Superfan Podcast's Soft Launch

If you happened to be at WonderCon 2025...

Welcome to the first installment of the Superfan Signal! It’s like the Bat Signal but for superfans just like you! In case you missed it, we soft-launched the Superfan Podcast this past weekend during WonderCon 2025 with guests Marco Finnegan and Pornsak Pichetshote. The topics were private detective stories and one-man army action films. Marco and Pornsak were amazing guests, interested in each other’s topics as well as their own, which made for quite a lively discussion!

From left to right: Christian Gossett, Marco Finnegan, David Hyde, Porsak Pichetshote and Kristen Simon.

Soon, we will launch a paid subscriber tier of the Superfan Signal, where you will be able to access conversations that won’t be included in the regular podcast and listen to the podcast before everyone else. But not just yet! In the meantime, every episode of the Superfan Podcast will be accompanied by a cocktail and a dessert recipe inspired by the guests and the conversation, which you will only be able to find right here.

The cocktail for this episode is the CRIMSON KIMONO, a drink that comes from TCM’s Eddie Muller’s incredible cocktail book, NOIR BAR. The book is largely a collection of classic cocktails, like the martini and the manhattan, paired with an appropriate film noir classic. The Crimson Kimono, however, is an Eddie Muller original inspired by Samuel Fuller’s terrific noir The Crimson Kimono from 1959. The film is a police procedural, not a one-man action movie or a private detective story, but it’s an appropriate drink nonetheless. The movie is a manhunt for a killer, set in LA’s Little Tokyo. One of the lead cops is played by an American-born Japanese man, and the film is a raw and authentic look at race and class in urban America.

And that’s why it was the perfect drink to pair with this episode’s guests, two West Coast-based storytellers who honor the tradition of noir and action conventions while telling progressive and engrossing tales.

Also, the drink is delicious. To make the drink, you'll need:

• 3/4 oz Campari

• 3/4 oz Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur

• 1/2 oz Bruto Americano

• 2 oz Japanese whiskey (Suntory Toki recommended, if possible)

• A slice of fresh ginger

Stir the ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube. Rub the ginger slice around the glass's rim and then deposit it into the drink. Enjoy!

For the dessert, we here at Superfan are super fans of whiskey (if you couldn’t tell), so here is a one-man army-inspired dessert with a little mystery thrown in! See if your guests can figure out what the secret ingredient is…

Whiskey-Infused Molten Lava Cake

For those who like their desserts strong, fast, and with a little burn.

Ingredients (Serves 2 – double it if you need an action-packed sequel)

• ½ cup (115g) dark chocolate (70% or higher, because only the bold survive)

• ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter

• 2 tbsp whiskey (Bourbon, Rye, or whatever fuels your mission)

• ¼ cup (30g) all-purpose flour

• ¼ cup (50g) sugar

• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk (for that rich, explosive center)

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

• A pinch of salt (because life’s all about balance—sweet and bitter!)

• Optional: ½ tsp cayenne pepper or chili powder (if you want extra heat)

• Powdered sugar or cocoa powder for dusting

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Instructions:

1. Preheat & Prepare for Battle: Preheat your oven to 425°F (218°C). Grease two small ramekins with butter and dust with cocoa powder—because nobody wants to get caught in a sticky situation.

2. Melt the Power Source: In a heatproof bowl in the microwave, melt the chocolate and butter together until smooth, using increments of 15 seconds. Once melted, stir in the whiskey and mix well—it should smell like victory.

3. Prepare the Firepower: In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, egg yolk, and sugar until the mixture turns pale and slightly frothy. Stir in the vanilla extract.

4. Combine & Lock In: Slowly mix the melted chocolate-whiskey combo into the egg mixture. Sift in the flour, salt, and optional cayenne for an extra explosive punch. Stir until just combined—don't overmix; this is a tactical mission.

5. Load Up & Deploy: Pour the batter into the ramekins, filling them ¾ full.

6. Mission: Bake & Escape: Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10–12 minutes. The edges should be firm, but the center should be molten.

7. Cool & Flip: Let them rest for 1 minute, then carefully run a knife around the edges and flip onto plates.

8. The Grand Explosion: Dust with powdered sugar or cocoa and serve with vanilla ice cream or whiskey-infused whipped cream (add a splash of whiskey to the whipped cream for an extra kick).

9. DEVOUR like a one-man army who just walked away from an explosion without looking back.

Thanks for joining us. Let us know if you’ve tried the recipes and, if so, how you liked them! You can find us on the socials at Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook, and X! Soon, you’ll be able to see the podcast on our YouTube channel as well. Follow it now so you don’t miss out!

Special thanks to our Season One sponsor, the Fanbase Press! Fanbase Press is a GLAAD Media Award-winning and Eisner and Harvey Awards-nominated comic book publisher that celebrates super fandoms and creates new ones! #StoriesMatter.

And a hearty shout-out to friends of the Superfan Podcast, Lisa and Brad Gullickson from the Comic Book Couples Counseling podcast! If you don’t already listen to them, you’re missing out! Check them out now.

The Superfan Podcast crew, with our guests Marco and Pornsak (left), plus Brad and Lisa Gullickson from the Comic Book Couples Counseling podcast!