Collecting The Simpsons: An Interview with Warren Evans about Simpsons Merchandise, History, and Controversy

Collecting The Simpsons: An Interview with Warren Evans about Simpsons Merchandise, History, and Controversy - The Short Box Podcast Ep. 412

[00:00:00] Intro music plays

[00:00:35] Badr: Yo, short box nation. Welcome back to the podcast. Thanks for joining us. Or I guess joining me. I keep saying us, you know what? No, it's a family affair is us. Yeah. You're joining us right now.

[00:00:47] Warren Evans: Oh, wow. You're jumping in on the internet. You're joining us right

[00:00:49] Badr: now. Wow. I actually had this all planned out.

[00:00:51] Badr: And you're just

[00:00:52] Warren Evans: jumping in. I mean, you know, I like to assert myself, uh, to the situations I'm Just

[00:00:57] Badr: the bravado that you've got going on. You present like you're a brand new guest that's never been on this show. Let me do this really

[00:01:04] Warren Evans: quick. Okay, yeah, do your thing, do

[00:01:05] Badr: your thing. If this is your first time tuning in, welcome to the show.

[00:01:08] Badr: My name is Badr, and this is the Short Box Podcast, the comic book talk show that brings you the best conversations about comic books and pop culture inspired by comics. This is episode 412, and today we're talking with someone that needs No introduction because he's managed to weasel his way onto the podcast at least five times since making his first appearance on the podcast four years ago, back in episode 259.

[00:01:30] Badr: Some of you already know who I'm talking about. You hear that number, you're like, oh, I know that episode. For some reason, I keep letting him back on the podcast. But today's a little different because he comes back to us as a published author. I'm talking about Warren Evans aka The Bard of Darkness on Instagram if you follow him.

[00:01:46] Badr: He's also the host of the Simpsons is greater than podcast and alongside his collaborators and co writers James and Lydia Hicks of the Simpsons Theory YouTube channel. Warren has a new book out, it's called Collecting the Simpsons, the merchandise and legacy of our favorite nuclear family. It's a book that explores the explosion of Simpsons merchandise and products started in the 90s all the way up to modern times.

[00:02:07] Badr: It's a really nice coffee table book. It features hundreds of pages of Simpsons action figures. Video games, comics, lunch boxes, and yes, even cookie jars. Now we're also gonna be flipping through the book. We're going to be looking at some of the pages. I went ahead and bookmarked a couple of chapters and pages I want to talk about.

[00:02:25] Badr: So all in all, we're going to be showing off the book today. So if you're a cheap bastard like me, that needs a very thorough preview before you go ahead and invest some money. Then this episode is for you and I don't blame you at all. Um, I've already purchased my copy. Uh, you can watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube.

[00:02:39] Badr: There's also a link to the video version in this episode's show notes. And a little fun fact, uh, we'll also be doing a giveaway for one of these books and we'll announce the details on that contest later on this episode. So you got to stay tuned. And before we bring on Warren, I'm going to have him sit in silence, awkward silence for a little longer.

[00:02:57] Badr: But before I bring on Warren, I want to give a big shout out to our sponsor, Gotham City Limits, Jaxwell's premier shop for comics, toys, and collectibles. And if you live in Jax, might I suggest that you go, not only should you buy a copy of the book from Gotham, if you live in Jax, But I highly advise stopping by the shop at some point this month because they're doing another massive holiday sale They're doing 24 days of deals is the name of the sale they got going on So every day of the month of December is a different deal.

[00:03:26] Badr: I think Ben is Sharing all the details every single day on his social media so if you aren't following Gotham City Limit on Instagram or Facebook you probably should because I I know Ben is practically going to be giving away stuff Now, for those of you that don't live in Jax, no worries, the good news is that you can still partake and enjoy some of these steals and deals by shopping Gotham's online store at GothamCityLimit.

[00:03:51] Badr: com. We'll also have Ben on later this episode to share some Comic book recommendations. So if you're looking for a fresh new starting point, if you're looking for some new titles to, to read, or you're looking to add some things to your Christmas list and shopping list, we got you covered this episode.

[00:04:07] Badr: We're bringing back the fistful of comic segment for this one. So we got plenty to talk about this episode, but I'm getting a little ahead of myself because we haven't even brought on the man of the hour. He's been sitting here in awkward silence, just waiting. To say something so without further ado, short box nation, let's welcome back for the fifth, sixth, I think even seventh time now a short box reigning champion, a good friend of the show, a recurring guest honorary co host at this point.

[00:04:37] Badr: Let's give a loud round of applause for Warren Evans.

[00:04:42] Warren Evans: Wow. Wow, man. I love you, man. Oh my God. I'm stuck. Oh, come on. Hey. Wow. Am I good to talk now about her? I mean, I just woke me up. Okay. Okay. Well, you know, I'm just making sure, I mean, make yourself at home. Cause I mean, you've done it for the last five, six times, seriously.

[00:05:00] Warren Evans: Uh, you know, as, as hard as it was to sit here, uh, and say nothing during that intro, I'm flattered. By all the nice things that you said. I'm, I'm flattered, uh, that not only that you are having me on to talk about the book, but that you enjoyed the book, man. I think, thanks for just, you know, thanks for sharing the love.

[00:05:16] Warren Evans: I mean, I know I forced you to do it, but thanks. Thanks. Anyway, would you

[00:05:22] Badr: have let, would you have continued to be my friend? Had I not had you on the podcast

[00:05:25] Warren Evans: or promote the book? Um, would you, I think we would have, uh, still said what's up to each other, like, you know, in the coffee shop, but I don't know if we would have, It would have been a very like, Oh, Hey man, how you been?

[00:05:36] Warren Evans: All right. See you later. Kind of thing. Uh, whereas, you know, since we're doing the episode, since you're holding up the contract. Um, you know, I, I think we're going to be closer for a lot longer. Oh, that means a lot.

[00:05:45] Badr: Warren, speaking about Coffee Roll Creek, do you mind if I take a sip of my, of my, of today's drink?

[00:05:49] Warren Evans: Uh, butter please. Um, uh, and, and what you're drinking, uh, for anyone listening is a, uh, is a Kiyoguthu Peaberry from Kenya, and that is by Brandywine Coffee Roasters, uh, who actually sponsor my podcast. So I, you know, I guess by proxy. They sort of sponsor me. So they sort of, you know, sponsor this

[00:06:08] Badr: episode is brought to you by a lot of things, collecting the Simpsons, uh, a hardcover book

[00:06:13] Warren Evans: and Brandywine coffee.

[00:06:14] Warren Evans: It's true, but all joking aside, like this is really good coffee. We've made some before the episode. And, uh, if you like coffee and you're interested in that sort of thing, go to my Instagram. If you don't already follow me, go to my bio and type in, uh, darkness on their website, get 10 percent off, get you some coffee for a deal.

[00:06:29] Warren Evans: We all love deals this time of year. It's the time of deals, season of deals.

[00:06:33] Badr: And you know, one thing I love more than anything is a good, shameless

[00:06:36] Warren Evans: plug. Not to, not to hijack anything because we're going to talk about all kinds of things today, but this is a sort of a reunion of sorts, if you think about it, because, you know, we, we joke about me being on, you know, five, six, I don't know how many times, honestly, maybe it is more than maybe it's five.

[00:06:51] Warren Evans: Maybe it's more than five. I've got them all down here. Okay. Okay. So there you go. We have however many times, but Botter also. Has been on my show. We had like a sort of like sub show that we did for a little while. Um, and so this is like, this is a pod boys reunion. So like real heads. You know, people that have listened to Simpsons is greater than, uh, and short box for a while.

[00:07:12] Warren Evans: This is like, you know, this is sort of like some special content for them possibly. And I think we need to acknowledge that. Yeah. Welcome back, man. Dude. It's great to be

[00:07:19] Badr: back. Thank you so much for sitting for two hours as I, you know, fucked around with all this technical difficulties.

[00:07:24] Warren Evans: I wouldn't change anything about you bought her.

[00:07:25] Warren Evans: I love your dedication to making this podcast sound good. It's, it's honestly, it's a nice thing to see. All right,

[00:07:31] Badr: before we get to talking about the book, because I mean, we have the book front and center, um, amazing book so far. We're going to really get into it. We're going to flip through some pages and, and, you know, all the bookmarks I've got, but I've got to ask, how is the podcast doing?

[00:07:43] Badr: How is Simpsons greater than

[00:07:44] Warren Evans: doing? Um, you know, it's, it's been a really, um, interesting year for the podcast because, you know, I think when you, when you start a podcast, like I did as a response to, you know, the pandemic and spending a lot more time at home and you're like, you know, I need a way to kill some time.

[00:08:00] Warren Evans: So I'm going to start this. Uh, this podcast and I'm going to use it as an excuse to like further what I do to meet more people from the show. I'm going to do X, Y, and Z, uh, eventually as you know, life got a little more normal. Time got a little thinner projects, got a little more, uh, you know, and, and the book is a, is a big reason for that.

[00:08:18] Warren Evans: Why the show slowed down a little bit. Um, but what, what ended up happening is while this is the least amount of stuff I've put out for the podcast in a year, the response and the amount of people that have found it this year, uh, has been like, you know, the biggest growth the show has had. And it's sort of reinvigorated my interest in the podcast and people who listen.

[00:08:39] Warren Evans: Uh, they know that now I have a co-host, my friend Brandon, big chat, Brandon, uh, viral Sensation Brandon. He created the Little Simpsons TV that you've dmd all your friends a million times, . Um, and he's the co-host now. So the show is like moving in an interesting direction, but it's, it's doing, it's doing well.

[00:08:53] Badr: Good stuff. And you guys, what just hit, uh, what number are you guys on?

[00:08:56] Warren Evans: We are almost to, I think we're to episode. 80. Oh, wow. Something like that. Yeah. So time's moving. Big one hundo is

[00:09:04] Badr: definitely coming in 2024. It's coming.

[00:09:05] Warren Evans: It's coming

[00:09:06] Badr: soon. Can I also say for, um, our, our video watchers, this was not planned that our wardrobe today, right?

[00:09:12] Badr: Like I came through with the Simpson shirt, which by the way, Bard of Darkness original.

[00:09:15] Warren Evans: It is true.

[00:09:16] Badr: It is true. And you came through with this epic Wolverine weapon of X shirt, but it's actually belongs to a band.

[00:09:21] Warren Evans: Yeah. So, uh, any, any music nerds, especially people that like heavier music, I'm looking at you shaggy black.

[00:09:29] Warren Evans: Entombed was a band and they, I mean, they, they made music for years and years, but in the nineties they had a record called Wolverine blues that had nothing to do with Wolverine, but people including their label really pushed them to do this like co branding with Wolverine. And I guess they got it cleared by Marvel.

[00:09:47] Warren Evans: I don't really know how all that works, but they had like. Imagery that included Wolverine. They had Wolverine clips in like a music video. They did all this stuff. So it kind of became synonymous with, with that record and with that band. Um, and that was sort of a big thing in the nineties with a lot of bands, uh, which is like a whole other episode we could do, but entombed like has this like connection to Wolverine because of that, uh, record and that song.

[00:10:10] Warren Evans: And so, you know, for the rest of time, you'll see like merchandise for entombed with Wolverine on it. It's just. It's one of those things. We're

[00:10:18] Badr: covering a lot of ground today. We got coffee talk out the way, heavy metal talk out the way. Is it heavy metal? Is that my

[00:10:23] Warren Evans: saying? Yeah, no, it definitely is. It's definitely, it's, it's heavier metal, but, but that's the thing that's so interesting about, you know, and, and that's why I make the joke about pod boys, because this is an episode, you know, about the book and it's about the project that I did, but it's also like when, when we get together sometimes, which we don't get to do as often anymore, it's kind of just an excuse to just kind of, you know, talk about what's going on.

[00:10:44] Warren Evans: And I think that's, what's fun about coming on here. It's sometimes they're, you know, they're very specific. Sometimes we're just, we're just hanging out. And I think you're going to learn something along the way. That

[00:10:52] Badr: is well said. Well said. So I guess I should let any new listeners know if they're expecting a very in depth interview with Warren and his origin and all that stuff.

[00:11:01] Badr: You're not getting all right. Clearly this dude has been on here way too many times, but if you aren't following Warren on Instagram at Bard of Darkness, there will be a link in the show notes. Highly recommend you give him a follow because he's got one of the best, uh, one of the best Instagram pages out.

[00:11:14] Badr: Thank you, man. With that said, Warren, let's go ahead and talk about this book, Collecting Simpsons. All right, let me get this name right, because it is a long ass name. It is a long name. Collecting the Simpsons, the merchandise and legacy of our favorite nuclear families. We got it on display here. I know that you did a very interesting episode on Sims greater than where you had your co host interview you about the book.

[00:11:35] Badr: Yeah. I think it was a little self centered, but it worked out.

[00:11:37] Warren Evans: I would like to, I would like to say that was Brandon's idea to anyone listening. That was Brandon's idea. It was, it was a good

[00:11:42] Badr: idea. I was like, damn, my man really named one of his episodes, Warren Evans. Hey, it works. Right. Got to stick to the format.

[00:11:49] Badr: It should have been Warren Evans comma published author. I think that would have really set it off, but you've spoken broadly ad nauseum about the book. Um, I don't want, I don't really want to have you regurgitate A lot of that, but I understand that we need to set the groundwork, the foundation. So, very obvious question here.

[00:12:04] Badr: How'd the book come together, who are your collaborators, and who

[00:12:07] Warren Evans: is the publisher? Um, so, this book, it's kind of funny because This is something and when I've talked about this in the past, like, you know, people love to say like, oh, and this happened and it was so serendipitous and everything just fell into place.

[00:12:23] Warren Evans: And, you know, things rarely work out that way, but this is an instance where it actually did. And the reason I say that. Is because this is a project, you know, speaking of my podcast, I interviewed a man by the name of Robert W. Getz, uh, pretty early on in the show. I think he was like episode 47, maybe something like that in the forties and the reason Robert is known among Simpsons collectors is he wrote these books about Simpsons collecting in the late nineties and what they basically are is like collector guides, right?

[00:12:55] Warren Evans: Like they kind of walk through the different. Uh, eras of merchandise at that time, which was a very new thing. It shows you the different, uh, you know, stuff from different countries, stuff from different companies, whatever, all of this different stuff. And this was like a first of its kind, right? Yeah.

[00:13:08] Warren Evans: There was like not a lot of stuff like this because the show was very new. Collecting it would have also been very new. Uh, you know, you're talking less than 10 years old at this point, as far as like merchandise for the show. And. You know, to collectors, Robert's a really interesting guy because, um, without those books, there's so many things that people would know about, or that would sort of be lost to time.

[00:13:25] Warren Evans: So he really did like a service. Uh, for collectors when he made those and I always like to give him his flowers because I feel like he doesn't get enough credit. And I say that to the point that when I interviewed him, he said no one had ever interviewed him. So no one, no one really ever cared enough to like, get his story or understand how they came together.

[00:13:42] Warren Evans: So, you know, I guess that's just a, you know, a feather in my cap. But, because I have such respect for what Robert did, uh, I told myself like, you know, someone else needs to do this sort of thing one day. And Robert even joked with me that, You know, he was clearly referring to me, but he's like, Oh, somebody needs to do another book, you know?

[00:14:00] Warren Evans: And so when I had that conversation with him, I was like, maybe that is something that I would love to do one day, like who knows how or when, or, you know, who, how I raise support for that, how I do it, whatever. So I knew I wanted to do it around that same time. Maybe a year later, I interviewed Lydia from the Simpsons Theory on my podcast.

[00:14:20] Warren Evans: And we kind of hit it off. We had a lot in common as far as our fandom and just like interest and like the granular. Details of, you know, the Simpsons in general, whether it be the show, the merchandise, whatever. And shortly after that interview, she reached out to me and was like, Hey, you know, um, I should also mention she came on to promote a book.

[00:14:38] Warren Evans: They had done a book previously and she said, we were thinking about doing another book, but it's a book that we would really want to do with you. It'd be all about the merchandise and the history. Is that something you would be interested in? And at that time it's like, well, you know, it's, it's like you're reading my mind, of course, because it's something I already would like to do.

[00:14:55] Warren Evans: Um, so that project got kickstarted and they already had a publisher because of their previous book. Uh, Mango Publishing out of Florida, Miami, Florida. And, uh, so they got me in touch with them. We, we pitched the idea to them. They loved the idea. And we started working on the book. So, again, it's like one of these things that truly did just come together perfectly.

[00:15:15] Warren Evans: Uh, magically, I guess.

[00:15:16] Badr: And how long between, uh, you guys finalizing the contract, uh, to, to release? For me, you know, I, I kind of knew the behind the scenes stuff. You kind of knew a

[00:15:26] Warren Evans: long time ago. Yeah, you gave me

[00:15:27] Badr: a lot of the inside scoop. But, to the public. You just announced the book, I think this year, right?

[00:15:33] Warren Evans: Yeah. Like a month ago. And that was sort of by choice. So I guess in all reality, we could have said a long time ago, like, Hey, we're working on a book, but the thing about a book like this. And there's so many, there's so many moving parts. Like I'm not writing it by myself. I'm writing it with two other people.

[00:15:50] Warren Evans: We're dividing chapters amongst each other and like trying to decide who should write what and why. And then we're looking at each other's work, improving each other's work, working on everything together. And then you also have to think about the photos. You have to think about the length of the book.

[00:16:04] Warren Evans: You have to think about You know, production, like release date, all of these things come into play. So I just really wanted to keep it under wraps until we knew specifics. So in my mind, it's like. Well, if I can't, if I can't even tell someone when it comes out, then why would I announce it? Uh, so it was almost, in fact, I think it's a little over two years from the actual idea to announcement, uh, that we were working on this project sort of in secret.

[00:16:31] Badr: And James and Lydia had already published a book about The Simpsons. It

[00:16:35] Warren Evans: was the The Simpsons Secret. Yeah. And it was sort of just like, it was a really cool book that explained like the phenomenon that many people Sort of misunderstand about like Simpson's predictions. It's sort of just like, it's like poking fun at the idea that they predict things and sort of explaining how.

[00:16:53] Warren Evans: Uh, these things get misconstrued as predictions. It's a really fun book. Anyone listening to this, this is not like, you know, uh, this is obviously supposed to be about this book, but I also recommend while you're buying mine, you also buy their last book. It's fun. It's really fun.

[00:17:06] Badr: You can't say Warren.

[00:17:07] Badr: Warren don't look out for his collaborators. Come on.

[00:17:09] Warren Evans: You got to look out for your people.

[00:17:10] Badr: So, so they already had gone through. They've already went through the process of making one book. So for them, this is what a second, you know, they had some legs underneath them. This was completely brand new to you.

[00:17:20] Badr: What was maybe the biggest culture shock or learning curve for you? You

[00:17:26] Warren Evans: know, I, I didn't really know what to expect. So obviously doing this Instagram for almost 10 years, or I guess 10 years at this point going on 11. Um, something like that, who, who, what is time botter, who knows what time is 10 years or so.

[00:17:43] Warren Evans: Um, and I've always, you know, I felt like I've been decent with words, uh, in my life, you know, like I can write a good caption, you know, I can, you know, I was decent with book reports in school. So I, I felt, I felt confident that I could put together a book, um, because I know enough about this stuff and I felt like I could sort of tell the story.

[00:18:03] Warren Evans: Of this merchandise, but to me, the biggest shock and like the hardest part is the way you start to overthink every decision you make. So, you know, you would sit down for X amount of hours in a day, try to get so much ground covered and chapter, whatever you're in and you feel pretty good about it. You're like, Oh, you know, that, that feels nice.

[00:18:26] Warren Evans: I read back over that. I feel like I'm saying what I want to say. I feel like I'm getting somewhere. And then you could come back to that same thing the next day and think, what in the hell was I thinking when I wrote this? This sounds so dumb. So I think the biggest shock to me is just. You know, learning to, you know, it's kind of like podcasting in a way, like learning to not overanalyze, uh, every decision you make in a creative project will, will ultimately save you a lot of anxiety and stress, but it'll also, you know, make you, uh, less miserable, uh, as you work on a project.

[00:18:57] Warren Evans: So I think to me, it was just like learning to let the work be the work and not always double back. I thought that was

[00:19:03] Badr: interesting when you told me that you were going to be writing chapters. Cause I, I think originally. Maybe the original scope or maybe how I interpreted it was that they were going to rely on your collection, which, you know, makes sense.

[00:19:15] Badr: You've basically, I feel like you've got everything I could ever think of Simpsons wise. So I thought maybe they were just leveraging you for the collection, but when you were like, hey, I'm actually gonna be writing chapters. I was like, damn, that's a really cool opportunity, like, to be more involved, like, directly involved with the book.

[00:19:29] Badr: Um, I guess, could you speak a little bit about how the photos came together? Because, you know, I, you know, your feed is really well curated. I think your eye for design, you've got a knack for, a knack for design, an eye for design. Um, you know, the feed is really well done, but, uh, you actually sought professional service for the photography.

[00:19:48] Badr: And I got to say, man, like. I mean, you know, your feet is good, your eye is good, but the photography in this book is another level.

[00:19:55] Warren Evans: I have to give a huge shout out to, uh, the photographer because not only is she incredibly talented, but she's also a dear friend of mine, Caroline Walker Evans, and when I, when I first, uh, you know, saw this project finally getting to the point where I knew it was real, uh, she's the first person I thought of, she's the first person I reached out to, and I said, hey, Caroline, Um, you know, I'm doing a book.

[00:20:16] Warren Evans: I would love to involve you because I think what you, what you do and what you've done professionally is like perfect for this book, like, like your experience with product photography, your experience with portraits. I think all of that comes into play, uh, for what I, how I visualize and how I see this book.

[00:20:35] Warren Evans: And. You know, I, I couldn't have been more like, I will never forget. She, so Caroline lives in Seattle. She, uh, we grew up in the same area. We're both from Mississippi. She's married to my best friend. Shout out to daily. Um, and so I've known Caroline for a very long time, but we live on, on opposite sides of the country.

[00:20:54] Warren Evans: Like, you know, you can fly to London in less time than you can fly to Seattle. It's far, it's fucking far away. Um, so, you know, when I, when I talked to her about the actual project, I said, the only thing is you'll have to come here. Like, are you okay to, to come here and do it? So Caroline stayed with me for a week and the moment she took the first photo, I was like.

[00:21:17] Warren Evans: You know, I could have done cartwheels. I was like, Oh yeah, this is it. Like this is exactly what I, what I wanted. This is exactly how I saw it in my brain. And you know, anyone can buy a nice camera and take pretty decent photos. But the thing that a professional and someone as talented as Caroline brings to the table that I have to highlight, because, you know, Botter said that I'm pretty good at taking photos.

[00:21:39] Warren Evans: You know, I can't stress how important this is, is when you're taking professional photos of toys. I mean, you're talking about a lot of plastic. You're talking about stuff that reflects a lot of light contours and all that needing, you need someone that really knows how to make that work. Who knows how to, and Caroline would do the craziest shit.

[00:21:55] Warren Evans: Like she knows the tricks of the trade. Like she would take a photo. I would go, Oh, that looks great. And she'd be like, well, I don't really like this glare down here in the bottom. Right. So, uh, can you stand right here with this umbrella? And I'm like, I mean, I, I mean, I guess so, you know, and then she takes the photo again and she goes, okay, there we go.

[00:22:11] Warren Evans: That's what I wanted. And I go and I look and it starts clicking with me. I'm like, holy shit, you got rid of all of those problems. By knowing how to direct this, you know, and this is really, I know this is like super deep nerdy level stuff about photos, but it blew my mind to see someone with that skillset because again, you think, Oh, well, someone has a nice enough camera.

[00:22:32] Warren Evans: They set up a decent enough studio. They can take good photos, but there's so much more to it and getting to work with someone like Caroline. I mean, I feel like it's made me better. Like you talk about the Instagram feed. I feel like it makes my photos better now, just from doing that.

[00:22:45] Badr: How are you going to celebrate?

[00:22:46] Badr: Where are you going to be December 5th when the book comes out? Now, granted this episode drops the Wednesday after the book comes out. So we're doing a little bit of time travel here, but where will you be December 5th when the book comes

[00:22:57] Warren Evans: out? You know, this is like so boring and unexciting to say on the podcast, but because I didn't think about the day that it, that it came out in terms of.

[00:23:05] Warren Evans: My normal schedule. Uh, I'll be selling records at Tiger records. I'll be on my day job. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, I guess, I mean, I guess, you know, this is the shout out special shout out to Tiger records. If you want to see me on the release day and you live in Jacksonville, uh, I'll be selling records. I might have, I hopefully I'll have some copies of the book

[00:23:23] Badr: with me.

[00:23:23] Badr: I guess I always imagine, like, if I should ever get to the point where I could drop a book or write my own comic book, I would, I imagine myself being at the comic shop an hour before they open, knowing that there is no line, but I'm there an hour before they open. I've got fireworks and sprinklers. I'm probably setting up a little booth on my book.

[00:23:40] Badr: Like, you want me to sign that for you? You

[00:23:41] Warren Evans: want me to sign that for you? I mean, I will say like, I'm definitely going to make some time to like, go try to find the book before I go into Tiger, but at the same time. Like just knowing that it's going to be in the world on that day is enough for me. Like, I think in my mind, I was like, you know, maybe, you know, maybe we try to throw like a little party or we try to do like a trivia, get like, like in my mind, I was like, maybe I try to set up this whole thing.

[00:24:07] Warren Evans: But I think one of the, one of the things about what I do online with Barter Darkness that makes this. You know, a little bit easier for me, and it's kind of special in that way is that, you know, the fact that I have an audience or people that actually care about what I work on makes me less concerned about that.

[00:24:24] Warren Evans: Like, I feel like I'm, I feel like I've kind of been celebrating it since I announced it and that makes it a little bit easier. So, you know, as much as I would have loved to plan some big thing, I'm, I'm, I'm just glad that it's going to be out in the world now.

[00:24:35] Badr: That's cool. And if you could go back in time two years ago, as you're just getting started and give yourself a piece of advice to make your life.

[00:24:43] Badr: infinitely easier. What would you tell yourself?

[00:24:45] Warren Evans: Um, I would tell myself like, run, I would tell myself to. So it's interesting with this book because you know, we took the photos first because we, we felt like we needed to like, you know, understand visually the book before we could write, finish writing the word.

[00:25:05] Warren Evans: So I think if I, if I could do it all again, Yeah. Um, I would, I would probably take the photos to the writing instead of write to the photos. Uh, but also I think, you know, and this is like, this kind of goes for any creative project. Like you can apply this to a podcast. You can apply it to anything you're working on.

[00:25:22] Warren Evans: Uh, don't be so hard on yourself, you know, because I think throughout the process of making anything and especially this book, um, I would second guess some of the things that I was doing with the book. Like I would think. You know, is that how I want to say that? Is that am I, am I covering enough stuff in this first chapter?

[00:25:42] Warren Evans: Am I talking about enough of this or enough of that? Um, so I think I would just like be a little kinder to myself and stress less, uh, when it came to the, the overall, you know, compiling of this information, because when you do something like this, you have to acknowledge early that you can't cover everything like that's like.

[00:25:59] Warren Evans: You know, if you go into it expecting too much of yourself, you're doomed to fail. So that that's where I'm at. How, how

[00:26:06] Badr: are Lydia and James

[00:26:06] Warren Evans: feeling about the book? Um, I think we all, you know, because we were so, uh, in tune with each other in this process and we, we all felt so, how do I say this? I guess along the course of it, I feel like we were constantly syncing up our expectations.

[00:26:22] Warren Evans: And what I mean by that. Is every time we were unhappy with something or didn't like the way one part of it was panning out or, or whatever it may be, I feel like we were always on the same page. And, and, you know, while I'm giving love to Caroline, I also have to give a lot of love to James and Lydia because we spent so much time on zoom and.

[00:26:43] Warren Evans: You know, we also spent a lot of time giving each other notes about our different parts of the book and all of these things. And if you think about that, you know, especially when you're talking through a screen or you're talking through text or whatever, you, you can sort of butt heads. And fortunately for all of us, usually agreed, like all of their notes made my chapters better.

[00:27:06] Warren Evans: I think my notes made their chapters better. I think we really found like a creative. Uh, click over the course of making this book. So, um, I mean, I think we all are, are equally relieved and excited that not only it's finished, but that we made sure we were happy with the finished product.

[00:27:24] Badr: Well said, man.

[00:27:25] Badr: Well said. Can I also, uh, give a compliment to, uh, James? I don't know if you've ever looked at his, his Amazon author page, but my man is looking mad. Brawley, have you ever seen

[00:27:36] Warren Evans: it? I have. And so damn it. Did Warren team up with Clark Kent? I mean, shout out to James. I mean, we hung out in person, um, uh, late last year, uh, while we were in London and, uh, Yeah.

[00:27:48] Warren Evans: My man clearly hits the gym. James takes care. I mean, he's, you know, I, I aspire for his level of discipline. He takes care of himself. Yeah. I love that.

[00:27:55] Badr: All right. Once again, the book is called collecting the Simpsons, the merchandise and legacy of our favorite nuclear family. How about we go out and dive into the book?

[00:28:04] Badr: Let's do it. I guess we've been diving into the book the whole time, but let's get into the actual page. Let's do it. One of my first questions comes down to this content page because what I was not expecting and I think this is safe to say with a lot of like, uh, coffee table books and I, and I own a few, they're, they're not really books that you read, read, right?

[00:28:20] Badr: Like the pretty pictures, you, you know, you might occasionally flip through it when you're having coffee or you got guests over, you know, it's more like a statement piece. Sure. And what I enjoyed about this book was that it, it's, it's definitely that, like it looks good. You can flip through it, just appreciate the, uh, the pictures.

[00:28:36] Badr: But I was surprised by how many chapters are in this book, and how many, uh, how much exposition and write up is in this book. I was like, thoroughly impressed that, and I guess it made sense the more I was like, Oh, so that's why the process took so long, and you know, he was having all these sleepless nights, cause you really had to be an

[00:28:52] Warren Evans: author.

[00:28:53] Warren Evans: Yeah, and what I will say that's, you know, and this was big for myself, James, and Lydia. You know, I talk about those Robert gets books and I recommend those to everyone that, that listens to this. They really, if you're interested in Simpsons collecting, they are the Bible. Like you, there are things in that book that I wouldn't even know exists without those books.

[00:29:10] Warren Evans: But the thing about his books is there's not a lot of writing. It's like 95 percent photos. And when we, when we came up with this idea. Uh, we really wanted to toe that line. Like we want this to be a book that you can look at and mostly just look at the photos and flip through and be like, Oh, that's cool.

[00:29:27] Warren Evans: That's cool. We wanted it to be a book. You don't have to read, but we want there to also be this like added thing of, Oh, well, if I do read it, I'm not only going to see the photos, but I'm going to learn about the things in the photos and I'm going to get like some actual history. Um, about some of the controversy and some of the things that, you know, is a big part of Simpsons merchandise.

[00:29:46] Warren Evans: So I, I think finding a way to do both was like key to us and I feel like we, I feel like we did that. I

[00:29:52] Badr: would say this much, I learned a lot. Like I'm not, not just saying that as a, you know, a blanket statement, but I genuinely learned. So much about the Simpsons, and I'm, and you know, truth be told, I've only gotten past, uh, chapter five.

[00:30:04] Badr: So I'm about a hundred and fifty pages in, which is a little less than half the book. The book is sitting at, I think, a little bit over, north of, uh, three hundred pages. But it is taking me a long time to finish it because there is a lot to consume and read, but I'm enjoying the process because I'm learning a lot.

[00:30:19] Badr: So looking at some of the, the, the contents and the chapters in the book, you guys cover, uh, toys, obviously, clothing and fashion, home media, books, comics, fast food, food and drink, board games, video game, music, lost toys, the real Simpsons house, Universal Studios. And, uh, I'm assuming you probably wrote this last chapter, chapter 14, how to start a collection.

[00:30:40] Badr: Yeah.

[00:30:41] Warren Evans: And truth be told how to start a collection is my. Favorite chapter in the book, just because, you know, throughout the course of the book. And it's also important to mention that when we came up with all the chapters, like when we narrowed down, like the things we wanted to talk about, we sort of had to divide them up in a way that made sense.

[00:30:58] Warren Evans: And we sort of had to be like, okay, well. You know, James and Lydia were like, well, you know, you're, you're the collector here. Obviously, you know, a lot about the toys and like just the general merchandise. We really think that's, that's your space. Like you should really tackle that. That also is the longest chapter I believe is the toy chapter.

[00:31:15] Warren Evans: Um, aside from maybe the video games, but that's long because we talk about every video game, it's like one of the only chapters where we actually do kind of talk about everything. Um, so, you know, we're dividing these up and we're trying to decide like who should say what. Uh, so by the time we got to the how to start a collection, it's also the last thing I wrote.

[00:31:34] Warren Evans: And it just feels like it's the most, it's the most from me and not just stories or history or, or information. So it's, it's the one that's a little more personal to me. It's kind of, you know, more from the heart, I guess.

[00:31:46] Badr: What is your favorite chapter that you

[00:31:47] Warren Evans: did not write? You know, I gotta give it to Lydia.

[00:31:52] Warren Evans: And, and that is the, uh, the clothing and fashion. Uh, and the reason I say that Is, and I think, I think, you know, James wrote some, some wonderful chapters for the book, no shade to James. Uh, but the clothing and fashion, you know, whereas the toy chapter that the book starts on is like, here's some stuff and then here's some more stuff.

[00:32:12] Warren Evans: And then here's some more, it's sort of walking through the timeline. When you get to the clothing and fashion, it's less of that. And more so like when Simpsons became a merchandised property and when the clothing started coming out. There was a lot of controversy and it really digs into like schools banning the shirts, you know, president Bush, uh, openly complaining about the Simpsons and, and things like that.

[00:32:34] Warren Evans: So it really digs into like something a lot bigger than just, here are some cool shirts and here are some cool ties and you get really cool photos of merch, but it digs into like a lot more. It talks about staff gifts. It talks about all of these like little things that, you know, a collection book would, would miss, I think.

[00:32:52] Warren Evans: So I like that it's. It's sort of not what you expect because you get all this sort of timeline stuff with toys and then you move into like, you know, more of a history lesson

[00:33:00] Badr: and going back to what I said about, you know, like genuinely learning some interesting lessons and facts about the Simpsons. The, the band Bart shirt, which I was not aware of its history or its, you know, impact, uh, the pop culture, but the shirt right here that I've got on the screen, Bart Simpson, underachiever and proud of it, man, band in schools.

[00:33:19] Badr: I mean, I guess there was an attempt to ban it in

[00:33:21] Warren Evans: schools. Yeah. And I mean, it's, so it's not only. You know, the messaging is, is like, you know, which seems so tame now, it does seem tame, but I mean, I guess you can, if you put yourself in the position of a parent in the early nineties, maybe you're less encouraged by like a cartoon character sort of glorifying your kid, not trying like, and you know, not to mention he's holding a slingshot at the person looking at the shirt.

[00:33:48] Warren Evans: So it's kind of like, You know, the shirt is very aggressive. If you think about it, it's like, you know, I'm, I'm an underachiever. I don't give a shit. Why are you looking at me? I'll hit you with a slingshot. It's very like, you know, it's a gripping shirt. I think it's one of the coolest things about the show is that it had that edge when it came out, but.

[00:34:05] Warren Evans: You know, you can kind of understand why some parents who hadn't actually watched the show see this and they assume it's very bad for their kid's development. You know, I'm not, I'm not taking up for the parents, but I vividly remember being a kid and this era of their merchandise being very, you know, uh, sort of a hot topic.

[00:34:23] Badr: It says here that these original band t shirts from 1989 have only catapulted in value and you could be looking to spend upwards of 150. Absolutely. That's still

[00:34:32] Warren Evans: the case, huh? Yeah. So, I mean, a lot of this stuff, especially these early shirts, you know, this, we all know how wild, like the vintage market can be.

[00:34:40] Warren Evans: And like, that's, that's across anything, sports memorabilia, you know, anything like you'll, you'll pay a pretty penny for certain things like, you know, modern, I obviously Jacksonville. Uh, big Jaguars fans, some of that vintage Jaguar stuff, especially now that we're good. Uh, any Titans fans listening, turn it off.

[00:34:57] Warren Evans: Um, you know, now that we're good, like you'll pay some big money for some of those things, you know? Um, and so, especially with the show is iconic at the, as the Simpsons and because of sort of the controversy, uh, attached to some of those early designs, you know, I mean, they were putting out shirts for, you know, I mean, I guess not really for kids, but the kids were buying the set.

[00:35:16] Warren Evans: I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you? I mean. You know, just when you think about the weight of that and the time it came out, like people want to own those. So they go for a pretty, if they're clean, you can sell them for big bucks. I

[00:35:26] Badr: almost foolishly asked if you had one. And I'm like, this whole book is

[00:35:29] Warren Evans: everything.

[00:35:30] Warren Evans: I sadly have too many. And I have several that are like, have that have never been worn. I own several like dead stock, uh, original shirts, which is, um, one, let's talk about it. The size, largest,

[00:35:42] Badr: you know, I feel like we completely overlooked the fact that Yardley Smith. Voice of Lisa Simpson wrote you a very beautiful, uh, I guess, what do you call that?

[00:35:51] Badr: Like, you call

[00:35:51] Warren Evans: it, you would call it a blurb, but at the same time, her blurb was so much more than a blurb that it became like one of the first pages in the book. So that, that's really special, uh, that Yardley was kind enough to not only say like, Hey, this is great. You should buy it, but to like write, you know, a paragraph really praising the whole project.

[00:36:07] Warren Evans: Um, I mean, it is crazy, uh, to see. Photos of my stuff because, you know, everything, you know, nothing lasts forever. You know what I mean? Uh, something, something could happen one day and I could lose my collection or my house could burn down or, you know, you never know. Uh, and so the fact that my, my collection and this like time in my life is sort of, I don't know, uh, it's sort of exists now in this like book, like it's for, for all, you know, I guess for as long as the planet is here.

[00:36:39] Warren Evans: Uh, it's kind of special to me. It's like, you know, sort of, uh, it's, it's encapsulated in this like protective little, uh, jacket forever. And I can, I can still look at it if something were to ever happen. So that's a cool thing. To think about, but in addition to that and seeing, you know, the support from people from the show, we didn't even talk about how Bill Morrison, uh, wrote the forward for this book, which truth, I mean, I I'm, I'm here to be honest on the show when Bill sent me the forward and was like, Hey, let me know what you think.

[00:37:07] Warren Evans: Let me know if you like it. I mean, I almost shed a tear. I mean, it really is like, so it's so much more than I expected. He tells like a really personal story about his mind. It's fantastic. So. Um, you know, shout out to Bill, co founder of Bongo Comics, guest on my show a couple times, guest on the short box, uh, just a true legend in the Simpsons land, um, was nice enough to do the foreword for the book, so it's just crazy to see all this stuff.

[00:37:30] Warren Evans: I was happy to

[00:37:31] Badr: see that his His knack with words was just as impressive, you know, he's just as talented with his words as his, you know, like his pen game, you know, drawing, um, I guess, and I'm again kind of ahead and I think I keep trying to encapsulate it all, but this book is, aside from, like I said, just being a beautiful looking book and, you know, finding like merch that you probably have never seen and really getting into detail about your collection, in The overall retrospective of The Simpsons and the celebration of like what it means and like, you know, you're kind of getting like a history lesson, you know, there's no way that you guys wouldn't cover the show and its impact on pop culture and the world and it's done really well.

[00:38:11] Badr: I think at the At the end of the book, in the conclusion, or the, uh, uh, afterward, you guys, I think it was like a, a, a team effort, but you guys write, There's no denying that there are more qualified, those more qualified to write about the making of the show. So we felt it important to write a book from our own perspective, a consumer perspective, to focus on the Simpsons cultural impact and how it affected merchandise.

[00:38:35] Badr: And Yeah, and you still were able to weave in, like, the story of the Simpsons through it, through that unique perspective. I thought that was, like, a really cool way to tackle, you know, telling something new or giving a fresh

[00:38:47] Warren Evans: perspective. Well, to me, too, it's interesting because, you know, when this book was first Conceived I do think in my mind, it was, you know, more of a collector guide.

[00:38:59] Warren Evans: Like my initial, my initial thought was like, okay, we're going to take a bunch of photos of my stuff. We're going to talk about all of that stuff. And then it's going to, you know, sort of teach people about some of the stuff. What the book came to be. And this is what I think is so cool about it is it's, it's almost saying that collecting the Simpsons is more than just collecting the merchandise.

[00:39:20] Warren Evans: Because, you know, we go into all this detail about the real Simpsons house, which gives you like this like crazy story of, of a giveaway. The show did. We also talk about Universal Studios, which is, I mean, you can't collect Universal Studios, but so much merchandise has, has come from Universal Studios and understanding like this part of the fandom is just another chapter to like, you know, no pun intended to collecting this, this thing.

[00:39:45] Warren Evans: And so. To me, I think it's cool that it, it's, in my mind, it was a book about collecting and it became more than that, but it's somehow still also that. Do you

[00:39:55] Badr: feel like there was a chapter that you could have easily doubled up on or even just made a whole book about?

[00:40:01] Warren Evans: I, I fully think I could have made this book three times as long.

[00:40:07] Warren Evans: Wow. Um, and, and that was one thing that we talked about a lot and, and a lot of things had to get cut. There, there's a lot of photos that didn't even make the book. Uh. To any, to anyone listening that, uh, you know, if you're listening to this, after you've seen the book, there's a lot of photos in it. How many real quick, how many photos

[00:40:26] Badr: in total, just rough ballpark estimate you think, uh, the photographer

[00:40:30] Warren Evans: took?

[00:40:30] Warren Evans: Easily five or six or 700. Like there's no way it's less than that. Like truthfully, it could be a thousand because there's so many photos of each thing to, to make sure you get the best possible one or like. You know, we would set up something and then take it one way and then move a couple of things and take it another way and then decide which one was better.

[00:40:49] Warren Evans: So, I mean, the true number is probably closer to 1500 or something, but if I'm being just, you know, conservative easily six or seven, 800 photos, but I say that to say, there's so many that are not even in the book because we either ended up not having time to talk about it, or it just didn't seem as relevant because again, and you'll see us say this throughout the book.

[00:41:10] Warren Evans: We knew we couldn't cover everything, so we had to sort of dial it back and make it a little more broad. Um, but if it were up to me, and who knows what the future holds, um, I would go into much more detail about a lot more things. Like I would talk more about international products than I was able to. I would talk even more about household products.

[00:41:28] Warren Evans: I would talk even more about prototypes and samples. There's like always more to talk about. Um, you know, look at this as like a broad walkthrough of just how big, uh, the merchandise is. And I'm going to stick

[00:41:38] Badr: to, uh, on this clothing chapter because this is, this, I think this might be, aside from the comics chapter, which we might go into next, I think the clothing chapter is maybe my favorite one.

[00:41:50] Badr: It's

[00:41:50] Warren Evans: great.

[00:41:50] Badr: The bootleg Bart. You know, little blurb or, or chapter in part was very eye opening because I've seen, you know, I think we've all seen like the bootleg Bart shirts, especially like when, you know, uh, they've got them as, um, like Bart Sanchez or like they've got them with like the dreads and all that, uh, I didn't know that there was that many subcultures and sub genres to it.

[00:42:12] Badr: It's wild. Oh, black Bart. Yeah, obviously just black Bart. I've seen so many black Bart shirts, but I didn't know about like the, um, this, uh, Bart versus

[00:42:18] Warren Evans: Rambarts. Yeah, and there's so many with again, like, you know, we talk about how much more we could say about each thing. Like we could do a whole, we could do a whole book probably as long as this one just about the clothing.

[00:42:32] Warren Evans: And that's, and that's a fact. Like, I mean, there's so many crazy, we, we didn't even really get to dig into like sports bootlegs, which is like one of my favorite things. And I wish that there, you know, Again, there's just not time to talk about every little thing. And that's, you know, that's the, the line that we had to walk, but I, but I'm happy, I'm proud that we did honestly, because you got to put barriers up.

[00:42:52] Warren Evans: Yeah. And I, and I think it gives people, you know, a broad idea and it teaches people a lot without, you know, if you get too granular, it's almost too much to take in, you know?

[00:43:02] Badr: All right. Question for you then, what is your favorite? Sub genre of Simpsons merch or your favorite bootleg. So I don't know those go hand in hand.

[00:43:11] Badr: So you can answer them separately or,

[00:43:13] Warren Evans: or together favorite sub genre. You mean as in like type of merchandise, right? So for me, and I've said this for as long as I can remember, uh, whenever I get a question about like, you know, what do you look for specifically? I love. All the weird ceramics and all the weird like stuff from Europe and Japan and, and France and just like all these like interesting international pieces, because one thing, and that's why I say, I wish I could have spent more time on that because.

[00:43:40] Warren Evans: There are so many amazing products that are not from America. And I would argue that in most cases, some of the more interesting products come from other places, Australia, Italy, France. Like some of the coolest stuff that we know about comes from other places and outside of America, which is where the show was created.

[00:43:59] Warren Evans: So those are the things that really fire me up, especially, you know, like I said, the ceramics, the butter dishes, the salt and pepper shakers. I just think that stuff is such a. It's such a window into a time, right? Like you don't really see these sort of products in this way anymore. And you don't really see shows merchandised the way Simpsons and things like it were star Wars, Ninja Turtles, et cetera.

[00:44:20] Warren Evans: You just don't see this sort of phenomenon nearly as often. So. Those sorts of things really kind of show you that the most. So those are the things that really grabbed me when I'm, when I'm trying to find stuff. And as far as a bootleg, like to me, it is the sports ones because I just love how bad some of them are.

[00:44:37] Warren Evans: Uh, and, and, and I think that is like. There's a charm to it. There's a charm to that. And there's a charm to the idea that some guy was standing under the bridge on the way to the stadium being like, Hey, get your Bart, you know, 49er shirt, get your Bart, Iowa Hawkeye shirt. Like there's something so cool about that.

[00:44:54] Warren Evans: Um, so those things always really fire me up.

[00:44:56] Badr: If you had the opportunity to go to another country specifically to, you know, dig and hunt for Simpsons merch that, that is native to that country, what country are you going to just for a Simpsons hunting spree? I think,

[00:45:09] Warren Evans: I think it honestly is a tie and I think it would be, I mean, I always talk about the stuff from France, but at the same time, like we know so much about that stuff because so many collectors do really like it.

[00:45:20] Warren Evans: And there's, you know, it's not that vast of a thing because. You know, it's, it's, I think most of the stuff that I, that I know about, we all know about, I don't think there's any like hidden secrets there, but I think Japan and Australia would be two of the places where there's got to be so much stuff that we still don't know about.

[00:45:40] Warren Evans: And there's so much stuff that's like. You know, Australia people, you know, shout out to four finger discount. I was on that show recently twice. Uh, and they are a testament to just how much people in Australia love the Simpsons. They, I would argue that people in Australia might love the show more than anyone.

[00:45:56] Warren Evans: Like it's honestly remarkable, uh, how strong their fan base is there. And the same can be said for the merchandise. They had their own style of merchandise. It's like. It's unlike any other merchandise in the world. Um, it's just, it's, it's truly so different, like the types of things they made, the way the packaging looked, they always had the.

[00:46:13] Warren Evans: The kids play in sports. It's just like so unique. So I think between those two places, there's gotta be so many things that I could still uncover. So that's, that's on my priority list for sure. Going

[00:46:24] Badr: back to this book, let me say, let me tell you another thing that was like profound. And I guess I got to give props to James since he wrote the home media chapter.

[00:46:31] Badr: The way that the photos were shot for the VHS is I have never wanted to just go out and buy a bunch of just physical. His chapter just made me appreciate the, the VHSs and the DVDs a lot. Totally. Um, it got me thinking about like, my pops coming home with like, a new movie that was a VHS or, and then, you know, when DVDs started happening, like, just how excited we were to like, get this and then like, hold it and you know, we'd pass it around and, and all that.

[00:46:57] Badr: But he makes a comment about the, uh, I think he dedicates a good bit of it to DVD commentary. And he makes a remark, and I'm gonna butcher it, but he basically, uh, akins the, uh, The DVD behind the scenes, commentary to podcast before they were podcast. And reading that was like a, man, he's, he's fucking right.

[00:47:16] Badr: And I wanted to hear from you. What is your favorite Simpsons DVD just based solely on the, the commentary and the behind the scenes

[00:47:25] Warren Evans: extra. You know, that, that's an interesting one. And I want to say before I answer that, uh, talking about how much that photo of the VHS makes you want it. I just want to say another reason.

[00:47:34] Warren Evans: It's so perfect. That bill Morrison wrote the forward is he did like all of that box art. Like, I mean, not only, I mean, he did tons of art throughout the book. I would argue like so much of what we talk about in the book was done by bill. Um, so much of the stuff in the toy chapter, so much of this stuff, I know those VHS sets build at all of them.

[00:47:52] Warren Evans: So I just want to throw that out. It's like, you know, it's, it's, it's so fitting that you did the forward. Um, you know, I was asked this question recently, um, asking you my questions. Uh, well, this is an old question. Dang. I thought I had something like new. I mean, it's, it is a good question. And what, and what I was going to say is that when I was asked this originally, I couldn't really come up with anything.

[00:48:13] Warren Evans: And it was actually Brandon who reminded me. Um, that the who shot Mr. Burns commentaries are like, so good. And it's because they go into detail about how, when that was all going on, they tried to like leak the answer. They tried to get like answers to the contest in like tabloids and stuff to try to stir up some controversy about the show and even these like grimy tabloids.

[00:48:41] Warren Evans: We're like, Oh no, no, we don't want to spoil the show, you know? Wow. And so you learn like these crazy stories that you really wouldn't hear anywhere else. I guess you could hear them now on podcasts now that everyone goes on podcasts. But like there was a time where this was the only place you were getting stories like this, especially from the writers, especially from the producers.

[00:49:01] Warren Evans: So you can't really go wrong, but you want it. You want to go listen to those for sure. Who shot Mr. Burns? A classic. Everyone loves those episodes. If you don't think they're in the top 10, you're, you're watching the wrong show. Do you think it's a shame

[00:49:12] Badr: that none of these, outside of just living on the DVD, uh, the DVDs, that none of these have been like digitized for, I guess, audio consumption?

[00:49:21] Badr: I mean, I guess is, is any

[00:49:22] Warren Evans: of that out there? It's, it's sad that, that Disney has not done that. And what I will say is when they did Simpsons World, like when they used to have that website, this is like before Disney owned the Simpsons. This used to be like one of the ways you could stream it. It was through like FX.

[00:49:35] Warren Evans: Okay. And, uh, There was a time where a lot of those commentaries were on there and you could listen to them, uh, but no one has, and this is something I know a lot of people want, but maybe there's like some sort of weird crossover, like contract issue with who owns the rights to those. I have no idea. Or maybe they don't want to have to pay more to the writers by featuring them on Disney.

[00:49:56] Warren Evans: I'd have no idea what it is. Um, but I mean, putting them on Disney plus seems like a no brainer. Like why not make the most of that? And why not record new ones? For the, the seasons that are not on DVD, people want that kind of shit, especially for

[00:50:08] Badr: the Simpsons. And I will say, you know, when you read the, this chapter and it talks about the feedback and reception from the fans, you know, just from like the shift from VHS to DVDs and then like the DVDs not being, uh, you know, uniform in, in shape and easy to display.

[00:50:23] Badr: I thought I got a good chuckle out of that because you guys go into like those nuanced things that. Maybe wouldn't mean anything to like the average person, you know, they don't really you know A bunch of nerds getting upset about the shape of a DVD box, but in the community, it's like it is a thing You know, that's probably a thing that you know, everyone talks about like it's maybe a joke at this point Yeah I guess it's interesting that the Simpsons merch Tells just as much about the history and story and the the nuances of this show that even the show itself can't Can't possibly tell this,

[00:50:54] Warren Evans: this guy gets it.

[00:50:55] Warren Evans: See this bottle gets it. See, that is exact. He, he just said in a way, in a way that I couldn't think to say that is what the book is like. It's showing you that the merchandise is more than just, here's this, here's that, here's this. There's like stories and history that people have with these objects.

[00:51:13] Warren Evans: Like it's more than just like. You know, neat people don't need a collector guy. They have Google. This is like reminding you of like a time in your life where you're like, Oh, you know what? I remember getting that Homer shaped head and being really pissed off about it, you know, because you couldn't even stack it on the shelf.

[00:51:27] Warren Evans: You had to lay it down or turn it on its side. And, and I just think being able to like unlock memories for people, like that's something I always talk about. That's like the whole point of my Instagram being able to unlock a memory for someone, uh, whether it be like a good one or like one that was locked far, far away.

[00:51:44] Warren Evans: Uh, that connects to an object is, is fun. That's a cool thing to do. Like who doesn't love, like, you know, finding lost memories. Does that make

[00:51:53] Badr: sense? No, it does. And you won't hear a complaint from me. So I want to kind of quickly move on. Cause I don't want to go through the whole book and everyone's like, all right, I guess I got my book.

[00:52:01] Badr: It wouldn't be right. If we didn't touch on, this is kind of a tie from my favorite chapter. Now granted, like I said, I'm only halfway through. I'm sure this list will change, but I read the comic section last night, like really late at night, and I was like, ah, maybe I could just skip this and, you know, uh, read it in the morning.

[00:52:17] Badr: But I got so hooked into finishing this chapter. It was a long ass chapter for the record. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But man, and, and you know what, we've talked, I've had you on the show to talk about bongo comics. I've spoken to Bill Morrison about it, and I still learned. So much, and what I'll try to say about this chapter in general, the biggest takeaway that I got was just how integral comic books were to really to like the, the, the, the foundation and the start of the Simpsons.

[00:52:43] Badr: And I guess it really all starts with Matt Groening's. Uh, what was the strip life as hell? Life as hell. I did not know

[00:52:49] Warren Evans: that started as life, life, life in hell. Life as hell. There's like, they're called a lot of different things. There's school as hell life as hell. There's. There's lots of things. Like I knew that

[00:52:57] Badr: was like his first, you know, thing, like the, the, the, the thing that put him on the map and then obviously, you know, crushed it with the Simpsons.

[00:53:03] Badr: But I guess I, I never really knew the, the in between, like the nuance, the connective tissue there. And the fact that you could really pinpoint it to Matt Groening. And this is something that we always talk about on the show, right? Like, these stories of creators creating their thing. Like, this, this, this, out of, uh, out of a passion.

[00:53:21] Badr: So he creates, like, the, the comic strip, puts it out via zine, and that gets his name. You know, that, that catches the attention of an executive, and they give him a shot at doing an animated, you know, doing the bumpers for the Tracy, uh, the Tracy Ullman show. It's like, damn, that all started? With the fucking

[00:53:36] Warren Evans: zine?

[00:53:36] Warren Evans: And what's even crazier about it That's awesome. And what's even crazier about it to me, and this is something that I feel like everyone knows but people don't think about it enough, is they wanted to make a show out of Life is Hell. Like, that's what they wanted, like, that's what Matt was there to pitch.

[00:53:53] Warren Evans: And he was so precious about those rabbits and this is, you know, the story goes, who knows how I say this all the time, but who knows how true this really is. But this is the myth, uh, is that he like doodled the family in the waiting room, you know, before the meeting was like, no, I think we should do a show about these guys.

[00:54:09] Warren Evans: Um, but life is hell is like. Not only did he keep making it for a long time, but it was like, very precious to him. Like he, I think he made it until 2015. Uh, so even while the Simpsons was like one of the biggest things in the world, he kept doing a strip. Um, and you know, I will say that as someone who went back and didn't, you know, didn't know about life as hell in the beginning, but someone who went back to it as an adult and really dug in, it's, it's truly.

[00:54:33] Warren Evans: Like you see the humor there, you see what the Simpsons became. You see the building blocks in those early strips and they're, you know, they're dark, they're funny. They're, they're, you know, kind of sad sometimes. Like they're really, they're really introspective and fantastic. In a way that I, I don't know if enough people have taken the time to go back and look, but they're really, really great.

[00:54:52] Warren Evans: And, and I guess

[00:54:53] Badr: that's what I'm trying to say is I went into it thinking that, Oh yeah, I, I know about life as hell, the two rabbits, kind of, I guess maybe I went into it thinking that was throwaway projects? Or, not throwaway, but like a side piece, and it's like, oh, The Simpsons is where I'm, you know, that's my bread and butter, that's my true love.

[00:55:07] Badr: But reading this, it kind of pivoted that, where it's like, oh no. He was so protective about these rabbits. He was like, Oh, let's just, yeah, let's do a show about these guys, you know, like kind of like, um, uh, kind of not, I won't say a bait and switch because obviously it worked out well for him, uh, but that to, to know that it all really started with a fucking zine, you know, that, that kind of blew my mind.

[00:55:26] Badr: Yeah. Um, and then really, you know, what this chapter does is really emphasizes the, the care, I guess, and the love and the appreciation that the entire. I would probably, I think I said this to the entire like, Simpsons team, but specifically like, Matt Groening and Bill Morrison, like the love they put into the Bongo comics.

[00:55:44] Badr: Because admittedly, if I'm being real with you, growing up, I've definitely come across a few of these, and I remember thinking as a kid, like, anything that was like a TV show, um, a TV show comic, I kind of just always wrote off as like, eh, you know, I just watched the show. But, you know, obviously meeting you and talking to Bill Morrison, I have a new sense of appreciation for that, but you read this chapter and you're like, nah, these guys were serious about making quality comics, like, you know, putting their love of comic books, you know, wearing that on their sleeves and the amount of books, I didn't know that there was, you know, they started with so many titles, like Radioactive Man, Bart, uh, the, just the Simpsons family comic, am I missing

[00:56:21] Warren Evans: one more?

[00:56:22] Warren Evans: Yeah, Treehouse of Horror, like, you know, all of these itchy and scratchy, Uh, you know, they did so many little sub genres of comics. It's really wild. And you know, what you say is, is a great point because, um, you know, there's a big difference in like, you know, people think about Matt's early beginning. You know, we talk about life, life in hell.

[00:56:39] Warren Evans: I always call, I always say life is hell because he did love is hell school as hell. And I think maybe there is, maybe some of them are called life is hell, but the, the first one was life in hell. Like that's the actual name. But when he was doing that. You know, he was people think of that and they're like, Oh, he did this little comic strip, but you can tell when you look at those that Matt loved comic books, you can tell that there was like a profound love there, but he was just doing this little, you know, black and white strip what he was able to do with Simpsons comics.

[00:57:07] Warren Evans: And before that Simpsons illustrated. Is it was like his first shot to do something he had always wanted to do in a more real way. It's like, okay, I'm not just doing a zine or a comic strip. I'm, I want to, I'm going to do a real comic book and the, the matchup of him and Bill Morrison and Steven Cindy Vance and the whole team is such a magical thing because people forget.

[00:57:27] Warren Evans: And I'm sure a lot of people grew up with the comics, but they also, you know, maybe they never cared about them. Maybe they assumed they were just, you know, replicated versions of episodes or something. Who knows? Maybe people just looked over them. But when you realize that the comics went on for so long, like they were like a touchstone for some people, there's probably people out there that had stopped watching the show, but kept buying the comics, you know, and you gotta, you gotta think that that's possible.

[00:57:52] Warren Evans: So the comics are like their own world. And like, again, you could do a whole, you could do a whole book about the comics. So it's, it's such a vast world within a vast world, within a vast world. And that's, that's like. Kind of the, the, the hard part about making a book like this, but also the fun part, you have so much stuff to talk.

[00:58:08] Warren Evans: I think I

[00:58:09] Badr: got just a bigger respect for the Simpsons comics after, you know, this particular chapter, because not only do, you know, did I really understand the role that, you know, life in hell or life as hell played, uh, into the whole creation of the Simpsons. It also made me appreciate that this medium makes sense for the Simpsons, like to tell continued stories and they weren't just trying to, you know, repeat, you know, plots and stories from the show.

[00:58:32] Badr: They had like full range to tell unique stories and one in particular that thanks to the book that it put on my radar is this particular issue of Simpsons comics number 13 where they tell, I guess the overall premise is Bart and Milhouse create their own comic called Oyster Man and it's about. Uh, what is it?

[00:58:49] Badr: It says, uh, they're shocked to find the same professional stole their idea. Yeah, I guess a bunch of professionals call their idea stupid only to steal the idea, make millions off it. And it's kind of a commentary on the comic book industry. Right. Like, wow. Obviously the folks writing the books and this particular story are very well aware of, of the, the industry and are making commentary about it.

[00:59:10] Warren Evans: Yeah. And the fact that they were able to do something like that, like with. You know, a property like the Simpsons, that's like part of what makes this so amazing. And we, we, you know, we did a whole episode about radioactive man once. And we've talked so much about that, but what, what they were able to do was so many different things like com, you know, give us commentary on the industry, but also make fun of the tropes, but also expand what the show is doing.

[00:59:33] Warren Evans: You know, keep those characters true to the show. Like all these little things, they took such care. Uh, and, and that's like, that is why the comics mean more to me now. Then even when I was younger, because now I like see just how much time and work went into those comics. And something I've also said thousands of times is you're not going to see the Simpsons look better than in some of these drawings.

[00:59:54] Warren Evans: Like the comics are like one of the most fun places. To look at these images. Yeah. It's, I just, I have so much love and appreciation for the comics. More so now than, than ever. You've been trying

[01:00:04] Badr: to, I mean, you've always kind of drilled into my head. B you gotta check out the treehouse of Horror. Yeah. Uh, uh, series.

[01:00:10] Badr: Yeah. You know, they've got some of the biggest names in comics doing them. You've shown me plenty of examples. I should have listened to you when the, uh, omnibus came out. Oh yeah. Because if this is all in the omnibus, it is the treehouse of horror omnibus. It is. I'm copping like immediately, you know, like these covers are beautiful and then you really get to see.

[01:00:28] Badr: Uh, cause I guess the whole premise is like the Treehouse of Horror books, they were inviting other comic creators, you know, big name, you know, rising, you know, even manga stars to do their own interpretation and just a few couple of preview pages, which I've got on the screen of the Simpsons in different art style, you know, like this manga, um, uh, art style blows my mind.

[01:00:47] Badr: Yes. Like I'm so interested now to try to like go through all of it and see who else has done their interpretation. I know like Bernie Wrightson has done a Simpsons story, this one right here. What is the issue? Yeah. Issue one, Barton Simpson's Treehouse of Horror. I mean, off the rip, these are some comic book legends.

[01:01:02] Badr: Mike Allred, James Robinson, Jeff Smith. I know.

[01:01:05] Warren Evans: Crazy. It's insane that they did that. And I think, you know, something I know Bill has thought about a lot is that, you know, he was afraid like Matt Groening wouldn't love this idea of like letting them go so crazy and invite another artist, but Matt was all about it and he loved it.

[01:01:18] Warren Evans: And that's like the most, I think the Treehouse comics especially are like, you know, if you don't want to, if you don't want to dive in and have to collect hundreds and hundreds of comics. At least get the tree house ones because you'll never see the show. It's so crazy. So many of the covers were, were like actual paintings that Bill Morrison did, and they're, they're among my favorite Simpsons things that exist.

[01:01:39] Warren Evans: Um, uh, you know, we're looking at it right now. Treehouse 14 up there in the top right corner. That's like such an unbelievable cover.

[01:01:45] Badr: You will definitely put a new found respect on Bill Morrison's name. Absolutely. This man is stupid talented. So good. And I've had a chance to see him a few times, like at conventions.

[01:01:56] Badr: In the middle of drawing a sketch or, or doing a, a, a remark on a Funko pop. I think one time I even caught him like actually painting and it's like, yo, people don't mention your

[01:02:06] Warren Evans: name enough. And, and, you know, and something else about him that I, anytime Bill Morrison comes up and this is not just because he wrote the forward for my book.

[01:02:13] Warren Evans: I love Bill so much. Uh, he like, I always feel the need to remind people like he's still doing it. Like, you know, anyone, anyone listening that bought the super seven reaction figures, like bill did a lot of those card arts. Like he's still to this day, like one of the best people drawing Simpsons, if not the best, like no shade to anyone, no shade to Wes Archer, no shade to David Silverman, no shade to Matt graining.

[01:02:35] Warren Evans: But bill is like, you know, what I associate the most with the Simpsons is so many of those early card arts. So many of the early advertisements, all of that sort of thing. And that's all bill. So, you know, part of the reason we see the show the way we do and the characters, the way we do in a, in a physical space is because of bill.

[01:02:53] Warren Evans: So I just, you know, I always had to put that extra respect on it.

[01:02:55] Badr: All right. Last but not least, cause like I said, I didn't go any further than this chapter. And I think this is a good, uh, drop off point, but. I feel like you've definitely mentioned the Futurama crossover comic book. Yeah. Did not know it was done twice.

[01:03:08] Badr: Yeah. Are they

[01:03:09] Warren Evans: that good? They're really good. They're really, really good. And I, you know, this is one that I'm always saying I want to like re read because it's been a while. But like, I mean, just look at those covers, man. No, the covers are stupid nice. And, and, you know, this, this happened way before the show.

[01:03:23] Warren Evans: The show actually did a crossover Futurama a couple years ago, and you know, to some people, that was such a radical idea by like a

[01:03:30] Badr: wide margin. She's already interrupted. I was surprised to know that, uh, what the crossover happened in the comic book 2005, but they didn't actually do the TV crossover until

[01:03:39] Warren Evans: 2014.

[01:03:39] Warren Evans: Yeah. Yeah. So, so the fact that they, you know, they were doing these sort of You know, when that episode of the show came out, some people were like, whoa, that's crazy. I never thought they would do that. And it's like, well, they actually, they've done this stuff before in the comics and that's why it's so cool.

[01:03:52] Warren Evans: And obviously it's a completely different type of story. Um, but you know, it's so cool to see these two properties like come together. The crossovers are great.

[01:04:01] Badr: I was going to, um, I was going to fuck with you and be like, Warren, you got to say something nice about family, the family guy crossover, but I know you refuse to say anything nice about family guy.

[01:04:10] Badr: No comment. Oh man. I'm telling one day I want to see a crossover of Simpsons greater than, and whatever the biggest family guy

[01:04:17] Warren Evans: podcast is. I don't know if there's a big family guy podcast, but I'm, I'm willing to bet anyone who hosts that podcast is not someone I would talk to. You know, no, listen, you know, this is a joke I make on my show a lot and I always like go on this whole thing when family guy comes up when family guy first came out.

[01:04:36] Warren Evans: I did not hate it, but my argument is always that it's aged so poorly and only ages worse and worse as it gets older. Uh, you know, I have no like beef with people who like the show. Um, but you know, anytime there's like a, a problem with the Simpsons, like, or someone gets mad about something that happens in like a new Simpsons, People are always like, well, this is why I watch family guy.

[01:04:56] Warren Evans: Uh, and this is something that Brandon and I talked about recently. To me, that's like, when I see stuff like that, I'm like, that's all I needed to know about you. I'm good.

[01:05:06] Badr: One day I'm going to invite you on the podcast. I'm going to surprise you with a, I'm going to have a psychologist with me. I'm going to get to the root of this problem.

[01:05:12] Badr: Let's do it. Very quickly, I'm going to give you the option to, uh, bring up maybe one chapter we can quickly scroll through that is whatever chapter you want to go

[01:05:21] Warren Evans: through. Um, I would say, like, maybe go through, um, the real Simpsons house. And the reason I say that. Yeah, you go ahead and set it up. I'll find it.

[01:05:30] Warren Evans: The reason I say that is we're talking a lot about, you know, merchandise. And when Lydia first, you know, talked about making a chapter about the real Simpsons house, In my mind, you know, that didn't make a ton of sense for like what this book was about. But if you think about it, like there is no, if you think about it, there is no like greater, um, you know, grail piece to any collector than this, like lost opportunity, uh, to own the Simpsons house.

[01:05:56] Warren Evans: And the reason I say that. Is it's one of the most interesting stories in, in the world of the Simpsons floor plans. Yeah. I mean, they built a real house. Okay. Okay. It's related to that. Yeah. So like knowing that this existed and knowing that like none of us really ever got to appreciate it because of the whole story, which I won't spoil the story.

[01:06:15] Warren Evans: Anyone that doesn't know it should go read the chapter. But you know, this is like, while this is not something you can physically collect, this is like. You know, this is like the, it's like the ultimate personification. It's like the ultimate personification of like a physical thing from the show. And so it's something that people need to know about, like any, any collector needs to at least know this story or at the very least.

[01:06:36] Warren Evans: You know, go visit the house now. So what I will tell you is that the house, you can't go inside of it. Someone lives in it and it no longer looks like the Simpsons house, but there is one little thing about it that is special. And what that is is to this day, there's a piece of concrete in the front of the house.

[01:06:52] Warren Evans: And if you scroll a further bother, you'll see it. That is still there to this day. That little concrete slab with Homer drawn in it. I think you just scrolled, but there you go. Um, that is still there to this day. So if you go find the house in Nevada. That little concrete slab is still on the walkway to the front door.

[01:07:08] Warren Evans: Matt drew that in the slab the day that they like, you know, officially like unveiled the house or whatever. Um, so there's just something really interesting about, and this is like also a time where the show didn't have tons of merchandise. So it is sort of relevant to, um, what the merchandise would become for the show.

[01:07:26] Warren Evans: Because. People believe that this was like an attempt to sort of drum up interest in the show again, and like get people really engaged and, you know, keep people engaged in the show. That's something that every big property has to do. Um, so in that way, it is very relevant to the merchandise to me. And talk

[01:07:42] Badr: about a, uh, a PR stint.

[01:07:44] Badr: Yeah, absolutely.

[01:07:45] Warren Evans: This is, this is epic. And you know, and not to Monday morning quarterback on the whole team, but like, I've said this a million times, why didn't you just do a contest to where? The winner would get the house built for them instead of building the house first. I just, I'll never understand, um, cause the whole thing is, you know, the person didn't want to have to move to own the house that won the contest.

[01:08:03] Warren Evans: So they could have solved all that by building it, by building it after the fact. But Hey, you know what, what do I know? I'm just a, just a Simpsons historian. No, no, no,

[01:08:11] Badr: no. You're a published author that knows a lot. And I think with that said, Warren, if the goal was to give people a preview. I think we've exceeded that.

[01:08:20] Badr: I think so. Once again, the book is available by the time this episode comes out. If you're a patron subscriber, you got a couple of days before it comes out, but it is available on pre order on, um, anywhere you get your book, uh, anywhere

[01:08:32] Warren Evans: you get your Amazon target, Walmart, Barnes and Noble, you can order it directly from the publisher.

[01:08:36] Warren Evans: If you want, uh, you got lots of options. You can get, you can find lots of options either in the description of this episode or. Uh, in my bio on bar to darkness. So go to my link tree. Now, before we move

[01:08:46] Badr: on to our next segment, we should probably, and finally announce the contest rules and explain how one lucky listener is going to be able to win a copy of collecting Simpsons for free, right?

[01:08:58] Badr: So the book that we spent the last hour. Talking about and praising one of you. Lucky listeners will be able to win the book for free. All right. I'll even get warned to sign the book for you. Yeah. And since the premise of the book is all about Simpsons merchandise, the, the history of the Simpsons and spotlighting, uh, all the different merchandise that they put out, let's keep this contest related and very straightforward and easy.

[01:09:23] Badr: All you have to do as a listener is email me at theshortbikesjacksatgmail. com or you shoot me a DM via Instagram or Twitter at theshortbikesjacks. And tell me what is your favorite piece of Simpsons merch. I want to know if you have a particular, uh, piece of Simpsons merch that means a lot to you.

[01:09:41] Badr: Maybe it's one you got as a kid, or maybe it's one that you recently got into or purchased. But I want to know what is your favorite piece of Simpsons merch, alright? Give me the item, give me a little anecdote. You know, tell us a story, all right? Tell us what is the most meaningful piece of Simpsons merch to you.

[01:09:57] Badr: What's your favorite? What's the best one in your opinion? I want to hear about it. I like it. And I'm gonna let Warren decide on the winner since he's a professional.

[01:10:05] Warren Evans: Yeah, I like it.

[01:10:07] Badr: So once again, tell me what's your favorite piece of Simpsons merch. You could write a short email and send that to theshortboxjacks at gmail.

[01:10:13] Badr: com or you can DM your submission via Instagram and Twitter at theshortboxjacks. Let's go ahead and say you've got until December 16th. That's a Sunday. That's about 10 days from the time this episode drops. So you got 10 days to enter in the contest, to write in and send your submission. We'll pick one winner and we'll get that shipped out to you.

[01:10:36] Badr: With that said, let's turn the corner and get into our last segment of the show, a fan favorite, one that folks have been asking to bring back, and I'm happy to oblige this episode. Let's get into our Fistful of Comics segment.

[01:10:51] Warren Evans: You can either have a mouth full of teeth, or a fist full

[01:10:56] Badr: of comics. Fistful of Comics is a segment dedicated to helping all you comic curious newbies. And loyal Wednesday Warriors take your comic shopping experience to the next level by helping you find the best new comics and starting points that you just can't afford to miss.

[01:11:11] Badr: Now, how do we achieve this goal? How do we get listeners on board with the best new comic books coming out? By seeking out advice from our good friend Ben Kingsbury, the owner of Gotham City Limit, the best comic shop in Florida. So it's no secret that Ben spends a lot of time thinking about comics, reading comic books, as well as previewing new and upcoming titles.

[01:11:33] Badr: So, safe to say, he knows a thing or two about comic books. He's compiled a list of his top three comic book recommendations that he feels every single comic book fan, reader, potential newbie would enjoy. So we're not gonna waste any more time. Let's get some music going and let's just dive right into this list.

[01:11:50] Badr: Let's take a look at his first pick. Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening,

[01:11:55] Warren Evans: short box listener, however you're listening and wherever

[01:11:59] Badr: you're listening from. I'm Ben Kay representing

[01:12:02] Warren Evans: the best of Florida. Gotham City Limit, Jacksonville, Florida. And these are my three FOC Final Order cutoff

[01:12:10] Badr: picks of the week you should add to your pull list

[01:12:12] Warren Evans: immediately.

[01:12:14] Warren Evans: First

[01:12:14] Badr: up, DC

[01:12:15] Warren Evans: Comics presents John Constantine Hellblazer, Dead in America, number one of an eight part series. The creative team

[01:12:23] Badr: behind the best reviewed DC comic of 2020 gets

[01:12:26] Warren Evans: the reigns to John Constantine again. John Constantine has cheated death once again. However, his heart isn't beating, his body is decaying, and he's on the run in America, wanted for murder.

[01:12:39] Warren Evans: My guess is that it's all John's fault. But, isn't it always, don't miss the return of the

[01:12:45] Badr: Hellblazer, as this promises to be ambitious and unmissable. Good first start right there. Once again, that was John Constantine, Hellblazer, dead in America, issue one. Issue one drops January 16th, if that sounds interesting to you, get that on your pull list ASAP.

[01:13:00] Badr: Let's take a look at his second pic, coming in to ya hot. Next

[01:13:04] Warren Evans: up, the hot new publisher of the year, Distillery, debuts writer and artist, Mirka Andolfo's blasphemous number one of a three part

[01:13:13] Badr: series. Mirka is an

[01:13:14] Warren Evans: international superstar, think Sweet Paprika, Mercy, and Unnatural, as she dives right into our modern pop

[01:13:22] Badr: culture.

[01:13:23] Badr: Popstars,

[01:13:24] Warren Evans: this horror comedy promises to answer the question,

[01:13:28] Badr: How many fans is your soul worth?

[01:13:30] Warren Evans: No one mixes the sacred and profane quite like

[01:13:33] Badr: Mirka. Don't miss your chance at this first issue. I know that Ben, for the most part, Uh, we'll read a lot of the solicitations, but there's something about the way he reads it, you know, you're like, he really, he really kills how much is my

[01:13:46] Warren Evans: soul.

[01:13:47] Warren Evans: Great question.

[01:13:48] Badr: So once again, that was blasphemous number one coming out through distillery. And this one actually comes out this year. It'll be December 20th. So if you want to get that issue, definitely get that on your pull list sooner than later. And last but not least. For number three, this is definitely one that gets me excited.

[01:14:03] Badr: Let's hear from Ben.

[01:14:05] Warren Evans: And, last but not least, the

[01:14:07] Badr: Energon universe continues

[01:14:09] Warren Evans: to expand within Image Comics as they present Cobra Commander, number one of a five part series.

[01:14:15] Badr: The rise of Cobra begins

[01:14:16] Warren Evans: here. As a comic fan, there hasn't been anything Red Hot Rider Joshua Williamson has written recently that I haven't loved, and I personally can't wait for this.

[01:14:25] Warren Evans: Cobra Commander has some seriously sinister plans to use the mysterious alien substance he's found, Energon, to send shockwaves across the

[01:14:34] Badr: globe. If you aren't already reading Void Rivals and Transformers,

[01:14:37] Warren Evans: get on it. Bonus note, if you don't follow Gotham City Limit on

[01:14:42] Badr: all social

[01:14:42] Warren Evans: media platforms, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or X, trust me when I tell you, you're going to want to as soon as you're done listening to this podcast.

[01:14:52] Warren Evans: Why? Because at the end of December, we will be debuting a 30 second promotional video made by writer Joshua Williamson himself exclusively for Gotham City Limit. And he asked if we would rather have a G. I. Joe or Cobra themed message, and I instinctively answered, COBRA! Get this on

[01:15:12] Badr: your pull list now.

[01:15:14] Warren Evans: Well, another week has come and gone and I'm still Ben Kay representing the best of Florida, Gotham City Limit, Jacksonville, Florida. Remember,

[01:15:22] Badr: with great power comes great responsibility and always take it to the limit. That's my motherfucking comic shot right there. Wow,

[01:15:29] Warren Evans: and a shameless plug. Man,

[01:15:31] Badr: it's never a shame to lose to a Ben, you know, like, I swear, he thinks of some of the coolest things, like a promo video from the writer himself.

[01:15:38] Badr: You know what I'm saying? Like, Ben is always thinking outside the box, and that's why I love Gotham City Limit. Very, very cool. Once again, that was Cobra Commander number one, uh, part of the larger Interjon universe, which has been Fucking phenomenal. Uh, Cobra commander. Number one comes out January 17th.

[01:15:53] Badr: And if I had to make a pick out of these three options, it'll definitely be Cobra commander. Uh, Warren, did anything peak your interest? If you were to go into the shop and pick out of one of these three, which

[01:16:02] Warren Evans: one would get your vote? Honestly, man, like, you know, and you know, how, how out of the loop I am with a lot of this stuff, but just visually this John Constantine looks crazy, the covers look like the cover is unreal, so that really like all of them do that, that really piques my interest.

[01:16:17] Warren Evans: Uh, just because it sounds like really gritty in a way that I think speaks to me.

[01:16:21] Badr: I like that. That's solid, man. That is a solid, I don't think you go wrong with any of these. I'm going Cobra commander. Cause the energon universe series has been great. Transformers has been on fire. I'm looking forward to Duke, uh, you know, GI Joe, I think is loosely tied in, but Cobra commander will be a nice lineup.

[01:16:36] Badr: And the fact that, you know, Joshua Williamson is going to be. On a video shouting out Gotham City Limit, I got a go of the alumni. Yeah, that's dope. So, once again, once again, those picks are John Constantine, Hellblazer, Dead in America, number one, Blasphemous, number one, and Cobra, Commander, number one. I'll have links to, uh, all three of these in the show notes.

[01:16:54] Badr: If you want to take a look at the previews, um, do so, and don't forget. To put these on your pull list tell your comic shop to order them before that final order cutoff date as always a big shout outs to Gotham City Limit big shout outs to Ben for for doing these lists, um, always looking forward to what he finds interesting, you know, it's always curious, like a guy that spends.

[01:17:14] Badr: I, I know he's spending, you know, 12, 18 hours a day in a shop, how he still manages to get excited about comics and new books. Um, so we, we cherish that. With that being said, that is the last segment for the show. Warren, you've been fucking fantastic as a guest. Thank you. Another, another solid, uh, another solid notch in your, your belt buckle.

[01:17:35] Badr: You know, I,

[01:17:36] Warren Evans: I got nothing wrong with that. And I will say to sort of piggyback off, you know, what we're saying about the, about the limit. Um, if you have a comic shop in your area and you really like that shop and you, you don't know if they know about the book, chances are they can get the book. So if you, if you're someone that, you know, you don't want to support Amazon or whatever, or you don't want to buy it online, go to your local comic shop and I'm willing to bet they can stock my book.

[01:17:57] Warren Evans: Uh, and so put them on, let them know to order it. So that's like, you know, a nice little reminder. Your comic shop can help you get your hands on one

[01:18:03] Badr: of these. Well said. And I know for all of our Jack's peeps that, that shop at Gotham city limit. I know Ben has, has ordered a couple, I think they'll probably be coming into the shop like maybe a week or two after the release date.

[01:18:15] Badr: So if you haven't already put that on your poll or asked Ben to set that aside for you, do so. And who knows, maybe Warren will come up there and sign a

[01:18:23] Warren Evans: few copies. Yeah, I'd be willing to do that.

[01:18:25] Badr: We are going to wrap up this show. We went a lot longer than I thought, but all good stuff. Hopefully you guys enjoyed it.

[01:18:31] Badr: Um, Warren, do you want to stay on and we can hop over to Patreon? You know, record a little longer. Let's do it, baby. Record a little bonus episode for the patrons and the diehard supporters. We'll do champion season. I got like two emails I'd like to catch up on. We'll just nerd out for a little longer.

[01:18:44] Warren Evans: Very quiet. I guess I can do that.

[01:18:47] Badr: You know, what's interesting is that you're paying for that content yourself because you're a patron of the show. There you go. So if you're a listener and if you want to hear that conversation, or if you just want VIP treatment, you want to be treated like VIP and you get, you know, get extra perks and, and you know, bonus episodes and early access to the podcast and all the other great things that our patrons get to enjoy, please consider heading over to patreon.

[01:19:07] Badr: com slash the short box, become a patron. We got tiers for all bank accounts for all budgets. It's, it's cheap. All right. I'm gonna be honest with you. It's affordable and absolutely worth it. And it would mean a whole lot to us to have your support. Now, if you don't want to hop over to Patreon, all good, no hard feelings, you know, we put out plenty of free content and you know where to find us.

[01:19:29] Badr: Now, I say that knowing that next week I'll probably be taking a break. I've got a lot of work ahead of myself for the upcoming Jaxx Pod a thon. If you live in Jaxx, if you're part of the Jaxx Podcasters United, you're probably familiar with that. So, it's looking, uh, slim to none as far as new episodes next week.

[01:19:46] Badr: But I got some awesome things lined up. For the rest of the month. So no worries. You're still get plenty of content. Uh, you just gotta give me a break next week. All right. Until then, I want you to take care of yourselves. Go read your comic books. Uh, make sure you pre order collecting the Simpsons and continue to make mine and yours short box.

[01:20:04] Badr: I'll talk to you soon. Peace.