Corin Howell

Drew Mollo [00:00:00]
As Freddy would say, welcome to primetime, bitch.

Kari [00:00:06]
Great way to start the show, Drew.

Corin Howell [00:00:09]
Hey there, guys, it’s Corin Howell and you’re watching Splash Pages. So the only thing left to say.

Drew Mollo [00:00:54]
Of course, is the one obvious.

Corin Howell [00:02:17]
What’s wrong with him?

Drew Mollo [00:02:19]
His girl just broke it off.

Corin Howell [00:02:21]
It’s her father. He doesn’t want her dating a zombie.

Corin Howell [00:02:25]
What are they, demons? An outsider?

Drew Mollo [00:02:30]
Man, you’re asking for trouble. You’re a zombie.

Corin Howell [00:02:35]
Technically, you don’t even have a heart. After all of the great cinema that we brought to the world, and we still get no respect. I don’t know why he doesn’t like me. I’m responsible, a full-time job. You work at a haunted house in October.

Drew Mollo [00:02:49]
I’m trying to be healthy.

Corin Howell [00:02:50]
She’s a vegan, so— Wait, you’re giving up meat? Oh, come on. What are you gonna do, attack a farmer’s market to try to impress her? Now, if he was a vampire, he’d.

Drew Mollo [00:03:03]
Have a much better chance with the girl.

Corin Howell [00:03:04]
Yeah, yeah, those pretty bastards. I didn’t think this would be that hard.

Drew Mollo [00:03:08]
Hard, man? I’m a zombie and I’m black. Oh, here we go. I blame the educational system.

Drew Mollo [00:03:17]
I blame George Romero.

Corin Howell [00:03:20]
Oh, how could you be so disrespectful? Coffee.

Drew Mollo [00:03:26]
Zombies don’t know much, but they do know good coffee. Deadly Grounds is coffee to die for and zombie approved.

Jar Jar [00:03:35]
Who’s George Romero?

Corin Howell [00:03:37]
Just, just have some coffee.

Drew Mollo [00:03:41]
Oh, hey everybody! Sorry, I, I, uh, I, I got a paper clip and suddenly I’m here back in the bacta tank. It just escalated horribly, you know. I don’t know how that resulted in my tooth falling out, but my God, I am just so sorry. I would love to be here to talk to our guest about Transformers. Oh my God, I’m so sad. But, uh, yeah, I’m just gonna be submerged in this, so just, you know, as they say, and backed up. Thank you.

Kari [00:04:12]
Oh boy, poor Leo. I’ll, I’ll take it for you, buddy. Um, happy Tuesday everybody, welcome to Splash Pages. We are going to have another awesome show. I’m really excited about tonight, had some great readings, some beautiful artwork that you guys are gonna love. And, uh, enough about me though, let’s see how Jar’s doing. Maybe. Yeah.

Jar Jar [00:04:35]
Hello, hello, hello everybody. Uh, it is a great night to, uh, be tuning in. I see quite a few already are. That’s great.

Jar Jar [00:04:49]
I’m quite, uh, quite impressed with our, our, our lineup tonight. We, we’ve got a, a great, um, writer and artist So Drew, over to you to introduce her.

Drew Mollo [00:05:03]
Thank you, Jar. Much appreciated, buddy. You’re looking gingery as always. Hey everybody, thank you joining us on Tuesday. Unfortunately, some of our, our team couldn’t make it because we chose literally a show date that is an anomaly because this is one night that the Lunar New Year, Mardi Gras, and Ramadan are all starting on the same day. But let’s not talk about my calendar. Um, we have a stellar guest here, someone who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting more than a few times and who’s also contributed to one of my favorite cherished collect— parts of my collection, my Ghostbusters comic collection. Um, yes, she is a writer, artist, all-around horror fan who is probably one of the most positive quasi-goth people you’ll ever meet at the convention, and she will definitely talk your ear off about Freddy Krueger whether you want her to or not. Um, you’ve seen her stuff on Calamity Kate Girl in the Bay, uh, Transformers, uh, Batmite. You also seen, um, Dark Red, and of course Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, and her creator-owned series Lilith, which I believe volume 2 is definitely still on the way. But don’t let me tell you, we’ll, we’ll have her do it. So everybody, the one, the only, Corin Howell!

Corin Howell [00:06:22]
Yeah, hey guys, I can’t— like, this is a 5% alcohol thing.

Jar Jar [00:06:25]
Oh, she’s gonna be done by the end. That’s it.

Corin Howell [00:06:29]
Oh my God, it’s okay.

Drew Mollo [00:06:32]
Don’t worry. Like, we, we’ve made it a thing of creators getting sloshed at our, our thing. It goes from splash pages to smash pages real quick.

Drew Mollo [00:06:45]
Oh yeah. So, you know, again, what was it, Jar? Nothing beats, uh, John Layman just drinking whiskey and then just Oh my God, talking smack the whole show. It was pretty great. I was like, I was like, boy, this is more than I can chew. Um, thank you. Um, but yeah, I got that reference.

Jar Jar [00:07:09]
I hope the rest of the world did.

Drew Mollo [00:07:11]
That was great. Yes. All right, so I, I definitely need to start some of your beginning because, uh, in doing research, um I absolutely love that. In some— first thing first, we, we bonded over our mutual Catholicism in school. Um, yes, it all essentially— your true transformation, much like a, a, uh, a caterpillar cocooning into a killer moth or something. Um, middle school VHS collection, Nightmare on Elm Street, and then And it just kind of goes downhill from there. But I feel like we have to kind of thank your mother because it wasn’t she the one that said, uh-uh, this isn’t for you, and you’re like, no, this is— it’s definitely for me, right?

Corin Howell [00:07:56]
Yeah, she was very specific on what we watched as kids, especially like as a child of divorce. She had no say, obviously, uh, and whenever it was my dad’s weekend, and so— and my dad’s VHS collection, to give in context of what it looked like Imagine a staircase that goes, you know, to the second floor, and the— there’s so many VHS tapes that they stack up almost to the ceiling on each step of this, uh, amazing. And that’s how many movies my dad still has, I think, in boxes somewhere.

Corin Howell [00:08:39]
But yeah, when it was Dad Week, Dad’s Weekend, I got to watch whatever movie I fucking wanted it. It was amazing. But Mom would just be like, no, can’t watch this, you’ll get scary nightmares. I’m like, Mom, I’m fucking 12.

Jar Jar [00:08:52]
Yeah, what’s your favorite Nightmare on Elm Street?

Corin Howell [00:08:55]
I mean, oh, it’s 1 and 3.

Corin Howell [00:09:00]
Yeah, I mean, 3’s got a song.

Drew Mollo [00:09:04]
No, but also, I feel like you can’t sleep— I, I’ve always said New Nightmare gets slept on. It’s pretty good.

Corin Howell [00:09:11]
It is. I will say, in a turn— like, I feel like it’s a— it’s good artistically. Yeah, which is like a horror movie. No, not like a campy one, but like an artistic, like, meta horror movie.

Drew Mollo [00:09:23]
Yeah, yeah, it, it definitely took chances. I mean, I, I can’t really talk because every Halloween during the movie marathon, Freddy vs. Jason is always there, and, and I I’m so proud of it, even though every time I’m like, certain things in this did not age well. Certain, certain things. But the second we’re in the cornfield, I’m like, oh boy, I’m excited. Shit is about to go D-O-W-N-N-N. Oh my God, let’s— I remember my boyfriend.

Corin Howell [00:09:54]
Told me that when he was in high school and Freddy vs. Jason came out, he went and saw that in the theater twice.

Drew Mollo [00:10:01]
One for each contender. So he could not be accused of favoritism.

Corin Howell [00:10:06]
I mean, I remember when it came out on DVD, I was like, this is stupid, but I love it.

Drew Mollo [00:10:11]
Well, that literally— that’s exactly how I thought. I was like, this is really dumb, but boy, that soundtrack slaps.

Drew Mollo [00:10:18]
Yeah, but, um, you know how that.

Kari [00:10:21]
Was supposed to end, right?

Drew Mollo [00:10:22]
What happened? Oh yeah, it was supposed to be— wasn’t it supposed to be Ash, right?

Corin Howell [00:10:26]
Yeah, it was supposed to end with Ash going groovy, and then But they decided to use that with, uh, oh my God, is the box— they were.

Kari [00:10:38]
Gonna bring in Pinhead at one point in time. Yeah, they couldn’t get his thing and they were— it was going to be towards the end and then he was just going to yank them both down into hell.

Corin Howell [00:10:50]
Yeah, there was a— what was it? They saved the groovy part for Ash for the remake of Evil Dead until like after the credits. You get Ash, and that was like their teaser for Ash vs. Evil Dead show.

Drew Mollo [00:11:04]
Yeah, something like that. And I was just like, okay, this is just weird now. Yeah, because, you know, it’s just like— I was like, it’s like, hi kids, you remember the thing we used to have? Here it is, just in case. I’m just like, don’t do this to them. They tried, it was a good effort.

Kari [00:11:24]
Um, so I have to ask though, because I, I was born on Halloween, and as you’re saying with like the parents deciding, my mom introduced me to all of the Universal monsters. And then my dad, because I was a divorced kid too, and, um, my, my dad would be the like hanging out, just HBO, oh, Amityville’s on, here you go. And like, I’m like, and he’s just leaving, you know, and it’s like, oh Yeah, I got your babysitter. Yep, he paid no attention whatsoever to what I was watching, so I’d just be watching like the most fucked up.

Corin Howell [00:12:03]
Shit that there was.

Kari [00:12:04]
It was just like, okay.

Drew Mollo [00:12:06]
I feel like a lot of horror fans, trauma is always what sparks your favorites, because I remember my favorite movie is Ghostbusters, and I remember watching it when I was 4 and the possession scene with Dana terrified me to the point where I was kind of really legit scared of my closet for at least a week or two because I was just like, I was like, Mom, it’s not in there, right? Like, there’s no Terror Dog in there, right? Because I really don’t want to wake up and I see a glowing door. That’s where now I have this fear of, uh-oh, you know, um So I— again, all your fans are like, oh, I love that. And later on, like, I’m a huge horror fan. And I was like, how? Trauma. Lots of trauma. And especially Carrie, who— Carrie, isn’t it every year Exorcism Part 3, right?

Kari [00:13:04]
The Exorcist 3 is my favorite horror movie ever, and I watch it constantly. I’m a huge Brad Dourif fan. So like, what are your feelings on The Exorcist 3? And have you seen the director’s cut, the one without Jason Miller or Father Morning and all of the—.

Corin Howell [00:13:26]
I, uh, so my boyfriend is, uh, he went into film before I met in art school. So he is— I call him the walking encyclopedia, encyclopedia of, of film. Because he knows everything practically. Um, and he is the one that told me about, uh, Exorcist Part 3 and how it was supposed to be established as a different, completely different movie, but the studio was just like, we want it to be this because this could get more people in seats. And so it’s like, this isn’t even what— but it’s such a gorgeous movie. It’s very pretty. That’s the other thing I love about it. It’s very pretty, but it’s like, why do they call it this? I was so confused.

Drew Mollo [00:14:17]
You— I can just see Carrie’s face. She’s like, oh my God, I love her. Like, you’re just hitting all the right notes.

Kari [00:14:22]
So, so you go for, for Peter— William Peter Blatty’s, uh, Trilogy of Faith. It was The Exorcist and then, um, The Ninth Configuration Uh, AKA Twinkle Twinkle Killer Kane. Yeah. And then, um, and then it goes into Legion, you know. And then Legion was what, you know, then they turned it into The Exorcist 3: Legion, and it was like, why? Because, I mean, Brad Dourif and George C. Scott being all shouty and everything, and it was perfect. It didn’t need— I mean, okay, the exorcism at the end does add something to it.

Corin Howell [00:15:00]
But Fabio, yeah, you have Fabio popping up as an angel in his dream, and I’m like, what, what are you doing here? Why are you here?

Drew Mollo [00:15:09]
Yeah, but Carrie, save it for— save it for your blog. Um, but, but speaking of comics, um, first things first, what— looking over your style, and Jar and Carrie, I don’t know if you could tell too, like, Corinne, your style very much has like a nice amalgamation of comics but also Clearly the manga, there’s that manga influence. And I found it so funny because upon research, I think you said your first comic was, was a Pokémon short, right? Where Ash meets Pikachu.

Corin Howell [00:15:41]
Yeah, Pokémon was first coming to the States, right?

Drew Mollo [00:15:46]
And then, and then Trigun just wrecked your world.

Corin Howell [00:15:50]
Oh yeah, I, I think like Pokémon came out when I was in third grade, so I was like 8. So it was like, here’s all this new shit. And my mom got me like the magazine and God, when they actually used to sell the fucking, like, was it not, but when they would sell like the full magazine comics in the grocery stores.

Corin Howell [00:16:13]
And my mom picked up the one with Pokémon on it and that’s where I started seeing like manga and it was really cool. And then fast forward to like 2, 3 years later, I’m in middle school and my dad takes me to the mall with him. And then there I see it. Rest in peace, Waldenbooks. You always— um, but that’s where I found Trigun. And I told Dad, I’m like— and it was like, the volumes back then were like still super thick. They’re like that, right? That’s like the first part of Trigun, and there’s 2 of them. And I told Dad, I’m like, I need to go back and get this other one. He’s like, okay. And like Behold this manga that 11-year-old child probably shouldn’t be reading, but here I am reading it and I fell in love with it. I loved how gorgeous the art was and how sad yet funny the story was because you have this traumatic, traumatic.

Drew Mollo [00:17:11]
Character— yeah, I can’t— word.

Corin Howell [00:17:16]
Um, traumatic character. You have Vash the Stampede, who’s a traumatic character. Just trying to save humanity from his psycho, uh, psycho killer twin brother who also has a point at the same time. So it’s this, and but it’s like Vash comes in to balance everything with, with humor, and then you get hit headfirst with all this drama and, and sadness, but then like Nytell always brings in like humor moments just to balance everything out. And it was so amazing to me as a kid, and I still go back. I still think about that first time I was reading the first Trigun, like, collection manga. It was my thing, and I even went ahead and got all of them now. I have the whole collection.

Drew Mollo [00:18:05]
Have you had any moment where, like, essentially any of your work is the equivalent to that to somebody? Like, is someone watching and they’re like, I picked up Lilith and this is my Trigun. Like, your story just connected with it. See, there you go. See, queen. Yeah, right.

Corin Howell [00:18:28]
Uh, I actually— I’ve had somebody come up to me, it was like at C2E2, and what was crazy is that it was actually right before the manga— uh, the manga— right before the book came out, and it was this girl and she goes, hi, I really love your work. Also want to tell you, your Lilith illustrations got me through my toxic breakup. And I was like, oh my God, like, and I gave her a hug and I was like, thank you for telling me this. I’m so happy that she helped you. She’s like, yeah, it really helped me build my self-confidence and all this other stuff. I was like, oh, you’re gonna make me cry.

Drew Mollo [00:19:03]
There you go. And then picking up after Dragon, but it was Replay, right? By Christy Lijewski. That’s what was like, I could do this, right?

Corin Howell [00:19:13]
It was like me discovering— because I was like, I just started high school. I was— I went to Catholic school from, from fucking kindergarten all the way to high, like, to senior year. And yeah, 12 years of Catholic school is great. It’s awesome. Uh, but it’s like, you know, that time where your parents are like, what do you want to do for your career? Like, I think of a college and blah blah blah. And so I didn’t know what the fuck I wanted to do. I just knew I wanted to draw. I liked drawing things. And Replay was that introduction to seeing like, wait, this isn’t— this isn’t a mangaka. This person isn’t Japanese. This person’s American. And it like showed that like, oh, there’s a school I can go to. Savannah College of Art and Design, and it like kicked off— like, it fueled me to be like, I can actually do this as a job. This is what I want to do. I can draw manga like this person did, and I’m excited about that. I was like so excited about it.

Corin Howell [00:20:18]
I was like, it’s my favorite shot.

Drew Mollo [00:20:23]
Well, and, and to think that the person who drew this, her first work was a penciled Yu-Gi-Oh.

Corin Howell [00:20:30]
Yeah, oh my God, I forgot about that. Was that on Facebook or something?

Drew Mollo [00:20:38]
Some interview. It was just like, oh yeah, I did a penciled Yu-Gi-Oh piece. It was like a friend of your mom for like $40.

Corin Howell [00:20:45]
Oh my God, I got paid $50 for that, but that was a lot of money when I was like 11.

Drew Mollo [00:20:50]
So yeah, if you, if you adjust it now, that was definitely $300 or more. Yeah, you know, you got to adjust for inflation now. Everything is more, you know. Um, I love this.

Jar Jar [00:21:04]
Girl. What was your art first focused on when you were, uh, growing up? Like, how— what did you copy a lot of the manga that you read.

Corin Howell [00:21:12]
Or— um, I tried to at first. Like, it’s kind of like how every person tries to, you know, they start drawing is they end up copying the style that they really like. And mine was, uh, Trigun. And then Like, it was me, like, going headfirst in the manga. It was just Trigun and Inuyasha and Cowboy Bebop. And, uh, and then Fullmetal Alchemist came out, and that, like, just— boy, was that one a rough one, that early 2000s Fullmetal. Yeah, let’s just rip my fucking heart out and make me cry like a 15-year-old sobbing uncontrollably in my bedroom as I’m watching the DVD. Oh man, it was— it’s— listen, so there’s two different Fullmetal Alchemist stories. One is the, uh, first one, which is in the early 2000s. It came out in 2003, I think, in Japan. When it came over to the States, it was around 2004, 2005. So the manga itself in Japan was not finished. So the early 2000s one basically took whatever first part was set up and then the director’s like, all right, we’re gonna do this now, and just kind of like took little tidbits of what the writer had in mind. And so the director of that first series, holy shit, did he really wanna just traumatize a bunch of teenagers? ‘Cause holy crap. Yes. Like, and anybody who’s seen the early 2000s one knows exactly what I’m talking about. Yes, that— oh God. And then there’s the second, like, the second one, which is not really the second one. It’s Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, but it’s based entirely on the manga. It is shot for shot based on the manga. Um, that one’s beautifully done. Not, I would say, as soul-crushing as the early 2000s because they had a different director. But it was still very, very good. And actually, like, looking back on it now, I’m like, oh yeah, that’s still pretty— still pretty good. Like, I’m glad they went this way anyway. So anyway, sorry for that tangent.

Drew Mollo [00:23:25]
That was— oh no, it’s fine, it’s fine. No, no, no, we get— we get lost in tangents all the time. You can ask these two. That’s like my bread and butter.

Drew Mollo [00:23:37]
Yeah, the squirrel is literally looking down on you. True story. Literally. Look, but like, no, no, it’s because she’s on, um, but then on top of it, like, you got really— like, you got your first job out of college, right? You were at a mini comics expo and just so happened your little table, your first editor shows up and it’s like, hey, how do you feel about drawing, uh, boys action comics?

Corin Howell [00:24:02]
Yes. So SCAD had this thing in the sequential department, that’s what our The major was called sequential art. Uh, side note, the, the president of SCAD, which everyone hates by the way, um, wanted to call the major funny books, and everyone’s— and everyone was like, fuck you. Like, why would you want to call— why would you want to go into a major called funny books? Anyway, everybody hates her. I’m glad everybody hates her. She sucks. And I don’t care if she gets this. Fuck her. Yeah, she’s single-handedly ruined a lot of, uh, majors over at that school. And also, why the fuck does an art school need an equestrian program?

Corin Howell [00:24:49]
Yeah, exactly, exactly. That look right there, that, that right there. All that money for your stupid-ass program and you’re not paying attention to all the students that are literally not sleeping on— like, they’re sleeping on the floor of the fucking animation building just to render their shit because your computers are not up to date. Fuck you. Anyway, sorry.

Drew Mollo [00:25:11]
No, no, it’s fine. Let— good, good. Let that hate flow through you.

Corin Howell [00:25:19]
Uh, so sequential art, uh, program had— every year they had Editor’s Day, which is what they would invite editors to the sequential department to, um, not just find potential talent for other companies, but also to give portfolio reviews to students that, you know, actually like they need it. It’s good to get that critique because this is a— despite how inclusive that the industry tries to be.

Corin Howell [00:25:54]
To take, handle critique, otherwise you’re not going to be able to handle the work in this industry. I, I have a saying, it’s like, if you can’t take critique, you don’t belong here. Um, as mean as that is, but it’s true, because your editors are going to have a lot to say if you are not ready for this industry.

Corin Howell [00:26:14]
Um, so it was really good. I saw it as a good thing for, for students to get this. So Uh, but that particular year, the year I graduated, uh, Editor’s Day fell on the mini comics expo that sequential department used to kind of like, you know, celebrate like, here’s all the, all the stuff that the students have been doing. And also it was kind of like, hey, get ready, this is what it’s going to be like to like table at convention shows. So, and my very first editor Joel came up to my table, looks through this little mini comic, which back then I was doing like all ages, like kind of like slice of life comics because I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I just had this cute little story about a dad and his daughter like trying to navigate the life of being a single parent and having like this destructive, you know, background, whatever. Like he flips through the mini comic and he’s like, how do you feel about boys action comics? And I was like, I can do that. And my very first comic out in.

Corin Howell [00:27:24]
Um, or at least officially paid comic out in the world, would be Ben 10: The Halloween Special.

Drew Mollo [00:27:30]
Oh yeah, nice, awesome. And, and then kind of piggyback off that, you— there’s a big Gotta give thanks to the great John Murphy. You did an apprenticeship with him, right?

Corin Howell [00:27:44]
Yes. So it was like I was working for Viz Media, which is what the Ben 10 comic was through. And Joel was an incredible and awesome editor. And so I did Ben 10. I did— what are they— what was it called? I did a Hello Kitty short that I also wrote, but it was like a silent comic. And those are fun because you don’t have to worry about dialogue, obviously. I did something with Bravest Warriors, and it was just like all these little tiny projects that were all ages. And then I see like— because I had been a fan of Sean’s for like a couple of years before that, I just— the funny thing was I didn’t know what he did other than I saw his art on DeviantArt and went, holy shit, I love the way this guy like inks cities and in cars and stuff. I want to get like that so I can do really cool Transformers comics like this. And then that— Leo’s heart just broke right there.

Jar Jar [00:28:45]
Yeah, he just should have been here for that.

Drew Mollo [00:28:47]
Yeah, it’s just— you said the T-word. Keep going, keep breaking it.

Corin Howell [00:28:52]
Stop on the heart. And, um, so the year— the summer I graduated college, um, I did my very first Heroes Con where I tabled, and I was like, oh, like I have a following with Transformers on Tumblr, so I can just do some stuff here, blah blah blah. And I saw that Sean was going to be there, and I was like, oh cool, he’s going to be here, that’d be kind of cool to talk to him. And then I— like, the day I decided to go over to his table, and I was like, why does this guy have a line? What’s with the line? Is there a line? And I was so confused until I saw like some of the books that he worked on, I was like, oh, this guy’s kind of a big deal, I guess. And I was like, fuck, what am I gonna do? So I just kind of like, you know, took it, took the bullet, and just kind of just waited in line to talk to him. And we chatted for a bit, and I told him about like, I went to SCAD too, and like, we mutually hated the fucking president of SCAD. Because he went to SCAD as well. And right, um, and I gave him my mini comic and he’s flipping through it, he’s like, this is— thank you, this is pretty good. And in exchange for that, he gave me a free copy, the last apparently copy, and you can’t find it much anymore. It’s, uh, it’s the— his copy of Off-Road with the original cover on it.

Corin Howell [00:30:18]
Written and drawn, uh, graphic novel that he did with Oni Press. And I loved it. I loved that comic a lot. But yeah, like, I met him there. It was really cool. And as the summer goes on, I’m like working at a pet store because I’m right out of college. I have no fucking money and I’m doing comics on the side and I have no fucking money. And I see that Sean puts up like an apprenticeship and I was like, fuck it. What do I have to lose? I’m just like, I met this guy briefly. Maybe he’ll remember me. I don’t fucking know. And then I go— this wants me to go to New York Comic-Con that same year. And I go to New York Comic-Con and I see that Sean’s there again. And I wait in line again to talk to Sean. He kind of remembered me and I was like, I didn’t expect you to. But he was all— I told him like, oh yeah, I applied for your apprenticeship. And he’s like, oh yeah, that’s right. I saw your portfolio. And it’s like, my wife won’t let me say anything, but I really just want to go to somebody and go, you’re in. And I was like, what does that mean? Okay, just giving me like mixed signals here. What the fuck is going on? And then a couple weeks later, I get the email like, hey, you’re in the top 10. I was like, what? What do you mean top 10? The fuck you mean top 10? And then apparently after an interview, he’s like, yeah, you’re in. You’re in the apprenticeship. And I was like, what the fuck is happening? So it was— and the apprenticeship, I will say, was very informative. It was a huge learning experience. It was like me really trying to, uh, understanding more about like inking, um, backgrounds and setting up your spaces and blocking out like certain, uh, I guess you could say like designs on the page itself to make things more cinematic. It, it really did a lot. And at the same time, I’m also like making friends. And, and now it’s like Sean and I have known each other for over 10 years now, and he’s like my big brother, and we text each other a lot, and we’re all fucking around with each other, just like, yeah, fuck you, see this, haha, fuck you. They’ll send me stupid Transformers memes, and I’ll just go ahead like, hey, I found Batman: White Knight fanfiction, you want to read it?

Corin Howell [00:32:37]
Oh my God, you didn’t have to hurt me so much. I was like, you asked, you asked for it, dude.

Drew Mollo [00:32:44]
If you’re gonna kick me, I’m gonna go straight for the jugular.

Corin Howell [00:32:46]
Like, yeah, it’s like, I think I’m gonna go straight for your balls.

Drew Mollo [00:32:50]
Yeah, finish him. Flawless victory. Corinne wins.

Corin Howell [00:32:56]
Stick around. And now, and like, we go to shows together now, so, and now I’m doing a book with him.

Drew Mollo [00:33:02]
Um, oh my God, what? That’s awesome.

Corin Howell [00:33:05]
So yeah, it’s pretty exciting.

Drew Mollo [00:33:07]
Yeah, I mean, like I said, I’ve never been to San Diego, but just the experience that you said, especially like that’s where you got to, you know, meet a lot of people. And isn’t that true? You geeked out Transformers in front of the editor, not realizing it until someone was like, you know, that’s the editor for Transformers. You’re like, oh. Be cool, be cool, be cool. I’m gonna transform into a box and someone can go away and just do.

Corin Howell [00:33:36]
Like fucking Snake Eyes and just leave a little box. There you go, snake. Um, oh yeah, um, you’re a real.

Jar Jar [00:33:44]
Dork, like, uh, geek, one of us. Like, you, you keep mentioning pop culture stuff. I appreciate it.

Corin Howell [00:33:54]
Uh, yes, I am. I, I, I just— it took me a while to like accept that I was a giant nerd because for a while I was like, you get that Catholic guilt of like, don’t show this, otherwise you’re never gonna— don’t show the.

Drew Mollo [00:34:06]
Weakness, it is a sin.

Corin Howell [00:34:08]
It was a thing of like, don’t do this or you’re never gonna find a husband, you’re never gonna get a boyfriend if you do this, and blah blah blah. And it’s like, it stuck for a long time. And then it just came to the point where like, after I went to SCAD, I’m like, fuck this, I’m just— this is who I am, fuck you.

Drew Mollo [00:34:22]
Accepted. I wear plaid.

Corin Howell [00:34:25]
Robot nerd, and you can just suck a dick.

Drew Mollo [00:34:28]
Yeah, yeah, suck a Cybertronian D, man.

Corin Howell [00:34:35]
There’s something I could say about Transformers.

Drew Mollo [00:34:37]
Fandom lore, but I’m not— please don’t, please don’t. No, maybe later.

Corin Howell [00:34:43]
Well, yeah, things to tell you. She knows exactly what I’m talking about, and it’s like that sacred fandom lore. I can’t Oh God.

Drew Mollo [00:34:53]
But, and then, and then after San Diego, was that’s, that’s how you got, uh, Batmite, right? There was that, that famous call.

Corin Howell [00:35:03]
No, so like what happened was, um, I— we finished Cafe Racer and, uh, Sean still lived in New York at that point, so he went to the DC offices when they were still in New York at that point. And, um, pass around free copies. And that’s the fucking same day my editor gets the free copy. He calls me because Sean had my number, and I didn’t know who the fuck it was because I was like, the minute I, uh, answered, I was like, hello? And this person goes, hey, is this Corin Howell? And I was like, yes, who is this? He’s like, oh, I’m sorry, I’m such and such with DC Comics. I was like, what the fuck, right? How’d you get this? And that’s how I got Bat-Mite, because they, they saw my pages with, uh, with Cafe Racer and immediately wanted me on the book. So that was exciting.

Drew Mollo [00:35:59]
Well, yeah, I mean, it’s Bat-Mite.

Corin Howell [00:36:01]
Your, your art style goes with a.

Jar Jar [00:36:03]
Lot of different characters, so I could see that. Yeah.

Drew Mollo [00:36:06]
Yes. And, and I, I think we finally got up to modern I think we’ve covered your bios, so let’s talk about some of the work. Um, Jar, Kerry, where should we start?

Kari [00:36:19]
Yeah, okay, so I’m gonna start trying to pull this up at the same time, but, um, I, I’m, I’m multitasking here. But, uh, you’re doing great, Kerry. One of the things that you did that I, I love how you just kind of blew it off. You’re like, yeah, that’s Hello Kitty, it was a silent comic, totally easy, no dialogue. It’s like Silent comics are really hard to do, you know, if you make them understandable. And, um, one of the people who I think who does that really well is Phil Hester. And I wanted to say, when I first saw this— these covers, these covers for Answer the Call totally remind me of what Phil is doing right now on The Adventures of Loom and N. Only you’re doing the inking yourself. But, um, but, but you have a— like, you know, he and Andy are like this seamless team that work together. But you’re, you’re, you’re reminding me more and more now of Phil Hester, who I adore. Um, but yeah, I just wanted to like— like, does this— does the silent comics, then you have this artwork style that kind of goes along with it. So it’s like, wow. And No, no, just a compliment, you know.

Drew Mollo [00:37:36]
Yeah, we compliment a lot. We’re very praise-heavy here. So if you ever have a bad day, just watch this. Here’s like, I’m actually doing okay. Like, like, like I’m doing good. Like, I look good. Like, like, you know, Ron Burgundy is like, I look really good. Hey, see how good I look on this show? You know, Sean, you, um, how did.

Jar Jar [00:37:58]
You get the call to And.

Corin Howell [00:38:03]
True. Um, so with Ghostbusters, I— it’s funny, I actually knew about the movie like a whole year before it was, uh, like before they started marketing it.

Corin Howell [00:38:14]
I had been working with IDW for a little while. I finished with Transformers Windblade, and then they had me move to like a Back to the Future short, and then, uh, I did another Transformers, uh, short because it was the anniversary of Transformers Beast Wars, and it was also like the last year for BotCon. So they did this special comic slash anniversary comic for BotCon itself. Um, and so IDW just kind of had me on call for, you know, whatever shorts or whatever, something I can do to fill in. And so my editor goes, hey, there’s something very specific I want to talk to you about. And it was, um, for Ghostbusters. And he’s like, you can’t share any of this, obviously. And it was a whole, like, like all the promo images that were planned to be released for marketing, all the stuff that they had in mind. And, uh, I was like, I’d be up for this. And so there started the planning for that. It wasn’t like a— it wasn’t just like, hey, I loved your art. It was more like, hey, we know how good your art is with this stuff, let’s go for it. I was like, yeah, sure, why not? Always want to do Ghostbusters stuff, kind of fun.

Drew Mollo [00:39:29]
Um, yeah. And, and then Kelly is such a great writer. I mean, you just worked so well. And, and I was saying this because, you know, I mean, I’m wearing a Raise a Cult shirt, so, you know, I’m clearly a fan. Um, but I was saying to them that I, like, I loved what with, uh, Eric Burnham, who we’ve had on the show more than once. He’s absolutely amazing. And probably literally, we had on our last time we had him on, I think we spent— Carrie, uh, and Jared, didn’t we spend like 30 minutes just talking about shitty horror movies, right? Was like Manos: Hands of Fate was in there at some point.

Kari [00:40:08]
Yeah, it’s not a movie, it doesn’t count. I don’t allow that to be a movie.

Corin Howell [00:40:14]
It’s called a Mystery Science Theater episode, that’s what it is.

Drew Mollo [00:40:18]
It was, it was pretty great. But it was that, and, um, yeah, it was just it— like what he did with the crossover with the Ghostbusters, just kind of explaining things, tying it in, it was just so fantastic. And then what you and Kelly did, just kind of piggybacking off of that, giving them their own adventure, showing that, that this universe that was so heavily criticized, you know, had potential. It just needed the ability to plant roots instead of, you know, just harsh winters everywhere within the community.

Corin Howell [00:40:57]
So it was, it was definitely kind of like— because again, like, my boyfriend is, uh, film, uh, he was a film major, so he— I know a lot of this stuff about the behind the scenes stuff, so I can’t help but be kind of critical about, uh, how the movie was made, right? With Kelly’s story, I was like, they could have just done this. This is a better story, right? I was just like, this is much more fun. It’s also establishing an entirely new world. Like, you’re just— you’re just like having more fun with this. And it’s— I was like, if they actually had a planned script and everything, I feel like the movie would have been better. But everything was apparently ad-libbed and improvised and Yeah, and poorly marketed in my opinion.

Drew Mollo [00:41:45]
But yeah, and, and, oh, no questions there. Um, but I do know Carrie had a very fond appreciation for, for one particular Ghostbuster. Is that right, Carrie? Was, uh, someone on the staff, um, the Kevin? Oh, what an.

Drew Mollo [00:42:11]
Yeah, he was, he was so funny. Jar, what about you? What did you think kind of going into it?

Jar Jar [00:42:17]
I, I, uh, was a fan of the movie. Not a huge fan, but you know, somebody who enjoy— I can enjoy a lot of things that other people kind of trash. Um, so this, this, as she said, this probably could have been a better movie. Like, this story Like, I didn’t know most of the stuff was ad-libbed and stuff. I, I thought they had gone in with an actual story and stuff. But, uh, your art on this is fantastic. Uh, each character is easily recognized. Like, I was just like, it’s good.

Jar Jar [00:42:55]
Um, I do wonder, uh, do you keep yourself on a tight schedule when working? Like Do you do a 9-to-5 kind of thing?

Corin Howell [00:43:04]
Uh, it really depends on the book, to be honest. Um, so with Ghostbusters, there was an issue where Kelly had a project before, and it was taking longer for her to finish that project than she expected. So we were actually going off schedule. And, um, there was an issue, uh, where my editor literally wanted me to finish this first issue in 2 weeks, and I flat out said no. I literally— I was at that point where I’m like, I know you guys know that I’m fast, but I’m not that. I don’t want— I literally told him, like, if you want this book to sell, because this is a book I actually want to do some new stuff with, right, you’re gonna let me have the full reign. Otherwise this isn’t gonna sell, because I don’t want to go super quick and mess up things, and it’d be just a stressful situation. But as soon as Kelly was able to come on fully for the project, we set up a whole new schedule for everything to be released. Yeah. So, and when it comes to.

Corin Howell [00:44:14]
So I, I try not to work after 6 o’clock at least these days, since I work primarily with Vault, I kind of work off of their schedule.

Jar Jar [00:44:25]
I said that’s a good mindset thing to keep, you know, be like, after 6, I’m free from work, clocked out.

Corin Howell [00:44:34]
It’s like, since Vault, they’re set in Montana, so I kind of go by their time. So and I live in Texas. So it’s like, Yeah, I live in Austin. It’s not much— not many cowboys here. Um, yeah, urban cowboys, but those aren’t really cowboys.

Drew Mollo [00:44:53]
Those are just— we know which way they’re.

Corin Howell [00:44:59]
Um, but yeah, so it’s like I have a set time. Um, and since I’ve been working on Sean’s book, I’m having to go with his time. He lives up in Maine, and I’m having to work with Eastern time again, which I haven’t done in a long time. So I’m like, So by the time I get my page done, he’s already off the clock and he’s like, oh yeah, that’s cool. And just, I’m like, fuck you. Like, yeah, I just finished this. Look at the page, you asshole.

Corin Howell [00:45:28]
And he does. He just, he does it to fuck with me. And I’m like, do this.

Jar Jar [00:45:33]
That’s a great relationship to have. Like, with— you must get a lot of trust from him. Like that.

Corin Howell [00:45:41]
He, he is my big brother, I would say. We feel very safe with each other when it comes to traveling, um, unless like if my boyfriend’s there with me at shows, uh, then yeah, obviously I’ll be around him more. But like, uh, my boyfriend does not like going to shows a lot, with the exception of this recent one in New Orleans, since he never been to New Orleans and he really wanted to check it out. So while he got to check out the city. I was doing work, but I’m glad he did. It’s— New Orleans is such a pretty city anyway.

Corin Howell [00:46:14]
A lot of good food and music too. Oh yeah, and music. And so, but like, say again?

Kari [00:46:22]
Oh, I— we— my, my mom just— we just booked another trip there. We try to go every year and I just got it booked today.

Corin Howell [00:46:30]
So, so pretty. So much good food and music. But, um, so like every time we do shows now, it’s usually like, hey, are you going to this show? He’s like, yeah, I’m gonna go to this show. He’s like, you want to come? Like, sure. And so we— he makes sure that like we’re able to get tables and at least like a hotel or flights or something, just something paid for so we could all hang out, like me, him, and also his assistant Jake. And now my assistant, uh, that’s going to be coming with me to the shows now I have an assistant. That’s so weird to say.

Drew Mollo [00:47:02]
Yay, you made it!

Corin Howell [00:47:04]
You did it!

Drew Mollo [00:47:05]
Have another drink. I mean, no, don’t do that. He’s had enough. He’s had enough.

Corin Howell [00:47:11]
It’s a weird drink. It’s got jelly in it. It’s so weird to drink right now.

Drew Mollo [00:47:16]
Like, I don’t know. Yeah, you’re just like, do I get a.

Corin Howell [00:47:21]
Spoon? Like, it looks like a sake jello shot.

Drew Mollo [00:47:24]
Yeah, Jar, I’ve had— no, I’ve had that and I had a similar reaction. I was like, Do I chew this?

Corin Howell [00:47:29]
What is— yeah, I also love the, uh, I love the directions that says make sure to shake 27 times before drinking.

Drew Mollo [00:47:38]
Yeah, it’s like, that was— if you pick it, shake it 26, you don’t want to know.

Corin Howell [00:47:41]
I’m like, oh yeah, it’s like, I was like, what is— okay, sure.

Drew Mollo [00:47:46]
But yeah, it’s like, what are you— is this policed? Are you gonna get an email, you shake it 28 times, why would you do that? What have you done?

Drew Mollo [00:47:56]
Um, but then like, again, with Ghostbusters, I mean, the book was amazing. I just need to— again, and I, and I know because I, I own my own issues, you signed them years ago. Thank you again. But I also have to say, I loved all the variant covers you did for Ghostbusters International. Were great. And I, I have to— I had like— I, I asked Carrie, I was like, can we please like a slideshow so we just show everybody had the, the diversity of the weird as they were going through. So Carrie, if you wouldn’t mind, um.

Corin Howell [00:48:29]
You know, I was actually suggesting a couple of these locations because that, that first one there was set in St. Augustine, Florida. Yeah, I’m originally from Florida. I grew up in Gainesville, Florida, and I was like— and they had like a list of places they want to try, and I said like, I saw that St. Augustine’s not on there. And he’s like— and Eric when he was talking about it, and he was like, what, uh, what’s up with St. Augustine? I’m like, it’s the oldest city in the United States. It’s got the oldest fort in the United States. It was founded by the Spanish when they came in, and the fort itself is said to be haunted, and a good half of the town. Damn. Yeah. And supposedly the lighthouse has maybe hauntedness somewhere around it. But, uh, I— he was like, yeah, cool, we can do San Marcos. If you can come up with any ideas. And I was like, oh gee, what’s something terrible about Florida?

Corin Howell [00:49:32]
Yeah, they’re really fucking delicious. Yes.

Drew Mollo [00:49:34]
Here, you can just kind of flip through them. I mean, they’re all so great.

Kari [00:49:37]
She was talking about it, so I.

Drew Mollo [00:49:39]
Was just— yeah, I know, you know, the arc.

Corin Howell [00:49:42]
Some of these were just like Eric going like, yeah, have fun.

Drew Mollo [00:49:45]
I was like, cool. Then this one’s Texas, right? This, this goat, you know, very Alamo. That’s in Savannah. There’s, there’s always a pirate ship with us.

Corin Howell [00:49:59]
At this point I was still living in Savannah, so that’s why I did that one. I was like, yeah, we have a pirate ship that people get on to get drunk.

Drew Mollo [00:50:08]
Yeah. The, the, the bison one, I was like.

Corin Howell [00:50:12]
Oh, that one was actually really pretty and kind of sad.

Drew Mollo [00:50:16]
Yeah, the thing that I love is that it’s sad. And the thing that I loved about it is that all of them had stories. So Eric didn’t just— I was like, he made that like— and again, this is why I’ve always said he’s one of the best, because he just comes up with these stories and you’re like, yes. This makes so much sense. Like, this one, I was like, oh my God, this is terrifying. But there’s one especially I, I remember you telling me, uh, about when I had you sign all of these because I had them. Oh my God, I’ve seen these in years. This— stop, this one. So I have to tell you, number one, everybody enjoy in the clock tower, she drew herself shooting arrows. And on the motorcycle, everybody, Mr. Sean.

Corin Howell [00:51:02]
Murphy, the big bro, and his wife Colleen behind him.

Drew Mollo [00:51:07]
Yes, I want to tell you, I actually had Sean sign my copy of this. Yes. So I told him, and I was like, Corin Howell sends his regards. She’s like, she would. Yeah. So I have— so I literally, I was like, I think I’m one of the few people in the world that’s this book signed by Eric, you, and Sean. And so I, and I even have that written down in my little Excel sheet. I was like, Ants on by, by cover, can you know, uh, Sean Murphy? It was just so funny.

Corin Howell [00:51:37]
But what’s so funny about that is that, um, with every cover, Eric was like, yeah, have fun with it. So he would write something related to, like, he would make up a story surrounded, like, around my cover. And I, I think I remember making a joke on, like, we didn’t So like, kind of— so we’re doing it like Canon Films where they made the poster before the movie was even made.

Drew Mollo [00:52:00]
Yeah, but all of them were great. Yeah, and they were all amazing, and I just— I had to— we had to showcase you. More praise, more praise to you. Um, but that’s all I can do.

Kari [00:52:14]
Well, Drew narrates your life story and we will jump in here and there and be like, You’re so cool.

Drew Mollo [00:52:21]
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, I’m sorry, I’m gonna do like our guest did. Hey, Carrie! Yeah, okay, all right. I feel like we— okay, I feel like we have to tell her about Amityville, right? We have to— we— I have— we have to tell her more. We feel like I have to do it so she understands.

Kari [00:52:46]
Right, so, so for the people who are watching that weren’t here pre-show, um, one of the other networks that I’m on, the Ally Network, does a show called Tomb of the Terrible where we review terrible movies. And because I am a horrible, horrible person, I made us spend an entire season— we watched like 14 or 16, something like that. Too many. Like the There are, by the way, over 100 Amityville movies out there because they can’t, uh, the name, but, um.

Corin Howell [00:53:19]
You can’t brand the name because it’s an actual town.

Kari [00:53:23]
Yeah. And, and these are all like, like some of them are so much as like somebody took a board from the Amityville house and had it like when they made their porch, and so then it’s haunted. And really, they’re really— yeah, and they have, you know, like $50 budgets and stuff.

Corin Howell [00:53:38]
Demon wood termites.

Kari [00:53:42]
Yeah, we did like— yeah, we watched like Amityville Toilet was seriously one that was really funny.

Corin Howell [00:53:48]
Um, something to get drunk to.

Kari [00:53:51]
But the, the best part of the Amityville Toilet was there’s this toilet and it has like underneath it, if you watch with subtitles, “Get out!” coming from the toilet and stuff. And so I needed an intro and outro for the Amityville movies themselves, and who better than the man who says “get out” the best marketing network. So I had Drew give me intros and outros to, uh, Amityville that I would play as we were watching each one. And it was— Drew, would you, would you like to give them a sample of what— 100%.

Drew Mollo [00:54:25]
So, so, and again, it’s been a long time since I watched it, so I had Carrie send me the clip. So I like, I, I did the, what I like to call the Robin Williams takes. So I was like, I did the, you know, the ‘Get out,’ you know, very ominous. And I was like, ‘Carrie, can I try something?’ And she was like, ‘Uh-oh.’ So I’m just like, ‘Get out. Like, seriously, can you please leave? Like, seriously, like, it— I, I, I, I have to go to the bathroom and I cannot go until the movie is over. So can you just please, just, just quickly— I don’t know why you haven’t paid your tab. Can you just get get the fuck out of this goddamn theater. Like, seriously, it’s starting to smell in here. Like, I just, I just riff and I do like 4, and I said to her, and she just, she just gives me that look. Like, later on I was like, what do you think? She said, I don’t know how to say this, but I love you, but I also, I think therapy might be a good idea.

Drew Mollo [00:55:27]
That’s, you know, like, it was just one of those. And she I, I’ve— I, I’m— Jar can attest this— I really don’t like watching myself. I, I hate listening to my voice. I somehow think it’s very grating. But Carrie later on would tell me how much laughter— when she first played it, she said the entire chat lost their goddamn mind, and then it just became a.

Drew Mollo [00:55:52]
Like, like, and it’s funny because I was like, I was just trying to do it like it was Amityville, but it was like the end of Ferris Bueller. It was like What are you doing here? It’s over. Leave. Go, go home.

Kari [00:56:04]
Like, I believe the one— one of the ones I used was, you don’t want to stay here. If you do, they might make another one.

Drew Mollo [00:56:11]
Yeah, it’s pretty great. I was like, you don’t want to stay here, they might make another one, and then they’ll just keep going on and on and eventually get remade with Ryan Reynolds, pre-Deadpool, like Blade Trinity era Reynolds. Like, you don’t want to go that Yeah, exactly.

Corin Howell [00:56:28]
I will say, it’s like, you’re better off in a comedy, Ryan Reynolds. Just, just be hot and be funny.

Drew Mollo [00:56:34]
There you go. But it was, it was just, it was one of those where I, I— and then ever since then, I tell people, like, do you need a sound effect? Because I’ll be your guy. Like, and now I’m like, oh, they’re like, what’s your references? I was like, you don’t want to know.

Kari [00:56:52]
Um, the pillow though is from before because he always would like tell us to get out, and he also used to lay down a lot. And so it would be like— I, I, before I became a member of the show, I was a fan, and, um, I played games, and one of them was Drew Moves. And so Drew would like get— oh, he was constantly moving, and then he’d be like laying down and like talking from his pillow and doing stuff.

Kari [00:57:18]
So that’s why he got get out And it was a pillow, so I was just like, so I have—.

Drew Mollo [00:57:24]
Yeah, yeah, it’s one of those where someone’s like, she has a pillow of you, and this doesn’t make you— this.

Kari [00:57:31]
Isn’T, uh, actually I have two because this one started pilling and getting kind of faded, so I had to buy a new one.

Jar Jar [00:57:39]
To the Goodwill, the other one to the Goodwill, because I would love to.

Corin Howell [00:57:43]
See what everybody thinks.

Jar Jar [00:57:45]
Yeah, I would love to find out the person that picks up the, the dream pillow.

Corin Howell [00:57:50]
Yeah, if I ever had a white.

Drew Mollo [00:57:53]
Elephant, I’d be like, um, I don’t know, I was like, am I famous? I don’t know how to feel about this. This just feels a weird infamy. Um, but guys, I definitely think we have to move on to the other things because we’re, we’re, um, but yeah.

Jar Jar [00:58:09]
Um, well, go, did we already do Lilith?

Drew Mollo [00:58:13]
I’m sorry, my brain— no, well, because we, we were gonna— I actually showed Lilith. Yeah, do you want to do Lilith? Because I figured we can maybe do the other ones and then save Lilith because it’s her most recent work. Okay, okay. You know, so briefly, um, again, loved, uh, Girl in the Bay. I mean, you got to work with J.M. DeMatteis, who’s just an absolute legend. And yeah, and oh yeah, he’s fantastic. But such an interesting story, but it was just beautiful, like The story was so trippy, but at the same time, like, just her journey and everything was just so, so stunning.

Jar Jar [00:58:53]
And your water movements are, are beautiful, like her underwater and stuff. The movement of her clothing, everything was just like, wow.

Corin Howell [00:59:04]
I, I really do love drawing like hair in motion and like fluidity when it comes to like clothes and stuff. It’s just something I’ve always loved to draw.

Drew Mollo [00:59:14]
Well, and, and the one thing that terrified me, which I thought you just— the creepiness of was perfect, was like the demon familiar from the, the killer. I was like, how he just got worse, and I’m just like, oh, I.

Corin Howell [00:59:32]
Think this is like the precursor when you get to see how much I like body horror.

Drew Mollo [00:59:36]
Yeah, that was some Cronenbergian level stuff there. I was like, I was like, is he melt— I’m like, oh God, gross. Um, so what, so what was that like? I mean, like, how did that come up? Like, did JM just message you and was like, hey, you, you’d be good, let’s do.

Corin Howell [00:59:59]
This? Uh, I, I think it was.

Corin Howell [01:00:03]
Karen was starting Berger Books with, uh, Dark Horse, and, uh, because fucking Vertigo died first— first time, first time.

Drew Mollo [01:00:15]
Yeah, it’s back, it’s back now.

Corin Howell [01:00:19]
Um, and I think it was— I can’t remember. Yes. Okay, so what happened was, uh, that New York Comic-Con the year prior, I had dinner with Sean and Karen, and that’s how I got to meet her and talk to her about stuff, and she got to see some of my work. Um, and then it was like that next year she emailed me about doing the job because she liked my detail work. So I, I— that’s how I got that, this gig. And, um, to be completely.

Corin Howell [01:00:50]
I didn’t know who J.M. DeMatteis was. Um, I— okay, so there’s a lot of stuff in the comics industry and history that I don’t know.

Jar Jar [01:01:06]
Uh, because that’s why we have.

Corin Howell [01:01:09]
Drew. I grew up primarily with manga. I didn’t read a lot of American comics, so with the exception of Transformers comics, but it’s like that was pretty much it. And, and the Ninja Turtle comics. But it was like, I— every time that somebody would bring up, hey, we’re bringing in this writer, you know, he’s like, he’s, you know, done all these books, and I’m like, who’s that? Who are we talking about? I don’t know who this is. Yeah, so it’s like, I don’t know who you are. And so, I mean, I remember a couple times like hanging out with Sean at a show, and he’s like, hey, we’re gonna go Let’s go say hi to this person. I was a huge fan of his in the ’90s. You’ve probably seen his books. I’m like.

Drew Mollo [01:01:55]
Who? Oh God, I’m getting déjà vu. Carrie, this is your friend.

Kari [01:01:59]
Like, yeah, like, you know, after I’ve met somebody, I can establish it. Or after I’ve read just a, you know, like, focus, concentrate. Okay, you’re gonna deep dive into Mignola or something, you know? Like, then I’m like, okay, I got it. But, but yeah, just randomly reading comics, which I am constantly doing because I have to, you know, I’m compulsive about things like that. Yeah, I might read like somebody’s work like 30 different books and then I’ll be like, I never paid attention to who wrote them. Yeah, oh, that guy.

Corin Howell [01:02:35]
Okay. Yes, it’s like, oh, you’re the person, you’re the person I learned about in Survey of Sequential when I was in college. Oh, you did that cool.

Drew Mollo [01:02:44]
Yeah, I’m generally like— I’m like the convention tour guide for our show. So literally, like, we’ll be showing, like, oh, this person did this, this, this, and that. And then Carrie and Jared have the same reaction. Oh, that’s nice, Drew. That’s good. Very cool. It’s— that’s nice. I’m just.

Kari [01:03:03]
Like— he’s also the only one that— he knows what every single comic creator in the world looks like too. So like, we could be walking down the hall and he’s just like, so-and-so, and we’re just like, okay. Like, I don’t recognize the stars that are, you know, that are at Comic-Con. You’re like, oh, and this guy, you know, like, is in a movie. Like, I recognized Keanu Reeves when he came by, but like, other people, you know, he’s just like, this guy was on— I’m like, cool, I didn’t watch the show, sorry. He walked by our booth 5.

Jar Jar [01:03:40]
Times. I’m waiting for the year that Mitch gets, uh, Nicolas Cage and you just snub him.

Corin Howell [01:03:45]
Oh my God, he’d snub the king.

Kari [01:03:48]
Bite my thumb at him.

Drew Mollo [01:03:50]
What? Bite your thumb? I’m sorry, whoa, Romeo and Juliet, calm down, okay? He’s not a Capulet, you know. Do you bite my tongue with these though, sir? Yes, I do indeed bite them. Carrie, calm down, okay? Just, just, just don’t bring up the Ghost Rider thing. You can, Carrie, just mentally imagine a different actor doing it.

Corin Howell [01:04:14]
I will say I don’t understand why he’s doing this movie when he’s that old. Just saying. It is kind of— that’s what my.

Kari [01:04:22]
Strange casting— yeah, I was like, so Peter Parker’s like ’60s or something in this.

Drew Mollo [01:04:32]
I, I just saw it. I saw it, I was like, okay, like, but, but did we— like, again, it’s the, but did we need this though? No, no.

Jar Jar [01:04:46]
His, his line of work is so interesting to me though. It’s like he says, just came off of the carpet The Carpenter’s Son where he plays Jesus or Joseph, which was weird. I watched it, but it was so weird. And now he’s going to be Spider-Man— well, Spider-Man.

Drew Mollo [01:05:06]
Noir. Yeah, Jar, you’re just expecting— the thing being is that you just don’t expect Joseph to be a loose cannon, you know. You didn’t expect that, that crescendo monologue of eventually we’re gonna have to go to Bethlehem, okay.

Jar Jar [01:05:24]
No, I wasn’t bad, Drew.

Kari [01:05:26]
I, I had my hands on the script of Constantine, the, the first one, um, before it came out, because a friend of mine’s brother was working on the set, or was working on the show, and he had the script, and he was talking to us. And, uh, at one point, that asshole was, um, up for the part. He was one of the people that they were going through, and the notes he sent them, like pages and pages and pages of notes of what they would have to change for the character. And part of it was he had to be alone. He couldn’t have a driver. He, he had to be alone. He wanted them to lay off the magic and give him guns and no smoking. And I was like, if you want to be the fucking Punisher, go get your uncle to make you a Punisher movie.

Drew Mollo [01:06:13]
No, no, first things first. It is Carrie. I’m sorry, before we move on to the next subject, I think you got to tell her the Nick Cage Ghost Rider story because I’m still— I feel like I’m still apologizing for that one.

Corin Howell [01:06:26]
Oh, hi, this is Conan.

Drew Mollo [01:06:29]
Hey Conan, you fuzzy barbarian.

Corin Howell [01:06:33]
Hi there. She’s very disgruntled right now because she’s like, Mom, what the fuck are you doing back in the office? This is my time, our time.

Drew Mollo [01:06:42]
Well, especially, especially this kind of fits for the story. Carrie, do you mind if I tell part of it and then you can pick it up?

Drew Mollo [01:06:50]
Yeah, so basically Carrie is a huge Ghost Rider fan, you know, like Ghost Rider #14 was like one of her first books. And one of the cons she first got to go with, Howard Mackie was there, Javier Salteras. So she was like, oh my God, this is like, yes. Um, and then she had never seen any of the Nic Cage Ghost Riders. I was like, oh, you know, and I see this and she has that face that, that you, you have a cat that Brando has when it’s just like, look how they massacred my boy.

Corin Howell [01:07:20]
She’s just watching it. Massacred my boy.

Drew Mollo [01:07:23]
She’s just so disgruntled about like the first one. She was like, I hate him. Like, and then the second time goes by and she’s like, so apparently he’s Danny Ketch but it’s Johnny Blaze. I hate him more. And then the next day She’s telling Mackie and, and Javier about this, and they all hate it. So yeah, it’s just mutual hate. So I’m just like, like, I feel bad because now she has more dislike for Nic Cage in her heart. But I was like, but this, this, this hate brought bonding with your heroes, so everybody wins. So I was like, I’m okay, right? And she’s like, no, you’re still on the hook. I’m like, oh shit.

Kari [01:08:03]
Like, well, he did get glorious because I’m like, I was like talking to Javier, and I’m just like And I couldn’t believe— and I’m like, and he made me watch it, both of them, last night, parts. And, and he was just.

Drew Mollo [01:08:16]
Like, no, no, no. And I said in perfect Spanish, like, yo no sé, no comprendo, no comprendo el señorita’s inglés, no sir, hasta luego. I was like, nope, exit stage left, um. You know, but, but yeah, so, so.

Corin Howell [01:08:36]
Nick Cage— I can relate because that was my same reaction when Jurassic World came out. Oh yeah, there it is. There, I knew that was gonna— oh.

Drew Mollo [01:08:48]
That is so cute. I like how you’re saying it, and I was like, Murder Claw. It wasn’t even Murder Claw, it was.

Corin Howell [01:09:00]
Jurassic Park tangent, because I will go off about Jurassic Park.

Drew Mollo [01:09:03]
No more Jurassic Park fan fiction, please.

Corin Howell [01:09:13]
Um, Evolution? Yeah, I have Evolution 3. It’s really fun. You get to raise baby dinosaurs.

Drew Mollo [01:09:23]
Yeah, I’m still dealing with how perfect that was. This— the single paw touched your chin. I’m like, I know, that was so cute. And I’m just like, wow, that derailed all of us. And we all have serious some ADD somewhere, so that’s pretty cute to derail 3 ADD nerds.

Corin Howell [01:09:40]
Yeah, you are such a little attention whore, you little shit.

Corin Howell [01:09:45]
And now my brother is all pissed off because now I’m not paying attention to him.

Drew Mollo [01:09:48]
Here’s the thing, now you know you could definitely do a gender bend Clary and the witch boy, and that’s your Teagle. Yep, you know, just a little, little fucking monster.

Corin Howell [01:10:01]
Uh, I know that pain when it comes to Jurassic Park because Jurassic Park is my favorite movie. It’s my number one. It’ll always be my number one. And when I saw Jurassic World, I was like, what the fuck is.

Drew Mollo [01:10:16]
I think that could have done anything. Just to, just to let you know, that’s in my top 5 of favorite movies of all time. So I very much— and you can ask Jar this— I will frequently just spend no expense, just, just throw out a spare no expense anywhere. And you have to say it in the voice too. It’s been no expense, but you— that, or just the occasional John Williams, like, you know, welcome to Splash Pages, it’s our show, here we are. Exactly, exactly. You just, just pantomime. And Carrie’s like, this Every year I do this to myself. I, I want to be your roommate for a show, and I regret it, but I love it at the same time.

Kari [01:10:58]
He’s, he’s my con buddy. He’s, he’s the best worst roommate ever. Like, he’s like— I go, I live out of a suitcase when I’m at a— when I’m anywhere. I just like, I throw my suitcase, I get things out of it, I put things back into it. That’s it. He’s like hanging up everything in the closet, organizing the room, putting everything around. And then, and I, I sleep, and well, he falls asleep just like, like mid-conversation. We’ll be hanging out talking and he’ll just like, I’m like, okay, so I read a little bit, but okay, we have to be there at like 10, so we’re gonna leave at like, you know, 9. And so it’s like 8:15 or so, and Drew’s like does weird shit to wake me up, and it’ll just be like in this— in my face. When I finally get away, he’s, he’s, he’s loud. He wakes me up. He’s just like, good morning, I got your meds ready, I got you a Coke Zero sitting over here, I’ve already gone down and I worked out in the gym and I did some laps in the pool and I got my shower in, it’s time to wake up.

Drew Mollo [01:12:03]
And see, yeah, I’m just like, yeah, basically I make sure she does not have any sort of projectile weapon or a hammer because I just imagine I’d get hit. Yeah, you know, and this is another reason Jar is like, and this is why I stay with Leo and his, his lady.

Jar Jar [01:12:22]
If Steve stays there again, I need a new, new, new place to camp out.

Drew Mollo [01:12:28]
Fair enough, uh, fair enough. Um, but it’s, it’s wonderful. It’s, it’s— but back to the point.

Kari [01:12:35]
Jurassic Park is amazing. I don’t know if you can hear.

Drew Mollo [01:12:37]
But I hope— hopefully it would be nice to see you at a different conference, not New York. Um, but, um, but back to the book. Um, Girl and the Baddie was just.

Corin Howell [01:12:48]
4 issues and we went on a.

Drew Mollo [01:12:50]
Journey, by the way. Yeah, we, we, we— but I, I have to kind of— I have to kind of George Lucas it. Like, we threw these plots, we got to tie this all up, but in a satisfying way. No, no, no prequel series. You know, sorry, Jar. It’s okay. Yeah, it’s okay. Yeah, but again, this book, like, you had such fun with it, clearly, but like, it, like, it was a little sad.

Corin Howell [01:13:17]
I was like, oh man, it was pretty.

Corin Howell [01:13:22]
Um, but the other part is that we weren’t sure if we were gonna get any other, like, more books or not, so it had to be like we wrapped it up as best as we could, uh, when we were working on the, on the book.

Jar Jar [01:13:34]
Yeah, but what, what kind of, uh, uh, scripts do you get for, for this? Is it full script, or does she— or sorry, he, he— sorry, does he, he trust you more that you know what you’re doing? Kind of just like, hey, like, especially with the demon there, like, uh, was it like, I want this guy like slime almost dripping, like, kind of.

Corin Howell [01:13:59]
I mean, this is the one I can read about. He was pretty like, uh, his scripts were not like completely full of detail, but they were easy to read. And I immediately had the idea for the, uh, the monster, uh, like as soon as I drew him. There’s only like a little things here and there that, uh, had to be touched up on him, but It was like the, the way he described it as this, this grotesque like lump of flesh or something. I can’t quite remember. I wish I still had the script with me, but it was just— it was— he cut— they kind of let me do my own thing when it came to certain, uh, with a lot of the book. It was only very specific things, especially when it came to like the time period where, uh, where it takes place at first. Or like how thing, uh, how a setting was supposed to look in a specific like scene. Um, there’s only a few things. The rest of it was pretty much like down to me.

Jar Jar [01:15:01]
I, I say like you’re— oh, go ahead, Carrie.

Kari [01:15:05]
Oh, like with this page, was it just kind of like include these events and throw them around, or did you just— or was it just kind of like sum up the Yeah, kind of.

Corin Howell [01:15:15]
Much, uh, pretty much. It was just like, um, setting up everything in order. Uh, there was a moment where I had to look up some things because I was like, wait, I don’t remember what that looked like. Oh, this is what it looked like.

Corin Howell [01:15:28]
Um, yeah, the 9/11 one was interesting to draw. I was like, oh no, I’m drawing this.

Jar Jar [01:15:39]
Um, Challenger, right?

Corin Howell [01:15:40]
Yeah, and then there’s the Challenger, and.

Jar Jar [01:15:44]
Uh, talk about a way to traumatize all of us.

Corin Howell [01:15:48]
Okay, you were obviously alive for a lot of this. Um, right, so it’s like his love letter to— well, I mean, like, the— was it early ’70s? I think late ’60s, early ’70s. Yeah, so that time period, I would say.

Drew Mollo [01:16:07]
Well, it— but like I said, it was wonderful. But kind of to bring it all around, then Lilith, which is your— the work you’re working on, right? You know, still working on it, volume 1. Um, yeah, I, I— okay, I have to ask just because— is, is Penelope kind of based on you in some way? Because there were certain moments in there that were a little too accurate, and it was kind of like one of those where this happened to you. Like, I think it’s when she tripped on her shoelaces. I was like, okay, that happened to you, right? Because that, that’s one of those where.

Corin Howell [01:16:43]
I’m like, Penelope is a grade-A klutz like I am. I am a huge klutz. Um, and I was like, it kind of fits her personality. She— I didn’t necessarily base her entirely off of me. I just knew like I wanted to make her bubbly and cute and— but she’s also a klutz, and she kind of— she kind of gets a little like— she’s a little naive. Um, but yeah, and I, I remember, was it a couple of my friends asked me like, do you see yourself as Penelope or Lilith? I was like, I would be— I would like to be as hot as Lilith, but I’m technically Penelope in all senses.

Drew Mollo [01:17:25]
Oh, that sounds— well, we gotta say thank you, Sasha, for helping come up with the name. That’s all that.

Corin Howell [01:17:34]
Brainstorming. Sasha’s the one that really named Lilith, I would say. I think I still have that somewhere saved, the conversation about how— and like, we just— I know, thank you. She, she and I will go off of like, we’ll just like throw ideas at each other occasionally. Like, she, like, uh, today she shared like a, a song that kind of really fit the relationship between Penelope and Lilith right now. And there’s also like, we have— we were just like talking about like stupid things that we would put in the book that we have ideas for, or like, here’s our huge angst conversation for this character and how I’m like, I want to make people fucking cry like Fullmetal Alchemist did. Oh man, that’s like my goal. I want to make people fucking cry with my book.

Kari [01:18:32]
Well, I love how you have some in that where it’s— she’s all sexy and you got these long fingers and everything’s going on. And I closed the thing, by the way, so I can’t open it up again. But, um, and then there’s just like a little kawaii figure that’s like It’s just like, that is so cute. You could tell the manga influence because they’re just like, oh yeah, all this stuff, and then just a little like in the little cat mouth or something going on. I’m just like, oh, it’s adorable.

Drew Mollo [01:19:02]
And, and then the reactions were so great because like, you know, Lilith is just this super intense, serious character, and then, you know, Penelope just brings out the What? You like, what? What did you do? And it’s just like, again, and she, she kind of has that kind of like Ash from Evil Dead, um, naivety. It’s just like, I’m just gonna read from the book, nothing can happen. Like, and then, although I’m sorry, the, the grinning priest terrified me. Oh my God, like, I was like, stuff right there. Yeah, like, I was like, oh my God, I’m getting like flashbacks of the HBO Spawn when Violator was the priest. And I’m just like, I was like, he’s smiling, why is he smiling? Oh God, oh God. I was like, oh, the goo.

Corin Howell [01:19:56]
Oh my God, my jab at Catholicism and like how incredibly hypocritical it is. So monsters literally just like I chose a priest because despite everything that you see in media about a priest being, you know, a welcoming, loving person, there is a huge centuries-long, long record of corrupt and corruption and death and all this other shit. And I’m like, no. This is not— you’re not loving every— oh no, it’s, it’s just basically like my, my big fuck you to Catholicism and Christianity, where it’s just like, you are nothing but giant hypocrites because I grew up with all this shit and fuck you. So Drew, I wanted to make it creepy too. It was just something that stuck on my brain. I like, I couldn’t keep him— I could— I was like, he had to keep smiling. That’s it. I just, I didn’t know why, but he just had to. I, I just, I don’t know. Yeah, literally like this, like.

Corin Howell [01:21:05]
A little tooth, or yeah, he’s got like a gap in between.

Drew Mollo [01:21:09]
Yeah, I was like, oh boy, that is terrifying. Do you base any.

Jar Jar [01:21:13]
Of your characters off the people you know and stuff? Like the, the brother seems like a, a normal everyday kind of.

Corin Howell [01:21:25]
Um, Ben and Michael are, are kind of just characters that have been bouncing around in my brain for a while. Um, originally they were gonna be like, uh, a master and apprentice that fall in love, kind of that like boys’ love story that I had in mind. But I rejiggered them for, uh, uh, for Lilith because they kind of fit more— the personalities kind of fit where like even though Penelope is the older sibling trying to, you know, take care of everything, it’s really Ben that has to like watch out for her because holy fuck, she’s a klutz and she can’t like— she’s, she’s not really organized and all this. And it’s like, it’s Ben’s the adult, Ben’s the only adult in that entire group. Um, and Michael is, uh, I wanted this suave character who looks like he— you think he’s a badass, but he’s also just like a giant fucking idiot. Like, he’s a— he’s like a klutz. Not really a klutz, but it’s like he gets his ass kicked, obviously, in the book. But it’s like he— he’s like— it’s— fuck, it’s a great way to describe it. Kind of like Mustang from Fullmetal, I guess. Okay, you can think about it, but a little more like cattier, if that makes sense.

Drew Mollo [01:22:41]
I kind of felt like it kind of reminded me of, um How was it, uh, from Xena? Like, uh, Ares from Xena? Like, yeah, like, like, again, clearly is always whatever he has to do to win. Apparently he’s very stinky. Um, whatever he has to win, but if it, if it serves helping the hero, he will. But it’s always, I need to come out on top. So, no, you know, so that’s kind of how I kind of saw him is, is I don’t trust you at all, but I have stuck with you, so I’m gonna deal with it. But you better believe if I get a chance to throw you in the fire, kick.

Corin Howell [01:23:23]
We get to see his character grow, thankfully, over the course of the story. So a lot, a lot of this story is like, um, a monster finding love in the, like, the most unusual places. And that’s what kind of, like, what Lilith is. But yeah, Michael and Ben weren’t really based off anybody. Um, they kind of— like I said, they were just kind of like characters that were bouncing around for a while. Um, what was based off of? Oh, the, uh, so the cops that pop up in issue 4.

Corin Howell [01:23:56]
Uh, that’s actually Sean and his assistant.

Corin Howell [01:24:02]
Good to know. It’s like Officer Murphy and Cody, and I’m just like, I need— I literally texted them one day, I’m like, I need pictures of your guys’ faces. And they’re like, why? Like, just give me— give me your fucking face. Turn around.

Drew Mollo [01:24:18]
That’s amazing. Amazing.

Corin Howell [01:24:21]
I love— and we’re trying to make it like a recurring gag that they’re like the cops that just get stuck with the same shit over and over again. They’re like, why are we stuck with the weird shit? Like, why, right? So we, we kind of want to make them like the funny recurring like side characters.

Jar Jar [01:24:37]
Since this is going to be an ongoing, uh, book, do you now have like, uh, a way to keep track of who’s done what and where, or do you have that all in your head?

Corin Howell [01:24:52]
I kind of have it all in my head. Um, to be clear, I didn’t know that we were gonna be getting another ARC until I had to— until Adrian told me, my editor. And, um, uh, so I was like, yes! I was so scared that if we— that we were gonna get one, but at the same time I was like, well, if you don’t, we don’t. If we do, we do. I made a book at least. So, um, but now I’m like, okay, so we got another ARC to write.

Corin Howell [01:25:28]
Um, yeah, it’s, uh, I have an overall idea. Sasha and I definitely have been talking about it.

Corin Howell [01:25:36]
Um, I, I know how the series ends. I specifically know how to— how it ends. I have that locked in my brain already. I know what’s going to be happening with this next arc. It was just a matter of like, a lot of this comes down to like really just me saying, fuck it, I’m putting this in here. Like, it was just like I, there are days where I’ve been, I was trying to write things and I remember specifically when I first started writing the first issue where I was like making it dark and, you know, dreadful and kind of misery. We have another book to write. Fuck, literally the mood of it on the.

Corin Howell [01:26:25]
Um, so it’s— and I made it like kind of dark and a little too gritty and depressing. And I, I remember just sitting here going, this is not working. I don’t, I don’t feel like this is working. So I was like, fuck it. Let’s add stupid jokes in, let’s go.

Corin Howell [01:26:45]
And then it worked. And I, I didn’t expect to, like, uh, for my editors to love it so much. And it’s like a lot of my fuck it jokes end up actually.

Corin Howell [01:26:58]
Uh, case in point, I made a joke on Slack about like, what if we did like a Lil calendar? That’d be fucking funny. And I was like, yeah, we’re not gonna do do that. And Adrian next day is like, all right, we got plans to do a little calendar for the BackerKit campaign. I was like, I said that as a joke.

Corin Howell [01:27:16]
It, I didn’t see that coming at all.

Drew Mollo [01:27:19]
Just— that’s one of those where, okay, I’m gonna think of a bunch of random numbers and then I’m saying this is not gonna be the lottery.

Corin Howell [01:27:26]
Yeah, you know, it’s literally like every time I go, fuck it, let’s do it, and immediately it’s it’s just taken off. So it’s like, I, I do appreciate how much Adrian and Vault allow me to have whatever, like, so much fun with my covers and, and my stories that I get to do, because it’s like, it’s literally most of the time it’s like I just go, fuck it, this is what you’re getting today.

Drew Mollo [01:27:53]
Yeah. Did— have you seen Lilith cosplayers yet? Have— has that happened?

Corin Howell [01:27:58]
Uh, only like online. Occasionally, like, I— like, uh, so like the first issue cover that we have, a cosplayer that looked like an old, um, what is it, uh, fuck, it looked like an old tabloid magazine, like an old from like the ’70s, and she’s dressed up as Lilith in one of the poses of one of the original illustrations. We’ve had that, and I’ve had friends do it too, but I’ve not officially seen any Lilith cosplayers. Um, I, I hope to maybe one day. Um, I, I, like I said, most of these times I don’t expect or think about that happening. Uh, it’s more of like in the moment where I’m like, huh, I wonder if I might see a cosplayer. Yeah, it’s not— it’s okay.

Drew Mollo [01:28:45]
I mean, you know, in your career, I mean, have you seen like, like people cosplay? Like, again, have like, you know, Answer the Call Ghostbusters show as a Transformer, they’re like, oh hey, love your work, and you’re like Thank you.

Corin Howell [01:29:00]
Um, I’ve had like— I’ve had a Holtzman come up to me. Nice. Which I was like, yeah, of course, perfect character, she’s the best character. Um, pretty great. Uh, she was cool. And then most of the time when it’s Transformers fans coming up, it’s usually everybody that knows me from Tumblr or Discord.

Corin Howell [01:29:22]
In the Transformers fandom. Yeah, not specifically my books. It’s mostly because they know me as like, oh, you’re one of the Transformers fan artists that I love following and I love your work. And it’s like, yep, nobody knows about the books much. It’s always the fan art.

Drew Mollo [01:29:39]
But I mean, and it’s funny because I didn’t even know that that was a thing, like there’s a Transformers Discord. And literally I was like, do I tell our friend Leo and let that blow his mind, or do I keep that? And then now I was like, I said in the.

Drew Mollo [01:29:59]
Know, no, you don’t understand. Like, Leo, like, the fact that he is not here, he would absolutely gush telling you about Transformers Gen 1. Uh, he almost had a— he almost— what is Jar was like, he almost bought— was it Unicron?

Corin Howell [01:30:19]
He almost bought the, the giant Unicron, uh, figure.

Kari [01:30:24]
But one of those— yeah, Carrie, Carrie, on accident.

Drew Mollo [01:30:29]
Carrie, you gotta tell her the story about, about it because it’s— if she’s a fan, she will love this and be like, what?

Kari [01:30:38]
Okay, so while I was playing a caregiver for my grandparents, I wasn’t here most of the time, but my significant other at the time decided that he was going to invite the entire homeless community, uh, to come stay in my apartment. Yeah, and they, they would bring all of their things and they would dumpster and they would take all of my things, you know. So I have like no more Magic: The Gathering cards.

Corin Howell [01:31:00]
Um, oh my God, I would kill that person.

Kari [01:31:02]
I’m sorry, if I knew who it was. You know. But, um, but they left all their shit. A lot of them did. And so I’m like going through and like trying to clean out, because there’s a room that it’s like stacked like with all these people who I don’t know, you know, like 50 pairs of sneakers and all this stuff. And I’m going through trying to find some of my stuff that I know at least at one point was in this closet. And I start going through and there’s like this giant Transformer. And I pull him out and I’m like Okay, and I had to ask because I don’t know enough about Transformers, and I’m like, he’s really big and orange and he has this and he has these things, but now I’m finding all these different pieces of him. So I’m slowly putting him together as I find more pieces of him, and I’m just assembling this, like, this tall of a Unicron whose, like, head lights up and he’s got these weird plastic half disc things and stuff. And so, yeah, so I accidentally have a giant Unicron that.

Corin Howell [01:31:59]
You know how much that’s worth?

Drew Mollo [01:32:01]
For real? For real. It’s the.

Corin Howell [01:32:07]
I mean, people will still probably buy like the rough version, but people— that thing is worth a lot of.

Jar Jar [01:32:17]
That was fan-funded, wasn’t it?

Corin Howell [01:32:21]
I think so. Yeah. That’s so insane that they just like left that there.

Kari [01:32:29]
Yeah, well, you know, the thing is, is like some of them would be like, they’d, you know, they, they would be staying here, so they’d bring all of their stuff here, and then they’d like go to jail, and then they’d never come back to pick their things up because it was like, oh, I’m homeless, so I don’t have anywhere to put it, so I’ll just leave it there. And then they eventually forget stuff. And so, yeah, yeah, so I, I just keep going through different boxes and finding different pieces of Unicron and putting them together.

Drew Mollo [01:33:00]
I’m sorry, Carrie, I just imagine like the— in The Godfather, when it’s the leave, uh, leave the gun, take the cannoli. It’s just— hold on— leave the Unicron, take the Magic: The Gathering, you.

Drew Mollo [01:33:17]
Off of that sucker. Yeah, Carrie, little, little, little, little AllSpark nest egg for you there.

Corin Howell [01:33:24]
I mean, like, literally, I have a, I have a couple figures. I have— I’m not— I’m a fan, but I don’t collect a lot of figures. A lot of— and most of the time my figures are gifts from fans. Like, uh, I have a couple of, like— yeah, I have a couple of, uh— what? She’s cussing me out. I have like a couple that I’ve gotten as gifts from BotCon for when I did the anniversary comic. I’ve had, right, him and I were talking about specific characters that like I told him that I hated Tracks and he was like, how dare you? And that’s exactly what I’m talking about. Um, I like, yeah, but like a lot of this stuff is either from when I was like a kid that I still have or gifts and stuff. And I actually have a figure here that’s worth a good $400 now, but I’m not letting him go because I love him too much.

Drew Mollo [01:34:20]
Well, I mean, yeah, because it’s yours— your love of that started with Beast Wars, right? And just skyrocketed after Armada, right?

Corin Howell [01:34:28]
Yeah, so like after Armada came out, because they— despite the fact that Armada was poorly funded and rushed in animation, the story itself was really good in my opinion. Like, growing up back in the day, um, like, I was too young— I was a little too young for Beast Wars to like— like, because I was still that little girl stage where my mom was trying to like get me to do girly things, I guess. Or, you know, I wanted— I wanted to play video games, but my my cousins wouldn’t let me because I was a girl, like that sort.

Corin Howell [01:35:06]
Um, but yeah, like Armada kind of kicked it off, and then it just like this deep dive, uh, like getting onto like the old Transformers fan fiction website that I’m pretty sure isn’t there anymore. It was called lexicon.com. Um, and then there was like— there’s TFW2005, which is still around. There’s like Cybertron. There was like so many Transformers sites, and it’s like, here I am as a kid, go— really growing up, and I’m getting deep dive into all these things. And I remember, go— like, we were— God, where were we? Oh yeah, I remember now. We were— my mom and I and my sister were like going shopping in this little outdoor mall or whatever, outlet mall in Gainesville, Florida.. And, um, I saw that there was a comic book store there, uh, I believe it was called, uh, like Gator Bookstore or something like that. I can’t remember what it was called, but I remember going in there and seeing like some Transformers stuff and being very excited because I was like 11 or 12, and I was like, I can get— maybe they got Transformers stuff I could see and like read and whatever. And like our motto was like just late, or like, like Armada ended, Energon started, and then they were all the ancient texts. Um, and then there’s like Cybertron, or somewhere along the lines. Anyway, I’m going down like, what series was out? And then Armada. Yes. So I go in and I’m— I— there’s all these long boxes and stuff. And to be fair, to be honest, that was the very first time I was exposed to actual, like, comic stuff, like a store that had, like, like, long boxes and figurines and collectibles and stuff. Because I was like, all I knew was manga and, you know, Cartoon Network stuff and Batman Beyond, and that was like my shit. And so, um I go in, I don’t know where to start, and I’m also like really shy. I was a really shy kid. So I go up to the counter and these two dudes are talking, and I’m— I, I like very shyly asked, hey, do you guys have any Transformers comics? And the guy like turns to me and he just goes, do you even know who Optimus Prime is? And I was like ‘Um, yeah.’ And so he was like, he points to a fucking long box and whatever, and I find my, uh, I find my little, my stack of Transformers Armada comics that I still have, by the.

Corin Howell [01:37:53]
Um, but yeah, like, it was a— it was also me encountering like, wait, why would you say that to me? Like, what’s so wrong with a girl liking Giant robots. So it’s okay.

Drew Mollo [01:38:07]
Something I kind of grew up with. It’s, it’s okay. They were just too salty.

Jar Jar [01:38:12]
We’re still trying to teach them.

Drew Mollo [01:38:14]
We’re— yeah, we’re strict. You know, I, I just— it’s funny because when your friend said the ancient text, I was like, I remember a long time ago, before the Empire, before the Empire, before the fall of Cybertron.

Corin Howell [01:38:29]
There were two The Great War.

Drew Mollo [01:38:32]
Before the Great War, there was Optimus Prime.

Corin Howell [01:38:37]
And Megatron. The divorce that sparked a giant multi-millennial war.

Drew Mollo [01:38:43]
Well, it’s so funny because I’m a so-so Transformers fan. Like, I, I never really got into it too much, but I, I got to meet Frank Welker, which was— yeah, it was the— I’m a huge— again, being a Ghostbusters fan, you know what he did. Yeah, well, he was Ray, and he did a smattering of the other voices. So just being around him, and of course when you hear him talk, he’s basically Fred. Oh yeah, from Scooby-Doo. But I was— he was— because he was doing a signing, and like near him is Peter Cullen. So, and I’m doing my best to like, you know, even me, like, okay, I’m here for Frank. I have a photo with Frank. He signed my proton pack. I’m over the moon because I’m just like You’re the guy, like, you know what I mean? Like, this is my— but I’m near Peter Cullen. I was like, I’m absorbing Transformer energy, and I just wanna, you know, like, I was like, calm, calm. And these two can attest, like, when I, when I geek out, it’s like a thermonuclear adorable detonation. Just a lot of thoughts, a lot of thoughts, a lot of thoughts. It’s like, oh my God, you’re so great, everything you do Wonderful. Your mustache is fantastic, Peter. You know, like the thing that— the meltdown in my brain. And I was like, keep it cool, keep it cool, keep it cool. Don’t do the finger guns. Don’t do the finger guns. Um, but I mean, hearing Peter just, just in the vicinity, hearing him talk, it’s just, it’s the goosebumps of, of, of Transformers. I mean, uh, You know, just anytime you see him do the monologue, the Optimus Prime, you’re just like, there will never be anybody else that just does it the way he does. And yeah, it’s just, it’s, it, it was amazing.

Corin Howell [01:40:34]
So I got to, I got to meet him the year of the 40th anniversary, both of them. I got to meet— it was at Dallas Fan Expo, uh 2024, and they were— I got invited with Sean, and we were all there, and we, and we were looking about the guest list, and we saw that Peter Cullen and Frank Welker were going to be there because it’s the anniversary, right? Of course, it’s the 40th anniversary. And I’m like, holy shit, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get in line. And Sean’s like, dude, you have to, because Peter Cullen ain’t getting younger.

Corin Howell [01:41:10]
Was like, fuck. So behold to me, uh, thankfully I learned that with my— like, since I was a guest, I was able to bypass the line, which I was like, oh cool, awesome.

Drew Mollo [01:41:18]
I was about to say, don’t you get privileges? Yeah, don’t you get the, the nonchalant VIP? Like, sorry, I’m a guest.

Corin Howell [01:41:25]
Sorry, I’m just kidding. Yeah, they just saw my badge, they’re like, oh, okay, you can go ahead.

Drew Mollo [01:41:29]
Yeah, yeah, you go, you go. Okay.

Corin Howell [01:41:32]
And I remember, I remember the night before just joking, like, oh man, I can’t wait to meet them. I’m so gonna cry. Not really. And oh, hell yeah, Adrian’s with me as I go to meet Peter Cullen, and I didn’t have anything for him to sign. I, I didn’t want a picture. I actually drew him a sketch card. I drew one for Peter and one for Frank. Oh my God, a little Optimus— a little bust of Optimus Prime that said thank you for Everything. And I was like, I gave it to him and I was telling him how much Optimus Prime kept me going through all the hard parts of, uh, my life and my career and how he kept me going. And, and I started— I was like, oh no, I’m about to cry. Fuck. And my, my friend Adrian’s like, don’t cry because then I’m gonna cry. And it was just like, ah. But it was so amazing because like He takes the card and he’s so happy and he shakes my hand and he’s such a grandpa. I love it. I love how grandfatherly he was. And he goes to me and he goes, keep going. And I was like, I’m gonna cry.

Drew Mollo [01:42:41]
Did he say it in the voice.

Corin Howell [01:42:42]
Or was it just like— he told me, he’s like, as I’m leaving, he’s like, keep going. And I was like, thank you, Peter Cullen. And then I met Frank the next day, and I think they drew him a sketch card, right? And he gets it, he’s so happy, he’s so excited because I, I told him like, I don’t have anything for you to sign, I really— I don’t, you know, want a picture, I want to give you something. Um, and he shakes my hand, and because I told him about how like Megatron was like a huge thing for me too growing up, and how like the resilience of him, he was also like, you know, kept me going as well. Right. So as, as I’m about to walk away, as he shakes my hand, he pulls out the fucking Megatron voice and goes, Megatron admires your talent and your heart.

Drew Mollo [01:43:31]
And I was like, this is crying.

Corin Howell [01:43:36]
Let me just go. I got inducted into the Decepticons that day.

Drew Mollo [01:43:43]
My ass. That’s, uh, that’s, uh, that’s a Katrina in the waves. Like, I’m walking.

Corin Howell [01:43:50]
On sunshine. That day, it was a magical day. Agreed. Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, and I.

Drew Mollo [01:43:55]
Was like, that’s it, I’m done, out, done.

Corin Howell [01:44:00]
I think it’s like the only, the only one, the only other one that I want to meet is Hugh Jackman.

Corin Howell [01:44:06]
Good luck. I know, it’s like it’s a pie in the sky.

Drew Mollo [01:44:09]
Yeah, you know what, just if you.

Jar Jar [01:44:11]
Do a show on Broadway or something.

Drew Mollo [01:44:14]
Yeah, it’ll be the greatest show for you, you know.

Jar Jar [01:44:17]
He is the greatest showman. That, that was pretty slick, Drew.

Kari [01:44:29]
Go, Carrie. Oh, I was just gonna say, we, we, uh, we told you we were gonna keep you for an hour and we’re heading on to now, so I.

Drew Mollo [01:44:35]
Hope— yeah, we need to wrap this up. Okay, this is, this is our problem. We just get So we just get so wrapped up in the, in the convo, we’re just like, it’s like we could be on forever, but like, but the attention span of nerds does not allow us to do that. So, you know, damn you nerds.

Corin Howell [01:44:56]
It’s like, it’s like whenever I talk about like Transformers fandom stuff and like we’ll be at it for hours and I’m like, oh fuck, it’s already midnight.

Drew Mollo [01:45:04]
Yeah, that, that’s the— it’s that we’re gonna have you on for an hour, everything, 2 hours later. But, um, all right, well, I guess, Carrie, we should just wrap it up, right? I don’t even think we have time for our usual end of the.

Drew Mollo [01:45:23]
What are we having? What are we having though? What do you— do you like— do you want us to talk about it? We could just be like, and then in other news, she’s making a plate of pasta, perhaps, you know. Maybe is it going to be olive oil? Maybe it’ll be tomato sauce. Will she sprinkle Parmesan? Will it be Romano? Who cares? It’s dinner. You know, Stouffer’s mac and cheese, the Home Alone edition.

Drew Mollo [01:45:53]
That’s true. I was like, she had the mushrooms. I was like, that’s a Mario meal.

Kari [01:46:01]
You know, it’s a pasta. So do you have anything coming up? As you said, you were putting out a new book with Sean Murphy, and do you want to promote anything? And also any cons that you might have coming up?

Corin Howell [01:46:13]
Yes, I can’t quite talk about the book with Sean too much, unfortunately, because we have— we don’t have a publisher yet, but it is already 2 issues in the bag. Yeah, nice. And I, I can say this, it is basically a monster story in the Northeast. Yes, it’s a New Hampshire monster story kind of based around Sean’s childhood and a bit of mine. Uh, so, uh, but that’s the book we’re going to be working on now, uh, or we’re working on right now. I got 2 more issues to go. Um, but yeah, we’re still looking for a publisher. Um, and then there’s Lilith Arc 2. Which will be coming out in fall. I actually start writing issue 6 finally after, after the outline got approved. So there’s, there’s a lot of work coming up. And as for shows, I will be at, um, MegaCon Orlando this year, uh, March 19th to the 22nd. I did not know that was a 4-day show. Um, and then will be Denver Fan Expo in May. And there might be a show somewhere in July. I can’t say much yet. Yeah, I’m definitely New York, but yeah.

Drew Mollo [01:47:35]
Well, yeah, absolutely.

Kari [01:47:36]
I forgot I have to pull you up solo and be like, so where do you like fans to reach out at you on social media and reach you?

Corin Howell [01:47:45]
You can find me on Instagram, Blue Sky, and Twitter. Because I refuse to call it X. Uh, all the same name at Corin M. Howell. And, um, I also have my new website that just— we just launched, and it has my new— it has a store and where you can contact me about commissions as well. I will be opening pre-show commissions for, uh, uh, MegaCon Orlando on the 25th. Uh, but yeah, I— you can find me at corinmhowell.com. And yeah, That’s where you’ll find me, and you can get all the news of Lilith too. We have our own newsletter coming out soon. So yeah, you can all find me there.

Jar Jar [01:48:23]
What’s the strangest commission you’ve been asked to draw?

Drew Mollo [01:48:38]
Yeah, it’s gonna be fucking weird.

Corin Howell [01:48:40]
There’s gonna be tentacles. No, it doesn’t look— here’s the thing, it doesn’t look weird, but you obviously— it is very obvious what the intention is. This specific, specific commission was Power Girl, Power Girl but with no shoes on.

Jar Jar [01:49:03]
I knew there was feet in it.

Corin Howell [01:49:05]
Yep. And it’s like you have to like make sure that there’s a good attention to the feet. And I’m like, I, I commend your attempt to try to hide what you wanted, what you want, but this is so obvious because I learned that this person has a fucking history of doing the same commission with a lot of artists. Ah, ah, okay. So it doesn’t sound weird but I know the intentions behind it, and I’m like, that’s the weird part for me, because it’s like, other than that, it’s like, you know, people’s OCs or, you know, right, specific characters, whatever. But that’s the one that still sticks with me where I’m like, this is so specific, so, so specific.

Drew Mollo [01:49:55]
Yep, should have been— should have went with tentacles. Okay, Wonder Bread guy. The Wonder Bread guy. No, no, no, no, no, save it for next show.

Drew Mollo [01:50:06]
All right, Carrie, you gonna sign us off?

Kari [01:50:08]
Yep, yep. Okay, so, um, I talk a little bit more about myself than Leo does. He’s always like, you know where to find me, bye. Uh, but you can find me at Carrie Sanders on Facebook, and I have all those other little things too, but I don’t use any of them except to follow people. So go there and you can find links to like my author page and to the Owl Light Network where I do shows over there too. And to all my stuff. It’s fun. But, um, go read my things, get a hold of me, hang out. Uh, Jar, where do you want people.

Corin Howell [01:50:37]
To get a hold of you?

Jar Jar [01:50:39]
Uh, anywhere and everywhere. Social media, I’m sure.

Jar Jar [01:50:43]
I think I might even have a Twitter account. I, I haven’t been on there in forever, so— but you might find me there. Um, beyond that, I’m here.

Corin Howell [01:50:56]
All right, all right.

Drew Mollo [01:50:59]
Hard eyes, motherfucker. Hey everybody, uh, thank you so much for joining us. We really do appreciate it. Uh, if you really like what you saw here and you haven’t already, please hit the like and subscribe button to our YouTube channel. Uh, we got a lot of really great stuff coming up this year, and, um, you know, help us, you know, be able to fund a new Discord. Yeah, we haven’t won yet, but you know, apparently Discord is where things happen on a creative level that we didn’t even realize, you know. Um, chaos happens indeed, where all the chaos happens. But, uh, if you need to get in touch with me, you can find me Drew Mollo on Facebook, Ghostbuster Man 1984. Um, on Instagram, I’m on Blue Sky as well. Um, and I’m just generally full of shenanigans, like, like, you know, yeah, just general shenanigans. Like, like, literally will pistol whip the next guy who says shenanigans. And the Larky, uh, that, uh, Shenanigans. Damn it. Um, but seriously, thank you so much everybody, and make sure to stay tuned, uh, next week when we’re gonna have Amber Atkin on to discuss her new book, uh, Penny and the Yeti. Really excited about that one. Um, but until then, um, this has been Splash Pages, and, uh, see you later.

Drew Mollo [01:52:15]
I guess that’s how we’re signing off.