At a panel at San Diego Comicon last month, Dan DiDio (bottom picture at left) caused a stir by seeming belligerent when a fan asked why the DC reboot included fewer female creators — even fewer than had worked on for DC pre-reboot. DiDio seemed to think there were hardly any female comics creators he could consider. Hear it here
Jake Ekiss was probably not alone in expressing disapproval of this sentiment — in this case, on Twitter. So Tim invited him to come on the podcast and discuss it here. (Jake’s comic is Solomon Azua.)
Joining Tim and Jake is one of those female comics creators the mainstream isn’t hiring, EK Weaver, creator of the Web comic The Less than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal (that’s Amal in the top picture at left). We discuss why women are so much further out of the comics mainstream in the US than they are in, oh say, Japan.
Also this week, Tim’s former day-job office mate Cassey, now based in Anchorage, joins Tim to discuss Bryan Lee O’Malley’s pre-Scott Pilgrim work Lost at Sea, the coming-of-age story of 18-year-old Raleigh (middle picture).
- The Problem with Having Only 1% Female Creators at DC Comics (from Comics Alliance)
- Petition to DC: Hire more women (at change.org)
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This week, we take a look at 
Planning a murder that you think will prevent future murders? That’s the premise — or, at least, one of the premises — of Monster, Naoki Urasawa’s 18-volume series. Set in Germany, the series focuses on the unintended consequences of Dr. Kenzo Tenma’s good deed; he saved the life of a boy who turned out to be a remorseless killer. Tim and guest reviewer Natalie Nourigat discuss.
Part of being a creator is promoting your work. But among all the other creators promoting their own work, how can you make yours stand out? (Aside, of course, from making your work really good!)
Jeff Parker‘s profile as a writer at Marvel is gradually increasing, due to his work on Agents of Atlas, Hulk, and Thunderbolts. This week we get his take on some of the characters he’s writing and story choices he’s made, as well as his approach to writer’s block, mistakes new writers make, and more. Why do his stories tend to move so quickly? How does a mainstream writer deal with “events” like Fear Itself derailing his story plans? Find out in this episode!
Perhaps the most famous comic to come out of Europe is The Adventures of Tintin, by the Belgian known as Hergé. It’s known the world over and has appeared in more than 80 languages. Tim and Kumar discuss the comic’s appeal, Hergé’s expert cartooning, and some of the controversies that have swirled around the strip and its creator. Also, Kumar has some observations about the trailer for the upcoming Tintin movie.
Are you in a comics cooperative? Would you like to be? What are the various things a group might offer its members?