Show Notes
Today Jeff is joined by the incredibly talented Sophie Campbell! They talk about Sophie's old podcast, cartoons, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
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Sophie Campbell - Interview
[00:00:00] Jeff: hello listeners, a spoiler country today on the show we had the fantastic Sophie Campbell. How are you doing Sophie?
Sophie Campbell: Good. Thanks for having me.
Jeff: Oh, it's definitely my pleasure. I'm really loving what you're doing with teenage mutant Ninja turtles. And I was just wondering how things are with you in your life.
Sophie Campbell: Good, you know, pretty, you know, kind of quarantine or whatever, working at home, pretty uneventful
Jeff: is where you are still in lockdown.
Sophie Campbell: I don't know if we're officially in lockdown, but I think people are still, you know, social distancing and all that stuff.
Jeff: Yeah, it's pretty much where I am.
I live in Rhode Island. They we've just opened up. So our schools open up a week from Monday. Everything basically is not considered full open, so we'll see how that it turns out.
Sophie Campbell: Oh, wow. Okay. Hopefully it'll be okay.
Jeff: I'm hoping. So we were told by the governor that, to expect outbreaks, but we'll be fine.
So don't worry about it. [00:01:00]
weird world we live in now. Isn't it
Sophie Campbell: sounds like a hell of a plan. Your governors.
Jeff: Yeah. I'm a little surprised, I guess she's not worried about electric cars. There's where she's term limited. So I guess she's figured just grow it. Yeah, she moved to Florida, November, maybe. Well, I was looking a little bit about you and I found this actually fascinating.
Is that, you're actually a prior fellow podcaster,
Sophie Campbell: huh? Oh yeah, I did. how are you remember when that was? It was a long time ago.
Jeff: I think it was, see, she did it for about four years, I guess it was around 2009. I think it was. Am I re anywhere near the date on that?
Sophie Campbell: I think your guess is as good as mine.
I can't remember.
Jeff: No worries. So what was the focus of your podcast?
Sophie Campbell: it was with my friend, Nick Moreno. We would do, we'll see like, like reviews of stupid movies. And we would have like our big thing that like everybody seemed to like was, we [00:02:00] marathon the nineties X-Men cartoon.
Jeff: Nice.
Sophie Campbell: And it was on the Marvel site at the time.
I don't know if it still is, but we would do that. And we would watch like a few episodes, you know, per podcast episode. And we would take like funny screencaps and we would have, A writer, Kelly Thompson was like a frequent guest. She's, you know, she's like a big shot now it's out there now, but you know, she was on there a lot.
Yeah, it was mostly, yeah, it was mostly just talking about, you know, stupid shows and stupid movies.
Jeff: Wait, so your weight, are you putting X-Men the animated series under stupid?
Sophie Campbell: It's hard for me
Jeff: really? Why was it awful?
Sophie Campbell: I never watched it. Like as a kid, like when it was on. So I had, no, I had no like prior connection to it or like any nostalgia errors.
Ah, it's just not, it's stupid. It's terrible.
Jeff: Well, [00:03:00] there's a point out. I grew up with the next mini series.
Sophie Campbell: There's a couple of times where I was like, I can't guys, I can't do this. I can't do the show anymore. I can't watch this excellent show anywhere. Like we need a little break. So we take a little break and then go back to it.
Jeff: I will say it didn't age as well as some other shows like Batman animated series, I think definitely age better than the man animated series.
The two things that always caught me and always aggravate me about the eczema series. First is always the threat of fight between Wolverine and whoever. And it never happens like ever.
Sophie Campbell: He's not allowed to stab anybody with this clause or anything can't do anything.
Jeff: That is one of the great handicaps of having a guy whose main thing is stabbing people on a show made for children.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. Like nobody can really do anything and they don't. Oh, the animation's terrible. Everybody's like voices are so stupid.
Jeff: And the other issue I always had was that they always introduced a guest. [00:04:00] Character who was always supposed to be on the team. And then just at the end, be like, no, I'm not in trouble.
He's like walk away from them. You know, they remember like BS for like the first like five seasons was like, you'll be back on the team. Wait, I'm going to stay in prison. I know I will not join you guys again. And I think he did the same thing.
Sophie Campbell: I vaguely remember beast being in prison.
Jeff: Yeah. He, he was in prison for being a mutant, I guess.
And a few times yeah. Broke him out and he said, no, guys, I'm going to stay in prison. Cause I'm going to fight this in court.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. They play by the law.
Jeff: Yeah. cause you know, kids love the law. But, I know, I thought it was a PR, you know, at the time when I think when it came out, I was, I don't know, like 12 maybe.
And it was entertaining, but I mean, obviously it's not up to the standards. Like Batman, I need to meet series, but I think it's holds up well to some of the cartoons that are out nowadays for kids. But kids nowadays, I feel like have horrible cartoons
Sophie Campbell: know. I don't know if that's true, you know, they got like Steven universe and the new Shira and stuff like that.
[00:05:00] Those are pretty good.
Jeff: I know, sort of, I guess, I mean, it kind of feels like it's slightly older though, than maybe like what I'm saying. Like, it feels like it's more teenager than yeah.
Sophie Campbell: PV kids. What do kids watch now?
Jeff: Well, it's hard. I mean, I, I don't watch much cartoons anymore cause you know, I'm old.
Sophie Campbell: How do you know they're terrible?
Jeff: Well, I've seen it with the little bit I've seen. I mean, I, it just like, I guess I'm still at the point where I think Pokemon is still considered like the new stuff.
Sophie Campbell: Is Pokemon still on?
Jeff: I'm not sure. I mean, I might just be that old that I have lost track, but like when we got to the point where characters only like, say like one or two words, like their names and stuff, I just kind of was like, you know what?
I think I gave up on modern cartoons.
Sophie Campbell: I'm sure there's some good stuff out there that kids are into. I just don't know what it is.
Jeff: I find like the best cartoons now, or the ones made for adults like Rick and Morty and the others that are more I'm like, Oh, but I did find, I got hooked into. avatar last Airbender and legend of
Sophie Campbell: Korra.
[00:06:00] Yeah, there you go. That's for kids, right? I'm not sure.
Jeff: I mean, we'll say it again. It feels a little bit. I feel like it may be like 12 and up or 13 and a half dozen. I'm not sure it's quite kids. I'm not sure.
Sophie Campbell: Let's see. I'm Googling right now. What cartoons are kids watching? 60 best kids TV shows for 2020.
All right, here we go. Let's see, we got DC superhero girls.
Jeff: Once again, it's a show. I don't like that. When I was a kid we'd had Batman vs. DC superhero girls. I think that means better
Sophie Campbell: wizards, tales of Arcadia. I don't know what that is.
Jeff: No. Nope. Don't know. I have no idea.
Sophie Campbell: Super monsters.
Jeff: Super monsters.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. Then the noodle Looney tunes. True. And the rainbow kingdom.
Jeff: Have you seen the new, duct Hill's pitchers? Yeah, they have totally changed the art of what was the fantastic original ducktails and thunder cast too. They messed with Thundercats and I can forgive that either from modern TV,
[00:07:00] Sophie Campbell: like T O T at tiny ones, transport service.
Jeff: That sounds really exciting.
Sophie Campbell: And not too late show with Elmo. It's not a cartoon though.
Jeff: No, it's okay.
Sophie Campbell: We got bluey, which is about. A family of dogs, apparently
Jeff: that's exciting.
Sophie Campbell: there's like 60 of these. I'm not gonna read through all of these, but it looks like there's plenty of those.
Jeff: I'm up for this, but plenty of shows, but are they good though?
Sophie Campbell: I don't know be, but. I don't know if we can judge it because we're adults.
Jeff: Yeah. I mean, I'm relatively immature though. So, so you, what were some of the moves that you found as a, when you were doing your pocket that you found like incredibly bad, but then you talked about,
Sophie Campbell: I remember some of the stuff we talked about.
Jeff: Well, why did you stop doing your podcast?
Sophie Campbell: Nick got tired of doing all the production, all the [00:08:00] post production stuff. And it was like too time consuming. And he was just like, alright, I can't do this anymore. So he just shut it down. He shut it all down.
Jeff: What kind of advice can someone who does who's doing podcasts?
This is I'm actually about to do my complete my first year of doing podcasts. I came on the show itself has been around for four years with Kendrick and John, but. I came on about a year ago almost. So what kind of advice could you give other podcasters for how to make a good show, make it work? you know, what can you tell us?
Sophie Campbell: Oh, man, I don't know. I don't know if we had a good show, I guess like, personally I think the best. podcasts are unscripted. That's like, my advice is just like, you know, do it with your friends, keep it unscripted. And, you know, make, one thing that people always seem to like is when we had like visual AIDS to go with an episode, like I mentioned, like we would make like, do funny string caps of X [00:09:00] men and like gifts and stuff.
And people always seem to really love those. Oh,
Jeff: that's some hardcore, graphic and stuff you guys are doing. Then you did back then.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. Like we would just use the Photoshop gift maker and just screen caps and put them into the gift maker. Okay. I should send some to you.
Jeff: Yes, it definitely. and, do you podcast it exists online or they know completely.
Sophie Campbell: I think it's all scrubbed. It's all gone.
Jeff: Oh, no, that's horrible. did you ever get advertising for your show or something? Something always been talking about with the people in our pocket that we got something we need to do. That's something that you looked into or
Sophie Campbell: no, it was really casual.
It wasn't like. You know, professional or anything like that, it was just us goofing around there weren't any like ads or anything.
Jeff: Yeah. I mean, I'm not sure if I can have professional either. So,
Sophie Campbell: you know, like if you're looking to, you know, do a [00:10:00] podcast, like, I guess it was a job, like, you know, you got to get some kind of advert, like ad revenue.
Jeff: Yeah. That always seems the big question. It always sounds like something that. I'm not sure if it sounds easier than it would be, but I it's always something that's like the big, you know, if you can get, if you can just get this company, you know?
Sophie Campbell: Yeah.
Jeff: So, after you were, so you quit podcasting, is that something you ever going to do again?
You think
Sophie Campbell: I doubt it. like I only did it because I was friends with Nick and he had a site and some other podcasts with like his other friends and Nick and I went to high school together and. we got back in touch, you know, like, like over a decade later and the podcast thing, it just started as kind of just goofing off.
And then, you know, we just did it for awhile and yeah, it wasn't, it wasn't meant to be like anything serious.
Jeff: That was the podcast that was that existed prior to your starting wet moon, correct? For Oni?
Sophie Campbell: No, it [00:11:00] was in. Yeah. It was like Midwest moon. Cause like I started with moon in 2004 and then podcasts cause like Nick and I got back in touch because Nick was reading comics and he like saw that I was doing comics and he reached out to me.
so he had red wet moon or something like that at that point.
Jeff: Well, what we'll do it. Okay, sorry, go ahead.
Sophie Campbell: no, go ahead. I was done.
Jeff: I wouldn't say because I was reading upon on wet moon and it wasn't good. It's very, it's a bit, it was a very well respected comic book. it was known for having a very, very diverse cast.
it also talked about a lot of groups and issues that didn't seem to be common to, comic books, even nowadays. It doesn't seem like something that's talked about a lot in combat some of the issue that you dealt with. So why, so what, how was, what inspired you to do wet moon? and what was, you know, are there certain aspects of wet moon that you're [00:12:00] particularly very proud of?
Sophie Campbell: I was, I think like the main inspiration for what moon was, my time going to school in Savannah, Georgia, I went to art school there and I knew I wanted to do like a slice of life thing. With like, kind of supernatural undertones kind of like twin peaks going to school in, in a Savannah with, you know, like art school, all these kinds of like, I don't know if you've ever been to Georgia.
Yeah.
Jeff: I've driven through a few times on the way to Florida.
Sophie Campbell: I don't know something about Savannah. The place is like, I don't know that it has this like, feeling in the air to it. That is like kind of strange. The whole place is dislike. You know, it's like kind of swampy like stuff. This is kind of like slightly weird.
[00:13:00] I don't know. I mean, there's there's a reason that like, you know, they shoot a lot of movies and, Savannah and it's very like picture ask, but in It's kind of like dark way. I can't really explain it, but you know, that was really inspiring. So I wanted to do something that was like slice of life set in a city like that, where it's kind of swampy.
And Southern and, you know, with like all these arts students. So that was like the main inspiration.
Jeff: So how did you get involved with, get that book and you got to post my own press. How did that come about
Sophie Campbell: followed? I followed like only editors around and some of their writers, like a puppy dog until.
And this was backing and before Twitter and before, like, like everything in comics was all kind of like connected online. So I had to go to like conventions and like, you know, load my portfolio case around and stuff like that. [00:14:00] And, you know, I would just like kind of tag along with a writer, Jen van meter and stuff like that.
and. Eventually, they just gave me some work. They gave me like some fill in stuff and I ended up pitching a woman,
Jeff: like I said, it's very cool. And I think that once again, that was very well respected about what moon was. Again, is the type of storylines that you dealt with really are not only impactful, but were very personal.
It seemed like.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah, I think, I don't know. I don't know if you know, I like to think that I was like, maybe like a little bit, like, like ahead of my time or whatever, with moon, just like, you know, the depiction of like different body types and, you know, the whole like, kind of like goth subculture thing that I was doing.
and I feel like. I feel like that like resonated with people at the time. like [00:15:00] I feel like, I just remember, like he like hearing from so many people on like deviant art and stuff like that, you know, saying how like, Moonlight really resonated with them because they were also like a kind of like sad goth teen or whatever.
But yeah, I think there was something about it. I didn't really like, expect it. I didn't really plan for it or anything like that. It just it needed, like, it ended up really surprising me. and you know, like I used to get tons of terrible reviews from like, and stuff on wet moon, really. But I feel like in recent years there's been this kind of like, Reconsideration of wet moon in our member, there was that there was like this tide that started to turn or something at one point.
And I was just like, I was like, well, you know, I'm getting some, I gotten some decent reviews now. Like, I don't know, what's different, what's changed, but you know, it's pretty good.
[00:16:00] Jeff: I mean, yeah. I would say almost maybe the culture change, you know, like you did say you seemed like you made a beat the curve just a little bit.
And the culture might've caught up with you finally.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. I don't know. I'm not sure what it is. Like, I don't know. It's not for like what, moon's not for everybody, which is fine. but
Jeff: as it is as a writer and a creator of your own comic book, you said you got some bad reviews. How did you deal with that?
Like, how were you able to. compartmentalize and move on to, and continue working on this project.
Sophie Campbell: battery views, like usually don't bother me unless it's, unless they criticize something that I agree with. Like, you know, if somebody's just like, Oh, I don't like this. And you know, here's why it's stupid.
You know, the art is bad, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Like, it's fine. Like, I don't really care. And I just kind of laugh, but if it's something like, like legit, then it [00:17:00] then like, I really beat myself up about it. Cause I'm like, ah, they're right. Like that's terrible. I can't believe I did that.
Jeff: It is always worth when it's true.
Isn't it? Cause like, cause I published, I'm a comic of mine. it's been any nowhere near, you know, what you're doing, but, call it a Malik raining devil. And I was very proud of the comic book. I was very excited with, you know, I thought it came out so well, this one review that was so bad, it was so bad.
I was like so bad that in a way that you're like, Whereas like almost painful. And the parts that bothered me were the parts that they hit on that I kind of was like, I can see where they came from on that. And that's the word,
Sophie Campbell: right, exactly where like, you know, and it's almost like it's always stuff that I, that didn't occur to me until the person brought it up.
I'm like, Oh, I see that now. Like, Oh my God. And especially if it's something. Like offensive or like problematic or something where like, I just, I really like, you know, kick myself like, Oh my God, I can't believe I didn't cop that I shouldn't have.
[00:18:00] Jeff: Yeah, we know that
Sophie Campbell: needed, get it gotten a sensitivity reader or something like that, or just, I don't know, something, you know, like another, like a lens to look at it through.
And like, maybe I could have caught this before it went to. Print. but yeah, that's really, you know, it makes me beat myself up.
Jeff: Yeah. Yeah. I must say when I got, my real bad review, I mean, it don't get me wrong. I've had good reviews as well, but I mean the bad one, I think I stopped. I didn't write for like three weeks later, I was like three years.
I didn't like write anything. I was like, shit.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. You know, it like. It just like knocks the wind out of your sails when it's something like that. Like you just don't feel like doing anything.
Jeff: Yeah. I really do feel that in many ways, writing is an act of faith or creating is an act of faith where you have to believe in what you're doing to do it.
The moment that doubt creeps in, it's almost like a, Like almost like a virus that overhead overtakes it and you make it makes it hard to continue.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. Because you know, like, you know, you start kind of second guessing everything you're [00:19:00] doing, which can be good, you know, it's good to kind of take stock in your work and what you're doing, what you're putting out there or whatever.
But if you're doing, you know, like every page, like a, is this good? I don't know. You know, like if you, you know yeah. Too wishy washy, you're used to, you start. You know, questioning your motivation and everything you can definitely like, you know, cause it to collapse.
Jeff: Yeah. And I think that's why I love comic books because I think a few times in my life I've started the novel, you know, the great American novel tried it, you know, and I, what I realized is about comic books versus a novel is that it's much easier to muster faith.
For 20 pages or 22 pages of a comic book than it is to keep fateful 400 pages of a novel. You know what I'm saying?
Sophie Campbell: I get, so, I mean, I do a lot of graphic novels, so it's not like I'm not always doing 20 pages at a time.
Jeff: Oh. I mean like I'm like novel, [00:20:00] like prose novel. No, you know, the four or 500 pages that I, Oh, you do those as well.
Sophie Campbell: No, I, no, I don't do prose novels, but like, you know, I've done like a 300 page graphic novel. It's still, you know, holding, you know, somebodies attention for 300 pages
Jeff: and yeah, let me know. And I do think part of me does think that because of comics, the. Usually the land not does allow, I think for people to be willing, to give more, put more chances in comic books or make our, be more experimental.
I don't know what you thought about that.
Sophie Campbell: See, I kind of feel, I kind of feel the opposite where I feel like when I'm doing like a 20 page, monthly issue, I never feel like, I feel like it's too short. To give anybody or to like, convey like the ID is or whatever, or like, Oh, you know, it's just 20 pages.
People are gonna [00:21:00] like read it and then just give up, you know, because it's only 20 pages. But like, if you give somebody like, you know, a 200 page graphic, novel comic, like chances are, they're going to read the whole thing. Like, unless it's like terrible, I guess, with a monthly thing, it's like, Between every issue.
It's like a jumping off point where, you know, there's this kind of like, there's this lull and like some, you know, so many people they'll read like, you know, a few issues and they'll be like, Oh, I get the idea and they drop it. And then they don't see like, you know, your next issue, which is where it all comes together.
You know? But like with a graphic novel format thing, it's like, they're going to read the whole thing and then it wraps up and they get it, you know?
Jeff: Well,
Sophie Campbell: I feel like with graphic novels, you have more chances to, you know, capture somebody and, [00:22:00] there's this like more room to breathe? I think
Jeff: I will agree.
I know regular issues tend to have a standard attrition. I think the first issue from the second issue drops like 60% of sales, like right off the bat. And then the furniture is usually like 40% drop.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah, definitely.
Jeff: So, are you considering going back to doing, indie comics at some point?
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. after I finished Ninja turtles, I'm going back to finish my shadows book finally.
I'm going to do that. And then I definitely want to do more. It's just hard because like, you know, like typically the license stuff is what pays the bills. So it's like, I have to kind of juggle the indie stuff with like New Jersey turtles or something else, you know?
Jeff: So you're leaving the book teeny and the turtle soon.
Sophie Campbell: Okay. I'm writing until issue one 20.
Jeff: Oh, so this will be where we've got some time with you. It's still on the title
[00:23:00] Sophie Campbell: way more issues than I had originally, thought I was going to do like the original thing. When Bobby, the editor came to me, it was just like, I was going to be doing just 12 issues for like one year, but I'm going to be, I'm going to end up doing like 20 issues.
So it's still, it's quite a bit more. I would be drawing all of it. Cause that's impossible, but you know, it would be writing up until one 20, at least unless things change.
Jeff: Yeah. I was interested. I was on Twitter, which I will say for most people. not, you know, Twitter's not always the best place and those are, there's an argument being made about people were saying, that running for licenses or IPS.
and we're saying negative things about that practice. And I thought to myself from the best Chromebooks out right now, for me, I'm enjoying transformers and I'm loving Keenan teenage mutant Ninja turtles. Why do you think people give are, or give a hard time about license running for licenses?
Sophie Campbell: Well, what were their there, like what were their arguments about it?
Jeff: Well, I guess it was an issue of creativity. I think it was [00:24:00] the issue or selling out. I think it was the two issues at the same time.
Sophie Campbell: I think. I mean, I think the, I think for some people, the idea is like, You know, like if you're doing a licensed book that you don't have any creative freedom because you have to deal with the licensors and like the approval process and like, you can't do whatever you want.
So it's this kind of watered down kind of the factory, factor. Yeah. The reproduction thing, then it doesn't like take any risks or, you know, is it like fulfilling or artistically or whatever, but. I don't know. I think that's kind of dumb.
Jeff: I completely agree. Like I said, I think lately, if you, I don't know if you've read what's going on with transformers with Brian broccoli's work.
He's definitely taking transformers in a direction that's way more, not only serious, but a little more, a little deeper than the TV show ever was.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. And I think, you know, and it doesn't have to be like, I don't know. It doesn't have to be like a sellout [00:25:00] thing. I mean, yeah, it's nice. I'm getting paid.
But, you know, I feel like, yeah, it definitely depends on like the property too, but like, as far as like turtles goes, like, I don't. I don't think, like, I don't view it as like me selling out. It's like one, it lets me pay the bills, which is pretty like, you know, you don't tell somebody who works in like an office they're selling out or whatever.
Like you whistles, like you gotta do what you gotta do to make that money. Right. And then too, it's like, you know, I love, you know, I love new to turtles. I love brick. And on that book, That's great. Great. You know, like this shirt there's stuff we can't do. Like, I can't have the turtles murder people, which is too bad, but like, there's still like other stuff that I can do with the turtles, you know, just because I can't [00:26:00] like have them murder and like swear and.
You know, do you know, I can't do it like whatever I want, but there's something kind of exciting, like working like within certain confines sometimes. And. Yeah know, it kind of makes you think differently. It kind of gives you different ideas that you wouldn't come up with. I don't know. like maybe for like, maybe for some creators working on license stuff, they're like consciously selling out, which is nice, like selling out.
I say, cause it's kind of not a real thing. It's stupid, but like, you know, and that's fine too, but like for me, it's definitely. You know, not, it's not just a job, you know, like, I'm definitely like being pouring myself, my heart or whatever, like into Ninja turtles. I'm like, yeah, I don't own it. You know, like it's owned by Viacom and that's just how it goes, but [00:27:00] I dunno, I'm still having a blast and like, you know, that's what it matters to me at the end of the day is if I had doing it and didn't want to kill myself over it.
Jeff: And I don't, I always have like a theory where some of these, IPS actually are. Some ways better at bringing in a non-com book audience because of the property that they connect to.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah, definitely. Cause like, you know, I mean, You know, something that has the name recognition, you know, like that's always going to be like more powerful then, you know, something like, you know, going back to a wet moon, it's like the name, what moon, like doesn't mean anything to most people.
And, but, you know, if they seem like Ninja turtles, they'll be like, Oh, Hey, it's like the turtles from that movie. Or from that show, like, I didn't know, there were a comment X and then they read the comments and then they, you know, they have that as like an entry point and then they get into more turtles comics and maybe they get into other comics so
[00:28:00] Jeff: well, and I completely agree with you.
I mean, a lot of, I think writers and creators, you know, you know, like if like you're doing the turtles, when you work on your next. Indie once again, there's a gate between turtles and your next project. So they you're bringing them into eventually the indie world by using your name and build and building good stories and teenage mutant Ninja turtles.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. And I think like, I think generally for most people, like, they're not gonna follow me off turtles to my own stuff. They're going to stay with turtles, which is fine, but there are going to be like some people who might get curious, you know, Or like, you know, I feel like that's worth it and doing it, like doing something like turtles, it lets me, you know, make a bunch of money and like, you know, put a bunch of stuff into savings and then I can go do my, you know, small indie you solo mics that don't make any money [00:29:00] because turtles allowed me to do that.
Jeff: Is that something that you're considering kick-starting your, when you eventually go to your independent project or sell finance or self sell finance, I guess.
Sophie Campbell: yeah. SHA shadows is put out by iron circus and they do Kickstarters for most of their books. So there'll be a Kickstarter for the next shadow, his book.
Jeff: So without getting too deep into any kind of controversy, honestly the bigger thing going on right now is the idea that, I guess, boom is. Cannot read the conflict as being kickstarted. yeah. Huh.
Sophie Campbell: I see. Yeah, I heard about that yesterday. I have no idea what's going on with that, but it seems a little strange,
Jeff: but I was surprised with the level of controversy it was causing.
I mean, again, I think I could see someone having views on it. I was surprised about how much of social media has been, especially the complex social media had been, obsessing over this issue.
Sophie Campbell: So, like, I don't know that much about it. Like I heard a couple of friends talking about it yesterday. [00:30:00] So basically the issue is like, let me see if I have this right.
It's like, they're doing this book. That's like set Keanu. Reeves is like somehow involved in some capacity and it's boom book. Yep. And so people are upset because like Keanu Reeves could like basically just funded himself, like with pocket change or these rich or whatever.
Jeff: I think the issue that people are having, I think is that not only can have Reeves, you know, take it out of his couch and pay for it probably quite nicely, but also boom, being a, the number six maybe or seven largest company.
Could probably fund it. And I think the others, as well as that, like maybe you who may make an independent book, the risk Keno reads probably didn't have a lot of risk involved in a book with his name on it. You know what I'm saying? Cause his name is big enough that people would just be curious, you know, that it's not the cannery, the kicks are, seems to be the place for those taking a [00:31:00] risk, you know,
Sophie Campbell: Yeah, I guess, like, I don't know.
I don't have, I guess I don't really know care that much. It's like, it's so like far out of my sphere or whatever that it just like doesn't affect me at all. Just like, yeah. Keanu Reeves is great. And you know, if he wants to. Doing Kickstarter or whatever. That's cool. I don't know, like I'm not going to pledge to it.
So
Jeff: when it comes down to obviously is it's up, anyone who has given their money, they have every right to do so.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. It's fun. And I feel Like Kickstarter isn't, it's not just a way, I mean, primarily it's a way to like, fund your project. Right. But it is since a Kickstarter like runs for a certain period of time, like a month or whatever, like it's kind of like this constant, you know, it's like an another advantage.
It's another way to advertise and. [00:32:00] I feel like Kickstarter is there, like the boom Keanu Reeves Kickstarter. I feel like I would bet that it's doing exactly what they expected it to do. And. Get people talking and like whether or not like they're pissed off about it or support it or whatever, it's just like now they have all this publicity, you know, like sort of them, I guess.
Jeff: I mean, I imagine, pardon me though. I mean, obviously advertising, it's going to sell a lot of copies. I mean, the moment kina Reeves puts his name on that comic book, you're going to sell. Several thousand copies without any doubt,
Sophie Campbell: then they got funded like super fast, right?
Jeff: Yeah. I'm pretty sure it beat all projections or whatever they ask for.
Sophie Campbell: it's doing exactly what it's supposed to do. It's like they like maybe not Keanu. I don't know how plugged in. He is [00:33:00] to like, You know, behind the scenes, like marketing and production and stuff. I'm sure. Like, yeah. Like the people who put it together at boom. Like, they absolutely knew exactly what it was going to do.
And it's like, yeah, like maybe they're not taking a risk or whatever, but it's just like, Hey, you know, you just made, you know, $300,000, like good for you.
Jeff: That's good. Well, Tommy Farland did it with his ashen face. I think he got for like two or three to $4 million on Kickstarter.
Sophie Campbell: People want to give you their money to do it.
It's like Kickstarter it's like a, you know, it's like a, one of those, like a funnel or whatever, where it's like, it's just really easy to say, like you're thrown into like a big reservoir and it gets all funneled down into one place. it's just really easy to do it. You know, some people fail or whatever, but it's still like a great way to.
Get everybody's attention in like [00:34:00] one place where it's like really straight forward. Like, do you like, like, you know, do you want to be a part of this click, this button done, you know, you're you pledge your money. Good to go. And this is really it's this really easy and simplified, you know, I don't know. I don't have a problem with it at all.
I guess. Not that there aren't know predatory people on Kickstarter, but I don't know. I feel like. I mean, as long as they like deliver on the book, I guess, and like, you know, tell people like where the money is going. I feel like, you know, Def there's definitely been some Kickstarters where the people like running it, like aren't transparent about like where the money goes and that, you know, that can definitely can get them into trouble.
And it
Jeff: does pose a question is one question of. $400,000 for one issue. Where's that money going?
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. I think people should [00:35:00] definitely, you know, get to know where that money is going, you know?
Jeff: Oh, no, I agree. I just thought it was kind of interesting then, and that it was such a big deal and it, and I will agree.
I imagine Camry is probably, is totally not involved though. He probably does have recognized his name's attached. I don't know if he's necessarily. Paying attention.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. I guess, you know, like, I don't think he's the one like running the Kickstarter is basically my point.
Jeff: Oh yeah. Oh, I totally agree with you on that.
but, so I'm gonna, I'm going to talk about just a little bit, you did say something, we did have a conversation on Twitter. I don't know. You probably don't remember. Cause it was a minor Twitter thing where I pointed it. I asked you your, you said your favorite. And it was in early August. Your favorite turtle movie of all time is tempting to meet didn't it turns out of the shadows.
Is that intentionally provocative?
Sophie Campbell: No, it's true.
Jeff: I said,
Sophie Campbell: I stand by that statement. I love the 1990 movie. you know, obviously that's great, but. There's [00:36:00] stuff about, you know, out of the shadows that I don't like, you know, obviously like, you know, like the April school girl outfit scene, which is stupid.
I don't have any real affection for, bebop and Rocksteady or like the cart, like the stuff from the cartoon. Like, I don't care about crane. I don't care about that stuff, but. As far as like the turtles themselves go it's the best one.
Jeff: Well do, so
Sophie Campbell: do
Jeff: you prefer that design or do you prefer the design from like the nineties movies or the cartoons?
Sophie Campbell: I liked it. Yeah, no. the nineties movies visually, you can't top it, those, it was a little turtle suits and those are great, but like the way the turtles are written. and, out of the shadows, it's like in most turtles, please, they tend to kind of focus on like Raphael and me maybe Leonardo and, you know, [00:37:00] Michael and Angelo and Donatella there.
They're usually not always, they're usually kind of like after thoughts or they don't really know what to do with them. And I feel like the 1990 movies suffers a lot from that. Like it's like, especially Don, you know, he's, they just don't seem to know what to do with him in that movie. he's just kind of there to like, make a, an occasional joke.
She doesn't really have like, I don't know, like an arc, you know,
Jeff: I will agree that you kind of Michael Angelo and Don tell in the nineties movie is virtually similar in personalities. Yeah.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. And I, you know, I don't like that. I feel like it's, you know, it's a Leo Raph movie really, you know, and. In like out of the shadows, all four of the turtles, they all get their own arcs.
They all have like a range of emotions. Michael Angelo. He doesn't always have to be silly, you know, [00:38:00] like he gets to like, you know, he gets to be angry. He gets to be sad. well, Donatello's gets like more than one line of dialogue. Yeah. It's just like, I think they all like, and like another thing it's like each turtle in, out of the shadows, they all like interact with each other.
But in the 1990 movie Lake, I don't know if like rap or Don, if they like ever exchanged like dialogue together at all. You know, like, I just don't like, I don't think like Leo and Mikey talk either.
Jeff: Good question. I really don't know. I can't remember if they ever did
Sophie Campbell: very the turtles in the nineties and the 90 movie, they feel very kind of like compartmentalized to me where it's like Mike and Don Leo and rash.
And, you know, that's, there's nothing like unrealistic about that. Like families are like that sometimes, but like, I don't know. [00:39:00] I just, like, I feel like in the, out of the S the out of the shadows movie, it feels like. They feel like full characters to me.
Jeff: Does it bother you that in their introduction, they said Leo is the leader.
Raphael is the muscle. Donna tells the brain and Mikey likes pizza and a Butler and all that. Mike got the short shift in that.
Sophie Campbell: no, I feel like those name intros. It's just kind of like a joke. because yeah, I don't know. Yeah. It's just a joke. It doesn't really matter.
Jeff: So who's the best Casey Jones.
The one from alias Cotea is from, or Steven ML.
Sophie Campbell: no Elias go task. Like hands down is the best Casey Jones.
Jeff: I will totally agree with you on that. He actually he's. He's a great, he, they did a great job with that character. He is
Sophie Campbell: great. Yeah. He's awesome.
Jeff: April Neil from 1990. Better than Megan. Yeah. Yes.
Sophie Campbell: Yes.
Like, yeah. Due to thug is the best April of all time. [00:40:00] Yes, you know? Yeah. they're both movies are great. There's things I don't like about like either of them, but, you know, I think like, I think just the treatment of the, in the, in, out of the shadows, it comes out on top.
Jeff: Okay. I mean, I can see where you're going though.
I will say I'm also visually I preferred the shredder from 1990 versus out of the shadows.
Sophie Campbell: Of course. Yeah. all the costumes and the designs from the 1990 movie are great.
Jeff: So when you're your comic book, your version of teenage mutant Ninja turtles, where are you drawing your inspiration from is like, are you doing from the original cartoon?
Are you doing it from the movies you're doing from the Bay movies? like where, which, cause there's so many iteration of turtles now, which one is yours that you look at and go. I'm going to go with this version for my writing.
Sophie Campbell: mostly the, the Mirage comics, the old ones, that's like what got me into turtles when I was a kid.
And I feel like it's mostly that, and I don't know, maybe a little bit [00:41:00] of the 1990 movie, because like, at least with like, Well, the graphic file, I feel like, cause in Mirage, RAF, he's like kind of the jokester. and in the 1990s movie, he's like this, just this dark angry brooding character, which she like wasn't he wasn't, he was kinda like that in Mirage sometimes, but not.
Not nearly as much. And I feel like IDW rap, it was closer to 1990 raft than it is to a Mirage RAF. So I definitely like get something from that.
Jeff: Yeah. and I think one of your more recent issues, you had a comment of Leonardo commenting to Raphael that he thought he was to become a team player, continue being a team player.
Cause I guess he was, he kind of, lonely kind of lone Wolf did for a little bit. And that reminded me a lot of the nineties movie where Rapheal again, is the lone Wolf. And this question of, are you [00:42:00] part of the family or not? I think you feel like the last few issues to kind of revisit that a little bit with Rafael again.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah, definitely. Cause he's, he's always kind of like on, you know, like on the side or whatever, and like he's part of the group, but he's still I don't know. He's a little more like Fairweather, I guess.
Jeff: But you were thinking in every family though, there is that one kid you is a large family and usually one like that.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah, definitely. I think, but like, I guess when I approached the turtles, it's mostly like, Cause it's, you know, it's like I have to fit. I have to make it fit with what Tom waltz has all has already done. And the con comic for like a hundred issues. Right. So there's definitely that where I'm, where like I'm trying to take influences from like his, characterizations of the turtles, but. And then, you know, [00:43:00] then there's like, you know, somewhere else, cause like that's my favorite stuff.
And then also, so kind of just my own stuff, like what I think the turtles should be like or what I think they, you know, what I've taken. Getting from the turtles, like over the years, like as a fan. And that's also a part of it. And just my own style of writing is going to be, you know, it's like automatically going to be different than Tom different than, the Mirage writers.
So it's going to have a different approach to it.
Jeff: I definitely would say, especially in the last two weeks, one Oh seven and one Oh eight. Do you need me to know your turtles has one of the largest credit lines. I think I've ever seen in a comic book you had, you got, Kevin Eastman and Tom waltz as consultants.
you're credited with the story and Rhonda Patterson is credited with the script. So what is everyone actually doing?
Sophie Campbell: actually dead Tom and Kevin aren't really that involved at all. I don't like I hardly ever, I don't know if I ever really [00:44:00] like Tom, but Tom and I have like, you know, like bounced ideas back and forth before, but he's pretty like, he's hands off with what I'm doing.
and what ha what happened with, when it went six 70, I want like one Oh six, two, one Oh eight, this leathery story. like, originally. Before the pandemic hit, we were going to do double shipping over the summer, which is like tuition is a month. And. You know, it was just like, Oh wow. Like there's no way I'm going to be able to do that.
It's like impossible, you know, like I'm not like what, like, I don't know if I could write, you know, all that much less dry it. So we, you know, you know, I had like the pitch, like the proposal, you know, for the slit, the slithery storyline, and then. We brought in, Rhonda to take it and turn it into a script.
And then I wrote, I wrote like a more detailed outline, a, you know, scene by [00:45:00] scene kind of outlined for her. And then she kind of springboard it off it. Oh yeah. It's it was know the story is basically does me and Rhonda.
Jeff: So are you going to eventually from, so from about one Oh nine to one 20, are you going to take over script duties again?
Or are you going to keep, maintain how this is?
Sophie Campbell: no. It's going to be me
Jeff: just okay.
Sophie Campbell: Scripts. I have a. Oh, gosh, I can't give the numbers straight. What is the six, seven, eight? That's the slithery one? Rhonda did. And then nine. Yeah, I have one Oh nine, two, one 13 written already. Grips
Jeff: Eastman is the consultant.
And Tom waltz is a sort of just a seal of approval type thing, but Hey, thumbs up, he gave thumbs up to the story kind of thing.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. Basically like, you know, like whenever we finish an issue, Kevin will come in and be like, yeah, this is great. They're, you know, they're there. If I ever have any questions or [00:46:00] if I'm stumped or something like that, I'm like Tom and I, and we hashed out a bunch of out Lake.
the dragon carcass. That was the main things that we talked about, you know, like what happens to the dragon carcass? And I had this whole thing where I wanted it to be like, I wanted to turn it into. like a hideout for like some evil, it's just like this big skull. And like their base is like inside the skull.
And I just, like, I never got to it. Like I never got around to doing it. And so Tom did a bunch of the dragon stuff that we were talking about. Annual. Yeah. Yeah.
Jeff: Well, I can't imagine that. or I imagined that the challenge as a writer, but so when you're writing a teeny little Ninja turtles, you're dealing with a pretty large cast of character.
You've got four turtles five now with Jennica, April O'Neill, the whole Munin town now. Do you find it difficult to make sure that every character has that moment to shine? Or there [00:47:00] are times when you're like this car has been neglected. So the next series, I wanna make sure that guys,
Sophie Campbell: yeah, it's rough.
I hate it. It's really hard. And like, I'm kind of used to it because like wet moon had a really big cast also. but yeah, let's see. Yeah. So I have some experience with like, juggling all like all these different characters and stuff, but yeah, it's still really difficult because like, yeah, like I want to give everybody, you know, their, their moment or, you know, like give them something to do, right.
Like, like, like even if they show up for two panels, you know, just to kind of like touch on the really quick, like, okay. You know, Casey Jones, like hasn't completely disappeared. Like he's still out there. He's not like actively doing anything, but he still exists, you know? Yeah. It's really tough.
Right. Sometimes I kind of just have [00:48:00] to like, I kind of just have to throw up my hands and be like, okay, I'll get to this character, like a couple issues from now. And we're just going to have to live with it.
Jeff: Do you find yourself because we'll see you're working in per issue only about 22 pages. Do you find yourself like having to throw out storylines of cat four character moments for character that you wanted to give that shine to and be like, I just can't.
And how hard is it for you to be just to just kind of dump them out, know that you don't have time to hit that in one, in your issue?
Sophie Campbell: I'm trying to think if there's anything, there's definitely stuff I delete. Like I've had to delete. and usually it's stuff with like the supporting characters, like in one Oh five, there was a scene with Sally pride that I really liked.
And, you know, there just wasn't room. And like, it was either going to be, do this scene or. You know, cut something else out. And I felt like the focus should be on the Ninja clan. [00:49:00] So I cut Sally C you know, and you know, and so, cause it's not as good, you know, because I liked Sally and I felt like she needed a beat, like after.
no, for where she like, you know, beats up hob and you know, quits the mute animals and all that stuff. And, you know, sometimes it's just, it just, doesn't, it's just too cramped and you have to you know, figure out your priorities, I guess, like what's the focus of this scene.
What's, you know, what's important, blah, blah, blah. And you know, sometimes the casualties. Our good stuff. Like the salad, like the Sally scene. That's the main one I can think of that. I had to cut out, trying to think of some other ones.
Jeff: Now, the other interesting that you have in your comic book series, you know, your turtle Sears is that you've introduced the character of Jennica, which, yeah, that honestly doesn't exist in the [00:50:00] other TV, TV shows or the movies, but obviously doesn't in.
You're in the series for IDW now. what does she, how does she like change the team dynamic by having her in this?
Sophie Campbell: let's, that's something I've thought like a ton about, cause like, you know, Tom, he introduced Jennica, I think back in like if she 51 or something like that. And she was a, he, you know, she was a human back then she was like a foot Ninja.
Yeah. So she's been around for a while, but like after she was mutated in splinter died spoilers, I guess. you know, she's more like in the group now because she's not in the foot. Splinter was kind of like her kind of main link, you know, with the other characters and he's gone. And like, after she was mutated in city at war, it was like, You know, she was like interacting [00:51:00] with everybody, but there just wasn't any time for her to like, kind of settle into the group because it was like so much stuff going on.
It was like, Oh my God, dragon consuming. You know, there just wasn't any time. Cause there was so much stuff going on. So like when I took over, I was like, okay, well, you know, I'm going to scale things back and dial it back for a bit. And. Really figure out like how she fits and yes, you know, it's stuff like it's something I've thought a lot about.
And like what her Diane, what her dynamic is with like each turtle, you know, how she deals with them, like what she brings to the dynamic and so forth. And, I mean, like, obviously I can't. Get that into like just a few issues it's going to have to like grow, I guess. I dunno. I don't know if I'm totally happy with how I've done it so far.
you know, I can always look back and be like, Oh, I [00:52:00] should've had her like this instead, or I should have done this instead. But, yeah, I don't know. I think it's, I think she's on her way.
Jeff: it seemed like the interesting about with Jennica is that. She feels like it's in some love, the character has to overcome the issue of not being in the original group or team as far as from a fan standpoint.
Was it hard to make it feel, make sure that she feels like a legitimate part of the comic instead of like, I don't know, a marketing thing.
Sophie Campbell: I don't. Yeah, I guess so. Cause like I'm not, you know, I'm not involved with like, like any of the marketing or whatever goes on that end of it. but like, you know, I just approach her like any other character and you know, I try to write her like a person, just like I do with the other characters.
And I feel like. With that approach, you know, like hopefully things will, you [00:53:00] know, kind of iron out, just like, bye bye. By the nature of me, like writing the characters organically. and like, obviously I guess it's not a hundred percent organic cause like, obviously I can't be like, ah, well, you know, Jennica.
She doesn't really fit. I'm going to write her.
Jeff: Yeah.
Sophie Campbell: So, but I think Tom, you know, like introduced her really well and like set it up really well. And there, you know, there was stuff already in there, like for me to pick up and run like, like, Brommer Braun revel. He did that. what is Ninja story in the TMT universe? Or, you know, she has this like crime criminal background and she's got like the music background.
So I was like, Oh, well, that's, you know, that's easy. Like why can't like, what if she's like the musical [00:54:00] turtle that's not covered by the other turtles.
Jeff: Yeah, but I think you did a great job. I'm enjoying what I'm reading with Jenica. I think she's a good addition to the character. I wasn't really familiar with the character.
I started picking up turtles maybe. about 10 issues ago, so I'm going to happen. So yeah, it has pretty much been a pretty recent addition to, my, Poulos as it were, but, I find Jenica to being, I was a little conflicted. I had some concerns with the idea of the character. Cause once again, I grew up, you know, for turtles from the nineties cards, you know, from the early cartoon, but I felt she fits in very well and she does feel like she belongs there, which is obviously always your concern.
When you added a new character to the dynamic.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. And like, you know, it's also like, I don't know people, I don't know. People are like really precious with like the idea of like, it has to be for turtles. Cause that's how it's always been and so forth. and, but like ID, you know, [00:55:00] Jenica, I don't think she probably wouldn't fit in like the, with like the Mirage turtles, for example.
You know, but like this isn't Mirage, M and T, this is IDW, it's different. And you know, the dynamics are different and like every, excuse me, like every iteration of the turtles have like, they're slightly different. The personalities are different, you know, like. You know, like, you know, going back to like 1990 movie, Don, he's like a goofy weirdo.
He makes jokes all the time and stuff and he doesn't really do anything. So then, you know, going back to like a Mirage, Donna Tello, or even like, you know, like, 2016, you know, out of the shadows, Don, like he's not like that he's completely different. He's not like a silly, goofy or whatever.
Yeah. And, you know, it's and the dynamics are different. So it's like [00:56:00] if the characters, personalities change from light version to version, like at some point there's gonna be room for like something else to be in there. And I don't know, it seems like just a really like, Narrow minded kind of approach like, Oh, well they're half there can't be a fifth one, like the other day.
And there was somebody who was like, yeah, upset that if they ever make like a cartoon with Jenna in it. She's her name is not going to fit in the theme song.
Jeff: Like,
Sophie Campbell: what are you talking about, man? Like one, you know, they can, you know, I'm sure they have songwriters who can throw a fifth character in there.
Jeff: yeah, that whole three syllables is really gonna throw things at.
Sophie Campbell: They're like in two I, whatever the next cartoon [00:57:00] is, you know, I don't know when it's going to happen or like what is going to be, but I doubt that Jada is going to be there to begin with. I just, I don't, maybe there'll be a different girl turtle. I don't know. But like, Jennika, she's guess she's an IDW character.
Jeff: And I find it kind of interesting that they are that concerned that they think that a theme song must have the characters names and it's like, no, they can just not do the names.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah.
Jeff: The fans get so wrapped up about it. I mean, it actually is kind of interim you're like. That's what pisses you off, right?
Sophie Campbell: It's like, and it's like, I don't, I'm not doing like, we're not doing these comics. Like, Oh, you know, shit. We got to think about, you know, the cartoon that isn't even in development yet.
Like what, like the cartoon in like 20, 25, like if we have to take that into account, it's like, you know, this is not how these things are made. And like,
[00:58:00] Jeff: That'd be so creatively stifling, if you had to worry about that much.
Sophie Campbell: yeah. That's crazy. And you know, like, all I know is that Jenica is, you know, she's an IDW character she's in the comic and that's what it, that's what this is, you know?
And it doesn't matter if she never goes on to be in any other turtles media. Like, I don't see that as like a failing. Or, you know, it doesn't mean she's like a bad character or whatever, but it's like, I don't know, like the comic is its own thing. And I think there's room for like any number of new, different ideas or whatever.
Jeff: Speaking of other characters, I do have to, bring up one character who I love, even though it's not technically a teenage mutant Ninja turtle and soggy go Jimbo. Any hope that you'll cause he's had he's come over here before in the past. Will he ever cross it back over to IDW for your series?
Sophie Campbell: Not that I know of, but [00:59:00] that would be amazing.
That would be, especially a stanza I was involved.
Jeff: That's amazing.
Sophie Campbell: That'd be so cool to work with them. Although I don't know if I'd want to work with him because like, like I would just want to like get out of the way, you know, just be like, I don't, you know, you know how to write, you sign a deal.
Like you're, you know, you've been doing this a lot longer than I have. Like I'll stand aside. And letting, I don't know,
Jeff: I had the pleasure of interviewing stanza Chi, I think, two months ago, three months ago, he's like the most humble guy I've ever met in my entire life. Like talked to him my entire life.
He, you, he doesn't seem like the guy who's been, you know, the combat legend for like 30 years.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. I met him at a convention like years ago. I have some original art of his Holy crap. He was just like super nice. And, I don't know. He's great. Yeah.
Jeff: And I really do love what he did with you Jimbo. And I will say I've been just buying Tina miniature file maybe 10 months or so [01:00:00] 10 issues.
I just started buying you saw you Jimbo in January. Yeah. So both of them, I started about the same time around January when the issue is I went back and I found was the initial Mirage. You it's like you Jimbo when the teenage mutant Ninja turtles show up in his storyline, I thought. He is so good. I always want him to come back into the stories with the turtles and I was hoping I'm pleading with you.
Some point you gotta find a way,
Sophie Campbell: listen, I'm going to Google. I'm going to do some more Googling here.
Jeff: Oh, Google way.
Sophie Campbell: There's some, I thought there was some rumblings about another crossover or something too. Didn't that happen?
Jeff: Well, I know that there's a TV show on Netflix for you soggy Jimbo. So maybe they would want to, and I think it has been a cover crossover with.
Thor, maybe. Well, not maybe Thor with wall Simons, but I've never heard.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah, here it is. It came out and well, the date 2017, there was a turtles. You soggy thing three years
Jeff: ago. You can't [01:01:00] do that again now. Let's see. That's been too long.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah, absolutely. And yes, you know, he knows Dan's the guy who wrote it, drew it.
All that stuff. So yeah. Gotta get on that.
Jeff: See, I'm just playing that seed for the future before you leave or you write five more issues after one 20 is when I have to have a Usagi Yojimbo parent.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. That would be, yeah. I would love to draw you to, that'd be so fun. You're great.
Jeff: Yeah. okay, so this is another, another thing that's going on with your combo recently is that you had, union ELL, terrorize, Uniontown, correct?
Sophie Campbell: Yeah, the slithery.
Jeff: The Southern character. Now, are you going to see, we can see the email again and R is mute and Monster's going to be like the theme going forward. Like the next few.
Sophie Campbell: I don't and the issues that I'm writing, the Southern literary doesn't come back so far. I don't have any other big, I don't have any other Lake like animal that like animalistic type monsters.
but. What I wanted, like, I'm [01:02:00] a, you know, I'm a huge like monster movie fan and, you know, thinking about like, Oh, like, okay, I have like three issues like this kind of like interim mini arc. Like, like what you like, what should it be in like my favorite. Kind of monster is like a water monster that comes out of the water and gets people, you know, like jaws or whatever.
And I wanted to do something like a water monster and something that was kind of like the host, the bung Juno movie. You see
Jeff: that? Yeah. Yeah, definitely.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah. So I wanted it to be like that where it's like, just like this, you know, like creature that, you know, shouldn't really exists and.
Kidnapped people and like brings, it, brings them to it's layer. And then the turtles have to like go down until like the depths of the sewer or whatever. And it picks them off one by one. Yeah. So I wanted it to be [01:03:00] like, this old school, B monster movie. But
Jeff: it doesn't seem like the ELL is necessarily a bad creature or w it definitely is supposed to be a bad creature.
Sophie Campbell: I mean, I guess it's like, you know, it's like the host monster where it's not evil. It's just, you know, it's just an animal, like, kind of, it doesn't really, it doesn't have like an agenda. It's just like doing what it does,
Jeff: but I assume, it's going to come back at some point. I mean, they let it go.
So I assume it's coming back,
Sophie Campbell: maybe, I mean, we'll see what, we'll see what the next writer ends up doing.
Jeff: Oh, really? There's no plans for it in your own right now.
Sophie Campbell: no point. Yeah, no plans for the slithery. I wanted it to be like, I mean, like the slithery it's out in the ocean now. why would it come back?
it's happy now.
Jeff: Cause it's cool
Sophie Campbell: at the end of one Oh eight, you know, Baxter has the slithery eggs. So who knows?
Jeff: So what can readers expect from your, next, I guess is your final 11 issues, I guess? [01:04:00]
Sophie Campbell: so like one Oh nine, one Oh nine two one 12 is like, It's huh? I don't know, like, not tales of mutant town, but it's like a lot about like the turtles kind of like establishing themselves in Newton town and running a foul of like other mutant citizens and.
comes back into the picture. and it was going to be some, familiar classic character faces. I can't say who, so that'll be there. And then one 13, two, three, five, five, six, one 13 to one 17 is where I come back as artists. And that's going to be like a time travel thing.
Jeff: Nice. In Japan, like the third movie.
Sophie Campbell: No, it's still present day, but there's a time traveler character [01:05:00] who you might like, if you've read, if you've read the first five issues, you probably can guess who it is already.
Jeff: Four or five issues of the entire series.
Sophie Campbell: no, just as a of my run. So like
Jeff: gotcha. Alright, I'll make some guesses later.
Sophie Campbell: You know, if you read as you want to have five her dumbness.
Okay.
Jeff: But it sounds like I really have enjoyed what you've done with teenagers and turtles. And like I said, it was something that I have recently, you know, I'm discovering and I'd really think that if you guys were doing, you specifically be doing a great job writing.
Sophie Campbell: Thank you. It's been great. It's been super fun.
Jeff: You can usually tell when a writer is enjoying what they're doing.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah, definitely. Yeah. I like to think that it comes through on the page.
Jeff: Yeah. I mean, it definitely does. And, but yeah, so, I just want, I do want to thank you for talking with me. We've talked for a bit and I really do.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah, no problem.
No problem.
Jeff: you can always write more after one 20. I think
Sophie Campbell: I know I'm going to be [01:06:00] sad when I leave. I want to go, like, I don't want to leave the series, but, I mean, I don't know. I don't know if they're going to fire me or whatever, but like, I think like, I think Bobby, the editor, I think he wants to cause the original idea was that like after Tom left, it was going to be like each year, like 12 issues, you know, give or take what's it going to be like.
A new, a late show runner, quote, unquote person, you know, like a different cartoon nestable they take over and steer the ship for like a year. Mmm. So yeah, like I think, you know, he's already trying to like line somebody up after I leave, but like, Yeah, no, I don't know I was going to be sad.
Jeff: Or are you thinking that you may do like a T like Tom, is, did an annual, do you think you would return as like someone who's doing like one shots or annuals?
Do you think with them?
Sophie Campbell: Yeah, I have thought about that. And I've already talked to Bobby [01:07:00] about a couple of pitch ideas for like mini series, which would be really cool.
Jeff: He's listening. Get on it and you can continue. I'm sure. I'm sure. I'm sure this podcast has a lot of sway. Yeah.
Sophie Campbell: I mean, I wonder if I disliked, you know, went to him, it was just like, bother me.
I don't want to leave. Like, I wonder what he would do if you would just let me stay on it or I don't know
Jeff: what well, you know, you can do an old trick and just announced you're doing the next one. when did she was 21? And just thinking, especially when you can't say no anywhere, it's like Bernie announced the storyline,
Sophie Campbell: I'll just like suddenly sent him the script for like issue one, one 21.
He's like, Oh,
Jeff: yeah, just, have you ever seen Seinfeld.
Sophie Campbell: Yeah, of course,
Jeff: but the episode where Kramer gets fired from the job, or, but it keeps going to work anyway. Cause they won't notice,
Sophie Campbell: I don't really work here. That's what makes this so difficult.
Jeff: Yeah, exactly. So just keep on sending the scripts, announcing the new storylines and just have to take [01:08:00] it.
He doesn't like confrontation. Yeah.
Sophie Campbell: That's a pretty good idea. I think I'm going to do that.
Jeff: You'll be really funny if he actually does listen to the episode, he's like son of a bitch. That's what's going to be done. Isn't it.
But anyway, thank you so much for talking with me. I'll let you know when the episode goes live and I greatly appreciate your time.
Sophie Campbell: No problem,
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