Bonus Interviews from New York Comic Con: The Future of IDW Comics & NYCC Day 2 Recap - The Short Box Podcast 

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intro music plays

00:28
Yo, short box nation. It's your boy, Badr, coming to you live from New York Comic Con. I'm attempting to do some man on the con floor interviews. We'll see how that goes. I'm winging it for the most part, but I did have something scheduled today. Thanks to the good folks at IDW. I'm sitting here with Gregg Katzman, who is the senior publicity manager and Aub Driver, who is the VP of marketing. They were kind enough to give me a couple minutes of their time to talk about all the great things going on at IDW. Gentlemen, how are we doing today? Golden.

00:57
Doing great. Thanks for chatting with us.  I have one mic between the three of us. So,  yeah, we are recording live. So you know how those live recordings go. We got a little bit of Nat sound, a little bit of ambiance. Like I said, we're live from New York Comic Con. And I guess I want to start off with you and ask maybe the most basic question. What the hell does a VP of marketing do in the comic book business?  Oh, man. You're like, I'm trying to figure that out myself. Oh, God, how long do you have?

01:24
VV Marketing is a lot  of different things. We wear lot of hats in comics. uh So there's many spinning plates, obviously. The deadlines never end and the publishing keeps going. so  my biggest role is to keep those plates spinning. so overseeing what we do in marketing, whether that's social media  and managing  all the different platforms that we're on, as well as the content that we're pushing out every day,  as well as the amazing press that we're after talking about our books and getting out and pushing. oh

01:53
wider and  out into the world  with that or  managing big events like this.  That's another one too. So,  got a great team here  and great team underneath me. so basically making sure everybody's,  everybody's running in the same direction  and those plays don't fall. Can I say, I was telling Greg that this booth looks amazing. Audio listeners, obviously there's no visuals here, but I'll try to post some videos of what I took.

02:21
There's tables.  There's a  ton of books out here. Yeah, no, the graphics look great. You guys are like within earshot of the DC booth, the Mad Cave booth. And I guess, you know, a little bit of shameless promo. Let's go to hype up IDW for a second. What does IDW do so much better than other publishers in your opinion?  Oh, man. Come on. Licensed comics. I mean, you know, we are the we are the, you know.

02:48
The publisher out there that has some of the biggest IPs  and we handle them extremely well. Co-sign on that. Greg, what do you think about that?  Anything to add, Greg? I think there are a number of things that IDW does very well, just like a number of other publishers across the industry also do very well. We all have very different strengths.  Look, I'm not going to trash talk any other publisher because I'm a fan of

03:14
No, like I'm a fan at the end of the day. Like I'm reading stuff from all the other publishers. I like stuff from all the other publishers. But  what uh I do agree with, that like licensed comics are really great here. Like  I've never seen  such  support and hype and creativity behind like the Turtles line. ah I was a fan when IDW released TMNT number one. I remember going to a comic shop in New Jersey called ANS Comics and picking that up and loving it. How it felt like familiar.

03:44
but also new and fresh. And I think IDW does a really good job, whether it's a licensed property or original, just making the most of it. I mean, like a great example is Event Horizon. We're doing a prequel for that. Like, I don't think anyone ever saw that coming, but Christian Ward and Tristan Jones are knocking out of the park and Paramount's been tremendously supportive in that. So also, I guess interviews with Shortbox, where we're better than other publishers. Greg is not only modest,

04:10
But Greg is a fine publicist right there. That was an A plus response, my man. Extremely diplomatic. That's why I keep around.  Greg, that was a really good answer. And I guess  I want to kind of piggyback off that and ask you, what is your earliest memory of either IDW or your earliest comic book memory? Like, do you remember the comic book that you picked up that made you, you know, like, hey, I'm going to be a fan of this forever?  Yeah, my comic book memory  is that

04:40
I mean,  I'll circle back to the IDW one, but my comic book memory was uh growing up uh in Connecticut and there was a local deli that had a wire rack in it.  And I remember picking up, uh it's a toss up because they happened at the exact same time, but it was either like, was the maximum carnage run or it was the death of Superman arc in the, and that iconic cover, you know, that's, uh

05:09
you know, just everybody, everybody had it. And so I remember reading the other Superman and that just turned me on to this insane world of like, you know, but this is also like  90s where anything goes and like, OK, we're going to kill off Superman, but we'll give you four other Superman in its place or whatever. Say they were like Maximum Carriage where it was like, this book is wacky. It's going all over the place. I got to read this one. Then I got to jump to this series. And then, oh, there's this one over here. And like there, where's the continuity? But.

05:37
You know, that kind of got me in the door and then I realized, oh,  I'm not really reading comics for the words of them. I'm reading it for the art. And then I realized I was a huge art fan and I started collecting based on art. ah And  that's kind of like, you know, where it kicked off. No. And then I was going to say IDW, the IDW book I got turned onto  originally, I think it was  the adaptation of, pretty sure it Silent Hill.

06:05
that came out, was like probably a decade ago. uh But again, like, you know, it goes back to that license thing where like these license come in and out and there is, yeah, this crazy Silent Hill book that I remember reading because I was obsessed with games. I still am, but if you haven't played the Redux in Silent Hill 2, it's incredible.  I have a follow-up question. I have a follow-up question. So, Ob saying, you know, art is what sold them. So, Butter, I'm wondering, why do you think IDW has better art than any other publisher?

06:34
Because you have, there is no other publisher that has Patrick Horvath on the team, all right?  That is true.  Patrick is the man,  and we're very excited. know,  nominated for Book of the Year this year for the Harvey Awards on Friday. So fingers crossed. But yeah, that book has done tremendous for us. So I mean, you know, if you haven't read it, it's,  you're late to the game. But we're midstream in the second series now. Yeah. And so it's, uh yeah, how could you go wrong with an adorable book?

07:04
That's basically one half Richard Scarry's busy town and one half Dexter. Adorable creatures in the forest, but in real life, anthropomorphic creatures that's killing each other off. I will also add Freddie Williams III now doing the new TMNT run. I mean, you guys have a great roster of talented writers and artists. And I guess on the topic of art, sitting at this booth, I was telling Greg, I love the graphics, I love the use of the actual art from the comics, et cetera. And I'm curious.

07:33
How much planning goes into something like New York Comic Con? Why is it important to be here in person when I'm,  do I have another hour for you guys for IDW? can make another hour, but curious how much planning went into this and then, know, what is the, why is it important to be here face front with everyone? So events are a really interesting thing, especially a Comic Con like this, which is, you know, so engrossing and all encompassing.  I have worked uh cons for,

08:03
for many, years. I think this is my 13th New York Comic Con. previously I worked at Dark Horse, and so I did  cons with them back in the day when they attended. uh But with IDW specifically,  this is really about providing excellent fan service. We have great signings with all of our talent. We bring them out. We make sure that the talent are then taken care of, the fans have a good time with it. They are able to access the artists, writers that they maybe love or uh are starting to fall in love with.

08:32
you know, get into new and interesting books that we've got. And then on the other side of that, we are, you know, delivering exclusives. So we've got exclusive covers across, well, books here in this right now. So, I mean, the exclusive part of this is obviously that's the other thing is, you know, a New York Comic Con type of experience or a San Diego Comic Con type of experience is really about having been there. And, you know, and a lot of folks are after those types of exclusives and having that ability to, you know, attain

09:01
one of something of a thousand,  which is the print run on all of our exclusives. So that's a pretty big piece of it too, because it's not cheap to exhibit at New York Comic Con. uh The numbers that go into this are pretty wild. And then when you multiply it across  all these different vendors that are out here, uh it gets extraordinary. ah And then you see somebody like a Bandai Namco with...

09:27
five different booths that are like 40 by 50. And then my mind explodes with that. know,  jeez, I wish I had that marketing budget. know, I and you bring up marketing, I kind of want to maybe get a little inside baseball and Greg, I'll start with you. But how does marketing fit in the in the ecosystem that is comics? Like, you know,  I think when people think marketing and comics, you know, I think some folks will boil it down to like, hey, there's a comic book, buy it. But

09:55
Obviously, we know there's way more nuance to that. Could you, guess, give us a little breakdown in terms of like how you see marketing fits into the, you know, the comic book ecosystem? I think you covered it with, there's a comic, buy it. What's your next question? No, for real, man. Like my role is publicity. So I work closely with press and creators to make sure that I'm doing what I can to celebrate their work and the comic during key periods. Like when are we announcing it to make the most impact? How are we generating buzz ahead of preorder?

10:24
deadlines and what are we offering to show people that, this comic is worth your hard-earned money. It's by these people who are doing great work. And then, of course, for the on-sale date and then ongoing promotions. And for me, I work primarily with press. And I think that's really important, not only to make sure I'm doing what I can to celebrate the comics and the creators, but also making sure press have access to then form their own opinions and take their own approach to it. You know, do they want to get early access so they can start thinking about different editorials they could write?

10:53
Do they want to do interviews? Do they want to do early reviews? Do they want preview pages? Or maybe they just want access because they're doing their own thing. And it's my job to make sure they have everything they need to be aware of our presence in a very crowded industry. There's a lot of cool stuff going on. I mean, just look around like any direction, you're going to see a lot of cool stuff with comics. So you have to constantly step it up every single week.

11:18
to make sure we're making as much noise as possible and making sure people know about our comics that are coming out. ah And then once they have access to those comics, you know, it's about respecting their opinions from there. Like you, for example, if you tell me, Greg, I'm glad Beneath the Trees is doing well, but honestly, man, not my thing. I'm not gonna be like, oh, I guess you're never getting an interview again, dude. Like it doesn't work that way. No, I respect your opinion. As long as it's like constructive criticism, that's no problem at all.  That's your job as press. It's my job to make sure.

11:46
You have everything you need to that form your opinions and celebrate if you want to provide insight if you want to or do something else.  Well said. on that topic of that, I would like to talk about personal victories. You you guys talk about the nuances that go, the work that goes into it, you know, the all encompassing things that that make up marketing. What is the last initiative  or project, whatever it may be, uh that has come out from IDW that you guys have felt exceptionally proud of that has really hit the marks,  met the goals that you guys wanted?

12:15
and just really elevated the brand. Yeah. It's  easily  the THB Ninja Turtles relaunch that happened last year. um That was a major, major success for us. 300,000 units  is not something that you get to do very frequently, if at all. mean, sometimes within a comics career, that's a,  especially if you're not, okay, let's preface this. If you're not Marvel DC, okay. But if you're  with us, talking about turtles,

12:45
300,000 units is dedication to a loyal fan base that has  seen the resurgence of this IP. uh Change Reign of the Turtles is the largest  actual uh IP that's out there that is actually based originally on a comic book. In fact, it may be the only one that is still wholly in existence and has lasted the test of time. uh So it's very interesting to see the fan reaction and the sales reaction to that.

13:13
And we did some we did some stunty stuff for it. I'm not going to lie. We did some very, you know, we we did the big pizza party promotion, which is basically, you know, offering retailers that ordered X amount of copies that we would deliver them. You know, a pizza party. did one hundred and one hundred and ten store pizza parties on launch day last July. Like, you know, that was no easy feat to coordinate. And then, you know, having to call all the all the pizza huts and get and get everybody gift cards. That was that was a hell of an undertaking.

13:43
You know, and then also just trying to figure out other ways to make things splashy. We put a big cardboard display in all the comic stores out there, sent them this major TMNT display for free, which oftentimes is not the case. Usually there's kind of, especially with the retail side of things, it's usually you gotta order an X amount of quantity and then you get the display. Well, we were like, screw that, everybody gets one. Doesn't matter if you're in Turtle's store or not.

14:09
Now you have a big green thing in your store.  Regardless, you gotta stock that thing. uh you know, that was a pretty substantial launch. And then this year,  we did a real intensive thing with Godzilla, where uh for the first time, I think, in  Toho history,  we were able to partner with them. We have started a new era, which will basically be the next  generation of wear probable.

14:36
Knock on wood, knock on something here, hopefully where their films and television start to go,  created from some of the characters that we're working on in our comics universe. And that's the Kai'sei era. And so we have three concurrent books that are all running and that are in this new modern Godzilla era, separate from others previously. And that's been an interesting challenge to work with. uh

14:58
additionally market and then you know see the fan reaction which has been amazing. Yeah, but it's a you know, it's a different it's a different take and it's a brand new take and one that you know, Toho has trusted us with and we have some amazing editors. Specifically editor Jake Williams who has been working on that  and and has just kind of shepherded through some very you know wild storylines that eventually you know, we're hoping we're going to see big crossover action next year and some other stuff and so yeah, I mean.

15:27
There's there's all kinds of things that are constantly in the mix  So it sounds like I can thank you and Greg among your whole team for that awesome pizza party I got at my shop when team and T1 came out which I think goes to another thing I love about IDW is that you guys are thinking outside of the box  You guys do seem very genuine in terms of your outreach and your support of local comic shops I mean how you you brought up, you know Godzilla the new got kaisa era

15:53
My shop had a, you know, a shop exclusive Gotham city limit. They not only threw a pizza party for TMNT, but had a shop exclusive.  Um,  I know on, you know, Ben, the shop owner has told me that, Hey, this new initiative has brought in a lot of fans picking up, you know, a dead zone.  Was it dead zone? Did I say dead zone? All right. Dead zone. Sorry. I was thinking dragon for some reason. When I say dead zone, I think the Dragon Ball Z movies, but you know, uh, he's mentioned like, you know, you guys have been wonderful to work with and Greg, I want to go to you real quick. Cause before I hit record, you know, I was asking, Hey, what type of messaging do we want to get out there?

16:23
any important topics and you mentioned like, hey, FLC to us is really important. You know, I think a lot of people boil that down to like, OK, yeah, it's FLC. Like if I miss it, I'll just go ahead and pick it up, you know, when issue one comes out.  But I want to maybe hear from you how important  FLC really is. How does that make or break a series  for you guys or the creators and such? So pre-ordering is very important, not only because it informs your local comic shop  to order a copy for you.

16:51
There may be a shop out there that's not going to order every single thing that's coming out. You're not going to have a copy guaranteed when that issue releases unless you pre-order. That is the only way to guarantee you have a copy unless you live here in New York and you go to Midtown and  awesome, they have everything.  That's cool. But not every shop does that. And that's understandable because they have to be a smart business as well and order for their customers. They have to know what their customers want. And the best way to do that is to be vocal about it.  Also,  that's really important for the publisher because that shows us there's a lot of demand for this copy.

17:21
That tells us this creative team is drawing more attention. This book, this approach is drawing more attention. Maybe there's room to do more of that.  And then as people continue to preorder,  if we see those sales remain strong, then that of course opens the door to more potential avenues when it comes to future pub play and stuff, which Ob can of course speak more to. But yeah, that's the best way. You got to speak with your dollars at the end of the day.  We're doing our best to put out some great comics that we believe are worth your hard earned money.  And if it's something you're excited about and want to support, preordering is the absolute best way.

17:51
You could go to comicshoplocator.com to find a comic shop near you. You could download the IDW app. There are a number of websites where you can pre-order as well. ah That is the best way to support a book and the creators behind it. Plenty of other ways, of course, but that is ultimately the best way. Just gonna follow up on the FOC thing if I could just for a second. So the other important part about FOC from the publisher standpoint is that FOC is also how we set our print run.  And that is... uh

18:20
That's incredibly important for the health of a book. Generally speaking, know, and it's known across the industry, number one's launch, hopefully launch, very, very high.  And then we start to see, you know, a bit of an attrition rate against the rest of the issues because again, the dedication it takes to be,  you know, to be a comic fan and have a local comic shop and be, uh I don't think this is a pejorative term, but a Wednesday warrior, if you will, and like showing up every Wednesday for... uh

18:49
you know, pull, your pull list or whatever, that takes dedication. And so you're not going to necessarily, you might have somebody that you pose in on a number one on an issue or on a series rather, and then maybe they don't return or they're like, this is great, but I'm going to wait for the trade. You know, so we'll see a series of tradition. So FOC setting that print run and trying to launch as high as possible is also the way I think Greg just said this, but like it's the healthiest way to maintain the the that book on shelves, you know, in perpetuity.

19:19
So, or at least until the trade comes out. But that being said, periodicals or monthly  comics are, you know, it's a challenging business. And so it's also about what the store owners  out there, you know, can actually hold on shelves  and, you know, is it going to sell?  you know, store owners don't want dead stock and we want our books to move. Well said. That's great insight.  If both of you had...

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Whatever a wand, a wish, the infinity gauntlet and you could change one thing within the comic book industry that you see needs a massive improvement or an overhaul and you could change that overnight. What immediately comes to mind? Oh, go on to me first. No pressure.  Back and forth. I, um, that's a great question. I think there is a lot of interest in comic book characters and comic book storytelling. I mean, you see that at the box office with like, you know, all the comic book movies, all the streaming shows, all the video games.

20:11
There's a lot of demand for this. You go around New York Comic Con, you see how many people are dressed up, they're wearing shirts featuring these characters. But I'm to bet a lot of those people haven't taken the leap yet to actually get into comics. And that's okay, right? Like getting into comics is not easy, especially when there are so many different kinds of media competing for your attention. There are podcasts, right? That's one source of escapism. There are streaming services, there are movies, there are video games, there is Twitch.

20:40
There is YouTube, there's so much competing for your time and attention. So the concept of finding a local comic shop, figuring out where to start, what to read, how to preorder, and then going back every single Wednesday or every single month saying on top of it, bit of a learning curve, it's still a little alien to a lot of people. So if I had one, I would wish that every single person who goes to a comic book movie on opening weekend had access to the best piece of source material that inspired that. And that's piece of source material, then had an ad.

21:10
that made it so easy for them to say, we're glad you love this. Here's where you go next if you want to keep reading. Here's the next thing you pick up. That would be my wish. Hear, hear. That was well said, Greg. I would bang on this table in agreement, but I don't want to pick that up. What you got? Yeah, no, that's pretty good. I was trying to think in my mind, you know, my thing is, you know, is always kind of looking at, you know,  that's it  on the movie theater piece.

21:39
If you, you know, I just wish there was more, you know, promo. I mean, and again, the source material thing is interesting. If you remember like back in the 90s when I bring up Pizza Hut again, I think they did a, I think they, Jesus, there's a giant freaking Galactus right behind us right now. Sorry, that's why I'm distracted. like, what the hell is happening? Yeah, New York Comic Con, everybody. And a Squirrel Girl. Very convincing cosplay, everybody.

22:08
Can I actually give Ob a shout out here? I don't know if you were building up to it, but I'm going to give you credit because there was a re-release of the 1990 TMNT movie recently in theaters and it did really well. And Ob worked to make sure that before that movie played, there were trailers for the comics and you could scan a QR code and you could get either Return to New York, which was the start of the new run from the relaunch by writer Jason Aaron and a bunch of amazing artists or, you know, The Last Ronin and a bunch of other stuff.

22:36
So just want to give credit. I rushed my theater to see that not only because I wanted to see the movie in theaters, but because I wanted to see a comic on the big screen. So I just want to give credit where it's due. That was incredible to see. He deserves a ton of credit for that. Yeah. Thank you, Greg. I appreciate that. was a  partnership with Fathom Events who do all the crazy re-releases. yeah, great partners to work with. And yeah, a minute long trailer uh in front of a movie that is iconic as that. And we also have the properties for it.

23:04
Yeah, remind people that, this is a comic. It was a comic first, and you should go get more comics after you leave this theater. Take your kids, because you're naked. You know they re-released that movie just so that, you know, nostalgia plays. So it's everybody, great included, who's got Well, I'm bringing my son's secret of the years, no doubt. Oh, yeah, yeah. You'll take him to secret of the years. But they're taking their kids. So yeah, well, after you leave, go to your little comic store. Yeah, all those types of things. Like, if I go back in time and I have Magic Wand, like, would love to, you know... I love Marvel. I do. But like...

23:33
They haven't done the, you know, yeah, with the films that come out, there isn't really a reminder to go and, you know, do, you know, I always wait for the plug, you know, something in the, in the, you know, theater that's like, you know, go to your local stores, go to your local shop. Cause that's the lifeblood of this industry. You know, that, that type of thing. Like I was going back to pizza before the damn Galactus walked by, but like, you remember.

23:57
You remember back in 90s, they had the free comics that came with the pizza. Like, you go and get a personal pizza, and then you got your collectible comic that went with it. It's a great promotion. And I think McDonald's just did something with manga. I can't remember exactly what happened there. But that's good. That's a good close second. And we are seeing, as we're sitting here at New York Comic Con, we are seeing the active shift towards the...

24:24
Increased rise in anime, manga, you know, all that. It's all over the show floor. You know, that's why. OK, I'll say this. If I had one, if I had a wish, I would go back in time about six years and I would make sure that New York Comic Con didn't turn into a manga show. No, no. Shots fired up. We appreciate you. Read pop. We appreciate you. I love read pop too. But yes, yes. All right. Just see the comics, man.

24:52
I'm right there, which all right, gents, I  want to take, I got two more questions. I want to hear about the future of IDW, which you guys have lined up, but fun question for you. You guys obviously are working your ass off, you know, this weekend. uh And then obviously all the work you did to build up to this weekend and such. When you guys do have some downtime today to go out on the con floor to go just enjoy, you know, being a fan and being here in New York Comic Con.

25:17
What are you guys on the hunt for? Do you have anything on your, you know, comic hunt list or, hey, I wanna go find this print, I gotta go stop by this artist. Like who are you guys excited to see or do or, you know, whatever it may be? Yeah, it's just Artist Alley, man. I showed up today, I had a little bit of time, my schedule. First thing I did was Artist Alley. I love just going up and down the whole place. It's the only time you can see most of these people in person, thank them for their incredible work, talk to them about, you know, that stuff and.

25:44
Check out some of the new stuff they're doing, potentially buy some art. I'm very tempted to buy a commission or something this weekend. But yeah, for me that's always the highlight. I already went on a hunt. So this is print from my buddy Rodney Givens who goes by the name of vertebrae33, shout out Rodney. But he does some fantastic work for the WWE, does a lot of different shirts and stuff like that. He also does lot of music stuff. And I'm a diehard metalhead if you can tell. And so this is a limited poster for this show for Gojira.

26:13
the French metal band that opened the Olympics last year. So yeah, beautiful, beautiful prints. I already got mine. Holy 90s hollow on steroids. This thing is holographic as well. That's awesome. I ran around. I made a few notes as to what was out there, but in the end, yeah, as Greg says, I like to support my fellow artists and the ones that I know do incredible work. yeah, so I mean, I'm always looking for something new and fun to put up on the wall. Well said. All right, Dan, last question before we wrap up.

26:43
What does the future of IDW hold? What does that look like for Wednesday Warriors? Which by the way,  I take that as a badge of honor being called a Wednesday Warrior. All right. So Greg, I'll start off with you. What does the future of IDW look like?  Wow. The future of IDW. I mean, I feel like we announced a good amount of it so far. I we have we absolutely love uh everything that Jason Aaron, Juan Ferrer, all the amazing artists have accomplished with those first 12 issues of the TMNT relaunch. It's been incredible stuff.

27:11
And  by the time this issue is out, this episode is out, all I can say is buy TMNT 12 to see what they're setting up for the Gene Luen Yang and Freddie Williams' second run. Because there is a new era and a new run and a fresh jumping on point for anyone to enter TMNT.  But Jason is dropping a bombshell before he leaves. And it's going to be really, really cool. And it's going to be a new thing that the next team can really utilize. I'll just say that.

27:39
Outside of that, IDW Dark just continues to expand. We announce on Entertainment Weekly we have a Smile comic, a Quiet Place comic. We have something called Operation Iron Coffin, which is literally Dracula just being dropped onto a train of Nazis with super weapons to stop them. And then there's also the sequel to The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, called The Exorcism at Buckingham Palace. While this is a sequel and exists within the same universe, it is also a fresh story. So reading 1600 Penn is not required.

28:07
But we of course recommend it because it's a great story. So if you love horror, IDW Dark, that's got to be at the top of your pull list. There's also of course Beneath Trees Where Nobody Sees. Sequel's releasing right now, right of spring. And we announced with The Hollywood Reporter that a third volume is in the works. We're not saying anything else about it yet because we don't want to ruin anything about the sequel. But eventually people will learn more about that. And then like I've said before, the Kai's Era is killing it. The Star Trek line is doing some really cool stuff, especially with Last Starship. Just across the board, incredible stuff.

28:37
I will stop babbling so Ob can get a word in. I will say. Ditto? You just want to say ditto and I've said it? No, no. Greg sums it up perfectly. It's true. I was going to call out a few things.  So obviously the holidays are coming up. So we've got  a rad box set of The Last Ronin, which has been a huge, huge, huge bestseller for us. uh know,  international bestseller. It continues to crush through. If you have not read The Last Ronin and you are a Turtles fan, you've been sleeping.

29:07
And so definitely check that out if you you have it already it's a great gift for people anyway And then I know I brought up that that Superman cover that I consume a cover from when I was a kid. There is a There's something fun happening soon In in Godzilla number six, and I can't say exactly what it is yet But there's there's gonna be there's there's gonna be an interesting cover reveal very soon. You're gonna see on the internet. I probably

29:33
time this this rolls out so that's all I'm gonna say about that one but Godzilla 6 is gonna be a big issue for us and that's in December also and let's see I'm trying to think if there's any other major beats oh yeah well I mean I can't stay tuned for more news about news on more or less Ronin in 2026 yeah well said all right IDW's crushing it

30:00
It sounds like a lot of exciting stuff. You two were great. Thank you so much for your time. Chorbox Nation, you just got done hearing from ObDriver, VP of Marketing, and Greg Katzen, Senior Publicity Manager of IDW. I have links in the show notes where you can follow them,  as well as all the awesome things going on at IDW. Gents, have a good rest of your New York Comic Con.

30:23
two, three,  yo, Short Box Nation. I am continuing the Man on the Con Floor interview series.  And this one technically is not on the con floor. I'm just right outside of the con.  It is 7 15 p.m., which means the show floor is wrapped up. The day is pretty much done  for New York Comic Con Day 2. I did not do a great job of getting a bunch of interviews,  but I think that'll be the goal tomorrow. But I think this will still be a lot of fun because I am currently sitting with

30:52
My amazing, awesome, big brained, big beauty. Best friend, Chris.  Yeah. I am indeed sitting one with the amazing co-host of the Oblivion Bar podcast, Chris Hacker. Yo, yo, yo. I said Triggy Check on a panel earlier. I did that. I really did that. Big vanilla ice energy, but I loved it.  And I am sitting with the big brain, big beauty, my wife, Blath Vermleaf. Oh, I'm sorry. Blath Vermeleaf. It just rolled off the tongue so well.  My wife.

31:22
Blythe Milligan. Hey Blythe. It wasn't me that did it that time.  I've heard of  husbands still calling their wives by their last name sometimes. It's like Jim in the office. He calls Pam  Beasley. That's right. Yeah. There you go. You know, thanks for saving the day, Chris. I'm here to help the awkward moment jelt properly. Well look, Short Box Nation, we are, like I said, the show is over  and I was inspired to just press record, go guerrilla style of this recording  because I was going to record with Blythe.

31:49
Anyways, it's her first time at York Comic Con. Is it to say your first Comic Con period or would you count anything else?  Collective Con, I guess. Does that count?  That counts.  I can't say it's your first, you know, Comic Con ever, but I can say this is your first New York Comic Con  or Comic Con at this scale, which as Chris knows is like, you know, New York Comic Con is a different beast.  So I was going to record any way of life and she's like, fuck it. Let's go and record now while we're outside. It's fresh on our minds. We're already talking about the day ever.

32:18
are the day anyways, let's do it.  I guess, uh and Chris will play my co-host, I can get his perspective,  I can get a first-timer perspective, and it'll be a good episode.  All right, Blythe, I guess initial thoughts. Like, how are you feeling after spending what we got here around, let's call it 11.30? It is almost 7.30, so almost eight hours  of New York Comic-Con.

32:41
So  it's a lot.  It's very overwhelming.  When we first walked in, it was just a lot of people, a lot of lines, um a lot of,  I guess, just like stimulation, just because there's so many cosplays everywhere. um just, initial feelings is just overwhelming. And I don't know where to go. I don't know what to do. There's all these different floors. Luckily I was with you, so I didn't have to worry about any of that. um But I would say a little overwhelming at first.

33:09
Because even on the floor, you're trying to go in between each lane and there's so many people and there's so many lines. I like, I very much like the latter part of the day, where it's much more my style. Like, we just walk right up to a food truck and order food and we can walk right up to a merch tent and get free stuff. And I like that part. She's saying she loved the show floor. and might I go ahead and set the record straight. Life is a conference pro. Yeah. All right, she's the opposite.

33:37
first time at a big major Comic Con, but in terms of conventions and conferences, she's a pro. She goes to giant logistics ones.  So I was really curious how this would hit considering she goes to these very professional conferences.  I guess, what were some of your expectations? What do you know about New York Comic Con prior to this? What did you hear about the Con? What comes to mind when you think of New York Comic Con? Or how does it match  to your initial uh expectation? you, yes.

34:03
Frankly, with a lot of these things, it's just about who is going to be speaking and the topics that they're going to be covering. Because everything else is kind of the same, except for the attendees that are showing up. Like, there's the sword guy. So you're saying the logistic conferences don't smell like butt is what you're saying, right?  It depends on the And she's not going to see a rogue  cosplayer next to a  zombie cosplayer. Right. They don't show up at logistics. Yeah, they don't show up there. um

34:31
would say obviously the professionalism is a little bit different. Like there's booty cheeks everywhere. You don't really see that at logistics conferences. I've always said logistics conferences need more booty cheeks, so I'm glad we're on the same page on that. Oh my god, no, I'm sorry, that's funny. What else is there different? Not really much else. I mean, it really comes down to the people that are speaking and then the topics that are being presented. That's the nuts and bolts of every conference is what kind of education can I get and who are the people that are going to be there.

35:00
This is, I think, very similar except for who are the main speakers that are going to be talking, not necessarily the people that you can shake hands and meet with and maybe do business with. Oh, good. Well, let me go ahead and pivot to you, Chris. Chris, how this has now been, I believe, what, your sixth or seventh? This is my sixth one in a row. How did this one come? I know that you work a majority of these, but how are you feeling after day two? Well, I think Blythe sort of surmised it quite well. It is literally overstimulation incarnate. It's nut to butt.

35:30
just smelly,  just hot and everyone walks too slow  and it's just  colors and sounds and it's all these things hitting you in the face all at once.  And  you know what? I was thinking about that today. It's no wonder why you're so tired afterwards. It's like, think yesterday I did almost 20,000 steps,  but what you don't take into account is what you're saying. The overstimulation and the mental fatigue  of like making decisions, you know, seeing all these things and just being bombarded by this stuff.

36:00
Yeah, and  totally, but you said getting there. don't know if you were close enough for them to hear, but yeah, totally. It's like, I could get to from A to B in 10 minutes.  That's kind of far away within the convention center, but I'm also stuck behind hordes of slow walkers who are actually trying to take in, I guess, the environment. A lot of times, again, this being my sixth year, I kind of know where I'm wanting to get, and I have like a certain amount of time to get there in between my work schedule.  So that is one of the more, I would say, maybe the most frustrating thing.  I'm beyond the years of like thinking I'm going to get all this shit done.

36:29
I'm gonna go get some exclusives. I'm gonna meet this person. I'm gonna get this sign. No, that's not happening anymore. It is like I have these four things I want to do and I have to do on this day and I have to basically Frogger my way through all these nerds to get there and that can be tough sometimes. Did I say that we are also recording this outside? Yeah. So we're getting the nattiest of natt get the New York ambiance. Exactly. Fire trucks. I think Daredevil is fighting crime in Hell's Kitchen right now.

36:57
a little curious about the outreach ahead of time and how y'all get to prepare for something like this because  I know for a conference, one in particular manifest that I go to in Vegas each year, I spend a month planning for it. I spend emails, reach outs, I'm scheduling. My schedule is pretty much booked for each of those days a few weeks out. But you were, not  to shade you,  but  you were prepping for this like a few days before and I,

37:25
just know that the conference organizers are the ones like having calls with us and  with the panels, we go through a test run. It's very formal. Whereas like this, I feel like you can kind of, you know, maybe be a little bit more creative, but then that kind of opens the door to maybe more issues.  That is well said.  And Chris, it's something I thought about with her coming with us is that you have life spend so much time doing pre-work.  And I don't know if there's, I don't know if you can use that same tactic here.

37:54
I think for sure you could reach out to lot of creators in time, but I think the day of, you realize the logistics of it is a little tougher to ask a creator to like, you know, like, and I think it's to say for both of us, we're both two people that try to ask interesting questions or get to a well past the surface level  stuff. And that's kind of hard to hold a conversation  of that caliber, that level here, you know, where it's so much stimulation, so much noise.

38:23
So, you know, like there's a lot of factors I think that go into play. You're thinking about it from a podcast,  podcaster perspective of like, okay, production wise, it's not that great. It's really loud. You also got a lot of like people coming up the tables, you know, fans wanting to meet the person or potentially like someone wanting to buy something. So then you start, I know for me, I get in my head like, man, I don't want to like drive any possible sales away because it's comic books and you know,  these creators got to get whatever money that they can get. I guess, Chris, do you do a lot of pre-planning or anything like that?

38:52
You know, I generally do. It's funny, we've sort of hit on the two main things that I try to warn people on when they come specifically to New York Comic Con, say, is that number one,  be prepared for the sort of encompassing, just nut to buttonist. You're just gonna be touching folks that you don't know the entire time, unfortunately. But also the second part is that there is no level of preparing that is enough. Like you can have this list in your head of I wanna do this, I wanna do this, and then you're gonna end up having this giant cloud of FOMO over you the entire time. If you go in,

39:22
needing to get these things done. I always tell people that like, if you're going to go to New York Comic Con, have a list of 20 things you want to do and expect to get eight to 10 of them done. Because it's impossible to try to get everything done without spending hours in a line  or  sprinting to a booth to get an exclusive or what have you, you all that. If you think you're busy, I think it's safe to say if you think you're busy trying to do these things, the creators are equally busy. I think you were there with me when David was trying to introduce me to a publisher.

39:49
And he's like, Hey, do you have two minutes? And she's like, actually, I don't. am late for a panel. I think that's to say. are business meetings for them. Exactly. And I think there's also a level of consumerism, hyper consumerism here versus the panels. When I go with you, where I think those logistic conferences, obviously they are trying to sell their services, but they aren't trying to, you know, like here people are trying to move 20, $30, you know, items to hundreds of people where yours is more like, Hey, we're selling a million dollar software.

40:17
to maybe one potential client. I think here there's a lot of micro transactions which make  the hustle, I don't know, the back and forth a little faster. Real quick, a,  am,  does New York Comic Con actually have like a media desk where all of these people who are in one place, in one weekend, are they coming to be able to do interviews? do they, because their social game is kind of weak, I'm not gonna lie. No, it's bad.  I would think that with all of these people here, all of these creators here, there should be more of like  a presence. I think it was David saying earlier,

40:47
He was trying to do an interview in the press room and it was just so loud in there that he couldn't get that done.  I'm a little surprised that maybe a better infrastructure for podcasters and just creators and press in general doesn't exist here. Plus, New York Comic-Con actually owning their own media and having those interviews hosted,  it would be very simple to build a stage here and invite all of these people up here. Yeah, Read Pop is notorious for not really caring. They're here to get as many bodies in here and as much money made as possible, right?

41:17
to speak on the sort of interview setting or as press, I'll say, you know, it's a lot of times it's the marketing team putting these things together. And if you're familiar with what a marketing team looks like within a publisher, and I'm not talking about Marvel and DC, even those teams are small, we're talking maybe 14 to 18 people, small publishers, we're thinking like first, second, even IDW, Dark Horse, uh Tiny Onion, these are like, it's like six people and one marketing manager. So they're trying to like find space, rally the creator.

41:45
who's going to come talk to them? Some of them are behind the booth selling things, know, like they're wearing a lot of hats on top of marketing. It's really tough. And it's one those things that  very similar to  when we're just like scheduling these interviews at home, you know, you kind of just take the opportunities you get and you make those relationships, you know, comic con really, it's fun to get those in-person interviews. And I think honestly, you, you talked about this earlier where you don't get to ask those in-depth questions because you don't get enough time. They're not really in the head space to give these thoughtful answers, all these things.

42:12
But what you do get is you get opportunities with creators that you, either wouldn't get otherwise. Like Timothy Zahn, you could get like a Timothy Zahn, you could get like a, and also you get like mixtures of creators too. Like you could get Mark Brooks, Scott Snyder, and Jorge Jimenez all together talking about Batman in a room. Whereas like these folks don't even live in the same continent most of time. So. It is cool to, I think that there is an aspect of that international, you know, like all of these.

42:39
It's cool to see how far comics has gone in bringing guests and reaching,  know, making  household names like your Jorge Jimenez, your Dan Morris, you know, like how the South American scene has blown up and how you can are guaranteed they will be at New York Comic Con. Anyone that's a who, you know, a who's who is going to be here. Now I want to get off of this insider podcast  and get into maybe some high level fun stuff. Quick time check as well. We got, I got 726.

43:07
Everybody at home, we're going to the Harvey's tonight to support our friends Brad and Lisa. Hell yeah, and it's my first time ever going to a comic book award show. So I'm very excited about It's pretty awesome. Let's go ahead and guess maybe wrap up with what is your favorite moment of New York Comic Con thus far at the end of day two? I will go first because it's top of mind and I literally waited an hour in pain. My knees hurt. But Nas is here at New York Comic Con thanks to Mass Appeal and their crossover of Marvel. They did a comic, they released it.

43:34
and I guess what not was also involved as well. He was I think supposed to be there at 5.30 but in true big name like rapper status. Any celebrity is like we waited way longer than that. But when he came out it was like so cool to be  one and I always say this,  New York Comic Con is probably my favorite con because it's like it's in New York which I love. The birthplace of hip hop and like the and I'm at a comic con like all of these two things coming together is amazing. So when I have these opportunities to see like

44:02
do something like that or just amplifies those two worlds.  It's like, yes,  this is why I am here. So seeing Nas at  New York Comic Con, amazing. I was talking to Sanford Green, he actually credited, uh Sanford Green was talking about how Doom, that amazing issue of Doom that he put out in 2024, helped put,  I guess, Marvel or like the idea of this  on the map of Mass Appeal. saw like, you know, Sanford Green uh doing a reference to MF Doom and they're like, huh, this is interesting that, you know, this issue is very popular.

44:32
You had a hip hop reference. You kind of are a hip hop head as well. Not kind of, but you are. So it's, I don't know. was,  I'm going off, I'm blabbering. Yes, it's a melding of worlds  and the Nas panel hosted by Rob Markman with Sanford Green as a special guest was amazing. That's my favorite memory. Blythe, what is yours? Okay. I have three.  The first was to piggyback off of yours. I really liked the customizable Legos that we got to do with the whatnot booth.

44:58
What not booth was just I was like, what is all of this right now you have customizable Lego and nods is coming later. I'm on you. They had a home run with their booth design and just the appeal of it and there was a long line stretched out.  But anyways that I liked that moment. I liked the Tamagotchi moment because I really liked Tamagotchi is growing up. What was the Tamagotchi?  It was I just saw it was it was one of the vendors is like vendors. had this little Tamagotchi mascot.

45:26
that you could take photos with and they had all the old school Tamagotchis. I think they were advertising some new game, but I don't care about any new game. just, I like the little eggs and that you could play with your Tamagotchi on. used to have like five of them all on one key chain and I would leave them with my mom during the day and she would watch them while I went to school and then would come home and like take over. I had a nano baby. I had a bunch of Tamagotchis and then I had nano babies too. So shout out to whoever remembers those.

45:56
And then last but not least, I really like Joe's panel. oh Y'all did a really good job on it and  great questions and you could tell that a lot of the people there were true fans of y'all and I just thought that was really cool. And I liked a lot of the backstories and I think for me,  as someone who is, sorry, has never really read comics,  hearing y'all talk about this  shame, shame. Shame on you.  Shame on her, shame on you.  But I read a lot but it's mostly like,

46:24
business and articles that it's kind of boring or Jaguar stuff. ah But hearing y'all talk about the different stories and how they touch you, like you were talking about one story that  moved you so much during COVID. I had no idea you were experiencing these emotions. And I was like, wow, that's not, I should be asking you about these things.  What's funny is I would read,  I'm talking about Lone Wolf and Cub by the way,  that panel audio will be released soon.  But I was talking about Lone Wolf and Cub and I remember some nights like staying up, wait.

46:54
too late on a work night, like two and three o'clock reading Lone Wolf and Cub  as she's sleeping by my side. And I'm just like, this is so powerful. She has no idea what I'm reading.  You don't understand the energy that's next to your life. You are passed out. All right, Chris, what about you? What's been your favorite? I'm going to piggyback off the panel. It great.  My only really, my only complaint is that I wish we had longer. And  that's always, I think, a good sign of a good time is that when you just wish it could go a little longer. I think we were just like really hitting our stride as a crew.

47:22
right at like the 45 to 50 minute mark. It's like  leave it to podcasters to need an hour to get warmed up. We  knew that was going to happen. Like we were fully prepared, you know, but there's really no way to like alleviate that either.  I, um,  I guess talking about the panel,  it was cool to also realize that we were also in a room talking to a lot of other podcasters.  And I think it goes to show how you kind of gotta be dedicated to podcasting and be a fan of podcasts.

47:49
to really thrive in this space and how important community is.  We do the Jaxx Podcasts United group back at home, but it's cool to see that same energy and that same sense of comradery extend to all podcasts, whether they're in Jaxx or not. There's just something about our kind supporting each other. Yeah, 100%. It was really cool to see a bunch of our podcasting friends. Shout out to the Badaboom Pod was in there, Battle for the Atom was in  there. Apollo City was there. uh We actually had the owner of Challenger's Comics in Chicago, which was really cool there.

48:17
Chris, let me ask you one other question to that. Well, actually, I'm sorry. I kind of stepped on that. You were picking back off life for the panel. What was your other favorite moment? I'll be quick with this one. So a couple of weeks ago, I talked to Jesse Lonergan. We recorded an interview with Jesse Lonergan, released that episode the night before recording this year, which is on Friday, October 10th. And basically, after the conversation, great conversation with Jesse, big fan of his, and I sort of just asked him, was like, hey, we're all going to New York together. Not together, but we'll both be there.

48:48
do you have a commission list? Is that going to be open when you get there?" He's like, well, unfortunately it's closed, but  what would you want if I was going to do something for you? And I was like, well, I would probably either ask for Silver Surfer or Dr. Doom. And he's like, okay, cool. And we didn't really, we just sort of dropped it from there. And then the first, I think it was maybe the day before we came here to New York, I see him post like a  quick, like real, like a sort of like a  sped up process video. And it's a Dr. Doom Silver Surfer mashup  where it's like Silver Surfer.

49:16
It's like they're each other and there's like their opposite of each other. Like they're turned upside down to each other because they're using magic and such. Anyway, point being is that it was for me and I knew it immediately. And I messaged Jesse on Instagram the moment I saw it. was like, this is for me. He's like, this is for you. And I was like, I was blown away. And it's like easily the best commission I've ever gotten. And it was a total surprise. And it just, it's a real sort of like, it's a poster child moment for Jesse and just how great he is not only as a creator because of the work, but also as a person.

49:45
for him just doing that out of the kindness of his own heart. On the topic of kindness, I want to say that I have had nothing but great interactions with everyone. know New York kind of has like this.  Yeah, exactly. know, like uh there's caricatures of like what New York is. But I will say in New York Comic Con, I have had nothing but the like best experiences of people  I've had. I haven't been shoved. Everyone's been like, you know, sorry, my bad. Hey, excuse me. But also just like the sense of like  like waiting for Nas, you know, I'm chatting with people.

50:13
about like his music and bonding over like, oh yeah, I picked up that comic too. know, like just being able, I don't know, just the importance of community and coming to a place like this where you're surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people within your community.  It's cool to feel that reinforcement of, yeah, I'm not the only fan. Like, hey, other people love this as much as I do. You know, maybe you're going through something where you feel like an outcast or, you know, maybe you're not surrounded by people that are into the same hobbies as you.  Coming to something like this kind of reminds you of like, man, there's, you know, this shit is global.

50:43
You just highlighted exactly the reason why I love Comic-Con. Like San Diego is my favorite, but New York is like one B.  It's great for other reasons. And like in my normal day to day, and I think most people listen to this, if you ever listen to the Oblivion Bar, if you've heard me on the short box, you know that I'm a freak about this stuff. And it's like, in my normal day to day, if you saw me, you probably either A, have no idea that I like comics or B, didn't give a shit. And to be in this space where we're surrounded by so many, just hordes of people who love this shit more are equally as much or

51:12
possibly even more, that is, it's an energy that I usually feed off for the rest of the year. I  take all this energy that I gather here at Javits, take it back home to Indianapolis and live off of it until San Diego or whatever the next con I go to. That's well said. All right.  One more question  for Blythe. is why would you come back to New York Comic Con? Cause it's in New York. uh Give me another reason. Why else would you come to New York Comic Con?  Well, I think you said it best when it talks about fandom.

51:41
And I think fandom is a really powerful thing. I think escapism is a really powerful thing. It helps us to get away from like the doom and gloom of like maybe some personal issues, some work issues, some global issues, because God knows there's plenty of those. But it just it helps to get away from that, connect with people who enjoy the same things you do.  And even if you are not a fan of that particular franchise, like I it's really cool to see different people enjoying different things and all enjoying them together.  Well said.

52:11
And I think with that being said, are late for these Harvey Awards. Short Box Nation, I love you. Thank you for putting up with my, I feel like I kind of rambled, but I'm, it's like end of day excitement and also tiredness, but we're going to power through. the fatigue is real, but thank you so much for tuning in and a big shout out to my co-hosts, Life and Chris. Love you guys. All right, y'all. Peace. There you have it, Short Box Nation. That's the end of the show. Thank you for hanging out.

52:40
Thanks for being here  and a special shout out if you made it this far. If you enjoyed this episode and you have some thoughts or comments that you want to share with us, write us at theshortboxjaxx at gmail.com. And if you really liked this episode, help us spread the word, share this episode with a friend or someone you know that loves comics as much as we do. And don't forget to leave us a five star rating and review on Apple podcasts or Spotify  or wherever you get your podcasts. It takes two minutes tops and it would mean the world to us. Leave us a review.

53:09
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53:39
Bo Evers,  Brian Brumleaf, Chad Landenberger, Chris Hacker, David Morales,  Greg Lichtig,  Hershel,  Mack Jacobson, issue number three, Brad,  Jay Sinner,  Jeff Fremid, Jerome Cabanatan, Jose Sepulveda,  Justin McCoy, Corey Torgeson,  Matt Godwin, Amanda Maron,  Melissa Burton,  Nick Wagner,  Ryan Isaacson, Stephen Ginn,  T-Mix,  The Wait For It Podcast, Tony Aupi,  Trey Namo,  Walter Gant,

54:09
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.