Coy Jandreau Reads Comics For A Living: An interview about DC Studios, Batman, and being a professional fanboy - The Short Box Podcast Ep. 474

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in this episode of The Short Box.  You're reading like, correct me I'm wrong, like 50 to 70 comics like a week? Is that accurate? Every major one from every major publisher, man. Because I want to be fair, right? I'm working at and with DC, but I'm not a DC comic exclusive reader. And so I want to be a comic book correspondent. And if I don't,  you know, read

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everything from Image, from Marvel, from Boom, from IDW, then I'm favoring the ones I am rating. So the only way I feel like I can be democratic is to know it all.

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intro music plays

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Yo, Short-Box Nation, hello again, welcome back. And thanks for present police today. Or to borrow a phrase from today's special guest, hello, you lovelies. If you're brand 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 in the making them and celebrating them. This is episode 474 and today I'm joined by Coy Jandreau.

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He's a self-proclaimed professional enthusiast and overzealous Bostonian who co-hosts a number of comic book center talk shows. He's a comic correspondent on DC Studios Showcase on HBO Max. He's a co-host of the Real Rejects podcast and the host of the companion podcast for DC High Volume Batman. Coy has also shared his knowledge, love and expertise of all things comics and movies in a number of roles and appearances on a popular outlets  like Collider, Nerdist and Hollywood Reporter. He's on the show today to talk about life as a professional comic fan.

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I mean, who wouldn't want that? That's what I'm aspiring to, a professional comic book guy, right? We're also gonna talk about uh the talk shows that he's on. We're gonna hear more about his work on the DC High Volume Batman Podcast, which brings essential DC comic stories to life off the page and into the audio space. The podcast has already adapted Batman Year One by Frank Miller and  David Mazza Kelly. It's also known Batman Long Halloween by Jeff Loeb and Tim Sale. And they're currently underway with the audio adaptation of Batman Dark.

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Victory. The podcast is great as an audio sound production nerd. It's phenomenal. And I can't wait to talk more about it. But before we get started, I want to shout out the official sponsor of the short box and that's Gotham city limit comic shop. Jacksonville's premier shop for comics, toys, collectibles, and more. Check out this episode, show notes for a link to their online store. We can buy shop exclusive comics and merch. And lastly, I want to dedicate this episode to all of the short box Patroni's, AKA the loyal supporters that make up the short box Patreon community.

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If you want more short box episodes or free comics and short box merch sent directly to you, which obviously you do become a patron of the show at patreon.com slash the short box and get all of that and way more. Look, joining the Patreon and supporting the show cost you I'll admit it's five bucks a month, which is the price of  one single Marvel comic. Not really, because comics are kind of expensive nowadays. So it's a small amount for you, but a huge and a big deal and help for me. You know, running a weekly podcast for the last 13 years is not cheap.

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And your support, whether that be monetary or even a like or subscribe, are equally appreciated. Once again, support the show, get rewarded and have my undying gratitude by signing up at patreon.com slash the short box. And without further ado, short box nation, let's welcome Coy Jandreau  to the show. What up, Coy? How you doing? How's it going, man? Great intro. I felt the vibes. I felt the energy from here. Thank you. I appreciate it. try to set the vibe. Yeah, Coy, I've been excited about this, you know, as a fellow podcaster.

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comic book guy, I always feel like I had to bring my A game. And my first immediate question for you is that on the DC studio showcase, you are billed as the comic book correspondent, which might be the greatest title I've ever heard in my life. like, yo, what do I need to do to get that role? I guess I'm curious, what does that entail? And I mean, do you agree? Do you have the best job in the world? You know, I think I do.

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I feel like it's that 10-year overnight success thing where I feel like I'm finally appreciating where I'm at. so I will hold to that best job in the world moment, but it took  so long to get to the point of even comfort, much less, know,  this is only the beginning kind of feeling, but I do feel like I can like breathe a little now. It's been white-knuckling it for about a decade. And now I'm like, okay, we're in a good spot. Comic Correspondent is such an honor. uh You know, I grew up watching The Daily Show. I love my Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert's.

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Even John Oliver now with Last Week Tonight and that correspondent title always felt like such a, I'm right here, I'm knocking on the door, this feels like it's big and important. And so  I really liked the idea of being a comic book correspondent because it's bridging the gap between our world and mainstream media, right? Like comic books still have that little asterisk next to them and I want to get rid of that. I want genre content to be just as laurel-ed up as a Meryl Streep joint. So the first step is being a comic book correspondent for HBO.

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Yeah, look, you're doing the Lord's work, right?  You definitely are inspiring to folks like me that are in this space that are looking towards that.  And I guess my next question along this same line is that I understand your Instagram bio. You've got, what does it say? says, three times a Hall of H professional enthusiast and so on and so on. Is Hall H, for someone like us, Like podcasts or someone that's in this space that loves getting in front of the camera and talking to crowds, is Hall H the Mount Olympus? Is that the pinnacle for folks like us? What's after Hall H?

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There's nothing like it, dude. There's like truly it is a one of one experience. I remember the first time I hosted it. It was for Keanu Reeves' comic. It was the first ever comic book on that stage. Wow. In all the years of Comic Con, there had never been a comic  on Hall H. What? The more you know. It was unacceptable. It was something I fought for because  I, since reading Wizard Magazine in the  90s, I knew about Comic Con. And then like one of my mentors and heroes, Kevin Smith, he always did his

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Hall H Evening with Kevin Smith, which evolved into like his yearly panel.  And to me, that was the bar. And so when I got to walk out on that stage,  as the first comic book host presenting the first comic to be on that 6500 person platform, uh it felt like being a rock star. felt like, you know, for for beautiful hour, I was like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, like, felt that sheer surge.  And it was wonderful, man. But I remember the first 30 seconds I walked out there, I very much knew I would either be broken by it or

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my life would change like that much energy coming  at you. 13,000 eyeballs, right? Like 6,500 people times two. That is so much energy. And so I knew like I either need to be lifted up by it and it would change my life or it'd be like, oh God, it's got to go there and cower away. ah And I remember I walked out and I put my arms out and I like, I looked at it watching that footage back is so funny. Cause I, I see the moment where I was like, this is it. It's great or awful. ah And so I just kind of like got swept up. And then it was with Keanu and.

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You know, Keanu uh has this amazing comic and he really wanted this to be a comic book panel and he really cares about the fan experience. every conversation I had with him leading up to it or since has been such a, what do the fans want? What do they love? How do we tell this story in a way that engages? And then Ron Garney on art, like Ron Garney is one of my favorite modern artists, period. So to find out Ron Garney knew my work and to find out like, you know, we had similar interests, like he's a big martial arts guy. I'm a casual martial arts guy,  but.

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I've stayed in touch with Ron since and it's such an honor to be on a platform like Hall H and to have that energy from the crowd and to connect with heroes of yours in such a public way.  really can't be tough. I don't know if there's a next one of those. think my next finish line to feel like I did a new thing is I want to do a talk show  on network TV that's about our stuff and DC studio showcase is really close. Like it's about as close as exists so far, but I want to, I want to get.

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comic books to the daily show level and that's I think my next hall  H. Yo, I respect them and in a similar note, you know, I'm hearing you mentioned Ron Garney a couple years back. I had a chance to interview  Ron Garney and Matt Kent about yeah on Berserk and they had I mean it ended up turning I think the last 20 minutes was nothing but like a Keanu Reeves like love fest, you know, we were just hyping up the count of Reeves because they just had so many great stories to share about working with him and just how passionate he is about comics and like how serious he was because you know, like

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I think there's a little bit of a certain level of  pessimism that comes from comic fans when they see like, oh, a new comic book by this A-list celebrity or  this musician. And it's like, is this going to be a cash grab? Is it going to be any good? But I think Keanu Reeves and Berserker, I mean, to see it still going on, they're doing spin-offs and one-not shots and et cetera. I think he came about it with the right intentions  and it produced a damn good, fine good comic book with some of the best creators in comics.

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And I'd argue he also knew the strengths of the medium. He came to the comic knowing what he wanted to make out of a comic. He wasn't trying to do what he does so well in movies. He wasn't trying to make something that would be better as a TV show. He knew comic books were the place to tell this story. And I think that's really important. And it shows his love for the medium in general. Yeah. I wanted to hear about your origin story, because as we know, all great comics, superheroes, et cetera, start off with a good origin story.

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I understand that you were uh born in Virginia but raised just right outside of Boston. You now live in LA, doing all the cool stuff there. First question,  what's your earliest memory  of comic books? Do you remember the comic book that made you a fan of the art form?  You know how you look at photos sometimes and it fills in memory? When you have a photo, it kind of contextualizes.  I won't claim to remember this moment, but I've looked at the photo enough that I've got memories of memories of memories. My first comic ever was when I was two.

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I don't remember being two, but I got given a Spider-Man 2, Todd McFarlane's Torment issue 2 from 1990, because it was on the shelves  at the time and my parents thought it was cute to give me like, you know, issue 2 and it's out. So that 1990 issue, I was born in 88 and that was 1990. uh they gave me an issue 2 for my second birthday and I have a picture on my second birthday with it behind me and it says 2 and I'm 2.  And I learned to read the Spider-Man. So basically,

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Comparing photos to words right like that's how babies learn my parents were smart enough to be like well This is a logical way to teach him so I was saying words like ravaged But I didn't know how to pronounce it because I'd only read it So I said like ravaged until I was five because who says ravaged as a baby, but in comics That's a common word But yeah, bye my parents were artists and then our artists and then my dad is a huge comic fan So I inherited his Batman and his X-Men

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when he was like  a teenager. My parents had me as teens. So he was collecting as a teen. And then in his  20s kept collecting. And then I got to get those books because I would steal them. And eventually he was like, fine. ah But the whole Claremont Byrne era, a lot of old Batman from like the Neil Adams era. So my pops really is a huge part of this. Bro, your parents, especially your dad, raised you on good stock. It's like, he comes from good stock. You know when they say good stock? Man, I'm looking at the cover of First Spider-Man number two. And  big shout out to your parents for just being like, you know what?

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We're gonna take a gamble on this comic because I know my parents would be like, are you insane? There's a scary lizard man on the front. And it's Tom McFarlane, it's terrifying,  Yeah, that's dope. You know what, speaking about uh your folks, Koi, I've been following you on Instagram for a while now. And I gotta say, think one of the most endearing posts I've ever seen.  think, it earlier this year, your parents came to visit you and you took them on one of the dopest field trips ever. You took them to a comic shop.

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the studio, you know, the DC studios place. And I was like, yo, that's awesome, man, that you can continue to share your love of like, you know, your passion, your hobbies, your work with your parents and they'd be excited and have some sort of connection to it. That's awesome. Well, they, you know, are the reason this is possible and I never forget it. So as soon as we figured out the logistics of getting them out here, I brought them to the Superman premiere.  So that was their first ever premiere. I saved the first for, you know, something big and impactful.

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I've been out in LA 16 years in this November, so it had been 15 and half at that point. And I've been to hundreds of premieres, but nothing felt like  uniquely my parents and me. Nothing felt like the right first. So  Superman rolled around and I'm working with DC so closely now that I thought this would be a really personal experience. And then on top of that, my dad got me into comics. So I thought introducing him to Jim Lee and to Kevin Maguire and Dan Jergens, like that's the place to do that. And my mom, her second favorite actor in the world, second only to Tom Cruise,

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is Nicholas Holt. So with Nick being Lex, I got to like really connect my family. So mom got to meet Nick.  My dad got to meet like Frank quietly and Juergens and Jim. uh Jim's become like a friend, which is surreal. like talking to Jim and introducing my dad, my dad obviously has known Jim's work for 30 years, but Jim now knows my dad works for HP and does printing. So Jim had questions for my dad and I got to see this. So  I talked to these, you know,

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Icons of comics enough that it didn't feel like they didn't know my parents So they were like so excited to meet them and I got to be the son that made it So it was really really special. We want a red carpet. We got getty images together It was it was really surreal man. So you said that you moved to LA from Boston I'm assuming I think your bio says something about like after college. What did you major in college? So I wanted to be an actor. I Really? I mean I was a SAG actor at 16 like I did

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And that's always weird to look at as like a lot of people fighting for this incredible career and this beautiful art.  I didn't feel like it was the one of one magic that I felt like I should have. You you audition a hundred times, you might get one role. It's such a get told no for a living profession  that when I was on set, I was like, man, I don't love this  as much as I feel like I should for the six months of fighting for it every time I book a gig. So I remember like repetition would drive my brain crazy. I'd be repeating a line and I'd be like, I just don't enjoy the 70th take.

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And I worked for my favorite director ever. worked with Fincher and Fincher is known for his multiple takes. And I remember thinking like, feel like I took a job from someone who would murder someone for this and I'm not ecstatic. This is not quite it. Like it was close. And then  I was working on RIPD with uh not a great movie, but a really good experience for me  with Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges.  And this was after I moved to LA, I flew back to do RIPD to do some stunt work.  And I was a stunt man too. I did a lot uh in the film space.

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And I remember talking to Ryan about Deadpool  and he had not like the footage hadn't come out. Nothing had been revealed. They were trying to get it made, but it wasn't going through.  so Jeff Bridges came over and we were talking about Deadpool.  basically when I was so ecstatic about it, Ryan was like, dude, you should do this. You should talk about comics. And I was like, that's a thing. And within a year  that footage got leaked by whomever. And I was on screen junkies doing a video called, explain Deadpool. It hit a million views in like a week.

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And all of a sudden I was like, oh, this seems like a sustainable. And then I did it uh unpaid or low paid for about five years.  And about five years ago, I started getting my own shows. And then in the last year, it's kind of like, now it seems real. But  I was an actor, a stunt man, back to actor, wrote some, had a script option, then fell into hosting comic stuff. Damn, Lando, where you needed to be. Yeah, man. You know, I was looking through your YouTube today and.

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You had a series really quick for those that are not unfamiliar. You had a series  that you were hosting that was hosted on the Collider Ladies Night YouTube channel, which I was interesting. But it was called Comic Shopping, where you would go around with celebrities such as David Harper. I'm sorry, David Harbor. You literally would go into a comic shop, talk comics with them, buy comic books. But you did one with Damon Lindenloff.

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You know, the co-creator of Yeah, Damon. Yeah, I love that dude. Which, by the way, I don't know if I've expressed this on the show or not. Me and my wife have. I've never watched Lost. We have been doing a watch Lost through over the summer. We are on the last season. So when I saw that you had Damon Lindenloff doing a comic shop episode, I watched it this morning. And I was like, yo, this dude is awesome. Koi is a great host. This whole concept is great. wish, you know, hopefully one day you guys bring that back. But I had no idea.

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that he was one such a huge, well I guess I'm not that surprised that he's a huge comic fan, but I didn't know how much Watchmen influenced Lost. Because now when he said it, I'm like, oh shit, yeah, the multiple timeline. You know, it's like all starting to make sense.  And I love how you were recommending him comics. Some of the comics that you were recommending him were Paper Girls, Something is Killing the Children, Wicked and Divine, which made me go like, yo, Koi knows his shit.  And  I wanna ask, how do you go about  recommending comics to like new people?

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because I've got a certain way and approach to it, but I'd like to hear yours first. Do you have a go-to when it comes to recommending comics for new fans or folks that are interested in the medium? So that was a show I did in Collider that we did  an incredible whole season of,  Jake Gyllenhaal, Seth Green, Zach Levi.  And what I did on that show was I would pull based on their answers. So I didn't have preconceived notions of what I wanted to pull.  I would listen to them and based off what their instincts were for art.

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I would go, oh, I feel like you'd like this. On the spot. Because I never want someone to discover comics the wrong way. The last thing you want is like, oh, this is beloved, but it didn't connect to me. I'm done with the medium. So I might have like, if I recommended them 15 comics, I might have two or three in my back pocket that are very acclaimed and kind of universal. But then the other 10 or 12, I would pull on the spot. So with Damon, he is such a weekly Wednesday warrior. Like that dude is at comic stores every Wednesday.

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And at that time, Something is Killing the Children is only on issue two. And I was a huge before it ever came out, Something is Killing the Children fan, which is ironically how Keanu ended up hearing about me, which is how that panel happened, because it's Boom Studios who published Berserker. So Something is Killing the Children is now like getting a Netflix adaptation. It's now this huge spectacle, this giant successful indie, but at the time no one had heard of it. So I was like,  I think the way to get Damon and to show him I know ball is I'm gonna show him this brand new indie comic  from this studio boom that isn't yet this giant type.

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So uh that comic was totally in the moment because once I realized Damon wasn't like a showy Big Bang Theory nerd, he was an actual Rider.com community nerd. Like he was authentic. Then I was like, okay, let's go deep cuts. Let's find this dude some stuff. And he mentioned loving sagas that pivoted into paper girls. So all of these are based off that. And like Jake Gyllenhaal, one of my favorite actors of all time, he kept talking about his influence between film to film, how one film influences the other. So I was like, okay, wait, let's go Straczynski.

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let's get some Straczynski Spider-Man because that is so influenced by the Silver Age and that like influenced the future. So I paralleled how he sees acting to how I see writing. So I'm always like finding my connection to the actor and then making that work. And that's how I think the show did so well. I'd love to, what I want to do is bring that show back  but in my own way and have it be for me. Like my, I have friends that are actors and I just want to go to this comic store with them and I want to do a version of that. So there are some cookings of that maybe happening and I got plans.

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Collider was a giant video network. The reason it's called Collider Ladies Night now is they changed the video designation to just her Perry's Ladies Night. So all the videos that were Collider video are now called Ladies Night. I'm like, well,  I'm not a Ladies Night.  But  if anyone deserves to be running the entire video division, it's Perry. So  I was like, I don't love that my videos are no longer in a category, but I love that Perry is like,  you know, take it a gift. Really quick, were all those videos shot at Golden Apple LA?

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All of them but the Jake one I flew to London with Jake with the spider-man cast So that one was that orbital which is no longer a sore unfortunately But we were in the heart of London from far from home now now if you've been in LA Do you have where's your local comic shop? What do you call home in terms of local comic shop? I got to golden apple is near and dear to my heart. They're on Melrose. They are incredible They have my most consistent like oh my god of this this crazy grail

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ah My weekly shop is in Burbank House of Secrets  and they are I think  one of the best at like consistently having your pull knowing your type knowing what to recommend to find stuff and It's it's just a store. was the first store I found in LA and I've got this weird loyalty thing Like I shopped at the same Boston Bay store for 16 years and I wouldn't go to another store  So these are my two that I like won't betray. I will only go to these two stores in LA

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Look, the fact that you have two shops, I'm like a part of me wants to say, yo, he knows Ball. know, every good comic shop guy has got, you know, home and then they've got like the shops where like, I picked these titles up from here and then this shop is for like my Indies. So now you know Ball indeed. I think another fun fact about your Koi and another aspect of your Instagram that I like following so much is that you'll do these weekly posts where you're like, hey, here are my favorite comics of the week.  And, you know, I think there are like 10 of them. You'll highlight 10 comics. You're reading like,

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Correct me I'm wrong, like 50 to 70 comics like a week? Is that accurate? Every major one from every major publisher, Because I want to be fair, right? Like if I'm working at and with DC, but I'm not a DC comic exclusive reader.  so I want to be a comic book correspondent. And if I don't  read everything from Image, from Marvel, from Boom, from IDW.

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then I'm favoring the ones I am reading. So the only way I feel like I can be democratic is to know it all. Now that said, I do drop a book after four or five issues if it's not for me, because about 90 books come out and  I doing 70 is already hard. I'm reading 10 comics a day  every day, which means if  I go on vacation, I either need to read while I'm away  or within one week of missing my books, I'm  at 140 comics. So as it is, I'm drowning because the comics are  sequential. can't just skip a month.

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So  I can't add more, so I give the book four or five issues. If it's not for me, I don't like shit talking, I just know that that's not my thing. But I like to put up those nine or 10 comics that basically say like, hey, these are the approachable books, these are the books I think are the best right now, this is most of the major publishers, oh and I really, I want people to find their way in so that it doesn't feel as intimidating. When they talk about the difference between a professional and a hobbyist, I think that's the kind of work ethic that you're talking about, where it's like consistent, 50 to 70,

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comics a week is, that is an undertaking and I salute you for that. Do you have a, I guess a routine or tradition, like do you prefer to read comics at home and on a desk or at a coffee shop? guess, how do you ensure that you are, you know, putting in time to like prioritize reading? It's a great question because it changes, but I have a 17 comic day today. I've got to read 17 books. Tomorrow is my post for the 24th. So the books that came out yesterday as of recording are, I want to post those before the weekend because

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The whole point for me is I'm not getting paid for these posts. I'm not getting anything. I'm not getting anything from these posts except for the knowledge that people might go to the comic store. If I wait too long, then they're not going to go backtrack most likely. If I'm trying to bring in new readers. So most people go on the weekends. So my goal is read every book, 50 to 70 books in two days, which is so hard because I'm trying to read it Wednesday, Thursday. And then so the 10 books  a day thing is  I read

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as many as I can Wednesday, as many as I can Thursday, and then Friday morning finish off. That's my 30 to 40 depending on the day. And then the other 10 on my Saturday, Sunday, those are my rereads. So when Supergirl comes out, one of those weeks is gonna be me rereading that whole trade. But I'm trying to cram in about 30 to 40 books in three days in actuality, and I'm rationalizing it by saying 10 a day. But uh I break it up into chunks. So I have 17 today, I read three this morning over coffee, and that's a beautiful like 40 minutes of

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I'm thawing, these are gonna be my like start the day comics, I'm gonna drink coffee and have this time. And then I like to get out of the house so it doesn't feel like I'm always trapped reading. So I'll read another batch out somewhere. So I took off social media from my phone as much as I could and I am now only, I have those spots where the muscle memory is, are my comic apps. So when I go to reach for something blindly, it's gonna be a comic book app so I can read instead of doing something stupid on social media. And then when I come home, I like to tuck in, have the paper books.

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Nestle up on the couch, have another cup of coffee. I'm a four or five cup a day guy. That's how I read so many. And then by the end of the night,  I look at how many I have left and that's my binge. At the end of the night, I'm like, okay, this is my feature length. I'm gonna read 10. But yeah, it's a journey, man. But I like to mix up location that way I don't feel like I'm buried. I love reading outside. I love physical because I can go to the park. I like laying in grass. um LA is great because there's so many parks and I can literally just F off and like find a patch of grass to read in.

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So yeah, getting outdoors first and then bingeing at home when I'm done at night. So in short, caffeine and a hell lot Caffeine is the answer.  Okay,  I wanna get your thoughts on some of the titles for your favorite comics from September 17th. Really quick, we are recording on September 25th, so that means Koi's probably got another post uh coming here soon. But Koi, what comes to mind when I say some of these names from your most recent favorite comics post?  Batman and Robin, year one. Dude, Chris Samney doing art.

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and Mark Wade writing is a dynamic duo in themselves. um I love what Chris Samney does with Robert Kirkman and I think it is only bested by this work with Wade. Wade is such a storyteller that is able to encapsulate a classic feel but not make it feel trite. He makes books feel like they've been around forever and I would argue that Batman and Robin Year One will go down alongside Hush  and  I would even argue, and this is a hot take, I would say it's gonna go down with

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your long Halloween's as one of the greats. I think it is a top 15 Batman run of all time. And I think it's only because it's brand new that it's not getting like it feels too soon to say something that's wrong, but it is that good.  You love Dick Grayson. You love the relationship. It feels paternal in a way that doesn't undermine Damien. It shows the difference between Dick and Tim or Dick and Jason or Dick and Damien. And it does it while recontextualizing the mob, while making Gotham so interesting, while making Clayface even more intimidating, like

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firing in all cylinders this book, it's immaculate. I can get behind that. Samne  brings such a unique and amazing visual identity to it that it stands out from any other, I think, Batman book on the shelf.  And then like everything you were saying about Mark Waid's spot on, I was recording another podcast earlier this week, we got on the topic of Mark Waid. And to me, he is the bastion of like superheroes  and, you know, and superhero continuity specifically, you know, like so many other writers and comic creators.

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talk so highly about how much Mark Waid reveres continuity and superheroes and uplifting those stories. So when you think about Mark Waid and Chris Samney on a book together, Batman at that, it's like, come on man, it sells itself. um What  comes to mind when I say Ultimate Black Panther? So Ultimate Black Panther is one of my favorite, oh no, this wasn't for me in the beginning, but it found a footing that I'm so glad I read so many books, because  if I only read one or two issues and then dropped a book, then I would have lost Black Panther.

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Black Panther started out in a way that it felt like it was really trying to find a way to modernize T'Challa, but the whole point of T'Challa to me is that he is out of time. there is no, T'Challa works in the 1800s, he works in the 2000s. He is both James Bond and Batman and Black Panther. Like he's this archetypal figure. And I kept finding Ultimate Black Panther in the beginning, like not finding a tone, not finding a pace. And then all of a sudden on the second arc, issue five was solid, ending the first arc, but then issue six on.

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It has found this rhythm. It has found this way to play with the mythos. It's made Killmonger fascinating. It's made Storm her own entity without just making her like the bride of T'Challa. One of the most common things since they got married is everyone's like, well, that's how you bring in Storm. Like just make her the wife. And I was like, no, no, no, this is Storm. This is the goddess of the Marvel some respect on Aurora's name, damn it. Yeah, she's not a wife. She is, if anything, T'Challa is her husband and equal. Like I would ra-

28:19
Storm be introduced and then we meet her husband the new T'Challa. Sure. They're both the number one spot of their respective corners of Marvel. So I hate to hear when people think of her as one thing and this comic managed to bring her in in a way that didn't feel like it was an undermining storm and it elevates T'Challa and it makes Killmonger new and interesting and it feels very modern in a way that doesn't feel like it's sacrificing the heart of T'Challa. I think for me it suffered the same thing as you were saying in the beginning. It was a little shaky. You know, you're kind of wondering what direction.

28:47
But hearing what you just said about the second arc, I think I'm gonna go back and check that out based on your recommendation. I meant to ask this earlier, but what is your preferred way of reading? You mentioned the comic shops that you go to. Are you a physical only? Do you mingle in digital? I I mingle in digital,  but I would say I'm 80 % hard copy when I can. 80 %?  I know for audio viewers you can't see it, but my man, Koi, is holding a  fat stack.

29:13
So this just came in and when this doesn't come in I have to read digital because I'll get those files first sometimes ah But overall I like to hold the comic. I like to feel the weight of it. I like to turn a page I like to navigate it myself now  rereading. I like digital.  I love the the cinematic um Click slide through it when I'm yeah when I'm speed reading what a gift when I want to go back to some old school I just got this in and sorry for audio listeners, but this is how I'm gonna be re-experiencing

29:41
this beauty right here. for audio only he's holding up a green lantern green arrow omnibus. I think this is what collects all of the infamous Daniel Neal, Neal Adams. Yeah man, look at the amount of books in this beast. Sorry again audio listeners, but it's got a lot. So everything's kind of piecemeal and my favorite Batman of the modern times is the Tom King stuff and I finally got this beauty in which is the mega omnibus.

30:09
When I'm reading something for the first time, I like individual issues, because I kind of like the kinetic energy of switching from an ultimate Spider-Man to a saga over to a absolute Batman and then back to something like Wonder Woman. I like the feeling of different worlds because it feels like life. When I have a conversation with you, you know comic books, so you and I are going to talk in a different way. When I talk to my mom, she knows comic books from a certain time, but also listens to me rant, so I'm going to have

30:38
different keywords I hit. When I talk to my dad, we're going to go deep cut. When I talk to people at DC, they're going to know stuff I don't. We're going to talk differently. So  I feel like that's comics is I like different flavors, different energies, just because life is so different moment to moment. When I walk out of my house, I don't know who I'm going to talk to first. I like that energy in my book. So I like the weekly release model the most. Well said. Comic books is a language, for sure. All right. I got one more uh title I want to hear your thoughts on. And considering I gave you a DC title and then a Marvel one,

31:07
How about we combine them two for an amalgam? One might say, thoughts on the latest Deadpool and Batman crossover, which I've been dying to talk to someone about now that I've read it. Thoughts on it.  I think it is the future.  I don't think it's going to happen often. I don't think it should because it won't be as special, but I think it shows this stupid beef that fans and not the actual companies themselves have made this Marvel versus DC. I say it all the time.

31:35
I don't go to the Marvel store. don't go to the DC store. I go to the comic store. And this book is a beautiful amalgam of what comics can be. This book didn't feel like it was more Deadpool than Batman. It's a huge, incredible story. It felt like what if Deadpool ended up in Gotham? I got to feel the energy of Deadpool and Bruce Wayne feel authentic.  All of those crossovers like Chip Sienarski wrote that great, great Wonder Woman Captain America. That dude just finished a Batman run and he's known for his Daredevil, Spider-Man, and Howard the Duck.

32:03
That is the beauty of these stories is these writers work at both houses. Like I want Bendis to get to explore coming back to Marvel after being at DC for a long time. That's a rumor. I don't know if it's happening, but books like this show, like what if you love Deadpool and you think you love Batman because you've seen the movies and you now have this book to go, oh, I love Batman. And now you're go back to the comic store and you're gonna venture out of your shelf that you've been looking at the whole time. You're gonna find more shelves. When I read a Chip Zdarsky comic, I know I'm gonna love his indie stuff even more. Like when I look at what he's doing with

32:33
His family stuff. There's that incredible book Public Domain and it feels very contained and real.  I know I found that because I found his Spider-Man 10 years ago. I wouldn't have necessarily picked up Public Domain sight unseen. Brian K. Vaughn, like I love saga. Now I'll pick up anything literally he ever does. But I needed that weird space opera to get me there. So this book to me is, hey, you love cat, maybe you'll love Wonder Woman. Check out this story from a guy you might follow. Check out Kevin Smith writing Daredevil and Green Arrow.

33:01
Like it is, it's a jam band. It's an ultimate mashup. It's gonna introduce people to art. It's  pulling down these stupid barriers. And I think it is high art and it's so masterfully done. I love this handshake between the publishers.  As someone who's worked with Marvel extensively and who currently works at DC,  I want more of this so my job's less hard. Cause it's bullshit that people think there's this line. Oh, preach man. I feel that a hundred percent. The old time I'm reading this, I can't help but think about that infamous music video with Run DMC and Aerosmith.

33:30
where it begins where each one them is in their room, they're rocking out, they're rapping, and eventually they break down the wall and they end up performing and walk this way. That's how I feel about this particular issue. It's such a good opening shot into  setting up the next one, Batman and Deadpool. And it's like, hey, I want more of this. And I think you're right. I think it needs to be handled with care. I don't want too much of it. But  I think what I would want is maybe a more longer.

33:55
uh Beefier story maybe something a little more akin to like the JLA Avengers story from 2014 But as far as like just kind of like showing you like hey these characters work together these short little vignettes I mean like you said that Captain America Wonder Woman story was fucking incredible I mean Kevin Smith back on Daredevil, know with green arrow Adam Kuber I mean, like yo, come on even our boy Frank Miller is like hey, you know like I got two pages. I'm a jam out. Yeah, right It's like okay. This was a really this felt this was obviously like

34:24
fan service, but they brought some great stories to it for sure. And I'm looking forward to seeing them do more of it. So you want a six issue mini, you want a nice trade to grow into a narrative? Exactly, something that's a little more beefier story-wise that they could tell a little more and then still find ways to bring in more characters.  I like this vignette feel. This is a comic you could hand to someone new that is-  Anybody. Exactly. And it's like, just have some fun. This is  what comics and superhero comics specifically are for. They're for fun.

34:53
I also think, and this is from like a comic book correspondent place, it's cool to have something that feels so  landmark. This feels so important because when you look at next year's the 50th anniversary of Superman and Spider-Man, that incredible issue is 50 years old next year. Yeah, yeah. One of my favorite comics I own, yeah. I think about that and I think, okay, what was it in 76?  Who were the big guys, right? In 76, you had Chris Fariv making Superman as big as he is and you had Spider-Man all-timer, right? Like he's Spider-Man.

35:22
And then in the nineties, it was Spider-Man Batman. Now look at 2025, it's Spider-Man isn't in play, it's Deadpool Batman. So like, I love looking at it from like an archeological place.  30 years after the nineties, which is haunting, Deadpool is now in this place where he's with Batman and he's the popular one. So I just love that from that perspective too. Yeah, well said, well said.

35:43
I was gonna ask about, cause I also on last week's list was Crypto, the last dog of Krypton, but I mainly had it on this list because I was gonna pivot that into asking about James Gunn, which means I'm just gonna ask you just point blank period about James Gunn, cause you guys had him uh on this DC studios showcase, which I thought was a huge get. I mean, the video is  well over 180,000 views. uh Long form interview at that, like he's sitting down for an hour plus talking about, I think this was around the time of the Superman movie.

36:12
ah But I guess I just want to know because I feel like I have been glazing as the kids would say James Gunn all year not only because you know Superman was amazing and peacemaker is awesome But I've been I've been championing how much of a comic fan he at least online seems and I want to get confirmation from you one is he as cool in person as I think he is and secondly like  is he truly a comic fanboy like I think like like he portrays himself online Yes

36:39
And uh the dude is very open to nerding out in a way that I don't see many people that are over the age of  17. This thing happens when you stop going to high school and you just think that you're an adult now and you gotta put your big boy pants on and you lose that joy, you lose that joy to fever, you lose that childlike wonder. James has it, man. And it's really cool to experience because I get self-conscious talking to almost anyone except comic writers or artists about comic books at my full capacity.

37:09
Yeah, there's no version of me that's going to talk to even a comic store owner with the passion I have because then it's like, okay, easy, buy the book and go. Like even they're like, Hey, nerd, chill. Yeah. They're like, yeah, get out of my store. But I mean, I'm a, I'm a very passionate person about this medium because I feel like one, it is denigrated often. And two, when people hear comic book movie, they're focused on the movie. And so  I come from a place of like, well, you know, these books and I always try to like temper it a little. James  is.

37:38
the opposite. James wants to geek out. James wants to hear  all the nerdiest things you have to say. I see  moments of like gaining respect and glee when I do the deepest cut at the highest level of excitement. I'm not afraid to geek out around James and that is such a gift because that is such a rare thing. So he is such a nerd  at the Superman trailer event. I hadn't met  David or Rachel or  a number of the people that were there. I'd met James in passing over the years, but we didn't know each other.

38:05
So at this event, was the first time talking to him since I started at DC and I was like, okay, this is crazy. I just started in like November. This is a trailer event, late November, early December. This is all brand new. And this is the biggest launch trailer since like No Way Home. ah And No Way Home I actually hosted. It was me and Tom Holland hosting the No Way Home trailer for the world. Like I got to launch that trailer on YouTube, like to the world with Tom. So  this was the first time I was like, this is the guy that made it.  I'm inside the house.

38:34
I need to leave a good impression, but also he seems cool and like a nerd. So I wanted to show like you hired the right guy, but also like I want to hear from him what he's excited about. And I remember referencing um Superman for all seasons, All-Star Superman, Superman up in the sky  and  the current run of Superman at the time where Silver Banshee had just gotten together with Jimmy Olsen  all in like  a minute. I was like, and like not only was he receptive, but he was like,

39:02
All that and the John Byrne run. And he immediately was able to. He's like, see your Jeff Loeb tin sale, my friend, and raise And I made it. So yeah, dude is as nerdy as you think. He's as in,  whenever I've talked to him, we geek out over music, we geek out over comics, we geek out over movies, but he's always down.  He doesn't ever want to like, oh, gotta go to the next meeting. He never feels like a CEO that's like, oh, I just did this for the cameras. It's not the dude. So.

39:30
It's funny. I like dude enough now that when I see crap about him online, I'm like, you know, like I get like, it's, get defensive like, no, he's a good one. I got you James. Don't worry. Uh, so yeah, I'm a big fan and Peter Safran doesn't get enough love because he's not on camera. Like he's the producer that's kind of behind closed doors, but their relationship is so cool because it allows James to be so creative and Peter to be like the business guy. But Peter's such a business guy, but he's also such a nerd. So like you'll see the moment where he's like,

40:00
and the suit jacket comes off, I can talk about geek stuff. And it's really cool because I don't think he necessarily wants to be as public facing as James does, but it's cool to be working with them and see that he isn't just a suit, he's a guy that has all of this affection for the characters that happens to be one of the best creative producers out there. So I think their duo is so special because James gets to be the crazy guy on stage like me, and Peter gets to be like, I'm gonna be crazy when I can, but also like I'll present myself, like I'm also a good producer. So I love that duo and... uh

40:30
James was even cooler than I expected, to be honest. Two sides of the same coin. Yeah. The long time listeners of the show will know that in the early years of the short box, they called me Marvel botter. Marvel, Marvel, Marvel, Marvel, Marvel, Marvel. I was, I was it man. ah Obviously, you know, ended up growing up learning to love all comics. And I find it just interesting how, you know, at any given point throughout the years, especially in like the major big two major direct market publishers.

40:56
It's like, you know, it's ebbs and flows. Some years Marvel's on top. They're firing on all cylinders. Other years, you know, like we're in right now. I think I can confidently say DC  is on it, man, from the comics, you know, from the absolute line. They're all in initiative. I mean,  just some great comics being produced. They've got a cabal of some talented ass writers and artists. Then you look at obviously the movies, you know, James Gunn, you know,  the energy that he brings, Superman, Peacemaker.

41:23
But also, man, I got to give credit to what I feel is like the third pillar. And that's  DC's digital output from things like DC Studios Showcase,  their YouTube shows, uh DC High Volume, their podcasts and the audio adaptations.  think synergy gets a bad word, but I truly think that in this case, it's a good word. There's a lot of great synergy going on about, and DC feels like  they just know how to be forward-facing.

41:51
And guess I'm curious to hear  from you. Obviously, you work for the company,  say what you will. I mean, does it feel like DC in the state of DC is just in a really good,  like  one of its best places? I'm going to go from glazing my boss to glazing the company itself. I think that they are, in my personal experience, as a fan. I'll speak to this as a fan that happens to be able to look through the door, right? Like I'll speak to this as someone who's been outside going let me in to now in.

42:21
I have never seen a company that is so fan forward  and tech forward. Yes, that part. And that's so hard to balance, right? Like I've worked at,  I've worked at places that really thought they knew better. And then it was like, but we are telling you no. And then I've worked at places that are like, we've got this idea, but we don't know how to actualize it. DC feels like it's listening to the fans. It's got the right creatives in charge  and they know how to actually actualize it.

42:49
You mentioned Peacemaker and Superman, also Creature Commandos this year.  James wrote those three in a year. He did 650 pages of writing in a year. Most writers are lucky to finish  a movie  a year, if not like a two year window. This dude cranked out a full show, another full show and a movie, and it didn't sacrifice the experience of the directing itself, of building this universe out. So that is trust from the DC side. If I was DC and we just hired a CEO and he was like,

43:19
Y'all gonna do these two shows and a movie real quick. No, too much. But then you look at what actually happens. That's because they trust in James. They trust in the creative vision. They trust in these characters. And they've also got an incredible team working with James. Like the DC Studios team started really small. It's still not huge, but every single person I've worked with there  is the top of their game. I love going to work. I love filming with my DC Studios team. OBB is our production team.

43:46
And those are some of the best in the game. work with so many incredible musicians. There's like platinum plaques all over the walls. Like there's people coming in and out. They're like, Oh my God, there's like 18 security guards. But the whole time they're like laser focused on it's a DC studio showcase day. You know what? Sabrina Carpenter can wait. And that's  really special. Like that doesn't happen. You know, like the nerds don't get to go like it's Monday nerd day and they take care of us. And then DC there's the studio side and the comic side.  There's so much synergy to use, use that term that does get a bad rep.

44:15
Like Jim Lee and James Gunn actually have conversations, but it's not Jim Lee going, what character do we need to make popular in time?  Or James Gunn going, hey, write this mutant as an inhuman. Sorry, Marvel, that was a bad decision. uh But- Shots, puh-puh-puh-puh-puh-fire. I just love Kamala Khan too much to let that fly. But I think they've,  to be fair to Kamala Khan, I think Iman Milani wrote the best comic allowing that to actually work. It's just  a grace of Marvel. They hired the best actor to somehow make that transition happen.

44:44
It is a gift we got as good of Miss Marvel. But  DC has the best people in the best positions. They all trust each other and they're all actually wanting to know what the fans want. And you you said you were seen as a Marvel bot for a long time.  I was afraid to talk about DC. I've got receipts for days of me as a five-year-old in a Batman shirt, me reading a Superman comic, all these things. But I didn't feel like I could scream it from the rooftops because the fandom was so disjointed. It was so fighting itself. It was so full of animosity.

45:14
I didn't want to use my energy fighting these battles, but now that I feel like there's this beautiful overarching vision, there's a great team on the comic side. Like what the comics are coming out with right now is insane. That Tom Taylor Nightwing run,  the green arrow run that unfortunately just got canceled, I think is the best green arrow in 20 years. And all of these books are because they trust in the quality and we need the fans to go, okay, get louder, come back. Like you showed up at the box office, the movie made hand over fist, it profited.

45:42
one of the only superhero films to profit this year, if not the only.  Now it's time to like go to the comics. And that's what I want to do is get people in the stores so the whole thing can lift up. But yeah, I think DC is  at a really incredible spot. And I really hope that they, I just hope they got to like do a victory lap, like selfishly, since I know all these people, I hope a couple of them got to go like, okay, we did it. Year one, okay, breathe. And cause it's a dead sprint next year. Next year's Supergirl and Clayface  and more TV.

46:10
It's crazy what we're getting. So I hope that they got to go like, look what we did, now next. I agree. I'm here for everything you're saying. Looking at the infighting is just like, yo, none of this makes any sense. Some years, like I said, this company's on top, this company's on top. But at the end of the day, I think what you said about, hey, I don't go to the Marvel store or DC store. I go to the comic store. As comic book fans, yo, we're doing good. Like, this is good for the industry. know, like,  how often are we talking about is comics dying? We have something to celebrate and rally behind.

46:40
Like, let's put our differences aside, all right? We're all comic fans. That's the one flag we should all be waving together.  It is,  as of filming, September of 2025. And we've  had eight Marvel properties, most of which were exceptional. I don't care about the reception. I care about my experience. I had a great time with most of them. And we had three sensational DC projects this year. And that's just the warm up for one of those companies. And the other company is doing this great, like, OK.

47:09
We fell, time to get back up. And I think that there's never been a better time. People talk about the golden age of comics as like, oh, eight, because we had Nolan and Iron Man and all those things.  I agree, it was a golden age. Let's enjoy this silver age. Like we're in a new era. Let's vibe with it. And if you look at the silver age of comics, it changed the physical formatting a little bit. It changed the number of pages. It changed the tone of the books. Look what we're doing with comic book movies. We're changing the tone. We're changing the flavor. We're trusting in our audience. letting...

47:37
Superman be in his comic accurate outfit. We're letting things be comical like Fantastic Four. We're playing around with genre like Marvel zombies. This is the Silver Age of comic book movies. It's only gonna fall apart if we keep letting the narrative be that it's falling apart. Things only fail when enough people are yelling they're failing and stop showing up. I don't post bad reviews because I don't wanna be part of the problem of like,  oh, it's over. If I don't like something, I keep it to my damn self unless it's one of the top 10 uh biggest movies of the year and I feel inauthentic to my fans to not comment on it.

48:06
But if it's like a mid-level thing, who am I that can't make a movie to shit on a movie? The problem is these giant movies people want to hate on, and then the people that would have shown up Thursday, Friday, Saturday are like, oh, I heard it was bad. I'll catch it on streaming. Movies can't sustain themselves on your $7 streaming service that five of you share, guys. It's not going to get made. like- Coi, jeez, you could just call me out by name. I'm right here. It scares me that people are like, I'll wait till streaming. I'm like, Disney went up again, even though they lost $4 billion.

48:36
That scares me that Disney feels like they're in a position they need to raise the price, because that's going to scare people off. And then if people are waiting on streaming, they're not going to see it at all. And Marvel Zombies, for example, that came out today, slaps. That is  such a good movie show. I hate that they released it as a chunk. It's weird. But  it's  so exceptional. And I feel like because of the way people talk about these properties, people aren't even giving it a chance when it's streaming, much less paying for it in theaters.

49:02
So I think we need to turn the narrative around or we're all doomed and we lose all this stuff. To add to it, something I always preach here, you gotta vote with your wallets. 100%. vote with your wallets. And also really quick, you reminded me, you know, talking about, hey, if I don't like something, I just don't put it out there. It always reminds me of one of my favorite lines from Common, the rapper on the song, The Sixth Sense. He says, if I don't like it, I don't like it. That don't mean that I'm hating, you know? Excellent Common reference. We'll sneak into Jules Santana. We will. We'll do it. Tip set.

49:31
On the topic of DC Studio Showcase, can I also give a shout out to your co-host, Frankie Smith and Tyler Coats, who are all phenomenal. think you three together have such a really, just a phenomenal just chemistry together. I love how Frankie will kick off every episode of like a really fun icebreaker question. Tyler is, I just love like, I'll kind of like, no pun intended, like kind of like reserved and coy he is. And then, you you bring like just that fandom and that energy. I think you guys work off each other so well.

49:59
And it's a refreshing show. mean, when you guys do your interviews, it's like equal parts informative. It's what do they call it? Infotainment. It's like informational and entertaining. So I'm glad to hear that you have such a great experience. And the guest that you guys have had on is like killer. Well, we just got nominated, man, for a single award. The Webbies. Yeah, of course. Come on. The podcast equivalent of the Webbies, the same team. That team nominated us for best host team.  So we're up us me, Frankie Tyler. So.

50:28
If you guys are watching this, head on over to  For sure, man. You deserve that. Big shout out to the team. So check out Signal. You guys can vote. It's just plug your email in and vote. And uh we're up against like Shae Shae and some big names, but  I want it. So go vote for us over at Signal. I'm just honored to. I know they all say it when people get nominated, but I am so honored to be nominated. It is really special for a comic book based property to get that kind of love. So thank you. For sure. You know what, Corey, I want to go in and dive into the  I would feel remiss and I would be doing Olivia a disservice.

50:58
who set up this interview, shout out to Olivia, if I didn't get to finally talk about DC high volume Batman, what's really cool real quick, if you're watching the video, you've already probably noticed this, but audio listeners, me and Koi are both wearing what I'm assuming is our favorite Batman shirts right now. My man has got a Batman animated, oh that shirt is fire, Batman animated series, and I've got me a little Dark Knight action Oh, that is dope, dude. Yeah.

51:22
Alright, DC High Volume,  Batman, for those that might not be familiar, it is a podcast that I believe launched this year. It is  a audio adaptation. They started with  Batman  year one.  And Koi, the difference here is people hear audio adaptations. They might maybe be thinking about some of the audio  podcasts or audio books. But this one is like a,  High Volume is a super faithful adaptation. Can you fill in the gaps? What makes DC High Volume so special compared to like other?

51:51
comic podcasts and comic book audio dramas? It is word for word. And I've said this and people have clapped back a little. I said the first of its kind. And I think people think I'm like, they've never adapted Batman to audio. It's not. It is the first word for word adaptation. So I love Long Halloween. I love the Long Halloween animated movie. I love that people that don't read comics now can hear it precisely as written. So when they're making the soundscapes, they're looking at panels.

52:20
When they're having the actors in the booth, they're reading the comic, emoting. So they do scripting and stuff, obviously, for, you know, if someone walks into frame  or uh an action has to happen where there's like a slight change of dialogue, so you understand that like there's a gun in his hand versus like you see the gun. Like those elements are very creatively written. So there are writers on the show, but it is adapting Jeff Loeb. It is adapting the art style, but for your ears of Tim Sale. It's crazy.

52:50
There are moments in year one where I hear what I imagine Muzzicelli's style would sound like  in a radio play.  like, uh example, year one is one of my favorite Batman stories ever. And I think it is one of the best Jim Gordon stories ever. I would argue that Jim Gordon, we've adapted like commissioner Gordon a ton and he still slapped off. Like commissioner Gordon is such a good character that there is no moment where I feel like he gets his flowers like more Jim Gordon love. There's a moment in year one where,  uh,

53:19
Slight spoilers for a comic from 30 years ago  there's a moment where his baby is stolen and he's the baby is thrown off a bridge  and the audio  of what they did  is The most cinematic thing I've ever experienced with Jim Gordon and I love Gary Oldman. I love Jeffrey Wright this delivery from year one Gave me a completely new context to a comic that I have memorized like I could tell you what frames are where and like I can play it my head

53:48
But this radio experience, this audio experience is so cinematic, it added depth even to characters and books I know and love like the back of my hand. I'm so honored to be a part of it because it is another layer. It's another medium for comic books in such a special way. If you can believe it, there is one level more of like fully integration. And that's if you grab the actual comic and read along with it, which I actually did. love doing that. Which I did a couple of days ago. My buddy Drew, he's in the process of moving. So I've been getting.

54:16
all this dope shit. He's got just as much dope shit, a bunch of comics like I do. And he found a copy of the original Batman year one graphic novel from the 80s, the first edition printing. He gave it to me, and I was like, oh, I know exactly what I'm doing. Fired up DC high volume Batman. I think I skipped ahead a little bit because I was like, let me see just how faithful this adaptation is. Like you said, word.

54:41
for freaking word. Now,  and what I love too is that  in some instances where maybe there isn't anything being said or no verbal  or any dialogue happening, there is a little bit of a verbal cue to let you know like, hey, know, Batman is putting on his,  whatever, his gloves right now. And I do find that really impressive. it's like you can enjoy the podcast without having the comic by your side, especially if you're familiar with it. I think like that's really the way to go. But reading it alongside, you're right, it's just something about

55:10
just how freaking nice the sound production is on that podcast. and you guys have went from,  I mean, you guys have adapted a lot more stories than I thought. You started with Batman Year One, that was a multi-part series.  You guys completed Long Halloween, Now You're in Dark Victory. Was that roadmap conscious, do you know? Yeah, those three were all uh made  with the intent of together. They weren't made at the same time, but that was a map of  a journey of that arc, because I consider those three.

55:39
uh a three act structure almost like they tie together beautifully. ah I can't say what's next, but I can tell you what's next is another beautiful journey that ties together in much the same way. Like if you want to phase one, that phase two is just as elaborate and that is  so exciting and fun. And there's so much really cool stuff coming. And I got to help with some of the processes of a certain actor coming on board that I'm really excited about. And I'm really excited for this. Like I'm now part of the team. So I get to like,

56:07
know what's coming and this is the most excited I've been for a certain person's take on a character now that I know where they're going. So  I listen to it in three different ways. So depending on the issue,  I like to sit in silence and like throw on headphones and have like the spatial chaos. um Sometimes I like to drive and listen to it because it gets me like time to pass and I'm like feeling like Batman driving through alleys. um And then I'm also a big, we were talking right before air, but I'm a huge vinyl guy. Like I'm a big high fidelity guy.  I have four and a half

56:36
standing Kath speakers. ah I'm like one of those. Yeah, I'm like a they're preposterous. They're like the Lamborghini of speakers. And so  when it's a big climactic issue, I'll sit in front of them like the Maxwell cassette ad and just be like,  by Dark Victory or like a certain moment. But like quick plus 10 points for referencing one of my favorite fucking ads in the world that Maxwell ad is like, you know, it's like that's that is how I experience music in my house.

57:05
That's how I listened to Long Halloween, dude, when it came together. You know the scene of the orchestra merging? I just listened in front of my speakers like, shut up, It was amazing. Yeah, and I guess to go back to what you were saying about just DC firing what feels like an all cylinders, especially the tech side, the social media, the digital offering. DC High Volume comes at, it comes on top of all of these other really great audio drama.

57:32
DC podcast, right? Like I think Batman Unburied,  think there was a Harley Quinn one.  Obviously Marvel had a couple of really dope ones too, like Wolverine audio drama. So it's cool to see comic books. You know, like it is such a visual medium that I think sometimes you don't,  I think fans might not appreciate the,  or even foresee like the audio potential. And something like DC High Volume, I think really shows you just how well-rounded comic books are, how they can be adapted into

58:02
a live action show or a big budget movie or a really  well produced audio drama or audio book, et cetera. I think that's what piques my interest a lot for DC High Volume is just that it is a different way of approaching  these stories, at least for me, for us, these stories that we've read probably hundreds of time, but experiencing it this way, you learn to appreciate it in a different way. And something you just said about like, this is what David Mazza Kelly's style would sound like. I'm still like chewing on that thought.

58:31
And I want to give some flowers to three people over at DC High Volume. uh There are two guys that I work with at both DC High Volume and DC Studio Showcase that know so much about comics that if  I mispronounce a name or reference an issue, I'm like, it'll be like, well, that was the right issue, but it's because they appeared in the last panel. They'll know, be like, most people would think it's the next issue. Like these guys are so tuned in and they're also responsible for the audio stuff. So Mike Pilata and Victor Diaz, these two dudes.

59:00
Encyclopedias in a way that I don't feel like I have to lean on them But I feel like if there was a net they are the nets like if I'm falling they got me and I love the dudes for it like I had such a hard time saying Frank quietly because I know it's quietly but it looks like quietly for like Mike would just in and be like quietly and I'm like I know but like those and those are the guys that get all this audio stuff done like they did Batman and buried like I just want to give them their love and then this guy Roshan he is responsible for the the sheer

59:28
audacity of making this sound so professional. Like he's the guy that's making sure every level, like there are great directors working on this. are great producers, scriptwriters. This dude Roshan is like this master equalizer running things. And I'm just so impressed with the team. And that's again, why I think DC is where they are is everyone I've worked with is just the top of their game. Yeah. The top of the game. it sounds like very passionate. And I think that that's coming through in a lot of the work real quick, your role  aside, it sounds like from consultant being involved with some of the behind the scenes stuff, but also

59:55
I guess forward-facing as it comes before an audio podcast. But  in the same feed for DC High Volume, uh sometimes they'll inject interviews that you host where you're talking to  the cast, the voice actors,  the production team. But also, you'll sprinkle in interviews with comic royalty. think you had like Jeff Loeb.  Which I'm like, yo, that's like one of those white whale interviews.  I was listening to your interview with Mark, what's his name, Chiarello.

01:00:22
So the DC Comics art director and editor of Batman Dark Victory.  And I guess I got to say, what's it like for you to see these two worlds of audio and visual storytelling come together and be in the middle of curating these conversations between  these  players  of both these worlds?  It's surreal because I also, in addition to all the jobs you so lovingly expressed at the top of this, I also host four or five major cons a year and run a lot of their panels.

01:00:52
So I had worked with Jeff Loeb on panels with Arthur Adams. I'd hosted his panels at New York Comic Con. So I had met these guys in very specific settings where it was just about like, this property is gonna be 50 % of the interview, the other 50 % can be like me geeking out over their history. What this show allows is the deepest deep dive into one singular story, which is what I wanna do. I'm a James Lipton guy. I wanna go  crazy minutiae into the thing.

01:01:19
So with Jeff Loeb, for example, it's insane to get to talk so deeply about what the long Halloween was inspired by and which  people inspired this and to hear all this lore. And then to talk to Chiarello, who's from  an era that I've only conceived of, like art direction in the 70s and 80s DC. My brain is like, how is this? It's so historic and it's so like holy that it's so weird to talk to someone that had anything to do with it. So like Jeff Loeb is already like a deity of comics, but it's like.

01:01:48
You know, that came out in a time friend that seems realistic. Whereas like art director for, you know, Neil Adams, you're like, how did you talk to?  It's just so it's an honor. And they're both uh they're both bigger nerds than I expected. Like I know a lot of people when you work in something for too long, you lose the passion. Like I I have to read comics for fun every couple of months. I have to read something that's like  Bendis's Ultimate Spider-Man Volume One. I have to just read it  just for me so I can remember why I do the 50 comics that are work.

01:02:18
And I'm always afraid I'll lose that, oh, I still love this. And these guys are 50 year veterans.  I was so afraid that I wouldn't see that spark and I'd be disenfranchised because I want to geek out and they'll be like, you know, I was a day at the office. There was never a day at the office moment with any of these dudes. And it was so cool to hear about running into Mike McNeil in a hallway and the stories of that and then be like, oh, I did Mike McNeil's Hellboy panel. And we got to catch up on stories. And it was just geeking out and some of it is filmed. And that's the coolest job you can hope for.

01:02:48
Still on the topic of DC High Volume, I wanna know, has the series changed the way that you view the character Batman or the mythos of Batman? Like, do you appreciate it in a different way, having the experience of like, getting to interview some of the creators, but then also like, you know, revisiting the stories? Like, how has working on DC High Volume changed your relationship with Batman? There was a moment when I was talking to Batman, and I wasn't talking to the actor, and it was a really interesting moment because I have certain Batman in my mind that I can see.

01:03:17
But I can't see this audio Batman. It's only how I perceive him.  And since it's not a drawing and it's not an actor, it's this really cool piece of raw imagination. And the epiphany I had thanks to DC High Volume is of course there's a Batman voice. Of course there's a Bruce Wayne voice. And of course there's a voice that Bruce Wayne would have in his head and that those are three voices. I've always had that idea. I've always thought it was cool that there's probably  a different voice in Bruce Wayne's head than the two facades he has. What I didn't consider  is that

01:03:47
He would have to develop that voice and normalize it So when you're finding your vatma batman voice as an actor you're finding it But also as a character that you're putting on to intimidate you're finding it So how do you hear yourself and through year one? I was like, oh, this is like Bruce Wayne navigating this fluctuation of tone This is the actor finding it and and that was such a concept I never considered because we see how many origins of Batman. I'm so sick of pearls pearls again. Come on oh

01:04:17
Wayne? Like,  I think the closest we got isn't in a very good movie, but it's in a very interesting movie.  I think Batman Forever and what Val Kilmer was doing was such an interesting look at psychology.  I think Michael Keaton definitely knew that he's an unhinged broken billionaire. I think that George Clooney was like, making a McDonald's commercial. Val Kilmer was in this beautiful sweet spot, and I think some of the most interesting psychology of Batman visually is in some of those alone Val Kilmer moments.

01:04:44
And I feel like DC High Volume gave me that kind of visual where I could see like a giant eight foot bat. know, like that psychology is so visual when it's in your own imagination. And I've really enjoyed like hearing a score and being like, of course that's what Catwoman sounds like. Or like the Joker coming in and you're like, that's the energy entering a room and it's all up here. So I think I have a different appreciation for Batman because  I've always considered, and this is my own headcanon, DC not signing off on this. uh I've always considered Batman's villains to be

01:05:13
the representation of the broken parts of his psyche that he's trying to fix.  I don't see it as like, you know, he's in a room and everyone's dead six cents. Like I'm not saying their imagination, but I am saying like Harvey Dent to me represents what if Bruce Wayne used his money to get into politics and thought he could do the right thing. Joker to me is the obvious what if he had no rule, but then there's things like Mr. Freeze.  I see Nora  as the same passionate love Bruce Wayne has for Gotham. So his fighting.

01:05:41
Mr. Freeze is him struggling to accept that he's fighting this thing he can never get back like Nora and his Gotham. And that's how I see the characters. So when I hear like an orchestra suite and what Sam brought to those suites, I get to go like, that's the sound of my weird head canning.  And I can't get that from a comic because it's so audio based. I mean, you're talking to a 13, 14 year podcaster. So I'm very biased when I say that, but I think  the power of podcasting, it is such a intimate  medium.

01:06:09
where you are literally asking people to stick your voice in their head. Like these headphones, I'm speaking to our listeners right now, directly into their head. And when you think of something like a well-produced show, like a high volume, it does, I don't know, it's a different interaction. like, it just stimulates your brain in a different way with these characters. And to your point, not only are they in your head, but they do force you to view them in a different way. And maybe like how you, sometimes it might,

01:06:37
you know, enhance what you thought of this concept of this character or give you a different perspective. DC High Volume is like the sister to comic books between the panels for me. So when I read a comic book, what I love is that the space between the panels, I'm not just the writer, I'm not just the director, I'm not just the actor. I am all of those things cinematically appear. That space between the panels is mine. What I love about High Volume is it is that energy, but with someone guiding me.

01:07:05
So I get the same imagination, the same up here, but there's a bit of a frame around it. So I don't think it's better or worse. I think it's a companion. And that's what I think is so beautiful about either reading it or not reading it, about listening in the car or listening in headphones. Like it's a really special medium. Well said. Cori, if there was an opportunity to adapt another  famous DC comic story  and give it the high volume treatment, what else comes to mind for you? I got a few myself. I want to hear from you first.  I would love to hear what.

01:07:32
the Kent farm sounds like in Superman for all seasons.  That euphoria, that swelling of emotion, that sheer energy. ah So that's gotta be up there.  I would love to hear Hush,  because I would love to hear like the bombastic aggression of all those villains like coming at you. Long Halloween is something similar, but I feel like as Batman evolves his villains get more angry and like that would be so intense. ah I would love to hear Mr. Miracle adapted in any way possible.

01:08:01
Mr. Miracle is my favorite DC comic of all time. ah think it is  such an interesting way to modernize the new gods the fact that you've got a guy in LA struggling with existential crises and you've got like big part of you've also got grainy goodness like that book is crazy. So anyway, I digest it like yeah, like dark side is I want to hear right? Like what is that ominous absence of sound after that period drops? So that would be up there. uh I think the one I want adapted into film most is Animalman, but I don't know if Animalman would work.

01:08:31
Animal Man was  the top of my pick for an audio drama because you know, it's like, okay,  if we're talking about,  you know, focusing on sound production and, you know, uh uh, audio, it's like Animal Man, like the, the, opportunity there to adapt so many different animal sounds and play into like that, the nature aspect, the, do they call it? Like Swamp Thing's got the green and Animal Man's got the, what is it, the red or something like that? uh

01:08:56
So yeah, Animal Man was top of my list. I think Kingdom Come, same reason for which brought up for Hush, just that like that big cinematic feel to it.  I would love to see like how you're saying like David Mazza Kelly, what does his art sound like? I'd be very curious to see what is Alex Ross interpretation through audio, right?  A lot of strings.  Yeah,  a  lot of strings, a lot of horns. And I think if I had to pick a Batman one,  Batman Arkham Asylum.

01:09:23
because I think you could do.  Oh yeah, dude. You could really lean into like the horror kind of elements to it. Into all of those, cosigned.  And then at the end of the first volume of Animal Man, Grant Morrison knocks on your door.  Oh, wait.  That's crazy.  All right, right, I got uh maybe two more questions for you. But you mentioned,  you know, wanting, uh having to take moments where you're like, hey, I need to go back, read comics, be remind, you know, fun comics, be reminded why I love this thing.  And among my research, I found your letter box.

01:09:52
and it says that your favorite films are Fight Club, Matrix, Inbredges, is that how say it? Inbredges. Bruges. Bruges, thank you.  And then Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. I wanna know for you, Gutser, since that's four slots, on the comic book side, if you had to make a Mount Rushmore of your favorite comic books, what would be on that list? I'm gonna go with the Ultimate Spider-Man I mentioned earlier, because I think that is the most approachable and beautiful  reintroduction of one of the most iconic characters of all time.

01:10:20
I'm gonna go,  oh man, I'm gonna go Mr. Miracle, the Tom King, Mr. Odds Run. ah It really just blew my mind that that could exist. um I'm gonna do volume one of Saga or omnibus one of Saga if I'm allowed to go, like that first omnibus of Saga changed how I see the medium of comic books. Like it is so eye-opening. You can introduce a character in one panel and then kill them in the next. You're like, my best friend!

01:10:51
crazy what that comic accomplished. Like it is so intense. On that topic, you you brought up like the golden age of comics.  I generally feel that when Saga came out, you know, it was around the time,  like it was Image Comics, I think like second Renaissance, you know, Saga, Deadly Class, um a couple other,  Black Science, right? The Rick Rementer joint. Yeah, Deadly, thank you, Deadly Class. Like Saga T. Yeah, Black Science was around then,

01:11:17
Yeah, Saga to me encapsulates this period of comic books and for image especially. So great choice. Yeah, it'd be on the Mount Rushmore for sure. And then what's your fourth? So yeah, I was trying to go a different publisher for each to stick with my like, I'm a man of all publishers because I really think that's important. um I think  fourth, you know what, let's go Department of Truth. uh

01:11:42
I want to go because those are all pretty light. Actually, they get darker. OK. Those are all they get darker. But Department of Truth is a comic that, you know, The Matrix is one of my four favorite movies and it changed my sense of reality. Department of Truth is so good. I've had anxiety attacks reading it. I've literally had that moment when like, I don't know if the listeners have had anxiety attacks, but like there's this like palm sweaty look around like I don't like how I feel. And Department of Truth, I've been like,

01:12:11
Yo, but what if I believed in something enough that became true right now? Like I've had that  enough people believe in Sasquatch, he could walk by. What if I'm the tipping point? Like it changed my psychology of belief because we have seen in science that there are cells that act differently when observed. We've seen that like mass hysteria can be over nothing that actually happened. And media is changing how we perceive our reality in real time. Department of Truth feels like the next logical step of that. Like what if there's this conspiratorial group

01:12:40
that is in control of controlling how we think so it doesn't become real. And that really messed me up. it's not like, you know, I think an easy answer would have been a Batman hush or your one or these comics that I love, but I really wanted to go four different tones. And I think Ultimate Spider-Man for its approachability and its joy  and Spider-Man's my guy. I think I'm going to go, you know, Mr. Miracle to show DC strength of being grounded and also balloon. But yeah, all four are such different things. And an honorable fifth mention would be the good, bad and the ugly with Deadpool. um

01:13:10
Deadpool's story with Wolverine in Captain America where uh they go to North Korea and they discover uh basically  evil where people are using the healing factor of Wolverine in Deadpool to  do horrible things to these people in a concentration camp. It's the heart of Deadpool that no one talks about with all the comedy from a broken place.  That's my honorable mention, That was a one hell of an honorable mention.  I've seen this cover so many times.

01:13:40
And I mean, I'm looking at the lineup. So how have I not read this? got a Posein, Gary Duggan,  think Scott Koblish, that's his name. Yep. And Declan Sheldon. on. right. Got to read that, man. Six issues. You know,  hearing you talk about Department of Truth, I'm like, you know what, Corey, I'm just going to take your word for it because I remember when Department of Truth dropped. I want to say Department of Truth dropped the same  month, give or take one or two months or a couple of weeks, when like the lockdowns happened. And it was just too much for me. I think I read issue one. It's a lot.

01:14:09
Not right now, buddy. So I might have to go back. almost went something is killing the children to hit boom up instead of image. So something is killing the children is like right there to close six. Doing four is hard. A 20 would be hard, but four was impossible. But yeah, I really want to know what you think of Good, and the Ugly Men. No, I'm gonna check that out. That was a fantastic list, Koi. One last question for you, Koi, before we wrap up. What piece of advice would you give to someone that is listening, that is in this space, whether they're a journalist, a podcaster, et cetera, that

01:14:37
that maybe you would give to your younger version of you, know, knowing all that you know now, if you could go back in time and give advice to a young boy who was trying to break in that might've made his life easier. What would you say to him? If you're not willing to do it for free, you don't love it as much as you think you do. But  once you start getting paid, never  ever undervalue yourself again. So do it for free, be willing to do it for free, love it so much that you can do it for free, but

01:15:06
Hold that in here and then make sure that if people can get away with not paying you, they will. So make sure that you stand up for yourself and know your value. So give yourself value, build up your value, do it for 10 years if it takes it. I  mean, I've been doing this since my first solo show. I had my own show that didn't play very well, so I had to have a day job and two other jobs. But I was doing this since the first images of Falcon came out for Winter Soldier professionally. And that was like 15 years ago.

01:15:35
It's a journey, but I always built value. So you need to be willing to do it for free to build that value, to build those connections, to build your skill, to build all of the things. But once you're at a tipping point, keep doing it for free, keep building value, but know your worth so that way someone doesn't take advantage of you, because that will also happen. So you need to have those two sides. You need to have the devil and the angel on your shoulders at all times. The angel that's willing to do it for free and the devil that goes like, yeah, but we gotta eat, because you'll burn out and you gotta pay rent. And once you're at the point where you can,

01:16:04
stand up for that. Like I'll do jobs for free still, but I don't think that I should want that anymore. But I also want to be the guy that's willing to like that hunger has to be in there. So that balance is the trick. That was a fantastic piece of advice. Over that being said, ladies and gents, this is the short box podcast and we just finished talking to Koi Jondro about his role  all over the place. All right. He's on DC studios showcase. He is on DC  high volume Batman.  And  obviously he's a great follow on Instagram. If you love

01:16:33
finding new comic books. I will have links to all of this stuff, all right? In these show notes, you can check it out from there.  Koi, do you have any parting words, any shameless plug before we wrap up?  I hunt down my YouTube, I do long form stuff there. So the comics that we talked about on Instagram where there's that nine or 10 like polls, I do a breakdown on a live stream every week of those books. So the same way I just broke them down here, you can get a video of that. So if you wanna bring it to your comic store and go like these ones, little definition of like why I love them and that way you know if it's for you.

01:17:01
So I do a live stream every week where I talk about all the biggest movie news and comic news, but it's from the comic book lens. So all those Spider-Man images that came out, I reference like Bushema and like certain artists that would be referenced in that like paparazzi photo in Galway. So I'm trying to bring the nerddom into the mainstream, but use the big news to bring people into the page. So hunt me down on YouTube. I do movie reviews, TV reviews, lots of comic stuff, but it is a very comic centric page as well as like I just put out my one battle after another review today. Like there's lots of everything.  You can also have me down on Real Rejects and most of these DC shows that I love.

01:17:30
And I wanna plug one comic before I leave.  You guys get the exclusive, my favorite comic of this week. Before I drop it, I loved Quick Stop Volume 3, number two. Kevin Smith wrote one of the most heartfelt pieces of anything I've ever seen Kevin write, and that man is pure heart. So saying that, I could not, that couldn't be higher praise. That man is all heart. He wrote a comic that is a love letter to Shannon Doherty. And the first half of the comic is a true story of Kevin and Shannon Doherty from 95.

01:17:58
And then the second half of the comic is the first scene of what would have been her scene in Twilight of the Mallrats. So  we lost Shannon Doherty last year. Mallrats is why I got into this business. Mallrats and Kevin Smith are the reason that I do any of this that I do.  I never thought we'd um know the role Shannon would have had. It's a really beautiful comic. It's really beautiful to see Kevin use the medium of comics to tell a story that would never be able to be told otherwise.  And it's a peek into how much of a pure heart man Kevin is. And it references Animalman.

01:18:27
in the comics. yeah, check out Quick Stop Volume 3, Issue 2 from Dark Horse Comics. That's my favorite comic of this week. Just came out yesterday. It's gonna be hard to find.  So hunt it down ASAP.  There we go. A man of the people, Corey, you've been fantastic. This uh is definitely a runner up for one of my favorite conversations this year. And I hope to have you back some other time to chop it about comics, man. You've been great. 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.

01:18:57
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01:19:22
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01:19:53
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01:20:22
Walter Gant,  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.