#528 Lenny Schwartz: Comics and the Theatre, Act III

Co-Creator

While we’ve talked before with Austin Tichenor and John Roberson about adapting comics to the stage, we’ve never talked about (or even thought about!) adapting the lives of comics creators to that stage! But Lenny Schwartz has done it, and more than once, writing and directing “Co-Creator” (about Bill Finger and his claim to the Batman legacy) and “The Man Who Saw Snoopy” (about Charles Schulz, of course!). And he has another in the works on Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko.

This week Lenny tells Tim about writing these plays, just how much credit Bob Kane and Stan Lee may actually deserve, how Schulz used Peanuts as his diary, and much more.

#527 Tom Spurgeon’s “We Told You So”

wetoldyouso

Fantagraphics is a comics publisher that got by on a shoestring for decades, in service of its mission to prove that comics could be equally as literary and adult as film, novels, or any other storytelling medium. Eventually, Fantagraphics’ flagship publication, The Comics Journal, became the go-to magazine for reviews of noteworthy comics and hard-hitting interviews of their creators.

After more than a decade of work, Tom Spurgeon and Michael Dean have published (through Fantagraphics, of course) a history of the company, called We Told You So: Comics as Art. This week Tom, himself the former Managing Editor of The Comics Journal, is here to talk about Fantagraphics and the work and decisions that went into writing its history.

#521 Kaigai Manga Festa 2016, part two!

Kaigai Manga Festa 2016

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

Continue reading #521 Kaigai Manga Festa 2016, part two!

#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!

# 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?

#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.

#515 Box Brown talks “Tetris”

TetrisIn his new nonfiction graphic novel Tetris: The Games People Play, Box Brown explores not only the amazing story of the creation of the popular game and the fight over the rights to it, but the larger point of how and why humans began to play games.

In this episode, Box Brown also talks with Tim about his publishing imprint, his earlier book on Andre the Giant, and more.

#511 Photo Reference Dos and Don’ts

Photo reference

Most comics artists use photo reference at some point. But some artists can make it melt into their work fluidly, while others end up with stiff drawing or a glorified fumetti. They might also end up with a copyright lawsuit if they don’t choose their reference wisely.

One source of photo reference is Buddy Scalera, who has published several reference books, including Comic Artist’s Essential Photo Reference: People and Poses. Buddy joins Tim to talk about how he got into making photo reference books, choosing poses to shoot, and more.

Then, Stephen Bissette joins us with plenty of examples of the use and misuse of photo reference, the ups and downs of casting celebrities as your characters (Sting, anyone?), and more.

 

#509 Comic Art Tokyo 2016!

CAT

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!

Continue reading #509 Comic Art Tokyo 2016!