Okay. We live. We live. Hey everyone and welcome to the Nanny Up North podcast.
It's a Nanny podcast hosted by Northern nurse, I am on your horse Sam. And I'm on the horse pole. And tonight's episode is a very special episode. We are joined by the lovely team called Charlotte and excitious.
We cover an after a victory after Sunday. And we have a very mystical and magical guest tonight. We have the lovely Holly who has joined us all the way from the big, I would say, described it over the landing ocean. And I know we're first ever American on the Nanny Up North podcast.
So we are very more than today. So yes. So this week's episode, I know me and Holly's been chatting for a while and she was very amazingly joined the, I went early up North group a few months ago. It's been a while since you've been with one of the other cult members now.
She had a lot of great and amazing artwork, but probably wanted to share with us today as well. She does have a kickstarter going. So before we start again, I'm really Holly and getting a bit more information. So yes, if you would like to tell us a little bit about that, the image of what's about there as well.
Okay. Also, yeah, I never asked you about my lighting. Can you see me? Okay.
And you come over to the video. And then I just was like, I forgot to ask. Yeah. So I'm doing a kickstarter.
I think this is into the second week. And I was lucky enough to obtain the rights to create T-shirts, art prints and pins of Vampirallen, which is a comic book that I was deeply madly in love with as a teenager in the 70s. And so when I read the contract and I saw the word pin, you know, you could think of badges, but I thought, Oh my gosh, why not in an enamel pin? Why not the biggest, most glorious enamel pin I could design?
So I had two pieces of art that they had used for cover art. I could grab the cover. Where do you have it? I had the image of the image like a sentence for the kickstarter with the news and pin.
This is where I reach back and I have like everything here. We call this the Hawaiian room, but I also paint here. And I just got the design that I did for and it was a tribute to Nagle, the artist who was big in the 80s call. Which is a cover of Duran Duran's Rio.
But I liked Duran Duran since Planet Earth. So they are. Before I got big there. Yes.
Oh my God. We'll talk about that later. But like I had two pieces of art that was the other one. This is the black and white version.
And then here's the color version on a t-shirt. Oh, wow. Oh, I'll tell them what those are mind over. Caroline's a huge fan.
Oh my gosh, really. And then here's the other design on the t-shirt as well. Very good. I love your artwork.
I know I draw a little bit compared to like that. I just love how I don't understand how it gets so crisp and clean. When I draw things, it's never, even when I shade it looks like you can tell it's been shaded. But when every time you look at one of yours, you do it.
It looks like almost like a photograph in certain details as well. So I'm always envious when I say that kind of talent who can make things out and nothing and make it stand out. And yeah, so I might find a little bit more like the art. That was all I wanted.
And I might like maternal you. I'll call. You're artwork is beautiful. There's different mediums.
So you get different visuals plus I also work digitally. So there's sometimes it'll be incredibly crisp because it's all created in Photoshop. So there's so many different ways to create art now. It's an amazing time to be an artist because not only can you sit down, create with your hands and if you can do it at the computer.
And then you could also, I mean, I'm very techy. We have a website. I don't have to talk to it. I could just do it.
We have a website. So you can create your art. You put it on the website and then like Kickstarter. If you have an idea that you need to crowd fun, you can reach out to people.
And for me running a Kickstarter is so much fun because I also studied theater and I also studied film and all these types of entertaining and performing. And so it's almost like taking all of that, taking it, it's like being on stage and going, and I have this. And then you feel the love every time someone makes a pledge, you're like, Oh my God, I'm validated. Someone loves me.
It is very personal. No, definitely. I think that's because I am a little northern block. I get quite in myself and shy when it comes to promoting anything I do.
Like these guys will tell you how bad I get because as soon as like this project kind of kicked off like the whole narrative, no thing. I was like, it's nothing to do with me. It's everyone else. It's nothing to do with this.
I just came up with the initial thing. But then they keep saying, you keep pushing the idea. I can't take that. It's a great essential Englishman going, Oh, I can't take pride.
Oh, I can't take responsibility for this. I can't take credit for this. The girls will be bad out of you. I'm sure.
And we do. I could see. I was getting a bit with the bruises. Especially when we made up.
Well, yes. I said the vampire stuff that takes us back. I remember saying the comic in the comic book shop when I was young and there was always only dad used to wouldn't let us go near them because it was always the provocative and also, like, not, but it was, like, not, not, it wasn't. especially the covers and always beautiful and like look what we thought was going on, you can go back to Spiderman, you can't go to these ones just yet.
Yeah, it's like, it sounds like a great way. Do you know what's really surprising? But like, the Uva golfing me, I've never read Vampirilla. Really?
Yeah, my best friend kind of wrapped her brain around it because she absolutely loves Vampirilla. I never read Vampirilla. I think you probably would really enjoy the original 70s. I mean, I really can't speak what's going on now because I'm stuck in the 70s with her, where it was very influenced by dark shadows and all the hammer movies.
And I love that. Yeah. You know, I've seen Vampirilla change into a superhero and I mean, I've heard, you know, through the great find she's not really from another planet, which I'm like, no, no, no, no, you can't take that away from me. Yeah.
I'm kind of dealing with all the IPs that are going around. It's something that potentially I can say should work on the big screen or visually or even the TV show. A lot of TV shows are getting made for like comic books. It always makes it wind of why this Vampirilla hasn't been people or...
They did. A terrible movie. Oh, I should say that someone might love that movie. It was a Roger Corman movie.
Right. Okay. Yeah. And it had Roger Daltry playing Van Helsing or was he playing Vlad?
Vlad, Vlad, maybe. It was, it was, and I'm very flussy. So I should say that. It's fine.
That's everyone's... Well, no, I don't want to poop on someone's parade. If I didn't even know the film was there, but I thought it was a modern adaptation. It might be one of the ones because I know, like, say it's like how big Elvira got.
Like, say it's kind of modeled on the same type of aesthetic, shall we say. But she's still going to this day now. Oh, this day, 40 years. I watched a 40 anniversary on Shudder recently.
In 40 years, that woman's been going. I don't get it either. And this is probably why. And actually, it's really hard for us to say that why I don't read it, because I love 70-clock, 70s comics.
Because actually, the sequel era and Doctor Strange and how like, absolutely, utterly, beautifully bizarre then reads are. So I don't, I never understood why I never picked it up. Just like it's always tomorrow. That's true.
That's always the thing. You might not have read it now, but there's always the future that you can pick up and that's true. Also, now I'll play my own thing. Hold on.
That's, reading those inspired me. And I created my own, oh, there you are. Right. Oh wow.
I'll start. So, and I love Black and White comics, because Vamparela was Black and White. So this was sort of, this was influenced by Vamparela and Vamparela. And some other gothic stuff that I would read.
I read this beautiful book about a girl who fell in love with the angel of death. And that really inspired me. So this is actually an add-on. Like, we have comics that are sort of satellite-ing the pin.
And not everyone wanted a pin. So we also, we put, this is my other book is School Bites. Right. And it's more of Harry Potter with fangs.
That's because we have done it straight there. We'll be on that. Oh yeah. This is a crossover with Jim's comic, which just came out this Wednesday.
This is the issue. This is Tara Witch of the Black Rose. Yeah. I've seen a few of the, I can see the post on your Facebook about Tara as well.
Like some of the covers are just unbelievable. Like, I hate to say the 80s style, like metal, like goth, I can see all, I can see all the type of influences. But I know, because when Sam heard you were coming on the podcast, she got very excited because she's always wanted to ask questions to, like a fellow writer and, like, someone who's been into comics because, like, when she found comics, she didn't have the best of vaccines. Like, especially women in the industry and with nerds and stuff.
They've always looked, looked to kind of like down upon and stuff like that. It's almost like the door belong. But I think women now are certainly taking over and showing more of a presence. And getting more influences and getting better stuff.
I know Sam really wants to have a few. Yeah, I had a really bad experience. When I got into comics, it was 2014. And I had a really bad experience in a comic bookshop with a bunch of men who just absolutely belittled us and berated us and write to my face.
And it was the horribless experience. But on the back of that, it turned out to be one of the best experiences because then I started to discover women in comics. And I watched a documentary called, and I'm not about this, anytime that I can. I'm sorry documentary called She Makes Comics.
Yeah, and they didn't call me. Devastated by your honey because honestly, it was, it was, it was such a dreamness for 26, 27 years, that's all. Terrible of them because honestly, you would have been in salt well, especially amongst the women who were there, but it really like opened my eyes up at the time. I was writing for a website in Texas.
So I was doing comic book reviews. It started with comic movie reviews and then moved on to comic book reviews. And I always look like writing is a big part of us, even though I am incredibly dyslexic. I still absolutely love it.
It's therapy for us. But I wanted to ask, yes, I wanted to ask, firstly, I wanted to ask you style of writing. Do you stick to the model method or do you have your own way of creating your stories in comics? I, I, it's interesting.
Yes, first of all, the movie, if it inspired you, made you feel loved and inspired, that's great. So when I saw someone who worked in the industry, I can't watch it. I told, no, I can, I can totally understand that. It's like, I had drugmarble way when I was 11 or 10, the book.
I, I studied acting in college. So the closest I studied plays, I also am dyslexic and... Is it three of us then? Yeah, I'm, I'll just talk about working in, in, in the industry.
I think my first serious writing happened with Archie. And the best wonderful way that you get to write with Archie is all storyboards. Right. So basically, I sit down with a piece of paper and I sketch out each panel and then literally hand-write the words in there.
And this is what Archie said. This is what Ronnie said back, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And so it looks like something to shoot a small film. And that's how I got through my college courses when I had to do my work.
Like I had to direct a play. I literally drew a comic book. I said, okay, and this is where you're going to be and this is what you're going to say. Because I, I think visual it.
Yeah. So I've never been very confident about my writing. And so I first think of myself as an artist. And then my art is speaking.
And what, what is it they're saying? So I don't think there's any right way to write. Yeah. And if anyone, and yes, I did work a little bit with Hollywood when, when Vampire was option as a movie.
I had to work with their scripts and look at them. And it was, you know, just like very difficult. But I think if for writing for comic books, Jim, my husband does a lot of writing for Pharaoh first and his looks like a script. And it says who's saying in this.
And then there's a little bit of direction for the editor to understand because he basically checks all of the spelling. And to me, that is the way to do a comic. You make sure that when you're working with an artist, you remember you're working with an artist. You're not working with a filmmaker.
Yeah. Each panel, you know, think about, there's a page. I work for a magazine called Cosmo Girl. And they drove me crazy because they, I swear, I think I had 17 panels on a page at one time.
And I'm like, guys, we can't do it this way. There's a visual rhythm. You can create panels. So as long as you understand the language of the visual, you hear what they're saying, you know, you direct the visual with your writing.
I never really had that because I never had to tell an artist. I always, you know, so I would say, you know, have mercy on your artist. No, no, no one can move in a panel because I have seen scripts that someone says, and they did this in the panel. It's like, you can't do that.
It's either this. It's a, a, a, a, a. Yeah. It's something that's my best friend, Carolyn, she's an artist.
And we've talked for years about collaborating on something. And but when we get to sit down together, it's so hard to have the conversation of how, how we would, how I would like it to be, how she would like it to be. And I just wanted to have an idea as how you do it. How do you have this conversation with an artist?
I think, I think what really helps to communicate with an artist is to have examples. So find something that's close to your vision and have that as, well, this is kind of what I see. This is the jumping off point. And then maybe you could think of like another movie or something that has a tone.
Not that it yours shouldn't be original because if that's the case, then, you know, then you have, you know, you have to flesh out this completely original, you know, character or moment on a piece of paper and do it as, as best as you can. And then either read it to them or have them read it and then discuss what do they understand. You know, it is, it's a very intimate thing to, to write and to, to illustrate. And as long as you guys have respect for each other's visions.
The process is where we are. Yeah, we passed that. It is. We tried, we sat down a few years ago and we started hashing out ideas and it just became so overly complicated.
We made it probably harder than what it was to where we just went, oh, what I'm doing that anymore. And that what we talk about every time we have a chance to talk about working together, we always, we have such great ideas and then we just never follow it through. And now she's got a baby. Oh, it's an interesting way to say because I never went out to create because I'm one of the ones where I like me, like a poster or like something like a one shot, I think.
But I remember doing, because it's interesting to say in Archie, but I think in the UK, when we were kids, Archie wasn't really as big over here. We had like the Bean or the Dandy and one of the books I grew up with, I actually created a book for the school. It was about Naughty. I don't know if you've heard of Naughty there.
Oh, Naughty. Yeah, he's a little like a little elf guy, but all his friends were like toys and stuff. So each page of the book, I just drew, well, like it wasn't much of a story. I just drew panels, like panels of the book.
That was always the thing. I don't think I'm creative enough to create that type of story. I just like make things look pretty, if that makes sense. That's like a book play.
It's an illustration. And sequentials are incredibly hard. I am so challenged. And when I first got my tryout for Archie, I was in tears, like Marley the Ghost and Scrooge around the house.
It is one of the hardest things to do. I do love it. I think some people have a natural cinematic camera in their head. I watch my husband's panels and his perspective and the way he could turn the camera and see human bodies from different positions on his buildings.
I mean, it's like Mozart. I'm still in the area with my sequentials. But when I sit down as a paint, I feel more free when I do a portrait. I love doing portraits.
And for me to marry the two with Van Varela is like a big painting I did. And there are pictures of me crying. I too am a crier, Sam. I'm not alone.
It's interesting to say about your portraits as well, because I know we've got mutual friends on Instagram. You've done a portrait of one. I've got the name of the girl now, but you're going to a portrait of Heather. That's the one that looked absolutely stunning.
Like I said, the picture you did for her. That's it. Yes. Like the eyes.
Heather. Like one with all the same pictures. Oh my God. That's Heather.
Yeah. I can see it. It's the eyes. I asked her if it was okay, but if she posed for me.
That's part of my kickstart. Actually, we just hit that stretch goal. I'm doing, I'm always talking in this with no idea. This is the shadow.
So, and she is the second maiden of the shadow. So, yeah, her name is Violet Knight. And like I wrote like a little, you know, sort of legend about her. I could send it to you.
So, so far we've got Poppy Moon. She's over here. All right. I'm gonna be God, heaven, right?
Here's Poppy. Yes, that's all that one. Wow. Like how long does it actually take you to be at these as well?
Because I know some artists do them quite quick. Is it like a, is it like a, a day or two days or a week? Um, no, no, it's about a day. Um, you know, because we do our everything in house, we're our own publishing house.
So, it's not just peening. So, maybe I could get the sketch out and then I have to do another, um, another errand for the business. And then I'll come back and look at the sketch, show it to Jim, you know, yeah. Cause we do, do, do, do, do.
Okay. It's okay. Then watercolor. And when, when your water coloring usually, you know, you should get that done.
But this one actually took a while. I did these, these coffins. Yeah. I've seen the coffins.
The coffins are absolutely stunning. Look at the red in that man. Yeah. Is that, this is actually foiling here too.
I think, I was thinking it looked like quite glittery, but oh my God, I am very sensory. Like I love colors. Then that red is like standing right out of bars. Yeah.
Living in the house as well. I love the old ones. Living in your house as well. Like, see, we're having all them different creative outroats.
It must be like, see, an amazing feeling just basically. So like, what am I going to do? I'm just going to draw on this thing. Yeah.
Oh, that's amazing. And I stain them too. Right. So, so I'll just jealous of Holly's tongue and those.
Yeah. Oh my God. That's awesome. So I do little V ones too.
These were claimed. I'm so happy. Cause when they, when you open these guys, there's like a little vampirale inside. Yes.
That's when I saw it. And I was like, how did that get started? How did you physically get into that? How did you get a job in Archie?
Yeah. Well, I was working in comics, I guess, from the age of 30, I started. I left fashion industry and I wanted to do something that was my bliss. Cause I remembered Joseph Campbell, his words follow your bliss.
And whenever I was in a moment of either sadness or pain or confusion, I would always hear his voice. And I just remember comic books. So, I started working for a lot of independence. And that's very difficult.
I don't want to talk about how the sausage is made. But that got me to being kind of sad, sitting there with a Betty Digest because Jim would always buy me. Like, I love Betty. She was my girl.
And so I'm reading it. I'm like, I want to dress with these guys. I mean, I'm a little nutty. So I looked at the address of where they were.
And I sat down and I drew up some pages. Cause I knew some of the ABCs back then it was different. It's very different now getting work. Back then there was no internet.
Yeah. No. Not where it was just burgeoning. So I think it was in 1997 or eight.
But still I must have talked some balls to do. I know he's in, not even half. I'm from Manhattan. I'm from New York or if you don't have that really, you can't figure things out.
I'm still alive. I think I was cushing it up in the North East in England here. I think it might be a bit softer. But yeah, I know.
It's a little bit. No, I also, I come from a family of entrepreneurs. And my father, I'm first generation. He was born in Yugoslavia.
I think there's that immigrant, like, you know, you got it. Yeah. If you don't take a chance, you may not survive. So I'm sure there's some sort of genetic in me.
My grandparents face the Nazis. I'm here in the stories. You know, how scary could actually be? You know, yeah.
Yeah. It's not the softest. No, no, it was, you know, there's, I'm not a physical thrill. Like I do love rides at amusement parks.
But not too crazy. But I do think that I get like excited and passionate. And I have a dream. And my heroes were George Lucas and Steven Spielberg and Betsy Johnson.
And, you know, Mae West and Marilyn. You know, it's like, I don't know whether I'm too stupid to be scared. I like that. I like that.
Yeah. And I think that a lot of people don't do things because the scared feel. I think that's the biggest thing. But here in that it is quite inspiring, though, as well.
So just like, you know, like massively for me. I have dropped out of working for a major website a couple of years ago because I was that terrified of it. Because with me dyslexia, when I worked for the one in Texas, I had an amazing editor who made me look fantastic. They never took away anything of what I was writing, but they made it look professional.
And I was absolutely terrified of going anywhere else and not having that back up. And especially living in the UK and then we're in America. It was, it was very, I didn't know if I was going to have the same relationship. So I've done, I have stopped myself from doing things out of here.
So there's massively inspiring. But I want to mention as well, I know Charlotte's a little bit quite because like, she has a huge kind of view. She's probably just taking all this in. Yeah, she is a huge fan of yours.
I'm like, when you introduce yourself, like, say, I'm posting the podcast in our charts in our, like, Holly's joined the group and Charlotte explored it because she's able to resonate with her as well. And she loves like, she's just banged on about your husband's artwork as well, Jim. And like, she just kept on sending this pictures of Catwoman like over and over. I don't know how obsessed she was.
I don't know what exactly she was. I don't know what exactly she was. I know what she was getting to know. I don't know what she was getting to know.
But I don't know if Charlotte, I think you want to ask you that. Charlotte, you know, you should be a broadsword girl. And then get a sword and send in your photo to Jim and then be in. I don't know anybody that would trust me with a sword.
I should have kept it sorted out. Um, of everyone, and sort of all the art you've done over the years, what would be the standouts for you? What would be the ones that sort of you thought, yeah, like the ones that you were most proud of? I like that painting I showed you.
You know, it's funny because there's like little moments everywhere. And um, I think for me, when I looked at my Archie work, I was like, oh my God, I did all that. I can't even, I can't, I can't barely remember, you know, and I look through it and it doesn't even, I can't, I did this. Oh.
Um, what? It's, I don't know, it's to me. It's like stinging. Yeah, it's almost like I'm happy.
It came out of me and hopefully it made someone happy. Um, I like the portrait I did with my husband. Don't break anything. Oh, wow.
Oh, that's very labyrinthist. Esque. Esque. Yeah, that's from my other bus.
Oh, here, this fell. I did this too. Oh, Tom. So I'm honestly, just Charlotte, I just, I feel like an eight year old and I go, would you put this up on your refrigerator?
Do you like it? You know what I mean? Not like I don't think. That would be on Shawn's one.
Definitely. You know, Charlotte is a big fan. Nice to meet you there, Jill. Oh, God.
Hello, UK. Hi. How are you today? Good.
How are you? Anne, a little bit starched up. Yeah. I think Charlotte's going to cry.
I think I'm up. Are you ready? Bless. So.
They're not part of England, am I speaking? The North East, um, Sun and New Castle time, we're? Yeah. Yeah.
Do I see? Do I see? Think, Enbrah, we're very much more. We're below it.
Yeah. To the right. To the right? To the right?
Yes. To the right. Yeah. It's not that far away from us.
The next time we go to Edinburgh, we could call these guys out. Oh, I would definitely go to Edinburgh. Charlotte was actually there. This week was Charlotte's birthday this week.
Oh, wow. I think we're all going to do. I'll thank you. Did you follow me just after a bit?
Bless. Oh, but yeah. Thanks for joining us there, Jim. We're just on a lovely conversation with Holly and to share with all the artwork and yeah, like they have to totally below and aware.
But I wanted to ask as well, because I know Holly, you were telling us about Archie, but one of the work I was, you mentioned about was Sabrina as well. Yes. So saying that, did you have any influences in the show? From them, did they take any elements from the comics that you were involved in there?
Oh, no. The closest thing was like on my first cover, they asked me to, I guess, draw her closer to the show, that she looked like a teenager from the 21st century. That's about it. That's one thing about comics is that they asked us to stay kind of away from the TV show or the movie, because of the residuals.
I think it has to do with some sort of like copyrights. Because I, you know, just kind of what we're talking about, when they asked me to redesign Catwoman, they said stay away from Michelle Pfeiffer's look. And I said, no problem, I had my own ideas, because they told me if we use that look, any money or profit would go towards, I think, the WB site as opposed to DC printing site. So I'm assuming it's probably the same thing with Archie.
Yeah. They asked me to do that, and also to go by Dan de Carla's model sheet, because that was one of the things that I think they hired me, was that I am a bit of a mimic, I can chameleon people's art style. And I enjoy it, if I like this style. I mean, obviously you get this style, and you're like, oh.
But Dan de Carla to me was the pinnacle of Archie art. It was sexy and fun and just wonderful. And I was blessed with having a day of training by him. So, and he's just like Burgess Meredith from Rocky.
Yes. So, I'm really taught like this. I know that reference. She can take her own work.
I like her own work. It is quite interesting though as well, because I think there was a big art boom in the North East of England, like say for the last 10 years. But a lot of the artists moved away from commercial art and moved towards like Taru and Taru art and stuff. And that's a lot of my friends and people I went to college with are university with as well, that moved into like from doing poor written stuff to the actual Taru, Taru work like one of my best friends best, she eat her artwork now, where Taru is just phenomenal.
And it just amism like seeing that grow, especially in the North East. I know when you go to America, especially with the Taru's I've got as well, I've got like the most colorful, weirdest tattoos you can see. And I always get stuck as well. We went to Florida for mine and my wife's honeymoon.
And what I'm doing in Disney park, I've got my leg, I've got Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc. Oh wow. And so they would like to pull in as all the granners by the arms and they'd walk on the pictures of your leg. I was like, this is this weird, but yeah.
Any decent tattoo I have on us is all being done by Beth. And it's lovely because I got my sleeve done by her when she first started tattooing. It was quite close, she was still just coming out of her apprenticeship and just to watch, I can see her evolution of art is amazing. But my sister is actually an art curator in the North East.
She works for Nasty Women, but she did. She'll kill us if she ever watches this because I do pay attention to what she does, but it's really hard to keep up to date. I don't know if you can feel that. I know, because I don't want to just spend a year about comics and stuff, because I know there was a lot of people in the entire world.
I know how big of a Star Wars fan as well, you are. Because I know, I know I can say some scene photographs I can model the lot of artwork. So is the Star Wars fandom different or like than it is in the UK? And what's it like in America?
Well, I consider myself OG. So I've watched it progress. And the closest thing I think that I could compare it to is, and it's not Star Wars, but it's Dr. Who.
I was a Dr. Who fan since I was 11 with Tom Baker. And I got to sit in one of the big, really call it, call E or H, call H in Zania, who come kind of there was 6,000 people. And it was Matt Smith and a whole bunch of other guys.
And I swear it was like old reels of the Beatles. Wow. People were throwing themselves on stage screaming, carrying on. That's how they are here in America.
How about they're in England? I don't think it's the same. It was sort of the same. It was sort of the same.
Yeah, it was very much reserved. I went to Star Wars celebration in Europe in 2016. And I was actually shocked when we was in an auditorium and they did the Rebels, Star Wars Rebels panel. And it was announced that, Thorn, General Thorn had me boog behind his hand, General Thorn was going to be part of Rebels and the room exploded.
And as an English person, I was like, Oh, yes. What did they do it? It was fantastic. It's interesting that you mentioned Dr.
Who, because I remember one of my school visits, we got what was my doctor as a kid, Sylvester McCoy. He came in and, like I said, don't he sort of walk and shut his umbrella around. But as school kids as well, we were just all sitting there being polite and clap and stuff like that. When you see the conventions in America and how they behave and how excited they get, I do get a little bit of jealousy.
Yes. Because it does not get that over in the UK. I think it's a bit more reserved. It's getting there.
The prime example is the cinema clapping. So we watched a lot of reactions of, like saying Marvel films where people are clapping, things happening. If you did that in a cinema here, you would probably be escorted out. I went to see a new Elvis film yesterday and when it finished it got around the world.
Really? Not very British though. It's just not heard of. Yeah, you probably asked to leave.
Whereas all I want to do is just scream at the screen and I can't because I'm English. So you go home and cry. How do you have figured me out already? What do I do?
She did on Sunday when I unboxed Jarba Jar in front of her. So she wasn't very happy then. Because Sam's a bit of a collector when it comes to actually all the different toys and stuff. But I like to take things out of the box and play with.
So I had to make sure that she has a collection of different jar-jobs because she loves jar-jobs. And one of her favourite characters. So during the live panel in front of the whole audience, I unboxed Jar Jarba in front of her and she went off and she wasn't happy with us at all. Yeah, I wasn't sitting in a room for the people.
I probably would cry. It's when he was saying about panel reactions. We did our first one live on Sunday and we were surprised when the audience were interrupted. We didn't think of that.
But I suppose if we had to do it in America, we wouldn't have been curious by it because it would be normal. Yeah, that was a Q&A at the end. Oh, we didn't have time for it. We didn't have to because they just asked us while we were doing it.
There was one guy who he was just chatting with. Chatsun wasn't he? Even though he said I'll podcast sound in shit. But he suddenly said to the whole thing and he just chatted away it was.
So yeah, I was interested. I wasn't expecting it. But no one else to talk back to. It was just user.
It's probably not. I've got a question for the two of you. Because you're both obviously like artists in the comic industry, does it ever make things hard out or does it make things easier for sort of like critiquing each other's work? Obviously being in a relationship and do you sort of have to take off yeah, who's been in a white head and put like a professional head on?
Go on. I trust his opinion. I trust his eye. I don't think I have to take anything hat off.
I think it's I feel blessed that he's there for his support and his input. And I know that he knows. And he sees it through the eyes of someone who loves comics or who loves painting and art. So that's an easy, easy thing for me.
I never thought of it as critique. I always hated that word because in art school, you'd have critique day. And I always hated that because you're just starting to learn and your art's up on the wall. And it's being ripped apart.
I don't look as critique. We show each other's work or we walk into the room. We look at something. But I look at it more as like if your partner was going out and there was like a huge piece of like lint on their clothes, you would go, oh, you have a piece of lint on your clothes.
Then they would take it off. So it's not like I'm critiquing her outfit. That bothers me a bit. Or hey, check that out.
Yeah. So that's the way I've always looked at anybody. Whether it's hers or even at Comic-Cons, I don't walk around. And some people come up and go, hey, look at my portfolio or critique my portfolio.
I just sort of like view what they have. Yeah. It's such a harsh thing because I say a lot about working stuff. Like you put your personal touch and your soul in there as well.
So when you say critique, it can also have the negative effect. It says, oh, this change this or change that. It's because I used to be a graphic designer before working the band. Okay.
So that element, that's why I'm not many of my colleagues have so many arguments. So you see, can you change this? It's a bit more than a step or a point. It's a very reason.
But I didn't ever used to take, well, not criticism badly. It hurt, if that makes sense. Yeah. So it kind of...
Of course it hurts. Yeah. But especially if you're starting out as an artist and this is your love and you have supposedly an education and then you go out for your first job and editors tell you this and that. And it just blows your mind.
I came up in the 90s where image, the look of image was really big. So you've felt a comic industry moving towards people who drew more image like as opposed to other art styles. And that's a problem. I don't know if I see it too much now because I do see a lot of diversity and styles.
But in the day I saw more of editors saying, draw this way and draw that. Yeah. It's interesting. You see that because in our community now, the nerdy dot north, like community on Facebook, we do have a lot of different artists and a lot of them post the styles and it's wonderful to see that going to individuals, some people post very fantasy, some people like I can say I post quite gothic and it's so diverse and it makes it almost more fun in that degree.
But yeah, I quite like that. Like I said, it's a top of giving you opinion but not creating sex or like, I appreciate it. This is what I see. Like my best friends and artists and I have not one artist in my body.
My sister is an archaeologist and my best friend is but I cannot draw to save my life. But I can't hold a conversation with her when it comes to art pencils. I have never seen somebody get so excited over a white art pencil before. It's ridiculous the way that she goes on.
But I want to know which one it is. Don't make us text him because she will not, she will continuously talk about our pencils. She gets so excited over them. We go, when we go to conventions and stuff and we say it overnight, she'll bring our sketchbook with it and she'll have our pencils and she will tell me in detail how amazing these pencils are and why these pencils are amazing and I just cannot get on board with it at all.
I've got a very good shut off face where I can just zone out. And probably I wanted to talk to you about Harry Potter. I'm absolutely itching to talk about Harry Potter because I always, with Harry Potter being so British, I love to hear how Americans feel about it. And especially because I'm a huge mountain abbey fan as well.
And I can't understand how Americans can get so excited about that. Because it's just so English. I'm a boring. I'm sorry.
Well, I mean, I'm going to let you answer. I just want to drop by and say hello to everyone. Thank you for joining us. Happy birthday again.
Thank you. You like Tara? Yeah. You like Tara, which of the black girls and you haven't sent in your broad-serve girl photo yet?
Charlotte. Charlotte? Oh. That's a sword.
I'm sure I know plenty of people who have won. Ed, is it a challenge? Yes, we just have them in the living room. No, you know, friend me on Instagram and Facebook and we'll talk about the details.
Cool. Is she so there? She's there. Yeah, just broken Charlotte.
Thank you. So back to the star now. So yes, Harry Potter. I always like to ask the question as well.
Did you get into the films first or the books? The books. The books. Now, I have to preface this.
Like I said, I did go to British school. I grew up in Manhattan and my high school years from, I guess, eighth grade to graduation. I went to Anglo-American. So I took my old levels, took my IBs.
All my teachers are either British, Irish, very diverse. It was a UN school. Yeah, I was in a few more than nobody. I watched the young ones.
Yes. I had a horrible crush on Adam Ant when I went. Who didn't? 17.
I mean, like I made all my friends call me Amanda Ant. I mean, I listen to British music. I have photos that I look like Simon LeVon with my pirate shirt and my, my, my, my, my, my, so I don't know if I would be a typical American. I love what was it, another country.
I watched all the merchant ivory movies. Room with a view is one of my favorite movies. Enchanted April is like in my top five favorite movies. Just, you know, there you have it.
I love that. You love the young ones. Yeah. I get to do this and you might get it.
It's very serious. Yes. My best friend in high school was from Surrey. And so, you know, we would do once you pipe on skits all the time.
Yeah. So, um, I did not want to like Harry Potter. I'm going to put that out there because I am a high functioning witch and a Virgo and I get a little weird. Um, but I always know the things that I, I've almost madly deeply in love.
I fought not to the beginning. Um, everyone's talking about this book. Of course I don't want to watch. I don't want to listen to it.