Heroes Con 2025 Through The Eyes Of First-Timers w/ Brad and Lisa Gullickon of Comic Couples Counseling Podcast - The Short Box Podcast Ep. 463

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intro music plays

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Yo, Short-Box Nation, welcome back to another episode. You guys might already notice the audio quality is a little different than what you're used to. And if you're watching video, you're probably like,  why is he in an empty classroom?  And that's because we're recording live from Heroes Convention.  It is  at the halfway point that Saturday. Am I a little tired? Just a smidge. But am I excited to be recording  a HeroesCon day two,  you know, weekend recap?

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with  my amazing co-host today? Absolutely. Speaking of which, let's go ahead and introduce him.  Sitting with me is Brad and Lisa Gullickson of the Comic Book Couples Counseling Podcast. It's their first Heroes Con and you know damn well I had to sit down with them and get their thoughts on how the convention is going so far. Brad, Lisa, what up? How you doing? Hello! We are recording this episode on Saturday at HeroesCon. Like I said, if you're watching the video version, we found a nice, quiet, air-conditioned room.

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here at the conference. They went out of the way to find us. Nothing that speaks to the quality of the service that you get here. Yeah, I'm not going to name names, but I've tried to find quiet places at other cons and they do not care. So we're recording this on day two of Heroes Con. We have been shopping for comics. We've been shaking babies, shaking babies, sorry, kissing babies, shaking hands, meeting creators.

01:47
And also getting to meet listeners of the show. I know that you guys have had a couple people walk up to you and express being fans of the show. How has that been? Oh, it's thrilling. It never gets old and it never gets not awkward. You never know what to say because then you can tell, they come up to you like, hey, sorry to interrupt you. I just wanted to say I love the show. And then I'm like, well, I would like to engage you in a conversation forever. And then it's the awkwardness of like.

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They want to leave, but I'm still talking. Well, like, what exactly do you like about it? What's your favorite episode? What episode are you on? Do you listen in the car? Are you working out while you listen? me more. catch that awesome edit I did an episode? Did you notice the laugh spliced from a laugh earlier? All of a sudden they're like, well, you are in my top five. I have somewhere to be. Is  that someone calling my name? Bye. Bye my new favorite friend. See you around.  Now the fun thing is that this is

02:42
This is, think, I tried to tally it up, either fifth or sixth HeroesCon. So the listeners are used to me gushing about this con, saying all the nice things and the tips and tricks and all of that. But this is your first HeroesCon, right? Yes. And what brought you guys to HeroesCon this year? Well, it was definitely a result of Terrence Dollard of Comic Culture asked us if we would participate in his podcasting 101 panel. And it felt like insane to turn him down.

03:12
Uh, we've never gone to HeroesCon, mostly because it's so close to San Diego Comic Con and that's like the con of the year as far as comic book couples counseling is concerned. And it's just a month away and like, can you afford it? Do you have the energy to do it? But when Terrence asked us to do the panel, we're like, okay, we can do it. Let's do it. And yeah, the con is everything that people say it is. I mean, it is a true comic con. And all of the artists here are like so

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All of the guests are stoked and they all have time to talk and yet they're all busy and you can you get the sense that they're all making money It's just it like everybody is in such great spirit Yeah, we were talking to Kyle starts before we came up here and he was saying, you know, people come up with like Oh pine and Miramax. Oh, I love that comic you like like what you know What pine and Miramax is like people at Heroes con know about pine and Miramax and he's not shy about saying he doesn't like any other cons He's a crotchety guy and he only likes Heroes con

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And I think that speaks volumes. Yeah.  I have always said it to me, it is a comic fans comic con because the focus is just so much on  not only comics, single issues, trades and all of that, but also art too. feel like this is one of the most  art heavy conventions that really puts a spotlight on like the labor and the talent and the skill that it takes to be a comic artist in any capacity, whether you're, you know, top dog, you know, working for the big two and in the industry.

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And they do a lot of really great job, think, in also highlighting and giving opportunities for indie artists and rising artists as well. And I think that they create a lot of space where you can witness art being created.  Not only do you see artists at their table drawing, but they have displays where artists are collaborating. They have areas where there are markers for just any old person to sit and draw. They have the drink and draw in the evenings where anybody can.

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draw and sell art. I did not realize that anybody could participate in the drink and draw. Oh yeah. And suddenly I was like, Oh, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. And then we went into that room. I picked up a coaster. I looked at everyone around me making masterpieces. It's like, Nope,  even for charity, I will not draw. There was this eight year old drawing a transformer that I'm just like,  is this kid working? Like what, why is he so good? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But we did, you know, buy a few cheap pieces.

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during Drink and Draw to  contribute to Teen Kaldasak, know, raising money to battle Parkinson's. Just awesome. And you know, now that I kind of hear you say that,  I guess I'd never really emphasized that, you know, that art,  that appreciation for art extends even into the post convention events, know, Drink and Draw, you know, raising money for charity, but then also the art auction tonight, right? Centered around, you know, art, raising money for charity. So there's a lot of good and altruism that's associated with this.

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Have you looked at some of the pieces that they're going to auction tonight? The only one I've looked at,  our camera guy Blake here, big shout out to Blake,  honorary member of the Short Box, best camera guy in all of podcasting. He showed me a Scotty Young piece. Yeah. me, Heroes Con might as well have a little tagline. It's like Heroes Con, AKA Scotty Young Con. But he had a great piece where it's Galactus eating planets along with Hackman. Yes. That's the one I saw. Had to snap a photo of that  while we were down there. Jesse Lonergan has a Batman.

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Massive Batman,  I like, you know. So killer. You gotta go rob a bank. There's a Wells Fargo across  the  I think between the three of us, we could get away with $10. Oh  yeah. Let's do it. I'm curious to hear though, Brad and Lisa, how much planning goes, how much pre-planning goes into like your convention trips?

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Oh dude, not enough. You are not going to be impressed with the amount of planning We did zero planning for this one because again, it was an on the fly decision to come down here really. Cause I thought you guys were just really confident. I was like, wow, they're like really confident. They're just shooting from the hip. Yeah. We did no planning. And then for the panel, we at sat down and looked at each other in the morning. I was like, do you have anything planned to say during about podcasting and why it's fun? Well that wasn't our, that wasn't our.

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We weren't moderators. To your credit. I think you guys could speak about podcasting in your sleep. know, when I'm saying I don't think it requires that much. Yeah, we did. We did no prep for that.  But like I  would normally if this was a con that we were anticipating going to, which I think we're going to anticipate next year, I think we're folding this into our  routine.  We would, you know,  scour all the artists who are going to be here,  maybe bring some more stuff to be signed. Yeah, actually write down the table numbers instead of going.

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This is your recon  trip. Yes, and that's all that takes is one time to hear us con and I guarantee you we come back. Yeah,  I was six hour drive seven hour drive depending on when you Seven hours for us. Yeah, and so  I it can be done I think and that's a common thing I see among a lot of the the vendors that are here the artists is that they're willing to make the drive I mean a lot I mean me and Blake were talking to our buddy Mac Jacobson  from Nirvana comics I think they made a

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drove down at like 3 a.m. yesterday, made it straight here, set up and like spent the whole day, you know, pushing comics. Wow. So I mean, I think that's a common thing. And I think once again, it speaks to the quality of Khan here at Heroes Khan. I did something a little different this year. I always talk. So anytime I come to Heroes Khan, I'll do like a recap episode about what I picked up, you know, what I would have done differently. And I remember the last time I was here, which was 2023, I said, next time I come here, I'm going to take out a certain amount in cash.

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and only spend cash. Because the thing with HeroesCon is that it is an overload of cool shit. Cool art, cool zines, cool posters, know, three for $10 comics. know, you're like, okay, any willpower I had coming into here is quickly evaporated the minute I go to one booth. So this year I took out about 200, 250 bucks in cash. And I am now a firm believer cash is king and only cash at conventions.

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I think having the physical limitations in my hand, you know, it's something about like having that, knowing how much I have to spend. And then also the haggling power. I feel empowered to be like, will you take this $6 comic for $5? Yes. Yes. you don't want to look for change. don't have a single. There are vendors here This isn't a strip club. I don't have ones on me. You know, there's a lot of dollar bins. It becomes my strip club.

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There are vendors here who will give you a half off discount for paying in cash.  And we like your strategy. It's a strategy that we adhere to as well. Like, let's take out this cash. This is the cash we're going to spend at this con and then we'll be done. But we never stuck to that.  Yeah. we get swept out. Yeah. Wait, sooner than now.  I can be honest with you guys because you are my friend. I'd like to be honest.

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I might have busted out the car. Okay. Okay. That makes us feel better.  Even if you're just saying that for our ego, we appreciate it.  Brad, when you come to conventions, what,  do you gravitate towards? Are you going to the long boxes? Are you going to original art? Is there anything in particular that, you know, uh, that you prioritize among anything else? Uh,  honestly, it changes  depending on where I am in life.  Right now I feel like I very philosophical answer for.

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I just think, like right now I'm  obsessed with a few artists,  Richard Corbin.  So  I have been finding myself going to the bins.  And the nice thing about the bins too  is that, you you go to artist alley, that's a lot of socializing as well.  You're supporting a lot of great talent, know, talent you know already, you're discovering talent.  But when you wander into artist alley, you're going to expel a lot of energy and depending on, you know, your type of personality.

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that could drain you. The great thing about a Comic-Con is, you you do your socializing, you do your panel, you glad hand, you shake those babies. Short Box Podcast is not endorsed to shaking the babies. And then you need to like come down a little bit and that's where I find peace in the bins, hunting for Richard Corbin right now,  doing a little Steven Bissette hunting as well this  season. Lisa's been buying more comics than I have though. I've been going crazy. Well, because I love romance comics.

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And when I find something where the cover is just offensive enough, it's just misogynistic enough, I'm like, well, I need that, I need that. Yeah. What was that comic, like what happens when you find out that you're his third pick? Yeah, yeah, I had to get that one. This girl is like sitting on this bench with this guy and there's like the two other girls are like, we turned him down.

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I'm like, I need that. And then there was the cop one where you felt you the girl doesn't know if she can love him because she's  so afraid he's just going to die too early. She doesn't want to get attached. How long do cops live these days?  That's the word of this tagline. Yeah, so good. And then I also love promotional comics, the kind of comics that children would get for free, like at the dentist, you know, things where, you know, during the 70s, there was a ton of like gas crisis comics.

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You're buying a lot of Bob's Big Boy comics. Wow. You know?  For the uninitiated, what is Bob's Big Boy?  Oh, there is a restaurant, or there was a restaurant. You're not from California. Called Bob's Big Boy. It was kind of like a Denny's, where it was like you could feed the whole family,  diner vibes, but they had a mascot who was Bob's Big Boy.

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and he was just this little round slick haired child and they would always have like a life-size statue that you could pose with and then you would get free Bob's Big Boy comics  with a set of crayons. I'll have a Robin moment. So Howard, do you remember in...  We should have mic'd up like, I apologize. We should have mic'd up like... Do you remember in  Awesome Powers when it launched into space in the... Oh, okay, okay. That's cool.

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I don't know why this came to mind. don't know if I've ever told this story, but Lisa, hearing you say that you're really into promotional comics made me remember that in  seventh grade,  we had a writing assignment where it was like, hey, you can write about  like  a book report. And I ended up choosing this absolute, I think I want it in spite of the teacher who I was not a big fan of. I was like, I want to write a book report on this Spider-Man promo comic that was about like anti-smoking. Oh yeah, we know it. But it's not the one you're thinking of. I the one you're thinking of.

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where he fights like  a smoke monster. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. This one was,  had it been like 2004, which would have lined up for like middle school, it was Spider-Man fighting Mysterio, who was like,  using smoke, cigarette smoke? Sure. I mean, it was a throwaway comic, but I managed to write what I think might still be the best book report I've ever written in my life.  And I remember I got an A, and we were in line getting  our papers back. And I got mine, I'm like, whoa, I got an A.  And there was this kid behind me.

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who quite frankly was like kind of a bully. He kind of bullied me at times. And he looked over my shoulder, saw my paper, and I'll never forget, he goes, man, how did you get an A plus writing about Spider-Man? And I wrote about my dad. And I remember saying, best diss of my life to this day. I remember thinking, maybe your dad is an A plus material. Boom, take that, Mike Luzowski. Not Mike Luzowski, anyways, completely random. That is a great story.

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And Spider-Man... you might have put my head in a locker or the toilet. Oh, I'm so sorry.  He deserves to get name dropped.  know, bully... Like, you bullied as a kid, that is something where it's just like, you're just going to be a shitty adult. That's where shitty adults come from. They come from shitty kids.  But Spider-Man participated a lot in those, like, anti-child abuse, anti... I'm still looking for... Apparently, there's, like, a Spider-Man, Power Man, anti-drug comic that I cannot find. So I've been scrounging for that.

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I have been in  this HeroesCon because I ended up doing the Fantastic Four panel. I've been in a big Fantastic Which you killed. Thank you, thank you. Great panel. I hope I can save the audio so everyone can hear that.  I've been in a Fantastic Four mood  this HeroesCon. I've been doing a lot of digging for Fantastic Four comics.  There is a couple of issues where like, you know, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Ghost Rider, and Hulk were the new Fantastic Oh the Art Adams issues. Yeah. Those are great. I ended up finding a couple of those.

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learned that they appeared much later. Actually, story time.  Yay! Oh, you did get the Dragata  Ashcan sign. Well, I've got to give it up to my man, Trey Namo of Palm City Beach Comics,  who helped me get that signed.  Got some Amalgam comics in there? Yeah. I'm spying. I'm also huge into Amalgam. Oh, you bought the two best Amalgam comics, Dark Claw Adventures and The Dave Gibbons Man of War. Yes, indeed.

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I'm a sucker for Amalgam. love inter-company  comic books and those old comic books as well. But I've been in a Fantastic Four kick. And this is a  genre of comics, know, a title of comics that I was never really into.  Fantastic Four was always my dad's comics, know, quote unquote. They were very science heavy, very wordy, not enough action. I remember I used to bring my dad's comics to school without him knowing. And I had another buddy that was also in the comics. He was the only other kid in middle school into comic books.

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and I would bring him these comics  and he'd be like, these are way too old, man. There's not enough action.  You know, like, and he's bringing Spawn,  Savage Dragon, and you know, a manga. And I'm like, wow, I need to stop being old.  that's my relationship with Fantastic Four Comics, but doing the panel, I have like a whole new sense of appreciation for those comics.  I guess I'd like to know, is there anything that you ended up maybe not enjoying in your younger years that you now enjoy?

17:17
Well, think actually Fantastic Four, know, Tom Scholey spoke about this on your panel about, you know, when he first was introduced to those characters,  they were kind of like  the family  unit. They were kind of stuffy.  That's how I saw them.  They were like, like you said, your dad's comics like that. That's tracks.  It really wasn't until my  30s.  And thanks to people like Tom Scholey,  kind of reframing

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Fantastic Four as weirdos in grand design that I started to appreciate. Jack Kirby, you know, I'm a massive Jack Kirby fan. Although I was always more into like 70s Jack Kirby, know, Fourth World, the demon, Devil Dinosaur, that kind of stuff. And that brought me back to reading like the classic Fantastic Four stuff. And then Lisa and I covered for the Fantastic Four in the early days of Comic Book Couples counseling. And

18:15
Those 60s issues that Lee and Kirby did are  excellent. think what's really resonated with me  lately, especially prepped for the panel, is  really the theme of family in comic books.  Just how tragic their story is.  The thing being the one that has to be this monster. But the fact that they stick together, the fact that they fight and  argue, and they risk the mission at times.

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But at the end of the day, they come together to be a family and lift each other up and also accept other members into the family. I think that's the overarching theme that I really enjoy is that. And catching the spotlight of society, right? They are celebrities,  unlike the X-Men.  They were the characters that would  appear on Merv Griffith or Griffith or Johnny Carson or whatever.

19:11
They didn't have secret identities. The public's attraction to their weirdness,  I find compelling. And I'd like that to be drilled down on a little bit more in the comics these days. And the fact that they use that to... They platformed their oddness as opposed to trying to hide it, even though of course Ben Grom had a ton of shame about it. And Reed Richards does some really heinous stuff  periodically. yeah.  Like my favorite stuff from the 60s is how...

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Sue  always had this thing for Namor and how it was like this tremendous, it created this tremendous amount of tension and her and Reed's relationship  and the idea of her going like, I chose you. I might have this tremendous attraction for this other man, but I chose you and Reed, course, still could not handle.

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Yeah, totally relatable, by the way. And I love how that relationship is explored by Shole in Grand Design. Yes, of course. And, know, Franklin Richards. Have you read Grand Design? So I ended up reading it as part of  preparing for this,  for the panel, which I full admits,  admitting fully when it dropped, I was like, well, I don't really care for fans that's poor. So I won't, you know, I just kind of skipped over it. So I ended up, you know, giving it a shot finally. And I am blown away.

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Like the the scope that he had to take off, right? Like he is trying to condense  It just made me appreciate more like yeah that the FF is more than just like a title or team for the Marvel Universe like they are the core  Like the amount of characters that they've introduced, you know, like the supporting cast that  how they are Entwined with like other, you know characters and teams like they really are at the core of it all and you know reading his  comic or FF grant a grand design

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At first I was like, okay, so this is going to be like a beat for beat. And it's like, oh, he's trying to chronologically lay out the entire Fantastic Four timeline. So it kind of threw me off that the first couple of pages are not really about the Fantastic Four. It's about like, know, Galactus being born and, you know, Kang going back in time and playing Rammatut and all of that. It's like, all the pirates, like you can see all of you to read and bend as pirates. When it's laid out like that, you're like, oh, wow, this is.

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Mind blowing, like this is mind boggling, amazing sci-fi comic Yeah, and Sholay putting like 50 panels on a page. Incredible, right? So the labor of love that went into this and just the skill,  it's mind blowing. So Tom Sholay, right? Oh, know, since we do kind of have a little bit of our halls laid out, what's been the most interesting  pickup or thing that you ended up buying here today? Well,  we did a whole series with Dave Chisholm and Rick Quinn about their series Spectrum.

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which is one of my favorite comics of the year, think is absolutely brilliant. For Mad Cave Studios. And it's about how, it's kind of like, have you read Sex Criminals? Yeah. Okay, so it's kind of like Sex Criminals, but instead of having sex, they're like making art.  And through the making of art and the interacting of art, it opens up this parallel universe where you can travel through time and space.  And the idea is  when...

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two people experience the same piece of art. creates kind of like this  tether  through which you can travel through time.  And  I freaking loved this book. You've seen Sinners?  Yeah. You know, like spoilers for Sinners,  but there's that moment where Preacher Boy  sings I Lie to You and then like all of time and space is connected. Love it.

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That happens in spectrum. Just parallel it happened first in spectrum. Yeah, yeah the same concepts are being explored in spectrum, but sequentially Wow, and it's fantastic and it has tons of like like pop culture Easter eggs and all kinds of stuff which I really enjoy because it takes place in an alternate musical history So there's characters are like, oh is that Elvis? I think that's Elvis. Oh, is that Woody Guthrie? Oh, that's Woody Guthrie Yeah, it's so fun.  And so we actually got to do a kind of book club with them

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every single month as the single issues were coming out, we would get to talk with the actual creators of the book, which I think was such like a unique  and privileged position to be in  with a monthly comic. so finally we got to go  like,  and I didn't even realize like, oh, I've never met Dave in person. Or Rick. Or Rick.  And  so finally we got to meet them in person and see those pages.  And we actually purchased my

23:44
at a deep discount from Dave's generosity. I wasn't going to mention that, but like, I don't want to mention that he's not generous, but I don't want to also mention like he's giving us a huge discount on a page. know, we paid him way less than he deserves and we do carry some guilt about that. But I got my favorite page out of the whole book. And it's this page where the main character, Melody, who is the person who discovers they have this power to travel through time.

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because of  her connection to music,  she travels back in time to the time of Vivaldi and she's at the Catholic school being trained by Vivaldi.  that was like the first time, like that was the page where  I got to that page and I'm like, oh no, I'm really gonna love this book. And so to leave with that page was just like,  ah, you know, just like  taking it to the car was like, oh my God. Was that your first piece of original art?

24:40
No, we have some other pages at home. Not a rag, not a We don't have a lot. We don't make a habit of it. mean, I would love That sounds awesome. mean, to have like that sentimental value that exchange with them as well. And it feels personal because we established that personal relationship. So, yeah, completely spoiled. know, Dave had his portfolio there. So you got to see everything from Miles Davis in the search for the sound. Which is another amazing goal. And I think that's the joy of HeurosCon is because it is not.

25:10
To me, it is a very manageable con.  It's a Saturday and yes,  we had a very full day yesterday, a little tired today, but today is much more manageable than I went in thinking. When me and Blake pulled up, I was like, gear ready, buddy. Then we get into the lobby and I'm like, I bet you when we get inside and then we go down the escalator, like, okay, there's actually room to move. Yeah, I was really surprised how manageable it was.

25:34
Like it's still crowded,  you don't feel like you're alone in Artist Alley,  but you get a lot of face time with the creators. And that's what I was getting at is that I've had an opportunity to tell Paul Pelletier  how amazing his Exiles run and his Fantastic Four run was for me like growing up and collecting those. But then also the creator of Bloodwreck, what was his name? Andrew Cronkey. I had a chance to like gush all about it, know, and I think that is something that I even know he was here.

26:03
Yeah, he's over there by, I think, Felix, the Felix Comic Art. But having the opportunity to like, you know, express  your gratitude to comic creators and, you know, let them know what it means to you, I think goes a long way. And that's the joy of HeroesCon is that you can have like that face time and those interactions. Because you know, telling, you know, Andrew that, hey, I gave Ludwig a shot just on a whim because the cover caught my attention and it was, you know, on Hoopla.

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and I ended up loving it. Now I get to buy like a zine and some stickers and return the favor. I think that goes a long way and I urge all listeners, you have the opportunity to tell a common creator that their art meant something to you, it touched you in a way. It goes a long way. Even if you don't buy anything, think sometimes just those words of affirmation are important. Yeah, 100%. Brad, what has been the most interesting or meaningful item or thing that you've picked up?

26:57
definitely the spectrum page. That being said, I was blown away by the fact that I found a dealer who is selling relatively new contemporary heavy metal magazines. Usually when you go to convention, there's like, you know, all the 70s, 80s classic stuff. But ever since Grant Morrison was on our show, Lise and I have been in a real

27:23
I will allow that name drop because it is the ultimate name If you've talked to us  in the last three months,  I guarantee you we're going to drop that name because we're living so high off of that conversation. As usual. And it's probably, know,  gauche and grotesque at this point by how many times we do mention Grant Morrison.  But we've been reading a lot of Grant Morrison. We're now  collecting Animal Man in single issues. But there's a heavy metal issue because Grant Morrison was like the editor of Heavy Metal for a little while.  And there's a Grant Morrison issue in which

27:52
They wrote a story where Jesus Christ battles Hitler. And I hear that, I'm like, okay, well, I We need that. We need that. But I can't find that anywhere. Certainly not in Northern Virginia. And when I go to conventions, I don't see these issues of heavy metal. Well, there was a guy down there, had it for 20 bucks. Here you go. And I'm floating on air. I'm so happy that I have that comic now. And I'm sure if you follow our socials, at CBCC Podcast, I'll be...

28:22
snapping screenshots from there is something magical about walking up to a booth and just finding the book you're looking for. Yeah. Well organized, you know, like boxes and just, know, especially if you can do it in a one shot, you're like, boom, here's right here. So here's the tricky thing at this con because  there are far more vendors than I was anticipating. Yeah. Like  and I've gone to what I would call comic cons before like Baltimore, like that's a comic con. But

28:51
This dwarfs that in terms of vendors. There's almost a level of anxiety. Yes. Having too many. Yes. Yes. Because you're like, OK, this guy's got it's 10 bucks. Do I get this now? Yeah. You know, and you know, pay the 10 bucks and at least know I got it or gamble. I saw lots of great deals and then I didn't buy them because I was like, well, maybe I can find a better deal. Like it's paralyzing that experience. But what happens is when you have so many vendors around.

29:21
You start to look at like, just on a glance, if that vendor is your vibe. Like, are they going to have Heavy Metals? Are they going to have black and white 80s comics? And the place that I got the Heavy Metal from, I noticed on the boxes it said, they have four boxes, it said Esoteric Comics. Like that's what's in these boxes, Esoteric Comics. I was like, okay, I'm into Esoteric Comics.

29:50
Let's see if these deliver and then you're flipping through you're finding Richard Corbin stuff You're finding you know von Bode  and you're like, okay, and then you move over Oh magazines heavy metals I go to the back of the heavy metals. Oh, this is from 2012. Oh  shit They might have it sure enough. They did. Yeah, it's a great feeling as you're like, oh they got it It's like you can't explain it. But it's like, you know,  yeah You look at a booth you like, okay, this is a golden age booth. Oh, look at the bags of these comics. They're gonna

30:19
They're gonna be pricey here. I'm not gonna get a good deal on Mr. Miracle here, you know. All right, hearing you say bags, Blake, who was the gentleman yesterday with him and his wife, the older couple? John Layman? John Workman, okay, thank you. We had an interaction with a gentleman named John Workman, who is, I think he's an inker, also a letterer. He's worked on DC, I think. He's done some cover art. He's also done some cover art.

30:47
You know, Jack of many trades, probably a master of all of them. But him, and he's an older gentleman too, and him and his wife were there. And I mean, you know, like they're in between like some, they're in Artist Alley, but you know, they're in between like these massive like setups and things. You can almost miss them. And they just have just like these egg carton looking boxes, just like regular UPS U-Haul boxes. And they've got some of their comics in there and they're all, they're not in bags and bores, they're in like grocery bags.

31:16
Oh, I don't grocery bags folded in a piece of tape like a piece of strong tape. It's like the vegetable like I own. Yes, thank you. you.  Oh,  oh, I mean,  you know, they're not boarded. They're just bagged just literally bagged in these boxes. And it's like everything that  he's worked on. So on the on some of them, it'll say like, John ink this John, you know, did this in this great because his wife is like,

31:42
John, the young man here wants to buy your book. And John's telling a story about working with Mobius or Mignola. So a little backstory here. was an editor for Heavy Metal Magazine.  Oh wow. Thank you. He was the editor at Heavy Metal Magazine. So me and Blake are flipping through them. He's got some Heavy Metals. Blake is talking about Heavy Metal. And I'm going through his other books. He's got a bunch of comic journal  magazines. it's like,  John had a small article here.

32:09
John's photo is in this one and I just thought it was so, you know,  adorable, it's cute, it's endearing, you know, and they're priced really well. I could tell like, you know, they're clearly trying to clear some stuff out. So I ended up picking up  a couple of the DC Cosmic Odyssey comics, which I've never seen in single issues.

32:29
He was a letter. Oh, well, I've experienced his work well. So he signs all of them. He was missing issue, I think, three, if I'm not mistaken. So now it's like, OK, I got a great story, a great interaction. He signed all of them. Those comics are rad, Potter. Oh, they're great. I've read them before, but I've never I didn't know they came out in these prestigious. Yeah. So I ended up picking up like those. So now I'm on the hunt for Cosmic Odyssey three. But I thought, you know, that's been so far my most memorable. that's so great. I love it. In addition to also meeting a couple of other fellow

32:58
You know, I come to this con and you know, you think that you know that there's obviously other comic podcasts, you know, I know you guys, Chris hacker, you know, Greg Lick tech first issue clip, but you come to conventions like this and you realize like the scope of like this, you know, this medium that we live in. And so I've had a lot of joy meeting other comic podcasts for the first time. I had a chance to meet West Coast Dave Venger. His name is Dave. He runs a YouTube channel.

33:25
Super great guy.  He was up at the  getting his book signed by Daniel Warren Johnson, recognizing we had a great exchange. And you know what, Brad and Lisa, we ended up talking shop for more time than we should have in front of Daniel Warren Johnson's table. He's taking up valuable retail.  So what's your dream interview? Oh, did you, know, what type of audio setting do you use? know, so I don't know, being able to talk shop, you know, at a convention like this and not feel out of place is also like a drawing. Yeah,  it's really great.

33:53
You know, I'm always inspired by the amount  of comic podcasters, the perspective  of the varied perspectives of comic book podcasters. The podcasters that you guys had on your panel. Yeah. And then also like the certain niches. Yeah. I feel like this convention also caters a lot to like the golden age and silver age fans. Ruth and Darren Sutherland,  who were on the panel with us, they have an all Trekker podcast. And that's not a Star Trek  podcast. That's a podcast all about  Ron Randall's  character Trekker.

34:22
Uh, which you could find in the dark horse bins  at cons.  I also mentioned like, uh, another podcast or that does nothing but about like shadows. Yeah. And you're like, how do you make a whole podcast of nothing but this one topic? But I think that's the joy of like, a lot of passion. imagine. Yeah. Thank you, Lisa.  I'm going to ask you a question that actually Dave from West coast, Dave vendors  had asked me. And it was like the, I think the first question he asked after I told him, like, yeah, I'm bought up the short box of podcasts.

34:52
He was like, oh great, what's your white whale interview? And I was like, are you interviewing me on the spot? I have an answer. I think I told him Mark Wade because I still haven't interviewed Mark Wade and he's like one of my favorite writers of all time. Mark Wade's a great conversation. I think in hindsight, I probably also would add Alex Ross and Kurt Busaic. I would love to talk to Kurt Busaic. We've been lucky enough to have Alex on the show a couple of times. Also a great conversation. So I asked you two, considering that you guys just knocked out a Grant Morrison interview, which for a lot of folks, self included, would be a white whale.

35:21
You know and was our white whale and we didn't think it was going to happen. I mean, so okay. You've done Graham Morrison. All right Alan Moore step up Let's go I you know, I don't think that's ever going to happen, you know I don't think Alan Moore would come anywhere near a podcast that had the word comic book in it But it's when you change your RSSV for just one day. You're darn right. A hundred percent The Simonsons would be amazing Jim Lee would be amazing

35:49
I would, yeah, like, there are so many, like Ed Brubaker, Mike Mignola. I would love to talk to Mike Mignola. Raina Tallemaugher, Scott McCloud. are so many. You mentioned Walter and Luis Simonson, who I think, you know, if there was a Mount Rushmore of like all-time great, you know, couples in comics, I think they definitely are on there. Who else would you say, you know, whether they're some of your favorites or you consider them like some of the all-time greats? Who are some of your favorite couples in comics?

36:18
Mike and Laura Alred, obviously. Matt Fraction, Kelly Sue DeConnick. we haven't had Matt on. We have not had Matt on. love to have them both on. We just spoke with Taki Soma and Michael Avon-Oming about her book, Alienated. That's going to be coming up in our feed soon. Do you think married couples that happen to also be creators, do you feel like that comes out in their work? Yeah, I think so. If you look at John and the Impossible Monsters from Chris Sommi and

36:48
Laura Somney,  that is  a  expression of their family experience told through this fantastical, you know, Kaiju world.  And you that book and you compare that to other like Chris Somney stories, which are brilliant,  but it's different. Like you can feel the family in John and the Impossible Monsters, I think. And you'll hear in the conversation with Michael and Taki, like how much they live the comics. Like it's not just like.

37:17
Okay, we're gonna nine to five. We're gonna talk about comics and then  how much they love each other's work. Yeah. Yeah, they really admire each other and they and they bounce ideas off of each other and they hold their ground when they need to and all of that stuff. They're real. They're a real inspiration. We had a chance to meet up on third Thursday, right Thursday, grab the couple of drinks, talk chop  and just caught up and there was something that you guys said that day that has been on my mind  initiative that you guys are currently doing.

37:44
where you guys are not only hosting  movie club meetups,  but also a comic book reading clubs too, right? Comic book club. Comic book clubs. Thank you. Comic book clubs. How has that been? We've had one meeting. It was super great. What was the inspiration for it? What made you guys like finally decided? Well, it's something we had been talking about for a little bit going like, oh, should we partner with a library or should we partner with a comic book store? And then like 10 minutes away from our home, a comic book themed

38:15
Coffee shop opened up called Meanwhile Coffee. Meanwhile dot dot dot. I never include the ellipses when I'm talking about it. It at always includes the ellipses. Meanwhile coffee.

38:30
like one of those things like we we went we checked it out the coffee was so good um they have art on the wall they have they have comics on the table  and i just like tossed it out there as an idea to just the barista and they were like  i think that's a great idea you know and we left some stickers like okay well our contact information is on here

38:53
And it came together like that. Yeah, like we mentioned to the barista and then a week later, we had a date scheduled for the first meeting. And the second meeting is going to be on July 6. What books are you covering? So the first book club we chose, speaking of Tom King, Tom King and Helen, Tom King and Bill Keseley's Helen of Windhorn. it was a great conversation. 17 people showed up. Wow. Everyone loved it. Yeah. You we've done book clubs in the past. No one.

39:22
all agrees on a book.  There's always people  going like, ah, ah,  Every single person said they liked it or loved it.  And so that was a real pleasure. Now, considering that there are so many  online spaces for comic fans to gather, it be  Reddit, Leaga Comic Geeks,  et cetera, et cetera, why is it important to have in-person meetups? I'm about to give my most unfiltered answer. Oh, no. This is what I'm going to say. What is she going to say?

39:51
It almost feels like community spaces  are just reserved for sacred spaces. We need to have a place where we gather and talk about the meaning of life that is not church.  You know what I mean? And so like to me, coming together  with a bunch of strangers to talk about stories and by extension talk about ourselves,  I think is a community built, the kind of community building that strengthens relationships.  It opens networks.

40:20
It opens the networks of people that you care about. It opens the network of people who care about you.  And I think it's the kind of stuff that just raises the quality of life for a whole group of people in one fell swoop. Yeah, I love that answer. That's a great answer. Not as scary as I thought. Community is not just for church.  is for everyone. I think the other important thing is  I love  online community.  The comic book online community saved my life.  I'm never going to...

40:50
retract from the comic book online community.  But the comic book online community can't be everything.  And in the last few years, as social media has kind of imploded or fractured and  everyone's scattered to their various little corners,  I have found  that the online community is not enough to sustain my positivity. I  think given where we are in 2025, there's a lot of anxiety, a lot of fear, a lot of anger.

41:20
and I people feeling not welcome and I feel all of that.  And I just want to make sure that I'm also stepping away from  those online emotions and finding  emotions in the meat space  in  San Diego Comic Con, New York Comic Con, Heroes Con.  These are our favorite places to be. These are always our favorite weekends. We come away from them rejuvenated.  How can we extend that throughout the year and.

41:45
We were feeling those vibes through our comic book film club at the Alamo Drafthouse in Winchester, Virginia. And we were  partnering with Four Color Fantasies  out of Winchester, selling comics to those movie going crowds.  Well, that's one day a month. Can we do this two days a month? Let's do another one. It reminds me of that concept of like the third space. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what we're trying to say. You've you've got home, but what's your third space that you spend time at? The comic shop.

42:15
is one for me as well. just need more of them because I'm finding that my love tank is constantly low and I need more places to go to fill it. It's definitely an inspiring initiative and one that I've rattled around in my head as well. Because to your point, it shouldn't take a lot of effort to do something like that. So it's definitely something I would love to see every town have a comic book club.

42:42
And  it really was super easy and my advice to anybody would be to go to  your nearest coffee shop, nearest comic book store, your nearest bookstore, your nearest library, ask them if they would host your  comic book club.  If they say no, go to the next one, go to the next one, go to the next one. Someone's going to say yes. All right. Also, while you guys were here,  another thing that kind of stuck with me is that you guys are also currently doing  another initiative. You guys are very...

43:07
Very busy week. I feel like we're living comics right now. And I hope we can sustain it. But this next one, I love this concept that you guys are trying to visit 50 comic shops across 50 states. 50 comic shops in 52 weeks. 52 weeks, OK. I would love to hit 50 states, but I don't think we're making it to Hawaii and Alaska this year. What number are you up to now? I know that you guys visited a couple of shops while you're here in North Carolina. Which one did you guys visit? So we just hit the halfway point, actually.

43:35
We've done 25 shops in  not 52 weeks, in six months.  And our 25th shop was the downtown Greensboro location of Acme Comics. And our 24th shop was the other Greensboro  Acme Comics. They're 10 minutes apart from each other. They're both fantastic.  Germain  runs the main Greensboro shop and he's like, well, he is literally Lord Retail. That's his handle online.  He's been doing it for a long time. That shop's as old as Lisa.

44:04
Yep, 1983. It's probably a little bit older because I was born in December. Yeah, that's right. And so they, you know, they, they have collected a really great collection and a really great community around them. And they were booming on Thursday. Yeah, recorded a... I trying to get that pre-con, you know, like...

44:24
I think that's what it is. Yeah, we recorded a little conversation with Jermaine in the shop  and the conversation ends with like, guys, I got to stop it because I got too many customers here. I got to go.  And then Lisa and I wrapped up the chat  in the corner, go like, I guess that's like the perfect way to end this. He's busy. Lisa, what's been the standout shop for you?  Standout shop visit. I still love our local shops. I love Third Eye Comics. It's in Annapolis  and it's huge. The staff is super friendly and kind.

44:54
Four Color Fantasies in Winchester, Virginia. They have an amazing back issue collection. They do amazing community outreach with  their charity auction of sketch covers, which raises money for literacy in Winchester, Virginia. Like those are my favorite shops. subscription box is at Big Planet Conference in Vienna, Virginia. also love you. Yeah, don't leave Big Planet out.  And  here's like an interesting like hole in the wall shop.

45:24
If you're ever in Virginia, head on over to Front Royal and go to Carl's Comics and Books and strike up a conversation with Carl. And he might show you some things that you would not imagine are in that building. That's I'm gonna say. That's all I'm gonna say. It sounds dark, not dark. That sounds mysterious. It is dark and a little scandalous. It's not dark, but if you're a comic book maniac and you want to see some

45:53
Real gems.  Carl's got them. Okay. Alright, last question before we wrap up. Rapid Fire. What is one comic book everyone should be reading right now that you're currently,  and preferably like a current new comic book? Yeah, I know it immediately. You go first. Junibah's Monkey Meat, The Summer Gatch. yeah, you took mine. Okay.  So good. I think Junibah is  a living legend.

46:17
We said that in an episode recently and a guy on Spotify was like, Living Legend.  There's always that person.  On Spotify comments about things. I'm like, nah dude,  Judy Baugh is Living Legend. He's doing things with he's not a Living Legend now, he's damn sure on the way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Monkey Meat  is  a very sharp,  angry,  very of the moment comic, but that's also really funny.

46:46
And just like the sequentialing is  next level and the illustration is amazing.  Any Junie Bob book is great. He just did an issue of Batman and Robin written by Philip Kennedy Johnson,  which was fantastic.  And then  the Goats Flying Press book that he did of the Earl King  is  one of the best original graphic novels of the year as well. I'm going to say Spectrum again, because it just finished.  So I feel like you could still go to a shop and still find

47:16
Hopefully, and it's getting collected in a trade paperback. Yes, and then  also absolute Wonder Woman  absolute Martian Manhunter and FML  absolute Batman absolute Batman, but you're already reading absolute Batman  Yeah, but right now Batman wise absolute Batman is a great comic in the truest sense of you know, it is

47:44
doing everything that  only a comic can do, as is Absolute Wonder Woman. We also got Chris Somney and Mark Waid on, yeah, Batman and Robin Year One.  And we have Hayden Sherman again  with Dan Waters on Batman Dark Patterns.  I know we give DC a bunch of crap for like, oh, every book's a Batman book, but three of the best books are Batman books right now. They are great. Definitely co-sign on the Absolute Wonder Woman.  I will share the rest of...

48:10
about to do a panel here in the next hour. And that's one of my topics is like, Flawless Essentials and Absolute Wonder Woman is top of the pile. I think what Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman  are doing together is like, got the mythological aspects, like the lore of Wonder Woman, that the story is so grand. And then the artwork is mind boggling. mean, it's like, didn't know comic books could function. I got a book that's coming out. The first issue is dropping this week.  Chris Condon and  oh, Jeffrey Allen Love is here. We haven't seen him yet.

48:40
Yeah.  News from the fallout. Oh yeah. The first issue of that, it reads quick. That is  a unique looking book. I might actually go back around this table. But I think that being said, let's wrap this conversation up. I will have links to  the comic book couple counseling podcast in the show notes. I'll also have links to their Blue Sky and Instagram so you guys can them a follow.

49:04
Brad and Lisa, you guys have been great. It warms my heart that I got to hang out with you guys at HeroesCon, one my favorite conventions in the world, two of my favorite people, three including Blake, course, camera man Blake. Love you, Blake. But do you guys have any closing remarks, anything that you guys want to share or say through the lens? We've already planned to come back next year. Boom. We love it. And the food here has been amazing. Oh my gosh. Such good eating. Yeah, Mertz, Heart and Soul just a few blocks down the street, incredible.

49:31
Ruby Sunshine, get the trifecta, best eggs Benedict of my life. And  then what's that place? Snooze  AM Cafe. bakery. No, Snooze AM Cafe. Yeah,  I got  a cinnamon bun pancake that was so flipping good. I love that instead of a shameless plug, food recommendations. I love that.  Because I was going to say me and Blake.

49:56
Our tagline has been HeroesCon sponsored by Midnight Diner for us. Oh yeah. Midnight Diner is open 24-7. So next time, go to Midnight Diner. But Brad, Lisa, this has been fantastic. We still have a half a day at this convention to go through. It'll be a great time. You guys have been awesome. Thank you. Thank you. There you have it, Short Bikes 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.

50:23
If you enjoyed this episode and you have some thoughts or comments that you want to share with us, write us at theshortboxjaxx at gmail.com. 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 or wherever you get your podcasts. It takes two minutes tops and it would mean the world to us. Leave us a review.

50:48
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51:18
Bo Evers,  Brian Brumley, Chad Landenberger, Chris Hacker, David Morales,  Greg Licktie,  Hershel,  Mack Jacobson,  issue number three, Brad,  Jay Center,  Jeff Fremid, Jerome Cabanatan, Jose Sepulveda, Justin McCoy, Corey Torgeson, Matt Godwin, Amanda Maron, Melissa Byrne,  Nick Wagner,  Ryan Isaacson, Stephen Kim,  T-Mix,  The Wait For It Podcast, Tony Aupi,  Trey Namo,

51:47
Walter Gantt,  and last but not least, Warren Evans. Big shout outs to the patrons. And with that being said, that's it. That's what I got for you this time. Thanks for listening. Tune in next week for another episode. And most importantly, take care of yourselves, read a good comic, and continue to make mine and yours short box. I'll catch you soon. Peace.