WEBVTT
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[SPEAKER_01]: This is James Greenman's effects voice for the facts project, and I'm here with one of our gracious guests who I've had a chance to talk with twice on the show.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Joseph Phillips, thank you for being here, sir.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Thanks for having me.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Happy New Year, Comica.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Look at it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you, thank you as well.
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[SPEAKER_01]: This is actually like my second time in eight years that I've been here, so it's been a real long time.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, welcome back.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So obviously being a booklet native was a, what does it feel like to be back at Comica?
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it's really part of the architecture of the city being back at Comic Con is an unusual it's if there was no Comic Con that would be unusual and there was a time when we didn't have a new Comic Con but then it came back in 2006 and this year is a 20th anniversary so it's great to be here for the 20th anniversary.
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[SPEAKER_01]: for sure.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Now, every year in comics brings its own surprises and unexpected opportunities.
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[SPEAKER_01]: The anything happened particularly this year that changed your perspective on the industry.
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[SPEAKER_00]: That's a really excellent question on the industry as a whole.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I think I would have to say the capacity for big two heroes to bring new viewers into the stores and the high volume that has was really an unexpected surprise for me and it's amazing to see because it's great for the entire ecosystem.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's great for the retailers, it's great for the new leaders coming in, and it's great for the distributors, which is now basically having multi distributor construct, as opposed to the distribution monopoly.
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[SPEAKER_00]: and so the capacity for things like absolutely bad man and the recent introduction of Mark with Midnightline green people of stores and Midnight bringing people to stores based on reading as well as collectability that was not on my bingo card last year for this year but it's amazing to see.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Now, also even in the hands of what you were able to bring as far as like blood letter and of course the DC history of the universe with the Dakota incident.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
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[SPEAKER_01]: What do you see that you could possibly expand on going in the 2027?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Well, really what the new history of the DC universe, the Dakota incident showed, and it's great that it's now going into its third printing, which will debut October 24th, is it showed how people can be mobilized.
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[SPEAKER_00]: to affect the change they want in the industry, so you have the plug that I co-wrote with Stephanie Williams, Morgan Hampton, Nicholas Street, probably some of the best artists in comics, best cover artists in comics, and through the campaign that I initiated that the quoted incident, 100-page challenge, we were able to basically connect people.
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[SPEAKER_00]: to the pre-order system to a sense of cooperative economics and activist right activist posture to mobilize down to go to the stores to pre-order the books.
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[SPEAKER_00]: then whatever is left after the pre-orders to make sure those things are allowed to buy copies for friends or family.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I've heard stories where people even bought copies, left them at the retailer and said if someone comes in asking for this book and they can't find it.
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[SPEAKER_00]: This is a gift copy.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.
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[SPEAKER_00]: We're giving gifts to strangers, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so a milestone book.
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[SPEAKER_00]: has not performed like that in a long time.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so basically the extraordinary steps that were taken by people like myself and my co-writers because we really got together on social media and we called in favors with a number of podcasters and we created this search that led to these unprecedented sales for these characters
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[SPEAKER_00]: is that is going to be the way of the future to get more of what you want.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So now that we have the upcoming Bixen series and the upcoming steel series, we have basically trained the road to understand how they need to act.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They need to be ready to pre-war pre-war at an entire series.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Reorder from the very beginning, reorder whatever covers they want, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so that is part of the change I see, that we have helped along with a number of others who have been talking for years.
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[SPEAKER_00]: We have helped popularize the vocabulary of the pre-order method to having impact on the kind of stories that you want to see in the future.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And it wouldn't come to something like bloodletter.
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[SPEAKER_00]: which, Tim Celian, I co-wrote for Todd McFarley and Productions and Image Commons, that was really an example of how you can introduce a new character in a mythology that is basically 30 years old.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And you can create something that will pass muster of the Swan Superfan community.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And it is a superfan community.
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[SPEAKER_00]: and invite new readers and that's really what you want.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You want one of these evergreen stories.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So look like bloodletters, five years from now, ten years from now, that's going to hold.
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[SPEAKER_00]: The same way five years from now, ten years from now, twenty years from now, someone can read new history of the D.C. University of Dakota incident and it will hold.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So we need more evergreen stories to read these constant gateways from multiple generations and surges of new readers.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It's very true.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Now, outside of that, there's been, of course, a brand new breed of new black talent and talent games.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, who have, who is not surprised you that has come on to the scene as of late?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Who has not surprised not surprised you?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Basically, the way their success is going, I could foresee that.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's interesting because I'm going to say Stephanie Williams, but the interesting thing about Stephanie Williams is she's been writing in the space for about a decade.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I've known Stephanie going back to my late 20th and so she has been here for a long time and reduced doing the work.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So her video or a prize now is one that is odd over time.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So her ascension does not surprise me because she's amazing me down to it.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And because she laid the groundwork, she put down the bricks for over a decade.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So, someone like her definitely not Jamaal Campbell getting the opportunity to write and illustrate, because what you tend to find is there are a lot of artists who also want to write as well.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And those are two entirely different disciplines, just because you can draw.
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[SPEAKER_00]: This is not mean that you can write, but what we see with Jamaal's work is a passion.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And the fact that he was interested in Satanna, he didn't go for the obvious Superman Batman, when do I mean go for any of the main Justice League characters?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Those of us who've known Sieve for a long time, no, she was a member of the Justice League.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And various generations would go for a character like her and uplifting her.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, that really goes back to the kind of passion that he put into the far sector maxi series.
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[SPEAKER_00]: which was written by anti-genus for sure now what would you say is the most difficult professional decision you have to make this sure this year the most difficult professional decision I had to make
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[SPEAKER_00]: I would say it's really, you know, so at Baltimore Comic Con this year, we did do the Epiphany Engine Rappin' off.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, the ultimate black comics for us over Rappin' off.
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[SPEAKER_00]: 43 black-owned indie comic publishers.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Across 30 years of publishing, we have over 70 characters.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It is a 224 page,
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[SPEAKER_00]: single story graphic novel that I was the editorial director and co-art director of Publish by advent comics of publishers shout out to Tony control shout out to Tony control independent publisher Celebrating their 17 year in publishing so the hardest decision.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I had to meet this year
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[SPEAKER_00]: But it's the proper decision to make.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's to keep my mouth shut and wait until The official announcement right of that bookstained view because we planned for months there to String day B-way Oh for sure at Baltimore Comic-Con with what Baltimore Comic-Con was the perfect place and event for it
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[SPEAKER_00]: And we've been working on this for three years.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I remember.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It is a manic, or object of significant proportions.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so that was the hardest decision I had to make.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Every time you go on social media, you want to say something, you want to say something.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Officials.
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[SPEAKER_00]: There is something to the timing of that upcoming out this year, you know, this year when you look at what has happened with the black comics movement, the entire ecosystem, the cross mainstream and indie comics across publishing and retailing creative, basically starting with
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[SPEAKER_00]: new history of the DC University of Dakota incident going to the formation of the incolions of 10 black owned comic shop owners that serve culminating in a 15-ingian is a kind of thing that we wanted to talk about earlier, but
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[SPEAKER_00]: It was announced at the right time and I'm so happy to see this upward trajectory for black comics and black publishers and black retailers because we have all been part of comics.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, from a business perspective since the 1940s.
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[SPEAKER_00]: and on Negro Comics number one, in so far as running the businesses.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Right.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And we have continued to be a part of comics ever since then.
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[SPEAKER_01]: That's true.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Now, speaking of basically the foundation of this when we talk about, of course, your history with milestone comics, the foundation had an idea that superhero comics could reflect communities, experiences, and social realities that the mainstream overlooks.
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[SPEAKER_01]: 30 plus years.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
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[SPEAKER_01]: What do you believe is unfinished from the original mission?
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, when you look at the original mission of miles down as I understood it, it was for equity of opportunity for everyone in college.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And we have come closer to an equity of opportunity to create, but the next battle is an equity
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[SPEAKER_00]: when it comes to the kind of rates that people are paid, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: What you are still seeing in a number of ways is paid disparity is pay rates that are decades ruled that are antiquated.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so I feel like the mission that the original founders laid down
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[SPEAKER_00]: was for equity on all levels.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So I feel like the next one has to be one of a financial context.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Or because I feel like in terms of the opportunity context,
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[SPEAKER_00]: We're, again, much closer than 1903 when Miles Stone launched, because at that time, Miles Stone was basically the equivalent of Tyler Perry Studios, where Tyler Perry was basically hiring most of Black Hollywood, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: And Miles Stone was hiring most of the time, the color and comics certainly Black town.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So now we have to start dealing with the wages of comics, the financial wages,
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[SPEAKER_00]: and how they're intertwined with the psychological wages and the compromises and the anxieties and this cool legacy of
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[SPEAKER_00]: I need more pay for contribution, providing, going back to Seagull and Tuesday, going back to Jack Kirby.
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[SPEAKER_00]: That's the next battle, and I feel like that is unfinished business as an extension of what milestone represents.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I think the name of the game for all this talent is longevity.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Definitely, you know, there's a constant saying it's not a sprint into Malathon, and when you're talking about comics, comics is not an industry that is designed for most people to achieve wealth.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I honestly don't feel it's designed for most people to have a career from which they could be tire and be in good financial standing.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I do not believe comics were designed to be basically a cradle to grave industry.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I think comics was designed to be more robust in its replacement of cycles and groups of talent.
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[SPEAKER_01]: For sure.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And what has happened for a number of reasons is...
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[SPEAKER_00]: People are in comics until there's seven days.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: So that means there's a different type of planning that has to happen.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And since the comic book industry is not providing financial education initiatives, so people can plan better and right now would you have?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Unfortunately, although, you know, thank God for them, isn't organization like the hero initiative, which is basically saving some of the veterans who are no longer in good health and meet things like medication.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so the industry needs more financial intelligence.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like
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[SPEAKER_00]: In general, the industry needs to develop constructs so that the people that help.
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[SPEAKER_00]: a lift in the street or not get to the curb when they're pulled to the ground.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's a matter of fact, I mean, I think it's more pivotal now than ever, especially amongst the people that are just getting in the comics and they're trying to see it as a focus on their career.
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[SPEAKER_01]: How they're basically going to build up for the name of the world.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Now, lastly, I wanted to ask, is there any future plans for bloodletters?
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[SPEAKER_00]: I will say that the letter performed better than the company expected, and so because of that, it is part of a conversation, because the expansion of the time for me is one university, and the brilliance of it is that you waited for it some time to do that, but the expansion of it has now shown dividends in terms of bringing new readers to the Spawn Universe
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[SPEAKER_00]: in terms of enhancing the old mythology, so it is one of the handful of titles.
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[SPEAKER_00]: that really performed better than expected.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so because of that, it is part of a conversation.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Will it come back?
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[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to find out Tim and Christian Rosado, the artist and I are prepared for what a second volume of the long story of Tasha for one while would look like.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So we're going to see, you know, 20, 20, seven is going to be I honestly feel a more exciting here.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Then 2026 has been so far and that's saying a lot and so I'm looking forward to getting there and seeing What exciting things you're gonna happen?
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[SPEAKER_00]: What can we help accelerate in terms of this industry and in terms of its creators and in terms of businesses?
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[SPEAKER_01]: As far as like the year that you've had and the expansion on no pun intended being a beacon for a lot of comic book creators and as well as a lot of people like bringing that call to action at the beginning of the year, that excited everybody, that excited the fan base, that excited a lot of like creators and just made everybody want to just get out there and just do the right thing.
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[SPEAKER_01]: If we, if we ultimately had a love for this game, we wanted to get in.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And essentially, just being a consumer you are in.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So I felt like that wasn't that was a great way possible.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So I appreciate you today.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's good to bring the excitement back, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I look at people like Robert Kirkman, who always aspires to bring that kind of excitement back to comics, the same way that energon universe was launched in a comic called Boyd Rivals, or at the end of the first issue, you see in autopilot.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and now you know what this is, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: And that they just did with the GI Joe 2 Raider for us over and kicking that off by having a large rock pop up in a GI Joe comic book, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: So we need to bring that excitement back.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, the absolute universe has done that.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so we need to figure out more ways to get people genuinely excited.
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[SPEAKER_00]: In the stories, I feel like we are at an apex in terms of the collectible market.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I think we have higher to reach in terms of generating light-long meters of problems.
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[SPEAKER_00]: For who are not just, you know, season or leaders, or like when everyone's talking about it.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But even if everyone is in talking about it, you're here, you're a writer, die-comers.
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[SPEAKER_00]: That is where I think we can put more effort in 2020.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Excellent.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I thank you.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I appreciate you Joe.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It's been a pleasure to talk to you a couple of times.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I had to as a pleasure to talk to you today.
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[SPEAKER_01]: James?
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[SPEAKER_01]: I hope you have a second.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I hope you have a second.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I hope you have a second.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I hope you have a second.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I hope you have a second.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I hope you have a second.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.
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[SPEAKER_01]: No, it's not.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I appreciate your time.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It's always been.
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[SPEAKER_01]: This is James Greenman's effects voice for the facts project, and I'm here with one of our gracious guests who I've had a chance to talk with twice on the show.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Joseph Phillips, thank you for being here, sir.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Thanks for having me.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Happy New Year, Comica.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Look at it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you, thank you as well.
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[SPEAKER_01]: This is actually like my second time in eight years that I've been here, so it's been a real long time.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, welcome back.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So obviously being a booklet native was a, what does it feel like to be back at Comica?
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it's really part of the architecture of the city being back at Comic Con is an unusual it's if there was no Comic Con that would be unusual and there was a time when we didn't have a new Comic Con but then it came back in 2006 and this year is a 20th anniversary so it's great to be here for the 20th anniversary.
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[SPEAKER_01]: for sure.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Now, every year in comics brings its own surprises and unexpected opportunities.
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[SPEAKER_01]: The anything happened particularly this year that changed your perspective on the industry.
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[SPEAKER_00]: That's a really excellent question on the industry as a whole.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I think I would have to say the capacity for big two heroes to bring new viewers into the stores and the high volume that has was really an unexpected surprise for me and it's amazing to see because it's great for the entire ecosystem.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's great for the retailers, it's great for the new leaders coming in, and it's great for the distributors, which is now basically having multi distributor construct, as opposed to the distribution monopoly.
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[SPEAKER_00]: and so the capacity for things like absolutely bad man and the recent introduction of Mark with Midnightline green people of stores and Midnight bringing people to stores based on reading as well as collectability that was not on my bingo card last year for this year but it's amazing to see.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Now, also even in the hands of what you were able to bring as far as like blood letter and of course the DC history of the universe with the Dakota incident.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
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[SPEAKER_01]: What do you see that you could possibly expand on going in the 2027?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Well, really what the new history of the DC universe, the Dakota incident showed, and it's great that it's now going into its third printing, which will debut October 24th, is it showed how people can be mobilized.
02:37.145 --> 03:00.092
[SPEAKER_00]: to affect the change they want in the industry, so you have the plug that I co-wrote with Stephanie Williams, Morgan Hampton, Nicholas Street, probably some of the best artists in comics, best cover artists in comics, and through the campaign that I initiated that the quoted incident, 100-page challenge, we were able to basically connect people.
03:01.133 --> 03:17.482
[SPEAKER_00]: to the pre-order system to a sense of cooperative economics and activist right activist posture to mobilize down to go to the stores to pre-order the books.
03:18.202 --> 03:26.586
[SPEAKER_00]: then whatever is left after the pre-orders to make sure those things are allowed to buy copies for friends or family.
03:27.166 --> 03:36.571
[SPEAKER_00]: I've heard stories where people even bought copies, left them at the retailer and said if someone comes in asking for this book and they can't find it.
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[SPEAKER_00]: This is a gift copy.
03:38.792 --> 03:39.192
[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.
03:39.212 --> 03:41.893
[SPEAKER_00]: We're giving gifts to strangers, right?
03:42.474 --> 03:44.915
[SPEAKER_00]: And so a milestone book.
03:45.655 --> 03:49.298
[SPEAKER_00]: has not performed like that in a long time.
03:49.978 --> 04:11.935
[SPEAKER_00]: And so basically the extraordinary steps that were taken by people like myself and my co-writers because we really got together on social media and we called in favors with a number of podcasters and we created this search that led to these unprecedented sales for these characters
04:15.538 --> 04:20.663
[SPEAKER_00]: is that is going to be the way of the future to get more of what you want.
04:20.963 --> 04:31.852
[SPEAKER_00]: So now that we have the upcoming Bixen series and the upcoming steel series, we have basically trained the road to understand how they need to act.
04:32.552 --> 04:37.897
[SPEAKER_00]: They need to be ready to pre-war pre-war at an entire series.
04:38.357 --> 04:43.200
[SPEAKER_00]: Reorder from the very beginning, reorder whatever covers they want, right?
04:43.640 --> 04:52.925
[SPEAKER_00]: And so that is part of the change I see, that we have helped along with a number of others who have been talking for years.
04:53.245 --> 05:04.211
[SPEAKER_00]: We have helped popularize the vocabulary of the pre-order method to having impact on the kind of stories that you want to see in the future.
05:04.231 --> 05:06.332
[SPEAKER_00]: And it wouldn't come to something like bloodletter.
05:07.212 --> 05:22.159
[SPEAKER_00]: which, Tim Celian, I co-wrote for Todd McFarley and Productions and Image Commons, that was really an example of how you can introduce a new character in a mythology that is basically 30 years old.
05:23.019 --> 05:29.863
[SPEAKER_00]: And you can create something that will pass muster of the Swan Superfan community.
05:30.003 --> 05:32.324
[SPEAKER_00]: And it is a superfan community.
05:33.324 --> 05:36.887
[SPEAKER_00]: and invite new readers and that's really what you want.
05:36.927 --> 05:39.089
[SPEAKER_00]: You want one of these evergreen stories.
05:39.430 --> 05:43.573
[SPEAKER_00]: So look like bloodletters, five years from now, ten years from now, that's going to hold.
05:44.073 --> 05:52.961
[SPEAKER_00]: The same way five years from now, ten years from now, twenty years from now, someone can read new history of the D.C. University of Dakota incident and it will hold.
05:53.141 --> 06:01.068
[SPEAKER_00]: So we need more evergreen stories to read these constant gateways from multiple generations and surges of new readers.
06:01.348 --> 06:01.968
[SPEAKER_01]: It's very true.
06:02.368 --> 06:09.731
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, outside of that, there's been, of course, a brand new breed of new black talent and talent games.
06:09.831 --> 06:15.334
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, who have, who is not surprised you that has come on to the scene as of late?
06:15.894 --> 06:17.855
[SPEAKER_00]: Who has not surprised not surprised you?
06:17.875 --> 06:22.877
[SPEAKER_00]: Basically, the way their success is going, I could foresee that.
06:22.997 --> 06:23.217
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
06:25.057 --> 06:34.580
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's interesting because I'm going to say Stephanie Williams, but the interesting thing about Stephanie Williams is she's been writing in the space for about a decade.
06:34.740 --> 06:34.980
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
06:35.241 --> 06:44.984
[SPEAKER_00]: I've known Stephanie going back to my late 20th and so she has been here for a long time and reduced doing the work.
06:45.644 --> 06:51.087
[SPEAKER_00]: So her video or a prize now is one that is odd over time.
06:51.668 --> 06:56.150
[SPEAKER_00]: So her ascension does not surprise me because she's amazing me down to it.
06:56.370 --> 07:00.673
[SPEAKER_00]: And because she laid the groundwork, she put down the bricks for over a decade.
07:01.193 --> 07:16.400
[SPEAKER_00]: So, someone like her definitely not Jamaal Campbell getting the opportunity to write and illustrate, because what you tend to find is there are a lot of artists who also want to write as well.
07:17.020 --> 07:21.582
[SPEAKER_00]: And those are two entirely different disciplines, just because you can draw.
07:21.822 --> 07:27.265
[SPEAKER_00]: This is not mean that you can write, but what we see with Jamaal's work is a passion.
07:28.005 --> 07:36.227
[SPEAKER_00]: And the fact that he was interested in Satanna, he didn't go for the obvious Superman Batman, when do I mean go for any of the main Justice League characters?
07:36.287 --> 07:40.228
[SPEAKER_00]: Those of us who've known Sieve for a long time, no, she was a member of the Justice League.
07:40.308 --> 07:44.568
[SPEAKER_00]: And various generations would go for a character like her and uplifting her.
07:45.369 --> 07:52.290
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, that really goes back to the kind of passion that he put into the far sector maxi series.
07:52.590 --> 08:06.150
[SPEAKER_00]: which was written by anti-genus for sure now what would you say is the most difficult professional decision you have to make this sure this year the most difficult professional decision I had to make
08:07.433 --> 08:16.156
[SPEAKER_00]: I would say it's really, you know, so at Baltimore Comic Con this year, we did do the Epiphany Engine Rappin' off.
08:16.236 --> 08:21.338
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, the ultimate black comics for us over Rappin' off.
08:21.478 --> 08:25.119
[SPEAKER_00]: 43 black-owned indie comic publishers.
08:25.499 --> 08:30.181
[SPEAKER_00]: Across 30 years of publishing, we have over 70 characters.
08:30.621 --> 08:31.201
[SPEAKER_00]: It is a 224 page,
08:33.422 --> 08:51.438
[SPEAKER_00]: single story graphic novel that I was the editorial director and co-art director of Publish by advent comics of publishers shout out to Tony control shout out to Tony control independent publisher Celebrating their 17 year in publishing so the hardest decision.
08:51.478 --> 08:52.840
[SPEAKER_00]: I had to meet this year
08:53.420 --> 08:54.861
[SPEAKER_00]: But it's the proper decision to make.
08:55.001 --> 09:14.757
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's to keep my mouth shut and wait until The official announcement right of that bookstained view because we planned for months there to String day B-way Oh for sure at Baltimore Comic-Con with what Baltimore Comic-Con was the perfect place and event for it
09:15.617 --> 09:18.079
[SPEAKER_00]: And we've been working on this for three years.
09:18.239 --> 09:18.720
[SPEAKER_00]: I remember.
09:18.860 --> 09:24.464
[SPEAKER_00]: It is a manic, or object of significant proportions.
09:24.924 --> 09:27.386
[SPEAKER_00]: And so that was the hardest decision I had to make.
09:27.747 --> 09:32.670
[SPEAKER_00]: Every time you go on social media, you want to say something, you want to say something.
09:32.710 --> 09:33.091
[SPEAKER_00]: Officials.
09:33.791 --> 09:53.730
[SPEAKER_00]: There is something to the timing of that upcoming out this year, you know, this year when you look at what has happened with the black comics movement, the entire ecosystem, the cross mainstream and indie comics across publishing and retailing creative, basically starting with
09:54.450 --> 10:07.404
[SPEAKER_00]: new history of the DC University of Dakota incident going to the formation of the incolions of 10 black owned comic shop owners that serve culminating in a 15-ingian is a kind of thing that we wanted to talk about earlier, but
10:08.727 --> 10:24.200
[SPEAKER_00]: It was announced at the right time and I'm so happy to see this upward trajectory for black comics and black publishers and black retailers because we have all been part of comics.
10:24.540 --> 10:27.422
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, from a business perspective since the 1940s.
10:28.823 --> 10:33.586
[SPEAKER_00]: and on Negro Comics number one, in so far as running the businesses.
10:34.347 --> 10:35.007
[SPEAKER_00]: Right.
10:35.207 --> 10:38.849
[SPEAKER_00]: And we have continued to be a part of comics ever since then.
10:39.170 --> 10:39.610
[SPEAKER_01]: That's true.
10:40.130 --> 10:54.359
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, speaking of basically the foundation of this when we talk about, of course, your history with milestone comics, the foundation had an idea that superhero comics could reflect communities, experiences, and social realities that the mainstream overlooks.
10:57.578 --> 10:58.338
[SPEAKER_01]: 30 plus years.
10:58.418 --> 10:58.639
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
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[SPEAKER_01]: What do you believe is unfinished from the original mission?
11:03.501 --> 11:16.848
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, when you look at the original mission of miles down as I understood it, it was for equity of opportunity for everyone in college.
11:16.868 --> 11:24.231
[SPEAKER_00]: And we have come closer to an equity of opportunity to create, but the next battle is an equity
11:27.810 --> 11:31.774
[SPEAKER_00]: when it comes to the kind of rates that people are paid, right?
11:32.174 --> 11:43.706
[SPEAKER_00]: What you are still seeing in a number of ways is paid disparity is pay rates that are decades ruled that are antiquated.
11:44.406 --> 11:51.673
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I feel like the mission that the original founders laid down
11:52.474 --> 11:55.317
[SPEAKER_00]: was for equity on all levels.
11:55.897 --> 12:03.024
[SPEAKER_00]: So I feel like the next one has to be one of a financial context.
12:03.284 --> 12:07.128
[SPEAKER_00]: Or because I feel like in terms of the opportunity context,
12:08.800 --> 12:23.569
[SPEAKER_00]: We're, again, much closer than 1903 when Miles Stone launched, because at that time, Miles Stone was basically the equivalent of Tyler Perry Studios, where Tyler Perry was basically hiring most of Black Hollywood, right?
12:23.869 --> 12:29.972
[SPEAKER_00]: And Miles Stone was hiring most of the time, the color and comics certainly Black town.
12:30.312 --> 12:37.857
[SPEAKER_00]: So now we have to start dealing with the wages of comics, the financial wages,
12:38.517 --> 12:48.806
[SPEAKER_00]: and how they're intertwined with the psychological wages and the compromises and the anxieties and this cool legacy of
12:53.273 --> 13:03.638
[SPEAKER_00]: I need more pay for contribution, providing, going back to Seagull and Tuesday, going back to Jack Kirby.
13:04.118 --> 13:13.502
[SPEAKER_00]: That's the next battle, and I feel like that is unfinished business as an extension of what milestone represents.
13:13.982 --> 13:16.603
[SPEAKER_01]: I think the name of the game for all this talent is longevity.
13:17.458 --> 13:33.562
[SPEAKER_00]: Definitely, you know, there's a constant saying it's not a sprint into Malathon, and when you're talking about comics, comics is not an industry that is designed for most people to achieve wealth.
13:34.122 --> 13:45.144
[SPEAKER_00]: And I honestly don't feel it's designed for most people to have a career from which they could be tire and be in good financial standing.
13:48.325 --> 13:55.129
[SPEAKER_00]: I do not believe comics were designed to be basically a cradle to grave industry.
13:55.689 --> 14:08.155
[SPEAKER_00]: I think comics was designed to be more robust in its replacement of cycles and groups of talent.
14:08.235 --> 14:08.615
[SPEAKER_01]: For sure.
14:09.015 --> 14:12.917
[SPEAKER_00]: And what has happened for a number of reasons is...
14:13.757 --> 14:18.320
[SPEAKER_00]: People are in comics until there's seven days.
14:18.920 --> 14:19.281
[SPEAKER_00]: Right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: So that means there's a different type of planning that has to happen.
14:26.025 --> 14:38.273
[SPEAKER_00]: And since the comic book industry is not providing financial education initiatives, so people can plan better and right now would you have?
14:39.033 --> 14:54.603
[SPEAKER_00]: Unfortunately, although, you know, thank God for them, isn't organization like the hero initiative, which is basically saving some of the veterans who are no longer in good health and meet things like medication.
14:55.123 --> 15:00.527
[SPEAKER_00]: And so the industry needs more financial intelligence.
15:01.087 --> 15:01.728
[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like
15:02.713 --> 15:11.557
[SPEAKER_00]: In general, the industry needs to develop constructs so that the people that help.
15:12.643 --> 15:16.844
[SPEAKER_00]: a lift in the street or not get to the curb when they're pulled to the ground.
15:17.364 --> 15:27.007
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's a matter of fact, I mean, I think it's more pivotal now than ever, especially amongst the people that are just getting in the comics and they're trying to see it as a focus on their career.
15:27.508 --> 15:30.168
[SPEAKER_01]: How they're basically going to build up for the name of the world.
15:30.449 --> 15:34.970
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, lastly, I wanted to ask, is there any future plans for bloodletters?
15:36.288 --> 16:04.050
[SPEAKER_00]: I will say that the letter performed better than the company expected, and so because of that, it is part of a conversation, because the expansion of the time for me is one university, and the brilliance of it is that you waited for it some time to do that, but the expansion of it has now shown dividends in terms of bringing new readers to the Spawn Universe
16:04.503 --> 16:11.463
[SPEAKER_00]: in terms of enhancing the old mythology, so it is one of the handful of titles.
16:12.057 --> 16:14.579
[SPEAKER_00]: that really performed better than expected.
16:14.899 --> 16:17.582
[SPEAKER_00]: And so because of that, it is part of a conversation.
16:18.242 --> 16:19.383
[SPEAKER_00]: Will it come back?
16:19.804 --> 16:32.274
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to find out Tim and Christian Rosado, the artist and I are prepared for what a second volume of the long story of Tasha for one while would look like.
16:32.474 --> 16:32.695
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
16:32.755 --> 16:38.760
[SPEAKER_00]: So we're going to see, you know, 20, 20, seven is going to be I honestly feel a more exciting here.
16:39.320 --> 16:48.770
[SPEAKER_00]: Then 2026 has been so far and that's saying a lot and so I'm looking forward to getting there and seeing What exciting things you're gonna happen?
16:49.330 --> 16:56.617
[SPEAKER_00]: What can we help accelerate in terms of this industry and in terms of its creators and in terms of businesses?
16:57.882 --> 17:19.773
[SPEAKER_01]: As far as like the year that you've had and the expansion on no pun intended being a beacon for a lot of comic book creators and as well as a lot of people like bringing that call to action at the beginning of the year, that excited everybody, that excited the fan base, that excited a lot of like creators and just made everybody want to just get out there and just do the right thing.
17:19.853 --> 17:24.595
[SPEAKER_01]: If we, if we ultimately had a love for this game, we wanted to get in.
17:25.879 --> 17:28.450
[SPEAKER_01]: And essentially, just being a consumer you are in.
17:29.575 --> 17:31.496
[SPEAKER_01]: So I felt like that wasn't that was a great way possible.
17:31.516 --> 17:32.577
[SPEAKER_01]: So I appreciate you today.
17:32.838 --> 17:33.218
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.
17:33.258 --> 17:33.818
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.
17:34.018 --> 17:37.061
[SPEAKER_00]: It's good to bring the excitement back, right?
17:37.401 --> 17:55.695
[SPEAKER_00]: And I look at people like Robert Kirkman, who always aspires to bring that kind of excitement back to comics, the same way that energon universe was launched in a comic called Boyd Rivals, or at the end of the first issue, you see in autopilot.
17:55.875 --> 17:59.137
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and now you know what this is, right?
17:59.598 --> 18:09.805
[SPEAKER_00]: And that they just did with the GI Joe 2 Raider for us over and kicking that off by having a large rock pop up in a GI Joe comic book, right?
18:10.225 --> 18:13.348
[SPEAKER_00]: So we need to bring that excitement back.
18:13.768 --> 18:16.650
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, the absolute universe has done that.
18:16.890 --> 18:21.734
[SPEAKER_00]: And so we need to figure out more ways to get people genuinely excited.
18:22.494 --> 18:28.879
[SPEAKER_00]: In the stories, I feel like we are at an apex in terms of the collectible market.
18:29.700 --> 18:35.764
[SPEAKER_00]: I think we have higher to reach in terms of generating light-long meters of problems.
18:36.185 --> 18:43.470
[SPEAKER_00]: For who are not just, you know, season or leaders, or like when everyone's talking about it.
18:43.710 --> 18:48.974
[SPEAKER_00]: But even if everyone is in talking about it, you're here, you're a writer, die-comers.
18:50.015 --> 18:54.798
[SPEAKER_00]: That is where I think we can put more effort in 2020.
18:55.899 --> 18:57.020
[SPEAKER_01]: Excellent.
18:57.040 --> 18:57.620
[SPEAKER_01]: I thank you.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I appreciate you Joe.
18:59.221 --> 19:01.123
[SPEAKER_01]: It's been a pleasure to talk to you a couple of times.
19:01.183 --> 19:02.724
[SPEAKER_01]: I had to as a pleasure to talk to you today.
19:02.944 --> 19:03.264
[SPEAKER_01]: James?
19:03.284 --> 19:03.925
[SPEAKER_01]: I hope you have a second.
19:03.945 --> 19:04.765
[SPEAKER_01]: I hope you have a second.
19:04.805 --> 19:05.566
[SPEAKER_00]: I hope you have a second.
19:05.586 --> 19:06.286
[SPEAKER_00]: I hope you have a second.
19:06.306 --> 19:07.047
[SPEAKER_00]: I hope you have a second.
19:07.067 --> 19:08.047
[SPEAKER_01]: I hope you have a second.
19:08.067 --> 19:08.388
[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.
19:08.408 --> 19:08.788
[SPEAKER_01]: No, it's not.
19:08.828 --> 19:09.688
[SPEAKER_01]: I appreciate your time.
19:09.729 --> 19:10.429
[SPEAKER_01]: It's always been.
