#223 Electronic Comics

Comics are increasingly read as bits and bytes, on PCs and handheld devices.

Blank creators Brothers of the Silence are publishing the comic in Flash on their site, and as image files on Facebook and several other sites. “Brothers” Ian LeWinter and Don Richmond talk about creating the comic and promoting it via social media sites.

Dale Wilson of DWAP Productions, making his second appearance on this podcast, discusses the ways his company is getting its traditional paper product out in handheld device formats.

Remember “Yon Kuma”? Tim and Mulele reviewed it a year ago. It’s now called “Bear Beater Bunyan,” and it’s an iPhone app. Artist Jorge Munoz talks about the path he and writer Josh Hechinger followed in making the comic available for handhelds.

“Bear Beater Bunyan” is just one of many comics available from Robotcomics.net. Robot Comics Deputy Director Dave Baxter fills us in on the state of the growing comics market for handhelds and how Robot does what it does.

Finally, Tim and Mulele review some of Robot’s output.

#220 Guamics!

If you think the area where you live is too isolated and lacks a comics scene, consider the Pacific island of Guam: Fewer than 200,000 people, only about half of whom use the Internet. Few comics outlets, and a small selection. And even ordering online can be problematic. Tim visited Guam recently and spoke with Carlo CariƱo (creator of Its a Big Island) and Roland Miranda, political cartoonist for the Pacific Daily News (see his work here and here). They discussed their creative work and the difficulties of being an island-based artist.

#214 We get interviewed!

Tim and Mulele are joined by Mike Kloran, a Deconstructing Comics listener and artist based in northern Japan. Creating educational comics is discussed, and Mike interviews Tim and Mulele. Also, what are Mike’s thoughts on this podcast itself?
Then Tim and Mulele discuss two books by Ken Dahl, “Welcome to the Dahl House” and “Monsters”.

#211 Stephenny Godfrey and “Panorama”

Steph Godfrey, of San Francisco by way of Perth, Australia, recently made a comic called Panorama, based on a dream she had and how it affected her life. Tim talks to Steph about the background of the comic, and then reviews it with Mulele.

#210 Jillian Tamaki

Skim is a coming-of-age graphic novel written by Mariko Tamaki, and drawn by her cousin Jillian Tamaki. Jillian works primarily in the field of illustration; how does she find that different from drawing a comic? Is it wrong to say that a comic is “illustrated”? She also discusses her perhaps unorthodox collaboration with Mariko on Skim, and reviews of the book that see meanings in it that were completely unintentional, in this interview.

#209 Darrin Bell

12/7/09 Darrin Bell

Darrin Bell, creator of the strip Candorville, talks about dealing with the expectations of a newspaper audience (and the thought processes of newspaper editors), the dynamic between characters Lamont and Susan, why he published his new book, Katrina’s Ghost, via Lulu, and, by the way, what’s up with the vampires?!

#203 Chris Bachalo clears things up

10/26/09 Chris Bachalo clears things up

Chris Bachlo’s art has long had a compelling style to it, and yet it was sometimes very difficult to decipher just what was happening on some of his pages. This was perhaps particularly pronounced in his work on Steam Punk with Joe Kelly, back at the turn of the millennium. But his recent work on such Marvel titles as Amazing Spider-Man and New Avengers has been completely clear and easy to understand. What did he change to clear things up? And, by the way — will Steam Punk ever be completed?!

#202 Dale Lazarov & erotic comics

Listen

Writing erotic comics? What’s so hard about writing a story about sex? Dale Lazarov, writer of gay erotic comics like “Sticky,” “Manly,” and the forthcoming “Nightlife,” talks about the challenges of writing erotic comics, and of dialog-free comics.