Fun fact: I started typing this email nearly 2 weeks ago, back when I was still pretending I wasn’t dog tired and didn’t need a break after the whirlwind that was New York Comic Con. I crashed into a sleep coma the Tuesday after NYCC and left this message sitting in the drafts. In the week since, I’ve had a major auto repair, a surprise flat tire on my way to vote the next day, and had to put down my mom's family dog. And that was all AFTER the splitting headache that knocked me out last...
16 days ago • 2 min read
New York Comic Con 2024 has finally gone from thing I'm super nervous about to trip I'm SUPER excited for. And as I type this, I’m actually sitting at the gate, waiting to board my flight. I spent most of yesterday frantically packing my bags, then most of this morning putting the final touches on some videos that will premiere on the channel while I’m gone. Speaking of, here’s an early look at today’s video: Check out my NYCC Schedule, plus a look at what I’m bringing with me! I don’t fully...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
New York Comic Con is a week away, and let's just say I don't feel prepared at all. I'm just wrapping my mind about the scope of it all, and doing my best to not give into feelings of overwhelm. On Friday, I'll be attending several private events, a few panels, and conducting at least 2 interviews on the convention floor. I'm doing my best to reserve Saturday to just explore Artist Alley and meetup with past guests like Morgan Hampton, Nikolas Draper-Ivey and Trevor Fernandes-Lienkiewicz....
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
This week marked the soft opening of my LCS, Fight or Flight Comics at their brand new location in my local mall. I've been there every day for a week, doing everything from moving boxes to advising on furniture and display placement. I even took a break from vlogging to upsell a customer into some DC Comics, because I wanted the joy of giving someone a Justice League membership card. Safe to say, I've been enjoying my stint as a part time pseudo-employee. Hopefully, Dan lets me keep using...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
I haven't said much about it, but I got back in the gym this summer. Since early June, I've prioritized exercising 3-5 times every week. It was easy enough during the summer months, but I had to kick it up a notch when school started up again in August. Each weekday morning, I stop at the gym on the way home from my daughter's school, queue one of my favorite podcasts (right now I'm binging The Short Box: A Comic Book Talk Show archives), and lift weights for about 30 minutes. It's been a...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
One month from today, I'll be on a plane headed to New York City for the first time since I was 12. I'm attending my first New York Comic Con, and I'll be doing so as an official member of the press! If you ever see me in cosplay at a convention, it wasn't me you saw. As I expressed last week, we've been slowly growing out of the "lucky excited YouTuber" and into the "respected member of the press" era of Comics Are Dope, and this convention is a major step in that process. It wouldn't have...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Being an adult is weird. The older I get, the more I just feel like a bigger kid. I mean sure, I'm paying bills and making big decisions. But I'm also reading comic books, and I still look to the left and right before sneaking a chocolate chip cookie out of the pantry. Perhaps the biggest gap between my perceived and actual maturity levels comes in parenting. Today, I'm headed to a parent teacher conference. There will almost certainly be a moment where the teacher will tell me something very...
2 months ago • 1 min read
It’s 10pm on Wednesday night. I’m sitting in my car, periodically checking to make sure the battery charger I bought from Amazon isn’t frying anything. What better time to start tapping out this email? This week seems chock full of those little hiccups. All the car trouble has me a full day behind on my production schedule. The Marvel showcase that should’ve been out today? Not even filmed. I’m almost certainly not going to have tomorrow’s Podcast episode up on time. Lunar was late with their...
3 months ago • 1 min read
In high school, I had an unhealthy relationship with 90s R&B and early 2000s era Neo-Soul. Kids with unregulated hormones probably shouldn't be listening to back-to-back ballads about love, heartbreak, and well.. other things. But as I recover from missing yet another 'weekly' newsletter, Musiq Soulchild just keeps taunting me. It's busy season in the Kicks household. Church responsibilities are picking up. School is back in session, morning routines feel everything but, and I'm probably in...
3 months ago • 2 min read