Off Panel: A Comics Interview Podcast

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Tadd Galusha joins the show for a rare live episode about art and his upcoming graphic novel, Cretaceous. Galusha discusses how he got into comics, the magic of Capwolf, The Kubert School experience, interning at Heliscope, how he actually started working in comics, the artist grind, comics vs. other art fields, figuring out the work, the origins of Cretaceous, finding a home for the book, its silent nature, his research process, building an audience, creating comics in Alaska, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, the founder and CEO of ICv2, Milton Griepp, joins the show for a look at the state of the comic industry. Griepp discusses his time in comic book distribution, what it used to be like, the positives and negatives of Diamond being the sole distributor, whether he considered leaving comics after selling Capital City, the growth of geek culture, where the Direct Market is today, the biggest problem facing the Direct Market, reader diversification, Marvel and DC's latest moves, whether the book market fits, whether periodicals are dying, why digital has plateaued, the overall health of comics, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, the line art team from the Image series Crowded, Ro Stein and Ted Brandt, join the podcast to discuss their work. Stein and Brandt talk about their path to comics, how they met, Ro's interest in animation and its influence, their breaking in story, their process and how it evolved, Crowded's development, world building, bringing the characters to life, layering Easter eggs into the world, sound effects, animals in fiction, the power of inkers, cover work and a whole lot more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Mike Carey joins the show to talk about his changing comics workload and his latest series, The Highest House. Carey discusses what he's been doing in recent years, his X-Men run, how The Unwritten came to be, collaborating with artist Peter Gross, The Highest House's development, the politics and mythology of its world, the unique challenges its oversized format presents, story density, the complications of Peter Gross's work, balancing a giant cast, finding a market for the book, Yuko Shimizu's covers, where the book stands now, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Tze Chun joins the show to talk about the new comic company he's the co-publisher of, TKO Studios. Chun discusses his comic book origin story, how TKO and its team came together, binge releasing comics, why they decided to do things completely different than other publishers, where comic shops fits in their overall plans, the format of TKO's comics, why trades and single issues, attracting creators, distributing themselves, giving first issues away for free, competing for readers' time, developing an audience, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, comics retailer Patrick Brower (Chicago's Challengers Comics + Conversation) returns to the podcast for a look back on 2018 for his shop. Brower discusses how the year was for Challengers, how it compared to 2017, disappearing subscribers, their ineffective events, what worked for them, the surprising single issue boom, the Marvel/DC divide, graphic novels, Saga's disappearance, what isn't working, the impact of pricing, big retailers speaking up, how back issues are doing, what publishers could do to help retailers, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Chip Zdarsky returns to the show to discuss what's coming for him in 2019 and to dive deep into my favorite comic of the year, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #310. Zdarsky chats about his Spider-Man origins, how the period when you grew up influences your writing, what formed his vision of Spider-Man, J. Jonah Jameson, the length of his run, how his approach and story on #310 came together, hot dog icing, what makes Spider-Man special, overcoming his rep as the funny guy, what's coming for him in 2019, tackling Daredevil, the appeal of Namor, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, friend of the show Brandon Burpee returns for a deep dive look at 2018 in comics. We discuss what kind of year it was for comics, how our reading habits evolved, the biggest surprises and disappointments from the year, what we're looking forward to in 2019, where the X-Men are headed, favorites versus bests, the honorable mentions from our respective lists, before breaking down our 20 favorite comics of the year.

This week's episode of Off Panel is the debut of a new format that might be appearing the first week of each month, in weeks where we're not running our standard interviews. It's Off Panel Book Club, where a guest comes on the show to discuss the past month in comics. And the first Book Club guest is Zach Jenkins, the man behind Xavier Files and the co-host of the Battle of the Atom podcast. Jenkins joins to share the story behind Xavier Files, the importance of having a niche, our five favorite comics of the month, Warren Ellis's approach, the visual storytelling from The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, slow burn comics, the small moments of Runaways, the most surprising and confusing comics of the month, the eternal return of Wolverine, before we dive into the Big Question of the month: What would it take for the X-Men to recapture an approximation of their past glory, and does that even matter?

In this week's episode of Off Panel, comics retailer Katie Proctor comes on to talk about the experience of running her comic shop, Books with Pictures. Proctor discusses why she wanted to open a comic shop, the influence of other stores, her store's layout, creating an inviting space, inclusivity, her unique product offerings, what sells for her, how 2018 has been for her shop, figuring out ordering, what's working and what isn't, the impact of Fresh Start at Marvel, the loss of Saga, what she's looking forward to in 2018, what someone looking to open a shop should know, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Jeff Lemire joins the show to talk about his work on titles like Black Hammer and Gideon Falls. Lemire discusses his organizational abilities, what getting ahead with your writing offers you, a day in his life, studio space, his connection to rural locations, Black Hammer's connection to his love of comics, the divide between independent and superhero comics, how Black Hammer evolved, his collaborators, expanding its universe, the appeal of horror, Gideon Falls's development, working with Andrea Sorrentino, the JH Williams III effect, creating tension, writing for others versus himself, him stepping back from for-hire work, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer and inker Jimmy Palmiotti joins for a deep dive discussion about the creation of the Marvel Knights imprint for its 20th anniversary. Palmiotti shares where he was before Marvel Knights started, personal branding, how the project came together, why Daredevil was their #1 draft pick, Marvel vs. DC, going for realism, Frank Castle punching a polar bear, why Marvel Knights focused on standalone stories, whether he considered sticking around at Marvel like his Marvel Knights partner Joe Quesada, whether this kind of project could happen again, its lasting impact, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer and comics newcomer Mat Groom joins the show to discuss his background and new Image series, Self/Made. Groom discusses when he first got int storytelling, regional comics, his comic making origin story, comic writers coming from other fields, his day job and its impact on his writing, the comic difficulties of living in Australia, Self/Made, his collaborators Eduardo Ferigato and Marcelo Costa, the difficulty in talking about his series, what inspired him to tell this story, how design factored in the comic, the struggles that come with gaining traction as a new creator, the biggest surprises about making comics, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, comics retailer Brian Hibbs returns to the show to check in about the world of comic book shops. Hibbs discusses how his shops are doing this year, Saga's area of impact, the kids comic explosion, DC's weird year, the Walmart Giants, Black Label, Marvel's short sightedness, Image's recent volume of titles, the longevity of the print market, whether he's going to keep his second shop open, whether comics could become a graphic novel only industry, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Sanford Greene joins the podcast to discuss his art and his upcoming Image Comics series, Bitter Root. Greene talks about the influence of cartoons on his art, what stood out to him about comics when was younger, the impact of youth, whether he always knew he wanted to draw comics, the impact of artists like Toth and J.C. Leyendecker, becoming a Voltron of influences, getting into artists you disliked in your youth, Bitter Root's origins, the setting of the book, his approach to art, the importance of Bitter Root's diverse team, managing schedule and health, before we close with a brief chat about the NBA.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, The Beat's Heidi MacDonald joins the podcast to talk about New York Comic Con and recent happenings in the comic world. MacDonald discusses the NYCC experience, her favorite announcements from the con, the publisher boom, what's happening at DC, Bendis's fit, the Batman Damned controversy, the rare double Telgemeier, the Chuck Wendig news, the C.B. Cebulski era at Marvel, Ike Perlmutter's influence, industry doom and gloom, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Brenden Fletcher joins the show to talk the comic industry and his Image series with artist Karl Kerschl, Isola. Fletcher discusses what he was doing before comics, the language of fandom, the musicality of language, how Gotham Academy and Batgirl came together, why he co-writes so often, balancing abstraction with narrative, fitting the comic marketplace, the impact of continuity, the first volume's cover, long distance collaboration, the Motor Crush format change, the evolution of the comic market, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist John McCrea joins the show to talk his career and new Image series, Dead Rabbit. McCrea discusses how he and writer Garth Ennis met, how he got into comics, learning art, how his style shifted over the years, getting away with things on Hitman, the greatness of Dogwelder, his fondness of Section Eight, how Hitman affected him and his career, the origins of Dead Rabbit, Gerry Duggan's writing, the Image Expo reveal, character design, his style for Dead Rabbit, Mike Spicer's colors, the gross/sincere balance, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Ramon Villalobos joins the show to talk his art and new Vertigo Comics series, Border Town. Villalobos discusses the Marvel movies, non-comics influences, learning about art, making something 100% his, Border Town, how it came together, the appeal of teen stories, his process, creating character through art, Tamra Bonvillain's colors, the response to the book, how he's promoted it, Comicsgate, his shoe game, and more, before closing with five questions about Ramon Villalobos, the person.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Faith Erin Hicks joins to talk her work and latest graphic novel, The Divided Earth. Hicks discusses her 19 years in comics, how her skills have evolved, key influences, the power of silence, The Nameless City trilogy, what she learned from that experience, creating empathy, long-term planning, Jordie Bellaire's impact, what she gives herself breathers between projects, working with Rainbow Rowell, selling humor, her upcoming schedule, working on Avatar: The Last Airbender, and more. As a note, some details of The Divided Earth are discussed within, so if spoilers are a concern, beware the section between 20 minutes and 35 minutes.