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The Department of Tangents Podcast


Years ago, playing a sort of improv game with friends in which we all picked super powers based on our personalities, I dubbed myself “Tangent Lad.” I was not a very strong superhero, and I could not defeat a super villain on my own, but I could distract them with Monty Python quotes and football trivia. I have many times since apologized to an interview subject in my capacity as a journalist by saying, “I am either very good or very bad at tangents, depending on how you feel about tangents.”

I had a rough time coming up with the concept and naming this blog/podcast. I knew I wanted to create a place where I could address things I’m passionate about – comedy, music, and horror. Finding a name that communicated all three of those things proved a bit impossible. I bugged my friends, and they all tried to help. To no avail. Then I thought, maybe I’m approaching this from the wrong angle. Maybe my lack of focus should be the focus.

As a journalist, I have written for The Boston Globe since 2000, starting out writing CD reviews and then writing a regular column on comedy for seven and a half years. I still contribute there, and to Kirkus Reviews, and other publications. I’m also a musician, and released my debut full-length album, Blue Skies and Broken Arrows, in March of 2015. And I’ve been publishing short horror fiction for a couple of years.

I like to climb into things I love and see how they operate. That’s what the Department of Tangents is for. The main thing here is love. To talk about the things that make I’ve loved forever, and some new things that might stand the test and be around, at least for me, for decades to come. I’ve had to be critical in my writing at times, and it might not all be nonstop roses here, but in the end, what I really want to talk about is the good stuff. That’s why I will regularly write about things I think are “Perfect,” even if someone can demonstrate empirically that they are flawed. Still perfect to me.

Also, fish.

I hope you, dear anonymous surfer person, will come to expect only the highest-quality, free-range, grass-fed tangents. And I hope some of you love the same things I do and find it useful. Or at least a welcome distraction until the others get here.

Dec 29, 2017

This is Part II of the Boston Comic Con 2017 edition of the DoT podcast. It’s the last podcast of the year, and the last batch of interviews with artists and creators done on the floor of Boston Comic Con back in August.

We start with Sam Furst, proprietor of Monsters Are Good, a pop-culture apparel company specializing in horror-related characters. Then author and illustrator EJ Barnes, who left a lucrative career to pursue her art and to write comics, LB Lee of Mental Health comics and writer/editor Ryan Cady of the Top Cow title Magdalena. If you enjoyed these interviews, take a few minutes and seek out their creations and support the artists. You can find Monsters Are Good products at <a href="http://monstersaregood.storenvy.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">monstersaregood.storenvy.com</a>, keep track of LB Lee’s work at <a href="http://healthymultiplicity.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">healthymultiplicity.com</a> and look for the books on Etsy, find EJ Barnes at <a href="http://ejbarnes.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">EJBarnes.com</a>, and follow Magdalena and other Top Cow creations at <a href="http://www.topcow.com" rel="noopener" target="_blank">www.topcow.com</a>.

Stay tuned after the conversation for “Childish Words,” a track from Kentish Longtails, the latest album from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thelenprice3" rel="noopener" target="_blank">The Len Price 3</a>. When the podcast comes back up next month, my first featured interview will be with Len Price 3 singer, songwriter, and guitarist Len Price. So this is a bit of a teaser for things to come.

You can <a href="http://nickzaino.com/departmentoftangents/2017/12/25/dot-podcast-ep45-boston-comic-con-part-i/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">find Part I of this episode here</a>.