INTERVIEW: Zack Quaintance

WEBVTT

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This October, Oni Press and Spectrevision are proud to present High Strangeness, a startling new five-part experiment in comic book storytelling.

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Inspired by firsthand accounts of real paranormal encounters within the dimly lit borderlands of human experience, each 40-page prestige format chapter of High Strangeness will interrogate overlapping phenomena like UFOs, hauntings, cryptid sightings, and inexplicable synchronicities that together seem to indicate a higher unseen order of reality.

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Teaming Spectrevision co-founder and real-life experiencer Daniel Noah with an otherworldly cast of comic talents, including Christopher Cantwell, Cecil Castellucci, good friend to the show Christian Ward, and more, High Strangest Book One arrives on October 8th investigate a 1967 encounter with the strange beings known as the Men in Black, with superstar writer Chris Condon, Ringo Award-winning artist Dave Chisholm, and cover artist Jock.

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Look for High Strangers Book 1 on shelves October 8th at a local comic shop near you.

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Only from Oni Press.

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Hey, this is Zach Poinence, the writer of the Death of Comics bookcase, and you are listening to the Oblivion Bar podcast.

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Welcome to the Oblivion Bar podcast with your host, Chris Hacker and Aaron Norris.

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Joining me today is the writer of 2024's The Death of Comics Bookcase Volume 1 and the current Grindhouse Texas Horror Comic Macabre Valley Number 1 with artist Anna Redman.

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He is also a well-respected journalist in the comic space and the voice behind the previous The Comics Bookcase and is the Site Reviews Editor at the recently Eisner Award-winning The Comics Beat.

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It is my pleasure to welcome my friend Zach Quaintance onto the Oblivion Bar Podcast.

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Hey man, thanks for saying well respected.

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I appreciate that.

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The name Coincidence is heard long and wide amongst comic fans.

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So I will I will say it so you don't have to.

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It's better than like the infamous like something like that.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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That's right.

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Yeah.

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Real so and so, uh, Zach, thank you so much for joining us here.

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Very, very excited to get into Macau Valley, but I think we need to do a little bit of housekeeping before we actually get into your current Kickstarter, which is already funded.

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like, you know, it's fun to still talk about it.

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And of course we're to keep broadcasting it from not only, I know you're going to, but also on our social medias and we're going to continue to tell folks to go check it out.

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But I need to ask you because you know, the, I think it happens more than I'd like to admit, but I think You and I have very, I think, aligned interests.

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know, I often look to you when it comes to things that you're into.

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You'll post like a dump on Instagram or on Letterboxd or what have you.

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And I'm like, oh, if Zach's checking this out, I probably should give it a look because I think we have a lot of similar sort of, again, know, favorites in that sense.

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So I've seen a couple of movies here recently and I want to sort of get your read on it and sort of get your views first up.

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And I know it because I've seen you post about it.

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PTA is one battle after another.

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have to ask you, you know, being, and I use this term in sort of a joking way, but being a cinephile, you know, I think that I am as well where like we love it, but we're not going to like be pretentious about it.

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How did you see it?

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What were your thoughts overall?

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Like all the things.

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So I saw it on IMAX, but not IMAX film.

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it's been like sticking with me.

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It's like a source of major regret.

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So I'm going to see it again next week on 70 millimeter IMAX to rectify this.

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But yeah, I saw it opening night.

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had tickets like, I think I logged on a few hours after they went on sale, but it's New York city.

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So there's only one 70 millimeter IMAX and it was, I got beat.

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But yeah, uh I knew I would like this movie.

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Cause I not only am a huge PTA fan, also Thomas Pynchon.

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Uh, and then adding another layer to it, was filmed partially in Sacramento where I have lived and partially in El Paso where my wife is from.

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So there was just a lot going for this movie in terms of me liking it.

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And, uh, lo and behold, I absolutely loved it.

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Uh, five stars.

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And like I said, going to see it again.

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stars.

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Wow.

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That's um I'm sort of happy to hear that because as I've talked to people about it, think people are still and maybe it's sort of the pessimistic world that we currently live in and the apprehension to sort of quickly give it that near perfect if not perfect score.

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And that's the sort of world, the letterbox world that we live in where we have to give everything a rating.

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And I'm guilty of that too, but walking out of it, I almost immediately knew that this was probably my favorite movie of the year.

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And that's saying, I think quite a bit we've had a you know, in sort of this weird landscape that we currently live in with film and I'll say art is sort of a larger spectrum, but like specifically in the world of film, it's been a pretty good year.

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think like, you know, there's been a couple of stinkers here and there, but for the most part, I feel like most of the movies that I've been excited for delivered.

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And, you know, I, again, I think one battle after another, we went to go see it at 70 millimeter here at the Indiana State Museum.

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And we actually had Chase Infinity's parents sitting below.

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That's awesome.

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Yeah, she went to Lawrence North here in Indiana.

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She eventually graduated high school, went to Chicago for acting school, made her way out west and then eventually ended up in a Paul Thomas Anderson film within like, I want to say the first five years of her career.

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Yeah, I think it's the second.

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I think she was in an Apple TV show.

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um Who knows?

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Because you never hear about those things.

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Yeah, there's so many of them and they don't get promoted.

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But I think this is like the second thing she's been in.

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And yeah, it's like the probably the second lead in a PTA movie.

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Pretty incredible.

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Right.

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No, absolutely.

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And I'm like working across Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn and all these folks.

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Like it's incredible what she's able to do.

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And I'm just curious and it's okay if you haven't thought of this, but like, where do you feel like this lands in your PTA?

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I mean, obviously he's done so many great movies.

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Where do you think this might land for you?

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Yeah.

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So I ha I definitely have thought about this because like, like you pointed out, we are those kind of letterbox guys, that sort of thing.

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And I was like, yeah, yeah.

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Uh, but I haven't like, I, you know, I'm the type of person who's like, you know, before I do this, I should probably rewatch every PTA movie and then, and then make my decision, but it's definitely top tier.

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Like I think it's, it's going to, I think it's one of his more accessible movies that like be just because of the way it's paced.

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and the way it grabs you so quickly.

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And it's also very funny.

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He didn't get funny until the latter half of his career.

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There will be blood and Magnolia do not have laughs.

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But this movie is very, it has some real laughs in it.

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And so I think um for that, for being the type of movie that you could enjoy with most people and I expect to have big rewatchability, I think it's top five if not.

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top three.

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ah I don't know how do you where do you you figured done that math yet?

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Yeah, it's interesting.

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haven't, I don't know if I've solidified.

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I should have probably if I'm to ask the question, but I want to say Boogie Nights.

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think it's still number one for me.

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Boogie Nights is the top three movie of all time.

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And then I want to say the master, which has surprised some people.

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was talking to our friend and cohost of the comic book couples counseling, Brad Gullickson.

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And he is, he's like, and I want to, need to get him on the show to talk about this at some point, but he said he's not really been a big fan of the sort of the latter half of PTA's career.

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sort of like the punch, drunk, love, or maybe even Magnolia on sort of career that Paul has had.

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And I'm curious because like the master, think is almost a near perfect movie.

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And I want to say one battle after another is close between that and Magnolia, or maybe there will be blood.

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No, it's Magnolia.

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I think it's like, it's either Magnolia or one battle after another.

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And I'm sort of, I'm leaning towards one battle after another is number three.

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Yeah, um I'm with you on Boogie Nights with number one and then from there it gets little fuzzy.

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I really like There Will Be Blood.

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ah I think that's kind of a masterpiece, just the intensity of it and the acting.

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But I'm with you on The Master as well.

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I think it's a beautiful movie.

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It's the best looking.

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He has an incredible eye.

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I feel like he's one those directors where...

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You can tell 30 seconds into the trailer that this is a Paul Thomas Anderson film, like just the way things are framed.

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And even for his stuff, The Master is like another level of good looking movie.

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Um, but yeah, I think you are like a lot of people don't have that one close to the top for him.

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uh Yeah.

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And I think I might be biased because of the Phillips Seymour Hoffman.

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think that's probably one of, it's hard to say what his best role ever was, but that's gotta be in contention for one of his greatest.

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Yeah, I agree.

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I've done this thing since he passed.

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Whenever I watch a PTA movie, I try to figure out what role he might play and make myself sad about it.

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I need to feel something.

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need to put in a Philip Seymour Hoffman movie.

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Yeah, yeah.

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Okay.

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So again, while I have you here, I have to get you before we get into Macau Valley and all the other things, but weapons has come out this year.

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Centers, of course, being a big film fan, I'm sure you're a fan of all those things.

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We don't have to necessarily go in depth since we're a little bit beyond those, but those of course were two master masterful movies that also like surprise at the box office and all the things.

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So I'm just curious if you could, you know, I was going to sort of ask you what your thoughts were on each film, but if, is there anything, any movie that you've seen this year outside of one battle after another that has really sort of wowed you to the almost in the same sort of breath as one about off another, like, there a another near perfect movie that you've seen this year?

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And if there is, can you sort of explain what that viewing experience was like for you?

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Yeah, I don't know if I'd go near perfect for these others, but I think collectively on the whole, it's been a really good year for movies and I've had a really good time watching them at the movies.

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Like every couple of weeks, there's something like Sinners or Weapons or Superman even that just feel like movie experiences and the way we had it.

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I would even put Naked Gun in there for how it brought back studio comedy, which I hadn't.

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hadn't seen like that in quite a while.

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so I think like, holistically, it feels like a near perfect year at the movies, like just the variety of it and the genre stuff being particularly strong, like weapons and sinners, maybe less so with sinners is definitely steeped in horror genre across the board, you know.

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ah It also kind of has like that grindhouse feel a little bit, you know, maybe that's just me, but it kind of feels like it has a bit of that grindhouse, which we'll get into here in just a bit.

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Not necessarily in terms of like the self-awareness sort of campy.

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And I don't even know if I'm really describing grindhouse correctly, but that's sort of the.

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That's right.

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Cigarette burn of it all, like that kind of feel.

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But it does kind of have like sort of like raunchy horror to it.

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That vibe, you know.

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Yeah, absolutely.

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um I think people are doing really interesting things.

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Like they've taken those vibes and sinners and weapons in particular and done them, made them very thoughtful.

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Like to say movies are political is kind of a loaded thing to say, but they make you think about our mo and one battle after another as well.

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Really make like they hit harder in this moment um because of how thoughtful they are about everything that's happening.

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And they use, they're not afraid to use genre to do it.

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um and to use camp and over the top gore and that sort of thing.

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So I've definitely enjoyed that because that's kind of my thing as well.

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Yeah, we definitely see that, you know, again, in your work that we'll talk about here in a bit, I think one bad off another and centers, I think perfectly sort of play in that same, they're trying to have that same conversation that I think you're trying to have as well with Macau Valley and so on.

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So uh before we get into that, and I don't keep teasing it, but like, I need to take us back to a big moment for you earlier this year at San Diego Comic-Con, we actually had a chance to see each other for a quick moment there.

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know we're, you know, being that we're both doing specific things at Well, I will say like conventions were about a couple of days away from New York Comic-Con now, and we'll probably be doing the same exact thing then, but like, especially at San Diego as well, where, you know, I'm doing the comic sketch art thing and I'm hosting whatnot shows with creators.

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And of course you're doing your comics beat thing.

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And also as a writer, as like a writer, trying to get that work out there, I'm sure that you're packed to the gills with, know, these are sort of like work trips for you even.

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So I'm just curious, let's, let's go back to San Diego for a quick moment.

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Cause while I was there at the Eisner's there in the beginning, I was there for probably the first maybe 45 minutes.

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I eventually had to leave for another event and I missed the fact that the comics beat one in Eisner for comics journalism.

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So I need you to, if you can replay that sort of moment for me and for the listener and sort of tell us what that moment meant for you and the entire team with Heidi and everyone and just, you know, all the hard work you guys have been doing for comics journalism with the beat and all that.

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And, and yeah, just sort of cover that for us.

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was incredibly meaningful in a way that sort of surprised me because for people who don't know, the beat has been around for 20 some years.

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um It celebrated its 20th anniversary last year and it's never won in Eisner.

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It's been nominated a couple times, but it's never won.

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And so you don't want to get excited about these things in case you lose just like, you know, basic psychology.

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ah You don't want to the person who's like, I lost.

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You want to be like, I'm happy for the people who won.

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So don't want to get too excited.

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uh So I was just kind like, it'll be fun to get to sit at the tables up front because the Eisners are like, there's a hierarchy, the nominees and other fancy folks get to sit at actual tables.

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uh They wall you off with the food.

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we all the people, all the peons sit behind the food and all the guests in front of the food.

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can smell it, but you can't eat it.

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And so that's where I've always been traditionally at the Eisner's.

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I've been back with the prolet.

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So I, so I was thinking like, it'll just be cool to get the free, the free dinner and to sit up there and to be close.

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But as, as it got closer, uh, was sitting right next to Heidi and she's the, like, she created the beat.

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She's the one person who's contributed to it throughout its entire existence, start to finish.

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And she's done an incredible job keeping it independent.

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of these clickbait companies like Valnet that buy these sites and hollow them out and don't contribute to comics at a certain point.

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ah So she's done incredible work passing up money and just keeping the beat alive.

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And so as the night progressed, I could tell she was nervous and that it would mean a lot to her to win.

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And then at that point, it started to become more meaningful to be like, well, to have helped her kind of achieve that would really be something.

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And then we won.

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And I thought she gave a really uh fantastic speech.

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uh Sandy, was like, was like, uh, San Diego before and after was a different thing.

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After we won, it was all smiles and everybody was congratulating us and stuff.

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like we don't, the beat doesn't have a lot of resources.

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There's not a lot of money.

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Um, but being part of that and being at the ceremony, uh, was all the payment I think I'll ever need for contributing to the beat.

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Yeah, you've often said this really cool thing that I admittedly have stolen from you total like red handed.

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And I often, try to give you the credit when I think of it, but you often say that like comics deserve our participation.

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And when you told me that last time we talked around the show to talk about the comics book, death of comics bookcase, I was, it was almost like an epiphany.

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I like, had this like weird moment where I was like, Holy yeah.

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Like if we love this thing or anything, not just comics, but just like anything that we love that does not get the proper representation or has a lot of bad actors within it.

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We have to be the ones to put that good out there and be the ones to sort of be its champion because we can't expect other people to do that.

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I mean, we could we could expect that other people do that, but no one should like it.

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We should be the people.

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Right.

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So what you guys have done with the beat and again, Heidi, think is the the mascot of that all that she is solidified herself as comic legend.

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because of what she has done with the B.

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And again, she couldn't do it alone.

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It's all of you guys that are doing this on a volunteer basis are being paid very little because you love the medium and the industry.

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Yeah.

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um I think going back to what you're saying, like, yeah, comics has a, has a thing where there is uniquely positioned where it needs help to be better, like in most facets of it, where it just needs people to give it a little push with arguably to sacrifice to do it.

00:17:18.392 --> 00:17:27.116
And so if you really do love it, you have that unique opportunity to be able to step in and help this thing you love, which you don't like, no matter how much I love movies.

00:17:27.116 --> 00:17:33.817
there's probably nothing I can do materially to help movies, me, besides buy a ticket and a Blu-ray.

00:17:33.817 --> 00:17:35.416
But with comics, it's very different.

00:17:35.416 --> 00:17:36.717
It's accessible.

00:17:36.717 --> 00:17:41.356
Like the barrier for entry is smaller and the industry struggles.

00:17:41.356 --> 00:17:50.876
Like it struggles to get what you and I would consider it to do or what it, for people to understand how great it is.

00:17:50.876 --> 00:17:54.416
And so yeah, that's what I'm always talking about.

00:17:54.770 --> 00:18:01.450
you can uniquely in comics make a difference and so you should, you know, ah what was the other part of that?

00:18:01.450 --> 00:18:02.365
What was the second part?

00:18:02.365 --> 00:18:03.669
was about, was high.

00:18:03.669 --> 00:18:04.727
uh About the beat.

00:18:04.727 --> 00:18:20.153
Yeah, it was mostly just the fact that you guys are her you guys are sort of her Entourage with all this while she is like again as you said been with this thing since the very beginning She's I don't I don't I think she would if she was here She would admit that she couldn't do it without all of you as well No question.

00:18:20.153 --> 00:18:23.314
mean, like she's the face, like we couldn't do it without her either.

00:18:23.374 --> 00:18:25.134
like she's the face of it.

00:18:25.134 --> 00:18:31.034
And what, what she does is people respect us cause they know her and they respect her.

00:18:31.034 --> 00:18:45.089
And also Heidi just has like one of the challenges I would run into when I was sort of doing my own commerce journalism is just the like all the sort of challenge, the like rapid fire challenges you have to deal with the criticisms.

00:18:45.089 --> 00:18:47.401
the inability to get access and all these things.

00:18:47.401 --> 00:18:51.872
And Heidi has incredibly thick skin and has a long-term view.

00:18:51.872 --> 00:19:02.494
So like she knows where the crisis of the day sort of ranks and doesn't overreact to it the way I might as a newer leader of something like that.

00:19:02.494 --> 00:19:05.726
And so like she keeps the ship steady and then we do the day-to-day.

00:19:05.726 --> 00:19:08.715
That's kind of how it functions.

00:19:09.057 --> 00:19:14.410
Everybody has their role to play and hopefully, not always true, but hopefully we're all moving in the same direction.

00:19:14.410 --> 00:19:20.905
So last year it lined up and I think we had a really good year and I think we did deserve the recognition.

00:19:20.905 --> 00:19:21.646
So that was very nice.

00:19:21.646 --> 00:19:22.998
Yeah.

00:19:22.998 --> 00:19:56.905
think that you, like the commerce beat team and the site itself should be recognized for the awesome work that you guys do because I know when I'm preparing for the show and I would like to think that we're like, um, I wouldn't say respected outlet, but someone that we're, we're, we're a show that people go to when they want to hear, you know, Danny Earls talk about something or, know, like when they want to hear creators talk, when I'm looking for resources, The beat is among one of the very first, if not the only resource that I use based on your guys' review or coverage or what have you.

00:19:57.026 --> 00:20:00.241
So, I don't know if that really means anything, but that's what I do.

00:20:00.241 --> 00:20:04.394
Don't sell yourself short because you are an excellent, you are a top tier interviewer.

00:20:04.394 --> 00:20:14.488
Like that is a skill that like, like in real time to be, to do the research you do and to be quick with the thoughtful questions is don't undercut your own abilities there.

00:20:14.488 --> 00:20:17.509
But I appreciate you saying that about the beat that we helped you out.

00:20:19.182 --> 00:20:19.741
Well, thank you.

00:20:19.741 --> 00:20:23.365
And I appreciate the compliment as well, but I need to ask you something as well.

00:20:23.365 --> 00:20:35.787
We're sort of on the topic of the beat and then we'll get into Macau Valley and it is, and I apologize if this is sort of a gotcha journalism question, but is there anybody at the beat that you're really excited about?

00:20:35.787 --> 00:20:46.529
Like, is there a new writer reviewer, what have you, someone that you think people should be paying attention to in terms of like when they post something within the beat that you think people should be like really checking out.

00:20:46.529 --> 00:20:49.571
Well, I think it kind of comes down to what you're into.

00:20:49.571 --> 00:21:07.825
uh Ricky Serrano does a fantastic job with the horror beat section and it's such an incredible varied uh section of different horror, like not just comics, like it gets into TV, uh movies and all that kind of stuff.

00:21:07.825 --> 00:21:14.298
I mean, we've had some new reviewers uh come in, like, uh I'm going to leave people out.

00:21:14.298 --> 00:21:15.490
So that's the...

00:21:15.490 --> 00:21:20.741
That's the hard part, but like, Carrie Weinberg writes excellent reviews.

00:21:20.741 --> 00:21:26.934
Arped Lep is a great uh resource for comics you might otherwise miss.

00:21:26.934 --> 00:21:35.980
uh Catherine Hemin, uh whose name I've never had to say out loud to this moment, so I apologize, Catherine, if that's not right.

00:21:35.980 --> 00:21:41.036
But she's been a newer reviewer who just, she brings me stuff that...

00:21:41.036 --> 00:21:45.198
Like I've given her carte blanche at this point to review whatever she wants, cause I know it's going to be good.

00:21:45.198 --> 00:21:57.785
And she has a great eye for finding stuff people should know about, which I think is, uh, one of the reviewer skills that I appreciate most is like helping people find things that they should know about.

00:21:57.785 --> 00:21:59.086
And she does a great job with that.

00:21:59.086 --> 00:22:07.140
So, uh, yeah, I mean, uh, Jared bird is a great enthusiastic contributor to our weekly Wednesday columns.

00:22:07.140 --> 00:22:13.294
All those guys who contribute to that Clyde hall, uh, Jordan Jennings, Tim Rooney, like they all just do a great job.

00:22:13.294 --> 00:22:20.094
um they are, ah they do it without a lot of thanks.

00:22:20.094 --> 00:22:22.066
So I should thank them more.

00:22:23.107 --> 00:22:24.736
I opportunity to do that.

00:22:24.736 --> 00:22:25.556
Of course, yeah.

00:22:25.556 --> 00:22:34.632
And I knew that and I appreciate you saying that I knew that going through that, like if someone was like, hey, Chris, what's a what's a bunch of shows that you really like listening to podcasts like this?

00:22:34.632 --> 00:22:37.334
I know there'd be somebody that I would leave off and it doesn't mean that I don't respect.

00:22:37.334 --> 00:22:40.461
Yeah, it's just the fact that you kind of have to cut it off at some point.

00:22:40.461 --> 00:22:46.898
We've got like 20 reviewers who contribute and they're all good and I apologize if I left anyone off.

00:22:47.261 --> 00:22:48.944
There's a lot of them.

00:22:49.044 --> 00:22:51.297
Last question about the comics journalism stuff.

00:22:51.297 --> 00:23:03.192
Is there, and I hate to give someone any free pub, you know, but is there any other site that you're often impressed by when it comes to people who just cover comics in a really cool and interesting and productive way?

00:23:03.192 --> 00:23:07.736
I mean, the people hanging in there and still doing it across the board, think deserve credit.

00:23:07.736 --> 00:23:19.714
I think what's happened as uh the comics media ecosystem has contracted is like the people still here are all in it because they love it so much.

00:23:19.714 --> 00:23:29.482
ah like, I mean, David Harper was sketched has been like, that's now his full-time job, which I think is going to be a good thing for comics.

00:23:29.824 --> 00:23:32.905
I mean, I read the comics journal, like I...

00:23:33.003 --> 00:23:34.174
read their reviews.

00:23:34.174 --> 00:23:40.361
um And then even Publishers Weekly, they do these little capsule reviews.

00:23:40.361 --> 00:23:49.209
And I think it's really hard to be as interesting and to evaluate things as well as they do and be that concise.

00:23:49.209 --> 00:23:53.992
I think Meg Lemke uh edits the reviews over there and does a great job.

00:23:53.992 --> 00:24:04.925
um And then the interview podcasts are like, because comics is It's like being at a con when you get to listen to all these great interviews you all do and to hear the creators talk about their work.

00:24:05.911 --> 00:24:10.034
Yeah, I feel like a little bit of a fraud whenever we talk about this kind of stuff.

00:24:10.034 --> 00:24:12.737
again, this isn't me trying to fish for compliments here, Zach.

00:24:12.737 --> 00:24:29.069
when I'm, when I think of journalists, it's funny, I don't even like, because we're not firstly, but I don't even like think of the oblivion bars journalism, because we're not on even the same tier of like Brad and Lisa, like they are journalists, in my opinion, you know, what you do is journalism, what we are, the way I sort of view it.

00:24:29.069 --> 00:24:37.009
And it's not me trying to like escape responsibility because you know, you'll have some people out there who have like this large following and they'll go, oh, well, I'm not I'm not a personality.

00:24:37.009 --> 00:24:37.670
I'm not a journalist.

00:24:37.670 --> 00:24:39.529
I can say whatever I want and do whatever I want.

00:24:39.529 --> 00:24:42.769
Usually you see that in politics a lot or with movies or whatever.

00:24:43.069 --> 00:24:50.650
But I think from our perspective, I think we're just a couple of dopes who love comics and like want to have a fun, interesting conversation about them.

00:24:50.970 --> 00:24:55.109
And when it comes because I think journalism takes a lot more work than whatever we're doing here.

00:24:55.109 --> 00:24:57.683
So while I don't think that what we do here is nothing.

00:24:57.683 --> 00:25:04.000
It's like, I don't know if I necessarily, and I'm not saying you said this either, but like, I don't know what we do here is, you know, necessarily journalism, know.

00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:09.634
I feel like I used to do more reported pieces about comics.

00:25:09.634 --> 00:25:10.894
I don't do those so much.

00:25:10.894 --> 00:25:12.246
So I kind of feel the same way you do.

00:25:12.246 --> 00:25:18.349
Like I feel like I run the review section like I would uh a set of conversation.

00:25:18.349 --> 00:25:22.182
I'm having a conversation at a comic book store about something I liked or didn't like.

00:25:22.182 --> 00:25:23.445
Like that's how I kind of approach it.

00:25:23.445 --> 00:25:25.390
So that doesn't feel like journalism.

00:25:25.390 --> 00:25:27.875
Like journalism can feel like a high and mighty thing, right?

00:25:27.875 --> 00:25:32.028
Like that you have to uh be holding people to account and stuff.

00:25:32.028 --> 00:25:33.410
I don't do that in comics.

00:25:33.410 --> 00:25:34.598
Some people do, but.

00:25:34.598 --> 00:25:37.536
ah Tom King, why did you write this about Wonder Woman?

00:25:37.536 --> 00:25:39.538
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:25:39.538 --> 00:25:41.790
You know that's not her characterization.

00:25:43.640 --> 00:25:46.410
Well, actually, if you go back to George Perez's run, you know, whatever.

00:25:46.410 --> 00:25:47.013
Yeah, that whole.

00:25:47.013 --> 00:25:50.454
I don't do that kind of stuff.

00:25:50.454 --> 00:25:53.816
I'll even write a review if there's one super interesting thing in a comic.

00:25:53.816 --> 00:25:58.586
I'll be like, I'm just going to write about how they use the dog for 500 words and that's this review, you know?

00:25:58.586 --> 00:26:00.548
Because that's what I think the most interesting thing is.

00:26:00.548 --> 00:26:03.578
So ah I kind of appeal you on that.

00:26:03.578 --> 00:26:04.919
I feel the same way.

00:26:04.919 --> 00:26:10.180
But I think people do treat both of us as media and journalists.

00:26:10.621 --> 00:26:12.641
And if you get treated that way long enough, you are one.

00:26:12.641 --> 00:26:15.170
So that's how it works.

00:26:15.170 --> 00:26:18.555
You know, if it gets me a free pass in New York Comic Con, I'm cool with it.

00:26:18.555 --> 00:26:19.465
Call me whatever you want.

00:26:19.465 --> 00:26:22.680
Got mine right here, press pass, four day press pass.

00:26:23.266 --> 00:26:25.086
Sorry, one more question popped into my brain.

00:26:25.086 --> 00:26:36.971
have to ask you as someone who I think is, you know, very knowledgeable about the industry and especially the medium and everything that you've done with the comics bookcase and the beat and with your writing, why not podcasting?

00:26:36.971 --> 00:26:59.741
You know, we're sitting here talking about how like this is, I think there's obviously a lot of work that goes into podcasting, but I feel like if there is someone out there who has done enough in our space, has done enough important work in our space, that would be a sure fit into sort of the podcasting landscape, especially among our peers again with like David over off panel and Brad and Lisa with Comical Cups Counseling, bought our over at the short box and so on.

00:26:59.741 --> 00:27:06.385
Like has that ever even crossed your mind to like maybe possibly either create a podcast or partner up with someone else who's been on a podcast?

00:27:06.625 --> 00:27:08.385
It's crossed my mind.

00:27:08.987 --> 00:27:13.307
When I was doing Comics Bookcase in particular, was always a thing.

00:27:13.307 --> 00:27:19.450
I knew if I would have done a podcast with the website, it would have got me a bigger audience.

00:27:19.450 --> 00:27:21.990
And so it did feel like I should do that.

00:27:21.990 --> 00:27:24.941
But quite frankly, I just don't know how.

00:27:24.941 --> 00:27:27.912
I didn't want to buy the equipment and learn the sound editing.

00:27:27.912 --> 00:27:30.762
uh I've always been a writer.

00:27:30.762 --> 00:27:32.772
I went to college for journalism.

00:27:32.772 --> 00:27:34.913
That's my day job as well.

00:27:35.435 --> 00:27:38.106
Writing for media is something I'm deeply comfortable with.

00:27:38.106 --> 00:27:49.150
uh Learning to do uh sound tests and uh everything that comes along with audio is not something I'm comfortable with at all.

00:27:49.150 --> 00:28:00.242
uh I mean, have at times, especially when I was doing comics bookcase, get invites to be on other people's podcasts to just talk about favorite comics of the year, whatever.

00:28:00.242 --> 00:28:03.147
And I always appreciate those and enjoy that.

00:28:03.147 --> 00:28:06.782
But like, yeah, it just seemed like something I was out of my depth with.

00:28:06.782 --> 00:28:13.178
And, um, I've always thought like, I'll just work harder and write better.

00:28:13.178 --> 00:28:16.133
So that that'll be what I do with my time.

00:28:16.134 --> 00:28:18.307
yeah, maybe I should have started one years ago.

00:28:18.307 --> 00:28:19.217
I don't know.

00:28:19.849 --> 00:28:44.632
Well, I'll tell you, I do appreciate your role within, you know, this sort of the scape, the scope that we're in currently with comics because we need more folks out there who are, again, we need to protect comics journalists and we need to protect journalism as a whole to make sure that again, as you said, you don't have these sites that are coming in here and swooping out, swooping up comics, journalists sites and hollowing them out and just putting ads all over them and making them about clickbait bullshit.

00:28:44.632 --> 00:28:46.813
Like we have enough of that already.

00:28:47.566 --> 00:29:03.450
I want people who are willing again, like yourself and like David over at sketched who are like willing to write these 5,000 and I'm not saying that you do this often, but like write these 5,000 word plus post about ARF, you know, the trad more spider-man or something like that.

00:29:03.450 --> 00:29:20.413
You know, like the, just like that sort of in-depth and I'm not even, again, like you said, like not, not even like criticism necessarily, but just sort of like a, an introspective or you the way that you sort of interpret it, it creates this conversation within our space that is really interesting and something that I think we don't have enough of already.

00:29:20.413 --> 00:29:29.614
So to like take your talents away from writing both in journalism and as a comic writer, maybe to cut podcastings, maybe like you said, maybe that's just not your role within all this.

00:29:29.614 --> 00:29:33.374
Yeah, I feel like it would have watered everything down for me a little bit.

00:29:34.193 --> 00:29:37.814
But yeah, what I want to be able to do, like I got a chance to do it.

00:29:37.814 --> 00:29:45.253
feel like this year when I got, I wrote one of the first reviews of Drome and I don't know if this is true.

00:29:45.253 --> 00:29:51.554
It's just a sense I have that like it kind of helps set the conversation around Jesse Lonergan's Drome being one of the books of the year.

00:29:51.554 --> 00:29:54.374
it gave it, Jesse said it gave it momentum.

00:29:54.374 --> 00:29:55.913
could have, he's a very nice guy.

00:29:55.913 --> 00:29:57.713
He could have just been telling me that.

00:29:57.713 --> 00:29:58.317
But like.

00:29:58.317 --> 00:30:11.792
So I just want to be in a position when I read something that really, really blows me away and I think should be one of these books that everybody knows about and hears about to be able to write something about it and have a platform that gives it that kind of push to get it to more readers.

00:30:11.792 --> 00:30:15.186
And I feel like uh I do that with the beat.

00:30:15.186 --> 00:30:20.321
And so that's been a part of the goal to be able to like people.

00:30:20.715 --> 00:30:32.842
I don't know, this is probably an old person reference at this point, but people rag on Pitchfork music for being like snobby reviews and that sort of thing, but I always kind of wanted to be like, comics should have its Pitchfork music somehow, you know, like something like that.

00:30:33.026 --> 00:30:38.423
Yeah, we just talked to Jesse two weeks ago about Drome and yeah, totally.

00:30:38.423 --> 00:30:43.078
It is absolutely, think one of the books of the year, if not the book of the year thus far.

00:30:43.078 --> 00:30:45.663
know, I can actually see it on your bookcase behind you there.

00:30:45.663 --> 00:30:46.506
Yeah, yeah.

00:30:46.506 --> 00:30:53.290
That's my shelf for stuff lately that's really blown me away, like that's come out in the last five, maybe six years and drone.

00:30:53.290 --> 00:30:56.635
had to move some things around to make room for Jerome on it.

00:30:56.642 --> 00:30:57.134
Yeah.

00:30:57.134 --> 00:31:02.266
I see it so I can see ducks there as well as that murder Falcon there on the far left.

00:31:02.266 --> 00:31:03.596
That's Upgrade Soul.

00:31:03.596 --> 00:31:04.748
Okay, gotcha.

00:31:04.748 --> 00:31:12.134
Yeah, and then I've got A Guest in the House, the new Noah Van Sciver book, and a couple of my favorite things are Monsters.

00:31:12.134 --> 00:31:16.848
And then The Blood of the Virgin, the Sammy Harkonnen book from last year.

00:31:16.848 --> 00:31:18.660
It's like a 70s Hollywood thing.

00:31:18.660 --> 00:31:20.461
I thought that book was awesome.

00:31:20.728 --> 00:31:24.622
Have you read, this is last thing I'll say before we get to your.

00:31:24.622 --> 00:31:26.261
No, I really don't mind.

00:31:26.261 --> 00:31:27.602
This is great.

00:31:27.902 --> 00:31:30.998
Have you had Will McFrails in?

00:31:30.998 --> 00:31:31.498
Yes.

00:31:31.498 --> 00:31:31.907
Yeah.

00:31:31.907 --> 00:31:33.578
So I have a story about that.

00:31:33.578 --> 00:31:35.140
got that book.

00:31:35.140 --> 00:31:41.752
Sometimes like my home address is like circulated by a comics publicist.

00:31:41.752 --> 00:31:43.522
Like they know where I live.

00:31:47.065 --> 00:31:53.007
I've probably given it to him and forgotten or whatever, but like sometimes books will just show up at my house.

00:31:53.297 --> 00:31:56.848
and that one showed up in my house maybe like two months before it came out.

00:31:56.848 --> 00:31:59.859
I'd never heard of Will McPhail, even though he's a New Yorker cartoonist.

00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:00.890
And it looked awesome.

00:32:00.890 --> 00:32:03.090
I read it and I was like, this book is amazing.

00:32:03.090 --> 00:32:05.211
Like this book is so good.

00:32:05.529 --> 00:32:09.173
I, I like before it came out, got to talk to him on zoom.

00:32:09.173 --> 00:32:11.805
Cause it was like dark heart of the pandemic times, you know?

00:32:11.805 --> 00:32:13.363
Uh, yeah.

00:32:13.363 --> 00:32:26.221
And that, but I feel like that was when I was still doing my site and that was kind of like one of the reasons maybe that pushed me towards the beat is I felt like I didn't have that platform I was talking about to like, get the conversation started around this book, even though I heaped all this praise on it.

00:32:26.221 --> 00:32:30.236
And I would also put, um, Jonathan Case's Little Monarchs in that category.

00:32:30.236 --> 00:32:40.842
I love that book and tried to get a conversation going and I feel like it just didn't quite get the momentum for what it may have, you But anyway, yeah, back to In, like, I think it's a masterpiece.

00:32:40.842 --> 00:32:43.782
It's like the first sequential comics I think he's ever done.

00:32:43.782 --> 00:32:45.334
And I just think it's a perfect book.

00:32:45.334 --> 00:32:58.009
It's funny, it's deeply moving, and it's like he's really honest in that book ah in a way that uh someone who hasn't written a lot of fiction, it's very impressive that he figured out a way to do that in a fictional story.

00:32:58.009 --> 00:33:08.288
uh This is the first time I think when reading comics that something was competing with saga in my head, like for the longest time.

00:33:08.369 --> 00:33:11.873
like I have the same thing over with movies to bring that back, bring us back to that too.

00:33:11.873 --> 00:33:15.316
Like whiplash has been my favorite movie since the moment I saw it.

00:33:15.316 --> 00:33:15.669
Yeah.

00:33:15.669 --> 00:33:23.782
It's just, it's, it's, it's had that number one spot and I, and I've like almost cemented it in my brain that this is my favorite and nothing will compete with it.

00:33:23.782 --> 00:33:27.721
And maybe that's reductive to do something like that, but saga.

00:33:27.721 --> 00:33:28.883
is the same thing for some area.

00:33:28.883 --> 00:33:33.345
was like, holy fuck, this is the greatest book of all time and nothing will ever beat it.

00:33:33.345 --> 00:33:39.528
And then, you know, in I read in on a, like on a plane to a work trip.

00:33:39.528 --> 00:33:45.962
And Zach, when I told you that I was crying and laughing in that two hour plane, like back and forth, laughing, crying back to back.

00:33:45.962 --> 00:33:54.116
And I'm not someone who like, saying that I never like emote when I'm reading or watching movies or anything, but like this movie captured me in a way that I have never felt.

00:33:54.116 --> 00:33:56.615
uh I agree with you.

00:33:56.615 --> 00:33:57.494
I will just echo what you said.

00:33:57.494 --> 00:34:09.458
It is a masterpiece and I think it is maybe like the one B favorite comic of all time for me and it's a book that I will I like it would be It would be like my pleasure to buy it for someone to give it to them Yeah.

00:34:09.458 --> 00:34:10.708
Multiple times maybe.

00:34:10.708 --> 00:34:12.351
Like it's that good.

00:34:12.351 --> 00:34:19.157
Like I think you can uh compartmentalize it in your head and just say that saga and in play different games, right?

00:34:19.157 --> 00:34:26.536
Cause like one of them is long form and the other is you can read in an afternoon, you know, if you need to do that in your head.

00:34:27.809 --> 00:34:33.601
They definitely play like very different roles, although I will say they do a lot of the same similar things in terms of like emotional beats and such, but.

00:34:33.601 --> 00:34:36.382
Yeah, and honesty and yeah, yeah.

00:34:36.590 --> 00:34:37.010
Yeah.

00:34:37.010 --> 00:34:38.809
Well, let's get into Macau Valley.

00:34:38.809 --> 00:34:44.342
Again, this is, mean, outside of us just having this great talk for the last 30 minutes, which is kind of what I selfishly wanted.

00:34:44.342 --> 00:34:45.137
Me too, man.

00:34:45.137 --> 00:34:46.635
I really don't mind.

00:34:47.478 --> 00:34:47.717
Right.

00:34:47.717 --> 00:34:56.490
It's one those things where it's like a, it's a, it's a two way street here, because I also want to talk about Macau Valley, which is your current Kickstarter over again, at Kickstarter.

00:34:56.490 --> 00:35:01.371
It's, it's a sort of a build off of a story that you had within the death of comics bookcase, which I actually have right here.

00:35:01.371 --> 00:35:04.842
And it was the last time that you were here on the show was to talk about this.

00:35:04.842 --> 00:35:13.465
And when I look through the death of comics bookcase, this, this conversation gave me a well needed reason to go back and look at comics bookcase again.

00:35:13.465 --> 00:35:14.746
And I'm looking through it again.

00:35:14.746 --> 00:35:19.737
And I'm seeing like, you know, gold mask and the next door apes versus sharks.

00:35:19.737 --> 00:35:25.780
And then I think what might've been my favorite the first time reading this was responsibility.

00:35:25.780 --> 00:35:31.864
And I'm like, okay, so Zach clearly had a plan when it comes to expanding on these stories.

00:35:31.864 --> 00:35:40.329
know when, even when we had you on last time, you mentioned that you had plans to eventually, you know, continue on with a couple of these stories.

00:35:40.771 --> 00:35:42.371
I'm just curious to start us off here.

00:35:42.371 --> 00:35:45.869
And actually before I get into my question, I'm going to do a quick synopsis here.

00:35:45.869 --> 00:35:59.838
uh A young reporter gets a job covering the night cops beat at a newspaper in South Texas when a Border Patrol agent is gruesomely murdered Our hero must untangle a violent mystery with a beloved local priest and a werewolf at its dark center.

00:35:59.838 --> 00:36:05.260
So I'm just curious why Macabre Valley why this this priest?

00:36:05.581 --> 00:36:21.246
grind house horror story to sort of be that first that first uh Story that you go off and tell more more with That one was always conceptualized as a full comic book series from the start.

00:36:21.666 --> 00:36:33.146
Every other story in there, I had already had the idea for Death, a Comics Book Case to do a collection of these and were written to be something bigger.

00:36:33.146 --> 00:36:38.786
They're all built to continue, but the introductions were capsules.

00:36:38.786 --> 00:36:40.945
So they were all short stories.

00:36:42.431 --> 00:36:53.041
Macabre Valley, which at the time was called the werewolf priest in that book was not like it was intended to be the first eight pages of a longer story.

00:36:53.041 --> 00:36:59.242
It was actually, we did as a pitch in early 2023.

00:36:59.242 --> 00:37:04.288
um so that was, it was conceived that way.

00:37:04.288 --> 00:37:09.797
It was always the hope that that one would be, uh, something larger.

00:37:09.797 --> 00:37:12.077
And we always had a larger story.

00:37:12.077 --> 00:37:14.237
to tell with it.

00:37:15.197 --> 00:37:34.338
and I don't play favorites, but I think all the stories in that book turned out good, but like those eight pages, I mean, it just felt like, uh, there was an energy to it where I was like, I felt like we'd be doing a disservice to not try to do more of this, uh, one way or another.

00:37:34.338 --> 00:37:45.262
So, um, and I started writing it like, uh, the full, like I'd written a pitch and it in an outline, kind of a story beat outline.

00:37:45.262 --> 00:37:58.902
And then as the campaign for Death of Comics bookcase was happening in like May of 2024, I finished the first issue script and had been refining it until Anna had time in her schedule to start this year.

00:37:59.282 --> 00:38:04.422
So yeah, it was just one that I really wanted to come back to.

00:38:04.422 --> 00:38:09.762
like we're doing more of everything that was in Death of Comics bookcase.

00:38:09.762 --> 00:38:16.398
Like I've written, I've literally written more of everything in there except apes versus sharks, I'm writing right now.

00:38:16.398 --> 00:38:22.489
I know what it's going to look like, but I just haven't finished the script for the next chapter.

00:38:22.958 --> 00:38:23.717
Sure.

00:38:24.099 --> 00:38:35.288
You've had this really admirable amount of patience, I think, since putting out, I think even before death of common, I was going to say this since you put out death of comics bookcase, but I know that this has been going on for quite a while.

00:38:35.288 --> 00:38:37.570
You you working on these multiple stories and such.

00:38:37.570 --> 00:38:51.711
I know if it was me, I would be so quick to just like find a line and just go just run down that, that lane, you know, but it seems like you sort of have your hand, like you said, in a couple of different stories and how you want to approach each one.

00:38:51.711 --> 00:38:55.601
said you've even worked on a pitch for Macau Valley as well.

00:38:55.601 --> 00:39:05.018
I'm just curious with the Kickstarter and it already funding, as we said earlier in the conversation, you know, this thing has fully funded and that doesn't mean people shouldn't go out and also support it still.

00:39:05.018 --> 00:39:12.054
Cause we want to hit those stretch goals and we want to, know, all those things like we, the more you contribute, the more that you can do with this project.

00:39:12.054 --> 00:39:15.097
know that you've said before that like this thing is finished and ready to go.

00:39:15.097 --> 00:39:21.472
It's going to print the moment that it funds, but like, I'm just curious doing all these multiple.

00:39:21.498 --> 00:39:24.860
stories all at the same time and Macav Valley already being successful.

00:39:24.860 --> 00:39:29.103
Is it, there anything within you that wants to hop on the next one?

00:39:29.103 --> 00:39:46.702
Like in a couple, you know, have another Kickstarter ready in the chamber, ready to go when Macav Valley eventually successfully funds, or do you feel like now that you've seen sort of the excitement around this story and people talking about it the way they are, do you have any impulse to want to just sort of stick down this, this grind house road for a while?

00:39:46.702 --> 00:39:49.103
I mean, the answer is yes to both.

00:39:49.722 --> 00:40:02.567
I do want to, I mean, I would love to have something new coming out constantly, like to have these comics I've written and some of them have art done for available rapidly.

00:40:02.567 --> 00:40:14.409
But I think from a business standpoint, I don't think that doing more than a Kickstarter a year is a good idea for audience retention.

00:40:15.005 --> 00:40:35.237
I know that um I don't tend to back too many creators who do multiple Kickstarters in the same calendar year, just ah because part of what you're paying for with Kickstarter is you pay a higher price for these comics because you get the good feeling of supporting and bringing it, being part of something that makes it possible.

00:40:35.237 --> 00:40:43.148
So I don't want to, I really am deeply aware of that and I appreciate it I don't want to ask people to back.

00:40:43.148 --> 00:40:45.219
more than one Kickstarter a year.

00:40:45.219 --> 00:40:49.681
mean, there's people who do tons of Kickstarters and do great and I don't fault them for that.

00:40:49.681 --> 00:40:55.623
But just for me with audience building, uh I could be totally wrong about this, but I feel like one a year is the cadence.

00:40:55.623 --> 00:41:11.869
uh But yeah, like, so I'll tell you straight up, like the initial plan was to uh Kickstart Macabre Valley and then go right into next year's Kickstarter being Death Comics Bookcase Volume 2, Reign of the Comics Bookcases.

00:41:12.306 --> 00:41:23.474
Uh, and there's like, there's a covered, there's a cover that we've gotten to inks with and there's a complete, there's a story that has complete art with it's a brand new story.

00:41:23.474 --> 00:41:25.929
I maybe have shown you some of the art.

00:41:25.929 --> 00:41:26.271
Yeah.

00:41:26.271 --> 00:41:29.304
Yeah, I think you showed me a little bit San Diego Comic Con.

00:41:29.304 --> 00:41:32.327
a wrestling thing uh with comic book creators.

00:41:32.327 --> 00:41:33.489
That's the way.

00:41:35.458 --> 00:41:37.625
There's a parallel there that we often see.

00:41:37.625 --> 00:41:44.514
I don't know if people listening know this, there's a large amount of comic creators that also really love wrestling.

00:41:44.514 --> 00:41:46.775
There's that and there's a lot of comic.

00:41:46.775 --> 00:41:52.418
Yeah, there's there's a weird tension sometimes at comic book conventions between creators.

00:41:52.418 --> 00:41:59.043
Like not that people hate each other, but there's definitely like, I don't know, if you go to enough cons, you pick up on like weird things.

00:41:59.043 --> 00:42:00.465
And so that's what this is playing with.

00:42:00.465 --> 00:42:01.485
It's all in good fun.

00:42:01.485 --> 00:42:03.086
And I think it's going to be really funny.

00:42:03.086 --> 00:42:12.362
But uh after this, like this Kickstarter has been well received um and I'm hoping that it sets a backer record.

00:42:12.362 --> 00:42:26.896
It's like a personal thing like I would really love to set a new backer record, but I think it's been easier for me to talk about and kind of market a one story versus six at the same time, you know, like, get, find an audience for it.

00:42:26.896 --> 00:42:31.257
So there's definitely like a, well, do I want to go into the, anthology right away?

00:42:31.257 --> 00:42:40.512
Cause that's more of a, feels like a steeper climb or do I want to do a more Maca valley or even like a one shot with this.

00:42:40.844 --> 00:42:42.215
wrestling idea.

00:42:42.635 --> 00:42:44.177
So there's things to figure out.

00:42:44.177 --> 00:42:53.003
um But I have so much to do right now between getting, like the story is done from a cop Valley, but I'm working with a designer who's actually Jared K.

00:42:53.003 --> 00:43:01.510
Fletcher, who designed paper girls and is like, just one of the best designers and like we're working together this exchanging emails this week to finish up.

00:43:01.510 --> 00:43:03.492
I mean, he has to design.

00:43:03.833 --> 00:43:07.945
There's four or five pages that need design touches and the back cover and stuff.

00:43:07.945 --> 00:43:10.398
So we're finishing all that stuff up and getting it to print.

00:43:10.478 --> 00:43:19.237
And then I'm also trying to market it as best I can because the point where you fund is not always the point of profitability.

00:43:19.237 --> 00:43:20.458
I'll just say that.

00:43:21.858 --> 00:43:23.197
So yeah, thanks.

00:43:24.177 --> 00:43:27.338
I mean, I could have said I set my own goals.

00:43:27.338 --> 00:43:31.458
So if I wanted to like, and some creators do that, it'd like $13,000.

00:43:31.458 --> 00:43:33.918
Like I'm just pulling that number out of nowhere.

00:43:34.838 --> 00:43:36.717
That's what I needed to make a profit on this.

00:43:36.717 --> 00:43:38.231
That's what I'm going to ask for.

00:43:38.231 --> 00:43:39.413
But like, want to make the book.

00:43:39.413 --> 00:43:41.353
I'm willing to pay a certain amount of money to make the book.

00:43:41.353 --> 00:43:42.563
And that's where I set the goal.

00:43:42.563 --> 00:43:50.148
But then after you start to approach your, your line of profitability, you're like, you, you're running harder, you know, like you have this limited time to hit it.

00:43:50.148 --> 00:43:51.938
So like, yeah, so I'm pretty consumed with that.

00:43:51.938 --> 00:43:57.911
And then I'm going to take uh a trip to the UK for Thought Bubble in November.

00:43:58.581 --> 00:44:01.364
And we'll have copies there because Anna's tabling.

00:44:01.364 --> 00:44:06.126
I'm going to, I mean, her choice if she wants to sell them, but I'm going to bring her a stack for her to have.

00:44:06.126 --> 00:44:07.820
So maybe she'll sell them at the show.

00:44:07.820 --> 00:44:16.034
And then after that, I'll figure out what the next business moves are, but I'm always writing and I've got a ton of scripts out with, I got multiple scripts out with the artists right now.

00:44:16.034 --> 00:44:17.195
So something's coming.

00:44:17.195 --> 00:44:20.117
I just don't know what it'll be next yet, but that was a great question.

00:44:20.117 --> 00:44:21.958
Cause it's one I'm also grappling with.

00:44:21.958 --> 00:44:23.668
Like, should I do the anthology net?

00:44:23.668 --> 00:44:24.469
What should I do next?

00:44:24.469 --> 00:44:24.938
Basically.

00:44:24.938 --> 00:44:30.291
Like that's always a question with Kickstarter creators, I think is, what's the next step.

00:44:30.753 --> 00:44:32.570
Well, Zach, I'm glad we could think that through together.

00:44:32.570 --> 00:44:34.664
I'm glad I could, I could help you through that.

00:44:34.766 --> 00:44:41.079
I don't know if I figured anything out, but it's like I know we decided anything, but you know, it's, worth at least thinking out loud about.

00:44:41.320 --> 00:44:44.802
I want to also, you've already mentioned Anna and you also mentioned Jared K.

00:44:44.802 --> 00:44:45.884
Fletcher, your designer.

00:44:45.884 --> 00:44:51.467
I do want to give a quick shout out as well to the colorist, Brad Simpson, and then letterer, Becca Carey as well.

00:44:51.467 --> 00:45:01.313
So I think this book looks incredible and it's something that I wanted, I wanted to sort of hone in on, but you said something really interesting a moment ago that I also want to touch, you know, touch on and pick your brain on.

00:45:01.313 --> 00:45:04.365
You mentioned that this could potentially hit a backer record for you.

00:45:04.365 --> 00:45:09.601
And at the time of this recording, which is on October 2nd, we are currently at 9,717.

00:45:09.601 --> 00:45:20.244
So is 10K the goal or are you, I don't mean to be tacky, but like, there anything, is there like a particular goal that you really hope that we get?

00:45:20.597 --> 00:45:24.360
328 backers.

00:45:24.360 --> 00:45:25.331
is literally it.

00:45:25.331 --> 00:45:38.371
Like the very first one I did, I uh did a Kickstarter four years ago before I was even really ready to really start going at it as a creator and it hit 327 backers.

00:45:38.371 --> 00:45:41.262
that was like August 2020 during the pandemic.

00:45:41.262 --> 00:45:42.063
Everyone was home.

00:45:42.063 --> 00:45:48.418
Everyone was still on Twitter, like in one organized social media and I had a huge following through comics bookcase.

00:45:48.672 --> 00:45:50.112
It was kind of a leg up.

00:45:50.112 --> 00:45:56.396
And I also had like my brother's wife's siblings, all four of them backed it and stuff.

00:45:56.396 --> 00:46:06.114
So like, it's kind of a silly goal, but it would just mean so much to me to have even one backer higher than the, it's like a uh compulsive thing, but that's yeah.

00:46:06.114 --> 00:46:13.389
mean, and yeah, I think, not to jinx anything, but with the way the last, the last day plays out, we will probably hit 10 K.

00:46:13.389 --> 00:46:14.539
So that's, that's nice.

00:46:14.539 --> 00:46:17.262
And I want to downplay how, how great that is to have.

00:46:17.262 --> 00:46:20.202
more funding to be able to finance comics immediately.

00:46:20.581 --> 00:46:25.282
yeah, that's my personal like four minute mile or whatever.

00:46:25.902 --> 00:46:27.641
328 backers.

00:46:28.097 --> 00:46:33.623
We're currently I should probably give those updated numbers just under two weeks away from the the end date here.

00:46:33.623 --> 00:46:37.016
We're at two hundred seventy eight backers, which is still incredible.

00:46:37.016 --> 00:46:42.271
Like, you know, I meant to say this earlier, we were talking about the Eisner's in terms of like you don't go on expecting to win.

00:46:42.271 --> 00:46:45.282
But like I think it's more about the nomination when it comes to the Eisner's.

00:46:45.282 --> 00:46:51.539
I know you probably agree with that, too, that like even if you don't win the recognition, the recognition from your peers, I think is probably the most important thing.

00:46:51.539 --> 00:46:54.481
And at the end of day is probably the thing that means the most.

00:46:54.481 --> 00:46:55.282
So.

00:46:55.318 --> 00:46:56.889
I think a very similar thing with this.

00:46:56.889 --> 00:47:02.400
Like if you, for some reason, don't hit 10 K, which I know you will, as you said, I want to jinx it, but like it's probably going to happen.

00:47:02.400 --> 00:47:08.123
And then like you being at two 78 and if you don't hit that three 20 Mark that you're talking about here, I know you'll still be proud of this.

00:47:08.123 --> 00:47:11.405
And I know that as your friend, I'll still be proud of this, this project for you.

00:47:11.405 --> 00:47:13.275
So, uh, it's just interesting.

00:47:13.275 --> 00:47:16.186
I was just curious, like, cause I know being who you are.

00:47:16.186 --> 00:47:21.378
And again, I just assume that you were very goal oriented when it came to this project, something like this.

00:47:21.378 --> 00:47:26.163
Uh, I just want to kind of pick your brain and see like, We all kind of have that goal.

00:47:26.163 --> 00:47:36.070
Like here's a weird one for me to not that this is about me at all, but like over on Spotify, we're at like eight 20 in terms of listeners, like subscribe.

00:47:36.070 --> 00:47:37.469
Yeah, she would call them now.

00:47:37.469 --> 00:47:41.612
But like hitting that thousand mark over on Spotify is really important to me.

00:47:41.612 --> 00:47:43.784
And it doesn't think I don't think we're to get there for a while.

00:47:43.784 --> 00:47:46.766
But if we once we do, that'll be a landmark for me.

00:47:46.766 --> 00:47:49.547
That means something for some reason.

00:47:49.547 --> 00:47:51.880
No, it's exactly what I was just talking about.

00:47:51.880 --> 00:47:54.681
Cause like 820 is so many subscribers.

00:47:55.001 --> 00:47:58.485
Like you've already done really well and you have a great show, but I get it.

00:47:58.485 --> 00:48:04.349
you've set this, you set, you know, we've all been by uh the way social media likes it.

00:48:04.349 --> 00:48:09.402
We've all been put in this like prison of a productivity connected to black and white numbers.

00:48:09.402 --> 00:48:13.155
So it's like, we're just, we're just prisoners of that.

00:48:13.155 --> 00:48:21.255
You and I, like with our picking these things be like, well, 326 is clearly not as good as 327 was, so I lost, you know?

00:48:22.025 --> 00:48:23.422
I lost this battle of one.

00:48:23.422 --> 00:48:28.378
Yeah, Okay, so let me ask you a little bit about the story here.

00:48:28.378 --> 00:48:32.780
So, of course, as I said earlier, it's sort of being pitched as this like grind house, horror comic.

00:48:32.780 --> 00:48:38.443
And the first thing that came to my brain was that this is how I know that we are friends and that we like a similar thing.

00:48:38.443 --> 00:48:41.103
Because when I think of grind house, I think of like this.

00:48:41.103 --> 00:48:44.565
Of course, there is the movie grind house, like the two part.

00:48:45.626 --> 00:48:49.208
Yeah, the two part story of grind house and planet terror.

00:48:49.208 --> 00:48:50.847
So I'm just curious.

00:48:50.847 --> 00:48:52.539
And this is sort of a broad, simple question.

00:48:52.539 --> 00:48:55.436
But like, what do you think it is about like grind house?

00:48:55.436 --> 00:49:04.699
not only just Grindhouse cinema, but specifically Grindhouse, again, that Robert Rodriguez sort of machete from dusk till dawn sort of brand of film.

00:49:04.800 --> 00:49:08.735
Why is that exciting to you as a viewer and as a, as a creator?

00:49:08.735 --> 00:49:11.539
Why do think that folks like us love that genre?

00:49:11.690 --> 00:49:13.000
It's pretty self aware.

00:49:13.000 --> 00:49:16.543
I feel like like I think and I think it's two things.

00:49:16.543 --> 00:49:17.809
It's pretty self aware.

00:49:17.809 --> 00:49:35.396
It knows it's entertaining, but I think it's also a little more flexible like ah those sort of movies can go on a dime from ridiculous to serious and it all fits in the same bucket like I don't know why they quite function that way.

00:49:35.396 --> 00:49:37.728
I think our book functions that way as well.

00:49:37.728 --> 00:49:47.523
Like from one page to the next we can be doing really over the top gore and then go right into like a journalism procedural and it all holds together well.

00:49:47.523 --> 00:49:53.405
um But yeah, what draws me to it is I think there's less limits to it.

00:49:53.405 --> 00:49:54.126
You know what I mean?

00:49:54.126 --> 00:49:56.985
Like it just kind of gives you more tools.

00:49:56.985 --> 00:50:03.867
um And what we did is like on the second, the goriest page in the whole book is page two.

00:50:03.867 --> 00:50:10.789
And maybe it doesn't, I actually, it definitely doesn't help me when I'm tabling because people pick it up and.

00:50:11.117 --> 00:50:13.780
uh look at those early pages and be like, not for me.

00:50:13.780 --> 00:50:15.710
But it does like set the tone right away.

00:50:15.710 --> 00:50:26.568
And I think after page two, we can do whatever we want because we've already done, we've already established that this is pulp and this is over the top and anything goes in our world.

00:50:27.108 --> 00:50:28.869
So I think that's what drew us to it.

00:50:28.869 --> 00:50:40.309
And I just think like uh Anna's artwork is also capable of like, it's not photorealistic, but uh she's just so good at exaggerating in the right places.

00:50:40.309 --> 00:50:44.125
And so I think um it plays really well to her strength.

00:50:44.125 --> 00:50:46.416
mean, she's a comics genius.

00:50:46.777 --> 00:50:54.175
like most stuff will play to her strengths, but I think in particular, Grindhouse uh plays really well to her strengths as an artist.

00:50:54.574 --> 00:50:55.135
Sure.

00:50:55.135 --> 00:50:56.945
Let me ask you this to build off that there.

00:50:56.945 --> 00:50:59.657
What was it about Anna's art before you guys?

00:50:59.739 --> 00:51:02.239
I guess maybe this is a two parter here then I guess.

00:51:02.240 --> 00:51:04.242
How did you get connected to Anna firstly?

00:51:04.242 --> 00:51:11.548
And we may have talked about this a little bit in our previous conversation, but just for the layman and I guess me being part of the layman, how did you guys get connected initially?

00:51:11.548 --> 00:51:22.583
And then was there any particular piece of work or anything that she sort of alluded to when you guys first started talking about this project that made her perfect as a collaborator for Macau Valley?

00:51:22.583 --> 00:51:26.833
So I became a fan of hers like in 2020.

00:51:26.833 --> 00:51:30.815
um think that was when she was featured, Broken Frontier does this thing.

00:51:30.815 --> 00:51:36.318
It's a UK based Indie Comics website where they highlight six artists to watch and she was one of them.

00:51:36.318 --> 00:51:40.568
And I don't know if that's how I first saw her work, but it was somehow she was on Twitter also.

00:51:40.568 --> 00:51:46.340
And then when I was doing my next door comic, it was very poorly planned.

00:51:46.340 --> 00:51:52.181
We rushed the launch and we had no variant cover and I reached out to her last minute and she did one in like three days.

00:51:52.181 --> 00:51:53.963
and it saved our campaign.

00:51:53.963 --> 00:52:02.210
ah That comic was a neighborhood crime comic, which is a tough thing to sell, and it had a sense of humor, which made it even harder to sell.

00:52:02.311 --> 00:52:09.585
And her cover, though, captured, like just from one email, she knew what we were going for and captured it perfectly with this cover.

00:52:09.585 --> 00:52:15.440
It's like a real estate sign that's got all like 20 different weapons sticking out of it and a dog peeing on it.

00:52:15.440 --> 00:52:18.353
like people love that cover so much.

00:52:18.353 --> 00:52:21.262
And it changed the whole momentum of that Kickstarter campaign.

00:52:21.262 --> 00:52:30.869
So in the back of my head, I'd always thought about like, well, imagine the reaction of readers if we could collaborate on a full comic.

00:52:30.869 --> 00:52:36.432
And then I also knew just from following her on uh Instagram that she drew amazing dogs.

00:52:36.893 --> 00:52:38.795
Like she'd drawn her own dog.

00:52:38.795 --> 00:52:43.759
She'd drawn a beer can label that had the owner of OK Comics, this comic bookstore and leads on it.

00:52:43.759 --> 00:52:44.570
And he had a dog.

00:52:44.570 --> 00:52:46.501
She drew a lot of really good dogs.

00:52:46.501 --> 00:52:54.143
uh for like a student project or something like that, she'd drawn an illustration out of a Cormac McCarthy novel.

00:52:54.143 --> 00:52:56.802
And so was like, I had this werewolf idea.

00:52:56.923 --> 00:53:03.226
She could draw Western stuff, uh gritty kind of Southern Gothic Cormac McCarthy stuff and dogs.

00:53:03.226 --> 00:53:14.548
And then like, as I was like uh thinking about who the artists would be for the project, almost serendipitous, she posted on Instagram, like, hey, I'm available for work right now.

00:53:14.548 --> 00:53:15.728
I could really use some work.

00:53:15.728 --> 00:53:18.998
And I sent the email that day and she was, she- did the eight page short.

00:53:18.998 --> 00:53:22.503
um So it felt like a little bit of like perfect timing as well.

00:53:22.574 --> 00:53:49.193
Yeah, there's a certain amount of and I've heard this I've actually talking to creators here on the show They often say it's hard work and luck, know Like that's how you get in the comics a lot of times is it's sort of it's the serendipity like you said like there's a certain amount of just like right place right time right voice at the right time to like you could be the most talented writer or artist ever but if like Your your your voice doesn't necessarily speak to what the moment consumer Yeah, yeah, we're to the moment right?

00:53:49.193 --> 00:53:55.820
Like if you're not if you don't necessarily have that you know, that direct line, sometimes it doesn't work out right at that exact time.

00:53:55.980 --> 00:53:59.601
and then let me, guess you, you, and you, you keep perfectly setting me up for this.

00:53:59.601 --> 00:54:13.608
I'm just curious, you know, with Anna being over the UK and this, this book is first issue I'll say is so perfectly baked into like that sort of Southeast Texas, you know, like that sort of area right there on the border.

00:54:13.608 --> 00:54:16.409
You mentioned that your, your wife lived in El Paso for a bit.

00:54:16.409 --> 00:54:25.505
And I'm just curious when you were giving Anna references to that area and sort of like, cause I feel like South Texas is almost its own character in this first two.

00:54:25.505 --> 00:54:26.429
Yeah, purposefully.

00:54:26.429 --> 00:54:27.012
Definitely.

00:54:27.012 --> 00:54:29.793
The location does a lot of the horror for us.

00:54:30.253 --> 00:54:41.561
And in the same way that I sort of think that like Gotham is almost a character in a lot of Batman stories, how did you properly give Anna that reference for this area and sort of the overall mood that this area.

00:54:41.994 --> 00:54:55.159
Yeah, so I lived in McAllen, Texas, which is in an area called the Rio Grande Valley, which is three and a half hours south of San Antonio on the border with Mexico and on the coast of the Gulf by South Padre Island.

00:54:55.159 --> 00:54:59.481
I lived there for almost five years and worked at the newspaper in McAllen.

00:54:59.481 --> 00:55:07.606
ah And that's what lot of this is a lot of the I mean, that's almost what most of the setting is based on.

00:55:07.693 --> 00:55:17.753
And when I was giving her references, I used a lot, like one of the big reference points and one of the pages I think really sets the tone for what we did is the bar page.

00:55:17.914 --> 00:55:27.313
Uh, and I sent her references off this bar that I actually used to go to his Instagram page, which hadn't been updated since like 2015.

00:55:27.313 --> 00:55:33.400
So it's like, It's not AI, like, which is a problem with finding reference artwork these days.

00:55:33.400 --> 00:55:37.724
Cause it's not a location that anyone has seen often.

00:55:37.724 --> 00:55:44.288
Cause it's a road, a roadhouse bar near the borders, Instagram dormant Instagram.

00:55:44.288 --> 00:55:47.570
So that like, so she got a lot of photographs like that.

00:55:47.570 --> 00:55:56.177
Not necessarily where anything that I'd taken, but we're just, uh, these really insular photographs I knew about of the Rio Grande Valley.

00:55:56.177 --> 00:56:00.525
And I sent her some of the, uh, links to like newspaper stories I'd done.

00:56:00.525 --> 00:56:09.257
um And then I, cause I, and I've also asked this question and my wife who's from Texas was blown away by how much the book looks like Texas.

00:56:09.257 --> 00:56:10.199
How did you do that?

00:56:10.199 --> 00:56:12.001
Never having been to Texas.

00:56:12.481 --> 00:56:14.414
That's kind of the same question I have here.

00:56:14.414 --> 00:56:19.936
It feels almost like she's like, well, I'm an artist.

00:56:19.936 --> 00:56:24.117
I look at things and draw them, you know, is kind of the short answer.

00:56:24.117 --> 00:56:28.389
But she referenced movies like No Country for Old Men in Paris, Texas.

00:56:28.389 --> 00:56:31.751
And uh I think she's like a country music fan, too.

00:56:31.751 --> 00:56:35.083
She really likes Towns Van Zandt sort of that kind of stuff.

00:56:35.083 --> 00:56:41.264
So she had these ideas of the region that she'd uh been in her head for a while.

00:56:41.264 --> 00:56:43.746
uh But yeah, I mean...

00:56:43.914 --> 00:56:45.045
I just think it's incredible.

00:56:45.045 --> 00:56:48.896
And also there's like a weird thing where UK artists are super good at drawing Texas.

00:56:50.097 --> 00:56:54.581
Like Steve Dillon and Preacher and Jacob Phillips and that Texas blood.

00:56:54.581 --> 00:57:00.704
uh Hopefully our book gets some run and he can put Anna up there and that's three and that constitutes a trend.

00:57:01.498 --> 00:57:05.041
I wonder if like that's a, it's interesting.

00:57:05.041 --> 00:57:07.512
Cause like you say this, you can say the same thing about like New York.

00:57:07.512 --> 00:57:15.467
think a lot of, you know, you think of like people who are able to draw New York, a lot of times the references will give you enough of a sort of view of the city.

00:57:15.467 --> 00:57:21.612
Although I will say that like, and I found this being in New York next week, I know I'll feel it then too.

00:57:21.612 --> 00:57:26.416
Is that like, there's honestly almost nothing like sort of just being there.

00:57:26.416 --> 00:57:28.036
There is a certain amount.

00:57:28.438 --> 00:57:28.940
Right.

00:57:28.940 --> 00:57:31.501
you just sort of miss it unless you've actually physically been there.

00:57:31.501 --> 00:57:52.342
And it's always so impressive when people can do that without, know, like, and I think of like going back to like Frank Miller in the eighties, he used, he talked about like in order to get in the head space of daredevil, he like would go up on rooftops in Brooklyn to sort of like feel like smell the smoke and like feel the cold of being on a rooftop and all these things that he had to sort of put his head space into to do it.

00:57:52.342 --> 00:58:00.208
Well, I will say that one thing that worked out really well was as I'd had the idea for this comic, I had to go to San Antonio for work.

00:58:00.559 --> 00:58:05.362
so I was in San Antonio for a four day conference and the conference activities.

00:58:05.362 --> 00:58:08.956
I'm really bad at schmoozing at like after conference happy hours.

00:58:08.956 --> 00:58:10.737
Like I hate it.

00:58:10.737 --> 00:58:13.619
So the conference would end at like four o'clock and you're.

00:58:13.820 --> 00:58:20.215
I mean, I don't think my company will listen to this, but you're supposed to go to these like happy hours and like hobnob.

00:58:20.215 --> 00:58:21.601
And I would go, I'd.

00:58:21.601 --> 00:58:23.463
duck in, like I also don't drink.

00:58:23.463 --> 00:58:29.405
So I would be back, basically I'd be back in my hotel room early and I started writing at night in San Antonio.

00:58:29.405 --> 00:58:35.980
And while San Antonio is not the Rio Grande Valley proper, it is the like biggest American city close to it.

00:58:35.980 --> 00:58:37.351
And so some of the flavors there.

00:58:37.351 --> 00:58:42.903
So all these memories of my time there started coming back to me ah when I was in San Antonio.

00:58:42.903 --> 00:58:50.431
And I wrote most of the first, I think I wrote all the eight first eight pages in that hotel room in San Antonio, like the embassy suites or something.

00:58:50.431 --> 00:58:53.074
a block from the Alamo.

00:58:53.074 --> 00:58:54.384
So you did really help to be there.

00:58:54.384 --> 00:58:54.583
Yeah.

00:58:54.583 --> 00:59:02.552
And to be walking around San Antonio and which is a city I did spend a lot of time in when I was living in McAllen, cause you drive up there on a Saturday or whatever.

00:59:02.621 --> 00:59:05.003
So yeah, there is definitely something to that.

00:59:05.228 --> 00:59:05.778
Yeah.

00:59:05.778 --> 00:59:09.380
Um, I actually just did the same exact thing a couple of days ago when I was in Las Vegas.

00:59:09.380 --> 00:59:13.784
I was there for a work trip and I can do the glad hand thing.

00:59:13.784 --> 00:59:18.918
Like when I, when it's necessary, like I feel like you're super good at it.

00:59:18.918 --> 00:59:20.170
Thank you.

00:59:21.153 --> 00:59:22.934
I mean, I can.

00:59:24.617 --> 00:59:25.367
It's exactly that.

00:59:25.367 --> 00:59:28.407
It's like, it's like I will do enough to sort of it's almost like that.

00:59:28.407 --> 00:59:32.969
I don't know if you're a fan of the office, but it's like that episode where they have the pool party and Jim's like, I'm to get a picture.

00:59:32.969 --> 00:59:37.387
I'm going to say hi to everybody and I'm going to leave by, you know, that's what I like to do too.

00:59:37.387 --> 00:59:37.967
And I did that.

00:59:37.967 --> 00:59:42.130
Like I'm, I think it was a Monday night when I was there in Vegas for a roofing expo.

00:59:42.130 --> 00:59:44.793
I popped in to top golf.

00:59:45.034 --> 00:59:46.625
Why we go to top golf in Vegas.

00:59:46.625 --> 00:59:49.507
don't know, but I pop in, I say hi and make an impression.

00:59:49.507 --> 00:59:50.603
Then I go to alternate.

00:59:50.603 --> 01:00:00.065
Reality the comic store there and Vegas because that's what I want to do Yeah, yeah, I always I always do that on work trips, too I try to get a good meal and go to a comic book store when I travel to work.

01:00:00.065 --> 01:00:02.418
Yeah Exactly.

01:00:02.418 --> 01:00:04.018
Again, I cut from the same cloth.

01:00:04.018 --> 01:00:12.333
ah It's one of those things that, you know, when you're able to travel the way that I think you and I can sometimes for these trips, yeah, that's what we do.

01:00:12.333 --> 01:00:17.996
We'll try to find a place that we've never eaten before and we go to a comic store slash bookstore or slash movie store that we've never been to.

01:00:17.996 --> 01:00:19.724
Yeah, something with physical media.

01:00:19.724 --> 01:00:20.177
Yeah.

01:00:20.177 --> 01:00:20.782
Right.

01:00:20.782 --> 01:00:21.722
Okay.

01:00:21.722 --> 01:00:24.902
So Zach, we're sort of nearing the end of our conversation here about Macau Valley.

01:00:24.902 --> 01:00:37.681
And it's been such a pleasure as always to talk about, you know, not only your career in journalism and all the success that you've had there at the beat, but also you're doing, and I think I said this in the last time that we talked here on the show about the death of comics bookcase.

01:00:37.681 --> 01:00:48.045
I feel like I try to remind you of this when we get to talk in person and those rare sort of, uh, those grateful moments that we do here, you know, comic conventions and such, but like you are doing it.

01:00:48.045 --> 01:00:49.746
You know, like you're totally doing it.

01:00:49.746 --> 01:01:05.686
And I know that like a lot of times that bridge over from whatever side comic thing you're doing into what I think a lot of us either want to do or maybe romantically dream about, which is writing the thing that we all love, you know, cause a lot of times we get into these, this is a weird tangent.

01:01:05.686 --> 01:01:13.574
apologize, but I think a lot of us get into podcasting, journalism, criticism, what have you.

01:01:13.623 --> 01:01:20.039
Because we love the medium and almost like, again, romantically think about one day writing them, even if that's not ever a thing that we end up doing.

01:01:20.340 --> 01:01:21.070
You're doing it.

01:01:21.070 --> 01:01:22.702
And I think that that's not only impressive.

01:01:22.702 --> 01:01:26.045
And as your friend, I'm proud of you for doing it and doing it as well as you are.

01:01:26.045 --> 01:01:41.847
And I'm just, I'm just curious, you know, at the point that you're in currently, again, with the success of comics bookcase and you talking about how you're sort of, have your hand on your, have your hand within multiple different avenues of writing, like creatively I'll say, and not that.

01:01:41.847 --> 01:01:45.539
Journalism isn't creative, but like you're telling stories.

01:01:46.239 --> 01:01:51.530
Do you ever find yourself at any point eventually separating, you know, the journalism side with the beat?

01:01:51.530 --> 01:01:59.143
And I'm not saying that you have to quit the beat tomorrow, but like down the road somewhere, do you ever think, hey, I'm a writer?

01:01:59.143 --> 01:02:04.304
Like I am done and I'm going to sort of, I'm going to pan this question into a reference.

01:02:04.304 --> 01:02:08.364
I think of like Aubrey Sitterson, who was like an editor for a while over at Marvel.

01:02:08.364 --> 01:02:10.275
And like I've had Aubrey on the show a couple of times.

01:02:10.275 --> 01:02:18.878
I know you've probably talked to him a bit there at the beat and how like he almost like doesn't even want to talk about editing at Marvel anymore because he has a writer now.

01:02:18.998 --> 01:02:25.166
Do you ever find yourself at some point getting that point where like I am a writer and this is what I do now and I'm happy with this.

01:02:25.166 --> 01:02:39.666
Yeah, it's, it's, you know, for I was really close a couple years ago to just being like, felt like being perceived as a journal, comics journalist was like, working against me, like that people wouldn't take me seriously as a writer.

01:02:39.666 --> 01:02:46.365
But that was really with the, with the benefit of some time, I think it was me.

01:02:46.365 --> 01:02:51.505
Uh, it was kind of a cop out for me not having done enough work yet to be taken seriously as a writer.

01:02:51.505 --> 01:02:54.853
And what I found with these two projects is.

01:02:55.284 --> 01:02:55.726
uh...

01:02:55.726 --> 01:03:07.405
that i don't care that i thought that i really think if people want to see me as primarily comics journalists that's fine i'm still gonna be writing these comics and trying to build an audience as a creator at the same time uh...

01:03:07.405 --> 01:03:22.925
so i kinda got past the like i did think that way like i should just be a writer like and then it'll go better for me or whatever but then i just thought like no like i i should just be a writer and keep writing and not care if i'm not seen that way uh...

01:03:22.925 --> 01:03:30.778
but they act like I do still, I don't know if I'd say want to just write, but I'm not going to stop doing the beat stuff until I have to.

01:03:30.778 --> 01:03:36.632
Like, don't, like right now, uh it's not taking time away from my writing.

01:03:36.632 --> 01:03:51.777
I mean, maybe it is a little bit, but the benefit it brings in of being able to talk to creators about their work and uh sort of be in places within the industry as a journalist and watch and learn about it is still really helpful for me.

01:03:51.777 --> 01:04:03.746
And then also the like discipline of the main thing I do at the beat is the top comics to buy column where I read like 20 advanced review copies before release and pick out recommendations and list the new number ones and stuff.

01:04:03.746 --> 01:04:09.152
And that's like a forced continual market research project I'm embarking on.

01:04:09.152 --> 01:04:16.097
And not just market research, but research of the kind of comics I want to make and where I feel like they aren't being made by anybody.

01:04:16.097 --> 01:04:19.219
uh the exact tone I want.

01:04:19.219 --> 01:04:24.802
Like I think I'm really aware of what's coming out and what I want to contribute and what I'd like to make.

01:04:24.802 --> 01:04:27.625
So yeah, like I have a complicated relationship to that.

01:04:27.625 --> 01:04:30.916
Like, should I just, would it be better off to do this or not?

01:04:30.916 --> 01:04:35.349
I don't really know, but ah I'm going to keep doing this because I think it's important.

01:04:35.349 --> 01:04:44.655
And ah I got to a point where I was just think like, I'm going to write no matter what, even if people still see me as a journalist, like that's fine.

01:04:44.655 --> 01:04:47.347
They can see me that way, but I'm still going to do this.

01:04:48.153 --> 01:04:55.873
I guess again, I was sort of, I asked the question cause I genuinely want to know, but also as someone who, this is something that I've often struggled with.

01:04:55.873 --> 01:05:01.753
And I think some of our podcasting friends have heard me complain about this in secrecy because I haven't really ever been upfront about it.

01:05:01.753 --> 01:05:06.313
Is that like my goal at some point is to eventually make that transition over to writing.

01:05:06.313 --> 01:05:12.373
And I think sometimes, and I'm not saying I have the goods like you, but like I want to give it that fair shot.

01:05:12.373 --> 01:05:23.661
And I think sometimes my creative juice or that bandwidth that you need to do something in that avenue is taken from the podcast, which I also love.

01:05:23.661 --> 01:05:24.172
you know what mean?

01:05:24.172 --> 01:05:32.077
Like it's, one of those things where I think in order to do this over here, I may have to either take a break over with the podcast or quit it altogether.

01:05:32.077 --> 01:05:41.085
I think what I've been on the same journey and I think what really helped was, I mean, that's why I stopped doing my website because I could do less at the beat.

01:05:41.085 --> 01:05:46.469
I could still be a comics journalist and contribute in that way with it taking less time.

01:05:46.469 --> 01:05:50.050
So like, think that there's a little bit uh and maybe you'll have to do this.

01:05:50.050 --> 01:05:59.697
It's just like creating boundaries of like, this is the exact amount of podcasting I'm able to do and still.

01:05:59.820 --> 01:06:02.612
Feel like I have energy and time for my creative work.

01:06:02.612 --> 01:06:11.619
So it might involve a little bit of like doing things differently, scaling things back, ah but not giving it up altogether because you enjoy it.

01:06:11.619 --> 01:06:13.230
You think it's contributing to the comics.

01:06:13.230 --> 01:06:14.760
You're meeting a lot of people.

01:06:14.760 --> 01:06:23.967
um So yeah, there it's a continual process to figure out how to manage it all better and make it all work in the exact ways that are best for you.

01:06:23.967 --> 01:06:27.219
And I also think that there's a thing where like if I quit.

01:06:27.362 --> 01:06:29.422
doing, if I had more time, right?

01:06:29.422 --> 01:06:35.356
Like it's not necessarily like realistic that I'm going to have writing for eight hours would be great for me.

01:06:35.356 --> 01:06:42.532
Like I might get frustrated with that amount of time and feel like, and like psychologically feel like I'm under, like I, I don't know.

01:06:42.532 --> 01:06:47.815
I've never had that luxury, but like, think I, um, carve out the time when I need it.

01:06:47.815 --> 01:06:54.000
And I'll do a thing where like, if I'm really cooking or like, if I have a script that's really coming along well, I do less for the beat that week.

01:06:54.000 --> 01:06:58.478
Like I'm just in a position where I can be like, follow the energy.

01:06:58.478 --> 01:07:00.182
I hope that's helpful for you.

01:07:00.182 --> 01:07:02.615
I feel like I kind of lost the thread towards the end.

01:07:02.998 --> 01:07:04.239
No, no, I get it.

01:07:04.239 --> 01:07:09.394
It is one of those weird, murky paths that I think you're doing extremely well.

01:07:09.394 --> 01:07:13.528
Like you found, I think like, again, maybe it's different from your perspective as you're going through it.

01:07:13.528 --> 01:07:22.777
But I think when I think of someone and I think of like Griffin and Ethan over with, know, of course, kill your darlings and such, like they were podcasters and now their eyes are nominated as well.

01:07:22.777 --> 01:07:27.373
You know, like they've done it, you know, and they've made that transition over from being a podcaster.

01:07:27.373 --> 01:07:33.893
Or, you know, again, I don't know what they would say in terms of journalism, but I would see them as sort of in that similar sort of camp.

01:07:33.893 --> 01:07:36.594
And they've made it over and now they're killing it as writers.

01:07:36.594 --> 01:07:36.893
Right.

01:07:36.893 --> 01:07:38.554
So it can be done.

01:07:38.554 --> 01:07:45.293
And I think what you guys are doing is working and it's just something and I don't want people to hear them go, oh my God, the ability bar is going away.

01:07:45.293 --> 01:07:46.353
That's not what I'm saying.

01:07:46.353 --> 01:07:57.101
I'm just like, I'm finding it sort of tough to like chase the things that I really want to do at some point and also have the bandwidth to do this thing that I also want there to be a good quality.

01:07:57.101 --> 01:08:05.358
that I think comics and the Oblivion Bar and even Aaron, like my co-host, like they all deserve that amount of effort as well.

01:08:05.358 --> 01:08:06.637
Yeah, I would.

01:08:06.637 --> 01:08:08.717
mean, I'll tell you just on a a period.

01:08:08.717 --> 01:08:12.858
don't know if it's going to be interesting to anyone, but logistically, I would just make time to write every day.

01:08:12.858 --> 01:08:18.778
Like even if it was only 15 minutes when I was starting, get the document up, play around with some stuff and then expand.

01:08:18.778 --> 01:08:20.858
Like my goal is always an hour minimum.

01:08:20.858 --> 01:08:27.797
And I just like make sure I have that time in my schedule five days a week, maybe six on top of everything.

01:08:27.797 --> 01:08:28.805
And so.

01:08:28.981 --> 01:08:31.082
I don't think you need to be like, quit.

01:08:31.082 --> 01:08:32.222
only going to write now.

01:08:32.222 --> 01:08:34.243
And that's all I do with all my time.

01:08:34.243 --> 01:08:36.505
then it's like, I don't know.

01:08:36.645 --> 01:08:43.787
That's not for me, but yeah, but write every day if you can, even for just 15 minutes and see how you see how that's working for you.

01:08:43.787 --> 01:08:46.488
could feel like an hour a day is enough.

01:08:46.488 --> 01:08:48.869
You need more time, less time, you know?

01:08:48.949 --> 01:08:49.760
Yeah.

01:08:49.858 --> 01:08:50.217
Yeah.

01:08:50.217 --> 01:08:50.538
Yeah.

01:08:50.538 --> 01:08:51.850
I think that's an incredible advice.

01:08:51.850 --> 01:08:57.514
And I think that this Zach has been an incredible conversation and I really hope people go check out Macau Valley.

01:08:57.514 --> 01:08:59.185
Number one over at Kickstarter.

01:08:59.185 --> 01:09:01.447
I have all the links in the show notes.

01:09:01.447 --> 01:09:05.989
That way people can not only follow you on social media, but also contribute there at the time of this release.

01:09:05.989 --> 01:09:08.311
And my hope is actually to get this out on Friday.

01:09:08.311 --> 01:09:14.725
So the next day, so that way people get enough time conversation, but yeah, also get a chance to support this venture.

01:09:14.725 --> 01:09:17.134
Cause I think what you and Anna and the entire team have done.

01:09:17.134 --> 01:09:31.113
It's really exciting to, you know, and again, I, I purposely didn't want to get into extreme spoilers with this issue because I think people should, I mean, and you're doing a pretty good job of like exposing just enough over on your social media so people can get excited about it without fully spoiling it.

01:09:31.113 --> 01:09:37.213
But I, do want people to check this out because I think what you guys are able to set up, I can, I feel like I can already sort of read the tea leaves.

01:09:37.213 --> 01:09:44.474
Not only, don't think I can tell where it's going, but I know that you guys have a plan of where this is going and it's not just with a werewolf priest.

01:09:44.474 --> 01:09:45.014
You know what I mean?

01:09:45.014 --> 01:09:47.206
No, there's something else around the corner.

01:09:48.431 --> 01:09:50.134
Southwestern Monster of the Week.

01:09:50.134 --> 01:09:52.226
like, first issue is Werewolf Priest.

01:09:52.226 --> 01:09:53.828
The next issue is something totally different.

01:09:53.828 --> 01:09:55.039
But the Werewolf Priest might come back.

01:09:55.039 --> 01:09:55.501
Who knows?

01:09:55.501 --> 01:09:56.501
We'll see.

01:09:57.171 --> 01:10:02.626
One small question before I get you out of here, Zach, can you, because I know you probably have this in your belt.

01:10:02.766 --> 01:10:05.822
Just give me, give me a comic this year.

01:10:05.822 --> 01:10:07.061
It doesn't necessarily have to be the best.

01:10:07.061 --> 01:10:13.154
It doesn't have to be your favorite, but like give me a comic that's come out this year and it could be ongoing.

01:10:13.154 --> 01:10:13.975
It could be big too.

01:10:13.975 --> 01:10:15.136
It could be Drong and Coralie.

01:10:15.136 --> 01:10:15.686
It could be whatever.

01:10:15.686 --> 01:10:16.398
don't care.

01:10:16.398 --> 01:10:19.779
Like give me a comic that you think should be on people's radar.

01:10:19.779 --> 01:10:22.060
That's not Drome because we were talking about Drome.

01:10:22.060 --> 01:10:23.559
He's telling me like, yeah, it's like.

01:10:23.559 --> 01:10:24.340
right.

01:10:24.481 --> 01:10:27.498
Is there a comic this year that you think people should be paying attention to?

01:10:28.127 --> 01:10:31.413
Um, well, could go on and on about out of Alcatraz.

01:10:31.413 --> 01:10:31.805
Out of it.

01:10:31.805 --> 01:10:33.463
Did you read out of Alcatraz?

01:10:33.463 --> 01:10:38.702
Tyler Crook is one of my, I mean, he is one of my current all time favorites working right now.

01:10:38.702 --> 01:10:40.381
Let's go with that one then.

01:10:40.381 --> 01:10:42.782
It's a nice four-issue mini-series.

01:10:42.782 --> 01:10:44.782
It tells a complete story.

01:10:45.822 --> 01:10:52.242
I guess you could call it historical fiction because it is based on a real breakout where the guys were never found and who knows what they did.

01:10:52.242 --> 01:10:56.221
So this book kind of posits what they did and it ends so well.

01:10:56.221 --> 01:11:03.662
Like I won't say anything else about it, but I just think it's like a really fantastic four-issue mini-series that will...

01:11:03.662 --> 01:11:06.518
I haven't done my best at 2025 list, but it...

01:11:06.518 --> 01:11:09.110
That one in Drome are the ones I go to immediately.

01:11:09.110 --> 01:11:16.951
And if you're, especially if you're talking books that I feel like are not on enough people's radar, that one's getting a nice hardcover too.

01:11:16.951 --> 01:11:20.234
They've shown it on photos of it on social media.

01:11:20.234 --> 01:11:26.042
So that could be uh a big book towards the end of the year that more people read and should read because it's excellent.

01:11:26.445 --> 01:11:30.228
We've had Chris, Chris Cantwell and Tyler Crook on the show.

01:11:30.228 --> 01:11:32.951
I think it was prior to the release of issue one.

01:11:32.951 --> 01:11:33.890
And I totally agree.

01:11:33.890 --> 01:11:36.063
That's again, I keep saying it, but I'll say it one more time.

01:11:36.063 --> 01:11:40.685
The, the cut from the same cloth, you know, sort of think, think tank there.

01:11:40.685 --> 01:11:44.738
It's like, it's both of those it's drone out of Alcatraz and the one I like to often.

01:11:44.738 --> 01:11:54.358
And it's funny when I was at New York or San Diego a couple of months ago, Brian K Vaughn does an incredible job of recommending books, newsletter, exploding drafts.

01:11:54.358 --> 01:11:58.100
And I just complimented on it when I got to meet him at San Diego again.

01:11:58.100 --> 01:12:00.512
And I was like, you do an incredible job.

01:12:00.512 --> 01:12:02.243
And I think it was actually in it.

01:12:02.243 --> 01:12:07.306
I found I found in from one of his sort of like, here's books you should know about.

01:12:07.347 --> 01:12:10.859
And he goes, well, what's a book that you are really loving right now?

01:12:10.859 --> 01:12:16.314
Like he just sort of like sprang this very obvious question on me that I was not prepared for.

01:12:16.314 --> 01:12:21.698
And the one I could think the one that came to mind immediately was Assorted Crisis Events.

01:12:21.713 --> 01:12:22.466
yeah.

01:12:22.466 --> 01:12:26.649
from Dennis Camp and uh Eric Zawalski over Image Comics.

01:12:26.729 --> 01:12:28.497
And I'll stick with that too.

01:12:28.497 --> 01:12:29.801
I think it's sort of crisis events.

01:12:29.801 --> 01:12:33.394
And I think it may be a companion piece of that, course, is Absolute Margin Manhunter.

01:12:33.394 --> 01:12:39.358
Both of those camp, you know, those stories, I think are well worth people's time.

01:12:39.597 --> 01:12:43.518
Yeah, those are fantastic comics.

01:12:45.971 --> 01:12:52.117
Yeah, it's unfair that Brian Kayvon is so good at writing comics and also recommending them because he has a really knack.

01:12:52.117 --> 01:12:57.731
He has a great knack for for figuring out books that haven't gotten enough attention, especially.

01:12:57.731 --> 01:12:59.203
I have one more comic to throw out.

01:12:59.203 --> 01:13:00.574
Sure.

01:13:00.574 --> 01:13:02.256
Have you read Paranoid Gardens?

01:13:02.256 --> 01:13:04.768
It's like Gerard Way and Chris Weston.

01:13:04.768 --> 01:13:07.010
They did it for uh Dark Horse.

01:13:07.010 --> 01:13:07.739
So weird.

01:13:07.739 --> 01:13:11.332
ah That's one I think to have on your radar.

01:13:11.332 --> 01:13:14.676
Chris Weston is an excellent artist and the book is gorgeous.

01:13:14.792 --> 01:13:16.064
and very strange.

01:13:16.064 --> 01:13:21.010
If you liked Gerard Way's Doom Patrol run, you'll like this comic.

01:13:21.229 --> 01:13:22.390
Yeah, no, absolutely.

01:13:22.390 --> 01:13:23.010
I draw away.

01:13:23.010 --> 01:13:27.729
mean, obviously my chemical romance need I say more, but also the stuff he's done with umbrella Academy.

01:13:27.729 --> 01:13:29.369
And then this is on my radar.

01:13:29.369 --> 01:13:37.016
That the first thing I'm to do is as soon as we hop off here is get that pre-ordered or not pre-ordered, I guess, special order now and get that eventually that a physical copy.

01:13:37.016 --> 01:13:37.779
is fun too.

01:13:37.779 --> 01:13:39.761
I think the cover has a little cutout.

01:13:39.761 --> 01:13:40.974
So get the trade.

01:13:40.974 --> 01:13:41.873
Oh, that's cool.

01:13:41.873 --> 01:13:42.333
like that.

01:13:42.333 --> 01:13:42.953
Yeah.

01:13:42.953 --> 01:13:45.314
They Jared is often with this, with his work.

01:13:45.314 --> 01:13:48.594
think doom patrol did this a little bit, but definitely umbrella Academy.

01:13:48.594 --> 01:13:50.394
They're often trying to find fun.

01:13:50.394 --> 01:13:53.154
Dark horse is good at this fun marketing.

01:13:53.493 --> 01:13:58.079
won't say like ploys or like it's like they find fun ways to sort of market their books.

01:13:58.079 --> 01:13:58.480
I so.

01:13:58.480 --> 01:14:02.676
Being in my chemical romance is a great marketing move for his comics.

01:14:02.676 --> 01:14:03.737
Right.

01:14:05.119 --> 01:14:06.480
Nailed that one.

01:14:07.394 --> 01:14:14.358
Well, Zach, like I said earlier, what a pleasure it's been having you here on the We'll have to hang out at New York Comic Con for sure.

01:14:14.358 --> 01:14:16.137
Let's get dinner or something.

01:14:16.181 --> 01:14:22.466
I don't want this to be one of those things where we we've done this for the last, I think, two or three shows where we'll be like, dude, I want to see you while we're there.

01:14:22.466 --> 01:14:25.029
And then we pick 10 minutes the.

01:14:25.890 --> 01:14:26.680
To see each other.

01:14:26.680 --> 01:14:35.518
So let's actually let's for real, like, get together and we'll even have to get Bradley Sir, whoever else with us to just again, like you said, let's just get dinner and talk, you know, about whatever.

01:14:35.565 --> 01:14:36.326
get pizza.

01:14:36.326 --> 01:14:42.565
I'm a New Yorker now, so yeah, not in that area at all, I have an app.

01:14:42.565 --> 01:14:45.905
There's an app you use locally to find places to eat.

01:14:46.286 --> 01:14:46.945
Perfect.

01:14:46.945 --> 01:14:48.645
Well, one more thing before we get out of here.

01:14:48.645 --> 01:14:50.265
How do folks find you on?

01:14:50.265 --> 01:14:56.043
I'll have links to everything, but is there any, is there anything that you want to sort of broadcast, you know, blast before we get you out of here?

01:14:56.043 --> 01:15:03.217
Yeah, please go to my website, comicsbookcase.com, uh click the newsletter tab and sign up for my newsletter.

01:15:03.217 --> 01:15:08.860
It's where you'll get all of the up-to-date information about both my comics criticism and the comics I'm writing.

01:15:08.860 --> 01:15:13.622
And I also commission an artist every month to do their take on one of my characters.

01:15:13.622 --> 01:15:19.185
And we have some really awesome artists uh coming up that I will tell you about, Chris, when we're done recording.

01:15:19.789 --> 01:15:26.235
uh I can't believe we are getting this at the very, very end, but two of my favorite people in comics, Tony McMillan and John J.

01:15:26.235 --> 01:15:29.698
Pearson, well, Tony McMillan has a print, but John J.

01:15:29.698 --> 01:15:33.471
Pearson has a cover, which I of course backed on Kickstarter.

01:15:33.471 --> 01:15:38.286
Incredible job getting not only just, of course, Anna with her cover, but those two as well.

01:15:38.546 --> 01:15:41.996
Clearly you have your thumb on the pulse when it comes to that kind of stuff.

01:15:41.996 --> 01:15:42.728
Yeah, I hope so.

01:15:42.728 --> 01:15:44.733
We like all the same stuff though, so.

01:15:45.710 --> 01:15:49.810
You're going to get a Daniel Warren Johnson cover tomorrow and be like, of course that makes sense.

01:15:51.010 --> 01:15:51.729
All right, Zach.

01:15:51.729 --> 01:15:52.630
Well, what a pleasure, man.

01:15:52.630 --> 01:15:53.949
Can't wait to see you in New York.

01:15:53.949 --> 01:15:59.810
And again, congratulations on all your success here with Macau Valley, Deathly Comics bookcase, all the things.

01:15:59.863 --> 01:16:02.694
Thanks man, thanks for having me back, I appreciate it.