The Writers Block

A weekly post-con-style roundtable romp with some of the most outspoken (yet still employed) creators in comics. Show biz war stories. State of the comic union. Furious debates over ‘80s televisions shows. Great lobster bisque recipes. Something for everybody.

We have voluntarily self-rated this production as PG-13. Some material may not be suitable for children.

Listen to the preview trailer!

Also available on YouTube if you'd prefer to see everyone's lovely faces!

About The Show

YOUR HOSTS:

DAVID AVALLONE
David has kicked around Hollywood for over thirty years and still has some of his sanity left. In 2014, after a long career spent mostly in indie films, he started writing comics. He's mostly known for writing pulp heroes like VAMPIRELLA, THE SHADOW, DOC SAVAGE, ZORRO and creating kick-ass comic adventures for real world icons BETTIE PAGE and ELVIRA, MISTRESS OF THE DARK. He's particularly proud of his original comics, DRAWING BLOOD and RADICALLY REARRANGED RONIN RAGDOLLS, co-created with some nobody named Kevin (coughTMNTcough) Eastman. He is the second best-dresssed man in comics, which might be a pretty low bar.
Twitter: @DAvallone
Instagram: @DavidAvalloneFreelance
Website: davidavallonefreelance.com
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2EEiRzf
Comixology: https://www.comixology.com/David-Avallone/comics-creator/42762

RYLEND GRANT
Rylend has been a working screenwriter in Hollywood for 15 years, developing film and television projects with folks like JJ Abrams, Ridley Scott, Luc Besson, John Woo, Justin Lin, and F. Gary Gray. He is the Ringo Award-winning creator of comic books like ABERRANT, BANJAX, THE JUMP, and THE PEACEKEEPERS. He is an ordained Soto Zen Buddhist monk in the lineage of Brad Warner and Gudo Nishijima. He once taught Mike Tyson how to meditate.
Twitter: @rylendgrant
Instagram: @rylendgrant
Linktree: linktr.ee/rylendgrant
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3hNfXWY
Comixology: https://www.comixology.com/Rylend-Grant/comics-creator/176093

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Episode Archive

James Aquilone

Episode Number: 72

David (high on cough syrup) and Rylend (severely jet-lagged) sit down with editor-extraordinaire James Aquilone to discuss his latest and greatest Kickstarter anthology, Shakespeare Unleashed... also, SCOTUS can eat a fat one.

Episode download: TWB072.mp3

JAMES AQUILONE
Twitter: @jamesaquilone/@MonstrousBooks
Instagram: @james_aquilone
Website: linktr.ee/jamesaquilone

BACK SHAKESPEARE UNLEASHED ON KICKSTARTER: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/manbomb/shakespeare-unleashed?ref=8syg49

Release Date: July 6, 2022

Run Time: 1:32:39
David Accampo

Episode Number: 71

David and Rylend sit down with writer David Accampo (Wormwood: A Serialized Mystery) for a thematics deep dive and to discuss his new horror anthology series SPECTRAL... and the show quickly and confidently mutates into conversational street fight re: the dos and don’ts of fine prequeling.

Episode download: TWB071.mp3

DAVID ACCAMPO
Twitter: @daccampo
Instagram: @daccampo
Website: davidaccampo.com

BACK SPECTRAL ON KICKSTARTER: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chrisandersoncomics/spectral

BACK SHAKESPEARE UNLEASHED ON KICKSTARTER: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/manbomb/shakespeare-unleashed

Release Date: June 29, 2022

Run Time: 1:36:18
Jordan Hart and Barbra Dillon

Episode Number: 70

David and Rylend sit down with Eisner-nominated Fanbase Press EIC Barbra Dillon and writer Jordan Hart to talk about their collaboration on RIPPLE EFFECTS, a comic series that explores life as a superhero with a disability… and Rylend talks candidly about all of the mildly-evil things he’d do if he somehow lucked into superpowers.

Episode download: TWB070.mp3

JORDAN HART
Twitter: @ripplefxcomic
Instagram: @jordyjordith
Website: www.fanbasepress.ecrater.com/p/39178444/ripple-effects-pre-order

BARBRA DILLON
Twitter: @barbrajdillon
Instagram: @barbrajdillon

FANBASE PRESS
Twitter: @Fanbase_Press
Instagram: @fanbasepress
Website: fanbasepress.com

Release Date: June 15, 2022

Run Time: 1:11:30
Brian Hawkins

Episode Number: 69

David and Rylend have a delightful “career building” chat with writer/editor Brian Hawkins (Aftershock’s THE VINEYARD)… and amid a tense conversational digression re: New York real estate, Rylend makes the rash decision to buy a three bedroom Townhouse in Jersey City that needs a bit too much work.

Episode download: TWB069.mp3

BRIAN HAWKINS
Twitter: @BrianLHawkins
Instagram: @brianhawkinswrites
Website: brianhawkinswrites.com

Release Date: June 8, 2022

Run Time: 1:20:54
Eddie DeAngelini

Episode Number: 68

David and Rylend chat with comic shop owner/cartoonist Eddie DeAngelini (THE COLLECTORS) about the power of Kickstarter and the ever-mutating comic retailer landscape… and the pod evolves (or devolves), eventually, into a cutting disquisition on responsible and affecting film scoring.

Episode download: TWB068.mp3

EDDIE DEANGELINI
Twitter: @DeangeliniEddie
Instagram: @collectorscomic
Website: https://collectorscomic.com

LINK TO THE COLLECTORS KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN: collectorsonkickstarter.com

Release Date: June 1, 2022

Run Time: 1:16:46
Shelly Bond

Episode Number: 67

David and Rylend chat with Hall of Fame editor Shelly Bond about her past at Vertigo and Black Crown and her present running revolutionary Kickstarter campaigns and teaching classes to inspire the next wave of great comic creators… and the broadcast is interrupted briefly when the kindly Armenian Grandmother living next door to David brings over some freshly baked nazook.

Episode download: TWB067.mp3

SHELLY BOND
Twitter: @sxbond
Instagram: @sxbondimprimatur
Website: offregister.press

Release Date: May 25, 2022

Run Time: 1:29:01
Don Walker

Episode Number: 66

David and Rylend do a process deep dive with comic creator Don Walker (AGENT WILD and REAPER CORPS)… and then they get matching, wildly-inappropriate tattoos to celebrate the podcast’s Communicator Awards victory.

Episode download: TWB066.mp3

DON WALKER
Instagram: @don_spaceknight
Website: https://dorkempireink.bigcartel.com

Release Date: May 18, 2022

Run Time: 1:14:16
Soulstream’s Saida Woolf

Episode Number: 65

David and Rylend sit down with 18-year-old wunderkind Saida Woolf, who started writing and drawing Scout Comics’ SOULSTREAM when she was just 15. Many Doogie Howser jokes are made and Rylend and David remember what they were like at 15… slamming Jolt Cola and burning G.I. Joe figures in Rylend’s case… debating which suit to wear to meet Mr. Chekov at the Mall in David’s case.

Episode download: TWB065.mp3

SAIDA WOOLF
Twitter: @saidawoolf
Instagram: @saidawoolf/@soulstreamcomic
Website: saidawoolf.com

Release Date: May 11, 2022

Run Time: 1:12:54
First Book Stories with Adam Rose

Episode Number: 64

David and Rylend sit down with Adam Rose to talk the ins and outs of releasing his first book in comic shops (COROLLARY from Source Point Press)… and Rylend presents David with an exciting new business opportunity he enthusiastically describes as "decidedly NOT a pyramid scheme."

Episode download: TWB064.mp3

ADAM ROSE
Twitter: @adamrose74
Instagram: @shazamcap

CHECK OUT ADAM AT GOLDEN APPLE COMICS ON MAY 7th: https://goldenapplecomics.com/pages/events

CHECK OUT FA SHENG: ORIGINS ON KICKSTARTER: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theadept2/1281297143

Release Date: May 4, 2022

Run Time: 1:23:35
Jess Silvetti and Ethan Kogan

Episode Number: 63

David and Rylend sit down with accomplished filmmakers Jess Silvetti and Ethan Kogan to talk about their first foray into comics, SHOCKHEADED PETER (available now via Kickstarter)… and Ethan and Rylend - who’ve known each other for 20+ years - swap stories about the INSANE 45-minute-long musical they filmed while in college.

Episode download: TWB063.mp3

JESS SILVETTI
Twitter: @Jesilvetti
Instagram: @jess_silvetti
Website: www.jessicasilvetti.com

ETHAN KOGAN
Twitter: @EBKfromLA
Instagram: @EBKfromLA

CHECK OUT THE SHOCKHEADED PETER KICKSTARTER: shockheadedpetercomic.com

Release Date: March 30, 2022

Run Time: 1:17:21
Christie Shinn and Don Nguyen

Episode Number: 62

A catch up session with old friends Christie Shinn (DEMON BITCH) and Don Nguyen (PABLO THE GORILLA) morphs slowly-but-surely into a very serious, poignant, and often quite hilarious chat about representation, censorship, and other hot buttons… and also Klingons, Battlestar, and Clint Eastwood and Sylvester Stallone movies.

Episode download: TWB062.mp3

CHRISTIE SHINN
Twitter: @HoraToraStudios
Instagram: @HoraToraStudios
Website: https://linktr.ee/HoraToraStudios

CHECK OUT THE DEMOMN BITCH KICKSTARTER: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/horatorastudios/demon-bitch-you-all-suck
SUPPORT DEMON BITCH AND OTHER STUPID THINGS: www.Patreon.com/HoraToraStudios
WHERE TO FOLLOW DEMON BITCH: Demon B!tch

DON NGUYEN
Twitter: @nguyeningit
Instagram: @nguyeningit
Website: NguyeningIt.com

Release Date: March 23, 2022

Run Time: 1:40:09
Karate’s Bad Boy Sean Kanan

Episode Number: 61

David and Rylend talk with Emmy-winning writer/producer (STUDIO CITY) Sean Kanan about his journey from actor to best-selling author. Rylend gleefully turns the last 15 minutes of the broadcast into an enthusiastic Karate Kid III deep dive (Kanan played the film’s villain) and he and Sean strike a deal to pitch a Mike Barnes Cobra Kai comic at IDW.

Episode download: TWB061.mp3

SEAN KANAN
Twitter: @seankanan
Instagram: @sean.kanan

CHECK OUT SEAN’S NEW BOOK “WAY OF THE COBRA”: WayOfTheCobra.com

Release Date: March 16, 2022

Run Time: 1:00:54
Skylar Patridge and Rich Douek

Episode Number: 60

David and Rylend talk with Wonder Woman: Trial of the Amazons artist Skylar Patridge and Superman/Wastelanders: Star-Lord writer Rich Douek about making the jump from indie books to Marvel/DC… and Rylend goes on a Charlie Sheen-esque rant about all of the earthworms, gnarly gnarlingtons, and Vatican Assassin Warlocks jealous of his tendency to #win.

Episode download: TWB060.mp3

SKYLAR PATRIDGE
Twitter: @SkyePatridge
Instagram: @SkyePatridge
Website: skylarpatridge.com

RICH DOUEK
Twitter: @rdouek
Instagram: @rdouek
Website: rdouek.com

Release Date: March 9, 2022

Run Time: 1:34:45
David Booher

Episode Number: 59

Avallone and Rylend talk with writer David Booher (CANTO, KILLER QUEENS) about the gut wrenching leap of faith that is quitting your day job and committing to full time creative work. They also touch on pitching, meeting editors, and Rylend’s predilection with punching readers in the face.

Episode download: TWB059.mp3

DAVID M. BOOHER
Twitter: @davidbooher
Instagram: @davidmbooher
Website: https://davidbooher.com

Release Date: March 2, 2022

Run Time: 1:31:49
Jason Inman

Episode Number: 58

David and Rylend talk with writer/podcaster Jason Inman about small screen Walking Dead, big screen Batman, and the unequivocal wonder that is AC/DC. Oh, yeah… and we also touch on Jason’s comic book - SUPER BEST FRIEND - available now via Kickstarter.

CHECK OUT MY SUPER BEST FRIEND ON KICKSTARTER NOW: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jawiin/super-best-friend-1-2-a-superhero-adventure-comic

Episode download: TWB058.mp3

JASON INMAN
Twitter: @jawiin
Instagram: @jawiin
Website: https://solo.to/jasoninman
Geek History Lesson: https://www.geekhistorylesson.com

Release Date: February 23, 2022

Run Time: 53:14
PROJECT MK-ULTRA

Episode Number: 57

David and Rylend talk with cartoonist Stewart Kenneth Moore and writers Brandon Beckner and Scott Sampila about their Clover Press comic book PROJECT MK-ULTRA: SEX, DRUGS and THE CIA… and Avallone finally opens up about the decade he spent as an agency stooge, trading blue jeans and New Coke for state secrets in Moscow Metro stations.

CHECK OUT MK ULTRA VIA THE CLOVER PRESS WEBSITE NOW: https://cloverpress.us/collections/newly-added/products/project-mk-ultra-sex-drugs-the-cia-vol-1

Episode download: TWB057.mp3

STEWART KENNETH MOORE
Twitter: @opipop
Instagram: @booda_von_boodstein
Website: www.stewartkmoore.com

BRANDON BECKNER
Twitter: @parrotpoet1
Instagram: @parrotpoet1
Website: https://www.brandonbeckner.com

SCOTT SAMPILA
Instagram: @sampila
Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1399100/

Release Date: February 16, 2022

Run Time: 1:24:26
Charlie Stickney and Gene Ching

Episode Number: 56

David and Rylend talk with writer Charlie Stickney (WHITE ASH) and action choreographer/KungFuMagazine.com publisher Gene Ching about their collaboration on the Immortal Studios Wuxia comic book epic THE ADEPT… and Avallone briefly considers returning to his ancestral home (Naples, Italy) to take up sculpting.

CHECK OUT THE ADEPT #2 ON KICKSTARTER NOW: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theadept2/the-adept-2

Episode download: TWB056.mp3

GENE CHING
Twitter: @geneching
Website: geneching.wordpress.com

CHARLIE STICKNEY
Twitter: @CharlesStickney
Instagram: @whiteashcomic
Website: https://whiteashcomic.com

Release Date: February 9, 2022

Run Time: 1:09:42
Amanda Deibert, Barbra Dillon, and Richard Fairgray

Episode Number: 55

Back from holiday hiatus with a vengeance, David and Rylend talk with writer Amanda Deibert (Wonder Woman, He-Man), cartoonist Richard Fairgray (BLACK SAND BEACH), and Fanbase Press Honcho Barbra Dillon about the post COVID comic book landscape… and Richard gleefully tells us about the time he maced and threw dog poop on an overly aggressive meathead who refused to wear a mask during a global pandemic.

Episode download: TWB055.mp3

AMANDA DEIBERT
Twitter: @amandadeibert
Instagram: @amandadeibertofficial
Website: amandadeibert.com

RICHARD FAIRGRAY
Twitter: @RichardFairgray
Instagram: @richardfairgrayauthor
Website: richardfairgray.com

BARBRA DILLON
Twitter: @barbrajdillon
Instagram: @barbrajdillon

FANBASE PRESS
Twitter: @fanbase_press
Instagram: @fanbasepress
Website: fanbasepress.com

Release Date: February 2, 2022

Run Time: 1:13:35
Just Us

Episode Number: 54

With a holiday hiatus looming, David and Rylend interview each other, chewing mightily on the influence properties like various Star Treks, Magnum P.I., James Bond, and Jack Reacher have had on their personal lives/creative careers… we’ll leave you to decide which franchise profoundly affected which host.

Episode download: TWB054.mp3

Release Date: November 17, 2021

Run Time: 1:32:36
Shaenon K. Garrity and Andrew Farago

Episode Number: 53

This week, David and Rylend chat with Shaenon K. Garrity and Andrew Farago from the Cartoon Art Museum in San Fransisco about the Gallery’s current happenings and its mission is to ignite imaginations and foster the next generation of visual storytellers… and Rylend shows off pieces from his extensive Beavis and Butthead original animation cel collection while soulfully crooning David Van Driessen’s “Men have feelings, too.”

Episode download: TWB053.mp3

ANDREW FARAGO
Twitter: @andrewfarago
Instagram: @andrewfarago
Website: andrewfarago.com

SHAENON K. GARRITY
Twitter: @shaenongarrity
Instagram: @shaenongarrity
Website: shaenon.com

CARTOON ART MUSEUM: https://www.cartoonart.org/about

Release Date: November 10, 2021

Run Time: 1:31:32
Madeleine Holly-Rosing and Tilly and Susan Bridges

Episode Number: 52

This week, David and Rylend get an audio drama how-to courtesy of Tilly and Susan Bridges (Pendant Productions) and Madeleine Holly-Rosing (Boston Metaphysical Society), the group discusses the advantages of diversifying one’s creative bonds, and Rylend - who was ripped awake at 5am by a Halloween-obsessed 5-year-old - briefly falls asleep on camera.

Episode download: TWB052.mp3

MADELEINE HOLLY-ROSING
Twitter: @MHollyRosing
Instagram: @mcholly1

CHECK OUT THE BOSTON METAPHYSICAL SOCIETY: THE GHOST SHIP AUDIO DRAMA KICKSTARTER: kck.st/3m0MIVo

SUSAN BRIDGES
Twitter: @susanlbridges
Instagram: @susanlbridges
Website: pendantaudio.com
Website: birdguest.com

TILLY BRIDGES
Twitter: @TillyBridges
Website: pendantaudio.com
Website: birdguest.com

Release Date: November 3, 2021

Run Time: 1:17:02
Anthony Pollock and Gary Edwards

Episode Number: 51

This week, David and Rylend chat with Anthony Pollock (EIC at Soda and Telepaths) and Gary Edwards (Editor at Gestalt Comics) about their soon-to-be-kickstarted comic anthology PRODUCING THE END OF THE WORLD… and the group does a deep dive on beard maintenance.

Episode download: TWB051.mp3

CHECK OUT THE “COMIC JABRONI" VARIANT OF THE JUMP 1 & 2: https://thejump2.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders/358061

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO THE FAMILY OF EDWIN OCASIO!

ANTHONY POLLOCK
Twitter: @anthpollock/@SodaTelepaths
Instagram: @anth.pollock
Website: SodaandTelepaths.com

GARY EDWARDS
Twitter: @dingogary
Instagram: @dingogary

Release Date: October 27, 2021

Run Time: 1:30:11
Christie Shinn and Don Nguyen

Episode Number: 50

This week, David and Rylend chat with Christie Shinn (DEMON BITCH) and Don Nguyen (PABLO THE GORILLA) about writing from the artist’s perspective… and the writer/artist’s perspective… also, David tells thinly-veiled Andy Sidaris stories and Rylend talks about the time he was almost forced to do mushrooms and go rock-climbing with Tony Scott.

Episode download: TWB050.mp3

CHECK OUT THE “COMIC JABRONI" VARIANT OF THE JUMP 1 & 2: https://thejump2.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders/358061

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO THE FAMILY OF EDWIN OCASIO!

CHRISTIE SHINN
Twitter: @HoraToraStudios
Instagram: @HoraToraStudios
Website: HoraToraStudios.com

SUPPORT DEMON BITCH AND OTHER STUPID THINGS: Patreon.com/HoraToraStudios
WHERE TO FOLLOW DEMON BITCH: webtoons.com/en/challenge/demon-btch/list?title_no=148964

DON NGUYEN
Twitter: @nguyeningit
Instagram: @nguyeningit
Website: NguyeningIt.com

Release Date: October 20, 2021

Run Time: 1:36:44
Marielle Bouleau and Simon Birks

Episode Number: 49

This week, David and Rylend talk with Marielle Bouleau and Simon Birks from Blue Fox Comics (THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS and THE SHADOWS OVER INNSMOUTH) about building a publishing powerhouse on Kickstarter and all the fun and crazy that goes into running a new campaign most every month... and David and Rylend celebrate the show cracking the top 60 on the Apple visual arts podcast charts by performing a soul-scorching choreographed dance (via zoom, of course) to Benny Mardones’ INTO THE NIGHT.

Episode download: TWB049.mp3

CHECK OUT THE “COMIC JABRONI" VARIANT OF THE JUMP 1 & 2: https://thejump2.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders/358061

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO THE FAMILY OF EDWIN OCASIO!

BLUE FOX COMICS
Twitter: @BlueFoxComics
Instagram: @BlueFoxComics
Website: bluefoxcomics.com

MARIELLE BOULEAU
Twitter: @mariellewrites
Instagram: @marielle.writes
Website: bit.ly/2RCoKTz

SIMON BIRKS
Twitter: @SBirksWriter
Instagram: @SBirksWriter

Release Date: October 13, 2021

Run Time: 1:11:36
Henry Barajas

Episode Number: 48

This week, David and Rylend talk with Henry Barajas (LA VOZ DE M.A.Y.O.: TATA RAMBO) about his journey from donut shop manager to comic shop headliner… and the guys, perhaps too enthusiastically, trade “Kinsey Scale” ratings.

Episode download: TWB048.mp3

CHECK OUT THE “COMIC JABRONI" VARIANT OF THE JUMP 1 & 2: https://thejump2.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders/358061

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO THE FAMILY OF EDWIN OCASIO!

HENRY BARAJAS
Twitter: @HenryBarajas
Website: linktr.ee/henrybarajas

Release Date: October 6, 2021

Run Time: 54:50

Main menu

The Writers Block

Episode Archive

James Aquilone

David Accampo

Jordan Hart and Barbra Dillon

Brian Hawkins

Eddie DeAngelini

Shelly Bond

Don Walker

Soulstream’s Saida Woolf

First Book Stories with Adam Rose

Jess Silvetti and Ethan Kogan

Christie Shinn and Don Nguyen

Karate’s Bad Boy Sean Kanan

Skylar Patridge and Rich Douek

David Booher

Jason Inman

PROJECT MK-ULTRA

Charlie Stickney and Gene Ching

Amanda Deibert, Barbra Dillon, and Richard Fairgray

Just Us

Shaenon K. Garrity and Andrew Farago

Madeleine Holly-Rosing and Tilly and Susan Bridges

Anthony Pollock and Gary Edwards

Christie Shinn and Don Nguyen

Marielle Bouleau and Simon Birks

Henry Barajas

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