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Episode 726 - Is It Cool? f/ Jason Shawn Alexander
847 Plays1 day ago
The artist behind a new illustrated version of "A Christmas Carol," titled Scrooge is on the show the week to talk about the project, funding now on Zoop! We also discuss returning to old ideas, working with Todd McFarlane on Spawn, drawing for role playing games, and a lot more!
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Transcript
Introduction and Zencastr Promotion
00:00:00
Speaker
This show is recorded using Zencaster. If you are a podcaster or you want to be a podcaster and you want to be able to record remotely, you can do so using Zencaster.
00:00:12
Speaker
They also have hosting options and you can let them know that we sent you. Follow the link in our show notes or in the episode description and sign up for an account on Zencaster now to start recording your own podcast.
00:00:28
Speaker
Right as I'm bored. What plaything can you offer me today?
00:00:38
Speaker
got War Rocket Ajax to bring back his body. Terminator X-Z-O-X-O!
Meet the Hosts: Chris Sims and Matt Wilson
00:00:53
Speaker
Hello, everybody, and welcome to War Rocket Ajax. This is the Internet's Most Explosive Comic Book and Pop Culture Podcast. We are your hosts. My name is Chris Sims. With me, as always, is Matt Wilson.
00:01:06
Speaker
Matt, if I...
Role-Playing Games and Real-Life Skills
00:01:10
Speaker
Yeah.
00:01:14
Speaker
and switch places with my current role-playing game character he would certainly better be better than me at ah destroying things with a sword but i would have the advantage of being able to read Right, ah because your current character, Charlie Sloth, cannot read.
00:01:36
Speaker
He cannot read. Yes. He can hit things with a sword. We both have dogs, but he cannot read. As comes up a an upsetting amount.
00:01:47
Speaker
and So obviously, Charlie Sloth could not do my job. Correct. I don't think I could do his. Do you think you could do... Your character's dog, Kazrus' dog.
00:02:01
Speaker
Kazrus? No, not Kazrus. That's ah but your old character. Right. You're talking about my current character, Lord Kazimir Reese. Kazimir Reese, who Charlie only calls Kaz.
00:02:13
Speaker
Right. um So he does have a similar name to Kazrus, which was not intentional necessarily. um But I think I could do his job because his job is to have generational wealth.
00:02:24
Speaker
hey That is a very easy job that requires no skills whatsoever. Yes, he has no skills at all. I think I could do his job, um but I do not have generational
Generational Wealth Experiment Joke
00:02:39
Speaker
wealth myself. I think I would be very good at managing it, though.
00:02:43
Speaker
So if anybody wants to give me some, ah I would take it. I think as an experiment... You and I should both – because I'll be like the control group.
00:02:55
Speaker
but Right, yeah. You and I should both get – like someone should give us generational wealth. I love that idea. That's a great idea. you think Reese could do ah your job?
00:03:08
Speaker
No.
00:03:11
Speaker
Correct. Correct. He doesn't know to edit podcasts. He doesn't how to edit podcasts. He doesn't know how to edit text. He can't write a funny sentence. He can read.
00:03:23
Speaker
He can read, but he has no social graces at all. No. So... Although you say he can't write a funny sentence, but I will say, he makes me laugh.
00:03:35
Speaker
You, as Casimir Reese, makes me laugh more than I've ever laughed during a role-playing game. I think it's very funny for him to ask the question that anybody else would think would be awkward to ask directly all the time.
00:03:55
Speaker
Yes. we We are playing in this game currently, ah which is being run by l Collins, and our buddy, friend of the show, Megan Nielsen, is also playing. Your gimmick is that you are a rich idiot.
00:04:08
Speaker
Yeah. ah there's ah There's a class in the game we're playing, which is called Morkborg, that's called ah Wretched Royalty. And so that's that's what class Kazimir is.
00:04:21
Speaker
um Which is, essentially, you have no skills at all. But you have a horse, and I also have a i have a talking horse and a talking sword. And I also ah have terrible teeth. That's a key thing about me, ah about Casimir.
00:04:39
Speaker
And um i I stutter when I lie. um those are Those are very key elements to Lord Casimir. Yeah, my character, because you you roll...
00:04:50
Speaker
traits for your character randomly. ah My character is can't read and forgets things. like input Like, specifically forgets important things.
00:05:01
Speaker
So my kind of key characteristic that I was actually talking about today with L. Collins, ah because I wanted to make sure it wasn't ruining the game, is that ah it's not his job to solve other people's problems.
00:05:18
Speaker
People will walk in with adventure hooks, and he does not want... It's not his job. He has a job. He's annoyed by everyone he meets.
00:05:29
Speaker
Yeah. They're all very annoying, though. so
00:05:36
Speaker
Well, ah enough about our roleplaying game for now. There might be more to come in a minute. But... It's Christmas in June, Chris. ah Merry Christmas, Matt.
00:05:47
Speaker
Merry Christmas.
Guest Introduction: Jason Sean Alexander and 'A Christmas Carol'
00:05:49
Speaker
We have as a guest on this week's show, Jason Sean Alexander, who has illustrated ah book that is now being funded on Zoop.gg. We we were actually not clear on this when we started talking to him.
00:06:10
Speaker
It's not a comic adaptation of A Christmas Carol. It is a fully illustrated Christmas Carol book. So it has the full text of the Dickens novella with illustrations from Jason, Sean, and Alexander, which are absolutely beautiful.
00:06:29
Speaker
And we will be talking to him about that in a little while, ah which is a great conversation. And Merry Christmas! Yeah, it's ah you can tell why we jumped on this opportunity ah to talk about this incredible new version of, illustrated version of A Christmas Carol.
00:06:49
Speaker
It's great, and ah he's a great guest. It's going to be a great show. Before we get to that, Chris, and talk to Jason, we do have some business to take care of here at the top of the
Patreon Support and Perks
00:06:59
Speaker
show. The first piece of business is thanking our newest supporters over on Patreon.
00:07:03
Speaker
That's right, Matt. and These are the people who, if they want to give us money, they have a couple of options. First of all, they can go down to patreon.com slash warrocketajax, chip in as little as a dollar a month to help us keep the show going, keep doing everything we do here on the show, and pay those gimmicks they keep sending the mail called bills.
00:07:20
Speaker
That's the best way to do it. But... maybe you can also go down to 726 Gimmick Street. That's right. Do you want to know what's at 726 Gimmick Street? Of course I do.
00:07:31
Speaker
Well, as people know, we have recently started allowing people to buy the naming rights of addresses on Gimmick Street.
00:07:43
Speaker
They can be part of the Gimmick Street Preservation Society, which is a great thing to be. And the person who is named... our location on Gimmick Street this time around is the boss dog, Patrick O'Duffy.
00:07:59
Speaker
Ah, love love the boss dog. he's He's never betrayed me. So at 726 Gimmick Street is the They're All Boss Dogs animal shelter.
00:08:13
Speaker
Isn't that nice? That's so nice. They are all boss dogs. They're all all boss dogs, and you can go over there and and adopt a dog today.
00:08:27
Speaker
Fees are waived. So, I mean, you could – fees are waived, so then you can donate that money to us. yes But you could also – like, if it's too difficult for you to get down to 726 Gimmick Street, you could also go to your local animal shelter, where ah they are also all boss dogs.
00:08:48
Speaker
That's true. And you could you could adopt a a puppy and greatly increase your happiness while markedly decreasing the quality your life.
00:08:59
Speaker
but You could also adopt a kitty cat or or, you know, those shelters probably have other types of animals, too. I don't know if you can hear her right now, but Biscuit did not like that joke that I made.
00:09:10
Speaker
Oh,
00:09:14
Speaker
oh there she goes. Yeah, there she goes. Folks can go down there or go to patreon.com slash warrocketajax to kick in as as little as a dollar a month to help us out.
00:09:25
Speaker
You can help out my dog. Yeah. My little money dog. yeah I do not actually think we have any new names to read out, but we are currently still at 428 paid Patreon backers, which is pretty good.
00:09:43
Speaker
Would we like that number to go up? Certainly. um And if you want to make that number go up, patreon.com slash warrocketajax, dollar a month. at that If you are just at the dollar a month level, you get every single episode of every single show that we do.
00:10:02
Speaker
That's this show every week, every story ever monthly, comics catch up monthly, movie fighters and snack situation. All of those, you get ad free. on Patreon in your own little special feed that's just for you and that it has no ads.
00:10:18
Speaker
um So that sounds pretty good, right? At the $5 level, you get bonus content. That includes bonus audio that we record. That includes outtakes that I cut out of the show and put exclusively on Patreon.
00:10:31
Speaker
That includes writing that Chris and I have done that is over there on the Patreon that is only available there. That includes... ah you know All the bonus content we've ever done, including the one where we took an edible for $4.20 and talked for over an hour.
00:10:52
Speaker
And it's a great time. You can also buy that one for $5 if you want to pay $5 for it. But you should just back us. And then you get all the bonus content. At the $10 level, you can get line-stepping privileges for our segments, which are currently...
00:11:08
Speaker
Every Story Ever, and 1 to 10 of sorts. At the $15 level, you get to name a spot on Gimmick Street, and we're down to just one in reserve.
00:11:19
Speaker
One named spot on Gimmick Street. So if you're at that level, or the $20 level, and you haven't named your location on Gimmick Street, do it. As soon as possible. And at the $20 level, you get t-shirts.
00:11:31
Speaker
This year's t-shirt is done. The art for it is done. I have asked... The people at the $20 level for their t-shirt sizes. Please get that to me by June 15th.
00:11:43
Speaker
And then I'm going to put in the order for the t-shirts. um And the t-shirt is amazing. it It looks so good. Chris, I don't think I've shared the no final art with you. I haven't seen the final version. Now, you're telling me that that someone could become a $20 Patreon backer right now, and they would be able to get that shirt?
00:12:08
Speaker
They certainly would. And ah it is it is a thing of beauty. And that shirt, I'm hoping to have printed and ready to send by next month, by July.
00:12:24
Speaker
So ah you you have time. There's time yet.
Matt's Birthday Plans and Anonymous Gifts
00:12:30
Speaker
to to get this year's t-shirt. um So just... ah You haven't missed it.
00:12:37
Speaker
you You haven't missed it. I'm sending you the artwork right now from David Wynn. David Wynn did the art for this year's t-shirt, and it looks... You're to love it. The shirt as big as me?
00:12:51
Speaker
The shirt as big as my torso? it is It is themed around Christmas. Yeah.
00:13:00
Speaker
This is great. Yeah. This is... There are jokes referenced on this shirt that I do not remember.
00:13:11
Speaker
Incredible. i cannot wait. ah With that, Chris... ah Oh, before we get out of this, if you are unable to help us monetarily, and we understand that that may be the case, you can help us out in other ways. so You can leave us a five-star review on the podcasting app that you we use or you use, um whatever that might be.
00:13:35
Speaker
Or you can just tell your friends and family about the show. Spread the word about the show. Let people know that ah War Rocket Ajax is a show that you like and that they should listen to it. And then maybe they...
00:13:46
Speaker
can contribute to our Patreon. We would we would love that. Now, Chris, it's time for some checks and recs. What do you say? Let's do it.
00:13:58
Speaker
Chris, what do you have to check in with this week? Matt, let me ask you a question. Hit me. You ever been to Topgolf? I've never been to Topgolf. I've walked by a Topgolf in Philadelphia, and that is that is the closest I've ever come to being to Topgolf.
00:14:15
Speaker
Okay. I went to Topgolf recently, ah huh and I've never been in a place that was clearly just made for corporate events.
00:14:33
Speaker
but That is very much what it feels like. like it is it's like You have worked for corporations. I sure have, yeah. That's why I thought maybe you had been.
00:14:45
Speaker
But like it's it's it's like how Jimmy Olsen can only exist in a world that already has Superman. Topgolf can only exist in a world that already has late-stage capitalism.
00:14:58
Speaker
It has... I don't want to speak too derogatorily about it. Because they are not a sponsor, but they could be. Yes.
00:15:10
Speaker
But it has... Huge tech bro energy. yeah yeah Yeah, absolutely. In ways that I would say are both good and bad.
00:15:23
Speaker
ah Because like I do think it is actually interesting that it's so weird to say this, but they've gamified golf. ah huh Which I don't think is a game.
00:15:38
Speaker
i I think – actually, i take back walking by a Topgolf in Philly being the closest I've ever come to Topgolf. The closest I've ever come to Topgolf was the golf minigame in ah Like a Dragon.
00:15:57
Speaker
it's it's It's not that dissimilar, honestly. yeah Here's the thing. It's a driving range. And that's that's it.
00:16:09
Speaker
But they've made it so that it's like a video game, because the the balls, I guess, have like trackers in them, so they can do stuff like...
00:16:22
Speaker
You can play, like, ah Angry Birds, and so you hit the ball, and then it determines where the ball goes in, or whatever you... I guess you throw birds in Angry Birds? I don't really know.
00:16:32
Speaker
um There was also a Sonic the Hedgehog one that I didn't play. i just played the one where you, like, clearly the one that's for babies, where you just score points based on it hitting the ground.
00:16:45
Speaker
And it doesn't like like There are targets you can hit, but you can also just kind of knock it off the thing and and be fine. it it It was fine. It is just a driving range. I do think it's weird that golf as a concept is something that we've all kind of tacitly agreed that you have to do something to it to make it fun.
00:17:09
Speaker
yeah Yeah. like You have to make it smaller or put video game in it or put Mario in it. And that's the only way it's fun.
00:17:21
Speaker
I'm watching, I'm, I'm on the Topgolf website right now. Oh yeah. And it's playing a video of like, there's like a page for parties and events and it's playing a video of like people having a party at Topgolf.
00:17:37
Speaker
And what it looks to me is like they made golf into bowling. yeah Yeah, it's big bowling alley energy,
Chris at Topgolf: Humor and Mishaps
00:17:45
Speaker
for sure. yeah yeah Anyway, I i went to Topgolf, and I did some Topgolfing, and I think I might now have a lifetime membership at Topgolf, which I don't know what that means.
00:17:55
Speaker
um But I did Topgolf so hard that I split my pants. So that, it did happen to me.
00:18:08
Speaker
Matt, what have you been up to on ah on this? Talk about Christmas in June, Matt. Yeah? It's Matt's mess. ki I had a Topgolf joke, though.
00:18:20
Speaker
Oh, I also have one additional thing about Topgolf. Okay, hang all right Pretend you just stopped talking about Topgolf and splitting your pants, right? I split my pants at Topgolf.
00:18:33
Speaker
You literally turned it into Tipgolf.
00:18:37
Speaker
Yep. That was it. That was the whole joke. i also There was also like a weird Topgolf thing like like in the in the restaurant at the hotel that I was staying in.
00:18:52
Speaker
which like like a little v like a little virtual Topgolf. A little room that you could go in And that was weird because the hotel was on the same street about half a mile from Topgolf.
00:19:07
Speaker
Wild. Yeah. Matt? It is – well, when we're recording this, my birthday is three days away. When this goes up, my birthday will have been yesterday. Happy birthday.
00:19:23
Speaker
Thank you, buddy. um I have um good plans for my birthday. ah Chris, when I went up to visit you in Minneapolis for your birthday a couple years ago, um you're – Wonderful wife AC took us to a Brazilian steakhouse.
00:19:40
Speaker
And I said, I could live that dream. So on Saturday, I have a reservation for a Brazilian steakhouse. Hell yeah, dog. Dreams do come true. I don't have a ton of other plans for my birthday. um i On the Friday night, tomorrow night, the day we're recording this, ah some friends are just going to come over. We're going to play some games, ah some board games.
00:20:04
Speaker
Because I have two new board games, because I don't know if this was linked to my birthday or not, in all honesty. I do think some people listening to this right now will know what I'm talking about, though.
00:20:18
Speaker
Maybe five days ago, or it might have been even been a week ago now, I got a huge Amazon package delivered to my house.
00:20:33
Speaker
Had no idea what it was. Brought it in, opened it up, and I see their gift receipts in there, and they all say, there's like a dozen different gift receipts in there, and they all say, from an anonymous benefactor.
00:20:55
Speaker
And they have... Not quite cleared out my wish list, my Amazon wish list, but pretty damn close. Cleared out my entire Amazon wish list and got me new Switch Joy-Cons, which I have talked about on the show about needing.
00:21:12
Speaker
And these do not drift anymore, so thank heavens for that. A Chainsaw Man box set of books. a ah Raymond Chandler box set of books, House of Leaves, two board games, ah which are ah Horrified and a trivia game.
00:21:33
Speaker
Wit's End is the name of trivia game. Two video games, a Nintendo gift card, and there might even be stuff I'm forgetting. It was so much stuff. It was so much stuff from my Amazon wish list.
00:21:47
Speaker
Whoever did this, I cannot thank you enough. It damn near made me cry.
00:21:56
Speaker
ah all this, all these gifts arriving at my house. Um, also you made Marlene mad. Cause she was like, what am I going to get you for your birthday now? Um, yeah, yeah, yeah, bud.
00:22:07
Speaker
Yeah. Kind of effed us over the people who love you. That's, I mean, clearly this synonymous benefactor has some nice feelings for me too. And, ah And I kind of needed it.
00:22:21
Speaker
And i I can't thank whoever did that enough. i i It was such an unexpected and lovely moment to have happen.
00:22:33
Speaker
um So um thank you to whoever that was. Now, Matt, I didn't mention it on the show, primarily because the the note that came with it was referenced to Poker Pals.
00:22:48
Speaker
But I did get a a significant Kofi donation ah through the the Kofi that I have on on my website. And I wonder if that was the same person.
00:23:00
Speaker
it's It's more than possible. I have recently started wondering if this wasn't some kind of consortium that got together to do this. The consortium?
00:23:15
Speaker
ah But whatever it was it was, it was so kind and um made my birthday pretty early. um So whoever is responsible for that, again, thank you a ton.
00:23:29
Speaker
I have so much so many books to read and games to play and and and all of that kind of stuff. so That's good. we I have yet to get you a birthday present because I am flummoxed.
00:23:45
Speaker
I do not know what to get you now. I pulled the trigger on my emergency if I can't think of anything present. You you already have a Stone Cold Steve Austin replica leather vest.
00:23:57
Speaker
I do not know now what what there is left to give to Matt Wilson. Oh, something will come to you. I'm i'm more than certain. hope so. so ah Chris, it's time for some recommendations. What do you have to recommend?
Yakuza 6 Game Discussion
00:24:11
Speaker
Matt, the last time we checked in, with ah with my journey through the mean streets of Kamurocho, was playing Yakuza 5.
00:24:22
Speaker
yeah Now, I did not finish Yakuza 5. Not because I did not enjoy the game, which I very much did, but because there was a glitch that didn't break the game, but was annoying to me to the point where I was like, eh,
00:24:42
Speaker
I'm 90% of the way through this game. I can just i can just move on. ah Which was that ah the fifth playable character that I got was stuck in a baseball uniform from a dream sequence.
00:24:56
Speaker
And at first I thought he was just wearing a baseball uniform while running around doing other stuff. And then it turned out that that no like he like a cutscene happened and I was like, oh, he's not supposed to be wearing that.
00:25:11
Speaker
How weird. Yeah, it was it it was weird. There were a couple of odd glitches. Also, every time I would go fishing and ah catch a ah a sea turtle, the game would crash.
00:25:23
Speaker
That's that's a known glitch. Wow. Kind of weird. I moved on to Yakuza 6. And I can say, it is a really, really good game. like It is the the first one to use the new engine So 3, 4, and 5 all use the original engine.
00:25:44
Speaker
Yakuza 6 uses the the new engine and looks incredible. And is also the game that has the stars of New Japan Pro Wrestling. And I thought they would kind of be like cameos.
00:26:00
Speaker
No, there's a full storyline. There's a full storyline that starts like you encounter them golden path, baby. ah And then it becomes a side mission.
00:26:14
Speaker
But if you're like, hey, did Tetsuya Naito get in the booth and record some stuff? Does Kiryu say Tranquilo to Naito?
00:26:25
Speaker
Yes. Yes, he does. i Yeah, I feel like those things have to happen. Oh, yeah. No, everything that you want to happen from the stars of of New Japan Pro Wrestling does happen with them.
00:26:38
Speaker
um Except for the fact that, I mentioned this in a Blue Sky post, da they put the Rainmaker and the Stone Cold Stunner in that game, and Kiryu can't do it.
00:26:52
Speaker
Don't put the Stone Cold Stunner in a game and then not let me do it. Wait, who does a Stone Cold Stunner? ah Well, first of all, random enemies will occasionally bust it out.
00:27:02
Speaker
Wow. And ah Kojima does it. Oh, that makes sense. Okay. Yeah. ah But yeah, you get a lot of you got a lot of ah dialogue ah about Okada and how Okada's the strongest. Yeah.
00:27:18
Speaker
Did you say Rainmaker? Does Kiryu get to do a Rainmaker? No, no, but Okada does the Rainmaker on Kiryu. And I gotta say, Kiryu kicked out.
00:27:29
Speaker
Oh, oh boy. It's a good thing they didn't put Kenneth Omega in that game, because if he would have hit the One-Winged Angel, Kiryu's down. I thought he was in it. it immediately Is he not in it? I thought he was in it. He is not in it.
00:27:43
Speaker
Okay. It's Okada... ah so carta ah Kojima and Tenzan, ah Tanahashi, Naito, and Toru Yano.
00:27:57
Speaker
Okay. The Wrestle Games. Okay, Kenny is in a Like a Dragon game, but it is Like a Dragon Ishin. Oh, okay. That's actually what I'm going to play next. That's even weirder, because that's the one that takes place in Samurai Times.
00:28:13
Speaker
That's the one he's in. That's the one where like all of the characters from Yakuza are like actors playing parts in a different game. Fun.
00:28:25
Speaker
ah ah The plot of that game, wild. ah Love the minigames, as always. ah There's a lot of that game. is There's like two different minigames about having conversations.
00:28:40
Speaker
Which, if you ever needed more proof that Kazuma Kiryu was on the spectrum, it's that you need to actively choose to say things like, oh yeah?
00:28:53
Speaker
Huh. That's true. Like, it's great. I love i love him. i love my my friend Kiryu. ah Unfortunately, a Kazuma Kiryu action figure does cost like $250. So,
00:29:07
Speaker
alas Matt, what have you been up to? what what would you like to recommend to the people? Well, Chris, there's a game, video game, that I played on a stream for the last week and a half, maybe.
00:29:25
Speaker
And I got to what was the stated goal of the game. And I ended my stream. That game is called Blueprints. And it's a pun. You got it.
00:29:37
Speaker
Um... People, I think David, who's a Mary, our our friend, said that he didn't get that pun for like weeks until he said it out loud, and I was like, buddy.
00:29:51
Speaker
The object of the game, or the what you're told at the start of the game, is that your great uncle, who is a baron, has left you his house in his will, and...
00:30:03
Speaker
There's a stipulation on that, which is that you do not actually obtain ownership of the house until you reach the secret room 46.
00:30:16
Speaker
So it's ah it's a puzzle game where each time you enter a room, there three random rooms are generated, and you have to choose from those three random rooms.
00:30:29
Speaker
And through that, you have to navigate away to the back of the house where there's an antechamber, and then go through the antechamber into room 46.
00:30:42
Speaker
There are a lot of complications to getting there. You can watch my stream to see that happen because I finished my stream when I got to room 46, when I accomplished, this again, the stated end goal of the game.
00:30:55
Speaker
right My stream is 15 parts. It's on my YouTube channel. It's like a total of probably over 20 hours of game. Boy, that ain't the end of the game. Okay.
00:31:11
Speaker
There is so much game after that. On the stream, I say that Blueprints is like the Balatro of Rooms.
00:31:23
Speaker
Okay. You know, Balatro is the Balatro of Cards. Blueprints is the Balatro of Rooms. And I think that's true. But it is also somewhat like Animal Well, in that you reach a point in the game where you think it's kind of over, and there might be like a few things to do after the ending, quote-unquote, after the credits roll, right?
00:31:51
Speaker
But there is so much more than you think.
00:31:56
Speaker
Because Blueprints is the only game I have ever played that makes the trophies part of active gameplay. Okay.
00:32:08
Speaker
In Blueprints, when you get a trophy,
00:32:13
Speaker
a trophy, a physical trophy appears on screen and you pick it up. And that procs the trophy, the actual PlayStation trophy.
00:32:25
Speaker
There's a thing in the game that you cannot do until you have eight trophies.
00:32:31
Speaker
There's a shop that you get after you beat the game that has an item for sale that you cannot buy until you get eight trophies.
00:32:43
Speaker
Interesting. Yeah. It is such a game for me. And I think I have vote avoided for a while for that reason.
00:32:57
Speaker
Because I knew I would become obsessive about like doing everything. And there are times when it feels like the game... I know like the rooms are randomly generated, but it feels like the game is fucking with you with the games that are with the rooms that it gives you.
00:33:13
Speaker
Because like some rooms are dead ends, right? Or some rooms will only have a door on one side. And so if you... open a door in a certain place of the map, that room becomes an unintentional dead end.
00:33:30
Speaker
And it is very possible to dead end yourself out before you get to the back of the house. And that has happened to me in some very frustrating situations a few times.
00:33:46
Speaker
But um it is a very, very good puzzle game. That I'm still finding stuff in, even now. um I finished my stream probably last weekend, and I'm still playing it and still finding stuff.
00:34:06
Speaker
So, that's my recommendation, Blueprints. It's a deep dive.
Comic Review and Art Appreciation
00:34:14
Speaker
With that, Chris, let's talk about some of this week's comics. Let's do it.
00:34:20
Speaker
Now, Chris, you told me before we started recording that you did not have time to read anything this week.
00:34:26
Speaker
So, I'm going to tell you about some books that came out. The texter's choice for this week, because I texted you about it, is Marvel Knights The World to Come, number one, by Christopher Priest, Joe Quesada, and Richard Eisenhoff.
00:34:47
Speaker
Chris, this book is fucking nuts. so All right, that's exciting. Priest, of course, one of the best to ever do it. And you know what? like I think because he's been and executive at Marvel for such a long time, we kind of forget how good of an artist Joe Quesada is. Yeah, I like Quesada's art. Quesada designed the Asriel costume.
00:35:13
Speaker
He did. Which is great. His art in this blew me the fuck away. That's awesome. It's gorgeous. Like, some of his best work ever.
00:35:26
Speaker
It's really, really good. ah Dude's still got it, man. Like, beautiful.
00:35:37
Speaker
That's very exciting. The idea here is that there is some event... That happens in Wakanda.
00:35:48
Speaker
That changes everything. And that's what the the the title, The World to Come, refers to.
00:35:57
Speaker
The issue itself jumps around in time around that one moment. So it starts 16 years after The World to Come.
00:36:13
Speaker
And then there's another scene that's set 16 years after the world to come. And you see that the king of Wakanda at this point in time is this like old, frail man who isn't going to make it much longer.
00:36:28
Speaker
Then we jump to eight years before the world to come. And we see that someone has challenged T'Challa for the throne.
00:36:41
Speaker
And so they're they're you know fighting, ah as they do in the movie, for for who who's going to be king. right Then we cut to 24 years earlier, before the world to come, which goes all the way back to when Storm and T'Challa were married.
00:37:04
Speaker
And T'Challa has built this whole like cathedral... palace to Storm even though he's remarried. Okay. he He met an American actress or jazz singer. She's not an actress. She's a jazz singer.
00:37:21
Speaker
And married her, but he still has his Storm palace. And so she like hangs out in the Storm cathedral and is like, when you going to build a cathedral to me?
00:37:34
Speaker
And T'Challa's like, I don't need to build build a cathedral to you. I've I've dedicated myself to you or whatever. that's ah that's That's you and the Omega level mutant he told you not to worry about.
00:37:48
Speaker
Absolutely. Yes. Yeah. So we get to the end. but So we find out that they had a son. T'Challa and this new wife whose name is Monica.
00:38:00
Speaker
The guy who is fighting him.
00:38:05
Speaker
What? Eight years after that, like something like that. Ten years after that? No, it's... 18 years? It's 18 years after that. He kind of gets the better of T'Challa. We don't see how the the the fight actually ends, but he's wearing this mask and he takes the mask off.
00:38:25
Speaker
And this is the thing that's become like the thing everybody's talking about from this book. Chris, you want me to tell you what it is? Absolutely. He's white.
00:38:37
Speaker
Okay.
00:38:40
Speaker
But he's T'Challa's son. All right. all right Okay. So, like, what the fuck is happening here, man?
00:38:51
Speaker
Like, all the time jumping, all the, like, weirdness of this there being this world to come, like, this obvious moment where everything changed.
00:39:02
Speaker
And then we find out that T'Challa's son is apparently white. And is challenging him for the throne. Like, this sets up so many questions of like, what the fuck are we doing and where are we going?
00:39:17
Speaker
I'm honestly ah very glad to hear that ah Christopher Priest ah took all of the bad faith criticisms of Black Panther to heart. Uh-huh.
00:39:29
Speaker
and No, I'm kidding. that's There is no way in hell that is what's happening.
00:39:35
Speaker
Like, I'm in, dude. i'm I'm so in for whatever this is going to be. i love the priest run on Black Panther, you know, from, fuck, 20 years ago.
00:39:47
Speaker
From 1998. Oh, God. Yeah, dude. 27 years ago.
00:39:56
Speaker
So, the fact that this is a Marvel Knights branded book means it's surely got to be more of right? So... um so Whatever it is, um sign me up for the rest.
00:40:11
Speaker
I love it. I feel like Priest is one of the creators that real heads know.
00:40:23
Speaker
Yeah. And I don't know if
00:40:27
Speaker
I don't know if you can say that we don't talk enough about how Priest is one of the best to ever do comic books, but i don't think you can ever talk enough ah about how Priest is one of the best to ever do comic books.
00:40:44
Speaker
He's great, dude. Yeah. He's great. and Incredible. Like, 40 years of being incredible at writing comics.
00:40:54
Speaker
ah The next book I want to talk about is Amazing Spider-Man number five by Joe Kelly and Pepe Larraz. I will say I've had mixed feelings on this Joe Kelly run on Amazing Spider-Man.
00:41:09
Speaker
Largely because of the dialogue. yeah um Some of the dialogue strikes me as a little bit corny and forced.
00:41:23
Speaker
Like, I like it when Spider-Man jokes around, but it doesn't always land. And I feel like, especially with Joe Kelly, it doesn't always land.
00:41:37
Speaker
um But even some of the other characters' dialogue, I feel that way about it, too, in this. it's It's not exactly the dialogue I would want. That said, the art is beautiful, even though I think Peter still looks kind of weird.
00:41:53
Speaker
um I've talked about Pepe LaRoz's Weird period Peter when the first issue came out. Hey, Matt! Clean take on that phrasing.
00:42:02
Speaker
ah But the story I've really enjoyed. It has been all about... It's basically Hobgoblin as Scarecrow.
00:42:14
Speaker
Interesting. Because this story is all about um him putting a fear toxin in soda in like cola. And so people are drinking this cola and it's making them like, see things that are that, you know, scarecrow stuff, like things that terrify them or make them feel familiar with what scarecrow stuff is, Matt. Yeah.
00:42:37
Speaker
Yeah. But this issue reveals that it was all part of a big scheme to, um, not just scare people, but then to sell them the cure.
00:42:52
Speaker
o for the effects of it. Um, which is a drug that he, but that Roderick Kingsley put on the market like two years earlier, which I think is really clever.
00:43:05
Speaker
Like that's a, that's a cool way to like make Roderick Kingsley, like more than just a regular bad guy, but like an evil businessman, bad guy. and it it interestingly gets Norman Osborn involved in this.
00:43:19
Speaker
Um, But it it also continues the stuff with Peter working for the Rand Corporation, which I'm sure we'll see more of. It sets up some new um supporting cast members at the Rand Corporation that I am sure going to continue throughout this run.
00:43:34
Speaker
Like... The story and plotting stuff, I'm i'm into. I'm here for. um i i do the the the The dialogue kind of grates on me in places.
00:43:46
Speaker
But I'd say that this run is more good than bad so far. and And it is ah largely a fun read. So pretty good.
00:44:00
Speaker
And then finally, I was just going to talk a little bit about um G.I. i Joe, A Real American Hero, number 317, by Larry Hama and Paul Pelletier.
00:44:11
Speaker
a ah This is the comic where – you know how Dr. Mindbender was a a zombie because he got blasted with a zombie bomb? Do I ever. Yeah. Yeah.
00:44:24
Speaker
ah Well, now he's not anymore, because he he went inside a box that made him not a zombie anymore, and also made him smarter and stronger. Ah!
00:44:36
Speaker
God damn, I love Larry. ah ill I'll just read this to out to you, this dialogue. It's so funny. Congratulations, Dr. Mindbender. We didn't just give you the antidote for the mutant virus.
00:44:50
Speaker
You've been improved to a great degree. You're now stronger, faster, and possess a higher brain capacity. Plus, you now have an unarmed martial arts chip, a targeting suite, and a wireless link revanche mainframe banks.
00:45:05
Speaker
So Dr. Mindbitter is now no longer a zombie, is a cyborg. he's He's like, yes, he's got like nanobots all through his body that make him smarter, and he also knows karate now. um And they like as soon as he comes out, they're like, oh, and you have to wear these cool clothes now.
00:45:22
Speaker
You can't wear your old clothes anymore. Now you have to wear new cool clothes. The fucking goat, man. It's so funny. The fucking greatest of all time, Larry Hama.
00:45:36
Speaker
the The best, the best comics writer of all time. Alan Moore wishes. In this same issue, um a group of Joes is going undercover to like try to infiltrate or or spy on the new Cobra Casino.
00:45:57
Speaker
And there's just a conversation about how they like their new ghillie suits because they're not itchy. Yeah.
00:46:06
Speaker
God damn. He's so good.
00:46:10
Speaker
Um, and there's also a group of Joes that are like undercover as Cobra agents or the family of a Cobra agent. Um, like leaving the wreckage of Springfield, but still going to like another Cobra Town to to be like undercover there.
00:46:26
Speaker
And like half of them are other undercover, but then um Storm Shadow and I think that's Snake Eyes 2 are just there are their regular ninja outfits. yeah and
00:46:39
Speaker
Yeah, talking about Throwdown? Throwdown, yeah, yeah, yeah. talking about ah What's his name from Litter Snake Eyes? That guy's kid? Yeah. ah It's great top to bottom. ah Larry the Goat, Paul Pelletier doing great stuff with the art.
00:46:54
Speaker
um Excellent. Excellent stuff. I love this relaunched G.I. Joe. Every time it comes out. The fucking all-timer, man.
Interview with Jason Sean Alexander on 'A Christmas Carol'
00:47:07
Speaker
ah With that, Chris, those are our comics reviews. So it's time now to talk to Jason, Sean Alexander. Yeah, let's do it.
00:47:31
Speaker
Joining us for the program this week, we are very excited to have a new friend of the show, ah someone that you'll know from his work on Detective Comics, on Gotham Central, on Abe Sapien, on and all kinds of good stuff.
00:47:44
Speaker
Here to talk to us about the project currently crowdfunding on Zoop, Scrooge, A Christmas Carol. Jason Sean Alexander is with us. Jason, thank you so much for joining us on the show.
00:47:57
Speaker
Thank you. Thanks for having me. Now, this is a very exciting book for me. Like, when Jordan from Zoop reached out to us, I think what I said was, oh yeah, this is right up our alley.
00:48:10
Speaker
Oh yeah? This is someone who has drawn Batman doing a Christmas comic.
00:48:19
Speaker
Combining two of my favorite things in the world. And I'm very curious because you see... Christmas Carol stories a lot in in comics, and honestly, in everything. You see you know Christmas Carol episodes of TV shows, Christmas Carol issues of comics, all kinds of stuff.
00:48:42
Speaker
But you rarely see an actual comics adaptation of a Christmas Carol. Yeah, and i and may and this isn't, I mean, I guess this technically this isn't a comic adaptation. This is a just a full, like, illustrated novel, almost like an adult children's book.
00:49:01
Speaker
Like, it's a ah page of text and an illustration, page of text and an illustration. um something that's really enjoyable for adults to read that's not just bar you know bars and bars of text but there's so many illustrations uh i believe like it really does capture the uh those those key moments and those those emotive kind of those those yeah those moments so is it the original dickens text of a christmas carol Yes.
00:49:29
Speaker
And you know, it was funny, it it was actually revisiting the work. the um The original work was done 25 years ago for a small company, and they're no longer around, and the book wound up not getting published.
00:49:44
Speaker
So the artwork just kind of went into my flat files. but It was for like an abridged version, so that was really the only version I had read. And um when my wife found the artwork and we discussed trying to come out, you know, you know, pursue the book and actually come out with it. So all this artwork could be seen.
00:50:02
Speaker
i was just, you know, I wanted to start cleaning up the artwork and then some of the artwork started getting a little dark and I was like, well, I got to make sure it maintains like a children's book quality. And then I was wait, I should go back and really revisit everything. So I reread the story and I was like, this is not a children's book.
00:50:20
Speaker
ah I mean, this is, I was like, I've seen, you know, you see the Muppets do it and things like that. But I'm like, oh, this is i the underbridged and all that other, like, it's beautiful. It is haunting. And I'm like, oh, I fell in love with it so much more.
00:50:36
Speaker
and that really influenced me going back and redrawing and even adding a bunch of illustrations. Yeah, and ah we got to see a couple that were sent over, and they are incredible. I love them.
00:50:52
Speaker
oh thank you! ah I feel like the challenge with something like this is drawing Scrooge in such a way that he looks like then he looks like Scrooge at the beginning of the book.
00:51:11
Speaker
And then we'll also look like the same guy at the end of the book when he's very different. but It's, it's an amazing transformation and Dickens really nailed it. Like you, you feel this guy's understanding of his actions and you see, this is a, it's a really good redemption story.
00:51:32
Speaker
And it was really fun. Like, The type of... My favorite thing is just um emotions. Like, I love drawing faces and hands and anything that can emote as much as humanly possible.
00:51:44
Speaker
And this story is nothing but emotions and atmosphere and... oh my gosh. and And getting to revisit it. i and I didn't even...
00:51:55
Speaker
changed the approach so much because back then I wasn't using photo reference. I wasn't drawing very realistically. So it was very much cartooning and, uh, and all that. And I, I didn't want to, there's a really good energy in that original artwork and I didn't want to lose that. So this is actually, this is like one of the first projects, uh, I've ever, I've done in decades where I'm not using model reference and and stuff like that.
00:52:20
Speaker
I'm just really enjoying drawing the stuff that's in my head when I read this book. That's actually very surprising to me, because I could have sworn that ah you got the guy who played Kingpin in Bill Sienkiewicz's oh Electra Lives Again to play the Ghost of Christmas Present.
00:52:40
Speaker
ah It's not saying that he wasn't absent he wasn't inspired by wonderful proportions. As a matter of fact, that's one of the things I did ah for that character. i went When I went back in, I was like, I didn't make him big enough.
00:52:57
Speaker
was like I would ah wasn't wasn't bold enough at that age as ah an artist. And so I'm like, oh, yeah, no, I want yeah i want that kingpin. I want that big old shape and that little head. Yeah. Yeah, I love him. he is a He is a boulder of a man, ah just floating around.
00:53:16
Speaker
it's it's so It's absolutely fantastic. the the ah image One of the images that we were sent is the Ghost of Christmas Present floating in front of Scrooge, who looks so tired.
00:53:29
Speaker
And it's one of my favorite... images of A Christmas Carol that I've ever seen. And that's from someone who loves that story and reads it every year.
00:53:41
Speaker
Oh my God. Thank you. i did the original, in rereading this, I found just little moments of his humor of Scrooge of saying like, you know, this is all supposed to help me, but probably like a good night of sleep would have done just as good.
00:53:56
Speaker
so I was like, I was cracking up. was like, Oh yeah, you're still old. You're still going to be a little tired. ah being shuffled around this the city at night. so yeah All of it was just... This is this is really... um I'm so glad that this is the story that this worked out with because it's ever since the Albert Finney musical one back in the, in the 75 or something like that. I just, I love this story so much.
00:54:26
Speaker
And then like, and that one still makes me cry. And so every time I think of this story, I'm like, i I want people. Yeah. The whole time I'm just like, it's so fun to draw all of this stuff in this stylistic Christmas way.
00:54:39
Speaker
yeah, the reason to do it this way as opposed to a comic is I really wanted something timeless as far as like a, like a library, you know, bookshelf volume.
00:54:51
Speaker
And I really just wanted to nail the emotion because that's the thing that's going to make like the illustration stand out from, you know, decades of other versions is like, Oh, but this one, for some reason, this one hits.
00:55:04
Speaker
I wanted to ask about, how the project came back to life. Because you mentioned that your wife found the art, and that was the catalyst for wanting to start the process back of doing something with this art.
00:55:21
Speaker
How did that happen? What occasion did she – led her to find it? and And what got you going on like, oh, maybe I should do something with this? I realized you know recently that my wife is is genuinely responsible for this current chapter of my career. ah she We had one of my really lovely like old school flat files as a um as a ah coffee table when we first moved in together.
00:55:51
Speaker
and um Then one day I was going through some of the artwork and clearing it out and this stuff was was stacked in there. along with my own book, my own comic book, Empty Zone, which I had all but forgotten because there was a lot of legal issues and stuff like that. and then um And so both of these projects were in there.
00:56:13
Speaker
And so she's just sitting there wondering what the hell they're doing in there, not being seen by the world. She's very supportive. So I appreciate because now I'm doing empty zone again.
00:56:24
Speaker
And, um, and the Scrooge stuff was just like that. She's like, why, why isn't this stuff being seen? And, um, and so I looked into I like, Oh, the company's gone. ah and, um, and I just, that initially I was like, well, i wonder if I could just publish this artwork and, you know, make a good quick cash grab.
00:56:43
Speaker
Cause I wouldn't have to do any other work. And, uh, so that was kind of the plan. And, I just, I love this story. And as I was putting the book together, I started cleaning up the drawings. I started fixing this.
00:56:55
Speaker
Then I started adding a layer of color. And then I was like, you know what? I'm going to do this story once in my life. And i I really want to do it as is proud as I can. And so then was like, all right, let's push it back a little bit longer to that till this time now. And um I was like, let me really go in and make these images, try to sing.
00:57:17
Speaker
Um, so then it kind of became a thing of like, Hey, let's just make a thing. And then realized like, again, you know, we only have so much energy in our life. I'm not going to come back and do a comic book version or another version of this story, but I'm thrilled that I, and everything worked out where I do get to at least put my name on a version of this that I hope people like.
00:57:40
Speaker
I'm always interested in stories or projects or, or work, um, that lays dormant for a long time and then an artist or creator or somebody comes back to because you've changed so much over that time period. I've had projects like that where you know I wrote something 20 years ago and then I come back to it and I say, well, this core concept I still like, but I'm going to change all this other stuff.
00:58:13
Speaker
What about your art from way back when did you say, i absolutely, you know, what, what elements did you feel like you absolutely had to change and what elements did you, you know, really still, still still appealed to you? Cause, cause you said like there was kind of a, a rawness to it that you appreciated and you didn't want to lose.
00:58:37
Speaker
Absolutely. Over the, over the years and, and, uh, learning how to be a better artist, uh, ah just There's some a little bit not not life is is is it's a different kind of energy and um and and over the years your energy changes and all of that um and ah Basically you kind of start base, you know, you kind of put your artwork on like is this good? Am I doing good work? am Is this accurate? Is this strong work and all of that? And that's what kind of got me through a lot of my career and then finding these books and
00:59:14
Speaker
What i and I say books because there's um
00:59:19
Speaker
yeah ah yeah generally going to be responsible for this next part of my career because everything I'm working on, there's like at least there's four books. And they're all from this beginning era.
00:59:30
Speaker
And I realized that in that time, ah in my, mid twenties, I was just firing on all cylinders, like whether they were great or not, like they were, the energy was good. The stories were fun.
00:59:44
Speaker
ah and I seeing those now and I'm like, wait, why don't I want to do, I think I want to do these. And I was like, but i how do I do them now? And at first I did start kind of overworking things and making them too serious. And, uh,
00:59:59
Speaker
There was something that shifted in my work recently in the last year. um I told somebody, I guess enough time has passed of me drawing comics and doing art, where I ah felt comfortable comfortable ah stop asking myself if the artwork was good.
01:00:18
Speaker
But I started asking myself if it was cool. And then all of a sudden i was like, oh, my God, it's not. And then I'm like, none of this. i was like, it's great. It's fine. It's good painting. It's good, blah, blah, blah. But ah from that moment forward, I really started embracing my 20-year-old. You know, that there's a lot of stuff we got going on good in our youth.
01:00:42
Speaker
um And like you said, like all the details aren't great. So but you can so much of those those core ideas and core energy is really good. And it's probably more personal. And it resonates with us more now because we weren't as bogged down with thinking about an audience or whatever. We were just shooting from the hip.
01:01:03
Speaker
And that's why back, you know, now that I'm in my 40s, I'm going back and looking at the work in my 20s, you know, where I didn't give a shit. And I was just like, oh, I'm going to go back to this.
01:01:14
Speaker
and um And that's what I'm doing. And I genuinely, in the last probably year and a half, I've never had more fun in my career. I'm just drawing everything like I want to draw it. And how and Scrooge is a big part of that right now.
01:01:32
Speaker
I... Honestly, cannot imagine finding a bunch of really good art for but a Christmas carol, like something that is that popular and the that you could do.
01:01:47
Speaker
Like, yeah, just put this out do as ah as a cash grab and not immediately doing that. Like, that's the dream for me is like a work I've already done. i don't I don't have to do it now.
01:01:58
Speaker
Like, that's the dream for me. So I have an incredible amount of respect for you for not doing that. It was the dream for me. I'm my own worst enemy, man. i I should have just given every page to a graphic designer and called it a day.
01:02:14
Speaker
ah for But now I'm trying to make a thing, so... um And even, yeah, and what's fun is that this is all redone, you know, it's all reworked ah artwork, but we're um we're doing it just a cleaned up version of the actual original artwork.
01:02:35
Speaker
And we're going to accompany this book, the hardcover, with a coloring book. Um, awesome and that will very much have like the 25 year old kind of stuff with, uh, cleaned up lines and, and it it was initially meant for kids. And so, um, there'll be a really fun coloring book along with other stuff, but, um, you know, I've also never had a coloring book. So that kind of sounds, sounds fun.
01:03:00
Speaker
I want that now, but I would have wanted it so much as a kid. Like I'm mad. This did not exist 40 years ago. ah I am curious, though. like I've been thinking a lot about like when the the Magic the Gathering Lord of the Rings set came out. like There's very obviously like a concerted effort to not just make it look like the movies.
01:03:26
Speaker
And... thinking about the ah Christmas Carol and how many adaptations there have been and how many visual representations of Scrooge and the ghosts and Marley, like you said, we've seen Muppets.
01:03:39
Speaker
yeah ah we've seen We've seen everything. We've seen a weird animated Jim Carrey. Do you... When you sit down to try and do this stuff, do you try to divorce it from the existing imagery or do you...
01:03:56
Speaker
do do you like synthesize it all into something? Like what do you take influence or do you try to avoid it? Uh, it's all going to be there. Uh, but I don't go back and I don't go, but i haven't gone back and like watched movies or anything else. It's really just, uh, I put the, the book on, um, audio and I've just kind of listened to it on repeat.
01:04:19
Speaker
And, um, And really, it just, it sparks my own images. And yeah, because I guess how I initially originally saw or whatever, there's there's very much a classic grounding in the illustrations, very much set in the time period and stuff like that.
01:04:34
Speaker
But... but The only thing I could do to set it a apart was to to avoid that stuff and really just try to make it, I know I probably keep saying it, but as genuine as possible. I just ah was like, I get so many images in my head over my life.
01:04:53
Speaker
when i hear this story or when I read this story, like I just want to show people what's in there. was like, this is, this is how I see it. And, um, so that's about it. And so I, as much as I love Bill Murray and all the others, like all the other amazing versions, you know, like, yeah, I just wanted to kind of show, ah what's in my head when I read that text.
01:05:15
Speaker
Well, I, you know, talking about the, the size of the ghost of Christmas present and, like i'm i I was looking at some of the other illustrations and there are some some like drawings where Scrooge like has like a really big head and torso and then tiny little legs.
01:05:35
Speaker
And ah and like ah like obvious intentional distortion. and Given that this is a ghost story, a supernatural story, a a story that is not especially grounded in realism, I'm curious about like what kind of ways you played around with perspective and and proportionality and that kind of stuff to evoke that emotion.
01:06:03
Speaker
ah Because like to me, to my eye, it's like clearly there in the art. Oh, thank you. they it's i It's kind of making the most of each scene. if there's If there's not a ghost, I will... Or if there's nothing fantastical in this scene, i enjoy distorting and playing with reality to make reality less boring and more of like how...
01:06:29
Speaker
we kind of imagine it or remember it. And then when there is something fantastical, I try to at least, I try to at least ground Scrooge. So he's basically the audience, like, so he, you know, the audience can experience something crazy.
01:06:45
Speaker
And I try to make him more representational. And then then when it comes to like regular like the parties and and ah people selling Scrooge's stuff, like since it's just kind of regular people, I tend to really exaggerate and play around stylistically with that stuff. i just It's a goal to kind of try to make ah nice balance of making each illustration pop without making it all...
01:07:10
Speaker
you know can't but You can't have everything be an explosion. so But trying to find that balance between subtle imagery and then really kind of blasting people with it. I think that's really true to the spirit of the story, too. like like It is famously a story that opens with with Marley is dead.
01:07:31
Speaker
you know... when i like so you know like That whole opening paragraph of like, hey, things are about to get weird. Like, this is this is going to be a story of fantastic things happening, and you need to know that first. So even when everything seems normal, you have that in your mind.
01:07:51
Speaker
like Which is one of my favorite openings for anything. it blew me away revisiting this. I'm just like, this is one of my favorite things in the world. I'm like... Yeah, the writing, ah for people who haven't read it and i have just seen movies and all that, I hope this really inspires them to sit down with the illustrations and read the whole book because you're like, wait, why are you really pushing the fact that Marley's dead and that's a fact? Like, what?
01:08:19
Speaker
just it's It's so lovely. It's such a great little foreshadowing, but it's so stylistic. Like, it's just... ah it's so yeah it it's You're right, it's one of the best openings I've ever read. absolutely Absolutely.
01:08:35
Speaker
You've got Christmas Carol on lock, definitive edition of the work, I think. We can all agree. ah Nobody has done it better, will do it better. Obviously.
01:08:47
Speaker
ah But the world of holiday entertainment, as Matt and I well know, is is vast and varied and has plenty of things to offer.
01:09:01
Speaker
If somebody came to you and said, hey, unlimited money, copyright is not a concern, but I want you to do this for another Christmas story from any medium, do you do you know what you would do?
01:09:18
Speaker
You know, the I'm such a sucker for the holiday. My parents, we grew up pretty poor, so, like, my my parents really pushed the holiday stuff, like, to me. You know, it really stood out. it's been So, holiday, I've always been a sucker for all the holiday stuff. um that's All the holidays, we for ah Halloween and Christmas.
01:09:37
Speaker
I would, so I do, like, anytime i get a chance to do something of a Christmas vibe, I like it, but I don't, What the hell are other Christmas stories? I'm trying to think of it.
01:09:51
Speaker
I don't know. There's always a possibility because there's something really fun about... And that's why was I think also what makes Scrooge really special is that... you know it's a ghost story it's about regret and it's you know and you got ghosts and that's fine but it's set in christmas and so there's this weird like whimsy vibe to it so it's like terrible like it's it's beautiful um and so everything that you do that has a christmas vibe you know allows itself to be kind of more stylistic and playful but um
01:10:28
Speaker
Like, do what i don't i I'm not going to sit down and like draw a little drummer boy or anything like that that. I don't really have a desire for that stuff. But um I don't know. If there was a really cool Christmas story.
01:10:44
Speaker
It's so funny, though. I really can't even think of um another classic. um I'm going to throw this out there. Do it. Do it. And I think...
01:10:55
Speaker
it would It would take some legal wrangling.
01:11:00
Speaker
But hardcover, oversized, prestige format, 80 illustrations, love actually.
01:11:11
Speaker
ah but Why would you want to see that illustrated? In in yours in the the exact same style that you're using for this?
01:11:22
Speaker
but i think it's obvious why I would want to see that. I think it would kick ass. A highly stylized Andrew Lincoln holding his little note cards. his times Right, where he's holding it and he's trying to have doing like a one-way conversation with his note cards.
01:11:38
Speaker
Yeah, that's right. The scariest moment on film. How ah at Christmas you'd never you always tell the truth, which i'd never I've never heard outside of that movie.
01:11:52
Speaker
No, that's the thing. like when like I appreciate it. It's the love actually. that it's when i get Even when I get asked to draw like a commission or something of somebody from ah Queen and Country that I did years ago.
01:12:06
Speaker
Um, and there's something about for me and I get it. There's K it's characters and you want to see your characters done in a different medium. But for me, visually, when someone asks for me, like a Tara chase, I, my first thing is like, why?
01:12:21
Speaker
was like, it's a woman in a pantsuit. Just like, you can have me draw whatever you want, but you want a woman in a pantsuit. And, um, but they're like, yeah, it's Tara chase. I'm like, Oh,
01:12:33
Speaker
No, that makes sense now. so So I'm like, why would you want just people like what love actually illustrated? But it makes sense. There's really, there's beautiful moments and you'd like to see it as an illustrated thing. The beautiful moments and also the horrible, terrible moments. Just with, I want that, that,
01:12:56
Speaker
That girl who dresses up as a demon for a Christmas party in your style, super exaggerated, right floating off the ground. I think it would ah it would do numbers. That's all I'm saying. was there
01:13:12
Speaker
Was there like there was like a British rock star or something that had to do a Christmas version of a song? Yeah, ah played by ah Bill Nighy. Dude, that character would be fun as hell. Yes.
01:13:22
Speaker
I agree. See, you're seeing it now. You're getting it. Stop it. I am. That's the problem. I'm like, I already have a two-page spread of the guy holding the cards, and then you have the other in the background. Okay, stop. See, I put it in your head now, and it you' it's you're never going to get it out.
01:13:40
Speaker
Yeah, man. can just visualize it now. Stop it. i had I had to incept you just a little bit. That was good. That was good. I feel like... Even though it was originally a comic, like I think it would be so it would still be fun to do to do a um ah comic version of the... Like, it was Tales from the Crypt with this ah like psychotic serial killer dressed as Santa that breaks into this house.
01:14:05
Speaker
um it would be like It was on the first couple of episodes of Tales from the Crypt. I think i would I would love to do an illustrated version of that. I am curious, based on what you just said about commissions, like...
01:14:19
Speaker
Is like as an artist, when someone comes up to you and says, hey, can you draw something for me? do you want something that is like just more visually exciting, or do you want something that you haven't drawn before? Or or is it just like, you want something that is that level of of heightened in a way that, you know, Queen and Country, an amazing series, one of my favorites, probably the first place where I ever saw your art, ah but like is very like grounded, realistic, it's a spy story.
01:14:52
Speaker
like do you Do you want something that just goes bigger?
01:14:57
Speaker
Visually, it's always fun to play with shapes and and be able to go nuts. um What i like when I just caught myself on in talking about Terra Chaser earlier, is like and it's what I tell people and and other artists, it's just like, dude, there shouldn't be anything boring.
01:15:13
Speaker
like If it's boring, it's your fault. You have to find a way to make it exciting and find a way to make it fun. And... um And like that's what I've done when I do have Tara Chase commissions. like i And I realize it actually forces me to get more creative on those.
01:15:28
Speaker
Because again, like you want it to pop, but it's still just a woman in pantsuit. So then you're like I'm lighting it with a window behind her and the shades and all of that. And I realize, just now talking, like it just it actually forces your creative hand to push even further.
01:15:44
Speaker
But yeah, any commission can be great because you can find a way to make it great. You can put some weird-ass angle, you know do it from a do an angle from the shoe or whatever. It doesn't matter.
01:15:57
Speaker
like just You can find some weird way to put a spin on it or enjoy it more. um and But that that requires a bit more effort. But you know as far as no effort goes, it's fun to just get characters that have weird shapes and fun stuff to draw.
01:16:14
Speaker
Jason, we've got to get to... questions from our listeners here in just a second. But before we do that, I do want to ask something of you. um If you don't have anything, that's fine. But we are fascinated on this show by Todd McFarlane in a good way. We, we love Todd and um we, we know other folks who have worked with Todd and have heard some, some fascinating stories about him.
01:16:43
Speaker
Do any Todd stories come immediately to mind for you that you would like to share?
01:16:53
Speaker
I don't know if I can share that one. See, i don't want I don't want to make you say something that you don't want to. Honestly, kind of a perfect answer as well. Yeah. um No, probably not. No, I wish, like, you know, like a direct story.
01:17:12
Speaker
I'm going to, I know I'll think of one as soon as we finish up here. um No, just himself as a character is enough for me. It's enough of a story because I i genuinely thought i was, because he was my first idol.
01:17:25
Speaker
ah And so I genuinely thought I was being clowned. Or pranked when he contacted me to draw a Spawn. And ah when we got on the phone, it took a while even then because he's just such a talker and he's so open. Like, I got on the phone with him, he's almost still in mid-sentence and he's just talking and talking and talking.
01:17:47
Speaker
And it was just it just amazing. I don't think I've met anybody like him. thats And it's fantastic. like And i I mean that in a good way. like he's really He's really a special guy. um If I do have like a quick, it is even though it's not like a great funny one,
01:18:06
Speaker
ah That guy really does the you know have the love for the fans. We did this late signing at this theater in Arizona. It was me, him, and Tom. And I'm going to screw up his last name, so i'm just going to say the letterer.
01:18:19
Speaker
ah And we were signing all day, and we were finishing up the thing. And then we had to go. They were kicking us out. Everybody had to leave. And then he we discovered that there were still people outside the thing.
01:18:31
Speaker
And, uh, and it was just like, Oh, poor guys. And he, here comes Todd and he gives everybody a marker. He's like, let's go. And so on the way to the cars, we went down the line outside and signed everybody's books.
01:18:43
Speaker
And, uh, and it was just one of those things where was like Oh, he really gives a shit. That's awesome. That's nice. That's a nice Todd story. I like that. Nice Todd story. Yeah. ah Well, Matt, you mentioned questions from our listeners.
01:18:56
Speaker
If the people want to get on these conversations that we have ah here on the show, how exactly can they go about that? Well, Chris, there are two ways to ask questions of our guests here on the show. You can either follow us on Blue Sky. We are there at warrocketajax.com.
01:19:12
Speaker
Or you can join our Discord, which you have to have an invitation to be a member of. ah But if... You ask us for an invitation nicely, we will get you one, and you can join over there and wait until Thursday night.
01:19:26
Speaker
And usually on Thursday night, ah we will ah solicit questions for our guest when we have one, and ah that's where you can ask these questions, questions like these for Jason, Sean, Alexander.
01:19:43
Speaker
Now, Jason, i need I do need to warn you up front. um When I... put out the call for a questions. I just said, ask questions about your Scrooge book, and a lot of people just immediately thought I meant the duck.
01:20:03
Speaker
that's that's That's fair with our show. Yeah, ah that's that'll tell you something about our audience. um So you might get some Scrooge McDuck questions here. Yeah.
01:20:16
Speaker
What in your audience?
01:20:20
Speaker
and Look, we love Scrooge McDuck as well. we we love screw we We love the duck. i'm gonna yeah Is it Scrooge McDuck? I would love that. ah Andrew OBT on our Discord wants to know, um in your experience of Scrooge in various movies, who did play the best Scrooge in a film?
01:20:44
Speaker
Or on TV? Either one.
01:20:47
Speaker
Oh, I mean, so the one that, my favorite, favorite, favorite one was is Albert Finney ah doing Scrooge. He's incredible. It's weird that he's 35 years old and just through, like, theater makeup, he looks like an old man and then he looks like a young man. It's incredible. But, like, you feel it when he changes at the end and, like, I cry every time.
01:21:13
Speaker
But yeah also, st you know visually, the alice you know the early Alistair Sim black and white one is pretty fucking amazing. That one's my favorite, yeah. Yeah, and um and ah and just for a more modern that still has that heart, is I really still love Scrooged with ah Bill Murray. like That thing still has a great... It hits at the end as well.
01:21:38
Speaker
I also have an affinity for the the Patrick Stewart. Really? Yeah, I think you know it doesn't look as good because I think it was a TV one, right?
01:21:51
Speaker
i believe so. But his portrayal of Scrooge, I think, is... I really enjoy it. I know he did it a lot as a one-man show.
01:22:02
Speaker
Oh. um Like live, and what I would give to have had the chance to see that at some point, but... I'll give it a look. I got it. He reads it also as an audiobook, and i want his yeah versions I enjoyed listening to.
01:22:16
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. I know he loves that story very deeply. ah you can You can tell. ah King of Doma on our Discord wants to know, Jason, how bad are the Seinfeld jokes and how tired are you of them?
01:22:32
Speaker
They have, thankfully, as time has progressed, they've gone to the wayside. i um really love saying that now. Every once in a while, one still pops up, so you'll get But early on, it was it was terrible.
01:22:54
Speaker
and especially since he would do the voice for... um some bird movie. Duckman? Duckman. Uh, and so for local shows in the South, uh, they would always be older women showing up with Duckman comics that Jason Alexander was going to be there.
01:23:14
Speaker
Um, yeah. And then they would show up and see me with a green Mohawk signing comics and be like, I i don't understand. um so detailed that it was all older women who love Duckman.
01:23:27
Speaker
Right. yeah No kids were playing Duckman. That really sealed it. Right? Wild. And the guy you know that would run the show, he's like, wait, you think I had Jason Alexander from...
01:23:40
Speaker
you know, TV here and we've just put him in this tiny little thing. And he's like, that's insane. So no, it's, it, it was, uh, it was exhausting at the beginning that I, you know, it was funny.
01:23:51
Speaker
just, uh, close worlds. And that is, uh, apparently his wife is a painter. Um, and I know that because of we share the same art photographer. Um, so there's always been a time where I would love to meet him and be like, dude, I had to go through all three of my names to get away from you.
01:24:11
Speaker
I, I can sympathize as, as Matt Wilson, I can sympathize. Uh, who was the kid from saved by the bell? The lead character was that Mark Paul Gosselaar?
01:24:25
Speaker
Uh, my, I had a brother-in-law at one point in my life and his name was, Zach Morris. Um, Wow. yeah but Yeah. That's when you've got to start going by Zachary, I think. oh Yeah.
01:24:43
Speaker
Well said. ah Mike Donahue, Barely Sushi on Blue Sky. Wonders – Jason, you said you are a fan of other holidays besides Christmas, particularly Halloween. Right.
01:24:57
Speaker
um Are there any other holidays that lend themselves to magically changing the heart of an awful man and why?
01:25:06
Speaker
Maybe St. Patrick's Day. Interesting. Enough booze can change the heart of any man. Yeah. Yeah. i'd I'd read that story, sure.
01:25:17
Speaker
Yeah, there's a there's a good salvation story in the St. Paddy's Day thing. um i don't know if you can keep the spirit of St. Patrick's Day in your heart all year round and survive.
01:25:28
Speaker
Man, I tried in my 30s. Yeah. but but ah The Boss Dog... Patrick O'Duffy on our Discord asks, Jason, what is a more enjoyable and sustainable gig for an artist, comics or role-playing games?
01:25:48
Speaker
Oh, I, um... I mean, both ah both rock you know if you if you can really you know kind of get in and ground yourself you know and in the their industry.
01:26:01
Speaker
I don't have much... ah i did a lot of White Wolf stuff back in the day, which was old vampire stuff. Um, but I've always wanted to do more like concept design and role playing game stuff. But me personally, or also that I just really love sequential art. That's just my favorite thing is telling stories visually.
01:26:22
Speaker
Um, and so for me, comics, just cause you know, it's sustainable, you know, if you can really get solid in there. And, um, for me, it's ah the most fun.
01:26:34
Speaker
Renegade Sworddog on our Discord wants to know, what's the thing no adaptation of A Christmas Carol has gotten right?
01:26:45
Speaker
Ooh, I have to tell you this because I didn't know
Emotional Scenes in 'A Christmas Carol' Adaptations
01:26:47
Speaker
this. So... so One thing I've never seen. Okay. This is, this I don't know how much. Anyway.
01:26:56
Speaker
Uh, so I'm reading the book. I've read the book over and over and over, over and over and over. So there's one part in the book where, uh, we're going into the Christmas future and, um, and Bob Cratchit comes home and he's sad. And then all the kids are like, Oh, you know, you know, Oh, we're don't, don't be sad, dad. And he's just like, Oh, and he, and he loses it. He's like, Oh, my little boy. And then he goes upstairs. Um,
01:27:17
Speaker
He goes upstairs and sits down yeah in the kid's room to kind of gather himself. And so, like, again, the first version I read was abridged. And so, you know, and then he and then he goes back downstairs. There's there's a a sentence that says where he kisses the child's head and then gathers himself and he feels better and goes downstairs.
01:27:42
Speaker
And I was like, what the hell are they talking about? All the Cratchits are downstairs. What's going on? I had to Google it. I don't think I've ever known or have ever seen a version where they explain that Tiny Tim's little body is still upstairs in bed and he goes and kisses it and goes back downstairs.
01:28:06
Speaker
It's a lot to deal with. Yeah, I wonder why they wouldn't put a child's corpse in those movies that you want to watch with your family every year. that what they didn't What has never been gotten right.
01:28:19
Speaker
I mean, you know, i Did you know that was a thing? I did, but I didn't know they keep, they keep hold of them for a few days. I've seen versions where they go out to like, ah he goes to the cemetery. She's tiny Tim's little gravestone or something.
01:28:35
Speaker
I didn't know that he went upstairs and kissed dead little tiny Tim's head. And it really messed with me because there's an illustration for it.
01:28:47
Speaker
Um, And i I handled it very well. i but and It's a very emotive scene. But that that's a scene I truly didn't know was in the book.
01:29:00
Speaker
And I've never seen it in an adaptation before.
01:29:05
Speaker
Yeah, they do tend to leave that one out. It'll be like before adaptation. i I think that is probably it most at adaptations a good call. ultimately I honestly feel like without that it doesn't it it doesn't make it as It doesn't make it work as well when the next thing that happens is they're in the graveyard, and Scrooge is like, probably going to Tim's grave.
01:29:34
Speaker
Well, I forget. oh Yeah, he he was either thinking it was... Now I'm trying to remember. Tiny Tim's... No, he thinks he's going to the gravestone of the man that...
01:29:44
Speaker
ah ah the Ghost of Christmas Future has been pointing out this whole time, where he's in denial that it's actually him. yeah So they don't go to the... Yeah. but so yeah Even... but but Visually, even though you know I don't change anything in the text and and the illustration...
01:30:03
Speaker
doesn't show anything. It's just really about, you know, poor Cratchit. Um, and so I believe it's, it's very tastefully done and still, you know, something I'm, I really like that. I think I achieved in the book, but, um, I was just, I was taken by surprise.
Fun Question: Guest Appearance in 'A Christmas Carol'?
01:30:19
Speaker
I ran downstairs. was like, to tell my wife, was like, did you know, honey, honey, I have to tell you.
01:30:29
Speaker
So it was just, yeah, it was it was interesting. i didn't I didn't realize that was a thing. ah Here's our last question from Magenta Riot, who ah remembers, I think, that Spawn appeared in an issue of Killadelphia.
01:30:46
Speaker
Which image character do you or would you but have as a secret guest appearance in A Christmas Carol?
Guest Farewell and Listener Engagement
01:30:55
Speaker
In A Christmas Carol? Yeah. ah The The Max.
01:31:00
Speaker
pause answer Perfect answer. ah Our guest has been Jason Sean Alexander. Jason, it was an absolute delight to talk to you. Thank you for coming on the show.
01:31:13
Speaker
before we like Before we let you go, please let our listeners know where they can find you, where they can follow you if you want to be followed online, and ah how they can back ah your book, Scrooge.
01:31:28
Speaker
ah x Thank you. um zoop can be or Scrooge can be backed at Zoop. They are going to be the crowdfunding site. ah There's going to be tons of good, fun, extra stuff put on there.
01:31:39
Speaker
um Jason Sean Alexander, ah dot Patreon is, uh, where you can go to see weekly, uh, live, uh, weekly live drawings, uh, as well as a whole lot of like preliminary, preliminary screwed stuff that I can't show any place else. And then Instagram is Jason, Sean, Alex.
01:32:00
Speaker
And, um, that's about it. All right. Our guest has been Jason, Sean, Alexander. Definitely go check out this campaign. You, if, We were lucky enough to see some of the images that aren't up yet, but they are incredible.
01:32:16
Speaker
ah So everyone should go look at them. Jason, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. This was a blast. Thank you.
01:32:24
Speaker
Thanks once again to Jason, Sean, Alexander for joining us for the program. That was a ah super fun time. Go check out that book for real. But Matt, I think that does it for this week.
01:32:36
Speaker
It sure does. Thanks for listening, everybody. If you want to get in touch with us, you can email us at our email address, which is warrocketpodcast at gmail.com. You can also ah ask us questions on Tumblr, warrocketpodcast.tumblr.com. We're on bluesky at warrocketajax.com.
01:32:54
Speaker
Or you can join our Discord. I mentioned that earlier. Just ask us for an invitation, and we will get you ah a spot on the Discord. You can join the the community of War Rocket Ajax fans over there.
01:33:06
Speaker
It's a great place. Our website is warrocketajax.com and has every episode of the show we've ever done. warrocketwiki.com is the fan run repository of all the information you could ever want or need about this show, War Rocket Ajax.
01:33:21
Speaker
If you want to find me and my stuff, go to mattdwilson.net. That's where you can link find links to my comics, my books, my other podcasts, and my social medias. Chris, where can everybody find you?
01:33:33
Speaker
Everybody can find me by going to the-isb.com. That is my website. It's got links to all the stuff that I do, stuff that you can read for free, stuff that you can pay money for.
01:33:45
Speaker
if you want to give me a significant amount of money, there's a link to do that, too. It's great. Go there. You should go there. You should go there. As for us, we're going, but we'll be back in a week with another fantastic episode of the show. I think we're going to have ah another guest next week, Matt.
01:34:03
Speaker
We have another guest lined up, so come back for that. We simply do not want to say goodbye so the jerkies.
01:34:14
Speaker
Until then, everybody, do not forget Black Lives Matter. Trans rights are human rights. As are abortion rights. Drag is not a crime. Cops aren't your friends.
01:34:26
Speaker
And diversity is not the problem. But we love you. We love you. Yeah!