Citywide Blackout

BONUS TRACK-Sal Abbinanti releases his cult classic Atomika: God is Red” in omnibus format

 

It's a dual-comic episode! First up is four-time Eisner-nominated writer, designer, and publisher Christopher Sebela to talk about his newest series, “.Self,” which you can only find on comiXology Originals.

 

In .Self, Natalie Winters seems to have a perfect life. But when her Postscript account is hacked, Natalie’s backup files are torrented online and people begin making bootleg copies of her. We talk about Natalie's role, the perception of a perfect life and why she's so determined to get it back. Chris also talks about the character-building process and the different personalities he's created in the many titles he's worked on.

 

Chris also has a Kickstarter for a new title, “Foulbrood” which has him working once again with artist Claire Roe and we talk about the real-life news story that served as inspiration for a series that explores bees, crime and the intersection of bees and crime.

 

After that, I welcome back Artist Sal Abbinanti to talk about the upcoming release of the omnibus edition of his classic title “Atomika: God is Red.” He also has a Kickstarter going that runs until Dec. 2. It's already well past its $25,000 goal and we talk about that and the vast list of artists that are contributing to this new edition.

 

Sal dives into the history of the title and all the challenges he faced when trying to get it published. We talk about the story and the research that went into building it.

This year marks the big return of an in-person Rhode Island Author Expo. And so, I've been doing interviews with some of the great authors who will be part of the event.

 

First, Lisa Jacob and I talk about her recently-released book “Carnival Farm,” as well as a series of short stories based on Tarot Cards. We also look at her podcast, Dark Mystic Quill.

 

Next up is Peter O'Donnell, who was on the show two years ago. He's been busy in that time, putting out the first two books of his “In The Giant's Shadow” series, a blend of thriller and science-fiction elements, and we go deep into the story and future of the series.

 

Our final interview in this episode is with Christine Lajewski, who has some of the most terrifying horror stories I've ever read. We talk about what makes a good horror story and the short tale she has included in the Wicked Women anthology.

Author Evelyn LaTorre shares the story behind her marriage to Antonio, a man she met while serving in Peru as part of the Peace Corps in her new book, “Love in Any Language.” It's the continuation of her first book, “Between Inca Walls,” and illustrates the trials and joys in the blending of two cultures.

 

In this episode we dive deep into her meeting Antonio and their early years together. Evelyn also shares what led her to write the book and how she decided what to share. We talk about what makes a cross-cultural relationship work and the things she learned during her time with Antonio.

Well, the title says it all! On Nov. 5 and 6 I had the chance to reunite with the convention community at one of my favorite events—Rhode Island Comic-Con. I checked out the amazing cosplays, met cool creatives and bought some great merch over the weekend. And of course, many interviews were done.

 

To start, I met up with Author Coral Isabella Aurora to learn about her new book and the messages about bullying and treating others fairly.

 

Next, the writers from the comic Starside catch me up on a series I got into two years ago and give a few hints about the story's future.

 

Cosplayer Stevie Oaks shares his dead-on impersonation of Peter Griffin and what it's been like being at a convention for the first time as one of the guests.

 

On the convention's second day, I chatted with Wayward Raven founder Mark Frankel about the diverse stories they publish, a special request for submissions, and why in their comics, dead is dead.

 

Bringing this episode to a close is Khepera Cosplay, who shares how it feels to be back after two years and the various villains she's cosplayed as.

 

Singer-songwriter Stephanie Mathias is back once again, this time joined by fellow musician Jarreau Williams to talk about their new single “Starting Over.” Jarreau sent Stephanie this song as she was recovering from the miscarriage she had in December 2020. It speaks to how universal it is to start over after tragedy strikes and tells her personal story of starting over, with a real-life happy ending because it was released on Oct. 1, right before the baby was due.

 

Stephanie and Jarreau go in-depth on their working together on the song. It's not the first collaboration, as Jarreau was in Stephanie's music video for “Hero Side.” We talk about the concept of starting over and how it's applied to Jarreau's life, as well as the response they've received since the song dropped.

 

A music video for “Starting Over” is set to be released on Nov. 12—produced by Jeffrey Perkins of J. Perk Productions—and we give a few hints on what people can expect.

 

Following this, enjoy the new single, “Starting Over.” I'm a fan of both artists and think the song really plays to both of their strengths.

We're back in Boston for this episode, talking with the band Constellation Myths. Band members Josh Goldman, Justin Kehoe, and Molly Seamans share their past work and how it changed to this new Americana sound.

 

Josh and Justin have a lengthy career in the Boston music scene and talk about what they had to learn for this new project. Molly talks about how she came to be in the band and her own musical experience, which includes playing in the band Tom Thumb.

 

We also talk about the theme of the tension between city and country and how it's shown in the lyrics and the music, as well as when live shows for the band could happen.

 

Following this, I've got two of the band's songs for you—“It Would' ve Been Enough” followed by “Suffer.”

After a long career in the corporate world, LA-based Nolo Grace decided to jump into a new career in music. This has led to a lot of success, including her debut “Wake Up,” featuring Sean Kingston and some amazing music videos. We talk about her decision to switch from one role to another and early days.

 

Nolo and I talk about her relationship with music producer Martin Wave (aka Lars Martin) and how the two work together. Nolo also speaks about her doubts going into her music career and how she feels about it now. We also look at her cool R&B/pop style and how it came to be.

I'm probably the least qualified person I know to talk dance—fortunately, my next guest, New York native Tomoe ”Beasty” Carr is an expert on the subject. Recently, Beasty was crowned winner of the Red Bull Dance Your Style qualifier in Boston and will head to the U.S. Red Bull Dance Your Style National Finals taking place in Washington, D.C from Oct. 23. Download @Caffeine to watch it live at 7PM ET.

 

For this episode, Beasty talks all about the world of battling in the dance world and some of the competitions she's taken part in. We also look at her background and building a career in dance, which includes training in Japan at Next Generation Dance Studio under the tutelage of Cebo for 10 years. She is well versed in hip hop, house, waacking, locking, popping, breaking, and ballet & modern.

For years, publishing a Halloween-themed collection has been the dream of author Kevin Lucia, and on Oct. 22, it comes true with the release of “October Nights” through Crystal Lake Publishing. Set in the fictitious town of Clifton Heights, the book contains four shared-world tales of small-town Halloween horror.

 

In this episode, Kevin and I walk through the world of Clifton Heights and how it came to be. We look at characters in horror, and what makes them truly matter to the reader. Kevin and I run through each of the stories and how these made the final cut as opposed to other idea (which any good writer has a ton of!).

 

Last spring, at the height of the pandemic's first wave, Kevin saw the publication of his first hardcover limited edition novella from Cemetery Dance Publications, “Mystery Road.” We talk about how the last year and a half has been and how it influenced him as a writer.

I recently had the chance to check out “Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms,” available through Oni Press. The story, it's true-to-life characters and the world behind them were such an immediate draw that I read it three times.

 

Annie is a smart, antisocial lesbian starting her senior year of high school who’s under pressure to join the cheerleading squad to make friends and round out her college applications. Her former friend Bebe is a people-pleaser, a trans girl who must keep her parents happy with her grades and social life in order to maintain their support of her transition.

 

In this episode, Writer Crystal Frasier and Artist Val Wise share their experiences working together for the first time. We take a long look at the characters of Bebe and Annie, how their friendship deepens throughout the book and what each brings to the overall story. We talk about transgender characters in comics and how this has changed in recent years as well as Aunty Jen, to whom the book is dedicated.