Our host chats with a fellow veteran of the comic con artists alley circuit and a man who brimming with positivity and the creative spirit.

Hugh Rookwood is a freelance artist and owner of an illustration and design studio called “Chozen Studios”. For over 20 years he has incorporated his love of comics and comic art into his profession and developed an extensive portfolio. Hugh was an original founding member of Draxhall Jump Studios created by Artist/CEO Ken Lashley of Marvel Comics fame, which gave him the opportunity to do work for companies such as Hasbro,Mattel, Image Comics and Darkhorse

Our guest discusses his unlikely artistic influences in surrealist painters, finding a love of Marvel comics at an early age and using his early teachings in animation to create an award winning children's book about an unlikely Canadian folk hero.

André gets to know a fellow member of the United Federation of Podcast, Actor and podcaster Michael Chan!

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and growing up in Scarborough, North York, and Richmond Hill, his original intention was to become a doctor, Michael studied Human Biology and Sociology at the University of Toronto. In his second year, he was asked to voice characters for a couple of student productions, which is how he caught the "acting bug". After graduating, he enrolled at the Toronto Film School, which was part of the International Academy of Design and Technology in the CBC Building, and began auditioning for roles in theatre and independent film productions. This path lead him all the way to a role on Star Trek Discovery.

Michael discusses how his mother's health issue led to him pursuing a career in medicine. How internalized racism in the film industry led to him choosing a stage name and how a carefully cultivated career path can be created to reach the role of your dreams!

Part 2 of an in depth conversation with Marvel Comics creator David Cullen!

The second section of this conversation delves into the "hustle" required to get a foot in the door at Marvel Comics. He talks about how a fun idea about Keith Richards leading the Fantastic Four led to a two page spread in a What If comic!

The discussion leads to David's storyboard work and how he worked very closely with Robert Eggers on the amazing cult film The Lighthouse. Leading to the revelation that of all his storyboard work it stands as the one that was closest to his original drawings.

André chats with a friend of a friend and a creator for Marvel Comics who through sheer tenacity made it to the House of Ideas!

David Cullen is a self-employed artist and the sole proprietor of Quinline Graphics. He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and studied at Halifax's Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD). During this time, he pursued work at Marvel and DC Comics in New York. His career as a self-employed artist began with a drawing assignment from Marvel Comics editor, Craig Anderson. The resulting product saw print in Marvel's 'What If ...?' V2 and was his first mass-published, professional work.

While continuing with Marvel, David began finding storyboard work in Halifax's film industry and beyond. His work as a storyboard artist has been widely utilized in television commercials, feature films, TV movies, children's TV animation and live-action production, as well as in comics and cartoons for periodicals.

David and André chat about growing up in Texas, maneuvering his school trip to meet with Marvel Comics and adding Keith Richards to the Fantastic Four!

André and Frank finish their epic conversation with themes of heartbreak, mental health issues, creativity and existential horror.

The second part of the conversation with Frank Forrestall delves into his short film JackenJill and his regrets about not "killing his darlings" and making it a shorter offering. How he entered into the Canadian film world and how the drudgery of the work and his own personal issue led to a mental breakdown and how using that experience lead to building a career in painting and finding his own voice in a medium already peppered with the work of his father.

When André was first trying to break into film acting many years ago he was lucky to stumble upon a role in a small independent horror short directed by this weeks guest!

Frank Forrestall was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1973. Youngest son of celebrated Canadian artist Tom Forrestall, Frank attended NSCAD before working in the entertainment industry (Art Department, Animation, Visual Effects, Digital Art) for nearly 20 years. In 2017 Frank returned to painting and began to apply himself full-time to his Fine Art endeavors.

Part 1 of this 2 part conversation focuses on growing up with a famous father, breaking into film and animation with a beloved documentary of Fairies and getting a call from Dreamworks to be a part of their experimental animation website and how that became erased from every vestige of the internet after it failed.

Andre chats with Jeff Blyth a man who has had a hand in all aspects of film making with integral parts in cinematic history!

A director, writer and producer whose film experience has taken him and his audiences to every corner of the globe. Millions of visitors to Disney theme parks have seen Blyth's artistry and technical expertise in Circle-Vision 360-degree films shot throughout America, Canada, China and Europe. His film-making skills also span an impressive range of media including IMAX films, theatrical motion pictures, television documentaries, episodic television and video-based computer games.

Jeff discusses a very personal documentary he recently created about his father's experiences in WW2, Working with wild animals on the set of Disney's Cheetah, Spending 2 years in China to film Disney's first Circle-Vision film and finding light in the themes of cinema which often turn towards the dark!

André sits down with another creator for Marvel Comics and the mastermind behind what may be the most Canadian superhero ever created Toronto-based superhero The Pitiful Human-Lizard.

Jason Loo is co-Creator and artist on the 2020 Eisner Award-Winning digital series Afterlift for Comixology Originals, with comic writer Chip Zdarsky. The series also won a Joe Shuster Award for best digital series and nominated for a 2020 Harvey Award. Other projects include Star Wars Adventures and Star Wars: High Republic Adventures (IDW); X-Corp, Fantastic Four, and Marvel Voices (Marvel); Kill Shakespeare (IDW); and Black Hammer Visions (Dark Horse Comics).

Jason and our host discuss a childhood related connection to Multiple Man a character he currently works on for Marvel unlimited, Why the term he penned "Made in Chinatown" had a newfound relevance later in life and how making the city of Toronto a real character in his book may have been the key to his early independent comics success.

After a brief hiatus André returns with Season 4 of the show and boy did we come back with a bang!

With twenty books published internationally and nineteen feature movies in worldwide distribution, John Russo has been called a "living legend." He began by co-authoring the screenplay for Night of the Living Dead, which has become recognized as a "horror classic." His three books on the art and craft of movie making have become bibles of independent production, and one of them, Scare Tactics, won a national award for Superior Nonfiction. Quentin Tarantino and many other noted filmmakers have stated that Russo's books helped them launch their careers.

André and John talk about how a lack of faith in humanities ability to work together lead to the idea of Night of the Living Dead, his work on it's restoration, the odd way he first met George Romero and his passion for writing, directing and editing.

André connects with a kindred spirit in Jim Rugg a fellow Graphic Designer who transitioned far more successfully into comic books!

Jim is a Pittsburgh based, comic book artist, book maker, illustrator, and designer. His books include Street Angel, the PLAIN Janes, Afrodisiac, Notebook Drawings, Rambo 3.5, Supermag and The Incredible Hulk: Grand Design. He has a deep love of comic books, zines, lettering, podcasts, running, pro-wrestling, pizza, and cats. His work has earned Eisner and Ignatz Awards and continues to innovate in a medium that seemed to have grown stale in visual experimentation

Jim discusses how comics may have saved his life as he grew up in a small town., transitioning to comics through graphic design, a deep sighted love of genre cinema, categorizing The Hulk with Universal Monsters, being surprisingly free while working for Marvel and using Professional Wrestling as an avenue to tell a visual story through violence!