Oh, my God. Where's my lanyard? I need my pass. Uh, okay. The line's so long. Yay. I'm finally in. And welcome to Dear Watchers, an omniversal comic book podcast where we usually do a deep dive into the multiverse. Listen to that crowd. We are traveling with you and 200,000 other people through the stories, the worlds, and the conventions that make up an omniverse of fictional realities we all love. And your watchers on this journey are. Me Guido and me. I'm
cosplaying as Rob today. Or should I be cosplaying as our third guest, the man responsible for literally the artwork for every single comic book podcast on the market? Everyone ever. Every single one. Everyone. It is Elliot from Elliot comic art. Oh. Hold your applause, please. Thank you. Thanks, guys. Hi, everyone. Hi, dear. Watchers fans out there. I'm really excited to be here and to be
recording live with you guys. Usually I'm trapped in my bedroom or sometimes even my bathroom when I record. One of your 15 children are knocking on the door trying to get in. And if you are joining us for the first time, we have three parts of our journey through the Con multiverse today origins of the story, exploring multiversity, and pondering possibilities. So thank you as we look back on New York Comic Con 2023. And remember, we want
you to leave us a five star review. Thanks to Lisa from Comic Book Couples Counseling podcast for telling us to say exactly that. And so please leave us that five star review wherever you're listening, and thanks for joining. Before we get started, this is our special episode on New York Comic Con. Hold on. That deserves some applause. Minor applause for that one. Oh, no, there's a little bit more. It picked up at them. Yeah, exactly.
So New York Comic Con 2023 is under our belt and really exciting. Last year, we did two bonus episodes from New York Comic Con. We decided this year to make it, uh, one regular episode. So we are at episode 117 on New York Comic Con. So let's start with, as we do in every episode, our backgrounds. So what are our backgrounds with New York Comic Con?
I'll start even though I'm asking a question. I'll start? Because I have the longest, uh, New York Comic Con. 17 years old, and I've gone to everyone except one. When a dear friend made the decision. To get married overnight, you were about to say mistake. But that's rude. I was thinking it, but, uh, it's the only year I missed. I could not figure out
a time to get there for more than an hour, so I skipped it. So I've been to 16, including the special editions that they've done, and I'm always looking forward to it. Every year, as I posted in one of our many social media posts about this Comic Con, I get a little teary when I walk in the door. The first time every single year. It's a very special place for me. So, Elliot, you're our guest. You go next. I can't remember when I moved to New York City in 2008. I think I went the
next year, and I went either two or three times. And that's back when New York City comic Con was a little bit smaller. It didn't have a lot smaller. My gosh, I remember going and I just had my list of comics I wanted to find. So on the main floor, I would just go long box diving. And I collected Brian Michael Bendis's entire daredevil run in single issues, which
I then sold when I moved out of New York City. But I used to go with a former colleague, and then this is my third time in a row post pandemic with you guys. And it was my New York City Comic Con. Was my first ever Comic Con. And like you, Guido, there's only two occasions when I get, like, a stupid smile on my face. One is at a Bruce Springsteen concert I've been many times, and I'm like, okay, I've been to a concert. And I walk in, and immediately I smile. And I did the same
thing yesterday. I walked down into artist alley, and I get this big grin on my face when I see the names of all my childhood and current, um, heroes out and about. This is why we're all such dear friends, because Rob is the Bruce Springsteen concert. I'm the Comic Con. And so you get both. You're the amalgam of together. The only reason why I'm. And Rob, what is your New York Comic Con history?
The first year I went to New York Comic Con, I went through the organization geeks out, which is a great LGBTQ nerd organization out of New York City. They're still at New York Comic Con. They had the table this past week, and I wasn't even a full member of the organization, but I was doing a show at the time, and they just gave me a ticket, which, to your point, Elliot and Guido, how much smaller comic Con was, uh, over a decade ago, that they were just like,
here's a path for a day. It was my first time there, and I was promoting this queer nerd variety show I was doing at the time called queer not Cool. And that was actually the variety show that I met Guido at mhm ten years ago. Oh, my gosh. So we can credit New York Comic Con with our life together. That's awesome. Exactly. In a strange, roundabout way. What can't New York Comic Con do? Yes. And then I think all the years I've known you, Guido, I've gone at least one
day. And for the past several years, I've really gone all four days. I remember the days when you were like, I think you're nuts for going four days. There's not enough to do for four days. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And now here you are. Uh, well, we were also saying over this week how much older we have gotten, because I would then hang out with friends that night and maybe watch movies, horror movies, because it's always during Spooky season. Or go out to the gay geeks in New
York or geeks out or some events that they did. I couldn't imagine being on my feet any longer or staying up late and watching something after going to Comic Con now. Yeah, we were all taking, um, pain relievers and putting our feet in Epsom. Salt bath last night while we watched. Loki and turned it off at 930. Exactly as we all started to fall. Asleep during the episode on the couch.
All right, well, with that, dear watchers, we are through the metal detectors and taking the escalator down into this week's episode, episode 117. And let's check out what's happening at New York Comic Con, which truly is like traveling to an alternate universe. Very show. You're going to get the answer to all your questions. Our amazing story begins a few years ago. And we've got our musical cues because we're going to use our three segments in this episode.
We're going to start with our origins of the story. So looking at some things that are a little maybe nostalgic for us, looking back at things from the past that highlights this con. Yes, at this con. So, Guido, why don't you kick us off? Well, I'll share my first and the biggest. And again, for those following our social media, there's videos, there's photos, because unexpectedly, the Slayer's presence brought Buffy back
into this con. Buffy, which debuted 26 years ago, now coming back as an Audible series, being able to go to the panel and have original cast members, we did a photo op with the original cast members. It was really incredible. And I'm more excited than ever. We started listening to Slayers. It actually might show up in a near future episode because it's a really cool multiversal story with Buffy.
But it was just so cool to see this resurgence of Buffy with a lot of the original cast and be around a ton of Buffy fans. There were so many people as moved or excited as I was in that panel. I went to it alone, and it was kind of fun that I got to be there alone because it was a little bit of, uh, a religious experience for me. I'd say having tara. Spike drusilla. Cordelia Clem all up there, and Anya, I mean, three of my favorite characters,
drusilla, anya and Cordelia were three of my favorite characters. So having them on stage and then being able to do a photo op with some of them was so cool. It was so cool. So get ready. We're going to be rewatching Buffy very soon. I've never seen it. I can't understand it. I really can't. I can't understand it. It's in my retirement plan.
And I think these Audible series or radio plays, basically, and comics, these are a great way to bring back these classic characters in a new form that's not on TV and kind of remember them like we did. Because I know this show is set in 2013. Right. Well, they're an okay way. Like, it's fun. We started listening to it. It's fun. Do I want it to be a TV show? Yeah, absolutely. I want it to be a TV show. But it is fun because perhaps they wouldn't be able to get these folks in a
TV show. Or maybe there'd be a worry about de aging them, um, CG or makeup wise or something. So, yeah, it does open the door more, but I would have rather a TV show. Maybe that's what they're waiting. Well, one day, Sarah Michelle Geller will make her way back and be on the TV show. But in the meantime, it's a really cool series that we will have a lot more to say about in a future episode. And it was really special to be able to have those moments at New York
Comic Con. Totally. Uh, it surprised me that they had such a large presence. We did the Immersive activation, which was great, the Bronze, and you got drinks, and they did a tarot card reading, and you worked out with Slayers and took pictures with them, and they had, like, the high school lockers. So they just have done so much promotion. And it was cool to have that experience.
Ball Sharpie is my first origin of the story thing, because it's also horror, uh, related, and also someone who had, I felt like, a big presence at the Con, which was I got to go to the John Carpenter conversation in the main stage. And I just love John Carpenter. Uh, he is definitely one of my favorite directors. And to see the person who created or co created Halloween this close to the Halloween season, it just felt great to see him walk out to some of the iconic synthesizer music that he
himself composed. And he's a character. He's very I'd say ornery he's not into being interviewed. And after about three questions from the official moderator, he just said, let's just take questions from the audience. So, really, the next 45 minutes, I'd say, were just questions from the audience. And there were some really good questions, one of which I want to get to in one of our future segments on this episode. And it was just fun to be in the
same presence. I think it's the same thing you were experiencing, Guido, someone that you've just absorbed the art that they've created. And just to be in the same room as that person, even if you're not really interacting with them, it just feels so special. Well, and he's cool because he does, in other ways that you'll talk about, have a kind of tangential presence at Comic Con for you through his wife's comic book company, which I know you'll
talk about. But it was cool that this year he was the focus, and it was nice. I'm sure that he wasn't promoting something specific. So you got to really just hear about him and from him. And it wasn't like he was on the press tour for Halloween. No, he's so over it at this point. He hasn't made a movie in a while, and he might not make a movie again. So he's just saying, yeah, Hollywood is not the great place to work. He wants to just focus on making music, which he
seems to love to do. And I am going to touch on a lot and which I love. And I bought some signed vinyls of them from, uh, the great record label Sacred Bone. So I'm actually going to touch on John Carpenter in each of my segments. Oh, m my. And as you pointed out, one thing I want to say. You didn't use this as your segue. You pointed out that while I was in the Slayers panel with the legend Charisma Carpenter, you were in the John Carpenter
panel. So we were both in Carpenter panels featuring icons of the last few decades in horror. Thank you. Charisma Carpenter and John Carpenter. No relation. But thank you both. No, that I know of. I don't think so. While you were there, I was at work. I'm a teacher, and I was like a Carpenter building the futures of young. Yes, that's true. Thank you. All right. Furiously scanning Twitter and Instagram to see
everything that you are missing. But what didn't you miss? Elliot, what was your first origin of the story item? Well, for me, I started collecting comics in middle school, which was the early 90s. So there are many people that I just like they're just in my bones as comic creators. So, like, walking by Eric Larson and Will Sportaccio and even Rob Liefield and. Watching Eric Larson draw, because I didn't know until you pointed out that he draws a really particular
and different unique way. Being able to see it in action is like, whoa, cool. Yeah, it's so cool. And even, like, seeing Rob Liefeld's original buxom Captain America drawing, that stuff is really fun for me and really nostalgic. But I'm going to focus on I guess my first one is, um, if you listen to spectales podcast, too. My grail tale was about the experience of meeting some of these artists and creators. And that's really, for me, uh, what I love and being an
artist. Alley and so, uh, a couple years ago, when The Dawn of X came about, with the Hickman era and Krakowan era of X Men, I was reading everything, and in X Force, there was an issue. Do you remember what issue it was? It was early on I don't like five or six, where Joshua Kasara, the artist. And Ben Percy, the writer, created a tiki bar in Krakoa called the Green. Lagoon that everyone immediately wanted to go to.
It was awesome. And they did a full page spread. And I just had this idea for, like, a Cheers style emblem. And so I drew this emblem of the Green Lagoon and put it on a t shirt. And it got the attention. Uh, I tagged Josh Cassara and Ben Percy, and Josh Cassara reached out to me and bought it and bought the t shirt and shared a picture of him wearing it. So I brought the T shirt this year. My T shirt. I brought it and had Ben
Percy and Josh Cassara sign it. And when I met Josh Cassara guido, you got it on video for Exc. It was so funny because he was so excited to meet me. I was like, wait a second, wait a second. He was so excited, I couldn't even get a word in. He was telling me how he's worn it enough that he can't wear it anymore. His wife wore it to bed. Yeah, he wanted a picture of you with the shirt to send to her. Yeah. I was like, what is going on here? And then, so I got a picture
of him signing, uh, it. And Ben Percy told me it was the coolest thing. He'd signed all con. And that was just really those interactions for me were awesome. So it's something from a couple years ago, uh, that still means a lot to me. And just to have an artist, a professional artist, say that they love what I did, inspired by their work was really fun for me. You have to get it framed now, Elliot. I know my wife will be really excited to have a framed T shirt. At least it's one you'll be in.
The basement with all my other stuff. For a long time. Yeah, that was a really cool moment. And you have to bring back a limited release of that tea because they both want them. So you're going to have to find. A way got to figure out to. Skirt those copyright, which Joshua Katara thought were BS. You have his approval. There you go. That's all I need. Um, and speaking of X Men yeah, guido, I think your next Origin of the Story item is also X Men related.
No, it's not. I'm going to hold that one back. Okay. Instead sorry for your failed segue there. Mistakes are okay. Instead, I'll go with a comic that was really important to me and getting to meet someone who's really rare at Cons. So my next past item is going to be seeing Jeff Johns, who is, I think, slightly controversial. Maybe M is not the nicest person to work with. I'm not sure. I know he's sort of, like, on the edge, I feel like, of someone who's going to be canceled. But I
really like his work a lot. And Infinite Crisis, I think, is just one of the best events I've talked about it on here before. We've never covered any component of Infinite Crisis, but I think it is a masterfully orchestrated event at DC that got my adult love of DC firmly in place. And all of the love I've had for DC over the last few years is because it calls back to things in Infinite Crisis that he created and did with those
characters. And so having him in New York, Comic Con, and he's creating really great books with Ghost Machine in an image imprint that I've really enjoyed. And he was there mostly promoting that. But he signed Infinite Crisis for me and it was just so cool because I think he is a legend and he's created really cool characters. Rob, he works so much in the Justice Society, which you love. I mean, he's for sure one of the architects of DC over the last 20 plus years.
And it was neat to meet him and get him to sign Infinite Crisis. Yeah, I couldn't have cared less about Green Lantern before he was on it. Oh, yeah, a lot of people were having him sign that Green Lantern rebirth. Yeah. Uh, I got really into Green Lantern during that time. And, um, yeah, he's just really good at structuring comic stories and taking stuff from old DC and making it fresh and new again. That's as cool that the Ghost Machine and people
should read Geiger and Junkyard Joe is. What he's doing there is taking almost like pulpy tropes of comics and turning them into really interesting modern stories. So he's doing the same thing, like taking what people know and love about comics and superheroes and then telling a slightly different story with them. And that's like a whole shared universe he's constructing. So it was really fun to meet him. What about you, Rob? What's your other blast from the past?
Well, I was a couple years younger than you, so when you were reading comics and I was reading comics then too. But the thing I was really reading were Goosebumps. I was a huge fan of the Goosebumps books. They were the first books that I would follow
when they would come out. And I was a little kid, but I would knew when the next one would come out and I would go to the Barnes and Noble or did they even sell them at Sears maybe, I don't know those kind of stores and go and grab the Goosebumps books and I would just devour them. And I think I read all of them multiple times and just read 62 or something. Yeah, there's 62 in the original series and I had the good mind to actually save all of them.
So up in our parents who did not get rid of them. Yes. So we have all of the original 62 as well as some of the other offshoots from around that time. And we were saying how, like, John Carpenter and Slayers had this big presence at the Con this year, and Goosebumps did too. There was a Goosebumps panel, I guess. Because the Disney Plus series, but there was the musical that you went to to learn more about.
Yeah, we didn't get to go to the panel, but there was a musical, a new musical, great Broadway talent based on The Phantom of the Auditorium, which was my favorite of the books because I love Phantom of the Opera musical theater. And then the really cool thing was down in Artist Alley was Tim Jacobus. I think that's how he says his name. And he did the original art for all 62 original books. And everyone if you know Goosebumps, you know you know those covers.
And the covers were just like painted, sort of meant to look almost like those more adult horror or even romance novels with the painted covers, but in a kitty horror way with lots of skeletons. And there were some times where the covers were better than the books. So you just like, oh, ah, that cover is so great. But yeah, he was down there selling some prints. So I got a print of the camp jelly Jam, which is just this terrifying image of this camp counselor. It always
spooked me as a kid. And then he had original art, and I got a sketch of the iconic Slappy, who we were also on Friday when we got there, there was an army of slappies giving out Goosebumps books. So it all felt connected in that way. So I'm super glad that I got to meet this person who is truly imprinted on my childhood. And we'll have to watch the Disney Plus series and see yeah, definitely Green. Queen Justin Long, so I definitely want to watch it. And Elliot, what about
you? What's your other take from the. The? Well, this was a surprise. So Guido and I were down in Artist Alley for about 4 hours, and then we needed a break. And so we went up to wander the main floor. And as we're wandering the main floor, I looked at a book. I picked it up, and the woman behind the counter was like, oh, are you familiar with this book? I said, no, I just know the author. And she's like, oh, Jean Lewin Young. He's right here. And I looked over and he was there signing
books. And as a teacher, I've taught American born Chinese in middle school. Uh, and I didn't have my copy. Uh, I left it, uh, where I moved. And so I bought a new copy and had him sign. It was just really cool to meet him. And I think that book is phenomenal. I like all of his work. Superman, Smashes the Clan is a phenomenal book by him. He's just a great storyteller. And so I had him sign it and had a really nice he drew the monkey prints in it for me.
And he was appreciative that you've brought it into the classroom. That was a cool just it's kind of like my Jim Lee story that I told on spectales. Just when these creators who, uh, I admire so much when they find out I'm a teacher, which is a very underappreciated profession in our culture. Well, no, it's appreciated, but not, uh, with money. Not valued.
You're right. Not valued. Uh, it's just always funny to me when they're like, oh, thank you so much for bringing this to my classroom and talking about with your students and things like that. Uh, so that was a really fun moment and it was a surprise. I didn't know he was going to be there. He was only signing there for like an hour or two brief, and the line was it was only three people long. But I was like, uh, this guy's
amazing. And the Disney Plus series is really fun, too, if people haven't watched it. Well, Guido, you queued us up that you had one more blast from the past. I do, and it's a special one. So just the fact that we got to finally meet in person and talk to Lenorzan, the voice of Rogue from the X Men animated series, and I saw she wasn't there any other day. So we happened to stumble past and see her and got her to sign a picture, took a picture with her,
chatted with her for a bit. And she is someone who anyone who watched X Men the Animated Series. Her voice plays in your head when you read Rogue and Will forever and ever and ever. But beyond that, she was just nice to talk to. And we talked a lot about the power of stories to bring multiple perspectives in and we were talking about the state of the world and things moving away from love and inclusion.
And she was saying that how could anyone watch X Men and not feel like that's what we need to fight for? And so it was a nice conversation to talk about, really, the power of stories. And she was great fun and kind. Yes. So amazing. Love her. And yes. Let us take the escalator up past the pro lounge, past all the cosplayers, and explore some of our current finds and obsessions. You so I will kick us off. And I went to the Our Flag Means
Death panel. Well, uh, kind of asterisk because they weren't actually able to talk about the HBO queer pirate show Our Flag Means Death. But they had six actors from the show, including Rees Darby, the star. And it was fun. Is that in some ways makes it better? Totally. That the strike is influencing how people show up in the press. I hope there's permanent changes with that.
Mhm. Yeah. So what was really fun was because they really couldn't talk about the show or really any of their experiences on it, and they had a lot of wink wink jokes about that. What they did was they played basically an hour long game where they all had paddles with whiteboards on them, and the moderator would ask them questions like who would order the most expensive meal at a restaurant, who is the most adventurous, who
would be friends with aliens. And they all played which of them on the panel, or maybe some other people on the show would fit in. And it was just a really fun way because I like when they talk about the shows. But of course, a lot of it's very PR, and in some cases they. Have scripted and, um, they have talking points that they're hitting on all the. Know they've known each other for decades, but in many of these shows, they only know each other for three months. So what are they really
going to say about each other? So this was super fun. Did also a photo op with Reese Darby, who I love, who has a great podcast on cryptids as well, the Cryptid Factor. And I'm just mildly obsessed with him. And that whole cast, you could see everyone is playing a version of themselves. They're just so well cast that they are bringing their personalities to the characters that they're playing on that show. So lots of fun. And the second season is on now, and we're loving it.
I mean, that show is one that everyone will enjoy, whether you're watching it for the humor or you're watching it for the pirates or you're watching it for the comedy, kindness and love and identity watching whatever most recent episode we watched the other day. I was thinking, my gosh, how did they take a show that is so enjoyable and so fun and yet put so much heart in it? And it's dark and weird and absurd and there's violence, but it's like, I don't know, there's so much heart in it.
And that was the last thing Reese Darby said. The last question the moderator posed was who would get lost in their imagination? And he just said, well, he loves that he gets lost in his imagination because the world is not a great place right now. To have this place in his head that he can escape to, and then for have that come out on the show and he just kind of touched on what you just said, Guido, that the show is very much about kindness and that it's trying to
put that out into the world. And that was such a great message to end this panel on. Well, and without being very heavy handed, I actually don't think I thought about this until you shared that comment. It almost feels like we're living in an age of piracy, right? Like people just do whatever they want, whenever they want. People have no boundaries. There's violence, there's just offending people and selfishness. The show actually. Feels quite current, even though it's
taking place during a kind of historical moment. They even have some real historical figures in it, but they're playing with that. It definitely feels very relevant to find community in a, uh, moment when people are sort of just fighting for themselves and fighting against each other. They need to put that on a promotional thing because you just sold me on the show. I've been trying to tell you. You didn't tell me that. That panel sounds really awesome. Yeah, it's great.
The panels that you've went to sound I mean, I don't go to panels when I go to Comic Con because I'm only there usually for one day. Hopefully next year. Uh, that won't be so. But just hearing from the actors and creators sounds like a good time. Yeah, it is. Nice. All right, so who's next? We both have queer icons on our list. Next. Well, you go. That's a good segment. I don't have a queer icon. Yeah, you do. You have the architect. Uh oh. Well, yes.
Some of the biggest queer storytelling coming out. I'll go. I'll go. You go. So I'm going to combine a couple. And again, no, uh, surprise here. This is my interactions in Artist Alley. But for things I'm just currently excited about and have been for a while, I got to meet and talk to Tom Taylor, philip Kennedy Johnson, and Joshua Williamson, all three of these guys. I'm a huge Superman fan, but to be honest, I've never really been a fan of Superman comics. Death of
Superman in the 90s. But I was really into image and some marvel. But Superman's always been more in the entertainment, like live action cartoon entertainment realm. But Philip Kennedy Johnson and Tom Taylor and more recently, Joshua Williamson, I think, have done so much for Superman comics. They're fun, they're exciting. They get the character, and they're moving them forward. And I think Tom
Taylor's done such an amazing job. He didn't invent John Kent, but he's making John Kent's queer story. He invented his queerness. He invented his queerness. And just seeing for me, the connection with Superman as a parent, and no matter what the story is about the trust that parent and child have and seeing your child as an individual, all these things, I just got to talk to Tom Taylor and say, I will read anything he writes.
M philip Kennedy Johnson, I think, has done an amazing job. I'm going to read The Hulk, which I have no interest in reading. Johnson. And I think Joshua Williamson's run on Superman is really fun. It's bringing back a lot of the feel of the Superman animated series. It's just having fun with the character and the relationship with Lois Lane and, um, making Lois Lane continuing her story as it's Superman and Lois's story, which a lot of great Superman stories are doing. So just
to see all three of them, they all signed. I brought as many Superman comics as I could fit in my backpack. And they all signed and were so generous with their time. Um, it was great to just shake their hands and say thank you. And Tom Taylor and Philip Kennedy Johnson. I think as someone who's not nearly as big a Superman fan as you, but has read it for so many years, it never felt to me even those iconic especially I'd say those iconic stories of the 90s don't have, um,
emotional cores. They're very action oriented. These writers have put so much emotion in Superman whether it's through the John Kent storytelling of Tom Taylor or the parenting or Philip Kennedy Johnson and even in the war world saga and then coming back to Earth and having the adopted children and how he connects with Supergirl and the other Superman and sort of the family, the chosen family of the Supers, if you will. They both put
so much heart into these stories. And that has made me love Superman more than I ever yeah. Yeah. And, uh, DC really batting a thousand because my present that I just love and was so excited to meet was getting to meet G. Willow Wilson, who is writing Poison Ivy. We have discussed poison ivy on here. We covered Poison Ivy a few times and have mentioned that in her extraordinary series, it is one of the really rare things in comics, where it's announced as a limited
series. It's then announced as a longer extended limited series, then turned into an ongoing series. And I don't know how often that has happened in comics in the last 25 years. So it just speaks to how successful this series is, how behind it DC clearly is. It is so good. I told her that I never cared about Poison Ivy, and she made me love this character. I actually even considered buying Poison Ivy's first appearance from our local comic store. And then someone bought it before me
because I just love her. And it's all G. Willow Wilson's writing the creator of Miss Marvel, who I think many people were there and excited about that aspect of her career. And she has some cool creator own stuff going right now. But Poison Ivy is the ongoing it could be the ongoing that I most look forward to every month, honestly, because it's so fun and easy to read. Great story. Again, great heart with her and Harley's relationship and what that means. But good
action, little bit of horror. So my current favorite comic is probably Poison Ivy. And getting to meet you, Willow Wilson, was so cool. I feel like Captain America coming out of the ice and Sam Wilson telling him all the stuff and adding it to the list. So you're going to be watching our Flag Means Death and reading Poison Ivy this week. All right. Yeah. A very gay week for Elliot. Happy to be here. Well, my next thing was my second John Carpenter
related thing. So for me, one thing that I look forward to every year at New York Comic Con is picking up my copy of John Carpenter's Tales from a Halloween Night. And this is a horror anthology put out by Storm King, the comic book company run by Sandy King carpenter with John Carpenter. And it's just a great anthology of horror stories. It's lettered by Janice Chang, our friend from the pod, who I got to see at the Storm King
table. And I picked up the exclusive New York Comic Con 2023 cover by the great Cat Skags. Great cover signed by John and Sandy and many of the creators inside the book. And for me, it's just I don't know. I love that Comic Con always comes around Halloween. It feels like a preview part of the Spooky season. It does, uh, sort of feel like. Yeah, cosplayers is like trick or treating when you're going to Artist Alley. Right. Crafting, all that. So, yeah,
it just is part of the Halloween season. For me, it's almost like I don't know, I was thinking it's like the Hess truck at Christmas when you were a kid. It's like, oh, what's this weird thing that I have to get that's part of that? And it's like, oh, for this. And I've already read one of the couple of the stories. And the second story, especially was it actually was quite creepy. So I'm looking forward to diving into the rest of it.
That's fun. So I'll share my next present because you two have something in the present that's tied together. So I'll share that. Uh, every year I like to get at least one commission. And this year, it is from an artist who I think I hope is getting a ton of work. I think she's one of the most extraordinary artists, uh, in comics right now. And I've thought this for a few years. That's Carmen Carnaro. And Carmen has done X Men
red. She's done Captain America. She's done Captain Marvel is probably her longest interior, ongoing work. But she does covers. She just is stunning. She's done some X Men work, of course. Stunning, stunning stuff. And we asked her to do a commission of Promethea. And it's beautiful. And she's just an artist that I hope everyone pays attention to and follows and I hope keeps doing amazing work because I think she draws characters and action and faces and
everything I think is just perfect. It's art, but it has so much movement. And she's a future legend, I suspect, or at least I hope. And the commission she did for you, uh, um, Tom King, I know you're listening. So, uh, she needs to be in the rotation for Wonder Woman. Oh, my gosh. I couldn't imagine there's a looseness in. Grace because she uses watercolor, too, in her pencils that just fits. She's so good at action, but so good at emotion and
faces. Yeah. There's a softness, but with heavy lines. She'd be fantastic on Wonder Woman also. That is okay. All right. We'll have to email Tom. Yeah, we'll let Tom, um, know Carmen should be in line on that book. All right, so one more thing that is worth paying attention to in the present at New York Comic Con. Which of you is starting? I'll start. Which is that we concluded our Saturday night with a great panel on comic book
podcasting. And that was yeah, it was organized by friend of this podcast and all around amazing podcaster. Past guest botter Milligan from the short box Podcast. And it had the guys from the Oblivion bar, our friends Brad and Lisa from comic book couples counseling. Yeah. Past guests, Troy Jeffrey Allen, who is a YouTuber as well as a comic book creator himself. And I thought it was just really it was just wonderful to be in this room of people who I've listened to, who I can consider friends.
And I just love some of the things they said. Like, Troy talked about he had a friend that was a YouTuber and was, like, just getting sick of doing YouTube. And then Troy said, well, do you know that everything you're saying is super negative and maybe that's why you're getting sick of doing it? And it was like, oh, it's nice to hear from people who are in this medium or trying to put stuff out in the world and trying to put
positivity. Not that they're always going to be positive about everything, but they're not going into it just to tear things down. And I thought that was such great piece of advice. And the other thing I thought was hearing from Lisa from Comic Book Couples Counseling and just saying the one thing that we can all bring to our podcast or to whatever we're doing is just bring yourself, bring me. Because
we're all reading the same books, right? So the one thing that we can all do is just bring our own perspectives and what we want to get. Out of this great point and moment that really resonated with me a lot when she said that, because I think it's true. We all have our own unique individual lens. And that's what's interesting. As she said, there's not a way to objectively review or analyze or talk about books. It's just who we are refracted through these books. And that's cool.
That stuck with me, too. And it's what I love about your podcast and what I love about comic book Couples counseling and all the podcasts I listen to. I try a lot, but a lot of them are just, like, reviewing comics. And it's the ones that, uh, inspect tales. They're so unique and they're so your personalities and what you love. And it struck me at, uh, that point, too, when they were talking about
you guys are always positive on here. Even if there's a what if story or some else worlds that you didn't really like, there's some way that you're talking about them that's not like slamming like the art wasn't my favorite is a nicer way of saying the art sucked and the artist and writer. No one's making crappy comics, uh, on purpose. But just to continue to talk about that. And I agree, Rob. It was fun for me, that panel I went into it being like, I'm going to go support the
people that support me. I do a lot of art for all the podcasts that were there, which. Was kind of that exist. Yes. Oh, yeah. All of them and listened to them. But I still learned. Uh, and I have to shout out to this panel, too, was we were just talking, um, about this this morning. There's so many identities and different types of people that are attracted to comics that are there at Comic Con. Yet most of the creators and panelists are straight white men. To
have a panel especially. I said this to Lisa Gullickson afterwards. Every time Lisa speaks about her experience podcasting, she comes at it with Humility. And she has an authority that she doesn't know. She realizes that I sit up and listen to it. Gives me chills when she speaks because I don't get to hear from women in the comic book world that much, like even seeing Carmen and G. Willow Wilson. And so I really appreciated hearing her and her speaking
up and adding to the conversation. And actually, I think elevating it like she talks about mental health and she's making the podcast that she wants to. And, uh, it was an awesome experience. I got to meet Botter for the first time, which was great. I think he's another person that is really talented and also comes at this podcast through Humility, as do many people. In the podcasting world and is a vanguard. I mean, he's had a show for more than ten years, over 400 episodes, and most podcasts
are less than half that age. So he really started before this was a thing. And that's really cool. And he's still so kind and generous and supportive of everyone who's doing it. And just to hear too from Aaron and Chris who do the Oblivion Bar and the rise that they've had because of what they do and everyone's kind of doing it for their own reasons, I got to do some artwork for them. So it was really fun to meet them in person. And yeah, it was just a nice way to end the Saturday evening.
Well, mhm, before we end this podcast, let's travel down to the lower levels of Comic Con, past the food court, spend $18 on a burrito, and we will explore what's coming in the future. Will the future you describe be averted, diverted? Diverted. And pro tip, if you ever go to New York Comic Con, go to the Indian food in the food court because there is literally zero people waiting in line, and it's pretty great for food court food. I have to say.
I will say, I didn't tell you this, Rob, because you weren't with Elliot and me the second day when we went there. The guy recognized me. That is how few people go through that counter. And it's shocking because Indian food is my favorite food in the world. But the guy was like, you were here yesterday. I was like, yeah, you'd think he's seeing thousands of people, but he's not. There's a big pizza. Uh, french fries and burger. Burger, yes. Straight women. That's just our little tip there.
Well, in the future oh, you're starting. You start. Oh, yeah, yeah. I'll kick us off with my final John Carpenter related item, which was that people were asking him a few cases in the Q A about whether he would do sequels to his work. And of course, there's been sequels to Halloween and Escape from New York. People were saying, like, they live right now, given the world that we live in, that should have some kind of sequel. And he said, the rights are all kind of
tied up in different things. And, of course, Roddy Piper is no longer with us, but someone was saying, and he was agreeing that it would actually make a great comic. So I would love to see a they live comic. It's weird, too, because there's been the big Trouble in Little China comic. Uh huh. I think there's been the thing comic. They did a Thing comic comics. And mhm. Maybe that one's rights holders aren't willing to work with a publisher because that one definitely is well suited to comics.
Totally and totally. With the current capitalist world and things. I love and see that the algorithm totally. You make it more the AI version. Mhm yeah, I'd love to see that. And then the other thing someone asked him is if he would ever consider doing a shared universe, which we've talked so much about on this show, and he said, well, all these rights are also held by every different person, so if he did it,
he would just be sued. But I would love to see people just kind of coming together, because who wouldn't want to see the various Kurt Russell characters? Like Snake Plissken meets the character from The Thing and Kurt's character from The Thing, and all these worlds kind of coming together in one would just be, well, yes. Um, not in the John Carpenter world, but. Yes, I guess I got into the Kurt Russell, not into the Kurt. Russell world, where he's from overboard.
Miracle. Right? The guy from Overboard. Yes, exactly. Yeah. Captain Ron. Captain Ron has an eye patch, and so does Snake Plissken. The council of Kurtz. That's exactly the council of Kurtz. My next T shirt. Exactly. But, yeah, I'd love to see a bunch of the so, you know, and he said the one thing that he's learned in the industry is never say never. So maybe one day the money falls in and the right people are in control and that would be pretty awesome to see.
There's an optimistic part of me that hopes this confluence of the strikes at the same time that the whole industry is just changing and being sort of broken and AI all these things could make it that maybe that kind of thing won't be so hard in a few years. Maybe companies will find a way to be almost looser with
their IP. They'll see ways that they can make money with it, but not necessarily retain such tight control in a way that I think a lot of people often say this is not what the intent of these copyright laws ever was. And so we need to go back to more almost like music and sampling. There needs to be more fluidity with some of these things totally. That will come. And what about either of you?
I'll share one future thing, which is I got to talk to Keon Tormi and Tim Sheridan briefly and unexpectedly.
I was having Keon sign a adventures, uh, of Superman John Kent issue that he drew, and then Tim Sheridan happened to be there and they had just been on the panel talking alan Scott and the upcoming series about alan Scott queer Green Lantern and some of what Tim was saying, my gosh, was so perfectly resonant with me and I'm sure Rob, who wasn't there at the time, and many people about trying to find more messy, darker, grittier, queer characters at the big two publishers in Superheroes. And
that's his goal with Alan Scott. And I have a feeling that our, uh, listeners will be hearing from them soon also. So I'm excited for the series, I'm excited for Tim and Keon, and I'm excited for this conversation to just be getting started. That was a fun moment for me to watch, um, because when Guido said that he loved Alan Scott, tim Seeley got so excited. Tim sheridan. Oh, sorry. Different Tim Sealy. Sorry Tim's. Tim. Uh, Sheridan got so excited, he wanted to jump across
the table, give Guido a hug. And then they started talking about Alan Scott. But, uh, he posted a picture of us on his Instagram, um, saying what a great time he had at Comic Con. And we were the first picture. And I happened to just get the issue that has the preview of Alan Scott in it signed by Jeff Johns. And so then I got Tim and Keon to sign right around the drawing of Alan Scott on the so because the new issue is not out for a few weeks, but I can't wait for it.
It really is the fun part about this con because these guys can walk out on the street and no one knows who they are mhm, and when they're there, they're major celebrities. But they're just as excited to meet their fans. Can you imagine going up to like, Chris Evans and him being so excited to see you? Or like, hey, I love America. Like, yeah, so does everyone else. But it's just these really cool moments of connection that are really yeah. Yeah, I agree.
I think we share a future one. So I'll start with one of my recent favorite things to do when I go to Comic Con is to discover I'll walk by a table. I've heard of the artist or writer, and they're selling some of their work. And I'll pick up something new that I've kind of heard about but I haven't ordered or bought in a comic shop. And I like to save it there. And I'll get it signed. And I've never read it before. So Charles Soul is someone I've read all of
his Marvel work but, um, hadn't read 8 Billion Genies. And they were selling the hardcover there. And so I just stopped by, talked to him. He started giving me the hard sell. And I was like, I'm already going to buy it. I just wanted to talk to you. So he signed it. He and the artist named Ryan Brown. Oh yeah, Ryan Brown. Thank you. Uh, Ryan Brown signed it. And it might be my train ride, uh, back to home. Uh, yeah. It was optioned and would make such a good TV series because it's just a, uh,
great setup. So if anyone hasn't read it, like Elliot, it's another thing to add to the list because it's really digestible starts and ends, but has a great, great setup where you can just wonder about all the other stories that could be told in it. And what's cool is they love it so much that they told me that they decided to he and Ryan Brown decided to make a New York Comic Con exclusive comic. So they wrote a single issue also and just produced it. And Charles Soul told me
it's his favorite work he's ever written. It's the best thing he's ever written. Oh, cool. I was like, okay. And I haven't read it yet. I have it but haven't read it yet. Here we go. Well, my last future thing was I went to the image horror panel and got to hear about a few upcoming books that definitely sparked my interest. So one book is called Parasocial. And it's written by Alex DeCampi, who was on the panel and illustrated by Erica Henderson.
And as Alex described as kind of a new modern take on the misery story, the fan and the celebrity. Only here the celebrity isn't a great person because often in these stories, the celebrity is very vaunted and the fan is just a bad guy. And here it's not as black and white. And I think being at Comic Con, you see so much of this fan culture and you were kind of just talking about it. Elliot when you're going up to someone and saying how much I like your work, and social media
has even broken that down even more. So I'm really curious to see how this takes on that, because I think it's such an interesting topic in general. And then, um, the other book was the one hand by Ram V and Lawrence Campbell, who are both on the panel. And they describe this as being very influenced by the movie Seven and by the movie Manhunter, which are both huge movies for me that I love. And Seven was such a huge influence on me growing up. And it's a dark, serial killer,
noir thriller story. And it looks really interesting. The art looks very noir. So I'm just definitely interested to pick up both of these stories and explore. Something new that's cool, exciting. Should I go first? Yeah, we have the same thing. We're excited about the future. Our last share. So I was in line for David, uh, Nakayama, who is an amazing cover artist. And I bought the first issue of Wonder Woman, written by Tom King with interior art by Daniel Sempere. So I had him
sign it. And I'm excited because I haven't read it yet, and I've been waiting this is one of my well, I haven't ordered it. No, it just hasn't been delivered yet. Oh, you haven't gotten it yet. Okay. Uh, I preordered it. Uh, so then I thought, oh, I know Tom King and Daniel Semperia here. I can get all three of them to sign it, which I don't normally do. And for some reason, 2023 has been the Comic Con of signatures for me. So then we were over in line for Tom King and Mitch
Jared's and Daniel Sempari. So they signed that, but I was also last in line, and so I had to hold a little cardboard last in line sign. And the guy told me I had to tell people that Tom King is no longer signing. So I had to turn people away. You broke lots of hearts. I was working really hard. And so I told Tom King that, and he signed it. But just standing in front of him and were like they were like middle school boys. They were hilarious and inappropriate and their, uh, publicist,
or whoever was there was just, like, rolling her eyes. And it was just kind of a funny moment to see these two creators who write such great things. But then I got Daniel Sempare to, um, sign Wonder Woman. And so I'm excited to read the book because I've heard really good things, and it was just a fun moment to talk to all these creators who are really excited about this book, which I don't know why, but Guido does because he has read it. Yeah, I've read it. And this is my last thing because
I am so excited for this run. It's only one issue in and the setup is phenomenal. The art. No spoiler is wild. I bought a page of it. I told Daniel Sempere, and he said it was one of his two favorite pages in the issue. So I feel extremely lucky that I got that one. And it just fires on all cylinders. And Wonder Woman is we've talked about this before. She's struggled to have iconic runs for whatever
reason. There have been really extraordinary stories that many people have told over the years, but there hasn't been, uh, a, uh, seminal run. And I think this has the potential to be it. I hope it lasts for a long time, because it's a great twist in the universe and a great writing of her character. And, my gosh, that art. Until Carmen takes over, daniel should stay on because it is really incredible. So that's what I'm excited about, the future of mhm. And any last thoughts?
I'm already excited for next year again. Me too. Just having this conversation. If anyone from Readpop is listening, I really need this Comic Con weekend to be put over. The long fall weekend, columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples Day, because I need to come. For two days for people traveling, for people working. No, you'll get so many more people. You'll get me for more than one day. I have to go home today and get ready for school tomorrow.
I am not clear why that is, but next year, it's again late in October, and that is not exciting. Well, I will say the really exciting thing for me is getting to go with you guys. You're so generous. You get to go. Number of days. And I always feel like a little bit of royalty when I come, because, Keto and Robbie, you're always like, what do you want to do next? It's your
day. It's your time. And I just feel like I get it's like the equivalent of going to a spa for the day, except you leave in pain. Yeah, exactly. It depletes all of your energy. Right. But my emotional bucket is filled and exactly. I never get to spend that much time with you guys, so it's double. I get to be with two people I love in a place that I love, surrounded by a huge number of nerds. Like, I don't feel nerdy there because there are so
many huge geeks. It's so much fun to it's like a 200,000 person affinity group. Well, and we've said this before, but I think what's so extraordinary is there's no one unkind there. It actually makes me want to cry because I don't know why it is, but there's so many just people being themselves. There's so many queer people, people of all ages, people with disabilities. There's so many people, and everyone is just kind. I've never encountered someone who's like, get out of my
way. I've, uh, never at a Comic Con have I ever encountered someone and as soon as you leave Comic Con, you do, and. I do. I get on the subway and I'm like, get the hell out of my way. I'm in a rush. But at, uh, Comic Con, no one is like that. They have asshole dampeners there. Someone has telepathy and makes everyone just feel good. Uh, your cell phone doesn't work, and your assholeness is maybe that's the secret.
When people can't exist in their lives online, they're feeling kinder towards one another in person. I don't know, but it's such a pleasant place to be. I never feel stressed by we sit on the floor. Someone asks you if they can use the charger that you're using. It's not my charger. No. And you just grab food wherever you can sit wherever you can. People are helping each other. It's really incredible. Uh, and that makes it very special.
We need special music for it. It is the most wonderful time of the year. Someone needs to write a parody song of Most Wonderful Time of the Year about Comic Con. All right, Rob, you're the music, uh, guy. Well, and I always love when you come to Elliot, because I don't have the patience or to stand on some of those Artist Alley lines. So I'm very glad that you see Guido come company while I can run off someplace else. I'm his handler. Exactly. Well, I want to say one more thing that Artist Alley
makes me think of. And Elliot, you mentioned something like this, but the other thing that I think makes Comic Con special, and it was a good reminder to me, even though, like, you said and like Lisa said on the panel and all the panelists, like, focus on what you love. And we do. But going through Artist Alley just reminds me that not everything has to be for me. And M I liked having that reminder this weekend. There are artists who are doing work that I don't like,
and that's okay. People love it. There's people lining up to get it, and that's special to me, even though it's not my thing. And it just is a good reminder. Like, not every story needs to be for me. Not every piece of art needs to be for me. And I appreciate being reminded of that or that. You don't have to be the biggest fan. We'll just keep quoting Lisa this whole episode, because Lisa also said on the like, sometimes it's like, how many
Spawn villains can you name? And it's like, you don't have to be the biggest fan. Uh, when I went to the R, flag Means Death, there were so many people dressed like characters from the show. There were people that had puppets that were characters from the show. But you don't feel like, oh, wait, I'm a lesser fan because I'm not dressed like a character. I could be a fan of this without
being that. But if they want to do that, that's great, too. But it's not like, okay, you're not a fan of this show because you're not doing cosplay or. You don't know every character. There were people behind me that were like, oh, my God, that's such a vigo thing to say. And it's like they clearly are invested in this in a way I'm not. But I don't feel like a lesser person because I'm not into it into the same level that they are.
Yeah. Thank you guys for having me. Yeah, I can't wait till 2024. Well, it's right around the corner. And, uh, thank you. Dear Watchers for listening. You can see our updates, our photos, our videos on all of our social media at dear watchers. And leave us a five star review on Apple podcasts. And we'll be back soon with another trip through the multiverse. And in the meantime, in the words of Uwatu, keep pondering the. Possibilities in the Indian.