#499 Organizing Comics Events

Comics EventsWhat goes into planning a comics event? How can organizers respond to complaints from fans and cosplayers about sexual harassment and long lines? This week we ask Emerald City Comicon founder Jim Demonakos, now Global Director of Comic Talent at ReedPOP, about these issues, as well as how to maximize profits when tabling at a con, why comics events have multiplied, and what the future holds for comics conventions.

Also, Adam Pasion of Big Ugly Robot Press gives us the scoop on Big Ugly Robot and Black Hook Press‘s new event coming to Tokyo this July, Comic Art Tokyo!

#497 Peter Kuper: Demonstrating what comics can do

Ruins by Peter KuperPeter Kuper has been pushing the boundaries of comics for over two decades, using media like linoleum prints, scratchboard, and stencils & spray paint (including in The System) to make a wide variety of comics, from those with political or environmental messages to autobiography, adaptations of Franz Kafka’s writings, and (since 1997) Spy vs. Spy.

In this episode, Peter talks with Tim about the varied media; his youthful encounters with Harvey Pekar, R. Crumb, and Howard Chaykin; his ambitious graphic novel Ruins; the importance of getting out of your comfort zone; and much more.

#496 Oglaf: Sword, Sorcery, and Sex

Oglaf

If you like your comedy sexy (or your porn funny), you’re probably a fan of Oglaf, Doug Bayne and Trudy Cooper‘s long-running Web comic. This week, Tim calls up Doug and Trudy in Sydney to talk about the fantasy-parody elements of the strip, the missing main character Ivan, the diversity of sexual orientations in the strip, why they rarely table at conventions, and more.

#495 Lucy Bellwood: crowdfunding a dream with Patreon

Bellwood and PatreonThis week a look at how creators can cultivate their following into a means of paying (some of) the bills.

Comics artist Lucy Bellwood has a pretty succesful Patreon page; it’s paying her Portland rent. Her fans appreciate her work, but often that’s not quite enough; showing your personality, making a personal connection, can get them to buy in on a deeper level. Lucy talks to Tim about what she’s done to cultivate her following of fans/patrons.

Then Tim is joined by Taryn Arnold, Community Happiness Representative at Patreon, to talk about how Patreon works, the background of the site, and what they’re doing to solve some problems that have arisen — including (as referred to on this podcast more than once) kamikaze patrons who pledge, download all the free content, and unpledge without making any payments.

Pledge at least $3.00 a month to Deconstructing Comics on Patreon and hear Lucy talk about some frustrating, and also rather amazing, experiences she had with freelancing, and on why she got stressed out when she guested on someone else’s web comic!

(If you’d like to know more about using Patreon yourself, here’s some info.)

#492 MoCCA Fest 2016, pt 2

MoCCA part two

MoCCA Festival, presented by the Society of Illustrators and the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, was held at Metropolitan West in New York City on April 2 and 3. This week, the tablers Tim talked with on the second day.

Also, excerpts from a panel discussion called “Autobiography: Revealing the Self in Comics.” The panel was moderated by Heidi MacDonald (The Beat) and featured Gabrielle Bell (Truth is Fragmentary), Nicole Georges (Calling Dr. Laura), Jennifer Hayden (The Story of My Tits), and Gina Wynbrandt (Someone Please Have Sex With Me).

Click on “Continue reading this Post” to see photos of everyone in this episode.

Continue reading #492 MoCCA Fest 2016, pt 2

#491 MoCCA Fest 2016, pt 1

MoCCA part one

MoCCA Festival, presented by the Society of Illustrators and the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, was held at Metropolitan West in New York City on April 2 and 3. Tim was there, and talked with a lot of folks who were tabling about their work. Follow along with the photos below as you listen, and click the links to check out their work!

Continue reading #491 MoCCA Fest 2016, pt 1

#490 The Center for Cartoon Studies

Center for Cartoon StudiesThis week Tim, joined by brother Paul, visits the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, VT, to talk with some students and faculty! What’s it like studying comics in a small New England railroad town?

This week we present an hour of discussion on the podcast, and more audio and photos for patrons pledging at least $3.00 a month on Patreon!

Continue reading #490 The Center for Cartoon Studies

#489 Tapastic’s Michael Son & The Rattler’s Jason McNamara

TapasticTapastic is one of the many places online that you could put your comic. Why put it there? This week, Tapastic Editor-in-chief Michael Son joins Tim to explain the advantages of the site, issues they’re working to solve, what kind of audience is reading the site (and how reader demands have changed), and what new features are in the pipeline.

The RattlerJason McNamara is back with us after two years, and now his book with Greg Hinkle, The Rattler, has just been published by Image! He joins us to talk about the disturbing inspiration for the book, how the 2014 Kickstarter project for the book helped it get published, and more.

 

#487 Maya Kern and “Monster Pop!”

Monster Pop!Maya Kern‘s “Monster Pop!” features monsters and humans living together at a university. In Kern’s mind, it’s like, and also not like, shojo manga. How so?

This week, Tim talks with Maya about the increased acceptance of gay characters in comics; the problems with blogging from a character’s point of view (and of making your character a musician); why comics conventions are good for connections, but anime conventions are good for making money; repetitive strain injury, online comics promotion (Tapastic, Patreon), and more.

#486 Helen Maier and Fil Barlow

YorrisHelen Maier and Fil Barlow are longtime partners and collaborators who have turned out a number of comics, available mainly in their native Australia, and worked on animation and character design on a number of cartoons that millennials watched as kids, such as Extreme Ghostbusters and Tutenstein.

Since returning to Australia in 2010, they’ve gone all in on comics, and the first two chapters of their story “Yorris” appeared in issues 4 and 5 of Image’s rather mysterious 8House anthology series.

This week, a talk with Helen about Czech comics and the view from the animation trenches becomes a talk with both Helen and Fil about the meaning of (and Easter eggs in) “Yorris”, their attempts to turn some conventions of comics storytelling on their heads, and the pluses and minuses of the crowdfunding model.