#520 Kaigai Manga Festa 2016, part one!

Kaigai Manga Festa 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!

Continue reading #520 Kaigai Manga Festa 2016, part one!

Critiquing Comics #099: “Esoteric Dialogue” #1

Esoteric Dialogue

If you’re into the idea of conspiracy theories (whether you actually believe in them or not), you may dig Scott Bufis and Matthew Salazar‘s Esoteric Dialogue. On the other hand, even if that’s not your thing, you gotta admire the work that goes into this comic. Tim and Mulele discuss issue 1 of the series.

# 519 “Bizarro” creator Dan Piraro

Bizarro

When Dan Piraro started his cartoon “Bizarro“, some of the factors you might expect were involved in the decision, but the Superman character wasn’t one of them! Dan wasn’t into superhero comics; in this episode we hear the rather, er, bizarro story of how he learned of his strip’s non-namesake (it involves Jerry Seinfeld!); how The Far Side blazed a trail for Bizarro (not in the way you might think!); if having a syndicated comic is still a good deal (if, in fact, it ever was); his forays into fine art, vaudeville, and coloring books; and much more.

#518 Joe Dator, New Yorker cartoonist

Joe Dator - manspreading

Single-panel cartoons, while not sequential art, certainly have some things in common with sequential art, and some cartoonists (Hank Ketcham, Bil Keane) have alternated between the two in their daily work. This week, in the first of two interviews with single-panel creators, Tim talks with New Yorker cartoonist Joe Dator.

What’s it like trying to get your joke across in exactly one panel — and get the darn thing published in a highly competitive venue like the pages of the New Yorker? How did the Far Side influence single-panels? (Perhaps less than you think!) What is the Mount Everest of cartooning? What cartoonists influenced Joe most? And – why does he spend his free time making a comedy podcast about classic rock?

Critiquing Comics #098: Pariah, Missouri

Pariah, MOAndres Salazar and Jose Luis Pescador’s Pariah, Missouri, set in the old west, presents some fantastic art and interesting characters. But is the story too formulaic? Tim and Mulele discuss.

#517 “Kramers Ergot” 9

Kramer's Ergot 9The ninth issue of Kramers Ergot is finally available. This week, Kumar and Ryan discuss the feel of the book overall (does it feel a bit more scattered than past editions?), as well as discussing individual stories by the likes of Adam Buttrick, Kim Deitch, Dash Shaw, Baptiste Virote, Abraham Diaz, Andy Burkholder, Manuel Fiore, Steve Weissman, Gabrielle Bell, and Michael Deforge.

#516 Irene jumps in the freelance (Gwen)pool

gwenpoolIrene Strychalski makes her fourth appearance on the podcast — this time as a full-time freelancer getting work from Marvel! We’ll talk about her depressing early comic, drawing from her own scripts vs. someone else’s, things people say to her when she draws in cafes, and more.