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ComicBookGirl19 – "My Heart Bleeds For Jack Kirby"

Published Tue, 11 Apr 2017 14:30:09 -0500

William Wright writes,

Machinima recently partnered up with ComicBookGirl19, from the popular Youtube channel, to launch the new web-series "Greater Creators" available on Go90 mobile app. The show focuses on various creative minds from comics, movies and films that have make classic bodies of work. The 14-episode series features in-depth examination on creators including Alan Moore, Gene Roddenberry, Frank Herbert, Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick, Hayao Miyazaki, Frank Frazetta and Ray Harryhausen.

ComicBookGirl19 was kind enough to sit down with Bleeding Cool to talk about the series, her Youtube channel, and the current Google advertising policies that are making it more and more difficult for online creators to produce content.

BleedingCool: Tell us about the how "Greater Creators" came to fruition?

ComicBookGirl19: "Greater Creators" came to fruition when Director Tyson Wheeler and I were approached by Machinima to create content for the Go90 platform. We pitched them on the idea of an educational show about the artists and writers behind Pop Culture who pushed the boundaries of art and whose influence can still be felt today. They took the bait and then we produced a pilot for them based around the man who made the modern Marvel Universe as we know and love it, Jack Kirby. This episode became the first official episode after we received Machinima and Go90's stamp of approval and season 1 was officially green-lit.

BC: This series was created for Machinima's Go90 app and is exclusive to the platform. What was it about creating this series with Machinima that was appealing versus putting it out on your own Youtube channel?

ComicBookGirl19: It's simple math. We cannot afford to make a show at this high of a production level on YouTube with our own humble resources. "Greater Creators" was made possible through the budget provided by our producing partner, Machinima.

BC: I loved the first season of "Greater Creators" and found the episodes for Jack Kirby, Frank Frazetta, and Alan Moore especially fascinating as each of those episodes offered in their life outside the printed page and their lives. Can you run us through the process of how you go about researching a creator?

ComicBookGirl19: We are glad to hear you dig our show! When we originally chose the subjects of our episodes, we chose creators that we are already somewhat familiar with and have been personally inspired by. Creating this show also gave us the opportunity to learn more about our favorite artists. Since we had a tight deadline we hired writer and fellow knowledgeable pop culture connoisseur, Ryan Downey, who created the base scripts which we then added our own research and segment ideas on top of. It was an enormous collaborative effort to get this amount of research done for 10 different creative geniuses. The amount of research is nearly infinite. It's not just finding out about the when, where, and hows of their life, but also the context of the time their work was being produced in. And let me tell you, tracking down physical images to present as examples for some of these guys was not easy or cheap.

BC: Was there anything you discovered during the research process that you didn't know about?

ComicBookGirl19: Oh my lord, we learned a TON of stuff. It's hard to quantify. Personally, I did a massive amount of research on my boy, Stanley Kubrick, and wrote what ended up being a three part hour-long documentary about his entire life and career. It was such a delight to really get into the nitty-gritty of one of my hero's careers and I feel even more inspired by him, especially learning more about how he managed to work outside the Hollywood system doing things his own way.

BC: One of the common threads that come up in many of the episodes is the mistreatment of creators by either comic book publishers or movie studios. Was there one that was particularly eye-opening to you?

ComicBookGirl19: My heart bleeds for Jack Kirby in particular. He was an incredibly talented and prolific artist who breathed life into entire fictional universes, particularly at Marvel but also at DC. Do you like the X-Men? Kirby. Captain America? Thor? Black Panther, Galactus, The Fantastic Four, Hulk, Ant-Man, Iron Man, The Inhumans…the list goes on and on. And not only did he help birth the modern Marvel Universe and DC's Fourth World, he also created entire comic genres like Westerns and Romance comics when Horror comics were censored out of existence by the United States Senate in the 1950's. Even though he was a creative genius, he was not a business genius. He basically gave all his ideas away for a small fee and didn't own any percentages on his characters or Intellectual Properties. Later in life it made him so sick that he couldn't even step foot into a toy store and witness all the money being made off his ideas. But because of his mistreatment, artists and lawyers have come together to make things a bit better. For one, artists now receive their pages back so they can sell them versus before when the publisher kept them.

BC: How important is it for creators to be able to balance work-for-hire versus creating the art/story that they feel they need to create without restrictions?

ComicBookGirl19: Balance is always tricky. Sometimes you make art and sometimes you pay the bills. Personally it is incredibly important for us to be able to work without restrictions from someone whom we don't creatively trust and that kind of trust isn't easy to come by. This is why we are focusing on expanding our own brand this year versus chasing opportunities with larger corporations. The Internet allows small production companies like 19 Productions to potentially cut out the middle men, for which I am grateful, because our best work doesn't come with a corporate filter.

BC: Now that the series has released the first few episodes, what has the fan reaction been so far?

ComicBookGirl19: We are pleased to say the reaction to "Greater Creators" has been nothing but positive. I have people on twitter suggesting what creators they would like to see featured in a season 2 if that comes into existence.

BC: Is there a creator that you are dying to explore that wasn't featured in Season 1? What creators are fans requesting you devote an episode to as a subject?

ComicBookGirl19: Originally HP Lovecraft was on our docket for season 1 but time did now allow it so we had to cut him unfortunately. Grant Morrison is one we would also love to do and he has been specifically requested by our viewers multiple times.

BC: What's next for CBG19 in 2017 now that you've wrapped up the first Season of "Greater Creators"?

ComicBookGirl19: This year we are focusing on creating content for YouTube ranging from our regular movie and comic reviews to some special episodes I want to create for Twin Peaks, Sailor Moon, and most importantly, Dune. Also we are doing a pre-sale for our fancy CBG19xDuneBox in preparation for a weekly live book club simply called, Dune Club, this summer/fall. The box includes a signed copy of Dune, weird bookmark, vial of spice melange you can wear as a necklace, and a lapel pin that I am currently creating. I'm angling for a possible CBG19 Dune LARP/Cosplay Ball this winter if the Universe smiles upon me.

BC: Will we see a return to your Game of Thrones videos when the series returns later this year?

ComicBookGirl19: Honestly, I'm not even excited to watch the new season of Game of Thrones. I know that's going to bum so many viewers out but it's the truth. I really don't know if we are going to make any videos around Game Thrones or not, it depends on how things go. I feel like we've made all the content I want to make around Game of Thrones and I'd much rather spend our time and resources creating videos around other things I am far more interested in…like DUNE.

BC: Movie you are most excited for in 2017-2018 and what movie do you think already looks like a bad movie even before its release?

ComicBookGirl19: 2017/2018 movies so far look mostly like sequel/reboot garbage and I am kind of having an existential crisis about having to review them and keep my sanity. The guilty pleasure movie that I'm looking forward to is The Fate of the Furious because it's so dumb. Obviously, I am highly curious about Alien: Covenant. I'm not sure about Blade Runner 2, I love the director but the movie feels unnecessary, who knows…that one's a wild card for me.

Spider-Man: Homecoming has got me excited because we get to see what Marvel Studios can do with the wall crawler after the last few disastrous attempts by Sony.

I am REALLY WORRIED about The Dark Tower, even though I LOVE The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. So much so in fact that I have a 19 in my internet handle. But I've always thought it would be a mistake to try and translate it to the screen. It's just so WEIRD…I don't think its for a wide audience and honestly, do yourself a favor and read the books instead because there is no way to top them cinematically speaking.

Also I look forward to talking to shit about The Mummy. That looks hella stupid.

BC: You've been outspoken about Youtube ad policies and stripping ads from content they feel is not friendly to their advertisers. How was this directly impacted your Youtube channel and does is factor into the way you create content moving forward?

ComicBookGirl19: I am very aware the rug could be pulled out from underneath me at any moment. Google and YouTube owe me nothing and I don't put all my eggs in the adRevenue basket, which has never been that profitable for us anyway. YouTube doesn't even pay the rent. So I continue to commit myself to diversifying our portfolio through things like the CBG19xDune Box, Patreon, Cosplay Posters, Calendars, random hosting gigs, etc.

BC: Do you have any thoughts on the recent controversy with Youtube star PewDiePie and Youtube/Disney severing ties with him over his anti-Semitic content?

ComicBookGirl19: PewDiePie done goofed. Maybe it was a Death Urge on his part? Like he got as big as he could get and then some subconscious part of him wanted to destroy it? Like a kid kicking their sand castle over? I don't know. The whole thing is nuts. Jews are great and I especially like eating some BOMB Hamentashen at Purim, but I'm a fan of all the religions. They fascinate me.

BC: When you aren't creating content for your various outlets, what comics are you currently reading at the moment? What's at the top of your pull list and is there a book you feel not enough people are reading but should be?

ComicBookGirl19: I've been so damn busy these past 6 months I haven't been reading ANY comics! Lame, I know. Marvel and DC have both been bumming me out so I'm not ready to dive back in over there, but what I do want to catch up on reading comes mostly from Image. Saga, Monstress, and DEFINITELY Snot Girl. I read the first couple issues of Snot Girl and it was hitting so close to home I kinda stopped because it was way too meta. Also my hair is green now so yeah. I also want to check out Head Lopper.

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