Badr Milligan 0:00

In this episode of the short box.

SPEAKER_03 0:02

Comments are visual medium, you know. And if you can um show that ugly on the inside on the outside, that's the advantage of using monsters in these creatures, you know. Also people are a lot of fans of monsters, right? You get a lot of eyes on it, you know. And um you spoon towards trigger that the medicine go down, right? You know, you're dealing with this this creature, you know, but really it's you know, this could be your next door neighbor, right? You know, it could be your it could be your kids, teacher, right? That's the that's the that's the message we kind of want to send, you know. That you know, they're they're monsters among us, right? You just gotta be vigilant.

Badr Milligan 0:35

Ladies, short box podcast is recorded live from Jacksonville Florida. Shortbox Nation, hello again, welcome back, and thanks for pressing play today. If you're brand new, welcome to the show. I'm your host, Fodder Milligan, and this is the Short Box Podcast, the comic book talk show, where we bridge the gap between the panels of your favorite comics with the people who put their blood, sweat, and tears into making them. This is episode 513, and today I'm joined by comic writer Chuck Brown. And Chuck isn't just any old comic writer, alright? He's a two-time Eisner award-winning writer and the co-creator of the mega smash hit comic series Bitterroot, alongside Sandra Green and David Walker. His other work includes stories for Marvel and DC like Punisher, Black Panther, Aquaman, Black Manta, and Superman. He's also won awards for his other independent and creator-owned work like the Ringo Award-winning webcomic 1000. And come October, he'll be adding a new series to his already very impressive resume with the launch of Supernatural Dean Winchester number one. It's coming out through Dynamite Entertainment with artist Rafa Labosco. So we have a lot of fun stuff to talk about this episode. But before we get started on that, hey, big shout-outs to our sponsor and supporters, including Gotham City Limit Comic Shop. It's not only the longest running sponsor of the podcast, but it's also the best comic shop in Northeast, Florida, is my personal comic shop. So there's obviously some bias there. But if you live in Jacksonville, you can check it out for yourself. Visit them today on Southside Boulevard. And if you don't live in the area at all, well, good news, you can buy comics for them online at GothamCityLimit.com. And what kind of mild-mannered podcast host would I be if I didn't shout out the loyal supporters over on the short box Patreon? Big shout out to the Patroni homies. Thank you for your support and thank you for helping me keep the lights on here at Shortbox HQ. If you're not a Patroni homie just yet and you enjoy the show and you want to be counted among the short box elite, well, consider becoming a short box patroni at patreon.com slash the shortbox for less than five bucks a month, which is just about the same price, if not cheaper than a single Marvel comic nowadays. You get a lot of cool perks and rewards in exchange for your support. And most importantly, I think you get to be immortalized in short box history for the shout-out by name at the end of every episode. Once again, that's patreon.com slash the short box. Now, without further ado, let's bring on our guest of honor today, calling in all the way from South Carolina. It's comic writer Chuck Brown. Hey Chuck, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_03 3:23

What's up, man? How you doing, man? Thanks for having me.

Badr Milligan 3:26

I'm doing well, man. And it's uh it's an honor having you. Uh I feel like that Shaq meme, I was unfamiliar with the totality of your game. Uh, you've gotten a lot of rewards to your name, man. I'm like, damn, guys been out here grinding, putting in the work. Yes, sir, yes, sir. Man, um, you know, and I guess talking about the accolades and your very impressive uh bibliography, um, you know, we'll talk we'll touch on a lot of that, but I want to go backwards to start. You know, uh before we talk about any of that, when you were growing up in uh, and I believe it's Lotta, South Carolina, did becoming Latta, did becoming a professional comic book writer even seem like a real job a person could have? Like when did it, like when did it click for you that making comics could be much more than just like a childhood dream?

SPEAKER_03 4:15

I mean, like um like a lot of us, it started out as just, you know, as a fan, you know, watching Saturday morning cartoons, and my brother used to buy me comics, you know, and I used to get comics from the, you know, the spin rack at the uh pharmacy back in the day. And um, at some point I just started creating characters, giving them origins and powers and abilities, but I never really perceived of it as a job at all. It was all just me having fun creating it, you know, and something I'd wanted to do all the time, but um I wasn't aware that it was a job that I could uh you know aspire, aspire to, you know.

Badr Milligan 4:48

So do you recall what what's your earliest memory of a comic book? Like what do you remember the first comic book you ever opened or read?

SPEAKER_03 4:55

Oh yeah. Oh yeah, yeah. Oh, you've got it.

Badr Milligan 5:02

Oh, what do we got? What do we got? All right, for the for the audio listeners. What do we got?

SPEAKER_03 5:06

This is Avengers, Avengers with number 306. Oh my god, yeah. Earliest a memory of a comic is this. And this isn't the original book that I had. I've got this off eBay like a few years ago.

Badr Milligan 5:20

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:21

But um, but yeah, yeah, this is one of the original ones.

Badr Milligan 5:24

I actually that cover, uh I know that cover because my dad actually probably has it in his uh collection right now. Um Avengers 306. I just pulled up the stats on this. Art by Paul Ryan and Tom Palmer, written by John Byrne. That's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_03 5:42

Oh, nice, nice. But that's my earliest memory of a comic, and I just um kind of bought it on a whim a few years ago. Yeah.

Badr Milligan 5:50

Who was your favorite comic book creator, whether it be a writer, artist, uh colorist, whatever it may be? Who's your favorite comic creator growing up?

SPEAKER_03 5:57

Uh growing up, um, you know, it was you know, mostly it was just um, you know, anything Stan Lee was doing at the time. You know, I was a huge Stan Lee's fan, he's a Spider-Man fan. Um, more as an adult. Um kind of became Dwayne McDuffie. Nice, you know, Christmas, what he was doing with Black Panther back in the day and stuff. That was cool. Um, Todd McFarlane was a huge impact on me because that was the first comic that was like, you know, I was in college at the time, and it was like, you know, it wasn't just for kids, it was just raw, unfiltered storytelling. Yeah. Yeah. And the artwork, of course, the artwork was insane, was insane. So those are the ones that kind of stood out to me the most, I guess, coming up of growing up. Yeah.

Badr Milligan 6:38

Before I hit record, we were we were talking, and and and I told you that I ended up learning that you worked in IT uh for a good bit. Uh actually, uh, so you worked IT at the University of South Carolina. And if if I what I read was right, you worked uh I like a full-time IT job up until like 2021, is that right?

SPEAKER_03 6:57

Yeah, 2021, yeah, yeah. That's when I kind of broke off of just kind of focused on comics full time.

Badr Milligan 7:02

Like, what was the moment that you knew, hey, it's time for me to leave this job and pursue comics all the way?

SPEAKER_03 7:08

It was it was 2020 during the pandemic. Lost a lot of people, man, and and things were kind of scary for a while. So just you know, just kind of took a look at my life. It was like, you know, why not now, right? And I just took the leap forward and just went for it.

Badr Milligan 7:21

So that's awesome. I um I told you uh I also uh come from an IT background, and I've had many, I feel like I've had many of those uh conversations with myself lately about you know taking the plunge and trying to do something uh creative a full time. I'm not quite there yet, but I do find your story uh very inspiring. Just like uh just entertainment here. Is there any overlap from like the world of IT into comics? Like, is there any skills from that old life in that world, in that job that that you found come in handy, that has come in handy, I guess, being a comic creator?

SPEAKER_03 7:56

Oh, just you know, just being aware of technology and of its advancements and how it can benefit us, but also how it can, you know, freaking kill us, right? You know, just seeing, just being aware of what we're using and how we're using it. And I'm um I'm not that huge of a techie guy, but I'm just uh aware of the technology that we're using right now for art and how it can be dangerous, right? But it also can be extremely beneficial in a way. Ironically, I was in IT and a history department, right? So it wasn't the IT necessarily decided to translate it, but as we were working on Bitterroot, you know, I used to always go to certain professors' office and say, hey, was this a thing? Was this a thing? What book would you recommend? That kind of thing. So I kind of had this source like right there as Bitterroot was being developed. Or anything I'm working on that has an alternative history, you know, I used to always go to these guys because it was um really fascinating seeing there's so many different facets of history. There was a guy that teached video game history at the university, there was a guy that taught occult history at the college. So it was it was um I had a really great access to some really good resources for just building comics in general overall.

Badr Milligan 9:04

I read somewhere too that while you were in uh because you didn't go to the University of South Carolina, you went to Benedict College. Um I read somewhere that that's where you really got into like self-publishing. I think you found like some other aspiring writers and and creators. Like I guess how beneficial or or how important were were those, I guess, early building blocks.

SPEAKER_03 9:23

So that was huge, man.

Badr Milligan 9:24

What do you remember from that time?

SPEAKER_03 9:25

Just um being on the hustle, man, knowing nobody, nobody knowing who you were or caring who you are and not having any workout. So you just kind of had to put it out yourself. Especially as a writer, right? Even as a as an artist, you know, you can still, you know, do a cool commission of of Batman or Spider-Man or something, or or of your own creative own character and get it out into the world. But as a writer, you have to kind of build it, right? So we had to we had to collaborate with artists and letterers and colorers and all people that wanted to, you know, rise up in the industry as well. So we kind of collaborated and put our own books. So um as a writer, it's a little bit different. You had to kind of, if you wanted to do it, you had to do it. You had to, you had to you had to learn the business side, the publishing side, and you know, the production side and and get a book out there into the world so it can be your living resume.

Badr Milligan 10:13

Yeah. Well, I I guess like where did you learn this? Like, was it uh among uh the this group that you formed? Was it like were you going online, books?

SPEAKER_03 10:20

Yeah, yeah, it was um called 803 Studios. We just learned together, um going to a lot of comic book conventions, talking to other creators at comic book conventions. There was a guy at owned a little comic book shop here in in Columbia, South Carolina, Eric, um at Scratch and Span. He has his own comic book shop. He was self-publishing long before we were back back in the early 2000s. So we learned a lot from him, right? So how to do, what to do, what not to do. And um, yeah, we started putting our own books and you know, we got a little bit of traction, a little bit of attention, so it was fun.

Badr Milligan 10:48

And uh uh during um your time at Benedict College, is that where you met Sanford Green? Is that right? Yeah, yeah, I met him there.

SPEAKER_03 10:55

Yeah, he was um he had already done a book with um a friend of ours, um, Bruce Brown at the time. And I remember um I was in art class as a freshman, and they were like, hey, there's a guy that does comic books doing a gallery show. So I went down to the gallery show as a freshman, and it was Sanford. You know, he had his artwork on the wall in the middle of the gallery. So that's kind of how I didn't really I I had a conversation with him, but I didn't actually meet him until like years later to when we started self-publishing, and we actually got him on a cover for one of the books that we were self-publishing.

Badr Milligan 11:26

Do you remember what was the first image drawing, whatever it may be, that Sanford Green did that you that you saw? Like, do you recall the first Sanford Green piece of art?

SPEAKER_03 11:37

I can't remember. It was like I said, that guy that published the book called Stranger Tales long before like I published 803 with my group of studio mates. And um, I remember Sanford's art being that book, but that's kind of like my earliest memory of like it was like a black and white image. I can't remember the name of the book, but he had illustrated it and it was written by Bruce Brown. It was in Stranger Tales, number one.

unknown 12:00

Yeah.

Badr Milligan 12:00

Hmm. I guess like w when you think back about like first meeting uh Sanford, did you I guess did you know he was going to be like this absolutely like incredible artist that you know anything he touches it sells out and people are talking about it? Or did it catch you by surprise too, where you're like, holy shit, like what look at where we're at right now.

SPEAKER_03 12:21

And we were just all in the trenches at the time, right? We were all in the trenches. We were really thinking about it, you know. Um, I knew he was talented, I knew he had skills, you know, I knew he was already further ahead in the industry than I was, you know. But you just never see it coming, man. You just kind of keep your head down, focus, put out the best work you can. Yeah, you know, you wake up with a couple hours, and it's it's kind of crazy. It's about the yeah.

Badr Milligan 12:43

Can I ask you a uh a silly and maybe uh a personal question? No, that's okay. Do you we're on a podcast and I'm asking if I can ask you a question? Uh uh Do you remember what you bought with your first check from comic books? Like the first substantial check that you got from writing comics. Do you remember like the first thing you bought? I've always been, I don't think I've ever asked anyone this. I've always been curious what do, you know, like first-time writers buy.

SPEAKER_03 13:14

Man, money comes in and out. I mean, I don't even remember what it was. Um maybe, maybe, maybe the mortgage, I think. That'd be you know, something like that. But but no um, no, I will tell you this. When what what I do try to do with, you know, when I get some extra money is that I try to buy a figurine or a statue of a character that I've worked on, right? So I try to buy black mana toys, you know. Um I try and I still haven't found Red Sonya or Vampirella toys at all. Wow. Like a pop. I can't even find a pop for some reason. I don't know. Maybe I'm not working hard enough. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't think I well, no, I may have a red Sonya pop. I think a Red Sonya pop. But um, you know, Supernatural. I'm trying to find a pop for that. Um I'm trying to find uh action figure for um Valzad Superman. I did a um I did a short story with um Dennis Cowan. Um wow, that's the guy. Superman, red, red, and blue. So um haven't found one of those.

Badr Milligan 14:07

And so do you know that absolutely tickles me and also makes me extremely excited to hear other people go about uh I do something very similar for video games. When I beat a game, I'll buy like I'll try to buy like a trophy, like and it's usually like a figure or you know, like like you said, like a pop or something. Um like I recently beat uh this game called Black Myth Wukong, and there's nothing for Black Myth Wukong, so I had to miss out on that. But like when I beat this Ghost of Yotai game, I'll see if there's like an Atsu figure or something like that. So it's pretty cool that you get that you also collect like trophies of these moments. I wish mine was like a lot more like successful.

SPEAKER_03 14:47

No, that's that's still cool though. That's awesome, man. I never really thought of it before as a trophy. That's very interesting, that's very interesting.

Badr Milligan 14:54

Sometimes I'll even buy like just a figure or something if I've like like when I uh during speaking about uh COVID and and the pandemic, I used that time to read through the entire uh series of Lone Wolf and Cub. Like it's you know I think I forget if it's 24 or 42 volumes, but it was a long ass series, and I remember it just having such a an amazing journey of that story. I wanted, I didn't end there buying like a shirt, like a lone wolf and cub shirt. So I I even do that with like stories and comics that mean a lot to me or series that like have spoken to me. I'll I'll buy like a little trinket or uh memorabilia.

SPEAKER_03 15:29

Right, right, right, right. Like I'll I'll if I'm working on a licensed property, like you know, I'll I'll binge the show, not just for the research, but also just to immerse myself in the moment, you know what I'm saying? Like I'll watching over and over and over again, you know, just being a part of it. You know, you're like a part of the the world now, right? You beat the game, so you're like you're part of this, you know, a special, you know, special part, you're a special part of the game. You're a part of the team in a sense, you know.

Badr Milligan 15:54

Damn, that means a lot. I've never uh I've never worded it that way, but I can't wait to use that next time my wife is like, why are you buying another figure in this house? I'm like, baby, I'm part of the team. It's for my soul, baby. Yeah, rock star. I'm part of the rockstar team. GTA 6, that's me. I did that. Chuck, what would you say? What's your favorite part of the comic making process? And I and I'm asking holistically, right now uh is it is it writing? Is it coming up with characters? Is it getting the art back for the first time? Is it traveling for comic cons? Like if you had to pick just one part of the entire comic making process, what what would you say is your favorite part?

SPEAKER_03 16:35

Wow, just one part? Just one part. Just one. I think it's um like really early on when you um get the idea and then you start building these characters of who they are, you know, why they do the things they do, the trauma they've experienced, the triumphs they've experienced. You just kind of get hyped and excited about creating these people, these characters, right? In this world around them. That's a fun part, you know, the fun just this building that world, building these characters, building the relationships between the characters, you know? Is it a love story? Is it a rivalry? You know, do they hate each other? Do they love each other?

SPEAKER_02 17:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:10

Do they need each other and don't know it yet? That type of thing, you know? Yeah, yeah.

Badr Milligan 17:13

Uh, how much of the writer that that you've become is specifically the product of growing up in South Carolina? Like, does South Carolina and your surroundings and where you were raised and worked at, like, does that feed into your work uh in any way? No, it fee into it a lot.

SPEAKER_03 17:28

Yeah, definitely. Um, you know, we always grew up with um a garden every year, you know. And uh and now I do it now as an adult when I, you know, got older. So, you know. You said a garden? Garden, yeah. We're already my mom just always gardening. Yeah, yeah. So it's just a big part of my life. And you know, that working the roots kind of found its way into bitter root in a sense, you know. And also other characters and things that I developed. Yeah, it has it has it seeps into my work every now and again. I'm working on a creator on property that's actually set in Lada, actually. Um, it's still in development right now. That's gonna be a big part of the story that I'm developing like now. But up until now, it's kind of seeped in here or there. But in this upcoming project, you'll see a lot, a lot of um where I grew up and what shaped me as a creator and a writer.

Badr Milligan 18:13

Oh, that's cool. You know, speaking about Bitterroot, I mentioned that you've won like a couple awards, Eisner awards off of uh Bitterroot. Like, and I've always been curious when it comes to winning an Eisner or those type of Ringo Awards, et cetera, et cetera. Like, how did it change things for you?

SPEAKER_03 18:28

Just a few more eyes on you, you know, just in general, you know, just um from fans, from the industry, from um other companies, from your peers, just a few more extra eyes, not a huge change. You know, you what is winning a second one do for you then? Um, it's about the same, man. You know, um, you're always gonna, you know, I have a little bit of imposter syndrome, you know, just a little bit. So, you know, there's there's always that thinking about, you know, all that came before you to have an eyes on it, right? Very proud, very honored. More opportunities definitely, more doors will open for you. That's I can definitely say that. I've definitely opened some doors to actually do more projects, do have more opportunities and more exposure.

Badr Milligan 19:09

Uh also speaking about Bitter Root, I've been, I'm halfway through the second arc of Bitter Root right now, um, the next movement. And I've I noticed that there's a time jump, you know, from the original series. Uh, the next movement jumps ahead to 1964. And I want to know what became possible once you moved the story into the civil rights era versus you know the Harlem Renaissance time frame.

SPEAKER_03 19:35

So it was um, you know, you had to definitely think about updating the technology.

Badr Milligan 19:39

Right.

SPEAKER_03 19:39

Um, how do you update technology then you're still technically in the past, right? So um, we drew a lot from like um Lost in Space, challenges from the unknown, um, things of that sort. And of course, with you know, elections being a big part of our reality, right? The civil rights, you know, the civil rights movement and the and the voting rights act was a huge part of that time period. So again, a lot of hate occurring at that time. So we had to focus on that, and then you know, how do we how do we deal with it? You know, it do you cure these creatures or do you they need to be anchored in a sense?

Badr Milligan 20:11

So you know, I noticed that whether it's Bitterroot or 1000 or you know, any of the the licensed stuff that you work, well, regardless of how the world changed, you keep coming back to monsters, violence, trauma, and and people just trying to survive something that's infected their world. I I guess what what do monsters allow you to say about society or a story uh that that straightforward like drama just doesn't give you the ability to?

SPEAKER_03 20:42

You know, comics are a visual medium, you know, and if you can um show that ugly on the inside on the outside, that's the advantage of using monsters and its creatures. Also, uh people are a lot of fans of monsters, right? You get a lot of eyes on it, you know. And um you get a spoonful of sugar that has the medicine go down, right? You know, you're dealing with this this creature, you know, but really it's you know, this could be your next door neighbor, right? You know, it could be your your kids, a teacher, right? That's the that's the that's the message we kind of want to send, you know, that you know there are there are monsters among us, right? But you gotta be vigilant, right? And not saying be afraid, but just be vigilant and be aware.

Badr Milligan 21:19

Yeah. On on that topic, I do think that the concept of the genu is such an interesting way of addressing hate and racism. And then, like you said, like giving it a it feels weird saying a cool in the same sentence, but like a cool visual narrative too. Um I I I guess if you don't mind, I know this is like such a boilerplate question, but how did the idea of of bitter root come together and how did this trifecta of you, Sanford Green and David Walker, all come together?

SPEAKER_03 21:50

Like I said, a lot of books we draw from life experiences, right? You know, I grew up seeing a lot of movies and film and comics, you know, where we're the sidekicks, right? Or we died. We died at the beginning of the of the movie or the of the show, right? So I just wanted to create myself with a powerful, positive light. And I'm at the time, I was, you know, anything I created, you know, was black characters, right? Yeah, I was just it was just me, just you know, doing indie stuff and doing it my own, and you know. And um I came up with the you know, Fan Britain Holland Renaissance that hunts and curios monsters. And at the time, me and Sam were kind of hanging out every now and again, um and he'd ask every now and again what I'm working on. And then I mentioned that, and that kind of sparked his interest, right? And then he started asking for me to send him references for character designs. Which I didn't think he didn't think he was serious, right? So, you know, kind of put it off a little bit. And then he kept texting me, he said, Hey, send those character designs. So I just, you know, I did a I'd write up all the characters, you know, I sent a bunch of references, and he came back with all these designs, and he was hyped about it. He was, you know, he was he wanted to move forward. Um, I had written a script for it, um, things kind of stalled a little bit. He was doing more stuff at DC. He started doing stuff with David Walker. I was doing more indie stuff. And um, him and David did um Power Man and Iron Fist together. Yeah, I remember that series. And which is set in Harlem, right? And they had a bunch of ideas for in Harlem, for a series set in Harlem. And me and Sanford already had what we were doing, so we kind of all kind of pulled our resources, became collaborators, and um kind of redesigned things a little bit from the original idea. And um, yeah, here we are.

Badr Milligan 23:24

It's been a smash ever since. I guess what when you think about like when you know, like when you think about like what the book was going to be, what you initially envisioned and what it has become, that like what's caught you by surprise? Is there anything about its success or where what it is now that you did not anticipate in those early days when you were coming up with the concepts and just kind of like you know, forming this idea of bitter root?

SPEAKER_03 23:49

I guess when you're creating something, you just want to get it out into the world. You want to get it done, you want to get the artwork back, you want to have it, you know, want to be the best the best work you put out. Um, you want to get it published, but I never really anticipated having fans of the IP like this. Like this many fans that like, you know, and that's a lot of them. It's a lot of them, bro. Like it's amazing. Right, which is wild, which is wow. So I wasn't anticipating that. That kind of caught me off guard a little bit.

Badr Milligan 24:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:19

But it's cool and grateful.

Badr Milligan 24:20

So you know what I like about uh what I especially like about you, Chuck, is I was stalking your Instagram today. Like I do for any guest, all right? Uh I do for all guests, I'd look at their Instagram, see what they post, get inside their mind. And what I enjoyed about your feed is that you don't post a lot, your camera doesn't go the other way. It doesn't face you a lot. You don't take a lot of photos of yourself. A lot of your photos are your point of view from behind uh the table at a convention. You have a lot of uh photos from conventions, but especially photos of fans and cosplayers. You recently posted a photo of twins dressed up as blank men. I thought that was pretty awesome. I don't know if they were twins or not.

SPEAKER_03 24:56

They look like they were twins. But I don't know if they were twins, but they were just two. Yeah, it was cool. Yeah, yeah.

Badr Milligan 25:01

So, you know, I was like, oh, this is really cool. He's got like uh, I mean, photos after photos of cosplayers at your table, uh, you know, just fans walking by. How much of the Comic Con experience do you do you enjoy going to like conventions a lot? Or is it just like a necessity, or do you especially like it?

SPEAKER_03 25:17

Well, I have to, you know, have to be behind the table the whole time. So those pictures of me taking pictures of the cosplayers, that's me kind of enjoying myself, right? That's that's me kind of trying to enjoy the con because I think it's cool, you know, to see, to see that, you know, I'm a fan of that. If you see if someone holding a book, it just happened to be cosplayers that are buying a book, right? But uh yeah, it's I try to do it, I try to do a nice balance, right? You know, I know I gotta be behind the table, you know, to greet people and see people, but every now and again I want to get up and kind of, you know, I want to look and see what artists are there, right? That's also a part of the job. It's fun, but it's also a part of the job to kind of find new artists, right? New cover artists, new interiors, see what I can collaborate with in the future, just see who's there, you know.

Badr Milligan 25:58

So who's the last artist that you uh found, met, uh whatever adjective you want to use at a convention? Who's the last like artist that you were at a convention? You were like, holy shit, I need to work with you on something.

SPEAKER_03 26:10

Oh yeah, it was uh Apollo H. Mel. He did Vampire versus Red Sonia. Came out two months ago.

Badr Milligan 26:16

Okay. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:17

Apollo H. Male. He was the last one. Yeah, yeah. And um, you know, I just saw his stuff. He had already done, he already had a nice portfolio of other work. So I just sent it um over to the editor and say, hey, if you're looking for somebody, this guy's ready. You know, oh wow, that's cool. It just worked out, and this his pencils were insane, man. He's really good, really talented. Yeah.

Badr Milligan 26:35

Considering what one of your best friends, your longtime collaborators, is Sanford Green, where the so the bar is here. What is what does Chuck Brown look for in a young, aspiring, hungry like artist? Like what when you're looking at like a portfolio from a brand new artist, like what what are you looking for? Are there any signs that tell you, like, hey, this guy is ready for the next level? Consistency.

SPEAKER_03 26:57

I'm a writer, right? Like, um I try to study art wherever I can so I can be more articulate on the subject, but I just know I know what I like when I see it, right? So um I just look for consistency in your portfolio. Everything is a banger, everything is tight, your perspectives are right, you know, your proportions are correct. A hand needs to look like a hand, right? You know, a neck needs to look like a neck. When you're holding a gun, it needs to look like a person's holding a gun. So I look for consistency, you know. Um, even if they don't have credit to that consistency in their portfolio, that can work, right? And if you have something that you know you feel you're not quite up to par, don't put it in your portfolio. You know, draw something else, make it dope, and only put your best foot forward in your portfolio. That when you head to somebody, you know, you could walk away with a job. You never know. Not me, but somebody, you know. Yeah, yeah.

Badr Milligan 27:45

That's dope. Um do you do you recall what was uh what was your fanboy moment? Like uh have you had a chance to meet all of your like you know, uh uh favorites and people that you you mentioned like Dennis Cohen. I know that you said you were a big fan of Dwayne McDuffie, so I'm like, oh, that must have been an awesome moment. Like, what are some of the the big like fanboy moments that you've had that you would have never thought, holy shit, I'm I get to call him a peer. That was that was definitely Dennis Cowan.

SPEAKER_03 28:14

And um when they paired me him with that um that Superman red and blue story with Al Side, that yeah, yeah, that was a that was a mind-blowing moment, man. That was that was very it was unreal, it was very, it was very fun, and I'm very grateful for that, man. So that's that's definitely top of my list.

Badr Milligan 28:31

Okay, and one more convention question. Uh, what is the most like impactful or meaningful uh exchange that you've had at a com at a comic convention, whether that's with another uh fellow creator or a fan? Like what's what's one that comes to mind that really meant something to you?

SPEAKER_03 28:48

Um, there's there's a lot, man. I don't think it's a lot of them. But I was at DreamCon. Okay. Someone came up to me and said that um my Black Matter run, you know, was great. And you know, it's it's work like that that gets them through. And that kind of hit me, that hit me pretty hard. That's pretty cool. The fact that they said that Nick cared that much about the book, so that was pretty cool. Yeah.

Badr Milligan 29:13

You've mentioned Superman. We said Black Manta. Um, I know you've got credit on on Punisher and a bunch of other like established and and uh company characters. What established character surprised you the most once you actually had a chance to like get inside their head? Like, are you one of these writers where you're getting in their head and like uh I like I've literally had writers on the show where they're like, you know, they they're talking to me and I I get to like, you know, it's like this weird kind of parasocial relationship. Have you ever had, I guess, an instance of that where you get inside of a character's head and you know it's been it just kind of messed with you or or got to you?

SPEAKER_03 29:48

Um, not I try to honestly I try to get I try to do that with all the characters that I work with. I try to get in their head just a little bit. So Vampirella to Red Sonia to Balzat, Superman, you know. I guess working on Superman, it didn't mess me up, but you know, working on Superman, you have to dig deep for like hope. Right. Right, you're like the most powerful being on the planet, but you still gotta you still you know care about puppies, you know, things like and things of that sort, right? Yeah, you're willing to risk your own life just to save a few people, you know, right? So um digging that digging deep into my hope, my my small well of hope. Um, that's that's that's my um that's some of my biggest challenges, but it's fun. Yeah, it's a breath of fresh air, and um, I might enjoy it, you know. I'm already I already do stuff that messes me up all the time. So when I do something that's that lifts me up, I kind of take notice. I try to I'm trying to take notice when I say that. Yeah, yeah. So yeah, yeah.

Badr Milligan 30:44

You like that uh um that anime uh meme with the dude pointing at the butterfly, and it's like, this is hope.

SPEAKER_03 30:53

Now, some of my some of my darker moments are gonna be in my creator own stuff, some stuff I'm writing right now, which is pretty dark. But um, yeah, so yeah, so there's a balance. I got you know, that's stuff that stuff, you know, comes often.

Badr Milligan 31:07

So I got you. All right, Chuck, I want to shift gears and and talk about this new project you got going on, which is uh supernatural Dean Winchester. Chuck, I'm not gonna even lie to you. All right. I'm not, I'm not, I don't lie to you. The guests, I don't lie to the fans.

SPEAKER_03 31:21

You never heard of Supernatural. No, no, no, no.

Badr Milligan 31:23

Oh, look, look, I've heard of Supernatural because um I used to uh I was in the I was in the Air Force, I used to work on bass, I used to work with this one dude, my homeboy John Beatty. Uh country as can be. Never got into comic books, always thought uh it was it was a little nerdy, but he loved me for me. And I'll never forget the day that he was like, hey man, you obviously must like supernatural, right? And I'll never forget telling him, Hell no, that's I'm not watching the supernatural. And he was so offended because he was trying to bond with me by saying, I love supernatural. So it was like a weird case of like, shut up, nerd. You know what I'm saying? But that's to say, that's not to say. So I admit in saying I haven't watched 15 seasons of supernatural. He actually uh had me watch a couple episodes to try to win me over. Um and I enjoyed myself, but I'm not gonna act like I'm a supernatural diehard. So rather than test your Winchester trivia, because I I wouldn't know, I'm more interested in how a writer like yourself steps into a character who already has 15 seasons of history. You know, he's he's been around the show. I mean, I went down, I did go down a supernatural rabbit hole in learning a bunch about the show and how long it's been going. And I know the fandom is very tight about the show and the Winchester brothers. You've said, uh, I think you've said in a couple interviews that you've been a supernatural fan since day one. What's your personal history of the show?

SPEAKER_03 32:47

Oh, um, well, similar, not similar to yours, but you know, when it first came out, I was like, supernatural. They're gonna name a show Supernatural. I don't get it. Like, that's it, right? And then I'm like, what, if they're fighting ghosts? Like, I don't know, it's ghost buttons. Like, I don't, yeah, I don't care. I don't care. But then I, you know, I sat through a couple episodes, I'm like, man, they're like shooting ghosts, right? This is kind of wild, right? It's just they got rocks up, bullets, and shit. So, you know, it kind of hooked me, you know. So I kind of stuck with it. I think it may have been, it may have been during the time of um early, early streaming, right? We could really binge something. So I think I think it may have binge like a first several episodes or something, or not episode, but first several seasons, and then yeah, that's kind of got hooked.

Badr Milligan 33:33

Okay, so you were already a fan, and did you approach Dynamite about this project or vice versa? Did they approach you about it? Did they know you were a fan?

SPEAKER_03 33:41

They didn't know. He was like, he he emailed me and was like, hey Chuck, um, do you care anything about supernatural at all? If not, it's okay. I'm like, Hell yeah, I care about supernatural.

Badr Milligan 33:52

Boy, oh boy, if you only knew I got my rock salt gun right here. I've been waiting on these days.

SPEAKER_03 33:57

I'm waiting to buy my car, you know?

Badr Milligan 34:00

My Impala. Okay, so so you get this opportunity, you jump at it, you're like, hell yes. Um, do you end up picking the artist that you're working with, which by the way is Rafa Labosco, love that last name. Um, or is he uh is he, you know, hey, this is who we have?

SPEAKER_03 34:16

Uh he had already done several books of Dynamite already. I think he had just come off um Thundercats recently, I think. Yeah, and I think he did a Mumra series. Mumrod, yeah, Mumra, yeah. So he was already um working with Dynamite at the time and they paired us together.

Badr Milligan 34:30

What's the first thing you do? They tell you, hey, we you're gonna get this assignment, we've already got an artist. Like, are you going into homework mode? Are you re-watching the entire franchise, or are you reaching out to Rafa and and meeting him? Like, what's the first thing you did?

SPEAKER_03 34:42

First thing they need is a pitch, right? To see if you know, you're not really officially hired until you get a pitch through, right?

SPEAKER_02 34:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 34:48

I had projects where they'd offered me stuff and I sent pitches in, didn't quite work out. You know, so that's the first step is the pitch. And um, as far as the creative process, I don't really I don't automatically start doing research. If I've seen it before, like if it's Lion King, like I just start fan fiction in my head, right? If it's supernatural, I start fanfiction in my head. If it's flash, I start fan fiction in my head, right? From there I kind of jot down some ideas of what ideas I have in the beginning and where I want the characters to go. And then if I have something that's kind of maybe kind of off, I may ask the editor to say, hey, can we use this or can we use that type of thing? And um I do a little bit of binging of the episodes, right? I may read some old books on you know screenwriting or something, save the cat. You know, just to get in that groove again or whatever. And then um send the pitch off and hope for the best.

Badr Milligan 35:36

What was your pitch for uh for Supernatural Dean Westchester, the series?

SPEAKER_03 35:39

In season one, episode one, when he goes to pick up Sam Winchester, he says he just came off of a voodoo thing by himself, but it never mentioned the voodoo thing ever again, right? So I figured I'd just do something where something went wrong and he has to go back and fix whatever he did in the Louisiana. So that was basically my pitch. And I I want to kind of take him throughout the South. He's gonna go through Florida and South Carolina and things of that sort.

Badr Milligan 36:06

So I love hearing I I love hearing that because it's not the first time I've um I've like interviewed a writer or someone that has has picked like this very obscure just throwaway line or a piece of continuity that's never been expounded, and boom, it's like you know, this it just there's a whole series right there. So you're saying you you heard this one throwaway line in the first episode that maybe no one else caught, and you're like, there's a story right there.

SPEAKER_03 36:36

Right, right, right. Well, this was a um there's a supernatural book published by DC. Oh wow. Where I think I think it was the dad and they were kids at the time. And I remember seeing that book, I was like, man, I want to write something like this. Right. So, you know, your mind wonders. So the the ideas are already kind of stirring there, and then when the opportunity arises, you know, just kind of pull them out, you know.

Badr Milligan 37:00

Now, between Mardi Gras, you you mentioned uh the the voodoo aspect of it, like how much of your experience writing Bitter Root, which has some of those elements for sure in it, I guess how easy was it to be like, okay, to connect all the dots and like kind of build the connective tissue?

SPEAKER_03 37:16

It's a little bit different because I I I kind of um kind of did a little bit of research into Papa Legba and Mama Legba. So that's not really in Bitterroot in a sense. So it's kind of so it was a little bit different than what I did with Bitterroot. So I had to do a separate research on, you know, the Haitian culture and you know Papa Legba and what that meant and things of that sort. So and also, you know, I wanted to tie in some cryptids that I grew up with called the um the Lee County Lizard Man. So and also there's gonna be a Florida man in Boston.

Badr Milligan 37:48

Actually, uh I think the Lizard Man and Florida Man were both the topic of discussion when uh the last pod I went to our last podcast on the left um live show here in Jax. And so they uh their cryptic, they were doing an episode about cryptics, but it was Florida specific, and I was having a ball. And I think they mentioned Florida Man, which is a hell of a cryptic. Right, isn't that right? Right. So all right, have you ever been to Mardi Gras? I have not. I haven't either, no. I've never been. I mean, I've been to New Orleans and uh I went to New Orleans as like when I turned 21. I was like fresh out of boot camp, and it was like, oh my god, we're free, you know, I can drink. And it was like it is still to this day the drunkest I've ever been in my life. But if you're gonna get, you know, tore up like that, I think New Orleans is the place to be. What about all right? So what about guardrails? Like what were the the guardrails? Were there any things from Dynamite or Warner Bros uh where they were saying, hey, you absolutely can do this, but you can't do that with Dean?

SPEAKER_03 38:42

Um well we for some reason we I don't know, it's legal reasons, but we can't use the um you know the Impala in the TV show, the black car. They can't we can't use that. Interesting. I'm not sure why, but that was one of the main things that we couldn't do. Um other than that, can't just let me do whatever. I kind of know the way they talk. I'm not gonna have anyone dropping the F-bomb, K-bomb, anything crazy, because I know how the show flows, right? So I know they have substitutes for certain curse words, so I already kind of knew that. Um I did get like one note back on something, but that was about it. So it's not a whole lot of editorial because I kind of try to say within guidelines on my own. I kind of please myself.

Badr Milligan 39:17

Now, for those that might not be familiar with Supernatural, uh uh Jensen Accles plays uh Dean's character in the in the live action show. Are you hearing uh Jensen's delivery when you're writing Dean's dialogue? Oh, yeah, I do. I do. I hear his voice in my head, yeah, definitely. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:32

And it's main original.

Badr Milligan 39:34

Do you know actually, uh, to go back to that story about my buddy John Beatty, the hyper supernatural fan that I would have never pegged as a supernatural fan. I think I remember uh uh just because I brought up Jensen, but it was a supernatural con that was here in town in Jack's, and he wanted me to go with him. I'm like, I'm not going to that.

SPEAKER_02 39:52

Like, what?

Badr Milligan 39:53

That sounds nerdy. And you know, like the the the the pot calling the kettle black. I'm like, I'm not going to no supernatural con. I'm gonna watch this show. And he was so offended, he was like, Come on, bro, it's a great show. All right, it's been running for 15 years. You don't know nothing. That's so that's well, yeah. That'd be done. Hey, there's a supernatural con if you ever want to go. I'm sure it's a fine time. I was young and stupid.

SPEAKER_03 40:14

Never been. I've never been to I would go, but I didn't even know they existed, honestly.

Badr Milligan 40:18

I'm pretty sure. Yeah, I'm sure them boys are raking in the dough at this place. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Chuck, I'm going to take a detour here and uh do one of my favorite parts of the show anytime I have interviews, and that is the short box friends and family segment. All right, this is the part of the show where I shut up for a minute and let someone else ask the question. Uh, and today's question comes from Ben Kingsbury. He is the owner of a Gotham City Limit comic shop. It's not only the longest-running uh supporter and sponsor of the short box, but also the best damn comic shop here in Northeast Florida. They have a lot of awards, all right? I'm not just saying that as a hyperbole. They literally have a lot of awards. So I told Ben you'd be on the show today, and he sent in the question. Let's hear from him, okay? Okay. All right, here we go.

SPEAKER_00 41:02

Hey Chuck Ben Kay from Gotham City Limit, a comic shop down here in sunny Jacksonville, Florida. Thanks so much for taking some time to be here today. So obviously, Bitter Rood was a huge success, and now you've taken more recently taken on some licensed characters from Scandis to Red Sonia, Vampirella to now Supernatural in October. What's the biggest hurdle for you taking on licensed characters? Making sure that you obviously stay true to the character that came before, but still being able to put your spin on it. I'll leave you here to answer. Thanks so much for what you do. And remember, Shortbox Nation, always take it to the limit. Peace.

Badr Milligan 41:42

He has a great radio voice, man. That's awesome. All right, if I'm being completely honest with you, that's like maybe him at 85%. You know, if you were to hear him at 100%, you'd be very impressed. But big shout-outs to Ben.

SPEAKER_03 41:54

He does have a great voice. Awesome, awesome, Ben. Thank you. Thanks for the question, man. The question is uh my biggest obstacle. Honestly, it's gonna be, you know, probably the the corporations, you know, like the Disney and you know, the and the license holder, you know, because you never know what's gonna they're gonna approve or like um when the script comes in. So um so far I've been pretty lucky. I got been really lucky on um Lion King, lucky on Supernatural so far, it's been pretty easy, not a lot of changes as of yet. There were properties in the past that caused a lot of you know headache, you know, where you know a lot of changes here back and forth and things that happen. So that's some of the biggest obstacles, just you know, a lot of eyes on your work, and you you know, you gotta please a lot of different people at the top so you can get the book out there. And also, um, and if this is an obstacle, but also I am conscious of the fans. You know, I want to be true to the characters and have fun with it and make sure they enjoy it.

Badr Milligan 42:45

Yeah, that's cool. Big shout outs to Ben for sending in that question. While scrolling your Instagram, I noticed uh are you a night owl? I noticed that you posted a photo. The captain was like, it's one o'clock in the morning. I might as well write and text my friends because I can't go to sleep. And it was a screenshot of like the script for issue three of this series. How far along are you in the series? And are you a night owl?

SPEAKER_03 43:07

I I am sometimes I can be a night owl. It's like it's weird. Sometimes I'll, you know, I may be exhausted from the night before and fall asleep at 8, 8 p.m. and then wake up at at midnight and then start working. I can't go back. I can't go back to sleep. I'm sitting there tossing the turn inside as well, you know what? Let me get up and get some work done. You know, why not? You know. So um I'm a little bit of both. I'm a little bit all over the place.

Badr Milligan 43:29

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_03 43:30

Um, what's the second question, second part of your question?

Badr Milligan 43:32

Was um I mean you posted a script for issue three.

SPEAKER_03 43:35

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So issue three um is turned in now, and now I'm I'm outlining issue four now. So that's how far along I am right now.

Badr Milligan 43:44

Wow. What what's the uh I I guess is it this is gonna be a six issue series? Is there any plans for any longer than that? Just five. Just five. Five. Nice, cleaner five.

SPEAKER_03 43:54

Right, right. And I'm also parallel to Paulina, she's writing um Sam Winchester. That's right. Parallel.

Badr Milligan 44:00

To me, so I kind of like that approach of like splitting up the brothers and letting them do their own uh adventure, and obviously it like it gives like fans of the show and uh I guess you know comics, period, uh an opportunity to get like double the quote my favorite gum line, double the pleasure, double the fun.

SPEAKER_03 44:16

Right, right, right, right. We have a scene in issue one where they have a phone conversation with one another. Oh so me and Pa me and Paulina had to coordinate our dialogue so they could have that conversation in issue one. So that's the first time we're doing something like that. So that was pretty cool.

Badr Milligan 44:31

Would you be able to take issue one of Dean Westchester and issue one of Sam's comic and put them together for that phone call scene?

SPEAKER_03 44:38

Yeah, we're not put them together, not put them together, but you can you we can read them at the same time. Got it in the dialogue, the dialogue will match up in both of the comics.

Badr Milligan 44:47

That's kind of cool. That's some out that's some out of the box thinking right there. That's like that's not that's like the 3D glasses of comics, right there. I kind of like that. Okay. Okay, um, uh uh shifting gears here on the topic of of live action, uh, of of making uh shows and stuff. It's it feels like every few years we hear another piece of Bitterroot movie news or some sort of inkling. I I am I gotta ask this, Chuck. What's the latest thing that you're allowed to tell us about the Bitterroot live action adaptation? Like where it where it stands. Can you share anything? Any updates?

SPEAKER_03 45:22

The latest has been you know the same for about you know a while now. It's um proximity media is still attached with Ryan Kugler. Hell yeah. So um they're trying to get it produced now. That's where we are right now, just kind of shopping around, trying to find a screenwriter, things of that sort. Um and hopefully move forward. So that's where we are now. Like I always say, you know, we tried to focus on just making good comics and not try to dwell on it too much. You know, if it happens, it happens, so be it. But if not, it's all good.

Badr Milligan 45:51

Um, can I just say one, I think it's it's great to hear that Ryan Kugler and Proximity Media is still attached. I think that's still like, you know, like hell yeah. Um, can I also say that I was today years old and learning that Regina King has a sister named Raina King, and they look awfully similar. I don't know if they're twins, and this has been like a thing everyone knows, but I'm late to the game.

SPEAKER_03 46:12

I didn't know that. I didn't know that either.

Badr Milligan 46:14

Yeah, I looked up like an article today. I was like, man, what what is the news of the Bitterroot movie? And I was like, holy shit, Regina King's attached to. I forgot about that. She's gonna direct and produce it, and then it mentioned like her sister, I guess she works pretty closely with. But um I guess, yeah, I guess we'll continue. Look, in the meantime, we still get great comics. I mean, Bitterroot Next Movie has been amazing so far. Um, are there any plans to drop any more? Uh uh, like another series for Bitterroot, I guess. What's the uh plans for Bitterroot?

SPEAKER_03 46:40

We're just having conversations right now um before we do any official announcements about anything. So we're just having conversations trying to figure out what's next.

Badr Milligan 46:47

You know what would be dope, Chuck? What's that? Bitterroot action figure line. That'd be dope. That'd be amazing, man.

SPEAKER_03 46:52

Come on. At least the pop. A statue. A statue would be nice. Something.

Badr Milligan 46:56

All right. You need a trophy. I need a trophy after I finish next movement. We all need something, right? We need a man, we need a manager, man. Come on. Make it happen. I can maybe do that. Okay. Uh, I got I got two more questions for you, uh, Chuck. All right. Yeah. What's uh what's the best piece of advice uh you ever got? Like what who comes to mind when you think about mentors, whether that be directly or indirectly? Is there anything that really stands out when you think back to your career and people who gave you advice or helped you along the way?

SPEAKER_03 47:22

Uh there was a writer by the name of um Bruce Brown. He's from the same area where Columbia, South Carolina, and he was one of the first ones to do Batman, right? Do a Batman short. And um, he said, Don't let anyone tell you you can't do it. And that just kind of stuck with me over the years, over and over again, even though sometimes I don't believe it, it just kind of sticks with me, and I kind of gotta recall that memory every now and again. So that just kind of, yeah, that that stuck with me for a while.

Badr Milligan 47:46

What's something that that a young comic writer does in a script that immediately tells you that they are almost ready for that next level, but they need to kill the like uh uh get rid of this bad habit?

SPEAKER_03 48:00

That's a good question. Um, I guess when I see humanity in your script, you know.

Badr Milligan 48:05

Um I was not expecting the answer at all. I was like when they put the word bubbles on the left side or something like that.

SPEAKER_03 48:12

Oh no, no, no. No, no. I mean, like what I'm saying, when I make me think they're ready. They're ready for the colour. Okay, got it, got it. Yeah, ready to see humanity in their script. Not ready, I normally don't even think about that, honestly.

Badr Milligan 48:23

Um what do you mean by like uh like you see humanity in the script?

SPEAKER_03 48:27

Uh like like like if like if you do uh uh incredible Hulk script, right? But you talk about Bruce Banner and why the fact that Bruce Banner exists is where the Hulk Hulk doesn't you know split the world in half, right? It's it's it's it's Bruce Banner's morality that makes Hulk what he is, right? Hulk may be a separate identity, but it's really Bruce Banner's Bruce Banner's moral competence that keeps him anchored, right? And also the trauma that made Bruce Banner what he is, you know. It all translates to that, other than just smashing cars and stuff like that, right? So um yeah.

Badr Milligan 48:59

Is there any advice that you would give to an aspiring writer right now? Well, maybe writer, creator, uh just general, that you think would help take their craft to the next level? Maybe you just speak uh at the writing perspective, but is there any, yeah, anything you'd say?

SPEAKER_03 49:13

I'll just say quality control, man. That's all I can do. Just take a step back and be very um critical on your own work and just put out the best foot possible, you know. Look at what's on the shelves now and and think to yourself, I gotta compete with that. Right. And step your game up. That's my best advice.

Badr Milligan 49:30

Jake, what are you reading? I'm curious. Like, uh, are you reading any comics, right? Do you have time to go to the comic shop? Uh, do you have a pull list? Like, I'm I'm curious what like what's the last thing you read that really uh I guess inspired and impressed you.

SPEAKER_03 49:41

Well, I just I haven't and uh I don't know, I'm probably the last person on earth, but um, I just got um absolute bad man, absolute wonder woman to to sit down and read those. I haven't read those yet. I read a lot of nonfiction. Okay. I just read um You Are Not What You Think book. Right. It's all about you're you are not your thoughts book, that's what it's called. And it just teaches you about how you can kind of regulate your mind and regulate your thoughts. And you know, come in my mind, you know, regulate my thoughts and you know, getting rid of the negative thoughts and you know, kind of helps me become a better writer. Yeah, helps me focus. Other than that, that's about it. I'm gonna start reading Absolute Batman. Um read that and um I try to do grab, you know, indie stuff whenever I can from at the kind of book inventions and people I work with, you know.

Badr Milligan 50:23

So can I say that um I've just started, I like only just like chapter one. I've started reading 1000, which is not the easiest thing to search for on Google. I gotta put like Chuck Brown Sever Green 1000. Um I did not know that it's been a webtoon exclusive for years, and it just so happens that I guess on October, what is this? October 13th, 1000 is being released in physical form for the first time. How excited are you about the world and a just a wider audience, new fans getting to read this series that uh, you know, has won you a couple awards, um, is a webtoon comic, which I think is really interesting. Like, I guess how do you feel about the world getting a chance to be reintroduced to 1000?

SPEAKER_03 51:07

Yeah, 1000, you know, um, like I mentioned that um Bruce Brown, um, he was the one that to give him the advice. He was the one that created that with Sanford back in the day. It was called Dragon 7 back in the day. Oh wow and then it was changed to 1000. And um once he passed, I kind of helped Sanford develop 1000 a little bit more and helped him write the script for like a small book. And we, you know, back then it was, you know, I was in my indie thing, right? So we printed the book ourselves. I did the lettering, I did the script and everything. He did the artwork, of course. And we just kind of sold him at cons at different stores. You know, we had a little CD, you know, music soundtrack to go along with it. So it was just fun, you know, just putting it out there. And it's um, I'm glad more people get to read it and get to see it.

Badr Milligan 51:50

So yeah, I um like I said, I went on webtoons, started reading chapter one, and I I guess I was just blunt. Okay, so this is a series that uh 2018, right? That's like when the series launched. Is that right? I feel like it was it was a lot earlier than earlier. I think maybe it won the Ringo Award in 2018, maybe prior to that. Yeah, I think it won the award. So I guess it's just uh one, maybe I keep forgetting how long WebTunes has been around. But then to know that like Sanford Green was doing a web comic, you know, well before like the bitter root, you know, uh the Bitter Root fame and you know, uh Doctor Doom and all of that stuff. So to see his art in a vertical scrolling format, it I like it's still blowing my mind. You know, as I'm like reading chapter one, I'm like, holy shit, his art is like kind of perfect for this format. Yeah, it worked, it went really well, yeah. I guess does your writing, uh does your writing approach change any knowing that it's going to be a vertical comic versus like your standard, you know, uh left to right, you know, uh, you know, just standard print format.

SPEAKER_03 52:50

I did this several years ago, that was a while ago, right? Um but um I do remember it being very, very challenging, right? Because they were like, you know, it has to be the vertical format. So I had to go through the old script and basically create a new script where it was like every panel was a page almost. So I remember I remember it being challenging. Um I remember I got through it and it ended up working out. But um yeah, it wasn't not an easy transition going from I feel like if I start a project knowing it's gonna be vertical, sure. You can adapt. That's that can I can I can adapt. But this was you know, translating from traditional combo script to the vertical method that was challenging.

Badr Milligan 53:31

You know, uh when I read the premise, I was like, I wonder if Chuck is a big Dragon Ball Z fan, because I get a lot of Dragon Ball Z five from it. And the art too, the the whole just kind of like feel and look to it. And then, you know, when we joined the call, I see uh a Shinron statue. I'm like, yeah. Absolutely, yeah, huge. He's one of us. He's one of us.

SPEAKER_03 53:49

Yeah, huge Dragon Ball fan. Yeah, yeah.

Badr Milligan 53:52

Hell yeah. Okay, all right, Chuck, for real. The last question I got. All right, this is but this is a chance for you to do some shameless plugs. What else are you working on? We got Supernatural Dean Winchester. What else are you working on? What else should people check out from you?

SPEAKER_03 54:05

Nothing, um, nothing I can announce right now, but um there are a secret project here. All right, right, right. I did at least two creator-owned projects that I'm working on. Um, I have, and there's an artist attached, well-known artist attached that I'm gonna be working with. And more than likely it's gonna be on Kickstarter, more than likely, or some other platform. But I am working on a lot of stuff. Follow me on Substack. Um, I have a short story on my Substack now called Stick Days. It's free to read, it's um sci-fi horror, um, and it kind of connects to the universes of this short of the comic books that I'm actually working on now that hopefully I've published out next year. So hell yeah.

Badr Milligan 54:39

Hell yeah. I'll I'll include links to that in the show notes. And with that being said, ladies and gents, this is the Short Box Podcast, and we just finished talking to Chuck Brown about uh Supernatural Dean Winchester. I got that right. Uh yeah, so we talked supernatural, we talked bitter root, we talked 1000, we talked about writing comics, being at comic cons, uh taking the jump from IT to pursue dreams and passions. We talked about it all. Uh, if you want to check out Supernatural Dean Winchester, once again, that comes out October 7th. That's Wednesday, October 7th. If you're a Supernatural fan, if you want to check out this book and support uh Chuck Brown, uh make sure you tell your comic shop to order you a copy. And I'll have links to Chuck's social media as well as website, his substack in the episode show notes so you can check that out as well. Give him a follow, keep an eye out for future announcements and projects. Chuck, this has been great. Best of luck to everything you got going on. Don't be a stranger. You're more than welcome back.

SPEAKER_03 55:33

Thank you, man. I appreciate it.