Heavy Metal Presents: Geoff Boucher's Mindspace

YOU HAVE MY AX! This week, Geoff takes a deep dive into the world of NICK PITARRA, centered on Pitarra's smash-hit crowdfunded comic, AX-WIELDER JON. This gory, beautiful adventure centers on a titular barbarian, as he discovers deeper truths about life and love while fighting his way through a surreal landscape of monsters. Nick and Geoff discuss the creative origins of the project, writing and fatherhood, and inspirations like Moebius and Geof Darrow. Special thanks to: Jordan Plosky and Garrett Nickell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Holy new episode! Geoff talks about Batman's legacy and history with MICHAEL USLAN. The historian, writer, and producer talks about how the caped crusader has been translated through media, from broadway to TV to the new Batman movie (of which he is executive producer). He's also the author of a new Bat-memoir and industry guide, "Batman's Batman: A Memoir from Hollywood, Land of Bilk and Money." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fur will fly! Welcome to the intricate and high-stakes world of stop-motion animation, specifically Aardman's Oscar-nominated ROBIN ROBIN. Directors MIKEY PLEASE and DAN OJARI give us a glimpse into the agony and ecstasy of a medium where each tiny, hand-constructed frame can have tremendous consequences. We learn how they streamline a story, and why they traded Aardman's famous plasticene for fuzzy needle-felt animals. Robin Robin is on Netflix now: https://www.netflix.com/title/81058433. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ALBERTO MIELGO lights up Mindspace the same way he lights up the screen - with bright colors, striking ideas, and bold opinions! Mielgo talks about his acclaimed new short film, "The Windshield Wiper," and how his animation style draws from the medium of comics. "Windshield Wiper" joins his formidable body of work, which includes Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, TRON: Uprising, Watch Dogs, Gorillaz, and "The Witness" short from Love Death + Robots. Tune in to learn about composition, script writing, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mindspace welcomes accomplished animator and director ERICK OH to discuss his newest project, NAMOO. A frontrunner for the 2022 Academy Award nominations for animated short, NAMOO is a moving look at life, family, and time. Oh talks about how NAMOO was informed by the future, including its Oculus and VR components, and also how it grew out of the past, drawing from family history and childhood memories. Check out a trailer here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Mindspace, Geoff is joined by incomparable media maven Michael Giltz to look back at Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Under what circumstances was this harrowing and wholesome classic created, and how have different eras of Hollywood adapted it? We talk Mr. Magoo, Orson Welles radio plays, and Rod Serling's "Carol for Another Christmas," a dark antiwar version from 1964. Besides all that, we wish all Mindspace listeners an absolutely wonderful holiday and new year! We're so grateful for your support. Mindspace is a HM podcast, hosted by veteran journalist Geoff Boucher, with many thanks to Garrett Nickell for audio production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Famed editor and writer JIM SHOOTER talks with Geoff about Ferro Lad, a character he created for DC's Legion of Superheroes as a teenage writer in the mid-60s. Ferro Lad, the boy hero whose sacrifice changed comics in the 1967 "Death of Ferro Lad," appeared on DC's pages as white -- but he wasn't supposed to be. Jim Shooter discusses why he originally wrote Ferro Lad as Black, the political and social causes that inspired him, and why DC suppressed the idea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New drop! Mindspace is hype this week as the creators of "Fairfax" — MATT HAUSFATER, TEDDY RILEY, and AARON BUCHSBAUM — talk about their neon-colored vision of Los Angeles and their delightfully berserk hit show. The trio chat with Geoff Boucher about the future of R-rated animation in the 21st century, and all the work that goes into producing animation (especially in pandemic conditions). Stream "Fairfax" and snag some pigeon merch on Amazon. // Stick around for a Mindspace discussion on LA and pop culture, including the one time Quentin Tarantino showed Geoff his favorite hangout spots. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a must-hear episode for comics fans and storytellers, Geoff Boucher welcomes WALT SIMONSON of Marvel to discuss his prolific career. Simonson gives us an insider's view on his works - including Thor, X-Factor, and graphic adaptations like Close Encounters and Raiders of the Lost Ark - and his recent contribution to The Winter Men by the late John Paul Leon. You'll learn all about Simonson's approaches to storytelling and how he adapts his drawing style to the projects at hand. And if you stick around for the outro, the Mindspace team discusses the comics industry in the 70s/80s, including that one time Marvel printed a comic with literal blood. ----- You can pre-order The Winter Men on ZOOP, the crowdfunded comics community. All proceeds from the project will benefit the late artist's wife and family. John Paul Leon's art has been re-scanned for this project, and this new artists' edition includes pin-ups by Walt Simonson, Peach Momoko, Kim Jung Gi, Bill Sienkiewicz, Lee Weeks, and more. At various fundraising tiers, you can get all sorts of goodies, from the book itself to signed prints. Check it out on ZOOP here: https://zoop.gg/c/wintermen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EMILY ARMSTRONG rocks Mindspace! The lead singer of rock band DEAD SARA tells us all about how the band crafted their latest album, Ain't It Tragic, in the depths of the pandemic. She talks about how she comes up with lyrics, and how the band has broken loose of previous expectations of sound or "brand." She and Geoff also explore the Doors, and band-name backstories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TARZAN takes over Mindspace in this episode commemorating Edgar Rice Burroughs' 146th birthday. Film historian, "Showbiz Sandbox" host, and friend of the show MICHAEL GILTZ swings back in to give us a crash course in Tarzan's multimedia lives and afterlives. By the end of this episode, you'll be an expert on Burroughs' life, from his pre-fame time working odd (sometimes literally) jobs, to the Tarzana neighborhood he founded in California. We also cover historical revisions of the Tarzan narrative, such as the "Sword and Soul" movement, when Black creators in the 1970s, including the late Charles R. Saunders, threw out Burroughs' racist tropes and turned the genre on its head. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mindspace welcomes bassist and singer MIKE KERR to delve into Typhoons, the latest chart-topping album from the British rock duo Royal Blood. Kerr gives tips on how to recognize your moments of inspiration, as well as how to turn that initial surge of energy into a lasting idea that you can follow through on. Kerr also shares how his life as a musician prepared him for the "stops and starts" that now define our pandemic existence. --- Stick around afterward for a Mindspace team discussion on Royal Blood's psychedelic, hellacious music videos, as well as a retrospective on animated music videos to mark MTV's 40th anniversary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nobody knows noir like EDDIE MULLER. The host of TCM's Noir Alley and the author of #1 Amazon bestseller DARK CITY: THE LOST WORLD OF FILM NOIR discusses the cinematic legacy of the iconic genre. Geoff Boucher and Eddie Muller talk about how film noir has rippled through American culture, from iconic originals like Double Indemnity to neo-noires like Blade Runner. The history of noir is just as complex and intriguing as the movie plots themselves, bringing together immigrants, code-flouters, and bold creators who freed "protagonists to become the villains." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Arts-and-culture maven MICHAEL GILTZ stops by Mindspace in this incredible two-part episode. --- First and foremost, Michael and Geoff commemmorate the passing of acclaimed director Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon, The Omen, Superman, The Goonies, and the Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"). From their personal stories and experiences, we get a complex portrait of an ambitious man, overflowing with warmth and wit. --- Superman and Superman II feature prominently in our second part, in which Michael breaks down how to CORRECTLY assess the most popular movies of all time (hint: adjust for inflation). He introduces us to a phenomenal list from Box Office Mojo, whose adjusted list of all-time hits will shock and delight you. https://www.boxofficemojo.com/chart/top_lifetime_gross_adjusted/?adjust_gross_to=2020 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you write an empathetic film monster? RAY MORTON, writer and film historian, visits Mindspace to talk about "other" beings, from King Kong to aliens. Morton, a veteran script consultant and screenwriting guide, dissects how various iterations of Kong (including the recent Godzilla vs. King Kong) have engaged audiences' emotions, and how writers have continuously innovated Kong's character to probe new questions of sympathy, connection, and "humanity." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This June marks the 40th anniversary of dark fantasy classic Dragonslayer. Writer and director MATTHEW ROBBINS reminisces about making a fantasy film during the technological revolution of the 80s: battling camera breakdowns, rough topography, and almost missing filming due to Sir Ralph Richardson's obsession with rare clocks. The Dragonslayer filming saga offers valuable lessons for creatives struggling with setbacks and occasional chaos - and reminds us that the real reward is often the friendships we make along the way. Afterwards, the Mindspace team discusses the SFF zeigeist of 1981, and what economic, cultural, and material factors made it the perfect storm for revolutionary genre movies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a kid in 1982, CHRIS STROMPOLOS set out to recreate Raiders of the Lost Ark, shot-for-shot, in his backyard. Now in his adulthood, Chris works in effects production and reflects on how his childhood project has become a global cult classic. Here in Mindspace, Chris and Geoff Boucher discuss: how do you express fandom before the concept of "fandom" exists? What "unnatural" portals open when you re-encounter people and passions from your childhood? What's the future of Indiana Jones? It's a conversation between - dare we say it - top men. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What the heck is a ZOOP? Is it a cute alien blob? A unit fairies use for measurement? Well, you'd be wrong.... ZOOP is a new platform for comics crowdfunding, and creator JORDAN PLOSKY tells us why all comics fans should pay attention. Plosky describes how he and his collaborators designed a place for comics creators to interact with fans, bypass industry gatekeeping, and retake control of their characters and worlds. Plosky details how crowdfunding is fast becoming a huge part of the comics business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If your kids are too young to watch the Heavy Metal movie, wean them onto sci-fi with the new film The Mitchells vs. The Machines. Writer and director MIKE RIANDA discusses the plethora of sci-fi influences behind this instant family classic, and how he and a team of intrepid "goobers" honed their work. Plus, he speculates on the future of R-rated scifi animation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SETH GREEN and MATT SENREICH of Robot Chicken stop by Mindspace to talk about their upcoming "Archie" special on Adult Swim! Parody is a labor of love, and the Archie comics are no exception - Seth and Matt talk about their devotion to the world of Riverdale and how they got the rights to the beloved property. And speaking of finding respect and connection, the pair talk about their friendship with George Lucas and how they approach the STAR WARS sketches on Robot Chicken, too. Plus, we find out what happens when you almost die at Skywalker Ranch! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices