2010 Was All The Rage

Most of my digital friends have written some sort of summary on how 2010 ended up. I always enjoy reading these and thought I'd add my own this year. At the very least I would be updating my blog.

2010 was a great year for me as far as comics are concerned. I attended ECCC back in March and had the chance to meet Dave West and Collin Mathieson in person. The con was extremely successful for us and I had a great time with everyone on the crew and some old pals I hadn't seen in years in Sea-Town. I'm looking forward to a con or two this year (hopefully MOCCA), but I doubt anything will ever compare to the blast that I had in Seattle.

We talked to quite a few creators this year on the show as well. Skottie Young was awesome, but I'm still extremely heartbroken that we lost the Ben Templesmith interview. Ben is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. He talks fast, has an accent, and is very quick witted. All of this added up to total bedlam during the interview. It was the funniest interview I've ever sat in on and I was devastated when the damn PC dumped it. Luckily, we were able to meet with Ben a few months ago in Salt Lake City and chat a bit. He'll be on the show again very soon, I am certain. ;)

All of these things made for a great 2010, but I have to admit that my favorite thing about the podcast is being able to step away from the daily grind for a bit each week and act like a kid again. Every Monday we talk superheroes and comics like we're in elementary school. It's a nice break. As far as creator interviews and contacts, I enjoy the people that I've met who are on the same level as us - struggling to do what they love while holding a day job to pay the bills. There are some amazing people and talents in independent comics and I am going to focus a lot of my energy on their work in 2011.

2010 ended busier than years past for me. The Christmas peak season at work began during the week of Thanksgiving and didn't stop until Christmas day. I was trying to tie up the loose ends of my old job while preparing for a new one (I start tomorrow. Only 5 minutes from my home), and on top of that, I was hit with pneumonia about a week ago for not taking care of myself properly. Not enough whiskey I suppose.

2011 is going to be a great year. 8AM will be completed soon, I've got a bit more help with the reviews now that Owen is around, and maybe, just maybe, I'll be lucky enough to get a story published.

Happy New Year, everyone. I hope you have a great one.

MUSIC SHUFFLE 11/10/2010

Here's what the iPod cranked out today while I was working:

Origin-The Aftermath

ISIS-Red Sea

High on Fire-Frost Hammer

ISIS-Deconstructing Towers

Converge-In Her Shadow

Cannibal Corpse-They Deserve To Die

Death Breath-Twisted In Distaste

Impaled-Masters Of Ordure

Immolation-In Human Form

Metallica-Damage Inc.

The Bronx-Heart Attack American

Black Tusk-Red Eyes, Black Skies

Howl-Oma

Judge-Like You

Old Man Gloom-Branch Breaker

Pixies-Where Is My Mind?

Dethklok-The Gears

Deadbolt-Channel 5

Iron Maiden-Children Of The Damned

Fugazi-Close Captioned (Demo)

Cannibal Corpse-Severed Head Stoning

Karate-Remain Relaxed

Converge-In Her Blood

Shelter-Knowledge Of The Absolute

Rival Schools-My Echo

Converge-When Forever Comes Crashing

Pink Floyd-The Great Gig In The Sky

Helmet-Speechless

Integrity-Nothing Left

Job For A Cowboy-Lords Of Chaos

Refused-Deadly Rhythm

Nile-Dusk Falls Upon The Temple Of The Serpent On The Mount Of Sunrise

Pixies-Vamos

Into Another-Actual Size

Lair Of The Minotaur-The Ultimate Destroyer

Aesop Rock-Forest Crunk

Sunny Day Real Estate-The Blankets Were The Stairs

The Dillinger Escape Plan-The Perfect Design

Misery Index-American Idolatry

Keelhaul-Tuco

Van Halen-Poundcake

Old Man Gloom-Three Ring Ocean Shideshow

Decrepit Birth-Ignite The Tesla Coil (A Departure Of The Sun)

Insect Warfare-Manipulator

Fugazi-Steady Diet

Fugazi-Close Captioned (Demo) (Again)

Threat-Jay-Z

Trap Them-Citizenihilist

Darkthrone- Underdogs And Overlords

Dead Kennedys-Funland At The Beach

Dead Congregation-Subjugation

Mastodon-Iron Tusk

Karate-This Day Next Year

Converge-Phoenix In Flight

Soundgarden-Somewhere

Horna-Vihanlietsoja

Morbid Angel-Ascent Through The Spheres



BEN TEMPLESMITH

Saturday morning I woke up and checked email and Twitter while I was feeding the little ones breakfast. Ben Templesmith had tweeted (I hate using that term) something about being at Black Cat Comics. There is a shop named Black Cat in Salt Lake City, so I checked to see if Ben happened to be here. Yep, he was!

I called Spence and Ryan right away to see if they wanted to make the 40 minute drive to SLC. Sadly, Ryan couldn't make it, but Spence could, so we were off!

We've spoken with Ben before and he is a pure joy to talk to. If you ever get the chance to meet up with him at a con or a shop, make sure you take the time to chat. He's incredibly witty, funny, and just an all around nice person.

Spence & Ben

 Me & Ben

                                

 

WHAT A DOWNER

I just had my first experience with a creator being a total asshole. I was not abrasive, nor was I pestering him. I asked one simple question and the guy fired off a rude answer. I was totally taken aback. He must not be fond of our reviews or something. Regardless, there was no reason to act so childish and rude.

No more buying his books. Not that it matters...this guy makes enough money without me buying them.

HARLEM TAINT TREADERS

No interviews this week. Just good old fashioned TPB comic talk with the crew. My favorite part is Spence's history lesson on mailbags. You'll see...

Here's the write up and Spence's awesome cover with Daredevil's feelings about Cally's rambling:

Cally is back!!!! After completely infecting the internet, and alienating some great creators forever, Cally is back with gang dishing the dirt about comics and insulting minority groups. We talk about Wildstorm closing (apparently because DC has to move to California, according to the aforementioned Cally), Captain America photos – now with Capri pants! – a Twitter mixup with us and Jeff Parker, Gabriel Hardman giving us free AWESOME sketches (oh yeah!!!), our old alumni Jake Black, how awesome Batman: Brave and the Bold is, DC animated movies, and – what’s this?! – a very brief discussion about someone from the world of SPORTS!?!?!?!?! (We promise this will never happen again)

Cally and Spence throw “insolent twat” at each other, we talk about another comic podcast that gave us a kind review, Mark physically can’t admit his love of fantasy, and we have the return of two beloved segments – Cold Storage and Spence’s Sack! Plus, stay tuned for a great interview with an up-and-coming comic book writer and artist – and friend of the show – at the end of this episode!

Reviews for this week: Stuff Of Legend: The Jungle #2 and Skullkickers #1
Musical Selection: “Jungle Love” by Morris Day and The Time Direct download: TPB Issue #71

TAGGING ALONG

As you all know, I'm part of a small press crew. The Basement is fun for us. Spence, Cally, Mark, & Nate started this thing almost two years ago. Ryan started on as a guest and then became a regular, and then he invited me to tag along with him during a few episodes. One thing led to another and I was lucky enough to be added to the crew. My roll with the crew is to deal with the PR. Chances are if you've had something reviewed or we've talked to you on the show, you heard from me. That's not to say that the other dudes haven't done their fair share of the work. Everyone has put forth the effort to contact someone or get us set up at a con, or whatever. I'm just explaining that my MAIN focus for TPB is PR stuff.

And I love it.

I mean, who doesn't want to speak with someone that they admire? I've been lucky enough to talk with some of the biggest names in comics today and it has been an absolute blast. What's even cooler about this whole thing is that every single artist and writer that I have talked to have been nothing but polite and accommodating. I have yet to run into a rude creator. That goes the same for publishers. Yessir, there are good people in comics.

I was listening to a bunch of different podcasts today while I was at work. There are some pretty professional podcasts out there. The best of them are lucky enough to be sponsored. Maybe we'll get there someday. Who knows?

Anyway, while I was listening to a few of these podcasts, I noticed that most of them had something in common; they are all groupies for comic book creators. What I mean by that is podcasters & "critics" seem to want so badly to fit in with those who have a genuine talent in comics that they've created their own medium just to try and tag along. They want the tightly intertwined crew of comic creators to accept them because they think they have something to offer the creators' community.

Don't get me wrong, I've made some friends in comics from doing this. Some genuine friends whom I look forward to seeing again very soon. With these people, I've connected on a different level. A level well outside of comics, though we all share the hobby. Perhaps other podcasters have these kind of friendships too, but you won't hear me brag about it like I've heard these groupies do.

Like other members of the comic podcast community, we attend cons, meet people, and try to get to know a few folks in the industry. We need to in order to be successful and gain listeners. Unlike some other interview podcasts, we are under no illusions of who we are. We are not comic artists, writers, or colorists. We are not publishers or editors and we will not pretend to be. We're not here to ride anyone's coat tails or get a free ride on someone else's hard work in the industry. When we record and conduct interviews, it's just a bunch of fan-boys sitting around in a room, lucky enough to chat with folks who've created something we like.

That's what I hope you get from listening to us.

TWITTER

Devotees,

If you have a Twitter account, please follow TPB. We need the support on Twitter. I promise amusing and funny updates. I may even throw up some Cally quotes from the podcast!