Off Panel: A Comics Interview Podcast

In this week's episode of Off Panel, my pal Brandon Burpee returns to the podcast for a year in review episode. We discuss the year that was, the impact having good X-Men comics has on us as readers, how much we engage with comic sites, how our reading habits are changing, the honorable mentions for the year that was, before we dive into counting down our 20 favorite comics of the year.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Gerry Duggan joins the show for a deep dive discussion about Marauders. Duggan shares his X-Men origin story, what makes Kate Pryde so great, how Marauders came together, the X-Men writers room, the energy of the book, its playbook, how the X-Titles got their casts, his thoughts on the whole cast, political vs. character decisions, balancing fandom with story needs, planning long-term for a title and the line, whether we're at Peak Fanboy Gerry Duggan, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer/artist Jonathan Luna joins the show for a special podcast in Anchorage, Alaska about his new series 20XX. Luna discusses the influence of growing up outside the US, how he started making his own comics, the development of his style, why he went black and white on 20XX, the cost of art, the origins of 20XX, why Alaska for its setting, how the contrasts in his stories come together, the implication of the title, the technology of the future, why he decided to create a short story made entirely by him, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Mark Waid joins the podcast for a career-spanning chat examining his writing. Waid discusses how his early jobs editing comics and writing about them affected his storytelling approach, how he became a writer, his love of writing himself into a corner, where his love of problem solving comes from, how The History of the Marvel Universe fits in there, Javier Rodriguez's greatness, why he loved writing Impulse so much, the intersection of writing young characters + knowing comic history, what continuity means to him, comics in mourning, differentiating H1 from other superhero universe, his love of not being in a box, why Ignited appealed to him as a storyteller, what the most interesting thing happening in comics today is to him, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Daniel Warren Johnson joins the podcast to talk about his art and Wonder Woman: Dead Earth. Johnson discusses how his career has changed since Extremity, the elevating nature of telling your own stories, how life drives adaptation, Wonder Woman: Dead Earth as a palate cleanser, why Dead Earth was the right next step, finding a new angle for the character, introducing fallibility, the idea of hope, developing the look of the book, working off the Black Label setup, the pressure of commissions, Old Man Skywalker, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Sam Humphries joins the show to talk about Dial H for Hero. Humphries discusses how the different parts of his career impact him as a storyteller, touring his personal history of comics in Dial H, the style shifting of the book, its origins, Joe Quinones' fit on the book, the importance of legacy, experimentation in storytelling, the title's unique 8th issue, expanding from six issues to 12, the guest artists of issue #7, the addictive nature of superpowers, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Jonathan Hickman joins the show to talk about his rather notable relaunch of the X-Men. Hickman discusses how he's doing post House of X and Powers of X, uniting the X-Men fans, the cohesion of the line, the state of the X-Men, how this whole project came together, the collaborative nature of these books, how being an X-Men fan changed the experience of writing them, the assembling of the creative team, being additive, not destructive, the importance of value, what his job really is on the X-Men line, evolving the X-Men, why New Mutants as his other title, interconnectivity between his own stories, whether Krakoa has a baseball field, and more.

In another episode of Off Panel recorded at New York Comic Con, artist Rosemary Valero-O'Connell joins the show to talk about the graphic novel she did with Mariko Tamaki, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me. Valero-O'Connell discusses her notably good few weeks, balancing drawing Laura Dean with going to college, the important of working on this book for her, bringing characters to life, her love of details, drawing, coloring and lettering the book herself, her paneling and layout choices, working with Tamaki, the greatness of First Second, making the comics she wants to make, and more.

In a special episode of Off Panel recorded at New York Comic Con 2019, writer Brian K. Vaughan joins the podcast to talk about his approach to comics and more. Vaughan discusses writing for non-comic readers, how creator-owned helps with that, Fiona Staples' glory, capitalizing on the freedoms his success provides him, how he changes his writing depending on his collaborator, coming full circle with Paper Girls, the value of taking a break, the power of community, and more.

In this week’s episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Dave Baker joins the show to talk about his Kickstarter for his comic with Alexis Ziritt, Night Hunters, and what drives him as a creator. Baker discusses the NYCC experience, his different interests as a creator, existing in different sides of comics at once, his love of Todd McFarlane, charting his own path, the story behind Night Hunters, working with Ziritt, partnering with Floating World, the stresses of Kickstarter, con life, the value of having a con crew, and more.

In this week’s episode of Off Panel, The Beat's Heidi MacDonald returns to the podcast for a bit of a New York Comic Con precap and check-in on the world of comics. MacDonald discusses her view on cons, the celebrity circuit, how that scene is changing, how The Beat works, adjusting to the new media landscape, the state of comics right now, New York Times bringing the best selling graphic books back, changes at Diamond, the three publishers she's most intrigued by, what we're looking forward to at NYCC, and more.

In this week’s episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Matt Kindt joins the podcast to talk about his career and the upcoming Folklords at BOOM! Studios. Kindt discusses his early comic beginnings, art school, his desire to learn new things, the origins of Folklords, Matt Smith's greatness, the idea of quests, fighting boredom, HEK Studio, his mech story in the upcoming HEK Treasury, his love of Ninjak, and more.

In this week’s episode of Off Panel, comics critic and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou returns to the show to chat about his Eisner winning comics magazine, PanelxPanel. Otsmane-Elhaou discusses the Eisner win, how he manages the magazine, where its feature comics come from, comics marketing, the PxP redesign, the advantages of doing a paid PDF instead of a website, the upcoming PxP pocket books, the appeal of lettering, what his approach is, lettering tips, the start to the Dallas Cowboys season (note: this was recorded right after the Patriots signed Antonio Brown, so knowledge of his situation was limited), and more.

In this week’s episode of Off Panel, retailer Brian Hibbs returns to the podcast to talk about how the year is going for his two San Francisco comic shops, Comix Experience and Comix Experience Outpost. Hibbs discusses the impact of House of X and Powers of X, their weekly nature, the limit to the ceiling of those titles, what could have been done to reach that ceiling, Once & Future and print run games, whether DC and Image reducing their lines has helped, exploding graphic novel sales, his graphic novel clubs, the growth of speculation, transitioning HoX/PoX readers into Dawn of X readers, and more.

In this week’s episode of Off Panel, my pal Brandon Burpee joins me for a little something different, as we did a House of X and Powers of X focused episode themed after ESPN's Pardon the Interruption. What does that mean? Each topic is timed, as we discuss our feelings on the titles overall, our opinion on the Moira retcon, what we think Moira's sixth life was, the data pages, the MVP of the titles so far, our favorite changes to the larger X-Men story, Chimera mutants, Destiny's position, how many of the X-Men titles that follow we'll be reading, and a whole lot more. Needless to say, spoilers will be discussed.

In this week’s episode of Off Panel, the writer and artist of Pumpkinheads, Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks, join the podcast to chat about their new graphic novel. The pair discusses what they liked about each other's work before working together, why these characters spoke to them, Deja's greatness, whether this was the first comic Rainbow wrote, their visit to a pumpkin patch in Nebraska, chapter breaks, the map in the book and its importance, building the cast of the book, what impressed them about each other once they had worked together, and more.

In this week’s episode of Off Panel, artist Charlie Adlard joins the podcast for a chat about ending The Walking Dead and what comes next for him. Adlard shares why exactly The Walking Dead ended, ending with issue #193, the surprise ending, his emotions related to it, the pressures of an endless deadline, the power of inking, having longevity on a project, the freedom The Walking Dead provided, telling your own comic stories, his love of the French comics scene, what he wants next from comics, his fondest memories from The Walking Dead, and more.

In this week’s episode of Off Panel, artist Cliff Chiang returns to the podcast to chat about ending Paper Girls. Chiang discusses how much they had sketched out from the jump, the callbacks in the finale, telling a long running story in 2019, building a community, the look of the covers, Jared K. Fletcher's impact, Matt Wilson's secret power, those two being co-creators rather than hired guns, the difference of creator-owned, staying on schedule, what he learned during the series, what's next for him, and more. Oh, and in case you are concerned, we do not get into spoiler territory for the comic in this episode, keeping it to generalities and emotions related to the issue within.

In this week’s episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Phillip Sevy joins the show to talk about his new series Triage and his unique path to comics. Sevy discusses his foundational comic pieces, what made him want to draw comics, how his comics nostalgia fed into Triage, what he learned as a SCAD student, the Top Cow Talent Hunt, the impact Tomb Raider had on him, the story behind Triage, the value of representation, the theme of identity, the trading cards he made for Triage, and more, before we close with a brief chat about the glory of House of X #1 and Powers of X #1.

In this week’s episode of Off Panel, designer Tom Muller joins to walk us through his work on the X-Men relaunch in House of X and beyond. Muller discusses how much of his workload is comics, how he decides which projects to take on, when he came onboard for the X-Men books, how his initial "X" is carrying throughout the books, the initial wave of X-Men logos, how he and line maestro Jonathan Hickman worked together, whether this project felt different than usual, design as storytelling, the Big Two and design, his fake House of X/Powers of X billboards, the importance of taking in other media for creatives, and more.