Episode 494: Trek The Halls with Luke Flowers

Welcome back to Voices in My Head, the Rick Lee James podcast, and also Welcome to the Neighborhood, a Mr. Rogers tribute podcast. This is going to be a unique episode today because I'm actually doing a crossover between the two podcasts that I host. One, as you know if you have listened to my Mr. Rogers tribute podcast Welcome to the Neighborhood, you may have heard today's guest before. It's Luke Flowers, who is a wonderful artist, and he has done so many books in so many genres that I felt like it would be a good fit for both podcasts. And since it's going to be a special holiday episode focused on his new book, Trek the Halls: A Star Trek Book, uh, I thought it would be fun to kind of do a crossover with both today. I've wanted to have him back on my show for a while now, and secretly I've always wanted to be a character drawn into one of his books one day, so I'm still holding out hope that somewhere in the background there'll be just this tiny little bald-headed man with a guitar somewhere in a book one day, and I'll just say, that's me. But until that day, I am so glad and so happy to welcome back my friend Luke Flowers. So for those of you that are here for Welcome to the Neighborhood, Luke, welcome to the neighborhood. And for those that are here for Voices in My Head, thank you for being one of the voices in my head. Luke Flowers, welcome back.

Well, thanks for having me. It's always fun to reconnect with you and celebrate all of our shared interests and, you know, everything that's inspired us our childhoods and on into now as grown adults, or trying to be adults, I guess. It's really fun to see all the crossovers that we, we share. So it's fun. Yeah, no, it's even Star Trek. I don't know if I was fully aware that you're also a full-blown Trekkie as well.

You know what, I didn't realize that about you either, and I, I'm really glad to know that. It's such a fun book, uh, for those of you, if you haven't seen the book and you're listening today, the book is Star Trek: Trek the Halls. And in the book, uh, it's really, it's fun because it has Luke's kind of signature art style all through it. It's written by Rob Pearlman, and it really is, um, should I call it a song parody of Deck the Halls, uh, as, as the book goes through? Yeah, it's kind of a, a, uh, a rendition of Deck the Halls written for Star Trek fans. And you get to see, I think, just about every iteration of Star Trek there is throughout the book. I'm not sure if you missed any, um, but we're going to talk about that some more in just a few minutes. Uh, but I think I want to start today, just for those of, of the, the listeners that are here today thinking, but this is a Mr. Rogers podcast, I want to start out by talking about something we've talked about in the past before, um, some of your Mr. Rogers books that you have written. And let's start there. Tell us about some of your, your work on, on the Mr. Rogers side of things?

Yeah, you know, it started with A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, you know, the poetry collection from Fred Rogers. So really, I mean, I haven't written them. I was just the illustrator, which was, you know, an honor beyond anything I could have imagined when it came through. And that was with Quirk Books. And just being able to work with them and the Fred Rogers Production Company and just the teams there has been It's such a unique experience really. It's almost a little bit like, talking about the Star Trek world as well, it's sort of the same thing. We both grew up, as you mentioned, loving it but maybe we don't celebrate it quite as much. Then you get an opportunity to kind of dive further into it and share it a little bit more and you start to realize all these fellow fans and new fans. For me that's really what the Mr. Rogers books have been about, is kind of being able to share something that meant a lot to me as a child. And now as a parent, you know, sharing it with my own kids and then just finding so many new friends and neighbors through it, from, you know, trips out to Pittsburgh to, you know, book, you know, book trips and book events. And they're just— it's amazing how many people just come out and share some unique story about what Fred Rogers meant to them and, and then getting to connect with friends like you who, you know, really celebrate him every day. And that's, that's really what I've loved is just being able to see how so many people You know, it's kind of, you know, comes in waves. Unfortunately, I think sometimes we get on a kick of something that's kind of trendy or, you know, something new, or also, you know, from Bob Ross to Jim Henson to, you know, all these really great idols— or not idols, but, you know, icons. And, and so it is neat to see. I think the Fred Rogers, you know, kind of resurgence came at really a much-needed time in our society. So that was really nice to be able to see the way that the book kind of connected with a lot of interest through the, you know, the documentary and then, you know, the film with Tom Hanks. So there was just some really great cultural references and connection points too. So I was lucky to be part of some of the books that— now there's a lot, a lot of them out, actually a lot of new children's books featuring Fred Rogers, his story, his music. Impacts that he's had in our culture.

So, and, and you know what, I, I think I have every iteration of children's book that has come out about Fred Rogers in the last few years, and, and honestly, they're all wonderful. Um, and I think, and, and I don't say this just because you're here, your particular style of art is, is, if not my very favorite of all of them has come out, it's, it's one of my very favorites. Um, it just has such a, a for lack of a better word, it's a childlike feel. There's a childlike joy. And you see that in all your books, whether it be Moby Shinobi or, you know, the Muppet Christmas book that you did. Everything that you draw, to me, it brings out this childlike wonder and hope. And I really appreciate about that. And I think last time when you were on the show, you only had the first Mr. Rogers book out at that time. And I think It's You I Like came out a little bit after that. So it— They're really just, just great books, and I hope that there'll be more in, in the future, and, and maybe we'll see what comes down the road. But you seem like such a busy person, and I think that even this past week, if I'm not mistaken, you had a gallery show that happened, and I just wanted to find out, uh, how did that go for you?

Uh, yeah, that actually, that's, um, still going.

Uh, oh, okay.

A little late in getting my piece together. It's actually, um, it's really neat. It was for celebrating the, um, the LA Public Library's 150 150th anniversary. So, oh wow, I'm a little late. Usually I get my pieces in on time, but this one's going to be a little late to the show. But, um, yeah, so it's kind of a Raised by Rainbows, you know, I've been doing those series where I kind of put all my favorite characters in their color-coordinated sort of display. And so this was really fun to go back to all the books that I've loved throughout my childhood and, you know, ones that we raised our kids on, ones I just love now. So just these characters, they're so iconic. And, and again, just like with the Mr. Rogers stuff, I love doing this kind of stuff where you pay homage to the things that inspired you. And then you start to see how many other people share, you know, such a, you know, just all these great memories, or this, you know, that character also just loved throughout their childhoods. Um, and then even, you know, when I share them, a lot of times new teachers or parents are like, oh, I love raising my kids with all these. So I think it's our way, you know, as we've grown up— and well, I mean, maybe we haven't fully grown up, but we continue to share the things that inspired us. And it's neat to see how they do come back around, and there's new editions of it. But I love seeing that it also inspires new creativity and some of the characters that we grew up on. I know artists now have created some really unique characters that are going to inspire the generations, you know, that are now enjoying films and, you know, just, you know, television shows that are so unique. And I know I always say we kind of grew up in a really unique era of storytelling and character design.

I agree.

There's so many amazing just franchises that came out of that time that I think really inspired a lot of us that now grew up to be creatives. And so I usually take that as a pretty big honor whenever I have a chance to not only create something original, you know, like the Moby Shinobi series, um, that was really fun to kind of come up with my own original character. But again, it paid tribute to, you know, just the idea of even Mr. Rogers, like what do you do when you're in your own neighborhood seeing people that need help and then again, hoping that, you know, kids get the idea about, you know, it's not just about having an adventure, but, you know, meeting friends along the way and, and, you know, having an impact in whatever neighborhood you're in. So, yeah, I like the way it comes full circle.

Yeah, I think that's terrific. And I so enjoy the artwork that you do and that kind of, you know, as you talk about characters you grew up with and shows that you enjoyed, let's move with warp speed into the Star Trek book today. Because some of our audience is saying, I'm here for the Trek. And I'm definitely one of those people. I think I have seen every episode of every Star Trek show at this point. That wouldn't have been the case before the pandemic hit. I was mostly versed in the Original Series, Next Generation, and some Deep Space Nine. But I took some time during the pandemic and kind of caught up on the shows I hadn't seen and then have seen all the new stuff that's come out. So I've been trying to keep up with it. So it's It's really been fun to, to look through the new book and to see the way that you've incorporated a lot of the Star Trek universe into it, uh, and really once again something that has very a childlike, very joyful, very hopeful, uh, thing to it. And the, the downside of, of being on an audio podcast, which we're just going to hear this, is people can't see the amazing artwork on the front. But just to describe it a little bit, if any of our listeners haven't seen the book, and it's, it's a festive looking— there's a wreath in background. And coming out of the wreath, kind of standing in the middle of it, we have Spock, who is giving us the live long and prosper symbol. We have Captain Picard, who is playing his flute. And then we have Captain Janeway with, with her beloved coffee, which we know she just about would take heads off in the show if she didn't get her coffee. And, uh, and the book just goes on from there. We have, uh, words that are brought to us by Rob Pearlman, but the illustrations are you, and, and they're, they're really great. I enjoyed being able to look at the And it really— is it chronological? I, I read it through once and I didn't go back to look again, and I'm kind of doing this off the cuff today, but it seems like you did it in sort of a chronologically from the start with the original series and then came through up to present times. And we even get a glimpse at, you know, like original series movies and things like that with some of the wardrobe that you designed. So it's pretty great. So I think the, the question I want to ask you after all of my rambling right here, uh, I want to ask, do you have a favorite favorite version of the show or movies? Is there one that you think of? Like, it seems like everybody, just like when I ask people, uh, and they have a Mr. Rogers story, in the same way, if you're a Star Trek fan, everybody seems to have like, yeah, that's what is Star Trek to me. So is there one to you that you think like, yeah, that's to me when I think Star Trek, that's the one?

Yeah, I mean, I think like you mentioned, we're, you know, we're sort of in the same age range. Growing up there was a lot of just the reruns of the original and my dad was a pretty big fan of it so we often had it, watching it together. I really just fell in love with it, with the originals, probably through the reruns. Right away for me it was the aliens and just the weird worlds. Even though the props and the sets were so kind of simple, they were just so creative and you'd never seen a lot like that. Then of course we had Star Wars coming out and Again, I just was totally drawn to the unique character design of those alien characters in the world. Then, like you were saying, went on to Next Generation and DS9 were more in my high school, middle school years. Then I kept up with Voyager throughout college. I tapered off, life got busy, started raising my own kids and we weren't watching quite as much through the Enterprise years. Then they had a hiatus for a while. I, like you, haven't really caught up with a lot of the really new ones. In the book we did have Discovery, it was sort of the last iteration that we were able to include just because we had enough reference and story to tell from it. That was fun because I was able to, just like when I approached the Mr. Rogers book, kind of just went back and thankful for all the streaming. I mean, we own most of the Star Trek movies but able to go in and, you know, just do like Hulu and Paramount and be able to watch almost all the series again. And so I did. I just kind of have them playing in the background. And whenever I get to a certain page, I just do a deep dive. It's the same I did with Mister Rogers, just having those episodes in the background and the music and, and just again, just all that inspiration. It just reminds you of how unique these, these worlds are and these characters. And it was kind of like a, you know, a time warp back to my childhood and just remembering how they just such great, great storytelling. I think just like with the Mr. Rogers, when I went back and rewatched him while I was working on those 3 books, you start to realize that it was about so much more than you realize when you were a kid. I think that's what I love rewatching all the Star Trek episodes was just realizing that there was so much more, that it was sort of a sub-story going on than I realized as a kid. I was more into the worlds and the action, but there was so much more going on about just inclusivity and equality and civil rights. I mean, just like pretty amazing depth of storytelling that they had going on. For me, I think that's where I kind of loved growing up on it but I think I have a whole new appreciation for it. That's why I love when I get a book project like this, I get kind of obsessive about all the details and making sure, especially with Star Trek. I know there's so many people that have favorite characters and Rob and the team, they held me accountable on every little thing. Little, you know, the little pips on there, you know, their, uh, uh, their costumes, what costume was with episode, what characters. Um, so it was pretty specific, and, and so I had to do quite a bit of research. Um, but, uh, I used, uh, Memory Alpha is kind of like a fan base sort of like, yeah, thing. And man, they're just— they have every bit of news that, or fact, or anything, or reference. And so I was able to really go pretty deep into some of the references. And it's been fun hearing some Trekkie people be like, oh, you know, I, I noticed you had that, uh, you know, the gift in the background was the kayak for, you know. And so what the little nods were, like whose Christmas gift and the little hidden meanings for each thing. Or so, well, that was really, really fun.

Yeah. And, you know, I was gonna say that too, that the beauty of your books is that there's so much going on. And, you know, there's, there's pages where just in the background you, you don't see it at first, but there's little tribbles like on a bookshelf, you know, or, um, and one of my favorite things, because we have a beagle, uh, named Fred here in the house, I love that you included the, the beagle, uh, Porthos, you know, in the book. And, um, yeah, and as, and as I'm looking through it again, um, I just see things I didn't see the first time. And I, I, I can't imagine how much thought and maybe even how many drafts you must have gone through just trying to think through like how I'm going to put all these little details in there. And the fun part of it for me is it's almost like there's these little Easter eggs that as you go back and you— I really don't get it all the first time. I have to go back and, and reread it. So as I'm looking through here, and it's really the, the fun part about it too, is it's, it's the Gorn that is telling this bedtime story to the little Gorn, you know. And it's sort of a Christmas tale, and then it ends, you know, back in the, the place where it kind of started. But it's just so clever, and I— and the songs are great. And I have to say, one of my favorite scenes, because probably my favorite Star Trek movie of the original series— maybe second favorite, because I love Wrath of Khan— but Star Trek IV. I mean, it's so unique in that it's a comedy. I mean, it's, it's a commentary on the 1980s. And I love that you drew from that seed. And, and then the lyrics that go along with it, and I'm just going to read it so listeners can hear it today, because it's great. Fast away the old years passes, back now to the '80s for the whale. Hail the crew, ye lads and lasses, Scotty cries before the engine fails. You know, even that is just so clever being able to get— because that's something very Scotty that you'd say, and including the Christmas lyrics, ye lads and lasses, which is definitely, you know, I can just hear him saying it now. I'm not going to try to do the accent because that would spoil it. But all of it works so well together, even the Vulcan nerve pinch on the guy with the boombox, you know. Yeah, the punk rocker guy. Yeah, I just love it and, and the way that it's all interweaved. So I guess part of the reason that I love having people like you on is I get to just say kind of in person, bravo, you know, what a, what a wonderful job. Not everybody has this opportunity to sit down with people they admire and, and talk about their art. And so I wonder, as I'm looking through the book one more time and I'm going through and I'm seeing all of these different characters, and, and there's some like fan favorite episodes that show up. Do you have a sort of particular favorite episode that comes to mind that like you really enjoy, that you wanted to make sure just for you got into the book?

Yeah, uh, I mean, it was really hard to choose just, you know, from that the original stuff. I really tried to work the, um, the Salt Vampire in there, but, um, yeah, it's such a weird, weird character. And he was like one of the original, like the very first vamp, or the first like that shows up series. He kind of appears in a little picture in the background in the little Gorn's bedroom, is like a sketch that the little kid drew, or the little Gorn drew. Really, like you, I love that they included the Star Trek IV: Voyage Home just because it really was the movie that for me, being able to see it the first time in theater, a Star Trek film was just incredible to be able to see it, you know, shows now because I wasn't able to see the first, you know, 2 or 3, and I guess, yeah, 3 in theaters because I was a little bit too young. So I was really glad they included that. And because, um, you know, with actually a fun little reference in that one, I always try to hide a character or somebody, um, but the punk is actually Kirk Thatcher, who, who has gone on to do a ton of Muppet stuff, you know. He, um, from He's just a huge part of just everything with Jim Henson. That was sort of my nod to also that other love interest of my life, it's just the Muppet stuff. It's just fun that Kirk was in it, such a random character. For me, it also, like you said, it had such an '80s vibe to it that I always go back to that one, it's such an iconic film. I'm glad they included it because they didn't have any other films. I mean, in the movie or in the book, because there's just so much to pull from. And that's what really made it hard, was trying to, you know, capture a lot of episodes from each one, you know. Um, even with like Next Generation, we kind of had two spreads going over, you know. Um, and, and a few other ones had like maybe one or two panels. But, um, yeah, it was, it was hard to pack all that in and choose a favorite. But yeah, I was glad that they included voi chung.

With him having the name Kirk too, it almost seems like it's meant to be, right? I mean, he has to be in Star Trek with the name.

I love that the Gorns were such a big part because I love that. If there is an episode from the originals, I think the Gorn one is such a neat— again, just really interesting meanings behind that whole episode as well, just about understanding differences., you know, sort of misguided maybe perceptions of a culture that you might not understand at first.

Yeah. Well, I can tell you, and, you know, as, as I often say to people on the Mr. Rogers podcast, welcome to the neighborhood. I think I speak for many people that follow on the Twitter, Twitter feed for Mr. Rogers Say. So many people, whenever I share your artwork, they comment on how they, how impressed they are, how much they enjoy the books. And so on behalf of many of us, not just me, I think many of us would just want to say how proud we are of you and what you have accomplished. You know, I mean, my truly— what something I wish could have happened before Fred Rogers passed away, the way that he would bring artists onto his shows and would take time. I think of the episode with Eric Carle where he would go through with in his studio and kind of show the process of how the art is made. I truly wish I wish that Fred Rogers would have lived long enough to see you in your prime because I think you would have been one of those guests that he would have reached out to and said, hey, let's go over to Luke Flowers' studio, you know, and kind of step in and show it step by step. So we don't have that, but what we do have is a chance to sit with you who you've done so much, not only for the legacy of Fred Rogers. We think about the Star Trek book that we're talking about with its holiday flair right now, the Muppets. Muppet Christmas especially is the one that I think of, and, and your love for the Muppets, um, the, the number of books that you've created of your original— we mentioned Moby Shinobi, um, you've, you've written and illustrated more books than, than I could probably even count, you know, off the top of my head right now. And part of the reason I wanted to have you on this episode just before Christmas too is just to remind everybody, hey, if you're looking for Christmas gifts, um, here's an artist who does really good work, is somebody that really has an inspiration from people like Fred Rogers who really are trying to make the world a more neighborly place. And so just as I say to everyone listening today, if you're looking for those last-minute gifts or even gifts for the New Year, Luke Flowers, you should check him out wherever you buy books from because you can't go wrong with that. So thank you so much for all your good work. Thank you for coming back and being a guest today. With us. It is always such a pleasure. I wish we had more time, but, but you are a busy man and I'm a busy man. And unfortunately, we, we have to, to fit these into little compartments. Before we go today, though, is there anything that you would like to leave with our listeners today? We're definitely going to have links on the show where they can find out more about you and your artwork. But I'd love for you, if there's just anything that is kind of on your mind and heart that you'd like to say to everybody listening today, I just wanted to give you a chance. Hands.

Uh, well, first, thank you. That was an honor just to have you even appreciate the work and share it like that. And, and, and just have a platform like this that you use to, you know, celebrate, um, not just Mr. Rogers but so many other just fellow neighbors that you appreciate like me. I'm honored to be part of them. And, um, so I would echo just what you're trying to do is every day just trying to bring a little bit more, uh, just kindness and thoughtfulness and joy into our world through the art that we create. I'm obviously honored just every day to be able to get to do that, even on the hard days when, like you said, it gets busy and deadlines are looming. But especially this time of year, it's a blessing to be able to connect with friends. So I would just encourage everybody to slow down a little bit. I know it's hard at this time of year, but take time to have conversations like this with a friend and catch up and just appreciate who they are and what they do in the world and the way they impact the world around you. So thank you, Rick. I mean, you're, you're an inspiration to me each day with your music and just the way you spread joy and juggle a lot. So wow.

Well, thank you for that. I really appreciate it. Well, I, as I've been sitting here and trying to think, how do I close out a show that is two podcasts in one for Voices in My Hand and Welcome to the Neighborhood? So I guess I'm going to have to do my closing from both shows. So So for those of you that are here for the Welcome to the Neighborhood, the Mr. Rogers podcast, I will say to you, Luke, I'll say thank you for stopping by for a visit in the neighborhood this week. And for those of you who are listening through the Voices in My Head feed this week, I will say, Luke Flowers, thank you for being one of the voices in my head.