#465 Stephen Bissette talks scary comics!

TyrantArtist Stephen Bissette is best-known for his work on Swamp Thing in the ’80s with Alan Moore and John Totleben, as well as 1963 and his solo project Tyrant. Currently he’s teaching at the Center for Cartoon Studies, and this week he joins Tim and Kumar for a wide-ranging discussion, including:

  • The difference between comics schools in the ‘70s vs today
  • What it was like growing up as the first Fantastic Four and Spider-Man comics were hitting the stands and why he liked the new FF movie
  • Is the current state of Image Comics a new paradigm in creator rights, or is it more of the same?
  • Making things scary in comics vs. media that include movement and sound
  • His original plan for “Tyrant”, which ceased with the ‘90s comics industry implosion. Will we ever see more of Tyrant?
  • Time management for comics creators

Steve’s list of artists who have taught at CCS

Continue reading #465 Stephen Bissette talks scary comics!

#464 Brooke and her magical girls

FaLLENOgawa Burukku (a.k.a. Brooke Stephenson) has been enjoying great success with her magical-girl manga FaLLEN — both on the Web and in self-published books. This week she talks with Tim about her experience studying comics and being a manga studio assistant in Tokyo, why straight women get into a comic with nude women in it, why living in Japan is not like living in the future, tabling at Japanese comics events vs. American conventions, and more.

Critiquing Comics #076: Blazing Quantum

Blazing QuantumRemember that time when…. No? You weren’t there? Or maybe you were there, but the memory just isn’t that special. It’s OK to draw on your memories for your story, but is it wise to simply make your memories be the story? Tim and Mulele discuss William Keops Ibanez’s Blazing Quantum. (More sample pages on Tumblr)

#463 Bat in Time

Is this the sixties, or 2039?

Batman Year 100In a time without superheroes, Batman sightings are reported. But isn’t he an urban legend? Paul Pope brings his unique, inventive style to the Batman of 2039 in Batman Year 100. While new characters stand in for Robin and Oracle, is there a reason there’s no Alfred analogue? Why do Paul Pope characters have big lips? Tim and Brandon discuss this and more.

Batman '66: The Lost EpisodeFrom Batman 2039, we move to Batman 1966! When production of the Adam West Batman series was gearing up, Harlan Ellison (writer of the Star Trek episode “City on the Edge of Forever”, and much else of note) submitted a treatment for an episode featuring Two-Face. While the treatment was accepted, it never made it to the script stage. Finally, in 2014, DC released a comics adaptation of this story, Batman ’66: The Lost Episode, scripted by Len Wein and drawn by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (cover by Alex Ross). Does it feel like the show? Who might have played Two-Face? What does this book tell us about the differences between making a TV show and making a comic? Tim and Paul slide down the Batpoles for a closer look.

#462 Usagi Yojimbo

Usagi YojimboOriginating out of the same ’80s black-and-white/anthropomorphic boom that brought us the Ninja Turtles, Usagi Yojimbo is one of the few comics of that batch that are still going today. Stan Sakai’s work combines historical drama, understated violence, light comedy, and even some explanations of 17th century Japanese culture — and he can pack a surprising amount of story into a few pages. Tom Spurgeon joins Tim and Kumar to talk about the long-eared samurai.

#461 The Legend of Andy Warner

The Legend of the BunnymanLast year at the comics journalism panel discussion in San Francisco, we met Andy Warner, whose work has appeared mostly on newsy Web sites. This week, Andy fills us in on how he gets freelance work with these sites. Also, the golden age of US newspaper strips, time management, the need for more support for comics (and ALL media), and… the Legend of the Bunnyman!

#460 Poe-faced Corben

PoeRichard Corben has repeatedly adapted the works of Edgar Allan Poe — in fact, he’s drawn some of the same stories several times! Most recently he’s done the work collected in Dark Horse’s Edgar Allan Poe’s Spirits of the Dead.

How do his different versions of such works as The Fall of the House of Usher compare to each other? How has Corben enhanced Poe’s stories? Is reading Poe adapted as a comic a substitute for straight-up reading Poe? In general, is it harder to be scary in comics compared to other media? Kumar and Dana discuss.

#459 Yokohama Comics Chat

Chris Taylor, James StaceyThis week Tim travels just south of Tokyo to Yokohama to meet up with Chris Taylor (“Sketchfro”), creator of Relic Hunter: Riven, and James Stacey of Black Hook Press, which publishes Japanese translations of US and UK graphic novels. How do you prepare for conventions? Did you do comics differently back home? What’s different about tabling at German comics events? Why did Chris get in an argument with Archie Comics? That and more!

#458 Lucy Knisley Processes Her Thoughts

An Age of LicenseWhen doing an autobiographical comic — a memoir, a travelogue, whatever — one problem to consider is how the people around you feel about appearing in your comic, especially if it’s getting published! This week Tim talks with Lucy Knisleyauthor of many such comics, including An Age of License — about this problem, as well as doing art for a living without losing the joy, getting career advice from Lynda Barry, and much more.

Critiquing Comics #075: Viking Sky Kings

Viking Sky KingsMichael Bangert’s Viking Sky Kings features a guy looking for work to support his wife and child. Each scene is a slice of life… but maybe a bit too thinly sliced. How do these slices fit each other? The site navigation of this Web comic is not helping matters… Tim and Mulele try to piece things together.