Comics Are Great!

It’s all about character design this time, featuring the return of Jake Parker and Gale Williams! With Tyler James’ 30 Characters Challenge right around the corner, it’s time to think a little about what specific concerns face a cartoonist when making up their fictional people. Jake brings a stellar presentation to explain how a basic […]

How do you engage with your audience? How do you manage your social media interactions to drive interest in your comics? Is it as simple as “just be interesting”? If so, what does “interesting” even mean? Fortunately I’m joined by the super savvy  Eli Neiburger of the Ann Arbor District Library for a discussion on […]

It’s a discussion on walking the line when making comics for young people, as I’m joined by Mark Mariano. We talk about the difference between thrilling and shocking an audience, the value in being explicit with your story’s messages, and developing an inner barometer to measure whether your story moments are appropriate for kids. We’re […]

It’s hard enough to make a comic, but now we have to learn all of these new digital publishing models, too? Thank goodness I’m joined this week by Rob Stenzinger, a cartoonist and user interface designer, who helps me navigate through a discussion on the various content management systems available and the kinds of thinking […]

It’s all about organizing and executing public events to plant a flag for your community to gather around this week, as I’m joined by Onezumi Harstein and James Harknell of the upcoming Intervention! Together we talk about some of the pitfalls to be aware of when creating a public event, tips on ways to do […]

This week we’re joined by Scott Yoshinaga and Audra Furuichi, creators of one of the most sincere comics on the Internet, nemu*nemu. We talk about the evolution of the series from a vertical strip to a more free-form full-color series, how introducing new characters and diverse plot lines keeps the series fresh for the creators […]

This one goes out to any young or beginning cartoonists who are wondering what to expect as they enter the world of promoting their work and making a living at this comics stuff! We’re joined by Christopher Hastings, artist/writer of Dr. McNinja and writer of the new Fear Itself: Deadpool mini-series, who shares some terrific thoughts […]

As someone once said about comics, “it’s all limitations”, and this week I’m joined by two terrific cartoonists for a discussion on working within limitations and experimenting to find new forms of expression in comics. As it turns out, these experiments also serve to jump-start one’s creativity, regardless of which form or genre in which […]

It’s an episode packed with great discussion on breaking down a story into comics form with guests Jake Parker and Dave Roman! We each share our own approach to writing visually: Starting with a world, characters, or a theme, and what our respective processes are to getting to the final story. This one might be best […]

It’s a jam-packed episode where we tackle the topics of fandom in the 21st century, the role of “shipping” in storytelling, what it’s like to win an Eisner award, and perhaps most importantly, the new Avatar: The Legend of Korra series! First we’re joined by Raina Telgemeier, who stops by for a little to share […]

It’s a lighter look at storytelling as I’m joined by Dave Roman for a friendly debate over which is better–the Harry Potter series, or The Chronicles of Narnia? Throughout the discussion we cover the merits of each property’s storytelling, the difference between writing fantasy and mythology, and the problems with dating your material. We’re joined […]

It’s a talk about the past and future of comics with Karl Altstaetter! Karl and I start out by talking about comics in the 90s, his work on the Samurai anthology then about his work on the MTV Geek webcomics project and his own contribution, Me2! We then talk a bit about the future of comics […]

I’m happy to have Paul Storrie return, along with Krishna Sadasivam, for some laughs and bickering! This time we talk about JK Rowling’s Pottermore project and what it means for independent publishing. We then spiral out to discuss how the relationship between author and audience has been changing in the Internet age, and whether that’s […]

Facebook, Twitter, and now Google+ are the easy solution to finding success as a cartoonist, right? Just post about your stuff and the audience will come (with money)! We all know it’s not that simple, and I’m grateful to have two super-smart cartoonists on the show to navigate through the confusing labyrinth of choices and […]

It’s a high-energy discussion about writing comics this week with guests Dr. Alice Hunt and Paul Storrie. Together we talk about whether or not gender still matters in the comics industry, what we mean when we say “breaking in” to comics, and how there’s no one path to success in the creative arts. Special appearance […]

It’s a discussion on teaching comics this week on Comics Are Great, with special guests Rob Stenzinger and Tom Hart! What’s the big deal with comics education? Why not just pursue a traditional art degree? Does a formal education in comics make a difference in a career? We tackle these topics, as well as some […]

It’s the first episode of the new Comics Are Great! recorded at the Ann Arbor District Library! The show is now recorded live on Wednesdays at 12:30 pm Eastern Time and broadcasted live on Ustream! Join us for our live discussions where you can participate and ask questions of the guests via a live chat […]

Disclaimer on this one: Due to the topic of this discussion, some salty language made it into this episode. It is, as they say, NSFW, and those who are sensitive to coarse language should use discretion before listening. The roundtable returns for a discussion inspired by some blog posts made recently by John Sanford of […]

Whatever its intent, the recent news about Diamond Distribution’s attempt at digital distribution has stirred up a lot of talk about the future of Local Comics Stores (LCS). Digital delivery of comics through services like The Illustrated Section or Comixology has certainly disrupted the business of selling and distributing physical comic books, but does this […]

It’s the return to the roundtable discussion as we try to weigh the pros and cons between canonical storytelling and story franchises that undergo multiple reboots and iterations! What are the perils of working in a strict continuity? Does rebooting your story run risk of alienating readers? When does pleasing your readers cross the line […]