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what is up everybody and welcome to the
united states department of nerds where we
are for the people by the people and
of the people and imagine a world where
imagination is limitless where creativity
sparks universes into existence when
creator emerges with the world that's
super crazy
a little weird and absolutely bursting
with energy.
Tonight,
we are stepping into the electrifying
realm of InBolt and meet the mind behind
the madness
James,
welcome to the United States Department of
Nerds and welcome to the Council of Nerds.
For those tuning in tonight who may not
know you or may not know your work
yet,
give us your origin story and how you
got into comics.
Well, first of all,
good to be here tonight.
And I hope you have a little time
because it's kind of a long and a
little bit of a
Twisted story, not super twisted,
just a slight veer.
James,
we got all the time you need to
take to share your story with us,
so go ahead and lay it on us.
Well, ever since I can remember,
I've always been fascinated by cartoons,
and I've always been drawings ever since I
was an elementary school student.
My interest has always been in art.
I'll tell you a little secret.
I actually wanted to be a doctor, but...
found out I was a little too squeamish
for that kind of work.
It happens to us.
Anyway, I always loved cartoons.
My favorites or my favorite channels was
Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon.
I especially love cartoons.
I already said that.
My favorite was Ed and Natty from Cartoon
Network.
But as much as I love the crazy,
off the wall,
offbeat kind of growth shows.
I always had a soft spot in my
heart for, I don't,
how did I put this?
The Saturday morning action cartoons,
because they felt kind of special compared
to the rest.
They had a little bit more heart,
a little bit more story.
Some more substance to them.
Think early, early, early nineties,
late nineties to early two thousands.
Shows like Swat Cats.
To be honest,
that's what I compare Imbolto the most in
terms of tone.
Swat Cats is out right now with a
new comic book on Kickstarter.
Did you know that?
Yeah,
I just recently discovered Swat Cats a
while ago.
Anyway.
Continue your story, James.
Let us know.
Anyway.
For most of my school life,
I've been drawing and eventually I started
making my own characters.
But I remember one particular class in
high school that really sparked something
in me, like media and storytelling.
I always enjoyed watching that kind of
stuff, episodic or serial.
Do I prefer episodic?
And while I had to work with several
other people,
I think that's the most I ever enjoyed
a class.
And as I worked my way through college,
I focused on a major integrated arts at
the university of Baltimore.
When we try to take our art skills
and translate them into business.
I've had to explain that several times
because the program was relatively new
when I was going there.
So.
Several years ago, I graduated.
And to be honest, after a job search,
which didn't pick up anything,
then the whole pandemic hit,
which put a damper on that,
on my search for employment.
I just,
it was during those months I actually
started creating M-Bolt,
M-Bolt in earnest as a digital comic.
Starting with the first volume,
You got the first story.
I sent it to you.
But there are other stories after it.
Flaming Bug-Eyed Chimps,
Cliche Hero Spirit,
and Super Crazy Crime Stoppers.
It's been going on for five years now,
and only recently have I actually printed
anything,
which I think will give M-Bolt some more
notoriety.
And recently I have actually begun doing
freelance work, you know, work for money.
Yup.
So I feel like that'll help me grow
as a creator and a comic artist and
a cartoonist.
Oh yeah.
That will definitely,
definitely help you out there.
Actually had a couple more interviews.
It was on podcast before.
Well, one podcast, the solo nerd bird.
And, well, here I am now.
Still working and still growing.
That's how we do it.
So, James,
was there any particular moment in your
life that said, like,
this is my moment that makes me want
to do comic books or to do comics
in general?
To be honest,
I am a comic artist,
but I consider myself more of an
illustrator and a cartoonist at heart.
Okay.
What was that moment for you?
Were you sitting in college and said,
I'm going to start doing illustrations and
art?
Not sure I remember it clearly,
but I think it happened a lot sooner
than that.
Okay.
When I was in
when I was still in elementary school and
realized I was way too squeamish to be
a doctor.
I figured I'd have something else in mind
and figured I was really good at drawing.
I loved cartoons.
And so it just clicked for me.
So who are some of your early artistic
heroes that gave you inspiration to become
an illustrator?
No, it can be anybody you want.
To be honest, not a specific person.
Okay.
But there are kind of art styles that
I do admire,
but they're not exclusive to any specific
artist.
I mean,
there are several artists I do respect
that gave me a
pretty intent pretty good pretty
significant love of cartoons but i don't
exactly follow them like go ahead go ahead
and tell us who they were well the
creator of my favorite show was that was
danny antinucci at annettie but i never
really followed him until i saw my teeth
Okay.
But I don't really follow that style of
off-the-wall surrealist humor.
Okay.
Still love the show, though.
I guess what inspired me the most was
the Saturday morning action cartoons like
Yu-Gi-Oh!
and Pokemon.
And I never really thought much about the
creators behind them until I looked them
up.
And it was still kind of hard to
pinpoint who was behind them.
I think both of those are,
they're both animated in Japan, correct?
Yeah, they're animated.
That's before I knew what the word was.
Okay.
So let's jump over and let's talk about
this world that you've created in the
universe of InBolt.
What sparked the concept of InBolt for
you?
Well,
kind of like the Saturday morning action
cartoons or the kind of show you watch
at home after school.
Okay.
You watch on a morning afternoon after
school.
I might have to think back,
but I've had the ideas for characters like
this since I was in elementary school,
though they'd be unrecognizable now.
Okay.
So how would you describe InBolt as a
character to someone meeting him for the
first time?
The character himself?
Yeah.
How would you describe Enbolt,
the character?
If you were introducing me to Enbolt for
the first time,
and I've never seen Enbolt,
how would you describe him to me?
Well, Enbolt, for the most part... Well,
for starters,
Enbolt is a nickname for him.
His actual name is Nicky Lightling.
And I describe him as...
He's a teenager, about fifteen, so snarky,
kind of lazy,
but ultimately somewhat of a goody, goody,
goody little nerd.
And an amateur parkour enthusiast.
Okay.
His power is,
I'm not sure if you heard this term
before, but it's ergo kinesis.
I've not heard it called that.
I know it's energy manipulation is how I
would know the power,
but I like yours better.
Yeah, it.
It manifests as the cyan light and spark
when he sparks,
he can also absorb energy from other other
sources and for temporarily and depending
on what kind of energy absorbs,
he can transform himself like fire or
lightning.
OK.
He has several other friends with powers,
too, and they help him.
Tell us about the other characters in your
story to go with him.
Like, who are some of his allies?
Well,
I probably should start with these two
right here.
This is Rocky and this is Buddy.
They're the ones most...
Who are with them most of the time.
Yep,
I've seen those two in the first issue
you sent me.
Yeah.
Here they are again on this cover.
Oh, I liked it.
I like it.
Have you ever played the Kingdom Hearts
games?
I have, yes, actually.
One of my favorites.
Imagine these.
They're kind of like what Donald and Goofy
are to Sora.
They're that to me.
Okay.
They're with him most of the time.
Rocky is about a year older than him,
and he's more of a tough guy,
more of an edge power, super strength.
Buddy is the youngest, around ten.
And his power,
he's a bigger nerd than Nicky, I'd say.
His power are these weird round balls.
And he manifests.
I can see a lot of influence from
Kingdom Hearts in the art that you do.
So that's really cool.
Yeah, that and Inti Creates probably.
Okay, yeah.
Next here is Annika.
She isn't always with them,
but she's pretty single.
She's the delivery girl, right?
Yeah, she was.
But she's more than that.
She actually has her own power in the
later issues.
Oh, nice.
So she developed powers, too,
in the later issues?
Yes.
And to be honest,
she's actually a bit closer to Nikki than
Rocky or Buddy.
Known him a little bit longer,
but not much.
But not by much.
Okay.
Her favorite thing to do is pretty much
tease Nikki.
Sorry you saw that in the first issue.
Yep, I remember that one.
So are there any themes or messages that
sit at the heart of M. Bolton,
what you're trying to portray through your
illustrations?
Well, to be honest,
I don't really think there's a hidden
theme.
But if you find something with it,
I'd be glad if people do find a
deeper meaning.
And sometimes I would like to put a
deeper meaning in there.
But not all the time.
It's mostly just having a fun adventure.
There's nothing wrong with having a good
adventure, man.
Nothing at all.
Kind of like the old action Hanna-Barbera
cartoons.
Oh, those were my favorite growing up.
Who was your favorite one growing up from
Hanna-Barbera?
Probably the Flintstones.
Same.
I loved some Flintstones, man.
Yeah, funny.
So what's your favorite weird element that
you've built into your world so far?
Well, that's a good question.
The series is episodic,
but there's a very strong continuity.
OK.
Something that happened in a different
issue before could affect the rest of the
series.
so you like to do call bats from
earlier issues into later issues yes okay
i like to see that in my comic
books when i'm reading other comic books i
like to see like call bats to older
stuff that happened in earlier issues and
then they're coming back to the new issue
as well i always like finding those little
elements hidden or sometimes not hidden in
very obvious in comic books and
illustrations okay for most
And I'd like to explain a little bit
more about M-Bolt.
Okay, please.
Go ahead.
The reason he's actually called into
action is because of a series of robots
appearing called the Fovos.
Okay.
That's what he fought in the first issue.
Yeah, I remember that.
That was some good fights in that first
issue.
Thanks.
They start popping up everywhere.
They learn who's behind it,
and to be honest,
I actually have them right here.
You gonna show us?
In the poster.
Okay.
This little right here, that's him.
Is he the main robot?
He's not exactly a robot.
Okay.
But he's the guy behind the robots.
Yeah, he's not exactly a guy either.
His name is pronounced as Nasatus.
Okay.
And where did he come from?
You learn later.
OK, I'll check it out.
He's not he's the main villain,
but he's not the only one.
There are other villains like.
Say it and Eva Vision.
And Siegel, the collector.
OK.
So how did you come up with the
with your villains and like the names of
your villains?
That's a very good question.
I kind of think of overworking things that
have already existed and just put my own
twist on them.
It's a good way to do it.
And to be honest...
You can't go wrong with an old classic
with a new twist.
And to be honest, I kind of...
Some of the stuff I do is partially
inspired by Lovecraftian horror.
Ooh, that's some good stuff right there.
Eldritch Abominations,
they're kind of some of my favorite things
in fiction.
Okay.
Now you're speaking our language.
We love some,
some good love crafty and horror over
here.
So when did you,
so I'm imagining that you started out on
paper and now you're doing everything
digital.
Are there any, like,
what are you using for your digital
elements?
Are you using your iPad or do you
have an actual,
like one of those electric sketch pads on
your desk?
Well,
funny you should ask that because I still
do paper first before I scan anything in.
Okay,
so you're doing the paper and then
scanning it into the electronic?
Yes, it's easier for me in that way.
Okay.
That's how everybody's doing it these
days.
Takes longer though, but I like it.
If it works for you,
it works for you.
I actually do use a drawing pad.
I actually had one a while back,
but there was a sparky connection,
so I had to get a new one
for my birthday last year.
Oh, good.
At least they got you a new one.
I think a lot of people use Photoshop
or Adobe, but I use something a bit...
I didn't really have that much money
coming in,
so I use something called Xero Pro Graphic
Designer.
I'm not sure if you've heard of it.
No, I haven't heard of it.
I'll have to look into it.
It's kind of a cheaper alternative.
I'm all about cheaper alternatives over
here.
So let's talk about some of your visual
styles.
So your style carries a lot of motion
and energy.
And how did that, well, no,
not that one.
So are you drawing your script first?
Are you doing like the draw first?
Or do you kind of like,
you know your story and you draw your
story?
Well,
I definitely don't know how things are
going to play out.
So yeah,
I have to do the script first.
Okay.
But the script does change as I draw.
Oh, okay.
Where I feel it's necessary.
So you're going back,
like if you get later in the story
and you're like, wait,
I think this will be better back here.
And you go back and redo a panel
or two?
Is that how you're doing it?
I usually do that change before I draw
anything else.
Okay.
Go over it again.
If I feel like something doesn't fit right
or if I can do something different or
better, I change it then.
I change it then before I draw.
I mean,
there have been days I had to erase
a panel or two.
Yeah.
About how long does it take you to
knock out a panel?
From start to finish,
how long do you think it takes you
to do it?
A panel or a page.
Well,
we can say a panel or a page.
Let's go with the page.
Hmm.
It kind of varies.
Once I put some, I can draw,
I can draw by hand one page a
day, but going over it digitally,
that takes a while.
And I usually don't,
I sometimes do multiple pages at once.
Okay.
And the most recent page that I scan
in isn't the one I'm I'll be working
on immediately.
I'm usually working on pages before that
because it takes time and
So let's talk about, um,
like your first escapades of in bolt and
it kind of,
it gives us some hint that there were
bigger things coming for him when you
wrote those,
what tones or vibes were you aiming for
in those earlier episodes?
Well, pretty much the same thing.
Well,
what you start is part of kind of
a trilogy.
not the same issues back to back but
part of the same theme the stone they
fight at the end spoiler alert okay it's
part of it's called the op ergo one
in the series there's the op ergo two
and part three
Part three.
But for the most part of the series,
it's usually pretty lighthearted,
kind of like the, I've mentioned before,
Saturday morning action cartoon.
Though it can get to Swat Cat's territory
pretty quick.
Okay.
So is there, when you are, oh no,
sorry, go ahead.
And specifically issue Opiago part three,
which introduces Nassatus in his true
form, it's kind of brutal.
Oh, okay.
Okay.
All right.
So...
When you are drawing in Bolt and you're
doing his words,
do you hear somebody's voice?
Like,
is there a particular character that you
associate his voice with when you are
doing his lettering?
Well,
there are several characters he's been
inspired by over the years.
Pretty much...
fictional characters he's already been
inspired by.
His overall personality would be kind of
like Mega Man or Sonic the Hedgehog or
Sora from Kingdom Hearts.
Okay.
Pretty sure you see some of those
influences in there.
Oh yeah,
definitely with the Kingdom Hearts.
I can definitely see that.
So you have teased...
a little bit that there's a bigger world
in Bolt coming.
Is there anything that you can share with
us from that or give us a little
tease of some of the new characters or
villains that you may have upcoming for
the In Bolt series?
Well, I will say that,
I will say this,
I'm on issue sixteen now and I've rotated
several villains like Eva Vision and Seat.
How about I,
we also say the FOBOs are gonna be
a reoccurring theme, theme as well.
Okay.
And well, you know, the term Miss Tech,
you met Mr. Chambers in the first issue,
right?
Yes, yes.
What's up with him?
Well, he used to run this,
a big part of the M-Bolt mythos,
you should say,
is the Miss Tech organization.
He used to run,
he actually used to run Mistech,
which was dedicated to scientific research
and, well,
of unconventional sources of power or
energy.
Mm-hmm.
Typically,
all Mistech was dedicated to mad science,
which is now defunct.
Okay.
And now he's holed up in this factory
in Williamsburg selling Wonder Glue and...
cryo mouse traps the horrible thing to be
selling right now yeah he's not exactly
pleasant but he'll help them when it neat
if they need it so do you plan
on experimenting with inbuilt within other
genres or comedy or horror or sci-fi
No.
Well,
you've kind of got a little mix of
some of those, except for the horror,
but there's a little sci-fi elements in
there,
and there were some phony moments in that
first issue that you let me read.
Exactly.
That's the tone I wanted to set for
the whole series.
Okay.
Not a big horror fan.
Okay.
Anyone from elementary school will
probably tell you that.
Still not, but I'm still a sci-fi guy.
Yeah.
So every indie creator has their ups,
downs and breakthroughs.
What has been your biggest challenge you
faced so far?
Well,
the biggest challenge I've been facing is
still what I'm facing.
Getting a big enough,
a bigger audience for my work.
Well,
hopefully coming on the podcast today,
I'm going to send you some clips like
I had told you earlier.
Hopefully that will help you.
get a little bit of a larger span
of audience that you can enjoy and to
enjoy in bolt,
because it is a fantastic series that you
are working on there.
So what has been your proudest moment so
far?
To be honest, my proudest moment.
Well, when I actually got,
when I actually finished volume one,
the first four stories in end bolts.
Okay.
That that'll, they'll do it.
That had to be a really good one.
And to be honest,
one of my favorite issues was the OP
Ergo Part III, which introduces Nesaitis.
Okay.
And what was that with such a big
impact for you?
Well,
Nesaitis is actually the master and
creator of the Fovos.
Oh, okay.
It's kind of an epic battle.
This epic battle occurs in...
Another reoccurring thing with M-Bulk is
this energy called appearing energy,
which Mr.
Chambers actually researched when he was
doing,
when he still ran Miss Tech and still
researches to this day.
Okay.
So he's not exactly in the mad science
business no more,
but he's still keeping his hands at the
end to it.
Yeah.
Doesn't have much resources since Miss
Tech fell apart,
but he does keep an eye on things.
So I got to ask,
if you could give any advice to any
new artists wanting to follow in your
steps and be in their own illustrator and
illustrate in their own work and sell in
their own illustrations,
what kind of advice would you give them?
Give me a minute.
Okay.
Take your time.
That's a big question.
Is not sure if this is going to
be helpful or hurtful,
but there are going to be times when
you doubt yourself, when others doubt you,
but even when you have those times,
there'll be times when you,
as long as you keep going and
still believe in what you're doing and
what you're creating.
I believe something good can and will come
of it.
So bottom line is just don't give up,
even if you have to take a different
path.
No, that's sound advice, man.
And I think that can be applied anywhere,
not just for up-and-coming artists and
creatives.
Just across the board,
I think that's solid advice.
So how do you stay motivated for the
creative grind?
I know if you're like me, I'm,
I'm up late.
I'm, I'm constantly, you know,
working on my, my product here.
How do you keep your self motivated to
keep going?
Well, for M ball,
I basically have a bunch of ideas for
these kids and for these characters.
And I actually want to see them,
see them brought to life and pen or
ink and always have,
Sometimes I have a hope that I can
actually get it, get an animated series,
whether it's M-Bolt or something else.
Okay.
Actually work on something or potentially
working something else.
To be honest,
I don't know where I'm going to go
from this, but I haven't,
but good things have surprised me
recently.
Good.
Surprises can be good.
So James,
I want you to tell everybody where they
can find you on your social media and
also where they can read in Bolt.
I'll tell you.
Mind if I share a couple of links
in the private chat?
Oh, yeah.
No, you can do that.
And I'll share it with everybody else.
You can do that.
You can find me on jrdemeryinstagram.com,
Demery James on Facebook,
and to read my work,
jamesryandemery on gumroad.com.
I'm also on Ko-fi,
pretty much the same name.
Okay.
When I repost all the everything,
all that will be in the description for
everybody.
It's actually in the description of this
video right now.
If you click on his Gumroad link,
it will take you directly to where you
can find his work and read in bold
for yourself.
So, James, don't forget the new issue,
Oaky Valley Part One,
and that's issue number sixteen, correct?
Nailed it.
Number sixteen.
So everybody,
make sure you follow support and share
James's work around all your social
medias.
Let's get him some more follows and get
people reading his fantastic work.
Indies thrive because of creators like
James bringing new worlds to life.
James,
I want to thank you for coming on
tonight and sharing in bulk with us.
And if you don't mind hanging out a
few minutes after the close,
that way we can talk just a little
bit more.
All right.
All right, everybody,
that has been the USDN podcast tonight
where indie comments come to life.
And if you've now been well, James, sorry,
you have now been welcome to the Council
of Nerds.
And until next time, stay curious,
stay creative and stay nerdy.
Everybody have a good night.
James, thank you for coming.