Opinions May Vary

We've talked about tattoos from time to time over the last 430+ episodes. In fact, the topic of tattoos can be found as early as episode 16 as part of that week's "The Big Question". For those trying to do the math, that was back in July of 2012 and as you probably could have guessed; Brett Kelley was the guest that week. Because of course he was. But this week is different. This week, for the first time ever (we're pretty sure), we had the chance to talk with not just a fan of tattoos but an actual tattoo artist. That artist is Lora Bird. Lora, aka Honestbird, is the owner of the new studio "The Nest Art Collective" out in Colorado and they're set to have their grand opening today, July 31st! With a focus on trauma informed, inclusive tattooing, Lora and her team have created a safe and clean space for bodies of all shapes and sizes to get their dream piece. If you're looking for more info, be sure to check out their Instagram page for updates, finished pieces, and bios on all the different artists and creators working at the studio. With a lot of our audience being in the New England area, we know a shop out in Colorado is a bit of a hike but when you hear Lora talk about the studio with such passion and excitement, you'll understand why we're so pumped for you to check this episode out. Plus you can hear me absolutely butcher the word "esthetician". It's pretty bad. I added like 4 extra syllables. Enjoy! -Jr.

This week I learned "squib jackets" are a thing. Like, I always knew about jackets. And with Alex doing SFX makeup I'm aware of what squibs are. But combining the two was never a concept I had thought of until this week's guest, Paul Drechsler-Martell, casually mentioned wearing one on the set of Daredevil a few years back. You see, Paul is a stunt performer. He does the dangerous things you might see in a movie or television show that other people either physically or legally can't do. For example, in Daredevil he had to get shot by pretend bullets a bunch of times while literally everything else in the room exploded around him; hence the need for the aforementioned squib jacket. We've known Paul for years dating back to our time at the local theme park where we tried to entertain people while not sweating to death. But since then, Paul has been a busy man doing stunts for programs like Gotham, The Blacklist, Mr. Robot and tons more. A quick glance over at his IMDB page will show you the rest but I think you get the idea: he's good at what he does. So. With all that said, check out our chat with Paul as we dive into his world of stunt performing, his love of martial arts, and what it's been like for someone who works in the film industry over the last 16-ish months of hell. Enjoy! -Jr.

If I'm reading our own website correctly, it has been over two years since the last full appearance of our dear, dear friend Brett Kelley. That fact will shock any longtime listener as Brett holds many records within the OMV universe and there was a time when he was making appearances on a weekly basis. Luckily, recording a podcast with Brett is just like riding the proverbial bike and despite the long hiatus we still managed to stay (mostly) on track and lay down a pretty sweet episode for you all. Especially if you like D&D and getting mad about D&D. And art. We also talked about art and artists and artists on Twitter. Because art. If you're new here, this may be your first time experiencing Brett on the show but we can say with confidence that it certainly won't be the last time you'll see him drop by. If you're looking for more of him and his work, check out the socials or just type "Brett" into the search bar on our site and see the literal dozens of episodes he's been featured on. Enjoy! -Jr.

Jim Calafiore is back! It's been a while since we've seen him (or anyone) at a con, and even longer since we last got to chat on our show; but Jim is back with us this week and, as expected, we're talking comics. Specifically, we're talking Ned. Ned is your average guy. Like the rest of us, he's got his share of problems - relationship troubles, deceased family members, zombie roommates. His father is one of the Lords of Hell. You know, the usual stuff. We were first introduced to Ned and his family in the first volume of Ned, Lord of the Pit last year. Now, Jim is Kickstarting the 2nd volume to continue the story of everyone's favorite future hell-lord. Currently, the campaign has a few weeks left before time is up so we thought it would be the perfect time to talk with Jim about the book, his process, and the challenges involved with writing, penciling, inking, and coloring a horror-comedy all by yourself. Check out www.nedlordofthepit.net for more info or search for it on Kickstarter while you still have the chance! Enjoy! -Jr.

I have a dumb brain. When it comes to symbolism, interpretation, and open-endedness, my brain just does not compute. If something doesn't have a clear meaning or ending, I'm pretty much immediately on Google trying to get other people to explain what I just saw and/or read. It's not for a lack of trying, I genuinely try to figure things out...but this big, dumb brain of mine doesn't like it. With that said, upon reading some of the Three Panel Crimes comics on Instagram, my dumb-brainness kicked in a couple of times. Each comic is three panels long and has no dialogue. The panels can sometimes be extremely detailed with tons of story told in a single image and if you're not paying attention it can be easy to miss an important clue. Long story short: you gotta use your brain. But once you get your brain going you'll quickly realize how damn good these comics are. Three Panel Crimes is written by Tony Fabro and over the last few years he and his ever-expanding team of artists and collaborators have put together an amazing archive of "bad deeds in threes" with new comics released every week. In this episode Tony stopped in to talk about the creation of Three Panel Crimes, his process, and alligators with knives embedded in their heads. For more on Tony and his work, check out Three Panel Crimes on Instagram and Twitter, or visit their website to get on their mailing list. Enjoy! -Jr.

It appears Spring has officially sprung because my sinuses have been in a constant state of explosion for the last few weeks. It's been a rough allergy season but luckily they gave me a few hours of relief, long enough for us to chat with a comic pro in Jamal Igle! Jamal has been involved in the comics world in some way, shape, or form since the early 90s. He's worked on books for just about every major publisher whether it's DC, Marvel, Image, etc. You name it, he's probably done some work there. He's a true veteran of the industry and in 2011 he was honored with the Inkpot Award for Achievement in Comic Art. For those looking to check out Jamal's work but don't have easy access to his runs on Green Lantern, Supergirl or any of the other dozens of books he's worked on, you can check out the new series from Ahoy Comics called The Wrong Earth: Night & Day with issue 5 hitting the stands next month! With Tom Peyer on the script, Jamal has been putting out some fantastic art to a really fun story. Be sure to check out his Instagram for some behind-the-scenes work! We can't thank Jamal enough for coming on and chatting with us about his career, the books he's worked on, and the current state of the comics world. It's not every day we get to chat with such an experienced and talented artist. Not to mention it's always nice to chat with a fellow AEW fan... Enjoy! -Jr.

I got my 2nd Covid vaccine shot today and as of this writing I'm feeling great but, given all that I have read and seen on the internet, that's subject to change within the next few hours. So, I'm writing this the day before posting in the hopes that my planning ahead will work out for the best and all I have to do is click "publish" tomorrow afternoon. And yes, I usually write these posts that no one reads mere minutes before posting the episodes...what can I say? I'm a lifelong procrastinator. Annnnnnnyway. We have an extra long episode for you this week but it's with good reason: we got to talk with Ben Templesmith. For those who might be unaware or unfamiliar, Ben is an incredibly talented artist and writer who co-created 30 Days of Night and also created titles such as Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, Welcome to Hoxford, and he recently started his own Instagram webcomic Urnakk Black Blood. We cover a pretty wide range of topics in our chat with Ben, but if you're looking for more or want to support him and his artistic endeavors, you can check out his Patreon page, his website, or hopefully in the near future, meet him at a show. Until then, we hope you dig this week's jam; Ben is a great dude to chat with and we can't thank him enough for stopping by. Enjoy! -Jr.

This episode is all about old friends, new friends, and the rad things they make. In this case, it's a graphic novel called The Monuments and, as of this writing, it's currently crushing it over on Kickstarter. The aforementioned friends? Well longtime listeners of the show will be thrilled to hear that Michael Bracco is making his long-awaited return and this time he's joined by one of his creative partners-in-crime, Mike Isenberg! Michael and Mike along with Oliver Mertz have created an amazing new world and after years of planning and collaboration, they're finally ready to bring the story to life. Even though the campaign is already more than halfway completed, and even though they've absolutely demolished their goal and subsequent stretch-goals, we still couldn't wait to chat about this book. Gigantic mechs? Unsolved mysteries spanning hundreds of years? Past/present timelines slowly revealing the truth? Sign me up. Take my money. Check out our chat with Michael and Mike, learn about The Monuments and, if there's still time, head on over to the Kickstarter and check it out first-hand because hot damn, it looks rad. Enjoy! -Jr.

So The Snyder Cut happened. It's been a while since we did the whole "let's ramble about the latest blockbuster movie" so we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do just that. With this being a discussion about movies, we also thought it would be fun to include our good friend Jared Skolnick in the conversation seeing as he writes, directs, and appreciates movies better than we could ever imagine. This is probably a good time to mention that Jared has a website and a Vimeo that you can check out (featuring many familiar faces to those lucky few who have seen some of our real human faces). It should also be noted that, per usual, this discussion contains some tasty, tasty SPOILERS. So if you haven't seen the flick yet and you don't want literally everything ruined, watch it first before listening to our voices. With that said, check out our ramblings as we discuss the characters, the plot, the things we liked and the things that made us question our sanity in the 4+ hour marathon that was The Snyder Cut. Enjoy! -Jr.

Another year of casting pods has come and gone and this one, despite the odd circumstances and ongoing global pandemic, was a pretty solid banger. Of course, I'm biased. But after listening to the yearly montage that Alex put together featuring some of the best clips and snippets from the last year, you'll understand where I'm coming from. This recap is the longest one yet so I'm going to do my best to keep this short. With that said, we talked to some incredible people over the past 23 episodes and per usual, we can't thank them enough for coming on the show. This has been a challenging 12 months but being able to talk with artists, creators, musicians, and everything else in-between made it just a little bit easier. And at the end of the day, if we were able to provide you with some escape and entertainment, then I'd say it was all worth the effort. Enjoy! -Jr. Audio Credits: "Coin-op Worlds" "Arcade Puzzler" "Arcade Heroes" "Arcade Goblins" by Eric Matyas www.soundimage.org