S2 Ep.25 Comic Book Talk w/ Josiah Bradly

Comic Book Talk with Josiah - Transcript

[JAMIE] It's always an exciting time when we're having a first time guest. Great to get to know new people, to discover new and exciting ways to embarrass ourselves. It's going to be so much fun. [laughing]

[KARLI] I was like, wow, this is like so optimistic of her. [both chuckle] And then and then it came. And I was like, yeah, that. That right there.

[JAMIE] You gotta wait for that sweet, sweet punch line [Karli chuckles] to really let you know how I feel inside.

[KARLI] So nerve-racking. It is so exciting. I am thrilled that we convinced our guests today to join us. [chuckles]

[JAMIE] We're—I wouldn't say we're the least professional podcast out there. But we are low on the list. [laughs]

[KARLI] I mean, no, we're high on the list of least professional.

[JAMIE] Oh, okay, yeah, you're right. See, I don't even know which way is up. [Karli laughs]

[INTRODUCTION MUSIC PLAYS

[JAMIE] Welcome to The Act Break, where we're talking about all things story.

[KARLI] Take a break from your creative endeavors and hang out with us.

[JAMIE] Have a little simulated human interaction.

[KARLI] Because internet friends totally count.

[INTRO MUSIC FADES]

[JAMIE] Welcome back to The Act Break podcast where, through the wonder of a thing that I complain about almost constantly, we have the opportunity to talk to friends and creative people, talented people all over the world all the time. And that thing is technology. I'm constantly like, ugh, but it facilitates my entire life.

[KARLI] Gross. Technology.

[JAMIE] My entire social network [laughing] depends on this thing that I despise. I see the irony. Don't get me wrong.

[KARLI] She's not blind to it, folks.

[JAMIE] I just lean into it. I am Jamie, a science fiction and speculative fiction author, or at least that's what I tell people. And I am joined today by my co-host.

[KARLI] K.C. Ash or Karli. I am a professional... procrastinator and writer of many weird things that I don't let anybody read, ever.

[JAMIE] A smattering of awkwardness. Yeah, that's that's like your tagline. [chuckles]

[KARLI] K.C. Ash, a smattering of awkward. I feel like it's, it's a lot more than a smattering. [laughing] To be honest.

[JAMIE] It works. As the title of this episode has revealed. Today we are excited to have a first time guest, longtime internet friend, comic book connoisseur and creator and host of Josiah's Voice Podcast, Josiah Bradley. Welcome to the podcast.

[JOSIAH] Thank you so much. It's wonderful to be here, y'all. It's wonderful to meet you too.

[KARLI] Right?! So excited to have you and like actually talk to you in real time.

[JOSIAH] Right?

[JAMIE] This is the theme of the podcast whenever we have somebody we haven't had previously, is we've known you for years. And now we're talking in person for the first time. [chuckles]

[JOSIAH] I know, it's kind of weird, but in a good way.

[KARLI] It's the perfect opportunity to actually get to talk to people that we've been messaging over the years.

[JAMIE] I just want to give this little recognition is Josiah and his podcast is one of the reasons that we have our podcast, because I very specifically remember listening to Josiah's and you read the ad for anchor. And I was like, oh, I'm gonna look into anchor. And then like, that was kind of the first few steps of us even doing our podcast. So thank you.

[JOSIAH] I didn't know that. Wow.

[KARLI] Creative people doing creative things. I guess I could try to be creative too.

[JOSIAH] Right? Like I did a podcast with friends back in like high school or something like that. And that was a long time ago. And then 2020, my parents started doing one. And then they were like giving me note—they were like, "Hey, we did this, this and this, if you want to—you know, I remember when you when Marcus, your best friend used to do it." So that's interesting that you say that because they, I feel like they helped me. I had no idea. Like, I just remember it felt like we both launched at the same time or something, everybody had all the time in the world. And so we're all being creative. And I was like, hey, Karli and Jamie have a podcast too, so that I'm honored. That's cool. I'm glad that, that had some type of positive effect.

[KARLI] And your podcast in general just has a positive effect. Like you are one of the most like, engaged and interested—like you are such a good interviewer and you are constantly like shouting out people's creativity. And it's such a cool thing.

[JOSIAH] Thank you. I try.

[JAMIE] So would you mind telling our listeners a little bit about yourself? What you do as a creative and what you're currently working on, that sort of thing? I didn't pose that question great. [all chuckle]

[JOSIAH] No, it's no it's okay. I'm trying to also recalibrate from being the interviewer to the interviewee. So...

[JAMIE] It's hard to say which is more difficult sometimes. Sometimes you're like, I wish somebody would just ask me a question and I answer it. I don't know.

[KARLI] It's hard to be put on on the spot, sometimes where you're just like, oh, I have to talk about myself, okay.

[JAMIE] Karli hates talking about herself. She would rather have her like fingernails ripped off. [Josiah and Jamie chuckle]

[JOSIAH] Oh my gosh, well, okay, here, let me know. Yeah, this is cool, because it's fun to hear you guys. Like do your thing. When you're doing it now to be a part of it. I'm like, now I'm being pulled into the vortex too, because it's taking me like 30 minutes to just answer the first question. [Jamie and Karli laugh] But it's just fun to be here.

[JAMIE] And, and then it'll come out and you'll be like, I swear it took way longer and because I just chop all this out. [Jamie and Karli chuckle]

[KARLI] I love the description of a vortex. That is accurate.

[JOSIAH] It's like in what is it Pirates 3, when it's like maelstrom! [all lauhg]

[KARLI] Yes.

[JOSIAH] So okay. My name is Josiah Bradley, been buddies with Karli and Jamie for maybe five years now on Instagram. Since I lived in Maryland, of the United States. I lived in Maryland, then I moved to their home state, but down south, I was in SoCal from 2019 to what's my math? 2022? Yeah, yeah, we're in 2022 now haha. So about two and a half, two and a half, basically three years. As Jamie had said, I love comic books. I got I met them virtually because of also my love of novels, you know, Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Walter Mosley, you know, I love books as well. And I've also published a book with my dad and trying to crank out another novel out of myself soon when the time's right. Because I'm a proper writer where I also procrastinate. The ladies know all about, they know all about that the writing is the hard part. While in LA, I got to realize or begin my dream to work in the film industry. So I was a production assistant, on set production assistant, for shows as well like, like Obi Wan Kenobi, Insecure, Blackish. Very blessed to have been able to do that. And now I live at the time of this recording, currently living in East Africa, the country of Rwanda in Africa, and just been relaxing with a new, yet familiar culture and still inhaling lots and lots of books, as well and tuning into The Act Break, when I'm able to as well. I hope I answered the question rapid fire, but that's a little bit about me.

[JAMIE] It’s fantastic.

[KARLI] It has been so fun to watch your like progression of how your move, your travels, and all the different like creative things that pop up for you. You've had a busy couple of years, like a really, really awesome, successful, epic couple of years. It's been really cool to watch you do all that.

[JOSIAH] Wow. Thank you. Yeah, you—when you put it in perspective, like that it has been, it's only been a couple of years, maybe three of a lot of a lot of busyness, a lot of highs and lows. But you know, we've gotten through as a family so far, thankfully, and just— I don't—just just trying to take life by the horns as best you can. I think the Rona kind of definitely inspired that as well. We moved in as much wisdom as, as we could. And I'm just—I think I said earlier, I just feel blessed feel, feel grateful, you know, tomorrow's not promised. And would I guess that that brings us here now, nerding out with you to about stories and comics. So I appreciate you saying that, Karli.

[JAMIE] And time goes by so quickly because I don't even feel like it was that long ago that I'm like, oh, Josiah is moving to LA that's so cool. And like listening to your podcast on like the episode where you actually talk about your road trip there. And that just doesn't feel like it was that long ago.

[JOSIAH] It doesn't.

[JAMIE] But it was it was three years ago.

[JOSIAH] Time flies.

[JAMIE] Yeah. It's just been really cool to watch you like get these different jobs and opportunities. And I'm always like, what's he doing now? Oh, that's cool. And I know that you are a big DC and Marvel comic book fan and so when we were developing this season, we wanted to talk about comic books. And we're like, well, if we're gonna talk about comic books, we need to talk to Josiah. [chuckles]

[KARLI] Obviously. Oh, yeah.

[JAMIE] So thanks for agreeing to be sucked into the vortex. [all chuckle]

[JOSIAH] No problem.

[KARLI] We are grateful.

[JAMIE] So do you personally, do you feel like you read a lot of comics or do you feel like it's just like, eh, I read some comics?

[JOSIAH] I think—I think I do read a lot. I think I catch myself reading a lot actually. How to quantify that? I guess like [Jamie and Karli chuckle] Goodreads or look at my Libby app or something like that. But like, I was reorganizing and like I do I had to get rid of a lot of comics, I think, on the way here, sadly because of like some weight distribution with the luggage like I [sighs] I literally threw Batman Year One and something else—somebody forgive me, somebody—I hope you didn't lose like 5 million subscribers. [Jamie and Karli laugh] He did what?! We had to like get—we had to lighten the load, basically, there was actually a snafu because we later found out we didn't even have to do that. But um—[Karli gasps]

[KARLI] Oh that hurts!

[JAMIE] Which hurts so much more.

[JOSIAH] Exactly. I was like, what but it's like, but my parents were like, but you did what you had to do, because we know that wasn't easy, [all chuckle] because they know I love, I love books. And as you know, my dad and I wrote one together, so he knows I'm a big lover. So um, but yeah, I was looking at my stuff and I was like, ooo, I managed to bring a lot so I've got several like, I guess I've got like seven different versions of like, the first year of Superman. Like Superman is one of my favorite. My all time favorites like Static Shock created by Dwayne McDuffie, rest in peace. But um, Superman's like the one right and like, one of my favorite stories is like how all the different interpretations of how Clark Kent figured out who he was and decided on how he'd be a hero. And I love other versions too, but I'm like, well, that's seven graphic novels right there. Um, I have, I had Batman Year One and other books of Batman. I love like Tim's books by Tim Sale. And um, Jeff Loeb. Oh jeeze, rest in peace, Tim Sale. I think he'd died this year. He's an artist. He did a lot of really great, great work. The Dark Knight is partially or a big part of that is inspired by him and Jeff Loeb’s book. Batman the Long Halloween.

[KARLI] So yeah, you are a big—

[JOSIAH] So I'm a big—yeah, my bad. [imitates himself talking a lot] Yeah. [chuckles]

[KARLI] No, no, no, you're good.

[JAMIE] Well, no, you're good. Is this something you got to more as an adult? Or did you grow up reading Superman comics and stuff?

[JOSIAH] Grew up reading comics, I think first comic ever got was it Justice League? Comic, I don't know what it was called but it had like a Superman signal. And Batman was lighting it with the JLA. And I was like, Oh, cool. So I picked that up. And they I might have been eight years old or something, around that time, and then I just kept getting more into comics thanks to like, Batman, the animated series, Justice League on Cartoon Network, Static Shock on KidsWB, Spider Man, X Men on Fox Kids. [chuckles] You know, all that 90s kid stuff.

[KARLI] Yeah, we grew up in an era of a lot of really awesome animated comic stuff. That's what I grew up on. I didn't read comics as a kid. But I watched all that stuff. And I was really into it.

[JOSIAH] Yeah.

[JAMIE] I grew up with a dad who was [chuckling] obsessed with everything. All of those things. Superfan of Superman and Batman. Like so much Superman and Batman paraphernalia. We didn't have a lot of comic books, like physical comic books. We watched a lot of the cartoons. And maybe we did but I wasn't allowed to touch them.

[JOSIAH] Probably that one. [all laugh]

[JAMIE] Probably, that one. It feels right.

[JOSIAH] Kids, keep your grimy mitts off—

[JAMIE] Slaps my hand away.

[JOSIAH] My treasure trove of—

[JAMIE] Pretty much. [all laughing]

[JOSIAH] Grounded for life.

[JAMIE] Yeah, and nowadays, I don't read nearly as many comic books as I would like to but still do have some I enjoy. Like I'm big into X Men for some reason.

[JOSIAH] Nice.

[KARLI] For some reason? They're awesome. That's the reason.

[JAMIE] Karli, do you have any experience with, with the comic books of it all?

[KARLI] I am pretty much if the I don't know what I don't know about comic books and graphic novels and stuff. I did not grow up with them. Uh, like Archie. You know?

[JOSIAH] I would read those or the digest—

[KARLI] Safeway checkout lines.

[JOSIAH] Exactly.

[KARLI] Even then, like I—not really, not that often. I always liked Jughead. I don't really have that much experience. You know, I knew about them, but I just wasn't I was like, I don't know. But the first one I ever bought for myself was Ninja Turtles, because I was a huge Ninja Turtles fan as a kid.

[JOSIAH] Awesome.

[KARLI] And I get—I think it's technically considered a graphic novel. I don't know if that's different. But anyways, I Yeah. So I—and that was as an adult, in my 20s bought that for myself. And so I've only read a handful here and there. I enjoy the experience. It's definitely a completely different feel and medium than a novel. But I enjoy the experience very much.

[JOSIAH] Love it.

[JAMIE] One of my favorite things I'm gonna mention for anybody who doesn't know this about comic books, but Josiah you kind of already touched on it. One of the cool things about comic books is you can have one character and they can use that one character to do different storylines like like you were saying all the different story arcs of how Kal-El, or you know, Clark figures out who he is. So you can have all the same characters and all the same world, but many different versions of the story. Like think of it like the multiverse, all sorts of different story arcs. And I've always thought that that was really cool, because then you get different options. Like there are different options for origin stories, that's the same with like, Wonder Woman, all sorts of stuff where it's like, well, in this version, they have their powers because of this, and this version, it's something else, because I like that, where it's... nothing set in stone.

[JOSIAH] Yeah.

[JAMIE] You always find a new version of it. And I think that that's really neat.

[JOSIAH] I like that a lot too. Because you can get, you might like this more childlike version of Batman or something. Or you might like this more adult version, or campy or so it's like, it's like there's a little something for everyone.

[JAMIE] Yeah.

[JOSIAH] I like that too.

[KARLI] Yeah, I have noticed that. And I think that that is a really neat thing.

[JAMIE] I have another question here. I just can't read my own handwriting. [Josiah chuckles] That's a running theme, as well.

[KARLI] It really is.

[JOSIAH] No, take your time.

[JAMIE] How would you guys describe the differences in experience between like, sitting down and reading a comic and sitting down and reading a novel?

[JOSIAH] For me, I think it's, one is, I think I can see the end, like literally, even even whether it's on Kindle, or I had a physical, you know, 24-48 page comic, or, like, 120 page graphic novel, but like, you can see where it where it ends in a lot of the visuals contribute to that, as opposed to like a novel where you can still see where it ends, but you know, it's like 200 to 350, you know, and it's like, man, that's a lot of words, [Jamie and Karli chuckle] on a page. And that's it. As opposed to, you can, you know, there's a lot of experience, not that there's not experimentation in prose, and novels and whatnot. But like, you can read a whole comic, with no dialogue, kind of like silent films back in the day. You know, it's just straight visuals. So you can kind of absorb a lot of information that way. For some reason, I just thought of like, even those. What's his name? Where's Waldo splash panels where there's like, in a sense, it's like you're just taking in a lot of information, and you might see something different each time you reread that book, whether it had dialogue or not. So for me, that might be one of the the differences where it's, um, I can still feel a little weary, um, not in a bad way. Just of like, like, you know, that hangover from reading a story, I can still feel it in a graphic novel. But it's like, depending on what I'm reading, like, I think the last time I experienced a page turner in prose might have been like, Kindred by Octavia Butler, I read that in like a day, or maybe I Am Legend, or Hunger Games. Like I love the way Suzanne Collins like, ends those chapters. But that's few and far between for me. I think what I'm trying to say is, with a comic book, I'll push myself to hurry up and read it. Because I'm like, I can't put this down.

[JAMIE] Yeah, that's a good way to look at it. Because that's what I was thinking. Like, the big difference for me is like, there's a more urgent sense of excitement when I sit down with a graphic novel.

[JOSIAH] I like the way you put that.

[JAMIE] Because, like, you know, the pacing is just going to be a little bit more... snappy.

[JOSIAH] For sure.

[JAMIE] It's gonna move and that creates, like a sense of excitement.

[JOSIAH] Yeah.

[JAMIE] Whereas there are some books that do that. But they're few and far between, like you said, like, otherwise, you know, when you're sitting down to read a book, I mean, I'm a slow reader. So I don't really expect to sit and read any book in one setting. [chuckles]

[JOSIAH] Glacial reader here.

[JAMIE] Me too, I'm like, it's like a 300 page novel, that's going to be like six different settings for me, at least.

[JOSIAH] Exactly.

[JAMIE] It's like, it's more of a buy in, it's going to slow unfolding. Whereas if I pick up a comic book, I'm like, I can, even a comic book takes me to settings, usually, but you know that a lot is going to happen really quickly. Or at least it's going to feel that way. Just because of the pace that you move through it.

[JOSIAH] Yeah, it's like the investment is you might have to invest just a little bit more in prose, depending on how you read. You know, it even kind of reminds me of like, even with movies, like I've got some friends and maybe I can't remember maybe y'all fall into this, like, I have some friends. They really can't do TV, but they can do, but they'll sit down and watch a movie, you know, for like an hour and a half, two hours or something like that. Or vice versa. Some people they're like, oh, movies too short. I want to be invested for maybe three to five seasons of a show or then vice versa, again, where it's the investment.

[JAMIE] It's like, how much do you want to buy in here? Like, how much time do you want to invest?

[KARLI] It's really interesting that you guys brought up the time investment and that your perspective is so different than mine, actually. Because I actually find it to be a lot longer experience for me, because maybe because I didn't grow up with it. I am fasc—and I mean, I'm not saying you're not fascinated—but the, it's such a sensory experience for me that I am not really accustomed to. And so my reading speed in a comic or graphic novel is much slower than a novel.

[JOSIAH] Gotcha.

[JAMIE] Oh interesting.

[KARLI] Like, much slower. So when I take the time to sit and read a comic, I'm like, it's time set aside. And like, I sit down, and I really focus because I want to, like absorb all of the art and like, sometimes I reread pages because I feel like maybe I missed something or whatever.

[JOSIAH] Me too.

[KARLI] Because it's just, yeah.

[JAMIE] I have a question, because I know that Karli actually has the omnibuses of Sandman.

[KARLI] Oh, yeah.

[JOSIAH] That's fire.

[JAMIE] So if that's one of the things you're sitting down, yeah, especially, I understand that because that is like a really complex comic book, like, the language in it. And even the art like the level of detail—

[KARLI] That one's next level.

[JAMIE] So, that makes a lot of sense.

[KARLI] Like next level for sure. But even with the like the Ninja Turtles one or like Deadpool or whatever. I like, take my time with them. And like, yeah, obviously, it's way faster than like when I sit down with okay, so like, when I sit down with the Sandman omnibus, it's like a whole ritual. I like put on the audio and I sit down and I'm like, it's a whole like..

[JAMIE] Does the audio and the comic book actually follow each other?

[KARLI] Kind of. So he obviously in the audio, he's like describing what you're seeing, okay, but I enjoy Neil Gaiman's narrative voice and style. And so I—it's a very interesting experience to do both. And I do recommend trying it. But yeah, like, even just like a normal comic or graphic novel. I mean, obviously, depending on how many pages is how fast I can get through it. And obviously, like novels do take me longer. So technically speaking, the time investment is more for a novel. However, it feels longer to me, like in the moment when I'm reading a graphic novel or a comic than a novel. And I am also a very fast reader. So that might contribute.

[JOSIAH] Oh wow.

[JAMIE] That makes sense because like, it's almost like you're giving more of your attention to it because you're letting it pull you in and more like you're you're used to reading. You read all the time, you read quick, but that you're focusing more in on.

[KARLI] Yeah.

[JOSIAH] Okay, that might be it. That's very, that's super interesting, because it just made me think about like, I was like wow, she's putting on the audio, an opening, [Karli chuckles] I've never heard of anybody who not for a comic book acts, I'm like, oh, that's kind of cool. I didn't know, I didn't think that they might do that with Audible or something. Because I'm like, that's sort of two different things at the same time, but then I was like, but then when you're reading, you know, when you're reading a novel, in this case, it's like, you're doing multiple things, too. Because it's like, you're you know, if you don't have what's that thing, aphantasia, where you can't imagine things. If you don't, if it's not that you're not only reading words, but you're making it up as you're reading, which is kind of interesting. And I'm like, oh okay, no, it's—that's interesting that you do, you listen to the audio and read the graphic novel, it's like, no matter what you do when you're reading, there seems to be a lot of sensory things happening simultaneously to enrich that reading experience. That's cool.

[JAMIE] I, I'm really impressed that you knew the aphantansia.

[KARLI] I know, I was like—

[JAMIE] That's the word the word for it, because I was like, I had only recently heard about that. And I had no idea what the word for it was.

[KARLI] I always forget the word. I'm like, ah, that thing. [chuckles]

[JAMIE] I always wonder if those people enjoy fiction, or if they're just like eh.

[JOSIAH] I think, no because I have a buddy if our murder I think she has it or a low version of it or something. It came up once and I was like, oh, no way. Because I'd heard of it prior to her bringing it up and is there different levels so but she's a huge... she doesn't read a lot of comics. I'd given her like I give him my Iron Man comics when I was moving and stuff. But she does love like she is an MCU queen. She loves Marvel movies. She doesn't read a lot of comics. She's has been starting to get into them. But...

[KARLI] I could see where comics would be a really good thing for someone like that, because it provides you with that visual, whereas a novel, like you were saying, like you're you're having to like make up, like visualize what's happening while you're reading. And that might be, obviously more challenging for someone like that. So that's cool. That's interesting.

[JAMIE] I think comics are really kind of cool, for a couple of reasons. And in my head, comic books are kind of a bridge between a novel and film.

[JOSIAH] I feel that way too.

[JAMIE] They kind of bridge a gap. Because even though a novel like it takes a village, like you can't do it all by yourself, but for the most part, writing a novel is a pretty singular experience. And making a movie is a huge giant collaborative experience. And then with a comic book, you have a writer and an artist, and of course, everything after that for publication. But it's like, you have these three different mediums. That's like a Venn diagram,

[JOSIAH] Ah, that overlap. Yeah.

[JAMIE] Of what parts overlap. And I think that that's really cool, from a creative standpoint to look at, you know, how much what you create is solely your experience and how much you need to collaborate to make something that you just can't make by yourself.

[JOSIAH] Yeah.

[JAMIE] It's, it's like the beauty of collaboration. [chuckles]

[JOSIAH] It is. Yeah, I love how you put that.

[KARLI] I think it's interesting. You guys both thought it like that, because I wouldn't have thought of it that way. But you're right, but you guys are both like cinephiles also. [Jamie chuckles] So like that, that tracks that you guys would put that together.

[JOSIAH AND JAMIE] I love the movies.

[JAMIE] What is that? What's that app called? Letterbox?

[JOSIAH] Yeah.

[JAMIE] It's basically Goodreads. But for movies. I love that app.

[JOSIAH] Me too.

[JAMIE] It's supposed to be like a whole social thing. It's pretty much just like I follow Josiah, [Josiah laughs] and he's the only one I know on that app. But I use that app. I love it.

[KARLI] I got that app because of you, Josiah.

[JOSIAH] Oh I didn't know you had it.

[KARLI] I always I always forget to use it. [laughs] Because I'm terrible at it.

[JOSIAH] Just livin' life.

[KARLI] But I like that you share yours like on your Instagram stories. And I can like see what you're watching. And I'm like, oh, yeah, I love that movie. Or like, ooo, I haven't seen that yet. He liked it. I bet I'd like it. And I add it to my like list somewhere. I think I have things written down or I just add it to my queue or whatever. But I'm terrible at tracking it on that app. I should.

[JAMIE] I'll forget. I'll forget for a few months and then Josiah will post something and I'm like, Oh yeah, letterbox [Josiah chuckles] and then I get on and update all my stuff. See what Josiah has been watching. I just saw that you watched The French Dispatch, and I just recently watched The French Dispatch. [laughs]

[JOSIAH] You did? That's fire. What?

[JAMIE] Yeah, it made me want to watch all of Wes Anderson's movies.

[JOSIAH] That's been me like all week. I don't know. I don't know what I've What was I doing, something happened, and I was reminded to watch The Life Aquatic, with... how do you say his name Steve Zissou, I think is how you say it. And something reminded me to watch it. I don't know what and so I did. And then from there I was like, oh, yeah, well, what I what else can I okay— the rabbit hole, the vortex. [Karli chuckles]

[JAMIE] You know, if you don't know who Wes Anderson is, or his movies, go Google it. But if since we're talking about comics, it is funny because the way he does the art direction in his film has a very comic book-y feel.

[JAMIE] Yeah.

[JAMIE] It's very stylized. Like the colors are always like...

[JOSIAH] Very vibrant and specific. Right?

[JAMIE] Yeah, they're—

[KARLI] I don't know that I've seen any of his movies. I'm gonna have to go take to the Google's.

[JOSIAH] Yeah, check, check that out.

[KARLI] Adding it to my list.

[JAMIE] Yeah. So everybody, you know, check out a Wes Anderson movie, he's got a whole bunch of different ones. So I mean, you can pick and choose which one you think it would be better for you kind of along that same vein of the style of the art direction and his movies. Bring it back around comic books is what's cool about comic books, is because they have the visual aspect as well. They really can encapsulate like a whole mood and vibe that can bring in like that more immersive quality.

[JOSIAH] For sure.

[JAMIE] You know, if you if you are used to like a certain comic, or a certain character, picking up and seeing that art and like, how they how they use the colors and all that, it can really pull you in really quickly.

[JAMIE] Oh, yes.

[JAMIE] 'Cause you're like I know this. This is familiar, I love this.

[JOSIAH] I was suddenly thinking of like, Alex Ross. He's a painter. And you've probably seen his artwork and I can't think of an iconic one right now but he's he's a well known painter and does like these iconic portraits of like the Justice League and stuff and I just...

[JAMIE] Yeah, like like the very hero shots.

[JOSIAH] Yeah.

[JAMIE] Angle of them just looking majestic.

[JOSIAH] Very dramatic. I love that yeah, majestic. [Jamie chuckles] Or I thought about this other comic I recently read, called Gideon Falls, it was kind of this sci-fi, psychological thriller, horror comic. I'm forgetting the writer right now. But like, some of the things they were doing with color was amazing sometimes with like, minimal color, or like, with the motif of red being used a lot, especially like there's like a fill-in from another dimension and stuff. And like, you know, there would be like, his abode is called the black barn. And some of my favorite images was like, sometimes they just have a whole page at key moments in the story, where the whole page is just just sort of neon red. And then you'll have the black barn, like in the center of it, or some and it just—I'm not really describe—but it just, there's a lot of pop, I guess, is what I'm trying to say.

[JAMIE] It's using its art to really evoke like a certain feeling.

[JOSIAH] Very powerful feelings.

[JAMIE] Like you said, at key pivotal moments.

[JOSIAH] Yeah. You just made me think of those.

[JAMIE] Yeah, I wrote it down. I'm gonna look that one up.

[KARLI] Yeah, I think that's a very interesting way to look at it. Because comic books have found a way to marry narrative style with, like, actual words, and art, and using color theory and all of this stuff, and merging them together to create this whole other experience that it's a very emotional, like sensory thing. It's a very, very interesting method of storytelling that I really would like to read more of them for my own, like personal standards. And like, I would like to read more of them, because hearing people talk about them like this, and like, man, I need more.

[JOSIAH] They're waiting for you.

[JAMIE] That's why a good public library can be really helpful. Because like, well, I do get a lot of my comic books from thrift books. Nice. So you get them used, you know, they're not always in the best shape, but they're pretty good. I haven't got them all yet. But I've been collecting all of the series that comes after the cartoon The Last Airbender, they have a whole—

[JOSIAH] Oh, they do? Yeah.

[JAMIE] Comic book series that continues. And so I have the first like, three storylines from that. But that also makes me segue into the other thing that I enjoy about comics is there's a lot of television shows, or movies that have a continuation in comic book form. Avatar, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel.

[JOSIAH] Firefly.

[KARLI] Ooo, I didn't know that.

[JAMIE] I don't know if you know the, the internet show Con Man. Yeah, Alan Tudyk.

[JOSIAH] I finally watched it. [chuckles]

[JAMIE] Yeah, they have a like, comic book from the show in that which is like a parody of Firefly called Spectrum. I have those comics. [laughs]

[JOSIAH] They have Spectrum comics?!

[JAMIE] They have Spectrum comics.

[JOSIAH] I love when they do that.

[JAMIE] And they're really beautiful, the whole art design. And it's also just kind of funny and meta, because it's like poking fun of itself. But I really like that because sometimes a show ends or gets cancelled. And sometimes you can find that in comic book where you're like, ah, now I get more of it. Yay!

[JOSIAH] Yes. 100%.

[KARLI] I have a question for you both. This, the whole, like, I should read more made me think, for those of us who didn't grow up reading them, I find it to be very overwhelming to know even where to start and what to pick up. What would your recommendations be for somebody who's new to the comic book experience? Like where to even begin? Because there's just so much out there. It's like, where do you even start? Like, even if you were to pick like a like Superman, like, where do you even begin? Because there's thousands, you know, so I think that that's one of the things that holds me back is I'm like, I don't even know where to start.

[JOSIAH] No, that's real.

[JAMIE] It is hard. [Karli chuckles] Because I I'm like, I've literally felt that because I wanted to read X Men comic books. And it is, it's like, where do you even begin? You can't begin from like the very beginning. One, because those are rare comics, you're not gonna be able to find them. And there's like a hundred storylines. So I would literally go online, and I was looking for the Hope Summer, storyline.

[JOSIAH] Oh cool.

[JAMIE] And so like, you have to mine that out. So my suggestion for somebody who'd never read comic books would be don't start with superhero comic books. [Karli laughs]

[JOSIAH] I agree.

[JAMIE] I'm sure not maybe not everybody feels that way. But it's it's too complex a field. Whereas if somebody was going to start a new, I would say find their comic books that are like stand alone collections. You don't have to get into like some crazy long series, and especially navigating through anything DC or Marvel is going to be really complex.

[JOSIAH] Tell her. [Josiah and Karli chuckle]

[JAMIE] Because I think a lot of people who only know the cinematic universe, think like, oh, it's really cut and dry. Also, those comic books are like, much more adult than people realize.

[KARLI] Oh yeah, they are. [chuckles]

[JAMIE] A lot of the time, like, especially DC and like [chuckles] relationships wise. So like, trying to understand all that is too much. Find some comic books that are standalone graphic novels. And that would be a better entry point, I think.

[JOSIAH] Yeah.

[KARLI] What about you, Josiah? What are your recommendations for that?

[JOSIAH] Yeah, I'd agree with what Jamie said, like, see if you could depend on your personality. But even then I find with the few people that have asked me, like, where should I start or something? I feel like there's this idea that like, you have to start at at the beginning, because I've even tried to give some friends like, like, do you want to, like find the story from that Batman thing? You know, cartoon that you saw? Do you want to find the correlating thing in the comics? How about we find that? But sometimes they're like, "No, I have to start at the be—the beginning." You mean 1939? I mean, okay. [all laugh] But there are DC archive books and Marvel essentials of those omnibuses as you guys mentioned, but you don't have to if you just want to read, what did I mentioned earlier? Batman the Long Halloween if you watched The Dark Knight, and that's based off of maybe three to four different comics, but if that really jumped out to you, particular storylines, if you ask the right friend, they might be like, um, most of that's in The Long Halloween. Or most of that's in Nightfall. But I also like so there's that if you can just find a storyline—I won't say writer because you probably won't know what that means. You're like, Wait, writer, what? There's more? To your point earlier about like, yeah, this—Stanley wrote this many of Black Panther. And, you know, Christopher Priest wrote this many black panther and Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote the—you know, that'll overwhelm, people saying. So if there's like, a version of the character or a song or some type of enduring storyline you've heard, if I can find, if we can find that together. Maybe you can start there. Otherwise, if that's too overwhelming, cuz you're like, No, I must start a hundred years ago. [Karli laughs]

[JAMIE] That's classic, Karli.

[KARLI] I mean... [laughs]

[JAMIE] She's all, "I gotta read them in order!" I'm all, you'll be reading these till the day you die, and you'll only be a quarter of the way through, [Karli keeps laughing] Just get over it.

[JOSIAH] Only a quarter of the way through.

[KARLI] I know!

[JAMIE] You know what would be really cool, is if there was a curated Netflix for comic books, where you fill out like a survey of what you're interested in, and they send you one, and then you send it back. And they send you the next one, like so you don't have to keep track of anything.

[KARLI] I want that. And then they can be like which—if it branches off, they can be like, which kind of idea interests you more and then you pick one, and then they send you that. I would love that, somebody do that please. [chuckles]

[JOSIAH] Or the next best thing is what your your comic book shop clerk tried to do? Because they oh, well, what characters do you like, or what—it's not exactly the same thing, because it kind of feels like... well, it is customer service, but it almost feels like when you go on a website and they have a little bubble that's like chat with us right now live. Kind of feels like that when you go into a comic shop.

[KARLI] Or even when we you know, the movie stores from when we were kids where there'd be like the employee recommendation section and stuff like that.

[JOSIAH] Right. Blockbuster or something.

[KARLI] Yeah, so, yeah—no, this helped a lot. I think even just hearing that, like, there's a Firefly, like, I probably go get that now. And read that because I love that story. I love those characters. So yeah, no, that was very helpful. Thank you. Appreciate it.

[JOSIAH] I want to kind of like what Jamie said, you went the indie route for a second there, Jamie, if you don't mind me touching on that right quick. Because I think a lot of people have done Firefly comics. I know Dark Horse that's a comic book company.

[KARLI] I did know that. [chuckles]

[JOSIAH] They did, like you might pick up Firefly by Dark Horse. And at the back of the book or if you go online or something, Goodreads or something, it'll say oh, more like this. And they might bring up Dark Horse so they might um, I don't know I'm kind of mixing genres and comic book houses right now. But like Rat Queens from Image. I love Image Comics. They do like Rat Queens, which is kind of a swashbuckling, dark adult, but endearing kind of like mythic quest type Lord of the Rings thing.

[KARLI] Dude, that sounds awesome.

[JOSIAH] Yeah, like that, you know, it's like this, this demon woman with this dwarf woman with this giant, you know, and they just go on quests and you know they're always trying to pay the rent and they get involved in all types of weird stuff. That's from Image. Invincible, if you watched Invincible on Prime Video about you know this dude who becomes a superhero like his dad and then it goes dark. Well, if you didn't know that's a comic book that would happen also be from image and it's like you can start from the beginning with a book like that because it's maybe a five to seven year old comic, I think.

[KARLI] Right. Not going back to the inception of comics.

[JOSIAH] Right. It's like, its creator—they call them oftentimes creator owned. Those types or like The Walking Dead you know, you don't have to go back 20 years, you know and it's like, oh, a zombie book and oh, it's in black and white. I mean, I love you know, rich, vibrant colors in my comics but hmm, the mood of reading this black and white dystopian thing, you know, or Gideon Falls, like I mentioned earlier. So creator owned is also a good route. If you're not going to mess with the big two, DC and Marvel. If you go more genre, like what is it you like to read? You know?

[KARLI] Yeah, genre based like you like I would go look for genre of books that, that makes a lot of sense.

[JOSIAH] Pirates and stuff.

[JAMIE] When you were listing all those out, it made me think how I'm like comics have always been like a huge market. But I feel like maybe now they're starting to grow in more of like a mainstream recognition. Because there are so many, super popular shows out now that are based on comics. Walking Dead, The Boys, Umbrella Academy…

[JOSIAH] I was just about to say…

[JAMIE] so many things started off as a comic.

[JOSIAH] Paper Girls just came out.

[JAMIE] I haven't watched it yet. But I'm—

[JOSIAH] That's an amazing series. I haven't watched it yet. I just read it.

[JAMIE] Yeah, it's kind of like nice to be like, okay, I feel like comic books are going to be growing even more. All these things, that are coming from comic books. And then if people liked those then go out and you pick up the comic, because just like a novel will have more than the movie adaptation, you're gonna get more of that thing that you liked. And sometimes, they're going to be very, very different. [chuckles]

[JOSIAH] That's true.

[KARLI] Which we talked about a little bit last season, because we were talking about like adaptations and all of that. So yeah, I yeah, you're definitely gonna get a completely different experience sometimes.

[JAMIE] Is there any other comic book stuff we want to talk about?

[JOSIAH] Yeah so I’ve just got some exciting like titles and comic book companies, Black comic book companies, that I’ve just kinda been following for a while. I kinda feel like thanks to social media and the independent comic book space, some of which we’ve touched on, it just feels like more comic book titles and publishing houses keep coming up. So, I don’t want to forget like some like, Niobe: She is Life, created by Sebastian, I can’t remember his last name. But he’s partnered with the actress Amandla Stenberg, from like The Hate You Give movie adaptation, or like she played Rue—

[KARLI] Oh yeah.

[JOSIAH] In The Hunger Games. I think she was in, it was kind of a romantic movie where she falls in love with a guy for like a week, but she’s terminally ill or something—I don’t know. [chuckles] But Amandla Stenberg and Sebastian. If I remember right, you’ll have to look them up, but they founded a company called Stranger Comics.

[KARLI] Cool.

[JOSIAH] And their flagship title as I understand it—I’ve only read one issue but it was pretty cool, I should re-read it—it’s called Niobe: She is Life. It’s populated by, you know, a bunch of your classic, you know, elves and dwarves and monsters and magic, just featuring a lot of melanated protagonists and antagonists, main cast basically.

[KARLI] That’s rad.

[JOSIAH] They’ve recently partnered with Prentice Penny, if there are any Insecure fans out there. He wrote on the sit-com Girlfriends and he was the Showrunner on Issa Rae’s hit show Insecure. So yeah, Stranger Comics and Prentice Penny just got together with, I think, HBO to start bringing some Niobe comics to life.

[KARLI] Cool.

[JOSIAH] So that’s something I’ve followed for a while but I have so much to catch up on. Another one that’s actually gonna be adapted that I’ve been meaning to look into is The Antagonists by Godhood Comics. That’s another Black owned company that got recommended to me on Twitter. But a film and media festival that I’ve participated in a couple of times called Micheaux Fest. If I remember correctly, one of the co-founders, Noel Braham, I hope I’m saying your name right, Noel. His production company has teamed up with Godhood Comics, last I checked, to do an adaptation of Antagonists, the comic book. It’s about a Black family who are antagonists, villains, anti-heroes, something like that. I haven’t read it yet, but I follow them on Instagram and Twitter. They upload panels of their art all the time and it looks really exciting and now apparently they have a movie or a TV show or movie in the works too. So, congrats to them and congrats to Noel of the Micheaux Fest, I’ve been a part of them a couple of years in a row.

[KARLI] Nice.

[JOSIAH] Um, I’m excited about Tuskegee Heirs. Its a comic book set in the future with a bunch of kids who are, if I remember correctly, the descendants of Tuskegee Airmen.

[JAMIE] Oh cool,

[JOSIAH] They’re a very important group of fighter pilots from U.S. history. There was also a movie, they inspired Red Tails. So in this comic book, the Tuskegee Heirs are a group of kids who fly around in like futuristic fighter jets that also turn into robots.

[KARLI] Ooo.

[JOSIAH] And they fight evil.

[JAMIE] Oh cool.

[JOSIAH] And they like fight aliens and stuff. [Karli chuckles] And so I’ve got Volume I. They are co-written and illustrated by @marcusthevisual on Instagram and Twitter. He’s a really awesome Black artist who’s like a big fan of anime and X-Men and you see some of those influences in the book Tuskegee Heirs.

[KARLI] Nice.

[JOSIAH] So if you like that, you should check that out. Another one I’m excited about are Volume II and/or III of Trill League by Ant Piper, is on its way. And that’s been going on for several years now. If I have it right, the term trill is like very popular in Chicago. It’s a positive term, it means like cool and stuff like that. But that’s apparently a uniquely Chicago thing. Ant Piper, the writer and artist is from there. Basically it’s like if the Justice League was in the hood. So you have like a Black Robin, the Boy Wonder called Sparrow who’s got a high top fade, he’s great at martial arts.

[KARLI] [chuckles] Nice.

[JOSIAH] And he’s the partner to [chuckles] a Batman analogue named Blackmayne, who’s like um, basically a super Black Panther. And they’ve got like a Superman analogue, they’ve got a Wonder Woman analogue named Wondeisha, um, who’s always got boyfriend trouble. They’ve got a Green Lantern analogue, who I think kind of resembles Rick James and they have a Flash analogue who kind of resembles Michael Jackson. So it’s just a funny, a funny strip. They sometimes fight crime but then they also have a sit-com kinda vibe to it. But the art is amazing. Ant Piper is amazing. So that’s really cool. So Trill League, check them out.

[KARLI] Yeah.

[JOSIAH] Amazing art, really cool color commentary. I’ll be real with you. We not afraid of that. So I think y’all should check that out.

[JAMIE] For sure.

[JOSIAH] And last, but not least, I’m really excited about—I hope I’m pronouncing it right—Etan Comics. E. T. A. N. Comics. They’re an Ethiopian publishing house that again, when you’re a nerd these things just kind of come up, hashtags, [Karli chuckles] YouTube, twitter recommendations, whatever. And so I’ve read two books from Etan comics, and I hope I pronounce these right. The first title I read was Hawi. H. A. W. I. And the second one is called Jember, I believe. J. E. M. B. E. R. They’re single books, one’s a man and one’s a woman. Both books have three to five issues each at the time of this recording. Both follow two Ethiopian natives, one is in Ethiopia when the story takes place. The woman, she’s in the states, I wanna say Los Angeles, but I might be wrong. And basically, super hero origin stories. One is Ethiopian and gets really cool ancestral magic powers. The woman, she’s like best friends with her mom, or they have a strong bond. But they’re experiencing some tension right now. And then the girl just stumbles upon ancestral magic and it’s pretty cool, she becomes a super hero. And then the guy, I think his is Jember. He’s living in his native Ethiopia, kind of down on his luck a little bit. He also stumbles across ancestral magic, but he’s playing sports with his friends and then you know, he loses the ball and then kind of like in this Indiana Jones type vibe he like stumbles down this cave and just gets these really amazing powers and he’s like going viral and trying to figure out how to like help his hometown and Ethiopia and stuff like that, and the whole world. A lot of cool ancestry and like family tension and family stories also. So I found that really cool, I read both of those books.

[KARLI] Nice.

[JOSIAH] Hawi, I think I’m saying it right, and Jember. Right now you can only get them online via the website, etancomics.com but they’ve got a newsletter. They’re on YouTube, they’re on social media everywhere. And so I’m just excited about those titles. It feels like every day I’m just finding out about more and more different Black comics and stories coming out—

[KARLI] Yeah.

[JOSIAH] Overall—television, film deals, and adaptations. And so that stuff is really, really cool so thanks for letting me share that with you guys. You got a lot to look forward to, check em out.

[KARLI] Yeah, absolutely.

[JAMIE] Thanks for sharing.

[KARLI] Nice. Sounds like we have a lot of great stuff to check out there. We love recommendations here but I guess the big question now is your official 2cent Recommendation.

[JOSIAH] Oh, hmm. One single recommendation. [chuckles]

[KARLI] The most difficult portion of the entire podcast is picking one thing.

[JAMIE] Would it help if we say you could have two?

[JOSIAH] Yes. Two recommendations. If you, like me, if you loved kids web and if you loved Static Shock, Reginald Hudlin and Denys Cohen, and milestone media guys are back. In fact, they even have a documentary on HBO Max, I think called Milestone Legacy{A google after the fact told us it's called Milestone Generations}. And it's all about the relaunch of Static Shock and Rocket and Icon you know. If you watched Young Justice, you saw Static, Icon, and Rocket on that cartoon. So if you're interested in those books, those are like, those are coming back. Like I did, on the plane to Rwanda, I was like reading Static and all those books. I was like a kid again, right? [Jamie chuckles] Because they haven't really been in print in years. And there's like new stuff. So Static's backward, like a new origin, you know, instead of gang violence where he gets his lightning powers, he's at like, Black Lives Matter protest. And he gets his powers there. And it's you know, and there's some cool family dynamics and stuff.

[JAMIE] So it's like a relaunching for the next, for the new generation.

[JOSIAH] Exactly.

[KARLI] That's awesome.

[JOSIAH] Exactly. So if you like, so if you like Static, check that out.

[JAMIE] I'm also going to check out that documentary. I love me good documentary. [chuckles]

[JOSIAH] Yeah, no, it's really it's really good. I think it's like is narrated by like, Method Man, and they have all these different you know, the voice actor for Virgil, aka Static is also in the documentary from the cartoon. Phil LaMarr. He's been in all types of you've heard Phil LaMarr's voice in like everything.

[KARLI] Oh yeah.

[JOSIAH] I think—did he play? He might have played green—I think he played Green Lantern in Justice League, I think. He's so good. Sometimes I'm not sure if it's him or not. But um, so it's a great documentary. I think it's on HBO Max still. And then number two, if you like, oh, no, you said Ninja Turtles not Power Rangers. Well, if you like Power Rangers...

[KARLI]

I mean, I like a good Power Ranger. [laughing] I am a 90s kid.

[JOSIAH] There we go. Yeah, if you liked Power Rangers, and and I guess like Green Lantern. Because you know now, we have red lanterns and sapphires, lanterns and stuff. And if you're a writer, like we three are and you struggle, you'll enjoy the new comic book, creator owned I think also—from Image Comics, Radiant Black is a comic I've been enjoying. I think his name is, the riders name is I think, Kyle Higgins. And apparently he used to write for Power Rangers a few years ago, I never happened to read the latest iteration. But his story is about, he goes from trying to be a successful novelist in LA, struggling Uber driver, to then having to pack up and go back home to I think Chicago, move back in with his parents. He's like our age here. And he reunites with his best friend and they're at a bar or something, then they, they stumble upon this little like, black hole that's hovering over a train tracks, and they're like, they're drunk. And they're like, are you seeing this? And it's like, and so the main character grabs it, and like his body transforms, and he like, looks like Daft Punk or something.

[KARLI] Oh, yeah!

[JOSIAH] But like black, but like black and white. And he's like, has these cool, he can fly. He can levitate things. He kind of has like dark powers that kind of resemble... if you watch Teen Titans, they kind of look like Raven's powers. So he's just this failed artist who becomes a superhero. [Karli laughs] But he's still got to figure out how to like, earn his advance. So if something his parents—I think I'm rambling.

[JAMIE] That sounds great.

[KARLI] I love it.

[JOSIAH] It's called Ra—it's called Radiant Black. I think it's been out about two, three years. It's a lot of fun. I enjoy it a lot.

[KARLI] Nice. It sounds perfect for us struggling artists.

[JOSIAH] So those are my two recommendations.

[KARLI] Very cool. Thank you so much, those sounds really interesting.

[JAMIE] So if you aren't already listening to Josiah's podcast, Josiah's Voice, check that out. He's doing a really great travel series right now. You did announce that you are doing a season five, correct?

[JOSIAH] Yes.

[KARLI] Yay!

[JAMIE] On the podcast that you said, like you are doing season five, where you will be doing more interviews. Check out Josiah's podcast for wonderful interviews with industry professionals and creatives.

[KARLI] It's awesome.

[JOSIAH] Thank you so much.

[KARLI] I'm very excited you're doing another season.

[JAMIE] Your—the travel series you're doing right now has been great. Was that something you always planned to do? Or were you like, while we're traveling? I should do this. Did that come later?

[JOSIAH] That part. Yeah, I had never planned to do a travel one and then living abroad. I was like, well, that's, that's a really major shift. That's—I really have changed my life. Things are going differently. You know, my creativity is a little bit different. The so-called job security, if one can be, if one can have job security as a production assistant or in film, let me know. [Jamie and Karli laugh] Definitely became even more shaky because I'm used to an industry in the United States where I was born versus in another, in another country. But again, a whole different continent with its own other little you know, there's South Africa's got film, there's Nollywood, Nigeria, you know, and so also detoxing and just kind of, and or relaxing. And just like there's nothing I really need to do you know, in our research, we saw people were like, man, when I moved to another country, or when I moved somewhere in Africa, I didn't do nothing for eight months. I just relaxed, because everything's different.

[KARLI] It sounds like you're just you're taking it all in, you're absorbing, you're experiencing life.

[JOSIAH] Exactly. And so so that was what inspired it. So I was like let me, let me just try this because I'm here with my family. I have other close family friends who are already here. There are some YouTubers that I liked who some of which like gave my family advice for different logistical things you know, visa, passport, etcetera. kind of gave you things to help in your preparedness and some of them were like kind enough to sit sit down on Zoom and answer questions and talk about you know, yeah, I've lived in Bali, I've lived in India, I've lived—and I was just just like wow, like this is, this is cool. And just you know, just how big you know the world is and just that sense of you know, wanderlust in going off and doing things I don't know maybe that's part of partially why I fell in down the Wes Anderson rabbit hole, maybe. [Jamie chuckles] Because you know, from going under the sea in Life Aquatic to The Grand Budapest Hotel to... you know, just that sense of adventure I think kind of overtook me because I'm you know, if you listen to some of my episode, like you know, I'm like on this plane first class, and then you know, there's this dude with like a falcon in the airport. [Jamie and Karli laugh] You know, it was just you know, it's it was very adventurous, very Lord of the Rings, Series of Unfortunate Events. More fortunate than unfortunate, thankfully. [Karli chuckles]

[JAMIE] It's, it's that quote from Bilbo, like, you never know what's gonna happen when you step outside your door

[JOSIAH] Perfectly said.

[JAMIE] You are doing a season five, and you plan to go back to doing industry filmmaker interviews, which I'm—I'm excited to hear. When is that slated to start?

[JOSIAH] Right. So my plan—we'll see—[Josiah and Jamie chuckle] is maybe the first week of October, I plan to launch season five, which might be kind of brief, recap some travel stuff. Some more, you know, adventures are coming up. And then I have some interviews already conducted with some cool people I met on set. And then and then I'll just get and then I'll keep going. Because you reminded me yeah, when I started season four, I was like, what am I going to do? Like I felt a shift of some sort. I wasn't always sure how long Josiah's Voice was go, because it started off as a hobby. So I was trying to take a little bit more more seriously. I've seen some blessings come like being invited on other people's stuff such as, such as The Act Break. And so yeah, I'm going to be doing more film interviews, I think I'm feeling the bug of writing, again, some pros, maybe some some scripts and just try to write like, I don't know what's going to happen. But just, you know, I get what do you say in The French Dispatch? Write it as if you meant for it to sound that way. [all chuckle] Write with meaning, not with the eye of what's going to happen to it? I'm just going to do that. And I hope to be able to share those things. Because Josiah's Voice was supposed to chronicle my own development as a writer as well, as well as share stories with you guys from other people a little bit further ahead.

[KARLI] That's awesome.

[JOSIAH] So I'm excited. I'm pretty hyped.

[JAMIE] I'm looking forward to seeing what you do next, you as well as many other people through Instagram, via like, over the last couple of years we've done... there's been a bit of a shift to being more open to like, I don't have a set, this is what's going to happen. I'm going to take in experiences and like maybe my creativity will lead me this way. Maybe it'll lead me that way.

[JOSIAH] Yeah.

[JAMIE] Not a rule. Like it's going to be like my experiences are going to influence where I take the next step in the next path. And I'm excited to see where it leads you.

[KARLI] Absolutely same. Thank you so much for sharing all of that with us.

[JOSIAH] You're welcome. I'm excited.

[JAMIE] You can find Josiah on social media on Instagram and Twitter at @josiah.docx. And also follow @josiahsvoicepod on Instagram for the latest updates on when he drops new episodes. That can be found anywher fine podcasts can be found. Thanks to Anchor. Callback.

[JOSIAH] Thank you to Anchor. [all chuckle]

[KARLI] I love that you do the sound bites on your Instagram for your next episode. I'm like, I need to figure out how to do that. I asked you, and  you told me and I still can't figure it out.

[JOSIAH] Yeah, I did. I was like, wait, didn't I send her the?

[KARLI] You did! You totally did.

[JOSIAH] We'll figure it out together.

[KARLI] One day, we'll figure it out. [laughs]

[JOSIAH] When it's time, it's time. [chuckles]

[KARLI] Thank you for always being so willing to like, share what you've learned and everything like that you are like one of the like most generous people that I know of like pulling people alongside you and your creative journey. And I feel so grateful to call you my internet friend. So thank you so much for everything, Josiah.

[JOSIAH] You're so welcome.

[JAMIE] And check out Noteworthy Tribute by Josiah and his father, Mark Bradley. They co-wrote that together.

[JOSIAH] Yes.

[JAMIE] Thanks again for being here. Thanks, everybody, for listening. You can find all of our social media links in the description of this episode, as well as transcripts and sign up for the newsletter which will come out again eventually, probably. We don't know. Talk to you later, internet friends.

[JOSIAH] See you.

[KARLI] Bye.