Category: Interview

#764 “Past Tense”, Tough Translation, and Audio Drama

Past Tense

In the year 2038, invisible drones are sent to the past to pick up any event you want to see, if you have the money to pay for it. One woman using the service discovers a secret that puts her in danger in the present. Our friend Jason McNamara, author of such graphic novels as The Rattler and The Martian Confederacy, is back with the forthcoming Past Tense, his first work from Dark Horse, with art by Alberto Massaggia. Jason joins Tim to talk about the book, and then Kumar and Tim review it.

Kumar also fills us in on how his resignation as translator of Cipher Academy, a nearly untranslatable manga, went viral.

Also, Alex Squiers tells Tim about his audio drama The StarWell Foundation, in which a company which recruits superheroes and other celebrities to meet sick kids and the like, deals with one kid’s unusual request: they want to meet a villain.

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#763 Graffiti and Comics

This time Tim finds some intersections of comics and the world of graffiti.

First, Argentine graffiti artist and animator Cof talks about his cartoonish art style, the difference between a graffiti artist and a muralist, graffiti scenes around the world, which country has the best spray paint cans, and more.

2012 interview with Cof (buenosairesstreetart.com)

Cof on Makersplace.com

Cof on Instagram

Cof on Flickr

Graffiti Artists Collaborate (buenosairesstreetart.com)

Then, Thomas John Behe on his series of graphic novels under the title Contraband, exploring one possible future for social media. Behe talks about the upcoming Bad Benny, a work that began as a series of graffiti art panels in different cities, and Christiania, written by his daughter Abi, a book recently discussed on Critiquing Comics!

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#753 Kirby’s Fourth World: “Old Gods and New”

Old Gods and New

John Morrow is co-founder of Two Morrows Publishing, a company that owes its start to John’s interest in Jack Kirby. His Kirby fan newsletter grew into the company that’s now publishing his history of Kirby’s Fourth World, much of it told in Jack’s own words: Old Gods and New. This time, Emmet talks with John about Marvel’s fear that DC would end them after Kirby switched sides, how distribution quirks may have led to the premature end of the Fourth World books, how myth runs through all of Kirby’s work dating back to the ’30s, and more.

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#752 Shanti Rai’s “Sennen”

Sennen

What are the people like on the other side of the mountain? Are there any there? Where does the stuff, the objects, the food we enjoy in our daily lives come from? These questions are central to Shanti Rai‘s first graphic novel, Sennen. In this episode, Tim and Jason review the book, and then Tim talks to Shanti about how her bicultural background helped inspire the book, and the unexpected obstacle that slowed down its creation.

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#749 Marta Chudolinska: “An insider and an outsider”

babcia

Marta Chudolinska (who-doh-lean-ska), the child of Polish immigrants to Canada, makes comics and other art in Toronto. Koom talks with her about her ongoing project Babcia, about her grandmother and her family’s history in Poland.

Marta Chudolinska babcia2 babcia1

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#747 “Suzanne: The Jazz Age Goddess of Tennis”

Suzanne

Suzanne Lenglen was a trendsetting tennis star in the 1920s, among the first to challenge the notion that tennis players had to be amateurs, running themselves into debt to keep competing, in order to participate in tournaments. Tom Humberstone‘s first full-length graphic novel Suzanne: The Jazz Age Goddess of Tennis, soon to be released, is a finely honed work of historical fiction on her life and influence. Tim and Jason review the book in this episode; then, Tim interviews Humberstone about the process of making the book, why he was inspired to focus on Lenglen, and what he hopes to do next.

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#745 Noah Van Sciver and “Joseph Smith and the Mormons”

Joseph Smith and the Mormons

Joseph Smith and the Mormons is an objective look at the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Author and artist Noah Van Sciver took a bit of heat from the church for not portraying things in line with church teaching. Adam interviews Noah in this episode, as they compare notes on moving on from their respective religious upbringings, plus Noah describes his process and tools, adjusting to fatherhood, and what kind of comics work to do next.

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#741 Anneli Furmark

Walk Me to the Corner

Anneli Furmark is a Swedish illustrator and comics creator whose latest book is Walk Me to the Corner, in which two married middle-aged women become attracted to each other. Anneli talks with Koom (at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival) about why this book isn’t an LGBT book, about her painting technique and layout choices, and more.

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#740 Gary Spencer Millidge (“Strangehaven”) interview

Strangehaven

Strangehaven is a series started by Gary Spencer Millidge in 1995. As he does everything himself (including publishing, for the first 18 issues), it has come out on an irregular schedule, but the content has been compelling. Kumar talks with him about how far he might be from completing the series, his process, his life-Strangehaven balance, and more.

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#734 Ron Randall, “Trekker,” and Decompressed Storytelling

Trekker

What’s creator Ron Randall been up to since we talked with him last? He’s continuing his comic Trekker, now 35 years since its inception, and is up to his seventh Kickstarter for the series. He’s back to talk about that, plus he and Tim talk about the rise of decompressed storytelling in American comics over the past few decades, what caused its rise, and its pluses and minuses.

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