WEBVTT 00:02.040 --> 00:19.554 I'm Stephen Jondrew from Better Podcasting, a podcast about podcasting, part of the Gunna Geek Network. Just like the show you're checking out now, shows on the network are individually owned and opinions expressed may not reflect others find fantastic, geeky shows@gunnageeknetwork.com. 00:56.284 --> 01:16.956 And welcome to Play comics, where once again we are here talking to a creator about their cool stuff. Today it is the return of Leslie Julian. He was with us before to talk about Savage wizard and head cases, and today he is here to talk to us about more Savage wizard. I am so excited for this. Leslie, how are you today? Because I'm excited to hear from you. 01:17.020 --> 01:20.868 Doing good. Yeah, I'm glad to be back. Talking some savage wizard today. 01:20.996 --> 01:28.796 For anybody who somehow missed the boat on number one and doesn't know what we're getting into right now, what is your elevator pitch for Savage wizard? 01:28.860 --> 01:31.900 What if Conan the barbarian had to reclass as a wizard? 01:32.012 --> 01:41.364 I can think of at least eight people that I can probably instantly get to back this, or at least say, dammit, I wish I had money. 01:41.444 --> 01:59.274 That's good. Yeah, definitely send them my way. For sure. I think this book can definitely appeal to a lot of folks that either lesson blood and guts or just some kind of off the wall humor. But I think Savage wizard is a really fun book that I like preaching about, and it seems like people are into it. 01:59.354 --> 02:05.290 How much of a d and D background do you have? Cause it seems like pitching it like that there would be a lot. 02:05.362 --> 02:28.754 It's funny, not the hugest. Before I wrote it, I actually hadn't played any d and D at all. But since then, with the pandemic and everything, I was like, hey, you know, everyone's playing D and D. Let me try some d and D. So actually, I've been playing D and D for going on three years now. Yeah, so I have a small little online group that I campaign with, and I don't play at Barbarian, but I do have a little bit more d and D experience. 02:28.834 --> 02:31.506 Now, what class do you usually play as? 02:31.690 --> 02:46.570 So for my first ever campaign, I was a thief. And actually that character died. Rip to my first character. And currently I am playing in a fallen asmr paladin, and I think we're in salt. 02:46.762 --> 02:48.938 How did you decide on those classes? 02:49.106 --> 03:46.006 So the first time, I literally had no clue what I was doing. I was like, you know, I know what a thief does. Let me be a thief. And I think I'm. I mean, it was really interesting how my character died in my Dm was up to some shenanigans, you could say. And my character very early got some kind of, like, brain demon, basically, and my body was taken over and, yeah, subsequently died, but I was like a husk of a person for the rest of campaign. But this newer campaign that I was basically knowing what the hell is doing a lot more, I said, I want to do something a little more interesting. So my guy, he actually kind of has some similarities to the main character in Savage wizard. He's kind of like a tank, and obviously, being a paladin, got some magical skills, but I just wanted to do something different. So, yeah, I'm having fun with my fallen asmr. Paladin, like I said. 03:46.150 --> 03:51.958 So we know you've been playing D and D for three years now, but how long have you been working on the second issue of this comic? 03:52.086 --> 04:57.000 Oh, man, it's been about that long. So for people who aren't too acquainted with Savage Wizard, I had a co writer on Doug Wood, who unfortunately had to step away from the project because of metal reasons. So I've taken over the full writer responsibilities. And so when Doug had left, we had, like, just started on issue two. And once he left and kind of smoke cleared and I was able to start back up again, it's mostly stayed along the same course. But I did add some new things I think people are going to find very visually interesting, especially in terms of what this. This latest issue has. So it's. It's definitely been a labor of love because there have been some ups and downs since the last issue of Brian Flint, the original artist. He also had to pull out because of personal reasons. And so I was able to find Nero Crane to be the new ongoing artist, and he's been incredible and been having a lot of fun collaborating with him. 04:57.112 --> 05:01.536 Some of those personnel changes, part of the reason why it's been so long between this and issue one. 05:01.600 --> 05:55.756 Oh, yeah, definitely. Yeah. Unfortunately, like I said, Brian's personal reasons kind of bogged down a little bit of the fulfillment and then the start to issue two. He was initially slated to continue with issue two, but he realized that he just had too much on his plate and he had to step back. And so, yeah, once he stepped back and Doug also was no longer able to continue, there's, like, a little bit hiatus. I have kind of figured out what to do next or if I should even continue the series or just hang it up. But Doug and Brian were both really encouraging and kind of basically told me to keep going for it. And so I did. This past issue had just been fulfilled earlier last year and so once I was able to get all the books out for issue one, I was like, okay, I can keep going for issue two. I didn't want to leave people hanging, so I'm really excited to get things going again and get number three out even faster than that gap from one to two for sure. 05:55.860 --> 06:10.820 And I see Doug's recently started doing some things again. I don't expect you to instantly pull him fully back into writing because it seems like he's kind of stayed away from that side. But how much has he been helping you out with this project in any aspect? 06:10.932 --> 06:37.436 Yeah, so I definitely left the door open for him if he wants return. And actually I did share the script with him for two and three and he really liked what I've been doing with it. So I'm really happy to have his blessing as encouragement and he's been giving me some editing advice and kind of thing. So he's had his fingers in the pie a little bit, which has been fun to reach out to him and keep him involved with the Savage wizard universe. 06:37.540 --> 06:39.004 And then there's Tobin, the letter. 06:39.124 --> 06:40.036 I don't know, I guess you just. 06:40.060 --> 06:42.268 Put a spell on him or something because he stayed. 06:42.396 --> 07:29.872 Yeah, I know. I guess so. Tobin has been really consistent and amazing. Honestly, even it's funny. Letters are always underappreciated. I love what he did on issue one and even issue two. I feel like he's somehow leveled up. I just love the lettering and this latest issue and I think he's done a fantastic job. And also his wife, who was a fantastic artist in her own right, she has been super supportive of the series. Alair Rasicott, who did the COVID for issue one. So it's kind of like she's almost egging him on to keep going and stay involved with the lettering and everything. So I've been awesome. It's been awesome to have Tobin around. I've been very lucky to have him as the letterer for the series. 07:30.018 --> 07:37.892 So what's it been like for you having to continue the series with what is basically a whole new creative team around you? 07:37.988 --> 08:19.474 It's been, it's been tough, for sure, like, kind of shaking off a little bit, you know, self doubt and wondering if I should even continue a series. But once I kind of got out of my head and, you know, had encouragement from Doug and some other folks to keep going, I've been having fun taking things in a new direction. Like I said, me and Doug had kind of. We had the overarching outline for the series, but had only just been touching on issue two before he had to bat. So now that I've scripted three and four and been doing some. Some things that I don't think people are going to see coming, I'm having a lot of fun, and I really want to get these books out here for folks to enjoy, especially looking at the art. 08:19.514 --> 08:35.254 Nero Crane's art is definitely not Brian Flint's art. There's no question about that. They're both really good. I enjoy both of them. Is that something you feel like you should address in the story anyway, or are you just rolling with it and like, oh, wow. Yeah, it's different. Okay, let's go. 08:35.334 --> 09:05.126 Yeah, I'm pretty much just gonna roll with it. You know, artist changes happen so much in comics. I mean, I think it can be jarring sometimes, but also I think it's something that people are just like, hey, that's, you know, basically a part of comics. So, like, you shrug your shoulders and you move on, and I think people are going to appreciate neo Crane's art as well. Yeah, you said isn't Brian, but he has a fantastic visual language and mastery of both the action and the humor that's so integral to savage wizard. 09:05.230 --> 09:09.014 How did you manage to run across him and convince him to do the art for this one? 09:09.094 --> 09:47.108 So once I knew that Brian can continue anymore, and after talking to Doug and seeing that he was still fine with me continuing the series, I pretty much reached out to Twitter and said, hey, here is the art style and, like, kind of direction of the story. Like, if anyone's comfortable doing both, you know, stories with, you know, half naked guys swinging swords around and some humor thrown in there. If you're interested, reach out to me. And I feel that, you know, a lot of artists who are interested in being a part of it, but I saw New York Crane's art, and I definitely went to work some more with him. 09:47.276 --> 09:57.982 One of the things I really love about this one, especially with the artist change, is just the whole manga look of everything. I'm sure that's something that you wanted to do from the beginning. 09:58.158 --> 10:08.198 I know that there aren't a ton of black and white comics out there, but I know the people that do appreciate black and white comics definitely appreciate their black and white comics. So happy to continue in that direction. 10:08.286 --> 10:22.928 That's something I wish we would get more of here faster and easier to put out just because you don't have to do the work of colors, you know, I certainly don't want to rush artists and put them on a giant time crunch and make them go crazy because they're trying to rush through everything. 10:23.096 --> 10:23.992 But if you don't have to do. 10:24.008 --> 10:25.024 Colors, that is a plus. 10:25.104 --> 10:49.460 In Yo Crane since he kind of has that manga ish background, like, you know, just like the mastery of like, the shading and the duo tones and just like, he just adds so much contrast and layers to, you know, these backgrounds. And there's a lot of fun stuff that you're not going to see in a color comic, you know. So I love that direction in the book has been going in, and he's continued that even more. So I feel like with his stuff. 10:49.532 --> 10:53.932 Do you have any manga or anime in mind as you're writing this one? 10:54.028 --> 11:14.744 Well, not to me, because it's funny. I read most of the manga I read is like, rom.com stuff, funny enough, but maybe like, I would say, like, maybe like a villain saga. Brian, he definitely had some berserk influence, so a little bit that might be in there, but I mean, in general, I think it's just more of a grab bag than anything specific. 11:14.884 --> 11:25.560 Having those different genres, though, I think helps out a lot because you can add aspects of that which people don't expect to pop up in your story or. No, they just don't expect this to pop up in your story. 11:25.632 --> 11:26.192 Yeah. 11:26.328 --> 11:43.564 One thing I really noticed with this one, and if it was really hard to not notice it, was that you're back with Kickstarter. Yeah, I know when we talked to you about head cases before, it was on something that is not Kickstarter, and it was more than two weeks ago, so I can't remember what it was. 11:44.514 --> 12:20.408 Yeah. So I tried out Crowdfunder for the head cases campaign because at the time, Kickstarter was seemed like they remember going in a really iffy direction with the NFT stuff and all that jazz. So I was just kind of looking at other avenues of crowdfunding and we were successful. Crowdfunder and Crowdfunder still playing out some awesome stuff, but it seems like Kickstarter, at least for the time being, has step back from some of the stuff that was giving us pause. So I'm like, okay, I'm gonna give Kickstarter another go. 12:20.536 --> 12:26.080 So no qualms at all about going back with them for any reason at this point for you? 12:26.152 --> 12:55.470 No, I feel comfortable going back in and working with Kickstarter. And if I did start having qualms again, like pivot to back to Crowdfunder or maybe back or kid, because that seems like another big battle from now or even Zoop. So, I mean, no, I feel fine kind of pivoting when I need to. And I think it's good that, you know, we have more options than we did even. Yeah, two years ago, I was two years ago when crowdfunder first popped up and we were able to work with them. 12:55.542 --> 13:07.046 I'm glad you're back on Kickstarter with this one, just because that's where the vast majority of the things are that I'm back in, so I get to nice and consolidate that. I'm sure there's a lot of people that think the same way as I do on that one. 13:07.110 --> 13:39.714 Yeah, and I can totally relate to that because I said the majority of the stuff I pack is also on a Kickstarter. I did just a back crowd funder campaign for, I think it's called, um, which is like really cool, also manga inspired thing that's on there, which probably winding down today. But, um, there's that. And I've seen some fun stuff on zoo, but yeah, in general, I'd say majority of stuff I'm funding on Kickstarter. It's just so easy when you have that built in ecosystem and there's just so much stuff on there already. You don't have to buy my credit card or whatever, because, hey, boom, all my info is already in this one spot already. 13:40.154 --> 13:50.130 What has been the biggest challenge for you? Writing this by yourself instead of having a co writer with you like you did on the first issue? 13:50.242 --> 14:50.146 Yeah, it's a totally different process. So Doug and I, we would basically go back and forth. I would write three pages, he would write three pages, and we do that all the way to the end of the book, which was 24 pages. And so this time, obviously, I have the full responsibility on me and the full weight of the script on me, so I'm not having someone to bounce back on or like, hey, like, I mean, obviously you have your peer group to maybe give you some feedback, but, like, in the immediate process of writing script, I don't have Doug say, hey, maybe you could tweak this, or I don't know about the final dialogue here. You know, it's all me, and I do a lot of self editing, but it was definitely a lot of fun to play on each other and I don't have that anymore, which is good and bad adjusting to it. And like I said, I missed Doug's presence, but it's been interesting trying to not compensate for not having it but really just kind of taking all of the creative power in owning something fun with this latest run of Savage wizard. 14:50.210 --> 15:05.898 And then looking at the rewards that you guys have set up, it seems like you guys have decided to go really heavy on. Hey, look, here's issue one. You can get that as well, which I appreciate that, especially on something that has had the big gap like you all have between one and two. 15:05.986 --> 15:25.722 Yeah, I've seen a lot of other campaigns do it and it just made sense. Like one. Yeah, because it's been a while since the first campaign was and too, I mean, people want to have that background, so it's like, yeah, you're gonna have issue too. But like, what happened the first one? So wanted to make that definitely very easy for people to be able to pick up a issue on to get caught up. 15:25.818 --> 15:43.534 I've been saying on Twitter that I'm waiting for this interview to decide where I'm gonna back this because I'm gonna back it at some level. We already know that, you know, throw out the digital only tier because whatever I get physical copies, I love it. Beyond that, I mean, what do you think is the best value tier tier that you have offered? 15:43.984 --> 16:24.292 Personally, I think it's what I call the Savage wizard bundle. It's basically all my previous work in one bundle. It's Savage wizard one and two head cases and Ghost gauntlet, as well as the four mini prints that are included and some lower tiers. So I think that's a really fun bundle to kind of just get caught up on all my work and obviously get confidence at Swizzard. And it includes a bunch of digital books on there as well. Digital isn't always everyone's first thought, but it includes some anthologies as part of as well in the digital tier or, sorry, the digital portion of that reward. 16:24.388 --> 16:40.048 And I do like getting digital copies of things like that. They're great. But I want to make sure I have my physical copy too because I just like having physical copies of things. Have you seen the mini prints yet or are they still something that has yet to be made and you don't know what's going on with them yet? 16:40.196 --> 17:17.310 Oh, yeah. So the mini prints are the mini prints that were included in the first Kickstarter. So it's. They're on there as well on the campaign page. Ice Ghost is an awesome just still of Renar holding a sword, standing on the like the head of an orc. And C. Larsen, who's done stuff for boot boom has a beautiful mini print of Okora, who's just kind of has this magical background behind her. And then Brian's images from the first book are also in there with some orc action as well. 17:17.422 --> 17:24.798 I'm so excited to get my hands on a physical copy of this one. So just to make sure that I don't miss that. 17:24.886 --> 17:25.342 If I. 17:25.398 --> 17:29.078 When I go back this. When do I have to go back this by? 17:29.246 --> 17:41.638 You have until. You have until April 30. That's right. April 30 is going to be the last day of campaign, so make sure you're back in before then because that's when everything is going to be gone. 17:41.686 --> 17:54.062 And as we're recording this, you're, let's call it nice easy math a quarter of the way there. What has been the reception so far that you've seen online from people on this campaign? 17:54.238 --> 18:29.730 It's been a good reception. I've seen a lot of support from peers in the indie comic community reblogging and retweeting the crap out of this and sharing it with folks and making sure people know that Savage wizard two is out. I've been definitely happy to see the numbers where they're out and hope they keep climbing. So I feel like we're in a good spot to have a successful campaign. I definitely hope things keep going and I'm looking forward to. I'll be tabling at some conventions soon, so hopefully that will give me another boost. Kind of in the middle of campaign as well. 18:29.842 --> 18:34.854 How has the convention circuit been compared to looking at things on Twitter? 18:35.434 --> 19:28.344 It's also fine. I haven't done any, actually, like in the middle of a campaign, so this will be fun. My first convention will be staple in Austin, April. I think it's like the 12th and 13th, so yeah, that'll be fun. Promoting the book with an ongoing kickstarter. I haven't had to do that yet, but I hear that's a lot of fun. It's another way to get some eyes on the campaign that you would normally get because obviously being so online, it's kind of refreshing to be in person and then trying to do the same thing. But like, hey, like, there's an ongoing campaign for an awesome sword sorcery book and you should check it out. And people always gravitate towards the amazing covers of number one. So I think if I tell them there's even more coming and you can support it, then I think people will be happy to see that. 19:28.424 --> 19:32.554 Are you going to be taking number one around to the conventions with you? 19:32.664 --> 20:07.202 Oh, for sure. I have definitely had the earlier shows. I've been going to have number one. So now that there is a definite number two on the way and actually currently being crowdfunded, I think that will even boost the sales for number one and actually give the campaign some more attention. So I'm happy that I can work on that synergy a little bit with the campaign for number two and having number ones readily available. 20:07.338 --> 20:15.490 Are you worried that people being able to get number one at a convention with you is going to eat into funding money for this current campaign? 20:15.682 --> 20:46.834 No, I don't think so. I think that it might have if someone was looking for the catch up tier, but I think if you're reading number one and buy that, then I would feel that you're probably going to be inclined to, hey, maybe I should check out number two. And obviously, that's not going to be everybody, but be a decent amount of people that would still want to check out number two. I'm looking forward to that process. And, yeah, hopefully finding out folks that say, hey, number one is cool. Let me give number two a shot, too. 20:46.914 --> 20:52.922 Earlier, I know you mentioned having a script, or at least an idea for number three. How far do you see this series going? 20:53.018 --> 21:20.104 I had a mini series arc planned. I definitely have a finite structure for this first arc. I think there's room for more after that, but I want to focus on just this five or six issues and then have a breather and maybe we can think about revisiting what happens after. But, I mean, there definitely is room to have more fun with Renar and Okora. And what else lies beyond the immediate danger that they're facing right now? 21:20.184 --> 21:27.724 A lot of the times in these series, especially from the writers, one of the characters is the writer. So which of the characters are you? 21:29.094 --> 22:08.040 Oh, man. I don't want to have a cop out answer, but probably, probably both of them, I think, you know, Renar, he's, bless his heart, he's, you know, a hambo with a heart of silver. And I think my, my wife can say, there's definitely times we're like, why did you just say that right now? You know, and with Okora, I love just how out there she is. And she's also. Introvert's not the right word to use with her, but she's very isolated. She has been isolated for a while, and I can see parts of myself in that just because, you know, writing can be a lonely process. So I definitely relate to her a lot with that. 22:08.192 --> 22:10.720 How much does your wife help out with your writing? 22:10.912 --> 22:43.752 A lot, actually. She was my first reader, I used to think like, oh, she loved all of my writing, but no, I've shown her some stories and she's like, no, let's leave that. Let's leave that in your archives. So she definitely gives me the truth, which is good. Like, you need someone that's going to be honest with you. And she's usually sharpening up stuff when she's reading my writing, so she's definitely a huge hand in my writing. She's definitely super helpful and supportive. Definitely. 22:43.848 --> 22:48.864 Does she know what's going on, or is she reading this like just any other reader would be? 22:49.024 --> 23:05.632 She's got a sneak peek to stuff. So, like, you know, if she will see my scripts once they're done. She doesn't know the entire story, but once I finish the script, she'll see the earlier stages of the first rough drafts, but even she doesn't know how this is going to end up. 23:05.768 --> 23:22.034 I'm assuming that she knows how you think in a lot of ways and seeing a bunch of your let's just go ahead and call them crap stories that she convinced you to get rid of. How happy are you going to be if you can slip this surprise past her? 23:22.414 --> 23:32.446 I love surprising her when she doesn't see something coming. So if I can have her say, wow, where did I come from? Then I'll be happy for sure. 23:32.590 --> 23:41.414 It's always nice when you can have those pretty intimate fans and people who have read a lot of your work can still get a surprise out of you. 23:41.494 --> 23:42.998 Yeah, definitely. 23:43.166 --> 24:01.836 Looking at the pages that you sent over for number two, this thing is going to be beautiful, but I want to skip over that. One of the other things that I really liked about number one was all the behind the scenes stuff that you included at the back. Please tell me that kind of thing is going to be present at number two as well. 24:01.940 --> 24:54.720 You know, I was actually thinking of streamlining things, and that wasn't on my radar. But, you know, Chris, you might push me to make this a 32 page book I could definitely consider. Like I said, I added so initially this book was going to be 24 pages, but I saw it in the opening to add something really wild, and I hope. I think neurograin is going to do it justice, and I'm really excited to see how he visualizes it and puts it on the page. So that pushing it to 28 pages, that made me reconsider all the background or stuff. But luckily, this is an indie production, so, I mean, I can definitely again push this to 32 pages and make it a little longer just to add that back matter stuff. So that's something I will be thinking about a little bit differently now that you put that out there. Chris. 24:54.872 --> 24:57.776 Maybe make it a stretch goal. I don't want you to change it just because I want it. 24:57.840 --> 25:00.192 True. Okay, that's a good idea. Stretch goal. 25:00.248 --> 25:03.512 Are you good the one going and finding the publisher and stuff for these as well too? 25:03.568 --> 25:15.248 I would like to. Once everything is done, I think that makes the most sense. Once the story is all out there, then I think that makes the most sense to out and then reach for a publisher for sure. 25:15.336 --> 25:21.056 I said publisher and I meant to say printer, but so now I'm just asking the questions in the order that I wasn't going to do. 25:21.160 --> 25:22.288 What was the printer question? 25:22.416 --> 25:25.472 Are you the one going and finding the printer for these as well? 25:25.568 --> 25:40.214 Yeah. So I'll be most likely using the same printer that I did for the first one. I had a lot of compliments on the quality of issue one. So I'm hoping to continue with the same printer and get that same quality back. 25:40.344 --> 25:45.666 What are you looking for in a printer on a black and white comic like this, versus something full color like. 25:45.690 --> 26:14.542 You had with head cases page feel for sure. I mean, I want something that's going to come out clear, not too glossy, and just I want something that be able to appreciate all the details in there and that. Yeah, it's not going to be lost in the printing like versus like scene of it digitally. I want to make sure everything comes across. All of your crane's little foibles and little details that he puts in there. I want to make sure all that comes across in the printing. 26:14.638 --> 26:19.474 Do you have some publishers in mind that you would take this to, or are we a little early in the process for that? 26:20.094 --> 26:48.594 I think a little early. There's been some shake up in the publishing scene a little bit. So that definitely gives me pause in terms of certain publishers. So I'm not thinking too clearly on a specific publisher, but that is something in the back of my mind. For once things are done. For sure. I'd love to get the savage wizard out in comic book shops around the nation. 26:48.894 --> 26:54.194 It might not be nationwide, but have you suckered any of your local shops into having copies? 26:55.254 --> 27:18.686 I haven't, actually. And that is something I definitely want to do with number two coming out. Once number two is printed, I would love to start reaching out to some local shops. And there's some really cool ones in Austin I know that would be supportive. And there are a few also here locally in San Antonio. I think that would be cool to reach out to. So once number two is printed, that's definitely something I'm going to start doing. 27:18.870 --> 27:37.230 I know my local shop has something that somebody local did a little more expensive than everything else, but I don't care because it's somebody local and it's a really good story. I'm not. I wouldn't be able to get that from you because I'm not going to drive all the way to Texas just to grab it when I can get it through Kickstarter, but I definitely would want to see pictures of it on the shelves. 27:37.302 --> 27:53.510 Yeah, I think that can definitely happen this year. So I'm super excited to start doing that because I've had some friends that had some success in that arena, so I wanted to follow suit and start doing the same and getting some books in some local shops and some. Yeah, some Texas hands. 27:53.582 --> 28:06.352 I'm just really excited to get my hands on this. I need to go figure out which stack my copy of number one is in because I have at least four stacks of comics sitting around my house that still need to get sorted, but at least I know I have my digital copy. 28:06.478 --> 28:25.556 Yeah, I'm pretty bad right now with my, my crown funded stacks. Like, my, my repile is real bad. So I don't know if it's gonna be when the campaign's over or maybe I'll get a low, like, I just go go crazy and get caught up. But yeah, I also bear a really bad reply. Shame. Right now. 28:25.700 --> 28:31.064 Speaking of read piles, what other things are you reading right now? 28:31.864 --> 28:49.280 I mean, I feel like nothing, sadly. Like, I literally just say I keep acquiring books and just not reading them. Like, I part from podcasts. I am not reading too much now. I was listening to a couple of audiobooks a few weeks back, but my comics are, Ergon, Dusty and I need to rectify that. 28:49.392 --> 28:55.684 I was considering telling you that I'm going to pull my pledge back if you don't read, but that would be mean and I can't do that. 28:57.144 --> 29:32.498 I have books. I. Sorry, I just need to make time to read them. It's like promoting writing. Like, where's. Where's the time to actually read books? Like, that's the dirty secret about comics. They don't tell you. It's like you started making stuff so much, you hardly have time to be current or to read anything. But, you know, usually Sunday is my day to get caught up, but I've just been so busy promoting and then April's gonna be really bad for me with a staple. And then a couple weeks later, I'm gonna be c two. E two. So just feel like there's a lot going on. But one day, one day soon, I will get caught up on reading some comics. I swear. 29:32.626 --> 29:37.130 Yeah, we all know that's a lie because you will never be caught up because you'll just add more to the pile. 29:37.202 --> 29:54.874 Well, not totally caught up, but at least my read pile will shrink. And I'll just have, you know, all the other stuff that I've been needing to read for years. Of course, because you're always playing catch up. You're always, you know, wanting to study and learn and read and get caught up in old stuff and new stuff. So, yeah, you're right. It's eternal. It's never ending. 29:54.954 --> 30:12.774 I'm right there with you, though. And the only thing saving me is that a lot of my read pile is technically duplicate copies of stuff because of different covers. Tying this into the theme of play comics. If you were going to turn Savage wizard into a game, what kind of game would it be? 30:12.894 --> 30:50.774 So there's two kind of games I think would be fun either. Like maybe hack and slash, sort of not quite dwarves, but I just really love dwarves, so I think that'd be kind of fun, just seeing Renard go crazy all over the land and having to fight, you know, orcs and goblins and other barbarian tribes. So that's. That's one thing that pops out my mind. And another is probably just like a simple side scroller. Like, you know, like a 16 bit, like, side scroller with a renar kind of doing the same stuff, but yeah, like, just any kind of generic action. I think side scroller would be, like, really fun to see for savvy Swizzard. 30:50.814 --> 30:56.484 Also, I love the fact that you specifically went 16 bit with that too, because it just shows both of our ages. 30:56.564 --> 30:58.420 Yeah, that's the best. That's the best for me. 30:58.492 --> 31:22.302 I mean, they really are, though. You don't have the graphics capable of being super realistic or what people were considering super realistic. So you still had, let's focus on the game. Let's not focus on the graphics so much. Obviously, you had, like, your donkey Kong countries and stuff that looked amazing, but you still had to have a good game. And you couldn't put out a patch on day one, put out an incomplete game. 31:22.398 --> 31:50.104 I mean, not to, you know, get on a high horse or be the old man, but, yeah, like, there's just things that were done differently were the level design and the music, especially, like, is something that really gets you sucked into a game. And, yeah, like, you know, the background details, it's a lot of fun elements that all work together to create, you know, that stuff that we remember so fondly as kids and, you know, we're young adults. But, yeah, that. That's. That for me, it's just holds a special place in my heart. 31:50.224 --> 31:57.136 Well, Leslie, it has been great talking to you about all things savage wizard today. If people want to hear more from you, where else can they find you? 31:57.160 --> 32:17.056 Around the Internet, almost everywhere. On the Internet. At less right on Twitter, I'm less right. Instagram is less right. Occasionally, I will throw crap on Twitter. Was it. I'm old TikTok les Wright comics. But yeah, pretty much type in less write, and you will find me somewhere on the Internet, sadly, because I'm on there way too much. 32:17.160 --> 32:31.088 And that is right. W r I T e, which is why we will have links down in the show notes, because remembering how to spell things is stupid. I realize I'm saying that to a writer. Have your meaning. Work with incorrect spellings. I don't care. 32:31.136 --> 32:33.528 Hey, I mean, we can cheat now. It's beautiful. 32:33.656 --> 33:51.304 As always, if you want to hear more from me, the best place to do that is to head on over to playcomics.com, where you can find links to all the social media things. Although mostly I'm on Twitter because despite the fact that it's a giant cesspool, it's the one that I am in and in the ecosystem of a lot. If you want to help support the show, the best things you can do are to leave a review on Apple Podcasts or podchaser or, you know, some other place that lets you leave reviews or just tell a friend about it. You know, you can also be like Dan McMahon or Carl Antonovitz or, oh, no. Look, class and give money to the show. But honestly, I would rather get more listens than money. I will take your money, though. If you want to do that, that's cool. Don't let it stop you. Don't forget to play. Comics is a part of the Guineek.com network, home to such wonderful shows as Legends of S H I E l D, who once again this week, will be talking about X Men 97 without me because I'm abandoning them. I'm still heartbroken over last week's episode. If you like the music that we're rudely talking on top of, head on over to soundcloud.com. Best day to check out bestdays music. But most of all, just grab a game, grab a stack of comics and go find yourself new favorite character. And welcome to Play comics, where once again, we are here talking to I always forget to ask you, do you prefer les or Leslie? 33:52.484 --> 33:58.076 I go by both. I have no preference. You can do both in the same interview and I'm fine with it. 33:58.180 --> 34:04.544 Okay, I just. Editor Chris needs to remember to check which one he's used for the tags before so he can keep that consistent. 34:05.284 --> 34:08.384 Yeah, let's see. Good. Just to probably keep it consistent. 34:09.333 --> 34:36.433 And then there's Tobin the letterer. I guess he's the normal person since he stayed. That was a horrible way to ask it. And then there's Tobin the letterer. I guess he just really. Now, how is the campaign circuit? Wow, that was such an awkward start to that question. Editor Chris, ask a better version of the publisher question. Go back and grab Leslie's answer. 34:45.813 --> 34:59.965 Welcome to the world of Stealth Hammer, an all ages superhero adventure comic set in a world of high tech gadgetry and supernatural mythology. In issue one of the comic series, we learned of stealth Hammer's origin. In issue two, we discovered her legacy. 34:59.989 --> 35:00.622 Legacy. 35:00.798 --> 35:10.654 Now in issue three, we find how an elf from a faraway land helped in her journey. All issues are available on Kickstarter. Now just search for stealth Hammer, available through May 7.