Star Trek

Sci-fi armor and weapons – James Johnson interview

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

James Johnson is a builder with ShotanKazori Studio. I spoke with him about his work at Escape Velocity 2018.

2:33 – James talks about the props Shotan Kazori creates. They build every genre, Star Wars, Star Trek, Babylon 5, armor, guns, weapons.

4:09 – Everything they build has a visual component, an auditory component, and a kenistetic component. They’ve even added sound amplification for helmets.

6:28 – Their Mandalorioan Wraith Armor is fitted to James. They fit any armor to the person who buys it. They build light to heavy armor.

7:42 – They brought a Kyber shield to Escape Velocity.

9:17 – James collected toys until he was 18 and stopped until he was 48. He loves Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, LOTR and so on. They love anime and James is into Halo.

11:08 – A Grendel rifle would take a month to make. Armor could take a week to many months depending on how detailed the buyer wants their armor. They build from scratch to finish.

13:23 – They also have an Apax Mnemnon lightsaber built for Escape Velocity. It has 137 points of detail. They also consider the “era” the weapons is from.

16:27 – James wanted to be the Hulk when he was young and still does. He also loves Tony Stark and feels like him in the shop.

17:22 – He’d love to build something very challenging. He’d want to build the Mech Armor for a group of four.

18: 22 – They’re exclusively on instagram at shotan kazori. They’re just outside of Atlantic City and can be reached on instagram. They also teach how to make props on instagram.

Links

Instagram Shotan_Kazori

For more of “The Art and Design of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, Mystery and Horror” please follow me on Facebook at crisalvarezwlc, on youtube at Cris Alvarez, on twitter @crisalvarezwlc, and on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi

Guests: James Johnson

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: science fiction, fantasy, art, artist, props, builder, mech, grendel, lightsaber, rifle, flame thrower, armor

Comic book editing and writing – Bob Greenberger interview – Far Point 2018

Bob Greenberger has been a writer and editor for decades. He’s worked on the Star Trek comic and as both a DC and Marvel executive he’s worked on numerous comic book projects. His latest work is a Captain America novel. I interviewed Bob Greenberger at Far Point 2018.

1:52 – Bob talks about his latest work, an original Captain America novel. He always wanted to write a Captain America novel. His first ideas were too political for the editors so he moved the story to Europe. He worked as the editor of the Star Trek comic book and he’s written a lot of Star Trek stories.

3:34 – For deadline work, he likes to finish before the deadline and put it side for a week and then look it over again. He does noodle over his own characters.

6:08 – His most experimental works were Suicide Squad which was unique for DC at the time. His other experimental project was with Peter David called the Atlantis Chronicles. He brought in a Spanish artist who had a whole new look. It just got collected after 30 years. DC was experimental and they went for it.

8:58 – The Hacker Files was a little ahead of its time. It was about software and hackers and conspiracies. The project was backburnered and then the project kind of disappeared over time.

10:56 – He doesn’t consider himself an experimental writer. He’s more of a nuts and bolts kind of guy.

11:32 – Bob goes over how he would create a novel like his latest Captain America novel.

13:36 – He balances narration, dialogue and such through practice. He knows Captain America’s voice but had to take more time on characters he created.

16:32 – For his Star Trek work he studies as much astronomy as needed. However, for Sherlock Holmes he went down rabbit holes as he studied Victorian London.

19:32 – Bob discusses what he learned being a journalist in college. That informed everything he did afterwards. The value of a schedule and allocating time.

22:02 – The editor’s role is to protect property. He also likes using entertainment to educate.

24:52 – He listens to soundtracks to set the mood while writing.

26:02 – He has a robotics club in school where he teaches. But not everyone’s imagination is captured by robotics. A school should find something to interest every kid. He’d like kids to be more curious about the tools that they use.

28:29 – All kids need to know how to write and communicate to do well in science. They also have to understand the history of knowledge.

29:43 – He always wanted a Green lantern power ring as a kid.

30:52 – He has an author’s page on Amazon. He also has a webpage, bobgreenbeger.com, his twitter handle is bobgreenberger and he’s on facebook.

Links of interest

https://bobgreenberger.com/

 

For more “Creating Sci-Fi and Fantasy – An Inside Look” please follow me on Facebook at crisalvarezwlc, on youtube at Cris Alvarez and on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi

 

Guests: Bob Greenberger

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: science fiction, star trek, comics, atlantis, suicide squad, DC comics, marvel comics, author, captain america, peter david, science, education, STEM

Comic book editing and writing – Bob Greenberger interview

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Bob Greenberger has been a writer and editor for decades. He’s worked on the Star Trek comic and as both a DC and Marvel executive he’s worked on numerous comic book projects. His latest work is a Captain America novel. I interviewed Bob Greenberger at Far Point 2018.

1:52 – Bob talks about his latest work, an original Captain America novel. He always wanted to write a Captain America novel. His first ideas were too political for the editors so he moved the story to Europe. He worked as the editor of the Star Trek comic book and he’s written a lot of Star Trek stories.

3:34 – For deadline work, he likes to finish before the deadline and put it side for a week and then look it over again. He does noodle over his own characters.

6:08 – His most experimental works were Suicide Squad which was unique for DC at the time. His other experimental project was with Peter David called the Atlantis Chronicles. He brought in a Spanish artist who had a whole new look. It just got collected after 30 years. DC was experimental and they went for it.

8:58 – The Hacker Files was a little ahead of its time. It was about software and hackers and conspiracies. The project was backburnered and then the project kind of disappeared over time.

10:56 – He doesn’t consider himself an experimental writer. He’s more of a nuts and bolts kind of guy.

11:32 – Bob goes over how he would create a novel like his latest Captain America novel.

13:36 – He balances narration, dialogue and such through practice. He knows Captain America’s voice but had to take more time on characters he created.

16:32 – For his Star Trek work he studies as much astronomy as needed. However, for Sherlock Holmes he went down rabbit holes as he studied Victorian London.

19:32 – Bob discusses what he learned being a journalist in college. That informed everything he did afterwards. The value of a schedule and allocating time.

22:02 – The editor’s role is to protect property. He also likes using entertainment to educate.

24:52 – He listens to soundtracks to set the mood while writing.

26:02 – He has a robotics club in school where he teaches. But not everyone’s imagination is captured by robotics. A school should find something to interest every kid. He’d like kids to be more curious about the tools that they use.

28:29 – All kids need to know how to write and communicate to do well in science. They also have to understand the history of knowledge.

29:43 – He always wanted a Green lantern power ring as a kid.

30:52 – He has an author’s page on Amazon. He also has a webpage, bobgreenbeger.com, his twitter handle is bobgreenberger and he’s on facebook.

Links of interest

https://bobgreenberger.com/

For more “Creating Sci-Fi and Fantasy – An Inside Look” please follow me on Facebook at crisalvarezwlc, on youtube at Cris Alvarez and on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi

 

Guests: Bob Greenberger

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: science fiction, star trek, comics, atlantis, suicide squad, DC comics, marvel comics, author, captain america, peter david, science, education, STEM