Mark Tatulli, graphic novelist, syndicated cartoonist of "Lio," and old friend of the show is here to talk about his brand new book coming out on April 30th, "The Ex-Pets!" The book is a rollicking adventure of a secret super-group of pets led by the Incredible Mr. Turtle, who protect the animals of the world. The story follows their newest member, Stanky Dog, and his reluctant journey to being a hero to save the kittens of the world from a dastardly plot by the villain, the Skunk!

Mark and I talk about the joy of being silly, drawing cartoony animals, and making fun of superhero comics! Mark is a world-class cartoonist and writer, and even better person, so enjoy our chat! You can pick up a copy of his book here!

You can read "Lio" right here over on GoComics!

And you can read "Heart of the City," the comic Mark did for 22 years that was taken over by the amazing Christina "Steenz" Stewart in 2020!

It's Time to Talk Tolkien!  I've been wanting to do some Tolkien-inspired episodes as I am a huge fan of Professor Tolkien's writings and the Lord of the Rings movies (with a big old soft spot for the Rankin-Bass animated specials way back in the day!)...and I finally got my chance! 

Alan Sisto, of the amazing Prancing Pony Podcast has a new book out, "Why We Love Middle Earth: An Enthusiast’s Book about Tolkien, Middle-earth & the LOTR Fandom." It's co-written by the original co-host of the PPP, Shawn Marchese.  Alan came to the fantastic San Diego bookstore, Mysterious Galaxy, to do a presentation on the book, moderated by one of the great Instagram/Tik Tok Tolkien content creators/experts, Kelly Orazi, AKA @themiddlepage.   It was a huge honor and pleasure to chat with the two of them about Alan's book and the Tolkien legendarium as a whole.

And in a suprise nearly as good as Bilbo putting on the One Ring and disappearing at his Eleventy-First Birthday Party, yet another brilliant Instagram Tolkien content creator, the great mind behind "Tolkien Tuesdays" and "Faramir Fridays," Miranda AKA @exlibrismir was in attendance at the presentation and honored me with an interview about her own journey into and through Middle Earth!  

I was as pleased as a Hobbit discovering there's a THIRD Breakfast to chat with all these wonderful people and deeply nerd-out into the world of Tolkien!  And be sure to check out the Prancing Pony Podcast for the deepest of dives into the Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings...and follow @themiddlepage and @exlibrismir for most excellent Tolkien-related content where you will learn something every day!

Cartoonist, MAD Magazine contributor, professor, sculptor, fine artist, banjo player, Houdini-like escape artist...John Kovaleski has quite the awesome resumé! And if you like a couple of bald guys with smooth, deep voices talkin' at you, then have we got a podcast for you!

John and I talk about his career, our shared love of MAD Magazine, his first syndicated strip "Bo Nanas," and his current one, "Daddy Daze," and so much more. It was great to finally chat with John after admiring his work from a far for a long time.