By now, I have done over a hundred interviews but every one is still special to me. But ones like this are why I do what I do. I met Jimmy Gaspero through talking and writing comics online. Jimmy's unique critical view was one that I fell in love with the first time I read it. Since then, I have had Jimmy as a writer on my site for awhile and now he's helping lead the charge over at Comic Book Yeti. There is a level of love and heart he brings to everything he does from his own work to being a dad to being just a pillar of the comics community. Not only that, but Jimmy's wife is photographing my wedding; Jimmy is a brother to me. I have had the pleasure of watching him start his comics career and grow into a published author of this status. His anthology Made in Delco is a love letter to the area we both hold close to our hearts. Jimmy is a writer who you want to keep an eye on because his future is so bright.

That is why I was so excited to get the chance to read his first full published graphic novel Penny and the Yeti from Papercutz (A Mad Cave Imprint). Penny and the Yeti is written by Jimmy, art by Amber Akin, and letters by Buddy Beaudoin. In our conversation, we discussed the novel and how it handles adult themes in a way that helps children navigate them on their own. Penny and the Yeti is a beautiful story of family, friendship, and the struggles of working through unpleasant feelings. I highly suggest it to any parent or child who is looking for a wonderful journey with a cryptid.

YETI OR NOT, HERE WE COME! Penny and Yeti are pretty typical best friends: they go to school together, play together, and have fun adventures. The twist? Yeti's a living breathing myth!

Before Yeti, Penny had a super normal life with her big sister Peri and their parents, Fenton and Maxine. Penny thinks life is pretty great, especially when Peri draws and colors with her—Peri draws the best monsters called "cryptids!" The only real problem is that Penny's parents argue… a LOT. Penny wishes her parents would stop, but what can she do? That's when Yeti shows up, right out of one of Peri's drawings and smack into Penny's life! With Yeti's help, Penny comes up with a plan to get her parents to stop fighting. Penny, however, soon finds out that her parents may need more help than even a magical Yeti can provide…

I have been the luckiest horror fan in existence because I have had the chance to watch CJ Leede's career start from before her debut Maeve Fly. From those first few pages, I knew I had a new favorite author with a unique voice and POV in the horror genre. This is our third conversation, so there is more nuance to the topics we get the chance to discuss. This book is an absolute sucker punch of mystery, tragedy, and the cracks in the mirror of the human psyche. Be sure to check out Selena's review here to get more in-depth thoughts on how the book succeeds at drawing you in like a wolf in headlights.

We dive into road trips, nature, wolves, and so much more in this interview. Music has been an important part of CJ's fiction thus far in her career, and we take some time to dive into that. We also discuss how her books always teach me something new and why that sticks with readers long after the book ends.

My audio was a bit spotty, so apologies for that, but CJ is crystal clear, and that's what matters.

In Headlights, Special Agent Daniel Stansfield is ready for a change. Burnt out and defeated by the job, it's his last day with the FBI. But before he can turn in his badge, he's summoned back to Denver, the city he ran from four years ago, with a chilling message: it's happening again.

C.J. Leede is a Los Angeles-based horror writer whose debut novel, Maeve Fly, received the Golden Poppy Octavia E. Butler Award and a Splatterpunk Award, and was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award. Her works, including Maeve Fly and American Rapture, are noted for their brutal and gory elements, while also exploring themes such as conservative religious extremism, the psychological effects of strict upbringings, and societal decay.

It's Awards Season, baby! Join GateCrashers regulars Patrick, Jon, and Ethan as they talk about all things Oscars! The guys ramble their way through 98 years of Oscars history (more or less), including some of the great moments in Academy Award history. One of the major tentpoles of the film industry, the Academy Awards, or the Oscars, is the premier award show of Hollywood and the English-speaking world's film industry. This year's Academy Awards, which will see the head-to-head matchup of major critical and audience successes Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another and Ryan Coogler's Sinners, will be held on March 15, 2026.

As they dive into the Oscars as an institution, Patrick, Jon, and Ethan talk about some of the highs of the award show (Marissa Tomei, Parasite, and so on) and some of the… let's say less highs (Green Book, Crash, what have you). More importantly, they talk about a wide variety of Oscar-nominated movies and performances that were just really cool and really good (because honestly, that's what matters most). Towards the end of the conversation (and let's be honest, all throughout the episode), the guys talk about this year's nominations, including the new award for Casting, the record nominations earned by Sinners, and the interesting nominations (good and… less good) for the acting nominations this year.

All-in-all, this episode is certainly a preview for this year's Academy Awards and a bit of a retrospective. Come in and enjoy as you listen to Patrick, Jon, and Ethan's opinions on film that will certainly not upset anyone we are sure! 🙂 (Please don't be mean to us, we are just guys with opinions! We will cry!) And we hope to see you at future episodes about a number of topics that will certainly include films at some point!