WEBVTT 00:00:03.072 --> 00:00:06.815 You are listening to the USDN on the 00:00:06.894 --> 00:00:08.215 DFPN. 00:00:40.060 --> 00:00:40.241 Thank you. 00:01:13.543 --> 00:01:14.465 What is up, everybody? 00:01:14.545 --> 00:01:16.225 It's the chairman of the United States 00:01:16.245 --> 00:01:17.087 Department of Nerds, 00:01:17.106 --> 00:01:18.248 where we are for the people, 00:01:18.647 --> 00:01:21.409 by the people, and of the people. 00:01:21.990 --> 00:01:25.112 Some legends are written in history. 00:01:25.772 --> 00:01:27.834 Others are forged in myth. 00:01:28.254 --> 00:01:31.418 And sometimes the truth lives somewhere in 00:01:31.477 --> 00:01:31.957 between. 00:01:32.498 --> 00:01:32.918 Tonight, 00:01:32.978 --> 00:01:35.641 we step into sixteenth-century Japan, 00:01:36.141 --> 00:01:39.164 a world of warlords, honor, and betrayal, 00:01:39.504 --> 00:01:41.766 and a warrior whose story still echoes 00:01:42.046 --> 00:01:42.826 through time. 00:01:43.787 --> 00:01:45.087 An African samurai, 00:01:45.168 --> 00:01:47.989 a man who rose from slavery to stand 00:01:48.010 --> 00:01:50.811 beside one of the most powerful figures in 00:01:50.871 --> 00:01:52.253 Japanese history. 00:01:52.953 --> 00:01:55.495 But this isn't just history. 00:01:55.936 --> 00:01:57.036 It's transformation. 00:01:57.557 --> 00:01:58.397 It's mythology. 00:01:58.537 --> 00:02:02.000 It's destiny rewritten in steel and 00:02:02.099 --> 00:02:05.542 sacrifice in something far darker waiting 00:02:05.902 --> 00:02:07.242 beyond the battlefield. 00:02:07.703 --> 00:02:10.885 Our guest tonight is Braston Cosby, right? 00:02:10.906 --> 00:02:11.006 Yeah. 00:02:11.026 --> 00:02:11.126 Yeah. 00:02:12.947 --> 00:02:15.109 number one amazon best-selling author 00:02:15.489 --> 00:02:17.610 award-winning storyteller and the creator 00:02:17.631 --> 00:02:21.533 behind the ambitious yasuki duology a 00:02:21.574 --> 00:02:23.776 sweeping saga blended historical truth 00:02:24.256 --> 00:02:27.658 fantasy horror and redemption the council 00:02:27.699 --> 00:02:30.640 of nerds is now in session bradston 00:02:31.281 --> 00:02:32.201 welcome to usdm my friend thank you so 00:02:32.222 --> 00:02:33.263 much for having me on i appreciate it 00:02:33.282 --> 00:02:33.342 man 00:02:36.598 --> 00:02:37.299 Oh, absolutely. 00:02:37.338 --> 00:02:39.259 I know we've been waiting a hot minute 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:40.741 for this one. 00:02:40.820 --> 00:02:42.441 I feel like you've been on the schedule 00:02:42.981 --> 00:02:45.582 for like a month now and to finally 00:02:45.603 --> 00:02:47.242 have you here and having read your work 00:02:47.984 --> 00:02:51.064 and to welcome you here is truly an 00:02:51.104 --> 00:02:51.384 honor. 00:02:52.085 --> 00:02:54.145 But for everybody who is just now meeting 00:02:54.186 --> 00:02:54.466 you, 00:02:55.567 --> 00:02:59.187 who is Braston Cosby and how did you 00:02:59.668 --> 00:03:02.008 become a writer? 00:03:02.088 --> 00:03:03.550 All right. 00:03:03.569 --> 00:03:05.290 So I'm Braston Cosby. 00:03:05.350 --> 00:03:06.330 I'm the CEO of 00:03:06.687 --> 00:03:07.887 Cosby Media Productions, 00:03:07.907 --> 00:03:09.687 we're a small press publisher down here in 00:03:09.728 --> 00:03:10.548 Atlanta, Georgia. 00:03:10.568 --> 00:03:12.649 We've published over thirty authors with 00:03:12.669 --> 00:03:14.109 sixty different titles in e-books, 00:03:14.209 --> 00:03:15.250 audio books, and paperbacks, 00:03:15.669 --> 00:03:16.509 myself included. 00:03:16.889 --> 00:03:18.950 We have our own comic imprint called Star 00:03:18.971 --> 00:03:19.591 Child Comics, 00:03:19.631 --> 00:03:21.390 and we've published over eighteen titles 00:03:21.431 --> 00:03:23.991 now, a mix of graphic novels and comics. 00:03:24.532 --> 00:03:26.733 We consider ourselves a hybrid publisher 00:03:27.252 --> 00:03:28.793 in that we actually publish all of our 00:03:28.832 --> 00:03:31.433 stories in both novels and comics, 00:03:31.973 --> 00:03:33.675 at least a vast majority of them. 00:03:34.873 --> 00:03:36.974 A reader may come along and decide to 00:03:37.034 --> 00:03:39.436 partake in one of our stories and they 00:03:39.455 --> 00:03:41.296 may start off in a novel and it 00:03:41.317 --> 00:03:43.377 will transition you into a comic or a 00:03:43.418 --> 00:03:44.838 graphic novel or you may start in a 00:03:44.878 --> 00:03:48.680 comic and it transitions you to a novel 00:03:49.140 --> 00:03:50.800 or a graphic novel and vice versa. 00:03:51.701 --> 00:03:54.842 We feel that allows us to cast a 00:03:54.883 --> 00:03:57.024 wider net for people who just like comics 00:03:57.183 --> 00:03:59.384 or who like novels or who like a 00:03:59.405 --> 00:04:01.145 blend with graphic novels. 00:04:01.675 --> 00:04:03.818 And it's been successful for us in doing 00:04:03.837 --> 00:04:03.978 that. 00:04:04.038 --> 00:04:05.919 We took that venture on probably right 00:04:05.938 --> 00:04:07.540 around two thousand twenty when COVID hit. 00:04:07.640 --> 00:04:07.800 OK. 00:04:08.901 --> 00:04:10.763 And people were like, man, you know, 00:04:10.862 --> 00:04:12.044 I say, what do you like to read? 00:04:12.063 --> 00:04:12.925 That's like our line. 00:04:12.944 --> 00:04:14.006 Just kind of get you to come by 00:04:14.045 --> 00:04:14.566 the table. 00:04:15.627 --> 00:04:16.327 And they're like, you know, 00:04:16.348 --> 00:04:17.689 we only had novels at the time. 00:04:17.988 --> 00:04:19.689 They're like, oh, man, you know, 00:04:19.730 --> 00:04:20.630 do these have pictures? 00:04:20.670 --> 00:04:21.932 And I'm like, no, you know, oh, 00:04:22.031 --> 00:04:22.913 it's not a graphic novel. 00:04:22.973 --> 00:04:23.153 Yeah, 00:04:23.173 --> 00:04:24.754 I just usually read comics or graphic 00:04:24.774 --> 00:04:25.074 novels. 00:04:25.095 --> 00:04:26.355 So I kind of. 00:04:27.326 --> 00:04:27.766 At the time, 00:04:27.786 --> 00:04:29.668 I think we were around maybe like fifteen 00:04:30.348 --> 00:04:33.548 novels in our superhero fiction universe 00:04:33.788 --> 00:04:37.149 that we built, called the CMPDSU, 00:04:37.269 --> 00:04:39.550 the Cosmere Media Productions Dedicated 00:04:39.589 --> 00:04:40.589 Superhero Universe. 00:04:41.290 --> 00:04:41.750 I like that. 00:04:42.949 --> 00:04:43.230 Yes. 00:04:43.529 --> 00:04:46.190 Me and five other authors, Daniel Payton, 00:04:46.271 --> 00:04:46.750 Lawrence St. 00:04:46.790 --> 00:04:49.031 John, Keyshawn Dodd, Coyote Champion, 00:04:50.052 --> 00:04:53.793 myself and Genevieve Vickers. 00:04:53.812 --> 00:04:55.072 We actually have all of our superhero 00:04:58.074 --> 00:04:59.755 old fiction and novel. 00:04:59.836 --> 00:05:00.916 And I was like, man, you know, 00:05:01.898 --> 00:05:03.038 you guys never thought about doing like a 00:05:03.098 --> 00:05:04.699 comic and thereby, you know, 00:05:04.939 --> 00:05:06.161 that majority of guys were like, yeah, 00:05:06.180 --> 00:05:07.302 okay, we could do something like that. 00:05:08.483 --> 00:05:09.043 They were like, oh, 00:05:09.083 --> 00:05:10.764 so I'm going to just retell book one 00:05:10.783 --> 00:05:11.584 of the series. 00:05:11.665 --> 00:05:12.404 I'm like, no, no, no. 00:05:12.826 --> 00:05:13.947 This is a continuation. 00:05:14.007 --> 00:05:15.788 Let's build out, you know? 00:05:16.267 --> 00:05:17.329 So like, for instance, 00:05:18.050 --> 00:05:19.471 Daniel Payton has the Bark series. 00:05:19.490 --> 00:05:20.610 It's a three book series. 00:05:21.291 --> 00:05:22.752 Book four is his comic. 00:05:27.300 --> 00:05:29.583 your story you know and so we did 00:05:29.622 --> 00:05:31.863 that we wrote them up we teamed up 00:05:31.903 --> 00:05:36.107 with some fantastic talent do the artwork 00:05:36.666 --> 00:05:38.168 and then we basically ran a Kickstarter to 00:05:38.187 --> 00:05:41.690 get all four first issues put together and 00:05:41.730 --> 00:05:44.533 finished and we did and so we got 00:05:44.552 --> 00:05:46.233 those out and then since then we haven't 00:05:46.254 --> 00:05:52.038 looked back my personal story is I've done 00:05:52.298 --> 00:05:53.579 I've been writing since two thousand 00:05:53.639 --> 00:05:53.918 eleven 00:05:54.497 --> 00:05:55.677 I feel like I had like a call-in 00:05:55.737 --> 00:05:57.238 in church one day to actually get into 00:05:57.259 --> 00:05:59.379 writing because me, 00:05:59.560 --> 00:06:01.781 I never got into writing before. 00:06:02.182 --> 00:06:05.884 I rarely read for pleasure because I was 00:06:05.925 --> 00:06:06.564 always in school. 00:06:06.625 --> 00:06:07.985 You know, I went to high school, 00:06:08.005 --> 00:06:10.168 went to college, got bachelor's, master's, 00:06:10.208 --> 00:06:10.708 and doctorate. 00:06:11.228 --> 00:06:12.548 So I was always reading because I had 00:06:12.588 --> 00:06:12.728 to, 00:06:12.790 --> 00:06:13.930 not because I actually wanted to have any 00:06:13.970 --> 00:06:14.490 pleasure in it. 00:06:14.971 --> 00:06:15.531 Yeah. 00:06:15.571 --> 00:06:17.932 Got a call to it one day in 00:06:17.952 --> 00:06:18.192 church. 00:06:18.252 --> 00:06:18.774 I was like, man, 00:06:18.793 --> 00:06:20.355 what would I write on if God's kind 00:06:20.375 --> 00:06:21.214 of calling me to write? 00:06:22.156 --> 00:06:23.237 And it was like I heard this voice 00:06:23.257 --> 00:06:23.437 like, 00:06:24.209 --> 00:06:25.930 all that cool stuff that you like when 00:06:25.951 --> 00:06:28.271 you look at movies and shows. 00:06:28.372 --> 00:06:29.632 And I don't know about you, 00:06:29.653 --> 00:06:32.154 but sometimes I look at movies and I'll 00:06:32.175 --> 00:06:33.355 be like, man, it was really, really cool, 00:06:33.375 --> 00:06:34.675 but I wish they had kind of gone 00:06:34.716 --> 00:06:36.257 this way with it or gone that way 00:06:36.297 --> 00:06:36.617 with it. 00:06:37.197 --> 00:06:37.577 Yes. 00:06:37.637 --> 00:06:38.978 And I was like, take all that stuff, 00:06:39.038 --> 00:06:40.139 all that cool stuff, 00:06:40.379 --> 00:06:41.620 and then write your own story and put 00:06:41.660 --> 00:06:41.961 it in yours. 00:06:41.980 --> 00:06:44.362 I was like, oh, I could do that, 00:06:44.401 --> 00:06:44.802 you know? 00:06:45.583 --> 00:06:49.564 And so I just sketched out this little 00:06:49.605 --> 00:06:51.826 story for the Starcross Saga, 00:06:51.865 --> 00:06:52.646 which was a trilogy. 00:06:53.117 --> 00:06:55.057 which I do not recommend anybody do that 00:06:55.158 --> 00:06:56.398 on their first go around. 00:06:56.418 --> 00:06:57.939 Start with a novella. 00:06:58.838 --> 00:07:00.279 Maybe a one-off book, 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:01.759 but don't start with series. 00:07:01.860 --> 00:07:03.240 I was just crazy enough to do it. 00:07:03.420 --> 00:07:05.781 And so I got that going. 00:07:06.341 --> 00:07:07.221 I got picked up by, 00:07:07.482 --> 00:07:08.742 I researched everything you need to know 00:07:08.762 --> 00:07:09.983 about how to get published back then. 00:07:10.002 --> 00:07:11.744 Yeah. 00:07:11.764 --> 00:07:12.783 What's the process like? 00:07:12.824 --> 00:07:14.004 What's the story like? 00:07:14.084 --> 00:07:14.545 And then 00:07:15.343 --> 00:07:16.723 Um, I just kind of started going, 00:07:16.744 --> 00:07:17.904 just kind of putting things together. 00:07:18.504 --> 00:07:19.925 I was fortunate enough to get my book 00:07:19.966 --> 00:07:21.206 picked up by, um, 00:07:21.586 --> 00:07:23.028 a small publisher here in Atlanta called 00:07:23.048 --> 00:07:23.949 Firefly Publishing. 00:07:23.988 --> 00:07:26.149 Always give shout out to Diane and her 00:07:26.170 --> 00:07:29.632 work and, um, ended up winning an award, 00:07:29.651 --> 00:07:30.392 like off the bat, 00:07:30.413 --> 00:07:32.733 but like readers favorite, you know, 00:07:32.754 --> 00:07:33.675 sci-fi book of the year. 00:07:33.694 --> 00:07:34.475 And I was like, oh man, 00:07:34.495 --> 00:07:35.516 I'm very grateful, you know? 00:07:36.177 --> 00:07:38.458 And so a year later she decided to 00:07:38.478 --> 00:07:40.079 get out of the business and they gave 00:07:40.098 --> 00:07:41.319 me the rights back and I've shopped them 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:42.721 around, got a literary agent, 00:07:43.221 --> 00:07:44.422 got picked up by another publisher. 00:07:45.065 --> 00:07:46.447 Things weren't just going in the right 00:07:46.466 --> 00:07:48.088 direction I thought with book two coming 00:07:48.208 --> 00:07:48.387 out. 00:07:49.007 --> 00:07:51.370 So I basically got out of the contract, 00:07:51.389 --> 00:07:52.170 got the books back. 00:07:53.151 --> 00:07:53.930 And I said, you know what? 00:07:55.312 --> 00:07:57.812 For what I feel a publisher can do 00:07:57.853 --> 00:07:58.994 for me, I feel like at this point, 00:07:59.153 --> 00:07:59.853 I think I can just do it on 00:07:59.874 --> 00:08:00.254 my own. 00:08:01.095 --> 00:08:03.495 And so I started up Cosmetic Productions, 00:08:04.057 --> 00:08:05.798 just started meeting some fantastic 00:08:05.958 --> 00:08:08.418 authors who had some wonderful ideas for 00:08:08.478 --> 00:08:10.600 stories and started just partnering with 00:08:10.620 --> 00:08:10.699 them. 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:11.980 And that's what we've always done as a 00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:12.420 publisher. 00:08:12.440 --> 00:08:13.841 We feel like we partner with authors 00:08:14.891 --> 00:08:15.732 their story out. 00:08:16.512 --> 00:08:18.853 We had a partnership with a larger 00:08:18.894 --> 00:08:20.613 publisher a while ago. 00:08:21.314 --> 00:08:22.995 And so we always have to turn the 00:08:23.036 --> 00:08:24.456 files over to them to get them ready 00:08:24.476 --> 00:08:24.976 to publish. 00:08:25.596 --> 00:08:27.158 And so they gave us like the template 00:08:27.197 --> 00:08:28.019 of what, you know, 00:08:28.038 --> 00:08:30.860 the formatting was and everything. 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:31.880 So we had a blueprint. 00:08:32.041 --> 00:08:32.880 So I was like, oh man. 00:08:32.900 --> 00:08:34.662 So when we stopped working with them, 00:08:35.182 --> 00:08:36.943 I felt like we gave all of our 00:08:37.063 --> 00:08:39.725 authors the opportunity to have what I 00:08:39.745 --> 00:08:40.905 call the industry standards. 00:08:40.926 --> 00:08:41.066 So 00:08:41.697 --> 00:08:43.038 wanted to give people fantastic book 00:08:43.078 --> 00:08:44.059 covers we wanted to give them good 00:08:44.120 --> 00:08:45.900 formatting we wanted to get them editing 00:08:46.381 --> 00:08:49.183 and so we're partnering with people to get 00:08:49.364 --> 00:08:52.966 their dreams out into the world and so 00:08:52.985 --> 00:08:55.508 we feel good about that and in return 00:08:55.528 --> 00:08:56.948 they've given us some fantastic stories 00:08:56.969 --> 00:08:59.071 that we can brag upon that have become 00:08:59.171 --> 00:09:01.753 amazon bestsellers that have become um you 00:09:01.773 --> 00:09:04.294 know award-winning titles and it's just 00:09:04.335 --> 00:09:05.796 kind of poured into 00:09:10.582 --> 00:09:13.466 so many series that people can get into 00:09:13.485 --> 00:09:15.148 whether you like fantasy science fiction 00:09:15.168 --> 00:09:17.610 young adult uh even if you like um 00:09:17.691 --> 00:09:19.832 poetry or if you like inspirational 00:09:19.873 --> 00:09:22.375 fiction or biography we have a whole bunch 00:09:22.436 --> 00:09:24.457 of stuff okay you're a real hardcore 00:09:24.498 --> 00:09:26.539 reader you can come over to cognitive 00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:28.061 productions and find something that we 00:09:28.081 --> 00:09:30.484 think you'll like and uh our mantra for 00:09:30.583 --> 00:09:32.265 our um 00:09:39.566 --> 00:09:41.467 one comic to the next in their stories 00:09:41.508 --> 00:09:43.230 and there's a lot of crossover so once 00:09:43.250 --> 00:09:45.351 you get started you'll be able to like 00:09:45.392 --> 00:09:46.874 branch out and see the ripple effect of 00:09:46.953 --> 00:09:49.235 all this great storytelling in other books 00:09:49.255 --> 00:09:50.878 so you know we want our own little 00:09:50.937 --> 00:09:52.919 community of storytelling that people 00:09:52.940 --> 00:09:54.000 don't have to go anywhere else they can 00:09:54.020 --> 00:09:55.282 just kind of stay right here and play 00:09:55.322 --> 00:09:57.823 with us for a while now that that's 00:09:58.404 --> 00:09:59.086 really cool so 00:10:01.431 --> 00:10:03.991 You've written twenty novels and comics 00:10:04.732 --> 00:10:06.232 and you said it grabbed you while you 00:10:06.253 --> 00:10:07.374 were at church. 00:10:07.813 --> 00:10:10.414 So at what point do you think your 00:10:10.455 --> 00:10:13.777 path towards comics and that like kind of 00:10:13.836 --> 00:10:16.817 genre fiction like come from or did that 00:10:16.857 --> 00:10:18.458 just kind of it was just an evolution 00:10:18.519 --> 00:10:20.340 of how everything was going for you? 00:10:22.113 --> 00:10:23.854 I've always been a huge fan of fiction. 00:10:23.913 --> 00:10:24.955 If I was going to read, 00:10:24.995 --> 00:10:25.695 I read fiction. 00:10:26.495 --> 00:10:29.037 And so I would do like, 00:10:29.336 --> 00:10:31.378 even when I remember back my earliest, 00:10:31.398 --> 00:10:33.779 the earliest book that I remember that I 00:10:33.820 --> 00:10:36.280 really enjoyed that was fiction back in 00:10:36.301 --> 00:10:38.763 like elementary school was Fahrenheit four 00:10:38.783 --> 00:10:41.043 fifty one. 00:10:41.104 --> 00:10:42.184 It was just because they were burning 00:10:42.205 --> 00:10:43.225 books and I didn't want to read them. 00:10:43.264 --> 00:10:46.086 So that was interesting. 00:10:46.126 --> 00:10:48.207 But that's what grabbed me, you know, 00:10:48.227 --> 00:10:49.448 dark kind of gritty fiction. 00:10:49.509 --> 00:10:49.889 I was like, oh, 00:10:49.908 --> 00:10:51.049 this is kind of like my thing, 00:10:51.070 --> 00:10:51.350 you know. 00:10:51.982 --> 00:10:53.543 And then so I've always just had this 00:10:54.222 --> 00:10:54.923 desire, 00:10:55.063 --> 00:10:56.884 and I've always loved science fiction. 00:10:56.903 --> 00:10:58.384 I always thought the characters were just, 00:10:58.984 --> 00:11:01.985 there were always bigger fish to fry 00:11:02.245 --> 00:11:03.884 rather than ethnicity. 00:11:03.924 --> 00:11:05.245 People weren't caring if you were black, 00:11:05.284 --> 00:11:06.066 white, and all that. 00:11:06.145 --> 00:11:07.446 They weren't caught up in the nonsense 00:11:07.466 --> 00:11:08.666 that we do on this planet. 00:11:09.306 --> 00:11:10.105 They are just like, 00:11:10.525 --> 00:11:12.386 there's something bigger Earth, you know, 00:11:12.447 --> 00:11:13.947 that's going to just kind of destroy all 00:11:13.966 --> 00:11:14.206 of us. 00:11:14.726 --> 00:11:16.447 So there was always unification, 00:11:17.067 --> 00:11:19.028 and it really didn't matter what color you 00:11:19.067 --> 00:11:20.128 were, where ethnic background. 00:11:25.533 --> 00:11:26.633 I just got wrapped up in fiction. 00:11:26.712 --> 00:11:28.855 And so when I finally got the chance 00:11:28.875 --> 00:11:31.275 to really explore this writing thing, 00:11:31.296 --> 00:11:31.875 I was like, man, 00:11:31.936 --> 00:11:33.297 I could actually write characters that I 00:11:33.336 --> 00:11:33.897 really like, 00:11:33.937 --> 00:11:36.538 that kind of reflect my way of thinking, 00:11:36.558 --> 00:11:38.580 that kind of reflect the characters in the 00:11:38.620 --> 00:11:39.721 world that I live in. 00:11:40.360 --> 00:11:41.282 And so, you know, they say, 00:11:41.322 --> 00:11:42.461 if you ever want to write something, 00:11:42.481 --> 00:11:44.202 write something that you're an expert in. 00:11:44.243 --> 00:11:47.205 And so I feel like, hey, 00:11:47.225 --> 00:11:48.306 I'm an expert in my own life, 00:11:48.326 --> 00:11:48.966 my own world. 00:11:48.985 --> 00:11:51.647 So I'm just basically taking those people 00:11:51.667 --> 00:11:52.227 who I know 00:11:52.798 --> 00:11:55.061 i'm transposing these characters and 00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:57.722 stories on top of them and making them 00:11:57.763 --> 00:12:00.524 live and breathe so it's really cool um 00:12:01.066 --> 00:12:03.488 i i've dedicated some books to you know 00:12:03.528 --> 00:12:05.428 family members and close friends like my 00:12:05.470 --> 00:12:07.630 broken series where i'm telling the story 00:12:07.650 --> 00:12:09.332 of first-person narrator from a young girl 00:12:09.352 --> 00:12:11.634 named kisa who's in a dystopian land i 00:12:11.674 --> 00:12:13.996 dedicated that to my three girls because i 00:12:14.017 --> 00:12:14.437 wanted to put 00:12:15.207 --> 00:12:16.969 all three of their personalities in this 00:12:17.089 --> 00:12:17.869 one character. 00:12:18.169 --> 00:12:18.450 Yeah. 00:12:18.789 --> 00:12:22.292 I dedicated Yasuki, Dead Man Walking, 00:12:22.312 --> 00:12:24.293 to my father who passed away last year. 00:12:24.712 --> 00:12:27.094 So I just kind of find a place 00:12:27.553 --> 00:12:29.315 to speak from my heart in my stories 00:12:29.355 --> 00:12:30.255 with these characters. 00:12:30.956 --> 00:12:32.677 And I've been really, 00:12:32.897 --> 00:12:33.876 it's a great expression, 00:12:33.937 --> 00:12:35.158 a form of expression for me. 00:12:35.177 --> 00:12:36.418 It gets my thoughts out. 00:12:37.058 --> 00:12:39.279 And I just love stories. 00:12:39.440 --> 00:12:39.799 You know, 00:12:40.061 --> 00:12:42.701 I became a student of the game. 00:12:44.322 --> 00:12:44.822 I've read 00:12:45.422 --> 00:12:48.183 uh snyder's book on save the cat because 00:12:48.244 --> 00:12:50.264 i do write screenplays as well and i 00:12:50.304 --> 00:12:53.687 also read uh robert mackie's um story 00:12:53.748 --> 00:12:55.269 which if you ever want to get into 00:12:55.308 --> 00:12:57.610 story guys i suggest you read that book 00:12:57.649 --> 00:12:59.851 if you're already interested also being a 00:12:59.871 --> 00:13:02.854 student i'm always interested in writing 00:13:02.874 --> 00:13:05.514 the next best story that i can put 00:13:05.535 --> 00:13:08.376 together with yeah structure and i'm also 00:13:09.018 --> 00:13:10.438 unfortunately because when you when you 00:13:10.458 --> 00:13:11.820 get into this realm and you're really 00:13:11.940 --> 00:13:14.621 always reading story and writing stories i 00:13:14.642 --> 00:13:15.121 even see 00:13:15.984 --> 00:13:17.903 Films now and TV shows. 00:13:18.004 --> 00:13:18.684 I see story. 00:13:18.745 --> 00:13:20.865 I see scripts as it first comes on 00:13:21.245 --> 00:13:23.025 and I'm holding up this like, okay, 00:13:23.446 --> 00:13:24.285 you're on the clock. 00:13:25.125 --> 00:13:26.346 You better get these beats a couple of 00:13:26.547 --> 00:13:28.006 ways in the beginning, 00:13:28.086 --> 00:13:29.366 or you're going to lose my interest and 00:13:29.407 --> 00:13:29.927 I'm done. 00:13:30.427 --> 00:13:33.347 So did you watch the Sandman series on 00:13:33.408 --> 00:13:34.048 Netflix? 00:13:34.609 --> 00:13:35.869 I'll be, I'll be straight on it. 00:13:35.889 --> 00:13:37.629 We can be honest on this website, right? 00:13:37.729 --> 00:13:38.570 Oh, a hundred percent. 00:13:38.730 --> 00:13:39.490 A hundred percent. 00:13:39.789 --> 00:13:41.490 I was going to, I was like really, 00:13:41.509 --> 00:13:41.730 really. 00:13:41.850 --> 00:13:42.711 And then all of a sudden I heard 00:13:42.730 --> 00:13:44.230 this stuff about Neil Gaiman. 00:13:46.418 --> 00:13:48.269 All stuff aside about Neil Gaiman, 00:13:49.635 --> 00:13:51.837 You go get the first book of The 00:13:51.898 --> 00:13:52.518 Sandman. 00:13:52.698 --> 00:13:54.240 You open up page one. 00:13:54.580 --> 00:13:57.663 You turn on episode one and just turn 00:13:57.682 --> 00:13:58.984 the page as it plays. 00:13:59.884 --> 00:14:04.327 It is very beautifully done despite all of 00:14:04.448 --> 00:14:06.831 the bad associated with his name. 00:14:08.272 --> 00:14:12.215 Netflix did amazing at this series because 00:14:12.475 --> 00:14:13.796 it is the comic book. 00:14:14.037 --> 00:14:15.878 What you just said there had reminded me 00:14:16.118 --> 00:14:16.619 of that. 00:14:17.219 --> 00:14:17.879 I was just like, 00:14:19.264 --> 00:14:20.903 It was such a beautiful thing because I'm 00:14:21.065 --> 00:14:24.405 such a huge fan of the Sandman comic 00:14:24.446 --> 00:14:24.745 book. 00:14:26.446 --> 00:14:26.785 Again, 00:14:27.826 --> 00:14:29.886 this was before anything had ever come out 00:14:29.907 --> 00:14:31.087 about him. 00:14:31.227 --> 00:14:32.847 I do believe he was just acquitted of 00:14:33.008 --> 00:14:35.408 everything and all charges were dropped or 00:14:35.448 --> 00:14:35.808 cleared. 00:14:37.246 --> 00:14:40.429 However, it's still a stand on his legacy. 00:14:40.450 --> 00:14:41.770 Right. 00:14:41.850 --> 00:14:45.355 But that book and the way Netflix told 00:14:45.394 --> 00:14:45.975 that story, 00:14:45.995 --> 00:14:47.856 because I do know Noah was a part 00:14:47.897 --> 00:14:49.798 of the production team or a producer on 00:14:49.839 --> 00:14:51.299 that set. 00:14:51.340 --> 00:14:52.921 So it was so beautiful that you could 00:14:52.942 --> 00:14:55.504 just turn the page and watch it. 00:14:56.264 --> 00:14:57.745 And it just told the same story. 00:14:57.765 --> 00:14:58.086 Beautiful. 00:14:58.105 --> 00:14:58.186 Yeah. 00:14:58.206 --> 00:15:00.989 That's what happens when you get the. 00:15:01.940 --> 00:15:03.241 the creator behind it. 00:15:03.522 --> 00:15:04.823 You know what I mean? 00:15:05.325 --> 00:15:06.385 And I was going to say, honestly, 00:15:06.426 --> 00:15:07.548 it wasn't just about that. 00:15:07.607 --> 00:15:09.269 He set the accusations. 00:15:09.389 --> 00:15:09.971 It was about, 00:15:11.008 --> 00:15:12.308 I like to get involved with series that 00:15:12.349 --> 00:15:13.370 I think is going to be around. 00:15:13.870 --> 00:15:14.871 And I was like, Ooh, 00:15:14.892 --> 00:15:16.113 they're working on season two and all that 00:15:16.133 --> 00:15:16.913 came out. 00:15:16.974 --> 00:15:17.573 And they were like, Oh yeah, 00:15:17.594 --> 00:15:18.514 they're probably not going to finish at 00:15:18.534 --> 00:15:19.495 the season two because of this. 00:15:19.515 --> 00:15:19.895 And I'm like, 00:15:20.517 --> 00:15:21.918 I don't want to start something. 00:15:21.937 --> 00:15:22.698 They did rush it. 00:15:22.739 --> 00:15:25.181 You know, but I don't want to, 00:15:25.201 --> 00:15:25.981 I don't want to tell. 00:15:26.001 --> 00:15:27.342 So I'm hoping with the acquittal, 00:15:27.363 --> 00:15:28.323 they actually keep going. 00:15:28.344 --> 00:15:29.485 Cause then I could jump back into it. 00:15:29.524 --> 00:15:30.306 You know what I mean? 00:15:30.405 --> 00:15:30.666 I think, 00:15:30.866 --> 00:15:32.528 I think the legacy is too tarnished for 00:15:32.548 --> 00:15:33.408 them to want to do that. 00:15:33.509 --> 00:15:34.330 Unfortunately, 00:15:34.350 --> 00:15:36.130 because they were telling such a, 00:15:36.913 --> 00:15:39.198 amazing story and the actors behind 00:15:39.278 --> 00:15:41.966 everybody like they were just so good for 00:15:41.986 --> 00:15:43.751 their characters but 00:15:45.206 --> 00:15:46.226 That's a little off topic. 00:15:46.307 --> 00:15:49.389 I do apologize for that. 00:15:49.429 --> 00:15:51.230 What you had just said there just reminded 00:15:51.270 --> 00:15:53.613 me of just how great that was just 00:15:53.633 --> 00:15:55.173 to be able to sit there and do 00:15:55.214 --> 00:15:55.474 that. 00:15:57.375 --> 00:15:59.597 I know you started out writing novels. 00:15:59.817 --> 00:16:02.299 Were you able to take those lessons 00:16:02.340 --> 00:16:05.702 learned from writing prose like that and 00:16:05.743 --> 00:16:07.403 bring that into comic books? 00:16:07.423 --> 00:16:08.985 I know it can be a hard transition 00:16:09.004 --> 00:16:11.187 for some people because they want to shove 00:16:11.226 --> 00:16:12.048 a lot of stuff 00:16:13.004 --> 00:16:15.404 into a word box and it just doesn't 00:16:15.424 --> 00:16:17.885 work that way i tell you it was 00:16:18.047 --> 00:16:20.727 it was a great you know how you 00:16:20.827 --> 00:16:23.688 like on the job training oh yeah um 00:16:23.729 --> 00:16:24.970 so i had written up to this point 00:16:24.990 --> 00:16:26.471 i had written like so many novels so 00:16:26.530 --> 00:16:28.552 i was you know pretty good at keeping 00:16:28.591 --> 00:16:30.072 react structure but you know in a novel 00:16:30.113 --> 00:16:31.732 you got you can freeze freelance you can 00:16:31.754 --> 00:16:33.514 go for as long as you want go 00:16:33.533 --> 00:16:35.414 down another path come back down that road 00:16:35.455 --> 00:16:36.895 and land back on that story of the 00:16:36.936 --> 00:16:40.138 hero's journey um in screenwriting you 00:16:40.158 --> 00:16:42.458 know we say that there's no because every 00:16:42.951 --> 00:16:44.052 Every page is a minute, 00:16:44.212 --> 00:16:45.313 every minute a page, you know? 00:16:45.333 --> 00:16:46.754 So if it's a five minute film, 00:16:46.995 --> 00:16:48.735 you got ninety pages to get this done. 00:16:49.336 --> 00:16:51.398 And there's no throwaway scenes. 00:16:51.477 --> 00:16:53.339 If you're really writing scripts 00:16:53.379 --> 00:16:54.779 correctly, there's no throwaway scenes. 00:16:54.840 --> 00:16:55.921 It's not just the time to just, oh, 00:16:56.061 --> 00:16:57.062 I think it's really cool. 00:16:57.481 --> 00:16:59.302 It's got to have intensity behind it or 00:16:59.383 --> 00:17:01.264 else you lose the viewers. 00:17:01.304 --> 00:17:02.424 Same thing with comics. 00:17:02.785 --> 00:17:04.046 There's no throwaway panel. 00:17:05.106 --> 00:17:07.269 So those panels, to me, really, really, 00:17:07.308 --> 00:17:08.449 really, really matter, you know, 00:17:09.329 --> 00:17:10.770 and the transition of those panels. 00:17:11.365 --> 00:17:12.865 and then thus the transition of those 00:17:12.905 --> 00:17:13.405 pages. 00:17:13.906 --> 00:17:17.068 I'm constantly sitting here, 00:17:17.088 --> 00:17:18.630 when I script out a comic, 00:17:18.730 --> 00:17:20.030 I'm thinking about three-act structure 00:17:20.050 --> 00:17:20.351 again, 00:17:20.791 --> 00:17:22.373 even though it may be a continuum of 00:17:22.413 --> 00:17:22.873 story. 00:17:23.313 --> 00:17:24.713 I feel like if you're in a series 00:17:24.753 --> 00:17:25.795 of writing comics, 00:17:25.855 --> 00:17:27.516 then kind of map it out in your 00:17:27.536 --> 00:17:27.615 head. 00:17:27.635 --> 00:17:29.057 I'm going to go for a six-book series. 00:17:29.076 --> 00:17:31.058 You need to have three-act structure 00:17:33.059 --> 00:17:35.761 comprised of that entire six issues, 00:17:35.821 --> 00:17:37.663 but in each one of those, 00:17:37.804 --> 00:17:39.605 what are you trying to accomplish? 00:17:40.025 --> 00:17:41.066 It has its own 00:17:41.560 --> 00:17:43.061 three act structure for that, 00:17:43.122 --> 00:17:45.762 even though it's an open ending that's 00:17:45.782 --> 00:17:47.323 gonna get you into the next one. 00:17:47.923 --> 00:17:49.763 And so yes, to your point, 00:17:50.304 --> 00:17:52.664 when you go from writing a hundred and 00:17:52.724 --> 00:17:57.106 nine thousand word novel to a, you know, 00:17:57.126 --> 00:17:58.708 a three hundred and fifty some page novel, 00:17:58.788 --> 00:18:01.188 and now you're trying to jam that whole 00:18:01.388 --> 00:18:01.769 idea, 00:18:01.788 --> 00:18:04.670 that whole outline into a twenty four page 00:18:04.710 --> 00:18:07.171 comic, man, it's intense, you know? 00:18:07.191 --> 00:18:08.391 Oh yeah. 00:18:08.411 --> 00:18:10.271 But the challenge though, I will tell you, 00:18:10.928 --> 00:18:14.130 it's just so amazing uh to take that 00:18:14.230 --> 00:18:15.611 on and like say man am i gonna 00:18:15.631 --> 00:18:16.932 get this i gotta figure out how i'm 00:18:16.951 --> 00:18:18.313 gonna transition from this page to the 00:18:18.353 --> 00:18:19.593 next am i gonna have like the last 00:18:19.633 --> 00:18:21.934 panel be somebody reaching for a doorknob 00:18:21.974 --> 00:18:23.895 and the next panel the next page when 00:18:23.915 --> 00:18:25.376 they turn over this is a big splash 00:18:25.416 --> 00:18:27.238 page with all this chaos going on or 00:18:27.518 --> 00:18:29.239 how am i going to continue to keep 00:18:29.578 --> 00:18:31.580 flipping the pages that challenge has to 00:18:31.621 --> 00:18:34.461 be there and i take on that challenge 00:18:34.481 --> 00:18:38.084 with still being um grounded by the 00:18:38.285 --> 00:18:38.805 structure 00:18:39.509 --> 00:18:41.890 to make sure that there's a complete story 00:18:41.930 --> 00:18:43.470 told in every comic strip I write, 00:18:43.490 --> 00:18:44.671 every comic that I do, 00:18:45.111 --> 00:18:46.250 so that when a reader reads it, 00:18:46.290 --> 00:18:47.230 they feel fulfilled, 00:18:47.671 --> 00:18:48.632 and then they're like, man, 00:18:49.192 --> 00:18:50.291 now let me see what else I'm going 00:18:50.311 --> 00:18:52.653 to move on to. 00:18:52.893 --> 00:18:54.512 I like it. 00:18:54.673 --> 00:18:57.173 I always kind of explain it as you 00:18:57.213 --> 00:19:01.075 write a story when you're doing a cis 00:19:01.335 --> 00:19:03.375 issue work. 00:19:04.155 --> 00:19:04.776 You know it in your head. 00:19:04.816 --> 00:19:05.655 You know the beginning. 00:19:06.537 --> 00:19:07.257 You know the end. 00:19:08.604 --> 00:19:11.484 how do you get there and in your 00:19:11.505 --> 00:19:13.086 head you know you're going to have extra 00:19:13.226 --> 00:19:16.946 bits in there and it's like that extra 00:19:16.967 --> 00:19:18.367 bit is really good but why do you 00:19:18.407 --> 00:19:20.749 go on a sacrifice to the story to 00:19:20.769 --> 00:19:22.288 get that extra bit in there that you 00:19:22.328 --> 00:19:26.010 want and it is so difficult and i 00:19:26.050 --> 00:19:30.092 know um nick casparo who does the 00:19:30.112 --> 00:19:32.053 vitalyrium series did a phenomenal job 00:19:32.073 --> 00:19:33.472 when he did it too and you have 00:19:33.512 --> 00:19:34.854 done that same thing you've done a 00:19:34.894 --> 00:19:37.535 phenomenal job of translating over which 00:19:38.955 --> 00:19:39.516 Hard to do. 00:19:39.796 --> 00:19:41.376 And it's good to see people are doing 00:19:41.396 --> 00:19:42.297 it because there's certain... 00:19:42.317 --> 00:19:44.897 I always say I've read books that I 00:19:44.938 --> 00:19:46.478 wish would have been a graphic novel 00:19:46.498 --> 00:19:48.159 because the story would have been so much 00:19:48.199 --> 00:19:50.098 better to be with the pictures of. 00:19:50.118 --> 00:19:50.239 Right. 00:19:51.179 --> 00:19:53.279 Because there's such a descriptive writer. 00:19:53.740 --> 00:19:54.921 Like when you read the page, 00:19:54.961 --> 00:19:57.221 you can take yourself into it. 00:19:57.580 --> 00:19:57.701 Right. 00:19:57.760 --> 00:19:59.182 And you see what they see. 00:19:59.201 --> 00:20:01.321 You see the colors, you know, the smells. 00:20:02.482 --> 00:20:03.022 And a lot of... 00:20:04.089 --> 00:20:07.271 fictional writers don't know that to me 00:20:08.112 --> 00:20:10.413 like a comic book does right like a 00:20:10.473 --> 00:20:12.234 comic book has that visual you can 00:20:12.454 --> 00:20:15.116 physically see it you know if they're 00:20:15.156 --> 00:20:16.857 standing at alley it's probably going to 00:20:16.897 --> 00:20:19.199 smell like piss and trash you know what 00:20:19.219 --> 00:20:21.540 i'm saying but there's certain like 00:20:21.861 --> 00:20:24.602 fictional writers who are just so good at 00:20:24.682 --> 00:20:27.104 building a scene and a description of that 00:20:27.584 --> 00:20:29.244 that you feel like you are there 00:20:29.265 --> 00:20:30.026 absolutely 00:20:30.766 --> 00:20:33.606 so anybody who can do it man more 00:20:33.646 --> 00:20:35.366 more power to y'all we need more people 00:20:35.406 --> 00:20:37.688 who are willing to take that on and 00:20:37.728 --> 00:20:39.728 make their story or take that risk of 00:20:39.827 --> 00:20:43.509 making their story into a graphic novel or 00:20:43.568 --> 00:20:47.269 comic book absolutely so let's dive into 00:20:47.349 --> 00:20:51.250 yasuki yeah why first drew you to such 00:20:51.270 --> 00:20:54.231 a historical figure who many still believe 00:20:54.491 --> 00:20:56.972 is not really it was made up right 00:20:57.700 --> 00:20:58.119 Um, it was, 00:20:58.359 --> 00:20:59.560 it was interesting cause I was just on 00:20:59.580 --> 00:21:00.361 the internet one day, 00:21:00.401 --> 00:21:01.261 just kind of scrolling. 00:21:01.281 --> 00:21:02.903 And I saw this image of this black 00:21:02.942 --> 00:21:04.123 man and samurai armor. 00:21:04.163 --> 00:21:05.243 I'm like, Oh, what is this? 00:21:05.864 --> 00:21:06.824 And I clicked on, I was like, Oh, 00:21:06.844 --> 00:21:08.105 it's probably just some made up picture, 00:21:08.125 --> 00:21:08.605 whatever, you know, 00:21:08.625 --> 00:21:09.445 I kept it going and I just, 00:21:10.566 --> 00:21:12.826 you know, another day, another day, 00:21:12.846 --> 00:21:13.166 another day, 00:21:13.207 --> 00:21:14.288 I get back on the internet again. 00:21:14.307 --> 00:21:15.828 And then all of a sudden another image 00:21:15.868 --> 00:21:17.568 pops up cause I'm in the algorithm, 00:21:17.608 --> 00:21:17.869 you know? 00:21:17.890 --> 00:21:18.670 Oh yeah. 00:21:19.170 --> 00:21:19.829 Oh, what is this? 00:21:19.869 --> 00:21:20.090 You know? 00:21:20.111 --> 00:21:20.330 And then, 00:21:20.391 --> 00:21:21.971 so one of the pictures that caught me 00:21:21.990 --> 00:21:24.833 was the image that was another version of 00:21:24.893 --> 00:21:25.133 him. 00:21:25.691 --> 00:21:27.472 and he was standing with an Asian woman 00:21:27.653 --> 00:21:29.153 and then they had a mixed child and 00:21:29.173 --> 00:21:30.835 I was like okay hold on where are 00:21:30.855 --> 00:21:32.176 they going with this you know what's the 00:21:32.217 --> 00:21:34.258 story behind it so I started doing some 00:21:34.298 --> 00:21:36.140 research on everything as much as I could 00:21:36.519 --> 00:21:41.545 about Yasuki and as much as I found 00:21:41.585 --> 00:21:43.886 that was historical relevance with him and 00:21:43.926 --> 00:21:45.847 Lord Nobunaga and the wars and all that 00:21:45.887 --> 00:21:47.589 stuff the more questions I had well 00:21:48.136 --> 00:21:49.057 How did he get from here then? 00:21:49.336 --> 00:21:52.538 And why would he elevate this slave to 00:21:52.577 --> 00:21:53.898 the rank of a samurai? 00:21:53.939 --> 00:21:55.378 And how come there's nobody else who's 00:21:55.439 --> 00:21:56.138 ever done that before? 00:21:56.499 --> 00:21:57.359 I had all these questions. 00:21:57.400 --> 00:21:59.440 So I was like, you know, 00:21:59.460 --> 00:22:01.121 this really has the makings of a fantastic 00:22:01.141 --> 00:22:01.381 story. 00:22:01.401 --> 00:22:02.181 Now mind you, 00:22:03.401 --> 00:22:05.642 when I was working on this last year 00:22:05.662 --> 00:22:06.422 with the outline, 00:22:06.442 --> 00:22:08.182 and I started thinking in my mind, 00:22:08.241 --> 00:22:09.722 I knew it was a duology because the 00:22:09.762 --> 00:22:12.604 way that the story of Yusuke ends, 00:22:13.084 --> 00:22:15.423 we don't know his ending. 00:22:15.443 --> 00:22:16.305 We don't know if he dies. 00:22:16.325 --> 00:22:17.525 We don't know what happens to him. 00:22:17.994 --> 00:22:19.715 historically, and I said, 00:22:19.736 --> 00:22:21.556 this will really give me an amazing 00:22:21.596 --> 00:22:24.458 opportunity to put a graphic novel with 00:22:24.958 --> 00:22:25.198 this. 00:22:25.218 --> 00:22:27.939 Still a hybrid publishing mentality, 00:22:28.298 --> 00:22:29.920 and I can go a little wild with 00:22:29.960 --> 00:22:33.320 some fantasy here because I want to do 00:22:33.340 --> 00:22:33.580 that. 00:22:34.121 --> 00:22:37.202 And so I had gotten through looking at 00:22:37.923 --> 00:22:39.503 the story Shogun. 00:22:39.723 --> 00:22:40.963 I don't know if you watch Shogun. 00:22:40.983 --> 00:22:44.645 Do you remember how that nice, slow burn, 00:22:45.326 --> 00:22:46.185 peaky moment, 00:22:46.226 --> 00:22:47.686 and then it comes back down again? 00:22:48.346 --> 00:22:50.008 you just felt like you were transformed 00:22:50.028 --> 00:22:53.891 you were taken into judo japan and the 00:22:53.951 --> 00:22:55.471 world that was going on and everything 00:22:55.491 --> 00:22:57.554 just felt real and authentic and genuine 00:22:58.013 --> 00:23:00.036 and i was like this is the patient 00:23:00.056 --> 00:23:02.357 that i want with uh yusuki dead man 00:23:02.377 --> 00:23:03.778 walking this is this is how i want 00:23:03.798 --> 00:23:05.039 to do this i'm so happy this came 00:23:05.101 --> 00:23:06.801 out because i want to be grounded and 00:23:06.862 --> 00:23:10.625 i wanted to just dive into the world 00:23:10.785 --> 00:23:13.548 that i knew of and write a fictional 00:23:13.587 --> 00:23:13.827 prose 00:23:17.721 --> 00:23:18.923 So I did all the research. 00:23:18.982 --> 00:23:21.184 I knew the geography of the land. 00:23:21.605 --> 00:23:24.166 I knew the seasons of the land. 00:23:24.227 --> 00:23:25.708 I knew how long the winters were. 00:23:26.067 --> 00:23:26.808 I knew the religion. 00:23:26.868 --> 00:23:28.470 I knew the factions, 00:23:28.769 --> 00:23:30.892 the different warring factions that were 00:23:30.912 --> 00:23:32.313 fighting against Lord Nobunaga, 00:23:32.333 --> 00:23:34.694 his mission to unify Japan. 00:23:35.295 --> 00:23:36.276 I knew all that stuff. 00:23:36.476 --> 00:23:37.196 I knew about the ninjas, 00:23:37.477 --> 00:23:39.057 the Buddhist monks, all of that. 00:23:39.798 --> 00:23:41.619 And so it was a matter of, honestly, 00:23:41.640 --> 00:23:43.862 just as I'm writing my fictional story, 00:23:44.241 --> 00:23:45.242 I'm just basically coming in, 00:23:45.303 --> 00:23:46.644 I'm sprinkling in all these facts. 00:23:48.221 --> 00:23:48.462 Yeah. 00:23:48.482 --> 00:23:49.323 So I always challenge people. 00:23:49.343 --> 00:23:49.403 Hey, 00:23:49.423 --> 00:23:52.124 if you read your Suki Dead Man Walking, 00:23:52.144 --> 00:23:54.065 I challenge you to tell me what's real 00:23:54.125 --> 00:23:55.786 and what's fake because I wanted it to 00:23:55.846 --> 00:23:56.526 just flow. 00:23:56.566 --> 00:23:58.987 So that's what I really enjoyed about it 00:23:59.288 --> 00:24:01.248 is you can't tell where it's real. 00:24:01.328 --> 00:24:03.288 Well, you can in the beginning. 00:24:04.029 --> 00:24:06.770 But after like the like the dream 00:24:06.790 --> 00:24:07.250 sequence, 00:24:07.310 --> 00:24:08.311 I guess I just want to want to 00:24:08.352 --> 00:24:08.692 call it. 00:24:09.451 --> 00:24:09.571 Yeah. 00:24:09.592 --> 00:24:12.073 You it really was the picture clears your 00:24:12.093 --> 00:24:12.413 life. 00:24:12.453 --> 00:24:13.074 Yeah. 00:24:13.836 --> 00:24:15.178 I don't know what's real and what's not 00:24:15.238 --> 00:24:15.458 real. 00:24:15.478 --> 00:24:18.220 I'm okay with that because it's such a 00:24:18.259 --> 00:24:18.941 good journey. 00:24:19.320 --> 00:24:20.501 And I was telling you before we went 00:24:20.541 --> 00:24:23.423 live is this how I do these things 00:24:23.463 --> 00:24:25.306 is how I conduct interviews is I take 00:24:25.326 --> 00:24:27.227 you on a journey through the person's 00:24:27.307 --> 00:24:27.646 life. 00:24:28.448 --> 00:24:30.670 And you did that with Yasuki and it 00:24:30.690 --> 00:24:31.650 was a phenomenal, 00:24:31.690 --> 00:24:34.573 phenomenal job at it because you really, 00:24:34.593 --> 00:24:35.692 because you can sit there, 00:24:36.314 --> 00:24:37.355 you mentioned places, 00:24:37.654 --> 00:24:39.135 you Google it and you're like, oh shit, 00:24:39.175 --> 00:24:40.436 that's a real place, you know? 00:24:41.798 --> 00:24:43.239 Because I'm the type of guy who will 00:24:43.499 --> 00:24:44.819 like, yeah, it's a ten minute read, 00:24:44.839 --> 00:24:46.161 but I'm going to take thirty minutes to 00:24:46.181 --> 00:24:47.643 read it because I'm stopping to Google 00:24:47.663 --> 00:24:48.583 stuff along the way. 00:24:49.203 --> 00:24:50.545 I mean, it's not a ten minute read. 00:24:51.105 --> 00:24:52.606 You want to take your time and read 00:24:52.626 --> 00:24:53.386 it and savor it. 00:24:53.406 --> 00:24:53.527 Right. 00:24:54.127 --> 00:24:56.108 It's marinating it because it's really 00:24:56.148 --> 00:24:56.368 good. 00:24:57.210 --> 00:24:58.651 But it's always fun. 00:24:59.731 --> 00:25:02.634 I've always said I love fiction with a 00:25:02.713 --> 00:25:05.777 little bit of the real sprinkled in. 00:25:06.757 --> 00:25:08.377 I see a fictional town in a book 00:25:08.398 --> 00:25:09.720 and I Google that town and it's a 00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:11.060 real town in a real place. 00:25:11.280 --> 00:25:12.402 And it's the same one they're talking 00:25:12.422 --> 00:25:14.182 about in the book because he's describing 00:25:14.202 --> 00:25:15.223 the gas station. 00:25:16.023 --> 00:25:17.464 The story is a hundred percent fictional, 00:25:17.484 --> 00:25:18.486 but the place is real. 00:25:19.166 --> 00:25:21.307 It kind of adds that depth to the 00:25:21.407 --> 00:25:22.788 fiction that you're looking for. 00:25:22.828 --> 00:25:24.631 And it's still fun to read fiction. 00:25:25.660 --> 00:25:27.961 with that sprinkling of a real world in 00:25:28.021 --> 00:25:28.142 it. 00:25:28.583 --> 00:25:30.704 So it's such an impeccable job at doing 00:25:30.724 --> 00:25:31.224 that, dude. 00:25:32.006 --> 00:25:33.666 So mad props on that. 00:25:35.729 --> 00:25:36.730 And I was going to ask you about 00:25:36.769 --> 00:25:37.711 your research rabbit hole, 00:25:37.730 --> 00:25:38.791 but you answered that one. 00:25:39.051 --> 00:25:40.413 And it's amazing. 00:25:40.473 --> 00:25:42.055 I love finding little things like that to 00:25:42.075 --> 00:25:43.896 just, you just keep on going. 00:25:44.436 --> 00:25:44.737 That's it. 00:25:44.777 --> 00:25:45.038 You know, 00:25:45.057 --> 00:25:46.398 it's like the next day and you're like, 00:25:48.286 --> 00:25:49.446 Yeah, I went down that rabbit hole. 00:25:49.507 --> 00:25:50.626 I guess I did that. 00:25:52.028 --> 00:25:52.949 So I got to ask you, though, 00:25:52.969 --> 00:25:54.609 what was what were you most surprised 00:25:54.670 --> 00:25:59.011 about with his real history? 00:25:59.173 --> 00:26:04.154 The journey from the Sudan over to Japan, 00:26:04.655 --> 00:26:08.057 just really just honestly, 00:26:08.178 --> 00:26:11.480 I have a whole fascination for Japanese 00:26:11.500 --> 00:26:12.901 culture anyway, really in general. 00:26:14.501 --> 00:26:14.942 And so. 00:26:15.685 --> 00:26:17.967 As I went and I found these things 00:26:18.186 --> 00:26:20.748 out, Lord Nobunaga became a really, 00:26:20.788 --> 00:26:22.508 really interesting character to me, 00:26:23.107 --> 00:26:24.949 which is why if you remember reading, 00:26:24.969 --> 00:26:26.329 the first three chapters are really about 00:26:26.369 --> 00:26:26.609 him. 00:26:27.329 --> 00:26:28.109 Yeah. 00:26:28.130 --> 00:26:29.210 Because I didn't want to, 00:26:29.371 --> 00:26:30.431 even though it's Yasuki's book, 00:26:30.730 --> 00:26:32.131 I knew that there were a bunch of 00:26:32.211 --> 00:26:33.612 tropes that I was playing with in this 00:26:33.672 --> 00:26:33.852 book. 00:26:33.892 --> 00:26:35.112 I had the fish out of water, 00:26:35.152 --> 00:26:36.692 with Yasuki being on the coast and 00:26:36.712 --> 00:26:37.133 everything. 00:26:37.692 --> 00:26:39.693 I had the odd couple with him pairing 00:26:39.753 --> 00:26:41.114 with Lord Nobunaga, 00:26:41.134 --> 00:26:42.755 because who would put them together? 00:26:43.737 --> 00:26:45.397 I had the father and son dynamic going 00:26:45.458 --> 00:26:45.979 on, all those things. 00:26:45.999 --> 00:26:47.819 So there was a lot of family enrichment 00:26:47.839 --> 00:26:48.440 in here too. 00:26:48.859 --> 00:26:51.241 And so I didn't want to just talk 00:26:51.261 --> 00:26:53.022 about Yusuke and then, oh yeah, 00:26:53.042 --> 00:26:54.663 he meets Lord Nobunaga and then this 00:26:54.703 --> 00:26:55.084 happens. 00:26:55.224 --> 00:26:57.506 I wanted people to understand the 00:26:57.665 --> 00:26:59.446 complexity of Lord Nobunaga, 00:26:59.928 --> 00:27:00.887 how he started out, 00:27:01.568 --> 00:27:02.769 how he became who he was. 00:27:02.890 --> 00:27:04.150 And then when they meet, 00:27:04.250 --> 00:27:05.691 because you're getting the history of 00:27:05.750 --> 00:27:07.653 Yusuke, I don't have to catch you up. 00:27:08.272 --> 00:27:09.753 And everything just plays off very 00:27:09.814 --> 00:27:10.213 naturally, 00:27:10.233 --> 00:27:11.954 how they play off of each other and 00:27:11.974 --> 00:27:12.715 how they're kind of both, 00:27:13.448 --> 00:27:15.569 of waiting and checking each other for a 00:27:15.589 --> 00:27:16.869 little bit just to see if this is 00:27:16.910 --> 00:27:19.551 even worth you know investing in you know 00:27:19.592 --> 00:27:22.193 uh this relationship and so when all that 00:27:22.253 --> 00:27:23.634 when they do start to click and things 00:27:23.694 --> 00:27:27.376 happen people have this nice wealth of 00:27:27.416 --> 00:27:30.278 information on both characters and and 00:27:30.318 --> 00:27:33.401 their you their unification uh feels very 00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:35.202 organic at that point because you can you 00:27:35.222 --> 00:27:36.844 have a good understanding of both of them 00:27:37.163 --> 00:27:38.464 so i want to make sure so i 00:27:38.484 --> 00:27:40.226 think laura noble nova's research is what 00:27:40.266 --> 00:27:41.946 really kind of caught me the most because 00:27:41.987 --> 00:27:43.127 there was a lot of that 00:27:43.685 --> 00:27:44.946 versus Yusuke, 00:27:44.967 --> 00:27:46.387 where I just had to kind of make 00:27:46.407 --> 00:27:47.409 the assumption that I go, well, 00:27:47.429 --> 00:27:48.490 this is how I'm going to tie this 00:27:48.569 --> 00:27:48.630 in, 00:27:48.670 --> 00:27:50.010 this is how I'm going to tie this 00:27:50.030 --> 00:27:50.131 in. 00:27:50.491 --> 00:27:52.212 As you talk about historical fiction, yes, 00:27:52.773 --> 00:27:55.435 those real things are fascinating, 00:27:55.996 --> 00:27:58.959 but I had such a good time in 00:27:59.058 --> 00:28:02.020 creating this fictional narrative that 00:28:02.301 --> 00:28:03.782 pushed through all that. 00:28:03.823 --> 00:28:03.962 I mean, 00:28:04.002 --> 00:28:05.003 that's why it's written like with the 00:28:05.044 --> 00:28:06.265 dates and the real time, 00:28:06.305 --> 00:28:08.207 so there's time stamps in there to kind 00:28:08.227 --> 00:28:10.008 of show you, hey, this is this war, 00:28:10.048 --> 00:28:10.848 this is what happened here, 00:28:10.929 --> 00:28:11.028 and 00:28:11.569 --> 00:28:13.411 I was just playing around with the pencil, 00:28:13.451 --> 00:28:15.192 just kind of drawing it all up, man. 00:28:15.252 --> 00:28:17.213 It was a fantastic experience. 00:28:17.775 --> 00:28:19.496 I'm so blessed to be able to do 00:28:19.536 --> 00:28:20.997 something like that with a book that has 00:28:21.017 --> 00:28:23.799 been so well received, like from you. 00:28:23.859 --> 00:28:26.622 And Kirk's Review gave us the Get It 00:28:26.721 --> 00:28:27.402 Accolade, 00:28:27.843 --> 00:28:30.045 and they said it's an epic historical 00:28:30.065 --> 00:28:30.924 fiction read. 00:28:32.066 --> 00:28:34.208 Literary Titan gave it five stars, 00:28:34.288 --> 00:28:36.028 and Book of the Month from Black History 00:28:36.068 --> 00:28:38.030 Month, which is just an honor for me. 00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:40.580 And also Rita's Favorite gave it five 00:28:40.601 --> 00:28:40.881 stars. 00:28:40.901 --> 00:28:42.240 So people are enjoying it. 00:28:42.260 --> 00:28:44.082 And I feel like the intentionality and the 00:28:44.162 --> 00:28:45.041 effort behind it, 00:28:45.461 --> 00:28:46.721 which was a huge effort to get it 00:28:46.801 --> 00:28:47.942 all done before the end of the year 00:28:47.962 --> 00:28:49.423 and have it released in February, 00:28:50.242 --> 00:28:50.884 it paid off. 00:28:50.903 --> 00:28:53.144 So I'm grateful. 00:28:53.163 --> 00:28:53.364 Yeah. 00:28:53.544 --> 00:28:54.484 No, it's really cool. 00:28:54.904 --> 00:28:57.625 So what did you think about him showing 00:28:57.665 --> 00:28:59.125 up in a video game recently? 00:29:00.204 --> 00:29:01.105 It was crazy because, again, 00:29:01.205 --> 00:29:02.606 I'm working on this stuff, 00:29:02.747 --> 00:29:04.607 and all of a sudden I hear Eddie 00:29:04.627 --> 00:29:05.489 Pops up in a video game. 00:29:05.528 --> 00:29:07.410 And before I had even written it, 00:29:08.510 --> 00:29:09.770 I knew there were some things out there. 00:29:09.790 --> 00:29:10.872 There was an anime. 00:29:12.232 --> 00:29:16.655 There was some biographical novels out 00:29:16.675 --> 00:29:16.776 there, 00:29:16.796 --> 00:29:18.237 but nothing really historical fiction. 00:29:18.717 --> 00:29:19.518 And I said, well, let me, oh, 00:29:19.538 --> 00:29:20.077 this is cool. 00:29:20.398 --> 00:29:20.878 We got anime, 00:29:20.919 --> 00:29:21.699 and I sat down with anime, 00:29:21.759 --> 00:29:22.960 and I was not happy with it. 00:29:23.961 --> 00:29:26.001 Because, again, I'm a person of story. 00:29:26.423 --> 00:29:28.064 Where you could have gotten me years ago 00:29:28.084 --> 00:29:28.364 with just 00:29:28.771 --> 00:29:30.593 explosions cool stuff fighting and all 00:29:30.613 --> 00:29:31.973 that that used to be my jam but 00:29:32.034 --> 00:29:34.174 now i'm so story driven i'm like no 00:29:34.255 --> 00:29:35.634 i need a story i need a backstory 00:29:35.674 --> 00:29:37.036 i need to know about these guys it's 00:29:37.056 --> 00:29:39.076 not just enough so for me i just 00:29:39.096 --> 00:29:41.458 wasn't satisfied with it and so when the 00:29:41.557 --> 00:29:43.538 when the video game came out i was 00:29:43.558 --> 00:29:45.660 like oh that's there let me finish what 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:47.221 i'm doing first because i don't want to 00:29:47.240 --> 00:29:49.721 be tainted anything outside of what i was 00:29:49.761 --> 00:29:50.942 doing and i definitely don't want to be 00:29:51.383 --> 00:29:54.864 drawn because i'm creating the story going 00:29:55.045 --> 00:29:57.546 to some respect so uh now that i'm 00:29:57.566 --> 00:29:58.046 done with it 00:29:58.547 --> 00:29:59.887 and everything settles down with this 00:29:59.928 --> 00:30:01.410 whole press junket that I'm on, 00:30:01.990 --> 00:30:03.751 I'll get a chance to probably finally play 00:30:04.011 --> 00:30:04.112 it. 00:30:04.132 --> 00:30:04.873 My friend plays it, 00:30:04.893 --> 00:30:06.875 but he said that he uses the female 00:30:06.914 --> 00:30:08.636 character in Assassin's Creed, 00:30:08.916 --> 00:30:09.636 and he loves it. 00:30:10.077 --> 00:30:12.059 He hasn't even touched the Yusufi side of 00:30:12.119 --> 00:30:12.380 it yet. 00:30:12.400 --> 00:30:13.161 Yeah, 00:30:13.961 --> 00:30:16.042 and Assassin's Creed is one of those games 00:30:16.104 --> 00:30:17.644 where I'll... 00:30:18.907 --> 00:30:19.867 I'm cheap, all right? 00:30:20.169 --> 00:30:21.489 I'll wait for it to go on sale, 00:30:21.608 --> 00:30:23.269 and then I'll download it. 00:30:23.349 --> 00:30:24.790 Or I'll catch it when it's free, 00:30:25.151 --> 00:30:26.211 and then I'll download it. 00:30:26.971 --> 00:30:28.632 But that's all I'm waiting for is, like, 00:30:28.672 --> 00:30:29.512 I want to play it, 00:30:29.813 --> 00:30:30.972 but I also didn't want to drop 00:30:31.012 --> 00:30:32.614 seventy-five bucks on it at the same time. 00:30:32.653 --> 00:30:34.115 That's so ridiculous now with prices of 00:30:34.255 --> 00:30:34.855 games, man. 00:30:35.035 --> 00:30:37.115 I'm always on the, when is it dropping? 00:30:37.215 --> 00:30:38.336 Okay, cool, boom, let me get it. 00:30:38.356 --> 00:30:39.196 Because I'm not in a rush. 00:30:39.396 --> 00:30:40.817 I've got a ton of games to play. 00:30:40.837 --> 00:30:41.557 Trust me, I don't. 00:30:41.852 --> 00:30:44.974 I don't have a shortage of things to 00:30:44.994 --> 00:30:46.135 do with a video game and that I 00:30:46.355 --> 00:30:48.218 have to go pay seventy dollars now for 00:30:48.238 --> 00:30:48.577 a brand new game. 00:30:48.657 --> 00:30:49.659 I'm the type of person also, 00:30:49.699 --> 00:30:50.700 if I do day one, 00:30:50.740 --> 00:30:52.101 I'm getting that day one drop. 00:30:52.141 --> 00:30:53.481 I'm not just going to drop the sixty 00:30:53.501 --> 00:30:53.782 bucks. 00:30:53.803 --> 00:30:55.523 I'm going to get the one hundred and 00:30:55.564 --> 00:30:58.507 twenty dollars with all the fancy stuff. 00:30:58.527 --> 00:30:59.788 So I just try to avoid it. 00:30:59.807 --> 00:30:59.887 Yeah. 00:31:01.288 --> 00:31:02.490 I'll get you when it goes on sale. 00:31:02.509 --> 00:31:04.172 Like I want it, but I'll wait. 00:31:04.571 --> 00:31:05.272 I can wait a little bit. 00:31:05.292 --> 00:31:05.593 Yeah. 00:31:06.173 --> 00:31:06.794 But yeah. 00:31:09.332 --> 00:31:10.732 So I know we started off in the 00:31:10.772 --> 00:31:11.053 beginning. 00:31:11.093 --> 00:31:12.173 We talked about it a little bit. 00:31:12.212 --> 00:31:13.213 You started with prose, 00:31:13.733 --> 00:31:14.954 moved to graphic novels, 00:31:15.954 --> 00:31:17.316 and you kind of gave the background on 00:31:17.415 --> 00:31:18.936 why y'all expanded on that. 00:31:19.497 --> 00:31:21.397 And was that like, 00:31:21.538 --> 00:31:24.099 I don't want to say a shock to 00:31:24.140 --> 00:31:26.320 you or like, how did like, 00:31:26.361 --> 00:31:27.560 cause you're at a convention, 00:31:27.601 --> 00:31:29.781 I'm guessing when that happened, like, 00:31:29.821 --> 00:31:30.383 how did that, 00:31:30.423 --> 00:31:31.623 like what went through your mind when 00:31:31.643 --> 00:31:32.124 you're like, oh, 00:31:32.144 --> 00:31:33.904 I'd rather read a graphic novel than a 00:31:34.005 --> 00:31:34.365 book. 00:31:34.664 --> 00:31:36.365 Like what, how that hits you? 00:31:36.425 --> 00:31:36.685 Like. 00:31:38.222 --> 00:31:40.743 Well, it wasn't odd to me because, again, 00:31:40.763 --> 00:31:40.983 you know, 00:31:41.003 --> 00:31:42.924 you always when you're trying to sell 00:31:43.224 --> 00:31:45.266 books, you need to know your audience. 00:31:45.286 --> 00:31:46.366 You need to know where you are. 00:31:46.446 --> 00:31:47.007 You know what I mean? 00:31:47.047 --> 00:31:48.728 And so obviously, you know, 00:31:48.807 --> 00:31:51.269 like I can go to like Barnes and 00:31:51.288 --> 00:31:53.609 Noble and do a book signing and I 00:31:53.630 --> 00:31:55.750 can sell like ten books in fifteen 00:31:55.790 --> 00:31:56.131 minutes. 00:31:57.290 --> 00:31:58.652 You know what I mean? 00:31:58.711 --> 00:32:01.472 Because I'm around readers. 00:32:02.386 --> 00:32:03.107 At a convention, 00:32:03.387 --> 00:32:04.628 I'm there with people who are just like 00:32:04.669 --> 00:32:05.128 fans. 00:32:05.148 --> 00:32:06.430 You know, they're fans of genres. 00:32:06.450 --> 00:32:07.971 They're fanboys of whatever they like. 00:32:08.031 --> 00:32:10.192 And so if you get some people who 00:32:10.232 --> 00:32:11.054 like superhero stuff, 00:32:11.074 --> 00:32:12.454 they might come over and pick up issues 00:32:12.494 --> 00:32:12.894 of the table. 00:32:12.914 --> 00:32:13.836 They like science fiction. 00:32:13.855 --> 00:32:15.517 They'll pick up my other stuff, you know? 00:32:15.597 --> 00:32:17.999 And so it doesn't shock me that they're 00:32:18.058 --> 00:32:18.740 like, hey, you know, 00:32:18.819 --> 00:32:20.161 I really don't have time to read. 00:32:20.280 --> 00:32:21.481 So I usually read like a comic or 00:32:21.521 --> 00:32:21.982 graphic novel. 00:32:22.002 --> 00:32:23.163 And some people are just like, 00:32:23.182 --> 00:32:24.704 they're hardcore readers of novels. 00:32:25.065 --> 00:32:26.445 I haven't read a comic since I was 00:32:26.486 --> 00:32:26.905 a kid. 00:32:27.426 --> 00:32:28.708 But when people come by... 00:32:29.416 --> 00:32:30.938 you have to talk to everybody because you 00:32:31.018 --> 00:32:32.718 never know who will do what. 00:32:32.738 --> 00:32:34.919 I've had older women come by and I 00:32:34.939 --> 00:32:36.180 say, hey, what do you like to read? 00:32:36.519 --> 00:32:37.839 Oh, I don't read anything like that, 00:32:37.859 --> 00:32:38.080 honey. 00:32:38.280 --> 00:32:39.201 But what is it that you have? 00:32:39.240 --> 00:32:40.561 My grandson may like it. 00:32:41.602 --> 00:32:42.781 And you tell them a story and they 00:32:42.801 --> 00:32:43.222 pick it up. 00:32:43.242 --> 00:32:45.763 So you have to know your audience and 00:32:45.804 --> 00:32:47.084 what they like and what they're going to 00:32:47.124 --> 00:32:47.304 read. 00:32:47.344 --> 00:32:49.724 So I respected the fact that there are 00:32:49.744 --> 00:32:51.625 people out there who really just want to 00:32:51.645 --> 00:32:52.865 read comics and graphic novels. 00:32:52.885 --> 00:32:53.606 I was like, hey, 00:32:54.047 --> 00:32:56.968 if it's no big effort other than having 00:32:56.988 --> 00:32:58.409 the money to pay the artist to do 00:32:58.429 --> 00:32:59.108 a great job, 00:33:00.153 --> 00:33:04.679 let's have fun and it keeps me energized 00:33:05.078 --> 00:33:06.902 about being a writer so I can have 00:33:06.942 --> 00:33:08.083 different ways of I'm writing, 00:33:08.103 --> 00:33:09.223 I'm bouncing back and forth. 00:33:09.525 --> 00:33:10.365 I'm writing, you know, 00:33:10.821 --> 00:33:12.782 I'll do five pages of a script in 00:33:12.923 --> 00:33:15.003 one evening when I might do a whole 00:33:15.044 --> 00:33:16.824 chapter in a novel one evening. 00:33:16.943 --> 00:33:19.204 My brain's always jumping. 00:33:19.224 --> 00:33:20.846 It's never fed. 00:33:20.885 --> 00:33:21.546 It's never full. 00:33:21.645 --> 00:33:24.247 It's always good. 00:33:24.267 --> 00:33:25.386 And that's the way it should be. 00:33:25.448 --> 00:33:28.348 You keep yourself fresh like that. 00:33:28.969 --> 00:33:30.429 And that's what I love about what I 00:33:30.469 --> 00:33:33.530 do is I get somebody new every other 00:33:33.570 --> 00:33:34.391 couple of days. 00:33:34.431 --> 00:33:36.491 I'm learning about somebody new. 00:33:37.990 --> 00:33:39.871 I'm reading something new from them. 00:33:40.391 --> 00:33:41.771 And, you know, I've made, you know, 00:33:41.811 --> 00:33:44.032 lifelong friends, I hope, from doing this. 00:33:44.093 --> 00:33:46.193 And it's always fun to just have something 00:33:46.233 --> 00:33:49.316 fresh and new and different and have a 00:33:49.375 --> 00:33:51.436 different personality, a different person, 00:33:51.477 --> 00:33:53.917 a different view on the show and get 00:33:54.117 --> 00:33:55.939 all these different perspectives about 00:33:57.440 --> 00:33:58.440 multiple business. 00:33:58.640 --> 00:34:02.041 Like you have a media production company, 00:34:02.382 --> 00:34:03.702 which is really freaking cool. 00:34:03.722 --> 00:34:04.303 Yeah. 00:34:05.011 --> 00:34:07.353 and um so it's really cool to get 00:34:07.512 --> 00:34:09.572 different flavors of different things 00:34:09.853 --> 00:34:12.373 every week and i it's one of my 00:34:12.414 --> 00:34:14.974 big things i push too is like i 00:34:15.014 --> 00:34:18.014 get all these great people on the podcast 00:34:18.074 --> 00:34:21.496 who walk different lines all within the 00:34:21.556 --> 00:34:25.036 same thing but different touches of it and 00:34:25.077 --> 00:34:26.237 it's so cool to be able to do 00:34:26.277 --> 00:34:28.038 this yeah so 00:34:29.402 --> 00:34:31.663 I think the guy, I think the actor, 00:34:31.822 --> 00:34:34.244 Eric Dane, I think he just- Yeah, 00:34:34.264 --> 00:34:35.063 he just passed away. 00:34:35.903 --> 00:34:37.603 And he had this last word thing on 00:34:37.744 --> 00:34:38.164 Netflix. 00:34:38.264 --> 00:34:40.005 And I love what he said when he 00:34:40.045 --> 00:34:41.824 said, he told his girls, 00:34:41.885 --> 00:34:43.304 he wants his girls to fall in love. 00:34:43.385 --> 00:34:44.626 Not necessarily with a person, 00:34:44.646 --> 00:34:45.585 but with something. 00:34:46.266 --> 00:34:46.585 Yeah. 00:34:46.846 --> 00:34:48.045 Because when you really fall in love with 00:34:48.065 --> 00:34:48.786 it, and I know for me, 00:34:49.186 --> 00:34:51.067 I am in love with story. 00:34:51.367 --> 00:34:54.027 I just, story, man, story is my thing. 00:34:54.067 --> 00:34:56.527 Every time I write, 00:34:56.588 --> 00:34:57.668 I tell people all the time, I said, 00:34:58.123 --> 00:34:59.744 My next book that I write has to 00:34:59.784 --> 00:35:00.945 be my next favorite book. 00:35:01.344 --> 00:35:02.425 You know what I mean? 00:35:02.445 --> 00:35:03.106 And I'll go back through, 00:35:03.126 --> 00:35:03.887 after I write a book, 00:35:03.927 --> 00:35:04.827 I'll go back to my outline. 00:35:04.847 --> 00:35:05.728 If I look at my outline, I'm like, 00:35:05.748 --> 00:35:06.347 oh my God, 00:35:06.387 --> 00:35:07.349 I forgot to put that in there, man. 00:35:07.369 --> 00:35:08.469 That was really dope, you know? 00:35:08.590 --> 00:35:11.811 And so I was grateful that the entire 00:35:11.831 --> 00:35:14.393 duology of Yusuke became my next favorite 00:35:14.474 --> 00:35:16.614 project that I worked on because, heck, 00:35:16.655 --> 00:35:17.556 I'm not done with Broken. 00:35:17.596 --> 00:35:18.596 I'm gonna have to start writing on 00:35:18.635 --> 00:35:19.976 Broken's next book soon. 00:35:20.297 --> 00:35:21.358 I'm not done with Still Rain. 00:35:21.378 --> 00:35:22.858 We're putting out his next issue, too, 00:35:22.898 --> 00:35:24.340 of his comic that's already completed 00:35:24.400 --> 00:35:25.181 later on this year. 00:35:25.561 --> 00:35:27.061 And then next year, it's gonna expand 00:35:27.489 --> 00:35:29.369 back into the Star-Cross saga with more 00:35:29.409 --> 00:35:29.610 books. 00:35:29.650 --> 00:35:31.431 So I'm never fully out of them. 00:35:31.472 --> 00:35:32.012 And of course, 00:35:32.032 --> 00:35:33.313 there's always going to be something else 00:35:33.333 --> 00:35:34.974 that I'm releasing for the Kate series. 00:35:35.014 --> 00:35:36.596 So I move back and forth. 00:35:36.615 --> 00:35:37.936 But my challenge is, Braxton, 00:35:38.436 --> 00:35:40.818 don't be done until this is the dopest 00:35:40.838 --> 00:35:42.840 version of what you want to put forward. 00:35:43.041 --> 00:35:44.101 So when I speak, 00:35:44.621 --> 00:35:45.742 I speak out of passion. 00:35:46.043 --> 00:35:47.563 I speak out of confidence that I'm giving 00:35:47.583 --> 00:35:48.824 somebody something that I think they're 00:35:48.844 --> 00:35:50.065 going to fall in love with, too. 00:35:50.487 --> 00:35:51.487 And I know they're going to walk away. 00:35:51.507 --> 00:35:52.088 I'll be like, oh, 00:35:52.108 --> 00:35:52.728 you're going to love that. 00:35:52.748 --> 00:35:53.668 I just tell them, when he passes, oh, 00:35:54.168 --> 00:35:55.130 you quit until you get into that. 00:35:55.170 --> 00:35:55.670 You're in this. 00:35:55.751 --> 00:35:56.231 You're in this. 00:35:57.485 --> 00:35:58.146 You're going to love it. 00:35:58.266 --> 00:36:00.949 I'm not even worried about it. 00:36:00.969 --> 00:36:01.989 I feel good about it. 00:36:02.009 --> 00:36:03.570 How did you manage to balance the 00:36:03.610 --> 00:36:06.731 historical authenticity of Yasuki with 00:36:06.771 --> 00:36:09.414 that mythic fantasy that this book gives 00:36:09.434 --> 00:36:09.693 you? 00:36:10.335 --> 00:36:11.054 It's a tough line. 00:36:11.114 --> 00:36:12.516 It can either flow either way, 00:36:12.536 --> 00:36:14.637 but you managed to balance both of those 00:36:14.657 --> 00:36:15.498 within each other. 00:36:16.818 --> 00:36:19.300 It just happened naturally, man. 00:36:19.400 --> 00:36:20.380 Like I said, 00:36:21.201 --> 00:36:25.063 I came up with my own solo outline 00:36:25.103 --> 00:36:25.164 of 00:36:26.019 --> 00:36:27.581 how I wanted to take this hero story, 00:36:27.641 --> 00:36:29.961 what is his, what's his theme, 00:36:29.981 --> 00:36:30.882 what's his desire, 00:36:31.262 --> 00:36:32.664 what's the inciting incident that takes 00:36:32.684 --> 00:36:33.483 him on the journey, 00:36:33.965 --> 00:36:36.385 what is the decision that he determines to 00:36:36.585 --> 00:36:38.387 go on the journey, and then I move. 00:36:38.827 --> 00:36:41.128 And then so the key to what I 00:36:41.188 --> 00:36:44.329 did was I wanted to make Fudo Japan 00:36:44.369 --> 00:36:47.152 in that time another character. 00:36:47.391 --> 00:36:48.632 When you come out world building, 00:36:48.952 --> 00:36:50.813 it wasn't just a world that they lived 00:36:50.893 --> 00:36:50.974 in, 00:36:51.114 --> 00:36:52.594 it was a character in and of itself, 00:36:52.614 --> 00:36:52.934 so it had 00:37:00.858 --> 00:37:02.159 like that and then the land had to 00:37:02.199 --> 00:37:05.103 produce certain types of food and and and 00:37:05.583 --> 00:37:08.266 uh that they use for commerce and i 00:37:08.306 --> 00:37:10.909 wanted to make sure all those things spoke 00:37:11.108 --> 00:37:13.590 on their own uh and so as these 00:37:13.670 --> 00:37:15.273 as this world around them is just growing 00:37:15.353 --> 00:37:17.974 it actually has its own personality and 00:37:18.014 --> 00:37:20.456 its own life and so that just it 00:37:20.476 --> 00:37:22.119 was an easy balance then because i was 00:37:22.139 --> 00:37:24.121 just literally just sprinkling stuff in 00:37:24.706 --> 00:37:26.128 talking about where we were sending this 00:37:26.168 --> 00:37:27.829 character to go do something while another 00:37:27.869 --> 00:37:29.869 one watched over this and then these other 00:37:29.889 --> 00:37:34.271 people were uh constantly there's always 00:37:34.311 --> 00:37:36.773 conflict uh with this story with with 00:37:36.873 --> 00:37:38.755 yusuke it's either internal or external 00:37:38.835 --> 00:37:41.615 it's either one but it's constant and so 00:37:41.655 --> 00:37:43.976 those are the challenges that make people 00:37:44.036 --> 00:37:45.918 hopefully connect to the character and 00:37:45.978 --> 00:37:47.858 root for him as he goes through this 00:37:48.219 --> 00:37:49.360 but i felt like it was almost like 00:37:49.380 --> 00:37:52.481 a a dnd board you know oh yeah 00:37:53.108 --> 00:37:53.688 And the character, 00:37:53.708 --> 00:37:54.889 you just move in your character. 00:37:54.929 --> 00:37:55.871 And then when you get to a certain 00:37:55.891 --> 00:37:57.150 point, it's like, boom, this is happening. 00:37:57.170 --> 00:37:57.831 What are you going to do? 00:37:58.192 --> 00:37:58.311 Oh, 00:37:58.331 --> 00:37:59.393 let me roll the dice and see if 00:37:59.452 --> 00:37:59.733 it works. 00:37:59.952 --> 00:38:04.115 You know, I felt, you know. 00:38:04.155 --> 00:38:06.317 So let's let's jump over to do a 00:38:06.336 --> 00:38:07.456 little bit about the sequel. 00:38:07.597 --> 00:38:09.298 So the sequel introduces the realm of 00:38:09.498 --> 00:38:10.099 Elsewhere. 00:38:10.719 --> 00:38:12.440 What inspired that shift? 00:38:14.061 --> 00:38:15.442 I wanted, you know, 00:38:15.461 --> 00:38:17.784 I grew up in a time when I 00:38:17.804 --> 00:38:18.344 was a kid. 00:38:18.364 --> 00:38:20.105 There was a show called Samurai Sunday, 00:38:20.125 --> 00:38:20.344 man. 00:38:20.465 --> 00:38:21.806 Every Sunday, seven o'clock. 00:38:22.726 --> 00:38:23.467 Down in Miami, 00:38:23.507 --> 00:38:24.967 we would look at this show called Samurai 00:38:24.987 --> 00:38:28.050 Sunday, and it was all Asian film. 00:38:28.309 --> 00:38:28.530 You know, 00:38:28.550 --> 00:38:29.510 they would just have these films, 00:38:29.550 --> 00:38:30.512 and you know how the guys would be 00:38:30.552 --> 00:38:31.492 running off the walls, 00:38:31.552 --> 00:38:32.172 fighting each other. 00:38:32.193 --> 00:38:33.873 They'd get punched like thirty times in 00:38:33.893 --> 00:38:34.373 the chest, 00:38:34.494 --> 00:38:36.054 and then some little bullets of blood 00:38:36.074 --> 00:38:37.677 would come out, and so they'd get stabbed, 00:38:37.697 --> 00:38:39.177 and they would take like five stabs before 00:38:39.197 --> 00:38:40.217 they'd truly be dead. 00:38:40.599 --> 00:38:41.559 So I was like, man, 00:38:41.920 --> 00:38:42.699 I want to do that. 00:38:42.880 --> 00:38:44.541 I want to have this realm, 00:38:45.282 --> 00:38:47.704 but I just came from real historical 00:38:47.724 --> 00:38:49.045 fiction, so it couldn't happen here. 00:38:49.585 --> 00:38:50.505 You know what I mean? 00:38:50.565 --> 00:38:51.045 But I wanted... 00:38:51.784 --> 00:38:53.907 Yuzuki to have some kind of inherited 00:38:54.586 --> 00:38:56.168 talent and power now to be able to 00:38:56.208 --> 00:38:57.148 do those types of things. 00:38:57.168 --> 00:38:57.630 Make it really, 00:38:57.650 --> 00:38:59.871 really cool with some ninjas in there and 00:38:59.891 --> 00:39:02.612 some fantastical creatures to fight and 00:39:02.672 --> 00:39:02.994 all that. 00:39:03.014 --> 00:39:03.954 And so I had to drop him in 00:39:03.994 --> 00:39:04.574 another realm, 00:39:04.594 --> 00:39:05.956 which is what I did with Elsewhere. 00:39:06.436 --> 00:39:07.637 And I also wanted to create some new 00:39:07.677 --> 00:39:09.438 characters that would actually help push 00:39:09.478 --> 00:39:12.501 him through this journey as well. 00:39:12.541 --> 00:39:15.103 So in the seventy-five page graphic novel, 00:39:15.802 --> 00:39:17.844 I had an opportunity to create this new 00:39:17.885 --> 00:39:19.846 world with these new rules because in 00:39:19.885 --> 00:39:21.027 writing, you have to have rules. 00:39:21.561 --> 00:39:23.202 I had to establish those rules early. 00:39:23.681 --> 00:39:24.101 And that way, 00:39:24.121 --> 00:39:25.541 when the character plays around in them, 00:39:25.961 --> 00:39:27.742 the audience can follow. 00:39:27.902 --> 00:39:30.844 And who doesn't like a big ass sword? 00:39:31.123 --> 00:39:32.925 I'll do it. 00:39:32.945 --> 00:39:34.804 I think a big ass sword makes everything 00:39:34.844 --> 00:39:35.164 better. 00:39:36.525 --> 00:39:38.346 So I wanted to get that in there. 00:39:38.365 --> 00:39:39.547 We call it the Basag. 00:39:40.547 --> 00:39:42.887 It's a big ass sword and gun. 00:39:42.907 --> 00:39:43.927 So it's a gun sword. 00:39:44.108 --> 00:39:45.427 That was actually one of my next 00:39:45.447 --> 00:39:45.909 questions. 00:39:45.949 --> 00:39:47.168 So I'm so glad you went there. 00:39:47.556 --> 00:39:48.318 Yes, I did. 00:39:48.458 --> 00:39:48.777 I did. 00:39:48.858 --> 00:39:51.440 And so that was what Yusuke had to 00:39:51.500 --> 00:39:51.780 wield. 00:39:51.820 --> 00:39:52.340 And so, you know, 00:39:52.380 --> 00:39:54.623 shout out to Samurai Sunday. 00:39:54.682 --> 00:39:56.603 Shout out to Final Fantasy VII with the 00:39:56.623 --> 00:39:57.143 big swords. 00:39:57.164 --> 00:39:59.465 You know, shout out to Black Manga with, 00:39:59.726 --> 00:40:02.809 you know, with Afro Samurai. 00:40:02.849 --> 00:40:05.251 So I wanted to do the things that 00:40:05.471 --> 00:40:07.853 I love and bring them into stories. 00:40:08.012 --> 00:40:10.235 And that's what I did. 00:40:10.255 --> 00:40:12.416 That was the most perfect segue. 00:40:12.456 --> 00:40:13.516 But I got to jump back up a 00:40:13.556 --> 00:40:15.097 question and talk about characters like 00:40:15.137 --> 00:40:15.619 Tengu. 00:40:17.443 --> 00:40:21.306 and yeah nira uh-huh like what do these 00:40:21.326 --> 00:40:26.728 characters represent in this yeah uh of 00:40:26.847 --> 00:40:29.108 all emotions kind of like the guide little 00:40:29.128 --> 00:40:31.490 devil character he's like a guide and you 00:40:31.510 --> 00:40:33.592 know has the kind of he's he's basically 00:40:33.632 --> 00:40:36.532 the side exposition of kind of telling 00:40:36.552 --> 00:40:38.213 yeah and answering the questions that you 00:40:38.233 --> 00:40:40.295 think he has you know uh and then 00:40:40.315 --> 00:40:43.117 yanira is somebody who he meets and then 00:40:43.157 --> 00:40:45.478 they connect in a certain way to kind 00:40:45.518 --> 00:40:45.918 of again 00:40:46.476 --> 00:40:47.777 I'm gonna go along with you. 00:40:50.500 --> 00:40:52.300 Not sure where this is going, but hey, 00:40:52.320 --> 00:40:53.402 I have no other options. 00:40:53.702 --> 00:40:54.882 And then of course, down the road, 00:40:54.902 --> 00:40:55.963 there's some other characters that are 00:40:55.983 --> 00:40:56.864 mentioned as well. 00:40:57.324 --> 00:40:59.367 And so, like I said, 00:40:59.726 --> 00:41:01.668 when you're writing a script, 00:41:02.148 --> 00:41:03.389 you have your lead and you have the 00:41:03.429 --> 00:41:04.349 support characters, 00:41:04.369 --> 00:41:05.530 so you introduce them as early as 00:41:05.570 --> 00:41:06.092 possible. 00:41:06.512 --> 00:41:07.793 And then you play around with them as 00:41:07.853 --> 00:41:10.755 they move and as everybody is being a 00:41:10.815 --> 00:41:12.635 part of resisting the conflict, 00:41:13.237 --> 00:41:14.197 how do they respond? 00:41:15.103 --> 00:41:16.583 You have to kind of come up with 00:41:16.603 --> 00:41:17.483 their character relation really quick so 00:41:17.503 --> 00:41:19.125 people can have an expectation of how 00:41:19.144 --> 00:41:19.744 they'll respond. 00:41:19.764 --> 00:41:21.605 And then when they respond differently, 00:41:21.625 --> 00:41:23.126 you got to start scratching your head. 00:41:23.266 --> 00:41:24.206 You know, 00:41:24.407 --> 00:41:26.027 I introduced those characters in there. 00:41:26.106 --> 00:41:26.246 Yeah, 00:41:26.387 --> 00:41:28.648 he did feel very much like a guy 00:41:28.708 --> 00:41:31.009 through like a D&D game board or something 00:41:31.028 --> 00:41:31.889 like that, you know, 00:41:32.389 --> 00:41:33.369 and it was just so cool. 00:41:36.586 --> 00:41:39.108 the simplicity of the character was really 00:41:39.128 --> 00:41:39.688 cool too. 00:41:40.570 --> 00:41:41.369 And it was just like, 00:41:42.931 --> 00:41:44.132 how fun is it to have a little 00:41:44.172 --> 00:41:45.893 devil take you on a little adventure 00:41:46.554 --> 00:41:48.255 through else world, you know, 00:41:48.735 --> 00:41:49.436 or elsewhere. 00:41:49.456 --> 00:41:50.297 Yeah. 00:41:50.376 --> 00:41:52.358 Like just so cool. 00:41:52.418 --> 00:41:55.219 So this darker fantasy layer changes. 00:41:56.440 --> 00:41:56.601 Yes. 00:41:56.760 --> 00:41:58.202 Suki's emotional journey. 00:41:59.722 --> 00:42:01.003 Like how was that? 00:42:01.425 --> 00:42:01.744 Like, 00:42:02.742 --> 00:42:04.422 Were you trying to reshape him as a 00:42:04.463 --> 00:42:04.943 character, 00:42:04.983 --> 00:42:06.643 or were you just trying to build more 00:42:06.704 --> 00:42:09.025 layers into the amazing character that he 00:42:09.085 --> 00:42:09.746 already is? 00:42:09.905 --> 00:42:11.347 You said it exactly right. 00:42:11.367 --> 00:42:13.467 It was about making him more layers, 00:42:13.487 --> 00:42:14.027 obviously, 00:42:14.047 --> 00:42:17.090 because there's a huge thing that happens 00:42:17.130 --> 00:42:19.271 to him in this story itself. 00:42:20.692 --> 00:42:22.032 He's got a couple of big events that 00:42:22.072 --> 00:42:23.153 happen to him, obviously, 00:42:23.213 --> 00:42:24.134 in the historical fiction, 00:42:24.153 --> 00:42:25.775 but then here there's another thing that 00:42:25.815 --> 00:42:26.434 takes place. 00:42:26.896 --> 00:42:29.556 And I think that the more these... 00:42:32.775 --> 00:42:35.778 things happen to him, these events, 00:42:36.440 --> 00:42:39.884 the more Yasuki grows, he keeps restating, 00:42:40.364 --> 00:42:42.387 he keeps turning into something or 00:42:42.447 --> 00:42:45.150 somebody that is necessary to get him to 00:42:45.190 --> 00:42:46.231 the next level. 00:42:46.811 --> 00:42:48.653 And so all those layers I think just 00:42:48.693 --> 00:42:50.295 continue to build on him. 00:42:50.896 --> 00:42:52.378 And he's receptive 00:42:54.391 --> 00:42:55.353 even it. 00:42:55.373 --> 00:42:56.313 That's the difference. 00:42:56.693 --> 00:42:58.755 A lot of people don't want to change. 00:42:58.775 --> 00:43:00.277 I don't want anything different. 00:43:00.297 --> 00:43:01.117 I want to just be who I am. 00:43:01.217 --> 00:43:02.699 It took him a couple of pages to 00:43:02.838 --> 00:43:03.920 get there, though. 00:43:04.159 --> 00:43:05.141 That's what was great about it. 00:43:05.161 --> 00:43:07.322 He was very... He's like, no, 00:43:07.342 --> 00:43:08.583 you got the wrong dude. 00:43:08.643 --> 00:43:12.186 Then you see him slowly like, okay, 00:43:12.246 --> 00:43:13.708 let me let this guy take me on 00:43:13.748 --> 00:43:15.929 this journey because it has to be taking 00:43:15.949 --> 00:43:17.911 me somewhere. 00:43:18.152 --> 00:43:19.413 It was really cool to see. 00:43:19.432 --> 00:43:21.373 It was really fun to read. 00:43:22.394 --> 00:43:22.655 It's 00:43:24.121 --> 00:43:25.541 what were those books back in the day 00:43:25.561 --> 00:43:27.083 where it was like a pick your journey, 00:43:27.324 --> 00:43:27.704 you know? 00:43:29.244 --> 00:43:29.706 Yeah. 00:43:30.206 --> 00:43:31.967 And it almost felt a little bit like 00:43:32.007 --> 00:43:32.188 that. 00:43:32.248 --> 00:43:33.027 And I was just like, 00:43:33.128 --> 00:43:34.309 I would turn the page and I'd be 00:43:34.329 --> 00:43:35.951 like, I don't get to pick it, 00:43:35.990 --> 00:43:36.871 but it's still kind of cool. 00:43:36.891 --> 00:43:37.090 You know? 00:43:37.110 --> 00:43:38.632 Cause that was the vibe I was getting 00:43:38.652 --> 00:43:39.974 there in the beginning of it. 00:43:39.994 --> 00:43:41.394 I was like, I was, 00:43:41.514 --> 00:43:42.396 as I was turning, I was like, 00:43:42.416 --> 00:43:43.536 maybe it's going to tell me, I like, 00:43:43.577 --> 00:43:44.117 I can pick my, 00:43:44.157 --> 00:43:44.838 which way I want to go. 00:43:44.858 --> 00:43:45.217 Right, right, right. 00:43:46.599 --> 00:43:48.021 So that was really fun. 00:43:48.041 --> 00:43:49.762 And if I know there's going to be 00:43:49.802 --> 00:43:50.782 adults listening later. 00:43:50.802 --> 00:43:51.903 So if you really like those, 00:43:51.943 --> 00:43:53.646 this is just like a perfect book for 00:43:53.706 --> 00:43:53.826 you. 00:43:53.846 --> 00:43:55.086 If you like your pick your own adventure 00:43:55.126 --> 00:43:56.289 stories from when you were a kid, 00:43:56.809 --> 00:43:57.750 but for an adult, 00:43:58.311 --> 00:43:59.791 you don't get to really pick your own 00:43:59.831 --> 00:44:00.231 adventure, 00:44:00.251 --> 00:44:01.733 but it feels like it's about to give 00:44:01.753 --> 00:44:03.414 you that opportunity to pick your 00:44:03.456 --> 00:44:05.217 adventure because the way the story is 00:44:05.277 --> 00:44:05.938 written is, 00:44:06.724 --> 00:44:08.827 And it's spaced so good. 00:44:09.768 --> 00:44:12.771 It's almost like you're inviting the 00:44:12.811 --> 00:44:13.873 reader into it. 00:44:14.253 --> 00:44:15.054 It's kind of like, 00:44:16.014 --> 00:44:17.376 I wonder if this is where they're going 00:44:17.396 --> 00:44:18.398 to go with this part. 00:44:18.559 --> 00:44:21.282 Because you have a panel with no words. 00:44:21.302 --> 00:44:23.284 You're like, I kind of want to just... 00:44:24.929 --> 00:44:26.811 Maybe do something right here. 00:44:26.831 --> 00:44:28.492 It's just really fine. 00:44:28.693 --> 00:44:29.793 Don't draw on your books, people. 00:44:29.833 --> 00:44:31.615 It's very bad. 00:44:31.695 --> 00:44:32.516 Or draw on your own books. 00:44:32.556 --> 00:44:33.097 It's your book, 00:44:33.478 --> 00:44:36.081 but that just gives me the eebie-jeebies. 00:44:38.304 --> 00:44:38.684 Especially, 00:44:38.764 --> 00:44:41.086 I've had comic books being signed and 00:44:42.527 --> 00:44:44.010 whether it was the writer or the artist 00:44:44.030 --> 00:44:45.831 just do a bad signature and they feel 00:44:45.911 --> 00:44:46.431 really bad. 00:44:46.452 --> 00:44:46.773 I'm like, 00:44:47.914 --> 00:44:49.617 As long as it looks like your signature. 00:44:49.657 --> 00:44:50.699 And when I say it off to be 00:44:50.739 --> 00:44:53.342 graded, they recognize it as yours. 00:44:53.862 --> 00:44:55.003 I don't care how bad it looks. 00:44:55.043 --> 00:44:57.447 You don't have to like, don't do that, 00:44:57.467 --> 00:44:59.289 please. 00:44:59.329 --> 00:44:59.489 But. 00:45:00.981 --> 00:45:02.981 But yeah, this is such a fun, 00:45:03.081 --> 00:45:03.681 fun book. 00:45:04.023 --> 00:45:05.003 But I want to talk a little bit 00:45:05.023 --> 00:45:06.523 more about the comic industry and 00:45:06.704 --> 00:45:07.364 publishing. 00:45:07.945 --> 00:45:10.166 So you've worked across novels, comics, 00:45:10.385 --> 00:45:10.885 media. 00:45:11.547 --> 00:45:13.288 What have you seen this kind of you've 00:45:13.307 --> 00:45:15.369 been doing this since two thousand twenty, 00:45:15.389 --> 00:45:15.628 right? 00:45:15.768 --> 00:45:16.168 Well, comic books, yes. 00:45:16.188 --> 00:45:18.710 Comic books, yes. 00:45:18.730 --> 00:45:21.711 Publishing novels and stuff. 00:45:27.833 --> 00:45:28.034 Okay. 00:45:28.074 --> 00:45:29.893 But what to you has changed the most 00:45:30.195 --> 00:45:30.934 in that timeframe? 00:45:30.954 --> 00:45:31.074 To me, 00:45:31.094 --> 00:45:35.115 I think it's fantastic to see the indie 00:45:35.135 --> 00:45:36.217 scene explode, right? 00:45:36.376 --> 00:45:38.317 Dude, I'm literally, 00:45:38.398 --> 00:45:40.338 I'm making it into a living, you know, 00:45:40.378 --> 00:45:41.199 and I love it. 00:45:41.219 --> 00:45:41.278 Yes. 00:45:41.298 --> 00:45:42.898 Yes. 00:45:42.918 --> 00:45:45.679 Well, someday it'll be a living, you know, 00:45:45.699 --> 00:45:46.940 until then I got a day job. 00:45:47.320 --> 00:45:47.860 Your passion. 00:45:47.880 --> 00:45:48.501 Yeah, absolutely. 00:45:48.521 --> 00:45:50.262 The day your passion can become a living, 00:45:50.282 --> 00:45:50.442 man. 00:45:50.661 --> 00:45:51.961 It's amazing. 00:45:52.121 --> 00:45:52.862 It is amazing. 00:45:52.882 --> 00:45:53.163 Cause it's, 00:45:54.304 --> 00:45:55.485 I'll sit here some days and I'm like, 00:45:56.105 --> 00:45:57.206 it kind of feels like a job. 00:45:57.226 --> 00:45:59.327 But then I'll have Bratston on or I'll 00:45:59.367 --> 00:46:00.989 have Todd Black on the other day. 00:46:01.009 --> 00:46:01.429 And I'm like, 00:46:01.929 --> 00:46:02.951 this is why I do this. 00:46:03.672 --> 00:46:05.472 Because it no longer feels that way. 00:46:05.532 --> 00:46:07.655 Once you're in the conversation and you're 00:46:07.675 --> 00:46:11.177 just talking to dudes or whatever, 00:46:11.378 --> 00:46:14.942 and it's like, this isn't a job. 00:46:14.981 --> 00:46:15.661 This is fun. 00:46:16.382 --> 00:46:18.003 Getting to talk about the industry, 00:46:18.063 --> 00:46:19.746 about the projects, the work. 00:46:21.202 --> 00:46:23.664 this is fun i would have never dreamed 00:46:23.704 --> 00:46:25.065 to be doing what i was doing today 00:46:25.306 --> 00:46:26.847 i mean it was never in my radar 00:46:27.188 --> 00:46:28.409 i mean i was in the fifth grade 00:46:28.429 --> 00:46:29.831 i remember a friend of mine we were 00:46:29.851 --> 00:46:32.152 into comics and he uh he came to 00:46:32.172 --> 00:46:33.534 school one day with like a ten page 00:46:33.594 --> 00:46:34.695 comment like what is that he's like oh 00:46:34.715 --> 00:46:35.876 man i drew my own comic i'm like 00:46:35.956 --> 00:46:37.498 what and i'm like looking at him like 00:46:37.617 --> 00:46:39.018 oh man this is super cool because i 00:46:39.039 --> 00:46:40.619 want to do that so i remember i 00:46:40.639 --> 00:46:42.442 think i did like a five page thing 00:46:42.581 --> 00:46:43.802 and i just kind of walked away from 00:46:43.882 --> 00:46:45.844 it and those characters i'm still going to 00:46:45.864 --> 00:46:46.746 bring out actually they're going to 00:46:49.920 --> 00:46:51.541 matriculate right back into the cake 00:46:51.561 --> 00:46:52.280 because it was a superhero for me. 00:46:52.300 --> 00:46:53.260 It's funny you mention that because Zing, 00:46:53.280 --> 00:46:54.842 who was just on the podcast not that 00:46:54.862 --> 00:46:58.362 long ago, his character, Prince Adonis, 00:46:58.402 --> 00:47:00.983 is the same character he drew and wrote 00:47:01.503 --> 00:47:02.682 thirty-two years ago, 00:47:03.242 --> 00:47:05.483 and it's the same guy persevering today. 00:47:06.304 --> 00:47:08.443 So, those characters, 00:47:08.744 --> 00:47:10.304 those stick figures you drew as a kid. 00:47:10.324 --> 00:47:12.085 Oh, they're going to come back, you know. 00:47:12.105 --> 00:47:13.865 So I think that's just what it is. 00:47:14.005 --> 00:47:15.106 To me, I've learned 00:47:15.891 --> 00:47:18.010 that is really about when you're selling 00:47:18.050 --> 00:47:20.492 comics, you know, there's a big two, 00:47:20.831 --> 00:47:22.871 you know, DC and Marvel. 00:47:22.972 --> 00:47:25.373 Most people love they got seven thousand 00:47:25.592 --> 00:47:26.773 fourteen thousand characters. 00:47:27.132 --> 00:47:29.313 So most people have already chosen people 00:47:29.333 --> 00:47:29.833 who they. 00:47:29.873 --> 00:47:30.634 Oh, yeah. 00:47:31.173 --> 00:47:32.634 But when you're trying to sell, 00:47:32.833 --> 00:47:34.213 if you find that niche, 00:47:34.253 --> 00:47:35.994 you find that hole where you do something 00:47:36.014 --> 00:47:36.835 that's totally different, 00:47:36.855 --> 00:47:39.054 that people have not that really doesn't 00:47:39.094 --> 00:47:40.735 exist that they can't connect to. 00:47:40.755 --> 00:47:41.856 That's when they're like, oh, 00:47:41.876 --> 00:47:42.356 what's this about? 00:47:43.833 --> 00:47:44.954 man i want to get this this is 00:47:44.974 --> 00:47:46.554 great and and that's when people come on 00:47:46.574 --> 00:47:47.715 like sometimes when you're kind of selling 00:47:47.735 --> 00:47:49.677 the superheroes like well i kind of this 00:47:49.697 --> 00:47:51.237 guy kind of looks like green lantern or 00:47:51.297 --> 00:47:53.018 he kind of looks like captain america so 00:47:53.038 --> 00:47:56.699 they kind of already have their mind i 00:47:56.739 --> 00:47:58.760 think so comments have been around since 00:47:58.780 --> 00:48:00.762 like the like the twenties or the thirties 00:48:00.822 --> 00:48:03.043 or something yeah you're gonna get some 00:48:03.083 --> 00:48:06.103 repeats to some degree right i don't i 00:48:06.123 --> 00:48:08.045 don't wanna there's no way absolutely 00:48:08.065 --> 00:48:08.244 there's 00:48:09.952 --> 00:48:13.853 It can still be original IP and still 00:48:13.873 --> 00:48:15.974 look like somebody else's IP because 00:48:15.994 --> 00:48:18.195 that's just where we're at at this time 00:48:18.614 --> 00:48:19.735 in this world. 00:48:20.195 --> 00:48:22.097 And it sucks to say it that way. 00:48:22.217 --> 00:48:22.456 Yeah. 00:48:23.079 --> 00:48:27.184 But there's no more truly original IPs 00:48:27.824 --> 00:48:29.045 depending on who you ask. 00:48:29.065 --> 00:48:31.847 But I still see every character as its 00:48:32.068 --> 00:48:33.108 own character. 00:48:33.949 --> 00:48:35.451 Yes, it looks like Green Lantern. 00:48:35.471 --> 00:48:35.690 I'm sorry, 00:48:35.710 --> 00:48:36.492 but this is what I dreamed of and 00:48:36.552 --> 00:48:37.233 this is what I wrote. 00:48:37.253 --> 00:48:38.072 Well, me and you understand that, right? 00:48:38.092 --> 00:48:38.793 But we're talking about consumers. 00:48:38.813 --> 00:48:41.076 And so consumers are like, 00:48:41.215 --> 00:48:42.016 that looks like Green Lantern. 00:48:42.036 --> 00:48:42.978 I'm not interested. 00:48:43.898 --> 00:48:46.661 And you're like, 00:48:47.465 --> 00:48:48.947 story is so different, 00:48:48.967 --> 00:48:49.688 you know what I mean? 00:48:49.927 --> 00:48:50.708 So we get it. 00:48:50.869 --> 00:48:52.309 And so I think the story is to 00:48:52.349 --> 00:48:54.052 make or break, right? 00:48:54.152 --> 00:48:54.612 It's the story, 00:48:54.652 --> 00:48:55.853 but you gotta give me an opportunity to 00:48:55.873 --> 00:48:56.813 do an elevator speech. 00:48:57.320 --> 00:48:58.342 So you can know I have a different 00:48:58.362 --> 00:48:58.581 story. 00:48:58.601 --> 00:49:00.342 So sometimes people just look and they 00:49:00.443 --> 00:49:01.503 just walk by. 00:49:01.603 --> 00:49:02.045 I'm like, well, 00:49:02.065 --> 00:49:02.704 that's what I can do about that. 00:49:02.724 --> 00:49:03.445 You know, that's another, 00:49:03.465 --> 00:49:05.186 that goes back to one of those big 00:49:05.246 --> 00:49:05.967 lessons learned, 00:49:06.108 --> 00:49:08.789 be able to sell yourself in thirty seconds 00:49:08.909 --> 00:49:09.630 or less. 00:49:10.492 --> 00:49:12.472 Some people at conventions are going to 00:49:12.492 --> 00:49:14.195 give you thirty seconds or less. 00:49:14.894 --> 00:49:16.295 Sell me your stuff. 00:49:16.376 --> 00:49:16.456 Yeah. 00:49:16.476 --> 00:49:17.597 Yeah. 00:49:17.637 --> 00:49:19.838 So you have to know your story inside 00:49:19.858 --> 00:49:23.322 and out front to back for it to 00:49:23.382 --> 00:49:23.681 work. 00:49:23.722 --> 00:49:23.961 Absolutely. 00:49:24.001 --> 00:49:24.543 Absolutely. 00:49:24.742 --> 00:49:25.963 And see, so. 00:49:26.206 --> 00:49:28.166 So here's the graphic novel, right? 00:49:29.407 --> 00:49:32.367 Now you see, let's see here. 00:49:32.387 --> 00:49:33.489 Yeah, Yanira's here. 00:49:34.809 --> 00:49:36.710 So when we talk about connected universes, 00:49:37.010 --> 00:49:38.550 I'll throw you a pitch real quick. 00:49:39.331 --> 00:49:40.351 A-N-V-K. 00:49:42.291 --> 00:49:43.911 What's A-N-V-K? 00:49:43.931 --> 00:49:44.351 Thank you. 00:49:44.972 --> 00:49:46.552 African Ninja Vampire Killers. 00:49:46.592 --> 00:49:47.032 You're interested? 00:49:47.853 --> 00:49:48.454 Fucking in. 00:49:50.293 --> 00:49:52.375 And so that's one of our comic series 00:49:52.394 --> 00:49:52.735 that was, 00:49:52.855 --> 00:49:54.456 it has no novel associated with it. 00:49:55.239 --> 00:49:56.201 Arthur Coyote Champion, 00:49:56.221 --> 00:49:57.260 who's done our majesty's appeal. 00:49:57.280 --> 00:49:58.461 No, for real, I won't end. 00:49:58.742 --> 00:49:59.561 Send him my way. 00:49:59.902 --> 00:50:01.023 Oh, yeah, yeah. 00:50:01.103 --> 00:50:02.684 He basically came up with AMVK, 00:50:02.784 --> 00:50:04.003 African Ninja Vampire Killers, 00:50:04.103 --> 00:50:06.085 and so issue one came out, 00:50:06.204 --> 00:50:07.905 and that was like people walk by the 00:50:07.925 --> 00:50:08.686 table, and you say, hey, 00:50:08.706 --> 00:50:09.726 you ever heard of AMVK? 00:50:09.746 --> 00:50:10.626 They're like, no. 00:50:10.947 --> 00:50:12.068 And you tell them that, and they go, 00:50:12.668 --> 00:50:13.347 what is that about? 00:50:13.427 --> 00:50:14.429 And they come back, you know? 00:50:14.489 --> 00:50:16.590 And so when we talk about this continuum 00:50:16.650 --> 00:50:17.409 of characters, 00:50:17.951 --> 00:50:20.652 Yanira in here is going to be in 00:50:20.771 --> 00:50:22.932 issue two of AMVK, and you say, how? 00:50:22.952 --> 00:50:23.193 Okay. 00:50:23.836 --> 00:50:23.976 Well, 00:50:24.016 --> 00:50:25.418 you just got to read the graphic novel 00:50:25.458 --> 00:50:26.599 to find out how we get there. 00:50:26.619 --> 00:50:26.778 You know, 00:50:26.798 --> 00:50:28.659 but I'm going to be co-writing that with 00:50:29.061 --> 00:50:29.740 Coyote Champion. 00:50:29.780 --> 00:50:30.081 So, man, 00:50:30.121 --> 00:50:31.983 it's just going to be some dynamic 00:50:32.023 --> 00:50:33.202 storytelling going on. 00:50:36.186 --> 00:50:37.126 I won't end on that one. 00:50:37.565 --> 00:50:38.146 Bottom floor. 00:50:38.186 --> 00:50:38.606 Hit me up. 00:50:38.666 --> 00:50:39.128 All right. 00:50:39.407 --> 00:50:39.947 All right. 00:50:42.650 --> 00:50:43.289 So, yeah. 00:50:43.451 --> 00:50:44.931 So, yeah, that's what I've seen. 00:50:44.972 --> 00:50:45.411 I've seen. 00:50:46.027 --> 00:50:47.427 Indie explode. 00:50:47.608 --> 00:50:50.130 I've seen some indie that needs a lot 00:50:50.150 --> 00:50:50.610 of work, too. 00:50:50.630 --> 00:50:52.311 You know what I mean? 00:50:52.331 --> 00:50:53.831 I see both sides on a weekly basis. 00:50:53.851 --> 00:50:54.713 That hurts sometimes because you see it 00:50:55.032 --> 00:50:55.552 and it's like, 00:50:55.572 --> 00:50:59.056 I don't want everybody to think I'm 00:50:59.096 --> 00:50:59.795 like... I still promote them, though. 00:50:59.815 --> 00:51:00.297 You know what I'm saying? 00:51:00.376 --> 00:51:01.858 I will still promote them because I feel 00:51:01.878 --> 00:51:03.659 like every indie comic deserves that 00:51:03.679 --> 00:51:04.920 chance to be in the spotlight. 00:51:05.440 --> 00:51:09.943 For them to sell their story is the 00:51:10.083 --> 00:51:10.943 art where it should be. 00:51:11.503 --> 00:51:12.264 Not yet, but... 00:51:13.800 --> 00:51:14.661 five years from now, 00:51:14.681 --> 00:51:16.204 that art's gonna be on point, right? 00:51:16.266 --> 00:51:18.309 Right, absolutely. 00:51:18.329 --> 00:51:21.115 That story is missing a few elements. 00:51:22.809 --> 00:51:23.931 give it two to three years, 00:51:23.951 --> 00:51:25.552 that story's going to be on point. 00:51:26.052 --> 00:51:27.454 And they're going to circle back and 00:51:27.534 --> 00:51:30.115 retell those older stories because they've 00:51:30.155 --> 00:51:30.735 grown. 00:51:31.617 --> 00:51:34.458 So I believe every indie comic deserves a 00:51:34.518 --> 00:51:35.119 spotlight. 00:51:35.659 --> 00:51:37.661 And I try to give every indie comic 00:51:38.021 --> 00:51:41.483 that spotlight within reason because I 00:51:41.784 --> 00:51:44.465 ain't but one person. 00:51:44.507 --> 00:51:46.927 But that's been my belief and that will 00:51:46.947 --> 00:51:49.030 be my belief always is that 00:51:50.717 --> 00:51:52.338 You may be writing something, 00:51:52.398 --> 00:51:55.338 and it may not be to that person's 00:51:55.559 --> 00:51:56.119 standard, 00:51:56.960 --> 00:51:58.661 but somebody out there is going to see 00:51:58.681 --> 00:52:00.882 that and go, I freaking love that. 00:52:01.021 --> 00:52:03.824 That is so cool that this person not 00:52:03.864 --> 00:52:05.543 only is putting this out there for people, 00:52:05.583 --> 00:52:07.184 but they're brave enough to put themselves 00:52:07.244 --> 00:52:08.545 out there, to be vulnerable, 00:52:09.286 --> 00:52:10.867 to put themselves out there that way. 00:52:11.206 --> 00:52:12.987 Why would I not give that person a 00:52:13.027 --> 00:52:14.688 chance or that story a chance? 00:52:14.829 --> 00:52:15.688 For sure. 00:52:15.768 --> 00:52:18.530 And that's what I love about indie comics. 00:52:19.701 --> 00:52:22.583 There's something out there for everybody 00:52:22.784 --> 00:52:24.585 at every level of the game. 00:52:24.626 --> 00:52:24.826 For sure. 00:52:24.846 --> 00:52:25.065 Absolutely. 00:52:25.085 --> 00:52:28.028 One hundred percent. 00:52:28.048 --> 00:52:30.670 Which is how we do it here. 00:52:31.231 --> 00:52:34.135 What advantages do you think indie 00:52:34.175 --> 00:52:37.077 creators have right now? 00:52:37.097 --> 00:52:39.960 Because there's a lot and we see it 00:52:40.000 --> 00:52:40.340 every day. 00:52:40.380 --> 00:52:43.123 This industry is flourishing from an indie 00:52:43.182 --> 00:52:43.884 perspective. 00:52:44.880 --> 00:52:46.400 It's the freedom. 00:52:46.420 --> 00:52:47.320 You don't have any restraint. 00:52:47.380 --> 00:52:48.762 And I can say that from being published 00:52:49.262 --> 00:52:50.762 to going into doing it by myself. 00:52:50.802 --> 00:52:53.041 Just, oh, 00:52:53.121 --> 00:52:54.043 I want to do this kind of cover. 00:52:54.143 --> 00:52:56.023 No, I don't think you should do that. 00:52:56.623 --> 00:52:57.762 Well, I was thinking about this character. 00:52:57.782 --> 00:52:58.543 No, probably not. 00:52:58.563 --> 00:52:59.963 You probably need to write this kind of 00:53:00.023 --> 00:53:00.463 character. 00:53:00.923 --> 00:53:01.123 I mean, 00:53:01.204 --> 00:53:03.443 you basically can go and do anything you 00:53:03.483 --> 00:53:03.824 want. 00:53:04.204 --> 00:53:06.344 They can represent anything about you. 00:53:06.744 --> 00:53:07.485 I tell people all the time, 00:53:07.505 --> 00:53:08.545 the character I would create, 00:53:08.565 --> 00:53:10.686 like my whole Mount Rushmore of characters 00:53:10.746 --> 00:53:11.806 and stories that I have, 00:53:12.485 --> 00:53:13.126 I have placed 00:53:13.467 --> 00:53:15.628 a part of myself and all those characters 00:53:15.788 --> 00:53:16.929 for a reason, you know? 00:53:17.409 --> 00:53:19.510 And so it becomes expression to me. 00:53:20.471 --> 00:53:22.211 I used to do some acting and stuff 00:53:22.251 --> 00:53:23.271 like that before. 00:53:23.692 --> 00:53:25.672 And so I think all of it is 00:53:25.913 --> 00:53:26.094 art. 00:53:26.213 --> 00:53:26.994 If you're an actor, 00:53:27.014 --> 00:53:28.474 you see a character on a script, 00:53:28.795 --> 00:53:30.635 you embody that character, you are now, 00:53:30.916 --> 00:53:32.097 that you're creating art. 00:53:32.157 --> 00:53:32.416 You know, 00:53:32.456 --> 00:53:33.597 same way you write these stories, 00:53:33.617 --> 00:53:35.277 you're creating art in what you write. 00:53:35.677 --> 00:53:36.818 If you write a comic strip and you're 00:53:36.838 --> 00:53:37.739 working with an illustrator, 00:53:38.019 --> 00:53:39.320 you're creating, you know, 00:53:39.360 --> 00:53:42.161 visual artwork medium to tell a story. 00:53:42.992 --> 00:53:44.592 I'm all about just people expressing 00:53:44.612 --> 00:53:46.472 themselves no matter how they want to. 00:53:47.132 --> 00:53:48.793 And I think it's dope when I see- 00:53:49.173 --> 00:53:50.293 I owe you an apology. 00:53:50.434 --> 00:53:52.193 I forgot to update my scroll wheel at 00:53:52.213 --> 00:53:52.693 the bottom. 00:53:52.713 --> 00:53:54.695 So it's been rolling the scroll this 00:53:54.715 --> 00:53:55.414 entire time. 00:53:56.074 --> 00:53:57.014 I do apologize. 00:53:57.074 --> 00:53:57.695 That's fine. 00:53:58.096 --> 00:53:59.235 That's fine. 00:53:59.436 --> 00:54:01.456 And I think I do talk with kids 00:54:01.516 --> 00:54:03.297 all the time at schools and things like 00:54:03.317 --> 00:54:03.436 that. 00:54:03.456 --> 00:54:04.056 We'll offer visits. 00:54:04.117 --> 00:54:04.936 And I tell them, I say, 00:54:05.257 --> 00:54:07.217 who here writes anything? 00:54:07.378 --> 00:54:07.938 Nobody said anything. 00:54:07.958 --> 00:54:09.318 I said, well, who writes rap? 00:54:09.559 --> 00:54:10.438 Some people write rap. 00:54:10.478 --> 00:54:11.139 Some people write poetry. 00:54:11.219 --> 00:54:11.418 I said, 00:54:11.889 --> 00:54:14.710 you are an artist and you are just 00:54:14.851 --> 00:54:17.411 expressing what's in here and you're 00:54:17.472 --> 00:54:19.472 putting it out of paper or a pen 00:54:19.492 --> 00:54:20.833 or you're typing it or however you're 00:54:20.853 --> 00:54:21.733 doing it, you're singing it, 00:54:21.773 --> 00:54:22.534 you're using your voice, 00:54:22.554 --> 00:54:23.275 whatever you're doing, 00:54:23.715 --> 00:54:24.815 you're just expressing yourself. 00:54:24.835 --> 00:54:25.655 And as a human being, 00:54:26.097 --> 00:54:27.617 there's nothing better than being able to 00:54:27.797 --> 00:54:30.818 express what is in that small little voice 00:54:30.858 --> 00:54:31.800 inside your head. 00:54:32.340 --> 00:54:33.240 And people like it. 00:54:33.481 --> 00:54:34.541 It's even, you know, 00:54:34.561 --> 00:54:36.362 you just feel so grateful that they 00:54:36.422 --> 00:54:37.802 actually dig with what you're thinking 00:54:37.822 --> 00:54:39.483 about. 00:54:39.543 --> 00:54:40.764 No, a hundred percent. 00:54:40.864 --> 00:54:41.085 And, 00:54:41.842 --> 00:54:45.766 so i i went today was new comic 00:54:45.786 --> 00:54:48.228 book day went to new comic book day 00:54:48.268 --> 00:54:50.489 went to and you know i have a 00:54:50.530 --> 00:54:54.434 bots obviously um comic books is kind of 00:54:54.454 --> 00:54:56.514 like what my i do i don't just 00:54:56.574 --> 00:54:58.336 do them i read them and collect them 00:54:59.518 --> 00:55:01.059 and uh as i'm going through my stuff 00:55:01.099 --> 00:55:02.480 today because he'll put some extra stuff 00:55:02.519 --> 00:55:03.820 in there like hey this just come out 00:55:03.842 --> 00:55:05.103 or this or that okay 00:55:05.989 --> 00:55:06.610 And I'm just like, 00:55:06.690 --> 00:55:07.751 I'll kind of weed out the ones I 00:55:07.791 --> 00:55:08.192 don't want. 00:55:08.231 --> 00:55:08.791 And I'm like, oh, 00:55:08.831 --> 00:55:09.773 I'll give that one a try. 00:55:10.512 --> 00:55:11.554 And I was like, 00:55:12.775 --> 00:55:15.257 he's always giving me like crap about it, 00:55:15.297 --> 00:55:16.297 but I don't read it. 00:55:16.378 --> 00:55:18.219 Like there's a couple of Marvel characters 00:55:18.259 --> 00:55:19.320 I'm really interested in, 00:55:19.360 --> 00:55:20.581 but they're very obscure. 00:55:21.260 --> 00:55:23.400 so whenever they do get a new release 00:55:23.641 --> 00:55:25.141 i pick them up because it's such an 00:55:25.242 --> 00:55:27.681 obscure character they might get a six 00:55:27.782 --> 00:55:29.362 issue run or they may get a ten 00:55:29.422 --> 00:55:30.963 issue run and then they disappear again 00:55:31.003 --> 00:55:33.282 for five to ten years and i'm okay 00:55:33.304 --> 00:55:35.603 with that because i know that five to 00:55:35.643 --> 00:55:37.463 ten issue run is going to be amazing 00:55:37.483 --> 00:55:40.224 right and it's the same thing with dc 00:55:41.065 --> 00:55:42.885 and uh there's just not a whole lot 00:55:42.965 --> 00:55:44.646 i'm really into it so for vertigo 00:55:45.126 --> 00:55:47.346 vertigo's back out now and now they're 00:55:47.365 --> 00:55:49.646 producing those darker grittier comics 00:55:50.467 --> 00:55:52.588 that i really enjoy reading which is why 00:55:52.648 --> 00:55:55.949 i love indie comics so much it's it 00:55:55.969 --> 00:55:57.909 can be darker it can be grittier it 00:55:57.929 --> 00:56:01.231 can be bloodier it could be whatever and 00:56:02.271 --> 00:56:05.092 they're not restricted or held back right 00:56:05.132 --> 00:56:08.255 by some guy in an office going hey 00:56:08.275 --> 00:56:09.074 we can't sell that 00:56:11.349 --> 00:56:15.532 can on the indies right so in the 00:56:15.793 --> 00:56:20.277 accessibility now to indie comics is at 00:56:20.318 --> 00:56:23.000 the best it's ever been it only getting 00:56:23.039 --> 00:56:26.083 better on the daily so it's really cool 00:56:26.123 --> 00:56:28.644 to see yeah where they are going 00:56:29.465 --> 00:56:31.927 But what mistakes do you think some of 00:56:31.947 --> 00:56:34.750 the newer creators are making currently? 00:56:35.150 --> 00:56:36.590 And there can be a laundry list of 00:56:36.610 --> 00:56:36.891 those. 00:56:36.931 --> 00:56:38.572 But what do you think has been the 00:56:38.652 --> 00:56:40.213 biggest one that you have seen? 00:56:40.873 --> 00:56:42.675 I mean, as a media company, 00:56:42.735 --> 00:56:43.876 I'm sure you've seen some. 00:56:44.277 --> 00:56:45.878 Yeah, I think this, you know, 00:56:45.998 --> 00:56:46.978 being sloppy, you know, 00:56:46.998 --> 00:56:49.300 you got to realize that you're 00:56:49.320 --> 00:56:50.681 representing not just yourself, 00:56:50.702 --> 00:56:52.523 but you're actually representing the 00:56:52.643 --> 00:56:54.224 family and the community of indie 00:56:54.965 --> 00:56:55.445 publishing. 00:56:55.485 --> 00:56:57.827 You know, so one of us looks bad. 00:56:58.510 --> 00:56:59.731 lot of us look bad so people go 00:56:59.751 --> 00:57:01.291 oh yeah that's that indie stuff they might 00:57:01.311 --> 00:57:03.514 not even take it seriously you know yeah 00:57:03.534 --> 00:57:05.534 just be clean with it i've seen people 00:57:05.554 --> 00:57:07.956 who like publish comics and they'll go to 00:57:07.996 --> 00:57:09.918 a printer who printed their comic and like 00:57:10.478 --> 00:57:12.219 you know like some of this stuff is 00:57:12.260 --> 00:57:13.340 not cut all the way to the edge 00:57:13.360 --> 00:57:14.440 of the page or even some of their 00:57:14.460 --> 00:57:15.981 stuff is cut off so they didn't really 00:57:16.001 --> 00:57:18.704 pay attention when they dialogue and 00:57:18.724 --> 00:57:20.346 things written so it got cut off and 00:57:20.865 --> 00:57:22.106 you know and they go oh yeah you 00:57:22.126 --> 00:57:23.568 know i didn't have a chance to do 00:57:23.588 --> 00:57:26.010 this and that and you're selling it you 00:57:26.030 --> 00:57:28.070 know be patient be patient 00:57:28.581 --> 00:57:30.021 Make sure that when it's done, 00:57:30.202 --> 00:57:32.724 it is worthy to be read and be 00:57:32.744 --> 00:57:33.664 scrutinized. 00:57:35.045 --> 00:57:36.467 It is going to get scrutinized. 00:57:36.487 --> 00:57:38.789 I don't have a problem with any criticism 00:57:39.068 --> 00:57:39.969 as long as it's justifiable. 00:57:40.010 --> 00:57:40.891 Like, you didn't like my story. 00:57:40.911 --> 00:57:44.413 Tell me why you didn't like it. 00:57:44.452 --> 00:57:45.713 Did you even read the story? 00:57:47.896 --> 00:57:47.996 Oh, 00:57:48.016 --> 00:57:49.516 so you looked at the cover and then 00:57:49.536 --> 00:57:50.777 looked at this and then just said, 00:57:50.998 --> 00:57:52.358 this ain't my thing and I don't like 00:57:52.398 --> 00:57:52.458 it. 00:57:52.498 --> 00:57:52.940 I hate it. 00:57:53.851 --> 00:57:55.271 Come on. 00:57:55.331 --> 00:57:55.512 Right. 00:57:55.672 --> 00:57:57.632 I've started many of comic book series 00:57:57.672 --> 00:57:59.592 where issue one was hot trash. 00:58:00.373 --> 00:58:02.934 Issue two was one of the best things 00:58:02.954 --> 00:58:03.574 I ever read. 00:58:04.474 --> 00:58:05.454 Very cool. 00:58:05.474 --> 00:58:07.976 So don't just as they say, 00:58:08.016 --> 00:58:09.496 don't judge the book by the cover. 00:58:09.516 --> 00:58:09.597 Yeah. 00:58:10.416 --> 00:58:13.177 Because number two might be fire. 00:58:13.197 --> 00:58:14.338 Yeah, absolutely. 00:58:14.458 --> 00:58:16.398 So. 00:58:16.438 --> 00:58:18.260 But so how how and. 00:58:19.811 --> 00:58:21.432 you actually have a whole team of 00:58:21.492 --> 00:58:23.193 collaborators, which is really cool. 00:58:23.813 --> 00:58:26.034 So how important has those collaborations 00:58:26.195 --> 00:58:29.297 been with your company and your artists 00:58:29.376 --> 00:58:31.599 and your writers and all just kind of 00:58:31.619 --> 00:58:32.860 like, hey, 00:58:32.980 --> 00:58:34.340 let me get that character over there for 00:58:34.360 --> 00:58:38.503 this one issue to do something cool with? 00:58:38.563 --> 00:58:40.864 How is that there in-house for you? 00:58:40.885 --> 00:58:44.766 Yeah, we put this, like I said, 00:58:44.786 --> 00:58:45.728 it just kind of all happened. 00:58:45.807 --> 00:58:46.208 It was great. 00:58:46.228 --> 00:58:47.047 All these characters kind of came 00:58:47.068 --> 00:58:47.989 together. 00:58:48.413 --> 00:58:49.494 And they all made sense. 00:58:49.954 --> 00:58:51.635 And we had a lot of authors who 00:58:51.655 --> 00:58:53.097 had already created these characters 00:58:53.117 --> 00:58:53.556 before, 00:58:53.577 --> 00:58:56.059 like Keyshawn Dodd had already done two 00:58:56.159 --> 00:58:57.780 issues of Manzua when he came to us 00:58:57.860 --> 00:58:58.460 to publish them. 00:58:58.481 --> 00:58:58.721 And he said, 00:58:58.780 --> 00:59:00.161 I'm going to republish them myself. 00:59:00.422 --> 00:59:01.983 So he had his own breathing world. 00:59:02.023 --> 00:59:03.204 He knew about it. 00:59:03.224 --> 00:59:04.545 I learned from him as I was writing 00:59:04.565 --> 00:59:05.927 and creating my superhero characters, 00:59:06.487 --> 00:59:07.188 Coyote Champion, 00:59:07.208 --> 00:59:08.989 I already created Majesties of Canaan. 00:59:09.190 --> 00:59:10.471 I was like, oh, what's that about? 00:59:10.550 --> 00:59:11.492 And I started getting, 00:59:11.572 --> 00:59:13.012 so I kind of fed off of these 00:59:13.032 --> 00:59:13.492 guys. 00:59:14.634 --> 00:59:16.235 And then as we just started getting 00:59:16.255 --> 00:59:16.635 together, 00:59:16.675 --> 00:59:18.077 when we wrote like Infinity Seven, 00:59:18.581 --> 00:59:19.340 books one and two, 00:59:19.360 --> 00:59:21.001 which is like our Avengers Assemble. 00:59:21.322 --> 00:59:23.023 And we had those characters crossed over 00:59:23.063 --> 00:59:24.163 with, you know, 00:59:24.182 --> 00:59:25.884 Gods Among Men and War of Gods. 00:59:26.623 --> 00:59:28.585 We were able to kind of read each 00:59:28.625 --> 00:59:29.226 other's works. 00:59:29.385 --> 00:59:30.306 Okay, you take this chapter, 00:59:30.326 --> 00:59:30.965 I'll take this one. 00:59:30.985 --> 00:59:31.907 And we could ask each other, 00:59:32.266 --> 00:59:33.967 I was thinking about writing Paladin like 00:59:33.987 --> 00:59:34.288 this. 00:59:34.628 --> 00:59:35.947 How would he respond to this situation? 00:59:35.967 --> 00:59:36.429 Well, I don't know, 00:59:36.449 --> 00:59:37.628 Bless might be like that. 00:59:37.668 --> 00:59:40.710 Or what about Menzuo or Demrose? 00:59:41.110 --> 00:59:43.172 So we would kind of pull from one 00:59:43.211 --> 00:59:43.492 another. 00:59:43.532 --> 00:59:43.871 So it was- 00:59:45.014 --> 00:59:46.695 And then what we do with our artist 00:59:46.715 --> 00:59:46.956 teams, 00:59:46.976 --> 00:59:48.717 you got like five or six artist teams. 00:59:49.097 --> 00:59:50.277 I look at their style and I go, 00:59:50.318 --> 00:59:50.557 hmm, 00:59:52.179 --> 00:59:53.840 I think this might match what you're doing 00:59:53.880 --> 00:59:54.659 over here, Lawrence, 00:59:54.699 --> 00:59:57.702 with kind of like Marcelo, 00:59:58.161 --> 00:59:59.742 his style to work with what you want 00:59:59.762 --> 01:00:03.284 to do with the comic books for Metatron. 01:00:03.304 --> 01:00:03.824 What do you think? 01:00:03.844 --> 01:00:04.985 And they kind of collab and it's like, 01:00:05.025 --> 01:00:05.545 okay, cool. 01:00:05.905 --> 01:00:08.568 And so we match those styles with the 01:00:08.708 --> 01:00:09.387 art forms. 01:00:10.005 --> 01:00:11.786 or the vision of the story. 01:00:11.806 --> 01:00:11.907 Okay. 01:00:11.927 --> 01:00:13.847 It's just one of us. 01:00:13.907 --> 01:00:14.349 Magic, man. 01:00:14.369 --> 01:00:16.010 It's like Christmas. 01:00:16.070 --> 01:00:16.469 You wake up. 01:00:16.929 --> 01:00:18.010 When they send you the email in the 01:00:18.050 --> 01:00:19.771 next few pages, you get a message out, 01:00:19.811 --> 01:00:20.753 and you're like, oh, man, 01:00:20.773 --> 01:00:21.592 this is going to be great. 01:00:21.893 --> 01:00:23.313 And when that thing finally comes in the 01:00:23.373 --> 01:00:26.175 mail... Oh, yeah. 01:00:26.275 --> 01:00:28.137 That's the feeling I get every time I 01:00:28.157 --> 01:00:30.358 get a new package from a creator. 01:00:30.898 --> 01:00:32.199 I'm like a kid in a candy store. 01:00:32.219 --> 01:00:33.239 That's why I started doing... 01:00:33.380 --> 01:00:34.760 As I was telling you, 01:00:34.780 --> 01:00:35.981 from what's in the box, 01:00:36.722 --> 01:00:37.742 it's one of those where... 01:00:39.110 --> 01:00:40.871 the reaction you are seeing is me 01:00:40.951 --> 01:00:43.753 genuinely opening up that package at that 01:00:43.793 --> 01:00:43.992 time. 01:00:44.072 --> 01:00:45.733 Yes, do I know what it is? 01:00:45.873 --> 01:00:47.275 Nine times out of ten, yes. 01:00:47.815 --> 01:00:49.815 But it's that genuine excitement and 01:00:49.896 --> 01:00:53.398 feeling of having that new piece of comic 01:00:53.418 --> 01:00:55.780 book or trade paperback 01:00:56.360 --> 01:00:59.664 or that new whatever from this creator in 01:00:59.724 --> 01:01:02.228 my own hands to where I can actually 01:01:02.309 --> 01:01:02.969 enjoy it. 01:01:03.590 --> 01:01:05.253 The smells, the feels. 01:01:05.833 --> 01:01:07.737 I say this all the time. 01:01:07.757 --> 01:01:09.559 I love the smell of a new comic 01:01:09.579 --> 01:01:09.840 book. 01:01:11.255 --> 01:01:13.597 Because every production company or every 01:01:13.717 --> 01:01:16.338 printing company has its own unique smell. 01:01:16.358 --> 01:01:17.018 It's weird. 01:01:17.099 --> 01:01:17.398 I know. 01:01:17.938 --> 01:01:19.639 I cannot identify which book came from 01:01:19.659 --> 01:01:20.740 which one yet, 01:01:20.900 --> 01:01:23.262 but I will be there someday. 01:01:23.302 --> 01:01:25.943 But it's one of those where it's just 01:01:25.963 --> 01:01:30.005 that genuine excitement of what it is that 01:01:30.025 --> 01:01:31.565 you're passionate about. 01:01:32.226 --> 01:01:34.427 So the passion you see from my Watson 01:01:34.447 --> 01:01:36.829 the Boss series is genuine because it's 01:01:37.469 --> 01:01:38.309 I'm really excited. 01:01:38.349 --> 01:01:40.809 I'm like that twelve year old kid still 01:01:40.849 --> 01:01:41.710 to this day. 01:01:43.110 --> 01:01:45.251 Thirty and some change years later, 01:01:46.572 --> 01:01:48.592 you know, and it's great. 01:01:48.632 --> 01:01:49.934 It's fun for me to be able to 01:01:49.994 --> 01:01:52.494 do that and share that excitement with 01:01:52.554 --> 01:01:54.016 other people as well, you know. 01:01:56.697 --> 01:02:00.157 But what role does visual storytelling 01:02:00.217 --> 01:02:01.998 play compared to. 01:02:03.233 --> 01:02:03.773 prose, 01:02:04.414 --> 01:02:05.815 especially within that collaborative 01:02:06.016 --> 01:02:06.195 effort. 01:02:06.215 --> 01:02:07.456 I don't know if y'all do collaborative 01:02:11.059 --> 01:02:12.840 novels that way or if it's just your 01:02:12.860 --> 01:02:14.320 comic book side of the house that does 01:02:14.440 --> 01:02:15.201 things that way. 01:02:16.402 --> 01:02:18.663 I think the visual, like I said, 01:02:18.922 --> 01:02:20.443 it's like when you're writing a prose, 01:02:20.864 --> 01:02:22.204 you've got all these ideas in your head. 01:02:22.224 --> 01:02:23.405 You try to describe it as best as 01:02:23.445 --> 01:02:24.306 possible, 01:02:24.626 --> 01:02:25.847 but you've got to remember that somebody's 01:02:25.987 --> 01:02:27.929 brain works differently than yours. 01:02:28.028 --> 01:02:29.010 It's mapped differently. 01:02:29.469 --> 01:02:30.751 They're going to see those words in that 01:02:30.771 --> 01:02:31.891 environment and they're going to come up 01:02:31.911 --> 01:02:32.992 with something totally different. 01:02:34.105 --> 01:02:35.786 as opposed to when you finally get the 01:02:35.827 --> 01:02:37.608 chance to tell the story visually, 01:02:38.188 --> 01:02:40.889 you know, there's such, for me, 01:02:40.911 --> 01:02:42.652 there's a responsibility to really, 01:02:43.632 --> 01:02:44.693 I like expression. 01:02:44.753 --> 01:02:46.054 I like character spaces. 01:02:46.114 --> 01:02:47.155 You know, when I did Broken, 01:02:47.195 --> 01:02:50.657 Broken was such a passion project for me 01:02:50.958 --> 01:02:53.219 that it was a very painful novel to 01:02:53.280 --> 01:02:53.619 write. 01:02:53.981 --> 01:02:55.902 When I got to the graphic novel and 01:02:55.922 --> 01:02:59.005 the comic, I told the artist, Ron Silva, 01:02:59.025 --> 01:02:59.385 I said, look, 01:03:00.005 --> 01:03:00.246 I wanna, 01:03:00.266 --> 01:03:02.266 we're gonna be close to these characters. 01:03:02.367 --> 01:03:03.427 I wanna see their eyes. 01:03:03.467 --> 01:03:05.208 I wanna see the passion, the fear, 01:03:05.528 --> 01:03:06.208 the anger, 01:03:06.688 --> 01:03:08.769 all that expression to come out. 01:03:08.789 --> 01:03:10.110 So when people read these pages, 01:03:10.130 --> 01:03:13.032 they know these characters are really 01:03:13.112 --> 01:03:14.572 passionate about what they're doing. 01:03:15.012 --> 01:03:16.773 And so for me, 01:03:17.253 --> 01:03:19.175 I think there's such a responsibility that 01:03:19.215 --> 01:03:19.996 in your art, 01:03:20.335 --> 01:03:22.496 that you're showing more than you have to 01:03:22.536 --> 01:03:22.876 tell. 01:03:22.896 --> 01:03:25.177 And that way people can pick up on 01:03:25.217 --> 01:03:27.418 those cues of kind of just watching. 01:03:27.438 --> 01:03:28.500 Cause that's what we do is we walk 01:03:28.559 --> 01:03:29.079 into a room, 01:03:29.679 --> 01:03:30.920 We need to know people's faces, 01:03:30.940 --> 01:03:31.219 express them. 01:03:31.260 --> 01:03:32.139 We kinda know, like, 01:03:32.159 --> 01:03:33.161 you gotta read the room. 01:03:33.181 --> 01:03:34.882 We want you to read the comics and 01:03:34.902 --> 01:03:37.664 then get to the dialogue and the story. 01:03:37.744 --> 01:03:39.063 And that's such a hard thing for, 01:03:40.322 --> 01:03:43.382 to translate right is expressions on 01:03:43.443 --> 01:03:46.644 characters faces in a novel or not a 01:03:46.684 --> 01:03:49.085 novel but a comic book or a graphic 01:03:49.146 --> 01:03:52.507 novel and when it's done right it's done 01:03:52.907 --> 01:03:55.688 it's such a perfect thing to see when 01:03:55.708 --> 01:03:57.710 you can read a person's face and just 01:03:57.750 --> 01:04:00.871 tell oh that person's pissed off and 01:04:01.291 --> 01:04:02.853 you're looking at their eyes and see what 01:04:02.893 --> 01:04:05.094 direction it's looking in you know 01:04:05.293 --> 01:04:07.114 somebody's about to take themselves one 01:04:08.371 --> 01:04:11.255 Right, for sure. 01:04:11.275 --> 01:04:14.021 The eyes are the pathway to the soul, 01:04:14.061 --> 01:04:15.864 and that can be said about the same 01:04:15.884 --> 01:04:17.126 characters in comic books. 01:04:17.567 --> 01:04:18.509 When done right... 01:04:19.746 --> 01:04:21.507 It isn't a beautiful thing to see. 01:04:21.527 --> 01:04:21.608 Yeah. 01:04:22.889 --> 01:04:26.771 So, but let's see what's what's next. 01:04:27.170 --> 01:04:30.251 So over twenty books, multiple awards, 01:04:31.012 --> 01:04:33.594 what is keeping you motivated and pressing 01:04:33.873 --> 01:04:34.193 forward? 01:04:34.253 --> 01:04:35.434 I mean, you have the passion, dude. 01:04:35.454 --> 01:04:36.635 There is no doubt about that. 01:04:36.675 --> 01:04:38.356 And I guarantee that's what it is. 01:04:38.677 --> 01:04:40.117 Yeah. 01:04:40.137 --> 01:04:40.858 That's what it is. 01:04:40.878 --> 01:04:43.338 I, you, we all grew up with toys, 01:04:43.398 --> 01:04:43.679 right? 01:04:44.260 --> 01:04:45.340 We're nerds, we're geeks, 01:04:45.380 --> 01:04:47.360 whatever name when you want to label fun. 01:04:47.681 --> 01:04:48.902 So I just always. 01:04:49.807 --> 01:04:50.708 I was so excited. 01:04:50.789 --> 01:04:52.309 I wanted to play video games. 01:04:52.409 --> 01:04:52.949 Video games, 01:04:52.989 --> 01:04:55.030 they're like toys without the strings. 01:04:55.070 --> 01:04:56.612 Oh, yeah. 01:04:56.711 --> 01:04:57.811 And so you make your character, 01:04:57.831 --> 01:04:58.452 you create them, 01:04:58.472 --> 01:04:59.333 and you get in this world, 01:04:59.373 --> 01:05:00.833 and you play around with it, 01:05:00.934 --> 01:05:02.514 and you try to accomplish some goal. 01:05:02.914 --> 01:05:04.034 That's what I do with these characters 01:05:04.054 --> 01:05:04.114 now. 01:05:04.135 --> 01:05:04.856 I just write them. 01:05:06.135 --> 01:05:07.717 And then I try to say, okay, well, 01:05:07.737 --> 01:05:08.918 what's the rules for writing these 01:05:08.938 --> 01:05:09.277 stories? 01:05:09.338 --> 01:05:11.039 What are the rules that if I do 01:05:11.059 --> 01:05:12.920 this, that it's going to be successful? 01:05:12.980 --> 01:05:16.402 So using three-act structure as my bread 01:05:16.442 --> 01:05:18.722 and butter to continue to keep me 01:05:18.742 --> 01:05:19.282 grounded, 01:05:19.764 --> 01:05:21.784 and to keep me within the realm of 01:05:21.864 --> 01:05:23.625 storytelling that I feel is going to make 01:05:23.644 --> 01:05:25.565 a success and coming out with something 01:05:25.626 --> 01:05:28.126 fresh every time is really what drives me, 01:05:28.387 --> 01:05:28.786 you know? 01:05:29.487 --> 01:05:32.168 Um, and so that's how I, I just, 01:05:32.188 --> 01:05:35.528 that's how I stay fresh in the industry. 01:05:35.568 --> 01:05:38.849 And I just feel like there's no book 01:05:39.449 --> 01:05:40.070 or, um, 01:05:41.655 --> 01:05:43.076 Or a story that I'm not willing to 01:05:43.115 --> 01:05:43.836 try to tell. 01:05:43.976 --> 01:05:47.117 So it'll be my Mount Rushmore guys now. 01:05:47.137 --> 01:05:48.677 I'm sure there'll be another story that'll 01:05:48.697 --> 01:05:49.737 pop up in my head one day and 01:05:49.757 --> 01:05:50.737 make me go, oh, man, 01:05:51.137 --> 01:05:52.298 I got to check out that one too, 01:05:52.338 --> 01:05:52.539 man. 01:05:52.599 --> 01:05:53.478 I want to see what we do with 01:05:53.498 --> 01:05:53.838 that one. 01:05:56.380 --> 01:05:58.199 So what's next? 01:05:59.159 --> 01:06:01.820 What future plans does Bratston have for 01:06:01.860 --> 01:06:01.981 us? 01:06:03.311 --> 01:06:05.472 Well, uh, I can say this year, um, 01:06:05.733 --> 01:06:07.454 we will be on our convention trail. 01:06:07.994 --> 01:06:08.315 Um, 01:06:08.574 --> 01:06:10.275 next month we'll be in Alabama at 01:06:10.315 --> 01:06:12.137 Huntsville Comic-Con in April. 01:06:12.358 --> 01:06:12.878 Roll Tide. 01:06:14.179 --> 01:06:14.398 Huh? 01:06:14.458 --> 01:06:14.619 Yeah. 01:06:14.639 --> 01:06:15.039 Roll Tide. 01:06:15.059 --> 01:06:16.221 I had to get it out there, man. 01:06:16.260 --> 01:06:16.860 I was born there. 01:06:17.422 --> 01:06:17.762 All right. 01:06:17.882 --> 01:06:18.202 All right. 01:06:18.702 --> 01:06:20.724 Uh, we'll be in, um, Greenville, 01:06:20.784 --> 01:06:21.485 South Carolina. 01:06:21.925 --> 01:06:22.344 Okay. 01:06:22.364 --> 01:06:24.507 Uh, South Carolina Comic-Con. 01:06:25.067 --> 01:06:27.268 We'll be back down in, um, 01:06:27.833 --> 01:06:30.474 atlanta area with uh liberty books they'll 01:06:30.494 --> 01:06:32.173 be hosting us for first comic saturday 01:06:32.213 --> 01:06:35.715 okay all my universal stuff there novels 01:06:35.755 --> 01:06:38.554 and comics and graphic novels uh in june 01:06:38.574 --> 01:06:40.096 we'll be going back to charlotte north 01:06:40.135 --> 01:06:43.056 carolina for heroes con love heroes con in 01:06:43.096 --> 01:06:45.117 july such a such a great convention i'm 01:06:45.137 --> 01:06:46.277 going to try to make it down for 01:06:46.297 --> 01:06:48.157 this one this year oh fantastic will you 01:06:48.197 --> 01:06:49.458 come on by and get a chance to 01:06:49.478 --> 01:06:52.918 check us out um and then also um 01:06:54.059 --> 01:06:55.278 making our way back to tennessee 01:06:56.992 --> 01:06:58.211 We haven't been on a couple of years, 01:06:58.271 --> 01:06:59.293 but we always get love from Tennessee. 01:06:59.313 --> 01:07:00.472 We always love the vibe there. 01:07:00.853 --> 01:07:02.614 Going to Knoxville for Fanboy once again. 01:07:03.074 --> 01:07:07.315 Knoxville is such a great place, man. 01:07:07.416 --> 01:07:09.637 It's small, but it feels so big. 01:07:10.137 --> 01:07:11.117 And it's growing. 01:07:11.157 --> 01:07:13.259 Like Nashville and like Knoxville and I 01:07:13.318 --> 01:07:14.519 forgot that little town over there. 01:07:15.400 --> 01:07:18.021 I know it's the Nashville effect of Nash 01:07:18.061 --> 01:07:20.043 Vegas growing into everything, 01:07:20.523 --> 01:07:22.865 but it's been such a positive influence in 01:07:22.885 --> 01:07:25.588 that Knoxville area because Knoxville used 01:07:25.628 --> 01:07:26.688 to be a hole in the wall. 01:07:26.708 --> 01:07:26.809 Right. 01:07:27.009 --> 01:07:27.730 Right. 01:07:27.750 --> 01:07:29.210 But it's been really cool watching 01:07:29.251 --> 01:07:31.532 Knoxville kind of like fill itself in. 01:07:31.572 --> 01:07:33.594 And now before long, 01:07:33.635 --> 01:07:35.556 it's going to be a Nashville metropolitan 01:07:35.576 --> 01:07:36.117 area that's surrounding it. 01:07:36.137 --> 01:07:36.217 Yeah. 01:07:36.237 --> 01:07:36.637 A ton of film and TV. 01:07:36.657 --> 01:07:37.998 I found out about Knoxville. 01:07:38.018 --> 01:07:39.278 I was like doing some stuff, 01:07:39.298 --> 01:07:42.221 some film back in the day. 01:07:44.681 --> 01:07:47.382 And it just popped up, and I'm like, 01:07:47.402 --> 01:07:48.364 wait a minute, 01:07:49.224 --> 01:07:51.985 why are we filming in Knoxville of all 01:07:52.005 --> 01:07:52.126 places? 01:07:52.146 --> 01:07:52.266 I mean, 01:07:52.286 --> 01:07:53.846 you look at the outskirts of Atlanta now, 01:07:53.885 --> 01:07:55.706 that's where The Walking Dead was filmed. 01:07:55.726 --> 01:07:56.387 Absolutely. 01:07:56.407 --> 01:07:58.288 The whole town and village is out there, 01:07:58.748 --> 01:08:00.369 and it's been used in so many more, 01:08:00.929 --> 01:08:03.251 like a lot of your favorite TV shows 01:08:03.351 --> 01:08:05.771 and movies and stuff have all been filmed 01:08:05.811 --> 01:08:07.612 on that Walking Dead set that was built 01:08:07.713 --> 01:08:09.693 in Georgia back in white. 01:08:10.588 --> 01:08:13.291 two thousand and eight or whatever it was. 01:08:13.490 --> 01:08:14.291 Well, whatever. 01:08:15.612 --> 01:08:17.493 But yeah, it's a pretty cool place, too. 01:08:17.573 --> 01:08:18.512 I don't know if you've had a chance 01:08:18.552 --> 01:08:19.913 to be like to go out there and 01:08:19.953 --> 01:08:20.274 see it. 01:08:20.314 --> 01:08:20.854 It's really cool. 01:08:20.875 --> 01:08:22.114 I've been around it. 01:08:22.135 --> 01:08:22.536 So, yeah. 01:08:22.576 --> 01:08:24.197 So we're going to get back to Knoxville 01:08:24.216 --> 01:08:24.837 fanboy. 01:08:24.856 --> 01:08:26.518 And then we're going to try to get 01:08:26.537 --> 01:08:28.319 back into Nashville this year. 01:08:28.359 --> 01:08:28.958 Later on, 01:08:29.880 --> 01:08:32.640 open up the applications for the Southern 01:08:32.680 --> 01:08:33.521 Festival of Books. 01:08:33.542 --> 01:08:33.881 So, yeah, 01:08:33.902 --> 01:08:35.542 we always always get mad love from 01:08:35.582 --> 01:08:36.063 Tennessee. 01:08:36.082 --> 01:08:37.224 So we want to get back over there. 01:08:38.167 --> 01:08:39.409 That's really cool, man. 01:08:40.591 --> 01:08:41.452 It's con season. 01:08:41.511 --> 01:08:44.135 I'm always happy to hear when my guests 01:08:44.154 --> 01:08:47.179 are getting out to cons and really getting 01:08:47.198 --> 01:08:49.681 their exposure in that way because I think 01:08:49.702 --> 01:08:51.144 that's really the best way to grow your 01:08:51.184 --> 01:08:51.564 fan base. 01:08:51.604 --> 01:08:52.666 Social media is great. 01:08:53.935 --> 01:08:56.636 But that one-on-one that you get with the 01:08:57.478 --> 01:09:00.460 clients or the customers is a whole other 01:09:00.500 --> 01:09:01.640 thing. 01:09:01.920 --> 01:09:04.521 It's an exhilarating feeling as well. 01:09:04.542 --> 01:09:08.184 And you could ride that adrenaline all day 01:09:09.304 --> 01:09:10.664 until it's time to pack up and go 01:09:10.725 --> 01:09:11.005 home. 01:09:11.164 --> 01:09:11.926 And then it's just like, oh. 01:09:14.721 --> 01:09:14.801 Yeah. 01:09:14.822 --> 01:09:15.622 Hopefully the box is lighter though 01:09:15.641 --> 01:09:16.743 because you sold a lot of stuff. 01:09:16.762 --> 01:09:17.682 You know what I mean? 01:09:17.703 --> 01:09:17.802 Yeah. 01:09:17.823 --> 01:09:19.423 Hopefully the pockets are a little 01:09:19.463 --> 01:09:19.904 heavier. 01:09:19.923 --> 01:09:20.684 That's for sure. 01:09:21.404 --> 01:09:24.246 So what legacy do you want your work 01:09:24.326 --> 01:09:25.326 to leave? 01:09:25.426 --> 01:09:27.306 I mean, you're building a great legacy. 01:09:29.707 --> 01:09:31.488 What is it that you want to be 01:09:31.547 --> 01:09:31.849 left? 01:09:31.868 --> 01:09:36.430 If I could just be remembered as a 01:09:36.489 --> 01:09:40.252 guy who grew up in the ghetto of 01:09:40.332 --> 01:09:41.832 Liberty City in Miami, 01:09:41.853 --> 01:09:41.912 who 01:09:43.029 --> 01:09:45.871 basically uh worked his tail off to get 01:09:45.911 --> 01:09:48.432 through school get his degrees and 01:09:48.493 --> 01:09:51.895 education and actually uh still had enough 01:09:51.954 --> 01:09:56.057 room to uh squeeze all of his passion 01:09:56.719 --> 01:10:01.442 and uh love of fiction and um and 01:10:01.542 --> 01:10:03.944 telling stories into creating his own 01:10:03.963 --> 01:10:06.945 stuff that actually got packaged and sold 01:10:07.466 --> 01:10:08.926 and i had opportunity to go around and 01:10:08.947 --> 01:10:11.628 tell people about it and and inspire other 01:10:11.649 --> 01:10:12.649 people to do the same 01:10:13.336 --> 01:10:16.503 That would be great for me. 01:10:16.524 --> 01:10:18.630 Best feeling ever, dude. 01:10:18.649 --> 01:10:19.693 I love to hear that, too. 01:10:22.113 --> 01:10:24.074 What better, you know, 01:10:24.114 --> 01:10:25.395 than ten years from now, 01:10:26.117 --> 01:10:28.679 somebody to be on a podcast like this. 01:10:29.539 --> 01:10:31.041 I've seen this one graphic novel from 01:10:31.081 --> 01:10:31.641 Braston, 01:10:31.742 --> 01:10:34.685 and that's what really was my inspiration 01:10:34.725 --> 01:10:36.365 to do my next step. 01:10:36.426 --> 01:10:38.448 And it's such a great feeling. 01:10:39.007 --> 01:10:40.829 And I hope someday there's a podcaster out 01:10:40.850 --> 01:10:42.211 there who would say the same thing about 01:10:42.251 --> 01:10:44.172 me, only do it better. 01:10:44.193 --> 01:10:44.493 That's right. 01:10:44.514 --> 01:10:45.113 That's right. 01:10:46.255 --> 01:10:47.835 but um let's jump into a little bit 01:10:47.875 --> 01:10:50.336 of the advice you know create some creator 01:10:50.376 --> 01:10:53.277 advice here what is your best advice for 01:10:53.436 --> 01:10:55.256 indie creators right now whether it's 01:10:55.317 --> 01:10:58.797 comic book books graphic novels somebody 01:10:58.858 --> 01:11:00.819 just now getting into it and diving into 01:11:00.838 --> 01:11:02.498 it what's the best advice you can give 01:11:02.519 --> 01:11:06.659 them stick to story whatever book you have 01:11:06.680 --> 01:11:09.680 to pick up whatever uh resource whatever 01:11:10.188 --> 01:11:12.170 intensive that you can take i took an 01:11:12.250 --> 01:11:13.990 eight-week intensive on writing story when 01:11:14.030 --> 01:11:15.511 i came out of scripting and i i 01:11:15.671 --> 01:11:18.253 have not i cannot tell you how grateful 01:11:18.293 --> 01:11:21.856 i am for that um master your craft 01:11:21.896 --> 01:11:23.398 don't just put stuff out there because you 01:11:23.438 --> 01:11:25.038 think that you got a great idea that 01:11:25.078 --> 01:11:28.060 that goes along that goes only so far 01:11:28.081 --> 01:11:29.943 people will remember your story if they 01:11:30.023 --> 01:11:32.704 really really like what you did and um 01:11:32.845 --> 01:11:36.006 and you have to have an outline but 01:11:36.046 --> 01:11:37.707 when you if you don't have an outline 01:11:37.728 --> 01:11:38.569 you don't have a story 01:11:40.033 --> 01:11:42.435 And so make sure that you understand how 01:11:42.454 --> 01:11:43.654 to create an outline. 01:11:44.715 --> 01:11:45.315 And that way, 01:11:45.355 --> 01:11:47.595 that's going to be your pathway that's 01:11:47.615 --> 01:11:49.356 going to give you direction and focus. 01:11:49.837 --> 01:11:51.056 And you'll be able to put out something 01:11:51.077 --> 01:11:53.118 that people will really enjoy. 01:11:53.557 --> 01:11:54.878 And there's rules to writing. 01:11:55.118 --> 01:11:57.078 And if you use the rules, you know, 01:11:57.099 --> 01:11:58.739 people have this great experience and not 01:11:58.760 --> 01:12:01.240 even know how you just kind of manipulated 01:12:01.261 --> 01:12:02.961 them into loving your story. 01:12:02.980 --> 01:12:04.981 But if you get those rules together, 01:12:05.742 --> 01:12:07.382 you really set yourself up for being 01:12:07.422 --> 01:12:08.483 successful as a writer. 01:12:09.586 --> 01:12:11.426 and what's great about yes there's rules 01:12:11.527 --> 01:12:14.668 to it but everybody is different so you 01:12:14.710 --> 01:12:17.211 may read one way of doing it you 01:12:17.230 --> 01:12:19.051 may read two or three ways of doing 01:12:19.112 --> 01:12:21.613 it you're always going to adopt your own 01:12:21.694 --> 01:12:24.216 methodology that you that you find that 01:12:24.336 --> 01:12:26.436 works for you yeah and it's going to 01:12:26.476 --> 01:12:29.439 be a mixture of multiple different 01:12:30.895 --> 01:12:33.757 theories of writing, you know? 01:12:33.797 --> 01:12:35.378 So again, 01:12:35.578 --> 01:12:38.161 just if that's what you're interested in, 01:12:38.180 --> 01:12:39.061 like he just said, 01:12:39.783 --> 01:12:42.725 just read about writing, 01:12:42.965 --> 01:12:44.166 which is crazy to say, 01:12:44.805 --> 01:12:46.627 but you have to read about writing. 01:12:46.927 --> 01:12:47.627 Yeah. 01:12:47.849 --> 01:12:50.210 And whenever you write, you need to read, 01:12:50.250 --> 01:12:51.771 you need to see what successful people 01:12:51.792 --> 01:12:52.851 have done with that genre. 01:12:52.872 --> 01:12:54.514 So there's just a copycat lead. 01:12:55.014 --> 01:12:56.215 Oh man, they wrote it this way. 01:12:56.234 --> 01:12:57.676 They, they felt this character this way. 01:12:58.105 --> 01:12:58.485 I had a way, 01:12:58.506 --> 01:12:59.707 I'm going to set my character up too. 01:12:59.846 --> 01:13:01.207 I'm just going to follow their format, 01:13:01.327 --> 01:13:02.387 you know? 01:13:02.427 --> 01:13:03.828 But then you get that, 01:13:04.528 --> 01:13:06.408 that's great until you realize you just 01:13:06.429 --> 01:13:08.010 wrote the same as that character they did. 01:13:08.609 --> 01:13:09.510 Right. 01:13:10.149 --> 01:13:11.751 And it feels the same. 01:13:12.011 --> 01:13:14.271 There's tone shifts, you know what I mean? 01:13:14.292 --> 01:13:15.912 Like in Hollywood, they have a saying, 01:13:15.932 --> 01:13:18.132 it's like, give me the same but different. 01:13:18.753 --> 01:13:19.314 You know what I mean? 01:13:19.333 --> 01:13:20.474 Because there's only so many ways you can 01:13:20.493 --> 01:13:21.154 tell a story. 01:13:21.194 --> 01:13:22.215 But okay, 01:13:22.675 --> 01:13:24.496 how many orphan stories have we seen that 01:13:24.515 --> 01:13:25.176 have been successful? 01:13:25.690 --> 01:13:26.751 And you think that we'd be done with 01:13:26.831 --> 01:13:27.430 orphan stories, 01:13:27.470 --> 01:13:28.612 but there's an orphan story. 01:13:28.631 --> 01:13:28.771 Oh, 01:13:28.872 --> 01:13:30.811 there's always a new murdering orphan out 01:13:30.832 --> 01:13:31.171 there, man. 01:13:31.192 --> 01:13:33.471 Because people understand that, you know? 01:13:33.731 --> 01:13:35.233 So you've got to still stay in that 01:13:35.292 --> 01:13:37.613 realm of what people understand by giving 01:13:37.632 --> 01:13:39.412 them something with a different wrinkle in 01:13:39.432 --> 01:13:39.953 it, you know? 01:13:40.094 --> 01:13:41.734 Oh, yeah. 01:13:41.793 --> 01:13:43.793 So what do you think is the biggest 01:13:43.854 --> 01:13:46.095 misconception about publishing? 01:13:47.515 --> 01:13:48.595 That you're going to be an overnight 01:13:48.635 --> 01:13:48.954 success. 01:13:49.234 --> 01:13:50.015 If I put this out, 01:13:50.055 --> 01:13:51.074 everybody's going to go buy it. 01:13:51.095 --> 01:13:51.194 Oh, 01:13:51.256 --> 01:13:52.836 I can't wait to sell a million copies. 01:13:52.855 --> 01:13:53.195 Okay. 01:13:53.395 --> 01:13:53.676 Okay. 01:13:56.738 --> 01:13:57.738 I always like to say, 01:13:59.000 --> 01:14:00.702 nobody thinks you're special except 01:14:00.742 --> 01:14:02.483 yourself and your mom. 01:14:02.502 --> 01:14:08.148 I about to say, yo mama. 01:14:08.167 --> 01:14:09.349 That's a good one. 01:14:09.670 --> 01:14:11.411 So what do you think separates creators 01:14:11.451 --> 01:14:13.592 who succeed versus those who fail? 01:14:14.373 --> 01:14:15.395 Those who don't give up. 01:14:15.475 --> 01:14:15.635 I mean, 01:14:15.654 --> 01:14:17.235 you got to realize that this is a 01:14:17.317 --> 01:14:17.856 marathon. 01:14:17.877 --> 01:14:18.837 This is not a sprint. 01:14:19.518 --> 01:14:22.461 And if you have passion for your project 01:14:22.501 --> 01:14:23.381 and you have ideas, 01:14:23.871 --> 01:14:24.711 you know, get out there, 01:14:24.751 --> 01:14:26.712 share it to the world and speak on 01:14:26.752 --> 01:14:29.551 it because people will get along. 01:14:29.591 --> 01:14:30.992 They'll come alongside you if they see 01:14:31.012 --> 01:14:32.092 that you're really, really interested. 01:14:32.153 --> 01:14:34.212 I cannot tell you how many times I 01:14:34.233 --> 01:14:35.974 start a dialogue about something and they 01:14:35.993 --> 01:14:36.253 say, well, 01:14:36.713 --> 01:14:37.873 and then people start to like you and 01:14:37.894 --> 01:14:38.854 they say, well, tell me about your book. 01:14:38.913 --> 01:14:40.194 And you tell them and they go, well, 01:14:40.213 --> 01:14:40.975 yeah, I want to support. 01:14:41.015 --> 01:14:41.654 I want to pick it up. 01:14:41.675 --> 01:14:42.614 That sounds interesting. 01:14:43.095 --> 01:14:44.454 So you've got to know it. 01:14:44.515 --> 01:14:45.335 You've got to love it. 01:14:45.996 --> 01:14:47.136 And if you love your story, 01:14:47.155 --> 01:14:50.976 then other people will love it as well. 01:14:51.016 --> 01:14:52.077 I always like to think, too, 01:14:53.761 --> 01:14:55.162 The successful creators, 01:14:55.922 --> 01:14:57.983 they have a longer list of failures behind 01:14:58.002 --> 01:14:58.182 them. 01:14:58.203 --> 01:15:01.863 Yeah, absolutely. 01:15:02.163 --> 01:15:02.463 So, all right. 01:15:02.823 --> 01:15:03.663 I told you we were going to do 01:15:03.684 --> 01:15:04.564 a quick fire round. 01:15:04.623 --> 01:15:05.184 Are you ready? 01:15:05.203 --> 01:15:06.145 I'm ready. 01:15:07.064 --> 01:15:07.425 All right. 01:15:08.204 --> 01:15:12.025 Favorite samurai film. 01:15:12.046 --> 01:15:13.586 If we talk about live action film. 01:15:14.326 --> 01:15:14.945 Your choice. 01:15:15.185 --> 01:15:16.707 The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise. 01:15:16.726 --> 01:15:16.867 Oh, that. 01:15:19.395 --> 01:15:21.476 that one that was good and it shouldn't 01:15:21.516 --> 01:15:23.478 have been because it's tom cruise not a 01:15:23.537 --> 01:15:26.420 tom cruise fan but uh i would go 01:15:26.479 --> 01:15:30.502 forty seven road in myself with uh but 01:15:30.622 --> 01:15:32.984 hey both got that same feel to them 01:15:33.765 --> 01:15:36.487 your favorite historical figure beside 01:15:36.827 --> 01:15:41.831 yosuke he cannot be an answer historical 01:15:42.091 --> 01:15:46.833 figure malcolm x oh damn good women all 01:15:46.913 --> 01:15:47.854 right writing soundtrack 01:15:49.724 --> 01:15:52.425 Oh, my writing soundtrack? 01:15:52.524 --> 01:15:54.466 I'll be honest, I always use audiobooks. 01:15:55.065 --> 01:15:56.686 I just put on my favorite list of 01:15:56.766 --> 01:15:57.106 audiobooks. 01:15:57.127 --> 01:15:57.506 I'm like, ooh, 01:15:57.527 --> 01:15:58.368 tonight I'm listening to this. 01:15:58.667 --> 01:16:00.247 Whatever I'm writing, I'm listening to. 01:16:01.548 --> 01:16:04.010 So it's funny, when I'm writing these, 01:16:04.329 --> 01:16:05.510 I'm listening to music. 01:16:05.570 --> 01:16:06.331 But on road trips, 01:16:06.610 --> 01:16:08.832 I'm listening to podcasts or audiobooks. 01:16:09.921 --> 01:16:13.341 But I'm also like, you're from Atlanta, 01:16:13.362 --> 01:16:13.622 man. 01:16:13.702 --> 01:16:14.983 You could have gave me OutKast and I 01:16:15.023 --> 01:16:15.582 would have been like, 01:16:15.603 --> 01:16:17.143 that's my people right there. 01:16:17.162 --> 01:16:17.923 Migos are my people. 01:16:17.944 --> 01:16:18.243 I love OutKast. 01:16:18.264 --> 01:16:21.425 I grew up on OutKast. 01:16:21.505 --> 01:16:28.306 But now, man, if I'm bumping, 01:16:28.327 --> 01:16:29.186 I got the Migos in there. 01:16:29.207 --> 01:16:30.386 That was one of the first times I 01:16:30.426 --> 01:16:33.849 felt like I legit drove to Atlanta just 01:16:33.889 --> 01:16:37.329 to see OutKast at some music festival in 01:16:37.390 --> 01:16:37.770 Atlanta. 01:16:38.739 --> 01:16:39.501 I did not fit in. 01:16:39.541 --> 01:16:40.440 I'll say it like that. 01:16:41.242 --> 01:16:42.462 But I was very welcomed. 01:16:42.521 --> 01:16:43.762 It was really cool. 01:16:44.123 --> 01:16:45.344 And I went to the barbecue. 01:16:45.363 --> 01:16:45.484 Always. 01:16:45.503 --> 01:16:50.067 You don't have to fit in, 01:16:50.087 --> 01:16:50.948 but we will always welcome you for sure. 01:16:50.967 --> 01:16:52.128 It's just, oh, man, I love Atlanta. 01:16:52.248 --> 01:16:53.770 I can't say enough great things about it. 01:16:54.489 --> 01:16:56.131 So I don't know how much you read 01:16:56.190 --> 01:16:56.811 Indy comments, 01:16:56.851 --> 01:16:59.873 but Indy comments you recommend. 01:17:00.154 --> 01:17:01.134 And this time you can say Yasuki. 01:17:01.154 --> 01:17:01.555 I can say Yasuki, 01:17:01.574 --> 01:17:06.637 but I'll be quite honest with you. 01:17:07.728 --> 01:17:10.448 The Menzuo Saga is fantastic. 01:17:11.369 --> 01:17:11.869 I love, 01:17:11.890 --> 01:17:13.831 we have another author named Chris 01:17:14.131 --> 01:17:14.650 McCauley. 01:17:14.671 --> 01:17:18.131 He's actually written on the Babylon Five 01:17:18.252 --> 01:17:19.132 comic series. 01:17:20.033 --> 01:17:22.613 He's actually written on the IDW, right? 01:17:24.295 --> 01:17:25.814 IDW does the Babylon Five. 01:17:26.895 --> 01:17:29.997 And he's also done the Bram Stoker 01:17:30.056 --> 01:17:32.438 universe of comic. 01:17:32.898 --> 01:17:35.158 But he gifted us with Nexus Ashton, 01:17:35.179 --> 01:17:35.618 which is our 01:17:36.868 --> 01:17:37.489 one is a comic, 01:17:37.569 --> 01:17:38.710 one is a graphic novel. 01:17:38.909 --> 01:17:39.569 I'm not a graphic novel. 01:17:39.590 --> 01:17:40.490 One is a manga novel, 01:17:40.570 --> 01:17:42.371 one is a comic. 01:17:42.610 --> 01:17:44.152 And so they kind of run side by 01:17:44.212 --> 01:17:44.452 side, 01:17:44.511 --> 01:17:45.792 even though they're different timelines. 01:17:45.813 --> 01:17:47.752 It's like the novel is thirty years in 01:17:47.773 --> 01:17:51.034 the past, or present, 01:17:51.095 --> 01:17:52.774 if you think about future times. 01:17:52.875 --> 01:17:53.074 Either way, 01:17:53.095 --> 01:17:54.315 they're separated by thirty years. 01:17:54.355 --> 01:17:55.536 So you have a whole bunch of big 01:17:55.555 --> 01:17:56.197 fighting robots. 01:17:56.216 --> 01:17:58.557 So there's mecha that look more like the 01:17:58.618 --> 01:18:00.337 mech warrior, kind of slower things. 01:18:00.637 --> 01:18:02.059 And then you've got the ones in the 01:18:02.099 --> 01:18:03.779 future, like thirty years forward, 01:18:03.800 --> 01:18:04.899 that look more like Gundams. 01:18:05.412 --> 01:18:07.734 and nexus asthma is a fantastic series i'm 01:18:07.913 --> 01:18:10.475 i'm actually finishing up the uh novel uh 01:18:10.536 --> 01:18:14.658 now on kindle okay um i like my 01:18:14.797 --> 01:18:18.720 my boy um dan price with a big 01:18:18.760 --> 01:18:23.743 foot uh nose karate okay okay yes so 01:18:23.762 --> 01:18:26.524 coffee tea or what are you using for 01:18:26.583 --> 01:18:28.024 late night fuel to keep you going tea 01:18:28.904 --> 01:18:33.568 tea all day chai okay okay i i 01:18:33.608 --> 01:18:33.828 will 01:18:34.435 --> 01:18:36.296 I am very much a coffee guy from 01:18:36.916 --> 01:18:39.356 the time I wake up until a few 01:18:39.377 --> 01:18:40.356 hours before bed. 01:18:40.738 --> 01:18:41.417 Like I just, 01:18:42.158 --> 01:18:45.038 I just finished a cup after dinner. 01:18:45.099 --> 01:18:46.220 I got to have it, you know, 01:18:47.720 --> 01:18:48.421 living in Asia. 01:18:48.440 --> 01:18:49.680 That's what they do after dinner. 01:18:49.701 --> 01:18:52.242 They have a cup of coffee and I 01:18:52.261 --> 01:18:53.282 just kind of picked it up. 01:18:53.643 --> 01:18:57.224 So, but Braston plug away, man, 01:18:57.344 --> 01:18:58.725 where can people find you at in your 01:18:58.744 --> 01:18:58.845 work? 01:18:58.864 --> 01:18:58.944 Yeah. 01:18:58.965 --> 01:19:02.305 If you guys want to come by, um, 01:19:03.413 --> 01:19:06.114 www.cosmimediaproductions.com. 01:19:06.135 --> 01:19:09.756 There you'll be able to subscribe to our 01:19:09.796 --> 01:19:10.355 newsletter, 01:19:10.576 --> 01:19:12.176 get all the updates on new stuff we 01:19:12.197 --> 01:19:12.856 got coming out. 01:19:13.377 --> 01:19:14.596 You'll be able to scroll right down the 01:19:14.658 --> 01:19:17.018 center by genre and find anything in those 01:19:17.037 --> 01:19:18.779 genres you like, young adult, fantasy, 01:19:18.798 --> 01:19:20.998 science fiction, poetry, inspirational, 01:19:21.019 --> 01:19:22.979 you name it, we got it. 01:19:23.399 --> 01:19:23.979 On the side, 01:19:24.000 --> 01:19:25.081 you'll be able to see our links that 01:19:25.100 --> 01:19:26.900 take you to our social media for X, 01:19:27.280 --> 01:19:29.362 for Instagram, and for Facebook. 01:19:29.907 --> 01:19:30.787 On Instagram, 01:19:30.828 --> 01:19:32.748 we are Star Child underscore comics. 01:19:32.988 --> 01:19:34.990 On Cosmetic Productions, 01:19:35.011 --> 01:19:36.150 we are Cosmetic Productions. 01:19:36.591 --> 01:19:37.771 And if you just want to follow me, 01:19:37.792 --> 01:19:39.132 it's Braxton A. 01:19:39.193 --> 01:19:44.136 Cosby on Instagram and on Facebook. 01:19:44.356 --> 01:19:44.697 Awesome. 01:19:44.796 --> 01:19:45.237 And also, 01:19:45.337 --> 01:19:47.979 all those links will be listed down below 01:19:47.998 --> 01:19:50.581 this in the description when this gets 01:19:50.720 --> 01:19:52.261 re-released onto YouTube. 01:19:52.582 --> 01:19:53.523 And also, 01:19:53.682 --> 01:19:55.904 it will be underneath the description of 01:19:55.925 --> 01:19:56.185 this. 01:19:57.082 --> 01:19:59.082 the actual podcast itself when it goes 01:19:59.143 --> 01:20:00.903 live on podcasting platform. 01:20:00.922 --> 01:20:02.304 So you will be able to see that 01:20:02.764 --> 01:20:05.104 no matter where you listen to the USDN 01:20:05.185 --> 01:20:05.324 app, 01:20:05.805 --> 01:20:07.845 you will be able to find those links 01:20:07.885 --> 01:20:08.386 for sure. 01:20:09.365 --> 01:20:13.606 But Braston, dude, awesome to have you on. 01:20:14.186 --> 01:20:15.188 Such a fun time. 01:20:15.707 --> 01:20:17.347 A good way to close out a Wednesday 01:20:17.488 --> 01:20:17.847 evening. 01:20:18.269 --> 01:20:20.529 No, it was my pleasure, man. 01:20:20.548 --> 01:20:21.770 Thank you so much. 01:20:21.789 --> 01:20:22.829 I'm honored to be a part of 01:20:23.681 --> 01:20:25.002 with you guys a building and it was 01:20:25.042 --> 01:20:28.305 fantastic now i i appreciate that so 01:20:28.426 --> 01:20:31.889 history remembers warriors stories 01:20:32.408 --> 01:20:35.371 remember legends and sometimes the most 01:20:35.430 --> 01:20:38.194 powerful journeys are ones that bridge 01:20:38.314 --> 01:20:40.796 both worlds bradston again thank you for 01:20:40.815 --> 01:20:43.198 bringing yosuke's legacy to new audiences 01:20:43.238 --> 01:20:45.599 and for reminding us that the strongest 01:20:45.639 --> 01:20:48.362 heroes aren't defined by where they start 01:20:48.921 --> 01:20:52.425 but but by what they choose to become 01:20:53.837 --> 01:20:55.918 Make sure you check out the Yasuki 01:20:56.179 --> 01:20:57.940 duology, support the creators, 01:20:58.421 --> 01:21:01.805 follow the journey and keep champion indie 01:21:02.064 --> 01:21:02.945 storytelling. 01:21:03.627 --> 01:21:06.750 This has been the USDN podcast where indie 01:21:06.770 --> 01:21:08.412 comments come to life. 01:21:09.131 --> 01:21:11.515 The council is now adjourned. 01:21:12.475 --> 01:21:13.417 Y'all be safe out there.