Episode Transcript
[00:00:06] Speaker A: Well, Greg, I had a hat like I saw on this cover once.
[00:00:11] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, kinda.
[00:00:12] Speaker A: It wasn't pink. I got myself one of those like angry birds, like wool hats. It was like an amazing nice. You could wear it to debate tournaments as a coach. Go judge in turp rounds with it on.
[00:00:26] Speaker B: Classy.
[00:00:27] Speaker A: It was very classy. There were a few people in the community that weren't really happy with my hat.
[00:00:32] Speaker B: I'm sure they weren't. They were probably like, why are you wearing that hat? That is so not professional.
[00:00:38] Speaker A: That is exactly the comments I got. This is unprofessional. So there were a couple of times where I put on a full suit and then wore the hat with the suit.
[00:00:47] Speaker B: See, that is professional.
[00:00:48] Speaker A: It's extremely professional.
[00:00:50] Speaker B: I applaud that.
[00:00:51] Speaker A: It was not me waving a big middle finger at everybody. It was certainly being professional.
[00:00:56] Speaker B: Is it because your head was cold?
[00:00:58] Speaker A: My head's always cold, yes, that's why I bought the hat.
My head was cold. And remember when everybody was playing angry birds on the phone and there have been people at times that may have said I was kind of angry.
[00:01:12] Speaker B: Are you saying that people aren't playing Angry Birds anymore? Because I am still playing Angry Birds.
[00:01:18] Speaker A: Okay, well, when you don't update your phone for 15 years. Yeah. I mean that you tend to play angry birds. I mean, I just bought a new phone.
[00:01:26] Speaker B: I honestly thought I was going to have to buy a new phone yesterday because when you were trying to call me, my phone was freaking out and I was like, I don't understand why it's not answering, why nothing is working. Nothing is working on my phone. I couldn't go to email, I couldn't go to voicemail, I couldn't go to text, I couldn't go to anything. Nothing was working. Nothing at all. And it didn't work for 5 hours.
[00:01:52] Speaker A: And see, here's the difference between you and I. If my phone battery can't last 6 hours, I buy a new phone.
[00:01:58] Speaker B: It wasn't the battery. It was like the whole entire, everything was messed up.
[00:02:03] Speaker A: Sure. You waited to that point. I would have been like at battery won't last longer than six to 7 hours. I'm like done.
[00:02:11] Speaker B: I went through and I nuked the phone, came back, it's working fine.
[00:02:17] Speaker A: Did you melt the phone?
[00:02:19] Speaker B: No, I threw in the microwave. Of course, that's what the YouTube video said. Throw in the microwave, it'll fix it certain amount. No, I didn't.
I went through and like deleted a bunch of stuff for another, I don't know an hour or two just deleting things until it worked.
[00:02:40] Speaker A: Well, it is really cool today because while you were doing all that, I read a power pack comic book from the 80s last night, but I was a little confused.
[00:02:50] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:02:51] Speaker A: Well, there was these kids and they sort of looked like power pack, and they were, like, fighting for America.
[00:02:58] Speaker B: Oh, cool.
[00:02:58] Speaker A: There was only two of them. Oh, yeah. And then this weird guy was investigating them. He sort of looked like a cross between Geraldo Rivera and Commissioner Gordon.
[00:03:10] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:03:11] Speaker A: Yeah, I like it.
Or maybe just the Twitch character from Spawn, because I guess that was like a hybrid of Commissioner Gordon and other.
[00:03:23] Speaker B: Things and Geraldo Rivera kind of.
[00:03:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:03:27] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:03:27] Speaker A: He seems like it. I don't know. I don't know that the Tod father has confirmed that, but the Todd father? Yeah, I don't mess with the Todd father.
[00:03:38] Speaker B: No, you don't mess with the Todd father. He owes me $4.
[00:03:41] Speaker A: He does?
[00:03:42] Speaker B: Yes. Dude. Well, we put money on stuff down at the spider's web, and I never got my things. They closed.
[00:03:50] Speaker A: Oh, it closed before you could get a book. Okay. Yeah.
[00:03:53] Speaker B: And I'm pretty sure I'm going to chase them down someday and be like.
[00:03:58] Speaker A: Technically, Tim owes you $4.
[00:04:00] Speaker B: Tim owes me $4.
[00:04:01] Speaker A: Father owes you $4.
[00:04:02] Speaker B: I'm going to hold them to it.
[00:04:03] Speaker A: But the Todd father's brother in law and best friend owes you $4.
[00:04:07] Speaker B: $4. I'm show up like the kid from better off dead on my bike.
[00:04:16] Speaker A: Well, the good news is you could impersonate something, but not that I figured you were impersonating Stan Lee.
[00:04:23] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, I could maybe. I mean, I had to grow a mustache again, which that does not go over too well. My house.
[00:04:30] Speaker A: Yeah. It's a terrible idea.
[00:04:31] Speaker B: It's a bad look on Greg.
[00:04:33] Speaker A: I'm going to have to agree with your wife on this.
Takes.
[00:04:38] Speaker B: It takes a while.
[00:04:41] Speaker A: Well, the good news is I read a comic book. YEah, last night. That's amazing.
[00:04:47] Speaker B: You read a comic book. I'm impressed.
[00:04:49] Speaker A: I read a comic book from 2020.
[00:04:52] Speaker B: Whoa. A new comic book, not an old comic book.
[00:04:55] Speaker A: Correct. I actually read a few new comic books as of late.
I was reading Dan Jurgens, which is kind of like reading an old comic book, but plotted and wrote with a few other folks, these large hundred page books for DC. A couple of them.
I heard people saying they don't like them, but I absolutely love them.
They fit in that timeline where the heroes never age and it's kind of like time's frozen and they were having this big adventure where against one of the lords of chaos and order and everything who could hold time. And it was fun.
It was like the Batman from the Commandee. And Superboy. Like the Superboy, the Adventures of Superman.
[00:05:47] Speaker B: When he was a boy.
[00:05:48] Speaker A: Superboy, yeah.
And Booster Gold. Old Booster Gold. And young Booster Gold.
To me, it was just fun.
[00:05:59] Speaker B: That's cool.
[00:06:00] Speaker A: I heard people complaining that the story wasn'tight enough for them and I was like, well, sometimes I just want to have fun. So I've been reading a few of the DC Future state books. They've been okay.
[00:06:16] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:06:17] Speaker A: Some of them have been okay. Some of them have been phenomenal.
Totally blanking.
Is it Mark Russell or the Pink Panther?
Absolute wrong character. Dan, we just read the books.
Snagglepuss.
[00:06:33] Speaker B: Snagglepuss?
[00:06:34] Speaker A: Yeah. The author of that is writing this Superman, Imperious Lex where Lex has his own planet.
[00:06:42] Speaker B: Oh, wow.
[00:06:42] Speaker A: And he tries to join the United Planets and they're trying to figure out how to tell them no. But this whole planet worships him. And it's kind of fun.
A lot of fun. But I, like, I, contrary to popular belief here, I know we're probably wasting a lot of time on this. But I do actually read new comic books. I don't just read old ones.
[00:07:02] Speaker B: He digs into the new long box, the box of books that are new.
[00:07:07] Speaker A: That may actually surprise people.
It's funny because I'm going to talk about a different co author of yours than what we're about to talk about right now.
I speak with one of your co authors once a year because when Comic Con actually happens, of course, it didn't happen this year. And we sit at the end of the table and talk about all the new comic books while everybody else talks about other stuff, which I always think is great.
[00:07:34] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:07:36] Speaker A: Because we actually read them.
[00:07:39] Speaker B: I read some new comics occasionally.
[00:07:41] Speaker A: I know. I'm not saying you don't, but we both have an affinity for new superhero comic books where true. The rest of the crowd is kind of like, oh, superhero comic books. So passe.
[00:07:51] Speaker B: I want to read that bank robbing comic book. Or that other heist book.
[00:07:58] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:07:58] Speaker B: Or that really cool drug music book.
[00:08:03] Speaker A: Have you read that indie thing by that Indie person who did an indie thing?
[00:08:07] Speaker B: Which one?
There's a few.
[00:08:10] Speaker A: Yeah.
So it was kind of fun. But anyway, yeah, so like I said, I read this book and it was written by you.
[00:08:22] Speaker B: What?
It couldn't have just been written by me. It had to have been written. If it was written by my other co writer, it had to have been written by the amazing Travis Webb.
[00:08:32] Speaker A: That's me. I'm going to ask you for some scoops, okay? Okay. Some scoops as we go through, but can you give me one scoop? So I was reading this book, this.
[00:08:43] Speaker B: Book that you have not named yet.
[00:08:45] Speaker A: Right. I was reading this book, and I felt like the Travis person was doing more of the plotting and the Greg person was doing more of the scripting.
[00:08:55] Speaker B: It was definitely a flipperoo of the normal Mike and Greg party that you're used to. So for our listener out there and anybody that does jump in on this, in Junior Braves Land, I do the plotting generally, and Mike scripts it out.
And in this book, it was a flipperoo, 100%. And it was kind of crazy and kind of nice to take a different role and a stroll in some different shoes.
[00:09:35] Speaker A: Yeah. So you were JM de Mateus and Travis was Keith Giffett.
[00:09:41] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:09:42] Speaker A: Awesome. That's something I can relate.
I it's funny because I've known you for so long, I can hear you sometimes when I read stuff you script, so sometimes I hear it in your voice, which is really weird when I'm reading it.
[00:10:01] Speaker B: That's awesome.
[00:10:03] Speaker A: But we could get into that, so I guess I'm glad I picked up on it. I'd feel embarrassed, as a longtime friend of yours, not to pick up on the stuff that was actually your scripting.
[00:10:13] Speaker B: Oh, man, that is good, though. That's crazy, because as a storyteller, it's nice to know that there's a voice to what I do, not to say that that's not 100% in Junior Braves. There's a lot of times where Mike and I will take a chapter and people will say, you wrote that one. And I'm like, how could you tell? And they're like, it all flows. But there's definitely a moment, right, where there's a little bit of when you flip a record and it's like, oh, hey, that's a different track.
But then it all goes back together in continuity. Right.
But, yeah, it's nice to hear somebody that's known me for. We've been friends forever, and you're like, oh, yeah, no, this is definitely a Greg voice.
[00:11:04] Speaker A: I could definitely hear it. Well, we're here to talk about Starlight issue two.
[00:11:09] Speaker B: Oh, yes. Starlight issue two. That's what you're reading? Just came out reading, yeah. Just got in the mail. We put it out for everyone to enjoy, but for those who are not in a date or those unordained. Is that the correct terminology? Yes. Starlight, I can tell you a little bit about the Starlight comic book series that Travis Webb and I have been working on for. Man, it's been a few years now since he tapped me on the shoulder and like, Greg, come along on this journey with me. So Starlight is essentially what happens when childhood superheroes are all grown up and what kind of things happen to them.
We wrote a story about some kids that do they end up wanting to know, do they end up like the Hollywood stars that you see on TMZ? And they got the paparazzi chasing after them to get those hot pics and stuff like that, of them out doing things or whatever, or are they forgotten? And this is kind of like that story.
The main story follows Chris and Sarah Sheridan, the formerly known as Mighty Boy and the Melter. They were the sensational ultra kids.
[00:12:35] Speaker A: You mean power pack.
[00:12:37] Speaker B: There's a bit of a love letter. There's a bit of a love letter. I'm not going to lie.
[00:12:41] Speaker A: Totally a love letter. Oh, so, Bret. Talk about Bret for a.
[00:12:47] Speaker B: Bret, the awesome and amazing artist. So, Bret Woodell, this is one of those things where, and I have to say, we'll get into where this all came from. But really this is purely the imagining of Travis and Bret wanting to do something fun with superheroes, but coming up with a different take, if you will, and bringing along this feeling of like, okay, what happens to these kids after that? And Bret does such a great job. If you know of the different things that Bret has done anywhere from now, I'm going to blank on the biggest thing that everybody knows.
Why can't I think of the name of the book?
[00:13:48] Speaker A: Well, you can't think of the book in the movie. But I've got to tell you the biggest thing that Bret has told me that he has done. Because Bret is a beautiful watercolor artist.
[00:13:57] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:13:58] Speaker A: And he sells more of that Golden Girls painting.
[00:14:01] Speaker B: Oh my gosh, yes.
[00:14:03] Speaker A: Anything so crazy.
[00:14:06] Speaker B: That's me.
[00:14:07] Speaker A: But it's so neat.
[00:14:09] Speaker B: Yeah.
No, why can't I insert.
[00:14:17] Speaker A: Well, we'll get back to that later.
Let's focus on the book. I'll help you out on this piece in a second here, but kind of focusing back in. Yeah. His art.
I'll have you give a synopsis of book one here in a second so we can get into book two. But I was looking at it. I think it's just a couple of pages in and that's the power pack reference comes from Bret's really cool art of the rendition of the Ultra Kids original costumes, yes, with the pale blue, with the white lightning bolts. But the first time I looked at it, I was like, oh, power pack.
[00:14:50] Speaker B: You got kids, superheroes. You got to dress them up in something that's kind of familiar, but also it's their own right. So it's got that touch note to it that you're like, oh, hey. And for Bret, a lot of the stuff he's done is very dark. It's a lot of crime stuff or Sci-Fi stuff or wrestling stuff. And to do a comic book that's around superheroes and music and other stuff like that with bright colors and other things like that, that's really lively.
And all this is a big jump. And he gets to play with a lot of different things that he has in his toolkit of his artistry. But to kind of lead you through what book one has in it, it's really essentially, you meet the kids, they're in a rave.
Chris is looking for his sister Sarah, who's off with her friends and being a kid, she's just trying to live as a kid. And Chris isn't having any of that because it's like, hey, we have to be the best that we are, and we have to do some other good stuff in the world. And we just can't be a bunch of kids out there partying it up. And he's like, I got to get you home. But he gets her home. And that's when the story really picks up and takes off because they literally get bombarded by a newsman who's much like Geraldo Rivera.
He wants to get this hot interview to find out who they really are. And then again, they get picked up and it does take off because that's where the aliens show up.
What's a good story without aliens, right? And they're not just regular old aliens. They're cat aliens.
[00:16:56] Speaker A: And of course, we have this weirdness with this reporter coming to investigate them, too, in the first book. Right? To track down the Ultra kids, to got the paparazzi on them.
[00:17:07] Speaker B: Yes.
When you got a guy that's chasing on him trying to break this story, he's trying to find out who are the Ultra kids? Where did the Ultra kids go?
Where have they been? Where's Cotton Eye Joe? Then he's going to show up. He's going to find him.
[00:17:33] Speaker A: And I love it, too, because he looks like Geraldo Rivera, who is still smoking cigarettes from the 80s, who still hasn't found the tomb on the special.
And maybe before he went crazy and went on Fox, he went crazy instead and started to try to find the Ultra.
[00:17:56] Speaker B: It's kind of. It's kind of become his.
[00:18:03] Speaker A: So it's interesting. And we end with the. Did I forget this? So book one, they got the cat aliens, they've got the grown up versions, I guess, or late teen versions of Mighty Boy and the melter here.
[00:18:22] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:18:23] Speaker A: And they've got the reporter. And then we get Captain Commander.
[00:18:27] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, Captain ComMander.
He's at the end. And it's funny, we've done some interviews and stuff like that with people, and they're like, oh, what's the story with Captain Commander?
It's about ultra kids.
It's about Chris and Sarah.
[00:18:48] Speaker A: Nobody cares about Captain Commander to be determined to be.
[00:18:55] Speaker B: He's.
If you read through, if you can pick up on some of the different things in the story itself, some of these things, as they have their discussions throughout the series and stuff like that.
And this isn't by any chance, there's no, by any means, spoiling anything, but they do talk about their time as superheroes.
[00:19:23] Speaker A: Right.
[00:19:23] Speaker B: So not that you're going to get a whole lot of this guy, but you're going to get some brief look backs at exactly what you saw and some more exposition as to how they got to and why they are the way they are.
[00:19:46] Speaker A: Go ahead. Sorry.
[00:19:46] Speaker B: No, you're going to say one of your favorite.
[00:19:48] Speaker A: Well, I just say one of my favorite parts. I'm back to the power pack thing a little bit, but one of my literal favorite parts is the homage. I mean, it's just two of them. Right. But with the taller, lengthier brother. Right.
With the little sister who has all the power.
[00:20:03] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:20:03] Speaker A: And the Big Brother is still dealing with that later on in the book. And it's kind of like, if. I'm not saying your book is Power pack, because it's definitely not, but in that comparison, always wondering what that would have looked like when they grew up. Right. Because the Big Brother always had this sort of complex in power pack. Right. I shouldn't say always, but later on had that sort of complex about not being the most powerful because he wanted to be the Big Brother. Right. And take care of everything. And so now I see a little bit of that in this book.
[00:20:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
Like I said, it has some homage to that, and we make no bones about it.
They point that out, and we definitely know that that's where a lot of our heart is. Right. In creating this.
We want to tell a story that felt familiar enough for somebody that was reading this, but also had a different layer. And yes, for anyone listening, there's some drug use as Sarah is taking drugs.
And definitely that is part of not always for people on rave culture, but definitely is part of rave culture and part of what she is substituting the superhero or not being a superhero.
[00:21:36] Speaker A: So here's something I did want to check in with you before we get to issue two.
[00:21:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:21:40] Speaker A: Did you know? Did I know at one point, the Power family was relocated to what island in Washington State?
[00:21:49] Speaker B: Bainbridge Island.
[00:21:50] Speaker A: That is correct.
So they moved from New York City to and New Jersey to Bainbridge Island. So I feel like we have a connection.
[00:22:04] Speaker B: Might. There might be, as I said, we make no bones about this. There is some homage to it. If anyone has ever been to Travis's house as well, the house that the Sheridans live in, that you see in book one that does get blown up, is definitely Travis's house.
[00:22:29] Speaker A: Well, we are out of book one, so we leave book one. Everybody's been abducted by. Well, not everybody. The reporter and the Sheridans.
[00:22:40] Speaker B: The Sheridan brother and sister have been kidnapped.
[00:22:43] Speaker A: Chris and Sarah, the Aliens. The Cat Aliens.
[00:22:47] Speaker B: The cat Aliens. Yes. Who are talking in some weird cat alien language.
[00:22:56] Speaker A: But I get a cover where they're sitting on a car and eating popcorn. Yes, I do like popcorn.
[00:23:05] Speaker B: You do like popcorn? Who doesn't like popcorn? It is delicious. Everyone loves popcorn. That is cover a. That is the Bret cover. And you'll see that on Starlet issue two. So issue one was titled, aptly titled, I'm Sorry I Bounced out of It. Issue one is titled, we have fun titles for these books, Starbright. And then you have Twinkle, twinkle Little Star as number two. So you have the eating popcorn on a car in Twinkle, twinkle little star for issue cover two.
Issue two, cover A.
And then issue two, cover B is the Jenna Ayub cover, which is Sarah with all of your favorite concession stand characters behind her as she is dancing away with light sticks and her glow wristbands and candy bracelets and her cat hat or her bunny hat. I said Cat hat. Her bunny hat, which I have one. I got one from the Creator. That was one of our cool tiers. Was. You could get one of those hats.
[00:24:25] Speaker A: Yeah. There are people in the back of this issue wearing those hats.
[00:24:29] Speaker B: They're so cool and very comfortable, super warm.
[00:24:33] Speaker A: Well, let's get into this.
[00:24:35] Speaker B: All right.
[00:24:36] Speaker A: We got the set up, and so we jump in. And you may not have mentioned this in your synopsis. You were too busy giving our family warning on drug use, but you failed to mention what you failed to mention was that Sarah took some ecstasy right before the end of book one.
[00:25:00] Speaker B: Yes, she took ecstasy at the end of book one.
Mainly it was to enhance whatever she has still in her in hopes that she can bring that power back.
[00:25:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
And she's a little sweating. A.
[00:25:34] Speaker B: Travis. Travis. Bret and I had a lot of discussions about how to really make this as real as possible and getting the character as honest. Right. So for those that are listening, if you've ever seen anyone that has taken ecstasy, it does raise your temperature levels, and you do sweat, and too much can probably melt your brain or definitely give you a very bad amount of heat in your head.
[00:26:14] Speaker A: And aptly named. She was called the melter, right? Yes, the melter and mighty boy.
We're in. And the melter appears to be melting. And we've got the reporter in the middle, which is.
I can't tell you how amazing the reporter in the middle is throughout the story. He's just there.
The former superheroes are just chilling out here, though. There's a lot of squenching as Sarah sucks on her binky.
[00:26:51] Speaker B: She doesn't want to grind her teeth, know.
[00:26:53] Speaker A: Yeah. Apparently that Binky seems to stay there a lot, though. I'm not sure what's going on with.
[00:26:58] Speaker B: The binky, but, hey, it's, again, with ecstasy use. You're grinding your teeth a lot, and you don't want to grind too much. So the binky definitely keeps your teeth from grinding too much.
[00:27:16] Speaker A: She must have a lot because that Binky stays around her neck all the.
[00:27:20] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:27:23] Speaker A: So while Chris is there and he explains to the reporter that Sarah's chewing on her binky because she's rolling. So you mentioned that we're flipping the next page, And Chris just spills the beans like a good big bro to the reporter.
But then it's interesting, too, because he sort of, in the first issue, is kind of looking out for. I would say kind of is. Right. Drags her back to the house. Really still looking out for. And now he looks sort of exasperated now that they've been captured by space aliens. He just gets asked, why is she taking this? And he's just like, ask her.
He's done with this.
[00:28:06] Speaker B: He's like, man, how did this get brought upon me?
How did this happen? I mean, why is this happening?
[00:28:15] Speaker A: Yeah. And now I'm on a spaceship with my little sister, who presumably does not have powers. Right. But we kind of know that she might.
[00:28:26] Speaker B: And a guy who they definitely don't want to be talking to.
[00:28:31] Speaker A: Right.
But I mean, I guess if you're captured by space aliens and you're out of space, who really cares if the paparazzi knows the goods, right?
[00:28:40] Speaker B: Right.
It could be all over at this moment, right.
[00:28:44] Speaker A: And so the reporter starts kind of going crazy on Sarah, asking her about it, why she would do it and everything.
And eventually she takes it all in and he keeps yelling, and she just tells him, you know, fuck off.
[00:29:00] Speaker B: I mean, as one would.
[00:29:03] Speaker A: As one probably would. All righty, Greg. So we flip the page here, and right after Sarah's telling the reporter to F off. And we've got cat aliens again.
[00:29:15] Speaker B: Yes, we do. Yes, we do.
[00:29:18] Speaker A: And we've got something else here that looks kind of spidery.
[00:29:22] Speaker B: It is. It's a spider. Aliens divine seek. And I mean, what's scarier than a giant interdimensional, transdimensional. Interpersonal transdimensional spider alien?
[00:29:36] Speaker A: Yes.
I don't know. I'm not as spider.
That's not true. Little spiders don't really bug me, but big spiders. Not a big fan of spiders.
[00:29:50] Speaker B: Me neither. No. If they can move the furniture. I mean, the bigger they are, the less they can do to you. But seriously, I'd rather not see them.
[00:30:01] Speaker A: Yeah. So we've got Vineseek here kind of in his destro. Yeah. GI Joe outfit here a little bit.
I see that a little bit. Maybe a little time here for those Legion of superheroes fans out there. All none of you. And we've got. Yeah. Going on. And this conversation doesn't look like it's going well.
[00:30:23] Speaker B: Oh, no, not at all.
Not at all. Because the fine Seek is looking for the Star Corps and, well, the Cat people. The Cat aliens.
Well, they brought him a couple of humans.
[00:30:40] Speaker A: Yeah, the Star Corps. Right. And so is the Star Corps. Now is that another team of kid heroes or.
[00:30:48] Speaker B: It's what the vine Seek is seeking.
[00:30:51] Speaker A: Okay, well, I guess we don't know.
And then that art on the next page, they start talking and he know they're talking. Hey, call your master and Vine. Keep just kind of looks at them and then they like, they're. Please, please, can you do that? And that mask opens up and it is really creepy.
[00:31:09] Speaker B: Yeah, it's like, oh, wait, there's a mask to hide the monster underneath it. And there's definitely more know, there's the.
[00:31:20] Speaker A: Eyes we were getting in the background on Bret's cover.
[00:31:23] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:31:23] Speaker A: So, okay, I see it now. So I don't know about the popcorn in the car, but we are definitely here. And this is a little nuts. Okay, so I like the cat aliens, though, man. They're persistent, right? Like, hey, we've got some extra cargo. It's going to cost you to dispose of that.
And vine keeps just kind of like, yeah, I'm sure we'll take care of that. Just shut up and give me the Starcore.
[00:31:53] Speaker B: I have to say, like, with all this, David was super. He came in clutch in the editing of a lot of stuff in here because we had so much dialogue going on, and it was muddying up a lot of what Bret had drawn. And David, the editor.
David Mayer, the editor? Yes.
[00:32:17] Speaker A: I don't think we've introduced David.
[00:32:18] Speaker B: No, we have.
Really. He really brought his a game for this issue. He's learned a lot editing different stuff in the past, doing magazines, newspaper stuff, and then a couple of short comics with me and then jumping into this, going through all the issues to make sure that everything kind of ties together and hitting a lot of the nuances and subtleties that need to be there, but also making sure that a lot of stuff that can go away just gets noted so that Travis and I can make those tough decisions to, as most writers do, have to kill those babies occasionally and we chop some lines. But it was worth it because Bret's art is amazing on these pages. Oh, my.
I'm. I'm just looking at it again. I'm like, it's like looking at it the first time again.
[00:33:17] Speaker A: Yep. So we're bouncing back in. And by the way, for all one listeners, our one listener, David Mayer. If you want an editor, reach out to this guy.
[00:33:26] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, I would strongly.
[00:33:29] Speaker A: Sure we can put his contact information in the show.
[00:33:32] Speaker B: Yeah, we can.
[00:33:35] Speaker A: I'd hire him.
[00:33:38] Speaker B: I would say I would, but I already did. Again.
[00:33:41] Speaker A: Oh, I think I referred him to you.
[00:33:43] Speaker B: You did? I had to say for. For David. He actually started out as the intern for Junior Braves.
He met me after doing a speech about comics with you, and he was quick to be like, hey, do you need an intern?
And I thought about it for a minute, because I was like, I've never had anybody ask me that, nor do I think I really need one. But he was an all around kind of like a MacGyver at conventions, quick to help out, set up stuff, not just for myself, but other people.
Just a pleasure to have around and really willing to learn how a lot of the behind the scenes kind of works. Because if you want to work in comics, it is a lot of other stuff going on.
Just a lot of self doing. You have to do a lot of stuff.
[00:34:54] Speaker A: Well, David is the editor here, and he cleaned up a lot of the dialogue, it sounds like. And we're flipping pages. Yep. And we've got everybody back on, trapped on these big stick things again. Presumably ready for spiders to eat them. And hadn't thought about that before. So that was unsettling once I got there. And so now we get Chris here, making fun of the reporter, which I love.
[00:35:27] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:35:28] Speaker A: So you thought you found the ultra kids, eh? And so they get into a little bit of a discussion. And the reporters thought he was wrong, maybe. And Chris is just spouting off about those smart kids. Everybody wanted to be them, just having a blast with this reporter. And they flip the page and it gets really dark. And the reporter's like, you don't get it, kid. And Chris said, what? Get what?
And he said, I never planned to find them. They're dead.
And we're about to be dead too. And we get this painting.
[00:36:06] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:36:08] Speaker A: Of Chris and Sarah dead on the ground.
[00:36:13] Speaker B: Well, the ultra kids, dead on the ground.
[00:36:16] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay. The kids. Sure, sure. So presumably Chris and Sarah. Right. But maybe not, because I guess we're not really sure.
Even though I thought I was sure.
[00:36:30] Speaker B: You thought?
[00:36:30] Speaker A: Now you're making me have doubts. This is what happens when you talk to an author.
So I was pretty sure. You're doing that thing where you make me unsure. So we're going to turn the page before I get more unsure.
And we get the whole flashback thing. And he know he was following up on the house and conspiracy. The Ultra kids had retired, entered high school.
He's like, that's how television works. He basically explains how he stalked Chris and Sarah.
And then he was going to go to this house and drop the twist that they weren't really the ultra kids, they were somebody else.
[00:37:09] Speaker B: Boom.
[00:37:10] Speaker A: And we flip the page and Chris just, you know, if they're dead, then why were you at my house? He's like, it's called a.
[00:37:25] Speaker B: It's a. It's a real term. It's really great. So if anybody got a chance to. I had to say this. If anybody got a chance to see the video for the first Starlight, if you haven't, you should go back. It's a treat.
Burl Bear does the video for us and does the whole entire intro. And actually, this character is loosely based on Burl Bear, who is an interviewer, a true crime investigator and writer known for a lot of his books in that genre. But as well as the Saint books and novels and his whole entire character. Is that. I mean, his real life persona is this kind of gritty guy.
And when he was talking to us about things that he had done, that was just one of the things. We're like, oh, my God. We got to put this in the book.
It's a door buster, kid.
[00:38:31] Speaker A: Yes.
Well, I love it. And we flipped the page, and while things are melting.
[00:38:38] Speaker B: What? Oh, my gosh.
[00:38:41] Speaker A: See, you can't trick me that long.
[00:38:43] Speaker B: I know I can't trick you that long. The melter has powers.
[00:38:47] Speaker A: Yeah. You tricked me for, like, a page.
[00:38:49] Speaker B: A page.
[00:38:50] Speaker A: Yeah, but she didn't really trick me because I thought they were the ultra kids the whole time.
[00:38:56] Speaker B: Maybe it's just that she's melting it because of the drugs.
[00:39:01] Speaker A: Yeah, maybe we're imagining it. Yeah, you're imagining or she's imagining it. Well, it's beautiful art either way. But anyway, the reporter is going on about how smart he is. Anyway, kid, it's been ten years without word or sign, and they were just kids. Face it, they're gone.
Chris is just looking forward, going. Yeah, that can't be true.
[00:39:23] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:39:23] Speaker A: No, and the look on his face is just awesome. I love his sort of look of both sort of disgust, but then also worry.
[00:39:34] Speaker B: Yeah. He's like.
[00:39:38] Speaker A: Yeah. And so it was very interesting, that facial expression. Well, so we get to the next page, and.
[00:39:52] Speaker B: It'S a nice little flashback.
[00:39:55] Speaker A: Yeah. And. Yeah, we get this flashback, and kind of. It was hard for me to tell if it was a flashback or is what the reporter thought the world was like.
[00:40:08] Speaker B: It's a little bit of a snapshot of the world.
Flashback. A little bit of those bits, yeah.
[00:40:16] Speaker A: And then we get this sort of piece. Know the kids are being attacked. And I think this is Chris talking. Right.
[00:40:25] Speaker B: You get a little bit. A lot of it is the.
You're getting a lot of it from our reporter.
[00:40:39] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah. Okay. So it's a reporter talking, and he's telling, reciting the story of Chris and Sarah as kids.
Here they are fighting all these supervillains and super terrorists, et cetera.
And here we go. And then there's this really awkward scene where you start to wonder if Sarah sort of withdrew and you kind of see how she dresses. Now, I don't say awkward, but it felt awkward to me because they're being attacked. And it looks like Chris is using some sort of force field here.
At least he's holding his hand up.
[00:41:18] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:41:19] Speaker A: And of course, I don't know exactly what his powers are yet, so that's okay.
[00:41:22] Speaker B: He's mighty boy, he's mighty boy he's using mighty powers. All of his power.
[00:41:30] Speaker A: He's like the Martian manhunter right now. Like, I thought he had super strength. Now, apparently, he has force fields. Pretty soon he'll have telekinesis, telepathy. He'll be afraid of fire.
Did I get it all?
[00:41:43] Speaker B: Pretty much.
[00:41:44] Speaker A: Okay. So I'm sure I'll find out nothing else throughout the story.
[00:41:48] Speaker B: You will find out nothing through the rest of the story.
[00:41:51] Speaker A: That's good to know.
But the narrator is saying that children aren't ready for this kind of reality. Even with superpowers, all evidence of reality itself points to one truth. A team of kid superheroes is bound to end tragically.
And we look like Sarah is, well, melting down, for lack of a better term.
[00:42:15] Speaker B: For lack of better terms. Yes. Roger has nailed it with his description as to what is happening or what will happen to kid superheroes.
[00:42:26] Speaker A: And so now we get to the page, and they're back there on the pyres. And it's a great flashback scene at the reporter asks, where's Jim and your mother? And Sarah just says, not here. But she's now looking at her hands because now when she melted down in the past, all of a sudden, it seems like in this very stressful situation, her powers are back and she's going to escape.
[00:42:57] Speaker B: That is a correct assumption.
[00:43:01] Speaker A: And the reporter's forelone. And he just said, I don't want to die here with you. And he's looking at Sarah for a second, but then looks down, and it's like he's not realizing that she has figured out how to escape yet.
So she's out, right? Yep.
[00:43:23] Speaker B: Ish.
[00:43:24] Speaker A: Okay. Ish. Yeah. And so now we get to the next page, and we get some more banter. And Sarah is talking. And whenever Sarah talks, everything smeared together because she's quenching away on her pacifier.
[00:43:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
A lot of her.
This is. This is true.
Know, just anyone that's under the influence of stuff, they're just a little slurry with their words in a past fire mouth, right?
[00:44:03] Speaker A: Yeah. And so he says, that's weird. Not the fact that you took drugs when you were being abducted by aliens. Jesus Christ.
And they're talking about electricity and why aliens always use electricity.
And we're getting into this a little bit more bantering, and the reporter is really losing it. Seriously, we're going to die. And you two are talking about the kind of energy they're going to kill us with.
He's absolutely freaking out. He's like, this is why kids shouldn't be superheroes. Your brains have been filled with too many comic book memories. He's just making fun of everybody. Me, you, kids.
[00:44:49] Speaker B: Anyone that likes.
[00:44:55] Speaker A: To read. Have we named the reporter yet?
[00:44:57] Speaker B: Roger?
[00:44:59] Speaker A: Yeah, you keep calling him Roger. I'm going to call him Jack McGee. No.
[00:45:02] Speaker B: Well, his name is Roger.
[00:45:05] Speaker A: See? Jack McGee is calling us. He's found the Hulk.
Did you get that? You went silent because the phone rang. And so now I get to make fun of McGee, like, without any interference from you and the whole television show. And this is great, because I've lost Greg for a minute. And the best thing about here is Roger, Jack McGee here has got a giant alien standing over him.
[00:45:32] Speaker B: Oh, no.
[00:45:35] Speaker A: And it looks like a devil kind of alien.
[00:45:38] Speaker B: It's a scary alien, man.
[00:45:41] Speaker A: Yeah, we don't. And then not sure what happens there, because he just goes away.
[00:45:50] Speaker B: It's just there.
[00:45:51] Speaker A: And then Sarah is just standing there in the middle of the room, and on the next page, Sarah's just standing there looking at everybody.
And I don't know if the reporter is really realizing what's going to go on.
[00:46:08] Speaker B: Yeah, no.
Yeah, none whatsoever.
He's still thinking with his adult brain. Like, how do we get out of this? What's going on? Oh, my gosh. Kids are dumb.
[00:46:21] Speaker A: She's already out. Yeah. And then from back behind her, sort of an Area 52 alien appears, which is one of my little favorite art. Little giveaways here, which is funny. Area 51. Did I say Area 50? 02:00 a.m.. I like combining DC Comics with Area 51 there.
[00:46:37] Speaker B: Yes, you did.
[00:46:39] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:46:40] Speaker B: It's okay.
[00:46:41] Speaker A: They say about getting old.
[00:46:42] Speaker B: It happens, man. It happens.
[00:46:47] Speaker A: Well, he's going off. You're thinking about why they use electricity instead of fucking magic.
This is why I'm glad I was wrong about you being superheroes, because at least you two have an excuse for being useless. And she's looking at him in the background, and she says, I kind of want to draw that and put it on my deviant.
[00:47:10] Speaker B: For deviant art.
She's an artist, man.
She wants to draw stuff.
[00:47:20] Speaker A: Well, she is drawing stuff because she starts moving around and with her hands, and all of a sudden, things start going a little haywire.
[00:47:30] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:47:34] Speaker A: Like, she starts, hmm, okay. And then Chris is down, and she's down, and Roger's coming down here, and he just keeps asking, how high are you right now? And she's like, I mean, squench. Like, they have all the advancements in the various forms of energy. She's still back on this energy talk.
[00:47:56] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:47:57] Speaker A: While she's doing all this. And she's seeing, let's see, she's seen an area 51 alien. Now a giant what? Devil looking alien. Now she's seeing. What are these? Domes wizard gnomes. Wizard gnomes. Okay. Yeah. It's summer in the background. Yeah, she's high.
[00:48:16] Speaker B: She's having an experience.
[00:48:18] Speaker A: Yeah. And then she does all that, and then she tells them she has to be in the office for Sarah. Yeah, nature calls. Nature calls. Apparently, I rescued everybody. Deuces.
I'm going away now.
And then now we get back to the cat aliens and.
[00:48:43] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:48:44] Speaker A: Are fighting. Yeah.
And he's like, you don't pay us. He's like, quick, get the cargo. We're going to get it. And vine keeps. Like, you are just like all the rest of your race, cursed to failure and self destruction. And you and your family will die like the rest of your species, in darkness, like, oh, okay.
[00:49:03] Speaker B: Oh, man.
Letting his cloak go.
[00:49:07] Speaker A: Yep. And he's consuming the cat guy with the dark.
And he says, I vow, but my family will never let you hold the star core. Okay, well, that did not go well for the Caddylands.
[00:49:21] Speaker B: No.
One down, three to go.
[00:49:25] Speaker A: Now we got some more Caddy aliens coming. But there's three more CaD aliens.
[00:49:27] Speaker B: No, it's just the family of four.
[00:49:30] Speaker A: Okay, I got you. Three to go. Yeah, so we got some more cat aliens coming in. We'll grab the starcore, get to his escape, uh, his immortal ask, and spend eternity figuring out how to pilot a runner.
And, uh, that's all going on in the background. And now Sarah's putting her hands on the think. I think that's the, you know, it's the wall. Okay. Looks kind of like a wall. It could just be kind of the space part, which is. Okay, I'm kind of okay with the vagueness here. They're on a star runner spaceship with alien technology that presumably uses electricity because we've had a lot of electricity talking. I'm not actually exactly sure what that is, but it could be a wall.
[00:50:12] Speaker B: It could be a wall. It might be a wall.
[00:50:15] Speaker A: I mean, you probably know what it is, but I'm just going to use my map. I kind of thought, too, it was just like, this electrical space out there, which seemed kind of cool since they kept talking about electricity.
[00:50:25] Speaker B: She's putting her hands out, she's getting a feel for it.
[00:50:31] Speaker A: And they start looking. Hey, do we have anything useful in our. Nope. Nope. Okay.
They're holding, like, an old iPhone. Or so the reporter's like, so is her power not melting those walls now?
And Chris starts to explain her powers. So she's not melting them. She's pulling the energy from the walls, looking for signs of language and communication.
And some pennies fall out of his pocket. And this is where I knew it was your voice. Here. Right here in this scene.
He's like, just leave them. All they do is make holes in your jeans. And Roger's like, that's a myth. And they get to this discussion about whether or not it costs more to make pennies than they're actually. And this is what, I heard you. I heard you right here.
And I could just think of conversations happening in the old debate room. And then I'm at Lower Columbia College.
[00:51:34] Speaker B: Ever go there having those good old.
[00:51:38] Speaker A: Talks, and then even says, when I was just a stringer out of college, I moved in this whole house with my girlfriend. He goes into this story of why he needs these pennies, and he was using, uh, which is a phenomenal idea. We do not recommend that you do this.
[00:51:57] Speaker B: It's dangerous.
[00:51:57] Speaker A: Old screwing fuses. And he was putting pennies in there instead of fuses, which is a terrible idea.
It's a good way to start an electrical fire.
[00:52:06] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:52:07] Speaker A: And just proving that Roger's an. Yeah. Which we already knew. And I do like how young Roger.
It's like his facial hair just moved from Shaggy to mustache. Right? So he went from Shaggy Dew to.
So anyway, Chris just says, hey, nobody uses those fuses anymore. And he's like, that doesn't change my point. Pennies are important. This whole time they're having this discussion, Sarah is, like, melting the ship, moving electricity around, and they're just chatting about pennies while Sarah is saving humanity. And Chris is so calm about this because it's like he's seen this before.
[00:52:49] Speaker B: Are you saying that this conversation doesn't make sense?
[00:52:52] Speaker A: I think it makes absolute sense from Chris's perspective, because Chris is just, like, watching his sister do her thing, and he knows that's going to. But, you know, from Roger's perspective, Roger is done, right? Like, Roger is so overwhelmed by the situation, he's grabbing pennies off the ground of a spaceship.
[00:53:12] Speaker B: You're so caught up, and you're like, move over the joke. Cool.
You just like, his sister is melting the wall.
[00:53:28] Speaker A: I got it.
[00:53:29] Speaker B: No, I did it.
[00:53:30] Speaker A: You want to enlighten me here?
[00:53:32] Speaker B: No.
[00:53:33] Speaker A: Okay. I'm the reader.
[00:53:34] Speaker B: I know you're the reader. It makes a lot of sense, Penny.
[00:53:40] Speaker A: Well, we'll just keep going. Okay, so our.
He's like, our parrots don't know we have superpowers. She says it right there. I was like, oh, or that they still have them, I presume, but I don't really know that for sure. But I'm just going to go with that. They still have them.
And then Chris, relax. Feels an explosion. He's like, was that you? And she's.
And.
And he says, hey, Roger, maybe your pennies can turn the lights back on. Hey. Which that was one of my favorite lines in the book.
So we move on to the last page, and Roger's looking at his family, I think, yeah. And he's asked, what's she doing now? And Chris is like, sarah, what are you doing now?
I could have asked that myself. And he's like, yep, I've told you earlier, like, five or six times. This is not what it says here, but I'm like, I've told you five or six times in the story. Why don't you just ask her?
And now he's sayiNg, yep, you could have just asked her.
And now she's trying to hack the ship with her electrical powers and pulling the energy out of things here. And Roger's like, how's it going? And can you do that? She's like, nope, nope. We're fucked.
End of story.
[00:55:20] Speaker B: End of story.
[00:55:21] Speaker A: And she doesn't have her Binky in her mouth.
[00:55:24] Speaker B: No.
[00:55:25] Speaker A: So now times are serious.
[00:55:27] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, she's getting serious now.
[00:55:30] Speaker A: I think maybe she came down from her little ecstasy eye too.
[00:55:34] Speaker B: She's using her powers, man.
[00:55:38] Speaker A: And then we get a page of all sorts of people in Bunny hats.
[00:55:42] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:55:43] Speaker A: All of our, including one guy down in the corner. Looks really familiar.
[00:55:48] Speaker B: He does.
[00:55:50] Speaker A: I feel like I've seen him before.
[00:55:52] Speaker B: I think so.
[00:55:53] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:55:54] Speaker B: But I'm not quite sure.
[00:55:56] Speaker A: I feel like I've seen some of these folks before too, but I feel like I've definitely seen that guy before.
And then get some paintings.
[00:56:06] Speaker B: Yeah. So a lot of these were the folks who went for the commissions and stuff like that from Bret.
[00:56:14] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:56:15] Speaker B: And, man, these are great because Bret is really great. Yeah.
[00:56:22] Speaker A: And that's the end. So I am anxiously listening, waiting for issue three, where we get to find out what happens on the spaceship, and maybe we'll get to even find out if Chris has any powers.
[00:56:39] Speaker B: Yeah, you just have to wait. I mean, the Kickstarter hasn't dropped yet for issue number three, but we have some work to go. I've seen some of the great artwork that Bret's doing.
Right now on the new book, and it blows my mind.
It really does. I can tell you if you like what you've just read and if you like number one and if anyone that is listening has goes back and checks these out, the rest of the series definitely lays out and plays out and pays off for sure. I'm not just saying that as a writer, but as somebody who's had our reading crew, we had a really great crew of folks that read along with us over the last two years as we've been putting this together. And they've got to see a lot of the different things and changes and stuff like that that Travis and I have made on David's request and even on Bret's, as well as this is a team and we work together on making sure that this is a good story and cohesive and works.
It makes sense, right? So it makes sense to listen to your artist and what they want to see and what they want to put out there and make sure that also when your editor is making choice decisions as well. But like I said, it's two years of working on this, but it's been also a few years before that. And the genesis of Starlight kind of came about with a trip to Burning man for Travis and Bret. And it was one of those things where they went away.
They had their moment at the burn.
The irony and funny, weird thing is, like, they're trying to get me to go with them, and it just wasn't lining up, and they're messaging me on the way down. And then as soon as they got back out of the desert, there was a message, and it was like, you're never going to believe the story that we came up with.
We're going to write this thing, and I want to share it with you as soon as I can. And the two of them had this idea, and Travis went to work writing this story.
And I've said this in other podcasts before, but he calls me up and he's like, meet me for coffee, read what I have. And I sat there and read.
He hands me a stack of papers.
It was like meeting up with somebody and getting their giant their work.
And I just sat down at the coffee shop on Capitol Hill that we were meeting and just started reading. And at one point, I was just like, I looked at him and there was a moment in the story where it hit me, and I was like, this right here, what you've written, it hit a.
Was like I was in tears, and I didn't realize that I was crying. And Travis is like, it must be good because you're crying or it's really bad. Tell me it's good. And I was like, no, dude.
This is everything that I wanted to read about of child superheroes.
And he was like, what do you think? And I was like, I think it's really good. And then a month later, he was like, I'm still working on it. And then a month later, he's like, Bret told me to call you. I'm stuck.
And he thinks that you should come and help me on this. And I was like, are you serious?
And I was like, I don't know what I can do. Because if anybody knows Travis, Travis is the guy that fixes stuff for other people to have the guy that fixes things for other people call you to come in and fix something for him because he's stuck on it. Seems weird to me because that's what Travis has done in his writing career, is he's always been the guy that people go to to fix their problems, and that's not necessarily what I do. And then he's like, and I need help scripting it out because I don't know how to format it for the comic that I want or the graphic novel that I want. And I was like, this is a step in a different direction for me because this isn't what I normally do, but let's do it. So, like I said, I came into it in a totally, like, 180 degrees different setting than I normally normally do. I was going through and working through all this and trying to find what made sense from my perspective and seeing what he'd already laid out and putting those voices into those spaces and making it work in a great comic because it was a great story, but going into a comic book because he had a lot of stuff issued out or put out there, and he wasn't sure how he wanted to do it in a graphic novel or in issues and then making sure that we weren't going back too much and retelling the same thing over and over again. So a lot of trimming that down, that's when I was like, we need to bring an editor in because the two of us are too connected to it, we're too close to it, and we need a third set of eyes that doesn't necessarily need to focus on these things necessarily, but can tell us what it is that we're not doing in other portions that are structural.
[01:02:56] Speaker A: Right.
[01:02:57] Speaker B: And that's where David came in, and there was a few moments where Roger's character was. He was very minimal. And as you saw in this chunk of the story, there's a little bit of depth to him. And I really feel like we bring that out in the next issue as well. But it's one of those things where, like, you said, his voice, there's a lot of stuff. You're like, oh, that's definitely Greg.
And it was one of those things where I was like, okay, well, how do I make this make sense?
Because you're stranded on a ship, and you got a bunch of junk in your pants, right?
And you're an old man that. Trying to have a conversation with a kid that you don't even know if he's who you're looking for, and you think he might be, but you're not sure. And now your whole life is turned upside down. You're trying to make sense of it.
[01:04:06] Speaker A: And he's just messing with him the whole time. Chris messes with him throughout the whole story, right? It's like tables are turned. You've been chasing me. Well, now I have you.
[01:04:16] Speaker B: Now I have all the power, because I can mess with your mind in a sense. Right, old man?
[01:04:21] Speaker A: And maybe he has that power, too.
[01:04:23] Speaker B: No, I can't tell you anything, Dan. I'm not going to spoil nothing for any of the readers.
[01:04:33] Speaker A: Let's be clear, too. I was not one of Greg's readers, and I knew this project was going on in the background, but he would not tell me anything about it. And so, yeah, I didn't get to know anything about it. I'm reading it for the first time with the rest of you. I got my issue in the mail.
I got my links from Travis, not Greg. I got a mail from Travis. I got links from Travis, and I got to read it for the first time. So, yeah, it's all new to me.
[01:05:05] Speaker B: Travis has really stepped up.
We sat down, and we decided we really wanted to make and tell the listeners so they understand the journey of Starlight. This was definitely one of those things where, when we put it together, we did shop this around, and we had some interested folks, other publishers and stuff like that. And Travis, he really wanted to get it into somebody's hands. Bret and I have both worked with publishers, and we have had experiences and stuff, good, bad, indifferent. But we also saw that this is something that we could do ourselves.
And we saw an opportunity that we could create overcast comics. And if we had enough people that were interested at the jump, we could make this happen. And we did on issue one and issue two. I'm not going to lie.
We threw issues.
We ran a kickstarter during the beginning of a pandemic, and then we dropped in second issue in the middle of the hottest part of it. And one of the worst things you can do is kill a Kickstarter. So we just let it ride, and we saw where we needed to pivot and change some stuff. It's always a learning process with anything. Whenever you're starting something like this, it is a business.
You're running the whole thing yourselves, and Travis is doing a very good job captaining this thing.
We all have our different roles, and we all do different things to make different aspects of this happen for the Kickstarter. A lot of times, Travis and I are working well into the night when we're done with the rest of our day and trying to figure out all the different stuff so that Bret can focus on the art and then David can focus on some of the other things that we need him to focus on with the editing and some of the other things that we might need. But a lot of times, we're really just trying to make sure that this monster, that it is, stays righted, and it's one of those crazy moments where you're like, okay, what did we learn on issue two? Not the issue two that you're looking at right now, but when we dropped issue two, like I said, we dropped it in the middle of the craziest part of 2020, and we realized that there was a lot of things that we needed to change in how we put it out there in order to get people to be interested and involved, and we definitely did a really good job. Obviously, getting funded in 24 hours was one of those things we weren't expecting, and we did. And it's because our backer team from issue one, when things kind of, like, settled down in the world, were there for us, and they wanted to make sure that issue two came out. But they also realized that we had a lot of potential for this, and they can see the potential for, as we're moving forward, for what they want to see moving along the line, and they want to be part of not just Starlight, but what overcast comics can be, and there's a lot there. So we're pretty excited about doing the next Kickstarter for issue number three.
It's something that we'll be talking a lot more about as the month goes on, as we're starting to gear up and starting our meetings internally for those things. And as Travis, David, Bret, and myself are working out all the details and stuff like that. And again, learning what tiers do people really want? Do people really want these things? There are certain things important, and there are certain things that are important. Bookmarks were one of those things. We kind of like, do people really want a bookmark? But they do, because a cool bookmark with Brett's art is amazing. And when you got this cool bookmark that you can use in a comic book, which seems kind of silly, but also in a regular book.
Yes, people still have regular books. It is cool.
I don't know.
I went off the rails there. I probably over explained a lot of things that you probably were. I think so did I need all that? I don't know.
[01:09:52] Speaker A: I thought it was interesting, and I'm sure our listeners will, too. I mean, it's interesting because it's interesting to find out what goes into the background of this, right. And what's working on it. And I think if anything, too, I heard both excitement, fun, and stress in your voice as you're describing, kind of that, right? You're putting something out there into the world, and you're like, is somebody going to like this?
[01:10:15] Speaker B: Yeah.
It's a crazy thing to think that when I got the phone call from them after they got out of the desert that this was something that they were going to work on. And then I got looped into it, and then we started to make this thing, and then it's like, well, where do we want to go from this point? And we were going to conventions, and we're talking to different folks at their tables and publishers and stuff like that, and they're interested. And it was kind of like, oh, hey, cool, somebody's interested in this idea. But then as the reality of everything set in, like I said, it's one of those things where it's like, but we've seen with Bret working on one fall and his success in that and my own various Kickstarters that I've done in the past and with the various projects that I've worked on, it's a possibility, it's a reality. It's something that you didn't have in the past, but by today's standards, anybody that wants to go out and create something like this and make this something tangible, you can. We have the ability to do it. We have the technology to do it. And if you have the heart, why not just go ahead and try it? I mean, the worst thing that can happen is it doesn't work out once and you try it again. And it happened to us, and we had a great success the second time.
And, yeah, it's stressful. I'm not going to lie. I mean, it's 30 days of like, is it going to happen that first 24 hours?
Is it happening? Is it happening?
And I think anybody that runs a Kickstarter or any type of project that is community funded or crowdfunded worries and is concerned because you don't want to let the people that are jumping in on the jump down because they believe in the project, they believe in what you're putting out there and you want to make sure that it comes to fruition and that it's something that they can actually say they're a part of.
[01:12:34] Speaker A: Yeah. And it's neat too, because for you all, because I know how diligent you are too, right? I think one of the neat things about that is you both shopped it around, right? And you shopped the idea a little bit. So you knew to an extent, right, if you went out on your own here, it was a risk. I mean, there was some risk involved, right?
But if for some reason it didn't happen for you, you could go back and shop it, right? And I think to encourage others too, right? Whether you decide to shop it or where do you decide to Kickstarter your idea or you just want to put it out there for people, it's not a one way door, right. Just because you kickstart something doesn't mean you can't go and then get an issue out there, build interest and then go back to a publisher later and do the story vice versa. Right? Like if you have your own product and you own that and you run it with a publisher, that doesn't mean you can't keep kickstartering later down the road. I mean, we've seen Ron Randall, I think is a great example of someone who did some of Trekker with the publisher Ripe and then went out and kickstarted the rest and owns it so he can do whatever he wants with it. And it's really neat to see that happen.
[01:13:54] Speaker B: It's a beautiful book, too. And it's amazing the fact that here's a guy who, I've talked to him about Kickstarter and about his book Trekker, and here's a guy who knew nothing about any of this stuff and had to learn something that, and he even said it himself, generationally speaking, this is not his game and he's hyper successful in it. This is like something for the younger set to do. But he got in and he learned it and figured it out and he's like, if I could do it, anybody can.
[01:14:37] Speaker A: Sure. And I think whether it's young creators, middle aged creators, not saying we're middle aged or anything, but know or Ron, I'm not saying you're old, Ron, because totally respect you because to me, Ron's not old.
[01:14:52] Speaker B: No, but he's a seasoned comics veteran. He's a person who has created comics for many years. And then to pick up this new technology that, generally speaking, is built for a younger crowd and to be able to run with it, and he's know, I had to learn how to do a lot of stuff on the computer that I didn't feel comfortable with.
Yeah.
[01:15:21] Speaker A: And I think too, we've seen even somebody like a Mike Grell team up, but just he got a help. Like he had a company help him out, but he owned John Sable, so he went back and collected all those and printed them out and did a Kickstarter. But then a lot of younger creators love, you know, Kickstarter because I can get on and find creators from all over the world. And again, I'm not one of those indie only.
You're not cool if you're reading because you'll notice, like, Everything I pick out for the show, for the most part, is some sort of superhero comic. But I've run into all sorts of neat things on Kickstarter from mainstream artists. Joe Glass in the UK love the Kickstarters that he puts out about a couple of those over time, just kind of looking back, know you can support comics in a lot of different ways, and I think it's important to remember that. And so as things continue, and especially during time when, you know, people are struggling, reach out and support somebody's book and see what you can do to help them out. And I, however, want you to support Starlight because I want more issues.
And so your support allows me to keep reading because obviously I'm going to support it, too because I have to buy mine. Because full disclosure here, I bought this from Greg.
I didn't get one for free.
[01:16:58] Speaker B: He had to buy it.
[01:16:59] Speaker A: I had to buy the book.
[01:17:01] Speaker B: And the crazy thing is, too, when we first started this with issue one, because the pandemic started and conventions were just tanked, I mean, they are. They still are. It's not a thing that you can go out and go to a convention. Yes, there are some places that are opening up, but is it really at the level that you feel comfortable, or is it going to be at the capacity in which a creator can go out and actually make money to sustain themselves. That's questionable. Both of those things. Brett being an artist who, this is his livelihood. This is how he makes his money. If he is making comics for someone else, he's making a paycheck. But he also sustains himself by going to conventions and making that money at conventions.
If he's not going to conventions, he's not making that money. So when we put this Kickstarter together, Travis and I had a discussion, and we both agreed that this was going to be one of those things to make sure that Bret had money in his account so that he didn't have to know. And it's one of those things that you just do.
[01:18:16] Speaker A: Yep.
And you have to adjust to the folks you're working.
Yeah. Well, Greg, I've got to say, this has been insightful, gotten a lot into the book itself, but also kind of the behind the scenes pieces here. And I do want to wrap up this episode because I know we've been going on for a bit here, but I hope that our listener, our dedicated listener, John, thank you very much. We appreciate the spoiler verse and your dedication to our podcast and your continued promotion of us as Cthulhu, as Cthulhu calls.
[01:18:58] Speaker B: Thank you for listening to this commercial for Starlight.
[01:19:02] Speaker A: That's right. Well, I think the fun thing is about this, that we can talk this freely because it's not really a commercial for Starlight because I didn't run this until after I had the book.
[01:19:12] Speaker B: Yeah, and.
[01:19:15] Speaker A: It is, but it isn't.
[01:19:16] Speaker B: It is, but it's not. I mean, as a creator that creates things, I want you to go out and take a look at all the different Kickstarters that are out there. Find the thing that fits you and fits what you like and back those things. Because if Starlight's not your thing, get on Kickstarter and look around and see those different creators that are out there, because there are creators that are looking for you just as much as you're looking for them and find the books that you want, find the things that you're into.
There's a ton of great stories that need to be read by various creators that are putting out different stories and different things that totally fit your bill. So if it's superheroes, if it's horror comics, if it's Sci-Fi if it's true crime, if it's noir, if it's whatever it is, if it's a great retelling of a classic story that might be like public domain or something like that, but it's totally, like in your wheelhouse, and it's just your jam right now. Go buy those books and check them out.
[01:20:21] Speaker A: Yes.
Do it. And so with that, get out there, look at things. Read and read comics because comics are fun.
[01:20:32] Speaker B: They are so fun. They're pain to butt, but they are fun to read.
[01:20:38] Speaker A: Well, on that note, I don't think they're that much of a pain because I know how much you love doing it. I do.
[01:20:43] Speaker B: If I didn't love it, I would have quit like 20 years ago.
[01:20:49] Speaker A: So there you have it. There's an inside look at Starlight issue number two. We've covered the issue and the inside background of making it the Kickstarter, processing it, getting it ready to go. And that's going to put a wrap on this episode of Funny Book Forensics. But we want you to join us and all the other great podcasts on the spoiler verse, including Spoiler country, narrative gunslingers. I've heard somebody important is on that one.
[01:21:17] Speaker B: Couldn't be me. No, it's Travis Webb. Travis Webb.
[01:21:21] Speaker A: Travis Webb.
[01:21:21] Speaker B: Travis Webb, the co creator and writer of Starlight Comic, is the podcast host of the other podcast host of narrative Gunslingers. You get to hear him.
[01:21:33] Speaker A: Shoot. That's why I brought that.
[01:21:36] Speaker B: Look at.
[01:21:36] Speaker A: Look at me. See, I'm clever that way.
[01:21:39] Speaker B: Yeah, you're clever. I'm a jerk.
[01:21:41] Speaker A: Yeah. It's all about Greg. This ending to this podcast is the most succinct ending ever. But thank you. Spoiler verse.
We'd like to thank John and Kenrick and of know, get out there. Casey just did an amazing, you did a couple amazing interviews as of late. One was with Mark Wade, which was a really great interview. So if you're not listening to the other podcasts on the spoiler verse, you are missing out, especially in the realm of comics. I'm going to admit that maybe I don't get into as much of the pop culture stuff on the spoiler verse. I'm usually digging into the comics, but there's comic book creators, but there's some pretty amazing stuff out there. So dig into that and join us again next week, and we'll be back at you with another fine story. Oh, that was it. Sorry. Ending this a little bit more. Danny, finger off.
[01:22:38] Speaker B: Oh, I was going to say, if you wanted to check out horse stuff, check out Perez on, on the nerds from the Crip podcast where he talks to indie creators and Kickstarter group people.
[01:22:51] Speaker A: That's true. He does do that. And so this, as we keep wrapping up and talking about all the great things is going to be an end to this episode of Fuddy Book promotion cast.
[01:23:03] Speaker B: Dun dun, Dun.
