#162: Blake Morgan - Host of Blake's Buzz

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome back to another episode of the Capes and Tights podcast right here on capesandtights.com dot. I'm your host, Justin Soderbergh. This episode, we welcome Blake Morgan, the host of Blake's Buzz, the editor in chief over at Geek Network, the chief operations manager, or whatever you want to call it, over at Metal Ninja Studios, as well as the publicist over at Wicket Tree Press. Blake and I both host comic book related shows, so we thought we'd chat about the comic book industry as well as hosting shows and all that stuff and way much more, so much more on here to check that out. But before you do, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, blue sky threads, all that stuff, as well as like share rate review, all that stuff over on Apple and on Spotify and all your major podcasting platforms. But this is Blake Morgan of Blake's Buzz in the Geek Network right here on the Capes and Tights podcast. Enjoy, everyone. Welcome to the Keeps and Tights podcast. Blake, how are you today? [00:01:00] Speaker B: I'm doing good, man. I'm glad. It's nice not to be the one that has to remember to push record for once. [00:01:06] Speaker A: Look at myself. I'm like, wait, it does tell us we're recording. So we are good. Microphones good. I did this. So I use a MacBook, and I use a Tascam four X four as my interface. And whenever I unplug the USB C cable from my MacBook to take my MacBook somewhere else, and then I, you know, come back, I plug it back in. It makes me restart the task before it recognizes on the computer. And so I've done it before where I haven't gone through my checklist. And I like, go. And I'm like, okay, things look good. Awesome. And I get to the end of it and recorded the entire time with my Airpods. And, like, it turned out okay. I mean, it wasn't awful, but it was like one of those things where I'm like, I'm the one that's supposed to have the professional microphone set up. You're the one that, in a closet somewhere trying to record this. [00:01:51] Speaker B: The. When I. The first show I did after I got the. Sure, the. Like the podcast Mike, right? Like, I get this. And I was Eric Blicky, who's the guest, and I, in streamyard, I didn't have it. I had the wrong mic selected. So, like, the laptop mic. So it sounded like I was in a public bathroom. Like the whole interview, I was like, oh, good thing I got this $400. [00:02:14] Speaker A: Microphone that I going, it doesn't sound that great. I don't know why you spent that kind of money on it. [00:02:22] Speaker B: Yeah, it's like, in, like, the. My interface. Like, I, like, you know, defeat the. The loop sounded good. Like this, the monitor. So, like, that all sounded good. It just wasn't using the right input. And then now I have the. I have the. The road, the rodecaster, and it, like, it's awesome. But there's been two times, man, where. It's. Where it led me down bad. And. And one of them. One of them, like, the software. Like, all the software on my piece. I use a pc. So, like, all the software on my pc, the rode software just didn't work one day, so the rodecaster didn't work. There's, like, five minutes for a live stream, right? Like, guests. Guests are in the green room. They're like, what? Blake, I can't hear you. And I'm like. And I went and got my wireless mics, which are road. They're not working. I fixed it real fast. But, you know, when you have, like, five minutes before you're supposed to go live, you know, you're at your brain. You're not thinking clearly. You're not like, I wonder if it's a software issue. You're just like, everything's on fire, and so. But most. [00:03:32] Speaker A: Let's get my phone out. We'll just do this via phone, right? [00:03:34] Speaker B: Yeah, just fire up Skype. Like, I don't know. [00:03:38] Speaker A: And I think some of it is that, you know, Blake, on your level, and even my level of doing this, it's. We're. We're not anywhere near the. The pinnacle, if that makes any sense. Like, we are. We understand that we're lucky enough to be able to talk to these people. I think you're in agreement with me on that. And the fact that if our shit's not going well, we feel bad, we start to go, oh, crap. Like, this is like, they took time out to talk to us. This is great. If they're the ones there, shit that goes wrong, we're like, whatever. We'll figure it out. I'm lucky enough to have them on my. So it's like. It's a stressful moment where you start to sweat, and then you're doing the rest of the podcast with, like, wet armpits, and you're just like, oh, this is awesome. Uh, no, it's. [00:04:17] Speaker B: It's. [00:04:18] Speaker A: It's. It's a fun thing, trying to make sure you press record, make sure things are doing correctly. Oh, I got a new computer and uh, I use zoom. And zoom, um, lets you record dual channel. So like, you're recording right now under one channel, I'm recording under another. So afterwards I can do some editing and so on and so forth. Well, I forgot that's a setting you have to set up. And so, like, I did my first recording back, uh, using this new computer and installing zoom, and it didn't record two different channels. Luckily, the person I talked to also used a professional microphone, so it, like, it worked out. But it's like, when I did my very first podcast ever, it didn't work. It never worked. Like, the whole thing just sounded like we were in a big a box. It was just a horrible thing. And you can't ever recreate that. Like, it's not like we, we have this discussion, we're bantering back and forth. It's not like, okay, last time you talked about this, when we re record this episode, make sure you bring that up so we can talk about it again. [00:05:10] Speaker B: Yeah, works. I have to send an email. Uh, I had a real cool interview. Uh, the, it was, it was a we transfer link and the, I downloaded it. And then when I went to edit it, the audio was bad. Like, it was like corrupted. I was like, okay. And then I went to, I was like, I went to like, try and redownload it and it was gone. Right. So, like, and no one has the backup footage. So I have this really killer interview that's dead. I can't use any of it. And the creator emailed a couple weeks ago and was like, oh, hey, did that interview ever go live? So now not only do I have to be like, hey, real sorry I made you wait three weeks for a reply. Also, I can't use that, but I'm going to do, I'm timing it is my idea to say I'm going to do a good, he's got it. He's got some books coming out this week. So I was going to do a real cool, like a real good review. It's a good book. So like, I don't, I'm not having to like cheesecake anything, right? But like a nice write up, good review, post it, share it, be like, hey, man, I'm so sorry. I got the review out for your book, though, and, you know, this happened and I'm so sorry. And if you give me another chance, I'd love to do another interview, but if you're busy, I understand. So that's, that's my plan. But, um, yeah, I'm it was. It was a great chat, and he said some really cool things and, I mean, I'll remember it forever, but sorry audience, like, you may not. I'm hope. I'm hoping he, uh, he maybe gives me another shot. [00:06:42] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:06:43] Speaker B: And if he does, uh, I didn't get to. At the time, I didn't get to read some of what he, like, I'm. He had a couple books out that I wasn't aware of. So, like, if we did it, I would be slight. I mean, I go in pretty over prepared, right? So, like, oh, man, the other day, like, I read like 20 something issues, like telling 20 something issues, like, before an interview, and still I was like, I didn't get everything read. I wanted to. My friend was like, you're an idiot. Like, you, you like, set these impossible. You have one week of like, plus all your other stuff, day job, other comic stuff, any, you know, geek network stuff now. Like, and you're like, oh, I'm going to read, like, this dude's whole bibliography in a week. You know, you can't do it, you know, and anyway, but, so, but I like to do that over prepare, right? So that's. If you don't. If you're not as prepared as you want to be, you're still more prepared than most. It's worked for me so far. [00:07:45] Speaker A: So most of our guests that I know, we talk about here, you know, at the podcast, are current. Like, they have stuff that's out now. This is not just like, yeah, hey, I want to shoot this shit with so and so. So I'm gonna. I'm gonna get them on. Sometimes it's that, but sometimes it's like, most of the time, it's. There's a reasoning behind it. And yeah, I feel the same way. I had the creative team or the writers from the cabinet on Jordan Hart and David Ebeltoft, and David's also a screen manner. So I also felt myself over preparing, watching some of his movies. Like, we're not. We're not going to talk about the movies at all on the podcast, but if it comes up, I want to be like, I've seen here alone and I've seen. But then I got pissed at myself because his current movie hadn't been released yet until like a week later. And so I was like, I can't even say anything about his current movie that has coming out. But yeah, I felt like I was like trying to prepare for something that was never going to talk about anyway. [00:08:32] Speaker B: But yeah, man, you get sometimes, though, that that. That moment, right? And you. And you. You drop, like, a little nugget or whatever, and they. They're like, oh, this dude. Like, this dude knows this shit, right? And this dude. This dude. It's shocking. I mean, dude, people have told me so many times, like, and thanked me, like, thank you for actually reading the books before an interview. Thank you for actually, like, being prepared to discuss the stuff. And I'm like, what? The first time I heard that, I was so. I, like, blew me away. And then I thought about it, and I was like, what are you gonna talk about? Like, I'm pretty good on the mic, okay? So, like, I. I go off. I go off vibes. I usually. I may have something I want to ask somebody. A lot of times, I forget. I get caught up in the moment. The conversation goes one way, you know? But, you know, I usually. I go back to the literature when. If I feel the conversation lolling, if I feel like whatever we're talking about is about to wrap up, right, I'll be like, I'll bring it back to the book. I'll be like, hey. Like, and then, you know, you got this coming out next week or whatever, you know, and that part I can do because I'm prepared. If you don't, like, how are you gonna talk, even if it's a half hour interview, you know, let alone, like, an hour and a half, or if they hang out for a while and you have, like, a big conversation. Right? Like, what? That blew my mind. And people still say that to me, like, oh, man. Like, you really, like, you really read. Took the time to, like, think about the books, and I'm like, you took the time to, like, come and be on my show. And I know we help them. I know it's promoting books and stuff, but, like, you know, there also comes a point, like, when you get, like, these. These crazy, killer guests that don't have to do many interviews anymore, right? And they do your show, and it's like, okay, like, you're doing me the favor here, you know? [00:10:21] Speaker A: And I'm getting way more benefit of this than you are, for sure. Yeah. I was gonna say is some of these things is you. You can see when I follow you on social media to even personally, you get excited for these guests still. And that's what shows me that you're also excited to do this still. Like, it's not one of those things. Obviously, it's a grind. Obviously. We both know this. Like, I have a son who's about to be turned three. My daughter just turned six weeks old. I have a full time job as a creative director for a brewery. I do this, I have other stuff that I do. And so there's a lot that goes on, and so it is a lot of work. And I can turn to pat myself down the back here, but it is a lot of work. [00:11:01] Speaker B: You should should, though. We all should. [00:11:04] Speaker A: And so we enjoy this. And that's part of it. It's like, why do you do this? And why will you continue doing this for the foreseeable future? And it's like, it's the small rewards. And some of them are my favorite. One of my favorite writers of all time is Brian Michael Bendis. And I got him on the podcast. It was like the most amazing thing. Brian doesn't have to come on my podcast and talk to you about stuff you think Bendis out there, and it was Ben is malev. Those two guys don't need my help. And so to me, I benefited far greater than, than they did. And it's possible that one or two people didn't know they had a dark horse book coming out and that's. They, you know, they bought the book. So, like, if I got one or two sales out of it, I'm cool with that. But I'm thinking if you're a Brian Michael Bendis fan, you knew masterpiece is coming out. I didn't have to. You didn't. I didn't have to tell any of my listeners it was coming out. And so there are definitely ones that help you more than you help them. And I for sure think that. And then there's other ones. You're like, you need my help, don't you? [00:11:58] Speaker B: Right? Yeah. [00:11:59] Speaker A: I'm not going to name names here, but there's definitely people like, please come. Can I come on your. [00:12:04] Speaker B: Absolutely. And then there's, there's some that I don't know. Like every, every now and then I try to be, I try to be nice and, and chill, but, like, I know. I also know sometimes I got people like, you may catch me on, like, on an, on an eleven hour work day, and. But I mean, I just, I get, I still get emails sometimes where it's like, people's more demanding than asking to, like, be on the show. And it's like, I get it. I get that people are, you know, hungry and thirsty out there and they need to, and they need to promote. But, yeah, it's. Sometimes I'm just like, like, oh, I forgot. Like, I owe you money. Wait, no, I don't. What is wire you know, let's, let's, let's talk about how to, how to, you know, how to write it. How to write one of these emails, maybe, but not, but that doesn't happen a lot. But it still, sometimes it's just like, it's like, wow. Okay. Wow. Yeah. Yeah, I can't, I'm sorry. I didn't ask you already to be on my show. I didn't, I didn't, I wasn't privy. [00:13:03] Speaker A: To the, yeah, well, that's, it goes back to reading the source material, the material written by the people that you have on your, on your show is that I, I used to have a co host when we first launched this podcast. I had a co host who then moved to Illinois. And we're doing this virtually, right? We're doing this via the Internet anyway. And so we're like, oh, we'll just keep on doing it. And he got a job that the schedules weren't going to work out and all that stuff. So I was like, hey, I'll just go at it solo. It's not a big deal. And that's when I started booking a lot more guests instead of just talking comics in general. And we had a couple of people who at the very beginning that were like, at the very beginning were like, we'll take whoever wants to come on like, you want to pitch a book? [00:13:38] Speaker B: That's a horrible, horrible book. [00:13:39] Speaker A: What? Come on. Because we're just trying to get someone to talk to. But there was one that we got an advanced copy, and obviously, I'm not going to mention this, and this is years ago anyway. And he read the book, and I read the book, and he messaged me on Facebook and goes, we're not going to do this episode. [00:13:53] Speaker B: Right? [00:13:55] Speaker A: He's like, because there's no way I'm going to be able to do a half an hour, 20 minutes it at all talking about this book, because this book is not good. And I was like, no, we're not. I'm going to have to say. And I'm trying to be, like, not a dick about it. So I'm trying to be like, hey, yeah, scheduling, we'll talk about it, so on and so forth. And we just never rebooked and never did anything with it. But, yeah, so the source material makes sense because I mentioned that. And you're probably similar. You're not just going to talk to people because someone's forcing you to talk to them. You're talking, you talked to Kyle Starks this week, which I have. Kyle Starks is one of my favorite guests of all time. [00:14:30] Speaker B: Amazing. [00:14:31] Speaker A: The problem is, I like basketball, and he likes basketball, and so we could literally just talk basketball the entire episode, and that would just not be fun for a lot of comic book fans. But, but, yeah, like, I like Kyle. That's why I would have on the podcast. I like his work. I like his art. I like his writing, everything. So luckily, we live in a situation where Blake's buzz, you get people who you want to talk to. This is not, no one's forcing you. No one's putting a gun to your head and being like, you need to have college starks in your podcast. And that makes a difference because it makes it more enjoyable for you as a host, you know? [00:15:01] Speaker B: Yeah, it's, that's true. And, and, like, I find, you know, it's, it's cool now, like, that my platform's gotten bigger, too, like, when, because I, and I tell people that, you know, like, I'm not, I will never forget. Like, I, I started when, when I was, when I was writing reviews. Like, I. A lot of the, I would, I reviewed a few kickstarters and, like, you know, people, like, poll quoted my reviews on their Kickstarter pages, and they would, like, send me the books when they came out and got printed. And, like, you know, I kind of, like, followed these indie creators and their journeys, and, like, it, that's how a lot of Blake's buzz began. And so I've said, like, I, you know, yeah, like, I've gotten way lucky and, like, you know, with the day job being comics now and the guests and stuff that I get, but I will never forget that, you know, Kickstarter in the indie scene is what is what led to my, you know, popularity. But, you know, it's just at the same time, like, it's every now and then it still happens. Like, I'll accidentally schedule three or four live streams in a week, and, dude, it kills me. Like, it really just, like, I need this gonna sound so lame. But you, when you're, when you're, like, hyped up and on it for an hour and a half or if it's like, like those two hour live streams, like, I have fun, but it's, we, like, when they're done, I'm like, I'm like, you know, it's just like, it's, it's, it's a different kind of exhaustion. You know, it's like your, your body's not really tired, but your mind is, and you've had to talk a lot, too and it's just, you know, so it's, you do that like three or four times a week, and it, by the weekend, I'm just like a husk and I'm like, I need to, like, molt like a spider and grow again, or. [00:16:42] Speaker A: It's true. And it's like, all these people that are going to listen to this episode are going to be like, these guys get to talk to some of the coolest people in the world. [00:16:47] Speaker B: Yeah, they're talking to Brian Bendis and Tom King and their life super hard. Yeah, it is. [00:16:55] Speaker A: And we gotta read all these comics to get ready for this. [00:16:58] Speaker B: Sometimes for free. Like, I don't know, way before they come out. Sometimes, I don't know. [00:17:03] Speaker A: The problem, the benefit a lot of these publishers have, I get, like, obviously get there. We get a lot of advanced copies of things to do, reviews and guests and things like that is in all likelihood, if I have a guest on my podcast, I'm buying the comic. So no matter what, I just, I'm just getting it before everybody else is digitally. That's what it is. I'm getting it digitally before. And then I'm going my lcs and picking up the comic when it comes out on release day. [00:17:24] Speaker B: But, yeah, inspire me in an interview and watch me sink money on your bibliography. Like, that has happened so many because, because I'm like, I'm like, oh, my God, I want to read. Or even sometimes I've bought stuff to grease the wheel to, you know, like, but like, but especially early on now I have a name that some people know, right? And so, like, but like, early on, I would sometimes buy, like, you know, like, get a, get a in stock trade shipment or something of like, a bunch of writers where. And, like, tag him. Be like, oh, they'd be like, oh, thanks so much. I'd be like, oh, I interview people and they'd be like, this guy just spent $100 on my books. I guess I'll say, yeah, but, you know, I, so I used to, I used to do that, but no, I would, like, even now, like, sometimes I'll get into someone and, and I'll have access to the PDF's, you know, but then I'm like, oh, there's an omnibus, or there's a cool hardcover, you know, like, uh, uh, oh. And then, like, and then I buy those. And then, yeah, and then it just, and it goes, it spirals. It just is like, you know, I get, I'll get into these people and I want to support them when I can. And whether it's a kickstarter or new hardcover release. Yeah, like, I try and, but I, and I do. And then, or, like, I did, uh, I did an interview recently, and the person, like, people kept talking to me about the Justice League International, and I finally bought those two omnibuses, and now there's a third of the third. One comes out next month. And I'm like, of course I have to get it. Like, and it's really good that I started reading it. And, like, people were not lying, but so, you know, like, that happens too sometimes where, like, you're talking to someone you really respect and, like, you know, you're already like, oh, I'm buying, like, all their books. And then they're like, oh, but, like, I read, I read this series and it, like, it changed me and it made me the writer I am today. And you're like, well, I gotta read that now, too. And then, you know, sometimes, sometimes those aren't as easy to, you know, sometimes you're dollar bin hunting or whatever, you know, like when I was trying to get the Rachel Polak doom patrol books, I bought all the singles, and then DC was like, here's a new omnibus. And I was like, oh, cool, thanks for that. But, you know, I'm glad it's out there regardless. But, you know, you just, that's the blessing and the curse of a, being a comic fan, doing what we do. Being pressed, too. But, like, being in the scene, just like, yes, being in this is, it's just every day a continuous mass of referrals, new books, new stuff. It's, it's impossible to keep up with. It's impossible to read it all, and it's. Maybe someone out there can buy it all. I sure can't, right? [00:20:06] Speaker A: But I know that's the thing. It's like, I can't afford all of it. Like, I get, I, you know, one of the first earlier, like, guest that I was really excited was I'm a huge Jonathan Hedrick fan, and the recount is one of my favorite books of recent years. And he was, like, buying all the variants. Like, his store would go on, like, I have a sale. It's like 25% off. I buy way more than I need to because I'm just like, I want more of this. And so Jonathan's made a bunch of money off of me as a fan and things like that, too. But I feel like, I don't know, I rep a lot of people and I'm sitting there like a street team on Wednesdays at LCS. I'm going there to pick up my books and off my poll list, and I'm like, oh, that book you got to read of someone that no one's ever heard of because it's the first comic, but they've been on the podcast, and I'm like, they're such a great person. They're like, what is this book? And I'm just like, you gotta buy. So, I mean, it works for them in multiple ways. They get people listening to the show, but they also get me, you know, repping them on the streets too. But, yeah, obviously, we're comic book fans, and that's the beginning part. You mean that? That's the very early part of this, is that we enjoy comics as a whole, and that's why we want to talk comics. I mean, there's not, this is not, again, no one's forcing us to do this. We're not making a ton of money off of this. If anything, Blake's buzz as a whole in our capes and tights, the whole loses money. [00:21:23] Speaker B: Yeah, it definitely costs more money, usually. Yeah. [00:21:27] Speaker A: Then it's worth. [00:21:27] Speaker B: But we both sound really good, which is not cheap. I'll let you all know. Right. The audio quality that I'm hearing in my headphones is expensive. It's all I know right now. [00:21:38] Speaker A: It's definitely expensive. And again, it's time. It's all that stuff. So, like, it's not. But because of what we get to do and who we get to talk to and the things in the content read, you know, I say, hate to say content. The books we get to read is amazing. It's so worth it. And so you've been reading comics, I mean, since childhood? Is this what it is? I mean, have you been into comics? [00:21:58] Speaker B: I remember I was talking about this the other day. I remember getting the. For Christmas, my aunt sue one year got me a short box. It was amazing Spider man decorated. Short box that came with, I don't remember the comics it came with. It came with, like, a random marvel sampler and then basically, a form that you mailed in. Right. Self address stamped on, like, send it in with a check or cash. Right. And, uh, and you could subscribe to whatever series for a year. And I ended up subscribing to amazing Spider man for a year. And they used to, they would come, like, folded up, dude. Like, in, like, in Manila envelopes. Like, Gemini mailers weren't a thing, folks. Right? Like, and they did not care how these comics got to you. They just cared that it got to you. And I didn't either. Like, I didn't care. That was folded. I wasn't bagging and boarding this stuff. It came and I read it and I would throw it in my backpack and my friends would read it at school and stuff and, but, yeah, so, like, grade school was when the comics started. My dad took me to my first comic book shop. Him and my mom used to fight a lot, and he would, when they, when they would fight, they, he would, he would be like, we'd go for, like, a, we'd go out and, like, did he get away from her? And, and he was totally playing favorites, too. I mean, there's, they're still together and we have a strong family. Like, we're all, we all like each other and shit now, but, you know, it's, anyways, like, I noticed that when I was later, I was like, dad was kind of manipulating me as a child, but it worked. Oh, it did. Yeah. He took me to my first comic shop and, and in college and stuff, I wanted to write short stories and poetry, and I quit. I kind of, I quit reading comics for a while. Got back into it, and that's when I got back, when I got back into it with, like, adult money. And then I was like, I started buying stuff, you know? And I was like, then that, that's when the bug got, got real bad. And the pandemic was when I started collecting omnibuses, which got bad. And, and I have so, like, anyways, but, yeah, it's, it's been, they've been, they've been a part of my life for, for a very, very, very long, long time, and, and, and have made it, have made it better. I've, like, you know, daily make it more stressful and aggravating, but have, like, overall, like, definitely made my life better. Have, have gotten me out of some situations, you know, that, like, you know, made me, made me calm, you know, like, calming down and staying home and reading comics instead of going out and doing stupid shit. Right. Like, that was that they, they definitely helped it with that and, yeah, man, like, even now, like, this, this whole community, like, this, this community has been there for me. So many, like, this community without, like, they've helped me by gear. They. When my dog got cancer, well, before we knew it was cancer, we thought, like, she had, like, spine nerve issues, and, like, they, people came together and donated and helped me get a wheelchair for my dog. And, like, and then we, like, they gave us even more and we had, like, we got, like, dog rant. We got, like, wheelchair dog ramps, like, and then. And then found out that it was her. Her legs quit working because she had this, like, giant fucking tumor. Sorry. I don't know if I said a bad word or not. I know I said a bad word. I don't know if I can. But, you know, anyway, like, they. They, um. When my cousin. My little cousin died, and it was. He. He ended it himself. And, like, the insurance, I don't know, some weird stuff happened with the insurance, and I shared. I shared a Gofundme, and a lot of common people donated to it. And so this. This community is, like, real, like, been there for me. Like, just in support of my show, in support of me, in support of my family. Like, insane how. How much, like, people have, like, just gone out of their way to support. And, like, people like, to take pictures of people in Blake's buzz shirts at, like, comic cons and stuff is, like, great. That's crazy, you know? And. And so, yeah, like, I'm. I'm so. I'm so lucky I get to do this, and I'm glad people watch my stuff and I'm glad, like, I provide, like, time, you know, like, if watching my way too long interviews that, you know, the algorithms are telling me that, like, your videos are too long, boy. And it's like, leave me alone, algorithm. But, you know, the people that watch my stuff and. And keep coming back and, you know, like, I love it, and. And I would. I miss, like, some weeks when it's slow and I. And even when I'm like, oh, I needed a break, but, like, by the end of the week, I'm like, I didn't have a show this week. Like, what? Ooh, I feel dirty, you know, and it's starting to do the cons and stuff now, and that's all I want to do is travel more and do more cons and meet more people, and it's magic. It's pure. It's pure magic. It's worth all the stress and. Yeah, man, anything I can do to give back to indie creators and give back to fans that just have been there for me and, like, to listen to me and stuff, too. I'm glad. I'm glad I do whatever for you weirdos that you like listening to me. I guess that's. I don't know. I'm really. Thanks. Thanks. Long story short, I feel like the. [00:27:12] Speaker A: Music, the Oscars music is playing. [00:27:15] Speaker B: Get off the stage, dude. [00:27:19] Speaker A: It's true. But, you know, like, people say comics let people down. Like, it's true. Like, there's a lot of things in comics that do let us all down, let's be honest. But there's so much good in comics as well. As well as it's. It's the one. Comics isn't consistent. Like, obviously we've seen a lot of change over the years in formats, prices, distribution stuff, all that stuff. But it's still constant because it's always there. Like, the only moment that we really had a slight moment of, like, oh, shit, comics aren't there anymore was during that, like, diamond Freeze during the pandemic where it's like, are we gonna get comics? But that doesn't mean you couldn't go on it digitally. There was back issues you could get. There's local. So it's always been there. Since I started collecting and reading comics, there hasn't been a time where it hasn't been there for me in a sense that, and I wrote something when we switched from just solely a podcast to do a podcast and a website that had more content on it written. I did a post about how it's, like, mentally amazing for me, comics, and that's like, bagging and boarding. If I'm having a rough day. And I just want to, honestly, I'm not even putting comics in bags and boards. If I'm just making bags and borgs for future comic purchases. It's like I could watch tv and just do it. It gets my mind off of shit. Yes. Re sorting comics. Okay, I want to go. I went from short box, long boxes to short boxes. And I'm, like, putting those in order alphabetically. And then, like, marvel over here, indie over here. I've got these bins behind me. These are, like, current runs that I'm collecting, and I like that. [00:28:43] Speaker B: I was. I noticed. I was going to ask you about those, like, the little bins set up. I'm digging it, like, they're, like, made for vegetables. Oh, vegetable. [00:28:54] Speaker A: I bought them on the, you know, the happy place online. Yeah, the big smile place. Amazon. No, but they're, they're not super cheap. And that's why, that's why I, like, bought them, like, during the pandemic and, like, cool. I had too many beers, like, late at night. The world sucks right now. I want new comic stuff, but, yeah, so, like, basically what I do here, back here is, like, american psycho, for example, is right behind me. That is a current run going on right now over at, you know, sumerian, massive publishing. And once it hits issue five or six, whatever it is, once I complete it, then I'll put it in a short box. But that's why I'm not, like, pulling short boxes off all the time and trying to, like, put things away. This is like current runs of stuff. Obviously, I discovered country is getting close to an end. Saga is going to be there for a while. That's. That's going to be there for a while. And then there's, like, ones below it that are like, I'm a huge Michael Del Mundo fan, so I'm out. Domino box, big Scott Young fans, the Scotty Young box. And so, like, yeah, it's a fun, it's a, like, cathartic thing that comics is, like, the community is amazing. I get to go to the comic book store, my lcs, I sit there every once in a while. If I get out or work early, I'll sit there for an hour or so and just shoot the shit with people about, you know, random stuff. And I feel the same way. I feel like the community is. I've been lucky enough to have not as much shit go wrong in the past couple of years, the reviewers, as Blake here has. But I feel like if I did, I would, if that makes any sense. [00:30:16] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:30:17] Speaker A: And so, like, there would be people there in a similar situation that you had if I needed it. And that's what's cool about this whole thing. It's like every once in a while, you look at, like, a view count or a stream count or something. Like, I put a lot of energy and time into that one, but it redeems itself because, like, a later episode goes, oh, shit. Why did people watch that episode or listen to that episode? I don't understand what went on that week where all of a sudden I know where you spiked it, like, 50%, and you're like, yeah, and sometimes it's the algorithm, sometimes it's. I feel like it's this statistics of podcasting, both video and audio. I feel like the statistics are not the greatest. [00:30:50] Speaker B: Yeah, it's. I don't know. I don't even understand you. I just know, like, I know. Everybody tells me they're like, don't look at the views. It was like, yeah, okay, I'll just not look at the views. Like, okay, but, like, I just learned how to edit video. I mean, I'm not a great video editor, right. But, like, I'm way better now than I was even a couple months ago. Right. So I'm, like, always learning, always trying, and it's like, I'm doing this for more viewing, everything for more views. But, I mean, I. This nuke. This can't. I mean, like, I bought this camera, the audio equipment stuff. Like, a lot. Some of that, too, was for, you know, going to cons instead. And I wanted to, you know, I didn't. I didn't have to have 4k con footage, but it looks cool. [00:31:33] Speaker A: You know, they make 4k porn now. [00:31:36] Speaker B: Dude, that you need to make interviews. I. It was funny, though. So some people have told me that they hate bagging and boarding, and I've always thought the same thing. Like, especially, I'm not as big a Wednesday warrior anymore. Like, I do. I do heart. I like the hardcovers. I'm out of space, and. And I do. I subscribe to Marvel, Marvel Unlimited, and DC Ultra. And so, like, I do the yearly subscriptions on those. That's how I get my big two fixes anyway. But when I used to be a big Wednesday warrior, I would, like. I would, like, love it. And I would, like bag and board. I'd put on a movie or some shows, you know, and it was. It was. It was, like. It was, like, therapeutic. And even. Even I liked the. The ones with the silt, this sticky thing on it so you can, like, reseal the resealable ones. And even when, like, when you peel it and it's like. And you like. And then it, like, doesn't come off your fingers and you have to kind of shake it off, and then you, like, do. Even when I was doing, like, like, the 70th time that night, and it was just like, I loved it. My one. I had a buddy, like, watching me do it one time. We were watching a movie, and he was just like. He was like, this is fascinating. And I was like, what, dude? I'm just bagging a board in comics. And he was like, no, but you're, like, in a. [00:32:47] Speaker A: He was just like. [00:32:48] Speaker B: It's, like, rhythmic. He's like, you're just in this zone. And I was like, oh, you're being weird, man. I got a bag of board. My comics. [00:32:54] Speaker A: It's like a picture of David Attenborough, like, narrating you in the wild. We got Blake here in the wild right now. He's backing the boarding. Oh, it's just stuck to his finger again. Yes. [00:33:04] Speaker B: He shakes it violently. [00:33:07] Speaker A: My buddy wouldn't carry those comics. He doesn't carry those bags and boards because he hates that aspect of it. [00:33:12] Speaker B: Oh, really? [00:33:13] Speaker A: And I said, what you do is you get. So I buy some midtown comics, too. [00:33:16] Speaker B: I just. [00:33:16] Speaker A: I actually just got a collection because Midtown did a 60% off sign comics sale, and so I was able to get like nail, like, I got devil's cut, the Jamie McCalvey variant signed by Snyder and Tinian for $7. [00:33:33] Speaker B: Whoa. [00:33:34] Speaker A: Like $3 less than the book cost itself. Like on the shelf sign creators, and they use all those. So you have the sticker on the front. I had to peel the sticker off, then putting it here, then I stick the little thing to the sticker or get some masking tape out, put the, you know, there's, there's ways to do it, but then like six weeks later, you'll be like walking around the floor and they'll just be one of those like, peel off things on the floor. You're like, where the hell did that come? Yeah, but it's, there's something rhythmic to it. I wouldn't want to go to my local comic book shop, be like, hey, could I back and board a bunch of your comics for you? Like, I don't have to be mine. Yeah, but like, I just, there's something about that and something about doing it. And behind me, the, the ones that are on the wall are in top loads as well, and they're signed comics from guests of the podcast. So anybody is back there and it's like, what are we up to now? 1234? It's five rows high. And every once in a while I get a ladder out and I'm like, oh, let's reorganize this like that. Why? No one sees, first of all, no one sees, like above a row and a half, so why does it matter? But it's like, it's a thing that's like, I don't know, I just get lost in this world that, like, a, I'm not spending more money on it because it's just rotating it. It's not like I'm actually spending more money. Um, but b, it's just, I don't know, it's like, oh, look at this cool one again. You're like, looking at it again. Like, maybe I want to make that front and center so someone does notice it. This is kind of cool. I don't know, just something about it. And it's above and beyond reading comics, I think, you know, like, it's the same thing. I read a lot of novels now, too, and the same thing, like, I'll just be like, oh, let me go see if I can move some novels around. Like, it's above and beyond reading it because every once in a while you can't, you don't want to read? I'm done reading. I read enough of the podcast. I just want to do something different, and that's what it is. Bagging and boarding and reorganizing. During the pandemic, it was big because you couldn't go anywhere. So it's like, let's just make sure this is more organized than before. [00:35:21] Speaker B: Yeah, that's what, like, right now, I want to. So I'm about to build a studio like, that. I'm about to get, like, a. But again, it's. It's finding time. Like, we had, like, I've the fan. I've had people. People say they're. They. That they can help, and. But it's just, like, finding the time to, like, basically, like, swap rooms and then get everything reset up. Um, and then it's still not gonna. It's not gonna have enough room for my books, but, like, it's gonna look like, it's gonna look a lot cooler, and I'll be able to do, like. I mean, like, I have a lot of statues and storage and stuff, so I think I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go more. More statue cool stuff and art framed art vibe than, like, than bookcases, I think. But. But anyway, it's just, you know, like, it's, like, finding the time, but, yeah, I key. I've been kind of, like, planning and measuring and, like. And. And then it's like, man, like, you could just start doing this instead of, like, planning it and, like, looking at stuff that you may buy later, you know? Like, you know, I'm like, quit. Just. I just need to do it. But it's. It's the same. It's the same way because, yeah, sometimes now it's. It's. Now my free time is writing gig network articles. That's, like, that's life right now takes. [00:36:33] Speaker A: Us so much time. I was like, the second I switched over to doing just podcasts, to doing article stuff, too, I'm like, why did I do this to myself? [00:36:41] Speaker B: Yeah, it's like, okay, wow, we're here to party. And then, yeah, now we're about to start doing. We're about to start doing, like, you, like, a. You, like YouTube channel shows for it. We're about to launch the podcast. The Geek network podcast syndicate. I think Joel, the. My boss at Metal Ninja, I think he just. I think he posted the new logo. [00:37:04] Speaker A: On Facebook cover on his Facebook page over there. Yeah, I saw that. I was like, yeah, that's awesome. It's geek networks awesome because I've been following Geek network for a little bit fully with its previous ownership. Now that it's over at, you know, metal ninja, it's a little different. And now you're involved with it, too. Now you're editor in chief of the, of the. Over there at Geek network. It's just a lot more, like I said, it's a lot different style, a lot more. It's a lot easier because you can do it, like, 02:00 in the morning by yourself. That's. That's the difference. That's the benefit you could get out of it. Like, sometimes I'll be, like, on lunch break during my regular job, being like, what's cranking article out? I'm eating a slice of pizza. Yeah, that I can do. That's. [00:37:45] Speaker B: And sometimes it happens at the perfect time when, like, a good press release comes in right at lunchtime and you get that out within 20 minutes and. And it's posted. And then, like, that happened to me. That happened to me last week, and, like, the creators shared it, and I was. [00:38:02] Speaker A: I was like, oh, there was one that came out. Was it? Was it. Well, it was the boom one. It was the. What was the boom release before that? The one that the anthology they're doing. [00:38:16] Speaker B: Oh, the horror. Yeah, the big horror anthology. Yeah. [00:38:19] Speaker A: And I was like, that was the one where I was like, I went to, my wife is home on maternity leave, and I'm working during the day, and she's like, hey, can we see her favorite stores, her favorite restaurants, like, an hour from here? And so I took a half a day off and we went to there and, you know, ate there and came back, and I clock out, and I'm like, on the way home to pick up my wife to go there, and I get that email, and I'm like, are you fucking kidding me right now? Like, I work in an office where, like, I said, I need to take 15 minutes to quickly put this pressure release out. I can get it out, but I'm like, now I'm in an hour away from there without my computer and all that stuff. And it's like, it always happens that way. Or you and I are talking right now, and, like, right afterwards, something gets announced that we could have talked to on the podcast. That's the other one that I've always been, like, really annoyed with. Like, timing wise, guests are notorious. [00:39:00] Speaker B: I'll be like, what do you got going on? Well, I can't say anything right now. And then, like, a week later, yeah, they'll be like, it'd be like David proposed. Like, oh, yeah, I'm working at Marvel now. I was like, really, David? You couldn't tell me that when we. [00:39:11] Speaker A: Were on the call, David Harper over, off panel, he has scotty young on. And Scott Young literally came on. The episode he was on was releasing on Monday. On Tuesday, Scotty was announcing he was doing I hate Fairland again. And so, like, he couldn't say anything on the episode, but literally the day after he was putting announcement, I'm like, are you kidding me right now? You couldn't give him, like, some sort of, like, exclusive and move the date up a little bit or something? I was, like, actually frustrated. I was like, I would hate that. [00:39:36] Speaker B: But they're intense publishers or. Cause, like, usually it's like, aipt or like, some. Sometimes, like. Or maybe, like, maybe if it's like horror, like fangoria or somebody will get the exclusive to drop it. Yeah. And when they, when, when they get the. When they give those exclusives to those big publications and, like, make those deals like they are so they are. They'll be like, we'll set you in your book on fire if you spoil this for, like, they, like, they told, like, I had a client, someone hired me to help promote, like, their big two book or not. They're not that. They're their, their direct market book. I'm sorry. There wasn't big two, but it was, it wasn't a Kickstarter either. [00:40:16] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:40:16] Speaker B: Out in the direct market. And he, he just wanted, like, some, some extra boost, a little bit extra help. And we had to be very careful because he was like, like, when I, when he sent me, like, the first, he was like, this isn't supposed to go out. Like, don't give this. And then, like, I'm setting him up for interviews, you know? And it's. And the publisher is like, saying, like, you can't send out the, the reader copy yet. And, like, he's like, scheduled. We're like, dude, he's scheduled to talk to these people like this. And then finally they were like, okay, you could send it out. And we were like, but, yeah, it was. Came down to the wire. Like, it was so. But anyway, yeah, they are so intense, and it is, it's, it's funny. It's, it's never, like, it's never malicious or, like, manipulative, but it is funny. Like, sometimes they'll be like, oh, yeah, I can't talk about it. And then, like, a week later, like, this huge press release comes out and you're like, oh, so close. [00:41:11] Speaker A: And I've always, you always say it to, like, sign off the end of the episode. Hey, we'd love to have you come back on again. And anything new that comes out, just let me know about it. And you're, like, hoping that they're like, okay, Blake, we're going to send you that exclusive. We're going to. Yeah, you're the one that's going to get this now. Here we go. But, yeah, it's. It's funny. And it's funny what they, what they, what they hold on to in that sense, too. When I talked to David Bower about ghostbusters back in town, yeah, two things on that. I had to wait to get the advanced copy, too, because of the fact that it was, like, movie related. And also, every single one of my questions, it had to be more of a question and answers. You know, I made it flow a little better than just a simple, like, so what happened? This. But I had to send it to Sony. Sony had to approve it because Sony was the race to Ghostbusters and yada, yada, yada and all that stuff. And I was like, oh, that's interesting. And the same thing I want to say. Last year, I did a Star wars week and the same thing with Lucasfilm. It was just like he had to go through Lucasfilm to actually make sure that we wouldn't talk about something. I'm like, yeah, I'm going to get David on to talk about Ghostbusters and shit all over ghostbusters. What do you think about it? Is that how you think it's going to go? Is that what you're doing? Trying to prepare? [00:42:13] Speaker B: I never want to work again. That sounds great. Like, let's ruin all the great opportunities. [00:42:18] Speaker A: Let's make sure that he doesn't shit all over the Ghostbusters from 2016 and Ghostbusters two. [00:42:23] Speaker B: Right? I actually, side note, I love David. We actually, we worked on. We worked on one of his books at Metal Ninja. That is gonna. The horror one shot, I think. Or wait, no, we may not be able to talk about that. It's gonna come out in the direct market. Oops. There you go. You want an. [00:42:47] Speaker A: Excuse me? [00:42:48] Speaker B: Edit. So it's funny. [00:42:50] Speaker A: We do edit. So I edit something. I won't edit most of the time. Like, I edit quality, obviously, things like that. But a lot of times it's free flowing conversation. And I had Ben Bishop. Ben Bishop is a buddy of mine. And Ben was on to talk back in the day, like early last Ronan. Right? So, like, we did not know who the last Ronin was. And in an episode, he was rolling along, and I did it like at 09:00 at night or something like that. So we were both cranking beers and like, and he slipped and said a turtle name. Okay. So like, he said it, like in a conversation, he slipped it. And at the end of the episode, I didn't say anything at the moment. Like, I wasn't like, hey, don't say that. You know what? And then at the end of the episode, I stopped and I said, hey, don't confirm or deny whatever, but there was a turtle's name you had mentioned early on in a conversation about who the last ronin was and so on and so forth. Are you, I'm going to bleep it just because I don't want to. I want to make sure that it's all good. Come to find out, it wasn't even the freaking turtle. That was the last ronin that pissed me off. It was like, it's just the way he said it in the way the context of what he was saying. It was like he almost slipped and said it. And so I was like, oh, you know, I'll go back and flee that. So, like, it's one of those things that I'm like, if we have to go through and like, go. And it was in a big bam. [00:43:59] Speaker B: Yeah, I didn't, I didn't realize it. In my planet comic Con, I got, I did a mark Wade interview and I didn't realize it when he was. It's, sometimes it's hard to hear those interviews. Like, uh, they sounded great, like in the audio because the mics did a good job. But like, sometimes when they're asking questions, like, I, there was a several times where like, people would walk by talking or like loud noises and I was. But, you know, and I, you only get a few minutes with these people anyway, so I don't want to be like, what? Can you repeat everything you just said again? I would just be like, oh, yeah. And I would catch most things, but like, just some stuff you would miss. And I totally. Mark Wade said absolute DC. He said it in March and I was just like, oh, cool, thanks, Mark. And I was like, you idiot. Why didn't you say, what is absolute DC, Mark Wade? And then like, you know, I just, I didn't, I didn't even catch it, of course. And then until editing it and posting it was like last week or two weeks ago or whatever is when I posted it. And then that was. And they still haven't said anything other than that bleeding cool article and Snyder being like, yeah, I'm doing something like this. That's still like, that's. I don't know. That's. I don't understand that. But, yeah, so I. I had Mark. I almost had a gnarly. I bet you Mark Wade was not supposed to say that in that interview. Probably. [00:45:22] Speaker A: Comics, we live first appearances, and someone's like, well, they first announced it on AIPT. You're like, no, no. It was. It was an interview at Planet Comic Con. Go back and look. [00:45:32] Speaker B: It was March 8 to planet Comic Con. [00:45:35] Speaker A: If you want me to sign the first appearance, I will sign the first case of absolute DC. [00:45:39] Speaker B: Me and Mark Wade. Yeah, that was. I noticed. I was like, oh, my God. I was like, because, yeah. And then, like, I wouldn't have. Even if I would have heard him properly, I probably would. I would have. I would hope I would have been like, what's absolute DC, Mark? Or been like, is that a new book coming out? Or, like, yeah, that's when they were talking about that. That's what. When I hear DC absolute, I think of the absolute editions, the Slipknot. I love those things, man. But, yeah, I'm excited for that. I've always loved, like, Marvel's ultimate universe. I like else world stuff. I like, you know, DC Black Label's been fun, even though I. It's more. It's more DC Batman label than DC black label, I think. But there's, hey, the Batman stories dropping on it are cool, though. So, like, whatever. I'm not gonna be like, quit making cool Batman stories, DC. [00:46:26] Speaker A: If anybody, anybody listens to this episode of this podcast, too. No, I'm not a huge DC fan. Like, I know what's going on in DC, and I understand what's going on. I know characters and so on. So I just don't regularly read DC. Okay. [00:46:38] Speaker B: To be right, it's fine. [00:46:41] Speaker A: But I don't buy, like, a lot of, like, physical copies of DC either. And so I laughed when I first bought that nice house on the lake for my lcs. My. I'm like, hey, I bought a DC. He's like. He's like, screw you. You didn't buy a DC book. You bought a DC black label. Which confuses me in that sense of, like, why I understand black label, but it almost makes more sense if black Label was only, like, the nice house and lake style stuff, where it was, like, non DC, even superheroes at all. And then a different thing was, like, offshoot Batman stuff and darker Batman stuff. So, like, it's confusing to me. Like, there's different formats. Like, some of them are in the black label format. Some of them are in the regular issue format. So, like, that whole thing was a confusing. Yeah, it's weird, but. But, like, I don't think that Marvel hasn't understands what the hell's going on right now either. But I'm so glad that the ultimate universe in Marvel has back. [00:47:30] Speaker B: And then I was one of those, like, I need to get back to that. Yeah, because that, dude, I remember. I remember. I'll never forget, like, reading that Brian Bendis Ultimate Spider man run. And. And I went back to that, right? So, like, I was really interested in miles and got into miles and then went back and did the whole Peter the ultimate Peter Parker saga and then just had every organ ripped out of me and did the death of Ultimate Spider man. Right when. When may slaps cap and is like, you did this shameless. Oh, you feel it? [00:48:09] Speaker A: You feel it slap. [00:48:10] Speaker B: You're like, I ugly cried, dude. I cried. I I cried. I also cried hard when I reread death of Superman a couple years ago. But anyway, but, but, yeah, I I wept for ultimate Peter Parker, man, and. And I wept. Spoiler alert, ultimate Peter Parker dies, and, spoiler alert, Miles, his mom dies for a second. But, like, like, when. When Miles's mom died, like, that whole, like, ultimate venom run, dude, that. That stuff was amazing. I didn't hate ultimatum. Like, I'm one of those. Everybody's like, ultimatum is garbage. And I was like, it had some really crazy deaths that, like, I know are, like, kind of gross and gnarly and weird and, like, why? But they look kind of cool on the page anyway. But I love, I've always loved the ultimate universe. You know, Krakow started in the ultimate universe. The ultimate comics, x Men, they, they had the. That weird, like, lump and the lump land in the desert that they all lived on, right? And all, and all that stuff. All that. Yeah, so all those ultimate comics books I loved. And then going back, you know, then, like, yeah, that ultimate spiral. So, yeah, bringing that back, having Hickman do it, too, like, take his genius wherever he can and let him. Let him move around, you know? Like, I remember I was even bummed when he left X Men, but I was, you know what? I would rather him leave X Men and leave it how he wants it left. I did what I want, and now I want to go over here. I want to play in this. I want to play in this sandbox now. Let him do that then, like, get burnout and not do anything heroes for five, six years or whatever. It was, like, you know, like, yeah, I think. I think their editorial teams are figuring that out, too. You know, like, because it's also crazy because you would be like, what? What? Like, duh moment? Is that too, like, oh, yeah, let Hickman do what he wants. Like, your one job as a comic book editor is like, yeah, like, let him cook. You know, let the guy cook. So, yeah. Anyway, I need to catch up with that, but I'm very, I'm very excited. And I think they just came out. I just came out with, like, a new hardcover. Cool. Like, did. They're, like, putting out some. No, it's like a not quite an omnibus. Getting people ready for the, for the new stuff they're doing and the new, you know, new announcements, new X Men coming. Tried to get. I tried to get my boss to pay for, like, an extended Marvel pull list for, like, as a geek network expense. He didn't, he didn't go for it, but I was like, I was like, I was like, I want to. I was like, we could be on the ground. Like, we got to be on the ground floor. This new x, like, gail Simone's writing X Men. Come on. Like, that's, I feel like that's gonna be nuts. And then with all, like, the ultimate universe stuff going on, I've had a couple interviews with people and where, like, afterwards, they've been like, I'm pretty sure I'm writing a miniseries for it later, but I'm not 100%. And it's like, so, like, there's so, there's so many. They're going to oversaturate us with x books, just like they did last time. Fans of that, you're going to be hungry and full. Not fans of that. You're going to have to trade weight or pick and choose. But, I mean, like, they're going to, they're going to come back. It's going to be a land of miniseries again. It feels like. But I'm excited. I feel I fell behind with the Krakowan era, and it's, this feels like a cool hopping on point and, like, with the, being, being the editor in chief of a geek centric website, you know, like, these are, these are things I have to, I'm like a, I'm like a hungry content machine now. I'm just, I'm like an anteater going around just, just snorting ants out of the ground. Just like, looking for stories, man. Just like. [00:51:59] Speaker A: But Marvel seemed like they had for a number of years there. We just, like, we weren't, I wasn't excited about a lot of stuff. Like, wasn't like, I honestly don't feel like I've been super excited till it. Since they killed off the ultimate universe. You know, at that very, it was a ten year march where it was like, there was a few things where I was like, okay, I can grab onto that. I can do that. And, and with this ultimate thing, when they started, you know, teasing this, I was like, I can jump onto this. I can definitely do this. And I'm glad they did, because, like I said, I've been a Marvel fan since, you know, through and through, and I've always been a huge Marvel fan, and they were disappointing me. My polis went from, like, you know, like, eight comics, eight Marvel comics to two indies to, like, two marvel, eight indies overnight. Because I just, like, I was like, okay, really? That too. Why are you focusing on that title? Like, I can't believe, like, and so, like, it's just nice to see that coming through. And honestly, people, I feel like people are jumping on it. Some of the values, if you're looking for speculation stuff or, like, the ultimate books, like, ultimate Spider man number one. Ultimate. [00:53:01] Speaker B: That was hard. Yeah. [00:53:03] Speaker A: And so, like, this is cool. It pulls some attention to it and stuff like that, too. But, you know, big two aside, dude, like, I'm still. I think now, I think that the indie world is the way to go. Like, I think that there's more amazing, wonderful, innovative, and unique stories coming out of the indie side of things now than ever. And I think there was. There's always been good indie books, let's be honest. [00:53:27] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:53:27] Speaker A: You know, some of the best books in history have been independent books. [00:53:30] Speaker B: And your favorite writers at the big two are probably gonna write, like, I mean, look at. Look at. Right now, Tom King is doing two or three indie books, right? Or three. Three indie books with love everlasting still going, right? So, like, these guys, you know, these, these guys take the contract and I guess, I mean, to make money in con, like, to really make money, you have to be doing, like, what is it? I think, like, six or more almost books a month, right? Not everybody can hang. Not everybody can sustain it. You. And there's other ways to make money and supplement it. But, like, that's. I mean, that's why, like, a lot of times when you're like, oh, wow. Like, Tom King, Brian Bendis, these guys, these, these guys had all these books come out. This. Look at, like, Jeff Johns and Ghost Machine, and he had, he had three giant releases come out at the same day. You know, and so, you know, they have to, they have to have all these like, ovens or all these ovens going basically, right? Like, and they all, they all have like a pizza in them. I don't know what's in the oven. They're making food. There's lots of ovens and comic books. [00:54:34] Speaker A: This is why, like, this is why Tom King is writing these books, not you. Metaphor would have been better. No, no, I understand what you're saying. They have to have, you know, a lot of things going on. They have to have pigs turning. They have to have these things going on. Because if they don't, what's I mentioned when I signed up with Ethan Sachs the other day? Like, hey, what you got going on? And if the creator doesn't say, I've got something I can't talk about, that means you should. [00:54:59] Speaker B: They're dead. They're dead in the water. [00:55:01] Speaker A: You need to have something you can't talk about. [00:55:04] Speaker B: Get them help. Get them help right now. [00:55:09] Speaker A: It's just like one of those things that you have to have something that you can't talk about because there's something that is, you're in the works, some scriptures in someone who's signed on into something, but you haven't actually got the issues going or whatever it may be. You have to have this going, because if not, I just don't know where. I also forgot, like, as I was, like, reading, I read some of the ghost machine stuff, but I had no idea, honestly, for some reason, I was blanking on it, that Jeff was actually writing all those books. I just assumed that he was like, okay, let's get like the architect going. And then I'll have a couple of other people, like, you know, Todd's got his new, you know, spawn university going on, but he's not writing all the books. So it's like, maybe that's what's going on. But I'm like, seeing Jeff Johns, Jeff Johnson. I'm like, jesus, man. [00:55:47] Speaker B: Yeah, the first. [00:55:49] Speaker A: Stellar. Yeah, they're all, the thing is like, there's like, certain people who can have 27 books out a month, and they're all like, eh, then there's people out there who have like, you know, twelve or six, six or seven books out in a month, and they're all amazing. I'm like, you guys suck. Give some of the I know right here. [00:56:07] Speaker B: And then like, those, like, some people that like, can, can like, draw and letter and write, like when they like, just start kind of doing everything, and then they're like, I just, I hired a colorist because I was tired. It was like, yeah, go take it. Go take it. Go take a nap, pal. [00:56:20] Speaker A: That's Kyle. Kyle Starks we mentioned earlier. [00:56:22] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:56:23] Speaker A: Scotty Young. In my opinion, some of these people who are like, you guys are stellar artists. Yeah, I better take a time off from art drawing. I'm just gonna write stories, which are amazing. I'm like, you shut up. [00:56:33] Speaker B: Yeah, Scotty's. Scotty's a great. Scotty's. [00:56:35] Speaker A: Sorry, you have too much talent over there. [00:56:38] Speaker B: Right? Yeah. I bought my dad Scotty Young. He. He drew Andy Reid, like, with the frozen mustache during the playoffs. And. And he. He sold him his prints and donated to, like, a local charity. [00:56:53] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:56:53] Speaker B: And I bought my. I bought my dad one, and then we got him. I thought he drew Jason, but he didn't release a print for that. But Funko is releasing the. Released the Jason Funko and my sister and I, like, my dad has, like, this crazy Chiefs collection, and so, like, anyway, I ended up getting him that. And he's got, like, the Funko coming, and he's like. He's like, comics and sheets can combine. I'm like, yeah, man, it's crazy. [00:57:21] Speaker A: I got the scotty, like a two way. [00:57:23] Speaker B: Oh, cool. [00:57:25] Speaker A: That's awesome dirt there. We got, you know, my son's name is Nova, so I got Nova, but, yeah, so am I. LCs. The LCS owner, the company at the place that go galactic Comics. He's also a big Scotty young fan, so he's got a sleeve. Scotty young tattoos too. But, yeah, that was. So I was going to ask you, actually. It's kind of funny. It's a good segue, right? It's a perfect. We plan these things, right? Like podcasts we were streaming. We talk about comics. We know exactly what we're doing. We're perfect at these things. No, but, like, obviously you're a fan of comics too. You're professional, but you're also a fan of comics too. So you must have some. Some guests that you're like, oh, shit, I can't believe I got this. Guests or just guests you were just extremely excited to talk to over the past, you know, number of years. Um, I will say, you know, started off as Scotty was on. Scotty was amazing. I love Scott. I cannot believe at that moment, like, I was able to talk to one of my favorite artists of all time. Obviously, Brian Michael Bendis is another one for me. Uh, I got David Dustmalchan. [00:58:21] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:58:22] Speaker A: To talk to. Talk to headless horseman animal with Leah Kapaltrick. [00:58:25] Speaker B: I really liked his new movie. Even though, dude, it was. I know, I know you're not supposed to like it because. And they used AI in the dumbest way. [00:58:32] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:58:33] Speaker B: I don't even know why they did it. They could have hired. They could have paid me. I would have done that. I would have made that. I would have made that shit in canva for $20. [00:58:45] Speaker A: But I mean, outside of that, yes, it was amazing. [00:58:47] Speaker B: I liked it. A real, real time possession narrative live. Gimme, gimme. It was all. [00:58:52] Speaker A: Anyway, it was amazing. But, yeah, so, like, those people, like, some of the people, I'm like, oh, my God, this is amazing. I can't believe this. And I think, honestly, a lot like you mentioned, kyle. Kyle, I got on my own, but David, Brian, other people, dark horse got those people for me. I just talked to dark horse pr and they were able to help cook me up. So, like, yeah, I've had some guests that I've absolutely loved having on. And I'm like, I cannot believe I've talked to these people. You must have those two. I got something that you have some if you want. [00:59:17] Speaker B: But so early on, Brian Edward hill gave me a shot, like, early Blake's buzz time. And I reached out to awa. He was doing that chariot book. [00:59:29] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:59:30] Speaker B: And I really liked it. And so I sent them. I sent them a message and I was like, hey, I'd love to get him on my show. And they were like, oh, yeah, send us, like, how many people watch your show a month and where's it all? And I was like, oh, they're not gonna put him on my show now. And I was like, brand new. I was like, oh, five people watch my show. Like, nobody was watching. [00:59:47] Speaker A: My, my parents. [00:59:49] Speaker B: Yeah, my grandma and grandpa love it now they're dead. I'm just kidding. Watch it. That's loyalty. [00:59:58] Speaker A: I have 1010 viewers. None of them are gonna buy the comments, so don't worry about that. [01:00:03] Speaker B: But I was like. I was like, oh, yeah, this conversation isn't gonna go where I want it to go. And so I just took a shot and messaged, like, Brian on Twitter. And I was like, hey, man. He was like, oh, I'd love to. Yeah, let's talk. And. And then, like, we, like, he, like, stays in touch. Like, when my dog died, he messaged me to make sure I was okay. And I was like, are you serious? I was like, aren't you busy? Like, writing fucking Batman? Like, you're riding blade right now. Don't care about me. But, like, so that, like, early on, that was insane. And it was just like, it went from, like, kickstarter people to Brian Edward Hill who wrote Batman. And I was like, oh, my God. And. And I was. I remember being, like, super, super nervous. I got. I did the. I was on the press circuit for Bendis and malevolent. That was exceptional. It hasn't aired yet, but I got to. I got an hour and a half with Tom. Like, Tom King. We did a Q. It was late. Like, it was like a 10:00 interview. And then, like, dude, we talked about our dads and, like, we talked about. I got him to talk. I didn't go crazy on the CIA stuff because I know a. It's like, you probably can't talk about it a lot anyway, but I asked him a couple, like, really good questions, and he was like, holy shit, dude. Like, he was like, oh. And so I'm really excited to air that. That was, that was probably the biggest. Like, he's. He's, like, my, one of my favorite writers. The other one, I had that great interview that I lost that I mentioned earlier was, I mean, it was with Joe Casey and, like, sex. Sex is one of my favorite books ever. And, like. And he did. He was like, he was, like, set. He was like, it's always on my mind, and we're gonna finish it. And I was like, oh, yeah, cool. Anyway, that was a great interview. And I. No one's ever. No one's ever going to hear it, but it was awesome. And then. Yeah, let's see. Yeah. Tom King was probably the big recent one. David. David Mack was awesome. He was, like, just telling, like, just telling awesome stories. Just. Just super cool. I did, like, at the con, Jason Aaron, like, meeting him in person. And then, like, a lot of those guys, they don't, like, know me, know me, but they, like, know me enough. And so I was like, you know, I can. When I was walking around the con, like, I was like. I was like, the guys were, like, talking to me and, like, you know, it was weird. I was, like, hanging out with, like, cool people and I was like, this is weird, right? So, like, that was, like, Pat Gleason. Like, every. I would, like, I would. When it was, like, I would, like, go hang out by his booth when it was slow or, like, I was, like, crazy. I also, like, bought an omnibus from him. So, like, you know, you should talk. But he still, like, doesn't. Just because you buy stuff from someone doesn't mean, like, they have to, but he was CB Cebulski was there? [01:03:01] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:03:02] Speaker B: And he was, like, unannounced and so, like, everybody was talking, and he was, like, meeting with people and. And, like, all these comic pros were as. They were like, they're like, blake, why CB here? Have you heard anything? And I was like, who do you guys think I am? Just like, I just did. Someone said, like, local comic book legend Blake Morgan. Is that playing a comic con? You know? But, like, Pat. Like, Pat was talking to me and he was like. He was like, yeah. I was like, I don't know, man. I heard he's. I heard he's made some meetings with people. And Pat was like, well, I'm not exclusive to DC anymore. And I was like. I was like, Pat, are you trying to give me an exclusive or something? And he was like, you keep me in the loop. I'll keep you in the loop. But I was like, all right, dude, let's go. But, yeah, that's, you know, that I didn't. I don't know if, like, anybody got any big marvel. I mean, Jason. I know Jason Aaron talked to him for a little while because I, like, saw them. I saw them chatting and saw, like. Like, I didn't, like, hear what they were saying or anything, but. But I also know, like, Jason is, like, more, like, more and more Marvel books are being announced, which I didn't necessarily see coming with the Ninja Turtle announcement. And then he's at DC. Like, he just got his feet in the door at DC, and he's on action comics and writing a Batman book with Doug Mankey. Like, okay. Like, I feel, you know, I feel like. I feel like that's, like, a welcome party for, you know, like, that's DC saying, like, come with us. Stay. You know, maybe that too. Maybe that's why, like, Marvel was like, no, come back. They're just tugging on him, and Jason's just like, yeah, okay, whatever. But, yeah, so it was cool. Like, I was just, like, having these, like, crazy conversations with people because I was just, like, around at the. At the right time, and everybody was whispering. So, yeah, it's a, you know, in real life and online and, you know, people. People starting to know, you know, people starting to know who I am is crazy. [01:04:53] Speaker A: Yes. [01:04:53] Speaker B: Creators. Watching my live stream sometimes and stuff. Like I said, I'm really, really lucky. Jeff. Jeff Lemire, I'm coming for you, dude. You're gonna be on my show one day, I swear. He's. He's like, he's one that chip. I'd love to get chip on. And these guys, you know, these guys aren't, like, on social media normally, and they, like, some of them have, like, moved to substack. Scott Snyder. I'd love to get Snyder. He follows me. He's, he, he, I'll tell a Scott Snyder story. It was not bad. But he, like, he dm me one time when, when best jacket all the, when the big comicsology best jacket news came. Yeah, like, before Comicsology press sent stuff out, Scott dm me and he was like, he was like, hey, man, here's the review copies. Here's the dates. Like, you know, like, if you want to get stuff ready, just don't, don't say anything, don't share them, and wait till this date to post. And I was like, oh, cool, dude. Thanks so much. I'm so excited. You want to do an interview? And then he just skittered away, and I was like, so he, like, he follows me. And I've asked him a couple times for interview, and he just, like, he never replied. So, like, I feel like one day, Gail, Gail Simone's another one. Rob. Rob Liefeld was mean to me online a long time ago, and Gail Simone followed me out of pity. And, like, I got, like, like this before I got no show. I was like, I was, like, just talking about comics on Twitter and, yeah, like, he, I just, I didn't even, like, I didn't even talk about how he drew. I didn't, like, I said that. I was just like, man, it just, you all work in comics. I was like, you should just be respectful. I was like, you don't have to like the stuff that your coworkers are making, but you shouldn't be out there being like, everything Marvel's making is trash. Like, you know, like, anyways, and without, he, like, he got mad at me, and I've been addicted to people online, right? And I could have been a dick to Rob life, but I was for real, like, just be nice to people, Rob. And he was like, f this guy, I'm done with him. And then, like, he, like, tried to send his army after me. And then, then Gail Simone followed me, and she was like, you're a good kid, blake. And I was like, oh, my God, is this real? [01:07:10] Speaker A: And Rob Lightfield, a bunch of beat. [01:07:13] Speaker B: Pictures, people just, right, yeah, just like, but also, like, Rob, if you wanted to do an interview, I would love to have you on the show. [01:07:19] Speaker A: Like, well, it's funny. [01:07:20] Speaker B: It's like, so out to your 100,000 followers. Tell them to tune in live and be great. [01:07:25] Speaker A: One of my early loves was spawn. Like, the spawn comic books. I always loved Todd McFarland's artwork and so on and so forth. And I've always said I don't like his writing. Like, I'll say it out here again, however, if Todd, if you want to come on the podcast, you're more than welcome to podcast, but I just. [01:07:41] Speaker B: Artwork. [01:07:42] Speaker A: We mentioned the Kyle Starks, the Scotty Young's, where I feel like their artwork and their writing are on the same level, in my opinion. And so there's other artists out there and writers and, you know, comic cartoonists out there that I'm missing. But, like, some people have the same level. And I just feel like Todd's level of writing is just so much further below his ability to draw, which is fine. [01:08:04] Speaker B: He's. He's. He's a. He's. He. He's a great artist. [01:08:07] Speaker A: His style. [01:08:08] Speaker B: His style isn't for everybody, but neither is, like, Bill Sinkovich's. Right, exactly. I do love Bill's art. [01:08:13] Speaker A: Well, Scotty fan, you think people love the Scotty variants that much? Like, it's. There's people who absolutely despise those things. [01:08:19] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:08:20] Speaker A: And so, like, I understand that what people are coming from, but, like, yeah, so, Todd, if everyone wants to come on, Todd could always come on the podcast. Yeah, but you've had it. You've had a couple of my, like, I don't know, dreamish people on there. Dana Warren Johnson. I love this. Talk to Bill. Daniel. [01:08:31] Speaker B: That was cool. [01:08:32] Speaker A: Josh. Joshua Williamson. One of my favorite comic books of all time is nail biter. Literally, I've had Mike Henderson on. Mike was awesome. Talking. Love to talk to Joshua. And my white whale is Michael del Mundo, because one of my favorite artists of all time, and I had him booked for an episode. Like, I had the date in the calendar. He had the link, he had the email. Everything was all set to go, but it was right around con, like, big con season. And so the person that was helping me connect with him, his, like, a helper, and it's like, basically the guy was running his online store was helping. I don't know if it's his assistant or whatever. So can we move it to the fall? And we moved to the fall, and then that canceled and so on and so forth. And because it got canceled two or three times, I've just basically left it alone. Cause I'm like, okay, obviously this person doesn't. [01:09:15] Speaker B: Isn't. [01:09:16] Speaker A: I don't want to bug you too much. Like, I don't want to be? Yeah. [01:09:18] Speaker B: I never know, like, what's the acceptable amount to follow up? I stress over there all the time. [01:09:23] Speaker A: Someone told me, that's my white whale. That's my person who was like, one of these days, I'm gonna email out of the blue. I'm gonna cancel another person to get this person because I'm not missing. [01:09:31] Speaker B: I got not, it's, it's not, it's not a, it's not that. Like, so I met two years ago at my first planet comic con. I met, I met Fred Van Lente at, I was talking to Cullen Bunn and Colin was talking this guy, and I was like, fred. And I was like, oh. I was like, holy crap. I was like, I was. And we, we hit it. I was like, oh, yeah. And Cullen was like, he has a cool show. You should be on it. And anyway, Fred emailed me and he was like, yeah, let's, like, let's, let's set up a deal. And I, I thought I sent this email and it, like, went to drafts and I noticed it, like a year later. I was like, what's this draft, Fred Van Lenti? And I was like, oh, I never saw, wow, this guy hates me. I never responded to this email. And it's been like a year. And then, and then I did. I finally someone told, they're like, blake, just respond like, he doesn't hate you. You're being weird. And so I was like, I was like, hey, man. I was like, I know this is like over a year late, but found this in my drafts. Noticed I never responded. I still would love to have you. And he was like, yeah, cool. And then the other day, one of the bad idea guys, Adam Freeman, he was on the show a while back and he was like, hey, I got some guys that have a book going. Would you have him on your show? And I was like, yeah, sure, man, whatever. And they like, sent me some. He was like, all right, I'll introduce you to email. And as I leaned up, is one of them is Fred Vinland. I was like, fred. I was like, we met. I was like, oh, you're finally gonna come on my show. Nice. Like weird, but yeah, but anyways, beating gummy, my long winded always stories, but always send the email is what I was told is like, don't get in your head about it. Always send the emails. And, and as press, like, someone told me it's our job to be annoying and in a sense, be respectful. But, but, yeah, and I'm with you though, doe dude. Like, I get. I really get in my head about it, especially if it's, like, three times or, like, I send two emails, they're not getting responded to. And I'm like, okay, he's not going to respond. But then I've also heard, like, some people that get these bigger names is because they just. Every week, every other week, reminding, reminding. And then finally it happens. So, yeah, I have gotten lucky. And the bummer, and I hope I get other shots is, like, with Daniel and Joshua and stuff. Like, those were, like, big press circuit emails. So they were like, press circuit interviews. So, like, I got into their, like, scheduled daily stacks of press. And so it was like. It was like, at, like, the 28 minutes mark. They're like, all right, one more question. Then we got it, you know? And it was just like we were, you know, you could tell, like, oh. Like, we could have talked about a lot more stuff, you know, Daniel. Like, we. I got, like, swept up, and then finally at the end, I was like, oh, yeah, transformers. You're writing that, right? That's what this drives was supposed to be about. So anyway, but, yeah, that's. It's cool. [01:12:34] Speaker A: That's Kevin Eastman. [01:12:35] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [01:12:36] Speaker A: Kevin Eastman that way was like a 15 minutes interview for Kevin Eastman. And it was like, there's like, you have 50 minutes on the dot. And I wanted to upstate. Like, I wanted to be like, Kevin, I'm giving you 14. I'm gonna hand. I'm gonna press hang up in 14 minutes. No, it was one of those things. [01:12:50] Speaker B: Done with you, sir. [01:12:52] Speaker A: And I live in Maine, man. I'm like, you're from Maine. You're supposed to give me more credit here. Like, what the hell, I guess, is what's going on there is that it's fun because it makes it so. It's like, okay, I know I have a half an hour. I can get it done. Let's nail it down. Let's make sure we get everything done. But in the same sense. Yeah, you're right. You're like, oh, crap. I did my half an hour opening segment, which was getting to know who you are. [01:13:12] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:13:13] Speaker A: Now we need to talk about the book. You're having it. You have transformers coming on the shelf on May 1. You're like, oh, shit, I gotta get. No publishers ever gonna want you to have me on again if you don't promote the book. [01:13:24] Speaker B: I actually have. I have a funny Kevin Eastman story. I got to interview him. I think I've gotten to interview him two times. Both times, the planet comic Con, both times, they were like, six minute interviews, right? Like, one time wasn't. The first time was in a hallway. He let me interview him in a hallway, like, in between a panel. And I never aired the footage. I got in my head about it because I was like, I knew they were like, you got five minutes with him? I was like, up all night. I was like, what do you ask? [01:13:52] Speaker A: Five minutes? [01:13:53] Speaker B: The father of ninja turtles in five minutes? He's never been asked before. There's gonna be good content that's, you know, like, basically, like one good question with some, like, follow up bonus material, maybe, right? But, like, five minutes is one good r1, good question. A couple supplemental things maybe. And so I was just like, oh, my God. And it, like, came to me in line. Like, I was waiting in line to get an autograph, like, get some stuff signed. And I was talking to the fans, and we were talking about body count. And it's like, it's this adult comic where, like, Raphael and Casey Jones, like, go on a murder spree. Basically. It's just like, everybody. And, and people got mad about it. And then when people, like, even, even Kevin, Kevin Eastman mentioned this in this old interview that I never aired until recently. But he was like, he was like that mark. Mark Bagley art. Like, some of it was like, it freaked me out seeing the turtles do these things, right? And I asked him. I was like, you know, with, with the last Ronin being so successful, and, like, I brought up, like, DC black label and stuff, and I was like, have you guys ever thought about doing, like, a ninja turtle black label that, like, caters to your aging audience that's been there from the beginning and still there now, like, because we keep getting new elements of ninja Turtles for new audiences, and we can still enjoy those, too. Like, that the new Seth Rogen produced movie was beautiful, and I want more from that world. Like, the Nickelodeon 2012 show is a masterpiece. And anyway, and he was like, he was like, no, I don't think Nickelodeon will ever let us do that. And he, like, talked, and it was cool, but, and I got my mind, and I was like this. I was like, you screwed that up, dude. I was like, this isn't, you got to talk to Kevin Eastman. It was nothing. You ruined it. And so I sat on this footage for two years and then finally aired it on Geek network for the last Ronin movie announcement. When that broke and I realized that it was a good question, and it was good because the whole deal is Kevin Eastman talking about, like, the turtles have always been for a wide range of age groups, and ever since they've been popular, there has been different elements for different age groups and different mediums, and, like, that's what the last Ronin is now. And. And that, you know, we're kind of playing with it, and then now, you know, we are going to get. We're going to get this very adult looking video game, and we're going to get. I don't know if it's going to be rated r or not, but it's. It's going to be catered to a more, the last Ronan cater to a more adult audience. The last Ronin is dark. The. The turtle. He tries to kill him. Like, he tries to kill himself and can't. He won't die. Like, vengeance, the lust for revenge won't let him die. And, like, that's messed up, dude. And. And his three brothers are continuously giving him a guilt trip from the, like, from the grave. Like, it's so, so dark and so, yeah, like, if they. If they do any, like, the. The movie, the video game, anything is. Is not going to be for kids. But, yeah, anyway, so I. [01:16:50] Speaker A: So it's funny. It's like, I think I'm thinking myself right now, I'm, like, so out of the six people that are listening, eventually gonna listen to this or watch this video that want to care about behind the scenes of podcasting, is that shoot your shot. Like, that's the big thing. I'm thinking, like, shoot your shot. And, like, honestly, anybody who gets into this, and one of the biggest things that biggest takes, and I've always wanted to do, like, a tour of the studio area and, like, what I use equipment and all that stuff, at some point, I'll get to that when I have some free time. Um, but the idea that, like, that the biggest things that I've learned from the beginning, and I'm sure you talked, we talked about equipment, is, like, get the equipment. [01:17:25] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:17:25] Speaker A: You're not going to be taken seriously. You're not going to get good things unless you have the equipment. And it doesn't have to be the top of the line. No, but don't go out there and buy the $30 podcasting kit, a kit on Amazon and think that you're going to get good quality audio and so on and so forth. [01:17:40] Speaker B: Get a USB interface, get a real. [01:17:42] Speaker A: That stuff, get this stuff together, and do this stuff right. Research and make sure, you know, your guests, make sure you know what's going on, and then shoot your shot. It's the same thing as, like, reach out to people. The number of times that you see your creators talk to other creators online. That's how that comic book came together is because, so x x writer emailed, why? Why artists. And that's the reason. And they twitter, Twitter dM'd. And that's how this book got together. They shot their shot and that happened. That's awesome. So, like, if anybody wants to do this, and I also feel like there's space for things. I think people sometimes think overset. I work for the brewing industry. People like, oh, there's too many breweries. I'm like, no, there's space for it. As long as you do it right and you, and you have a, have a plan and you do it. If you're going to release consistently, release consistently. If you're not, you know, one of those things, like, I don't know. There's just a lot of things that go into it. I just feel like one of those things that Kevin Smith, again, another person who I've loved to have on the podcast. Oh, shit. And I have the, used to do. [01:18:40] Speaker B: Tons of them too. [01:18:41] Speaker A: Now he's, I reached out, we read because I reached out through dark horse to talk about quick stops and stuff like that. Like, hey, I could talk quick stuff. I don't, also the whole episode, talking quick stocks, as long as I can talk to you. And it's, again, one of those first email. Second email hasn't gone anywhere. So I'm like, let me take it back a second. But the idea is like, do it. Just do it. Just freaking do it. Just get there and get your shit together and just do the thing. And then that's how Blake got it going. And so I gotta go on it. We just freaking did it. We just said, hey, I'm gonna podcast. Let's do this. [01:19:12] Speaker B: And so that's what I guess what I didn't know how to do when I started podcasting. Edit audio. That's what guess what I didn't know how to do. Still don't know how to do that. Great. Edit video. That's why I do live stream. Everybody's like, dude, like a live stream. This is cool. You switch that. I switched to that because we go live and then it ends and it's stays on YouTube forever. I don't have to edit it or re upload it. I could, you know, I can clip it, short it stuff, which I need to do more. I don't do enough of that. But, but, you know, like, I live stream because I'm lazy. It's, it stays there and then it's done. I'm done with it. And then, and there have, you know, I feel good because the other day I found out that other podcasters have like someone told me they have like an interview that's almost a year old, uh, and, and that hasn't got yet because like things get pushed back and the stuff happens and then, and then, and then time goes by and then you forget about it and then you remember it and then you're like, oh, no, when am I going to release this? Then you forget about it again and then you're like, well, they just hate me now, so I'll just, anyway, I have one of those sitting around, but I talked to another big, another big name podcast and just talking about like being busy and stuff and they were like, they're like, oh, dude, like we've, we've got stuff from like last June. And I was like, that makes me feel so much better. [01:20:25] Speaker A: Yes. [01:20:25] Speaker B: I was like, because I was like, especially this podcast, I was like, you know, I look at you guys, like your per, I don't want to like name drop them because they like told me they had an old interview. But like, I was like, I look at you guys and you're like, you're doing it, you know, and so like, yeah, if you guys have stuff that I'm like, thank you. I needed that. [01:20:44] Speaker A: Exactly. [01:20:45] Speaker B: Do it. Definitely. Like if it's ever, even if you don't want to do interviews, like, yes, like if you just, if you want to, if you have something you're passionate about, the uh, the horror community is great. It was a bummer. Like, I really hope tick tock stays around because like it was fun. I, for a little bit, like, I was like in the fall I usually try to do like short videos for like the horror movies I watch and stuff, you know. And it was like I started kind of getting the horror algorithm and like there's like, there's like these cool little communities. So, yeah, like, get over it. A long, long time ago, I told somebody that I didn't think anybody would ever care what I had to say. And I was, does the dumbest thing I've ever said. But at that, at the time I believed it. It's good to be wrong. People do care what I have to say, but it, if you have a voice and you're passionate about something, someone will listen. And maybe a lot of people don't listen, right? There's, there's some weeks where I watch stuff and like no one, no one watches it. Some, you know, or. And then, you know, and that's just it, you know, that's. That's going to happen. Um, that's going to make you mad. There's no answer to that. But if. If you're passionate about it and you start. And you start having fun doing it, and then, like, then you just kind of can't stop, really. That's. That's what happened to me. The. The upgrades and everything. It's just, I, like, I don't know. What else would I do with my free time? [01:22:10] Speaker A: You mentioned you can't stop that, right? So, like, I started doing the reviews of comic books on our website, and I have a couple other people help me, and so on and so forth is we started getting poll quotes on books. [01:22:19] Speaker B: Nice, right? [01:22:20] Speaker A: So, like, we got, like, like, Antarctica was a great book over there at Choco. Got a quote on the back and so on and so forth. And the first one I noticed it on was legacy of violence, volume two. I was scrolling through the advanced copy, and I got to the last stage. It was like, nine or 1030, 11:00 at night. And I'm texting my buddy at the LCS. I'm like, what the fuck? I did? No idea. And so I said, yeah, they don't like you now. I'm like, now I'm just gonna do it. I can't, like, I can't stop now. I think there is a geek network when we're on the same thing together. But now, like, looking at every single trade I've ever done a review for. [01:22:54] Speaker B: I'm always like, okay, I wonder if. [01:22:55] Speaker A: This would be on the back of it. And then, like, when I show our poll quote showed up at our previews catalog, I was like, the funny thing is, three people that I know, we're gonna give two shits that I was at a previews catalog. But to me, it was like, oh, my God, I saved the previews catalog. I have it. So, like, what is this? I'm like, it's a three throwaway magazine to order your comics that you want to get. And they're like, what? I go, it literally should go in the trash after you order. There's no reason to have this thing. And they're like, oh, God. I'm like, yeah, see? It's like, you can't stop. And then the biggest thing to me is like, I just like doing it. Like, yeah, in the end, would these creators like to have thousands and thousands and thousands of people watching or listening? Yes, because it helps them. But in the end, if they are cool with coming on with 15 people watching, then I'm just gonna keep doing it because I get to talk to these people. It's a private conversation that a bunch of people get to listen to that you would. No one else. Not no one else, but very few people get to do. So, like, I'm gonna keep doing it. [01:23:51] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah, I miss it too. Like, I used to. I used to work in a bar for a long time and like, you know, those. I just. All you do is talk to people. You just. So you talk, talk, talk, right. And then. Yeah, so I just, I just. I like talking to people and I don't. I don't have. I have like, friends and I like, I have some. I have some people. Like, we want to start playing D and D, like, locally. And like, I'm excited to start doing that. And so, I mean, I have. I just don't have a lot of local comic book friends. [01:24:20] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:24:21] Speaker B: And so, like, this is the way I get to. I get to network in that field is through, through social media and the platform. Just be like. Because like, like locally, unless I'm at like the Kansas City planet, Comic Con is like, I don't know anybody around here. [01:24:37] Speaker A: I have a book club. We go it once a month. We read a trade paperback in my lcs. That's, that's my spot. Every week I go there, pick up my comic books. But like, yes, you're right. It's like talking to people on this podcast is really where I get most of my stuff in my discussion about. And I can mention a comic book and I'd be like, they're not like, what is that a comic book? [01:24:54] Speaker B: Isn't that what you like, read when you kids? Yeah. You know, even my sister, when I started this, like, I told, I told my. Cuz she's into like, she was. My sister loves horror and serial killers and stuff. And she was like, they made comic books about serial killers. And I, like, I let her, I let her borrow nail biter. I was like, read this now. [01:25:14] Speaker A: Yes, you need to read this now. Like, I'm still baffles me that there isn't a movie yet. Like, I know there. [01:25:18] Speaker B: Oh, I know, right? [01:25:19] Speaker A: Like how it hasn't gone further in Hollywood is just. It shows how screwed up Hollywood is, honestly. Because that is like, there's so many comics that went from like the final issue of a comic book onto the screen that are like. To the fact that there's like a seriously, some comic books that I've like are some of my favorite of all time. And, like, why is it still in, like, creation limbo here? Like, what the Hollywood. But, yeah, that's awesome, though. [01:25:43] Speaker B: And that book is just, like, it's so cinematic, too. Like, I. It reminded me of, like, it reminds me of, like, something killing the children. It's just like, you finally. It's. It's almost. It's almost hard to read them, like, when they're coming out because, like, they move so fast. They have a lot of bigger panels. You know, it's. It's not the. They just. It's not a. It's not a slow moving book. Right. You don't, you know, you're. You're. You're flying through it, literally. And. And, like, you know, so, like, just month by month, you know, it's just like these. These quick little moments and then you're waiting as opposed to, like, finally, like, when you. If you go get, like, the three nail bite or deluxe editions. Right. And you can, like, sit down and. And reread it all over again and stuff. [01:26:25] Speaker A: Like, oh, this is not going to work as money, that. But, yeah, like, these things are, like, those are beautiful. [01:26:30] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:26:30] Speaker A: And I. Number one is actually. Oh, they're all actually. This is, number two is like, little Mike Anderson. [01:26:37] Speaker B: I bought my volume one is signed by Mike, too. I bought it on a Facebook group, and I got it real cheap because the front cover scratched, but it's still signed by Mike. So I was like, yeah, I don't care. I'm not selling it. [01:26:47] Speaker A: Like, and he's talking about, like, this. Like, there's, like, if they. Because there's. There's talk. There is. I have had Mike on here, and he said on the podcast that they're working on, future nail biter. And I said, cool. You have to do enough that I get a fourth one of those because. And it has to be matching. You cannot screw that up. [01:27:04] Speaker B: Yeah, like, there's another trade, right. That's just, like, another six issues out that came out after the three. Hardcore. Yeah, I still haven't read those. I need to read those. [01:27:15] Speaker A: Tell you right now, keep the favorite. But, like, they need to. That was the beginning was so much better than that. Those extra issues. But, like, yeah, but, yeah, still read it, though. But, yeah, so, like, you are weekly, or you try to do weekly. You're trying to, like, you know, you're on your online regularly, doing live streams on YouTube, Facebook and things like that. You're also on social media loving comics. [01:27:38] Speaker B: Yeah, I just. I switched it to loving. Yeah. Because I don't know. I'm weird. [01:27:45] Speaker A: You're good. But Blake spies, you can like, obviously search that on. [01:27:49] Speaker B: Yeah, I did. I did pick a good name. If you google Blake's buzz, you can find me. I was, I got very lucky with that because I think when I launched the blog first, when it was like Blake's buzzing comic reviews, and I was like, man, I'm glad. I don't know how Blake's buzz came from that, but I'm sure glad it did, right? [01:28:09] Speaker A: It works. [01:28:10] Speaker B: It's great comic reviews. [01:28:13] Speaker A: It's, it's, it's, it's a, it's a great, yeah, and it's like I said, it comes up really easily when you search for it and so on and so for, you have tons of interviews on there with some of the top creators and some indie creators, Kickstarter stuff, all that stuff on there. It's awesome. I'm a regular listener and I, it's funny, it's like my buddies of the, they do bangor comic at Toy Con, which is like my, like, next door neighbor comic convention. And then this one and 2 hours from here in Portland, Maine, called the main comic at Toy Con, same ownership. And their buddies of mine, I grew up with them and they do live streams. Like, hey, we're getting like, we're doing a live stream here and there. And I get like 30 seconds in and I'm just like, I'll listen to it another time. I was listening. I listened to him. Like, Kyle Stark's one of my favorite people. I'm going to listen to this episode. I'm going to watch it. I'm sitting there, my son is trying to go to bed in his bed next to me, and he's just falling asleep. And then my wife texted me like, I don't know, 20 minutes later and was like, did you fall asleep in the chair? My phone is like on my lap, my chest right here, like holding it back. And I'm like, oh, yeah, I got to go to bed. And I'm like, up until, like, don't know, 15 minutes. And I was listening and I'm like, I can't. I gotta go back and listen because I love Kyle. But it's funny, I'm actually so marvel unleashed and peacemaker tries hard, has a pull quote from us. [01:29:28] Speaker B: Hell yeah. Oh, I cried. My buddy told me that. He was like, dude. And I told Kyle that I was like, dude, kyle. Like, my buddy told me, like, read this before you talk. He all, he didn't tell me, like, read it is gonna break your heart in little tiny feet. But, you know, and then I told him because it's like, we just brought home cocoa, right? So we got this, you know, and Bruce is. Is the most. I love that dude. He's so spoiled, though. Like, but, you know, like, we're very. I'm very, very, very dog people over here. And so. Yeah, like that. Oh, man. D Dog. D Dog's journey and the Rainbow bridge. Oh, goodness. That was a lot. [01:30:06] Speaker A: Yeah, it's beautiful. And the beautiful artwork on. [01:30:08] Speaker B: You forget the art. So good. Yeah, I was legit pissed when he was like. He was so. He was like, oh, I'm so glad you liked it and wanted to talk about it because no one read it. And I was like, what? Like, let's fight people. Like, that's bullshit. [01:30:21] Speaker A: And same thing as my lcs, I think it's like, when I put it on my preview, like, when I sit in my foc, in to my lcs, I think he was like, oh, I wasn't even going to order that book. And I'm like, what are you guys thinking? First of all, I don't understand how many lcs's that people don't just follow readers. Like, Kyle Starks has come up with such great stuff that you just don't want to get it in because Kyle's writing it. Like, I don't understand that. And the same thing with Peacemaker Tristart. I'm like, dude, peacemaker, peacemaker right now. It's so freaking hot right now. And I think even went with my quote was like, it's such a continuation of what James Gunn's peacemaker is. [01:30:51] Speaker B: Oh, my God. [01:30:51] Speaker A: People who are fans of that show will freaking love the comic. So if you're a fan of that show, like, definitely read Peacemaker dry, sir, because it's freaking wonderful. I don't know how this podcast has turned into, like, a house. [01:31:04] Speaker B: I. So I hit him up because the whole. A couple times during that interview, he brings up his. His Mars attacks run. [01:31:13] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:31:14] Speaker B: And he, like, taught any, like, I'm, like, talking about how much, like, I love his books. He's like, yeah, they're okay. But, like, this Mars attacks run, I did. And I was like, okay, I got to read this fucking Mars attacks run, right? And so, like, I go hit the Internet and it's on. I could spend $10 and get it on kindle. Okay. Like, I could. I can get it digitally. There's so he. Kyle, I think he was cheeky with me because he. I was like, yeah. I was like, I was like, it's like, $30 online. I asked. I was basically like, hey, man, like, I was like, I'd love to buy one from you if you wanted to sign it, like, before I buy a random one online. And he was like, oh, I don't have any. He was like, what are they selling for? And I was like, 30. And he was like, whoa, $30? And I was like, I was like, it's not the price. It's just that I was like, I don't know. I could spend $30, and it's probably going to not going to come in a Gemini mailer, and it's going to come, like, folded in half. That's, that's my experience with third party Amazon sellers, typically, unless, like, unless it says, like, comic book in their name, they're going to ship you a book not protected. Uh, that's in my, been my luck anyway. Yeah, but I was just, I was like, oh, my God. Like, I really, really, really want to read this. Mars attacks run, and I guess I'm probably just gonna have to get it digitally. Yeah, it's, it's not on hoopla. It's not anywhere. And, and, and, yeah, I don't, I don't like, it makes me nervous. Like, even on eBay and stuff, when, when it's, when it just shows a picture of the COVID and not an actual picture of the book you're buying, like, that's, that's a red flag to me. [01:32:36] Speaker A: That's laziness, people. [01:32:37] Speaker B: Yeah. It's lazy. It's laziness. And, like, I want to know if the corners are rolled. [01:32:41] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:32:42] Speaker B: I want to know if the spine has a tick in it. Okay. [01:32:45] Speaker A: See, I don't mind. So the biggest thing to me is, like, and people ask that. It's like, if a comic book came out this week, say there's, like, so, like, there's a feral variant of this. Like the deadpool. [01:32:57] Speaker B: Mm hmm. [01:32:57] Speaker A: Like, there's a feral variant of this from Tony Fleece, exclusive from a shop. And I'm like, if that's just a picture, the book just came out. There's a high chance that I'm going to get one that's in fairly good quality. Like, it's just, you know, but a book that came out that many years ago, you have no idea what doll that's been sitting in. Someone didn't know. You know, like, it's like, oh, I forgot I had this in my collection and so on. So it's, it's been in a short box, unbagged and boarded and. And so, yes, like, there's this things that, like, yes, older comics, newer comics. I'll take a more of a flyer on if it's just an image. But, like, an older comic, I'm like, eh, like, even a couple years old, I'm like, I'm not. Not taking that risk. [01:33:32] Speaker B: I've gotten a lot of, like, oh, I got a good deal. And then you get a library copy in the mail, and you're like, damn it, you got me again. Ebay. And then, and then you. You're like, I'm about to send this guy an angry email. And you go, like, look at the product description. And then, like, the tiniest font ever. It's like, this might actually be a library copy. So if you were gonna send us a mean message, Blake, you can't do it now. [01:33:52] Speaker A: And it's like, the only one that I got pissed off at is like, so I work for a brewery, and we did a collaboration with brewery. [01:33:59] Speaker B: Did you say what brewery you work or brewing company. [01:34:01] Speaker A: It's in. It's in Orano, Maine. University of Maine. But Daniel Krause, now, a friend of mine, his wailfall book, he had a book come out called Welfall. He's also written Trojan, the autumnal and other stuff. But he wanted to do a beer for it. So my brewery did a beer for it for the release, and he came out to do stuff. And so when he came out, I was like, oh, I'm gonna buy a number of your books. When you're here. Do a signing. I'm gonna get some of your novel signs. So. And so he wrote a book called wrath. And so I went on, I was like, I was trying to find it. Couldn't find it anywhere. And so thrift books had it. So I was like, oh, it's just thrift books. I got an advanced reader copy. That's what they sent me. [01:34:39] Speaker B: Oh, whoa. [01:34:40] Speaker A: I'm like, I'm like a library, whatever. But literally, it's one that says, do not sell on it. It literally said on it, do not sell it. I'm like, I'm not walking up there with an advanced reader copy of a book. Came up number of years ago. [01:34:50] Speaker B: Oh, I would. I would be like. I'd be like, so I had him sign up for, but please sign it. [01:34:55] Speaker A: But nowadays, he thinks there's certain things that I've actually sent him in the mail, him send back, because I had to send him beers. Could I send you a book? And so on. And so forth and so on. But, yeah, it was just kind of funny. I'm like, that's, that, to me, is sketchy. It's like, I get the, yeah, that's, that's the mad cave sends out those advanced copies, and I'm like, imagine if I sell that to someone as a regular copy on eBay. It would just, like, people would be pissed. Or, I mean, you shouldn't sell that in the first place. Like, that should be like, like, whatever. But, yeah, I keep all mine. [01:35:20] Speaker B: Like, I have mine. [01:35:21] Speaker A: I mentioned bagnaboard, and actually, I've had greater sign them because I'm like, I feel like, okay, this is kind of cool. It's a unique thing to have and so on and so forth, but, yeah, whatever. But we love in comics is your social media, but you can also, blake, buzz, all that stuff. Geek network. What's the Geek Network website, though? Is it, like, calm or is it on that? Is it, it's not. [01:35:40] Speaker B: It's definitely not. [01:35:42] Speaker A: It's like a hyphen. Yeah, yeah, yeah. [01:35:45] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Geek network.com. Yeah. [01:35:48] Speaker A: Honestly, just Google Geek network is going to come up. [01:35:50] Speaker B: Yeah, it comes up. Yeah, it's, it's, it's cool, man. It's, um, that, it's, it's that we're in that transition period right now, and like I said, we're building this podcast syndicate we got. We're going to have, like, you know, some, some people, but, you know, we get a lot of, we get a lot of cool opportunities. We get a, you know, so we've sent some guys to, to, you know, shows to do, like, press at rock shows and stuff. Some great, great interviews opportunities, you know, lots of, lots of cool press list opportunities and stuff. And so we really hope to, I love Thomas, and I was hoping he would be my EIC. I was hoping he would be my EIC and I would be the operations manager. And that was the plan. Plans change, right? I've always, it's funny, I've always wanted to be this right, you know? So, like, part of me, but, you know, it feels weird just because I do. I love Thomas, and I wanted this to happen with us together. But, you know, we, we, we still talk. Uh, we don't play hell divers anymore because I'm too, I've been too busy. Uh, but, but, you know, we still talk about playing helldivers and send memes and shorts to each other, so, but, you know, like, everybody, you know, everybody's in good spirits, and it's just, it's, it's a lot of work, but, I mean, really, all we want to do is, is just, we just, we just want to put cool, geeky stuff out there for people. You know? We want to, we only want to. We want to do, like, we're getting these, like, video game review copies and stuff, and, and we're trying to do, like, you know, video game. It's. We're just, we're just trying to keep. Keep the content machine running, and it's hard and it's stressful, but, I mean, we're all, we're all nerds, and we're all excited and terrified, and I think it's gonna be good. I think it's gonna be cool. I think. I think we're gonna grow it into industry. I think we're gonna keep the. We're gonna make it even better. It's. It's gonna keep. It's gonna stay. It's going to stay that awesome thing that Thomas made. And I think we're going to. We're going to keep. It's going to keep being something cool, and we're going to be. It's going to be a fun place to be for. To be a nerd and also for, like, for podcasters and stuff. I've said this for a long time, shows like this. I was so cool you invited me to do this. I I see this happen a lot. I see, like, crossover shows and stuff, and people like guess and. And it hasn't happened a lot with me. And I don't know. I don't know. Maybe people don't like me. I don't know. I don't know. Whatever. [01:38:15] Speaker A: But, like, I don't like you either, Blake. [01:38:16] Speaker B: I just thought I'd be one of the metrics, man. You'll retweet it, but, yeah, you know, it's. I. But I think it's stuff like, this is good. And when I think of, like, when I started and, like, googling stuff and, like, trying to find, like, what mics people use, what software people's use, what, then you get the stuff. What settings do people use? You know, I had to do a lot of that on my own, and, you know, it would be cool to offer play, like, have a bunch of people that, like, you know, we do this every day, every week or whatever, you know, and our knowledge is here for you, too, like, so that, you know, to have shows where, yeah, we taught, like, talk about what gear we use and stuff like that. And why, like, why we bought what we bought or why the rodecaster was expensive, but made my life ridiculously easier. Right. You know, and it's, and, like, sometimes when you do what we do, like, a, like you mentioned, like, buy the stuff and don't always buy the cheap stuff. Right. Because cheap audio equipment isn't, it isn't going to help anybody ever. And, like, but, you know, like, once you start doing this stuff, like, things that can make your life easier, things that can make making content easier, producing easier, editing easier, like, that's, you know, that's worth so much. And so, yeah, you know, if we had, we had a group of people that, like, here's, here's, here's what helped me when I got started. I think. I think just having that, that little community element is, is something. So, yeah, I, we're just, we just want to do, we just want to make the community better and write cool articles and make sure people know where to buy. I want, I want to know. People need to know where. I want you to be broke like me. Spend all your money on stuff you don't need, and I'll show you where to buy it. Come on down. No. Yeah. So, you know, I think it's great. [01:40:13] Speaker A: I think it's great. And I think you're right on the spot on there. I think one of my biggest goals over the past, like, I don't know, year, is to eventually, I'd love to be able to do some sort of podcast, comic book podcasting, like, association, where it's like, it's free to join. It's just a networking of people who talk about different things. And I'd love to do awards. I think that there's a lot of awards out there, but I do think it'd be fun to do, like, you know, you know, you can't vote for yourself, but, like, kind of, like, favorite episode of the year, but also, like, what's your favorite comic of the year? And those kind of things, too. Like, I know they just announced, they just did the heroic awards and things like that, too. Like, there's fun things. I just think that'd be kind of a cool thing. And I think that there is a place for it, and I think just getting it started, getting it off the ground and having something to do with it, but, like, what you guys are doing with Geek network, I'm so pumped about and I'm loving. I can't wait for more of that. I love what you're doing over at Blake's buzz and stuff like that, so I'm just pumped. I just think that we could probably talk for hours and hours and hours about stuff. [01:41:09] Speaker B: I'm good at that. I don't shut up. That's. [01:41:13] Speaker A: Shut you up is what I'm going. [01:41:14] Speaker B: To do right here. [01:41:17] Speaker A: This is not going to be some sort of clean ending right here. I got to go. No, no. We gotta get going. [01:41:23] Speaker B: My wife. [01:41:24] Speaker A: I got a son to go take care of and all that stuff. But no, yeah, definitely my earphones falling out of my ear because it's sweaty. I don't know. Like, I feel like the heaters on in here, but it's not. And I'm, like, sweating balls in here, but, yeah. So check out we love in comics for find it following on social media, all that stuff. Blake's buzz, geek network, all that stuff. But, yeah, I really appreciate you taking the time, Blake. Coming out. [01:41:45] Speaker B: We'Ll have to get you on, like, vice. Vice versa. Get you on, like, when we do, like, a. When we do, like, a community chat on the Geek network channel or. Come on. Next time I get, like, Daniel Warren Johnson. You can just sneak on. [01:41:59] Speaker A: I've always told someone, I'm like, I don't mind being the guy in the corner. If you want me, like, just this guy in the corner once a while, just say something. I'll be the. Was the Mc from, like, the late night tv shows where I'm just, like, there, and I just, like, every once in a while, I'm just like, yeah, I agree. [01:42:14] Speaker B: What's your favorite ice cream? Kill Tony. Kill Tony's. It's like, every time red band talks, it's all right. Red band, enough. Like, we had enough of you tonight, okay. [01:42:26] Speaker A: Like, yeah, it's like, it'd be fun. [01:42:29] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:42:29] Speaker A: I thought this. I said the community is amazing. The comic book community is amazing. But I feel like the comic book podcasting and interview community is also amazing. I think that's what's great about. About the world we live in right now. We're like, you live in this. In part of the country than I live, and we can do this and so on. Yeah, absolutely. So, yeah, we'll do it again at some point, and maybe I'll, you know, I've talked about, like, a roundtable kind of thing would be kind of cool. Talk about random shit, but, yeah, but thanks again, Blake. I really appreciate it. Everybody should check out Blake's buzz, for sure. [01:42:54] Speaker B: And also, please, we need you. No, I'm just kidding. But, yeah, and, like, vice versa. Like, is a good. It's a good channel and a good voice. So, like, obviously, you're listening to the show already. I guess you don't need to subscribe to the show you're listening to. All right. I tried to help. It didn't go where I wanted it to go. Justin. [01:43:14] Speaker A: I lost subscribers. No, I'm just kidding. I appreciate it, Blake. Really do. Thanks, man. [01:43:21] Speaker B: It was a blast. Good time.