HCC788 - Beach Head Mike and the meaning of fandom

Does that answer all the questions? >> Sure, it sounds good to me. You know, I'm going to be creatively editing this to so to make you say anything that I want you to say. Elevator Jesus. Yes, he's what's making this elevator ascend. If you could have the news scoop on my demise, that, you know, that's content. That's good TV. That's good TV. And you I guarantee 30% bump for that episode. Everyone can hear my my crap in the trunk rattling around. We all have a bit of crap in the trunk rattling around, especially at this age. Mhm. Too true. Too true. I heard a story of a German family visiting the United States and they decided to take a little drive around Death Valley, um you know, for pictures and whatnot. And they got lost and were never seen again. Um I don't know what makes me think of that story. You know, just be ready to hit that upload button just in case. Yeah. Maybe I should be live right now. It's a little desolate, I have to say. We are we are a bit in the sticks. We are not really in Indianapolis right now. >> You have a show that is well, it's it's informative. You cover the news topics. You you you know, you keep you keep on top of things. I just hit start and I say stupid things. It's actually better without preparation. Cuz I never I I'm as surprised as anybody else at what I might say. That that's half of what we do. It's um With with the combination of of Mark and Rob and myself, we have found that some structure is necessary to get us out in less than 4 hours. They're a live We all question your sanity, though. >> Yeah. Um by the end of it, so was I. Um the like I can talk I can say stupid stuff uh for a long time, but 12 like really by hour 10 I'm I'm out of stupid stuff to say. By hour 10? Yeah. Uh which you know, I pride myself on being able to just really keep the stupid stuff going, but um there's just only so much. That that's true. And um you're kind of you know, from a show standpoint, you're kind of a one-man gang. But you were doing other stuff. You had family activities. You had you had cameos galore and and so you you you you got through it. I do a running gag like that thing where I was always about to open the classified Gung Ho, but I'd always run out of time. Uh it's really it's it's really stupid, but um it does take a little bit of thought because I did open it a couple of times. And so I'd have to get a new one and put it up there and see if anybody noticed that uh Gung Ho was back. So I don't know if that counts as show prep. I if it's the you know, classified Gung Ho from the box, it's best left unopened. That that one is Yeah. That the the the retro one. Yeah. That Yeah. The retro one. >> like the retro one. Yeah. The Yeah. It's It was really nice and I hope I get to open it sometime. >> If the cardstock and the glue on those is consistent with the other ones, it's already opened itself. [clears throat] Oh, that's that's nice. It opens itself. Oh, that's You know what? >> That's um it's that's a feature, not a bug. Yeah, correct. It's like when your tiny accessories come pre-loved. Yeah. Yeah. It's automated. So you can see all all of our imported culture. Yes. All of your your your J.C. Penney's. That's a big DSW shoes. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Going to be lots of shoes in there. Probably have a great variety. Wonder if they've got anything on sale. I don't want to punt poke fun at Indianapolis. There's nothing bad about Indianapolis. You have the Colts. They they they won a Super Bowl a while back. A few years ago, decade or so. Thank you, Saint Peyton. Yeah. Um and you have the speedway um where people drive really fast. >> Right. It's all over now. Yeah. Um The greatest spectacle in racing. And uh yeah, that's that's more than a lot of places have. Let's let's give Indianapolis some credit for that. Right. Right. We may only have the national consciousness one weekend a year, but that's a lot better than a lot of places do. I've been to some of those places. Yeah. They're really boring. Going to go up here and do some donuts? Oh, sweet. No. Is it Wait, is this the Back to the Future mall? It isn't. It isn't. That's that's in California. Yeah, you can't you can't do donuts in a Kia Soul. I like the I like the Kids Empire right across from the Victoria Secret. That That is classy. That's some classy stuff right there. Welcome to Plainfield. These toys, is that where we're going? It is. All right. This is a cute tiny. Oh, and fortunately they're open. They're open. All right. Some power of the force. And some wrestling. There's a Donatello. Audrey likes Donatello. A couple Mobats. Check that out. Now, let's see what do they have the battery cover? No battery cover. Battery cover. No battery cover. But, still Mobats. Fine for display. And they they're the earlier version with the without the holes in the treads. If that's important to you. Naugahyde. It's Forest Ghost Baroness. One of one of my old favorites. Yeah. The Cobra Rattler, but where's the rest of it? Well, that's it. Yeah, that's the whole thing. Oh. Oh. I don't know. I knocked over an Xbox. This is the the construction set. Ninja speed cycle. Did you ever put together any of the construction sets? Like the knockoff Lego that they did for a little while. Um They're not the best. >> [laughter] >> I uh I did an assembly um on I think the Hiss Tank. Um it it doesn't stay together well. It would be fine if it stayed together. I have literally everything here. Some of them multiple. Um at least the vintage stuff. I uh You know what I You know who I think I'm missing? Beachhead. I don't think I I think I I don't think I have a Beachhead. It got stolen. Yeah. I don't know. Maybe someday. Someday I'll find a Beachhead with a crotch or a Beachhead and a crotch, and I'll put them together. Nobody's selling that on its own. Yeah, but think about it. You you you your beachhead breaks a crotch, you just keep the crotch, sell the beachhead, and then just accumulate crotches until nobody can find them, and then you make a killing. Spider-Man bust up there, larger than an actual human head, and then this R2-D2 thing over here, larger than the actual R2-D2. And that gives me the idea of uh I should only collect scales that are larger than the actual real-life item. Does that thing tripod? It does. But uh and on the tripod I can't do this. You, sir, state your name and purpose. I don't have a purpose. No. You're you're you're more you're more or less in frame. It's fine. It's You know, this [snorts] this is art right here. Oh oh this is great. Yeah, frame me with the with the lamp there. Oh, that's that's very artistic. Yeah, I like Oh, yeah. That's perfect. 24/7. That's so Anyone watching who uh wants the QR code, you know, there it is. Grab it right real quick. >> What's on Joe Mind is the first uh GI Joe related podcast that I found. Um and I first heard about it in 2014 at Joe Con in Dallas, Texas. After that, I went back and I listened to every episode cuz it was audio only at that time. >> Right. Uh first uh few episodes were um uh they were a little rough. The audio There was a lot of um breathing picked up by the microphone. Uh but um Good old Zeppelin lungs got so Yeah. Um but uh yeah, it was it was um uh it was a different cast different different lineup than you have now. You came in um a little bit later. How How far in uh did you start with What's on Joe Mind? Uh at the beginning um I mean, technically, I was not on the first couple of shows, but my first show was the third episode. >> Okay, yeah. I was I was the original Phil Donnelly. I was the super sub. I I My My work schedule when they were first getting going was such that I wasn't available all the time. And and so, but I could be available occasionally if they gave me enough notice. And so, that was the role I played through the first 6 months. Uh By the time I found the show, I mean, you were a fixture on it. So, um I guess like um You think >> it was episode 39 was my first full-timer. I think I think that was I think that's the number. The The historians will correct it. Yeah, you know what? The internet never forgets, and the comment sections always get it right. So, someone in the comment section will give the the correct information about that in case you've misremembered. The original hosts, they have gone to other things, but you are still chugging along with with your brother Rob and with Mike Veber, who I I mispronounce his name on purpose because I think it's funny. I'm the only one that thinks that's funny. >> I I you know, I'm just going to let you have your thing. >> Yeah, thank you. I appreciate that. Just let me live. Let me live my own life. Uh but yeah, with >> And it is Mark Veber, by the way. How many years has it been? Uh come this Arbor Day, it'll be 15 years. >> 15 years. What's on Joe Mind is is kind of part of the the history of the brand itself. I remember uh you guys had some of the first like interviews with Larry Hama that I remember hearing when I started coming back into collecting. You guys had John Chu on after the premiere of GI Joe Retaliation. That we did. That you actually have I think a treasure trove of of discoveries and that you've done over the years and things that you've given to posterity. How does that make you feel? I'm proud of it, right? We I think we've we've certainly shared a wealth of knowledge over the years. You bring up the the John Chu bit and that was that is one of the all-time stories in crash booking. We were recording anyway. We were doing our our our Retaliation special as you were. So there were more of us around than normal. Because it was our regular cast and and Craig who used to come in and and occasionally help us out. He's from Australia, Craig Moore. Was was around that day and Justin was just while while we were talking Justin was was farting around on Twitter and sent something at John Chu and he responded. And so Justin immediately slid into those DMs and uh >> [laughter] >> And worked. It worked out. Yeah, I got an hour. Yeah. Okay. Since then you have moved to a live format on YouTube and you've been doing that for a while now. How long's that been going on? It was we've kind of made that transition during the pandemic. Things got bad and obviously there wasn't anything going on in stores. And there there wasn't a whole lot of news and and and so we we didn't want to just evaporate, you know, we just didn't want to go away. Um and so um we decided and and at the time the the host of the show was myself and Joe Colton and Carson Mataxis. Um we made the the decision that well, you know, what we hear a lot is that folks like to listen to us prattle and banter and and so we can we can do that on live stream and um uh Joe Colton was really the the driving force behind that. She really she she took the reins on that one. You wouldn't be seeing us if it wasn't for her. I would still be probably dripping along uh doing audio stuff. I like it because it it it helps us do news in a more timely fashion. Uh we used to put out shows every maybe once a month. Uh once every maybe 3 weeks and and it was um it was fine for the time because um like Hasbro was the only thing making news on a consistent basis. So if you could stay on top of what Hasbro was doing, great. As we got into this this current decade, all of that started to change. And so doing having not just discussion points but but actual news items coming from different from different avenues has certainly helped that format. You've broken a couple news items before. The week and a half. Have you uh Can you name your sources? Uh I cannot. I I cannot name my sources. I I I am still There are people that I'm still in contact with. Well, well, I tried. You've um had I don't want to say every uh creator involved with G.I. Joe on the show at one point or another, but a hell of a lot of them. Uh We've we've had a good number of them. It's something that I I wish I had the opportunity to do more of still. Um cuz I see like what the guys at Talking Joe are doing. Um and I you have you you want to see a a good interview show with comic professionals. Talking Joe is a great show. >> You've been really generous in having me on a couple of times. I feel like I should um apologize. Whenever I come on, I just switch into that chaotic mode that I do and um uh uh I it's I'm I'm very disruptive. Uh and you haven't kicked me off the show yet. Well, no, you actually did kick me off a little bit. Uh I kicked Temporarily. Yeah, temporarily. Um not that I blame you. I I think I think sometimes folks come on and they're they're kind of asking for it. They'll >> I got to see how far we can push it uh before before you'll actually remove me from the show. You got to go pretty far. I was a fan. I was a fan of the show long long before I was invited on it and um it was a bit surreal to be on the show. Maybe I get too enthusiastic, but it's uh it's still a bit of a trip uh actually being on the show. >> When we do live streams, we tend to be in what I call the captain's chair. Yeah. Um and so not being in the captain's chair is liberating. >> [laughter] >> So, I get where you're coming from with that. I like seriously, follow follow my exploits when I'm on other programs sometimes and it's it's this isn't the guy that you get, right? Um I'm kind of nuts. I'm I'm a little obnoxious on some other folks' show. Like the the poor the poor folks at uh at uh Knowing Is Half the Podcast, poor Ray. I mean, there have been times when I know I've just unloaded two barrels at Ray and and he he's he's a champ. He's in the captain's chair. He just takes it cuz that's what the captain has to do. Keep having me back. So, it can't be that bad. I'm okay playing the villain >> Yeah. That's right. I have to I have to wear the white hat too often when I'm in on my own show. Yeah, it's And that's not a natural role for me. Generally speaking, I'm chaotic good, but I'm I'm sarcastic about it. And so, it gives the impression that maybe he leans a little towards neutral. When we wound up when we knew we were coming to a close on the audio-only era of What's on Joe Mind, we did an event called Virtual Joe Con. And it was six episodes in six days. That was when they got posted. Like I did I obviously was not editing them overnight and but like we we did all the material and then I basically in 2 weeks put together those six shows. And never again. Yeah, that's >> I do not miss sitting there and audio editing. >> That's brutal. I'm going to ask an unfair question. Um If you if you had to describe your own legacy, you Mike Your Azarian. Um what do you think uh what do you think you people are going to think when they uh look back on this years later? Some some kid finds this show, you know, >> [snorts] >> uh 20 years after you've done the last episode. What uh what do you think they're going to What impression are they going to have? What What's your legacy? Uh ultimately, the the good part and the bad part of being tied to one property like this uh is that your fortunes go with that one property. Um so, I I I I I think you know, like the how future historians will consider What's on Joe Mind, I think is more about the success of maintaining G.I. Joe in the consciousness. I'll be honest, it's not the thing that I feel best about in the world cuz I think that a lot more could be done with G.I. Joe for future generations as opposed to selling it again and again and again and again to people our age and maybe a little younger. The like like the the 40 and up crowd is is what is the bread and butter for GI Joe and that that needs to ship. Even even if you're in the camp of toys aren't for kids anymore. There's still a whole generation of folks that you're missing that you've missed. You know, um and and I suppose the good part of Classified is is that for some reason that the kids today, the 20 to 40-year-olds, if you will, uh they decided that once they were done collecting 6-in 6-in Star Wars figures that well, hey, GI Joes are 6-in now. Let me get some of those. That like that something that dumb has resulted in the only lifeblood for future generations for this property. And not a whole lot is being done to capitalize on that. Like there there needs to be some kind of other media presence besides I mean, great the comic books are excellent. Uh I think we're we're literally at a high point for them, but comic books don't have the they don't pervade like they used to. Some kind of of of television product, some kind of streaming product is necessary if this is going to reach, you know, further. I understand the allure of having a big budget movie property. You know, it it it's if if you're successful there, there's just this big lump of money that you can wave in front of your investors and say, "Look what we did for you." Um but I I think if you're if you're looking at sustainability, I think GI Joe is a property that is made for animation. So many characters and there are so many directions and there's just enough of a fantasy element to it. I think back to you know, the the Snake Eyes movie from a couple years ago. Like one of my big hang-ups on that movie specifically where I I kind of check out on that movie. Giant snakes in the temple, right? And you're using kind of this dopey cheesy CGI. It didn't look good. For as much as parts of that movie strained credulity uh that one just kind of it finally broke focus. Like I was I was out of the movie and I had to get reset again. I don't think that happens if [snorts] that's happening in an animated show. If it's drawn the same way as the rest of it, then okay. Sure, it's not the way I'd have gone with it. But it it's it's not it's not breaking the reality that I've established. Is there a form of live-action that do you think might have some appeal? They've tried several times now, so we know what they've tried and what hasn't worked. >> It could because obviously it's very action-oriented. Uh and again, you have a lot of characters to pick from. Where it keeps hitting snags, there's a certain core set of characters that you just want to have the the the that they'll want to use every time. Yeah. And if you're going to do a a a franchise with it, then you're going to want to use the same actors in those roles again. And again, all of this I'm not criticizing this. This makes sense. But I think in in order to do it right, if you're going to put the effort that each one of those movies needs, it just needs to be more episodic. Like you're not necessarily making a new reality for every movie, but if the same guy's not playing Cobra Commander, it should be fine. And we should all be okay with it because on the other side of that coin, your most vocal fans, the folks that that you're counting on to do your free PR, are going to be incredibly upset by We've both had a lot of contacts, contact with the community, with the the fandom, with with fans of all of the different iterations of G.I. Joe, and everybody seems to have their idea of what what must be done. Um, it's a lot of times though that I the ideas that they have are coincidentally the things that they would like to see the most. Uh, which drive they may enjoy but might not necessarily be the most successful thing to do if you're wanting to reach a newer audience. How do you approach uh, disagreements about the direction of uh, of the the future, the future of the brand? Yeah, well, I mean, it's okay to not like stuff. And but I think we all need to be better about remembering that as we try to line uh, G.I. Joe up with whatever G.I. Joe is in our hazy memories, we didn't like everything then either. Um, I I, you know, for for as much as I love the old Sunbow cartoon, there were about a third of the episodes I remember even as a kid being like, "Ah, that one was kind of a clinker." Um, and and it's okay. Like, those are allowed to happen and you can still love it anyway. You don't have to everything about this property doesn't have to line up with with your personal taste. Keep in mind, the people who are creating it have their own personal taste, and that's what they're that's what they want to see. And they're fortunate enough to be able to to do it. We just have to allow that you know, some of it just isn't going to work for us. It's a it's it's like I I before, it's a property with hundreds of characters. They're not all going to strike every note. If you like If you like your GI Joe grim and gritty like '90s comics, that doesn't appeal to me at all. I have I have no need to see GI Joe become that because I hated the '90s comics. [laughter] Absolutely hated. I was a Silver Age kid, man. When I I I I started reading comics, I was 3 years old, literally. It's how my brother taught me to read. It was with comic books, specifically Justice League of America in the late '70s and early '80s. I mean, some just some of the the greatest comic books DC Comics ever published. And they were bright, and they were colorful, and sure, some heavy [ __ ] happened, but it wasn't always just this gloom and doom, and everybody wasn't always just standing around glowering. They They tried to have character, you know, well-rounded characters, and they tried to, you know, occasionally these heroes would understand it's kind of fun being able to fly and lift a lot of heavy [ __ ] And and that just that that sense of fun just kind of get drained out of comic books in the '90s. So, I hate '90s comics. I I remember '90s comics. I I that era where um a comic book was a bunch of pages of uh guys striking poses. Um and it's very So many pouches and so few feet. >> Yeah. But, I think we just all need to be a little bit more forgiving of the parts that don't apply to us. I would say like we need to allow people to have their preferences, allow people to not like the same things. It's not uh it is not a slight on your personal taste if somebody doesn't like the same thing. Also, like let people like things. Like it is okay to like something that somebody else doesn't. Uh that's that's not a crime. Um and I do see like there is some attempt to enforce personal preference as you know objectively better Right. >> than something else that somebody may like. And if somebody else likes it, they must have some weird ulterior motive or there there's something wrong in their brain or or are you getting paid by Hasbro? Are is Hasbro giving you money to say that you like this thing that I say is objectively bad. >> Right. Right. We any I know that we're pretty accommodating all of it, right? And that's something that's the tone we try to strike on the show. Uh you asked about legacy and I think that ultimately will to briefly come back to that. I think ultimately that's what it is. I I think that you know, at the end of the run when when we're done, I hope that people think that uh we were pretty inclusive uh we were you know, whatever your GI Joe was. We didn't take our position of influence and and uh prestige if you will. Um And and mind you that that's not that that's a that's a semi semi-sarcastically used term right there. But um to to bestow our golden touch on what we thought thought was the best and to poopoo on everything else. Um cuz they all have the good points. Say say they roll out a a they get two seasons on a out of a streaming show >> [clears throat] >> and there's 50 episodes. I mean honestly, if you if you really like 30 of them, they did a great job. If you and you just kind of like the others and maybe there's two of them that you're just sitting there going then they did they were that that is a fantastic job on their part and you're a huge fan of that show whether you like it or not. Unless they kill off your absolute favorite character. And uh occasionally that happens. Sorry Sorry to Duke fans at the end of that IDW run, but you know, you kind of that kind of happened to Duke. What keeps you inspired uh at times when maybe maybe even today, maybe even now the whatever product they have coming out uh isn't it itself inspiring you. What keeps you inspired uh to stay interested in this thing that you've been following now for so many years? >> Well, I I think ultimately when when there wasn't a lot of news to follow, um what kept us doing it was that we we knew we were going to be able to to chat with like-minded dorks. And um I I say that term with all affection. I That is not a That is not an insult. Uh because we we have to recognize that we are we are adults chasing down this children's property and and treating it like we're related to it. And that's fine. That's what fandom is. But um uh you know, it it That's really was the allure from the very beginning was was was that people out there were were listening and and they wanted to join [clears throat] in. And it's it's fun to be at the front of those discussions. It's fun to just be in those discussions. Um sometimes it's it's fun just to have something coming out of a speaker that you just do not agree with whatsoever because you're just going to "How CAN THEY FORGET ABOUT AMBUSH?" If you watch our program, if if you're tuned in to us on on a regular basis, uh it's usually 2 hours. It's sometimes a little more. And it we we don't necessarily stay on topic all the time. Like I again, my brother is one of the show hosts right now. This is somebody who I've known for literally five decades and sometimes we just roll down a street that he and I are the only ones that know where it is. And if you're along for the ride, fine. And if not, fine. Um you know, some sometimes you know, like like Mark Weber is a guy who he's not on our show because he used to be the head of the brand at Hasbro. That I mean, does that help? Sure. It it gives him some bonafides. But to to give you a story, to give you Mark Weber's origin story with with what's on Joe mind. We knew Mark from when uh he would be a Joe Con. He was working with Hasbro during the the 50th anniversary. Uh and he he and Daryl would would would talk to us. Like we just we just got along then. And so 2018 rolls around. It's the last Joe Con. Uh Mark Weber is released from his duties at Hasbro. Uh decides that I'm going to go to Joe Joe Con as as a fan. Great. Um and he puts out on his Facebook an APB. You know, hey, I'm looking to get to to to Joe Con and does anybody have a spot in the con hotel? Literally the same day, my younger brother, who was scheduled to go to to Joe Con with Rob and I, uh had canceled. It opened up a spot in our room. And so it it turned into, you know, Weber as the third stooge. Whatever obscure reference to David Letterman show Weber would catch. Whatever whatever weird Saturday Night Live sketch that only Rob and I had jokes about, Webber understood those jokes. So, like he was in the club at that point. Like he it was like, "Oh my god." He We didn't have a spot on the show at that particular moment, but it was like immediately he was on the guest list list. You know, just like, "Oh yeah, we If somebody misses a show, I know who I'm calling." Mark is >> [snorts] >> again, his his Hasbro time and and his GI Joe expertise not with standing, do do it's a vibe, man. He He's part of He's part of our our tribe. Uh and that's why he's a host on the show because, you know, we we know we know he's on on whatever weird path we're going to take it down. Was it Does that answer all the questions? I don't >> Sure, it sounds good to me. You know, I'm going to be creatively uh editing this to so to make you say anything that I want you to say. I think you've given me enough uh to work with here. Well, thanks uh Mike uh and thanks uh you know, it's nice to see you again and I I hope to see you in the not too distant future. Right. You need to You need to not hide in Oklahoma. I I It is like hiding there. We only recently got electricity. We don't know how it works. >> I I Sure. And I I do want to uh take a moment to give uh we're we're celebrating 15 years, of course. Um give a quick shout to to Gary and Justin and Greg and Chuck and who am I Carson and Joe Colton and and even Phil, who who is not never been full-time, but is is, you know, he's our our super sub. To all the folks who've been a part of it for 15 years, uh we have some uh uh some fans who've been since episode one, um which is crazy to me to to think about, frankly. Uh I wasn't even listening in episode one. So, you know, again, we appreciate all of you. And of course to to uh to Mark and Rob. I'll see you uh on the TV screen on Tuesday and sometime thereafter we'll meet again. Better drive safe. You're not the boss of me. All right. >> [music] >> Okay. I'm kind of nuts because what did I do? I'm a big momentum killer. >> [music] >> I'm the villain because what did I do? Well, I hate children's property. I'm kind of nuts. Okay. I'm a big momentum killer [music] because what [singing] did I do? Kill off your absolute favorite character. I'm kind of nuts. Okay. I'm proud of it. I'm the villain [music] because what did I do? Kill off Gary and Justin and Greg and Chuck. Things got bad. I've just >> [music] >> unloaded two barrels. I'll be honest, it's not the thing that I feel best about the world. Okay. I'm kind of nuts.