Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome back to the Capes and Tights podcast right here on Capesandites.com. I'm your host, Justin. Soderberg I've got my beanie on because it's snowing out here in Maine, which is perfect for this episode of the podcast, where we welcome in Simon Burks, Willie Roberts, and Lyndon White, the creative team behind Top Cow, Image, Antarctica, a book based in Antarctica in the snow, in the cold. And that's what we're doing here on the podcast today here in Maine. To talk about this episode or this comic book, Antarctica, at image and Top Cow. So what is Antarctica? You'll have to find out on this episode with Simon, Willie and Lyndon. But before you do, check out Capestites.com, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Blue, Sky, Follow over there, subscribe Rate, review all that stuff over on Spotify, Apple and all your major podcasting platforms, as well as visit us at our YouTube channel. We have a video portion of this. And actually, this is an interesting one because Simon was on a train, so he wasn't able to put his video up. But we're going to do something fun on this so you can see that Simon's on a train. So check this episode out right here on the Capes and Tights podcast. And make sure you check out Antarctica in single issues at your local comic book shop for the trade drops february 14, 2024 from Image and Topcow. Enjoy, everyone.
[00:01:24] Speaker B: Whip.
[00:01:26] Speaker A: Whip.
Welcome to the podcast. In my notes here, since we've scheduled this with Over Top Cow, it's been the Antarctica team. So that's where you guys are now. You guys considered the Antarctica team? Does that work for you guys?
[00:01:42] Speaker C: Yeah. Sounds great.
[00:01:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
Not that you guys are going to visit Antarctica, but I mentioned before, we recorded Linden wasn't on yet, I don't think. I think it was just Willie. But it's snowed, like, six inches last night here in Maine, and so I feel like it's fitting for a discussion about Antarctica that we have. Like, I had to shovel this morning. I think it's like, perfect.
[00:02:04] Speaker C: Is the right move a little bit.
[00:02:07] Speaker A: Different than where you are, Lyndon, right?
[00:02:10] Speaker D: Yeah, it's pretty toasty here.
Yeah, very toasty. I mean, funny enough, it was snowing the day I left the yeah, I'm.
[00:02:20] Speaker A: Guessing, Willie, it's not snowing there.
[00:02:22] Speaker B: No.
[00:02:23] Speaker C: No. In Argentina. We were close to the summer, so it's not too hot, but it's not going to.
[00:02:35] Speaker A: Is there's three people on here? Including myself? So there's four people total. But if we want to have a little discussion on how people got into comics in the first place, it'd be great. Just a quick guess, a little, like, elevator pitch, I guess, in a sense, of how you guys got into comics. Willie, do you want to start with just how you got into the world of comics?
[00:02:51] Speaker C: Sure. Well, I'm an artist, and I started working about ten or eleven years ago, and with small projects and on paper, of any other art and it was funny, dry.
I would start with many people working on personal projects. Not a big publisher, I don't know. I work a lot of time for different countries like Canada and Australia and with Simon in UK and now with Top Cow, of course.
I was artist, I think, my whole life. And I will start with comics because I was working in other stuff, graphic designer, and it's not going very well.
I need the art, the painting stuff. And graphic design is more connected with the marketing and all that. So it wasn't for me. I'm still using a lot of tool that I learned design of the logos and it helped me a lot. But then I started, I think, with Simon about four years, I can recall, and he contacts me through a website.
And I started working in illustration, not comic book and my game book. And we had known really well. We have a great relationship.
It really helps to the time we have to start with Antarctica because we know each other, we know how we work together. And it was great.
It happened so fast because we were working on the thing on the doorstep is an adaptation from Lovecraft Story.
We're working on the part three. And I was so getting to that story.
It was a great story to read at Blue Fox.
Well, he contacted me and say, okay, I had a new project. And it was like Imash and top cow. And it was like, what? It was crazy for me because I didn't expect that because he's in UK and I didn't know he had a relationship with Top Cow. And he told me, okay? It was funny because I was so getting to that story and say, okay, we have to start when I start with this new Antarctic. I remember I read the first script, it was confusing and I didn't get where the story is.
He told me, okay, when I have to start with this. I thought that I have six months to start. And he said, okay, now tomorrow. He was like, what? And you have to start with character and all that. It was like, okay, we are working in another project, okay, stop everything.
It's a huge opportunity and I lift everything. And I stopped right away. It was really amazing. And honestly, it happened so fast since it was about a year ago, and start working on that and every day, many hours.
[00:06:25] Speaker D: And I think I didn't have the.
[00:06:28] Speaker C: Time to get all this. The podcast, topGO is a huge company with image, so my artwork is all over the world. And it was weird. It's new, it's amazing, but it was happening really fast.
[00:06:47] Speaker A: Yeah, I can imagine. Lyndon, are you mostly letters in this book? Is that correct?
[00:06:55] Speaker D: Yeah, I'm letters. I'm very much the backup and the occasional variant cover. So it's all Willie. I just do the sprinkle at the end with lettering.
[00:07:05] Speaker A: And how did you get into comics in the first place?
[00:07:08] Speaker D: So I went and did it as a degree in North Wales and Wrexham. There's illustration degree for graphic novels. They do children's books and general illustration and yeah, I did that and absolutely loved it. And then in my third year I started getting into the Comic Con circuit in the UK with my first comic, my first portfolio. And yeah, when I got to the end of my degree, I just kind of went for it and went into freelancing. And doing Comic Cons, like building up each year, I very much see getting into comics as a slow burn. It takes time. And then I think it was that first year I actually met Simon, who was coming into comics as well and looking for artists. And yeah, as I've been working on stuff, I've worked Simon on different things, whether it's lettering, covers, even sometimes just a bit of graph design over tail end formatting, sometimes don't do the whole book, just bits of the book.
And yeah, I just built up to it and now I usually work on one big graphic novel a year and then the rest is like sprinkles of lettering or cover artwork or design. So, yeah, I'm very fortunate. I get to work on my own thing by myself as a writer artist, but I also get to collaborate with other people.
So, yeah, it's a lot of awesome.
[00:08:29] Speaker A: That's awesome. And Simon, you are a novelist, obviously, written films, novels, also comics. What made you get started in comics?
Is he still there?
[00:08:42] Speaker C: I don't know. I hope so.
[00:08:45] Speaker A: He may not be there. We'll continue when he starts back in. It says he's here, but maybe he's too busy. It's fine, we'll continue talking.
Okay, yeah. How did you get started in comics?
[00:09:03] Speaker B: Back in?
I always done writing since I was about eleven years old and I'd done lots of mediums. I hadn't done comics, all those short films, sitting on a hard drive, gathering dust, and I thought, well, maybe there's an opportunity there to actually maybe turn those into some or gap those into comic strips. I didn't know how to to start with, so it's been process to do that, but we certainly walked around a lot of the Comic Con in the UK.
Looking cardistrails. Here where I met.
[00:09:49] Speaker A: That's awesome, that's great. And I love you guys all have an interesting, unique story, but it all seems like at least you know Willie and that you have a connection to Simon. Obviously. That's a cool thing. That's how this got started. The first was I love the fact that we talked a little bit about how this is four different continents talking on this podcast or four different locations in the world right now that you're talking about a comic book based in Antarctica, and it's the funniest thing, but how difficult, I mean, anybody can answer this. How difficult is it working on a project like this from far off places? Is it easier now because of the Internet, zoom, email, social media and things like Willie? Has it been difficult to do this over multiple continents or is this just the way comics work nowadays?
[00:10:38] Speaker C: No, I think in these days, more incident, I don't know, 20 years ago. And we chat all the time with Simon and with Linden, too, because we always connected in our own group in Instagram, and we discussed ideas, correction of pages, and now it's very easy because we already know each other. And with Simon, he sent me the script and maybe changed a couple of things, but he trusts me and I have totally freedom to create all the art and some ideas. I changed a couple of things, but we know each other, we work very well together, so it's not hard.
Very communicating.
[00:11:40] Speaker D: Go on, Simon. You've got it. You go.
[00:11:43] Speaker B: Thank you. Sorry. Yeah.
Great thing is working with artists like Woody and Linden is that it's always additive. They always bring positive stuff and improve anything that I write with their lovely.
[00:12:02] Speaker D: Yeah. Tailing on. From that, we're all just a message away from each other and we do get back to each other. There's none of this sending a message and you don't hear back. We're usually pretty prompts and we're only a few hours out usually from when we're all working.
And yeah, the fact that I can just sit and do this at night and it's completely different time zones.
Yeah. It's a lot easier than it used to be. And the fact that you can draw on a tablet now and you can do on the go, I think a lot of it is just preparation beforehand and make sure we've got a bit of a head start. So if there's a little bit of delay or we're slightly out by a date, it doesn't really matter because we're usually ahead when we need to be.
[00:12:47] Speaker A: That works. Yeah. You're in the future right now, right? In Thailand, right? Yeah.
[00:12:53] Speaker D: All fitting.
[00:12:54] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. But I feel like that's a lot of conversations I had with people about even just the invention of something like Twitter or social media where people have been able to connect with other people that they never would have. Been able to connect with artists, letters writers or whatever just because the fact that it's right at your fingertips and you can be like this random person in random location can help you with your comic that you maybe used to have to have. Like, oh, we were roommates. The turtles started with Peter Laird and Kevin Easton in the same room. Basically. Whereas nowadays people could start comics from all over the world, which is really kind of cool. And again, not to hammer this home, but the fact that it's also on a continent that none of us have been to. I'm guessing none of you guys have been to, right? No. No.
[00:13:36] Speaker C: Never.
[00:13:36] Speaker D: Not yet.
[00:13:37] Speaker A: Not yet, exactly. I think you do a signing there. You need to do a signing in Antarctica. That's what you guys.
[00:13:46] Speaker C: We had to make the first Comic Con there.
[00:13:50] Speaker A: First comic con there. Yeah. That'd be great. Yeah.
[00:13:53] Speaker C: Antarctica comic con.
[00:13:57] Speaker A: Not like Fire festival, right? We'll do, like, special tickets and a band can play.
You also sleep outside.
It's a really cool comic. I don't know how I stumbled upon it in the first place. It might have just been my LCS, like putting out the orders on and stuff like that, that I saw in the first place. But the design of the COVID the artwork, first of all, but the design of the way the logo is on the COVID Who's responsible for that?
Anybody know? Antarctica written down the middle of the comic?
[00:14:29] Speaker C: Yeah. In the first issue we talked about, I think we start with the COVID before the pages. I can recall now, but the idea of the story was pretty particular. So it's kind of my idea is different dimension.
I use the rule that there's one in this side and one in the other side. So that's why I want to use the logo in the middle and not the classic design. It was an idea I wasn't sure they're going to approve. Because if the logo is in the top, there's a reason for that.
We make a sketch, and I think I built the logo with all this fracture. That was Simon idea.
And then we connected with the fractured dimension and all that. The machine and works very well.
[00:15:35] Speaker A: It's a tractor cover, I think. One of those things that you hate to say growing up, we were always told, don't judge a book by its cover. But I feel like in the comic book industry that it's like in comic books.
Yeah.
[00:15:47] Speaker C: You have to, at least in the first issue, because nobody knows about your comic book. Then you have to attract the reader in the shelf.
[00:15:58] Speaker A: And I mean, your trade the trade comes out for this in February and the first volume trade paperback. Usually I don't know what your plan is yet, but usually it's the COVID of issue one that ends up on the volume one cover. And so nailing that issue one also is important because that's what people start to use in Perpetuity Forever to explain what Antarctica when they talk about Antarctica, this is the COVID they're going to use. So nailing that cover and nailing the artwork on the issue one is usually very way more important, I think, than issue three or issue four. But in the same sense, some people.
[00:16:30] Speaker C: So it's the beginning of everything. So you have to make out the.
[00:16:37] Speaker B: Train takes that first cover as well. And I'm looking forward to seeing.
[00:16:47] Speaker A: Yeah. It comes out February 14, I believe, is what I've seen on previews. Obviously, things change in the world of comics.
[00:16:57] Speaker C: I'm not sure. Melbourne?
[00:16:59] Speaker A: Isn't that Valentine's Day? Look at that.
[00:17:00] Speaker B: It's perfect.
[00:17:00] Speaker A: It's a love story.
[00:17:02] Speaker C: It's a love story in the end.
[00:17:07] Speaker B: All right.
[00:17:09] Speaker A: Somewhere issue six and issue seven obviously come out before then with December 13 and January 10, but the first five issues are collected in a trade, which is really cool, too. I tend to talk to a lot of people nowadays. I used to talk to people on the podcast and I still occasionally do a few weeks before their comic comes out. But, you know, as in the world of comics, FOCs are so crazy and all this other stuff, you'd have to talk to someone like six months in advance, three months in advance to get actually promotion out on a podcast about a comic book. But a lot of times they end up talking to people like this group here right before the trade comes out, which is nice to push that. And I think that not everybody has an LCS in their backyard or a local comic book, so but most people have at least a bookstore they can go to. And that's one of the great things about the trade paperback is it's going to be available in bookstores across the globe, which is really cool. So that's something that people can get into. And the trade obviously collects the first five issues, so you can just rattle those off.
I read issue one, I usually get it early so that I'm like, I want to find out what happens next in the next issues. You can do that with the trade. We'll find it right away on that, right? But before we go any further on that and talk of discussion, I actually want to give a little I'll read the Solicitation on there, so just in case anybody doesn't know what Antarctica is, it's a book over at Top Cow Image. It came out we just mentioned that 6th issue comes out December 13, actually, when this episode drops. This episode drops the day that issue six comes out. So if you haven't picked up issues one through five, hopefully your local comic bookshop has those and you can grab six anyway. Even if you haven't picked up issues one through five, you're going to get the trade in February. So grab six now to have the ready worry when you finish the trade. Stargate meets his dark Materials in a new non stop science Sci-Fi action blockbuster. Hannah's life imploded the day her father failed to return from a secretive Smith Peterson research station in Antarctica. Alone and on the street, she is at her lowest ebb when her friend offers help.
Retrained as an engineer, hannah secures a job at same Antarctica station to search for her father and stumbles first into a conspiracy that threatens everything she's ever believed.
It gripped me from page one. But really, like I said, I mentioned, after I got to the end of this first issue, I was just like I think I had on my notes. Like, after one issue, I had to like, oh, it's up for comic book of the year for me. Or one of the comic books of the year for me. It just works so well. It's so well written, Simon, unbelievably illustrated. I think the lettering is amazing as well, but the layouts themselves too are absolutely stunning. I think that's one thing that a lot of people sometimes move past a little bit and don't really pay attention to as much, but like where the boxes end up and where the people overlap boxes and things like that.
But again, like I said, I think my local comic book shop owner and myself have discussions all the time about how underappreciated that lettering in a comic book is. And so sometimes people, you know, like you mentioned earlier, Lyndon, I'm the backup. No lettering is super important. I think that you nailed it with this. I really appreciate.
[00:20:19] Speaker D: Thank you. Yeah, Willie's paneling is really dynamic. So in terms of my paneling, when I do comic, there's not as much overlapping. So it's really fun to apply the same rules that Willie uses, which I don't think we've had the discussion about this, of what Willie has rules for his paneling. But looking at it, I've applied those to the lettering so things can overlap. Sometimes it has borders, sometimes it doesn't. And then I love dynamic lettering. I love really messing with each individual letter and really popping the sound effects. And there's room to do that, especially with how Willie has framed the pages.
But yeah, it's a lot of fun, really a lot of fun to letter. And it's never a chore either, because I'm trying to just make sure everything pops again. I call it a sprinkle, that last little sprinkle, just to make sure everything reads in right order. Because I think maybe someone else could letter this and do if you were just doing not basic job, but a simplistic job, I think it could very easily be difficult to read.
But yeah, having fun with lettering makes it more digestible, I think.
[00:21:27] Speaker A: Let's be honest, the comic book is a team effort. So if everybody just puts their full first foot forward, then you nail like I said, I don't want to just continue saying how much I like this book, but I'm going to continue saying how much I like this book. And that is because it's a team effort.
When Lisa over at topcal put this discussion together and she mentioned that we have everybody, I was like, oh, that's awesome. Because that's exactly the best thing about a comic book, is that there's three know, obviously not including your editors and the people over at topcal and your marketing people and all that stuff, but the people work directly on the know. There's a whole team and sometimes they only talk to the writer or the artist or so on and so forth. And this team is excellent. My favorite thing is the second actual page of the first issue where she continuously welcomes home her dad. And there's like the five or six panels in there with seasons and how old she gets. Older is like an easy way to show the passage of time. But it's not as simple as it's always the same season. Like, there's fall leaves falling and it's nighttime and daytime. That was wonderfully done. Was that a team effort on that or was that you, Willie?
[00:22:33] Speaker C: How did that it wasn't the Simon script. I don't recall if the different seasons but the idea of the same panels came from Simon, then I do my work and it goes pretty well because it's not very dynamic page. But now that I read all over again with the six issues, it's a powerful page because there's a lot I think the plot is there.
The essence of the story is in that six panels. It's a very powerful image. I love that it's what Simon's does with incredible talent to tell story. Because with something simple, make a great connection with the reader. Sometimes I lose myself to try to read the story as a reader, not be part of the project and see how it works. Because it's different when you get so involved in the story.
Actually, I give the book to many friends and family and feel the same thing with that page. They tell me, okay, these pages have something and I think Simon maybe had a better connection with the story. Maybe. Simon, have the word here.
[00:24:06] Speaker B: Thank you very much.
[00:24:12] Speaker D: I was going to say that paneling that you've done, I think it's in issue seven coming up. You've used it again and it has an emotional punch. Again, I won't say what it is, but even when lettering, I really felt it. My heart particularly what happens.
I hope it resonates as well, because it's beautifully done.
[00:24:31] Speaker C: Yeah, it's a connection between the two parts of the story, the first arc and the second. I think it's very smart from Simon to use the same two different issues.
[00:24:45] Speaker B: I'll take that.
[00:24:47] Speaker A: Absolutely. And speaking of that first arc, second arc, I mean, this was originally a miniseries, right? And then it got pushed to an ongoing I'm guessing it was on how it was received and how it was sold is why it went continuing on. Is that true, Simon?
[00:25:05] Speaker B: Yes, but I'll let other people say they're going to start speaking again here.
[00:25:09] Speaker A: Okay.
Anybody mean you guys obviously heard from this. It was almost immediate. Was it after issue one, I believe around that time, or issue one or issue two that I got an email saying it was going to an ongoing.
[00:25:24] Speaker D: It was announced at San Diego and we found out while Simon was at Diego. And Simon was like texting us I'm pretty sure he was saying, you, Willie. And I got the message at midnight and then couldn't sleep because it was so exciting.
I think at first it was like, oh yeah, we've been greenlit to another five issues, and then we've been greenlit to ongoing status. And we're not too sure what that means just yet. But yeah, it was just so exciting. And the fact that Simon was just texting us frantically when it was happening.
[00:26:00] Speaker C: Yeah, we were waiting because the first five issues, it was a deal, right?
We don't know what's going to happen with the story, but when Simon was in San Diego, he told me, okay, I had a big announcement and said it's going to be an ongoing story. And we were hoping for that because the story is I don't know the entire story. Simon is the only one who knows the big picture here we are working issue by issue, and it's a huge story. It's impossible to use them to make five issues. Miniseries is impossible because there's a lot of character mentions.
For what I know when I'm working on issue eight, the story is even bigger. What we saw so far.
[00:27:01] Speaker A: I personally like when series started out as a miniseries because you can get at least an ending. Issue five is at least going to have some sort of something to be like, okay, cool, we're good. We can move on and then have it be like, okay, you can tell more story. Let's do this if you can, let's move it on. But there's a number of times where this is obviously more older than it is newer, where someone be canceled after issue six and you're like, oh, cool. How does this wrap up? How do we figure out how the ending of this comic book goes or whatever? I mean, TV shows are like that too. We've seen that with TV shows where they do three or four episodes or they end a season on a massive cliffhanger like, oh, by the way, there's not a season two anymore. You're like what?
Having it beef and then get upgraded? I think it's great. And it also is more marketing for the book. If it was just an ongoing from the beginning, it never would have been a news item, you know what I mean? It would have at least now been newsworthy and in the news site, I.
[00:27:54] Speaker C: Think, like you say, it's connected with how the people talk. Well, about the story, the readers, the reviews was very good. And it's impossible to make a contract or deal with 15 issues because you don't know what is going to happen. So it's hard to Simon to write five issues and trying to get an end, but living in the cliffhanger, like you say, and worked very well.
The people at the beginning, I read all the reviews, and it was pretty amazing.
It's the first time in my career that I read so many reviews and everyone was great.
And it's not easy because the first issue leads a lot to understand because you don't know what is going to happen in issue two. You only know that there's two versions of the same character and that's it.
I remember to read some reviews and people say, okay, but there's nothing happening in Antarctica.
A lot of people expect the all star in Antarctica, but they don't know.
You have to start with Hannah and then development all his life to get to Antarctica and have more impact to the story. I think it's the best way to do it.
Write the story slowly.
[00:29:35] Speaker A: Go ahead, Lennon.
[00:29:36] Speaker D: I was going to say it definitely gives it that emotional anchor from the get go, rather than just like trying to do like a big set piece to begin with. It's more human, more humble to then get to the flashy stuff.
[00:29:50] Speaker A: Yeah, you're right. Yeah, exactly.
We mentioned off the top about being excited, about being at Top cow and an image. That's a big thing for a book like this to have those names behind it. It also helps with like they're on top of trying to get this information out to people, too. I think that's actually we've even talked to I've talked to a few creators who have said it's like they don't even know when their friends comic books are coming out, like their actual fellow creators and some of that because they're like I don't even mean I think I forget who it was. Blake's Buzz podcast, he posted out saying that. How are you, as creators, supposed to promote a book if you don't know when the date th are coming out, if you know when your book is coming out? I talk to people and they're like, I think it's coming out the 13th. And they're like, it's because they little legitimately don't know when it's coming out. And it's like, how are you supposed to do your job as creators and promote this book? Working as an independent publisher in a creator owned title? There's not as much oomph behind it as a big two DC or Marvel has where they've got like, Spiderman books sell because they're Spiderman. You have to do this ground level promotion of the book. Come on, podcast, talk to other people to try to get people excited about the book. And I think it helps with such a good book, but it also helps with Topgow being behind you and the people over there trying to go, no, you all need to read this book. This is excellent. It's good enough, ongoing and so on and so forth like that.
[00:31:13] Speaker C: Honestly, the team of topcal was amazing with us.
We know each other, I think, started talking with the editor, with Elena and Phil, and I was already working in issue three, I think. And honestly, sometimes you don't have the time to promote, to talk with many. People because you're working now more than ever, because it's ongoing service. So you have to finish 22 pages every month so you have time to promote anything.
You barely can do some podcasts or talk with your friends, spend time with your family because it's a great job. Better.
It's pretty hard sometimes. There's a lot of things to do, at least as an artist. I had to create coloring, design.
There's more than one dimension and there's a lot of character. It's very busy. But I think Todcao made a fantastic job promoting all this with Lisa too, with the marketing. And I remember on the first issue, there was interview we produced there's a lot of different image of the first issue in so many places on the website. It was amazing. It was like it was shocking for me because I searched Antarctica. Issue one, when all of this started, it was everywhere. There was news, there was a great shot. And this is a result. I think that's why it's ongoing series, because they put a lot of effort to achieve that.
[00:33:04] Speaker A: It really is an emotional story to this. I think there's this mystery of the fact that the word Antarctica to a lot of us, none of us really know. And I've actually had people in my life who have been to Antarctica because there's military bases there and station stuff. So I've had people who have been deployed to Antarctica for a few months at a actually, it's funny because I was dating a girl a number of years ago whose stepfather was being deployed to Antarctica, but then we broke up before he actually returned. So I never actually got an opportunity. So how was Antarctica? Because I never talked to this person again. So I would have at least had something to come on this podcast and be like, Guys, actually, this was up with Antarctica. But I don't know. But a lot of us don't know. So there's that mystery. There's the multiple dimension type mystery to it. It meets such broad range. I think of genres in comics, too, because I wouldn't say straight up horror, but it has some of that suspense, horror thriller mystery to it as well. And so action adventure. And I think this would touch a lot of people. And I honestly think the whole imagery I mentioned about people coming back, the dad coming back to Hannah over and over and over again, those things. I think a lot of people who are military parents or parents of people who travel a lot for work, that's a normal thing in their lives, they see that whole, what did dad bring back to me from their trip to wherever.
And I think it hits a lot of people. And I think that's a big thing. And why I think this struck with me, too, is I just feel like I was reading a lot of just straight up horror when I first read this issue or superhero stuff, and it kind of, like, took me. Away from that a little bit and maybe, I don't know, have a little something that has a little bit more broad range of emotional stuff to it. So it's a well written book. I'm excited for people to know the whole trade when it comes out in February. For sure.
[00:34:51] Speaker C: Yeah.
There's Antarcia's mystery, of course, and the idea of Simon from the beginning was to have this one location and everything happened in Antarctica. We have flashbacks and all that, but have the feeling that the thing, the movie and everything happened there, and you don't know what is happening here.
Like you say, it's a cliffhanger. The location itself.
[00:35:21] Speaker A: It'S funny, too. I mentioned the whole mystery of it, too, because it's not as simple. Like, if this book was written in New York City, I can just get on a bus right now and get to New York City and I'll be there a couple of hours. I live in New England, so obviously it's close, but even anybody else, you can get on a plane, you fly. Can you have to be a specific position or a specific job to be able to just go to Antarctica. You don't just be like, hey, I'm going to book a plane to Antarctica and I'll see you guys when I get, like, that added to the story, because you put it on a location that she had to do what she did to get there. She couldn't just be like, I'm going to go to Antarctica and try to find my dad. It was just literally she had to become this engineer to do that, which, again, adds this whole, like, I don't know, has to be based in a spot like that to make this happen.
It's pretty cool.
Yeah. So it comes out February 14, I guess, that I mentioned is the trade paperback of this whole thing.
I think it's cool. I think am a big fan of floppy comics. I am a big fan of waiting month to month to find out what happens. I want to find out the next day, or I want to go right to the next issue. But I think there's something to be said when I walk into my local comic book shop and I can go, did you read Antarctica number one? You really should, and discuss it with some people and get the whole vibe going. But in the same sense, I can understand people who wait for trades because they want to just consume the first story arc or an arc of sorts. And so I'm excited for people to actually go, okay, I didn't pick up the floppies, but I'll grab the trade in February and find out what happens in Antarctica. This book is like I said, it's wonderful. It is in contention. We do at the end of the year, we do me and my local comic book shop owner. He comes on the podcast. We do our top ten comics of the year. It's definitely in contention for the top ten. I don't want to spoil anything for anybody who wants to actually find find out what's my top ten, but it's in contention for a Best Comic of the Year for sure. So not that that's an award that you guys can put on anything, keeps it tights. Podcast is best of the year.
But, yeah, it's awesome.
Say it again.
[00:37:26] Speaker B: You want my Christmas card, miss? Now.
[00:37:33] Speaker A: If you have been reading it, issue six comes out the day this drops on the Internet. And then issue seven comes out in January. But like I said, even if you haven't and you're going to pick up the trade, grab six and seven and floppy. So you can continue reading issue seven after you get that trade in February for sure.
I'm guessing you guys are excited now that this is actually like, the first arcus over and you guys can actually discuss this with friends, family, anybody who's read this book. I'm sure you're excited for the trade to come out in February.
[00:37:59] Speaker C: Yeah, definitely.
[00:38:01] Speaker A: Yeah, definitely.
[00:38:05] Speaker B: Carry on.
[00:38:07] Speaker D: Yeah, it's been tough at Comic Con to discuss the book in detail because there's been a lot of support and a lot of people telling us there's a bit of a buz about it, which is nice, really cool when people just randomly come up to you and just say, really enjoyed Antarctica. But I'm like, Where are you up to? How much can I talk about? Have you read issue one? Have you read issue four? Where are we at here?
But, yeah, it'll be nice when people read the trade. It's like that definitive moment of finish that arc.
I think then spoilers might be a bit more pregame for Comic Con.
[00:38:46] Speaker A: It is one of those things. There's just so much stuff, too, for people out there to intake in books and in anything, honestly. But it's nice having people do show appreciation, to come up to you and say, oh, I've read it. And you're like, how much you read at three issues? I'm like, I can't talk about four or five now. Come on, get going here. Why didn't you read this? It's comic books. You read them all in one night. Let's do this. But I think there is something to say. I want to wrap this up, but something to say that there is. It's such wonderfully created project. Like the whole thing we mentioned with the artwork to the lettering, to the layouts, to everything, that it is one of those ones that maybe you want to look at it and read it again and take it when I read it when it first came out, but obviously I was like, okay, I'll read it again.
I've been lucky enough to read issue six and issue seven, but to just view it, go through it, don't even read just look at all the imagery and all that stuff. That's what's cool about comics, in my opinion, is that there's just so much more into it and there's so much more you can see out of it. And so hopefully people can get there when they get to trade.
[00:39:47] Speaker B: There's some callbacks coming up to the first arc anyway in the second arc, so it gets quite exciting.
[00:39:53] Speaker A: I'm excited. I'm really excited. I don't know if you guys can see to see what happened. Yes, exactly.
Yeah. I really appreciate you all taking time out of your day, night, morning, wherever you are, all over this globe to do this.
[00:40:08] Speaker C: It's morning here. It's perfect for me.
[00:40:11] Speaker A: Yeah, it's morning here, too.
What time is it in Thailand right now?
[00:40:17] Speaker D: It's about quarter ten now.
[00:40:19] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay, that's fine. It works well. I've actually felt that I talked to David Hazan on the podcast a number of episodes ago who was in Australia, and they had the marketing people doing this comic book to do back to back to back to back interviews. And so my podcast was on the very last of his interviews, and it was like 04:00 in the morning. He had stayed up all night doing these things. And I'm like, why couldn't I have gotten on the first one here? Why do I have to be at 04:00 in the morning? He was falling asleep on the podcast.
But it works like I said, and it actually works where you all are located. I think that it is one of those things that no one was up at 03:00 in the morning to try to do this, which is pretty no.
[00:41:07] Speaker C: In Argentina, it's 11:00 a.m., so it's.
[00:41:10] Speaker B: Perfectly.
[00:41:14] Speaker A: I feel like I need to do like an imagery when I put this out there of, like, Simon on a train. Just simon just constantly.
[00:41:22] Speaker D: Yeah.
Simon might have started in England and got to Scotland by now, so he might have two countries.
[00:41:29] Speaker B: Exactly what happened.
I'm now in Edinburgh.
[00:41:34] Speaker A: There you go. See? And again, the world worked perfect ways because here in Maine, in the United States, it snowed for us for this podcast. I should have done this with my background. So you could see outside, so you can see the snow falling down.
[00:41:46] Speaker C: Yeah, there's a copy of issue two right there. Right?
[00:41:50] Speaker A: Issue two is right here. Yeah, I got them all. So here we go. Let's do this. But February 14, grab the trade. But again, pick up your local comic book shop. Tell them you want to put it on your poll list moving forward, too, because it's an excellent, excellent book. It's an ongoing series. Over top cow image.
[00:42:06] Speaker C: Thank you. Thank you very much again.
[00:42:07] Speaker A: Thank you so much. Taking time out of your day, night train visits, all that stuff here on the podcast. I really appreciate it. And good luck to all of you and everything else you guys are doing. I really appreciate it.
[00:42:18] Speaker C: Thank you for inviting. Thanks for the invitation. It was amazing.
It's my first time, but it was great.
[00:42:26] Speaker A: Thanks, everyone.
