My Kind Of Weird Podcast – Episode 18
with guest: Ahmed Raafat (Diary of the Astro-Nudes)
My Kind Of Weird is a Podcast where two people swap and pitch three kinds of media: something watchable, something readable and something listenable – to see if each person says at the end of the podcast “That’s My Kind of Weird.”
Back on the regular fortnightly schedule, My Kind of Weird welcomes UK creator of Diary of the Astro-Nudes, Ahmed Raafat, into the world of weird. In which HBO’s bleak sci-fi series Raised by Wolves is matched up against Netflix’s strange and bizarre Brand New Cherry Flavour. Then we find out which is better: X-Statix or Generation-X? Before we finally finish up with Wendigoon and Emma Ruth Rundle’s The Nocturnes squaring off.
If you enjoyed this discussion then check out Ahmed’s work on Twitter/Instagram – @TheAhmedRaafat
This podcast episode is sponsored by “There are no Rabbits”
As read by local crazy person Rachel Farago and copy written by Anthony Pollock
Released:
March 22nd, 2022
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Listen to Last Week’s Episode
Transcription
This is my kind of weird a podcast where two people swap and pitch three kinds of media, something watchable, something readable and something listener able to see if each other says at the end of the pod. That’s my kind of weird. I’m your host Anthony Pollack and joining me today is Comic Book Creator, an artist who decided I don’t just like boobs. I’m going to decide how to draw the rough parts.
Hi, everyone. That’s one however, introduction.
You read to get weird with me? Now present your something watchable,
I recommended brand new cherry flavored view, which is a show on Netflix that came out last year. And yeah, I can’t wait to hear what you said you could hurt someone for me. What do you do at this world is predators and prey. Took the only thing I care about. So now I want to set his life on fire.
Oh, man, I just I did not know what to say about it. It’s kind of it’s beyond Doctor who levels are weird. It’s very just bizarre. It’s strange to sort of come from America. I feel Yeah; it felt more like a Canadian thing. I mean, there were some Canadian actors in there. So I guess that’s something but uh, yeah, it was just, it was just very bizarre. I mean, it had Rosa Salazar in it, which she’s always a treat towards us. I mean, I’m looking at description of it. Some people call it say it’s has Cronenberg in yet. Some people say it’s literally the money horror elements of Cronenberg films and it reminded me a bit of Mulholland Drive by lynch you know, ah, yeah, yeah, Hollywood and things get super weird basically. But yeah, I came across this show on Netflix I didn’t know anything about it. I just so the name and the small snippets you know the snippet they play when you when you browsing any click on the show it Yeah, the bed that I saw kind of reminded me of Mandy the visuals. Ah, okay. There was there was this dream sequence that had a lot of red in it and it was very pretty, and it kind of reminded me of Mandy which I absolutely love. And I decided to start watching it and yeah, definitely delivered.
It’s a strange revenge tale. For our listeners who haven’t checked it out it’s about a filmmaker that heads to Hollywood and the sudden the 90s and you know, it’s lots of hallucinations and so there’s you know, there’s sex there’s magic there’s you know, revenge there’s cats there’s I mean, it basically her film gets stolen from her under like a convoluted contract situation and then just all sorts of she basically hires a witch who may or may not be possessed by a demon and yeah all sorts of the same actress for from get out and now I know to shoot the actress who’s playing the witch. I can’t remember the name Catherine team, I think. So I know I know that if she’s in a film or TV show then probably is going to happen to the other characters drawn in the other direction if I saw it in real life now if anyone enjoys 9090s Revenge Hollywood revenge sales with a little bit of with a significant amount of body horror, and yeah, David Lynch kind of weird. And this is the kind of show for you. And again, top notch performances from everyone. It keeps you guessing where it’s going at that took some very interesting and weird twists so it doesn’t get boring. And it’s some methods so the most famous streaming platform in the world, so everyone can check it out. So my something weird is raised by wolves which is an American sci fi drama created by Aaron Guzik, kowski of goods a kowski however it’s pronounced and was the first two we’re gonna talk about season one because season two is sort of in the midst of being Yeah, we didn’t get Season Two later in the UK because so we don’t have actually Omaxe but there is a global streaming service that kind of get the HBO Max stuff depending on how trending it is, and we’ll get it like straight away we got Zack Snyder’s just slogan same week as, as the US. If this not as big we get to kind of a month or two months later, so I watched season one, season two is not out yet. And I really enjoyed that. Like I said the story is without giving away too much. There’s war on Earth, and when droids are sent to another planet, Kepler 20 B 22 where they’re supposed to start new life without war without anything they have some embryos with them then they’re supposed to make babies out of another way and, and graze over there in a new place without any war without anything but things not go as planned. I was I think I was tweeting the few weeks ago about how I haven’t come across anything that is like serious science fiction, the kind of stuff that we used to get in the 90s in any recent times and this and I came across the show and first came out that I I thought it’s just going to be one of these adventure sci fi adventures. Ya sci fi adventures which I have nothing against but it’s not really my kind of thing, like you know, buy mansions and these fun film shows. But then I when you recommended advice started watching it and it’s not buying that at all. It’s it is very serious. There’s very philosophical. Ridley Scott is the executive producer and I think he directed a few episodes as well and I can see his fingerprints all over the show. There’s a bit of there’s a bit of Valium there the Android design the white liquid that’s inside that’s very much area. Oh yeah. And there’s a bit of Blade Runner there as well in terms of Blade Runner was very philosophical in how the replicants address the creation and the creator and all the questions all the wandering that they were doing about life and all that and there is there’s a bit of that they’re out the androids perceive humanity and human life and how they evolve as the show progresses from just being androids into more than that. The only thing that left me a little bit confused and I’m not gonna go sporters the last episode came out of left field. I was I was not expecting the last episode to be like that. Yeah. It was, it was going in a steady direction. It’s not Maury, that things happen, but you can kind of see the logic of where they’re going. But yeah, the last episode was just like, we’re going in a completely different direction now.
Well, I think they kind of realize that they jumped the shark a bit with that last episode, I won’t spoil what happens because even if I did, it wouldn’t make any wouldn’t make any sense for the show from the beginning. Like if we told them what happened.
I can say that there is no sign of the thing that we’re talking about in at least in the first couple of episodes of season two. So I think they’ve kind of just been like, yeah, we’re not sure if that holds any relevancy to what we’re doing in the first place. So I kind of feel like they weren’t too sure if it feels gonna get renewed with the Yeah, which with what happens, which is, I mean, I expected a little bit of closure of the last episode, because we’re these shows, you kind of have to wrap up the arc that you’re doing in the season, and leaves a little bit of room in case it gets renewed. Especially when it’s not something that is like based on an established the book series or comic book series or something. But with the last episode, I feel like they’ve left the door wide open. We have a lot of things to offer season. That might not happen or might not. But I’m glad that the second season is happening because I’d like to know what happens next.
Yeah, I’d say that, um, anyone who’s looking who sort of misses or just feels like they’ve had enough of Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and all those sorts of those, those kind of more friendly sort of science fiction all year, although Battlestar Galactica, isn’t as friendly, but they’re looking for more sort of Blake. So it’s got a very 60s science fiction quality to it, as well. First of all, the designs are very retro, which I absolutely love, even the androids there’s a bit of the Acropolis in there, without going into too much detail does not spoil it to anyone, the ships and the helmets that they’re wearing in the beginning that that look very 60s, twilight Zone for the day, Dr. Seuss. So kind of designed, which is I absolutely love that this good got me hooked from the beginning, before even knowing anything about the show itself. But yeah, it’s not it’s not action adventure. It’s not, why not. It’s very philosophical. It’s a slow burn, there are some actions that are quite slow and pace, but that just kind of lets you digest all the all the questions in the show. So offer, there are points where it feels a bit cold, and I feel because the two androids they’re trying to raise the children, a couple of the children die. And then there’s sort of it’s kind of the androids and one of them and this isn’t a spoiler really because it’s it all happens in episode one.
I thought the whole show was going to be about raising the children and when five of them died in the first episode I was like where are we going with this what’s gonna happen next we have a whole show about raising one kids in in the in the middle of nowhere basically.
Feels a bit sterile in places which I don’t really mind because it gives us room for the concept to breathe and to for the concept to not feel sort of overtaken by you know, the usual sort of shenanigans and bullshit that goes on with you know, parenthood and that type of stuff. I also got a bit of predestination stuff in there as well. In terms of the religious Yeah, humans that a left versus the atheist humans that are left. Also Vikings fans, Travis Fimmel is in it as well. So that’s for me that is a favorite recent actor of mine so he’s definitely one reason to check it out as well. But um, there’s just a lot of course there’s cool stuff and here it is. Phil does feel very retro. But it also feels so in depth that when I first started watching it, I expected where’s the text? And that’s, and lo and behold, there is no tie. It’s a ritual. It’s based on a book or something. But my mind first went to, like, sort of cadence or something like that. Because the whole religion, the fact that there’s a new religion in the show and an atheist versus religion, it sounds like a very 60s idea of science fiction. Yeah, but yeah, I couldn’t find any any thing it’s based on, which is a miracle these days to come up with something is not based on anything existing at all.
I mean, it was compared to Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, because it is so cold and dark, and which is great, because he, he directs the first two episodes.
Yeah. And I kind of feel that he was more involved in the development than that, because at least from a design point of view, because there are bits and pieces of his previous work, there were a couple of scenes that felt very Blade Runner to me, especially with the scenes with the creator had a bit of a bleeder vibe.
While I believe he’s an ongoing producer. Yeah. And it feels to me like, because it is so high. Like that’s another thing when you’re after you finish the first couple of episodes, you just think to yourself, how did this get greenlit? And I feel like him saying, Okay, I’ll direct the first two episodes are how it got greenlit? Because, you know, it’s hard to argue with that. I mean, it’s Ridley Scott. Yeah. Yeah.
But it’s also I’m not expecting it to be a very high budget show because it’s, it’s set on a desert planet and in this small compound, the Aside from a couple of shots that involve war and spaceships and all that, that most of the show is set in a very small contained location which is great, because I mean, if he can, if he can make a show on a smaller budget than that, let’s focus on that thing. And the Casspi sells the show the performances from everyone.
All right, present your something readable?
My something readable was ecstatic versus the Avengers two ecstatic is the serious by Peter Milligan, and might work Lawrence. And I think the name rights. Yes. And I’ve presented this specific arc. For those who are not familiar with ecstatic, it’s started as x force. And then it was like an X Men off shoot. And then became a series called X statics and it’s, it’s kind of a deconstruction of superheroes and mutants, but not in a watchman bleak, fun way, in a more moral parody, really, these, this group of me, it’s a group of mutants, but they’re not hated by society, said they’re being loved their stars, they get invited by the heirs, their TV shows they care more about their social status than they do about actually saving the world. So and it is. This arc, specifically, the one that I recommend, if you’ve read it, there is a bit in it. That was one of the early inspirations to make astronauts. I’ll let you guess which part it is. But yeah, I mean, what did you think of?
I mean, ecstatic, to me feels like it’s doing to X Men sort of what? In patrol, in a way? Yeah. To your justice, like, you know, and it’s that kind of, but in a bit in its own way, it just kind of felt very satirical sort of.
I I just find that are hard to digest in large light. I can’t feel I don’t feel like I can read this entire run. In an in an afternoon, you know what I mean? I don’t feel just because the, the, I don’t know it’s saying about the art. I can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s just not the sort of the art style I prefer. I think possibly. Okay, yeah, I don’t know what it is. Which is a shame for me, because I like Most of the characters, especially dead go, yeah, yeah, I think actually dead girl is probably the most interesting character out of the bunch. I don’t know what it is, is a song about the art that just kind of throws me a little bit that I’m like, I could read like, three issues in a row and be fine, but I just right now and it is a song about the art.
I mean, I, I I like my Michael retort. But it’s I understand it’s not very conventional word compression comes to us superhero book, or a Marvel look at it very much. It’s all things so I can see where you’re coming from.
It might also be part of the storyline as well. There are parts in the run, where you just kind of where’s this going? I feel like they’ll try to do something different with it, when it came out. It felt like one of those books where they were trying to do something new and different and appeal to a sort of a younger audience. And that could be part of why I don’t like it. I prefer something a little bit more classic. Now, it’s not really that at all. I think I just have to accept that. You know, there’s comics out there not for me which is I still, I’m just perplexed as to why I don’t like it as much as other people like it. When I read a lot of greedier and strange comic books and graphic novels, so yeah, I don’t know what it is. It could also be, I think I get a little bit impatient when writers spend too much time meandering around the issues of the characters, and not enough time getting to the point. So there is there is a bit of that going on. Which is kind of funny, because once you you’re done with your pitch the series I’m about to pitch is there’s lots of meandering around so hypocritical but yeah, I don’t know what else to say. Except that my something readable is Generation X which is a comic book that spends a lot of time meandering around with the bullshit of teenagers. So that that sent me down a soldier I have read Generation X, but I have read Generation X when I was well, which is 26 years ago. Yeah. And the way I used to read it is I was I was living in Egypt at the time and we used to get the UK X Men comics for some reason and if you if you know how, the how, in the UK, in the UK, they sell the US releases and then they have their own magazine kind of version of Marvel and DC and it kind of compiles several series together. So like the one I used to get had the X Men main series, and also Generation X all in one big magazine and it used to print the magazine size print in the normal standard comic book size. And yeah. The serious is written by Scott Lobdell and illustrated by Chris moko. At least the in the beginning, I think there were a couple of other or is it Christmas show or the call? Not sure.
So I don’t know. I’m sure we’ll get away with.
I think there were a couple of guest artists along line but he was the one ruling the main part of the series. And it’s about Generation X, again, an offshoot X Men team, led by Banshee and Emma, Emma Frost, the White Queen. And yeah, there it is. It is very, I think, again, it was it felt like it was geared towards the younger audience. It’s very, very 90s in terms of dialogue and slang being used, and all that, but in my case, because I’ve read this in the past and I really used to love the art on the series when I was when I was kid. Still do obviously, its Chris is amazing. But I used to copy a lot of it when I was when I was younger. And, and reading it in the past week. I just like, brought back a lot of memories like, yeah, I copy this, this panel, or a copy of this, this face, or I copied this building, or I remember this looks very cool. And I want to grow something similar. It’s just it’s amazing how memory works and ad lib the pages before I look at it. I can tell what’s there. Even though if you asked me before reading it. Like a name for reading it. If I remember anything about it, I would have said no. And I don’t remember anything. I’ve read it 26 years ago or 27 years ago, and I can’t remember anything about it. But now is it’s just it was a very aside from the series as of reading it again, it was a very weird experience to me as getting flashes of memory in childhood and all that. But yeah, I mean, the series itself, it’s the story is very basic. It’s just the team coming together and there is there’s this villain, they find a couple of villains. This is the main one in plates. They come across some serious mutants that get thrown at their doorstep by gateway, and they try to find out where this meeting came from. And what’s their story? So it’s the tenants. Yes, parents. The story is fine, it’s entertaining, but it could get a bit wordy at times, there were some panels that were loaded with conversation and narration that didn’t really need to be there because the art was explained everything. But the art the art is amazing. I mean, I was mind blown by it when I was a kid and grinning it again, I’m still mind blown by it. I think this was it’s got the same 90s style, but it’s much softer. It’s it doesn’t have as much feathering or hatching as the style that was the popular style at the time that Jim Lee and life old and farlan were all like doing heavy hatching in their work. This one doesn’t have that as much. But still, it’s still dynamic in the same way 90s art was a connoisseur are amazing. I mean, it was by love looking back at the art again last week. And I would definitely recommend it for the art alone. I mean, just if anyone doesn’t like where the story’s going or is not enjoying the story, just look at the arts. Just flip through pages and look at the arc because it’s amazing.
So I have a couple of points to make about to reinforce my pitch for this series. So firstly, at one point Generation X was more popular than all the other x books that are one point to make. Another point to make is some of the biggest arcs in 90s X Men storylines. Generation X were involved as sort of like an a side story that ran alongside these main types of arcs. And I found that a lot of them the storyline was better than the main arcs. Phalanx covenant wAs one that comes to mind is also operations Zero Tolerance is another one where you have like Bastian, who is basically the humans slash sent Nimrod sentinels sort of cyborg. Yeah. And, and a lot of that sort of arc is the back-story to that is that Jubilee is one of Generation X is being held captive. So those are good points. There’s also it’s a great series to go back and look at because I did some reading and some research about it in preparation for this and it a lot of the art and the style and These stories was meant to reflect sort of the cynicism and complexity of the earliest series of the earlier X Men books. And but also to give it more of a modern take. So there’s a lot of sort of 90s grunge influences to it.
I feel like it’s also a good example of what a big comic book company or even just what a comic book company can do, in terms of expanding the universe. I mean, really, when it starts the only sort of familiarities that you have, obviously Banshee, like I said, obviously, the White Queen, like I said, but even then, she hadn’t really been as elaborated on or expanded upon in the entire pants in of X Men yet, with the exception of you know, a couple of the Hellfire, I guess, skirmishes that the X Men have had. And then those, you know, those Jubilee, which is great shows a fan favorite if you’re, if you’re watching the cartoon, and then they had husk, aka Paige Guthrie, who was very sort of a loose familiarity because she’s like the younger sister of cannonball. But apart from that, you had like, I think, five other characters and five or six other characters that they completely had to come up with, it spent a lot of time flushing out and carrying the rest of the story. Yeah.
The relations within different characters was, it doesn’t feel forced, that feels like they are a group of mutants who were brought together not because they’re friends or because they know each other, they just brought together because they’re mutants, and there is friction between all of them. And there are misunderstandings. And they’re not they’re not getting along all the time But still, when in a situation where they have to work together as a team, they do overcome that. And then they do that together. And chamber is one of the coolest character designs.
Oh, yeah, definitely. Yeah, I just love the concepts of the fact that his power is so powerful that he blew his own mouth off. And then has to like wrap it around, just so he doesn’t look sorry, can pass himself off as human just so he doesn’t look so. Yeah, alien. But, um, and just the whole, I don’t think they’ve really played around with the evolution of like, telepaths to that extreme. I mean, they have in terms of like mind control and telekinesis and stuff, but not from the fact that his he’s so powerful, like his energy in within him is so powerful that he I don’t think he really needs to eat or drink or anything like that. He’s just pure energy. Yeah and like his body is really just, its skin, I thought that was really interesting as well. And then he also had the sort of punk rock kind of look at British so yeah, kind of makes sense. I suppose it’s the punk rock is the very, very much the British. Cool. I wouldn’t say stereotype cliché. I just remember that was because you were saying it was more popular than Excellent. There was a Generation X movie that was that was made back in the 90s.
That was that was meant to be a TV show. Yeah, that was actually a pilot, which they repackaged as a movie because it got canceled.
Yeah, I’ve haven’t watched it. I heard it’s not great. But I remember seeing the ads for it at the time. And I was like; because back then in the 90s there was only Batman really there was nothing else it was it was it was cool for a kid my age back then to see other superheroes ones that is reading about at the moment, getting a TV show or movie or something. But I never got a chance to watch it back then and it kind of fell off my radar but why? Since I’ve been reading this past week might look forward now.
Good luck, I I don’t think it’s easy to find. Okay, so presents your something listenable
so I recommended to you YouTube channel that I’ve been listening to while working called Wendy room and specifically recommended an episode about an analog horror are those who are not familiar with the term it’s an alternate reality game called Local CCA I’ve been and you have and you have recommended to me the Nocturne. I cannot pronounce the name of the album.
I could say that I can but I’m probably bullshitting you. I’m assuming it’s a Aokigahara I can come I can come up with Yeah, it’s by Emma. Well, it’s Emma Ruth rondels first band. So singer songwriter from Oregon, I believe in America.
For some reason, I thought they’re British. I don’t know why my mind went there. But I think it’s because Well, I think because it’s the music reminded me of another band, which I think are British. They’re called London grammar. If you’ve heard of them, I assume they are.
It’s got the same chill kind of vibe, is the music is very I imagined I would play this music and just like sit down and relax there, Nocturnes and then London grammar or play the music was driving at night, you know, and they, like, motorway or something. It’s very chill, very relaxing that one of the songs had hints of Britpop with I think it’s their song called the game.
Well, I can’t remember now. But yeah, that was there was a small hint. It’s it’s not it’s not Britpop. It’s not a waste or anything. But there was a small end to that one of the songs. But yeah, it’s i i liked the stuff along the grammar. I’ve never heard about the Nocturnes before. I told me about them. I I enjoy the album. It’s something to play in wind down, you know, at the end of the day. And I plan to check out there you said this was her first band, does this mean that this band is not there anymore?
Yeah, that’s right. So we’ve had three releases. I think this was either the first or the second one. And since then, Mrs. Rando she’s done a whole bunch of different I guess alternative music, or alternative rocks is probably the closest to say she’s had because she’s been in I came across her because I’m a big fan of this post rock group called Red sparrows. Okay, and whenever I like a band, like I’ll like really get into it and want more and you know, there’s only two three albums I’ll then dive into the band members to see if they have the lawyer. Yeah, and then it becomes this snowball effect and that’s how I consume my music. I don’t really read music magazines anymore. It’s that’s how I find new work.
Yeah, I can do the same with not with music specifically. Other things you know when you when you find something you like and you decide to look at the history of every person involved to see if there is something else that they’re doing. But yeah, I’ll definitely check that out could use that kind of relaxing music while working while pressing. You know, the whole sort of this is an artist stresses about at risk of being honest, I listen to Aokigahara when I can’t sleep other very have a brain that’s just constantly working, even when I should be sleeping, and it’s really frustrating. So I find that I need something to relax me to. And that’s this is one of those albums. That helps me sleep. Yeah, I I have the same problem as well. And what I’ve been trying to do, because I usually am working nine to five, and then drawing from six or seven until I need to stop drawing and those that because otherwise, the next day is wrecked, basically. So I found that I when I stop working and go to bed immediately, I never sleep I’m always my mind still working, the cones inside are still working thinking about something. So I do is stop an hour before and do something relaxing, sit and watch something silly on TV, which is how I started watching all these shows that I’ve been watching recently. Listen to something relaxing, read a little bit, just do something that doesn’t require much mind brain activity. Otherwise, I’ll just be sitting in bed for another hour to thinking about anything. I have the same problem. I know what you’re going through.
So let’s do the verdicts then. So of all the choices of minor any of those you’re kind of weird.
Raised by wolves is definitely my kind of weird Generation X by virtue of nostalgia. I mean, I already like a lot of it so it’s definitely in that my kind of weird as well. And yeah, the Nocturnes bye bye, enjoy that. I’ll definitely go and look at the rest of the discography. It’s a small one, and keep us thank you for the recommendations. This, I’ve enjoyed all of them.
That’s right. And you’re watchful and readable is definitely my kind of weird as well.
It’s great. And I’m sorry about brand new cherry flavor, the shock and the trauma that the result when you said weird, that’s the first thing that flashed in my mind like I need to make him watch the show.
Yeah. I think when my kid is old enough, and I’m thinking like 15 I’m going to put it on and just that you know the cat vagina scene and just put his reaction on the TikTok video, giving me ideas now one of my guess is as well, so nearly there three years.
You’ll beat me too. Alright, everyone, we’re gonna go to a quick note from our sponsors. And then we’ll be right back to talk about diary of the astronauts.
All right, Ahmed. So tell us about diary of the estrogen nodes. I’ve been keeping up to date on the you know, the posts you’ve done over the last sort of two years, I think, two or three years and now it’s finally coming to fruition on Zoop in the form of what one volume or one comic? It’s what it is. It is one comic it’s 32 pages. It is a slightly bigger than normal comic but it’s not volume isn’t like 40 or 60 pages. And yeah, this I started this in 2019 as parity basically I was I was, I was doing a parody of like Strange Tales, 60s Marvel Strange Tales covers where there’s this spaceship, and some monsters coming out and people are shocked and scared. And instead of, instead of the monster it was to, as I like to call them to interdimensional travelers that come from a planet Earth where clothes don’t exist. And that’s. And that’s the shocking part. And I posted online, I wasn’t really sure how people would react, because a lot of my followers are from Egypt by virtual beat me being there. And newsy is not as accepted as is in other places of the world, so I wasn’t sure if people are gonna, like, hate them. Embrace me over it, or are they going to be okay with it. And the reaction was quite positive, people were asking if this is part of something bigger as I just went off, I didn’t have any plans at the time beyond that. But then over the see over a series of over time, I started getting more ideas for illustrations, and then it evolved from that into single page stories are to pitch stories that I had never written a comic book script. I was always working with others, I’d never tried writing anything, I never thought I’d be able to write anything. And any other stories just kept getting longer. And, and I started adding lore to the characters where they came from how the whole thing came to be and, and yeah, once I’ve had kind of a season, I look at them as seasons because they’re like, short. Each of them is a short story or a vignette so it kind of feels like a sitcom. For me at least, so once I wrapped up that part, I put it together in print edition, because it’s the way it’s, it’s done. It’s done in the style of 50s common with or 60s, that period with all the printing and then the worn out pages. So by saying this would look very cool in print, even much cooler than it looks on online. And we have launched yesterday was last the last two days felt like eternity so yeah, it was yesterday. We launched yesterday on zoo crowd funding, we have just crossed our funding goal, so I can relax a little bit, but it’s still there for the next 29 days or anyone who wants to order it got a couple of stretch goals plans along the way. So yeah, more and more exciting stuff coming now um, despite the nudity it’s not an it’s not an erotic car isn’t it? It’s more just to explore is that just happened to be naked?
Yeah, it’s no it’s not it’s not at all. It’s a lot of it is inspired by new this philosophy obviously. And also the there’s a genre of films that was very famous in the 60s called nudist camp films. Dive into this is the most famous Saddam which is where the name comes from during the astronauts homage to that, and these films were then made to promote nudism, but it was all very utopian, wholesome kind of setting there was there was nothing, nothing erotic, nothing tongue in cheek. It was all done with a straight face and that there was something very wholesome about the way it’s presented. And this is the kind of mood I was trying to go before with the book, so I wasn’t I wasn’t trying to do anything when Quinquennial that I was. It’s, it’s, you could easily take the characters out and put two aliens and they would react kind of in the same way. The only difference is that these characters are humans from a parallel Earth, and they just don’t know the concept of
I’m just sitting here hoping that you are wearing clothes. I’m gonna, I’m gonna say, I’m not gonna say you think that, you know, you see in the news all the time, it’s positive body positivity, positivity, there’s body positivity that which is, you know, it’s good, you know, in terms of moving people forward with being comfortable, but um, you think maybe that might have a bit of a effect with how it’s been received?
I hope it does. Actually, because the way I drew the characters is very simplified. I got a couple of comments from people reading saying, why don’t you try to include more diverse body types, and I wasn’t not including them by choice. It’s just that I drew the characters this way and carried on with the series. And I decided to keep the look same. But I did, I didn’t one of the stories, I kind of rang the fourth wall and say that the body shape changed a little bit, I added more detail to it. And then I said, it’s just that the artist is lazy and doesn’t draw all the details all the time. But in general, I’m hoping that people who read it kind of looked at nudity in a different perspective. It doesn’t have to be sexual doesn’t have to be erotica. It can just exist out of the context that mainstream has told us that it exists in and that is changing with what you said about body positivity that a lot of the advertising campaigns these days feature, nudity that is not sexual rasterizing is it’s meant to more inspire body positivity and body confidence. So in general, hopefully, it kind of works with the, with the general mood of what’s gone on these days in terms of body positivity and the sexualizing nudity sounds inspired
by the 60s and 50s sort of era in terms I got this feeling like it when you first started releasing pages, I guess two years ago or less when I first started seeing them was felt like a comic strip Which is funny. play on words. But I guess what I’m trying to say is, do you think if you release this in the 60s, it will pass the Comics Code? Probably
To be fair, that I rarely show well, I mean, we will show some stuff. No, I don’t. Because I I have I have to like two segments of readers. There are the concreters who know my work and know me from other things like Roma dreams. Start reading this. And then there are the new readers who are reading this because it’s a comment that kind of addresses these themes in a more general term. I don’t mention nudism by name anywhere, but if it’s kind of it’s the same philosophy and same ideologies. And I get the complain all the time that I’m not showing a full frontal and am I why am I not?
You got people approaching you saying show us the digs?
Yes. Yeah. A couple of times
It’s not like the audacity. It’s more of Are you ashamed of showing it you know? By by try. Yeah. But the reason I was doing that is that I was I was trying to kind of keep it more accessible to everyone because my goal I was gonna say my goal is hard. But I realized that on my hard on the call, if it was just like, pull from every single page and understand the films from that time, were doing that as well. But I’m not sure if it’s to avoid a certain code or was just to make them more friendly, I guess they were very careful in showing for frontals, then with carefully, strategically placed objects and angles, to make sure that none of that is shown. So it’s kind of playing on this idea as a visual gag. But no, I don’t think it was tasked with not with not with not with what is being on display.
All right, where do you go to from here with the astronauts?
In my mind, I have two more issues arcs planned; I haven’t put down the hills yet started writing. So I want to do another arc on this earth where they are with more mishaps, misadventures, but also at the same time, the whole, the whole premise is that they are fixing their ships, so that they will be able to go back to the earth. So they will eventually fix the ship in the second part. And then I want to do a whole issue or art, where it’s set on their planet, to kind of reverse of what I’ve been doing and the first issue, so we take the hosts from Earth, and put them on the planet of the astral and, and see how they would act to the inverse of the situation. So that’s, that’s the plan. So far, I’ve started writing the second issues have written the first short story. But then the campaign came along and that was all my energy and time were preparing everything. I didn’t think putting together a crowd funding campaign would be as the
Well, when we live in a world where Jeff Bezos literally created a phallus for a space shuttle, I feel like you’ve got plenty of room for satire and inspiration out there.
Yeah, All right, where can people find you online?
I’m on Twitter and Instagram as the nonprofit’s my name. In on both there’s a link tree with my portfolio and websites for really my dreams, and I lost my Egyptian comic book and absolutes, and I just keep it updated with everything that is relevant. And we are currently crowd funding on zoop. We’ve launched yesterday 29 days go. The first issue of classrooms and print with stuff that has not been published online, there’s a prologue that has not been published online that kind of explains why where they came from and ties the story together. But Prince got more stretch goals coming up, If anyone finds the premise interesting, and doesn’t mind a bit of nudity in their comics and would like to support us. That will be great.
Thanks very much for appearing on the show. It’s been lots of fun. For those who liked this episode, by all means, share it around, go check out Ahmed’s I was gonna say Kickstarter campaign, but Zoop campaign it is. Which is good because Zoop does sound like something 50s or 60s Sounds like a space shuttle or Viagra from the 60s. So really appropriate, folks, for now, I’m gonna leave you all with the sound of a horse being fed through a distortion pedal. Thanks, guys. Stay with us.
