Off Panel: A Comics Interview Podcast

In this week's first episode of two on Off Panel, cartoonist Bryan Lee O'Malley joins the show to talk his Image Comics series Snotgirl and his career making comics. He discusses what stood out to him about his collaborator on Snotgirl, Leslie Hung, where the idea for the book came from, the impact of Los Angeles had on the book, fashion bloggers and social media curation, whether he feels like part of the online conversation, the Warren Ellis Forums, allergies, the improvisational nature of monthly comics, fine tuning scripts for collaborators, schedule management, the specter of Scott Pilgrim, food in his comics, our relationship with stories today, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Russell Dauterman joins the show to talk his art and recently completed run on The Mighty Thor. Dauterman discusses how he celebrated The Mighty Thor concluding, the experience of tackling such a long run, his character design background, designing the cast of Thor, differentiating Jane Foster and Jane Thor, his art process, photo reference, working with Matt Wilson, page layouts, the power of continuity, having a long run under his belt, and more, before concluding with five questions about his own comic book loves.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, editor Will Dennis joins the show to talk his role in comics, specifically on the upcoming anthology comic, Where We Live. Dennis discusses the role of an editor, what drives the projects he takes on, the importance of trust, Will Dennis books, the Vertigo brand, Scalped, Vertigo's incredible run of cover artists, what he's doing on Where We Live, how working in comics changes your relationship with them, how the project has come together, the unexpected help on the book, balancing the creator lineup, the project's importance, Vertigo's place in comics today, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, comic shop owner (and Free Comic Book Day creator) Joe Field joins the show to talk FCBD and the world of retail. Field discusses Free Comic Book Day, the power of the day, the unique environment that led to the day, growth of interest, converting FCBD customers into regular customers, the power of events, how his shop has evolved in its 30 years, what 2017 was like for his shop, the year so far, the state of Marvel, DC making moves, Action Comics #1000, the cockroaches of pop culture, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Karl Kerschl joins the show to talk his influences and his new Image series, Isola. Kerschll discusses the impact the Image founders had on him, being a contrarian, his career path, the appeal of comic strips, doing your own thing, modern coloring, Isola's colors, sound effects, research, telling a story with a silent character, the creative process on the book, the value of hooks, the map of the world, and more, before closing with five questions about his webcomic, The Abominable Charles Christopher.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Ryan Browne joins the show to talk his latest Kickstarter for GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS presents 3-D COWBOY'S 2-D SPECTACULAR! Browne discusses the origins of God Hates Astronauts, building an audience, webcomics, why he went back to Kickstarter, the story behind it, his incredible artistic collaborators, the creative process on the book, living with Paolo Rivera, the importance of taking things seriously, crazy character names, Kickstarter rewards, the stress of Kickstarter, Curse Words, working with Charles Soule, and more, before closing with five questions about Ryan Browne, the person.

In this week's special, 150th episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Kazu Kibuishi joins the show to talk comics, art and ten years of Amulet. Kibuishi discusses creating a story readers grow up with, the next generation of comic creators, Amulet's evolution, managing such a sprawling story, respecting readers, digging into Amulet's world, his creative process, expanding comics' genres, the value of simple character depictions, Final Fantasy, and more, before diving into five questions about Kazu Kibuishi, the person.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, friend of the show Brandon Burpee returns for a power rankings episode all about the X-Men. The show begins with a discussion about our X-Men backstories, before we dive into the ranks, as we share our favorite X-Men artists, the best characters who died and came back, X-Bases, villains, writers, moments, stories and more, before closing with a fantasy draft to create our own X-Men line of comics. It's a fun episode, but as a note, it's also one with some audio issues on my side of things thanks to it being recorded on Zencastr.

Live from Emerald City ComiCon, it's a panel episode as colorists Tamra Bonvillain (Doom Patrol) and Kelly Fitzpatrick (Shade the Changing Woman) join the show to discuss their work. They talk getting into art, whether they studied art at school, the idea of coloring as a stepping stone, how their line art experience impacts their coloring, how much their colors change based off the line artist, attribution, their processes, whether they have specific palettes, balancing workload, the power of saying no, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Robert Kirkman joins the show to talk comics and his new book, Oblivion Song. Kirkman discusses why he keeps making comics, whether he's an art nerd, how his success allows him to take risks, learning from other creators and comics, Oblivion Song's lead time, his approach to writing, Savage Dragon's impact on him, how artists have changed the path of his comics, what made Lorenzo de Felici the right fit for Oblivion Song, what he looks for in his collaborators, the ending of Invincible, seeing so many other people working in his sandbox, the glory of Andrew J. Shaw, fictional editors, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Jen Bartel and Sam Humphries - the creative team behind the upcoming Image Comics series, Blackbird - join the show to discuss their upcoming book. They discuss what stood out about each other's work, their commonalities as creators and people, comic creators as entrepreneurs, when Blackbird first started coming together, how they highlight each other's strengths, the development of the book, what it's all about, the comic's influences, making the book stand out in a cluttered market, and more.

In this week's bonus episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Rob Guillory joins the show to talk his recently announced series from Image Comics, Farmhand. Guillory discusses the Todd McFarlane experience, the Chew recovery process, figuring out what was next for him, the development of Farmhand, what the book is all about, how it's coming together, his collaborators on it, the plan behind it, why Image was the fit for Farmhand, being disconnected from the comic conversation, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Gerry Duggan joins the podcast to discuss his new Image series, Analog, and his views on writing. Duggan talks about the ComicsPRO experience, his comics retail past, comic naming conventions, working with the Allreds, his wave of creator-owned books, Analog vs. reality, whether he needed to mix things up, his time writing for television, the surprising script that helped him get Deadpool, why the lead of Analog is such a perfect gateway into its world, his collaborators on the book, working with John McCrea on Dead Rabbit, and more.

In a bonus episode of Off Panel, we have one recorded live last week from ComicsPRO's annual meeting in Portland, Oregon with two of the best retailers in comics - John Hendrick of Dublin's Big Bang Comics and Steve Anderson of Maryland's Third Eye Comics. It's a caffeine fueled discussion - at least on my end - where we talk about the origins of their shops, their affinity for retail, how they organize their comics, what 2017 was like for their shops, Rick & Morty, their hopes for 2018, Marvel's Fresh Start, customer behavior, the value of signings and events, and more.

This week on Off Panel, artist Ryan Stegman returns to the show for a special episode breaking down his personal power rankings of varying subjects important to him. Stegman discusses his favorite artists growing up, his most surprising influences, the Malice in the Palace, his personal Mount Rushmore of comics, the artists he'd steal the powers of, the most important meals of the days, his favorite projects, and more. It's a bit different for Off Panel, but I hope you enjoy it.

In a special bonus episode, artist Nick Pitarra joins the show to talk his newly announced Image series with writer John Layman and colorist Mike Garland, Leviathan. Pitarra discusses what he's been up to since Manhattan Projects, his art philosophy, the origins of Leviathan, what it's all about, his preferred type of storytelling, his vision for the book, his vision for Leviathan, his approach on art, the importance of integrity in art, his view on art, how deadlines and schedules can impact art's integrity, his love of original art, his connection to Seth Fisher, and more.

This week on Off Panel, Dan Gearino, the author of Comic Shop: The Retail Mavericks Who Gave Us a New Geek Culture, joins the show to talk his new book about the world and history of comic shops. Gearino discusses his comic book origin story, when he first visited a comic shop, why he wanted to write a book about the direct market and comic shops, the origin of the book, the tenor of conversation with his interviewees, the research process for the book, the cyclical nature of comics, the essential nature of the women of the direct market, the difficulty of pinning down who Phil Seuling was, his ideal comic shop, how shops will need to evolve, barometer comics, how comic shops reflect personalities, the future of comics, and more.

This week on Off Panel, cartoonist Box Brown joins the show to discuss his new graphic novel, Is This Guy for Real?, a biocomic exploring the life of Andy Kaufman. Brown talks about his recent trip to France for Angoulême, the mindset as major projects are released, why Andy Kaufman was a subject of interest to him, whether his biocomic subjects were ones he had connections to, the impact of The Man on the Moon, who Kaufman really was, his process on biocomics like this one, the impact of First Second on his work, the new opportunities available to creators, how comics will look in the future, and more.

Jon Davis-Hunt, the artist of The Wild Storm at DC Comics, joins the show to talk his art and the development of the book. He discusses WildCATs/Aliens, what came first for him: comics or art, his background in video games, the impact that had on his art, being "the new guy," how the Wild Storm came together, coming up with the look of that universe, his art process, and more, before diving into five questions about Jon Davis-Hunt, the person.

Writer Tee Franklin joins Off Panel this week to talk her upcoming Image Comics graphic novella, Bingo Love. Franklin discusses her path into comics, her interest in writing comics before, figuring out how to write comics, the origins of Bingo Love, the impact of artist Jenn St. Onge, the Kickstarter experience, the downside of crowd-funding, what made Image the right fit for the comic, the importance of representation in comics, the marketing of independent comics, her personal and business mottos for 2018, and more.