Adrian Has Issues

The Adrian Has Issues Podcast celebrates its 10th anniversary! Joining me on this special occasion is one of my closest friends, Atlas. We started what would be my first-ever show Adrian & Atlas Have Issues back in 2013 and the rest is history. I am not exaggerating when I say that if it weren't for Atlas there would be no podcasting at all. Our show was an irreverent tribute to our friendship and the geek culture we bonded over in our nearly-20 years of friendship. This episode finds us in hilariously familiar territory as we recall our early misadventures, the formation of our podcast and we also get into a fun discussion on the current state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Stay tuned to the end of the episode as we check in on an old fan-favorite character from our former show. As the kids say, “IYKYK.”

Here it is, folks—the first post-hiatus episode of Adrian Has Issues! Joining me in the co-hosting chair is none other than Eileen aka The LatiNerd. We sit down for a thought-provoking conversation with the co-founders of Oneshi Press: Jayel Draco (Lead Designer) and Lynsey G Editor-In-Chief). Oneshi Press is an independent publishing company with a strong emphasis on community and inclusion. Their latest project is issue #4 of PACK, a vigilante thriller in which 6 stray dogs, and 1 stray man battling crime and corruption in a gentrified Brooklyn. In this episode, Eileen and I have an honest discussion with Jayel and Lynsey regarding the real-life social issues that inform the world of PACK. We explore how themes of racism, allyship and community affect people not just on street level but in the highest levels of government.

This week's episode finds host Adrian King picking up where he left off on what was the final mini-episode installment. Adrian further elaborates on his role as an artist and seeks to reestablish his personal relationship with the creative process, as well as teasing a future project involving some output from the creative community.

Allison Martin is a trombonist with nearly 20 years of performance experience and a Bachelor's Degree in music education. Having played as a soloist and in ensembles since her youth, Allison was well on her way as a professional player in orchestra before stepping away from music entirely. After years of studying abroad in Japan, Allison has returned with a renewed spirit and destined to make her mark. Equipped with an expansive skillset and an irreverent sense of humor, Allison's path eventually brought her into the Video Game Music community with an appearance in the popular “Line Them Up” Paper Mario tribute video. 2022 saw the release of her debut album, See The World, a love letter to exploration and the games that inspired her personal journey including entries from The Legend of Zelda: Link To The Past, Final Fantasy VI and Pokémon. In an insightful and in-depth conversation, Adrian talks with Allison about her personal and creative life and the two cover a plethora of topics including: Creative burnout, the secret genius of informercials and the movies of Neil Breen.

East Bay Area musician and audio engineer Ian Cowell returns! Continuing the conversation from Episode 176, Ian tells the story of how a series of situations involving mistaken identity with another Cowell served as the catalyst for meeting some incredible individuals in the VGM/Synth community. Adrian and Ian also provide their thoughts on the importance of virtual VGM concerts, videogame music covers winning Grammy Awards and the value of content creators beyond the things they produce.

The “Minisode” format was intended to be a more intimate and personal account of Adrian's thoughts and feelings on pop culture and creativity outside of the conversational tone of the standard episodes. In this final entry, Adrian continues a train of thought that was started in Minisode 10. Adrian attempts to redefine what it means to be a creator and podcaster and the role both play in artistic communities he serves. With this comes a conclusion that will no doubt shape his personal and professional journeys for years to come.

This week's guest is Ian Cowell, an East Bay Area musician, producer and engineer. His incredible style ranges from synthwave, progressive rock, lo-fi and chip music. He has incorporated them into these truly unique arrangements of original music and videogame covers. Ian has been building a steady following in the VGM community with guitar-shredding prowess and irreverent humor. Ian capped off 2021 with the release of Exceptional Goblins, an exhilarating full-length album featuring arrangements from games such as Yoshi's Island, The Legend of Zelda II and Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. What was intended to be a look into the creation of Exceptional Goblins, the conversation between Adrian and Ian quickly veers into a fun and poignant discussion on a number of topics including: Being Dads as well as gamers and normalizing playing videogames on easy/casual difficulty levels.

Grant Henry, known best by his stage name Stemage, is a composer, session player, and audio engineer. He is the creator of Metroid Metal, performed with Viking Guitar and the guitar player for the Emmy-nominated animated series Steven Universe. His credits also include Ikenfell, Chicory: A Colorful Tale and Runner3. Recorded at the start of 2022, Adrian chats with Stemage about his experiences writing the music for the Hextech Mayhem, a rhythm-based videogame set in the League of Legends franchise from Riot Forge (Ruined King) and Choice Provisions (Bit.Trip). Additionally, Stemage lends his thoughts on balancing hired session work and personal projects, the process of creating the Adrian Has Issues theme song and how he's found inspiration from an unlikely musical source.

On this week's episode, Adrian chats with Allen Brasch, the owner and editor-and-chief of GameGrooves. Founded in 2018, GameGrooves aims to celebrate the Videogame Music community with blogs, podcasts and albums that feature music artists from a number of genres. Allen details the origins of GameGrooves as well as the events that lead up to the company's most successful album to date: A ska tribute to the music for the game Mario Kart 64 entitled Skario Kart, which features music by Skatune Network, Tape Girl & more. Adrian & Allen also provide their thoughts on the ever-evolving videogame music cover scene, their love of Sonic Adventure 2 and the ambitious 2022 Album Challenge.

In this week's episode, Adrian is once again joined comedian and writer Mario Candelaria (Ashes, The Chart, Tales From The Pandemic). The duo start off discussing the inspiration behind Mario's latest comic "Fog Line," but the conversation takes several irreverent yet poignant turns featuring takes on Lethal Weapon 2 and Mad Men & more. Mario also goes on a deep dive into his love for hit R&B singer The Weeknd, irredeemable characters in fiction and celebrating the success as well as failures along the creative process.

Ro Panuganti is a musician who specializes in guitar-driven music in the vein of progressive rock/metal that have become staples within the videogame music community. His covers have ranged from classic game/movie franchises from The Legend of Zelda and Undertale to Frozen and Hamilton. After building a following through these releases and his YouTube channel, Ro embarks on the next leg of his musical journey with a 5-song concept album entitled Project Discover. In this episode, Adrian has a conversation with Ro regarding the EP which draws inspiration from his experiences as a 2nd generation immigrant, Indian mythology and his deep love of videogames. Ro also details how the themes of identity and representation play into the story but also draw parallels to the VGM community and the path to grow as an artist.

On this week’s episode Adrian welcome back Cody Carpenter to the podcast. Cody is a third generation musician and has lent his unique talents to a plethora of projects including the 2018 film Halloween and The Lost Themes trilogy, which he co-wrote, co-produced, and performed with his father John Carpenter and Daniel Davies. In addition to his projects under the pseudonym Ludrium, Cody has been producing and performing a series of fantastic instrumental albums in the vein of jazz fusion and progressive rock. We discuss the inspiration behind the tracks on latest album Memories And Dreams through Blue Canoe Records as well as weigh in on the resurgence of videogame-themed movies and the influence gaming has had on their lives and creative ventures.

On this week’s podcast, Adrian is joined by Eileen Melendez aka The LatiNerd and returning guest, comic book writer/letterer Erica Schultz (Daredevil, Forgotten Home). Erica’s latest title The Deadliest Bouquet from Vices Press focuses on three sisters who are forced to confront a complicated family legacy when investigating their mother’s murder. Adrian, Eileen and Erica examine the book’s themes complete with irreverent yet insightful takes on sibling rivalry, death as well as action movie stars of the 80’s & 90’s.

On this week’s guest is singer/musician/YouTuber Lacey Johnson! Armed with boundless enthusiasm, razor-sharp wit and a monster-slaying keytar, Lacey covers music from games like Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and many more. In addition to her YouTube channel, Lacey is also known for energetic live performances that have been making a statement in the Video Game Music community. Lacey shares her experiences with the joys and challenges in arranging music as well as producing videos. Adrian and Lacey also make predictions on what post-pandemic concerts will look like as well as hold an honest discussion on how confronting fear is integral to the creative process.

On this week's podcast, cartoonist Alex Schumacher returns! In early 2020, his semi-autobiographical webcomic "Decades of (in)Experience" through Antix Press had celebrated 200 episodes. Now a year later, Alex talks about the decision to conclude the strip as well as rebrand his other project, the satirical shenanigans of Mr. Butterchips. Embarking on the next phases of his personal and creative endeavors, Alex shares his thoughts regarding the importance of art to evolve and reinforce the idea that it's never too late for new beginnings. For all the latest updates on Alex Schumacher please visit his website alexschumacherart.com.

On this week's podcast, Adrian chats once again with veteran punk rocker Mikey Erg (The Ergs, Worriers) Fresh off the release of his new self-titled solo album, Mikey discusses his "Return to punk rock" and his experience writing and recording a new album in the midst of a global pandemic. Adrian and Mikey also reflect on the absence of live music, share concert-going regrets and the underrated punk prowess of Pearl Jam.

This week’s guests are composers Aivi & Surasshu. They are a chiptune and piano duo, comprised of pianist Aivi Tran and sound designer Steven "Surasshu" Velema. The two have created a significant number of songs for the award-winning Cartoon Network animated series Steven Universe and Steven Universe Future. The duo have been making waves for their work on the soundtrack for the indie RPG Ikenfell created by Chevy Ray of Happy Ray Games along with Sabrielle Augustin. The soundtrack features guest artists such as Sammus, Stemage, Renko, Adriana Figueroa and Reckadem. In this episode, Adrian speaks with Aivi & Surasshu about the evolution of their professional/personal relationship, the concept of “Digital Fusion” in music and Ikenfell’s themes of inclusion and normalization of queer characters in storytelling as well as the game’s unique accessibility options.

On this week’s episode, Adrian teams up with Talking Like A Teen co-host Ashley Burgy for a conversation with voice actress Jennifer Hale. Jennifer has lent her voice to a plethora of animated series (Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Powerpuff Girls) and videogames (Mass Effect, Metal Gear Solid) and currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most female videogame voices. Jennifer talks about her experiences narrating her first audiobook for Christopher Paolini’s novel, To Sleep In A Sea of Stars and co-writing a song inspired by the book along with Todd Herfindal . Plus, Adrian and Ashley chat with Jennifer about the Mass Effect cast reunion hosted by NerdsVote and the importance of being socially and politically active.

This week Ringo Award nominated writer Frank Gogol returns to Adrian Has Issues! Frank is the writer and creator of comics such as the anthology Grief, No Heroine (which Frank and I discussed on Episode 154) and the critically acclaimed coming of age miniseries Dead End Kids through Source Point Press. In this episode, Frank talks about dealing with the whirlwind success of the original series and approaching writing the follow-up Dead End Kids: The Suburban Job. Adrian and Frank talk about the significance post-9/11 society plays in the comic and how we as a society are still experiencing the ripples of the tragic events. Plus, Frank gives his perspective on the importance of pre-ordering comics from both a retailer and reader point of view.

This week's guest is Fallon Goskowski. Fallon is a singer, thespian, the founder of Access BOSS...and Adrian's older sister. Adrian & Fallon reflect on what it was like growing up as Blerds to now being parents to both organic and digital children and express their thoughts on what it means to be Black while fighting to exist and be seen in traditionally White spaces.

This week's guest is David Pepose, the writer and co-creator of the Ringo Award-nominated comic Spencer & Locke as well as Going To The Chapel. from Action Lab Danger Zone. As the comic book industry experiences huge shakeups in publishing and distributing, creators like David Pepose are looking to more crowdfunding ventures such as Kickstarter to appeal to a wider audience that might not have the backing of a traditional publisher. Adrian speaks with David about what inspired his latest comic The O.Z., which is described as The Hurt Locker meets The Wizard of Oz. The conversation then shifts into the marketing of said title, as it is David's first Kickstarter comic and he breaks down his experience with a new outlet of potential readers. There's also talk about what the continual shift towards crowdfunding means for the direct market and the future of indie/mainstream comics and coming to the realization that we're not Keanu Reeves (but that's okay).

Jono Diener is a musician and comic book writer based out of Flint, Michigan. He’s performed in bands like The Swellers, Baggage, and No Trigger to name a few. Diener put together A Comic For Flint: HOPE released by Source Point Press, and is featured in the anthologies Maybe Someday (A Wave Blue World), and Everything Is Going Wrong: Comics on Punk and Mental Illness in addition to his self-published titles Monster Bounty, and Jetpack Zack. In this week’s episode, Adrian chats with Jono about his comic book writing career and his involvement in THE INEVITABLES, an art/music project which was created by Vinnie Fiorello (Less Than Jake) and Obi Fernandez (Westbound Train) and features artist Liana Kangas (She Said Destroy), designer Devin Watson, artist Fabian Lelay (We Are The Danger) and letterer Cardinal Rae (Forgotten Home). Jono and Adrian also examine the post-pandemic nature of both the comic book and music industries and the challenges of creating while dealing with anxiety.

On this week’s episode we’re featuring the comic book “mixtape” entitled Tales From The Pandemic. Taking inspiration from quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, writer Mario Candelaria (Ashes, The Chart, The Good Fight Anthology) assembles a talented team of artists including our other guest Adam Ferris (The Good Fight Anthology, Unlawful Good, Baroque Pop). Mario and Adam give listeners a candid look at their professional and personal friendship, give their thoughts on being comic creators during these uncertain times and hip-hop’s influence on the creation of the anthology.

This week’s episode features a 2x bonus of videogame music awesomeness! The first half of the show features Ro Panuganti. Ro is a YouTuber, multi-instrumentalist and videographer, specializing in covers of videogames and films in the style of rock and progressive metal. Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the popular role-playing videogame franchise “Mother”/”Earthbound,” Ro talks about co-producing the eclectic tribute album Fuzzy Pickles from GameLark with fellow musician Peter “Soundole” Smith. In the second half, Adrian and Ro are joined by fellow guitarist/YouTuber Christian Richardson. Christian and Ro give a detailed breakdown of the long yet rewarding journey the duo took to arrange and co-produce the thrilling album Moon Rock from Materia Collective, which pays tribute to the music of Super Mario Odyssey from Nintendo.

Celebrating 7 years as a podcaster, Adrian further examines the “culture of creativity” on a deeply personal level. In asking listeners a question, Adrian also comes to a realization that will undoubtedly shape future podcasts for years to come.

This week’s guest is Jules Conroy aka FamilyJules7x, a California-based guitarist and YouTuber. Jules details his origins as a musician leading up to the release of his second iteration of “Replay,” a sprawling 20-minute musical tribute featuring 46 different videogames from Pong to Super Mario Bros. to Persona 5. Plus, Jules talks about his successful cover album of the Super Meat Boy soundtrack, which transitioned into working with game composer Danny Baranowsky and being hired as the guitarist for the popular Nintendo game Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the Necrodancer.

This week’s episode features multimedia visual artist and Oneshi Press co-founder Jayel Draco. Jayel and Adrian engage in an irreverent yet poignant conversation about Oneshi’s latest project, Mr. Guy: Zombie Hunter. The story revolves around a wisecracking half-goblin determined to cure himself of a zombie infection…and possibly save the world in the process. While discussing the book’s themes and origins, Jayel examines the nature of parody and meta humor in storytelling and Adrian learns a valuable lesson about life thanks to gelatin-encased foodstuffs known as aspic. Oh, and the Red Baron makes an appearance or two. Why? You’ll have to listen in and find out!

On this week’s episode we welcome back our good friend and podcast regular Erica Schultz. Erica is the acclaimed writer of comics such as Xena: Warrior Princess (Dynamite), Twelve Devils Dancing (Action Lab Danger Zone) and Daredevil (Marvel). Her latest title Forgotten Home has recently been released in a collected trade format on Comixology Originals. The Vice Press comic tells the story of a Sheriff's Deputy investigating missing children that may be related to magic from her homeworld. Picking up where we left off on Episode 148, Erica and I look back at the themes of Forgotten Home and how they’ve found a new relevance in the wake of both the COVID-19 pandemic, the fight for racial justic/equality and the Black Lives Matter movement.

This week's episode features a conversation with Jeff Beck, the owner of the comic book shop East Side Mags in Montclair, NJ. Established in 2014, ESM combines an inclusive, personal approach to comic book retail and a DIY punk aesthetic. Recorded prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, Jeff and Adrian wax nostalgic about the New Jersey punk/emo scene of the late 90s and early 2000s. Additionally, our heroes share their mutual love of post-hardcore favorites Glassjaw as well as offer takes on the high-profile reunions of Rage Against the Machine and My Chemical Romance.

This week’s guest is Ringo Award nominated comic book writer Frank Gogol. His acclaimed works include the anthology GRIEF, DEAD END KIDS and his latest title NO HEROINE. All three titles are from the publisher Source Point Press. In this episode, Frank gives listeners a stark and honest examination of life post-addiction and recovery and how they play into the theme of monster-hunting in NO HEROINE. Adrian and Frank also discuss the complicated nature of heroism, the collaborative effort of comic book creation and much, much more.

This week features returning guests Lynsey G and Jayel Draco, the co-founders of the independent publishing company Oneshi Press. Adrian chats with Lynsey and Jayel about their current project Tracy Queen Vol. 2: Dangerous Experiments. The second volume sees the titular character continue her quest for empowerment and independence from her criminal past and greedy adult movie moguls. Oh, did we mention talking raccoons and clone armies? The podcast conversation explores Tracy’s motivations and how they reflect the ideas of s*x-positivity, feminism and the pitfalls of blind hero worship.

Adrian welcomes back sequential artist and writer Alex Schumacher. Alex's ongoing webcomic DECADES OF (in)EXPERIENCE chronicles the exploits of Luke Carlin, a 30-something man dealing with the ups and downs of everyday life through a dark yet comical lens. Adrian and Alex commemorate the comic's 200th strip with a candid look at Luke's journey and his growth (or sometimes lack thereof) in the series' first five years.

Grant Henry, known best by his stage name Stemage, is a composer, session player, and audio engineer. He is the creator of Metroid Metal, former guitarist for the video game tribute band LONELYROLLINGSTARS and the guitar player for the Emmy-nominated animated series Steven Universe. His latest project is the soundtrack and sound design for the videogame Card of Darkness. The Apple Arcade exclusive is a collaboration between game designer Zach Gage (Tharsis) and Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward. The game is developed by Choice Provisions (Bit.Trip). In this episode, Grant discusses developing the game’s unique soundtrack and the balancing act of creating warm, inviting music juxtaposed to the challenging nature of the gameplay. Additionally, Adrian and Grant cover a myriad of topics including the continuing popularity of vinyl music, mobile gaming and much more.

Joe Caramagna is a New Jersey-based comic book letterer and writer. His recent titles include a number of Disney properties including Ducktales, Big Hero 6 and Frozen II: True Treasure, which is the official comic book tie-in for the animated film Frozen II. Recorded on Local Comic Shop Day 2019, Joe sits down with Adrian for a second time in East Side Mags in Montclair, NJ. The pair discuss Joe's current comic book projects plus provide some hilarious commentary on social media, mysterious hockey mascots and supervillains with poor organizational skills.

Ro Panuganti is a multi-instrumentalist, recording artist and videographer, specializing in covers of videogames and films in the style of rock and progressive metal. His music have covered songs from games such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Metroid. In this episode, Ro chats with Adrian about his latest album from Materia Collective entitled Metal Trainer, which arranges music from the Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow era of games in a breathtaking progressive metal collection. Ro also talks about his origins as a musician, creating the content on his popular YouTube channel and pitches a gritty Netflix Original-style series based on Team Rocket’s Jesse and James.

This week’s podcast features friend and frequent guest Erica Schultz, the acclaimed comic book writer behind such titles as Xena: Warrior Princess (Dynamite),Twelve Devils Dancing (Action Lab Danger Zone) and Daredevil (Marvel). Her latest book, Forgotten Home (Vice Press) tells the story of a Sheriff's Deputy investigating missing children that may be related to magic from her homeworld. In this episode, Erica talks about her work as an instructor at The Kubert School and gives listeners a masterclass on proper writing techniques and storytelling tips. Plus, Adrian and Erica go on a number of hilarious deep dives including takes on Michael Bay films, bizarre 90’s TV shows and epic staredowns with M. Night Shyamalan.

This week’s guests are Frank Gogol and Chris Madd, the Ringo Award nominated writer and cover artist for the acclaimed coming-of-age graphic novel Dead End Kids from Source Point Press. The series tells the story of youths from broken homes who band together to solve the murder of a friend. Recorded on location at East Side Mags in Montclair, NJ, Adrian chats with Frank and Chris about how creating art served as a cathartic experience and the connection Dead End Kids has made with readers, resulting in issues #1 and #2 broke into the Top 400 worldwide in sales.

Malka Older is an author and humanitarian worker with over a decade of experience in humanitarian aid and development. Her written works include 2016's Infomocracy, which is the first installment of a trilogy of titles entitled The Centenal Cycle and the cyberpunk series Ninth Step Station. In this episode, Adrian speaks with Malka about her experiences working as the showrunner and head writer for Orphan Black: The Next Chapter, which is the continuation of the award-winning television series, which ended it's original run in 2017. The new installment, narrated by Emmy Award winner and series star Tatiana Maslany, is being presented via Serial Box, an online service that offers serialized fiction in audiobook and ebook bundles from bestselling authors and original content. Adrian and Malka also engage in an in-depth conversation about a number of concepts including “speculative resistance” and “narrative disorder” and how they affect her writing process as well as our interpretation of how we view the world.

This week’s guest is comic book writer Ian Mondrick. Ian’s work has been featured in notable comic book anthologies such as Unlawful Good and Corpus, eventually creating his own entitled Curio: The Anti-Thematic Anthology. Ian chats with Adrian about his upcoming horror comic Tomb of the White Horse which features a cover by Kim Myatt with art by co-creator/illustrator Benjamin A.E. Filby, colorist Lesley Atlansky (Baroque Pop) and letterer Zak Saam (Vagrant Queen). He and Adrian also have hilarious observations on parenting, pop culture FOMO and Avengers fan-casting with fellow comic book creators. Click the link below for the Kickstarter page for Tomb of the White Horse!Tomb of the White Horse on Kickstarter

This episode’s guest is musician Mikey Erg, the drummer and vocalist of the influential New Jersey punk band The Ergs! which was formed in 2000. Over the years Erg has performed in a plethora of punk bands including Worriers, The Measure[SA] and The Dopamines as well as The LLC, the house band for The Chris Gethard Show. Recorded on location at Vinyl Paradise in Sayville, New York, Adrian chats with Erg about his latest release entitled Waxbuilt Castles,. The album marks his second solo album, which pays homage to Erg’s musical influences such as The Beatles and Elvis Costello. Erg details his experiences mastering the album at the legendary recording studio Abbey Road in London and reflects on the 15th anniversary of The Ergs! landmark debut, Dorkrockcorkrod.

This week's episode features a conversation with Chelsea Tyler, a Maryland-based musician and the singer/guitarist of the alternative pop band DRMCTHR with Bryan Czap and Craig Perkins. Chelsea describes how both she and the band continued to evolve from the release of their 2013 EP Wonderlust to their full-lenth album Hold Your Love in 2017. Now with the latest singles "Burnin' Up" and "Underneath" released in 2019, the band has emerged with a renewed energy and purpose after a series of personal and professional setbacks. Plus, Adrian and Chelsea share their thoughts on the future of Pop music as well as working to dispel the fallacy of suffering for one's art.

In this minisode of Adrian Has Issues, a music playlist serves as a catalyst for Adrian to reflect on a pivotal moment in his personal life. In turn, this causes him to look ahead to the future and outline plans for the podcast including the addition of The LatiNerd Experience and Talking Like A Teen.

Grant Henry, known best by his stage name Stemage, is a composer, session player, and audio engineer. He is the creator of Metroid Metal, former guitarist for the video game tribute band LONELYROLLINGSTARS and the guitar player for the Emmy-nominated animated series Steven Universe. His latest project is music and sound design for the videogame Bubsy: Paws on Fire! which is available for PC, Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch. In this episode, Stemage speaks with Adrian about his unique experiences composing music for both videogames and television as well as hilarious discussions on the 1982 cult classic film Tron, pinball and weird production company logos from the 80s/90s.

David M. Booher is a Los Angeles based comic book writer and screenwriter. Some of his past credits include the sci-fi epics POWERLESS and ALIEN BOUNTY HUNTER, both from Vault Comics. His latest project is an all-ages fantasy graphic miniseries CANTO from IDW Pub. The comic was created by Booher (POWERLESS) and artist Drew Zucker (THE HOUSE) and features the talents of colorist Vittorio Astone (ZOJAQAN) and letterer Deron Bennett (IMMORTAL HULK). Described as "THE WIZARD OF OZ meets DANTE'S INFERNO," CANTO tells a tale of brave creature who sets out into a dangerous in hopes of saving a young girl's life. David made his very first podcast appearance in Episode 98 of Adrian Has Issues. In this episode, David speaks with Adrian about the inspiration behind CANTO as well as assembling the creative team and the steps taken to create an effective pitch to publishers. Plus, there's fun observations on The Lord of the Rings, The Neverending Story and more!

Mustin a multi-instrumentalist and music producer based in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He's credited as being a pioneer of the videogame music remixing scene with early contributions to OverClocked ReMix and Project Majestic Mix before founding one of the first videogame music record labels, OneUp Studios, and one of the first videogame music cover bands, The OneUps, who still perform regularly at conventions such as PAX, MAGFest, VCON, and more to this day. Mustin has been featured on CNN and MSNBC, remixed for MC Frontalot and Freezepop, and has worked with the likes of brentalfloss, Mega Ran, and more. In this episode, Adrian speaks with Mustin about his solo album entitled "The World Is Square" from Scarlet Moon Productions. The album is a 7-track videogame tribute album, featuring laid-back "chillout" renditions of songs from Squaresoft games such as Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana. Mustin also discusses how the album was inspired by various women in his life plus he and Adrian bond over being gamers as well as fathers.

Young Doctors In Love is a 6-piece indie pop band from Toronto, Ontario. After taking something of a hiatus since the release of their 2014 full-length album “World’s Greatest Rock & Roll Band,” band leader Clay Puddester returns with a new lineup for their latest album. In this episode, Clay and vocalist/songwriter Stephanie Matos chat with Adrian about the songwriting process of their new album entitled “…In Love” plus some other fun topics including: Brainstorming ideas for future music videos. The album’s connections to the Thomas Pynchon novel, “V." The timeless novelty of smoke machines and lasers...and much more.

Mario Candelaria is a comic book writer and comedian based out of Philadelphia, PA. Some of his credits include Ashes: A Firefighter's Tale (Z2 Comics), Corktown(Alterna Comics) and Baroque Pop: A Lana Del Ray Fanthology (Red Stylo Media). In this episode, Mario brings Adrian up to speed on all the events leading up to Wrestlemania 35, which includes storylines from WWE Raw, WWE Smackdown and even NXT. Also in this episode: Kofi-mania sweeps the nation...The rise of Becky “The Man” Lynch...Brock Lesnar is still wrestling, I suppose...And much more!

Janet LaBelle is a singer/songwriter based out of Brooklyn, NY. During her formative years as a teen, she got her start as the vocalist for the New Jersey pop-punk band Avery, which landed her an indie record deal and the band toured nationally and had their music was featured on television shows & commercials. Since those days, Janet continued to grow as an artist and a solo performer, having released a number of EPs: Moon Songs (2010), Blossom & Blue (2011) and Just A Little Rain (2012). Janet has also performed for other bands including Brooklyn’s Sharkmuffin and Jimmy Destri & The Sound Grenade, a project helmed by Blondie keyboardist Jimmy Destri. This week’s episode features Adrian’s conversation with Janet LaBelle, which covers various topics including the songwriting and recording process of her latest EP, 2018’s I Only See You from Loantaka Records as well as New York’s surfing scene and how music can help people therapeutically.

Cody Carpenter is a third generation multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. His grandfather, Howard Carpenter, is a founding member of the Nashville Strings. His father, John Carpenter, is a filmmaker and composer. In addition to contributing music for his father's films, Vampires (1998), Ghosts of Mars (2001) and 2018's Halloween along with Daniel Davies, Cody has composed the full-length scores to projects such as Showtimes' Masters of Horror. In this episode, Adrian speaks with Cody regarding his two most recent albums: 2019’s Force Of Nature, an instrumental jazz/fusion album from Blue Canoe Records featuring Grammy Award-nominated bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Scott Seiver and 2018’s Reflections, Cody’s snyth-heavy solo album under his pseudonym Ludrium. Additionally, Adrian and Cody explore various concepts including: The rising popularity of synth/progressive music, the challengers of touring as a musician and music as a universal language.

Today's guest is Jayson Napolitano the owner and founder of Scarlet Moon Productions, a music label, PR firm and artist group that specializes in gaming music that rangers from AAA titles to independent games. Jayson, along with composer Lena Raine (Guild Wars 2, Wandersong & Friends), is the co-producer of Prescription for Sleep: Celeste, the Seventh installment of the popular series, Prescription For Sleep: Game Music Lullabies. The collection is a jazz/ambient arrangement of the soundtrack of the acclaimed videogame Celeste. The Billboard charting album features music by Metal Gear Solid and Bayonetta composer Norihiko Hibino on saxophone and Etrian Odyssey and PersonaQ performer AYAKI on piano as duo dubbed GENTLE LOVE. They are joined for the first time in the series by guest violinist Maiko and the composer of Celeste, Lena Raine. In this episode, Jayson details the formation of Scarlet Moon Productions, his experiences in co-producing Prescription For Sleep: Celeste and introduces the concept of videogame music as a form of healing.

This week’s episode features a first-time guest on the Adrian Has Issues podcast: Adrian King himself! Vancouver-based comic book writer/artist Kelly Brack returns to guest-host the show and put Adrian in the hot seat. Fielding a series of crowdsourced questions asked by comic book creators including Danny Lore (Queen of Bad Dreams), Stephanie Cannon (Hexed) and Lonnie Nadler (Age of X-Man), Adrian gives listeners and irreverent and insightful takes on topics including: Meeting your idols as a fanboy, Canada’s Grandpa adoption agency, Tropical Fruit...and more!