A horror anthology? Some may advise against it, but artist Greg Hinkle and several of our San Francisco friends in Writer’s Old Fashioned decided to boldly go there anyway! The result is Parasomnia, now available without a prescription. Greg talks to Tim about preparing the comic for the Alternative Press Expo, and then Mulele and Tim critique the work.
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You have the details all ironed out and the project is well under way. But you don’t have money to publish it when you’re done, or some other financial barrier exists. What to do? One option: kickstarter.com. Tim talks to two people who have managed successful comics-related Kickstarter projects: Thomas Negovan, publisher of Jeremy Bastion’s “Cursed Pirate Girl“; and Kenny Keil, creator of “Tales to Suffice“.
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You’ve heard Tim talk about the American Comics Exhibition; now hear the viewpoints of some of the other artists. Cassey Bradley talks about her take on the Joker; Jim Reddy discusses his influences; and Patrick Gannon, our favorite cut-paper artist, explains the differences between galleries in Japan and galleries in the U.S.
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Comixology.com, which first appeared as a comics information site with pull lists, surprised a lot of people when it branched into selling major-publisher comics for the iPhone. Says CEO David Steinberger: “A lot of people see this as transforming; we see it as following our business plan.” This week Steinberger talks to Tim about formatting print comics for electronic viewing, why electronic comics are not a threat to print, and the possibility of e-rotic e-comics.
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FLASHBACK! Children’s book writer Mo Willems has been found out: he’s actually a comics creator! He talks to Tim about the state of American comics for kids, the effect of his animation background on his approach to creating books, and… just why does that pigeon want to drive a bus, anyway?! (Originally published Feb 2, 2009)
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Thinking of looking for work as a comics translator? What issues are you likely to face in doing the work? Our very own Kumar, translator of dozens of Japanese comics for Dark Horse, talks to Tim about translating puns, accents, sound effects, song lyrics, and more.
Plus: Farewell to Frank Frazetta.
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Ruben Bolling is a comic strip creator who admits that he’s less interested in drawing than he used to be. Known as the brains behind the hilarious, and sometimes absurd, weekly strip “Tom the Dancing Bug,” Bolling does want to continue the strip, but also concentrate more effort on writing, and to move into other types of creative pursuits. One such pursuit may be a movie project with New Line Cinema. In an interview with Tim, Bolling talks about the movie, his influences, his tools, and his characters, as well as answering questions from listeners!
Also in this episode, Tim, Mulele, and Kumar discuss the upcoming WeirdCrimeTheater.com and Tim’s ongoing paid drawing gig (see his finished works below the break).
Continue reading #228 Ruben Bolling
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Tim and Mulele set out to review dharbin.com, but “the gold of the site” is hidden. Mulele explains where to find Dustin Harbin’s best work.
Then an interview with (former) Tokyo resident Ed Siemienkowicz and a discussion of how to develop your own style. Tim continues to struggle with this as he is paid (!) (by an English school) to do some illustrations.
Finally, Mulele has a few words about WordPress plugin ComicPress, and why he’s switching to InkBlot — er, no, sorry, Webcomic 2.1
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Comics are being used increasingly to get messages across visually, even those aimed at the business world.
Doug Jackson, a Tokyo-based business consultant, was involved in adapting Patrick Lencioni’s “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” into a “manga version.” He talks to Tim about the challenges he faced in turning Lencioni’s “business fable” into a comics script, and the potential for using sequential art as a teaching tool.
Grant Brownrigg of Grantland.net sells usage rights to his business-themed comic strips and one-panel cartoons through the site, for use in everything from newsletters to presentations. He tells Tim about how the business started in 1984 and how it has evolved.
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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.
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