orgasbord of different artistic styles and stories which range from satire to kaiju’s to multi-headed mutants to clerk employees. We’re confident that there’s something in here for almost any comic book fan.
Where did the idea for Producing come from? Have you always wanted to curate an anthology title?
AP: The idea came from googling post-apocalyptic images over 7 years ago. I’m a sucker for the genre. I came across an image featuring a man in a top hat sitting on a chair looking upon a destroyed post-apocalyptic city. Almost, like he had either caused it or was enjoying the aftermath of the mayhem and was at peace. I held onto this image for a while not knowing what to do with it.
It finally dawned on my late last year… what if that man in the image was producing the very apocalypse that we’re all hoping to avoid as a species? Then it just snow-balled into what it is now.
What do you think is the secret behind a good anthology? Is it a theme or a consistent character or is it simply the chance to read a wide variety of ideas?
AP: I can’t necessarily speak to what makes or doesn’t make a good anthology. What I can tell you about is the process I followed and what I like about comic book anthologies. To me, an anthology should be thematic and stay within the bounds of its own ruling system. For me, I decided very early on that this is going to be a post-apocalyptic themed anthology and my pitch to the writers was this: the world has to end at some time. You figure out how that happens but it needs to be in the script somewhere. Also, no zombies. Zombie apocalypses have been done to death. You want zombies? Go read Walking Dead.
One aspect of anthologies I love and this goes back to my absolute fondness of the Heavy Metal Magazine film of the late 70s, my love for the Animatrix in the early 00s and more recently Love, Death and Robots is this – (for the love of god) don’t have the same art style throughout the entire anthology. Especially if you’re creating a multi story anthology over 100 pages long. The art needs room to breathe. You need to find a way to separate one story from the other so that it isn’t disposable.
I understand that the submission levels were massive, did you find it a difficult process to have to ‘weed out’ the ‘winning’ entries?
AP: I weeded out the submissions based on pitch alone. If you can’t sum up your story in 2 sentences in a cohesive manner then I’m not working with you. It’s that simple.
Will you be making a writing debut within the pages of Producing, or are you strictly the editor?
AP: There are 2 stories of mine that are stretch goals in the campaign. If we don’t meet them then that’s fine. I can always just release them in another format in the future. Otherwise, I’m the Editor/Curator and Gary Proudley is the Assistant Editor.
I noticed that you had a special reward level on the Kickstarter, where for half the cost, pledges could receive half of the stories from the anthology. This is a rather unique idea, one I’ve certainly never seen. What was your rationale behind its creation/inclusion?
AP: My rationale is this: creating value. If someone is interested in seeing the anthology but are experiencing some economic difficulty then I want to try and be flexible. That’s what that tier is for. I see plenty of Kickstarters out there which offer a bundle package to receive a random assortment of comics. But I’d argue that doesn’t build a value proposition.
If a prospective backer has visited your Kickstarter campaign page then they’re there for you and what you have to offer. So, in this situation, we have 18 stories on offer… why not offer a prospect 9 of those stories to read? I’d rather they get something new that I’m offering them rather than an assortment of random comics which has been recycled over several different Kickstarter campaigns.
So, once Producing has been funded (God willing), this will be the final creative venture for your comics website, Soda and Telepaths, which is closing its (virtual) doors. What are your reasons behind the site’s closure? Was it a tough decision? and what are your future plans?
I’m looking to venture more into the space of helping creators promote their product and market themselves. It was a bittersweet decision but the outpouring of love from my supporters has made the sting hurt just a little bit less.
I’m still writing. I doubt I’ll ever stop that. Anyone who’s followed Soda and Telepaths can follow my free substack which, for now, has the same name. Over there I’m already starting to engage with content creators on how to sell themselves creatively and that, to me, is very rewarding.
I dunno, when I was on tech support chat, I offered to tell them exactly what I'd done, and the guy didn't seem interested. 

But I tell you this- when I get it back, I'm going to do it again to see if it was a BIOS problem or a MOBO problem, or what. Because with a sample size of 1, I don't have an exact causation, and I can't exactly repeat it. But I want Dell to remove the suicide button while it is still under warranty, and hopefully that means a more well thought out BIOS update.

And maybe the suicide has to do with the settings I had prior to telling the BIOS to reset the settings, but if that's the case, then their BIOS team are idiots. 

So I'm just glad I'm not dependent on that computer yet- the only thing on it was Steam and firefox and throttlestop. But the main impetus for buying the machine was to make it my work computer... which won't happen until I'm satisfied it is just a little more reliable than to commit suicide on a Monday night.  

As it is, I own a fleet of HP 4540s probooks that make great little work machines with really horrible battery life and pretty decent robustness in every other regard, except the single-core clock speed is kinda slow. I could throw one out the window, grab my SSD out of it, and be up and running in 6 minutes on another one.Routine blood pressure screenings are often the only way men and women can learn if they are suffering from high blood pressure.
Hypertension, often referred to as high blood pressure, affects millions of people across the globe. According to the American Heart Association, more than 76 million adults in the United States alone have been diagnosed with high blood pressure. But even children and teens can suffer from hypertension, making it a formidable but largely preventable foe.
Understanding high blood pressure, or HBP, may encourage adults and children alike to take steps to maintain a healthy blood pressure, which can reduce their risk of heart attack, stroke and kidney disease.
HBP is often associated with men and women who are considered to be constantly on edge, nervous or hyperactive. But even laid back men, women and children can suffer from HBP. As a person's heart beats, it creates pressure that pushes blood through the body's arteries and veins. Those arteries are made of muscle and a semi-flexible tissue that stretches when the blood is pumped through them. The more forcefully that blood is pumped, the more that flexible tissue is stretched. When the tissue is stretched too much, a person is at an increased risk of suffering from a host of problems, including blood clots, plaque buildup that can lead to heart attack and stroke, and tissue and organ damage from arteries that have narrowed or become blocked.
Are there symptoms of HBP?
The AHA notes that HBP is typically devoid of symptoms. So people suffering from HBP may not know it if they have not routinely had their blood pressure checked. Over the years many myths have prevailed regarding HBP. Such myths can be dangerous, giving people a false sense of security regarding their blood pressure. For example, in the early 1900s it was assumed that people with high blood pressure experienced more frequent headaches than those with healthy blood pressure. However, a study published in the journal Neurology found that people with high blood pressure were significantly less likely to have headaches than those with healthy pressure readings. Nosebleeds have also been linked to high blood pressure, but one study found that 83 percent of patients treated for high blood pressure did not suffer from nosebleeds.
Debunking such myths is important, as it further emphasizes the need to receive routine blood pressure readings as the only reliable means for men, women and children to determine if they have high, low or healthy blood pressure. Anyone experiencing frequent headaches or nosebleeds should consult a physician but should not assume such occurrences are a byproduct of high blood pressure.
Can certain foods help reduce high blood pressure?
* Blueberries: Blueberries contain anthocyanin, a natural compound that a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found can protect the body against HBP.
* Whole grain cereal: A Harvard University study found that whole grain cereals that are high in fiber can reduce a person's risk of developing HBP.
* Beet juice: A study from British researchers published by the AHA in its journal Hypertension found that a glass of beet juice can lower blood pressure in a matter of hours.