We had the good fortune of connecting with B. Earl and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi B., how do you think about risk?
I have lived my life by taking calculated risks, some more calculated than others. At a young age, I dreamed of moving to LA to make movies. Growing up in a small town in New Jersey, LA could have been on the moon. I wasn’t sure how I would get there, but when I got an opportunity to move to NYC I figured that could be the first step. I didn’t have an apartment or a job, but I took the leap and ended up living in Chelsea. I soon landed a gig in reality TV. After a year, I was able to network another opportunity to move to LA. Again, I didn’t have a job or apartment, but I was twenty-three years old and had a dream. So I took the risk and ran with it…and twenty years later I’ve never looked back. My entire life is a series of risks, both in love and career. I’ve failed more than I’ve succeeded, but the failures have always shaped the successes to be bigger and better with each step.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
From a young age I’ve loved magic and stories. When I realized that I couldn’t be a professional wizard, the next best thing was a writer. I was also enamored with alchemy and found myself drawn to the Tarot at the age of eleven. Little did I know that these early attractions would later shape my creative life. At a young age, like many 90s kids, I fell in love with Marvel comics. When the X-Men rebooted with its #1 written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Jim Lee, I dreamed of making comic books. I got this dream twenty years later when I met will.i.am through a mutual friend. Will gave me the opportunity to produce and co-write the graphic novel, MASTERS OF THE SUN. This didn’t happen overnight, though. It was years of grinding away in the trenches, pitching projects to studios and working as a film editor to pay the bills. One of the biggest lessons I learned was that building real relationships, and not the “yeah let’s get a coffee soon” was the key to building a creative career. When we go into life with expectations and ulterior motives, we are always disappointed and will never build anything lasting. Some of my greatest accomplishments were co-founding two incredible communities: one in comic books, animation, and video games and the other in music. The latter is called Comic Book Sunday! (2008) which I started with my dear friend and fellow comic book writer, Jim Krueger, and the other is The JamNation (2015) I founded with Lucas Bakker, another dear friend and incredible musician. JamNation is still cooking with a residency at the Rainbow Bar and Grill on Sunset where we jam twice a month (1st and 3rd Thursdays!) as well as at Universal Bar and Grill (3rd Sunday). It’s been such a wonderful experience building these communities where the professional community could hang with fans and inspire each other creatively. So many stories from these communities which have both been going on now for quite some time. Also many careers were started through relationships built within these networking spaces that never were about networking but about having a great time while making real relationships. Currently I’ve been writing more Marvel comics along with one of my creative partners, Taboo, including both a Spider-Man and Daredevil series. I also have a few indie books going and I recently directed a documentary about the first time hip-hop met Hollywood on the Sunset Strip back in 1991 at the nightclub called Balistyx. Along with all this, I am very deeply entrenched in emerging technology with projects in both AI and blockchain. But I never abandoned my love and studies of Tarot, recently partnering with the Philosophical Research Society in Los Feliz to teach workshops for all levels of experience. Hope to see you at one of them soon!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Rainbow Bar and Grill, of course! I’d make sure it’s on a night we are jamming, so either the first or third Thursday of the month. But living in the Valley for the past twenty years I would make sure we did a lunch at Bob’s Big Boy, grabbed a coffee and enjoyed some sunshine over at Priscilla’s coffee, and then take a trip to my favorite Barnes and Noble in Burbank. The following day I would make sure we did an esoteric adventure, beginning our morning in Los Feliz at the Philosophical Research Society. After, we would journey to Pasadena to visit Philip and William’s TarotArts shop and then while still in Pasadena we would head to the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens for an afternoon of art and relaxation by the beautiful pond in the Chinese Gardens.
Perhaps after we get back from the Huntington Library we could do dinner at Kabosu. At some point we would have to make a trip over to Casa Vega since it’s a classic and then head out to Malibu to the Sunset Restaurant. Probably on the way out to Malibu we could stop at the Getty since it’s one of LA’s most picturesque museums. Being a bibliophile, I would also want to hit up some of the bookshops including The Iliad in the Valley. There are so many hidden gems and it’s a rare occasion to find a great used bookstore anywhere these days. LA is filled with all sorts of incredible places that a week would never do it justice!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are several mentors and folks who deserve a shout-out. I want to dedicate this to Larry Cohen who took me under his wing and showed me the Hollywood ropes, to will.i.am for giving me my first shot at writing a graphic novel, and to Taboo for always championing my abilities as a writer even when I felt like I was wallowing in mediocrity.

Website: https://www.iambearl.com

Instagram: b.earlwriter

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/b-earl-4a661b4/

Twitter: b_earlwriter

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