#567 Paul Gravett

Koom with Paul Gravett

At London Super Comicon last month, Koom got to sit down with Paul Gravett, a comics journalist and exhibition curator. Gravett is currently preparing the touring Asian comics show Mangasia, which will debut in Rome next month. This is a guy who’s read a lot of comics; do they all become a blur after a while? Koom asks him about avoiding burnout, the amount of progress comics have (or haven’t) made toward being accepted by the “art world”, and much more.

Critiquing Comics #115: “Dawn of War” and “Rocket to Pluto”

Dawn of War / Rocket to Pluto

This time Tim and Mulele take on two submitted comics: Dawn of War #1, the latest Warhammer 40,000 comic from Ryan O’Sullivan and Daniel Indro, published by Titan Comics; and Snowcone City: Rocket to Pluto by Joseph Hewitt, from Polar Bear Comix.

#541 Kyoto Manga Museum

Kyoto Manga Museum

Most people don’t equate the ancient city of Kyoto, Japan, with comics, but that happens to be the location of a museum and reading library of comics from Japan and around the world. Tim visited The Kyoto International Manga Museum recently, and this week he discusses it with Kobe-based comics creator Graeme McNee.

Also, a stopoff in Nagoya to chat with Adam Pasion, head of Big Ugly Robot Press, and co-organizer of the Comic Art Tokyo event.

Continue reading #541 Kyoto Manga Museum

#531 “Little in Japan” & “Cucumber Quest”

littleinjapan-cucumberquest

When webcomics creators aren’t creating webcomics, what are they reading? This week we check in with a couple of creators whose work we’ve looked at previously — Victor Edison and Maya Kern — and get their recommendations: Chris Carlier’s “Little in Japan” and G.G. Digi’s “Cucumber Quest“!

#530 Wren McDonald makes “SP4RX”

sp4rx

SP4RX is Wren McDonald‘s first full-length graphic novel, a cyber-punk story that fondly remembers “the future of the past”. This week Wren talks about world building in SP4RX, his process, work-life balance, and more. Support Deconstructing Comics on Patreon to hear more of this interview!

#529 “The Summit of the Gods”

The Summit of the Gods

An old camera found in a shop in Kathmandu starts up a sometimes exasperating, but ultimately engrossing, story of climbing Mt. Everest, with one of the most satisfying endings you’ll ever see. Kumar (who translated the story into English for Fanfare/Ponent Mon’s edition) and Tim discuss Baku Yumemakura and Jiro Taniguchi’s The Summit of the Gods.

#524 “Assassination Classroom”

Assassination ClassroomHe’s taken a bite out of the moon! He’s threatening to destroy earth! He’s… teaching junior high? What is the many-tentacled Koro Sensei up to? Why is he up for letting a bunch of 14-year-olds try to kill him? Tim and Kumar talk about Yuusei Matsui’s Assassination Classroom – incomprehensible sound effects and all!

#521 Kaigai Manga Festa 2016, part two!

Kaigai Manga Festa 2016

Part two of our roundup of creators who tabled at this year’s Kaiga Manga Festa, including talks with Graeme Mc Nee, Matthew Forsythe, Karl Kerschl, and our own Mulele!

Creators show their work to editors at Comitia, the larger festival alongside Kaigai on October 23, 2016

Continue reading #521 Kaigai Manga Festa 2016, part two!

#520 Kaigai Manga Festa 2016, part one!

Kaigai Manga Festa 2016

It’s time for another Kaigai Manga Festa roundup! This year’s international comics festival in Tokyo was held on October 23 at Tokyo Big Sight, alongside the Comitia festival as always. Tim caught up with some familiar faces and met some new ones as well!

Continue reading #520 Kaigai Manga Festa 2016, part one!

#512 “Queen Emeraldas”

Queen EmeraldasThe epic space opera Queen Emeraldas from Kodansha is the first release of manga in English by legendary cartoonist Leiji Matsumoto since 2002. Kumar and fellow Matsumoto advocate Ryan Cecil Smith dig into the recently-released first book of the 2-volume series and discuss Matsumoto’s relative obscurity in the West, the brutal morality of life in space, and potato heads on the sea of stars.