We have two returning guests this week; one from a little while ago and one from a littler while ago. Both, however, are most assuredly rad.

First up is author David (D.W.) Kann and he's here to talk about the latest volume in his "Lovecraft P.I." graphic novel series. Currently on Kickstarter, "The Curious Case of ReAnimator" takes another dive into the world of Supernatural Detective Agencies as Detective Ward Lovecraft tries to solve the mystery of a VooDoo cult deep within the infamous Black Swamp...

Spooky, right?

If you're reading this early enough, you might still have some time to check out the Kickstarter. Click the link above for more details!

Closing out the 2nd half of our show this week is Ellie Hillis because good lord did we have a great time talking with her just a few weeks ago. It seems our "Because Comics" topic couldn't be contained by a single hour-ish long episode so we took some extra time this week to put that metaphorical bow on some of the most insane moments in comics history. (For first time listeners, click the link above and check out Ellie's debut from a few episodes ago. It's worth it.)

And that's it for this week. Huge thanks to David and Ellie for being so gracious and making their return appearances. Be sure to give them a follow on the various social mediums and throw some love their way.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

We haven't talked with writer/artist Rich Woodall in quite some time and that's just a travesty. If you were to grab a dictionary and look up "damn that guy is so f**king cool, talented, and insanely humble" you probably wouldn't find anything because that's more than one word. But in the OMV dictionary, you'd see a picture of Rich. Probably holding a raygun or something.

Being a creator of fantastical things, Rich is currently Kickstarting his latest set of books and if you're reading this within the next 20 days or so, you still have time to get your money in. This project is a little special, too because Rich has two separate books he's looking to print and there's a good chance at least one of them might be your brand. Looking for a legendary team-up between a raygun wielding superhero and a Dragon of the Savage variety? Or how about some creepy WWII horror featuring an enlisted werewolf? If any or all of that sounds great, Rich has got you covered. 

Check out our chat with Rich, click the links above for our previous chats and also for some info on his Kickstarter, and be sure to stop by his table if he's ever at a convention in your area. A chat with one of the coolest guys in comics is definitely worth your time.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

With the annual Free Comic Book Day quite literally upon us (like, it's today. Go out and get your books and support your LCS if you haven't already) we figured it was the perfect opportunity to talk comics. Now, this isn't the standard "Alex and Jayare talk about the same books they've been gushing about for the last 7 years." No, friends. This is much better.

This week we had the pleasure of chatting with Ellie Hillis. A graduate of Smith College, Ellie is a co-editor at Density Media, an essayist, and a comics historian who recently gave a talk at our local Nerd Nite called "That's CAPTAIN to You: The Evolution of Carol Danvers". It was at this talk that Ellie dropped the phrase "because comics" while trying to recap some of the more....problematic story lines of Captain Marvel's past.

And that got us thinking.

What are some other moments that are just so wacky the only way you can describe them is with a "because comics"? With the long and somewhat turbulent history of comics, surely there must be more, right?

So we reached out to Ellie, we put some lists together, and we put some microphones in front of our faces. The end result is an hour and twenty minutes of some of the most insane and inexplicable moments in comic book history. Because comics.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

It's been a minute since we last had the opportunity to cover Anime Boston so when Vicky came to us asking if she could go on assignment and get all the juicy anime details straight out of the heart of New England- It was an easy "hell yes."

After a few hiccups with trains and hotels, Vicky was finally able to make her grand return to the Hynes Convention Center where she joined up with OMV fan favorite Colin for a weekend jam packed with cosplay, panels, and wig styling competitions.

If you're not doing so already: Be sure to give Vicky a follow on all of her various social mediums. Her cosplays are top tier and you'd be hard pressed to find a better person to attend a convention with. Big thanks to her and Colin for representing OMV once again. Maybe someday Alex and I will get our amateur asses out to AB. Until then it's a comfort knowing we're being represented by some of the best people out there.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Last night we got together with some friends and played board games for like, many hours. While exchanging pleasantries over various drinks and snacks, I boasted to Colin that we, and I quote, "recorded a bomb ass episode this week" and proceed to feed him teasers of what we had in store.

Now I can stop teasing my friends because we did, in fact, record a bomb ass episode this week and now we get to release it to the world.

This week we were joined by Jason Langston aka JNL Toys. A veteran of the toy industry, Jason has worked for major toy companies (like Mattel) and and currently provides freelance work for those in need of his expertise. Due to Jason's vast knowledge of toys both new and old, it was just a matter of time until we dove down the rabbit hole of nostalgia and within minutes I was already making plans to rummage through my parent's storage to find my old Ninja Turtles.

Check out this week's episode for insights, stories, and behind the scenes info on Jason's time in the toy industry. We won't blame you if you have to pause the episode a few times so you can rummage through storage yourself. We know how important those old toys can be.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

There's just something amazing about talking with people at length regarding the things they love. It can be fascinating when someone has a near encyclopedic knowledge of something. Weather it's Ken with fighting games, Colin with Spider-Man, or Matthew with wrestling; I could truly sit for hours and just fire off question after question while desperately trying to keep up.

Luckily for me, I have a podcast that affords me the ability to do this with these people very frequently. Hopefully they don't catch on to my ruse because I have no plans of stopping any time soon.

So anyways, WrestleMania was last weekend. And WrestleMania just isn't WrestleMania unless we talk with Matthew James about it and what do you know? He just happened to be in our studio this week.

Oh, and if it wasn't clear by now or from past episodes, huuuge WrestleMania spoilers ahead. Beware.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

It has been a full week since we got home from the latest iteration of PAX East and I still don't feel like I have fully recovered yet. I'm not sure if it's because I'm getting old and these shows are taking a greater toll on my mind/body than they used to...or if it's just because we managed to make this one of the most eventful PAX-es in recent memory. Since I'm in the mood to deny I'm getting any older and I'm still as young and spry as I ever was, I'm going to go with the latter.

All joking aside, we did have one hell of a PAX this year. It was a record setting event in terms of both panels and games and we still managed to squeeze it all into a span of two days. Joe is back in the studio with us this time for our annual recap and I'm just going to warn you now: it's a doozy. We managed to jam an insane amount of content into a massive, 2 hour marathon of an episode and we're pumped for you to check it out!

Pictures can be found HERE. (Shoutouts to our man Bob from Dead Henchmen Productions for the camera hookup)

Enjoy!

-Jr.

First off, let us apologize for the late episode. There are a number of excuses we could throw at you such as:

• We were at PAX?
• PAX is in Boston. And Boston is far away from our studio?
• um
• I'm out of excuses.

So yeah. We're a little late with last week's jam but we're going to make it up to you with another episode later on this week. And then another one next week, and maybe even one more the week after that. Who knows, we might be able to keep that going for 7 years or something.

Anyway. We had some fun recording this episode for you and we hope you have fun listening to it. It's full of stories, tidbits, and histories all related to what some might call "Oh my god I f***ing hate this stupid day I need to just stay off the internet until tomorrow".

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Another revolution around the Sun. Another 52 episodes in the bank. 7 years later this damn podcast just refuses to quit.

No anniversary episode would be complete unless I get really sappy and say thank you to everyone. To all the guests, listeners, and friends we've made along the way: thank you all so much. I say it every year but this show would absolutely 100% not go on without all of you. You're the best and we hope we're able to find new people and things to talk to/about for years to come.

Per usual, Alex spent the last few weeks throwing together another amazing montage of our "best-of" moments from the last year and after getting to hear it a few hours ago I'm excited to say he killed it yet again. I don't deserve this man.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Song Credits:

Exit the Premises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Getting it Done Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

"Mechanical Steed" by Steampianist

This week's episode is the direct result of a simple conversation at a convention almost 7 years ago.

Flash back to 2012 to the Hynes Convention Center at a show formerly known as "The Boston Comic Con". While wandering around looking for excuses to spend money I didn't have, I noticed Alex chatting with an artist and decided I'd go over and partake in some not-so-subtle eavesdropping. About 30 minutes later we walked away from this table, both with pages of original art in our hands and both of our wallets a little bit lighter. And both with huge smiles on our faces. 

We didn't quite know it at the time, but the two of us had just experienced one of the most memorable moments we'd ever have at a convention. And it was all because of this week's guest: the incredibly talented Jim Calafiore.

For those unaware, Jim is an artist who has worked on books like Leaving Megalopolis/Surviving Megalopolis, Secret Six, Red Lanterns, Exiles, and many more. A true veteran of the industry, Jim is as humble as he is talented and is always a welcome sight whenever we spot him and his ever-growing splatter-print collection at conventions.

Be sure to check out his website HERE and stop by his table sometime if you see him at a show. With convention season gearing up there's a very good chance you'll have your own opportunity to create some memorable moments you'll recall for years to come.

Enjoy!

-Jr.