Deconstructing Comics Podcast, published every Monday, features comics creator discussion and comics reviews.
On November 23, Tim once again visited the International Manga Festival (Kaigai Manga Festa) at Tokyo Big Sight. Comics creators from around the world (including Mulele!) were exhibiting their work to an enthusiastic mostly-Japanese crowd. Tim interviewed a number of exhibitors; hear them in this week’s episode, and see them below the jump in this post!
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While Aquaman has been around since 1941 and been through several badass incarnations, it seems everyone but dedicated Aquaman readers still thinks of him as the lightweight, Super Friends Aquaman. Tim, who’s been getting into the current Aquaman series, is joined this week by longtime Aquaman reader Emmet O’Cuana to sift through the character’s long history, various conflicting origin stories, costume changes, supporting cast, and more.
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While some colorists’ work can be recognized no matter what kind of story it is, Nathan Fairbairn says he prefers to start from scratch in his approach to each story he colors. While his colors on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s work tends to be bright (and often influenced by O’Malley’s own vision– such as the colors of Knives Chau’s scarf), his other work may be much more subdued.
Tim talks with him this week about how the style of comics coloring can affect how quickly or slowly people read the story, what can go wrong with colors and the printing stage, the history of comics coloring, and more.
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Israeli graphic novelist Rutu Modan has won acclaim for her books Exit Wounds (2007) and The Property (2013), both of which are so tightly plotted, with a number of twists and turns, that Tim and Kumar find them difficult to review spoiler-free. What’s remarkable, though, is the emotional depth in books that are so plot-driven, as well as their social commentary on Israeli society, how violence there has become banal, and the popularity of Jewish tours of Polish sites of the Holocaust. With all this going for the books, we simply have to talk about them! (With few spoilers!)
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While Chris Taylor goes by the pen name “Sketchfro“, he no longer has an afro and he does a whole lot more than sketch. An American living in Tokyo, he does freelance art, his own comics, and pro-level digital coloring. In this episode he talks about getting digital coloring right, drawing women with sex appeal, and the work he’ll be promoting at Tokyo’s International Comics Fest later this month.
When last we checked in on the Web comic Evil Diva, an artist needed to be paid and fans were being asked to cough up cash before the next page could be drawn. Now the comic is being published as a graphic novel, and will even get a cameo in an upcoming movie. Are the comics gods finally smiling on Evil Diva? Let’s ask the strip’s creator, Peter Menotti, and see.
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Sometimes simplicity is best. Just take a look at the work of Graeme McNee, a Scottish/South African who makes his home in Kobe, Japan. With just a few lines, sometimes a complex idea or story can be communicated. This week Graeme talks to Tim about how he got into doing comics and developed both his simple style of drawing and his distinctive way of publishing them.
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A vampire recruits a Frankenstein-type monster, a witch, and a man-bat to turn around the public perception of “monsters” by protecting humans from supernatural evil. It’s a sound enough concept, with plenty of story opportunities on offer. Unfortunately, in Ghoul Squad #1, writer Brandon Rhiness missed most of them. Tim and Mulele discuss.
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Michael Kupperman’s Tales Designed to Thrizzle and Lisa Hanawalt’s My Dirty Dumb Eyes are two books exhibiting bizarre humor and pointed takes on modern life. Tim, Kumar, and Tom Spurgeon discuss.
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You know that feeling when you love an artist’s work, but then you get their next one, and feel like… ehh, the magic’s gone? Tim was afraid that would be his reaction to Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Seconds but, as he discusses with Cassey this week, his fears were completely misplaced!
Also this week, a discussion with Kenneth Kit Lamug. His picture book A Box Story won a Moonbeam Children’s Book Award, Pinnacle Book Achievement Award, a Children’s Literary Classics Seal of Approval, and was a National Indie Excellence Book Award finalist, all in 2012. Now trying his hand at comics, he recently funded a Kickstarter project for The Tall Tales of Talbot Toluca: Quest for the Ore Crystals. Tim talks with him about the Kickstarter, moving from illustration to comics, not quitting his day job, and more.
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Comics conventions are changing. Some creators complain that it’s harder to sell books at cons than it once was. Distractions — cosplay, Hollywood — creep in and attract larger crowds, but don’t increase comics sales at the events. Having attended Boston Comicon in August, Paul shares the experience with Tim, and discussion ensues on problems that cons face going forward.
Paul did buy a couple of indy books in Boston, and we discuss them:
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