#the part about him being so exhausted he can only read 10 pages max because he falls asleep 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

[the-jam-to-the-unicorn]

Excerpts from Ze's NY Times interview

[traincat]

I saw on your Twitter about your love of Spider-Man ships, and I was wondering if you could expand on them? I know about Peter/MJ and Peter/Gwen, but that's about it. (And maybe Peter/Liz? Idk if that's just an MCU thing or not.)

I love, love, love the women of Spider-Man and I think 616Spider-Man has some of the best love stories and some of the best romanticchemistry in comics. PeterGwen and PeterMJ are the big ones, along withPeterFelicia, but he’s had a number of relationships over the years – CissieIronwood (Marvel Team Up vol1 #80-81, #90, Annual #2), Marcy Kane, Deb Whitman,an implied casual hookup with his neighbor Bambi, a thing with his work wife,reporter Joy Mercado – okay this one didn’t actually happen-happen,but it happened in my heart, and they did kiss. I love her and will refer toher as his work wife forever. But let’s start at the beginning, since you askedabout Liz Allan. PeterMJ and PeterGwen are considered the big Spider-Man lovetriangle, but Peter was involved in plenty of romantic drama before either MaryJane or Gwen was ever introduced on the page. One of the big things I loveabout Spider-Man are how, even after the romantic relationships are over, theseries lets its female characters continue to have big roles in Peter Parker’slife, and that’s the case with both Betty Brant and Liz Allan, the leadingladies of the original Spider-Man love triangle. PeterLiz is athing, although it’s very different from the way the MCU portrayed it, so let’sstart there.

Liz Allan: Liz is one of the longest running Spider-Mancharacters and one of the few to debut in Amazing Fantasy #15 along with Peterhimself, Flash Thompson, Aunt May and Uncle Ben. While Peter initially had acrush on Liz, who was at the time dating Flash Thompson (everyone in theSpider-Man friend group has dated everyone at one point or another), Peter soongot over it when he met J Jonah Jameson’s secretary Betty Brant – only for Lizto develop a crush on Peter after. She openly flirted with him, causingtensions between Peter and Betty and Peter and Flash both.

(Amazing Spider-Man #17)

Liz faded out of the picture for a bit after confessing her feelings to Peter at their high school graduation in Amazing Spider-Man #28, only to make her return in Amazing Spider-Man #132, when Peter encounters her wandering the streets exhausted and troubled over her step-brother, Max Raxton, the Molten Man, a one-time supervillain who would later reform.

Liz later met Harry Osborn at Betty Brant’s wedding and the two quickly fell in love and got married. (Everyone in Spider-Man has been involved with everyone in Spider-Man.) They have one son together, Norman Osborn Jr. They probably should have thought on that name a little more. (Harry has a second child with a woman named Lily Hollister.)

(Amazing Spider-Man Annual #17 – everyone in Spider-Man has also made out with everyone in Spider-Man, regardless of relationship status.) 

Peter and Mary Jane even lived in the same building as Liz and Harry for a while, up until Harry’s death (long story – he got better). Liz took over Oscorp in the wake of Harry’s death, briefly had a relationship with Daredevil’s Foggy Nelson, and eventually became CEO of Alchemax. Recently, she and Harry got back together in Amazing Spider-Man #789.

Some Liz issues:

Amazing Spider-Man #1-28: Liz has moments scattered all through the high school years, including ASM #6, where she develops a crush on Spider-Man, ASM #17, where she schemes to get Peter to attend a meeting of the Spider-Man fan club, ASM #25 when she first meets Mary Jane, ASM #26 where she breaks up a fight between Peter and Flash, and ASM #28 where she confesses her feelings for Peter.

Webspinners #9: A more modern Spider-Man high school flashback, Peter finds himself in trouble when he accidentally ends up with both Liz and Betty believing they’re going to prom with him. An excellent look at how smothered and trapped Liz felt as a teenager.

Amazing Spider-Man #132-133: Liz makes her reappearance.

Amazing Spider-Man #153: Liz asks Harry out, starting their relationship.

Amazing Spider-Man#166: Liz and Harry announce they’re getting married.

Amazing Spider-Man #172-180: When Liz is arrested for attempted robbery, she temporarily leaves Harry, believing herself no good for him.

Spectacular Spider-Man #85: Liz announces she’s pregnant.

Amazing Spider-Man #260-263: Mary Jane and a heavily pregnant Liz are kidnapped. Harry, in an attempt to rescue them, ends up captured as well. Later, Liz gives birth to her and Harry’s son. 

Spectacular Spider-Man #178-184, #189-190, #200, #204: The Child Within/The Harry Osborn Saga. Haunted by his father’s evil legacy and poisoned by the belief that Peter killed his father, Harry spirals back into the Green Goblin and Liz’s family falls apart. The Child Within (Spectacular Spider-Man #178-184) is one of my favorite storylines of all time, a truly haunting read. Content warning for childhood abuse, including childhood sexual abuse, not of Harry but definitely paralleled against Norman’s abuse of Harry. In #189-190, Harry kidnaps Liz, Normie, and Liz’s stepbrother Mark. Spectacular Spider-Man #200 is the death of Harry Osborn, and in my personal opinion one of if not THE most stunning comic book issue of all time. In #204, Liz and friends receive Harry’s video will. 

Peter Parker #75: Norman Osborn returns from the dead and threatens Liz. Also has some good Liz&Flash content.

Marvel Knights Spider-Man #7: Peter and Liz attend Midtown High’s reunion.

Amazing Spider-Man #581-582: Harry Osborn, returned from the dead, attempts to right some wrongs for Liz.

Amazing Spider-Man #789, #799-800: Liz and Harry rekindle their romance, only to have their children kidnapped. Cards on the table: I hate this story arc and think it’s terrible! But I do love every panel with Liz in it, so, that’s the toss up.

Liz has also made some recent appearances in Eddie Brock’s Venom series.

Betty Brant: Like Liz, Betty’s one of the longest running Spider-Man cast members. The title of Spider-Man’s first girlfriend is commonly and erroneously granted to Gwen Stacy, but Peter actually first dated Betty Brant in 616. First appearing in Amazing Spider-Man #4, Betty worked as J Jonah Jameson’s secretary and she and Peter quickly became close.

(Amazing Spider-Man #7 – another common error is assuming Peter’s always been awkward/shy around girls. “Nothing, baby… for at least an hour!” Smooth.)

(Amazing Spider-Man #11)

Betty and Peter’s relationship wasn’t without its own issues, though. Betty was jealous of Liz’s flirtations with Peter, but things really came to a head when her brother, Bennett Brant, was murdered. Betty blamed Spider-Man for his death, and Peter felt that this meant he could never tell her his secret identity. They still continued the relationship, complicated by the appearance of Ned Leeds, a reporter for the Daily Bugle who was also interested in Betty. Though she loved Peter more, Ned seemed to offer Betty the stability she craved. After his high school graduation, Peter planned to propose to Betty (yes, at age eighteen, with a part time job, and still living in his aunt’s home, he planned to propose, because Peter Parker LOVES proposing) but things didn’t go as planned.

(Amazing Spider-Man #30)

After a long engagement, Betty finally married Ned Leeds in Amazing Spider-Man #156. The two left for France, where Ned was on assignment. Ned worked long hours and Betty found herself completely isolated, alone in a country where she didn’t speak the language. She left Ned and returned to New York, where her and Peter’s feelings for each other were rekindled.

(Amazing Spider-Man #189)

Peter and Betty’s affair was short-lived after Ned returned. While he and Betty attempted to reconcile their marriage, it continued to deteriorate, and Betty sought comfort in Flash Thompson, who had at this point become one of Peter’s closest friends. The two would have an on-again, off-again relationship for years, and through it all Betty’s remained one of Peter’s most important relationships.

(Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #20)

Some Betty issues:

Amazing Spider-Man #4: Betty’s first appearance.

Amazing Spider-Man #7: Peter and Betty begintheir romance.

Amazing Spider-Man #10-11: When Betty disappearsfrom town, Peter goes after her – only for Spider-Man to become embroiled in anincident that leads to the death of her older brother, Bennett. 

Untold Tales of Spider-Man #12: Betty’s backstoryrevealed, including the details of the relationship she had before Peter, andwhy his thrill-seeking disturbed her so deeply.

Amazing Spider-Man #30: Betty reveals that NedLeeds has proposed to her, and Peter plans to propose to her himself, only forthe shadow of Spider-Man to come between them.

Amazing Spider-Man #156: After a long engagement,Betty and Ned marry. Peter is the best man – I can only assume because Neddidn’t have any friends. Betty and Ned leave for Europe.

Amazing Spider-Man #184, #186, #188, #189, #193, #195: AfterMary Jane turns down Peter’s marriage proposal, he finds Betty waiting for himin his apartment, where she tells him she’s separated from Ned. She and Peterbriefly engage in an affair before Ned returns.

Spectacular Spider-Man #96, #97, #98, #100: Withthe cracks reappearing in her marriage to Ned, a chance encounter throws Bettyand Flash Thompson together and the two begin seeing each other behind theirrespective significant others’ backs.

Spectacular Spider-Man #107–110: The Death of JeanDeWolff. Betty becomes important in the closing act of this story when she’sattacked by Sin Eater, causing Peter to fly into a rage.

Amazing Spider-Man #275, #280, #283, #284: WhenFlash is framed and arrested, suspected of being the Hobgoblin, Betty’smarriage further crumbles. Twice Peter witnesses Ned be physically intimidatingtowards her, once grabbing her in the middle of the Bugle offices. Betty andFlash reunite.

Amazing Spider-Man #289, Spectacular Spider-Man #128-129: AfterNed’s death in Spider-Man vs Wolverine, Betty cracks under the stress andsuffers a mental breakdown. Flash attempts to help.

Web of Spider-Man #40-43: When Betty joins a cult(look, I love her, but she makes some bad decisions) both Spider-Man and Flashgo to extremes to get her out.

Spectacular Spider-Man #148: During the Infernocrossover, Flash and Betty are both haunted – him by a false Spider-Man, andher by the specter of her dead husband.

Web of Spider-Man #91-93: I will simply describethis story as Betty, Get Your Gun.

Daily Bugle #1-3: In this three issue blackand white miniseries, Betty’s on a case and Peter plays guard dog.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #20-22: In thewake of Civil War’s identity reveal, Peter and Betty talk about his beingSpider-Man. Also an insect lady tries to eat Flash or fill him with eggs orsomething like that. Betty continues to have her gun.

Amazing Spider-Man #583: The time Marvel put Obamaon the cover and tricked everyone into buying a whole issue of Peter and Bettyhanging out. It’s a really cute story, though, and one of my favorites forthem.

Amazing Spider-Man #665: Spider-Man’s out forblood when Betty’s the victim of a violent mugging. Also establishes Peter andBetty’s movie nights.

Venom (2011): Betty’s a major character for most of thebeginning of Flash’s Venom run, through issue #21 – Flash’s secret status asAgent Venom threatens their relationship. Also her brother shows back up! Youknow, the dead one. Comics, they do that.

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #42: I don’t like the plot ofthis issue, but it is some of the most recent Peter&Betty interaction, andthe opening scene features them at a fortune teller’s parlor and it is verycute.

[daniellethamasa]

Hey all, Dani here.

Greetings! I usually like to do these monthly wrap-ups on the first of the month, but I had a couple post office delays with the delivery of my OwlCrate and a Book Loft package, so I decided I would wait one more day since the shipment tracking said I would get them both today. Thankfully they arrived a few hours ago, so I was able to put the finishing touches on the post.

April was actually a really good month on the being in home and watching shows, reading books, blogging, and playing Animal Crossing. Granted, it was also a lot more stressful in terms of going into work, and I have a feeling that it’s only going to get worse on that, as more and more people are deciding that they are tired of the restrictions of social distancing and now with mandatory wearing of masks, so they are taking their unpaid leave and just not dealing with it. Unfortunately it means those of us who are left have to work even harder, which is physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting. I’m now actually finding myself wishing that the factory would just close for a week or two until the manpower struggles lessen a bit, but I don’t think that will happen. It’s immensely frustrating. I don’t want to be there with everything going on, but I can’t afford to take two weeks without pay.

But today’s supposed to be a pretty nice day, so I think Damian and I are maybe going to go to a state park that has some pretty nice and wide hiking trails, so we can get outside and walk around a bit. We’re obviously taking our masks with us too. I bought some of Etsy, getting him a Slytherin mask and me a Ravenclaw one. I ordered a couple others but those haven’t shipped yet.

As usual with my monthly wrap-up, let’s start off by checking in on my overall goals for the year.

Reading: I read 30 books in the month of April, 10 of which were manga volumes, two were re-reads, and three were novella length. Overall that takes me to 101 books read already in 2020. Still, I’d say that is a pretty good month of reading. I should probably count up how many pages that is. Okay, I did the calculations, and only counting finished books I read 8,707 pages in April…but really I’ve probably read a few hundred more if you include unfinished reads. Overall though I’m super happy with that. I successfully completed my requirements for the OWLs Magical Readathon, so all I have to do is pass the NEWTs in a couple months and I’ll be a Trader of Magical Tomes. I also participated in Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon, and that was a whole lot of fun. Plus, I am currently in the middle of the Calendar Girls Springtime Whirl, going until May 11th, so I’m hoping to read a few more books at least for it–I haven’t achieved a bingo yet, but I’m really just having a good time trying to read to fulfill random prompts.

Blogging: It was the best month on my blog so far this year, and pretty close to being my best month in the history of Mousai Books, in terms of stats anyway. In terms of number of blog posts, this was definitely the best month overall…but I’m going to dial it back a little bit, because there’s no way I can keep doing like 10+ posts a week. It’s not sustainable for me right now. But I do still feel pretty good about continuing to have posts up pretty much every day. I wrote up 46 blog posts in the month of April, which is impressive, but it was also a whole lot of work. I did really enjoy the content though. I had a lot of books to talk about, and I especially enjoyed my National Library Week posts.

Writing: Well, I wrote a lot of blog posts, though that doesn’t count on the creative writing front. I was all excited about jumping into writing my book and then the world went to crap and I can’t get in a good mind set to write, so I’ve focused my attention on reading, and more study of the craft of writing. So it’s progress, but it isn’t progress in a trackable form such as increasing word count.

Conventions: Right now we are waiting to see what’s going to happen with Gen Con in late July/early August. It is a massive convention, so we’re expecting there to at least be a ton of restrictions. Lexington Comic and Toy Con ended up being postponed again, this time to June 18-21, and then it was just announced like yesterday that the 2020 convention is being canceled. But we both really want to work with Colorworld Books again, so we’re hoping that Cincinnati Comic Expo in September will still be good to go. My friends at Colorworld Books are trying to continue with their business as a digital affair, but 99% of the profits were made from attending conventions, so this has been a struggle for them. If you want to go check out their online store, that would be great. They have metal art prints and bookmarks, geeky t-shirts, and books. Oh, and you can use ConLife30 for 30% off of all metal, or CORONACON for 10% off any shirts. Oh, and they have actually started doing Colorworld LIVE convention style events just about every week. They gather up three or four awesome voice actors, hold a livestream panel, then a VIP panel for anyone who buys some signed merch, and of course you can get shirts, metal art prints, and more with characters these actors have portrayed. It’s pretty cool.

Okay, I guess I should start with wrapping up my time with the OWLs Magical Readathon. I was going for the Trader of Magical Tomes career path, which required me to read 4 books. I ended up changing one of the books from my TBR out because it was taking me so long and I worried I wouldn’t finish it in time. But, other than that, I was successful in reading all four books, so I’m ready to continue my Magical Tome training in the NEWTs later this year.

I’m also in the middle of the Calendar Girls Springtime Whirl, which is a bingo inspired reading challenge running from April 13-May 11. Once the reading challenge is over I’ll share a post with an updated bingo board covering all the categories I completed.

All right, let’s run through everything I read in the month of April. If I have a review up, I’ll also include the link back to that post.

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare — 4.5 stars

Bonds of Brass by Emily Skrutskie — 5 stars

The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett — 4.5 stars

Manga Classics: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Po Tse — 4 stars

The Queen of Raiders by Sarah Kozloff — 5 stars

Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloane — 5 stars

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren — 4 stars

You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle — 3.5 stars

The Library Book by Susan Orlean — 5 stars

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron — 5 stars

Hickville Crossroads by Mary Karlik — 4 stars

An Affair of Poisons by Addie Thorley — 4.5 stars

Fruits Basket Collector’s Edition Volume 4 by Natsuki Takaya — 4 stars

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman — 4 stars

Steering the Craft by Ursula K Le Guin — 4 stars

Witches of Ash and Ruin by E. Latimer — 4.5 stars

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone — 5 stars

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey — 5 stars

Fairy Tail Volume 8 by Hiro Mashima — 5 stars

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin — 4 stars

The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu by Joshua Hammer — 4.5 stars

Fairy Tail Volume 9 by Hiro Mashima — 5 stars (review coming May 4, 2020)

Fairy Tail Volume 10 by Hiro Mashima — 5 stars (review coming May 18, 2020)

Fairy Tail Volume 11 by Hiro Mashima — 5 stars (review coming June 1, 2020)

Fairy Tail Volume 12 by Hiro Mashima — 5 stars (review coming June 15, 2020)

Fairy Tail Volume 13 by Hiro Mashima — 5 stars (review coming June 29, 2020)

Fairy Tail Volume 14 by Hiro Mashima — 5 stars (review coming July 13, 2020)

Fairy Tail Volume 15 by Hiro Mashima — 5 stars (review coming July 27, 2020)

The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold — 3.5 stars

The Honey Don’t List by Christina Lauren — 4.5 stars

Whew, that was quite the list of reads for the month. Seriously I had a lot of fun reading this month and definitely found some books that are contenders for my Top Ten Reads of 2020 from April to June, so that’s great. Unless something bad happens, I have a feeling that this will be my best year of reading in a long time.

All right, next it’s time for the book haul portion of things, starting with the OwlCrate unboxing.

I think I’m really going to enjoy putting together the Moony puzzle, and the book sounds rather interesting. Clearly I enjoy having another notebook, as those are handy to have around. Same with the tote bag. And Damian really likes the wooden phases of the moon banner, so I gave that to him to add to the decorations in his man cave. I actually do like the OwlCrate version of this cover better than the original. The people are a bit closer and bigger, and the cover has this wonderfully eerie glow to it, almost as if it is bathed in moonlight, which is great. Plus those sprayed edges.

And, before I get into the rest of the books for my monthly haul, I want to talk about some other purchases I’ve made lately.

The stickers I bought off of Redbubble and they are from a dozen different artists. A few of the stickers are for Damian (and he already put them up in his man cave) and the rest are going on my art wall collage. The metal art prints are from my friends at Colorworld Books, and I love the metal art, but it is not easy to capture their beauty in a photo because of the reflection of light. Maybe I’ll think of doing a little video of them in my Instagram stories or something. I might pick up some more art this weekend. We’ll see.

As part of the bookhaul portion of today’s post, I need to do a shout out to The Book Loft of German Village in Columbus, OH. After some requests on social media, they complied and decided to offer a Malamarkus Mystery Box. You pay a single price for the box, tell them in your order comments what genres you would like, and then they fill the box with items such as books, a tote bag, bookish pins or stickers, etc for you. I have purchased two of these boxes, and it’s really fun to get a package where you have no idea what books they will select for you. The first box I ordered I gave them the genres of Epic Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, and Manga, with a couple examples of authors/series for each. I loved the selections so much that I picked up a second box, asking this time for fiction that makes me feel like I’m playing Dungeons & Dragons.

What’s really fun about both of these boxes is that they ended up having books for both Damian and myself. In the first box he got Dr. Stone because he watches the anime and wanted to try the manga, and The Starless Sea because I already owned a copy. In the second box I gave Damian The Last Wish, Heart & Shadow, and The Shadow of What Was Lost, again because I owned all of them already. What is really funny is that I had just bought and received that last one from my Barnes & Noble order a few days ago. Oh, and Damian also got the tote bag because I already have one–in that exact same color.

Okay, now for the standard bookhaul segment of the post.

Along with picking up the two books in her Dasreach Council series that I didn’t have, I also was able to buy that lovely Beauty and the Beast stained glass cloth mask from author Josette Reuel as well. We are now required to wear masks while at work, and I wanted to have a selection of cloth masks instead of relying on the disposable paper ones they are going to hand out at work. Though I’m still trying to figure out a good/easy way to be able to get a drink while also working on the factory floor, because the masks make you overheat even faster and that means you dehydrate even more.

Finally I guess it’s time to talk May TBR. I am sort of participating in Moody May, hosted by Kathy from Books and Munches and Destiny from Howling Libraries, and the whole point of Moody May is to read whatever you are in the mood for, which is perfect for mood readers who don’t like TBRs. But I’m sort of a mixed reader, because I enjoy having a somewhat planned TBR and then picking up mood reads to supplement my reading. So, I have made a rather ambitious TBR, which will probably be supplemented by shorter mood reads.

See what I mean? This stack of books is massive. Why am I doing this to myself? Honestly it’s because I seem to pick up thick fantasy reads as the weather gets warmer. I don’t even know how many pages are in these 10 books. So, yeah, I was curious and checked and those ten books are 6,276 pages.

Now that doesn’t include the fact that I’m in the middle of three or four other books that are also around 500 pages each. What can I say? I do love a good lengthy read, especially right now when my weekends are not filled with running around or playing D&D for hours and hours.

April Wrap Up and May TBR Hey all, Dani here. Greetings! I usually like to do these monthly wrap-ups on the first of the month, but I had a couple post office delays with the delivery of my OwlCrate and a Book Loft package, so I decided I would wait one more day since the shipment tracking said I would get them both today.

[superman86to99]

Karl Kesel/Tom Grummett Panel Recap!

by @donsparrow

Last month I had the enormous privilege of moderating a panel at 2017’s SaskExpo, a Comics and Pop Culture Convention in Canada.  This panel was a spotlight on the work of two of the show’s biggest creator guests, Tom Grummett and Karl Kesel, who are no doubt familiar to regular readers of the blog.  Here’s the questions I asked, and what I remember of the responses.  Should a full transcript become available, I’ll definitely share it with you.  Overall the panel went well.  I’m sure we would have liked a larger crowd (we were scheduled opposite a panel featuring the great John Rhys-Davies!) but it was certainly a blast on my end.

1. What did you do before comics?  Tell me about getting that first comic gig.

Tom made a very important distinction when answering this one, clarifying that he always made comics, they just weren’t published (or at least not by a major company) which was good to remember—even if no one is paying you, always be making comics.  Both Karl and Tom worked in printing and design while working on their samples, and in Karl’s case in particular, it was his persistence (having moved to New York to be closer to comics publishers) that got him the gig at the start, more than his raw talent.

2. Influences. Since I’m here moderating a panel with two of my heroes, I was curious who your creative heroes were growing up—in comics and outside of comics.  

The big name that came up with both Karl and Tom was unsurprising:  Jack Kirby.  Tom singled out Kirby’s DC work as his entry into comics, while Karl was entranced by the Fantastic Four.

3. The past few years have seen an explosion in superhero films and television shows, including the Doomsday storyline being touched on in Batman v Superman, or a live action Flash taking on King Shark in multiple episodes.  What is it like seeing something you created on-screen?  

With a laugh, both men had to admit they hadn’t seen King Shark on The Flash, as they are not regular viewers of the show, nor did they see Batman v Superman, but they did appreciate that these characters are reaching new audiences.

4. Karl, how was it joining the super-team full-time?  Having inked John Byrne and done those great Newsboy Legion backups, was it like coming home, or were you nervous fitting into the rotating framework that had been up and running for so long?

Karl said that it was a bit of both—he had been a regular reader of the Superman books, and the chance to step in was an attractive challenge.  He then praised the unique storytelling of that era, pointing out that each team had their strengths—Dan Jurgens excelled at action and big picture ideas, Roger Stern was great at character and at finding a satisfying ending to a story.  Louise Simonson was all about heart and emotion, and so, through his strengths, and by default, Karl and Tom’s Adventures became the more light-hearted, sometimes comedic book.  He also said that the transition was pretty seamless and painless, in part because it was such a well-oiled machine by that time.

5. As you may or may not already know, I co-write a weirdly obsessive blog covering your time on the Superman books, and my co-writer on that blog, Max, is from Chile.  When I mentioned I’d be moderating this panel, he wanted me to ask you: by any chance, did ever read the old Spanish translations of the Silver Age Superboy comics? Because, in those comics Lana Lang's name was (for some reason) translated as "Lina Luna". "Luna" of course means "Moon", so Max had wondered if Tana Moon's name was a reference to that.

This was a fun one.  Karl replied with a flat “no” that he hadn’t read any Spanish language translations of any comics, but when I explained the Tana Moon/Lana Lang connection, he thought that it was a very cool coincidence, and then, jokingly, answered that, yes, it had all been planned, intentionally.

6. How do you feel about the industry as a whole?  Of course we hear the stories of sales declines, but we’re also in a time where comics can be a lot more democratic—properties like Section Zero can be brought back through the fans directly by crowdfunding.  In that way, is this not a time of unique opportunity as a creator?

Both creators were very optimistic about the industry, stating that comic sales have always gone up and down, and that there have been scares about the longevity of the medium for as long as they’ve been reading comics.  They also agreed that the ability to connect directly with audiences was an exciting element unique to today’s comics, and that Section Zero is viable with only a few thousand patrons, all passionate about the project, which is different than when it first came out.   Karl detailed that, since the project was creator owned, it also meant that there was no money up-front—the initial issues had to be fronted by the creative teams.  Karl explained that his financial situation changed when he went through a divorce, and so he could no longer afford a comic without a guaranteed paycheck.  But now, through crowdfunding, Karl and Tom are able to pay their bills as they work on completing the project, eliminating the need to put their finances on hold as they had to the first time around.

7. Having worked alongside so many fellow greats in the industry, how did you decide on the lineup for the pinups and extra features in the revival of Section Zero?  And for those here who haven’t heard about it, could you let us know how Mike Weiringo ended up as one of the artists?

The first part of this question, Karl candidly said that he was going with artists that had a large social media following, since online marketing was the main way the Section Zero project would be funded.  He then got into detail about trying to honour Mike Weiringo’s memory, which was previously shared here.  

8. Karl, your run writing Daredevil stands out for being a return to the original wittier, lighthearted version of the character.  Does humour still have a place in comics today?

Karl comedically answered with another flat “yes”.  Then pausing, before elaborating that the great thing about comics is the diversity of tone, and comics should always feel fun.

At this point I started to worry that I was asking too many questions, so we might not get to the audience, so I opened up to the floor for questions.  I was surprised by the first one, which was

“What is Section Zero?” (which I had thought we had covered pretty extensively in the earlier part of the panel) at which point they explained the elevator pitch, which is “X-Files if it was written by Jack Kirby”.  And, honestly, who wouldn’t want to try a comic with that pedigree?

The next question was a funny one, from a local purveyor of comics.  In an earlier answer, Karl detailed that his divorce contributed to Section Zero stopping production.  The questioner pointed out that the Gorilla Press line itself (of which Section Zero was a part) crumbled not long after that, before making the comment “that must have been some divorce”.  

Over laughter, Karl explained, without assigning blame or much detail, that the Gorilla Press funding never came through in the way it was supposed to, and so similar problems arose for each of the other creative teams, of not being able to afford to front the production of the books on the hopes of later sales.  That exhausted the audience questions, so back to mine:

9. Tom, have any of Karl’s scripts contained something so tricky to draw that you wanted to say “Karl, you’re an artist—you should know better!”

Tom was very complimentary in his answer, saying that Karl’s art background made him a great writer, and so he never took issue with anything he had to draw.  Karl echoed this, saying that for whatever reason, he and Tom had always clicked creatively in a very natural way, and that Tom’s design sense made often surpassed what Karl envisioned for the page.  They talked about specific characters from Section Zero, one of whom Karl credited Tom for having wholly created, who quickly became one of Karl’s favorites in the series.

10.  Given the cyclical nature of comics, is it ever frustrating when changes in continuity “erase” a storyline or fact you worked on?  Specifically I was thinking  of the lineage of the Conner Kent Superboy, who was originally a clone of both Superman and Westfield, but was later retconned to be the clone of Superman and Luthor.  

Karl was very diplomatic and generous in his answer, stating that Geoff Johns’ idea of having Lex Luthor be revealed as Kon-El’s donor/father was a stroke of genius, and added a lot to the mythology.  I agreed, but also pointed out how hotly this topic was debated on this very blog, which surprised the panel.  Karl said that for the most part, he didn’t create these characters, either, and so he understood that each writer or artist that follows will make changes to suit the times, and that those changes can be what makes comics exciting.  He hinted at elements behind the scenes, leading me to believe that even Westfield wasn’t Karl’s first choice for Superboy’s lineage, but that at the time DC editorial was very protective of Superman as a character, and so Superboy couldn’t be a straight up clone, according to their edict.  

Tom mentioned elements like the Matrix Supergirl, and echoed Karl’s answer, saying that changes to continuity doesn’t magically erase the comics in your long boxes, they’re still there, with characters waiting to be discovered, or perhaps even used by coming generations of readers or creators.

At this point Tom related a story Karl had told him, of Karl meeting a cosplayer at a convention who was dressed as the Kon-El Superboy.  The cosplayer explained that they had found an old Superboy comic in a dollar bin, never having heard of this version of the character, and fell in love with the story, enough to both dress up as this character, and seek Karl out to thank him for his work. 

(Then I pointed out that my own four year old son had picked Kon-El Superboy as his Halloween costume this year!)

Karl also touched on current comics, saying that he understood the appeal of the new Superboy being the son of Superman, and was at peace and enjoying that storyline, knowing that Kon-El would probably come back someday. 

11. Any other projects you’d like to bring back, maybe via crowdfunding?  I was pretty keen on The Power Company, myself.

Tom and Karl were very clear that for them, the perfect vehicle was, for the present, only Section Zero, and that they had enough stories cooked up to continue with further installments for years to come. 

I ended the panel by thanking Tom and Karl for a lifetime of great comics, and for personally inspiring so much of my interest in the artform and the characters, which they laughed at, taking mock umbrage at the “lifetime” part, protesting that they are very much alive, and that there are many more years of comics to come.

After the panel, both creators were very kind and seemed to have enjoyed taking part.  I was busy at my own table for the rest of the show, so I didn’t have much of a chance to hang with the guys and bother them with my weird, way too specific questions about Superman.  But I want to thank Saskatoon Expo for allowing me to moderate, and of course, Tom and Karl for being such great subjects and creators.  It was a real thrill.

Find out more about Kesel and Grummett’s new comic, Section Zero, here: https://www.panicbuttonpress.com/section-zero