If Chris Rosa or I (Caleb Monroe) didn’t get a chance to see you face to face in our final weeks, you may be wondering why you haven’t seen either of us around the shop for a while.

Well, Meltdown has always been an amazing incubator of talent for people who then had an opportunity to move even deeper to the world of comics and its related industries, and Chris and I have both recently had our chances. After the release of my first Batman story, I’ve decided to pursue to the full-time writing life, and Chris has joined the ranks of BOOM! Studios as their latest editor par excellence. The first comic to bear his name will be HELLRAISER #6, so keep your eye out for it! (Meltdown is, of course, a wonderful place to pick up both the BATMAN 80-PAGE GIANT and Hellraiser…)

You’ll still see us around the racks and shelves, but now it will be as customers. Until then, Make mine Meltdown!

But enough about us.

I’m writing perhaps my final official Meltdown blog post to introduce you to your new superteam behind the counter. So without further ado, here they are! In their own words, no less:

Shane Coleman!

If I were forced to give a small quote on my life it would be:
“I am Godzilla and the world is Tokyo. You may get the better of me at times but you’ll never beat me.”

I’m a native of Wichita, Kansas and a veteran of the USAF. I believe in hoping for the best and preparing for the worst, so much so I have a plan in place for the eventual zombie apocalypse and/or robot uprising. I traveled the world with the Air Force; I even flew above Qatar in an F-16 and swam with sharks in the Persian Gulf, before finally coming to Los Angeles in 2003. I’m married to a “geekette” and we have 2 beautiful daughters who receive a first class geek upbringing.
I’m a stand-up comedian and practicing Buddhist. I’ve studied Kendo, Tae Kwon Do, and identify the most with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Bruce Banner.

Top 5 Comics
1. Batman (any of them) 2. Madman 3. Hellboy 4. Usagi Yojimbo 5. Spider-man

Holly Interlandi!

Holly writes for a magazine [famousmonsters.com] and a blog [concretesoul.wordpress.com]. She constantly waves the flag of comic artist Kaori Yuki, queen of all things, and vehemently consumes the works of Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Steve Niles, Ben Templesmith, CLAMP, Neil Gaiman, and anything published by Heavy Metal. She likes Ninja Turtles and sustains on the live music of obscure foreign rock bands. She can often be seen spending too much money on designer clothing and relishing in the violence of monster movies with bad special effects.

Ryan Moran!

Aspiring writer with interests in the occult, paranormal and spirituality. Avid Doctor Who fan, born and raised in the Deep South relocated to LA for Adventures (or Misadventures.) Punk Nerd Mean Guy (That’s not actually mean!) that knows way too much about pop culture and not enough about math. Huge fan of Grant Morrison and Brian Michael Bendis. Favorite artists include, but not limited too; Geof Darrow, Frank Quitely, and Mike Allred. Currently reading, New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis. twitter: @CRMoranPhD. Get Rowdy.

Top 5 Favorite comics (so far):
Alias (Brian Michael Bendis)- Hard Drinking Ex-Super Hero Private Eye and second string Marvel Characters like Rick Jones? Whats not to love?
Concrete (Paul Chadwick)- I have cried reading this, no joke. Story of a gentle soul trapped in a rough, alien body and his astonishing adventures everywhere from Mount Everest to swimming the entire ocean.
Hellblazer (Just about everyone you can think of)- Remember that really horrible but still entertaining Keanu Reeves movie, Constantine? Well forget you ever saw this movie and start reading this series. Originally birthed on the pages of Swamp-Thing and then carried over into his own series with writers like, Garth Ennis, Peter Milligan, Brian Azzarello and Warren Ellis. Great horror and paranormal stories!
X-Force/X-Statix (Peter Milligan)- The best X title ever made in my opinion. Suicidal Team leader, main characters dying every issue and being replaced by new ones. The early aughts boiled down into one solid series with art by Mike Allred!
B.P.R.D. (Mike Mignola and Friends)- I have deep interest in the Occult and Paranormal, so this book makes perfect sense for me. Even with that aside this is still a good read that will keep anyone interested in action on the edge of their seat.

Welcome to Meltdown, Shane, Holly and Ryan! Hope you survive the experience! In fact, I’m sure you will, and will be the better off for it!