Study Group Radio: Process Party

What?! A new pod??! Yep! Join Process Party co-host Zack Soto for In This Issue… a podcast about formative comics reading experiences, with a focus on the single issue format. Every episode finds Zack and a special guest doing a close reading of a comic book (not a graphic novel!) and havin’ a lively chat about it. This is a presentation of Episode 8 with cartoonist Adam DeSouza on Nausicaa of the Valley Of The Wind #1 by Hayao Miyazaki, Tom Orzechowski, Dana Lewis & Toren Smith, and published 1988 by Viz Comics. Fair warning: they both LOVE this comic, so Nausicaa haters beware!

Still having some issues with the new feed not showing everything so here's the third ep of Zack's new pod In This Issue... THE ISSUE: SCUD: The Disposable Assassin #17 Written by Dan Harmon illustrated & lettered by Rob Schrab Published 1997, Fireman Press, Ltd. THE GUEST: Zac Gorman Zac Gorman (Magical Game Time, Costume Quest) joins In This Issue... to discuss the Rob Schrab/Dan Harmon comic SCUD: The Disposable Assassin #17.

another new episode of Zack's new pod In This Issue..., talkin' 'bout Heavy Metal Magazine vol.17 #4 and Druuna with David King! Go subscribe to ITI!

Zack's new pod is over on it's own feed! Check out this second ep here and go subscribe! THE ISSUE: ACME Novelty Library #8 Written, illustrated, & lettered by Chris Ware Published 1997, Fantagraphics Books, Inc. THE GUEST: Austin English Domino Comics impresario Austin English joins In This Issue... to talk about our first experiences with the Chris Ware comic ACME Novelty Library #8. (We also briefly discuss the legacy of the Vertigo Comics release Dhampire: Stillborn (1997) by Nancy A. Collins & Paul Lee)

Hey y'all! Process Party is still on hiatus for a while but Zack has a new pod called IN THIS ISSUE... and it's all about "talkin' bout comics," one issue at a time. First up Francois Vigneault on Charles Burns' 1995 release, BLACK HOLE #1!

Surprise! We're back again, it feels good, etc etc. Mike has a new book called The Fifth Quarter out! And guest Francois Vigneault (last seen way back on episode 25) has a new monthly comic called Orcs In Space out! Zack has no new books out :( We talk about productivity in a pandemic, comic shops, promotion, trauma, whatever! All the good stuff.

Hey! We're back! & we're catching up & chatting about what's been happening in our lives and the world in the last few months, self-care, stand up paddle-boarding, pandemic variables across the country, making comics in Clip Studio, the new Adrian Tomine book The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Cartoonist, and the question of the day (culled from twitter) "Are there comics for adults?" (??)

HEY, WE'RE BACK! This episode is our very first A Special Quarantine Episode! Awwww! So cute, though we suspect it will cease to be cute, like yesterday, and will cease to be special at some point, too. Anyway, many things touched upon in this one: Books touched on in this episode are Girl Town by Casey Nowak, "Wall of Shame" by Noah Van Sciver (from NOW #1), Megg & Mogg in Amsterdam by Simon Hanselmann, Master Of Kung Fu by Gulacy & Moench, Batman Universe by Brian Michael Bendis & Nick Derrington, and a big chunk of talkin' bout POWER PACK by Louise Simonson & Jon Bogdanove. Other topics include Quarantine Life, Productivity, Digital Comics apps, Mental Health, Comics Shopping by Mail, and there's a Frankenstein's Comic Swap Haul Report (right at the end). We hope everyone is staying safe and home, and washing their hands, wearing gloves and masks when you leave the house (if you have to!)

Up front we talk Valentine's, Hourly Comics Day, self-promotion, and more. After that we talk about two very different comics that are related to  the impending/ongoing ecological collapse we're currently a part of—the five minutes into the future, Google Brand Dystopia of Ines Estrada's Alienation (Fantagraphics); and the far-flung, epochal timeline  extrapolations of Protector #1 (Image) by Simon Roy, Daniel Bensen, Artyom Trakhanov, Jason Wordie, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Process Party is a podcast about comic books as an art form, industry, and vocation—from the perspective of two working cartoonists.

2020, here we come! First new pod of the year and first guest in the new format! Hosts Mike Dawson and Zack Soto take stock on the new year before welcoming Tom Kaczynski to talk about the strange wonder of Steve Englehart & Marshall Rogers' Silver Surfer run from 1987. We cover a lot of ground—from plot points to comics history, distribution wars, the intersection of mainstream and indy comics, metaphysics, the cosmology of the Marvel Universe and much much more!

Mike Dawson & Zack Soto are back with the final episode of 2019, talking about Howard Cruse, Stuck Rubber Baby, creative constraints, dense pages, classical patronage, Eastman & Laird, TMNT, Tundra & The Xeric Foundation, and people who phase “upwards” out of comics into being rich & busy (instead of quitting in futility like we always assumed we would). Process Party is a podcast about comic books as an art form, industry, and vocation—from the perspective of two working cartoonists.

The Dark Knight of Podcasts Returns! What? Yes. Hi! Here we are again, quite randomly. Mike & Zack talk comics, life, editing, auteur theory, productivity, carpal tunnel, digital drawing, early graphic novels, reading comics on the iPad, Frank Miller, The Dark Knight Returns, and Tom Spurgeon's recent passing.

We're back this time with a nice long chat between Zack & First Second head honcho/5 Worlds co-creator Mark Siegel that was recorded at the panel they did on Saturday morning at Cartoon Crossroads Columbus last month, as well as a short but meaty show floor chat with Swallow Me Whole, MARCH, and Come Again cartoonist Nate Powell. PLUS! CXC show report, lots of personal good news and catching up from the Party Boys. Go read Mike's new comic at the Nib, and buy a copy of Zack's new book from him at Short Run, CAB & CALA before he goes into hibernation mode for the winter!

 It's our first ever PROCESS PARTY LIVE! The kind folks at SPX were nice enough to set us up in conversation with one of our favorite people and cartoonists, Joshua Cotter. Josh first came to everyone's attention with the Skyscrapers of the Midwest series in the early 00's, which he followed up with Driven By Lemons and his current project, the massive (7 book!) series Nod Away. Nod Away is nominally a science fiction book to start, but it's already quite clear that the scope will be much wider as the book progresses. We cover Josh's whole career up to this point, his writing process, the role of comics as therapy, living in the woods, getting optioned by HBO, and much much more! Plus, Mike & Zack give their personal rundowns of the SPX experience at the top of the show. 

We're back to talk to Kickliy about his new Western graphic novel PERDY! You may know Kickliy from his series Musnet, or his work that was published under the name Sam Hiti. All of it is great, and we were excited to talk to him. We got into the reason for his name change, his time spent in France recuperating from a serious accident, and his triumphant return to comics. Lots of painting and drawing philosophy, working through blocks small and large, and how he ended up becoming an American cartoonist with a French Publisher. Behind the scenes process talk about making both PERDY & Musnet, including his thoughts on making all ages comics AND decidedly not all ages comics. This is a good one! PS: We're going to be at SPX this weekend! Come see PROCESS PARTY LIVE with Josh Cotter on Sunday, and pick up Zack's NEW BOOK, The Secret Voice Vol 1 at Tables L-12/L-13!!!

It’s a special new podcast from Zack & Shanna. By popular demand, Shanna is back! She and Zack apparently needed a podcast as an excuse to sit around and shoot the breeze, so here it is. We’re going to be talking about all that DISTRACTING MEDIA out there! delicious delicious media. This week, we tackle personally formative science fiction in our lives, venus flytraps, lots of bad jokes, and our patented LATD RECOMMENDATION ROUND! (There’s more Process Party to come, but for now please accept this malformed podcast baby. Just here to help!)

It's another Jibba Jabba episode: Mike returns from Iceland, Zack returns from the wilds of Kickstarter anxiety and printing deadlines, and our Party Floor creaks back into gear! Lots of discussion about what it means to actually finish a big project, transitioning from GO GO GO mode to "what now?" mode, and much more. 

It's an all Jibba-Jabba Extravaganza! Mike & Zack have had a few very busy weeks and catch up in this episode. Zack's Kickstarter is over (thank god)! Mike has a new comic coming out soon! That guy Mike was stumping for in New Jersey lost the race!  And Zack went to Columbus, OH! A large part of the episode is dedicated to a Columbus scene report of sorts, as it's quietly becoming one of the great American cartooning cities! What's up with the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum? Is it really as mind-blinding as everyone says? Yes, it is! It was amazing. Also: Zack's brush with greatness, in a special patented Embarrassing Story! All that & more.

Please welcome Dustin Weaver to the party floor! Dustin is the co-creator of the recent S.H.I.E.L.D. series with writer Jonathan Hickman, and writer/artist on multiple other Marvel comics, as well as some stints on TMNT & Star Wars properties. We definitely talk about all of that stuff, and do a deep dive on his time at Marvel in particular. Mike & Zack have a lot of questions about how the sausage gets made! But the main reason we're here is to talk about his recent one-man anthology at Image Comics, Paklis. Standing relatively apart from the mainstream comics world where he made his mark, Weaver took his name recognition to Image to pursue more personal material. Dream comics sit side-by-side with space opera and surrealist experiments, and rough hewn sketchiness gives way to meticulous sci-fi set pieces, often in the space of a single page. What's up with Paklis? Learn about Dustin's first meeting with Jim Lee! Why was SHIELD so damn late? And much much more! Also: Mike Has a new comic on the Nib

The one and only Twitter Funny Man Alex Degen has joined us on the party floor! Perhaps you didn't know that in addition to being  funny on the internet, he's also a wicked awesome cartoonist with multiple ineffable books and mini comics out there in the world? The author of Area CC, Mighty Star, and his new book Soft X-Ray/Mindhunters talks to us about all kinds of stuff, from his time as a youthful layabout, formative schooling and world travels, connections to the Magic Schoolbus empire, and a look into the life of a literary translator. Where did the genesis for his new full color book come from, lots of jokes, and more!  Plus: Zack's driving around in a car in the opening, that's weird! Also: The Secret Voice Kickstarter is fully backed and there's still plenty of time to back it!