20 Comic Pros on What They Are Reading, Watching, & Listening To - Live #RWL

We bring together some of our favorite guests to talk about RWL - Reading, Watching, Listening. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/comic-pros-on-to-159522077 DATE: 5/26/2026 TIME: 8:00 PM EST HOST: Buddy Scalera CO-HOST: Mike Fasolo CO-HOST: Deanna Destito INTERN: Stu Davidson We break down what some of the biggest names in the comic book industry, television animation, and digital media are Reading, Watching, and Listening to (RWL). Quick-fire roundtables with top industry professionals sharing the material shaping their creative workflows. Buddy Scalera (Co-Host) Reading: Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World Watching: AI: How I Became an AI Optimist ; The Rooster; Bad Thoughts (Tom Segura); The Boys. Listening: The Prof G Show, The GaryVee Audio Experience, Pulizzi & Rose). Get Genghis Khan and the making of the modern world here - https://amzn.to/4tYcWY3 Mike Fasolo (Co-Host) Reading: Dungeon Crawler Carl Watching: Pluribus (Apple TV). Listening: SmartLess podcast with Will Arnett and Jason Bateman. Get Dungeon Crawler Carl here - https://amzn.to/4oedWX7 Get Mike Fasolo's Skymaster here - https://amzn.to/4ea5CnC Deanna Destito (Co-Host) Reading: Wicked (Graphic Novel adaptation); The Girl Who Remembers by AJ Rivers. Watching: Brooklyn Nine-Nine; Marvel Cinematic Universe movies in release order. Listening: Handsome podcast; My Favorite Murder; After Dark history podcast. Get Wicked Graphic Novel here - https://amzn.to/4dQCy38 Get Deanna Destito's Tales to Read By Night here - https://amzn.to/4f919CE Kris Simon (Nakama Press) Watching: Better Call Saul (Final Season); Friends & Neighbors starring Jon Hamm. Mike Marts (Mad Cave Studios) Reading: Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb ; evaluating continuous publishing proofs for Mad Cave, Nakama Press, Maverick, PaperCutz. Watching: Critical Role: The Legend of the Mighty Nein; Mad Men. Listening: Arcade Fire's instrumental orchestral compositions. Get Assassin's Apprentice here - https://amzn.to/4nXuAtV Tom Peyer (AHOY Comics) Watching: The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley (1988 series Martin Short). Jamal Igle (Artist/Writer) Watching: Presidential history docuseries on Netflix (FDR, Lincoln); The Mandalorian & Grogu Kevin Shinick (Writer/Director) Reading: The Hawthorne and Horowitz murder mystery series by Anthony Horowitz. Watching: The Blue Dahlia (1946 film noir). Get Hawthorne and Horowitz here - https://amzn.to/4dOxoVf Craig Benzine (WheezyWaiter) Reading: Bagombo Snuff Box by Kurt Vonnegut. Watching: The Studio (Apple TV). Listening: Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast hosted by Scott Aukerman. Get Bagombo Snuff Box here - https://amzn.to/3RBWXSb Jay Martin (Storyboard Artist/Director) Reading: DC Comics' Absolute Green Arrow Watching: Spider-Noir live-action series starring Nicolas Cage. Joseph P. Illidge (Editor/Writer) Watching: Bad Monkey* (Apple TV series directed by Hiro Murai). Listening: The musical arrangements of Bleachers (Jack Antonoff). Kwanza Osajyefo (Writer/Editor) Reading: The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House by Audre Lorde. Watching: Wind Breaker anime. Listening: Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day podcast. AJ Ampadu (Artist/Creator) Reading: Piranesi* by Susanna Clarke; BLACK by Kwanza Osajyefo; Sink; Absolute Martian Manhunter Watching: Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal Listening: Experimental electronic mixes and deep house music. Sean Chen (Artist) Reading: Absolute Batman Watching: The Mandalorian Listening: Modern Top 40 music, Skeptoid podcast Paul Jenkins (Writer) Listening: Fall of Civilizations (hosted by Paul Cooper): Cautionary Tales Brian Michael Bendis (Writer/Producer) Reading: The Florida Hippopotamus Cocaine Massacre by Fred Kennedy and James Edward Clark (Mad Cave Studios); Adventureman by Matt Fraction and Terry Dodson; FML by Kelly Sue DeConnick and David López. Watching: Nirvana the Band the Show. Listening: Comedy Bang! Bang!; Bobby Moynihan's Batman audio projects; Blank Check podcast; Bananas for Bonanza. YOUTUBE CHAPTERS 00:00 - Introduction to the Creative Media Roundtable 04:15 - Host Selections: Balancing Pacing, Tech, and History 08:30 - Kris Simon on Character Stakes and Structural Uncomfortability 11:55 - Mike Marts: Curating the Imprint Line vs. Reading for Fun 18:40 - Tom Peyer on Absurdist 80s Character Animation 22:00 - Jamal Igle: Presidential Documentaries and Star Wars Adaptation Pacing 25:55 - Kevin Shinick Breaks Down Historical Noir and Narrative Architecture 29:35 - Craig Benzine on Improv Formats and Self-Contained Comedies 34:55 - Jay Martin and Joseph P. Illidge: Storyboarding and Inverting Hero Tropes 51:00 - Kwanza Osajyefo on Found Family Structures and the Gordian Knot Concept 55:45 - AJ Ampadu: Visual Cadence, Audio Caffeine, and Dark Diaspora Motifs 01:02:40 - Brian Michael Bendis: Independent Comic Selections and Audio Curation As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases