I look at comics all the time here in this Creator Talk set of bonus episodes. And I've looked at a card game that you play in the real world with actual, physical cards like some kind of caveperson. But somehow I've never looked at an actual video game. Until now that is. Time to get old friend Eric Bailey from Tiny Bookshelf to break through that barrier with his game Octobug . You play as a spider trying to get to the end of levels filled with flies. It's an old school platformer which remind...
Dec 20, 2020•45 min
Ninjas are cool. Aliens are cool. So why not make a ninja that's also an alien? And also has a team of rag tag environment saving sidekicks to help him out? Saving the environment via something aimed at kids and hoping they'll pressure their adult overlords into following suit is still cool right? Enter Steve Honeycutt from Ray Can't Sleep to help us take a look at this alien life form that inexplicably wants to save the Earth. Learn such things as: Did any kids media actually make savi...
Dec 13, 2020
There are tons of stories about little kids who get to go to other worlds and have grand adventures. Like literally tons, and I'm cool with that. But what I really want to know is how they handled things afterwards. Outside of Peter Pan related things (and Narnia but I think that's a bit of a stretch) there isn't really anything. That's where Chris Mancini from White Cat Entertainment can help out. Listen in as we talk to Chris about his comic Long Ago & Far Away, which takes a look at what ...
Dec 06, 2020•42 min
Post apocalyptic mayhem. New societies and population groups popping up and insisting that they are living the right way. The power struggle between might and right. Giant weaponized vehicles storming across the desert sands. OK, maybe not that last one, but what do I know? Good thing I have Jordan Forbes from Shonen Flop to help me out with a look at Fist of the North Star on NES. Listen in as we look at yet another game that should have been featured earlier in the run of the show but I just d...
Nov 29, 2020•1 hr 1 min
Let's get one thing straight. Lonely Receiver is a really fun read. Rye Hickman (previously published as Jen Hickman) and Zac Thompson are really great humans. Together the make a really good team on a book that you really should be reading. And to have two of the people working on it to come talk about it? That's really super cool. Listen in as Rye Hickman and Zac Thompson come talk about where this crazy (in the best way possible) series came from, how they got into comics, and whether they th...
Nov 22, 2020•1 hr 16 min
Everyone that I know who knows who The Addams family is knows them from the 1960s TV show or the 90s movies. A few people from this game. But basically nobody that I know knew that The Addams Family was a comic. For real, do you know anybody who knew that? I sure didn't. Neither did this week's guest Michael Bivens from Silent Journeys . But he very much did know about the old TV show. I'm really glad I had someone for this episode that grew up with the show a lot more than I did. Learn such thi...
Nov 15, 2020•47 min
We need something wholesome and real life looking and coming of age but also magical. I wonder where we could get something like that right now. Hmmmm, let me think over that one. Normally I'd ask Sophie Goldstein if she had anything, but I already know that a possible answer here is here recent book An Embarrassment of Witches . Just trust me and go read this one. It's great, she's great, show us pictures of your cats. Learn such things as: What's it like to cowrite a book while fitting in (gas...
Nov 01, 2020•45 min
We've already been introduced to the Dark Tunnel from Chris Dreier in the Freaks & Gods comics, but what if I told you that there's more? And that you could get in on the fun now with just a simple pile of Kickstarter money? It's true. Chris has a Kickstarter for Tales from the Dark Tunnel that you really need to check out and throw money at because, like I'll say many times in the episode, it's pretty good and the Freaks & Gods comics that kind of go with it are pretty good and Chris is...
Oct 25, 2020•1 hr 13 min
We all had toys growing up, and made up stories to go along with them. How do characters from different universes react to each other? Who could conceivably fit in with another toy universe without missing a beat? But most of all, what would happen if you were in that toy universe with them? This episode we have the Chris Walk half of the minds behind Pursuit of Plastic , a Kickstarter project making a comic that explains exactly that. We also talk about the comic imprint DFAT comics that he and...
Oct 20, 2020•44 min
How do you follow up what is possibly the greatest comic book video game of all time? Or at least was probably holding that spot when it came out. Easy, you just pick the story up right there and start going again. Enter Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro. More like Enter Awesomeness. Enter Anthony Gramuglia to help break down this not as iconic but equally as good in its own special way sequel, Spider-Man's place in pop culture, and the Spider-Man comics that were coming out at the time. Learn such th...
Oct 18, 2020•1 hr
Giant monsters are everywhere these days. Godzilla movies, Godzilla movie rip offs, you name it. But we also follow either the monsters or the big bad heroes in those stories. What happens with the everyday people like you and me? Johnny Craft attempts to throw some answers into the mix with his comic Life Under Kaiju . Come listen as we talk about how this comic came to be and his plans for the future of the series. You can find Johnny on Twitter @CraftscapeComix and of course the Life Under Ka...
Oct 13, 2020•35 min
This has got to be one of the shortest comic runs I've seen to get a game. 13 issues on the initial run, 4 issues on the relaunch that tied into the game. And it shows, I never hear anyone talking about Armorines. I can't imagine why. So why try to make a game out of this one? Acclaim is at it again trying to recapture some of that Turok magic, and Luke Herr from Exiled, Multiversal Q , John Wiki , The Luke Herr Podcast Project , Established Property Playhouse , and RPG Pals Club (Did I miss any...
Oct 11, 2020•1 hr 18 min
I've always been into history. Alternate history, weird stuff, you name it. There's a reason why I like the Indiana Jones movies. So you can imagine my excitement when a history based comic came to me about being on the show. That person was Bryan Soroka with his comic tentatively titled Indefinite Articles . Starting in World War I, this is a great concept and I'm really looking forward to see the progress that this story makes. You can find Bryan on Twitter @ BryanSoroka33 . If you want to be ...
Oct 04, 2020•32 min
How easy should it be to make a Hulk game? Put things in front of Hulk. Let Hulk smash. It's not a hard concept really. Especially when you kind of have a story already made for you. You'd think anyone could do it. Enter Diego Rivera from the Behold the Sack YouTube channel. He likes Hulk. He likes games. It's a match made in heaven really. If only everything could work out this nicely……… Learn such things as: Is it better to have a game based on the comic or let it do it's own thing? At what po...
Sep 27, 2020•43 min
It's about time I talk to someone on the publishing side of things. Sure, you can self publish and do everything yourself but wouldn't it be nice if there was someone who could help you out with that? Maybe someone like Mike Perkins from 215 Ink perhaps? I sure hope so because that's who I got. Listen in as I learn from Mike some of what goes into getting a comic into my hands, and be sure to head over to the 215 Ink shop to pick up some of their stuff. Or maybe even look into submitting somethi...
Sep 20, 2020•44 min
It's not often that I've seen a comic really follow along an entire family tree. Maybe a bit down the line but generation after generation after generation after….. well, you get the idea. Too bad I'm not a expert on the Jostar family legacy. Good thing David Weinburger from Shonen Flop who thankfully is all over this one. Things will probably get a bit bizarre. Learn such things as: When do family naming conventions go too far? Am I crazy for thinking the anime art was made using Jolly Ranchers...
Sep 13, 2020•36 min
My wife says no Funko Pops for me, at least not if I'm paying for them. She lets me get video games and comics, so I guess I can't complain. But since I was shutdown before I could even express any kind of interest in getting some I never really looked into them. That's where Adam Williamson comes in. I learn some about the history of these big headed little dudes, how he gets away with having so many, and just what I'm missing out on. Learn such things as: How do you get DC and Marvel to play n...
Sep 06, 2020•41 min
Sometimes Japan gets something super cool that we don't. Alright, that happens all the time. But in this case it really sucks because it's a good Spider-Man game based on a comic mini series and it really wouldn't have taken much to get it ready to come out over here. Listen in as Adam Messinger comes to talk about Spider-Man Lethal Foes and we cry over the fact that this game never got a proper US release. Learn such things as: Why do villains keep trying to work together? Seriously, is it that...
Aug 30, 2020•44 min
The world is once again whining about finding politics in the entertainment. Almost like they haven't been paying attention to anything for years. Oh my gosh, when did all of this politics get into comics? Can't we go back to the good old days when it just wasn't there? Excuse me, I could barely keep a straight face typing that out. Listen in as Reed Puc, Kamijace, and Adam Williamson stop by to talk about the political nature of comics. Learn such things as: What do people really mean when they...
Aug 23, 2020•1 hr 1 min
Murder. Espionage. Revenge. The domination of an entire industry. Did I mention this is all over soda brands? Yeah I’m definitely in for the ride on this one and you should be too. Listen in as Jimmy Palmiotti comes to talk about his new Kickstarter for Pop Kill #2 , what it’s like writing for games vs comics, and a few other random things that you’ll just have to listen to the episode to find out. Learn such things as: Will the streak of supportive wives continue? How does a crazy idea like thi...
Aug 19, 2020•57 min
Dinosaurs. Guns. If you’re a 90s kid then you’re probably already sold on this one. Throw in the fact that the first Jurassic Park movie came out the same year and holy crap were dinosaurs the cool thing. So naturally I got Steven Ray Morris from See Jurassic Right to come help us take a look at these totally irreverent dinosaurs who might enjoy their toys a bit too much. Learn such things as: How much of a Jurassic Park overlap could there have been in the inspiration? Could a movie be in the f...
Aug 16, 2020•58 min
Alright let’s get one thing straight right now. Comics are supposed to be fun. And making them is supposed to be fun. Literally everything about comics is supposed to be fun. So what happens when two people who really like wrestling get together and make a fun comic about something they really love? Maybe you should go read Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia . I don’t know, just throwing that out there. Learn such things as: Who wrote this anyway? (Spoiler alert, it’s Ed Kuehnel and Matt Entin) W...
Aug 12, 2020•54 min
I had the pleasure of having Eric Palicki come on to talk about his new book Atlantis Wasn’t Build for Tourists coming to us from Scout Comics on August 17th. That’s plenty of time for you to ask your local comic shop to make sure they have a copy for you. Or later, the everything going on in the world has been messing with release dates all over the place. Atlantis Wasn’t Built for Tourists is best described Scout does it on their website, because I’m afraid of giving out spoilers. > When a ...
Aug 09, 2020•30 min
Turok was a big thing in the Nintendo 64 era. Big enough to get 4 games on the console. And I’m sure the fact that Acclaim controlled both the game and the comic. So of course you’ve still got all the super well connected aspects of the series. Listen in as Mike O’Brien from behind the scenes of DC SuperSons as he comes to talk about the final Nintendo 64 entry in the series. Learn such things as: Is bad representation better than none? Ways to make thing replayable The epitome of why I’m doing ...
Aug 02, 2020•43 min
I think some of the best social commentary comes from the viewpoint of a character who can say what they want without really worrying about the consequence. Someone who can just say what’s on their mind and that’s that. Even better when it’s an animal just because I find that more entertaining. So I’m really glad that Alex Schumacher and I finally got together to talk about his new book collecting a bunch of his web comic Mr. Butterchips. Check out Mr. Butterchips for yourself by purchasing it f...
Jul 26, 2020•29 min
One of the things that I like about anime (and manga probably too if I'd consistently read it) is magical realism. There's just something cool about a world where paper animals can be brought to life or dragons are real or things like that and it's not a big deal. Or where people can fall into a haunted spring and get transformed if they're hit with the right, or wrong, temperature of water. Listen in as Steampunk Link from SNEScapades comes on the show to talk about this game about a crazy mang...
Jul 18, 2020•48 min
One of the things I've really come to like about comics is that there are so many stories happening at once. You can tell there's something overarching going on but can also focus on what's just in front of you at the moment. The problem for me has been knowing where to start, what tie ins need to be read and what can be skipped, if something is going to be a good jumping on point, that sort of thing. Will Dickstein might have that solved with his Ch05en series. The newest edition, which focuses...
Jul 12, 2020•22 min
You know what's a great idea? Being a game publisher/developer and just buying a comic publisher so you can have IP to make games with a built in audience? So should you grab Marvel or DC? How about Valiant? Yup, that's what happened. Listen in as Insane Ian comes on the show to take a stab at Shadow Man for the N64, PS1, and Sega Dreamcast and we try to figure out if this game is good or not because it's in a really awkward place and we can't quite figure it out. Learn such things as: Who are a...
Jul 05, 2020•55 min
You’ve got lots of manga titles. You’ve got lots of anime titles. And it always seems to be a manga coming first, then the anime coming after that. But why? Listen in as Justin Williams from Super Tangent tries to discuss this with Chris. But tangents happen so there’s other stuff as well. Learn such things as: Sometimes the simplest answer is probably right Can Chris and Justin ever stay on topic? How can you have an arcade without a fighting game? And so much more! If you want to be a guest on...
Jul 01, 2020•59 min
Time to dig back into the Malibu vault and pull out Prime, part of the Ultraverse universe. But he seems kind of familiar since Prime is a kid who turns into an adult super hero. Except the hero he turns into is based on whatever the kid wants it based on. So yeah, that's a thing that happened. Listen in as Scott Niswander from NerdSync comes by the show to talk about this Sega CD exclusive experience. And yeah that's about all I can say about it. Learn such things as: This had to be for an earl...
Jun 21, 2020•51 min
