Artist Spotlight

In this month’s artist spotlight Edward Crossman brings to you a series of mini-interviews from Dragons Realm Comic Con 26'!

Quick Conversations from a Convention
Dragons Realm Comic Con
By Edward Crossman

Phil Parsons

Eddie Crossman: So, who am I here with?
Phil Parsons: My name is Phil Parsons
EC: And what would people know you from?
PP: The most famous thing I've ever been in is 'Dragon Ball Z' as the Saiyan warrior Napa. I was also an antagonist named Kenny Ackerman in a pretty popular anime called 'Attack on Titan'. But I'd been doing voice acting for well over 20 years, and have a lot of credits.
EC: What is it about voice acting that you just love doing it?
PP: For an actor, voice acting is great because you get to do parts that you wouldn't get to in another media, you know? Napa is, like, a nine foot muscle bound wrestler type villain, and I wouldn't get to do that in a movie or a TV show or on stage, but I can do it in anime.
EC: What is it about anime that you think draws this devotion, this loyalty?
PP: I don't know. You know, I'm a Gen Xer, so it wasn't really my generation... The millennials are the ones that made anime big, and then I think Gen Z just made it mainstream. Maybe because it was never aimed at children in Japan. It was always their form of serious storytelling. And the fact that it comes from another culture. They haven't fallen to the habits of Hollywood, of playing it safe and going with the predictable, comforting storylines. So maybe it's kind of like liking, you know, a band that's not cookie cutter. I don't know.
EC: That's fair. As somebody who doesn't watch anime, I don't know anything about it. What would you suggest that I watch to get into it? What would be a good start to tipping my toe in?
PP: I think 'Attack on Titan' is a really well produced, gripping, interesting story. If you don't mind gore.
EC: And a lot of giant naked people.
PP: It's got giant naked people, yeah. It's got humans fighting for survival. It's got betrayal and heartache. That's a good one. If you like more mythical stories, there's one I'm in currently called 'Hell's Paradise' that's set in feudal Japan, or set in the feudal Japanese era, but it takes place on some mythical island, and it's got a lot of cool action and pathos in it, too.
EC: And what do you think about today's inaugural event? This is the first year of the Dragon's Realm Comic Con. What's your feelings about it so far?
PP: It's been great. I've met some really nice fans, people who are delighted to have a con in this part of Connecticut. They're used to having to drive an hour or two hours to find something, and they're glad to have it in their town, and people seem to be having a good time.
EC: Awesome! Any final words to the fans?
PP: Thanks for your devotion. When I meet you guys at a table and get to hear how much a part means to you, then that's very gratifying.
EC: Well, thank you. I really appreciate it.

Gary Littman

Eddie Crossman: Who am I sitting here with? What's your name?
Gary Littman: Gary Littman
EC: And what would people know you from?
GL: They'll know me from 'Yu-Gi-Oh: Zexal', as Shark. They'll know me from 'One Piece', which you probably heard of 'One Piece', right?
EC: Yeah.
GL: (Holding up a photo) And this is Captain Kuro, and he's one of the first baddies in the show. As you can see, his Edward Scissorhands, right? Those would be the two main things, if you will. But then, this is also kind of really cool. So, we all know 'Star Wars'. I'm a part of the Star Wars Universe. This is a break off series called 'Star Wars: Visions' that was on Disney, And I was a prototype Android, like a C-3PO, and that's in the new series.
EC: Is it cool to be part of the Star Wars lore?
GL: Oh, it's amazing. And also the fact that the head of casting picked me to play that role for LucasArts. The way that happened is that, and this is kind of cool with anime.. So there is a show called 'Kappa Mikey' that I did 112 years ago, and one of the actors in it has his own studio. And that's really all he does is direct and has his own studio, and he directed me in that, and told me that the head of casting at LucasArts cast me in that, which is pretty frickin' awesome. So it's a cool, like, circle of life thing in that sense.
EC: That's pretty neat! What do you think it is about anime that draws the fans and makes them as hardcore as they are?
GL: I think it's a combination of the story arcs that they have that are real but pushed into fantasy. It's fun for people with the imagination to live in that world, but still is grounded in reality with real characters. The colors and the depths of the characters, I think that's something else that they are attracted to, which is why people dress up as the characters for cosplay, because they can be somebody else. It's their Halloween. It's a safe place, which is also a beautiful thing, and it's living in the fiction, because the real world is the real world. Who wants to live in that? And I think that's a big part of it, to be perfectly honest. The world is hard, and it's getting harder every day. So living in the anime world, it's a nice, safe place to be.
EC: That's a great answer, thank you. As somebody who doesn't watch anime, what would you suggest I watch to get into it?
GL: 'One Piece'.
EC: 'One Piece'?
GL: 'One Piece'.
EC: What is it about 'One Piece' that makes you suggest it?
GL: Pirates.
EC: Who doesn't like pirates?
GL: Exactly! Who doesn't love pirates? Yeah! I think that's a great starting point. And there's the manga. You know what a manga is?
EC: Sure do.
GL: Okay. So it started as a manga, then hundreds of episodes. Now it's a live action, as well. So the world of it, you probably can find somebody within that you'd be like, "I like that dude!" in terms of, like, "Oh, I see a bit of me in them", or like, "I wish I was that," that kind of thing. So, yeah, I would say 'One Piece'.
EC: Okay, cool. We are here at the Dragons Realm Con in Danbury, Connecticut. What do you think of the inaugural event of the Dragons Realm convention?
GL: This is the inaugural event?
EC: Yes, this is the first year.
GL: Really? I didn't know that. I think it's great! Again, it's a safe place for fans to come and be themselves and get to meet us, which is awesome for us, because most of our time, when we do this stuff, we're in a box by ourselves. We have no idea what impact it has on other people. We really don't. And then when you get to a place like this, and people come up to you and say, "Oh my gosh! You were so impactful from my youth. You let me feel like I could be anything." It's amazing when you hear that from adults, from when they were kids. And it's a beautiful thing to get to share. And also, this is a bit of a homecoming for me, because I grew up in Cheshire.
EC: Oh, really? You're from Cheshire?
GL: Yeah. And this is the first time I've done a Comic Con in Connecticut.
EC: Oh, nice, nice. I'm from Hartford. I moved up to New York, but, yeah, I'm a Connecticut guy myself. But, anyways, as a voice actor, do you get recognized much on the street?
GL: Not as much. And also, I do live action, but I'm kind of lucky because I get the, "You look familiar..." It's great! You don't know who I am, but you've seen me on 'Law and Order.' You've seen me on 'Blacklist'. You've seen me on things, okay? But you don't know me, so I can actually have a real life, which is wonderful. I can be anonymous, but, still, at times, "hmm, I think I've seen you." Right?
EC: "No, no. I just have that face." Hahaha!
GL: Haha! I do say that sometimes. I mean, it is nice to be recognized, yes, but also it's nice to just kind of be anonymous.
EC: Do you have any final words to the fans, or anything else that you want to say?
GL: Thank you for coming, and I hope to see you all again wherever I am on the planet doing comic cons!
EC: Well, I appreciate it. Thank you.

Jeff Brennann

Eddie Crossman: Hi, who am I standing here with?
Jeff Brennan: This is Jeff Brennan. I've done a lot of storyboards. 'Courage the Cowardly Dog'. 'Dragon Tails'. Worked on 'Big Bang Theory', did special effects on 'Expendables.' My own comic, 'Cyber Girl L.E.E.T.A.', A lot of stuff.
EC: Working on 'Courage', what was that like?
JB: Mostly my job was design, but I did a couple storyboards. I designed some of the minor characters, some of the villains, and also did props. In the pilot episode, I did some animation as well.
EC: Oh nice! What is storyboarding like?
JB: It's a lot like doing comic books, which I've got some experience with as well, but it's more... you have to put more action in than you would a comic book. Like, in a comic book panel, you can have Superman flying away with a big chunk of dialog where he's talking about "blah, blah, blah, blah". But in storyboards, you have to have a small section and a little bit of dialog, because it's gonna be moving, and it'd be boring to just have one shot, you know?
EC: What did you do on 'Big Bang'?
JB: They used my art as posters in the comic book store set. And it was really cool because they used my comic book, so it promoted my comic book. I'm not allowed to say who, but somebody's been talking to me about maybe doing it as a series because of that.
EC: Oh yeah? That's really cool!
JB: I'm hoping; Fingers crossed.
EC: What do you think of the convention today?
JB: You know, it's a good venue. A little slower than I'd like, but it's been going okay, you know? I'm hoping to get a lot more people coming in.
EC: You also worked on the animated 'Jumanji' series as well as stuff with 'Spiderman' and 'X-Men'. What did you do on those projects?
JB: For 'Jumanji', I did storyboards for the first three seasons, I think, or maybe seasons two through four. I know it's three seasons.
EC: I remember watching that on... NBC? I think?
JB: UPN, I believe. And for 'X-Men', it was a toy commercial. And 'Spiderman' was a pasta commercial. They were, like, real early. I used to do a lot more commercial work and shorts. I did some of the animation for 'The Nanny'. I don't know if you're familiar with that show.
EC: Yeah! Love me some Fran Drescher! Was it the beginning part?
JB: I did the end part, actually. And also Rosie O'Donnell, I did the opening credits. It was the same director.
EC: Really cool. How do you get into that? I presume you went to school and what not.
JB: Yeah, yeah, I went to school. I ended up on 'Courage' only because my roommate's girlfriend was working on it. I got lucky
EC: What did she do on 'Courage'?
JB: I don't actually remember. I haven't talked to her in years.
EC: You just knew somebody in the biz and that's that?
JB: Yeah, I got lucky.
EC: You got any projects you're working on now?
JB: My comic book, 'Cyber Girl L.E.E.T.A.'. That's the one that, you know, hopefully could be a series. Check out Cybergirlleeta.com, and, yeah, that's going pretty well so far. I'm on issue 12 now, and if it becomes a series, it's gonna get pretty big, I'm kinda hoping.
EC: Well, me too. I hope it all works out. You have a really nice booth here. I love your art. It's amazing. Millions of people have seen your work without even knowing it's you. Is that kind of bittersweet? Like, "Hey, that's my work. You don't know me, but that's me."
JB: When I'm at the shows, they know. I get a lot of fans coming out to see me, which is great.
EC: Well, I really appreciate all your hard work and you taking the two seconds to talk to us here at Black Noise.
JB: Thank you! It was nice to meet you.

Chuck Huber

Eddie Crossman: Who am I here with today?
Chuck Huber: My name is Chuck Huber. (In the voice of each character) I'm the voice of Android 17. The great and glorious Emperor Pilaf. I am Kurogiri from 'My Hero Academia'. I'm also Hiei from 'Yu Yu Hakusho', Dr. Stein from 'Soul Eater', and Kululu Kururu from 'Sgt. Frog'. I've done a lot of things in my life.
EC: I appreciate the enthusiasm, but this is a print magazine.
CH: Oh, really? Perfect. I didn't know those still existed.
EC: HAHA! Yeah, yeah. We're trying to keep physical media alive.
CH: Okay, I'll phone it in from here, then.
EC: So, I'm gonna be honest with you, I know nothing about anime at all. As a newbie, what would you suggest that I watch to begin with?
CH: To hook you permanently on the genre, I would point you directly towards Studio Ghibli and the work of Miyazaki. 'Howl's Moving Castle', 'My Neighbor Totoro'. My favorite is 'Kiki's Delivery Service'. It's a sweet little anime that you just get to live in, and it's beautiful. Those are great to start, because they'll hook you forever. But then your job as someone who is researching or trying to figure out where they fit into anime is to start seeking out what you like. What do you like? Do you like monsters? Do you like horror? Do you like slice of life comedies? Do you like weird aliens? It doesn't matter. There's something for everyone in anime. Do you like sports? We've got volleyball, we've got swimming, we've got racing, we've got soccer, we've got everything you want. So like, you just pick what it is that you love, and then say, "Tell me, oh great anime gods, what should I watch?" And they'll tell you.
EC: What is it about anime that you think draws people to it?
CH: Well, it's art. It's an art form, and the artist can draw whatever they want. And it's not just the visuals, but it's also the storytelling. The Japanese take on storytelling is different from the Western take, so you end up having things happen in anime that don't happen in Western stories. And so, as an audience, you end up surprised. You're like, "Wait, I thought this was one thing, and now it's completely different than I thought." And so, you always end up with some sort of magical realization.
EC: That's pretty thoughtful. Out of all the characters that you have played, who is your absolute favorite to get into?
CH: I've had a lot of really great characters in my career. Android 17 is the most popular and one of my favorites. Dr. Stein from 'Soul Eater' is also one of my favorites. But if you made me pick the tip top, it's Hiei from 'Yu Yu Hakusho'. He's got a really cool attitude, and he's like a bad guy but a good guy. He really ends up being a good guy in his heart and saves the day a lot of the time, and he's just kind of snarky.
EC: Have you ever come up with a voice or a character that's stuck, but you just hate doing it? You're like, "Why did I do it that way? Now I have to do it that way forever."
CH: No, I don't. I mean, Emperor Pilaf is a little challenging, but he's so much fun, I don't mind it. You know, the sort of crazy noises he makes, which don't matter because this is a print magazine, so I'll stop performing for the letters. But yeah, Pilaf is probably the most challenging, but he's a lot of fun, so it doesn't bother me.
EC: All right. You got anything coming up you want to promote?
CH: Ummmmmm.....No. Just everyone should get ready for the new world that's coming. It'll either be 'Star Trek' or 'Terminator'. It's yet to be decided.
EC: I'm hoping for 'Star Trek'. Fingers crossed. Any final thoughts for the fans? Any final words?
CH: Keep being awesome.
EC: You keep being awesome! Thank you for your time.
CH: Thank you!

Ellen Dubin

Edward Crossman: Who do I have the pleasure of sitting here with?
Ellen Dubin: I'm Ellen Dubin, and I'm an on camera actor and a voice actor.
EC: Where would people know you from?
ED: Well, I would say some of my biggest roles are the mother in 'Napoleon Dynamite' who made her daughter go to the dance with Napoleon. And I am currently the voice of Captain Phasma in 'Star Wars: Resistance', 'Fortnite' and 'LEGO Star Wars'. And I would say the other franchise is 'Dune', where I play the voices in Timothee Chalamet's head.
EC: What about 'Lexx'?
ED: Thank you for asking about that, Eddie. 'Lexx' was my first major Sci-Fi series, and actually really near and dear to my heart. Giggerota the Wicked, Comedy Cannibal!
EC: It was a pretty offbeat series.
ED: Yeah, it was. And kind of just before social media, so it kind of missed the fan base, but now we're getting a resurgence of it because I think it's on Amazon, I've heard. So that's really cool. Thanks for asking about that.
EC: No problem. What got you into, not just acting, but voice voice acting, in particular. How did you get into that?
ED: What got me into acting, and then voice acting? You're going to laugh. Flat feet. My parents took me to ballet school because I had flat feet and I was really shy. I'm making up for lost time now. But long story short, at the end of the ballet season, we would have recitals, and when I was on stage, I went, "Wow!!" I lost my shyness. I was really confident, and I loved holding an audience's attention. I was always doing an extra Dying Swan in a serious ballet, and then, if it was a comedy ballet, I had a natural, like, inclination to wait for the laugh. My ballet teacher said, "You're never going to be a ballet dancer, you're going to grow too tall, but you're going to be an actress." And I cried and I cried and I cried, "I don't want to be an actor." I never wanted to be an actor. Yeah, I know most people do. And then I started to get into some acting in school. And voice acting is my latest career. I've only been doing voice acting for 14 years. And it came about because my mother kept saying, "Ellen, you've got to do voice over." And when I was in Los Angeles at my commercial agent, she said, "Have you got a voice agent? You should do voice over." And I said, "No." So she walked me next door to one of her colleagues, and I started, and I'm still with the same agent, Tom Lawless and VOX. Kisses to him. It sort of came about later in my life. But I always say, because I was shy and had flat arches, my acting career sort of took off. Isn't that weird?
EC: Yeah, that is a weird story. That's cool. It's unique.
ED: Yeah. And everybody has a different story about how they got started.
EC: Yeah, right, right. You mentioned a voice actor agent. Are there different agents? Like, on camera actor versus voice acting? Are there different agents?
ED: Yeah, my agency specializes in just the voice world. So animation, video games, narration. I am Canadian and American. So my Canadian agent is one shop in Los Angeles. You have a film and television agent and a voice agent. And some people have regional agents all over.
EC: I just thought it was one person.
ED: No, No. You can have a couple. Like, you can have one in Texas, you can have one in Connecticut, you can have one in New York.
EC: I did not know that. Interesting. So, right now we're at the Danbury, Connecticut Dragon's Realm Comic Con. It's the inaugural weekend, the second day. What do you think of the event so far?
ED: Well, first of all, we've been very cold, so it's kept me on my toes, literally, because I'm walking so much. What I like about it is it's not a hugely busy one right now, because it's new. First of all, I have to give Anthony credit for putting together a con in this climate when there's tons of cons all over and this weekend in particular has four or five all over the US, and one in Toronto, which is a big one. So I give them a lot of credit for doing that, because this is not easy to put together. The people have been fabulous. They've been coming from various parts of Connecticut and New York. And what I like about this con is people, more than any other con I've done, bring the material. Like, a DVD or a video game. They have headshots where I'm like, "Where are you getting this?" So I really appreciate the fact that people have done their homework. It seems like people really know who we are. When they come in and they'll go, "Oh, I saw you in this or I love you in that". Like yesterday, a guy brought in a copy of Skyrim. Another person brought a Napoleon Dynamite video.
EC: Speaking of 'Skyrim' and 'Fallout', you were voices in both.
ED: I did 'Skyrim' and 'Fallout 4'.
EC: You're one of the doctors in the Institute, right?
ED: Two of them. and they actually look very similar. Yeah, this is the funny part. See how similar they look? You can't see this, readers, but they're both kind of, you know, short cropped hair. One is a little older and one is a little younger. And this is a little interesting tidbit. I talked to myself in a scene. I actually had a scene where both characters talk to each other and I said to the director, Chris Faiella, who's a great director; I always like to give credit to my directors. I said, "What am I going to do?" He said, "Well, look at the face. One has more, like, complexion problems, so maybe she's got acne and she's younger." And I said, "One is older. More mature. Okay." So, that really helps. But I digress. What were we talking about?
EC: The convention.
ED: Right! I think that if this goes next year, it's word of mouth. That's why we, me and my colleagues who I know here, we like to do these conventions to create a buzz for next time. And I think it's really important, because San Diego Comic Con, and New York Comic Con, and Megacon don't need help. But these smaller events need help. That's why we like to do it.
EC: Well, I appreciate it. Would you be willing to come back next year?
ED: Yes!
EC: Awesome!
ED: Are you going to be there?
EC: Oh, I'll be there.
ED: Then I'll come back, for you, Eddie.
EC: Well, I really appreciate it! What's your social medias?
ED: @ellenubinactor on Instagram, Ellen Dubin on Facebook, and that's it. My email address, Giggerota100@aol.com. I always answer every single fan mail I get.
EC: That's your personal fan email?
ED: My personal fan email.
EC: That's awesome. And you answer every single one?
ED: Every. Single. One.
EC: Oh, that is awesome. That must take you hours.
ED: No, no, no, I do it a couple times a week. I really like answering questions. People want to either know how to get into acting, or they want to know about something that happened in 'M3GAN' or 'Fallout 4' or 'Lexx'. So I love answering questions.
EC: Awesome. Well, I really, really appreciate it. Do you have any projects coming up? Anything that you can talk about?
ED: I have a couple of video games coming out that I can't say. 'M3GAN', the horror movie, may have another incarnation. And, oh, I just did a movie, a sci fi movie, sort of post apocalyptic, like 'The Last of Us'. It's called 'Hybrid Dawn', directed by Matthew S. Robinson. It's a post-apocalyptic movie, and I'm the voice in it, and then at the end, I am revealed. They come and meet me. The group of travelers, shall I say, come and meet me. And that's all I'm going to say. But I really enjoyed going back on camera.
EC: That sounds awesome! Well, everyone here enjoys seeing you. We all enjoy all the work you do. It means a lot to people, the work you do. It's really cool. So, thank you.
ED: And that's why I do it. I like the fan's reaction. So I think it's really important to inspire, to make people happy, because we need to laugh in this day and age, more than ever. Not to be preachy, but just to enjoy it and get the feedback from the fans. Because without the fans, what's the point?
EC: Perfectly said. Well, I thank you. I really, really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me and everyone reading.
ED: Thank you!

Tony Daniels

Eddie Crossman: Who am I sitting here with?
Tony Daniels: Tony Daniels.
EC: And where would we know you from?
TD: Well, mostly from animation, but I've done a lot of stuff like ADR for shows like 'Yellowstone’, 1923' and 'Only Murders in the Building'.
EC: That was a really good one.
TD: Yeah. And then, of course, replacing voices in 'The X-Men', like Gambit. Tony the Tiger. And then anime, like 'Sailor Moon'. Actually, I replaced Fred Rogers in 'Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood' as X the Owl.
EC: Yes, my fiance was telling me how she used to watch 'Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood' with her kids, and how it was a big influence, and how a big of a part of her kids' early lives growing up it was. So she wanted me to thank you for being a part of that.
TD: Thank you. And it's a great show, and it's still going. We just did one last summer, you know, and with changes, who knows. But it's just nice being a part of everything.
EC: Everybody appreciates the work that you do. So, this is the inaugural weekend of the Dragon's Realm Comic Con in Danbury, Connecticut. What are your impressions of it so far? Thoughts on the crowd and the whole vibe?
TD: Oh, the people here are just great. It's just incredible. Anthony did a lot of work to put this together, because your first con is always really, really hard. And I met Anthony through Sam Chase, who runs Saratoga and Mid Hudson, and they're great comic cons, so he's kind of modeled himself after that. So I think it'll be, overall, successful. And I just adore Connecticut and all the New Yorkers and Massachusetts people who are coming in just to say hi, and it's really nice.
EC: Oh, well, we appreciate it. Do you have any projects coming up that you can talk about?
TD: Yeah, especially since Black Noise does independent music. Are you a fan of 'The Warriors' and 'The Thing'?
EC: Yes!!! 'The Thing' is my favorite movie!
TD: So one of my good friends is Thomas G. Waites, and we have a band called Heartbreak Waites, and we got a new album out called 'Heartbreak Waites', and you can follow us @heartbreakwaites on Instagram and stuff. And so it's independent music, and it's great. Some of the stuff is really folk rock/ Americana, which is nice. So, we always think about Americana as the way to go. And I work with a young lady up in Saratoga Springs named Cassandra Kubinski, and you can find us on YouTube. We got some great songs there. We just finished some new ones that we haven't put out yet, but they're there's those songs you go, "Whoa!" And I'm the guy usually producing stuff, so I hear the songs more than anybody. And if I can still listen to them after I finish working on them, they will be okay. I used to play hard rock and stuff, but I'm older now and I like country and folk and stuff, but Americana is the way to go, because it just speaks to the American spirit, you know?
EC: You've done voice and live action/ on camera acting. What do you find is the main difference between the two?
TD: When it comes to acting as a voiceover, it's about theater of the mind. There are a lot of little tricks to do to to make sure that you don't overplay it or underplay it, and depending on the type of cartoon or type of TV show or whatever, that all dictates, wherein, if you're doing live action, it's specifically towards a certain character or person. And so your parameters are a little different. Wherein, for doing voice, there are just so many openings and interpretations. So you can, you know, take it in the wrong directions, for instance. But I'm sure there's directors out there you work with, and they can hone you in and make it easier.
EC: My last one, it's a two parter, what's your favorite voice to do, and what's the one voice that you're just like, "I wish I never have to do that again," ?
TD: Oh, boy, favorite. They're all favorites, you know? I mean, I've got to be Al Pacino, Sean Connery, Patrick Stewart, everybody you can think of. Christopher Walken. I love doing those things. There's none I hate. I mean, some of the big ones, like Mundus from 'Devil May Cry'. That's deep, and it takes a lot out of you. It's not that you hate doing it. It's just taxing. I did one called 'Black Mirror'. I played Samuel Gordon, and I remember we were recording, and this was a newer voice director, and on the first day we finished most of the lines, and she goes, "Oh, we got another hour. Let's do reactions." I go, "No." And she's like, "Why?" And I go, "You want me to work tomorrow?" "Oh, yeah, all right, so let's do more dialog." So we started the next day's dialog, and the next day we did all our dialog, finished dialog, and Friday we did all reactions, because that's all screaming and dying and all that stuff, and that just kills you and then you can't talk for a day or so, you know? You have to be really careful, because you don't want to damage your throat.
EC: Yeah, I've always wondered how embarrassing it is to be in the booth, like, to have to just do those things in front of people. Is it?
TD: Oh, never. I mean, I've done, I've done stuff that'll make your head spin. Like, we were doing a commercial for Lay's Potato Chips, for instance. And I was playing Steve Irwin, you know, the croc hunter, and the writers are just great. He's supposed to be sneaking through this crocodile sanctuary, and they're all sleeping. And I go, "Oh, look, there's a bag of Lay's Potato Chips," right? I take a bite, and all the crocs start going nuts, attacking me. "Ah, Crikey, he's got me arm," you know? And so that sort of thing is fun. And then when we turned around and looked at the studio floor, it was covered in Lay's Potato Chips and water. It was really fun. Those things are the best.
EC: So, there's no embarrassment?
TD: Never, and I've done some weird ones. The only one that was really close was, I was doing a radio play for CBC, Canada, and I was playing a shock jock, like a Howard Stern. But this guy had gotten away with drunk driving, killing a kid, and on his last show it came back to haunt him. And I actually had to swear in front of a child actor, and that was kind of hard. And the mother and father were like, "Oh, don't worry about it." You know, "It's acting. He'll be fine." I go, "Yeah, I'm still not comfortable." But that was the only time I was ever, like, kind of weirded out. But we did the job, and it was really cool. And it's a cool radio play. We did it, I think it was 9.1 sound, and they had the studio set up, so I would run back and forth doing my lines, and when you heard on the playback, you hear yourself walking past yourself. It's a weird thing.
EC: That's weird.
TD: Yeah, that was cool.
EC: Well, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us here at Black Noise Magazine.
TD: Thank you. Wonderful to meet you.

Austin Tindle

Eddie Crossman: All right, can I be straight with you man, I know nothing about anime, nothing at all. So who am I sitting here with?
Austin Tindle: My name is Austin Tindle. I'm the voice of Ken Kaneki from 'Tokyo Ghoul', Haruka Sakura from 'Windbreaker', Monoma from 'My Hero Academia', Karma from 'Assassination Classroom', and like 350 other things.
EC: As somebody that doesn't watch anime that much. I mean, I've watched 'Cowboy Bebop', here and there, and things on Adult Swim, but I wouldn't consider myself a fan. What would you recommend that I watch to tip my toe in and get started?
AT: I don't know. I mean, 'Cowboy Bebop' is a good one, and if you like that, you should check out 'Space Dandy', which is another kind of groovy Space Cowboy-ish themed thing. So, it's the same creator as 'Cowboy Bebop' and it kind of has a little multiverse thing going on. There's this character Space Dandy, and every episode is animated by a different animator with a different style. So you do kind of have these like different iterations of him in some type of multiverse environment. Yeah. Really great episodes. And if you want to watch it in dub, Ian Sinclair, a friend of mine, was the main voice actor in it. If you want to see something I'm in, I would suggest going to check out 'Windbreaker'. That one's not too bad. 'Tokyo Ghoul' is a little gory and a little emo and a little dark. So if you're having a rough day, maybe check it out. Let's see. I've played a lot of psychopaths over the years. 'My Hero Academia', that's another great one. I play Monoma. He's not a big character, but he's very antagonistic and obnoxious, which is always fun to do.
EC: What is it about anime that you think makes such hardcore fans?
AT: I don't know. I mean, anime is, it's rich. There's a lot of it. There's a ton of different genres, you know? And now that it's become more mainstream, you're seeing a lot more variety show up and get dubbed in America. I think most people, when they hear anime, they think of something supernatural and over the top and, you know, in a specific kind of talking style, maybe. But there's all sorts of different ones. There's dramas. There's slice of life. There's really sweet, romantic shows. But there's also, like, cooking animes and sports animes, and I think the fact that they have a tendency to start with a manga and turn that into an anime, you get a greater amount of completed stories. And some of these shows are ongoing, you know? 'One Piece' has 1,000 episodes, but some things are whole, complete stories with beginnings and endings. Let's see. What's that one show called? I'm in this one anime that is like a gangster revenge tale set in a fictional prohibition era Chicago. What is the name of it? I can't think of it. But anyway, there is a clear ending. '91 Days'. It's called '91 Days'. So, it must have an ending, because it only lasts 91 days. That show doesn't have a lot of what you might call stereotypical anime elements. There are some things that kind of culturally pop up, and then there's some tropes, and there's themes that get repeated. But then there's shows like that one that could be, you know, it's one of the shows that I'll show to relatives that aren't used to anime, because it's closer to maybe an 'American Gangster'. So that's one you should check out.
EC: From the sounds of it, I need to check them all out.
AT: Obviously, you're gonna have a lot of work to put in. I would also suggest watching 'My Roommate is a Cat'. That's another show that I'm in. It's like a slice of life drama. This guy loses his parents, and then he ends up meeting this stray cat, and you kind of see their relationship develop. It's really sweet. It's about an introvert overcoming his emotional stagnation and coming to terms with the loss of his family. And I believe it is currently streaming on Crunchyroll, but you can also watch it on Delta Airlines.
EC: Really?
AT: Yeah, if you fly Delta, go look for it.
EC: Awesome. So this is the inaugural weekend event of the Dragons Realm Comic Con. This is the first weekend ever for it. What are your honest, first thoughts about the con, the crowd, the whole event?
AT: I mean, I think they're doing great, especially for a first year con. It's a good vibe. There's a lot of good stuff around, you know? We're a little cold, right now, in this interesting facility that we're in, but it's a great town. I think that they should really keep it going, and I imagine it will continue to grow if they keep investing in it.
EC: You'd be willing to come back next year?
AT: Oh yes.
EC: Awesome! Do you have any upcoming projects that you want to talk about
AT: Right now, I am recording 'Trigun Stargaze', which is season two of the 'Trigun' reboot that was an anime that was popular in the 90s. You might know the character. He's very iconic, voiced by Johnny Young Bosch. They rebooted it, started the story from the beginning. They've changed it. It's more based on the manga 'Trigun Maximum', which is kind of closer to how the original creator and author wanted the storyline to be told. I play the main character's evil twin, and we're about to record the last few episodes of the season, where I'm gonna be a lot more involved. So it's gonna be really fun. People should check it out. It's epic. They have some great animation. And, yeah, I'm really excited about it. I'm proud of it. I won an award for season one, best actor, from a website.
EC: Really awesome.
AT: So people gotta go see it.
EC: Congratulations.
AT: I appreciate it.
EC: And thank you for doing what you do. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us here at Black Noise Magazine. I really appreciate it.
AT: Thank you. It is nice to meet you.

Dick Terhune

Edward Crossman: So who am I standing here with?
Dick Terhune: You are standing with Dick Terhune, but nobody knows that name. Instead, from 'Transformers', you know me as Prowl or you might know me as Maccadam from the "Old Oil House down in the lower east quadrant where there's no fighting!" It's also possible that if you play 'World of Warcraft', you know me as the Worgen or Gilneas, "May the Great Wolf Spirit guide you!" And you know, other games that you may or may not have heard of.
EC: I'll be honest with you, man, I'm not huge into anime.
DT: Get the hell away from here. Hahaha!
EC: What do you think it is about voice acting that drew you in? What is it that made you want to do that thing you do?
DT: Well, first I was an actor. When people come to me and they say, "Hey, how do you get to be a voice actor?" I say, "First, be an actor. The rest will happen." So if you're out there doing high school theater, community theater, college theater, student film, webisodes, TV movies, anything, whatever it is that you're doing to be an actor, then you get a chance to bump it up a level to voice actor. And I say that because when you're on stage or you're on a set, you've got costumes, you got makeup, you got props all around you, right? If you're a voice actor, you're in a booth that's like four by four around you with a microphone six inches from your face, and you have to create the rest of the world. So first, be an actor. Learn how to do that, learn how to inhabit a character, learn how to create a world, and then that'll be your job.
EC: Nice, nice. Have you ever created a voice for a character and then realized something like, "Oh crap, now I gotta do that voice for the rest of forever!"?
DT: That could have happened with one voice that I created. I was doing a game called 'The Mage's Tale' for, I think it was for PlayStation, and I was originally called in to play an ancient Scottish sorcerer by the name of Alguin, who had been betrayed by his apprentice and was besieged with evil. I finished the session early, and I asked the engineer, "What else you got?" And he said, "Well, we still need to cast an undead necromancer." And it's like, okay, you just gave me candy. I said, "Do you have any artwork?" He said, "No, but he's basically a skeleton in a robe." So I said, "All right, He's an undead necromancer. All right, so let's start with the necromancer part. He's a very powerful evil sorcerer who has the power to raise the dead. He's undead. He's powerful enough he raised himself. But..." and this is the thought process I'm going through in the booth, and I'm saying it out loud while I'm talking with the engineer, "but he's a skeleton in a robe, so he still has human vanity. He's wearing the robe, but his flesh has rotted away. He doesn't have lips, he doesn't have a tongue, vocal cords, lungs, diaphragm. He has no instrument to move sound through his body, but he's got lines." So in my head again, I think, 'Wait, he's a powerful sorcerer. He's using his magic to capture air and bring it up through his body the way he remembers it. He's creating a magical diaphragm down in the lower part of his body. He's holding it up in lungs in his chest cavity, and he's moving it through a mechanism that is no longer there, and it takes a great deal of energy to be understood.' And they said, "Get your ass back in the booth." Now, had I had to sustain that for much longer than that session. that could have been tough, terrible. But, you know, that gets back to "be an actor". Create the world that you live in, and it has to get down to that granular level of thought to create that kind of character.
EC: I can appreciate that. Yeah, so we're at the Dragons Realm Comic Con in Danbury, Connecticut. This is the inaugural weekend. What is your real, honest opinion of the event?
DT: So far, I've been very impressed with it. I've never been in a facility like this.
EC: Everyone keeps saying that,
DT: Yeah, because the Danbury Sports Dome, you're basically standing inside a blimp, right? We are in an inflatable room, and it is huge. And you know, I'm against one wall, I'm looking all the way to the other wall. I still see tons of vendors. And I think there are more vendors here than I think there are, because the place is so big. What I really like about this con is, even though it's packed with vendors wall to wall, and we have a whole line of celebrities over here, you can still move around very comfortably. I mean, you're like this squeezing between people at other cons, but definitely not this one. No, this is, it's comfortable. I think it's a great time of year for this, because everybody is sick to death of cabin fever and being bored, and it's spring now. What we call spring in Connecticut, anyways, which is always a joke. But no, I'm enjoying it. I love it. I think it's a good show. It's awesome. I hope we see number two,
EC: What's your social media?
DT: I'm on Instagram @dickterhune. Also on Facebook. I'm on YouTube, but it's usually best to find me on Insta, and that's also where I put my updates for the cons that I will be at down the road.
EC: Do you have anything coming up, any projects you're working on, any cons coming up that you want to promote?
DT: Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean, so far, I've booked 14 cons this year, and I'm still trying to pack in as many as I possibly can, because I love to meet people. I love to meet 'Transformers' fans and 'Warcraft' fans. What have I got coming up? RetroXpo in Tiverton, Rhode Island. That's the beginning of April. I'm going to be at Western Mass Con in Springfield at the end of April. And really just go to my website, www.dickterhune.com or go to my Insta @dickterhune, and I'm always pushing out updates for where I'm going to be awesome.
EC: Awesome. Any projects?
DT: Yeah. One that I'm really proud of, that I've been working on for the past couple of years, is a piece of ed-tech called 'Kibeam'. Right now it's only available to educators. I hope we're going to get a consumer version of this. It's a handheld wand with two buttons on it, and it's for kids who are learning how to read. So, if a child has this and they press the green button and they point it at a Scholastic Storybook, it will shine the happy beam on the book, and I will read it to you. Oh, and if a child is learning how to spell, they can point at a word and it’ll spell the word. I will sound out the word. There are pictures on the pages. If they point it at that, it leads to an activity. I'll play a game with you as well. And I mean, it's not just something that teaches kids how to read, but I think it teaches reading in ways that kids who don't learn how to read normally will be able to benefit from. So I'm totally stoked about this. We're always recording new titles. I definitely recommend it to parents, you know? Talk to your school system. Talk to your teachers, like kindergarten, first, second grade, about 'Kibeam', because I know there are students who would benefit from this.
EC: That is really awesome. Well, I really appreciate you taking the time and talking with me and coming to the conventions to meet the fans. What you do, it means a lot to the fans, and so we just really, really appreciate it.
DT: It's my pleasure. Thank you.