Creating Kid Solar with Bryan

Jared is on vacation, so Heidi joins Dan and Noel as they welcome special guest Bryan for a conversation about comic books, creativity, fatherhood, and refusing to give up. Bryan shares how a random idea inspired by the moon eventually became Kid Solar, an independent superhero comic set in Springfield, Massachusetts. He explains what it actually takes to produce a comic, from writing detailed scripts and hiring artists to launching a Kickstarter and dealing with an artist who disappeared with $800.

The conversation also covers Marvel versus DC, superhero movies, ADHD, religion, terrible British accents, expensive editors, creative burnout, and why finishing a major accomplishment never seems to feel like enough. Bryan opens up about writing a deeply personal story inspired by his relationship with his late father, how becoming a father changed his perspective, and how that story helped him earn a place in an MFA creative writing program after initially being rejected.

It is a funny, honest conversation about turning ideas into finished projects, learning from failure, finding the right people to work with, and continuing to create even when the process does not go according to plan.