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An interview with Sabir Pirzada, Author of Violets

6/6/2020

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Yesterday, I had the awesome opportunity to do my first live interview on my Youtube Channel.  You can check out my interview with the talented Sabir Pirzada where we talk about his newest work Violets in addition to what comics mean to him, his grail books, and the comic book community!  Check it out below or on Youtube!
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HOLY CRAP I GOT TO INTERVIEW THE RODNEY BARNES

5/21/2020

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Hands down, my favorite title from 2019 was Killadelphia (you can see al of my reviews on that link, or check out the Chops Podcast). Its an interesting take on Vampires, I was hooked from book 1 especially when it cryptically hints that President John Adams is responsible for the coming spike in Vampiric activity.  After book 2-3 dropped, I sent Mr. Barnes a message on twitter asking some questions about the series.  This was the first time I had interviewed anyone, and they were bad questions which I was too embarrassed to publish.  However, on Monday night, I ended up in a thread on twitter where Rodney was talking about what comics meant to him, what he chases when collecting and more.  I was so amped up by that conversation, I decided to take another shot at interviewing him and he said sure!  So I bring to you:

My Q and A with THE Rodney Barnes

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CBP-Can you give us a brief rundown of who you are inside of the world of film/tv/comics? 
RB-I write and produce television, film, and comic books. I’ve been working in television/film for 20 years, comics for roughly 3 years. 

CBP-Can you give us a brief rundown of who you are as a person outside of the media world? 
RB-I’m a parent, friend, and I try to be a good person. ​

Talkin' Comics With Professor Barnes

CBP-What brought you to comics as a fan/collector? 
RB-Fell in love with comics when I was 5 or 6 years old. Been collecting and reading them ever since. 

CBP-Have you ever taken a break from reading/collecting? If so, why? What brought you back? 
RB-Took a break in the mid-90’s due to work and life. The routine of going to the comic store every Wednesday sort of brought me back.
 

CBP-What brought you to comics as a creator/author/show writer? 
RB-I’ve always wanted to be a screenwriter. Decided to go to LA in 1995 to take a shot at making my dream come true. 
[Author's Note] I'd argue he's succeeded in living that dream.  If you're not familiar he's written and/or produced some of my favorites like: The Boondocks, My Wife and Kids, Everyone Hates Chris, and Wu-Tang: An American Saga. I'm guilty in not seeing Marvel's Runaways (its now my "office hours" viewing to rectify this mistake). He's won several awards for his work: a Peabody Award, an AFI Award, one from the Writers Guild, the NAACP and many more! (now you can see why I was freaked out when he said yes!)

CBP-Of all of the various projects you’ve created across film/tv and comics, how does what you do in one project inform another? 
RB-It doesn’t. There is the exercise of writing which keeps me sharp, but I typically don’t do the same types of things so they rarely relate.
 

CBP-Do you have any other passions/obsessions outside of comics? 
RB-My kids are my passion. Other than that, horror/sci-fi TV and films. 

CBP-What is the first comic you remember purchasing/reading? Do you still own it?
RB-Avengers #6 at my public library. No. I was maybe 5 years old at the time and it’s against the rule to take comics from the library. At least back then. 

CBP-What character/series etc. holds a special place in your heart? 
RB-Swamp Thing is probably my favorite character, although Miracleman is a close second.

CBP-
Is there a popular book/character that you just loathe, you don’t get the hype behind them? 
RB-Nope. I appreciate everyone’s work. [Author's Note] It is awesome to see a creator embrace this type of philosophy since you see a small fraction willing to roast or dunk on creators, and its amazing to see someone of his stature isn't going to drag anything.

I Couldn't Resist, I Had to Ask About Killadelphia...

CBP-When book 1 was published, I reviewed it out of chance because of the cover to issue one. It was love from the first read. How important do you think cover art is to hooking readers who may pick up the book without checking out things like “previews?” 
RB-Cover art is essential. It’s the first thing that catches the reader’s eye. 
CBP-Why John Adams? As someone who teaches history and government, this is honestly the decision that hooked me. Are there any other figures you thought about before deciding on he/Abigail? 
RB-Not really. Adams was the perfect figure for what I wanted to say. 
CBP-This book makes an excellent commentary on race and blackness given the status of several of the prominent black vampiric characters, is there a conscious choice between the vampire and blackness in contemporary society? 
RB-Not really. I’m not trying to hit readers over the head with a “message.” Just trying to tell a satisfying horror story with maybe a dollop of social commentary. 

CBP-How did you and Jason Shawn Alexander hook up for this amazing collaboration? 
RB-Jason and I have been friends for a while. I pitched the idea to him and he hopped on board. Lucky to have him. 

CBP-Congratulations on this being picked up by Levantine Media for a television option. As a producer, how hands-on do you get to be during the creative process for the show? 
RB-I’m creating the show and overseeing all, so pretty hands-on. 
​

CBP-Is there anything juicy you can tell us about the show? 
RB-Just that the plan is to stay true to the book. I purposely wrote it like a TV show to make it more adaptable. 

Talkin' Community

CBP-Who are some of your favorite folks to read/follow/etc. online about all things comics and/or media? 
RB-Joe Hill, Tananarive Due, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, I could list about 25 more folks lol... 

CBP-What’s your coolest interaction with a fan/collaborator/fellow creator? 
RB-Twittering with folks like Shaquil Hickman, whose energy and passion are constant reminders of the beauty of the comics community. 

CBP-What piece of advice would you give to someone trying to create their own fan/collector content online? 
RB-To go for it. There’s nothing in the world like being creative. I encourage all to give it a go! 

CBP-Anything else you want to say or want us to know?
RB-Just that I appreciate all of the Killadelphia love. Hoping the fans dig arc 2 as much as they did arc 1. 

In Conclusion

It was amazing to get to ask Mr. Barnes some questions, even if it was just a simple back-and-forth via a doc, I'm still through the roof with excitement.  The fact that someone who has seen the massive levels of success and number of accolades Rodney has just speaks volumes of his character! I'm loving this era of seeing creators willing to interact with fans on an increasing basis.  I feel like this is something that makes the comic book community exceptionally unique compared to other forms of entertainment, and I was excited to see his thoughts on what all of this means to him!

Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to answer my questions.  I'll make it right by watching Runaways, and I'll still be massively hyping Killadelphia because it is amazing, and I can't wait to see what it looks like in a different format!
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Interview--Peter Smart

5/17/2020

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There are some things you see on Twitter that make you say...

via GIPHY

The person who gives me this reaction all the time is Peter Smart. This guy has one of the most incredibly displayed collections which he shows frequently.  I' talking new merch, statues, pops, books etc.  Everything this guy shares with the world is fan-freaking-tastic.  He also has a large depth of comic knowledge writ-large.  I am checking his updates frequently, because I need to see which item I'll be most obsessed with from Peter's Comic Corner.  
Follow peter here

Who Puts Peter in the Corner?

CBP-Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
PS-I’m a warehouse manager during the day it that’s pretty much just to pay bills, in my free time I help run a comic shop. I am passionate about animals and comics. Some hobbies include kayaking, watching tv, playing board games, anything comics related. 

CBP-What brought you to comics?
PS-I started reading trades I bought on amazon as something to do after high school, I was bored one day and decided to go to the closest comic shop to me and the rest is history

CBP-Every time I see a picture of your collection, I am constantly shocked.  How long did it take you to collect everything you’ve got?
PS-I bought my first comic about 4 years ago, since then I got a part time job at my shop where I eventually became a big part of running and operating. So until then my collection was limited to maybe 3 statues, no graded books, nothing besides what was available from Diamond. In the past 2 years I’ve accumulated about 85% of what people see in my photos. As hard as that may be to believe! I use most of my time spent at the comic shop as store credit and have been able to amass a huge collection. I’ve slowed down a lot the past few months(not covid related) but because I’ve done a fairly good job catching up on all the years of comics I missed pre February 2016

CBP-Do you have any other passions/obsessions outside of comics?
PS-I’m very passionate about animals! [author's note] I've never seen someone own one, let alone multiple ferrets.  But seeing how he gets to interact with all of his animals makes me jealous I can't have one as a pet.  (Damn wife and her "allergies")

CBP-You are incredibly knowledgeable about all things comics, have you ever thought about youtube, a blog, or do you prefer Twitter over everything else?
PS-twitter is a perfect medium for myself personally. I am incredibly introverted, perhaps to a fault. I'm not so great at vocalizing what I want to say, on top of that talking to people is extremely hard for me and I would surely clam up. On top of all that I strongly dislike pictures of myself and hearing my own voice, so being on video would be incredibly uncomfortable for me and I just cannot see it happening. [author's note] I get that, but anytime you want to guest write a piece and drop some science on these fools, you are always welcome!

Talkin' Comics and Collecting in the Corner

CBP-What is the first comic you remember purchasing/reading?
PS-I started out buying Batman trades about 5 volumes into new 52 so court of owls was the first book I ever read!

CBP-Do you still own that book?  Why/Not?
PS-Yes! On top of the sentimental value it is one of my all time favorite Batman stories, even with many many more I’ve read since to compare that too!

CBP-What character/franchise will you die on a hill defending?
PS-Batman of course is the obvious answer. But the metal men, Lucifer, titans, and the legion of superheroes are my diehard fandoms. The franchise I will defend forever is the Doom Patrol!!

CBP-Is there a popular book/character that you just loathe, you don’t get the hype behind them?
PS-I wouldn’t say I loathe him but I have never been a fan of Guy Gardner

CBP-What are your “grail books/titles?”
PS-in my collection would be the full run of court of owls, death in the family, year one and watchmen. I would love to get my hands on a copy of V for Vendetta.

CBP-Like I noted earlier, you have an impressive collection.  Do you mind sharing some of your secrets for finding all of your gems?
PS-I kept my eyes on new releases for starters. Once I got more knowledgeable on comics and the industry I started finding out who to listen to or follow, eventually it became harder to decide what not to get. There’s so much out there it ends up coming down to how much space do you have and how expendable is some (a good chunk?) of your money. 

CBP-How do you balance collecting and reading for pleasure?
PS-pleasure always first, if comics become a “job” to me? It looses all its enjoyment. Comics are my escape from reality. So when collecting, I never collect anything that at one point or another didn’t bring me some pleasure. Whether it be supporting a kickstarter, awesome art, meeting a creator at a convention or anything else, I collected it because it brought me some form of joy. I think that’s important and what makes any collection special.
​

CBP-How did you zero in on exactly what you wanted to start collecting?
PS-for me it started out easy. Batman. Then DC comics as a whole. I’ve branches out into some independent stuff but it’s dwarfed compared to my DC selection

Finally, Talking Community!

CBP-Who are some of your favorite folks to read/follow/etc. 
PS-the two followers I’ve been talking to the longest and who I talk with daily are definitely Wes (@wes_greer) and Shaquil (@shaqforDCCOMICS) but as for favorites, I’m really proud of the AMAZING community I’ve submersed myself in and become a vocal corner of, so there’s 20-30 amazing people I’ve met that I’d easily put into my favorites category. [author's note] You can read my interview with Wes now, and Shaquil will be up soon, once I finish tweaking his questions!
​
CBP-What’s your coolest interaction with a follower?
PS-absolutely the amount of people Shaq has recruited to read the AMAZING Killadelphia by Rodney Barnes! I see him daily promoting this book and I jump in whenever I see it and they’re always fun interactions. It’s made all the better when days or weeks later we get shoutouts that said person picked it up and loved it!

CBP-What piece of advice would you give to someone trying to create their own twitter presence?
PS-I spent 9 years doing not much more than retweeting and reading twitter. If you want to grow, interact with others. The more positively the better, for me there’s nothing simpler than kindness so I try to be a voice of positivity on twitter and so far it seems like people enjoy that!

In the End...

I'd like to thank Peter for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer all of my questions!  He's exceptionally kind, knows more than 1000 of us combined, and...if you buy anything from him, it comes with a lifetime supply of bubble wrap!  You can clearly see he cares for his collection, he cares for the industry, and most importantly, he cares about the community.  Keep being awesome Peter!
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Introducing the Epics of Enkidu

5/14/2020

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This morning, as I was doing my normal "I don't want to get out of bed" scroll through Twitter, I received a message about a campaign for a new indie book that is about to open for backing on Indiegogo. 
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The Epics of Enkidu
By: Ahmed Alameen and Felix Torres

The Indiegogo page offers several tiny morsels of information (since it is in pre-release) but it is enough to intrigue me:

1. It is a sequel to the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is the oldest surviving literary work.  This is a massive text to take on as it's something you learn about in middle school (when you learn about Mesopotamia), it's something you study in literature classes in high school and college. It is not just significant for its age, but the tale it tells as well.

2. The primary character is a person with autism.  This is something I absolutely love. We have seen comics take on issues of race, gender, sexuality; we've seen comics take on raising the visibility of persons with disabilities.  We've seen comics offer insight into the lives and minds of people with a variety of mental health conditions, but not really Autism. As the spectrum of Autism continues to expand with individual conditions/syndromes being diagnosed with more accuracy this creates a space to positively empower someone on the spectrum. With 1 in 6 children under the age of 17 being diagnosed with Autism, there needs to be an increase in creative representations so these children could find someone to identify with!

3. The little nuggets of art on the indiegogo page look like they live up to the task of taking on an epic work of literature.
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Everything intrigued me about this project, so I reached out to the creators with a couple of questions.  Here's a tease of my full interview with writer and creator

A Quick Q and A

CBP--Can you offer a quick summary of the story?

AA-The Epics of Enkidu is a comic book that features a superhero who happens to be Autistic, in what could be the sequel to the oldest story ever found in human history, The Epics of Gilgamesh. The story follows Enkidu who is brought back from out of time and does not remember who he is. Being autistic, his brain works so fast, that everything around him moves too slow, which makes him socially odd and interacts with the world differently, but it does help him analyze everything, and it allows him to see the patterns of things; things that can happen before they happen. It can be handy when he is in danger, but not when you try to communicate with him.


CBP-Why did you choose to create a main character with Autism?

AA-I wanted to dedicate a character for my nephew, who is an awesome autistic kid, and the muse for my story. And through this story I want to raise awareness about autism and help people understand more about how it is like to be on the spectrum, and also I want to inspire the autistic community to overcome their daily challenges, and hopefully realize that they can be heroes. 


CBP--Were there any challenges with writing/illustrating this kind of character? 
AA-It wasn’t, but if you asked me that question four years ago, it would have been. The reason I was writing the story with confidence is because I became very interested in history, especially Mesopotamian history, and when I decided to write the story, I already had all the materials I needed to use for weaving my plot(s).

Conclusion

I'm intrigued enough by the story of the premise to set an alert for the Indiegogo campaign when it opens.  Ahmed's interview responses (you'll see more Friday!) make me want to empty my wallet!  Click the banner box at the top to check out their full trailer for the comic and set an alert for Saturday's launch!
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Interview--PixarNerd Studios

5/11/2020

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I am really excited for today's interview.  While there is not a single creative or artistic bone in my body (seriously ask my art teachers or my college Theatrical Design professors) I love watching artists, artisans, and creators show their processes, its really intriguing to me.  Which is why I was super excited when today's guest said yes!

What's a PixarNerd?

CBP-Let’s talk about that name, is there a significance behind PixarNerd?
PNS-I like Pixar films. I watch them the week they come out (if I can) and study every detail. Hence the name Pixar Nerd.

CBP-Describe your channel for the un-initiated.
PNS-I do speed draws on youtube. I am now commentating my videos for more viewer engagement.​ [author's note] Isaac is quite smart in his growth strategy, one day he tweeted asking what he could do to improve view length, and a bunch of us commented, and each video has added something new, and they're great!  I now understand a little bit of his technique when watching he or other artists at work!
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You can follow all things PixarNerd: 
Twitter: 
@pixarnerdstudio
Instagram: @pixarnerdstudios
Youtube: The Channel

Who is the PixarNerd?

CBP-Who are you and what do you do when you're not illustrating for your channel?
PNS-My name is Isaac. I love to watch movies, draw, and read. I am working on finishing school, but work on art in my free time. I enjoy to help others. I am an Eagle Scout. Pre-quarantine I ran a dog care business with my twin brother. 

CBP-What brought you to art?  When did you know you had a knack for drawing?
PNS-My mom brought me to art. She is a really good artist, and we used to draw a lot together when I was younger. I knew that I had a knack for drawing when I was in 3rd grade and drew some famous cartoon characters. 

CBP-What do you use when you create your videos?
PNS-I use Autodesk Sketchbook on a Windows 10 laptop.

CBP-What brought you to comics?
PNS-I like to read. I like to draw and look at art. Comics are the middle ground.

CBP-What else are you passionate about?
PNS-I love animation. I am still working to become an animator. I also like to read novels. 

Talkin Art and Comics With Isaac!

CBP-What is the first thing you have a clear memory of drawing?
PNS-I used to draw Garfield a lot!!! Like A lot. I loved to draw Garfield… every where. 

CBP-
What inspires you to draw the characters you choose for your channel?
PNS-I choose to draw things I like, and when I run out of ideas, I ask my twitter followers for stuff they would like to see.

CBP-Do you have any of your own original artwork (aside from the things we see you create on your channel?)
PNS-Yes I do. However, now most of the stuff I draw goes on the channel.

CBP-What is the first comic you remember purchasing/reading?
PNS-The first comic I remember reading was Spider-Man Unlimited #3, which recounts Doc Ock’s origin. My mother gave it to me when I was really young.

CBP-Do you still own that book? 

PNS-I do indeed still own that book. However, the back cover is missing, and tape is everywhere trying to hang it together.

CBP-What are your “grail books/titles?”
PNS-My grail book is ASM #300, the first appearance of Venom. I own reprints, but I really want to own the first edition. (Maybe Spawn #1 also)

Growing Your Influence

CBP-What pushed you to want to create your own youtube channel?
PNS-I just wanted other people to see my art.

CBP-What was your strategy of edging your way into the marketplace of ideas?
PNS-I talked to others on twitter, where I engaged with the comics community. 

CBP-How long did it take you to build a following?  How did you start engaging folks?
PNS-What following? LoL. I started engaging folks when I won a contest by my now friends, Chris and Oscar over at Lost N’ Comics. I offered to do their profile pic in thanks, and now they help me with feedback and stuff.

CBP-Knowing everything you know now about your channel, what would you have done differently at the beginning of your grind?
PNS-I would have done shorter videos. My original videos were short hour long drawings that I shortened into 14 minute videos. My newer videos are 6 hour long drawings that I shortened into 4-6 minute videos.

CBP-What are your plans for the future?

PNS-I want to start doing animations on my channel. [author's note] YES PLEASE!!!!!!!!!

Talkin' Community

CBP-Who are some of your favorite folks to read or follow?
PNS-Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman. Their stuff is amazing.

CBP-What’s your coolest interaction with someone online?
PNS-When Ryan Stegman retweeted my drawing of carnage.. 
​

CBP-What piece of advice would you give to someone trying to create their own fan/collector content online?
PNS-Your original stuff is going to suck. In my case, all my content sucks. [author's note] While I am self loathing too, I highly disagree with Isaac's assessment with his work, I think it's quite amazing!

Now it's time for something special!

I think what Isaac/Pixar nerd does is so exceptional, when I saw he was open for commissions, I knew it was time for me to get rid of some of the terrible things I created for my own online presence and I was more than willing to throw one of my favorites a couple of bones, and I can now share some new exclusive Comic Book Poser art!

The conversation was awesome about what to create, but the final product blew me away, and even my wife who's not into comics at all got all of the references (even Namor because she's heard me talk about him so much!).  It is amazing, and any time I can think of anything else I may need, he's the first one I'll reach out to!

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    The journey of a 30-something father of three who's trying to break into the world of reviewing comics after a loooooong hiatus...
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    Rimmey is a high school history/government teacher & speech and debate coach in Kansas.  He has slowly been rediscovering his love for comics since June of 2019.

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The journey of a 30-something father of three who's trying to break into the world of reviewing comics after a loooooong hiatus... Rimmey is a high school history/government teacher & speech and debate coach in Kansas.  He has slowly been rediscovering his love for comics since June of 2019.

Email is open for any sort of comic/graphic novel/manga etc. review, especially independent and/or small publishers!

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