Opinions May Vary

This is another one of those "goodbye" episodes. We had our first one with Joe a few weeks ago and now we're back with a double-whammy. You probably already read the title of the episode but this week Jason Ginsburg of @FakeThemePark is back so we can bend his ear for a bit about his experience talking about monsters when he was a tour guide for Universal. (We also had some help from our special guest-host Will who, with his expansive knowledge of monsters, was like a kid in a candy shop talking with Jason.) Talking monsters is fun. Talking with Jason is fun. And we always relish the chance to chat with Will (especially since our usual spooky episode couldn't happen last year). But there's also some serious news to go along with the monster chat. If you've been following Jason or @FakeThemePark you may have already seen the press release or the announcements on the various socials. But without spoiling too much here, Jason came on to give us the 4-1-1 on the future of @FakeThemePark. Now that the suspense is likely tearing you to pieces, be sure to follow those various socials and check out the fancy new @FakeThemePark merch while you're at it. Who knows how much longer you'll be able to snag some.... With all of that said, Jason deserves a huge thank you from the OMV crew. Though we've only known Jason for a few years, we've always had an absolute blast talking with him. The level of devotion and originality he's shown with @FakeThemePark is unmatched and we can't wait to see what he makes next. And as for Will? Ever since his first appearance on Episode 14 he's contributed to some of the most entertaining and hilarious moments we've ever recorded. It didn't matter if he was 20 minutes down the road or literally across the country, Will was always willing to sit down and chat with us about spooky stuff, stupid stuff, or the Hulk spilling his soup. We can't thank him enough for all the time, effort, and laughs he's given us over the years. He's another true OMV legend. Enjoy! -Jr.

This episode was a ton of fun to record for a couple reasons. The main one being we got to chat with a local artist who specializes in illustrating watercolor fantasy, dabbles in archery, and is a champion of expressing yourself and living your best life. She's also a friend and former co-worker of one of our best pals in the whole, wide world (unbeknownst to us, we had no idea until after we had reached out to her). Her name is Amanda Putnam and when she isn't educating today's youth in the ways of the arts at her day job, she's bringing incredible fantasy illustrations to life. With a degree in Children's Book Illustration from the Academy of Art in San Francisco, Amanda has put together a mindblowing portfolio of work including some of the tightest, most detailed watercolor pieces I've ever seen. Take a look at her Instagram and you'll see what I'm talking about. I straight up didn't believe those were watercolor the first time I saw them. Anyway, check out our chat with Amanda. We talk about her art, her job as a teacher, and the importance of being your best self both in the world of art and in every day life. Enjoy! -Jr.

So this one was pretty neat. We've been big fans of Rob Guillory for some time now beginning with his work on the critically acclaimed Image book CHEW and continuing to his latest project Farmhand (also from Image). You probably don't need us to tell you how good Rob is seeing as there's a couple of Eisners, a Harvey Award, and the 2013 "Jayare's End of the Year Award" for best artist to do the talking for us. (That last one is especially important.) He's arguably the most decorated guest we've had on the show and despite all that, he was just as willing to talk about paper stock and wrestling as he was his award winning comics. So yeah, this one was pretty neat. Farmhand is back with issue 16 this coming Spring leaving plenty of time for catching up or re-reads. Be sure to check out Rob's website for art and merch and follow him on Instagram for updates on comics, conventions, and just rad art in general. Enjoy! -Jr.

It would be virtually impossible to properly convey just how important Joe is both to the show and to Alex and me as a friend. He is one of the main people we leaned on the most when we first started out in 2012 and always made time to come on and chat with us whenever we hit him up. Over time, he turned into our unofficial gaming correspondent, providing brilliant write-ups and reviews in addition to vital coverage in the field at shows like PAX East. He gave us suggestions for potential guests, helped us out with interviews, and couldn't be beat when it came to promoting the show at conventions. We have a bunch of these "final appearance" episodes coming up as we wind down to episode 450 but you'll have to excuse me if I get a little extra sentimental over this one. Yes, Joe has been a staple of the show for a decade now and we've had a ton of fun chatting with him. But as it turns out, Joe is also my oldest friend. We've known each other for well over 20 years now dating back to middle school living two streets over from each other. We shared our first apartment together, met most of our friends while working at the Local Theme Park together, and he helped Alex and me make a silly little podcast over the last 10 years. I could go on at length about the memories we've shared but I'll just leave it at this: he is, without a doubt, one of the best friends I've ever had. Ok. I got all the sappyness out of my system, I think. So let's get down to business. Joe is a true OMV legend. And this week we're going to honor him in the best way we know how: By talking about the latest Pokemon game. Enjoy! -Jr.

You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who has left a bigger impact on this show in a mere 4 episodes than Rich Woodall. I've said it before but it still holds true today: he's arguably the kindest and most humble creator we've had the pleasure of talking with. He's got talent for days and it seems like he couldn't stop making things even if he tried. In the past, we've talked at length with Rich about the comics he's made, the people he's worked with, and the projects he Kickstarted. Now, since we last talked with him in 2019, Rich and crew have also launched their own imprint with Scout Comics: Black Caravan. For those looking to get their horror and sci-fi comic book fix, Black Caravan is for you. With titles like The Electric Black, Gods of Brutality, and The Perhapanauts (among many others) there's a little something for everyone. Check out their page for more and hit up your local comic shop for some reading material! With all that said, we can't thank Rich enough for all the time he's given us over the years whether it was on the show or at a convention. There's no exaggeration when I question if he's the busiest man because the guy just doesn't stop working. So for him to take time out of his schedule to talk to two dummies about his work really means the world to us. If you haven't already, check out his socials, consider supporting him on Patreon, and look him up if he's at a convention near you. Trust us, it's worth it. Enjoy! -Jr.

I'm not sure what else to write here as the title of this episode contains everything you need to know. I guess I can elaborate a bit, though. This week it's just Alex and me and to top off this year's spooky-sodes we're talking about fear. The things that scare us. The things that make us uncomfortable, that make us squirm, that we've been avoiding for years whether we were aware of it or not. The real good stuff. Good, old-fashioned fear. We also talked about The Muppets. Kinda hard to go wrong with The Muppets especially when they're in The Haunted Mansion. Enjoy! -Jr. Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

Ok so it took us a little longer than normal to get to our usual spooky-filled episodes but we promise it was worth the wait because this episode is jam-packed with so many rad things. This week, we had the absolute pleasure of talking with not one, but TWO contributors of the insanely popular "No Sleep Podcast"! For those unaware, "The No Sleep Podcast" is an award-winning anthology series of original horror stories. They've been making content and releasing episodes since 2011 and are set to begin their 17th season soon! First up, we were joined by composer Brandon Boone. Brandon has been scoring the show for the past 8 years and has created over 5,000 individual pieces of music in that time with no signs of slowing down. He's a self-taught musician with an immense talent for creating spooky and haunting tunes that perfectly compliment the show. When he's not creating music for NoSleep, he's hard at work writing and producing his own albums, or creating soundtracks for videogames like "Scarlet Hollow". Check out his website for tons more! Following our chat with Brandon, we were then joined by voice actor Nichole Goodnight who gave us all the inside info on how she got her start with NoSleep as well as some tips and tricks of the voice acting trade. An avid gamer and Twitch streamer, Nichole is also regularly involved in the bi-annual "Games Done Quick" events acting as both host and speedrunner! You can find her Twitch channel HERE or subscribe to NoSleep for even more of her work! We can't thank Brandon and Nichole enough for coming on and getting spooky with us. The NoSleep team really seem to have put a great group of people together and if there's anything we're taking away from recording this episode it's this: Shoot your shot. Do the thing. Submit the audition. You never know what might happen! Enjoy! -Jr. Audio tracks provided by Brandon Boone. "Vibrate with Adrenaline" and "Don't Answer The Door" found on his latest album "Night Fall", available now!

Our guests this week are no strangers to the OMV universe and despite having multiple cumulative appearances under their belts, they've never come on the show at the same time. Until now. That's right. We're trying the whole "4 people in 4 separate locations desperately trying to not talk over each other" and this time we're joined by artists Daniel Govar and Tony Moy! Now, it would be fun to just hang and chat with them about what they've been up to over the last few years, but there is a reason as to why they've both come on the show this week: they've started their own YouTube channel! Known as "The Paint Bros", Daniel and Tony have started uploading and live streaming videos of their art as well as tutorials and live conversations with chat. Whether you're looking for quick, time-lapse videos or long form, in-depth discussion, Daniel and Tony have you covered all while creating amazing watercolor pieces. Check out their channel, annihilate that subscribe button, and follow the guys on their respective socials for more art, announcements, and convention travels. We've had a blast talking with Daniel and Tony over the years and they've always been super kind to us and the show. Here's hoping we get to see them in person again sooner rather than later. Enjoy! -Jr.

We got to talk about Tarzan for the better part of an hour with two guys who are about to Kickstart a Tarzan book next month. It was a pretty great Thursday, I'm not going to lie. Our old friend D.W. Kann is back with us and this time he brought one of his writing partners, Ryan Matta, to talk about the first volume up their upcoming comic Tarzan The Untamed. Rather than re-telling your typical origin story, D.W. and Ryan are adapting a different time in Tarzan's life: "Book one finds Tarzan and Jane living peacefully in East Africa in 1917 on their secluded Greystoke estate. When their quiet life is suddenly threatened by the encroaching battles of World War I and the machinations of a band of mercenaries, led by the rouge German army officer, Sergeant Schneider, a single minded hunter, determined to find Tarzan. Tarzan must unleash his Savage nature to protect his Ape family, his fellow Englishmen and his true love Jane." For people like me who didn't realize how much their life was lacking in Tarzan content, this is pretty much a no-brainer. As of now, the Kickstarter campaign for the first volume (of three) is set to launch around October 5th with the other two coming later on. If you're looking for more info, check out the Darkside Media KS page where you'll find all the deets on projects past and present. Enjoy! -Jr.

I was going to leave this super vague and cryptic because this episode contains a major announcement that we cover right off the bat. But I also feel obligated to tell you that afterwards, there's some tasty SPOILERS for The Suicide Squad. We did our best to point it out in the episode, but for those who might tend to skip around, I wanted to make sure it was known. So yeah. Spoilers ahead! Now, back to the vague and cryptic. Check out this week's episode where The Countdown....begins. -Jr.