Derf Backderf, author of My Friend Dahmer and a onetime garbage man, is back with Trashed, a book that defies pigeonholing. Part history, part awareness-raiser, part fictionalized reminiscence, part gross-out humor fest (and a few other “parts” as well), Trashed seems like a book that shouldn’t work, but does. In this episode, Tim interviews Derf about Trashed, the Dahmer movie, and more; plus, Tim and Kumar review Trashed!
At London Super Comicon last month, Koom got to sit down with Paul Gravett, a comics journalist and exhibition curator. Gravett is currently preparing the touring Asian comics show Mangasia, which will debut in Rome next month. This is a guy who’s read a lot of comics; do they all become a blur after a while? Koom asks him about avoiding burnout, the amount of progress comics have (or haven’t) made toward being accepted by the “art world”, and much more.
Look who Tim (center) ran into in Columbus: Derf Backderf(My Friend Dahmer, Trashed),Tom Spurgeon (The Comics Reporter), Stephen Bissette (Swamp Thing, Tyrant), and Craig Fischer (English professor and occasional contributor to The Comics Journal)! (Click the photo to enlarge!)
In this episode, Tim talks to Steve and Craig about their summer research tour that brought them to Columbus and the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum, and how it relates to Steve’s revival of his ’90s comics biography of a Tyrannosaurus rex, Tyrant!
Then Tom talks about the upcoming Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) event he’s organizing for the Billy Ireland, and the current state of mainstream comics.
As for Derf — that interview is coming later this month!
Eliot Rahal interviews Kristin Tipping at New Comic Book Day at Day Block Brewing Co. in Minneapolis on July 19
Minneapolis is increasingly becoming a “comics town”. While it doesn’t have the publisher presence of Portland, it’s filled with comics creators of all stripes, from mainstream guys to indy creators to web cartoonists.
It also may be the only town in the U.S. where New Comic Book Day is a bar event every Wednesday, with comics giveaways, standup comedy, and a creator interview!
In this episode, Tim talks with:
Katy Rex, writer of Jade Street Protection Services, from Black Mask, editor of another Black Mask title, Kim and Kim, and writer of a forthcoming Dr. Who special from Titan Comics. She also works at local retailer Hot Comics.
John Bivens and Eliot Rahal
Eliot Rahal, writer of Bloodshot’s Day Off and other books from Valiant, and a host of the New Comic Book Day event.
John Bivens, artist on Image Comics’ Spread and Dark Engine.
This year’s Toronto Comic Arts Festival was held May 13 & 14. Koom was there and brought back interviews with Dave McKean, Jessica Campbell, Rick Geary, and Charlie Adlard!
Peter Bagge is known for the manic comic series “Hate”. But his recent work has gone a different direction: profiling women who made a difference in early 20th century America. Why the change in topic and tone? In this interview, recorded with Koom in a spotlight discussion at Toronto Comicon, Bagge discusses what drew him to making comics bios of Margaret Sanger (Woman Rebel) and Zora Neale Hurston (Fire!!).
Somehow, Critiquing Comics is up to 100 episodes! Tim and Mulele mark this occasion by discussing a bunch of comics picked up at New York’s MoCCA Festival and Tokyo’s Kaigai Manga Festa.
Part two of our roundup of creators who tabled at this year’s Kaiga Manga Festa, including talks with Graeme Mc Nee, Matthew Forsythe, Karl Kerschl, and our own Mulele!
Creators show their work to editors at Comitia, the larger festival alongside Kaigai on October 23, 2016
It’s time for another Kaigai Manga Festa roundup! This year’s international comics festival in Tokyo was held on October 23 at Tokyo Big Sight, alongside the Comitia festival as always. Tim caught up with some familiar faces and met some new ones as well!
Comic Art Tokyo (CAT), organized by Adam Pasion of Big Ugly Robot Press and James Stacey of Black Hook Press, was held at 3331 Arts Chiyoda in Tokyo on July 31, 2016. Tim was there, recorder in hand, talking to tablers!
