THE CAPTIONED LIFE SHOW IS ON HOLD INDEFINITELY

#78 Darkwing Duck With Amanda Deibert

Television and comic book writer Amanda Deibert joins Sean in discussing her upcoming work on the Dynamite Comics series, “Darkwing Duck”. They discuss their love for the iconic character, the exciting opportunities Amanda has for the “Terror That Flaps In The Night,” and what readers can expect when they pick up the issue (like classic and new gadgets, as well as incorporating the show’s theme song into the series!).

They also touch on Amanda’s upcoming projects with Star Wars and Scooby-Doo & Batman, their disdain for large insects, and what comic books they and listeners of the show are reading.

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ABOUT THE EPISODE

Television and comic book writer Amanda Deibert joins Sean in discussing her upcoming work on the Dynamite Comics series, “Darkwing Duck”. They discuss their love for the iconic character, the exciting opportunities Amanda has for the “Terror That Flaps In The Night,” and what readers can expect when they pick up the issue (like classic and new gadgets, as well as incorporating the show’s theme song into the series!).

They also touch on Amanda’s upcoming projects with Star Wars and Scooby-Doo & Batman, their disdain for large insects, and what comic books they and listeners of the show are reading.

RESOURCES & LINKS

ABOUT THE GUEST

Amanda Deibert is a television and comic book writer. Her comic book writing includes the New York Times best-selling series DC Super Hero Girls, Wonder Woman Agent of Peace, DC's The Doomed and the Damned, Teen Titans Go!, Batman And Harley Quinn, and Wonder Woman ’77 and the New York Times #1 Best Selling anthology Love Is Love, for DC Comics, HyperSpace Stories for Lucas Film/Dark Horse, Red Sonja for Dynamite and John Carpenter’s Tales For A HalloweeNight Vol. 2-7 for Storm King Comics as well as the graphic novel Work for a Million for Penguin Random House’s McClelland & Stewart. She is currently writing for He-Man and The Masters of the Universe (she also wrote the graphic novel tie-in Legends From Castle Grayskull) and another yet-to-be-announced series on Netflix. Other TV writing credits include work for CBS, SyFy, Hulu, Quibi, and four years as the writer for former Vice President Al Gore’s annual climate broadcast, 24 Hours of Reality

ABOUT THE SHOW

A show for the most casual and dedicated fans of comics. Join Sean as he discovers what the world of comics and graphic novels has to offer from one-on-one interviews with industry professionals, round table discussions with passionate fans, and reviews on the latest comics, tv shows, and movies. New episodes every week. The Captioned Life is a part of the Comic Watch family.

SHOW CREDITS

Transcript

00:00:33:02 - 00:00:51:11
SEAN
Hey, everyone, thank you for joining us. If this is your first time. Thanks for checking us out. And if you're returning, listener, thanks for coming back. If you're a kid of the nineties like me, you probably remember coming home from school and turning on the TV just in time to watch the classic Disney afternoon lineup, which included Ducktales Chippendales Rescue Rangers Tailspin.

00:00:51:18 - 00:01:12:00
SEAN
But my absolute favorite show that always tuned into was Darkwing Duck, a superhero in that Disney World. Darkwing Duck had all the laughs, the action, the drama, family, cool gadgets, and, of course, the blunders that came with it all. Well, recently, Dynamite Comics announced that they will be running a comic book series of the beloved Disney character with the first issue releasing on January 18th.

00:01:12:06 - 00:01:39:23
SEAN
And of course, I wanted to do an episode on this. So why did the writer of the series to come on the show for an interview as he graciously accepts? Please welcome. Amanda Deibert Amanda is a television and comic book writer. Comic writing includes the New York Times best selling series DC Superhero Girls Wonder Woman Agent of Peace, DC's The Doomed and the Damned Teen Titans Go Batman and Harley Quinn and Wonder Woman, 77, and the New York Times number one bestselling anthology Love is Love.

00:01:40:03 - 00:02:06:19
SEAN
For DC Comics Hyperspace Stories for Lucasfilm and Dark Horse Red Sonja for Dynamite and John Carpenter's Tales for Halloween Night Volumes two through seven for Storm King Comics as well as the graphic novel work for Million for Penguin Random Houses, McKellen and Stewart, she is currently writing for He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, as she also wrote the graphic novel Ty in Legends from Castle Grayskull and another yet to be announced series on Netflix.

00:02:06:24 - 00:02:22:22
SEAN
Other TV writing credits include working for CBS, sci fi, Hulu, Quibi and for years as the writer for former Vice President Al Gore's annual climate broadcast, 24 hours of reality. Amanda, welcome to the show. Thank you for coming on. How are you doing today?

00:02:23:19 - 00:02:26:08
AMANDA
Thank you for having me. I am very well. How are you?

00:02:26:24 - 00:02:47:05
SEAN
I am trying to get caught up on so much stuff right now. I've actually been really busy with not just work, but all the things I'm involved with, with comic watch and nerd Initiative. But we had just went to Disney World to surprise my son for his birthday, so we took him to a trip to Disney World during the holidays, and that was a blast.

00:02:47:05 - 00:03:08:16
SEAN
But was also just a lot of go, go, go and trying to get all the things in for, you know, for a few days and all that. So busy trying to get caught up on stuff. I'm hoping high end this week that I'll be kind of back to a normal schedule and everything. So. But from your bio sounds like you're a very busy person as well, too.

00:03:09:00 - 00:03:09:13
AMANDA
Not at.

00:03:09:13 - 00:03:10:06
Speaker 3
All. Yeah.

00:03:11:02 - 00:03:26:24
SEAN
Well, I have to admit, I knew you're you a comics writer, but I didn't realize all the other stuff you wrote for as well, too. So this is really exciting that not only have you done the comics, but I know you also coming out with your own book that I have seen you've been tweeting about, which is really cool.

00:03:27:23 - 00:03:31:17
SEAN
Can you remind me what that book is called again? Do you want to kind of do a little plug in for that?

00:03:31:18 - 00:03:55:00
AMANDA
Sure. So that's called you already have the answers. And that is a guided journal where there's 365 questions. So one for every day, which kind of spun out of questions that I tend to ask on Twitter that are kind of gratitude related. So it's about like you've gone through a bunch of shit and survived a bunch of shit in your life, and that's amazing.

00:03:55:00 - 00:04:04:17
AMANDA
And like, let's take a moment to celebrate that and like maybe cultivate some of the stories and remind ourselves of some of the things that we don't often think about or talk about, right?

00:04:04:19 - 00:04:28:10
SEAN
Yeah. And I love that idea. I think that's really a great way, especially with everything that's been going on, you know, with since the pandemic and all that. It's it's a really great way to just kind of have a focused, you know, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, how much of a break they want to take just to kind of focus and reflect and just kind of have that sort of positive, positive thought and and kind of committing to that as well to I really love that.

00:04:29:01 - 00:04:55:24
SEAN
And I have to say that on Twitter, I love how you always ask for a lot of, you know, positive things. Like you always ask people. I think earlier today you said something along the lines of of have you ever met somebody that you just knew was like meant to be in your life and all that? So I love how you just always put out those really positive tweets and just kind of, you know, put those, you know, really cool, humanistic approach to life and in social media as well, too.

00:04:55:24 - 00:05:05:13
SEAN
And and I got to say, I love seeing you with that post about the little bug that you saw today that was like gigantic. And it's of like, yeah.

00:05:05:13 - 00:05:05:21
Speaker 3
That's.

00:05:05:21 - 00:05:19:19
AMANDA
The biggest bug I've ever seen in my life. And I'm not like, you know, I'm not like an aggressively squeamish person, right? But with like the size of my hand, like if you're walking across the sidewalk and basically just, like, tipped its hat and was like, Good day, man. I was like, this is.

00:05:20:00 - 00:05:20:15
Speaker 3
Too much.

00:05:22:12 - 00:05:23:06
AMANDA
Of a bug.

00:05:23:07 - 00:05:47:16
SEAN
Oh, yeah, yeah. Earlier this summer, I had somewhat of a similar experience where I was actually out at a park and staying the night at a wood cabin out in the state park there. And it was, you know, I think like ten or 12:00 at night and Stranger Things had just come out. And so, of course, I was watching that and I was watching a scene where there's like spiders crawling on the wall also.

00:05:47:16 - 00:06:12:24
SEAN
And I felt something like crawling on my head. And there happened to be like an actual spider that crawled on me. And so is this really, really disturbing? The timing of it all was just, you know, impeccable with actually watching something with spiders and then something actually a spider crawling on my face. I'm with you. There's that. Any time that, you know, an insect is like that big, you got to burn it to the ground.

00:06:12:24 - 00:06:14:24
Speaker 3
So just. Yeah.

00:06:16:11 - 00:06:34:06
SEAN
All right. Well, thanks again for coming on the show with every guest I have on. I always like to start off with your comeback or just stories. I want to ask you, what is your origin story with comic books? Was there somebody that introduced you to it? Was an event or was it just one day you went to shop and you picked up a comic and then that's when you fell in love with it.

00:06:34:06 - 00:06:35:22
SEAN
What's your origin story with comics?

00:06:36:19 - 00:06:55:18
AMANDA
My origin story with comics is is Betty and Veronica. It's Archie Comics. It's going to the grocery store with my mom as a little girl. And it was the little treat, you know, they used to have at the checkout. So I guess they still do that. The like kiosk with all the like Betty and Veronica and Archie Digest comics.

00:06:55:18 - 00:07:09:16
AMANDA
And if I, you know, if I behaved myself at the grocery store, then I got to pick out a comic and read it on the way home. And it was like very exciting for me. So that was my that was my gateway into the world of comics. And that started, I mean, that as soon as I could read.

00:07:09:16 - 00:07:13:08
AMANDA
So I was pretty little in that right before I started reading this.

00:07:13:12 - 00:07:31:03
SEAN
Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah. You know, it's funny because I remember seeing those when I was a kid as well too. And it wasn't like, if I remember correctly, was the Betty Veronica ones were not full size like comic books. They were probably like more of a quarter sheet or something like that. If I remember correctly, they were smaller, weren't they?

00:07:31:24 - 00:07:42:16
AMANDA
I think they were smaller. And I did. I did both. I mean, I did I did the regular Archie Digests, but I always like I really loved Betty Ann. Veronica so if those were available, anytime those were available, that was my go to right.

00:07:42:16 - 00:08:00:17
SEAN
Yeah. Yeah. And I don't know. I know you said that they placed I am at the store. I don't know if I've seen them actually I remember when I was a kid, the one book I always gravitated to at the grocery store was the Disney Adventure Books, because they always kind of gave you the, you know, like the interviews and behind the scenes with the you know, shows and stuff like that.

00:08:01:15 - 00:08:20:22
SEAN
But I don't think they've done that anymore. And and I've heard a lot of people, especially including me, talk about how they've seen comics and things like that at the grocery store, and that's where they actually got introduced to it. And it's just a shame that you don't really see that as often anymore. It's usually, you know, still the local comic shops or even, you know, bookstores and stuff like that.

00:08:20:22 - 00:08:26:18
SEAN
But it's just a bummer that you don't see them at more of the, you know, broader places like grocery stores and things like that.

00:08:26:18 - 00:08:32:09
AMANDA
So places where all kids have access to it without necessarily going to a specific place.

00:08:32:12 - 00:08:55:06
SEAN
Exactly. Yes. And I know that I think someone had said that Target has been starting getting into selling comics there as well, too. But yeah, it's and I've been trying to get the word out that libraries have comics both printed and digital. So whenever I take my kid to the library, you know, we always kind of hit up the comics section and see if there's something in there that he hasn't seen before or anything like that.

00:08:55:06 - 00:09:09:07
SEAN
And so I always try to let people know that when you go to a library or if you're checking out, you know, the digital book from your library, you know, there's a lot of comics there you can check out as well, too. So it's it's definitely a little bit more accessible, but it's also changed how they do that, too.

00:09:09:18 - 00:09:19:23
AMANDA
Yes. And I even my my daughter's elementary school library has a whole, you know, graphic novel section in it, which makes me very happy. And then I made sure that I made sure was stocked with my books, I.

00:09:21:03 - 00:09:22:10
Speaker 3
Guess you mentioned.

00:09:22:11 - 00:09:24:08
AMANDA
These these superhero girls. You also.

00:09:26:11 - 00:09:26:21
Speaker 3
Are you.

00:09:26:21 - 00:09:44:06
SEAN
Have to, you know, well, and and I love that those kinds of connections really draw people to they're like, oh, my gosh, like your mom wrote this. This is so cool that I know the person that was involved with it too, you know? And so it's a really great, powerful way to do that. But yeah, you definitely have to get that in there.

00:09:44:16 - 00:09:54:12
SEAN
Well, my next question for you is that you're writing the Dark Windup series for Dynamite Comics. What is your origin story with Darwin? Duck The Terror That Flaps in the night?

00:09:54:12 - 00:10:20:23
AMANDA
My origin story with our comic Duck is that luckily they reached out to me and asked if I would like to. Yeah. And I very enthusiastically as a child of the nineties said, yes, that sounds amazing and fun. And so then the next step, of course, was to come up with a concept for the arc. And so that involves first going back for a fun nostalgic rewatch, which my daughter got to help me with.

00:10:20:23 - 00:10:39:02
AMANDA
She has a very skewed idea of what it means to have a job and do work and like you need to help mommy do work. We're going to watch all of these things. You watch cartoons all day and then you make up stories about that. And yes, that's and.

00:10:39:03 - 00:10:39:24
Speaker 3
That's a job.

00:10:41:01 - 00:10:55:04
AMANDA
So we did we did a rewatch and then it was coming up with a concept and writing that up and like and then pitching it and getting that approved. And so yeah, it was really kind of lovely and fell into my lap in the most delightful way.

00:10:55:13 - 00:11:16:17
SEAN
That's awesome. I love that. Yeah. And you know, going along lines with that, was there something about Darkwing dog that really grabbed that you gravitated towards that character? Was it, you know, the the goofiness? Was it more the dichotomy of the character? What was it about dark going duck that you just really enjoy overall?

00:11:17:22 - 00:11:36:12
AMANDA
Well, it's it's the combo, right? Because it's the it's the the water, the detective, the action, all that fun stuff that I love. And then more like straightforward, non spooky. But then you have the comedy, the slapstick, the parody, the like poking fun of the kind of genres that I love to play in anyway, which I'm a big fan of.

00:11:36:12 - 00:11:51:21
AMANDA
So, so, yes, it's it's both. It's both. The, the straight up superhero detective ness of it all. And it also the fun of getting to have all the, the jokes and the comedy and his you know, insane ego.

00:11:52:03 - 00:11:52:09
Speaker 3
And.

00:11:53:22 - 00:12:11:07
SEAN
And this one for Darkling Doug, this one from reading your credits and everything like that is a little bit different than what you ran before because you had, you know, a lot of the big name comics that are more not all of them are on the serious side, but they're definitely on more serious than what we had with dark going dark.

00:12:11:07 - 00:12:23:11
SEAN
Is this like a big shift for you as well to add this kind of character or is this more of like, you know, just kind of in your wheelhouse that this is something that you've been wanting to do anyways? And in terms of this kind of style of character?

00:12:23:11 - 00:12:54:00
AMANDA
Well, I've done like I did some teen Titans Go comics, which I think are I mean, obviously that it's a slightly different kind of humor, but it's, you know, that's more on like the funny fun humor side, which I really enjoy, like I like any time I get to do comedy and so, so for me, like, yes, it's a departure from most of the things I do, but it's definitely in the area that I really love, which is, I mean, anytime I can throw jokes into anything, I'm awesome.

00:12:54:12 - 00:13:02:01
SEAN
Well, so let's talk about the series itself that you're working on. What can you tell us about the series that we can expect once the first issue comes out?

00:13:02:01 - 00:13:45:00
AMANDA
And so there's a lot of fun nods to the nostalgia of it. So if you are a Darkling Duck fan from the old school darkling days, you're going to get a pretty good run through a whole lot of the favorite villains. I would probably not every single one, but a lot of your big faves, some Morgana Macabre obviously you know, all this, all the sidekicks, all the all the fun people in town, you know, it's it's going to have all the things that you know and love, but it's also going to be very accessible for you don't have to come in with a huge knowledge or understanding of darkling, like it's not going to be

00:13:45:09 - 00:13:48:04
AMANDA
necessary to do the major rewatch that I did.

00:13:48:10 - 00:13:48:15
Speaker 3
And.

00:13:49:12 - 00:14:11:11
AMANDA
To enjoy it because it's still a fun story all in its own. Everything gets introduced in a way that's clear. It's not a new origin story. It's definitely taking place in the existing world of Darkling as we know it, as opposed to like going back and having, you know, because we've already seen how he how he like and Goslin came together and that kind of stuff.

00:14:11:11 - 00:14:19:12
AMANDA
So this is definitely like him. He's already super hero. Jake's already a father. It's all. It's all there. But it it is it is a lot of fun, I have to say.

00:14:19:14 - 00:14:22:16
SEAN
Right. So it's not a dark going duck year, one type of situation.

00:14:22:17 - 00:14:37:14
AMANDA
Exactly. Exactly. This is this is we hit the ground running. He's already like it literally opens with an event that the city of Saint Canada is honoring him for all of his work in helping the city. And then, of course, that doesn't go so well because.

00:14:37:24 - 00:14:38:11
Speaker 3
It can't.

00:14:40:15 - 00:14:40:21
SEAN
Of.

00:14:40:21 - 00:14:43:10
Speaker 3
Course.

00:14:43:10 - 00:15:09:11
SEAN
Now, you mentioned all the characters that we have known from the show, and everything will be incorporated on some level, least a lot of them. Well, with this being a Disney property and Dynamite Comics licensing out that property and everything like that, are there anything from the, I guess behind the scenes that is really interesting to know in terms of what things that you can or can't do or characters that you can incorporate or what you can do with characters or anything like that.

00:15:10:13 - 00:15:39:12
AMANDA
Well, there's the, you know, like you said, there's there's Disney as well. So there are extra checks and balances, if you will. You know, like when anything that I'm pitching or any scripts that have the approval, I have to go all the way up and be run through both companies and approved. So everything everything is endorsed by everyone, which, you know, as as a reader probably doesn't change anything for for a creative, for the writer or the artist or whatever.

00:15:39:12 - 00:15:55:18
AMANDA
It just means that, like, you know, there's more people checking things. For the most part. It's been lovely and wonderful. So it hasn't been like nobody has said that I can or can't include anybody that I wanted to. So it so far it's been lovely. Nothing not.

00:15:55:20 - 00:16:00:03
Speaker 3
Good. Awesome.

00:16:00:03 - 00:16:06:10
SEAN
So what have you found to be exciting or challenging about writing the comic series when it comes to the characters or the universe?

00:16:07:14 - 00:16:08:05
Speaker 3
I think we.

00:16:08:19 - 00:16:34:16
AMANDA
I think the exciting thing for me is the comedy. I think the exciting thing is like figuring out like the funniest way to set up anything and like just because it can be kind of outlandish, it can be pretty wacky. And then obviously the most fun thing is figuring out the fun little analogy is for I am the terror that flaps in the night, you know, like that's.

00:16:34:17 - 00:16:36:08
Speaker 3
Yeah that's fun.

00:16:36:22 - 00:16:41:21
AMANDA
And it is exactly as much fun as you would expect to just sit in a notebook and be like, Oh, let's just come up with.

00:16:42:00 - 00:16:42:01
Speaker 3
A.

00:16:43:19 - 00:16:46:20
AMANDA
That's for sure. The fun part awesome is.

00:16:47:14 - 00:17:04:08
SEAN
You know, Darwin, Doug's also known for all the, you know, quirky little gadgets that he comes up with to kind of like Batman. Are we going to see any kind of new gadgets that maybe we haven't seen yet before? Or maybe we're going to see one that was used in an episode at one point that maybe we forgot and it would be kind of a pleasant surprise.

00:17:05:01 - 00:17:24:09
AMANDA
Yes. To both are there are callback gadgets. There are new gadgets. There's also I tried to put in like a lot of little Easter eggs, like I've even figured out because this isn't the first issue I can say. Like I even figured out how to incorporate the theme song into the first issue in a special way.

00:17:24:13 - 00:17:25:00
Speaker 3
Yeah.

00:17:25:12 - 00:17:46:01
AMANDA
I haven't said that anywhere yet, so it's awesome. So yeah, so like there's a lot of little nods to fun things I've even got, you know, like there's like a specific spell that Morgana did in an episode that like makes a little, you know, like, so I'm throwing in, like, if you know a lot about Darkling, then there's a lot of fun Easter eggs.

00:17:46:07 - 00:17:47:14
Speaker 3
And if you don't, it's.

00:17:47:14 - 00:17:50:11
AMANDA
Fine because it still works in the story and it's so funny and zany, but like.

00:17:50:15 - 00:17:51:00
Speaker 3
Yeah.

00:17:51:01 - 00:17:59:07
AMANDA
Yes, new gadgets, old gadgets, new send ups, old send ups. So it's, it's it's full of fun surprises.

00:17:59:07 - 00:18:09:17
SEAN
Oh, it's awesome. I might have to do a whole rewatch of the Dark Windows series before the issue comes out and that because this is getting me excited about just just the whole thing again. So this is awesome.

00:18:10:06 - 00:18:16:16
AMANDA
Yeah, it's but I mean, look, as someone who has just recently done a rewatch, it's, it's a good time.

00:18:16:16 - 00:18:36:22
SEAN
You know, in speaking out because I know you said your daughter watched the Duck Duck series with you as well. Whenever I watch some of the, you know, 90 series with my son, I always have to explain to him, you know, why it's square instead of rectangle. Which is interesting enough, I think he never really notice or never care to notice.

00:18:36:22 - 00:18:44:15
SEAN
And I'm curious if if for your daughter, that's been kind of the same experience, I could be able to explain that or or that stands out for them or she's just like, whatever.

00:18:45:08 - 00:19:00:12
AMANDA
That didn't stand out to her at all. There are some things like occasionally there's some topical humor that was like very nineties that I would have to explain or even, you know, like our technology is kind of like there are things you forget and then you're like, Oh, right. So the reason this is this way.

00:19:00:23 - 00:19:01:17
Speaker 3
In the olden.

00:19:01:17 - 00:19:27:16
AMANDA
Days, you know, so that's been kind of a thing is like there are there are some things that feel a little dated or references that just don't go quite don't quite work for the new generation. Right. And that's one thing, you know, obviously, this this series, the comic is set in the present day. So like cell phones will exist and things like that in in the comic whereas they weren't in the show so.

00:19:27:17 - 00:19:52:23
SEAN
Right, exactly. Yeah, I know. And it's funny to watch some of the shows that we watch in the nineties because I remember watching Batman The Animated Series and I remember thinking, you know, when I was a kid and it still is a great show and just ahead of its time. But then as an adult and looking at where technology is at now and you see that the the highlight of technology in Batman the animated series, is that he has this huge computer.

00:19:53:04 - 00:19:58:07
SEAN
And when he's done, you know, typing everything in, it just prints out like large text on a screen.

00:19:58:10 - 00:20:04:04
Speaker 3
That's about it. Then we're just like, oh, great. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:20:04:04 - 00:20:07:02
AMANDA
Computer. The size of a room was amazing.

00:20:07:02 - 00:20:11:15
SEAN
Yeah. Oh, yeah. You know, and we would love to have played organ trail on that screen, right?

00:20:11:15 - 00:20:18:09
AMANDA
Oh, God, yes. Absolutely. Die of dysentery and the big screen. Yeah.

00:20:18:09 - 00:20:38:01
SEAN
Well, I had a couple listeners who also asked questions about the Duck Duck series for you as well. So Mister Marvel, 613 on Twitter said As a writer for the series, did you find it challenging to try to balance originality in the series versus some of the things that worked or were popular from the original show?

00:20:38:01 - 00:20:38:15
Speaker 3
I.

00:20:39:09 - 00:21:00:08
AMANDA
I didn't necessarily find it challenging because I think you have to like with, like with any time that you're working with a popular IP or a popular character that a lot has been done. You have to look at it twofold. One, you want to you want to do justice to the character. And the reason that the character is beloved and what makes them them.

00:21:00:08 - 00:21:19:19
AMANDA
So, like, you want to have the certain things that, you know, I'm not going to do a darkling duck. That's like very modest, for example, because like he his egoism is such a big part of who he is. So you want to do all of that. And then other than that, you want to like and then you want to tell the best story that you can tell with that character.

00:21:19:19 - 00:21:41:10
AMANDA
That is the story that you want to tell that's fresh and new and different. And so I think that because I come from a world where I'm often working with characters that are like well-established and have a big, deep canon that's become kind of second nature, where you have to like know all of that stuff and then throw it away, not throw it away, because there are things that you have to pay attention to, but like.

00:21:41:20 - 00:21:42:00
Speaker 3
Put.

00:21:42:00 - 00:21:52:06
AMANDA
It aside because now you have to make your own thing and you can't reinvent the thing, the story that's already been told. So it's it's a it's a delicate balance, but it's kind of fun.

00:21:53:04 - 00:22:08:15
SEAN
Now that that's really interesting. So when when you're talking about how you've been doing that for such a long time, that second nature, looking back at maybe, you know, one of the first times that you worked on such a huge IP was it a daunting task and trying to make sure that whatever you wrote was in continuity and all that?

00:22:09:00 - 00:22:10:05
AMANDA
Yes, I think.

00:22:10:08 - 00:22:10:20
Speaker 3
First.

00:22:11:12 - 00:22:25:09
AMANDA
My first IP like that was Wonder Woman. Yeah. Which was like, you know, talk about starting with a giant character. I was like, oh, okay. The for the most iconic female superhero of all time. Sure, I'll just do that and.

00:22:25:24 - 00:22:26:08
Speaker 3
Hope.

00:22:26:08 - 00:22:49:03
AMANDA
That I don't mess it up. And and so, you know, I was terrified the first time and I had to kind of like my momentary freak out. How in the world can I think that I have anything to add to Wonder Woman can and that hasn't been added in all these years. And then I had to put that aside and go, Okay, now it's time to tell a really good Wonder Woman story like that.

00:22:49:05 - 00:23:11:00
AMANDA
You can't think about how everyone's going to react or all the pressure, because otherwise the it would be paralyzing. Because when you are dealing with something that beloved, it's like you have. I started thinking about how excited everybody is about Darkling. I could get in my own way because there is it is intimate, you know, you want people to love it.

00:23:11:00 - 00:23:18:03
AMANDA
You want to write a story that the fans of this character feel like it's authentic to what they love about the character. It's very important to me. So.

00:23:18:08 - 00:23:39:05
SEAN
Right. Oh know and that's great to hear. And I can only imagine just how intimidating that can be, you know, knowing, you know, and especially the Darkling because I feel like Darkling Duck was kind of a subgenre for the longest time. And now, I mean, I don't know what it is about Darkling, Doug, but it seems like he's been popping up a lot more.

00:23:39:05 - 00:24:01:12
SEAN
So he showed up in, you know, one, the recent dark one, the recent Ducktales episodes. And then he popped up at the end of Chippendales Rescue Rangers movie and things like that, and kind of teased that maybe he'd have his own movie and stuff like that. So it's really interesting to see that how he was kind of more of a subgenre like, you know, going into the 2000, everything like that.

00:24:01:12 - 00:24:19:14
SEAN
And then seems like now he has such a huge following in everything. I think, you know, that makes sense why, you know, there's such a huge demand for wanting to see more of him, whether it's in the comics or in the movie or TV or things like that. I remember when I was a kid, I had the, you know, the dark window gas gun.

00:24:19:14 - 00:24:23:07
SEAN
And then I even have like a plush dark duck when I was a kid.

00:24:23:13 - 00:24:24:03
Speaker 3
Oh, that's.

00:24:24:04 - 00:24:43:00
SEAN
And that's apparently they're still selling those on on Amazon and stuff like that, like the exact same one. And it's so interesting because I remember my plus like his hat, the bill of his hat was kind of like popped up a little bit for some reason. And this in the same place on Amazon had that same kind of pop to it as well, did so.

00:24:43:00 - 00:24:53:04
SEAN
So anyways, yeah. So it's really interesting just to kind of see how that is kind of still alive and out there for such a character that I think only had like two seasons of animation.

00:24:53:19 - 00:25:19:05
AMANDA
Well, that's what's so while I actually, you know, I worked on a lot of big properties, right? Wonder Woman and Batman and He-Man and Star Wars. And this is the biggest reaction I have ever seen to an announcement of any book I have ever or show that I have ever worked on the dark web marketing. It has had the biggest fan base, and I think part of it is all these other properties.

00:25:19:05 - 00:25:41:23
AMANDA
There are options, there are things out there, whereas like with dark darkling, there's less. Yeah. So I think that's a part of it obviously. But I, I knew people would be excited. I mean I was excited, I knew it was going to be fun and cool, but I really did not anticipate the gigantic reaction that just the announcement that the book was coming was going to have an I.

00:25:42:01 - 00:25:57:18
AMANDA
It's been really wild. How exciting. Like anything that comes out, you know, any cover that gets tweeted, any little like interviewer synopsis or anything, and then there's such a huge reaction and I'm like, oh my. So like, yeah, the darkling fan base is super intense and I love that.

00:25:58:17 - 00:26:11:22
SEAN
I'm not going to lie. When I found out about it, it was like three weeks after I got announced and I was flipping out because I was like, How did I not hear about this? And I think David tagged you into it. I was just like, I'm so excited about this. I I'll tell you that I was one of those people.

00:26:12:15 - 00:26:19:03
AMANDA
I think it's great. I just it was it was just so surprising, like the that the magnitude of it was surprising.

00:26:19:04 - 00:26:35:07
SEAN
Oh, yeah, yeah. Well and the it's exciting to see the different variant covers coming out as well too because I know my favorite one I in I apologize because I forget who drew this, but my favorite one is the one that's kind of in the style of Batman, like standing over with his cape dressed like draped over and all that.

00:26:35:07 - 00:26:50:16
SEAN
But it's just it's so cool just to see the different kinds of styles of dark windows that people are drawing and just getting people excited for. Because I know when I tweeted some of those covers out, I have so many people talking about like, you know, which ones they thought my favorite one was, but then talking about which one their favorite ones were.

00:26:50:16 - 00:27:01:24
SEAN
And so, yeah, it's just, it's wild that such a character like this has such a huge reaction, like what you're talking about with everybody wanting to see this comic and everything. So this is yeah. So I can only imagine that.

00:27:03:03 - 00:27:04:09
Speaker 3
It's pretty cool. Yeah.

00:27:04:09 - 00:27:25:24
SEAN
So, and then with characters, you don't have to, you know, share anything because I know, you know, right now that has a come out or anything like that. But are there characters or have you thought about characters like bringing in that's not going duck, but it's kind of the Ducktales world kind of thing because I know Launch Pad kind of, you know, sits in does both of those worlds, right?

00:27:25:24 - 00:27:33:05
AMANDA
Yes. So I'll say it because both of these things have been and that was like launch pad is one and then Mara Coulson is another one.

00:27:33:05 - 00:27:34:05
SEAN
Oh yeah. Yeah.

00:27:34:05 - 00:27:39:22
AMANDA
Because because we see her in the first issue and so some of those previous pages are out. So I can say.

00:27:40:05 - 00:27:40:13
Speaker 3
Right.

00:27:40:14 - 00:27:41:17
AMANDA
That that is another one.

00:27:42:00 - 00:28:01:21
SEAN
Awesome. Cool. And then another question that one of our listeners had as from Bailey Rock on Twitter, he said the original Duck when Duck cartoon had a lot of dark humor, enemies were never killed. But those were left in pretty bad states after Darkling defeated them. Is this a theme that you'll be continuing on the page as well?

00:28:02:20 - 00:28:06:09
AMANDA
There is some dark stuff.

00:28:08:11 - 00:28:10:22
SEAN
Like dark for dark going duck, not light dark.

00:28:10:22 - 00:28:13:03
AMANDA
Why not like dark like right?

00:28:13:04 - 00:28:15:11
Speaker 3
Like nobody's going to die.

00:28:15:11 - 00:28:16:18
AMANDA
Spoiler alert no.

00:28:16:18 - 00:28:17:16
Speaker 3
One is going to die.

00:28:18:04 - 00:28:45:06
AMANDA
If you have dark going, let's just be real. And so, yes, there's going to be like, you know, injuries and there is some violence because it's dark, going dark and there's violence. So, like so like, yes, dark within the wheelhouse that we're in. Yes, but not not dark. And like my John Carpenter's tales for Halloween night. So.

00:28:45:06 - 00:28:49:16
SEAN
Right. Yeah. Yeah. I'm sure Disney would never actually approve of that at all.

00:28:49:16 - 00:29:02:23
AMANDA
No, no, no, no, no. And you know, there's even stuff that was like there's stuff that the cartoons did in the nineties that we don't really do anymore now. So like, there's even.

00:29:02:23 - 00:29:03:08
Speaker 3
Right.

00:29:03:21 - 00:29:20:19
AMANDA
Even in the realm of that. So like, you're not going to see like guns flying around and darkling necessarily in the way that like we would have maybe in the nineties and that kind of stuff. So yes, dark but no, not like we're not going to suddenly have like a big crisis where I was.

00:29:21:10 - 00:29:21:16
Speaker 3
Dating.

00:29:22:00 - 00:29:29:23
AMANDA
In childhood. Suddenly it's like smoking meth in the corner or something.

00:29:29:23 - 00:29:34:14
SEAN
And I'll, I'll be for like, you know, when the IP hits, you know, public domain.

00:29:34:23 - 00:29:36:04
AMANDA
Exactly, exactly.

00:29:36:10 - 00:29:39:01
Speaker 3
Like what we're getting after dark. Yeah.

00:29:41:04 - 00:29:45:00
SEAN
You know, somebody who's already had that story written. I've been just waiting for that to happen.

00:29:45:00 - 00:29:48:00
AMANDA
For sure. For sure.

00:29:48:00 - 00:30:10:15
SEAN
Oh, wow. So. So this is great talking about dark wind. Doug, I wanted to also ask you if there's any other upcoming projects that you're working on that you're excited about that you can discuss. I know there's some things you can't, but if there's anything that whether it's upcoming or, you know, something else that you want to, you know, kind of put out there and kind of discuss what you're working on or what you have worked on and things like that.

00:30:11:10 - 00:30:13:08
SEAN
Anything that you want to maybe talk about at all.

00:30:14:01 - 00:30:36:14
AMANDA
Sure. There's there's one article I'd love to discuss but it's I can I that and but I've got it for the Star Wars hyperspace stories that I was doing several issues of I have another one coming out. It was supposed to be out this month, but I think they've pushed it to January and that's going to be a Chewbacca and Rey life day adventure.

00:30:36:14 - 00:31:00:09
AMANDA
Oh, which is which is really fun. I'm a little bummed that it's not going to be out for like the holidays, because while life is in November, it's the time. And it's definitely like very much a holiday story while also being like a Star Wars action adventure story. And I'm really excited about that one. I think it's going to be extremely fun for sure.

00:31:01:08 - 00:31:08:16
AMANDA
So yeah, make sure to check that out. I'm trying to think it's oh and I've got some Batman and Scooby Doo stories coming.

00:31:08:16 - 00:31:09:04
Speaker 3
Oh.

00:31:09:21 - 00:31:13:19
AMANDA
Also I want to say also in January, which is also in dark weeks, I've got a lot of stuff coming out.

00:31:13:19 - 00:31:15:06
Speaker 3
And I was about to say, Yeah.

00:31:15:15 - 00:31:27:03
AMANDA
Yeah. So Batman and Scooby Doo, Star Wars and Dark Wayne all coming out in January. Very fun. January, we're dominating all the beloved childhood.

00:31:27:03 - 00:31:54:09
SEAN
I know you'll be more popular now because of all that. So, yeah, you know what's interesting when you're talking about the Star Wars hyperspace being pushed back to January, it being a holiday life day issue, I've been collecting issues that exist in comics are holiday themed and interesting enough, there's actually quite a bit of them that seem like they didn't make it to December.

00:31:54:09 - 00:32:14:04
SEAN
They got pushed back to June and I think there was a couple that got released in March and I was just find it really interesting. So it sounds like that's actually a common thing that happens in the comics industry. So so I think, you know, even though it's not going to make it for this December, it'll definitely probably be something that all of us will be reading, you know, next December for for the holidays as well.

00:32:14:04 - 00:32:15:12
SEAN
So I'm really excited to see that.

00:32:15:23 - 00:32:17:09
AMANDA
So it'll be it's a fun one.

00:32:17:16 - 00:32:18:15
Speaker 3
Yeah. Yeah.

00:32:19:18 - 00:32:40:01
SEAN
Awesome. All right. Well, let's go ahead and pivot to talk about the comics that we are reading currently. And so I wanted to ask you what you're reading out there. What I'm reading then some of our friends over at Comic Watch also share what they're currently reading as well too. So what is a comic or a series of comics that you're currently reading now?

00:32:40:13 - 00:33:09:20
AMANDA
So I just started a new series by my friend David, and Booker called us back and it just issue number one just came out in a month ago, is that correct? I could be off on that. But but it's it's a fun it's kind of nostalgic. It's another eighties kind of thing. It has some, like, paper girls vibe, you know, like it's it's a fun that one is fun.

00:33:09:20 - 00:33:24:24
AMANDA
And I also was just rereading Paper Girls, actually, and I think I was I did like a Twitter thread. You were talking about like the questions that I asked and I was asking people recently for like a comic panel that stood out, you know, like.

00:33:25:05 - 00:33:26:13
Speaker 3
Oh yeah.

00:33:26:18 - 00:33:37:13
AMANDA
Like hits you and I did mine, which is from Saga. And so now I'm like, I think I want to like Start Saga over again.

00:33:37:13 - 00:33:54:01
SEAN
Yeah. Yeah. Well, and sagas is a huge one. That's one I have not read. Saga. Yeah, I think I tried reading the first issue and just didn't get around to finishing it. But when I asked, you know, come the similar question you had, it seems like Saga is always at the top of people's list in terms of one of their favorite.

00:33:54:15 - 00:34:13:15
SEAN
It's a small yeah that's that's what I've heard so and it's interesting like what you're saying how, you know Spex was, you know, kind of has that AIDS vibe just how eighties and nineties is just you know, seems like it's making a huge comeback, not just, you know, like, you know, something like Darkman Duck is something that from our childhood that's kind of, you know, being reinvented and all that.

00:34:13:15 - 00:34:33:12
SEAN
But how just things that were a trend in the nineties is popular with not not so much like you know my son's age or your daughter's age but you know, probably like high school and young adults and stuff like that because I remember neon colors were coming back and I'm just like, why? Like, why couldn't we just let that back out in the nineties and everything?

00:34:34:05 - 00:35:01:24
SEAN
So yeah, it's a popular thing one and you know, like Batman 89 was, was hugely popular as a, you know, because of the movie. But then the comic series, you know, took off as well too, because apparently we actually had the artist Joe Cannon is on the show. And he said that, I guess at the time, you know, Jim Lee was saying that they that they were looking for more stuff that was nineties because that's apparently a market that they want to tap into because there's a huge market as well to sell sense.

00:35:02:09 - 00:35:37:19
SEAN
Yeah so well the comics I'm currently reading and there's two so there's one I have to do a review for for Comic Watch and it's Batman Incorporated which I'm really liking. It's, it's pretty much a Batman family story without Batman in it and it's really cool because you get kind of that, you know, obviously that Batman universe by but with brand new characters so you feel like you're learning about these people for the first time because you are but it's still familiar because they're all take their own approach on what Batman means to them and to their city that they defend and things like that.

00:35:37:19 - 00:35:54:08
SEAN
And it's it's kind of like a Mission Impossible mystery thriller type of story. And I really enjoy it. So I'm looking forward to reading that. And then there's another one that I'm currently reading because I'm trying to read some holiday comics, and one's called The Naughty List, which I don't know if you've heard that one before.

00:35:54:09 - 00:35:54:24
Speaker 3
No.

00:35:55:08 - 00:36:23:15
SEAN
So this one I haven't heard before either, but someone had recommended it. And it's basically another story that is explaining, you know, how the person of Santa Claus came to be. I guess this one is a little bit more on the darker side because the cover the comic is and the person you know who is portraying Santa is like in his thirties with the Santa Happy's holding like a like a bloody crowbar or something like that on the cover.

00:36:23:15 - 00:36:48:17
SEAN
So almost like the Violent Knight vibe with David Harbor, but, you know, not the traditional Santa outfit that he has in there. So I just started that one, too. But so far what I'm reading is really good too. So so here's what our friends at Comic Watch had been reading. Brad had said that they're reading X-Men Disassembled from 2018 from Rosenberg, Thompson, Brandon, have you read that one before?

00:36:48:21 - 00:36:50:13
AMANDA
I have not, but I've heard good things.

00:36:50:14 - 00:37:05:19
SEAN
Yeah, I haven't heard of that either and I have not or I'm sorry I haven't read it either, but I haven't heard of this. And I actually got away from comics, you know, when I was a, I think around high school. So I just got back in like five years ago and X-Men is one of the things I want to get back into.

00:37:06:05 - 00:37:08:12
SEAN
And I'm just overwhelmed because there's so many.

00:37:08:12 - 00:37:08:21
Speaker 3
Yes.

00:37:09:04 - 00:37:17:02
AMANDA
I mean, that's like, yeah, same like I was very into it in high school and now it does it quickly becomes like, oh my God, where do I even go?

00:37:17:03 - 00:37:18:00
Speaker 3
Yeah, it's hard.

00:37:18:13 - 00:37:34:09
SEAN
Just the current series. Like there's ten or 12 different runs that they're having that they're going on right now. And I'm just like, I don't know which one to read. I feel like I have to read all of them to keep up with the main story, and then they're going to be spinning off more. And so it's just adds.

00:37:34:17 - 00:37:58:01
SEAN
It's kind of a nightmare, but it's a lot of fun as well to. But Brad said that they're currently on the first issue and says that as far as art goes a long way and his enjoyment of the issue that they don't like the weapons that Betsy has because this was the beginning, I guess, up here of their incessant use of the return to her original body.

00:37:58:01 - 00:38:21:02
SEAN
So I guess Betsy was not in her body and then she came back. I had not heard that story at all. And this is still like Betsy Braddock. I think they're talking about, which is interesting because when I read that again, it's like so much a miss from X-Men. And I just recently found out that apparently Jubilee is a vampire, was a vampire.

00:38:22:14 - 00:38:28:24
SEAN
I was just like, What else am I missing out? And X-Men like, it's so crazy.

00:38:28:24 - 00:38:29:14
Speaker 3
Um.

00:38:30:00 - 00:38:36:06
SEAN
Miriam Herrera said that they're reading a web tune called My In-laws Are Obsessed With Me.

00:38:37:05 - 00:38:38:03
AMANDA
Hilarious.

00:38:38:03 - 00:38:59:13
SEAN
I know just the title alone. I'm like, I have to go download this and read this now. She said that the story's about a duchess that finds out on her deathbed that her step mom, sister and husband planned her death. And she's able to go back in time to change things, only to find out that the other Duke she married has a curse on his family that makes their blood toxic.

00:38:59:13 - 00:39:22:07
SEAN
But if she consumes or touches it, it doesn't kill her. So this is sounds like. Yeah, this sounds it sounds like, you know, drama from the get go, basically just from the title to the description here. It sounds really interesting. And then Gabriel De has said that they're starting to read comics again and they're reading An Amores by Chris Grind.

00:39:22:07 - 00:39:24:00
SEAN
Did you know that this was a comic series?

00:39:24:12 - 00:39:25:02
AMANDA
I didn't.

00:39:25:11 - 00:39:28:16
SEAN
Yeah. Did you read anymore when you were when you were a kid?

00:39:29:03 - 00:39:31:23
AMANDA
I didn't. I mean, I had friends with Del, but I did not.

00:39:31:23 - 00:39:43:05
SEAN
Gotcha. But my wife and I had both read it when we were kids and we loved the series. Like, it was like, you know, we went to library. That's the first thing which I thought was Animal. They had no idea that they turned this into a comic book series. I'm like, really excited.

00:39:43:05 - 00:39:44:20
Speaker 3
That's so fun. Yeah, you should.

00:39:44:20 - 00:39:45:24
AMANDA
Definitely convince that that's all.

00:39:45:24 - 00:39:53:17
SEAN
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Gabriel said that his only complaint is that it's releasing once a year in this series is 54 books, so.

00:39:53:17 - 00:39:56:01
Speaker 3
Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

00:39:56:19 - 00:39:58:09
AMANDA
How do you even do that?

00:39:58:22 - 00:39:59:18
Speaker 3
Oh.

00:40:00:03 - 00:40:01:13
AMANDA
I'm sorry.

00:40:01:13 - 00:40:06:17
Speaker 3
You're not. Oh.

00:40:08:09 - 00:40:13:15
SEAN
Yeah, that's. I mean. Oh, my. Wow. Yeah, that. That is a long term plan right there.

00:40:13:15 - 00:40:16:03
AMANDA
Well, Gabriel, I hope you are very young.

00:40:16:05 - 00:40:20:11
Speaker 3
Yeah. Yeah, but.

00:40:21:04 - 00:40:32:22
SEAN
And then the last one we have is Mayor she. And she said that she's trying to get through her sandman collection, which is a huge collection. So have you read in the Sandman series?

00:40:32:22 - 00:40:34:07
AMANDA
Yes. God, I love Sandman.

00:40:34:11 - 00:40:35:20
SEAN
So as you think of the Netflix show.

00:40:36:00 - 00:40:38:16
AMANDA
I really liked, I thought they did a great job with it.

00:40:38:16 - 00:40:46:19
SEAN
Me, too. I thought it was fantastic. It's probably one of the best comic book adaptations to screens I ever seen before.

00:40:46:19 - 00:40:51:05
AMANDA
I so agree. I agree. It was fantastic.

00:40:51:07 - 00:41:06:06
SEAN
Yes. And I'm very excited to see what they do with it, because I think they had just announced that they're going to be doing a second season. I know it's everything that's going with DC Studios and all that that's probably still yet to be seen. Not that it's like Endanger or anything like that, but you never know what happens.

00:41:06:06 - 00:41:29:09
SEAN
But I hope they do because I feel like this has just been such a well-done series. And I've only read, I think like the first there was a volume I had, I think I had like volumes wanted to and it didn't go through all the stories. We went up to the Corinthians. The Corinthian was a brand new character for me, so the first time I saw that character was through the Netflix series.

00:41:29:21 - 00:41:49:14
SEAN
But I know it just has a huge, expansive universe that we haven't even tapped into. And so I think it'd be really great to just see more of on screen and to be somebody that, you know is going to be able to see the new stories. But yeah, I agree. Just the whole series is well-done and I love that they were able to adapt that so well, so, so well.

00:41:49:14 - 00:41:57:00
SEAN
Amanda, thank you very much for coming on the show. Before I let you go, can you let us and our listeners know where we can find you and your work online?

00:41:57:12 - 00:42:21:15
AMANDA
Sure. So I am Amanda Diapers.com and just my last name is D.I. Which is just spelled differently than it sounds. So I just know that. Amanda Diapers.com I'm also on Twitter literally all the time and. Amanda Deibert And on Instagram. Amanda Deibert Official And that those the best places to keep up with the big billions of things that I'm doing or me procrastinating from.

00:42:21:19 - 00:42:25:07
Speaker 3
Although I'm doing all you.

00:42:25:07 - 00:42:26:17
SEAN
Got, I need a little bit of that in there.

00:42:26:18 - 00:42:26:24
Speaker 3
Right?

00:42:27:20 - 00:42:36:15
AMANDA
You need a brain break and I probably spend too much time on social media, but it it keeps me sane while I'm trying to figure out what to write next.

00:42:36:19 - 00:42:58:14
SEAN
Oh, yeah. Well, you know, social media is just I will say this, I met a lot of people through social media, and I mean, especially during COVID. That's how I've been able just to connect with other people in general. And I mean, you're not limited to the physical space that you're in now. So I feel like there's a lot of opportunity to be able to connect with other people and making relationships and stuff like that.

00:42:58:14 - 00:43:02:11
SEAN
So but Deibert. Deibert a German last name, right?

00:43:02:11 - 00:43:03:18
AMANDA
It is a German last name.

00:43:03:21 - 00:43:11:19
SEAN
That's why I took I took three years of German high school. And when I saw your last name, I was like, I'm pretty sure that's pronounced Deibert, but I'm going to double check and make sure.

00:43:11:19 - 00:43:12:21
Speaker 3
So yeah.

00:43:13:02 - 00:43:16:00
AMANDA
That's the it's a it's a weird one that throws people for a loop.

00:43:16:05 - 00:43:16:11
Speaker 3
Yeah.

00:43:17:21 - 00:43:30:24
SEAN
So well thanks again for coming on the show and I'm very excited to see Darwyn, Doug coming out and hitting the shelves on January 18th. And I got to tell you, I'm going to talk to our editor in chief at Comic Watch. I'm going to tell him like I really want to do the review for Doug going Doug because.

00:43:31:09 - 00:43:31:12
Speaker 3
So.

00:43:32:01 - 00:43:44:22
SEAN
I'm sure he probably will, but I'm really excited. Thank you very much. Good luck to your work on Darkwing Duck into the Star Wars hyperspace that you mentioned before and all your future projects are you working on. Thank you for coming on the show.

00:43:45:03 - 00:43:46:18
AMANDA
Awesome. Thank you so much. This is fun.