketing and promotion behind the book.

[00:05:34] A testament to you and Sam and how good the book is. And also to like your own efforts in terms of like social media, in terms of like, like going to New York and like handing the book out and, or, you know, going to signings, like whatever it is you're doing to just increase the knowledge of like the, the digger is a thing. And it's out there and it's, it's not the Tom Cruise movie and it's really good.

[00:06:03] Uh, you know, but, um, so I, uh, before we talk about the book itself more, I'm really curious in terms of what, what has that experience been like for you? Like, has it been something noticeable? Is it, are you just trying to throw whatever you can against the wall? And, uh, I hope that something works or are you someone who is like very strategic and really paying attention to like, what is working?

[00:06:32] What doesn't like, how do I get eyes on the book? I mean, I would love to say that it's just all luck and I just go and have fun with it, but I'm a, I'm a very strategic dude. Like it's, it's all really well thought out or it's thought out at least we'll see if it does well, you know, but, uh, I try to make a plan for everything that I do because I think it started in the comic books until I was almost 30. I was in a whole different industry. I was a technical writer and I felt like I was a little bit behind the ball.

[00:07:02] If I was going to get in, it's a hard time to break into comics for really good reasons, but it's still hard. Um, there's not a lot of places we're looking for new talent when I was trying to start making comic books. So, you know, you go the indie route and if you're going to go the indie route, you have to be able to catch people's attention. So I would see what was working, what wasn't, what's making people buy the books versus becoming a fan of me, which is cool, but it doesn't really help comic books. So if you look back at my old social media presence, I used to talk about a lot of things.

[00:07:32] I was doing a general influencer thing and then sometimes I would talk about comic books, which got me more following, but it did not garner more readership. Like people were not coming to my page to buy comic books. So I stopped doing that. And if you're a follower of mine, you're probably annoyed with me because I just do a commercial every single day. And I talk about other things and breaking in and I give advice and I answer questions. And I know those people appreciate it. But a lot of what I do is just tell people about the book over and over and over again.

[00:08:01] And in every avenue that I can. You know, when we first met, I was just on TikTok. Now I'm everywhere that you can be that I can post a video or talk about the book. And, you know, I called retailers when the book was coming out because I learned that from like Matt Rosenberg and Robert Kirkman and Brian K. Vaughn. And like, how do you get people interested in your book if they don't know about it? If it's not in the shop, you can't sell the book. So I follow the lead of the people who are doing it better than me.

[00:08:29] And then I check my numbers to see if it worked. And if it didn't, I stop doing it and I go to the next idea. But right now what's worked for me is doing the annoying thing and putting up a commercial every single day and getting out of my comfort zone and not just staying in the Midwest. But going to New York Comic Con and introducing myself and giving people the book and calling shops every single day going, hey, it's FOC time. You should check out my book. Can I give you a preview?

[00:08:53] Can I send you a copy and doing all the things that I think a lot of people in indie comics are afraid to do, are annoyed at doing and really don't want to do because what they want to do is what I want to do, which is write our silly stories in our little caves and never talk to anybody again until it's a hit. And sadly, that's just not how it works, man. Like, like, it's not. You really have to become an outgoing person or at least fake it a little bit better. Oh, yeah. No, you're 100% right.

[00:09:21] Like, you have to be your own, like, best advocate. You have to be a shameless self-promoter. Oh, yeah. And it sucks, you know? And I see it. It does. It sucks. I mean, I've talked to so many creators on here, writers, artists, colorists, letterers, whatever it might be. And, yeah, like, there's a fair number of, like, introverted folks who that's very difficult.

[00:09:49] But, like, you're right because whether we like it or not, like, we're a bit controlled by the algorithm. And, like, you think you're being annoying, but your followers or other people, they're not seeing you, like, every day. You're making those videos every day or putting them out every day or every other day, whatever it is you are doing. But they're not seeing them every day. No. They're just – and it doesn't mean because you're there that they're watching the entire thing, you know? Oh, yeah.

[00:10:19] So you have to do all of these things, unfortunately, to get eyes on the book. And, yeah, being strategic and figuring out, like, well, what works? What actually works? What is really going to make somebody pick up, like, this issue and check it out? And then, you know, then it has to be good because if they pick up issue one and it sucks, then they're not going to pick up issue two. There's too much out there. Oh, yeah.

[00:10:48] It has to be something that they want to read. So you have to have a great comic and a great story and great art and, yeah, then you have to figure out ways to get people to read it. Like, the bare minimum is – Yeah, the minimum. It has to be great. Yeah, you have to have – because people ask. They go, like, well, how do I get my book to do better or how do I do this? And I'm like, well, sadly, like, you already have to be really good at this job. And then you've got to go get really good at a bunch of other jobs that you never thought you'd want to do. And, like, I never bring up, oh, you have to be a good writer.

[00:11:17] You have to be a good artist because that's the prerequisite to jumping in kind of. Like, if you're jumping in and you're not ready to write your little heart out, then you need to go back and practice because that part kind of doesn't matter. That's the prerequisite to even get on the board. You have to be pretty good at this already. So, like, don't forget that part. I was talking about this with someone the other day.

[00:11:42] And Alan Moore, in his master class, like, I first heard him do, like, a version of this where he was like, read great books but read terrible books too. Gotta read terrible books too. I read so many comics. I've read some amazing, wonderful, great comics. But, look, I've read some okay comics. I've read some comics that I've not been a fan of.

[00:12:06] It did inspire, like, a little bit of confidence and, like, I think I can at least do this, you know, and try and put something out there. But that's where you get started and then you work at it because you're absolutely right. Like, at a minimum, you kind of have to be great at writing or art or, like, at least finding collaborators that are going to crush it.

[00:12:31] Because, you know, and then, yeah, then you have to go out and be a self-promoter and a marketer and call people and do all these things. But you have to have that first. Yeah. You gotta have input to have output. And to be great at the job isn't just reading the best book you've ever seen over and over and over again. You have to read, at least in my opinion, that's what I do. Like, you have to read everything. Because if you're not reading a bad book, you're not going to be inspired to do better.

[00:13:00] You're not going to have the confidence to go, well, I can do better than that. But also, you're not going to learn what not to do. I know it sounds so simple. But you don't know those mistakes without seeing them unless you want to go and make them yourself, which is totally reasonable. But, like, a lot of the stuff that I do, like, I try to get ahead of it because, like I said, I'm starting a little bit late. It was stuff that I didn't want to do. So, I thought it's part of my job to do all that research and to make sure I do know what not to do.

[00:13:28] Because I don't want to waste anybody's time, whether that's the audience or an editor that I'm going to pitch to. I want to make sure I'm doing all that legwork ahead of time because, I don't know, I'm not pretty enough for people to go and, like, hey, I want to make sure TS's book is the best ever just because he's so cute. Like, that's not really what happens. So, I want to bring them something that's already really, really good and maybe they can help me make it better. Yeah. And I think The Digger is phenomenal. Thank you so much, dude. And that's the great thing about it. Here's the thing I love about it, okay? Okay.

[00:13:59] And apologies to any listeners that, like, if this is repetitive from when I read, like, I think the first two issues when we talked last time. It is one of the things that I love. It is a super simple premise, I think. And it does not get cute with it. It does not overcomplicate it. It takes the idea of Indiana Jones and Short Round and has a great setting.

[00:14:25] And it says, all right, well, what if we get to a point where, as you've said before when you were first on, if Indy was, like, hunting Short Round. And let's build a story around that idea. So, we have 1930s. We have Pulp Adventure. We have a bit of a treasure hunt. And Indy is not this kind of charismatic guy that Harrison Ford was.

[00:14:53] He's a little dark, a little dangerous, not afraid to get his hands dirty. And the kid is, like, you know, he lives with his grandma and he needs money because his grandma's sick, right? But you execute it, and you and Sam execute it so beautifully. The artwork in the book is absolutely phenomenal.

[00:15:22] I love, like, the kind of, like, the color palette of it. It is never too much. It is never too bright. But whenever there is, like, a hint of color. Sometimes in the 3,200 years ago or whatever it is years ago setting, we have some bright colors. And then there's the kid early on, I think, in issue one, steals something from a woman. She has, like, a red dress and a gold necklace.

[00:15:48] And those pops of color, like, really kind of stand out. Yeah. But Sam's work is, it's so fluid at times. There's a great sense of action because we have action scenes in here. We have fighting.

[00:16:12] There's a real great sequence where the kid kind of, like, jumps at the guy, you know, and they kind of fall over. And, like, all of that is just, like, so well done. And there's actually a ton of panels in it with, like, with no dialogue. Like, you really let the artwork tell the story. You can tell as, like, as a writer, like, you really trust Sam to tell this story visually because it is a visual medium.

[00:16:41] And it is four issues that feel longer than four issues. It is something that could easily have been overwritten with, like, a ton of, like, exposition. Oh, yeah. It is just so succinctly and smartly done and executed in those four issues. Thank you, man.

[00:17:08] It is just truly a fun reading experience. And it's just a really beautiful comic. Yeah. I mean, like, when you have an artist like Sam, it's really easy to not put dialogue all over those pages. Like, when you get a page like that, like, sometimes I felt bad, even though there's not a lot of dialogue in there, I felt bad putting any dialogue on it. I'm like, maybe we make this a silent comic because it's just so gorgeous. And, like, by the fourth issue, I knew I could write the digger sits on a stump smoking.

[00:17:37] And that's gorgeous enough. I don't have to add anything to it. That's enough for the reader to be like, oh, yeah, this is pretty. You know, we don't have to put anything else. I think originally when I pitched that scene, it was supposed to be like we were seeing stuff in the smoke. And I was like, you know what? That's too much. Like, that's too much dialogue. He's going to have one line. And we're just going to stare at how gorgeous this page is going to be. And that is, like, the trust that I have in Sam because I know it's going to look good. But I also know that Sam's a really good storyteller in his own right.

[00:18:07] So he doesn't need me to put a bunch of words there. And the audience doesn't either. I get really frustrated when I read a book or watch a movie or whatever. And there's exposition everywhere. Like, the audience is so dumb and we are so untrustworthy that they have to spell out everything for us. And that's not fun for me. The audience understands. I don't need to spell out what's going on in the book. They can see it. They're looking at the same book that I'm writing. I mean, they don't need me to hold their hand through the whole thing. And if they do, someone will help them.

[00:18:35] They can look it up on League of Comic Geeks or whatever. Yeah. I'm not a big fan of being, like, spoon-fed stuff either, you know? It doesn't happen too much in comics because you can just, like, flip back a few pages. It happens more so in, like, television and movies. But where something happens, like, an hour into a film. And then they, like, will show a flashback of something that happened 30 or 40 minutes ago. We just saw it. You know, it's like... Right.

[00:19:05] It's like... And you... I don't know if it's real or not. But I have heard, like, on other podcasts talking about, like, the film and television industry. Like, I don't know if it was Netflix executives or, like, some type of executives for a streaming company. Like, they want stuff made that people can just, like, have on in the background. And I'm like, I get it. But, like, come on. Like, we don't... You don't need to show me a flashback of something that happened a half hour ago. All right? Exactly, man.

[00:19:34] The second screen experience. And I understand it to a certain extent. But, like, that's one of the reasons why I write comics is there's no second screen. Right? Like, no one's reading a comic and texting somebody while they do it. You know? Like, it'd be tough to do. What I would say is, like, listen to music while you read comics. That's totally capable. But I don't know a lot of people who are scrolling on TikTok while they flip through the digger. So, like, I don't write for them. I write for the people who are paying attention.

[00:20:03] And audiences are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. Yeah, people are dumb. But a lot of people are smart. And I always say, like, I should never be the smartest person in the room. And I'm usually not. And so, like, those are the people that I write for. And, you know, like, so, like, I don't... As long as I understand it, I feel like they can, you know? Yeah. Well, look, I think the digger is a very satisfying reading experience. I'm really glad. I love the story. I love the story of it. I just think, yeah.

[00:20:31] Like I said, you just took a very, you know, a very, I think, kind of like a simple idea. But it really elevated it. You and Sam really elevated it. Thank you, man. Thank you. You knew when to zig and when to zag. Yeah, there's just a lot of great stuff in it. And Sam does a great job. You know, you mentioned, like, the man kind of sitting there smoking. Yeah.

[00:20:55] But there's a couple of times, especially early on. Like, he's talking to the kid, I think, through a door. And you don't know what he's doing to the guys on the other side. And he just realized how he's different than the pulp adventurers we've previously seen. Yeah. I mean, I wanted to dial that up. I wanted you to feel bad for the kid the whole way.

[00:21:23] Because, like, if you're watching a bad TV show and you have a lot of information that the characters don't have, you're annoyed. Right? Like, that sucks. But if you're watching a good TV show and you have information that the characters don't have, you're worried about them. Like, that's why you're watching it. You're like, oh, no, don't go in there, you know, because you want them to be okay. And that's what I wanted to do for the whole book. I wanted you worried about the kid. That's why the book's called The Digger and not the kid. Because the digger's not in any trouble. The kid is. And, like, I wanted you to feel for him.

[00:21:53] So, I mean, that's the whole thesis of the book. And, like you said, it's a really simple idea. Some would say it's a really bad idea. But if you can execute on a really bad idea, you can make it good. So, like, I wanted to just play with that. I don't think it's a bad idea. No, I don't think it's a bad idea at all. I mean, to me, it's like you see something and you're like, wow, I love this. Like, Indiana Jones, like, for me as a kid, right? I love Indiana Jones. I love those movies. I love that sense of adventure.

[00:22:21] But what do I have to add to that, right? Am I ever going to write, like, the next Indiana Jones movie? You might. What do I have to... I don't know. What do I have to add to that style of, you know, adventure story, which was born out of, like, Spielberg's and Lucas's love of those adventure serials that were from the 30s. Like, that's why it was set then, because that's what they loved.

[00:22:50] And that's what they had grown up watching and admiring. And for them, it was their kind of modern take to add a little bit more sense of danger than those serials, you know, back then. You know, so, like, what can I add to this? Yeah. Or what is my version of this? Or what is a version of this that makes sense for people reading it, like, right now? You know? And like you said, it's great. Good. Thank you.

[00:23:20] Thank you so much. That's what I try to do with it. Like, it was just give something... Give everybody something that they're familiar with, but maybe they could be entertained by, because they can still go watch Indiana Jones. That's something I tell indie comic book creators all the time is, like, I get that you just want to do your version of Batman. But you have to give the audience something more than your version of Batman, because they can still go read Batman. Like, I couldn't just give you an Indiana Jones story, because you can go and watch Indiana Jones. And you're going to watch Indiana Jones over T.S. Luther's Indiana Jones.

[00:23:49] So I couldn't just give you Indiana Jones. I had to do my own version of it. And something that you can't do with Indiana Jones is dial up that dirtbag meter, you know? Like, there's only so much you can do, because Harrison Ford is so great to look at. And Disney owns Indiana Jones, and there's only so much that you can, you know, do to water down that brand. So I'm going to do what you can't do with Indiana Jones, and where you're not going to get that story.

[00:24:14] And that's just making him just an awful, psychotic person, and puts her around a danger, you know? Because you can't get that at Marvel right now. Exactly. You know, and that's the great thing. Like, all right, I mean, yeah. Yeah, people are just going to go watch Indiana Jones if that's what it is they want, right? But, like, yeah, what if we take Javier Bardem's character from No Country for Old Men, and we make him Indiana Jones? Fuck, yeah. Yeah, give it to me.

[00:24:44] Dude, I love that movie so much, and I love the book, too. Like, that was, like, I'm not going to lie. That's a big inspiration for it. And I'm like, because people ask, they're like, why would he do that? And I'm like, well, like, why do they do anything? People are weird. People are mean. People are bad. Have you read a Cormac McCarthy novel? Oh, my God, exactly. Like, let's talk about Blood Meridian real quick. And, like, you tell me, like, who's got motivations there, you know? But I think that that's part of it, too, right?

[00:25:12] Like, there's a lot of audiences who aren't going to read a Cormac McCarthy book. So, like, maybe I can go, like, here, here's your gateway drug. Like, this is a bad guy doing bad things, and he doesn't have great motivation. He's just a bad guy. It's okay to experience a story like that. There's not always treasure at the other end, and there's, you know, maybe we don't ask how old Indiana Jones concubines were at different points.

[00:25:38] Like, you can have that suspension of disbelief over there, and then you can come here and read a book where we dial up the realism or the danger just slightly, you know? Like, it's not a different lens. It's just a dirtier lens, you know? Sure. Oh, I like that. All right. So, let's talk about what's going to happen now for the trade.

[00:26:01] Like, so, what is going on with, like, Invader Comics and with you and the trade, and how is that going to be put together? How can listeners and your readers get it, and, you know, what can they expect from it? So. For sure. So, we're collecting all four issues. That's the bare minimum, right? Like, if we're talking about the trade, you're going to be able to get all four issues in one big book is the way that I try to tell people. Because some people don't know what a trade collection is, I guess.

[00:26:28] But, yeah, they're going to collect all four issues, but we're also throwing in a bunch of back matter, a lot of concept art, interviews that me and Sam have done together. Like, some of our discussions about it and some essays and some really, really cool stuff and some of our research that we did in trying to make the book as authentic as we can to the time and to the place. And, like, some of the places that we looked up this information, some of the museums that we checked out, just so we can show people all the homework we did.

[00:26:55] Because we didn't, you know, we never got a chance to really share that in the individual issues because we were flying by the seat of our pants because we had never put out a book widely distributed before. And those deadlines come up fast, Jimmy. I don't know if you know, but, like, the printers wait for no man. So, there was a lot of homework that we did that we kind of want to show off because it was fun and you don't get credit for that anymore as an adult. So, I want some of my extra credit. So, we threw that in there.

[00:27:22] And Invader's doing a really good job, like, throwing that all together. And they're doing a Kickstarter for it over on their page. You can go to the link on any one of my socials and look up the digger on Kickstarter. It's really easy to find. Or, like I said, go to my website. I did a really cool bouncing animation. It's hard to miss if you go over there. And you can sign up for the prelaunch page right now. When it gets to enough followers, then they're going to launch the campaign. And if you don't want to back something on crowdfunding, I completely understand. It'll be in stores in the spring because it's in the book market.

[00:27:52] So, there's a little bit more of a lead time. So, it takes a while because you've got to go to the bookstores. I don't know if you know. I don't know if you've ever written a graphic novel as I hold up Jimmy's graphic novel that is in bookstores right now. Thank you. So, you know that it takes a while because it doesn't just go to comic book shops. It also goes to bookstores. Yeah. But that's the plan. They're going to get a couple hundred pages worth of extra stuff as well as all four issues. And I think that there's other cool things going on with the Kickstarter as well.

[00:28:21] They're advertising my next book with Invader, which is going to be the rest of the series called Tokyo Fire. It was my first indie book I did way back in the day. Invader said, yeah, we want that thing now. Which, funny story about that. I did pitch Invader back in the day and they were like, I don't know if it's a right fit for us. We're doing another cyberpunk book. But after The Digger, I have a lot more clout over there. So, they're going to publish it now. I kind of strong-armed them into it. So, they didn't message me very kindly and go, I think we want to publish Tokyo Fire.

[00:28:51] I definitely walked in there like a big muscly man and I said, you're going to publish my book, darn it. Good for you. You give them what for. That's right. As Mike Perkins, the most handsome man I've ever seen who's nine feet tall, looks at me and says, we would love to publish your next book, T.S. I was telling somebody about New York Comic Con and I didn't even realize I was doing this because I'm like 5'6".

[00:29:13] And I joke with some people who have been on the show before that like, oh, when I find out like how tall they really are. I had Ethan Parker and Griffin Sheridan have been on and I was like, Griffin, can we just get Ethan out of here? I think he's too tall to be on the show. But I was talking about showing someone the photos that I took at New York Comic Con. And I didn't even realize I was doing it.

[00:29:43] I was like, oh, this is so-and-so. They're really tall. This is so-and-so. They're really tall. They're really tall. They're like, do you have a problem? Do you have a problem with tall people? I'm like, I guess I kind of do. I guess because I don't like it. I don't. I mean, I'm also 5'7". It was really nice meeting you in person going, oh, Jimmy's also not tall. It's perfect. As we look up to everybody, we need uppies to go to your, like when you were doing your signing at Mad Cave. I'm like, I'm not tall enough to do this because of the bar. The table you were signing at was like this. So I'm down here going, hi, Jimmy. It's me. It's CS.

[00:30:13] Can I get you to sign my book? Because you were sitting on a tall chair, I assume. I was sitting on a regular size chair and then I was on top of that. They put a couple of volumes of the new Mad Cave Battle Cats Omnibus. I think I was sitting on two of them. You were on a booster seat? Are you serious? No. Oh my God. I love that so much.

[00:30:37] I mean, listen, as short kings as we are, when you walk around New York Comic Con, you're already looking at giants. You're already looking at the people whose shoulders you're standing on because you're like, oh, you're doing this book that I love and you're doing that book that I love. But it sucks when you're literally looking up at them because it's hard not to look up like a fanboy. Like, I walked up to people who I've gotten the chance to work with. I was walking up to people who I'm like, I'm going to have dinner with later on.

[00:31:04] And you can't help but fanboy out when you're staring up at the coolest people in comics. You can't seem like your peers anymore when you have to strain your neck to say hello. Yeah. I know. Too many damn tall people, you know? Yeah. We're going to bring them down a peg. I agree. Like, literally. It's like, take their knees down. Sorry, tall folks. This is a short person podcast. That's right. That's right.

[00:31:32] You must be under this tall to ride this ride. Exactly. Exactly. So, can you talk about any of the other stuff that you are working on? Like, what is next for you? Do you have a plan? Or is it just, if somebody will take it, I'll write it? I mean, for a long time, I mean, you know, because I was on the show before, but on all the other podcasts I do, for a long time, it was really awkward. We get to the end of the interview and they go, what are you doing next? And I'd go, I don't know.

[00:32:02] I don't know if they'll ever let me do this again. So, I'm just riding the wave. And now I can say, I can't say exactly all the stuff I'm working on, but I can tell you that I have books a lot of places now. You will be seeing me again on the shelf, which is really, really cool. I've gotten the chance to work with editors now. They're going to be published by some of the larger publishers, which is really, really neat. I'm doing another book over at Invader that I can talk about, Tokyo Fire, like I said, that's going to come out next year. So, yeah.

[00:32:31] So, I have other projects now, which is really cool, because for a long time, I was just kind of crossing my fingers and hoping. But that being said, I'm still pitching more projects. When I hang up the phone with you, I have to get back to an editor and I have to send out another pitch. And so, I'm still looking for more work, as always, because the cool thing about this job is it's a cool job. It's not annoying to do. Every editor and publisher that I've gotten the chance to talk to, they always ask, like, can you hit a deadline?

[00:33:01] How fast do you work? And the cool thing is, this is the part of the job that I'm good at. I can write all day, and I love it, and it's fun, and it's the coolest thing I get to do. Other than doing podcasts with Jimmy, this is the hard part, you know? Like, talking to people and networking. Yeah. Like, you're great. And all the other podcasts that have me on are also wonderful, but reaching out to people and networking, everything that I was doing in New York Comic Con, like, that's the hard part for me. The writing stuff, that comes easy.

[00:33:29] That's where I put all my skill points. Like, I didn't put any into talking to people. I did smooth a little bit. I did put some in Tetris because I love Tetris. So I can write comic books and I can play Tetris. Those are my two skills. All right. Those are good skills. Those are great skills. Tetris is very important. From what I understand, as an adult now for 30 years, I can confidently say that Tetris comes up quite often. So I will be in other places.

[00:33:57] You'll be seeing me on the shelf again in 2028. Nope, 2027. Hopefully, you'll still see me in 2028. We'll see. And 2028 as well. Sure. Fingers crossed. I mean, those other books might suck. Yeah. So maybe it doesn't work out. But I was really excited when you asked that question because every other time I just had to twiddle my thumbs and go, I don't know. Maybe. We'll see. But yeah. So for right now, the one thing I can announce is Tokyo Fire over at Invader.

[00:34:26] And maybe you'll see me announced in other places. Maybe we'll see. Awesome. What else have you been doing in terms of... I mean, I've heard someone say this before. And when I first heard it, I thought it was kind of corny. But the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. Like kind of replenishing your own creative well. And I'm like, God, that sounds like a bunch of BS. And I'm like, you know what, though? I think it's true.

[00:34:51] Like, when I do read something or read a comic or watch something or, you know, whatever it might be that really gets me, you know, excited to create. And I'm like, ah, shit. That person was right. That's... I do need to do that. I do need... You know. So, is there anything... I mean, it could be a movie, TV, a book, or in particular, anything in comics that you... Have you found any time to check stuff out that has been... Like, that has excited you? Oh, I mean, for sure.

[00:35:21] I mean, for a long time, again, it's partly homework, partly it's because I love the medium. But I used to read about a trade worth of comic books a day. That slowed down a little bit as I got more work. As I was leading up to New York Comic Con, I was making less content, reading fewer comic books, because I was getting pitches ready and getting ready to travel for the first time because I live in the middle of the woods and I don't go anywhere. So, I had slowed down and all that stuff. And coming out of Comic Con, I visited Midtown Comics, one of my favorite comic book shops. And I got to pick up a ton of books.

[00:35:51] I was just reading If Destruction VR Lot, Matt Rosenberg, extremely inspiring, big hero of mine. Andy McDonald, fantastic. So good. And you know what? I heard this anecdotally. Matt would have to be the one to attest this. I heard he was mistaken for me, which is pretty cool. Like, that's a great person to have people go, oh, is that TS? Does he write comics? You're like, that's pretty cool.

[00:36:17] I was going through Instagram or something, and there was a picture of somebody in a hat, like a wool hat, and a sweatshirt. And they were doing the, like, crossed arms on the table, like looking at the camera. And seriously, I was like, okay, that's either Matthew Rosenberg or TS Luther. I'm not sure which one. I think your beard is a little bit fuller than Matthew's. Just a little bit at the moment, at the moment, yeah.

[00:36:44] Well, it's like, I have to grow mine out because it's like Samson. Like, that's where my power comes from. Matt's a much better writer than me, so like he doesn't need as big of a beard. As I get better, I'll cut it. Yeah. Okay. Well, I got to meet Andy at Baltimore. Andy's coming on the podcast. We just booked a session with Andy. Andy's going to be on so we can talk about. He's done some stuff with Ignition Press.

[00:37:12] I think he did an issue or maybe two of Murder Podcast. He did one of my favorite comics with Zach Thompson, I Breathed a Body, that I absolutely loved. And now he's doing If Destruction Be Our Lot. So I'm super excited to talk to Andy when he's on. Yeah. Just phenomenal guy. But that is what gives me the juices. I just go and read more comics. And every once in a while, the cool thing about comic books is when you start to get busy, you're reading fewer comic books.

[00:37:42] But that's like a reward. Like, oh, I finished a project. Now I can go buy more comics and catch up and read them. And so, like, I try to get stories from everywhere. I watch a lot of TV and movies and listen to radio and podcasts and everything. But you also have to go live life and you can't always have your head listening to stories. But that's the fun stuff. That's the stuff that I like. So that's how I replenish everything. I wish I could say, well, I wouldn't go and hike on a mountain and I go into the woods and I go do really, really cool things. But I don't.

[00:38:11] I sit here and I read more stories and I watch more movies. Sometimes I go for walks, I guess. Those are nice. My doctor says I should do it more because I eat too many hot dogs. But mostly, mostly I'm reading Matt Rosenberg books. Nothing wrong with that. I mean, no, no. I'm his doppelganger. So I have to like I try to absorb as much power as I can from him. That's why he stopped putting out so many episodes of his podcast. Is it? Are you are you trying to single white female him? It does a thousand percent what I'm doing.

[00:38:38] If I had like a modicum of his of his talent, maybe I would do that. But I would. I was hooked. The first time I read his and Tyler bosses for kids walk into a bank. I just life changing. I thought, what even is this book? You know, four kids walk into a bank and I picked up issue one and I was just like, yes, give me 14 more of these. Give me 14. Exactly. Yeah.

[00:39:06] Like it's Ocean's Eleven meets like a Wes Anderson movie, like Moonrise Kingdom. Like it's just it's so genius. And I reread it all the time. And it was one of the books. My wife reads a lot of comic books, but she's not. If you recommend something to her, she doesn't want it. And so I would just kind of like incept it. I was just leaving it around the house. I think I have like six copies of it because I would try to leave it in the bathroom. I put it on her pillow, put it under the pillow. She'd go to work and I would put it in her bag. I'm like, just just read this book. It's so good.

[00:39:35] I give them away as like candy, like a Halloween. Like everyone needs to go read four kids. I messaged Black Mask once. I was like, hey, this book is really good. And they were like, oh, cool. What else are you saying? I'm like, that's it. I just wanted you to know that this is a really good book. Yeah. You did a good job putting this out. Thank you. Yeah. But then. Yeah. And then after that, I was just like whatever I could. I think I then went back and Black Mask also did. We can never go home. Was that the name of the one they did before? That Matthew did. I think so. Yeah.

[00:40:05] And then like what what the furthest what's the furthest place from here was the furthest place from here. Yeah. So, yeah, just just with let's just name Matt Rosenberg jobs. Let's just do that. We can. That's a podcast. Yeah. Let's go through all his whole his whole catalog. Yeah. I would love to just read his bibliography. If I ever meet him, I go, listen, I'm really bad on podcasts. I just start reading your bibliography and people really enjoy it. Wait, did you get to meet him at New York?

[00:40:34] No, I kept crossing paths. I was I was having lunch with a couple of people and they're like, oh, I met Matt or I saw Matt and I was like, Matt Rosenberg. They're like, yeah, I thought he was you. I'm like, that's cool. Can you introduce me? They're like, nah, nah, it'd be awkward. We're busy. He's busy. And I'm like, I need to meet this person. But he was a white whale for me. I did see him at the IDW booth when I was meeting with some people at a nearby booth that shall go unnamed until the ink dries. But I saw him over there.

[00:41:04] I wanted to go say hi. But I was like, it would be weird to go, hey, we look alike. You know, I don't have it in there. I think that's a great way to introduce yourself to someone. Hey, people say I look like you or people say you look like me. Right. Right. Exactly. Yeah. Let's just go big dog. See, the problem. Yeah, exactly. The problem, though, is then I think for the bit to work, though, you have to just walk away.

[00:41:32] Like, you just say that and then just go. You know, like, you would ask me before we went live, like, how do I get invited to stuff? And it's because I accidentally commit to the bit really hard because I'm not great socially. And I kind of don't want to talk to anybody. So I don't schmooze very well. Like, I'm not walking up to places going, oh, would you like to see my book? Like, I've had people introduce me and I'm like, hi, I'm TS. And then I forget to tell them that I write comic books and give them a card and hand them a book.

[00:42:00] And then the second time people meet me, they're like, how come you didn't tell me that you wrote a thing? Or like, can you send it to me? Like, I trick them into asking me about it because I'm so bad at networking. So I would be fine with walking up to Matt Rosenberg and just telling him he looks like me and walking away. I was told that, baby, that's not the greatest idea at New York Comic Con where I'm trying to get jobs. It's just, you know, creepily walk up to people. Career ender for sure. But funny as hell.

[00:42:30] I did hear that he is like the kingpin of all comics. Like, if you talk to him, tell him I'm sorry, I'll kiss the ring. But I heard that he kind of has like a stranglehold on the entire business. So everything runs through Matt. That's what I was told. I mean, that's, you know, doing TMNT now. I'm pretty sure like that's the tippy top. He controls it all. So maybe you shouldn't air this. Maybe this would be bad for my career because he's coming for me now. We'll just cut. Yeah, we'll just cut it. Like, it's probably for the best, honestly. I don't want like there's a Matt Rosenberg shape.

[00:42:59] Either the four kids like laser point on you because the snipers are coming. Yeah. I'm so sorry. One day I will have a good bit on your show. I talked about chicken wings for about an hour and a half last time I was on. And now I've just said Matt Rosenberg too many times. It's my favorite episode. The funny thing is, I think Byron is set to interview Rosenberg like in a couple weeks. I think he's coming on the show.

[00:43:24] I hope if he wants to listen to an episode to figure out what our show is like that Byron. He picks this one. Byron tells him to listen. Yeah, he's coming. He's coming on with Byron. Byron's interviewing him next month in November. Oh, my goodness. I'll tell Byron. Byron, you should have Matt listen to the T.S. Luther episode to get ready. I don't want to name drop people because I know that's kind of a douchey thing. So I won't say who I was having lunch with.

[00:43:53] But I was having lunch with like a very accomplished writer. And it came up several times that we look alike. And then I heard it from other people. And so I was leaning into the bit. And I've had other people since then come up to me and go, did you know that so-and-so was saying like you look like this person? I'm like, I'm going to talk about this forever. Like this is the only thing we're going to talk about. I'm on like four other podcasts this week. And it's just going to be a Matt Rosenberg marathon, I think. I'm really bad at selling the Digger.

[00:44:22] But I'm going to get some people to buy if Destruction BR lot, I think. At least one or two copies. Yeah. And you'll probably sell a couple for kids too, you know? Listen, you can buy my copies. I have so many copies of this. That is not a joke. That literally is a true thing. I have a stack of them. So if you guys want a couple of trades, you know I can always use money for more comic books. Or you can go and buy the Digger if you want. I would love if you go and check out the Digger on Kickstarter.

[00:44:50] Oh, also I should mention there's an RPG if you go and back the Kickstarter that I made. I made a two-player narrative RPG. So if you go and buy the Digger trade, you can also go get the two-player RPG if you like to roll dice with your friends while reading about a kid who's in a lot of danger. Yeah, I'll have links in the show notes for everything. So listeners, it'll be real easy for you guys to click over. You can check out TS's website. You can check out his social media. Check out Invader Comics. Yes, yes.

[00:45:20] They have a lot of good stuff over there. Like if you're not familiar with Invader. Can you put a link to four kids walking to a bank too? Like that would be great. Yeah, thank you. I will. I absolutely. I should give you my number one that's signed by Matthew and Tyler. And like we should do like a special, we should do something like special reward. Right? Here. This is, can we do this?

[00:45:46] If at a convention in the next calendar year, you know, somebody captures Matthew and TS together, I will send you my number one four kids signed by Tyler and Matthew. Oh my God. Oh my God. That's so cool. We are. I'll do it. We do look like two weird, like hipster Waldos. Like if you see, like we do look like Midwest Waldo. If you see us walking around, like you won't be surprised.

[00:46:16] You're going to go, oh yeah, I could see those dudes like, like buying, I don't know, salmon at a fish market or something in Detroit. Like that, that's the vibe that we put out. Definitely two guys that like went on a trip and then came back to Williamsburg and opened up a Peruvian restaurant together. Oh my God. That's so real. That's certainly, there were so many people that just looked like me outside the convention and they were like, oh, are we going to Comic-Con? No, just heading to work. This is just what we look like. That's a, this is the uniform now.

[00:46:46] You know, like back in the day, if you were a punk, like you wore like a t-shirt and a wristband and really, really tight jeans. This is what we've grown up into now. This covers our double chin and our flab. And we're a little bit cold because we're old now. So we need a hat and a flannel. Like this is, this is all practical. There's no fashion involved here. This is all very, I'm very tactical with the way that I market and I'm very tactical with the way that I dress. It's mostly to steal some gigs from Matt Rosenberg.

[00:47:13] And hopefully I can, I can just like, you know, take just a little bit of his essence. Yeah. I think it's working. I mean, I got a photo from near Comic-Con of Tyler Boss hugging you. And I don't know if he knew he was hugging. I don't know if he knew. But I mean, there's no difference except for Matt's massive talent. And again, bibliography, that's incredible. But other than that, no difference at all. Of course. None, none, none whatsoever.

[00:47:41] But look, everyone, listeners, get the digger. Go and back the trade. Get the digger. You're, you're not going to regret it. TS is a fantastic writer. It is a great comic. Sam's artwork is tremendous. I just loved everything about it. It is a, like I said, it is a simple idea. It is executed so, so well. And yeah, everybody should read it. Everybody should get it. I'm excited for the back matter. Thank you so much, man. I appreciate that. Yeah. All right.

[00:48:11] Shout out to my brother, Bobby, the Cryptid Creator Corner's number one most dedicated fan. Bobby listens to all my episodes. Bobby, better back the digger or TS is going to send Matthew Rosenberg after you. All right. Exactly. I'm going to sick Tyler boss on you. Like, so I really appreciate it. Definitely go and do that. And remember, it's the successful digger. It's not the, not the one that's flopping right now. So I can't speak to the quality. It's just like, we made our budget back. So make sure. There you go.

[00:48:39] That's the question I always get asked if it has anything to do with the movie. And no, it doesn't. Tom Cruise never returns any of my phone calls. So I was never able to make that work. Maybe I should send letters. If I send letters, maybe he'll respond. But just know that they are a little bit different. I thought I heard on another podcast, you were saying you are on the Tom Cruise, like the cake list, like every Christmas, don't you get the cake? Every Christmas. The Tom Cruise. That's for a different thing. He sends that cake to everybody. Oh, that's a different thing. That's a different thing. That's just because we go way back.

[00:49:08] You know, like he's a big fan of Tokyo Fire when I did the Zoop. So I get on the list, you know, like everybody really, really loved that book. So that's why we're doing more of that one is all because of Tommy. I call him Tommy because we go way back. So, yeah. Oh, good. Yeah. Good. Good. All right. Well, all right. There we go. Everyone back the digger. It's a fantastic comic. Check out more Invader comics. Follow TS on social media. And like I said, get Penny the Yeti. Get Penny the Yeti. Oh, yeah.

[00:49:38] Thank you. I appreciate that. I really do. And if in the next 12 months you capture a picture of Matthew Rosenberg and T.S. Luther standing next to each other, if you're the first to send it to me and you're in the continental U.S., I'll say that. I will send you four kids number one signed by Matthew and Tyler. All right. You can save yourself so much international shipping. I know all of my U.K. fans are like, we're going to get them. We're going to go to Thought Bubble and they were just planning.

[00:50:06] I see like a whole heist murder board up there. They were going to get us. There's some guy in Leeds who just punched his computer screen. All right, listeners. That's enough. I got to go to bed. All right. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you. Jimmy is too humble to do this. So as his stalwart writer died, I wanted to tell you about his new graphic novel, Penny and the Yeti with artist Amber Akin.

[00:50:35] What started as a comic short with his daughter that I've known about for ages now. And it's evolved and has become one of those annoying can't talk about it in comics things for too damn long. 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.

[00:51:02] But it's straight flies in effectively tapping into the all too familiar family dynamics that we all are facing in 2026 and approaching it in a way that doesn't insult the book's target audience. Kids! 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.

[00:51:30] It's hitting shelves on April 21st and I dropped a link in the show notes where you can pre-order a copy today. Yeti or not, here we come with Penny, Perry, Fenton, Maxine, and the magical, mythical, magnificent Yeti. On behalf of us both, we appreciate your support. Woohoo! Yahoo! Wah-wah-wah! 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.

[00:51:59] 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. If you enjoyed this episode of the Cryptid Creator Corner, maybe you would enjoy our sister podcast, Into the Comics Cave. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Bye. Bye.