Comics Are Dope: An Interview with BJ Kicks about Comic Collecting, Budgeting, and Comic YouTube - The Short Box Podcast Ep. 446

00:01
In this episode of The Short Box. For ever, my relationship with comics has been how much can I afford to buy? And you know, I've got like hard lines, like I'm not going to put stuff on credit. You know, even the pull list, my weekly show I do about, you know, all the comics coming out, every episode is like, all right, let me try to stick to a $50 budget limit this week. You know, now that I have moved, not just moving, but like the whole two to three months before, like.

00:31
really kind of showed me like how much time I have and don't have. I've been like, can I afford these books? And it's like, it's not really about whether or not I can afford them. It's like, do I have the time to enjoy these like I should? On top of that, do I have the space for it? You know, we had been apartment living for, I've been married 11 years in April. And so for our entire marriage, it's been like...

00:54
One day we're gonna build the nice big house and everything is gonna have its place. And then you get the house and you realize how small the house is. And you're like, it's not that the house is small. The house is fine. You just got too much stuff.

01:13
intro music plays

01:41
Yo, Short Box Nation. Hello again, welcome back. It's another Wednesday. So that means another new podcast. Thanks for pressing play today. If you're new, welcome to the show. My name is Badr and this is the Short Box podcast, the comic book talk show that brings you the best conversations about your favorite comics with the people that put their blood, sweat and tears and the making them and in today's case, we also host conversations with the people who put their blood, sweat and tears and the celebrating and reviewing comics. This is episode 446 and today you'll hear from Brandon Jackson.

02:10
Or as he's known on YouTube and online, Mr. BJ Kicks. He's the host of the very popular comic YouTube channel, Comics Are Dope, a channel that I'm a personal fan of, right? It gets my stamp of approval all day. I'm not only a subscriber, but a patron and supporter of Comics Are Dope. And that's because BJ just does good work. He makes good videos celebrating comics and comic culture. Whether that be with one of his weekly new comic book day videos, which are my personal favorite, or if he's talking about his latest haul and comic purchases.

02:39
or he might be interviewing a comic artist or a comic legend. Comics are Dope is a well-rounded show and I firmly believe there's a little something for everyone that loves comics. So as you can imagine, I'm excited about this conversation. We'll talk to BJ about his channel, what comics he's reading, and honestly, wherever else his conversation takes us. I'm excited about this conversation if you couldn't tell. We'll talk about his channel, what comics he's reading, and honestly, wherever else his conversation takes us.

03:06
Now before I officially bring Brandon on, I need to shout out the people who helped me pay the bills and keep the lights on here at Short Box HQ. The Short Box is powered by Gotham City Limit Comic Shop, Jacksonville's premier shop for comics, collectibles, toys, and more. It's my personal comic shop, no secret, I'm there almost every week. And I recommend you check it out for yourself if you're looking for a great comic shop. So if you're local to Jacksonville, or if you ever find yourself passing through Jacksonville on vacation or a road trip or something.

03:34
Make sure you stop by Gotham city limits on Southside Boulevard, right next to Tentaltown movie theater. Tell them bottom from the short box sent you because what that's going to do is going to let them know that a you're a friend of the podcast. And then from there, they're going to take good care of you, right? They're going to hook you up some killer deals. They'll give some discounts and you know, we'll actually hear from Ben the owner of the shop later on this episode. So it won't be the last time I talk about Gotham city. And certainly last but not least, I want to give a big shout out to our new sponsor this quarter.

04:01
Collective Con, AKA Northeast Florida's premier anime, comic book, sci-fi, and pop culture event. Collective Con is back for its 11th year, starting March 14th through the 16th. It's taking place, where else, but here in Jacksonville, Florida at the Prime Osborne Convention Center. They've got so many celebrities and comic guests and comic artists coming this year, it's ridiculous. They've got Ron Perlman, Nick Frost, Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Asako Tano at that. They've also got Chris Bochilow and...

04:28
The boys co-creator and artist, Derek Robinson, they'll all be there. And there's so many freaking more people that'll be in attendance at CollectiveCon. Tickets for CollectiveCon are available on their website at collectivecon.com. Or you could hit the link in this episode's description to go right there. CollectiveCon is back for year 11, this March 14th through the 16th. Go get your tickets early. And with that out the way, we can start the show. Short Box Nation, without any more ado, let's talk about YouTube, let's talk about comics, and let's welcome a new friend to the show.

04:57
Let's give it up for Brandon Jackson, AKA Mr. BJ Kicks. What's up? We're in front of a live studio audience. You know, that's the vibe I try to bring. Because if we were, there would be that roaring applause for you. I feel like it'd be like, who? Kicks who? Mr. Kicks who? Why is it kicking people? How are you doing good, sir? Happy belated birthday, by the way. By the time this episode comes out, you'll be whatever age you are now for the last week.

05:27
So happy belated B-Day to you. How are you feeling? I'm good, man. It's my Shack year. I gotta be the most dominant. Gotta dominate, gotta be better, gotta be bigger, faster, stronger. But yeah, I feel good. I feel good. So it's, I'm another year older. I feel like nothing really matters except the fact that we've got this new baby coming. At this point, we're like maybe two weeks away. When this comes out, yeah, she'll be here.

05:57
in a few days. Wow, congratulations, man. Thank you, man. Thank you. So yeah. How much more nervous and or confident do you feel going into baby number two? Do you feel like you got a good handle on it? It's like, I've already done it once. Well, this is actually baby number three. So I've got a 14. Oh, whoa. OK. Wow. You're a pro at this, bro. It's what money is like. You know, you kind of can tell you're in for something based on other people's reactions, right? Like when I'm like, yeah, man, I'm 30. We still live with my mom.

06:26
People are like, oh yeah, that's typical. I'm like, yeah man, I got three kids. They're like, whoa, three? What are you doing? Right, no. But. You really love kids, huh? Yeah. Or at least the process of kids making kids. At least. But yeah, so I'm not crazy nervous. We just bought a house. I think. Yeah, congratulations, man. Thank you, man, thank you. So for, from New York Comic-Con to like a week ago,

06:56
I had just been swamped, a wreck. And we're just now kinda starting to feel settled. And I think it's at the perfect time. So once this new one comes in, I don't really feel nervous. People keep telling me I'm not gonna sleep. I'm like, I didn't sleep the last time or the time before that. Man, I feel like at this point, you gotta be tired of hearing that same thing. It's like, I already have two kids. I don't know what sleep is. I haven't known what sleep is for the past five years. Right, right. But yeah, I'm excited. It's gonna be fun.

07:26
Three girls, three girls, so that's cool. Wow, have any of them shown, I guess the two now, have any of them shown any, one, how old are they, and then two, have any of them shown any interest in comics or any of the things in your room? Yeah, so I got a 14 year old, and without rehashing the story for the 19th time, I got into comics because of her, right? I took her to a free comic book day event.

07:55
So because she's an artist and so I was like, okay, well, I want you to meet people that are doing art for a living or at least for like a side hustle or whatever. So that's what got me to walk into a comic shop for the first time. Um, and she's kind of been in and out of it. She likes comics. She like most of the time if she's reading something, it's one of those like scholastic graphic novels. Um, I have to like force her to read real books or excuse me, prose books. Um, but yeah, she's in and out cause she's not a huge fan of superheroes. Um.

08:25
And then the three-year-old, she's more so interested in my action figures. The expensive stuff. Right. Right. They haven't made it out onto the walls in the new spot yet. But yeah. When did this trip to the comic shop? You said it was your first time walking into a comic shop. I know that you've been podcasting with Comics are Dope for like the last five years. And I'm assuming that's maybe around the same time your comic journey started as well. Right. Yeah. Yeah. It's funny. I was

08:55
whatever I was looking at my DC Universe Infinite stuff and I've been on DC Universe Infinite since 2018. I didn't get my first that free comic book that we went to was 2019 and then I started the channel November 2020 so it was like because we were pregnant I found out we were pregnant in October 2020 and it was like I had just really started getting in the habit of buying comics like every week and I was like

09:22
I'm either gonna be able to buy comics or diapers unless I make something happen. So that's why I started a new channel. I can respect that. I feel like every comic fan at some point comes to that crossroad where they're like, how do I maintain this hobby slash obsession? And most of us, a lot of us, I think, think about, can I work at the comic shop for comics? Or at this point, I guess, you know, the equivalent of that in this day and age is.

09:50
Can I start a YouTube or podcast to convince other people to pay me to buy comics and whatnot? I'm glad it's going well for you. And I guess while we're on this train of thought, B.J., do you remember your first like conscious exposure to comic books? Like, do you remember the first comic book you got or what, you know, the earliest example of you interacting with a comic? Yeah, so the earliest I remember was at my grandmother's house in Queens and my uncle.

10:19
for whatever reason was like living with my grandmother for a time, even though he had like a huge salary job. I don't know. But anyway, he, one of his friends, I don't know if he worked at a comic shop or what, but one day he comes to the house with like this Rite Aid bags full of comics. And now that I'm like remembering back, I can remember some of the covers and stuff. And it's like, all of this is like dollar bin fodder, you know, 97 or whatever this was. You're like, you were a kid, you weren't gonna give you like the good stuff.

10:47
You know, like, let them wreck the dollar comics. You know, if they take care of the dollar comics, I give them the $5 comics. And maybe one day, we're into double digit comics. Right, so it was like, it was me, all the cousins, we would descend on my grandmother's house for like three weeks out of the summer. So it's me and like four other guys, my brother, my two older cousins, and we're like just kind of fighting over which ones we're gonna take. Like, I don't really remember reading any of them. I would grab them based on the cover. My favorite was always Batman.

11:17
And, but I love a good Spider-Man cover. I was never a big fan of Superman back then, but if the cover was good, which a lot of this like late 90s, early 2000 stuff, it all looked really cool. So yeah, that's the first exposure I remember. And then I didn't really get comics again until 2019. Wow. 2019. And then I guess what was the motivation to start a YouTube channel of all things? I mean, I'm here in 2020, which...

11:46
coincides with what I feel was a big year for obvious reasons, the lockdown, the pandemic, you know, people just having more time on their hand, being at home more, a lot more people making the shift to online communities and finding, you know, friends and community online. So I'm assuming you were part of that kind of wave of like, and I don't mean this disparagingly, but like COVID creators, people that were like, okay, I've got time now. Let me start a YouTube channel. Let me, you know, dive into like this hobby that I've been thinking about doing.

12:14
I guess what was the inception of Comics or Dope? Yeah, so I had already been a YouTuber. I guess now I still have the channel, but I had a music marketing channel on YouTube. Now that channel has like 40-some thousand subscribers. But at the time, I think I had just crossed 10,000. I had written a book. All the stuff was going. The course that I had created was being taught on college campuses. There was a lot of stuff going.

12:44
with KDMR Music as it was called and Master Music Marketing as the course was called. But during the pandemic, they shut down the live music industry. And I was in the middle of rewriting or amending the book, expanding the book, because I wanted to do a proper hardcover release and then have that coincide with a big online course launch. When they shut down the live music

13:13
can't ask people to pay three, four or $500 for a course. And then I know they're not going to be able to recoup that because the industry is at a standstill. And so I was like, well, I'll just kind of pause that. And at the same time, because I had an interview podcast and everything. And so I've got these episodes, but it's like, I don't really want to release this episode if these people can't act on it. So the, I, and I was kind of getting disillusioned with it as well, because we had just, well, now we just found out we were pregnant.

13:43
I was getting disillusioned, so I was like, all right, let me just, I was tired of like having to be so polished because when you're doing educational content, you can't be like, oh, you can't stutter. Like you got to like really know and present stuff every single week. So I was like, well, I'm going to do like videos about comics. And it was really supposed to be kind of a variety channel. So that's why when I started the channel, it was just called BJ kicks, which was just a screen name I've had forever. And yeah, I was like,

14:11
I wanna just kinda make videos for fun. So if you actually look at the first video on the channel, I'm like, hey, you know, this is gonna be my channel where I talk about like comics and then like beat making and whatever's fun. And then I never ended up talking about beat making. So at the same time, because of COVID, well, not even just because of COVID, because before COVID, my shop had started doing these live sales on Facebook. And they had a Facebook group where the sales would take place.

14:39
And so what I'd be doing, I'd be like, basically doing like community management kind of engagement type stuff, unprompted, like, oh, hey, I grabbed this book the other day and I got this. And what do you guys think of that? Because I was just craving community. And after a while, it was like, OK, I'm kind of taking over these people's group, like, and they're just trying to sell comics. And so I need to have something of my own if I want to foster this sort of community that we have. And so that's what I did. I started the channel. I started a Facebook group. And

15:09
that became my outlet. And once COVID hit, it just kind of took off. COVID had hit, and then I had a baby in the NICU, and just kind of out of compulsion, I'm like, I gotta make a video every day so that I'm not thinking about my kid tubes and stuff in the hospital. Wow. At what point did you decide, okay, this comics channel is worth investing all my time and growth, and I'm gonna completely kind of like,

15:39
move away from the music marketing and the educational thing. Yeah. I don't know that I've ever said it's worth the investment, right? From a financial standpoint. No, not at all. That is what I try to get across. When you hear podcasts, especially indie podcasters, you know, ask for patrons support, you know, sponsors, it's like, you got to understand we're just trying to, a lot of us are just trying to break even. And any money that we do get probably goes into equipment or, you know, hosting fees or website things, you know, so much cost.

16:08
behind the scenes costs that I think the average listener isn't really aware of when it comes to like what it takes to create a consistent quality show. You don't make a decision to do a podcast on a weekly basis for the finance or the money or the fame. Right. Right. But yeah, I mean, it was really just kind of a lifestyle decision for me. I was, like I said, kind of growing disillusioned, disenchanted with the music industry. But I still loved making.

16:36
multimedia, like video editing, podcasting, all of it. Like I just enjoy doing it. So like if I wasn't doing this, I might have like a cooking channel or a sneaker channel or whatever. Like it'd be something. And I just decide, I don't know, like comics are just fun. I think what this has that nothing else has is more of a sense of community than utility. Like if I've got a sneaker channel, you're watching me because you just want to see the shoe because you're not going to see it anywhere else or you want the release dates or whatever.

17:05
have a cooking channel, you want a recipe. But like I have a comic channel, I don't have anything to offer you except my excitement about this book that I saw. And you have that same excitement. And so we can talk about it. I don't think we've we had a chance to establish that you are based out of North Carolina. Talk about your comic shop. What's the name of your shop? Where is that? Yeah, so I shop at fight or flight comics here in Raleigh. For those listening, they're inside the Triangle Town Center mall. If you walk in through the food court, you make a

17:35
They're right there next to Hollister. It's like weird perfume smell, new comic book smell. It's great. That is a very interesting place for a comic shop to be sandwiched in between. But I think the Cinnabon is probably where I'd go immediately after picking up my books. For sure, for sure. Okay, so Fight or Flight Comics.

17:54
You've been shopping there since you got back in the comics 2019, 2020. But I also know that they are a sponsor of the show, which, you know, much like the short box, you know, my local comic shop is a big sponsor of the show. Is there a sense of pride that comes with that for you as well? I've been shopping at, you know, what is now Fight or Flight comics since I started reading comics, like that was the shop I walked into on free comic book day. Um, but right before COVID they merged with another shop. Uh, so Fight or Flight was the old shop's name.

18:24
they were Ultimate Comics, Raleigh for the longest. And then they just kind of recently went independent again. But right before COVID, when they merged, that's when I met the owner, Dan and Casey. They owned it together. And yeah, they've always had like a very uniquely friendly vibe, like there's no like comic shop guy antics and.

18:49
I don't even know if Dan will remember the first time we met, but I do. Cause it was like, I picked up a Black Panther book and he just immediately starts going on about how like, he didn't like that run versus the other run. It's like, yeah, I'm more of a Huddlin fan, but da da da da. And it was funny cause he talks to you about comics as if you've read every comic in existence that he has. And so we kind of hit it off then. So for us to have this like official working relationship, cause he was there.

19:16
the beginning of all this. And so he's always like, Oh, B, I'm so proud of you, blah, blah, blah. But yeah, it's fun to be able to kind of put on for the shop. Like there's a whole other story that I wouldn't be comfortable putting out there publicly, but we can talk later. But for us to have this working relationship has been really cool. And it's also fun, like, because I'll hear stories like I'm never in the shop at the same time as like someone that watches the channel. I'm like,

19:43
They'll come by and be like, oh yeah, I heard BJ shop's here, blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm trying to guess what day I come in. It's funny stuff. But it's fun to be able to shine a light because they're such good people. That is well said. It does feel like Ben and the entire team at Gotham City Limit here, they are great people and they're so passionate about comics. I don't know, man. It's just something about wanting to, like you said, put on for Gotham, for the city as well. And then also for the comic community. I think...

20:13
because of my partnership with Gotham City Limit, it has motivated me more than I probably would have on my own to be more involved with the comic community, try to be at the local conventions, teaming up with Collective Conan, attending the events that Ben throws, giving him ideas or him giving me ideas or being involved with the interviews. And it's nice that when they also celebrate your wins, because they get it, right? When you have someone like a Tom King on, they get like, man.

20:41
the amount of work that probably went into it, the recognition that comes with it, the scale. So yeah, man, I guess this is just us kind of going on about our local comic shops and how great that is. But yeah, what you said about community being a very special thing in comics, there is no other community like the comic community. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Like they're passionate in a way that, I mean, we're music heads, right? Like...

21:08
There's like a pride that comes from being able to put somebody on to. Yeah. Like before we were talking about the J. Cole inevitable series, like I remember specifically, I remember when I like learned about who Drake was and I remember when I learned about who J. Cole was and it was just like, Oh snap. And there's that feeling before the guy gets big, it's just me and like three of my friends that know about this and we're cooler than you, right?

21:37
But even that is not the same feeling as like, there's me and maybe two other people that I'll see at this comic shop once a week. And we know that this Storm book is amazing. And five years from now, when they make a Storm movie, we'll be like, oh yeah, it was that series. I told y'all to get on it. B.J., I wanna take a turn and pivot into another topic that I've been kind of like dying to talk to you about. You mentioned that you guys have just moved into a house. Congratulations, by the way.

22:06
And then you've also managed to find time to release videos. And a couple of weeks ago, I'm assuming at the end of your move, you recorded a video that you titled, it was called, I'm breaking up with single issues. Which I kind of already had, you put this video out two weeks ago, and it was about, you know, your experience having to move all of your comics into your new place. And I got to say, I think a move is when comic collectors are made or broken. You, that's when you realize how heavy

22:36
a short boxes or a long box. That's when you get an idea of how much stuff you truly have. And you realize, yeah, a shelf full of omnibuses looks cool, but when it's time to move them, my back is the one that's paying the price. And when you gotta carry those boxes up and downstairs too, you know what I'm saying? Like you start questioning if you're really made for this comic collecting culture, you know, comic culture and being a comic collector. I guess if you could recap some of the points from that video, but then also maybe talk about

23:05
how your relationship with collecting has changed after your move? Because I think you mentioned, you know, when you got back into comics 2019, 2020, as well as the launch of the video, it sounded like you really got into this hobby and this culture. You had, you know, the pull list, you were buying books every week. How has that changed now that you are, you're moved in, you just finished moving, you got a third kid on the way? Yeah, it's funny, right? Like, cause, and I kind of say this in the video, but forever.

23:34
my relationship with comics has been how much can I afford to buy? Right. And, you know, I've got like hard lines, like I'm not going to put stuff on credit. And, you know, even the pull list, my weekly show I do about, you know, all the comics coming out every episode is like, all right, let me try to stick to a $50 budget limit this week. And moving, not just moving, but like the whole two to three months before, like really kind of showed me like how much time I have.

24:03
and don't have. And it's like, you know, I've been like, you know, can I afford these books? And it's like, it's not really about whether or not I can afford them. It's like, do I have the time to enjoy these like I should? And then on top of that, do I have the space for it? So, you know, for the longest time, I've been buying stuff. And, you know, we had been apartment living for, I've been married 11 years in April. And so for our entire marriage, it's been like,

24:33
one day we're going to build the nice big house and everything is going to have its place and all this stuff. Like even right now, I got a bunch of posters. I had a bunch of posters like just all over the place because I've been buying posters like whenever I finally move, I'm going to have the coolest walls ever. I'm sorry, I'm laughing because I swear everything you're saying I either still kind of say or I have said. When I go to conventions, I am buying

25:02
prints and posters left and right because I'm like, oh, well, this is a little easier store. Oh, and when I move into the house, I mean, the frames I'm gonna buy for these, the collage I'm gonna set up, like, yes, it is. Continue, please, but I just know you're speaking the gospel right now. Yeah, it's like, yeah, when I get the space, this is gonna be the coolest thing ever. And now that I have moved, I put in all the shelves, right? First of all, before I moved, I took like one last video of my office.

25:30
And like there are just stacks of books on the floor. And it's like, it's all good because the new place is gonna be bigger. I'm gonna buy more shelves, it'll be great. So I buy the shelves first, move in all the shelves. And I put just the books that I own on the shelves. And I'm like, dang, I'm out of shelf space. And then I buy a couple more shelves, like squeeze a few more in. And I get every book shelved finally, because I had stuff that was on the shelf, stuff that was on the floor. So now the floor books.

26:00
or on the shelf, everything's there. And I'm like, I got room for like 12 more books here and I'm gonna live here forever. Like, what? And so there was that. But then there was also my single issue collection, which I had like a wire shelf and I had a bunch of short boxes on the wire shelf. And then I had a bunch of short boxes just under my desk. And then I had a bunch of short boxes behind me. And again, the whole thing is like,

26:30
When we get the house, like there'll be room for all this stuff. And then you get the house and you realize how small the house is. And you're like, it's not that the house is small. The house is fine. You just got too much stuff. Bingo. Exactly, man. I felt like that video that you put out just came to me at the right time, you know, obviously two weeks ago, you know, it's still January when recording. So I think safe to say that, you know, like New Year's goals, resolutions is still at the top of my mind, considering that.

26:57
the beginning of my January, I got sick and it just kind of threw me off my whole feng shui. So I feel like I'm playing catch up, but I will say, even before January came, you know, I, I just started having a like really honest conversations with myself about just being a, like a consumer, you know, just like always, you know, the things I buy realizing that I don't, like you said, I, it's not a fact of like a matter of can I afford it? I feel like I do budget.

27:25
I mean, I could be budgeting way better when it comes to like comics, toys and statues. But like, you know, it's it was more so a matter of time, you know, it's like I am always, you know, I always have a stack to read of like to read. But I'm having a hard time like finding time to get through it because I've got work, I've got life, I've got the podcast to maintain, you know, family, you know, things like that. So you know, I've been having real conversations about, you know,

27:50
trying to find balance, both in the financial aspect, being a comic fan and the amount that I spend, being realistic with the time that I truly do have and maybe focusing more on buying the things that I know I can make time for or I really want. And then I feel like there's a third component to it, time, money, and space. Oh, and then space, to your point, man. Like, knowing that I'm going to be moving.

28:17
I am now looking at these things like I'm going to have to move this stuff or even if I do hire people, you know, I still have to pack it. I still have to think about it. It's like, you know, it's coming with me. I'm not going to call it like, I mean, it's kind of like luggage, you know, it's luggage that I've got to plan and think about. And that is valuable brainpower that I kind of want to use for other things or just to like reclaim back. So I've been in this like mindset of like, do I need to be buying?

28:46
as many comments, like all the comics I see and like, or do I really need to like practice discipline and things like that? The answer is yes, but that's kind of the vibe I've been on. So when I saw your video about, you know, being a little more conscious and aware and present with your collection and your collecting habits, it really struck a chord. It is, it's tough, right? Like, so I made the big video and I feel like for, you know, the first step is admitting the problem, right?

29:15
The other thing that's been an issue for me is my channel, the thing that has been differentiating me from all my friends that do this is they all really cover collected editions, like mostly. And I'm one of the few that'll talk about single issues from week to week. And I'm like, okay. And I like that aspect of it. I like being on the front end of, hey, this is what's happening in comics right now. But I also hate that, like I feel like I do the comics a disservice.

29:45
when I'm like, yeah, man, Space Coast number nine is out this week. I haven't read it since issue six, but I really like the first six issues. So I'm assuming issue nine is going to be great. Right. I have the same thoughts as well, if it's like I don't want to just be saying platitudes or just placating. But it's also like I don't have time to read everything. And you know, you start thinking about the series that like you fell off or this and that. And it's like, well, do I even have the right to say anything about it because I haven't read the whole story? And you know, you start getting in your head.

30:13
Yeah, so I'm trying to change the way I talk about comics to more accurately reflect the way I interact with them. So you know, with baby coming, there's no way I'm reading 12 books a week like I had been. So I'm going to be doing more like collected edition stuff. But now I'm doing like a sort of top four, top four, top five. Here are the five books that I'm definitely trying to read ASAP. And then I've got a fledgling four, which makes me feel like Tyra Banks, like I've got two cards.

30:43
Throwback, that was good. Oh man, that just brought back so many memories of watching America's Next Top Model. Sometimes, you know, because my sister just had it on, is like, man, this show sucks, change it to cartoons. And then eventually like, actually, who's going to win this season? Right, right. You're interested. You're like, oh, this is girly stuff. And then you're like, oh, we were all rooting for you. All right. That was completely random. To get back to what you were saying, actually, you were talking about some of the different types of videos and content that you make on your channel.

31:13
I guess I will say that my favorite series that you do are the new comic book day videos, which you typically drop on Tuesdays, correct? Those drop on Tuesdays? They're supposed to come out Mondays, but Tuesday is more often at this point. Yeah, it happens sometimes. What I appreciate about those videos, other than you kind of going through your pull list, which you're picking up that week, but it is the honesty and the approach that you take to talk about budgeting. This week, I'm doing a $50 budget.

31:42
Here's what my pull list looks like. You know, I'm over 10 bucks. I gotta, you know, maybe put something back. But there's something so honest and personable about how you delivered it, where it was like, damn, he's talking about, like, obviously, as the comic fans, we all talk about the stories, the reactions, you know, the big splash page or, you know, that, but I don't know if we're always having the honest conversation about our budgets and, you know, like being kind of transparent, like, you know, I've only got 20 bucks this week and these books are damn expensive. So you've got the new comic book day videos. What are some other,

32:12
videos and a series that you do with the comics are dope. Yeah. So the pull list is, I guess, what we'd call the flagship show, right? Like that's the new comic book day. Then comics are dope, the podcast, that's the weekly interview show. Those are the pillar content. You probably watch one or the other. And then between there, it's just whatever overviews, reviews and stuff I can get into. Whatever books I get my hands on, something like the DC Comics Style Guide. It's like, I can't...

32:41
It doesn't fit in any other things. So it's kind of like, dude, I cannot wait to get a hold of it. How is that book in person? It's it's great. It is. So I walk in the shop and I just kind of like to stop. I knew this this style guy was coming out, but I was like, a hundred dollars. I probably should spend that on something else. Right. So it just happens that the book dropped between Christmas and my birthday. And I just happen to have some extra cash. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Had a look. Look, a couple of extra Washington's in there.

33:09
You know, you know. And so, yeah, I'm walking. I just kind of pause for a second. I'm looking at it. And Dan from across the room is like, you need that. And I was like, yeah, you're right. And I picked it up off the display. And he's like, no, no, no, I got another one for you. And he comes and brings it still in the box. And like, I was like, all right, cool. I'm just taking that home with me. Real quick, did you know anything about this style guide or what it was? So I've learned the myth of the style guide.

33:39
Right. Like back when I guess they had first solicited it because it's, it they'd been talking about releasing this hardcover for a minute. But, you know, after the super friends cartoon, this is the eighties, you know, licensing is a big deal. And so the company is like, we need a style guide. And so Jose Luis Garcia Lopez draws everything DC that you can imagine. And they're like, hey, these are our standards and practices. This is how the logo should appear.

34:08
This book is so amazing. There's even the Pantone color swatches. This is what color Superman's costume is. And it was an internal document, much like the Milestone Bible. If they ever do this with the Milestone Bible. The Milestone Bible is one of my holy grails. I feel like I don't have the typical holy grails. Obviously, I would love a fucking ASM number one. Who wouldn't, right? But a lot of my comic holy grails,

34:37
are like artifacts or just kind of like, you know, the kind of off-beaten path stuff. The milestone Bible, when I first heard about that on the milestone documentary and like, you know, it being kind of like the brand guideline or the style guide for milestone and that there's nothing, you know, there's no semblance of it online, no scanned pages. Yeah, it's up there. So you're saying that this DC Comics style guide is kind of scratching that itch until we get the milestone one? Kind of, kind of. I mean, there ain't no black people in the DC style.

35:06
Not even Black Lightning? You know what, there are. Let me look at this. I think there's some black people in here. Hold on. Okay, I will fill a Buster while BJ is going to grab the book himself. BJ, if you're just joining us, BJ and I are talking about the DC Comics Style Guide. And we're trying to verify if there's any black people or brown people at this point in the DC Comics Style Guide. All right, so just looking at the cover, we got Cyborg as part of the new team. Oh, come on, that's an easy one. I should have said Cyborg.

35:37
Let me look in the pages, though. Let's look at the interior. Let's see what we got. We got, you know, the Trinity has their own section. And so like, you know, we get Bat Family, Superman Family. Can you do me a favor? Can you hold the cover of the book up to the camera? Just for our video watchers. I have a link to the book in the show notes. I know you can, I think you can order it online off of one website. I think it might still be available.

36:04
But I'm holding out hope for it to be at my little comic shop. Yeah, I can confirm. Cyborg's the only representation we got. Brenda, I guess on the topic of that, we're making lighthearted fun about that. But on a serious note, that is something that is meaningful to you in terms of not only the videos you make and the comics you cover and the comics you celebrate and the creators you celebrate, but you are.

36:33
very big on celebrating black people as well as black characters and just black culture within comic books. Is there, I mean, outside of maybe the obvious, you know, you yourself are a black man, is there a particular reason why that motivates you to put a spotlight on that? Not really. So in school, I studied marketing and then my minor was African American history. And then like, I don't know, blackness has kind of been...

37:02
to my experience in a way that I never really thought about. My grandmother's from Eastern North Carolina, grew up on a farm, ends up being one of the first people, no, excuse me, the first person from anywhere near her area of color with a degree from an Ivy League school. If anybody is from Raleigh, I went to New Bern Avenue Daycare.

37:29
which is like the HBCU of daycares. Like we in daycare learned the first two verses of lift every voice and sing like that. We're singing the last thing in the star spangled banner. Like that's our class. Right. So like, I don't know, I've always been black and blackness has always been central to my experience, but not in like a conspiracy brother type of way. Like just that's kind of always been a thing. And I

37:57
I never really thought about it until I kind of discovered, discovered, Milestone Comics. I remember seeing Static Shock as a kid and just enjoying the show. But I'm a kid of the 90s. We grew up in such a Black renaissance. It wasn't unique to see Black people on TV, even though Static was the first of its kind. But we had Martin.

38:22
and C. Bear and Jamal and Fresh Prince. So like everything cool in my childhood was black. So like, I never felt this sort of, I don't know, what, I never felt like excluded because of my blackness. And I always grew up like around black people. So I never thought about it. It wasn't until I got into comics where it's like, you know, I got in maybe a couple of years after Comics Gate had its heyday. And so it's like,

38:52
You're still seeing the remnants of people online, like kind of, and this is why they shouldn't let black people write comics. And it's like, what is, what, what about, what did I walk into? All that to say, it wasn't so much that I was like, I gotta put a spotlight on black stuff. It was just after a while, I was like, I love this stuff so much and no one else is talking about it because it doesn't resonate with them the same necessarily. And so if my little 15,000 subscribers.

39:21
is the only base that's going to hear about this stuff, then let me put on. So that's where it comes from. It's just these stories are great. And it's like, my favorite characters aren't even necessarily black. I do not like Jace Fox. And just because a book is black doesn't mean I'm going to enjoy it, appreciate it. I'm not like a C-black, bi-black. But

39:51
It's like, if it's good, let's shout from the rooftops that it's good and it's for everyone. So. Well said. So Brandon, when you think about the episodes that you've released on YouTube, you know, we've talked about the new comic book day videos, but you also do a lot of interviews with comic artists, writers and industry professionals. Who have you had on the show? Like, what are some of the names? Do you have any favorite interviews or favorite people that have come on the show? Like, what names come to mind?

40:20
I guess, I mean, the comics are dope podcasts. We've been really fortunate because, I mean, I think everybody's notable, but the people that like, you had told me two years ago that I'd have talked to any of these people, I'd be like, you're trippin'. Christopher Priest, Dennis Cowan, Jeff Johns, Pete Tomasi, Francis Manipal. Gosh, who have we had? David Peppos. Is there any of them that like?

40:44
really sticks out in terms of maybe something they said, a story they shared, or maybe something about them that shifted your perspective about this entire thing that is comics? Yeah, you know, I, so Dennis Cowan, I've been a big fan of. Yeah, that's right. We're talking about Milestone. Exactly. So like Milestone, people are like, oh, I'm a big Vertigo guy, right? Like, Milestone is that for me. I could just read Milestone comics for the rest of my life and be good.

41:14
I shouted them out during the milestone returns, like when the news thing came out. And he slides in my DMs like, yo, thank you for doing that feature, we really appreciate it and so on. And I'm like, that's crazy. And so I'd been a big fan and then him reaching out to me made me a bigger fan. So when we finally do the interview, I had talked to him several times before, because even before the podcast, he jumped in a live stream, he was watching. And so I sent him the link and he was like, all right, cool, I'm in here.

41:44
And so he's always been someone that's shown love. And because we've spoken so often, I'm like, he should be the one guest where it's just like talking to an old friend, but he's like the one guy that I'm still like nervous talking to even in person. And I was trying to figure out like, what is that? Like, why am I nervous talking to Dennis Cowan? I was talking to him like the last interview we did was for his art book. And what I realized is like, Dennis is like the blackest man in comics. Like if you ever see Dennis, he's usually wearing a Black Panther party hat.

42:14
Right? Like, he's even I have the original milestone promo poster on my wall. And I was looking at it the other day. Static is wearing a Nation of Islam cap. Oh, wow. Damn, I don't think I've ever. Yeah. And like, you know, and even there's there are a few scans of the milestone Bible out there. Right. And Static is usually wearing like a public enemy hat. There's a lot of like that sort of Chuck D.

42:44
with Dennis and you don't always necessarily see it in the comics, but when you talk to him, you feel it. And I think what I realized is like, Dennis takes his responsibility very seriously. Like, yeah, it's comics, like, this is fun. We do this because we love to do it. But he knows like the role or the space he occupies and like really tries to revere it. And so every time I talk to him, it's like, I got it like.

43:13
put my best foot forward as somebody in this space. And so I think that's the one that sticks with me. Every time I talk to Dennis, I learn a new way to be black. Man, that's really well said. I think about that too, I asked that same question too, where I'm like, I have done hundreds of interviews at this point, and I still feel like I have difficulty being more relaxed during interviews. I always have like the jitters. It don't matter how much I prep, I am some level of nervous.

43:42
What are some, I guess, common pitfalls that you see for like new creators? Like if you could go back to, you know, to to BJ, episode one, BJ, and give him some advice. I feel like, you know, lucky for me, I started the game at level two. It's a great quote, right? But I had I'd been successful on YouTube before this channel. I came into it knowing what to do if I wanted YouTube success. And for me, I think that was actually the bigger mistake.

44:11
because I know that if something works well, you double down on it until you can't double down anymore, then you move to the next thing that's working well, right? And for me, it was unboxing videos, like haul videos. And that stuff was really popular during the pandemic. That's why my channel went from like zero to 2000, I think something like three months. And then, you know, at some point that kind of bubble popped and stuff started to slow down a little bit.

44:40
But also, I felt like I had become a caricature of myself. Like, I am just doing whatever gets the clicks, and that's not how I wanna live my life, right? Like, the way I'm doing this, the whole point of this channel, again, was to have a space where I could just say whatever I wanted to say, show off whatever I thought was cool, and, you know, it not be like this high pressure situation. The whole thing was, I was making money doing other stuff, so I didn't need this to make money. I just wanted to cover my comic book budget.

45:09
So I think the big mistake I made early on was getting attached to this idea that this has to be the thing that blows up. And so I got to make a video every day and I got to buy like the big expensive thing that somebody else can't buy so that people will look at the channel. I got to do all the things and it's like it works to a degree. But it's like at some point you're going to.

45:37
feel like you're just kind of keeping up with the Joneses and you get tired of, all right, I bought this big expensive thing. No, I didn't read the last three volumes of Uncanny X-Men, but you know, it's the Uncanny X-Men. It hasn't been reprinted ever. So here we go. Let's do it. And it's just like, you're filling up your house with stuff. You're spending way more money than you're making. And it's like, do you even really care? Like,

46:07
I love comics, like all this stuff that I have, I have it because I wanted it. But would I have bought it if I wasn't turning on a camera to show you that I opened it? Right? And it's like, that's the mistake. Going for too much too soon, and then not knowing when to kind of pull back. But that's counter to what makes you successful on YouTube. Like if you're just wanting to grow on YouTube,

46:37
do everything I did except it's not going to be what I did because there's new stuff that's popping now. Like I don't know if you've noticed this but there's a whole wave of like former TikTokers that were doing like numbers just showing off stuff on TikTok and now they've come into YouTube like this super like lo-fi filmed on my phone new comic book day vlogs and getting views that I wish I could get on a new a new comic book day vlog but you know but it's like

47:06
it's working for them because they had an audience elsewhere and they're taking it to YouTube and people are just enjoying the kind of laid back lifestyle stuff. I know that if I did that, it would crash and burn. So it's like, whatever I'm doing probably isn't gonna get you the results that you think it'll get you. So YouTube is one of those platforms where you kind of just have to stay on the cutting edge or you got to do something that no one else is doing well. I think the point

47:35
that I got out of that was sustainability. Because you're right, you can easily fall into this rat race of where the numbers and mean the most to you, you become obsessed with it, the views, the retention rate, and you're following the next gimmick or the next trend. You're always trend hopping. And I think that's how you get burnt out really quick. That's when you kinda lose the passion. I think that's when you start losing yourself.

47:59
I think because I started out as audio only, and I mean, I've been very slow to get into the YouTube thing. I really could be putting more effort into YouTube, but audio to me is like my comfort zone. It's my bread and butter. It's what I really like. Audio podcasts, it's just really different from like YouTube and like, you know, that there are trends and tricks to making your YouTube videos pop. And I don't think a lot of those things.

48:24
technically are one for one or applied to audio podcasting. Audio podcasting to me is just a little more intimate because I think there's something about not seeing the person to where you don't really care about certain trends or things. It's like strictly an audio format. It's only me and the voice telling the story. And I think that's why I have stuck to audio podcasting is because I just don't think I can get into the rat race that is YouTube, but I do salute.

48:53
anyone that is able to find a perfect middle ground in YouTube where it's like, you know, the things that you're passionate about, the things that your knowledge about, and like setting up those, like those healthy barriers of like, this is what I want to do. This, you know, not what I have to do. And I think you're a prime example of that. Well, thanks man. Yeah, that's what I'm chasing. I'm trying to do what I want to do, right? Like if there's a legacy I'm trying to leave for my kids, it's that you can make a decent living doing whatever you want to do. Like, don't.

49:22
be out there being immoral, don't go crazy, whatever. But within reason, you don't have to go slave away at a nine to five job. And so it's like, if I lose the nine to five job just to become a slave to YouTube trends, it's like you missed the point. Yeah. Let's pivot from here. I want to hear from you. What comics are you on your pull list? What are you enjoying? Have you read any really, really good comics in the month of January so far that you

49:52
Yeah, so this month is the catch up month. Storm is really good. I think we're on issue four now, but Storm, like Murewa Ayodele is doing with Lucas Wernick, it's almost like an all-star Superman, but for Storm. And it is easily going to be the best series Storm has gotten as a solo act. Right? Like, he says he wants it to go at least 30 issues.

50:20
I think it should definitely go the distance, but that's really good. And we're only on issue four, so you can jump in there. I've been reading the shadow cabinet because I'm a big milestone fan. I got to admit, right, like with issue three, I feel like we might be jumping the shark a little bit, but I don't know. It's a four issue mini, each issue is 40 pages. So it's kind of like eight issues worth of content total, but we'll see how this final issue goes. And like if they...

50:48
stick the landing, but Joe Illich is writing that. Dennis Cowan did some art in the last issue. Daryl Banks is on that book with Adagum Ilhan. So that one's pretty good. Sorry, this is going to be very black, right? Not even intentionally, but that's the stuff that I decided to catch up on first. So let's see what else we got going on. Black Lightning is pretty good. They've got this thing going where it's like we're kind of getting almost like a mutants hated and feared subplot.

51:15
And I'm like, I don't know if I want to see that in a DC book because I'm already reading X-Men. But so far, so good. Really good. That's Brandon Thomas and Fico Osio. Yes, this is indeed a very black pull list right here. Really quick, when it comes to Black Lightning, did you ever watch the show? No. The WB show? I've heard really good things about that show. And it just being sincere and just done well. And then obviously having a lot of very strong and serious messages and topics that they tackled.

51:44
But like in a tasteful way and still being like, obviously, like a superhero show. I want to say the team that did Black Lightning is also the same team that did like girlfriends and the game and all that, right? So it's like- The game, yo, I used to love the game. That was my show. That was my binge in college. I watched the game all the time. But so it's like that doesn't surprise me that it would have been good. I saw a compilation somebody put together of-

52:12
What's that albino dude's name? From the game? Not from the game. He's on Black Lightning. He's one of like the big, the big bads in Black Lightning. But he's like a rapper or something. He's like Condon or Con. Oh, okay, okay. His name is, I think he goes by Tobias, Tobias Whale in the show, but his name is Cronden. And he is, what group is he in? It's like a, on Stone's Throw or something. He is part of the group.

52:41
Strong arm steady. OK, they've done a lot of things like mad lib and stones throw a thing. OK. So there's a compilation of like him just having like some of the most uncle ruckus lines ever. I've got to kind of say, I've got to impart this stuff. So pivoting out of African America. Come on, man. Where are the white characters, Brandon? So Chip Sadarsky's Batman run is coming to an end. And.

53:09
I'm of two minds about it. On one hand, I'm like, it's kind of been meddling on the pull list for a minute, but this last arc is really good. There's somebody else claiming to be an heir to the Wayne fortune. I'm mad that we weren't getting this the whole time because maybe Jim Lee wouldn't feel the need to interrupt the line, but. Ain't that the truth. Man, I should be way more excited about Hush 2 than I am, but I just.

53:38
don't know what else is there to be said about, you know, reopening that Hush series. I don't know why they didn't just do something like fresh or new. I mean, I get it. Obviously it's to sell books, it's to sell units. You know, it's like Jim Lee and Batman Hush. You know, it just makes sense. And especially bringing back Jeff Loeb. But I don't know, man. I feel like I've kind of become disillusioned by those obvious money grabs. Will I pick up issue one or at least check out issue one?

54:05
Yeah, more than likely, I probably will, because it'll be a moment. But I just don't know. I don't know. I'm not that crazy excited about it. You know, I feel like if it was just, if you just said Jim Lee is taking over a story arc in the main Batman book, that'd be enough to sell it. Oh, yeah, for sure. I don't need it to be able to hush at all. But yeah, I feel the same way. I'm not crazy excited about it. And maybe it's because I feel like Chibs Darsky's run is just getting to a better point.

54:34
I feel like if you were gonna do this, the best time to have done it would have been at the start of all in. Like if going all in, everybody's getting new sort of jumping in points or whatever, why not just have the Jim Lee story arc right then as opposed to, okay, well, it's a new starting point, but it's actually the same writer, same creative team. And then six years later, it will do something else that's new. It's like, what are we doing? But all that's the way.

54:58
Tips of the Darski's Run is good. I don't know how we're gonna look back on it, like when it's time to collect it in an omnibus or something, because there's a lot that's just like fine, but it's good right now. What's your least favorite thing about comic collecting or new comics or just kind of like this hobby in general? Storage, storage. Storage is definitely fair, but I was gonna say, based on the videos I've watched from you, I noticed that you are not the biggest fan of crossovers.

55:27
that bleed into the like regular, you know, like Wonder Woman, I think is a good example. You were talking about being a big fan of the Tom King Wonder Woman series, except for, you know, the tie-in issues. Yeah, and it's so funny. It's a catch-22, because it's like, if the main universe doesn't feel like it has cohesion, like that's one problem, but then it's also a problem when like whatever was going well.

55:56
just gets interrupted. Like Miles Morales is the book that suffers from this the most right now. Like it seems like every three issues there, they're crossing over with something. And we got another crossover coming. There's a Spider-Man versus Deadpool, which Cody Ziegler is writing both so like it might not feel as jarring as say, I don't know, the carnage war at the beginning of the thing or blood hunt. Like okay, we're doing great. And then all of a sudden Miles is a vampire.

56:24
or gang war. These are all things that interrupted this main run that is only 29 issues deep at this point. So it's like, yeah, that's, yeah, that's probably, that's a worse pet peeve of mine than storage for sure. Yeah. And you know, I think that is definitely on the top of my list as well. And I think a big reason talking about just kind of moving away from the big two, I think that was a big reason is that it felt they were ramping up crossovers, big events.

56:54
and all of the mainline titles I was reading was like just being interrupted or I had to buy additional issues. You don't really see that much with indie publishers or smaller publishers, because they don't have years of continuity. They don't have like recurring crossovers and intermingling of titles. So when you find one title, that's what you're reading. Yeah. BJ, so real quick, what's the new budget? What's the new weekly budget for new comics? Or is it weekly or monthly? Like what are you budgeting for new comic books now?

57:23
So I still don't want to go over $50 a week. I think that's fair. Yeah, I think more than fair. That's a $200 bill every month for comics. Exactly. I think $50 a week is usually around where I hover. Some weeks, a little less. But if I go in this week and they've got this DC Comics style guide, that is the whole month budget right there. Right, yeah. Truthfully, I could probably afford more. But I just don't have the time. That's 10 books a week.

57:50
I don't have time to read 10 single issues. So I'm going to get more in the trade paperbacks and stuff. But I still, you know, overall, I don't want to be spending more than like, let's say, three fifty a month on like all comics. And then everything else is like podcast fees, hosting fees, whatever. Because all of my comic budget has to come from YouTube and like whatever sponsorships I can gather. So that's fair.

58:15
You know, Brandon, on the topic of new comics, and then also us just talking and, you know, championing our local comic shops, I want to invite you to partake in this next segment here with me. Not that you have much choice, I mean, you're here on the podcast today, but I reached out to Ben Kingsbury, the owner of my local comic shop, Gotham City Limit. I asked him to find three comics that are coming out next month in February that he would recommend that he's excited about.

58:42
and send us some voicemails to talk about them. So these are his top three FLC comic picks of February. Now when I say FLC, that means final order cutoff. So if any of these titles that you're about to hear interest you, you've got until Monday, February 3rd to tell your comic shop to order them and that guarantees that you get these books. I'm sure you'll probably be able to pick them up on release day, but you know, ordering ahead of time helps comic shops. So without further ado, let's hear from Ben Kingsbury, starting with this first voicemail.

59:11
Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening short box listener, I'm Ben K representing Gotham City Limit, Jacksonville, Florida. It's time to take your comic book reading experience to the limit. First up, Mad Cave Studios presents Pop Kill number one of a four part series. This sounds like an awesome story. Two big brain coldie executives separated at birth who will stop at nothing to make sure the other one ends up dead.

59:41
Sounds twisted and delightful. Special bonus for anyone near Jacksonville, Florida. Writer Jimmy Palmieri will be at the First Coast Con here in Jacksonville on July 12th. So grab a copy and get it signed. Special special bonus, Jimmy's wife Amanda Connor is doing the 1 in 10 incentive variant for Pop Kill and she too will be at the First Coast Con. Now that's taking it to the limit. Alright, really quick.

01:00:09
BJ, I think you're onto something. When we recorded the interview for your show, you said that, Bader, I've never met anyone that reps Jax or their home city as much as you do. And then I responded, I think that's a common thing among people from Jax. We're just very annoying about, you know, representing anything for Jax. I think Ben is case in point. How he managed to work in that shameless plug for First Coast Comic Con, which I'm actually really excited about. It's a very young upstart comic convention. This will be their second year.

01:00:38
and they're already pulling in names like Jimmy Palmieri. But just to recap what Ben recommended for this, this is Pop Kill number one. It comes out February 26th, like I said, the FOC final order cutoff date is Monday, February 3rd. Served by Dave Johnson, also of Jimmy Palmieri and art by Juan Santa Cruz. I guess any thoughts on this one, BJ? How'd this one kind of hit your ear hearing Ben talk about it? I was looking at the Solicit, right?

01:01:03
A world where two dominant and competing cola companies are owned by former Siamese twins who are now separated and hate each other so much they hire assassins, saboteurs, and esteemed personnel to meddle with each other on a daily basis, right? Only in comics could you kind of get that pitch line off. I mean it could also be a movie, but it just makes sense for a comic. That sounds ridiculous. All of that. Competing cola companies. Siamese twins.

01:01:31
assassins, espionage, it's like where else but only in comics are you going to get something crazy like that? Right and the more I, because you know I've been superhero out right like that's my jam. I love superhero comics but the more I go into it it's like I feel like we've done a lot of these tricks so many times with superheroes like how many times can Batman jump from the moon right? Hearing something like this it just sounds so different it's like yeah why not?

01:02:01
It definitely feels like we are in a golden era of indie comics where no two books are the same. You know, this doesn't sound like anything else that's on the shelves. And I kind of like finding these titles where it's like, all right, Mad Cave is doing this. You got Dave Johnson, who's a powerhouse in his own way. Jimmy Pamiati is a huge name. You get this really interesting premise. Yeah, I'm here for it. Cover is on too. And I guess I should say I'll have links to all of these picks.

01:02:29
in the show notes if you want to check them out for yourself. Let's go on to his second pick right here. Next up, Distillery presents Through Red Windows number one. Writer Ram V teams up with iconic artist Joel Jones for what promises to be a terrifying modern horror story. If you've ever read any Ram V stories in the past, you know he is the man for the horror job.

01:02:56
And yes, usually I'm not a huge fan of the magazine size comics. However, a magazine size Joel Jones art comic. Yep. They got me with this one. More than likely out of all of his picks, this one so far has definitely piqued my interest for the creative team. I think Ram V is one of the best writers out right now. He tends to like really go deep on his topics. He brings like philosophical questions into the mix and he's.

01:03:25
Just like an introspective thinker. And I think he brings that to comic books. And I don't know, his comics to me are intelligent and they feel like prestige. You know, like when you read it, you're like, this is something I can share with someone that might look down on comics or something. What do you think about this picture? Definitely, definitely high art comics from Rom V every time, right? His Detective Comics is gonna be so good as an omnibus. Like, but yeah, you know, I don't really do horror.

01:03:53
This one certainly looks horrific in the best ways, right? But Joelle Jones, I haven't seen Joelle Jones interiors since Wonder Girl. I think she's done stuff since, but.

01:04:06
I think she did, I think the most recent thing I know, remember from her is like a Catwoman series that was maybe a couple years ago. Yeah, yeah. But I mean, she's fantastic. Her art is very unique. Yeah, I really like Joelle Jones art. This will be things that I don't know that we've seen her draw before, based on the subject matter. So it's going to be very interesting to look at, especially in a prestige format. If you're a fan of horror, like, I don't see why you wouldn't pick this one up.

01:04:33
And last but not least on Ben's list, he's already given us but a mad cave book, a distillery book. I guess, spoiler, this is a big toothpick from Ben. Here we go. Last but not least, Marvel presents Doctor Strange of Asgard number one. Did you know Doctor Doom tricked Doctor Strange into surrendering his mantle as Sorcerer Supreme? Yep, see Marvel's Blood Hunt series. Now Doom is ruling the world and Strange is job hunting?

01:05:02
Maybe Asgard needs a new sorcerer. Oh wait, isn't there a guy named Loki there? I'm personally excited to see how the Doctor, without his mantle, moves forward in the new Marvel Universe. Get Doctor Strange of Asgard added to your pull list ASAP. Well, another week has come and gone and I'm still Ben Kay representing Gotham City Limit. Whether you live in Jacksonville or beyond,

01:05:27
Unleash your spirit, let your passion transmit. Do what we do and take it to the limit. Peace. There's one thing Ben can do is come up with a sign off as well as an intro. That was a well said, Ben. Thank you so much. Dr. Strange of Asgard number one comes out March 5th. If you wanna get that guaranteed in your poll list, gotta tell your comic, little comic shop by February 3rd. This title is being written by Derek Landy with art by Carlos Magno, who's a fantastic artist at that.

01:05:55
I guess BJ, any thoughts on this pick? I shouldn't say it like that so quickly. It's definitely a book I'm not buying. Because again, right, like just the events, they just get so big and sprawling. And it's like, I'm going to buy One World Under Doom. I'm not going to need every tie-in book. I'm not a big Dr. Strange guy anyway. I'm going to read One World Under Doom, whatever the six issues that Ryan North is writing and everything else.

01:06:24
I'll get in trades or I'll see on Marvel Unlimited. Something cool will happen. It'll get spoiled two weeks before it happens. And then I'll get the trade three weeks after, so. Yeah, this is definitely a title that I, or any of these like one world under doom tie-ins, it's something that I hope just gets included in maybe a hardcover or collected edition that I will probably pick up or read on the Hoopla app. One of those two, for sure. Just being more, like I said, this year is the year of me being more

01:06:53
a price conscientious more space conscientious and just more conscientious about the books that I pick up. So I think out of these three though, if I'm being honest and realistic about what I will probably pick up and give a shot, it probably goes to through red windows just for the Rom V connection, the Joelle Jones. I personally do love me a good magazine size comic book. I actually have a magazine size short box.

01:07:20
just in the cases of these. And Distillery has been kind of like really impressive with their offerings as of lately. So I think realistically, I'll probably check out through Red Windows. BJ, I guess any of these three, like pick your interest that you might realistically check out or pick up? Of the three, I'd probably pick up Popkill. Mad Cave doesn't miss. All right, that's fair. That was actually my one B choice. Anyways, with that being said, those were Ben's top three picks. Like I said, I'll have links to all of that in these show notes.

01:07:49
Check them out. Go to your local comic shop. Tell them about them. If any of these Pick your interest and you want to buy them. And I guess BJ with that being said man I think we can probably call this episode a wrap. I promised myself because last time we recorded I think we went off like two plus hours And I don't know if no one knows this but we're recording this episode almost until 11 p.m. At night on a school night We both got work in the morning, but I have no shadow of a doubt that we probably could go on for like another hour

01:08:17
But with that being said, I guess, do you have any parting words or shameless plugs before we wrap up? Do you want to say, what do you got on the horizon? How about that? What do you got on the horizon for comics or dope? You got any cool or dope interviews coming up? Any interesting video ideas? I'm winging it right now, man. We're like two weeks away from this baby coming. So I've been hesitant to schedule interviews. I do know I got Joe Casey on the books sometime in the next couple of weeks.

01:08:47
actually not released a podcast episode this year yet. Which that's that's on me. There's definitely something I could have released. But anyway, I'm still going to be doing the pull list every week. And that's probably the only thing that's guaranteed until like early March. But I've got a lot of things that I got to do in the working on the room tour. We're about 90% done with this new office. I just got to hang all the artwork and bring my action figures back out.

01:09:17
which is probably the hardest part about all of it, but whatever. Room tour is coming. Uh, there will be some interviews, uh, coming and I'm working on. Yeah. The DC style guide overview is coming. I got a comic hall from December, January, like the, I can finally spend money again, hall is coming. Uh, and then, uh, that's probably it as far as things I know are coming, but black history month is next week. And.

01:09:47
I gotta do something, because who else is gonna do it? Ladies and gents, this is the Short Box Podcast, and we just finished talking with Brandon Jackson about his awesome YouTube channel. Comics are dope. Give that a subscribe if you're looking for more great videos and podcasts about comics or interviews with comic creators. It'll be well worth your time, I promise you that. I'll have links to his channel, his website, as well as BJ's Instagram in the show notes. He's a good follow. Do me a favor, go check him out. And with that being said, BJ, you've been fantastic. Thank you so much, man.

01:10:17
Thank you for having me, man. There you have it, ShortBikes Nation. That's the end of the show. Thank you for hanging out. Thanks for being here. And a special shout out if you made it this far. If you enjoyed this episode and you have some thoughts or comments that you want to share with us, write us at thes And if you really liked this episode, help us spread the word. Share this episode with a friend or someone you know that loves comics as much as we do. And don't forget to leave us a five star rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

01:10:46
or wherever you get your podcast. It takes two minutes tops and it would mean the world to us. So leave us a review. Now, if you want more content like bonus episodes or perks like early access and commercial free episodes, and in some cases, free comic books, consider joining our Patreon community at patreon.com slash The Short Box. It's an easy and very affordable way to support the show and get rewarded for being a fan. Once again, sign up at patreon.com slash The Short Box.

01:11:12
Speaking of our Patreon community, I want to give a big shout out to our current members, including Adam Chaitani, Tony Aupi, RC Gamet, Blake Simone, Blythe Brumleaf, Bo Evers, Brian Brumleaf, Chad Lannenberger, Chris Hacker, Chris Jinx, Kenny Myers, David Morales, Triple D Mystic, Dominique Jackson, Errol White, Edbot 5000, Generation Jaguar, Greg Hopkins, Greg Ligtig, Henry Hernandez, Hershel, Hydrus96 aka Mac J. Sinner, Jeff Frimmett, and

01:11:41
Jerome Cabanatan, Joshua Miller, Justin McCoy, Kara Reichardt, Cassie Whitley, Corey Torteson, Matt Godwin, Amanda Marin, Nick Wagner, Podcasters Assemble, Stephen Gamet, T-Mix, The Wait For It Podcast, Thomas Pandich, Thurian, Trey Namo, Walter Gantt, Warren Evans, and Zach Armour. Thanks again to everyone that listens and supports this show. Be sure to come back next week for a new episode. And most importantly, take care of yourselves. Read a good comic.

01:12:08
and continue to make mine and yours short box. I'll catch you soon. Peace.