2016 Recap: Our Top Ten Video Highlights of The Year, #10 – #6
This year has been an incredible one for myself and my co-host Alyssa Franks, in what we’ve been able to bring our viewers LIVE on a Sunday each week, on the TALKIN’ COMIC-CON: A CUP O’ TEA… YouTube/G+ podcast. We’ve been joined by so many incredible guests over the past twelve months and, as we embark on a brave new year, I’m going to take a little time to appreciate all we’ve achieved and countdown my Top Ten episodes and video uploads of 2016.
In this post, we countdown the first half of the countdown – #10 to #6 – with some amazing highlights, including our first chat with a representative of Team Nerdist, our live report from ICE: International Comic Expo in Birmingham, and our first-time chats with some incredible comic creators and convention exhibitors…
(Click here to check out the Top Five entries on my countdown: 2016 Recap: Our Top Ten Video Highlights of The Year, #5 – #1)
#10: Eisner Awards Special (feat. Kristyna Baczynski and Dan Berry)
24th April 2016
We did have some technical hiccups on this episode, thanks to some weak internet signals from around the UK – honestly, sometimes it feels technically like we’re in some Hobbiton backwater in this country!! – but we muddled through and it was a joy to shine a spotlight on two members of the creative team behind the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Nominated anthology ’24×7′, Kristyna Baczynski and Dan Berry (no, not THAT Dan Berry!).
It was great to talk to these two about what the Eisner Awards *mean* in 2016, in terms of impact, influence and inspiration, as well as finding out about the genesis of the exciting project. I love doing the interview on the show, especially with people I haven’t really spoken to before, with the Hangout giving me the opportunity to meet fascinating creatives and learn their story – and it’s always fun to dive in, not knowing what to expect!
#9: Nerdist / CONival Recap w/ Rachel Heine and Wizard World Live Report w/ James Binder
21st August 2016
I’ve been a fan of Nerdist for years, as much of the output of Chris Hardwick and the podcast as the Industries arm of the organisation – what they pull off with the CONival SDCC off-site is truly magical. So, it was a pleasure to talk to someone I’ve also been a fan of on social media all about it: Rachel was very generous with her time and really gave us a peek into what it takes to put on this event.
And then we went over to a very packed Wizard World to get a glimpse into the controlled chaos behind that convention – the Hangout has evolved into this window into conventions around the world and I really hope we’re able to continue to bring you these in 2017.
#8: SAN DIEGO CONQUEST Mario Candelaria & Rob Alan / Hero Within Tony Kim Interview
13th November 2016
Any support to the geek, nerd, comic and creative community that I can give, I will do, willingly: these two projects have gone on to varying degrees of success, with SAN DIEGO CONQUEST failing to reach its (admittedly very ambitious) Kickstarter goal and Hero Within going from strength to strength – both campaigns I’m expecting more updates and positive news from in 2017.
I always wanted Talkin’ Comic-Con: A Cup O’ Tea… to be a platform where like minded people could come together and talk about the things that drive them – and Mario, Rob and Tony and three people that are driven by their creative passions, not just financial rewards. Again, this was two interviews I didn’t quite know what to expect from, and another example of the multi-headed zoo format / roundtable episodes that I love to encourage, and I;m so grateful for the three for joining us on this installment…
#7: Live from ICE – The International Comics Expo Britain’s Coolest Comic Convention Convention 2016, feat. drop-in interviews with Paul Goodenough (The Chimeran) & Olly MacNamee (Bleeding Cool)
11th September 2016
Some of the skills that hosting the weekly podcast has given me is the need to expect the unexpected, to appear convincing when I’m anything but, and to hold a conversation with someone I’ve only really just met. The live report I filed from Shane Chebsey‘s outstanding ICE Comic Con in Birmingham utilised all of those skills – and then some!
I love ICE. It really is one of the better cons out there, absolutely dedicated to the enjoyment of the fans and the betterment of the industry. The people it attracts tend to know what they’re doing and Paul and Olly certainly know that. They were willing to jump in on a live podcast, not really knowing who I am or what kind of interviewers I’d be, and I think I held my own. The tea helped. the tea always helps.
#6: Being A Creator Exhibiting At Con (feat. Rachael Stott, and Jay Katz of InvestComics™)
31st January 2016
Gods, I love on-the-spot interviews – it’s something I wanted to take away from my fandom of the Nerdist Podcast Network, with Chris Hardwick hosting ‘conversations’, rather than promotional puff-pieces (yes, my mission to get Chris on the podcast will ramp up considerably throughout 2017!).
Jay really knows his stuff when it comes to knowing what to look out for a comic convention, especially in the ‘dark arts’ realm of the Artist Alley, and Rachael was incredibly kind to come on the show to talk about her burgeoning career and her first experiences at comic cons. I still think that we, as con attendees need to be aware of what it actually entails to be an exhibitor at a con – ‘on the other side of the table’, as it were – and Rachael was a charming, bubbly and positive person to talk to on the subject. Also, any chance I get to talk at any length to a comics creative (as someone who could possibly start a fire more than actually draw something with a pencil) is Christmas Day for me.
Jay really knows his stuff when it comes to knowing what to look out for a comic convention, especially in the ‘dark arts’ realm of the Artist Alley, and Rachael was incredibly kind to come on the show to talk about her burgeoning career and her first experiences at comic cons. I still think that we, as con attendees need to be aware of what it actually entails to be an exhibitor at a con – ‘on the other side of the table’, as it were – and Rachael was a charming, bubbly and positive person to talk to on the subject. Also, any chance I get to talk at any length to a comics creative (as someone who could possibly start a fire more than actually draw something with a pencil) is Christmas Day for me.
Enjoying the Countdown so far? Click here to check out the Top Five entries on my countdown: 2016 Recap: Our Top Ten Video Highlights of The Year, #5 – #1!
[…] (In case you missed them, click here to check out the first five entries on my countdown: 2016 Recap: Our Top Ten Video Highlights of The Year, #10 – #6) […]