There might be more here later. Maybe. It depends on how exhausted I am because I'm literally about to run out the door to watch some of the best people I know get married to each other. (Congrats Hannah & Will!)

But, we figured since it's the end of the year it would be a good time to put together a fun compilation of our Year 6 b-sides. So that's exactly what Alex did and that's exactly what you're about to listen to. Happy new year, ya'll. Be safe out there.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Our last episode before the holiday festivities begin (and probably 2nd to last episode of the year?) featured an artist that we recently started following after a simple Inktober piece popped up on an Instagram feed. A few months and many more amazing art posts later, we had the privilege of talking with the Kentucky-based artist herself: Tressa Bowling.

A lifelong artist and designer, Tressa has had work featured in projects like "Kentucky Kaiju", "Cash & Carrie", and her own webcomic "Dracullama". She's a veteran of the Kentucky/Ohio comic convention scene and currently spends a ton of time engaging with her fans via her Patreon community.

This week Tressa gave us a rundown of her beginnings in the art world, a crash course in running a Patreon, and a lesson in basic United States geography. Check out some of her social media platforms HERE, and HERE and click the links above for some webcomic and Patreon goodness.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

There's a lot that I want to say about the new Smash Brothers game and most of it is positive and most of it is probably pretty expected. But I'm bad at writing and also I'm leaving for Boston in an hour to go see Ingrid Michaelson sing Christmas songs for a few hours which should prove to be pretty neat.

I did manage to get some thoughts out on the new Smash Brothers during the episode, though. So at least there's that. This week we're diving head first into the deep end of the FGC pool as we chat with our resident "Fighting Game Expert" Ken (Yes, that Ken. Of Local Co-Op fame). With the Capcom Cup upon us, the new Smash Brothers getting released, and SonicFox winning eSports the player of the year award....we had plenty to discuss.

I gotta go, tho. It's time go get hella festive up in Boston.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Our 2018 convention gauntlet has come to an end and through all the ups and downs I'd have to say we had a pretty great year of cons. While we may have missed out on one or two of our usual shows, we did get a chance to check out some new ones in their place. In the past it was almost always NYCC that put the metaphorical bow on our convention schedule but the last two years has seen the new PAX Unplugged show take over that responsibility and I think it's doing a spectacular job so far.

Last year's inaugural Unplugged recap was packed with stories of my wife and me making our way to an unknown city with the intent of attending as many panels and seeing as many games as possible only to become mildly obsessed with the Omegathon and the local Reading Terminal Market. Long story short: It was different and amazing.

This year my wife bestowed the honor of "dealing with Jr at a convention" over to our great pal Colin as we made our way back down to the city where they greased up the light poles that one time. Much fun was had. Many games were played (about 100% more than last year). And our hearts were broken as an unsung hero went down in flames before he had a chance to shine.

Listen to the recap. It might make sense to you later.

Oh, and I took some pictures while we were there. Check out the photo album HERE.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

I'm heading out to Philly in about 9 hours for PAX Unplugged so I apologize in advance for the brevity of this post. I'll spare you the usual fanfare and fluff and get right down to business:

We actually followed up on a promise this week and we're very proud of ourselves. Back in June we had the pleasure of speaking with cosplayer Raymond Ramos and after getting to maybe half of the topics we actually wanted to talk about it, was quickly decided we needed to talk to this man again sometime.

Today is that sometime. The man known as "Cosplay Ray" was generous enough to give us even more of his valuable time so we could talk his ear off about cosplay, conventions, rising above criticism and tons more. If you missed out on his first appearance be sure to check that out HERE.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

In the 6 years we've been doing this we've had some missed connections. Sometimes a guest just doesn't pan out or maybe we couldn't get the timing quite right and eventually the idea falls apart. It happens. It's a part of the game (you know, that podcast game that apparently exists or something). At the end of the day these episodes aren't gonna make themselves so we just have to move on.

This week we thought it would be neat to kind of "revisit" some of those connections that never actually happened. I mean they were things we wanted to show you anyway...so why not talk about them, right?

Sounds fun. Also I spent a good amount of time complaining about a small, not-required subquest of a nearly perfect videogame. And that's always a good time.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Our dear friend Ryan Vella is back in action this week and, this might shock you, we're talking about video games. Specifically video games played at the competitive level. You know, that level that we could only dream of achieving no matter how hard we play yet it seems like it just comes naturally to these 18-23 year olds? That's the one.

For those looking for some deep dives on the current Fortnite meta and the insane success Epic Games has been having....you've come to the wrong place. I think between the 3 of us we have a grand total of maybe 10 games of Fortnite under our belts so it's probably better if we stay away from that one. We have, however, played some Overwatch. And Vella has played some League. So we're going to talk about those games instead and attempt to sound like we know what we're talking about.

Business as usual.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

This week we have artist Marc Lapierre in the studio and we're pretty excited about it for a few reasons: First, Marc is a rad artist and Alex and I never tire of talking with rad artists. Probably has something to do with the whole "we wish we could do what you can do" thing. Also they tend to be great people in general. Second: Marc is the artist of the webcomic "The SuperFogeys" and along with writer Brock Heasley they've managed to put out 700+ comics over the years. Now, it appears, it is time to start collecting these comics in the form of a book. Enter: The Kickstarter. 

With just a few days left the 'Fogeys crew has smashed their goal and are now working on unlocking those sweet stretch goals. You can check out the campaign HERE and if you like what you see you can also check out Marc's Instagram page HERE.

We hope you dig this week's episode. Huge thanks to Marc for sacrificing his crisp New England Saturday and spending the afternoon with us and hopefully we'll be able to chat with him again soon!

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Will and Jon are both guests this week and I can't think of a better way to close out the spooky season than to have two of the spookiest people I know on for a chat.

Seeing as it's currently Halloween we tried to cram as much spooky content into one episode as possible. I think we did a pretty decent job since the next hour or so of your life is about to be consumed by terrifying ghost stories, childhood Halloween memories, and more random facts about "Devil's Night" than you ever cared to learn about.

Huge shout-out to all the guests who came on over the last month and made time to talk to a couple of dummies who like scary things. We hope you're able to finally get some rest now that the season has come to an end. Plus, all the Halloween stuff goes on sale tomorrow, right? Gotta rest up for them deals.

Happy Halloween, ya'll.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Brett is arguably one of the most talented people we know. The guy can draw, dance, beatbox, and sing. He's an accomplished martial artist, he's done stunts in both film and live action shows. He can act, he can model, and at the end of the day he's one of the best friends you could ask for.

He also knows a shocking amount of information about the mysterious "Mothman". Apparently, it's more than just a movie from 2002 that you watched with your friend 15 years ago that you still don't fully understand to this day. Apparently, it's a lot more than that. And seeing as we're coming to the end of our spooky month of madness we saw it as the perfect excuse to stick a microphone in Brett's face for the ten-millionth time.

I'm almost positive he didn't mind.

Anyway, Brett is back this week. And he's teaching us about the extremely spooky legend of The Mothman.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

We're three episodes deep into spooky month and this week I got to do one of my favorite things: Watch Alex talk shop with a fellow spooky creator. Over the years we've had a variety of actors and artists on and usually at some point the conversation will develop into Alex and our guest trading secrets, comparing notes, and admiring each other's work.  It's fascinating. A few years ago our friend Bil dropped the phrase "Many Haunts, One Family" on us and every year we find out just how right he was.

With that said, today we have a rad episode for you because we were joined by Bay Area-based special effects makeup artist Nina Zepeda. A Fright Fest veteran and student of Face Off winner Nicole Chilelli, Nina is an insanely talented artist creating monsters and demons out west alongside our good friend and OMV alum Will. A quick glance over her Instagram page and you'll see what we're talking about: Nina is very good at making terrifying things.

Check out this week's episode as we learn about chance encounters at Barnes & Noble bookstores, the best brands of Air Brush, and working alongside Good Charlotte.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Ok. Yes. We're late. Just gonna call it out, own it, provide excuses and move on.

Remember last week how I was bragging about watching Toy Story and drinking tea after NYCC? Yeah, that came right around and got the best of me because it turns out the entire time I was watching Toy Story and drinking tea there was a sickness festering inside of my body only to reveal itself the following day and torture me throughout the rest of the week. Alex, being the merciful man he is (don't tell him I said that), let me take it easy for a few days to recover which sadly meant that last week's episode was delayed until....now.

But there is good news because we have a rad new episode for you featuring author David Kann and to sweeten the pot you're going to get another episode at the end of the week. How rad is that?

Anyway, let's not get ahead of ourselves. David Kann joined us this week. He's a veteran filmmaker, producer, and prop master who also authored the Kickstarter-funded "Lovecraft P.I." graphic novel. Alex met David a few months back at a local show, had the chance to exchange pleasantries, and snagged some of David's wares. Soon after it was decided David and his work would be a perfect fit for our spooky month and now here we are.

If David's brand of spooky works for you check out the website HERE and the other website HERE and do the rest of the usual routine: follow on the social mediums, say hi in person, throw money etc etc.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

NYCC was yesterday and even though we just did the one day my entire body hurts down to its core. I spent the vast majority of my Saturday watching all three Toy Story movies in a row while sipping on tea and I have to admit it was pretty great. Everything still hurts and I have aches in places that I didn't know could ache but my Pixar pals helped make things better.

With that said, we have a very fun show for you this week. If you've noticed the date recently, it is now October and obviously that means it's time to get spooky. This year we're kicking it off with a couple of the cast members of the upcoming Exit 7 Players production of Sweeney Todd: Monique and Stephanie!

After the incredible success of last year's Addams Family performances we jumped at the chance to feature some Exit 7 cast members again especially once we heard they were doing another spooky show in Sweeney Todd. For those fortunate enough to be in the area and want to check out a showing, CLICK HERE to see about some tickets. A word to the wise, though: Get them sooner rather than later. They tend to go fast and you won't want to miss out.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

If you follow us on any of the various social mediums you probably noticed we were spamming you pretty hard with links a few days ago. We apologize for the spam. Just know that it was justified in the fact that we got to try something new with a good friend of ours. If you happened to click on any of those links you'll know what I'm talking about but for those still in the dark here's a rundown:

Three years ago we first talked with artist Tony Moy after tabling a few spots down from him at Boston Comic Con. He came on the show, fun was had, much rejoicing. Seeing as it had been some time since we last talked we thought it would be neat to catch up. Tony agreed and also had the idea of streaming the interview live on his fancy Twitch channel so we figured what the hell. What's the worst that could happen? We say something stupid? Embarrass ourselves live in front of a bunch of people? No way. We've been doing this for too long to make rookie mistakes like that!

Famous last words, amirite?

Nah we kid. We had a blast and we can't thank Tony and his fans enough for the opportunity to entertain in a live environment. Be sure to check out his Twitch channel HERE and maybe toss a follow/sub his way. Until then, check out our talk with Tony as we catch up and find out what he's been up to these last 3 years.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Ok.

Let's talk about Mandy.

-Jr

I don't own the largest collection of convention sketches by any means and in recent years getting sketches by artists at conventions has taken a backseat to other "more important" things like "food" and "a mortgage". And after buying a house I had to make some decisions as to what sketches will go up on the walls and what sketches will be archived in my portfolio. Some decisions were harder than others; but one of the easiest ones was the sketch Tom Raney drew for me from Boston Comic Con a few years back. I mean look at this thing:

It's beautiful. And it deserves to be displayed. 

With all that said we have some exciting stuff for you this week because Tom Raney himself gave us some time out of his busy schedule and let us do what we do best: Ask weird questions and gush over his talents.

You can check out Tom and his work on the various social mediums and even better there's a good chance you'll be able to see him at a convention near you (Hint: He's going to be at NYCC in a few weeks). Don't miss out!

Enjoy!

-Jr.

We don't talk politics much. That's intentional for a few reasons: mostly because we like to think our show is an escape from all the terrible things going on in every day life. Also, our brains are small and we (meaning Jayare) don't have the capacity to make good words when it comes to discussing intense political subjects and themes. So we tend to stay away them.

This week, though. We're getting political.

But not in the way you'd think. We're doing it in a fun way because apparently that can exist. It turns out it can be somewhat entertaining to talk politics when you're discussing fictional characters and events based around those fictional characters.

So that's what we did this week. We got political and had a little fun doing it. I think.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Those OMV boys are at it again.

And by "at it again" I mean "There's an artist we admire who currently has a live Kickstarter for their latest project and they were kind enough to let us ask them questions about it and the rest of their work for the better part of an hour".

Classic.

This week we're here to talk about Agnimu Rehpot's Scribes and Scribbles. Unaware of Agnimu Rehpot's Scribes and Scribbles? Well it's pretty simple: Agnimu Rehpot's Scribes and Scribbles is a universe of wonder and imagination created by artist Mike Maydak and is (currently) set to be a 36 page book full of over 300 original drawings. I say "currently" because as of right now, the Kickstarter is still live with some tasty, newly-announced stretch goals so honestly the sky is the limit for Mike and his book. Be sure to check out the project HERE or find Mike on the various social medias and let him know how rad his work is.

Until then, enjoy our chat with Mr. Maydak and his fantastical world of Agnimu Rehpot's Scribes and Scribbles.

-Jr.

I apologize for the delay in getting this week's episode up. You see, I was busy protecting Metro City from the Skull Cross Gang. Luckily, despite being an elected official and mayor of the city I was blessed with bulging muscles and an incredible mustache. There wasn't a single member of the Skull Cross Gang that was safe from my piledriver. And after all was said and done my beautiful city was saved once more....with the help of this guy named Dean who had electric fists. That was cool, too.

Ok, yeah. I was playing Final Fight 3 all night with a friend of mine. But that doesn't make the previous paragraph any less true. Metro City can rest easy knowing Mike Haggar and Dean....Electric Fists(?) saved the day.

Anyways. Back in real life we do have an episode for you and it's a continuation of something we recorded a couple months ago. Back in June we talked about some comic shops that Alex had recently visited but we also discussed his fancy new CGC membership and his upcoming plans for some of his books. (Check it out HERE to get caught up.) About 6 weeks later those plans have come to fruition and CGC decided to send his books back sealed in some heavy duty plastic with valuable numbers attached. And we're going to unbox them. On an audio podcast. Where you can't see them.

That's what we do here at OMV. We specialize in breaking the mold and we wouldn't be surprised if audio unboxings catch on in the future. (Assuming they haven't already. In true OMV fashion I've done exactly zero research on the matter.) Either way. Check out this week's jam for the shocking results of the CGC unboxing extravaganza!

Enjoy!

-Jr.

We learned something yesterday.

We learned that when Kyle from Decimated Designs hits you up saying he has some spare table space at TerrifiCon and is wondering if you and your best pals would be interested in putting your stuff on their tables for a day...you take him up on that offer. Because the end result is going to include some or all of the following:

• A fun experience at a new convention.
• The opportunity to settle a debate of enormous magnitude.
• Throwing all your money at artists and creators.
• Meeting comic legends and witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
• Finding out if you were spared or sacrificed by Thanos.

I could go on but you get the idea. We had a blast down at Mohegan Sun and we can't thank Kyle and the Decimated crew enough for letting us be up in their space for 10 hours. Be on the lookout for some insane photos from Babs Who Takes Pictures and keep your eyes peeled if you're ever at TerrifiCon in the future because there's a good chance we might be back.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

In what could be considered one of the largest upsets of the last decade the unthinkable has happened. For the first time since 2010 we failed to make an appearance at the Boston Comic Con. We know. This is both extremely shocking and upsetting. But we're working through it and we're moving on.

Since we weren't going to be able to partake in the annual Boston festivities we decided to make it a learning opportunity. A few weeks ago our friend and OMV veteran Colen ventured down to Virginia to attend the 2nd edition of Blerdcon. Being two old men who rarely venture outside of the New England area for conventions Alex and I were eager to hear about Colen's experiences at a show that runs for 72 straight hours without stopping for rest.

If listening to us ramble for the next hour has you interested in the show, be sure to check out their site for updates or even take a look at this video made by our old pal Micah for a more visual representation of Blerdcon to go along with Colen's review.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

So I'm venting this week.

I went to a concert last Saturday with my wonderful wife and my wonderful Colin and while we had an amazing time...there are some things I need to get off my chest. I've had a few days to think it over and I figured I could use my festering rage as an opportunity to educate others on what I believe to be proper concert etiquette. So I grabbed Jon and Alex, sat them down in front of some microphones, and forced them to listen to my rant.

While I do a decent amount of whining and complaining this week it shouldn't take away from the fact that I got to witness one of the best concerts I've ever seen and overall I feel fortunate to be able to say I was there. Next step is getting them on the show....maybe another 600 episodes and we'll get there.

For now I'm just going to vent.

-Jr.

If you're into extremely long episodes featuring multiple guests having a great time talking about a local convention in Hartford, Connecticut boy howdy do we have a treat for you.

The last few weeks have been full of ConnectiCon chatter as we had some amazing opportunities to chat with game designers and freelance artists. Now it's time to review. Joining us for our recap extravaganza are our good friends Vicky (of Vee Cosplay) and niece Megan in what could be considered the greatest team-up in the history of podcasting. Tune in for stories, thoughts, reflections and most importantly: Arbitrary Letter Grades (Note: Megan gave the show an A-/B+ but we were dumb and forgot to ask during her segment).

There's a ton to get to so I'm gonna keep this short and sweet. Huge thanks to Vicky and Megan for giving us many hours of their time and as always a shout-out to the folks at ConnectiCon for giving us yet another opportunity to check out their show.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

To say we had a productive ConnectiCon would be putting it lightly. After day one we immediately went back to the studio to chat with game designer Jake Given in what turned into last week's hotness. After day two we had maybe a 2 hour break once we left to get ready for another sit down only this time it was with artist and freelance illustrator Christopher Cayco.

Similar to Jake and Lay Waste Games, Christopher had a table showcasing his arts and talents at this year's ConnectiCon. A veteran of over 100 different conventions, Christopher is no stranger to the con life and even uploads in-depth vlogs on his YouTube channel chronicling his thoughts and experiences throughout each unique show. It's a really neat look into the world of an artist from the other side of the table and we're a bit excited to see what he puts out for ConnectiCon.

Of course, in addition to his video content, Christopher is also a hella talented artist with some absolutely brilliant perspective pieces and character collages. For example: have you ever met anyone who has made a print featuring every single Pokemon that has ever existed? Or how about every Rick and Morty character on one page? Well it's been done and it was done by Christopher. Peep at his Instagram or click the links above for more of his work and check the listing of your local convention for his name. The man has embraced the con life and there's a good chance he'll be popping into a show near you. In the mean time, check out our talk with Chris and learn a thing or two about amazing perspectives and Pokemon.

-Jr.

Day one of ConnectiCon 2018 has come and gone in what felt like a blur of vendors, cosplayers, and food trucks. I'm sure we'll have plenty to say about it soon but for now we need to prepare for day two. Despite only having a few hours to enjoy the show yesterday it was a great opportunity to get my bearings and get a feel for the venue. Now today is going to be all about checking out the vendors, spending the money, and playing the games.

Speaking of games: We have a nice treat for you and it's just about as hot-off-the-presses as pre-recorded media can be. Jake Given, co-founder and game designer of Lay Waste Games, is showing their latest creation in the tabletop demo area of ConnectiCon and we had the opportunity to chat with him once the doors closed for the day. Keen listeners may recall we've talked about Lay Waste's games at length in our previous two PAX East recaps with Dragoon being a show-stealer two years ago and Human Era catching our attention this past spring. You can check out their website HERE or if you're super quick you can get down to ConnectiCon either today or tomorrow and meet Jake and his new game in person!

Enjoy this week's episode and be on the lookout for our wrap-up in the near future. Until then, I have a lot of irresponsible financial decisions to make at ConnectiCon day 2!

-Jr.

Seeing as our annual trip to ConnectiCon is but 5 days away we figured it would be a good time to hype up the show a bit. This is your classic "two birds, one stone" situation here because yeah, we're trying to hype it up for you, the humble listener. But we're also trying to hype it up for ourselves. Seeing as our favorite pals from Super Art Fight won't be in attendance this year; we're going to have to put on our big-boy pants and find other things to entertain us. Like games. Or food trucks. or a combination of the two.

We'll make due.

In addition to some ConnectiCon hype we thought it would be neat to play a little game of "Where are they now?" in regard to guests of OMV past. It's been quite some time since we've had the pleasure of chatting with a few of our guests so we did some internet searching to find out what they've been up to...and the results might shock you!

I hate myself for writing that.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Alex is smart. Because unlike myself he knows how to take advantage of being on vacation. At least this week he did because he took a neat trip to states other than Connecticut to visit some friends and, more importantly, comic shops. He also snagged a shiny new membership to CGC (separate events) so now we can get back to sending books in and pray they come back in acceptable grades. I say "we" because I'm absolutely going to piggy back off his hard-spent money and use him for his membership.

He probably doesn't mind.

We are talking about both of these things this week in a "Justice" episode for the ages. (I don't know if it's ever been explained in writing but when we say we're doing a "Justice" episode it's because there's no guest. It's "just us". We are way too proud of that. )

Anyway, tune in this week to hear tales of Alex's venture into unknown lands and predictions on his first batch of books set to go out to be slabbed eternal.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

This week we had the pleasure of sitting down for a talk with renowned New England-based cosplayer Raymond Ramos. Having encountered Raymond multiple times throughout several different conventions over the past few years one thing is evident: This dude knows how to become a character.

We've had the opportunity to talk with many cosplayers in the past both on and off of our show and its always an amazing experience when we get to learn about their introduction to the scene, their process, and their mentality when it comes to crafting and designing these outfits and Raymond was no exception. This week we got to learn how a man went from modding a simple leather jacket to crafting complete sets of award winning armor within the span of like, 4 years. While juggling other responsibilities like being a father and martial artist with a day job.

No big deal.

Check out Raymond's work by clicking the link above or if you're going to be in the New England area next weekend (June 30th) you'll be able to see him in person at ComiConn at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT where he'll be cosplaying as a guest and also participating in some panels throughout the weekend.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Two weeks ago we had the pleasure of speaking with Josh and Sarah of the Five Points Festival mere hours before the show was slated to begin. Needless to say it was super rad of them to even give us 5 minutes of time let alone a half hour and the end result was a whole bunch of hype as Jon and Alex prepared to head to New York City to check it out.

They've since checked it out, took a little bit of time to compress and get some thoughts together, and now it's time for the end result. This one was exciting for a variety of reasons, too. It's been a while since we've had the opportunity to cover a new show outside of our normal routine plus who better to cover it than our resident toy expert himself? The last time we were at a convention with Jon was around 3 years ago while Alex was recovering from surgery and I was helping a friend experience his first ever NYCC. So it's a bit overdue. Plus, we've never been able to cover a show quite like this one. Yes, we've been to comic cons, steampunk shows, anime conventions etc...but a designer toy and craft beer show? That's new territory. New, expensive territory. Just the way we like it.

Tune in to this week's episode as Alex and Jon recap their experiences at the 2018 Five Points Festival and get the inside scoop on the latest in designer toys, enamel pins, kaiju and more. Once again, huge thanks to the folks at Five Points for giving us some time to chat with them and cover their show; it's quite possible there will be 3 of us attending next year...

Enjoy!

-Jr.

I don't mean to brag here, but if I'm being honest it must be acknowledged that Alex is on fire with guests this year. Week after week I'm left practically exhausted after speaking with yet another amazing individual from one of the numerous scenes we try to follow and this week was no exception.

This time we're talking with illustrator Livio Ramondelli. A graduate of the Academy of Art University, Livio has some impressive credits to his name such as IDW's "Transformers", Legendary Comics' "Pacific Rim", and designs for Niantic Labs (Ingress, Pokemon GO). A quick peek at his website will show you that Livio has some unbelievable talent when it comes to both digital and traditional art and now you get the chance to hear two wannabes with minimal artistic talent try to keep up with a master of turning boxes into robots.

Plus we talk about Hot Toys, Sketch Prices, and a mutual appreciation for Tom Franck's Robot Collection. A little something for everyone this week.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

This coming weekend is the Five Points Festival down at the Brooklyn Expo Center in New York City. Last year we missed out on Five Points and didn't realize what we could have had until it was too late. Now that time has passed and we're a bit older and somewhat wiser the Festival is here again and we're not looking to make the same mistake twice.

At least Alex isn't. Because in just a matter of days he and our great pal Jon are going to be traveling to the city to take part in the 2nd Five Points Festival so they can see the sights, gawk at some art, and probably spend too much money. In other words they're looking to experience a great convention.

In anticipation of the show we were fortunate enough to have a quick chat with two of the people who make it all possible: Sarah Booz and Josh Kimberg. Despite the fact that they have a show literally hours from now, they managed to make some time for a few dummies looking to ask them some questions.

Check out the site HERE and if your interested is piqued there's still time to get your behind to NYC. Tune in next week (or maybe the week after?) ...soon. Tune in soon for our recap and follow our Instagram so you don't miss out on any snaps from the show.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Our guest this week is Matt Ryan of Free Lunch Studios and as you'll soon find out this man is the definition of the awful expression "rise and grind". It first came up a few weeks ago after our Free Comic Book Day excursion when Alex and I fully realized how hard Matt actively works to promote his product and interact with his fans. Coming from two guys who get exhausted recording a podcast for literally one hour of the 168 hour week we can't help but respect the amount of time and effort Matt spends day-in and day-out repping his work.

This week Matt was able to carve out a little bit of time on his "easy" Saturday and chat with us about his comics, his work ethic, and a mutual fondness of Conan the Barbarian. Be sure to check out Matt and Free Lunch Studios on all the various social mediums and keep your eye out because you never know when he might pop up at a show near you.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

It's been literally hundreds of episodes since we had the pleasure of talking with Michael Bracco on our show. According to the internet it's been around 1,541 days which I thought would be a neat statistic but in reality it just kind of made me feel old so we'll drop the stats for now and get to the good stuff.

Some people might be a little more familiar with Michael's alter-ego: the legendary Baron Von Sexyful of Super Art Fight. But performing in insane bouts of artistic mayhem doesn't quite fully illustrate the scope of his talents as both an artist and a writer and some would be pleased to hear he's also been producing his own comics such as "NOVO" and "Adam Wreck" for quite some time.

Now, many years and many more episodes later Michael is back and this time he's got a new volume of his webcomic "The Creators" that he's looking to get published and, as of this writing, it's looking like that dream is going to become a reality. Check out the Kickstarter HERE and if you wanted to get caught up with the rest of Michael's work take a look at his website HERE and get your read on.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

I am forever indebted to Brett and Alex. They are two of my closest friends and they have introduced me to more incredible things over the last decade than I could possibly have imagined. Not only that, but then they have the patience to deal with me as I gradually slide down a spiral of fascination and obsession. They really are saints.

2013 was a big year in terms of "Jayare gets obsessed with stuff" as that was the first time Brett and Alex took me with them to a Steampunk show down in New Jersey. It was at this show that I was introduced to a smorgasbord of acts, people, and performances I never knew existed: One of them being the musical powerhouse known as "Frenchy and The Punk".

Described as a "Multi-cultural genre-bending NY Folk Cabaret Duo", Frenchy and The Punk have been traveling and performing around the world since 2005 and have shown no signs of slowing down. In fact, they're currently raising funds to release their latest studio album and are going to be touring the United States with another OMV favorite: The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing. Hop on over to their website for tour dates, merch, and all that other great stuff.

So why am I rambling about Frenchy and The Punk, you ask? Well as it turns out they had a little bit of free time between shows and gave us (along with Brett Kelley) the opportunity to chat with them about their past, present, and future in one of our most anticipated interviews to date.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

It's been a while since we've had one of those real late Saturday night "oh man I hope they didn't forget to make an episode this week" episodes so we figured we were due for one. But this is a late one for good reason:

It's Free Comic Book Day.

And free comic books we did acquire. Then we had to do other adult stuff but that's boring and not relevant. But free comic books were achieved and now we're going to talk about them. If you missed out on FCBD 2018 be sure to mark the first Saturday of May for next year and start planning. Or you can hit up your local comic shop and see if they have anything left over; you never know what you might get your hands on that turns out to be your next obsession.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Today was a good day.

I woke up around 7 in the morning because that's what normal people do on a Saturday, right? Then I went to see Infinity War at 9:45am with Alex because, again, that's what normal people do, right? Then we found a wild Colin, kidnapped him, forced him to eat Red Robin with us, then planted a microphone in front of his face for an hour and half to hear his thoughts on the latest movie in the Marvel Universe.

Then we threw a frisbee around and played some lawn darts.

The only part that's not true is the kidnapping thing. Colin willfully (I think) joined us today but literally everything else in the previous statements are true. Because those are things normal people do. Especially the lawn darts.

Good days are good.

We say it a bunch in the episode but I'm going to put it here, too:

This episode contains massive spoilers for Infinity War.

You've been warned.

-Jr.

This year's PAX recap was a tough one. Not only is it extremely difficult to fit an entire weekend full of the best things in the world into one episode; but we had to do it down a man. Sadly; our brother-in-PAX Colin couldn't make it to the studio as he was in a heated battle with every microphones worst enemy: The Common Cold. Despite the enormous handicap we were able to push on and with Joe's help we managed to put together a hell of a recap full of games, panels, and experiences.

2018 makes it PAX East #5 for us and this year we did things a little differently. Meaning: This year, in addition to the "core group", we also had some new members join in including two people who have never been to a PAX before. Ever. Meaning: We got to introduce rad people to a rad show and damn was it neat.

Former OMV guests Ken and Bob joined in on the fun this year along with a new friend Kevin. Each of them came to PAX because of a shared fondness for gaming but what was really fascinating was the diversity that each person brought to the table. Ken, being our resident fighting game expert, disappeared within minutes because SoulCalibur. Bob couldn't get enough of the Wyrmwood booth and when he wasn't schooling me on live-action D&D knowledge he was shooting some hella rad footage. And Kevin? Kevin is huge into board games and probably walked away from PAX having played more games than anyone. He even threw down some quick words about the weekend. Check it out:

"It was cool as hell. I was amazed at how orderly and accessible it was. The prices (for food and parking) were reasonable and people were super friendly and laid back. The sheer number of games (both board and digital) available to try was daunting but awesome. I was surprised by the number of games I tried (and bought) that had already been released, but I had never seen before. The kickstarter area was a kickass highlight of the event. Hanging out with you guys was an added bonus, but next year I want a bed!" - Kevin B.

Next year, Kevin. You will have a bed.

Until then, check out this week's 'sode as we recap all of our PAX-periences and be sure to check out this year's photo album HERE which also features some contributions from Bob because he's better at taking pictures than me plus he's just a fantastic human being and said we could post them.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

For the second year in a row I managed to actually watch Wrestlemania instead of catch 5 second gifs while my friends live-tweet the event. I still don't really consider myself an avid fan of professional wrestling but I have to admit the big pay-per-views can be hella entertaining sometimes. Even though I am a sucker for the nostalgic and I (unfairly) compare everything new to everything I loved as a child I still find myself getting invested in a match every now and then to the point where a genuine emotional response is then provoked out of my face-hole.

Brings me back to the old days of Brett Hart/Bob Backlund cross-face chicken-wing insanity that caused me to scream at my friend's television for what felt like an eternity.

I definitely thought that was real, btw.

But it wouldn't be a Wrestlemania recap without Matthew James, though. So Matthew James is what we got. Tune in this week for recaps, reactions, and TONS OF SPOILERS from The Greatest Spectacle in Sports Entertainment.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

According to our calculations we've been doing this whole podcasting thing for 6 years now. If you went back in time to 2012 and told us that we'd be 316 episodes deep with 100+ different guests in 2018 we would probably attack you with vicious intent as we're absolutely terrified of time travel paradoxes.

But seriously.

We did a lot of patting-on-the-back recently when we hit episode 300 so I'll try to keep the gloating to a minimum and instead I'll just say thank you. To everyone who tuned in to even a single episode over the years and to all the guests who took the time out of their day to let a couple of doofuses ask them questions. Thank you all.

Here's to another year of casting those sweet, sweet pods.

-Jr.

Flashback to November of 2012. A spry, 26 year-old Jr is getting ready to head out to only the second midnight release of a video game in his life. You see, after getting an Xbox 360 he got addicted to Halo 3. And then Halo: Reach. It was only natural that Halo 4 would also cause massive levels of excitement as well. He's managed to convince his friend who has to work at 7am to spend the night at his place so they can play until they pass out. It would be a night to remember; full of steak dinners, triple kills, and accidental betrayals. It was good.

Never would I have imagined that almost 6 years later I'd have the opportunity to talk with one of the people responsible for creating the game and yet, here we are. Because our guest this week is concept artist Kory Hubbell and he was indeed one of those people.

Working on some of the Halo games isn't his only credit, though. He's currently a Senior Concept Artist for Amazon Game Studios and he also dabbles in art direction for table top games like the about-to-be-funded "Brutality". Check out our chat with Kory as we take a trip into the world of concept design and PvP Medieval Brawler Board Games. It's the perfect opportunity to learn something new such as: how to get a job as a concept artist or how to design the perfect Spartan helmet (just be careful when you mess around with the visors, though...).

Enjoy!

-Jr.

We gotta hand it to the fine folks over at Super Art Fight. We've been bothering various members of their troupe to come on our show for something like 4 years now and every time we've come knocking they've always been willing to chat with us. This time was no exception.

Ross Nover joined us this week and like all the other members of the Art Fight crew he is a person of many talents. Specifically, he's the creator of "The System" webcomic and he also represents one-half of the hosting responsibilities for the live Art Fight bouts. With over 800 individual comics to his name and an encyclopedic knowledge of obscure cultural references we're starting to think that, despite what the t-shirts say, Ross might not suck all that much.

Plus the dude can take a hell of a chop from a professional wrestler. (See: ConnectiCon 2017)

For those heading to PAX East in a few weeks you'll have a great opportunity to meet Ross and some other members of the Art Fight roster as they're making their PAX debut on Friday night. If you can't make it out to Boston don't fret: they also have a Kickstarter going at this very moment so you can bring the Art Fight competition into your own home. It may not be quite as Sexyful as the real thing but it will be a good substitute to hold you over until you can make it out to a live show.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Among his many talents, our pal Joe has a knack for spotting truly remarkable creators while walking the aisles in Artist Alley. And among my many talents, I have a knack for listening to him when he tells me he thinks he found someone I should check out. A prime example of this would be this week's guest Nooligan. During one of our ventures to Boston Comic Con a few years ago Joe pointed me in the direction of Nooligan's table and since then the entire OMV gang has amassed a trove of prints, books, sketches, and pins. I think it's safe to say Joe was right again.

Join us this week as we learn more about the artist behind the name and how he found success with a unique style, a chill mentality, and some Chuck Taylors.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

What happens when you give a man an ungodly amount of money so you can buy the movie rights to his comic book characters?

*sigh*

It seems we're going to find out.

Join us this week as we discuss Netflix's most recent comic-related acquisition: Extreme Studios....

*siiiiiiigh*

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Our guest this week goes by the name of Savage and let me tell you what Savage's deal is:

He makes rad cosplay.

We first met Savage last year at our favorite backyard convention: ConnectiCon. We were all completely blown away by his original Metapod cosplay design and after seeing Savage pop up in photo albums and cosplay videos across the internet it was clear we weren't the only ones.

Fast forward a few months to Katsucon 2018 and look who pops up in the latest Legend of Micah video. Seeing Savage's updated version of his Metapod design was the last straw: we needed to talk to him and get our learn on. Luckily for us he was more than willing to give us a call and join us on the show to talk about cosplay, conventions, and magnets.

Yes, magnets.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

THE Zach Charbs is back in what could easily be described as one of the most anticipated returns in the history of Opinions May Vary. It seems like just a few months ago we were chatting with Zach about our Batfleck thoughts while having extended conversations about Wesley Snipes fighting vampires.

That was 4 years ago.

But we're going to make up for the time lost by talking about two things Zach has an expansive knowledge on: Video games and vinyl records. I also took this week as an opportunity to tell tales of diving through 13 year-old boxes of storage and finding treasures from my childhood that were thought to be lost long ago. Who knew refusing to throw anything out would pay off so handsomely?

Now if you'll excuse me, there's a copy of Star Fox 64 that is just screaming my name.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Usually when we sit down to talk with someone I have a general idea of the questions I want to ask or the points I want to touch on. Obviously not every minute of every episode is planned out (they don't call us the Kings of Tangents for nothing) (also no one calls us that) but inevitably some unplanned topics or questions always tend to come up as we dive in and get talking.

This week, while talking with Amber Dionne about The Society for Creative Anachronism, I think we may have set a record for "Most questions asked that we didn't know we were going to ask". In other words, talking with Amber about the SCA was absolutely fascinating and every topic we discussed birthed an insatiable hunger to learn more about it.

Check out the episode and you'll see what I'm getting at.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

This one is a little long but it's worth it because the SombreBlanco himself is back in the studio and we're talking about games where people punch each other until someone passes out. 

Ken, by the way. Ken is our guest this week. He knows more about fighting games and the fighting game community than I know about anything else so I tend to get a bit excited when I have the opportunity to put a microphone in front of his face. With the new Dragonball game fresh off a hot release and the recent EVO lineup announcements it's safe to say we had plenty to talk about.

And talk we did.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

If there's one lesson I've learned today it's that the Overwatch League is extremely detrimental to my productivity. I guess there's just something about people who are enormously skilled at a videogame that I pretend to be good at with my friends that I find addictive and entertaining. And now there's city-specific teams to root for? With merch? And skins? Come on.

But don't worry. I know you're craving that weekly dose of OMV deliciousness and today we've got a great one for you.

This week we're joined by freelance/comic artist Jonboy Meyers. A 20 year veteran of the comic and design industry, Jonboy's work can be found in various comics like Royals and Teen Titans and video games like Hearthstone and League of Legends. Of course, that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Jonboy's credits; check out his website HERE to see more.

Tune in this week as we sit down with Jonboy and learn about what it takes to make a living in the world of design and illustration.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Usually we make it a few months into the year before we start talking about conventions. With PAX East being one of the earlier shows we can typically hold out until around March/April. This year we made it to January 27th. But this isn't our normal "omg we're so excited for this year's conventions"...instead we're diving into a different part of events that are essential to the operation of any show: The Volunteers.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

I'm a little pressed for time at the moment so you'll have to excuse my brevity but we have a really neat episode for you this week.

With the recent news of Marvel acquiring the rights to the legendary Conan the Barbarian again, we thought it would be fitting to do one thing: Talk about Conan the Barbarian. I consider myself a very lucky man in that my partner in crime happens to be somewhat of an expert on the topic. While I have almost zero knowledge of the character myself; I jumped at the opportunity to sit down and ask Alex all about the Barbarian king/pirate/destroyer/adventurer etc and in the span of a few hours I learned more than I could have possibly imagined about Robert Howard, Cimmerians, and Vincent D'Onofrio. And it was good.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

By Alex

“Why would you want to talk to me?” said this weeks guest when I asked him about joining us for an episode. 

Because he gets to hang around some of the coolest and biggest names in the comicbook industry, travels to 20 or so conventions a year while dealing with event organizers, has amazing art pass through his hands on a regular basis, has been able to make a business for himself, facilitates fans getting work from some of their favorite artists and I’m sure there’s a few more things.  

Jason Schachter is an artist agent and creator/owner of Essential Sequential. It’s possible you’ve seen a row of purple banners at some major conventions attached to names like Tim Sale, Klaus Janson, Cary Nord, Eric Canete, Dave Johnson, Matteo Scalera and others. You can thank Jason for that.

I pitched being a guest for an episode to Jason back at NYCC 2017 and thankfully convinced him to find time to make us jealous with stories of having dinner with Frank Miller among other fun tidbits.  We enjoy talking with the people that work to pull the strings and make the show happen as much as we do the stars of the show, and I was curious to know what goes into working as an agent for his talented group.

You can find Essential Sequential on Facebook and their website https://www.essentialsequential.com/

(also I’m in the middle of a cold so please excuse my coughing which Jayare had to try and mute throughout the episode)

As all of us up here in New England attempt to recover from the most recent snow storm we noticed that our dear pal Charlie and his gang over at Sketchprices recently eclipsed the 10,000 member mark. We saw this as cause for celebration because that's about 33 times more fans than we have and let's face it: Charlie is just a great guy and we're always looking for excuses to talk to him.

It seems like only yesterday when we happened upon the original Sketchprices website, marveling at its simplistic beauty. Delighted to find that there were indeed other people out there devoted to the idea of "Hey....how much does this artist usually charge?". Now we're happy to know there are at least 10,000 other people out there who also share that line of thinking and by the look of things that number is only going to keep increasing.

Which is great because it gives us more excuses to bother Charlie with return appearances.

Click the link above to check out the page if you haven't already. And depending on when you're reading this you might still have some time to enter their upcoming raffle supporting the Hero Initiative.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

I'm struggling to think of a proper adjective to describe 2017. It was um....yup.

It was.

This week we're recapping some of our favorite (and a few of our not so favorite) things from 2017. I did manage to come up with some of my favorite moments and happenings but I also had the strange realization that I spent 2017 doing a lot of nothing. And man is that a bummer. But it's also a bit of a blessing in disguise because while I'm not normally a "resolution" type of person...it's giving me a good excuse to come up with one. 

I'm still working on the final wording of it but it'll be something along the lines of "Do more stuff". Or "Be a better nerd". You get the idea. The time for being a lazy adult doing only adult things has passed. Next year the time has come to do more stuff.

Until next year,

-Jr.

True story: One time I tried to do a backflip on a trampoline. At the time, I had about 3 hours of total experience on a trampoline so I was feeling pretty good about myself and my abilities. I mean, it's a trampoline. How hard could it be?

Well.

If we're being honest here I'm pretty sure I came close to paralyzing myself that day. Last I knew, you're not supposed to land on your neck when attempting a backflip. And it turns out trampolines aren't giant pillows, either. Like I said, that's a true story. Joe was there. You can ask him about the horrifying noises that came out of my mouth after folding myself in half during my backflip attempt. Life has a funny way of teaching lessons.

So anyway, this week we're joined by our friend and performer Joshua Williams who, unlike me, can do backflips and he doesn't even need a trampoline. You see, Joshua specializes in gymnastics, parkour, tumbling and freerunning. He uses these skills not only to compete and better himself but he also had the opportunity to travel on tour with the Marvel Universe Live show and per our usual routine: we jumped at the chance to chat with Josh about his talents and experiences because they are much cooler than our own.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

-Jr.

Well as you may have guessed by the title it seems we've done this whole podcasting thing 300 times now. *Insert joke about Spartans here.* We spent the majority of the episode getting quizzed by our pal Dave to see how much knowledge about our own show we've actually managed to maintain. Spoilers: A lot has happened over the last 5 1/2 years. And we are old. Please don't judge us.

I don't have a whole lot to say this week that wasn't already said in the episode so I think I'm going to celebrate our third centennial by taking it easy and just saying thanks. To anyone who has tuned in to an episode, clicked around on our website, or even just liked a photo on Facebook we send out our most sincere Thank You. Your support and willingness to put our voices into your ears is much appreciated.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

As the monumental 300th episode looms in our near future we thought it might be fitting to throw together a compilation of "Best-Of" moments that didn't quite make it into the anniversary montage earlier this year. So while I spent the day shoveling snow out of my driveway and trying to force ideas for Christmas presents into my brain, Alex spent the day splicing together this week's jam into what we're calling The Best-Of B-Sides.

This one is pretty neat because, like you, I have absolutely no idea what this episode is going to contain. You might be thinking "hey man you're not going to quality check it before uploading to make sure Alex didn't cut together a humiliating montage of the stupidest things you've said over the past year?" And the answer is no. At the end of the day my faith and trust in my podcasting partner knows no bounds. In 5 years the man has never let me down or done me wrong so when it comes to Episode 299....there's no hesitation from me at all.

It's either that or I'm just really lazy.

He wouldn't do that though...right?

-Jr.

We're approaching 6 years of doing this thing in a few months and we still don't have a concrete mission statement. Mission statements are usually important, right? Do podcasts need mission statements? Who knows. The point is; we don't have one. We've done 5 minute brainstorms in the past but at the end of the day our goal is to talk to interesting people and show you neat things. It's not perfect and it sounds like something a 5 year old would write but ultimately it's what we aim to do.

This week's guest is no exception as we were joined by Toni aka The MadEtcha. If you've ever checked out any of our Steampunk World's Fair reviews then you've definitely heard us mention MadEtcha and her incredible glass etchings before. Her work has a "you have to see it to believe it" quality. Every time I've tried to describe one of her pieces my description never really compares to the quality of the actual work. So, I guess it's my responsibility to drag all of my friends to Jersey to check out her booth.

Should be easy enough.

Anyway, you can check out Toni's work HERE or stop by her booth at the Wicked Faire early next year or the World's Fair in May!

Enjoy!

-Jr.

After doing the whole convention thing for some time now we've kind of nailed down a method to how we cover a show. It might not necessarily be the "right" way of doing it but we've always tried to bring you content and coverage that the everyday con-goer would want to hear about. I think we've done a decent job so far but I never really took the time to consider what might happen if our process had a monkey wrench thrown in it. Sure, there have been hiccups here and there. My camera died at PAX East last year. Alex has bowed out of shows with Colin and Joe filling in for him. But at the end of the day we're still able to get great content and put together with concise recaps for you.

But what about something major? Like covering a show by myself. In a city I've never been to. At a show that, up until last weekend, had never happened before. That's a bit more than a hiccup. And it caused me to change the way I approach covering shows on the fly and to be quite honest: It was tough. I never realized just how much I leaned on my cohorts for support when we talk with developers and test out new games. To be at a show in a foreign place without the guys by my side was a shock to the system to say the least. But, with the non-stop support of my amazing wife (who got to attend her first con!) I was able to remember a few things about the show and even put together a photo album which you can check out HERE.

Hopefully my ramblings this week will give you a good impression of what you can expect to find at any future Unplugged shows. Despite being outside of my comfort zone for the better part of a weekend I'd be lying through my teeth if I said I wasn't already thinking about next year's show. Luckily, there's only 131 days until PAX East. Let's keep the countdown going, shall we?

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Seeing as I have to be up to make the drive to Pennsylvania for PAX Unplugged in about 7 hours and the title of this episode pretty much speaks for itself....I'm going to keep this brief and stick to the facts:

• Colin joined us this week.
• We talked about the latest season of Stranger Things.
• This episode is EXTREMELY spoiler heavy.
• No, seriously. Massive Stranger Things spoilers in here.
• If you have any interest in Stranger Things but haven't watched it yet...maybe come back to this one later.
• Some of us have a newfound love of Sean Astin.

Just cold, hard facts.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Remember last week when I went on a big "yeah there's no more spooky stuff this year" rant?

Turns out I'm an idiot and we actually have a little more spooky stuff for you because this week Alex sat down with Dave Richard, the Creative Director behind the hit survival game "Dead by Daylight"! We've talked about Dead by Daylight at length in the past having been introduced to it at PAX East before we were finally able to get our hands on our own copy and needless to say we're hooked. What we thought was just a fun game of cat and mouse turned out to be an intricately designed and terrifying game of survival that keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time you're playing.

Huge thanks to Dave and the Dead by Daylight crew for giving us some time out of their busy schedule to talk about their game. I think it goes without saying that we can't wait to see what they come out with next.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

This week we're back to our regularly scheduled programming as Alex and I dive into the recesses of our brains to discuss those certain things that we hold dear to our hearts regardless of their quality or current status in the popular "meta". You know, that one movie that you loved as a kid and will still watch to this day even though all your friends say it sucks. Or that videogame that your siblings despised that will never leave your collection despite not having the necessary console to play it anymore.

Those things. Those beautiful, nostalgic things that we hold blind allegiances to because they mean something to us. That's what we're talking about this week. And it is good.

-Jr.

Just in case you didn't hear enough of us this week we're back with another episode diving right into the heart of the spooky. When we heard OMV Legend Jon was going to be heading back from his trip out to the west coast we decided it would be just plain irresponsible to not have him on. Yes folks, you read that right: The Duke of Spoop himself has made his return to the Nutmeg state to tell us tales of ghosts, hauntings, and the supernatural.

Now let's all just take a second and drink in how fantastic "The Duke of Spoop" is because if you asked me I think it belongs on a t-shirt. A t-shirt that only Jon is allowed to wear and only when he's recording podcast episodes with us. Then we'll auction it off in like 30 years for an obscene amount of money only to find out that we actually auctioned it to Jon and he was playing us the whole time. It's always the person you'd least expect....That Jon. Always the swindler, he was.

Classic.

Brb. I need to make a t-shirt now.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

The title to this episode will make little or almost no sense unless you tune in. And even then it still might escape you. In all honesty I'm having some regrets over the title and I'm starting to get pretty self conscious about it. How about we just move on?

I think I've managed to say "It's not Halloween without _______" at least once per episode this month. But seriously, it's not Halloween until the mastermind behind Decimated Designs Kyle Pasciutti sits in front of our microphone. Kyle has gained a bit of a reputation with his episodes as he always brings someone different with him to talk about various spooky things and this time was no exception. Joining Kyle in his haunting return were his pals Joe and Ricky. With the three of them all being veterans of various haunts and attractions (One of them having even competed in a season of Face Off) it's safe to say the levels of spooky were pretty off the charts this week.

Doesn't get much better than that.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

October 2017. Week 2. The air is *finally* starting to cool. The leaves are changing color. Everything smells and tastes like pumpkin. Halloween is approaching.

Let the spooky-ness continue!

This week we're joined by Monique and Peter of the Exit 7 Players to talk about the upcoming Addams Family Musical in Ludlow, MA. It's not every day you get Morticia and Gomez Addams in your studio to talk musicals so obviously we jumped at the chance to make it happen. If you're in the area, you like to support local theater, or if listening to Monique and Peter convinced you that you ABSOLUTELY NEED TO SEE THIS SHOW then you can click HERE and snag some tickets.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

It is officially October and despite the New England weather being uncharacteristically warm for this time of the year the fact that it's October means one thing:

It's time to get spooky.

It has become tradition to spend most, if not all, of the month of October talking about spooky and scary things with a vast collection of spooky and scary guests and this year is no exception. To help us kick off the festivities this week we were joined by haunters Bobby and Dave. They're the masterminds behind the production company "Evidence of Evil" and they specialize in some of our favorite things: scaring people with haunted attractions and coming up with new, creative ways to scare people at haunted attractions. Like Zombie Lazer Tag (awesome) or their latest creation that combines elements of escape rooms and haunted houses (really awesome) called The Chamber.

Check out our chat with Bobby and Dave to learn more and find out where you can experience these new ways to get the living daylights scared out of you.

Until next week,

-Jr.

I'm struggling a bit with the write up for this episode. You see, when you start out talking about t-shirts, then move to robots, then slide into New York Comic Con discussion it can be a bit difficult to think of smooth transitions. So at this point I guess I'm just going to keep it simple and let you know that if you wanted to hear about t-shirts, robots, or NYCC this week....you're in for a treat because you just won the jackpot for "The Most Random Lottery in the World".

Congratulations! Your prize is, um....this podcast episode.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

I'm going to start off with a quick warning as this episode contains some pretty major SPOILERS for a couple different things like Attack on Titan and Yuri on Ice. Either skip ahead to around the halfway mark or get yourself caught up before listening otherwise you might have a bad time. And we don't want you to have a bad time.

Now on to the fun stuff.

Megan, our favorite niece, is back in studio this week as she and Alex, our favorite uncle, recently returned home from a day trip to the local Camp Anime event that's run by our local comic shop, Matt's Sports Cards and Comics. With this being Megan's first time attending Camp Anime we were anxious to hear about her experiences at a show that, at least to my knowledge, doesn't really have an equal. As a veteran of other shows like ConnectiCon, Megan is no stranger to the con scene. But when it comes to a show dedicated to anime that's also run like a summer camp it can be a little difficult to anticipate what exactly you're going to see there. Maybe you'll see someone dressed as your favorite Dragonball Z character practicing their archery? Or maybe you'll see an entire group of Titan Scouts getting together as they prepare to scale the rock wall? Either way if you're into Anime and you're into camp: You're probably going to have a good time.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

In his last free Saturday for the next 6-8 weeks Alex decided to take advantage of the time off and enjoy a beautiful day trip to a local show. Seeing as he's going to be completely surrounded by spooky, scary monsters and zombies for the foreseeable future, he figured what better way to spend the free time than by going to the local...HorrorFest.

I guess some people just can't get enough spooky in their lives.

Join us this week as Alex tells us tales of his trip to the HorrorFest and we determine the best way to greet a fellow co-worker at four o'clock in the morning. Per usual, it's a rich and hearty dose of compelling OMV content.

Is it October yet?

-Jr.

What happens when a bunch of badass women get together, slap on some rollerskates and hold competitions involving some of the greatest nicknames ever created?

Roller derby is what happens. And good lord is it fun.

A few weeks ago Alex and I had the opportunity to make an appearance at the local Western Mass Roller Derby meet as they faced off in an epic rematch against their rivals from Hartford, Connecticut. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hesitant at first due to the fact that A) I'm an old man who doesn't like to be out late and B) I literally have no idea how roller derby works. As with most things I'm hesitant or unsure about it turns out I was being a moron and not only did I end up having a great time but now I almost, kind of, maybe understand how roller derby works. Win-win!

Join us this week as Nichele (a bonafide member of the Western Mass Roller Derby team) and Dave (a bonafide badass who killed me when I was Hitler in Secret Hitler that one time) stop by the studio and enlighten us with tales of skates, elbows, and flat-track hardwood floors.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Bob and Jared are two of my favorite people on this planet because not only are they both hilarious human beings who have a natural talent for making people laugh but they're also just good f***ing dudes. Like, the best dudes. The pinnacle of dude. So when the opportunity arises to have the both of them on the show we kind of jump at it with little-to-no shame at all. I wouldn't necessarily say we beg them but to say we've debated cash bribes wouldn't be completely out of the question. Kidding, of course. (mostly)

Luckily they humor us and seem almost willing to come on the show with minor resistance. That's a win-win situation if I ever saw one.

So join us this week as The Dead Henchmen themselves are both back in the studio so we can talk about movies, making movies, and the people that excel at making movies. Maybe once you're done listening you can check out the movies they've made and maybe support them in the upcoming Fantastic Fest competition? Because seriously. They're some good dudes. And supporting good dudes is just a nice thing to do.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Tonight Alex and I are going to be making an appearance at the Western Massachusetts Roller Derby bout sharing a table with our partner in crime, the Art Mercenary himself Mr. Brett Kelley. Meanwhile, Conor McGregor is going to be fighting Floyd Mayweather in a real-life boxing match. Because this is real life.

There are moments where I wish I could go back in time and tell myself about all the things that are happening in the future to see my own reaction. I bet I'd be able to make myself cry within 3 minutes just based on events that have happened in the last 6 months. But things like tonight? I like to think that I would shake my own hand and assure myself that I made good decisions in the future. A few good decisions, maybe. At least the ones that led to me making an appearance at a local roller derby bout. For sure.

But enough about awkward time travel conversations with myself. We have a rad episode for you this week featuring our friend Carley Winn where we talk about all things Cosplay and Conventions. Be sure to check out her work HERE and give her a follow on all of the various social mediums. As always enjoy the episode and thanks for putting us in your ears! 

Until next week.

-Jr.

The Boston Comic Con (or Fan Expo Boston?) was this past weekend and for the first time in 3 years we were finally at full power again. Our time at the BCC is always a positive experience but as we get older and our schedules line up less and less it can be difficult to get the whole metaphorical "gang" together at the same time for more than a few hours. And let's face it: When we can get the whole group together that "positive experience" turns into an amazing experience that legitimately resonates for weeks after it's over. Sadly the past couple years one or two of us couldn't make the trip due to schedule conflicts and while we still manage to enjoy the show there's definitely a noticeable void left by our missing crew member. But this year? The stars aligned. The schedules were free. And it was good.

In fact, it was more than good. Because not only did the Core 5 manage to sync up once again, but we had a 6th member join us on our annual trip to our favorite city to the north. Someone who had to fly over an entire ocean to get here. Someone who, despite having met some of us only hours beforehand fit right into the group with almost no effort at all and even though it was her first comic con ever she handled it like a damn champ and is already looking for more.

Tune in this week as we're joined by the lovely Sinéad Spelman as we recap our experiences from this past weekend at the Boston Comic Con!

Enjoy!

-Jr.

"Hey man, did you see that?"

A common phrase muttered among us and our friends when we make the annual excursion out to the bay for the Boston Comic Con. With all of the incredible talent literally lined up in front of us every year, ensuring your friends witness that amazing thing you saw a minute ago is a top priority.

Last year, a prime example of "Hey man, did you see that?" was LA based artist Kris Kehasukjaren aka Kehasuk. His use of color and detail combined with his ability to tell a detailed story within a single image had all of us blown away. A quick visit to his website will show you exactly what I'm talking about as both fans of Japanese animation and nostalgic characters should have no trouble finding a piece they can relate to.

After having the opportunity to meet him last year at BCC and spending the better part of the ensuing months admiring his work on Instagram, Kris was kind enough to join us this week so we could dive a bit deeper into his creative process and get to know the man behind the works of Kehasuk. Check out his website linked above, find him on Instagram and keep your eyes peeled for those 24 hour sales; outside of catching Kris at a show it's the best chance you'll have to snag a piece of his work.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

If we're being honest here; I honestly thought Pokemon GO would have a shelf life of 4-5 months at absolute maximum before everyone would get bored and move on. I was kind of right. If I were to count how many people I knew still playing at the beginning of this year I could probably fit them on one hand. I figured it was done for.

Then.

It kinda came back. Screenshots of new Pokemon suddenly began appearing in my Twitter feed and before I knew it people were back on the grind, wandering the streets trying to hunt down those rascally pocket monsters. Sure, it didn't have the massive boom of success that it saw last summer. But make no mistake: people were playing again and they were excited about it.

So what happens when you get 20,000 of those excited people together in one place all to play the same game at the same time? You get Pokemon GO-Fest. And if you're thinking "Wow. 20,000 people all in the same location playing the same game that requires a mobile connection...that must've been tough to pull off!" You would be correct.

This week: we discuss the massive challenge of trying to run an event based solely on a mobile game and we review a heart-pounding multiplayer game with a single objective: Survive.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Alright, I have managed to stop playing Splatoon 2 long enough to attempt to get this uploaded. I finally hit level 10 so now I can enter the competitive server and find out just how bad I truly am. It should be a great time. Can't wait.

But seriously enough about videogames featuring squid-kids making each other explode with toxic ink-guns. It's time get down to business: meaning it's time to talk about Dungeons & Dragons, of course. You see, a few months back when Jeff Kalles was kind enough to make a return appearance in our PAX Logistics episode he alluded to some mysterious announcements that were coming our way. Of course later we come to find that the creative minds behind Acquisitions Incorporated were starting a new franchise and their adventures were going to be live-streamed on a weekly basis. That franchise, an tight-knit cast of creators, would come together to be known as The "C" Team.

Now, in order for the "C" Team to exist there has to be someone behind the scenes prepping the table, pushing the buttons, and putting everything together every week so we can get our hearty helping of role playing entertainment. That someone is Elyssa Grant. Project Manager and Producer at Penny Arcade and former producer at Wizards of the Coast, Elyssa sat down with us this week to give us a behind-the-scenes look at The "C" Team and all the fantasy that goes with it.

Be sure to check out The "C" Team streaming live every Thursday at 3:30pm Pacific, 6:30pm Eastern on the Hyper RPG Twitch channel. It's always a blast and you never know who might show up next...

-Jr

Before we get into this week's jam I just wanted to apologize ahead of time to anyone who happens to go back into our archive and check out our previous posts that may have featured an image or two. The posts weren't too common but they're definitely out there; mostly on our convention recap episodes. If you were to go view them now instead of seeing the beautiful images we were attempting to show you you're now going to see a rad Photobucket error image that will let you know we're not paying customers. For those unaware, Photobucket made some interesting changes to their terms of service recently and now they don't allow for 3rd party hosting unless you pay an annual fee of $399.99.

Fantastic.

At this point I can't tell if I'm too bummed out, too lazy, or just to stubborn to go back and re-host all the images we've posted in past episodes so for now we'll just say that we're going to leave the images as they are in a lame attempt at a peaceful protest.

Yeah, we'll go with that.

Anyways. We have an episode to get to. Long time listeners and fans of our Vintage OMV episodes will probably dig what we have for you this week. We had a lot of different things to talk about ranging from zombies, to comic con, to award ceremonies and we made sure to cover them all. Except the Justice League trailer that dropped 5 minutes before we started recording. There's a lot there and frankly I'm still trying to process all of it so it's probably best that we just leave it alone for now...

-Jr.

I'm going to risk coming off as a total baby with first world problems here but sometimes recapping a show can be a huge bummer. Now stay with me, I'll get to the point in a minute.

Colin is in studio with us this week to help recap our annual excursion to our state capital in which we experience the show that is ConnectiCon. And like I said a moment ago: I'm kinda bummed. Not because I didn't enjoy the show, not because anything bad happened or I didn't have a good time. I'm bummed because it's over. When doing these recaps it's essentially spending a night with my best friends talking about how much fun we had a few days ago with the harsh realization that we have over 360 days until the next one. This year was especially tough because compared to past years, my time was very limited. I had to attempt to cram everything I wanted to see into just over a day and it proved both difficult and exhausting. But totally worth it.

Anywho. Enough complaining. Alex, Colin and I had the honor of attending ConnectiCon for the 5th consecutive year and now it is our duty to tell you about it. Be sure to check out our photo album HERE, toss some likes around, and tag any friends that you might recognize. If you dig our show recaps be on the lookout for more in the coming months. Next Stop: Boston!

-Jr.

For those attending ConnectiCon this weekend (and by this weekend we mean tomorrow...possibly tonight if you're at the Nerd Prom) we put together a nice little preview to get your excitement juices flowing. And don't worry; I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "wow, was "excitement juices" really the best description to use there?" and the answer is: No. Probably not. But, if you're like me and have to spend most of the day stuck at work before you can enjoy a weekend of fun and entertainment than this week's episode should at least help get you mentally prepped for the multi-genre juggernaut known as ConnectiCon. Plus, if you haven't already you can check out last week's episode featuring artist and ConnectiCon 2017 guest Brent Peeples. Rad, right?

Also this week we take a metaphorical dive into the world of comic book backissues and dollar-bin finds. You'd be hard pressed to find any comic collector who hasn't at least casually sifted through a longbox of beat up backissues and everyone has their own unique goals and experiences when traveling into the world of comics past. Are you the type of collector looking for the last key issues to complete your full run of your favorite series? Or maybe you're just hunting through the stacks to find that one grail issue that's evaded your grasp for all these years. The best part is that no matter your goals or intentions there really is no wrong way to go about it. Buy what you like, maybe experiment a little, and have some fun.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

ConnectiCon is but a week away and while diverting my attention from the upcoming Summer Games Done Quick marathon is going to be a difficult task I'm still pumped for our yearly adventure to the best convention that's less than 10 miles away.

The multi-genre show known as ConnectiCon is a strange beast. Most of the shows we go to are fairly easy to describe. Some shows are good for comics, some shows are good for games, other shows are good for multimedia entertainment. ConnectiCon is kind of....everything? If there was one consistent criticism we've voiced about the show in the past it would be "needs more comics". But we get it. It's not your everyday comic con and that's cool. We've come to understand when we head to ConnectiCon there's not a huge chance we'll be walking out with pages of original art, signed books, and sketches.

Then we saw that comic artist Brent Peeples is one of the featured guests attending the show this year so naturally we jumped at the chance to have him on as kind of a "let's get excited about ConnectiCon by chatting with someone who has talent that is also going to be at ConnectiCon" and being the rad dude that he is, Brent obliged.

So join us this week for our exclusive chat with Brent and officially kick off the hype train for ConnectiCon 2017!

(I hate that I just used the term "Hype Train".)

-Jr.

While wandering the halls of The Seampunk World's Fair vendor shops every so often you come across a room that you know is going to be a problem. What type of problem is up for debate. Some might see wanting to spend hundreds of dollars and buying up the contents of an entire shop as a bad problem. Others might see a room brimming with quality creations that make choosing their favorite a near impossible task to be the best kind of problem.

Or it could be a little bit of both.

Enter Dellamorte & Co. Long-time vendors at the World's Fair the crew from Dellamorte & Co. specialize in decorative and functional art. Meaning: They make beautiful pieces that do more than just sit there on your shelf. Most of the products they create are things you can actually use in addition to admiring their quality. Need to decorate your Christmas tree but you have an affinity for Plague Doctors? Yup. Need some candlestick holders that also display your love of Kraken tentacles? Double yup. Or maybe you're just in need of a good old fashioned bottle opener shaped like Thor's hammer.

Yup. Dellamorte & Co. has got you covered.

Join us this week while we chat with Ray, a resin caster with Dellamorte & Co who was kind enough to give us a glimpse into the world of the Curators of the Reliquary Macabre. Oh, and survive a mid-episode power outage without even missing a beat.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

It's no secret that Wonder Woman is here and she is here to stay. As of this writing the critically acclaimed, amazonian ass-kicking blockbuster is estimated to hit $550 million dollars within the next 24 hours.

The movie came out 13 days ago.

13 days. Almost $550 million dollars.

Now, for those expecting the typical episode where Alex and I weigh in on the phenom that is Diana of Themyscira, diving into the good, the bad, and the fantastic all the while proclaiming how "rad, just super rad" it was until our faces turn blue.....you might be in for a bit of a surprise. Not that we didn't think it was great. I'm pretty sure we both agree it was a damn good flick; but this week you're not going to hear our thoughts, opinions, or criticisms. In fact you're not going to hear us at all.

You're going to hear Kt. You're going to hear Vicky. And you're going to hear Nichele. Three very good friends of OMV, three unique women all from different backgrounds, three people that we met at totally different points of our lives and this week they've done us the honor of taking over the show so they could talk about that Wonderful Woman.

If you're interested in learning more about this week's hosts be sure to click on their names above. Those links will take you to their respective pages where you can check out and support their work.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've been dying to go listen to the latest episode of my podcast.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

So I missed out.

Shortly after the Steampunk World's Fair there was another show in the nearby area called The Watch City Steampunk Festival. I was tired. I was steampunk'd out. And I needed my beauty rest. I also had to mow the lawn but that's beside the point.

The point is despite having engaged in a weekend of Steampunk just one week beforehand, Alex was able to make it out to Watch City and enjoy all the sights and sounds Waltham, Massachusetts had to offer. One of those sights being a humble art booth by the name of The Corey Press. After his initial pass Alex was intrigued. After his second pass Alex was interested. Should a third pass have happened I think Alex would have been indebted. In the end it's probably best I wasn't there because A.) Pressuring your friends to buy things at shows is one of my favorite past times and B.) I think I also would have gone broke myself.

Still better than mowing the lawn, though.

At this point I doubt I have to say much more but for the sake of tradition: the creative mind behind The Corey Press, an artist and merchant named Drew, joined us this week for a rousing game of "how do you do the thing you do and why do you do that thing?"

And it was good.

-Jr.

Now that I'm the Guess Who champion I can focus on other important matters such as providing you with your weekly dose of podcast entertainment featuring one of our greatest pals Jon.

This one was a bit bittersweet as it could be a while before we have Jon back on the show live and in person as he is making the trek out west to see what California is like. Seeing as we have a growing list of friends on that coast we told Jon that he is to ensure that he gives our regards to each and every one of them. A reasonable request, is it not?

But seriously, though. Last time Jon joined us we talked at length about figures both of the action kind and the collectible kind. Today, Jon brought over some pieces of his personal collection once the three 30 year old men decided to stop playing with toys we got down to it and discussed the important issue at hand: Collectibles and collecting said collectibles. With some tangents.

Some of you might be thinking "you know that's great and collectibles are super rad and this is the best episode of OMV I've ever heard...but what if I wanted to also hear a good podcast about video games?" Well, my friend. You are in luck. Our friends and multiple-time OMV guests Colin, Zach, and Ken have joined forces to form the Local Co-op Podcast and they have officially kicked off with their first episode. Click that link to check them out and be sure to throw some love their way as I'm sure it's only a matter of time before we convince one or all off them to come back on and hype it up themselves. 

That's all I got for this week. Be sure to check out the episode and join us in wishing Jon the very best of luck on his trip out west.

Until next time,

-Jr.

Besides making rad films and being an all-around great person our pal Jared Skolnick has a knack for generating discussion. Every so often he'll post a simple question (usually focused on cinema) that prompts friends and followers to respond with their respective choices. Something along the lines of "Best soundtrack to accompany a fight scene" will garner dozens of responses, video clips, and side conversations and in a world full of people always yelling at each other on the internet, it's a fantastic relief.

A few weeks ago Jared posted the following statement:

See what I mean? Simple. It's not even a question but it's something that you immediately want to dive into and figure out. A 16 word sentence resulted in an episode almost an hour and a half long. That's longer than some of our multi-day convention review episodes. So yeah, like I said: Jared has a knack for generating discussion.

We're just lucky enough to have a way to record it.

-Jr.

Alright, I suppose I can stop reading Saga long enough to get this uploaded.

Last night Colin made a last minute appearance after flying home from a stay in Ireland so Alex and I could grill him on the differences in nerd culture between two lands that have a massive body of water between them and it was fascinating.

Afterwards Colin and Alex engaged in some intense games of Alex's customized version of "Guess Who?". In what can only be described as a madhouse of intense competitive children's gameplay only one man was able to come out with the victory. In case you were wondering: It was livestreamed on our Facebook page and the video is somewhere up there for you to check out.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

It has come and it has gone. Last weekend Brett, Alex and I made our yearly venture down to New Jersey for the 2017 Steampunk World's Fair and, as usual, it was fantastic.

Sitting here a week after the show, having returned back to the real world and going to work all week I still find myself reliving different moments and humming tunes that have been stuck in my head for days now. It's not easy to describe the World's Fair to someone who has never been before and most of the time I just tell my friends they have to go. The just need to go and experience it for themselves. For those that don't have the opportunity to do so, I like to think our recaps do a decent job of immersing people into the SPWF experience but really it's like the old saying goes:

You have to see it to believe it.

Check out this week's episode for our recap and click HERE for some pictures that we snapped.

-Jr.

So there was this time when we were on our way to the Steampunk World's Fair and I realized I forgot to upload the most recent episode so we had to turn around and head back to my house so I could keep our streak going.

That time was right now.

Brett and Alex are literally standing in front of me waiting for this to finish uploading and it's great.

Anyway, tomorrow is free comic book day. Go get some comics.

We are off to the Fair. Expect lots of talk about the Fair in the coming days.

-Jr.

BREAKING: Three adults gathered in the same room with microphones in front of their faces in an attempt to bring you a dose of weekly podcast entertainment.

THIS WEEK:

• Comic books
• Videogames
• Controversy
• Ryan Vella
• Seasonal Allergies

NOT NECESSARILY IN THAT ORDER BUT FOR THE MOST PART IT'S IN THAT ORDER.

ENJOY.

-Jr.

In just a few weeks we'll be making the annual journey out to New Jersey for our 5th year attending the Steampunk World's Fair for a weekend of fantasy, music, and discovery. Needless to say: we are excited.

We've spent many hours in the past boasting about all of the new things we've found and people we've met at the Fair. One of them being the ever talented Michelle Greenwood of Greenwood Creations. Michelle is an artist with a specialty in pyrography and to put it bluntly: her work is stunning. We've been big fans of Michelle and her art since we first stumbled into her vendor room at the 2013 World's Fair and we've been visiting her every year since. Join us this week when Alex and I get to learn more about Michelle, her craft, and the subtle art of burning things without setting them on fire.

Check out Michelle's work HERE or in person at the 2017 World's Fair in just a few weeks!

-Jr.

Well, friends.

We're talking about wrestling this week. And when we talk about wrestling that's a pretty good sign our pal Matthew James is making another appearance on the show. Seeing as Wrestlemania happened a few weeks ago and for the first time in 11 years I was able to witness a professional wrestling event on TV we figured it would be the perfect time for Matt to make his glorious return to our microphones.

It has also been over a year since Matt was last on the show and really that's just not acceptable.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

There's a bit of a time limit on this one so I'm trying to get it uploaded ASAP.

Time limit you ask?

Well, maybe click HERE and check out the project that comic book writer Todd Dezago has been working on for the better part of three years. It's enormous and honestly, it's incredible. We were lucky enough to have Todd join us this week so we could get all the info on his latest project "The Mike Wieringo Tellos Tribute" and how dozens of artists all came together to celebrate the life and work of a beloved creator.

Check out our chat with Todd and maybe consider tossing some change at a good cause and get a great book in return. Sounds like a win/win type of deal to me if there ever was one. But like I said earlier: There's a time limit on this one so be sure to get your listen on sooner rather than later.

-Jr.

It seriously feels like we just had Israel Skelton on the show a few weeks ago. But it has definitely been more than a few weeks. In fact it's been more than a few months. It's been 6 months, to be exact. I'll just go ahead and chalk it up to Israel becoming such a good friend of the show that the time between episodes seems to pass that much quicker. Like a podcast wormhole....or something...I'm not sure. This joke is dead. Moving on.

Not only is Israel one of my favorite people to talk to but he's also one of my favorite people to throw money at because he and his crew make, to put it bluntly, super rad stuff. Between Alex and me we own upwards of a dozen collectibles manufactured by The Crew and with all the upcoming product coming out it seems our collections are about to undergo another expansion. An expansion that possibly includes enormous men on top of hamburger containers and head-lopping vikings.

No, seriously. None of that is made up and I'm so happy about it.

-Jr.

It's easy for me to get defensive when it comes to reading negative reviews of PAX. It's my favorite show and it's easily the thing I look forward to the most every year. I'll admit it: I'm biased as hell. And really the negative reviews seem to be few and far between and almost everyone I've talked to said they had yet another year of great times. But there's one thing that I see every now and then that bugs the hell out of me.

"PAX was boring."

I don't get it. I can't help but think "were you at the same PAX I was?" because with everything that's available to you over the course of three days I find it very hard to believe that "boring" is a proper adjective to describe the show. I have a theory, though. It's pretty simple:

People expect PAX to happen to them.

It might come as a shock to some but even at a show as enormous as PAX you might have to get your hands dirty when it comes to finding that next big "thing" you're looking for. I feel like there are people who walk into the show and are disappointed the second they don't have all of their expectations shoved directly into their face and I feel bad because those people are going to have a bad time right from the get-go. I don't want people to have a bad time. I want them to have a good time. So if you ever find yourself bored at a big show filled with all of your favorite types of things here's a simple solution: Grab a program, take a seat, and find something new that seems interesting to you. At the very least it'll give you a goal and something to look forward to. If it wasn't your cup of tea try it again and move on to the next thing. You're bound to find something you dig.

Enough ranting, though. Part 2 of our 2017 PAX East recap is here and while last week we focused on the panels and people this week we're talking about games. We played everything we could get our hands on from console to tabletop and now we're here to tell you all about it. Huge thanks to all the crew and staff of the BCEC and Penny Arcade for putting on yet another great show. Let the countdown until next year begin. Thanks for listening, everyone.

-Jr.

I'm not going to lie here: I have no idea where to start with this one.

Saying the last week has been rough would be putting it lightly. We've talked at length about the post-con depression that some people experience when they get home from a weekend of fantasy and entertainment. It doesn't happen at every show and sometimes it's not a terrible thing to cope with...but this one was tough. Going back to the real world after three days of being with my best friends, in a beautiful city, surrounded by the things we love is borderline torture. But so far I've managed.

It turns out the four of us had a lot to say about PAX so our coverage this year is going to be split up into two neatly organized episodes for you. This week features our thoughts on the panels we saw, the people we met, and the shows we witnessed. We had the pleasure of catching some of the most entertaining and intriguing events this year and I can't wait for you to hear about them.

Check out the photo album HERE and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter so you can stay informed on future updates.

See you next week for part 2 of our PAX East coverage where we focus on one thing and one thing only: Games. You won't want to miss it.

-Jr.

Hey!

So it's time for your yearly dose of nostalgia while we celebrate doing 5 years of a podcast. I'm keeping this super short this week because we're leaving for PAX in less than 10 hours and I have yet to pack/charge/shower/sleep. And all of those things need to be done. Cuz I don't want to have no clothes/kill my batteries/smell bad/fall asleep at the wheel.

Makes sense, right?

Enjoy!

-Jr.

It took an extraordinary amount of willpower to pull myself away from Breath of the Wild tonight. My shiny, new Switch arrived yesterday just as my vacation started in a timing coincidence that could only be described as "really, really awesome". I've only put about 6 hours into BotW so far but those 6 hours have been very good. It's been some time since I've gone adventuring in Hyrule but I'd be hard pressed to find any other fictional world that I always feel so immediately familiar with. The next 8 days of my life should be pretty rad...especially the last 3 of them.

Because PAX East is almost here.

In what could be possibly the most logistically informative hype up episode we've ever done our friend Jeff Kalles from Penny Arcade returned this week so we could partake in one of my favorite pastimes: Talk about PAX.  And who better to talk PAX with than someone who plays a major part in making sure it even continues to exist. If you missed our last chat with Jeff check it out here to learn all about the world of Dungeons & Dragons played in front of a massive live audience.

We're gearing up for our 4th trip out to the BCEC and with every passing year I get even more annoying with my level of excitement. This year in particular is cause for even more excitement than normal because our very own Alex is making his return to the Expo. After taking the last 2 years off we finally wore him down with stories of games, panels, and people to the point where he could resist no longer. This makes me happy. And while the thought of being in Boston in early March near the water might deter some folks from wanting to make the trip for fear of freezing temperatures I, on the other hand, am well aware that I'm going to be spending three days with three of my best friends playing games, watching shows, and meeting people. Absolutely worth it.

Huge thanks to Jeff for carving out time to chat with us during what we assume to be an insanely busy time for him. Be on the lookout for tons of PAX related coverage in the coming weeks and if you're heading to Boston for the show be safe and have fun. And play the games. All of them.

-Jr.

It's around 9pm on a Saturday night. I'm sitting on the couch next to my wife while we watch sea creatures destroy each other to the calming voice of David Attenborough and I'm uploading an episode featuring our best pal Jon where we talked about toys and action figures for the better part of an hour.

Not a bad night if you asked me.

It would probably be a good idea to bust out your nostalgia hats for this one. About 30 minutes in I was itching to go digging around in my storage bins to see what buried treasure I could find. With any luck this episode will have the same effect on you.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

I get called "a DC guy" a lot.

And it makes sense. I've spent much of my comic book reading career touting how much I dig DC and how Marvel books didn't really interest me. I also have the Justice League tattooed into my skin. Like, it's gonna be there forever. And it would be safe to say that probably 85% of my collection is comprised of DC books. So yeah I don't really get upset when people say I'm "a DC guy".

But let's bust out a hypothetical situation here: It's a beautiful Wednesday afternoon and there are new comics on the stands waiting to be purchased. We hit up our local comic shop and start browsing. Once we hit the register, being a DC guy myself you'd probably expect to see a handful of JLA/Green Lantern/Batman books among a few other titles.

But these days?

It would be more like a Green Lantern book, maybe a Justice League book, maybe some Thor because I love Thor......and a variety of Image books. Walking Dead. Invincible. Saga. Black Monday Murders. Sex Criminals. Rat Queens. Morning Glories...to name a few. These days I'm a big fan of Image Comics. And it's not uncommon for me to be walking out of my comic shop with more Image books than Big 2 books combined. And I'm ok with that.

So anyways, what I'm getting at here is Image Comics is in the midst of celebrating their 25th Birthday and we thought that was worth noting as they've provided us with countless hours and pages of entertainment. Check out this week's episode to hear more. Plus we talk about other comics, too.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

As far as I'm concerned any length of time between Brett Kelley appearances is too long. We managed to last 3 months this time but it felt more like 6. Either way. Brett is back this week and we're just really happy about it. The reason for Brett's return this week is pretty simple: He went to a new show called "Glimmerdark" and he's here to tell us about it.

The past couple of years Brett has made the trek down to New Jersey to attend the Wicked Faire. The past couple of years Brett has also provided us with a recap of said Wicked Faire but since it was announced last year that the Wicked Faire would be no more...we were a bit disappointed to say the least.

Luckily it seems the Wicked Faire has been reborn into a new show called Glimmerdark and being the true gentleman that he his Brett once again made the journey to New Jersey to attend and subsequently made the journey into our studio to regale us with his tales of wonder and mystery. And it was good.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Three times I've tried to get this episode uploaded today and three times I've been distracted by various YouTube videos. My current distraction is this incredible cover of Voodoo Child by Stevie Ray Vaughan. I mean seriously.

But anyways. We do have an episode for you this week and it features our friend Alyson aka The Vulgar Seamstress. She's joining us for one simple reason: To talk about anime. It's probably been mentioned many times in the past but when it comes to anime Alex and I are a bit old school. By old school I mean we both own the enormous 8 disc Trigun box set that at one time cost upwards of $200. Alyson, however, has a vast knowledge of anime both new and old and now you have the opportunity to spend the next 70+ minutes listening to her talk about it.

Personally I've watched one actual anime series in the past decade and that's really unacceptable. It's just that thing that I always say I need to experience more of...but then I just kind of forget or willfully ignore it. It takes a lot to get me to actually sit down and watch something to completion. I'm really, really good at starting but never finishing. For example here are some shows that I've started, enjoyed, but have yet to complete: Breaking Bad, Daredevil season 2, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Making a Murderer, and Season 4 of Arrested Development to name a few. Come to think of it, off the top of my head aside from Parks & Recreation I think House of Cards and Stranger Things are the only shows I've been able to actually complete recently. I'd like to think it's because I'm so busy with being productive and doing adult things I just don't have time to finish anything. But in reality its mostly because my nights are taken up with Overwatch and reruns of shows I've already finished.

I guess I just have a hard time with commitment. Or I'm lazy.

Yeah, it's probably the latter.

-Jr.