Joe Corallo and Chase Bluestone on "Sink to the Top"

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Welcome to Transcending Comics, a podcast dedicated to trans representation
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in comic books, manga, and webtoons, both on panel and behind the scenes.
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Today, we're going to be taking a look at the upcoming queer horror thriller
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comic, Sync to the Top, now live on Kickstarter.
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We're lucky enough to be joined today by the creative team behind this incredible book as well.
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Returning to the show is comics writer and editor Joe Carallo,
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who you may remember from last year's episode celebrating the works of Rachel Pollack.
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He's also the writer of the recent King Arthur and the Knights of Justice graphic
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novels, as well as Beckstar, She Said Destroy, and short comics and anthologies
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like Sharp Wit and The Company of Women and Young Men in Love, New Romance.
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Also joining us is an up-and-coming artistic talent in the comics industry, Chase Bluestone.
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Chase is an experienced artist, colorist, letterer, and character designer,
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and he's previously worked with Joe on short comics like Gal Gallant and Boys
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Will Be Toys from their previously mentioned Kickstarter anthologies.
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He also illustrated the children's storybook Tickle Trouble and has an impressive
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backlog of variant covers, pinups, and art prints you can find online.
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With all that said, I'd like to welcome to the show Joe and Chase. Welcome, guys.
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Bye.
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Hello. Hello, I'm Chase. Thanks for having us.
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Glad I could finally have you all on. And yeah, so excited to see the initial
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progress so far of Sync to the Top. Soon you're like already about a third of
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the way funded and what only like 24 hours into the campaign.
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Yeah, we got a backer. We got one.
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We were at 30 and we got to 31 in between getting ready to go live.
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I'm sure I can find some way to take credit for that. So we're in the first
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24 hours of the campaign.
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Can you tell our listeners anything about the book as far as like what it's
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about and just get them excited to back the book after they hear this episode?
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Sure, I will start and then Chase will run with it.
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Uh, chase will run with it. It's funny because chase.
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So people, people like puns, right? It was almost a pun anyway.
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So sick to the top. Uh, like you were saying, it's a, it's a queer horror thriller.
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Uh, it takes place in the seventies. Uh, it's about a young male escort who
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has previously been in a precarious situation with, um,
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some, some wealthy men who views these sort of people as objects,
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who then is in a position where he can make some money,
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good money, doing another gig like this.
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And he thinks because he has survived this previous experience that he knows what he's doing,
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but nothing can possibly prepare him for what he's about to experience.
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Chase, anything you want to add?
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I don't know. I love his spiel he's so good at this um.
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You did a lot of research in the 70s and stuff
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So i did do a lot of research this took me
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very interesting places this is the most research heavy
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project i've ever had it's you know like fashion architecture it's been really
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rewarding connecting to the past like that i didn't really i knew this was a
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period piece early on but i didn't really see that coming because I've never
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done something so involved.
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I've looked at like floor plans of mansions and I've looked at furniture.
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It's been very interesting.
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So to clarify, done research into the 70s, not you research this personally in the 70s.
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Oh, yes, of course. I wasn't there for the 70s.
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Yeah, I was going to be shocked if so.
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That said, we watched a lot of John Pertwee Doctor Who in the past couple of months or so.
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We have been.
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Which number is that?
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Three.
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That's a little painstaking research if you ask me, but.
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You know, it's not that bad. I think he might be my favorite.
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He's really good. Him and Joe Grant are so great together.
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And then Sarah Jane joins at the end, and you get the first Centaurian story,
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which has Jeremy Bullock in it, who was the first Boba Fett in Empire Strikes Back.
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You're catching me at, like, the most educated on classic Doctor I've ever been,
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Which is not very educated But I did just track down the Grant Morrison Doctor
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Who magazine comics In a trade So I got a little bit of 6th and 7th Doctor exposure
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But still I couldn't tell you anything about the ones Before the guy with the scarf
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I could go on and on about Doctor Who But yes
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Now, you're already watching Doctor Who together. You've made a couple of comics
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together before this current project.
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So tell me, how did you two first meet and start collaborating?
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Well, we were at the same DivCon in like the end of 2018, right?
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It would have been October 2018.
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Yeah. And then we ended up talking and like realize it like,
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oh, we were both at this thing.
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And then like we had started connecting more in like 2019.
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And our first collaboration was
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the the deadbeats anthology that
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i co-edited with eric palicki and i really liked
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chase's art so i was like hey like
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at that point we more or less had like the anthology together
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but i was like hey you know there's room to do like
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a pinup so you know we
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were able to get chasen for for a pinup which um he did on uh rachel's story
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um you know rachel pollack and richard case had a story together and chase used
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that as sort of inspiration and
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yeah i'll let you uh chime in with uh your end of it if you'd like yeah
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I mean like it was it was really fun it was nerve-wracking of course this was
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it was my first foray into indie comics even though So it wasn't even a comic,
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but, you know, like Joe, Joe's been really good about telling me that it counts.
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It's true. I'm in a book and it matters.
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Yes.
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And it's always fun to see it on a shelf sometimes at like a bookshop and go, hey, I'm in that.
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So working your way from that through your short comics and anthologies so far,
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where did the idea for Sing to the Top come from and how that end up taking
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shape as a full 24 page one shot?
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So the initial idea I had talked with Rachel Pollack about, you know,
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just like talking about her time in in London.
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And she had shared a story about this, like the story she had heard from someone
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about this higher up guy in conservative politics in London.
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And his whole spiel was he would get these sort of, you know,
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male escorts and rather than, you know, sleep with them,
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he would like hire them out to
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kind of like, you know, come over for like dinner or something like that.
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And then would just tear them down, like mentally and emotionally.
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Like that was like his, his bit.
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And, um, that it was just this like horrifying sort of like experience that
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I was like that, like, what a cool, like villain kind of thing.
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Well, that would be like, great. So I was like, well, you know,
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I just thought to myself, like, that's such like a cool, like start or a hook of a story.
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It'd be really interesting to do that in you
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know i i have it set in new york it's very
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loosely made like it's its own sort of story and it's
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you know a fictionalized event but just this idea of this you know sort of young
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young guy like walking into a situation that's like of course he's not going
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to be prepared for because like who would be prepared for something like that
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you know so So that's really what inspired it initially.
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But then, and I'll let Chase run from here,
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I also very specifically wanted it to be inspired by late 70s, early 80s comic art,
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in particular the work of Gene Colan on Tomb of Dracula and Frank Miller's Ronin,
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which I personally think Ronin might be Frank Miller's best laid out comic.
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I don't know if it's his best comic's work, but in terms of like layouts and
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like being like, like really like going for it, I think Ronan might be the best
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and, and chase read all of,
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All of two of dracula but but read uh a number of things that like gene colon
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was working on as well as uh ronin and i'd i'd love to hear what chase has to say about that
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Yeah i mean like those those ronin layouts
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they're they're tough to beat you know they're bold they're
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unconventional they get the job done they cooperate
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with the art in unexpected ways
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and as someone who's been in
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comics for some years now i love
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a good layout i think that you know like we
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we could pay a little more attention to layouts lest
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we get trapped in a nine panel grid constantly and that combined with so like
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ronin has the layouts the really interesting stuff and the tube of dracula stuff
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is um like compositionally the way the individual panels are laid out It's so
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full of dread. It's so full of foreboding.
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They're very spacious, even though sometimes some of those panels can be really
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tiny. They're very grand.
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They have a grand sense to them. So those were kind of the two elements I was trying to combine.
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The layouts and the individual panel compositions for Sync to the Top.
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Now, I'm pretty unfamiliar with Tuma Dracula, other than knowing that Blade comes from there.
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So for those that want to give the book a shot or like just kind of study it
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for its panel layouts do you have a good starting point or any individual issues
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you'd say we should hop into
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This is a Joe question.
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No, it's tough. I mean, there isn't really, there isn't really a bad place to start.
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I mean, there's a continuity to it, but just like Bronze Age comics,
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like in the 70s, it's a bit different. You can kind of jump in and out.
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Like it's all done in a way that you can dive right in.
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And especially because the way it often works with Marvel, like volume one isn't
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necessarily in print all the time.
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Like you'll have these dead periods where things are just in and out of print.
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What I would say, though, is if you can find a copy of, it's out of print,
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but sometimes you can get them cheap, the Marvel Essentials,
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which are in black and white.
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You just get a big phone book-sized thing of Tomb of Dracula,
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and there should be a few of those. Gene Collins are black and white.
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Crazy. It's so good.
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So I definitely would recommend going about it that way.
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Also i'm a like gene colin did
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a lot of dr strange and some of
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those epic collections are in print that's really great and
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his batman stuff and i
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think they're putting out a dc finest collection soon that's sort of just like
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two years or whatever leading up to like crisis that gene colin would have done
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some work on but absolutely he's he's easily he's one of my favorites you know
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Rachel Pollack was a big fan too.
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I believe she's the one who said, I'm trying to think it was her.
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Someone else had said, nobody draws a hand going for a doorknob like Gene Colan.
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And, and I just, I just love that about him. So yeah, look up Gene Colan.
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Um, especially if you're a Marvel fan, definitely the doctor strange,
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the tomb of Dracula stuff, but especially I would,
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Dr. Strange, if you're like more of like an MCU specific fan.
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And then if, if you're more of a DC person go for, you know,
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his Batman stuff, it's so good.
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He's done some interesting, like there was a scarecrow two parter that he did.
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That's like so creepy, just a phenomenal artist.
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Doesn't get talked about enough, you know, who has since, you know,
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he's passed some years ago.
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He did do one issue of Captain America, at least one while Ed Brubaker's run was going on.
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So like he did make it into, you know, this century, but not talked about enough.
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And I wish people would acknowledge the greatness of Gene Collin Moore.
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Now with Sink to the Top, I've seen you mention elsewhere that this one is going
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to be a standalone one and done story,
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but that this could be the beginning of an anthology of other like similarly
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themed queer horror stories so do you have anything that you can tell us now
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about what we might expect from this line of comics going forward when this book does well well
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Thank you uh one of the ideas you know we've talked about i'll mention one and
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i'll let chase go for it but previously talked about doing a story that was
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It's like a 50s greasers kind of thing called like his tragic love.
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But it's a world where there's like only like one gender. It's just like men.
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And so so it's just like greasers and their boyfriends.
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And like, but there's also like drag queens and stuff like like just a weird sort of quirky thing,
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because we had done Gal Gallant, which
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was basically a world that it was just women there's no
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men in it at all so like just like playing
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around with like those kind of like concepts and and
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doing things like that you know if we did something like that it would probably
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be more of like three like eight page stories and one would be like that greaser
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one and then we might do one where it's you know like there is no gender you
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know like just kind of like playing around with with some different ideas and
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like little snippets like that.
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But we also have some other ideas, so let Chase go with that.
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These are so vague. I don't know which one is best to bring up.
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Well, I guess the most relevant one to sync would be...
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We've been tossing around the idea of doing a Catholic guilt, Jallo-inspired thing.
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We haven't really hammered down the concept yet, but we love Jallo.
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I was raised Catholic, and that's interesting to me.
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Yeah, same thing when I was raised Catholic.
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Yeah, and slapping some queer themes on that is just, we simply must do it.
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Yeah. eventually yeah no that's
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that's it's high on the list but we love uh you
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know giallo i mean i'm a big fan of
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argento in particular you know argento
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fulci um there's a lot of other like maybe slightly more obscure giallo that
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i also really love or like other movies that are like almost giallo but like
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uh one of the ones we watched we just found out on tubi it was um the red queen kills seven times oh
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My god i love her.
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That was so good like early 70s like female slasher like just great stuff same
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thing with a woman and uh a lizard and a woman's skin
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It's like early, like, you know, lesbian horror sort of movie, which is great.
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Like it kind of opens with like this, this woman running through just like a
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sea of naked people and then lesbian stuff happens and you're just like,
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well, I mean, you have my attention, I guess. Let's see where this goes.
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I will admit I only recognize like half those names in passing,
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but my film buff girlfriend is going to be really excited to hear this episode
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now. So thank you for throwing those in there.
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Yeah no problem one two that we
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we have to watch soon that i i have seen but it's
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um the house with laughing windows that that's
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like a slow burn one i'm a sucker for a good slow burn so it's like it's very
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moody italian town and things like there's like a murder or two that happened
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like it really ramps up and then the end just goes like completely off the rails
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I love stuff like that I really
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Loved your previous collaboration with Boys Will
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Be Toys from the Young Men in Love anthology and I
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thought the whole toy story inspired love story
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seemed like a perfect project for you both but with
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Joe's experience working on action figure franchises and his love of Raggedy
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Andy and I imagine a setting like this gives Chase's character design work a
00:17:19.937 --> 00:17:24.677
place to shine so I'd like to know how you two came to pair up on that particular
00:17:24.677 --> 00:17:28.117
project and like how that story took shape from there
00:17:28.117 --> 00:17:34.757
Well i'll start you up here it was um we had been talking and we're still going
00:17:34.757 --> 00:17:39.537
to do it at some point but you know we we don't have you know the rights so
00:17:39.537 --> 00:17:43.257
it would just be a fan comic probably like maybe like a two-page like ragdian
00:17:43.257 --> 00:17:45.817
and andy like fan comic we're
00:17:45.817 --> 00:17:46.757
Big raggedy heads.
00:17:46.757 --> 00:17:50.517
Yeah. Oh my God. I love it so much.
00:17:50.757 --> 00:17:57.097
I think I watched the pumpkin that couldn't smile like almost every Halloween.
00:17:57.961 --> 00:18:01.101
It's so it's so good i
00:18:01.101 --> 00:18:03.921
have a raggedy andy cell from like
00:18:03.921 --> 00:18:07.801
the 80s cartoon because i used to watch that as a kid and uh there was also
00:18:07.801 --> 00:18:14.721
like a wizard of oz cartoon um you know so you are actually born gay i don't
00:18:14.721 --> 00:18:19.861
know like that's that's that's just a thing that happens you know so that was
00:18:19.861 --> 00:18:23.521
like Like it was in my mind of just like, well,
00:18:23.841 --> 00:18:31.441
we want to do this comic, but we can also like do something that's like kind of in that same vein,
00:18:31.841 --> 00:18:35.461
but a little different and, you know, get paid for it.
00:18:35.621 --> 00:18:41.481
So I had that sort of idea so that one of the characters, the former Franklin
00:18:41.481 --> 00:18:44.141
character is very raggedy Andy.
00:18:44.461 --> 00:18:47.981
And then I will let Chase take it from here.
00:18:47.981 --> 00:18:53.201
When we first started hanging out, pretty much all we watched were trash tunes.
00:18:54.241 --> 00:19:00.281
I don't know how that came to be. But like, I think of myself as a tune head.
00:19:00.641 --> 00:19:05.901
And, you know, like, he's a child of the 80s and 90s. And, you know,
00:19:06.001 --> 00:19:07.361
it just felt kind of natural.
00:19:07.701 --> 00:19:11.801
And, you know, like, we have all these like ideas, and we're just constantly
00:19:11.801 --> 00:19:19.161
watching cartoons and thinking about cartoons. and the other lead, Ricky Rifle?
00:19:19.321 --> 00:19:21.881
Or is it Rifle Ricky? Yeah, it's Ricky Rifle, right?
00:19:22.461 --> 00:19:26.241
I think so. I have the book. I can check. But yeah, he's clearly,
00:19:26.641 --> 00:19:34.921
As clearly as Farmer Franklin is inspired by Raggedy Andy, Ricky Rifle is clearly inspired by G.I. Joe.
00:19:36.301 --> 00:19:42.981
And we kind of treated it, you know, like a homage to 80s and 90s trash tunes
00:19:42.981 --> 00:19:44.561
because we love that stuff.
00:19:45.221 --> 00:19:49.201
And it just made sense. You know, we we wanted to do something light,
00:19:49.521 --> 00:19:52.041
something that can be funny, amusing.
00:19:52.421 --> 00:19:56.581
You know, like the gay toy story pitch is really easy to sum it all up.
00:19:56.701 --> 00:20:00.541
But like toys, like, you know, everyone was a kid once. Everyone has toys.
00:20:00.761 --> 00:20:06.281
It's really easy to like, you know, look at these characters and kind of relate to them in a way.
00:20:06.461 --> 00:20:10.141
And even better if you like trash tunes and are nostalgic for them.
00:20:10.564 --> 00:20:15.524
And if you're nostalgic for Jim Henson's Christmas toy,
00:20:15.844 --> 00:20:21.744
because we have a reference there with Meteoron is like a gender bent Meteora
00:20:21.744 --> 00:20:27.644
from Jim Henson's Christmas toy, which I grew up having that on VHS as a kid.
00:20:27.764 --> 00:20:32.504
So I watched that a lot around Christmas, but I don't think a lot of other people did.
00:20:32.764 --> 00:20:37.364
I've had one person reach out to me being like, is this a reference to a Christmas toy?
00:20:37.584 --> 00:20:38.584
You didn't tell me that.
00:20:39.184 --> 00:20:43.664
Yeah, Jude, who was at the science. Oh, cool. Yeah.
00:20:44.784 --> 00:20:46.144
Underrated, honestly.
00:20:46.764 --> 00:20:47.204
Yeah.
00:20:47.904 --> 00:20:48.804
Jim Henson.
00:20:49.404 --> 00:20:49.724
Yeah.
00:20:50.164 --> 00:20:55.384
I'm sorry. I did not know Jim Henson's Christmas toy, and I just Googled it
00:20:55.384 --> 00:21:02.744
right now, and I just see a little raggedy-ann-looking doll with soulless killer eyes.
00:21:03.304 --> 00:21:08.904
Yes. Yeah, there's a really cocky tiger stuffed animal and that.
00:21:09.324 --> 00:21:13.464
Yeah, going from the image of him, I see you were right. People are just born gay.
00:21:16.684 --> 00:21:17.304
It's true.
00:21:17.744 --> 00:21:22.844
Going off your work so far, Chase, this is your first full-length comic, correct?
00:21:23.304 --> 00:21:23.644
Correct.
00:21:24.304 --> 00:21:29.944
So with a project like this under your belt, now like some serious comic experience,
00:21:30.204 --> 00:21:35.344
do you have any idea what's next for you in your comic career or what you are looking to do next?
00:21:35.584 --> 00:21:39.104
Like, do you want to do more indie books or are you in the market to try and
00:21:39.104 --> 00:21:40.324
work on licensed characters?
00:21:40.794 --> 00:21:44.774
I could go either way. I'm pretty happy making comics.
00:21:45.014 --> 00:21:51.594
But I guess if I had to, if I had to go a specific route, and I had the choice,
00:21:51.894 --> 00:21:55.434
I would like to work on more mature themes.
00:21:56.094 --> 00:22:01.814
I love horror. I'm a big horror head. You know, I like really gritty queer tales.
00:22:02.394 --> 00:22:06.354
And, you know, from from a queer perspective, because I don't I don't think
00:22:06.354 --> 00:22:11.474
we get that enough, you know, like we're, you know, like, we don't like bury your gaze trope,
00:22:11.814 --> 00:22:18.654
but also like, you know, there's there's much more stories to tell about queerness, about history.
00:22:19.034 --> 00:22:24.674
So I guess that kind of puts me in more and more the indie side of things.
00:22:24.774 --> 00:22:26.954
But, you know, I'll take a license gig.
00:22:27.154 --> 00:22:32.154
You know, I love cartoons. If someone wanted to, you know, get me on some sort
00:22:32.154 --> 00:22:35.414
of like cartoon revival graphic novel, sign me up.
00:22:35.574 --> 00:22:39.854
What did your artistic career look like then before you started getting into comics?
00:22:40.034 --> 00:22:42.874
Like, I know you had the children's book with Tickle Trouble,
00:22:43.074 --> 00:22:45.174
but anything noteworthy before that?
00:22:46.534 --> 00:22:52.994
I did a one pager for my college magazine once.
00:22:53.534 --> 00:22:58.314
I did, you know, like mostly stuff for my college and like commissions.
00:22:59.154 --> 00:23:02.914
Like that that that pinup in Deadbeats was really like my my breakout thing.
00:23:02.914 --> 00:23:08.954
I spent a lot of time in school. by and large, like more like expressive cartoony
00:23:08.954 --> 00:23:13.354
stuff is what I that's what I really like. I'm just hoping to do some more of that.
00:23:13.794 --> 00:23:18.354
Joe, in the time since your last appearance on the show, I know a very well
00:23:18.354 --> 00:23:22.474
received second volume of King Arthur and the Knights of Justice has been released.
00:23:22.754 --> 00:23:23.074
Thank you.
00:23:23.354 --> 00:23:26.234
Can you tell us a little bit about what you've been doing with the book and
00:23:26.234 --> 00:23:31.034
like what direction you've been able to take the series with the second installment here?
00:23:31.034 --> 00:23:34.374
So so for the second installment to backtrack
00:23:34.374 --> 00:23:37.414
briefly the the first installment we we more less knew
00:23:37.414 --> 00:23:40.214
what it was going to be like out the gate like it was basically like a
00:23:40.214 --> 00:23:43.094
retout like it was a reboot of the show so we
00:23:43.094 --> 00:23:45.714
really wanted to have sort of a beginning middle and end because if there
00:23:45.714 --> 00:23:50.614
was only going to be one volume we wanted to make sure it was all done so i
00:23:50.614 --> 00:23:57.114
basically updated the the show more or less to to fit one graphic novel rather
00:23:57.114 --> 00:24:05.694
than 26 episodes and more because they never wrapped up the show because it had things that had to,
00:24:05.934 --> 00:24:09.894
like, it had different MacGuffins to keep, which is what you want in a show
00:24:09.894 --> 00:24:14.814
where the idea is to try to get to over 100 episodes and just have it on syndication forever.
00:24:15.194 --> 00:24:18.794
It's not conducive to a graphic novel.
00:24:19.714 --> 00:24:24.794
So for the second volume, since we basically told the full reboot and,
00:24:24.894 --> 00:24:30.034
like, that's the story, they really let me go wild with it.
00:24:30.214 --> 00:24:34.654
Cause like Morgana's in the present and it starts with her. Like,
00:24:35.258 --> 00:24:41.678
jumping out of a painting in the British Museum and like messing up some security
00:24:41.678 --> 00:24:47.718
guards and stealing her crystal ball back and stuff like that's that's like the first few pages.
00:24:48.118 --> 00:24:52.218
And then we we introduce a lot of Arthurian lore.
00:24:52.718 --> 00:24:58.918
I I add, you know, the grail, the coin of necromancy, King Lot and King Lot's
00:24:58.918 --> 00:25:02.798
castle, you know, some other characters throughout.
00:25:02.798 --> 00:25:06.178
Out i introduced the concept of the lady
00:25:06.178 --> 00:25:10.918
of the table being in the present day and and like things like that so it's
00:25:10.918 --> 00:25:17.258
it's kind of bonkers i really loved uh putting it together and i really do hope
00:25:17.258 --> 00:25:23.418
people check it out because i really like that i got to go really nuts with it now
00:25:23.418 --> 00:25:27.618
What's it like to have this opportunity now for a show that was just like left
00:25:27.618 --> 00:25:32.858
open-ended since your childhood get to be the one that comes back and gives
00:25:32.858 --> 00:25:37.758
it at least more definitive closing point or at least telling like the definitive
00:25:37.758 --> 00:25:39.538
next chapter for this story
00:25:39.538 --> 00:25:42.738
Yeah no it was crazy i
00:25:42.738 --> 00:25:46.198
i really enjoyed it but like it's fun it's
00:25:46.198 --> 00:25:49.618
humbling because you also like i never
00:25:49.618 --> 00:25:52.398
felt like oh they're letting
00:25:52.398 --> 00:25:56.838
me get away with this or whatever it is i was like i have this plan i have this
00:25:56.838 --> 00:26:02.558
vision for what this is and I can explain myself and so sort of the way that
00:26:02.558 --> 00:26:10.558
like I try to look at this to to keep like a healthy sort of mindset is like this isn't my property.
00:26:10.958 --> 00:26:16.698
It is on me to convince them that this is within their property's best interest to do.
00:26:17.338 --> 00:26:23.998
And, you know, if I don't get to do something, that's OK, because it's not these aren't my toys.
00:26:24.058 --> 00:26:27.918
I'm like going over a friend's house and playing with their toys or something.
00:26:27.918 --> 00:26:31.098
You know, it's like, it's different, you know, but honestly,
00:26:31.118 --> 00:26:34.298
they were cool with everything.
00:26:34.458 --> 00:26:37.358
Like I didn't get any pushback at all.
00:26:37.558 --> 00:26:41.458
I had to clarify some things, but I,
00:26:41.458 --> 00:26:46.218
I ended up doing exactly what I wanted to do with this volume,
00:26:46.218 --> 00:26:52.578
but that presents a different problem, which is then if people don't like it,
00:26:52.718 --> 00:26:55.598
I can't be like, oh, well, I, my hands were tied.
00:26:55.598 --> 00:26:58.998
And I was just doing what, you know, they told me to do.
00:26:59.178 --> 00:27:03.458
I just have to be like, oh, you don't like me on a deeper, more personal level. But like,
00:27:04.147 --> 00:27:05.267
It's fine. It's fine.
00:27:05.447 --> 00:27:10.387
Chase, I was enjoying reading through Tickle Trouble ahead of this interview,
00:27:10.387 --> 00:27:15.947
and I wanted to ask about what your experience was like drawing a children's
00:27:15.947 --> 00:27:20.747
illustrated book and how you would say that's compared to the comic making process for you.
00:27:21.247 --> 00:27:27.547
Yeah, for sure. So to start, I should acknowledge that the way that Ladderworks,
00:27:27.547 --> 00:27:31.967
my publisher, produces books is, I'm sure it's very different from,
00:27:31.967 --> 00:27:34.427
you know, like, you know, more established publishers.
00:27:34.647 --> 00:27:41.427
It was a very small team, you know, like the CEO of a company, Shrias, he's awesome.
00:27:41.807 --> 00:27:44.887
But like, he, you know, he's like, he's wearing a lot of hats.
00:27:45.027 --> 00:27:49.027
He was like, you know, he's like the big boss and the art director.
00:27:49.487 --> 00:27:52.827
And he, he came up as a cartoonist. So
00:27:52.827 --> 00:27:56.487
I was working mainly with him a writer and an
00:27:56.487 --> 00:28:00.007
editor and it was we would get on uh
00:28:00.007 --> 00:28:05.007
zoom calls you know once a week from start to finish the suit like i would get
00:28:05.007 --> 00:28:09.887
this i got the script and then it was like okay like let's start character designs
00:28:09.887 --> 00:28:14.367
i do a bunch of a bunch of development sketches they'd tell me which ones they'd
00:28:14.367 --> 00:28:19.967
like and then i'd develop the ones they like and they'd give me notes on it And it was very fun.
00:28:20.307 --> 00:28:24.567
Like I said before, I love a lot of styles.
00:28:24.887 --> 00:28:29.387
But naturally, what comes to me easiest is the cartoony stuff.
00:28:29.647 --> 00:28:41.047
I definitely had to adjust my natural inclinations to be more suited towards toddler, basically.
00:28:41.047 --> 00:28:44.307
I've i've never drawn for toddler before so
00:28:44.307 --> 00:28:49.067
like there was a lot of feedback about like the softness and like how how friendly
00:28:49.067 --> 00:28:55.567
the faces were and you know like make it like cutesy but not exaggerated um
00:28:55.567 --> 00:29:03.807
i tend to exaggerate a lot and uh you know just like making sure the color notes were good um the
00:29:04.127 --> 00:29:08.227
main color of the book is yellow so everything had to kind of cooperate with
00:29:08.227 --> 00:29:11.827
that now i have uh That language in my repertoire.
00:29:12.607 --> 00:29:15.327
Which I like to have because I've
00:29:15.327 --> 00:29:22.647
I've struggled with the idea of having a signature style, quote unquote.
00:29:23.421 --> 00:29:27.021
But I'm learning that having range is actually better.
00:29:27.301 --> 00:29:30.401
It gets you more work if you can say yes to more jobs.
00:29:30.641 --> 00:29:36.101
And I've drawn all over the place, you know, like I've imitated like,
00:29:36.181 --> 00:29:37.581
you know, like a Jack Kirby style.
00:29:37.921 --> 00:29:42.381
And now I'm doing this, you know, I'm doing sync. I studied a lot of styles
00:29:42.381 --> 00:29:43.941
for that. I can paint realistically.
00:29:44.721 --> 00:29:50.481
So, yeah, you know, just like it was a lot of working together to develop the
00:29:50.481 --> 00:29:51.601
style. And that was really fun.
00:29:51.601 --> 00:29:56.741
Do you have any plans for further children's books in the immediate future or
00:29:56.741 --> 00:29:58.361
are you sticking to comics for now?
00:29:58.361 --> 00:30:04.281
Not in the immediate future, but I am in contact with Ladderworks.
00:30:04.281 --> 00:30:07.821
I've met some of their other artists. I've met their other writers.
00:30:08.781 --> 00:30:15.961
I would definitely be down to do it another time because it has its own set of challenges.
00:30:15.961 --> 00:30:21.221
But I think what I like about picture book is the fact that there's so much
00:30:21.221 --> 00:30:25.301
space and you could do really nice, large illustrations.
00:30:25.881 --> 00:30:31.241
There's there's a lot of spreads in there. And there are some kind of panel
00:30:31.241 --> 00:30:34.721
like layouts in that book.
00:30:34.961 --> 00:30:39.661
But it just it really lets you, you know, lovingly render something.
00:30:39.901 --> 00:30:43.821
And, you know, people are going to look at it because it's because of the nature of the format.
00:30:44.401 --> 00:30:46.121
So yeah, I would definitely do that again.
00:30:46.361 --> 00:30:50.661
Joe, I was actually just re-listening to your last appearance on the show,
00:30:50.681 --> 00:30:55.521
and I was surprised to hear you actually mention Chase way back then. Yeah.
00:30:56.021 --> 00:31:02.061
Specifically that you had plans to eventually watch A Scanner Darkly and the
00:31:02.061 --> 00:31:05.001
original Superman the movie from 1978.
00:31:05.481 --> 00:31:08.581
One year later, have y'all had a chance to check out either film?
00:31:08.721 --> 00:31:11.121
We did watch the first Superman movie so far.
00:31:11.721 --> 00:31:12.961
Chase, what were your thoughts?
00:31:12.961 --> 00:31:14.861
It was nice. I like him.
00:31:16.161 --> 00:31:17.361
He's a nice guy.
00:31:17.661 --> 00:31:18.441
He's great.
00:31:18.841 --> 00:31:19.061
Yeah.
00:31:19.541 --> 00:31:24.061
This is my first episode I've recorded since the new Superman movie came out.
00:31:24.241 --> 00:31:27.441
So I would at least like to get y'all's thoughts on that.
00:31:27.601 --> 00:31:32.161
Sure. I saw it opening weekend. I really, really liked it.
00:31:32.558 --> 00:31:36.838
I think the guy playing Superman, David Kornsweat,
00:31:39.038 --> 00:31:44.458
Kornsweet, yeah. He was great. I really liked him. I loved Lois.
00:31:44.758 --> 00:31:50.698
One of my biggest problems with it, but this has been a problem with a lot of
00:31:50.698 --> 00:31:54.498
recent, like all the Superman movies of this century, really,
00:31:54.778 --> 00:32:02.538
they really cast the Daily Planet well, But then like some of these big names
00:32:02.538 --> 00:32:05.018
they get for characters like, you know,
00:32:05.118 --> 00:32:10.538
Steve Lombard and Perry White in this have like a dozen lines between the two
00:32:10.538 --> 00:32:11.978
of them over the whole movie.
00:32:12.218 --> 00:32:19.778
And I'm just like, you cast like really good people and we barely get to interact with them.
00:32:20.018 --> 00:32:24.038
There are a number of YouTube shorts with the Daily Planet cast that have been
00:32:24.038 --> 00:32:27.418
a lot of fun. So glad they squeezed a little extra content out of that.
00:32:27.418 --> 00:32:30.698
Yeah no for sure you kind of have to you
00:32:30.698 --> 00:32:33.458
know because i liked it a lot
00:32:33.458 --> 00:32:36.558
of my my tweaks and things are more granular
00:32:36.558 --> 00:32:44.718
like and and i know like the way like people discuss movies and stuff i feel
00:32:44.718 --> 00:32:49.138
like on podcasts and social media that like when when people say something like
00:32:49.138 --> 00:32:54.818
this could have been better it's like why'd you hate it it's like no i didn't I'm just saying like,
00:32:54.818 --> 00:32:58.158
and I know this is going to sound like such like a, like, why,
00:32:58.338 --> 00:32:59.558
why are you even saying this?
00:32:59.638 --> 00:33:05.838
I'm like, I needed one more scene with Ma and Pa Kent.
00:33:06.218 --> 00:33:15.038
I felt like we were one scene short on really firming up that relationship.
00:33:16.258 --> 00:33:21.938
And, you know, just Clark's relationship with Ma and Pa Kent is such like,
00:33:21.938 --> 00:33:26.858
I don't know if you could say it's the soul core of of Superman,
00:33:27.038 --> 00:33:31.778
but it's absolutely like one of the like defining things of Superman.
00:33:31.998 --> 00:33:37.498
And I was like, I know the annoying thing is to do anything I'm saying,
00:33:37.498 --> 00:33:43.578
you would have to bloat this movie's runtime by like 20 minutes to fit it all in.
00:33:43.578 --> 00:33:49.158
And then everyone and possibly including me would also be like, went a little long.
00:33:49.698 --> 00:33:50.398
Hmm.
00:33:50.398 --> 00:34:02.818
So like, like I, I get that, but like that, and I do like, I wish this Lex was a little different.
00:34:02.818 --> 00:34:06.098
Cause I, there's different ways to interpret Lex.
00:34:06.338 --> 00:34:11.538
There's no way to be like, you know, I'm not being like, that's not Lex Luthor
00:34:11.538 --> 00:34:12.938
or anything like that. But.
00:34:13.375 --> 00:34:19.395
Again, this is granular. I get it. But like, he was like a little too close
00:34:19.395 --> 00:34:25.155
to the kind of Lex we got from Zuckerberg, like the Zuckerberg kind of Lex.
00:34:25.615 --> 00:34:29.575
And, um, you know, like Batman v Superman and all of that.
00:34:29.715 --> 00:34:35.235
And I just want to be so far away from that stuff that I was just like,
00:34:35.315 --> 00:34:37.995
I wish he was like a little different kind of Lex.
00:34:37.995 --> 00:34:46.435
But that is potentially completely moot because, you know, I don't think this is really a spoiler,
00:34:46.815 --> 00:34:54.515
but like we might get Lex again in a future movie and characters sometimes change
00:34:54.515 --> 00:34:59.295
and grow over time, especially when they're in multiple sort of movies.
00:34:59.295 --> 00:35:04.395
So we are getting an earlier Lex because I think the movie out the gate basically
00:35:04.395 --> 00:35:08.435
says like Superman's been like around for like three years at this point.
00:35:08.555 --> 00:35:10.535
So like this is still early in his career.
00:35:10.975 --> 00:35:19.075
So to be like, I wish we kind of got like a bigger ego kind of Lex with gravitas.
00:35:19.075 --> 00:35:23.715
I'm also like, well, he also needs to grow into that at some,
00:35:23.795 --> 00:35:28.555
like he has to have a place to go if he's going to end up potentially.
00:35:29.295 --> 00:35:32.115
Being in future movies but yeah
00:35:32.115 --> 00:35:35.335
um it's so nice to see a superman movie
00:35:35.335 --> 00:35:39.295
with a nice score and it's colorful and
00:35:39.295 --> 00:35:47.755
superman's nice and he's helpful and you know again i hope this is a minor enough
00:35:47.755 --> 00:35:53.315
uh spoiler that this doesn't upset people who you know it's like at this point
00:35:53.315 --> 00:35:56.795
i feel like you should have seen the movie to avoid minor spoilers.
00:35:57.375 --> 00:36:02.515
Like, he saves a squirrel at one point and that was kind of one of the best
00:36:02.515 --> 00:36:05.655
things for me in that movie. I was like, this is adorable.
00:36:06.275 --> 00:36:10.915
So, I hope people aren't mad that I spoiled the squirrel saving scene.
00:36:11.583 --> 00:36:14.763
But I regrettably have not seen the movie.
00:36:15.043 --> 00:36:15.383
Oh, no.
00:36:15.963 --> 00:36:19.883
No, it's OK that I was thinking like, oh, like, do I have the time?
00:36:19.883 --> 00:36:22.323
But he saves a squirrel. So now I have to see it.
00:36:22.623 --> 00:36:24.743
I wouldn't have known that if you didn't mention it.
00:36:24.983 --> 00:36:29.743
But see, like, see, sometimes spoilers make people want to go. Yeah.
00:36:30.083 --> 00:36:34.803
And I mean, they get it perfect. And I say this because I saved a squirrel on
00:36:34.803 --> 00:36:38.603
the way to the movie of like the squirrel doesn't know what to do afterwards
00:36:38.603 --> 00:36:40.903
and has that confused omnidirectional.
00:36:41.583 --> 00:36:44.543
Scramble like one runs out in the street i break for
00:36:44.543 --> 00:36:47.883
it and it just keeps running in front of my car a guy
00:36:47.883 --> 00:36:50.923
i'm really trying here my biggest
00:36:50.923 --> 00:36:55.303
takeaway though is that uh i did not expect that this movie would make me like
00:36:55.303 --> 00:37:01.303
hawk girl more than jadzia axelrod already did uh and getting to see that scene
00:37:01.303 --> 00:37:07.823
where world leader is treated justly by hawk girl uh like that that's gonna
00:37:07.823 --> 00:37:09.883
to make this movie worth every rewatch yeah
00:37:09.883 --> 00:37:13.563
No there there is that moment like so it's
00:37:13.563 --> 00:37:17.083
funny because i think that you're on
00:37:17.083 --> 00:37:22.663
the same page here so i'm gonna say like there were some people who were talking
00:37:22.663 --> 00:37:31.223
about how oh like this this movie is like not political at all or like you're
00:37:31.223 --> 00:37:34.263
reading too much into it, but like and,
00:37:34.523 --> 00:37:40.843
you know, I don't want to necessarily get people worked up over things that
00:37:40.843 --> 00:37:42.743
are going on right now, but
00:37:43.578 --> 00:37:50.378
I'll just say, you know, Superman, they push the fact that he's not from here
00:37:50.378 --> 00:37:52.358
and they need the government.
00:37:52.558 --> 00:37:59.438
They need like private contractors through the government to take him to an
00:37:59.438 --> 00:38:05.638
undisclosed location, which is nothing at all like anything happening now.
00:38:05.638 --> 00:38:14.318
And there is a conflict going on in another part of the world that in no way
00:38:14.318 --> 00:38:21.278
reflects a conflict that's been going on for decades.
00:38:21.858 --> 00:38:26.038
So in that way, the movie is not political at all, I guess.
00:38:26.458 --> 00:38:31.518
I'm really trying to avoid spoilers here because one of our guests today was
00:38:31.518 --> 00:38:35.698
not present for the movie. So I don't want to ruin the experience too much.
00:38:35.798 --> 00:38:38.618
We already gave them that Squirrel gets saved.
00:38:38.778 --> 00:38:43.298
He's already seen cute dog in previews, and I don't know what more we could do to sell him on it.
00:38:43.638 --> 00:38:48.218
But bringing us to our closing questions of the week, we've got two options
00:38:48.218 --> 00:38:50.298
here. Feel free to answer both of them if you want.
00:38:50.638 --> 00:38:54.378
But to celebrate the second volume of King Arthur and the Knights of Justice,
00:38:54.838 --> 00:39:00.438
I'd like to ask what cartoon you would most like to revisit as a comic someday,
00:39:00.438 --> 00:39:05.058
either writing it yourself or just seeing it finally get a second life elsewhere
00:39:05.058 --> 00:39:10.138
or knowing y'all are both trash toon heads I'd like to know what cartoon you
00:39:10.138 --> 00:39:13.258
would say is the least in need of a reboot
00:39:16.078 --> 00:39:17.218
There's so many.
00:39:17.218 --> 00:39:23.278
There have been a handful of cartoons that we've watched that have genuinely
00:39:23.278 --> 00:39:28.518
like been good and we were like why is this good there was no reason for this
00:39:28.518 --> 00:39:31.198
to be good Unlike the little Shop of Horrors cartoon,
00:39:31.518 --> 00:39:36.318
which we've decided is easily one of the worst, like, Saturday morning cartoons
00:39:36.318 --> 00:39:38.318
that we've ever watched.
00:39:39.718 --> 00:39:46.898
Yeah, it's pretty bad. It, like, dethroned my other least favorite trash tune
00:39:46.898 --> 00:39:52.198
recently when we were watching that. It was Barnyard Commandos. Don't tell anyone.
00:39:55.118 --> 00:40:02.318
I if i i will say though if it turns out the creators of barnyard commandos
00:40:02.318 --> 00:40:07.178
are big fans of your show and write in about this let us know
00:40:07.178 --> 00:40:13.758
We'll do it i bet i can jump through some hoops you know or straight the algorithm
00:40:13.758 --> 00:40:16.838
to get this in front of them just like someone mentioned our cartoon
00:40:16.838 --> 00:40:18.438
Oh oh
00:40:19.218 --> 00:40:23.698
But like we can we could fix it. You know, I think Barnyard Commandos could
00:40:23.698 --> 00:40:26.178
do with a comic book revival.
00:40:26.538 --> 00:40:31.058
That'd be cool. Right. We could we could breathe new life into it.
00:40:31.518 --> 00:40:37.538
Yeah. No, we can save you. You know, but like it's tough because like some of
00:40:37.538 --> 00:40:39.618
them are like, I don't know.
00:40:39.798 --> 00:40:45.298
One of the ones we've watched the most is the Super Mario Brothers Super Show.
00:40:45.298 --> 00:40:48.478
We might have seen more than half
00:40:48.478 --> 00:40:53.918
of the super mario brothers super show it's possible yeah there was there was
00:40:53.918 --> 00:40:58.618
a period of time where we would like grab sandwiches and be like sitting in
00:40:58.618 --> 00:41:05.618
the car and just like watch an episode of that on the phone as god intended yeah did
00:41:05.618 --> 00:41:10.738
Y'all get to the one where uh mario comes on screen the live action one comes
00:41:10.738 --> 00:41:14.958
on screen to tell kids that if they do drugs, they go to hell before they die?
00:41:15.378 --> 00:41:15.658
Yes.
00:41:16.198 --> 00:41:17.158
Thank God.
00:41:17.678 --> 00:41:24.918
So there is, this is insane to me, and it doesn't get talked about enough.
00:41:25.058 --> 00:41:30.238
There's an episode of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show where the live-action
00:41:30.238 --> 00:41:36.018
interstitials that Cher is there, but she's in hiding or something,
00:41:36.178 --> 00:41:39.478
and she's got something around her face or whatever.
00:41:39.778 --> 00:41:43.058
Obviously, it's not Cher. they do that same
00:41:43.058 --> 00:41:45.778
exact bit in the
00:41:45.778 --> 00:41:48.658
nanny and i'm
00:41:48.658 --> 00:41:53.018
like yeah it's with share and they do the same thing it's obviously not share
00:41:53.018 --> 00:41:57.238
and they're like hiding her face and stuff but it's like did the writers of
00:41:57.238 --> 00:42:06.058
the nanny rip off an episode of the super mario brothers super show did that happen wouldn't
00:42:06.058 --> 00:42:10.898
Be surprised if maybe like one person happened to work on both shows and just
00:42:10.978 --> 00:42:15.278
thought they could slip that through like no one here watched this i i can get away with this
00:42:16.578 --> 00:42:23.138
Yeah it has to be something like that but like in terms of uh like cartoon that
00:42:23.791 --> 00:42:28.751
So I have two cartoons that I think I would personally love to reboot or would
00:42:28.751 --> 00:42:30.491
love to see a reboot in comics.
00:42:30.811 --> 00:42:36.311
Just two off the top of my head. There's always more because I could go on about this.
00:42:36.391 --> 00:42:39.171
But I think these are two that are shocking that they aren't.
00:42:39.251 --> 00:42:41.131
The first one being SWAT cats.
00:42:42.071 --> 00:42:47.231
Because I love SWAT cats. There have been rumors of like a SWAT cats revival
00:42:47.231 --> 00:42:48.891
for years and years and years.
00:42:49.191 --> 00:42:52.911
I think there have been. I think they've come close in the past.
00:42:52.911 --> 00:42:55.491
But, like, something has flopped each time.
00:42:55.591 --> 00:43:02.311
But, like, Swat Cats is, like, a graphic novel series or a floppy.
00:43:02.831 --> 00:43:04.791
Like, I would love to see that.
00:43:05.451 --> 00:43:10.231
Hey, folks. Just a quick editor's note here. The day after recording this episode,
00:43:10.411 --> 00:43:12.971
a Swat Cats comic was actually announced.
00:43:13.331 --> 00:43:19.171
It's going to launch on Kickstarter in October and even helmed by the TV show's original creators.
00:43:19.971 --> 00:43:23.831
Also, the previously mentioned Barnyard Commandos were picked up by Nacelle
00:43:23.831 --> 00:43:25.091
Comics earlier this year.
00:43:25.291 --> 00:43:29.411
The same folks doing the Biker Mice from Mars and RoboForce comics,
00:43:29.571 --> 00:43:32.271
and both of those have actually been great so far.
00:43:32.511 --> 00:43:36.471
So, despite our apprehensions on the show, we'll likely be eating our words
00:43:36.471 --> 00:43:37.711
about this one a year from now.
00:43:37.931 --> 00:43:42.371
And one last note, Joe and Chase's Kickstarter for Sync to the Top has just
00:43:42.371 --> 00:43:47.311
around $1,000 left to go before it reaches its goal, and a little over a week
00:43:47.311 --> 00:43:49.171
left on the campaign at the time of recording.
00:43:49.391 --> 00:43:52.531
If you haven't already, please show them some support and help them bring this
00:43:52.531 --> 00:43:56.851
book to life because I promise it's going to be worth it. Thanks and back to the show.
00:43:57.151 --> 00:44:01.611
And the other one for me that I would love is Mighty Max.
00:44:02.091 --> 00:44:05.451
Ooh, I've talked about this specifically with someone of like,
00:44:05.591 --> 00:44:11.411
I didn't get to see Mighty Max growing up, but I did have a hand-me-down Mighty Max Castle.
00:44:11.411 --> 00:44:16.631
And i feel like that's a franchise just ripe enough like it doesn't matter if
00:44:16.631 --> 00:44:21.351
you didn't grow up watching it like that might actually be a help here and just
00:44:21.351 --> 00:44:26.831
getting to do something very new with these like half-formed ideas based on these toys
00:44:26.831 --> 00:44:29.631
Oh yeah no and some of those episodes are pretty
00:44:29.631 --> 00:44:32.431
good like we we watched like one of the ones that really
00:44:32.431 --> 00:44:35.231
sticks in my mind and uh i was out with a friend of
00:44:35.231 --> 00:44:38.531
mine ivy who was in town over the weekend and
00:44:38.531 --> 00:44:41.331
mighty max came up and i was
00:44:41.331 --> 00:44:44.371
like oh my god you remember that one episode where they like went out
00:44:44.371 --> 00:44:47.631
of their way to like really try to like kill skull master and
00:44:47.631 --> 00:44:50.991
they got like a group of like veteran warriors
00:44:50.991 --> 00:44:55.351
to like go with them and like they died and
00:44:55.351 --> 00:44:58.231
she was like oh my god yeah like that was great
00:44:58.231 --> 00:45:01.171
and it's like it was crazy i remember just watching that
00:45:01.171 --> 00:45:04.171
like as a kid being like they get around
00:45:04.171 --> 00:45:09.691
it because they're clearly sacrificing themselves but it's all off screen because
00:45:09.691 --> 00:45:14.031
it's jumping through portals and stuff like that so like they stay behind as
00:45:14.031 --> 00:45:18.671
like the giant horde is coming after them and you know max and them like go
00:45:18.671 --> 00:45:22.291
through the portal so you don't actually see it but like yeah they they're dead
00:45:22.990 --> 00:45:26.930
Yeah, but I don't feel like you see that enough in kids cartoons of like the
00:45:26.930 --> 00:45:31.110
gang just being like, what if we just tried really hard to kill the big bad?
00:45:31.330 --> 00:45:34.350
It's always like, we'll just foil him next week again.
00:45:34.730 --> 00:45:40.630
Which is crazy. Here's another bone of contention I have with licenses and pop
00:45:40.630 --> 00:45:41.910
culture while I was growing up.
00:45:42.190 --> 00:45:47.750
How did we never get a Star Fox Saturday morning cartoon? Ooh.
00:45:48.210 --> 00:45:49.370
Right? It's weird.
00:45:49.370 --> 00:45:55.170
It was designed for that, where every episode, they'd be on a new planet,
00:45:55.170 --> 00:46:01.590
and you have Star Wolf and his other guys,
00:46:01.710 --> 00:46:08.730
the guys that stop every episode, but will follow them to the next town or planet
00:46:08.730 --> 00:46:10.930
or asteroid belt or whatever.
00:46:11.250 --> 00:46:15.490
It felt like it was made for that, and they never did it.
00:46:15.490 --> 00:46:22.150
I should have been watching a Star Fox Saturday morning cartoon with my Star
00:46:22.150 --> 00:46:29.110
Fox action figures and Nintendo and the powers that be robbed that from me.
00:46:29.230 --> 00:46:35.110
Like just a slight repaint of like knockoff Star Wars toys and you have the
00:46:35.110 --> 00:46:37.010
whole action figure line right there.
00:46:37.750 --> 00:46:40.630
That's shocking that we didn't get that. I'm with you there.
00:46:40.930 --> 00:46:42.290
Yeah, it's crazy.
00:46:42.290 --> 00:46:47.710
I think the one I'd say least needs a reboot Is specifically the Beetlejuice
00:46:47.710 --> 00:46:53.770
cartoon Like after that recent reboot movie Which is maybe the most a movie
00:46:53.770 --> 00:46:56.810
has ever offended me In it's last 60 seconds
00:46:57.670 --> 00:47:02.050
Where it's just like forget the rest of that movie This was about PTSD this
00:47:02.050 --> 00:47:05.090
whole time See ya folks That
00:47:05.090 --> 00:47:11.370
Was crazy And like I don't know So, like, did you also feel...
00:47:13.502 --> 00:47:16.342
I don't want to make accusations. I think you're going to know where I'm going
00:47:16.342 --> 00:47:18.102
with this as soon as I say it.
00:47:18.242 --> 00:47:21.802
But, like, the Soul Train bit was kind of awkward, right?
00:47:22.222 --> 00:47:26.362
Yeah. It was like a little. And, like, again, like, I don't necessarily want
00:47:26.362 --> 00:47:32.562
to throw around accusations, but it was kind of like, this, why?
00:47:33.322 --> 00:47:37.782
Why this joke? And the way it's being done just kind of felt like,
00:47:38.202 --> 00:47:43.702
I don't know, was a little, maybe I'll settle on off. It was off, right?
00:47:44.302 --> 00:47:44.522
Yeah.
00:47:44.722 --> 00:47:47.542
Thank goodness you're here. I didn't want to be the one to say it.
00:47:49.722 --> 00:47:54.602
Yeah, I'm like, I don't want to like, because like implying something's like
00:47:54.602 --> 00:47:58.302
intentional or has like ill intent or something.
00:47:58.482 --> 00:48:03.482
I'm like, I'm not saying that, but like it's, you know, right?
00:48:03.862 --> 00:48:09.042
Maybe it's a callback to like the Banana Boat song being like kind of problematic,
00:48:09.042 --> 00:48:11.762
but also one of the most interesting scenes in the movie.
00:48:11.762 --> 00:48:17.902
Yeah, which it absolutely was. But yeah, I was just like,
00:48:20.802 --> 00:48:27.082
But since we're talking about it, the Beetlejuice cartoon has aged surprisingly well.
00:48:27.322 --> 00:48:28.402
It really has.
00:48:28.682 --> 00:48:33.622
That does shock me. I didn't think the cartoon where they pair someone up with
00:48:33.622 --> 00:48:39.502
the guy that's trying to make Winona Ryder his child bride. I did not expect that to age well.
00:48:39.502 --> 00:48:43.062
As you might imagine they
00:48:43.062 --> 00:48:46.722
drop that angle in the cartoon completely that
00:48:46.722 --> 00:48:50.682
is just gone they are just like friends which
00:48:50.682 --> 00:48:53.542
also not great i get it
00:48:53.542 --> 00:48:56.582
but like oh no this middle-aged
00:48:56.582 --> 00:49:02.922
man in this like high school or girl are just friends um yes i i got that but
00:49:02.922 --> 00:49:10.002
they like do interesting pop culture parody kind of things like every episode's
00:49:10.002 --> 00:49:14.862
like it's a robin hood episode it's an indiana jones episode it's a like um
00:49:15.492 --> 00:49:20.052
I think the Robin Hood episode is the one with the bard who goes around like
00:49:20.052 --> 00:49:25.072
it's a bard with like a player piano that he's like rolling around and like
00:49:25.072 --> 00:49:28.732
the song he's like ends up going back to is just like it's trap,
00:49:28.872 --> 00:49:29.912
it's trap, it's trap, trap, trap.
00:49:30.112 --> 00:49:35.712
And I mean, I've used that on and off in D&D since I was in like high school.
00:49:36.712 --> 00:49:39.192
So I mean, that alone, I think it's age great.
00:49:39.192 --> 00:49:42.272
I think I'll always be a little bitter that
00:49:42.272 --> 00:49:49.132
like we got the most bland like member berries reboot of a movie with Beetlejuice
00:49:49.132 --> 00:49:53.932
Beetlejuice when for once I wish it was a film adaptation of a musical because
00:49:53.932 --> 00:49:58.012
we could have just gotten Beetlejuice the musical in theaters and introduce
00:49:58.012 --> 00:50:01.012
a whole new fan base to that.
00:50:01.232 --> 00:50:05.792
I think we'd be better off even if they did butcher it like most musical movies tend to do.
00:50:06.352 --> 00:50:10.512
No, I'm with you. I do wish it was better. It was one of those things where
00:50:10.512 --> 00:50:13.852
I'm like, I don't regret seeing this, but I never want to see it again.
00:50:14.812 --> 00:50:16.292
I'll forget it in two weeks.
00:50:16.712 --> 00:50:20.712
Yeah. And like, William Dafoe just didn't have to be there at all.
00:50:20.952 --> 00:50:23.772
Like, he ended up doing nothing. It's like, that's great.
00:50:24.512 --> 00:50:26.112
I like William Dafoe.
00:50:27.252 --> 00:50:31.072
He seems crazy in movies, which is what you want him to be.
00:50:31.392 --> 00:50:34.452
But like, except for Mississippi Burney. Yeah, Mississippi Burney.
00:50:34.592 --> 00:50:37.272
He's really good in that. I feel like we don't talk about that enough,
00:50:37.272 --> 00:50:41.632
but in like Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, it's like you just paid William Defoe
00:50:41.632 --> 00:50:46.952
to just say lines that have really nothing to do with the movie and end up being
00:50:46.952 --> 00:50:49.192
completely inconsequential to it.
00:50:49.412 --> 00:50:54.392
I could not have told you William Defoe was in that movie. That is completely
00:50:54.392 --> 00:50:56.792
left my brain. And I saw that movie this year.
00:50:58.752 --> 00:51:01.532
Danny DeVito's in that movie. Remember Danny DeVito?
00:51:01.852 --> 00:51:02.532
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
00:51:04.752 --> 00:51:08.452
Poor guy. You don't deserve that.
00:51:08.952 --> 00:51:12.772
Right. I would like to wrap this up. I don't want to take y'all's entire evening
00:51:12.772 --> 00:51:17.072
here, but are there any other upcoming works y'all want to make sure you get
00:51:17.072 --> 00:51:18.612
to shout out before we go today?
00:51:18.612 --> 00:51:24.992
I also edit the trade paperback of Green Hornet Miss Fury,
00:51:25.112 --> 00:51:29.452
which I edited over at Dynamite, which was written by Alex Segura and Henry
00:51:29.452 --> 00:51:34.612
Barajas with Federico Ceresa on art.
00:51:35.272 --> 00:51:42.992
That should be coming up soon. I know the diamond fiasco with the distribution,
00:51:42.992 --> 00:51:44.852
all of that has been going on.
00:51:44.992 --> 00:51:48.392
It's gotten resolved now, so I don't know the exact date.
00:51:48.612 --> 00:51:53.052
But you could check, you know, online and see what it's been adjusted to.
00:51:53.432 --> 00:51:56.232
If you want, it's five issues. Federico Ceres's
00:51:56.731 --> 00:51:59.871
art is incredible and i
00:51:59.871 --> 00:52:03.691
know he's already talking with other publishers and more
00:52:03.691 --> 00:52:06.731
with dynamite and stuff like that so you want
00:52:06.731 --> 00:52:11.811
to get in on the ground floor with this guy he's like it's very greg small woody
00:52:11.811 --> 00:52:19.571
uh so like he's he's going to blow up get in on get in on him now so that way
00:52:19.571 --> 00:52:26.071
you can be all obnoxious about it in like a few years when he's on like a really big book so will
00:52:26.071 --> 00:52:30.991
Do uh well thank you both so much for taking the time to come on the show i'm
00:52:30.991 --> 00:52:35.231
looking forward to the success of sync to the top and can't wait to get my hands on the finished book
00:52:35.231 --> 00:52:36.631
But thank you for
00:52:36.631 --> 00:52:40.391
Our listeners uh that would like to follow your work and also support the campaign
00:52:40.391 --> 00:52:41.991
uh where can they find you both online
00:52:41.991 --> 00:52:51.771
I am on blue sky at joe corralo j-o-e-c-o-r-a-l-l-o and on instagram at Corello Joe.
00:52:52.551 --> 00:52:58.671
And I am on Twitter, Blue Sky, Instagram at Chase Bluestone.
00:52:58.971 --> 00:53:02.011
Just like how it sounds, no underscores or anything.
00:53:02.811 --> 00:53:07.011
Awesome. Well, thank you again. If the listeners at home have requests or recommendations
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for comics or creators you'd like us to cover in the future,
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you can send them our way on social media.
00:53:11.591 --> 00:53:15.131
You can find us on the Transcending Comics Instagram and Facebook page,
00:53:15.371 --> 00:53:18.791
on Twitter, a site you should leave as at Transcend Comics,
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or you can find me on blue sky as at tommytrimbath or
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email us at transcendingcomics at gmail.com i'd like
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to thank you again for giving our podcast a chance and give a special shout out
00:53:28.511 --> 00:53:31.211
to raid a parade for designing our logo our intro and
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outro music this week is a little soul and you've been starring by carlson you
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can check out more of his music on carlson.com join us again next time as we
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continue transcending boundaries and exploring the colorful world of trans non-binary
00:53:44.771 --> 00:53:48.551
and gender queer representation in comic books of all kinds as the curtains
00:53:48.551 --> 00:53:50.371
fall on this episode of Transcending Comics,
00:53:50.571 --> 00:53:55.371
remember that comics have the power to inspire change in countless worlds, including our own.
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Keep reading, keep writing, and keep transcending.