Join us for a special interview with writer Joel Meadows. After 30 years of shepherding Tripwire Magazine, his debut graphic novel, Sherlock Holmes and the Empire Builders: The Gene Genie is about to be published. Enjoy the conversation about his career and his latest project.

For more about the book, check out the crowdfunding page at zoop.gg:
https://zoop.gg/c/sherlockholmesandtheempirebuilders

or check out the post on popculturesquad.com

We are great supporters of independent and, especially, crowdfunded comics. One of the best individual new comics that we read last year was Geezer #1, which was funded on Kickstarter and published by Off Register Press.

Geezer tells the story of the almost remembered and not quite successful Britpop band Geezer. It is brilliant concept that writer Will Potter and artist Philip Bond have rendered into a uniquely sized comic book. The misadventures of this imaginary band dovetail perfectly with real life events and style choices that put the story squarely in the timeline of the height of popularity of real bands like Blur and Oasis. There is a terrific cast of characters and Bond's visually artistry is magnificently displayed in a seven inch square format to match the size of vinyl record single.

Issue number two of this series, which expected to be a five-issue event, is nearing the end of its crowdfunding run on Kickstarter. We had the opportunity to talk to both Will and Philip about the project. There are some fantastic stories in this SquadCast about the origins of the project and what they hope for the future of the series.

The campaign ends noon Eastern Daylight Time on Saturday April 15th. That is plenty of time to back this project and listen to this fun interview with a great pair of blokes. We hope you enjoy the conversation and check the PopCultureSquad post to see more about the campaign.

Our latest SquadCast interview takes place with a pair of comic creators working to fund their latest project, and it is a great concept.

For several years now, writer and editor Russell Nohelty has been working on the multiple volumes of his anthology series Cthulhu Is Hard to Spell for a few years now, and as the project transitions to the next phase he has partnered with Laurie Foster and Unlikely Heroes Studios to repackage the books in an even more accessible format with added material.

The crowdfunding campaign for this special release is running on BackerKit until March 21st.

We spoke with both Russell and Laurie about the project, H.P. Lovecraft and the challenges that his legacy presents in the current social climate, and a whole bunch of other cool stuff.

Russell is an author with credits such as Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter, The Godsverse Chronicles, and The Obsidian Spindle Saga, as well as being the editor for the Cthulhu is Hard to Spell anthology series. He has also contributed to a bunch of anthologies including:  Cthulhu Invades Oz, Monsters and Other Scary Shit, Parallel Worlds, The Edgar Allan Poe Chronicles to name a few.

Laurie is an editor, inker, publisher, cosplayer, and pretty much everything else that you can think of. She runs Unlikely Heroes Studios and if the day has a Y at the end, she is probably running a crowdfunding campaign somewhere.

This conversation focused on the campaign for the excellent Cthulhu Is Hard to Spell, but it also ventured into the realms of the horror genre in general, representation in publishing, and nerdy favorites.

We hope you enjoy the conversation: