Christopher Jones has done a variety of work for DC Comics (including The Batman Strikes and one story in Batman ’66) and other animation adaptations), a few things for Marvel, and Dr. Who comics for Titan. How did he break in, and why is so much of his work of a more “cartoony” nature?
Lucid is making her living from crowdfunding in support of her webcomic, Avialae, a “boy’s love” story with an emphasis on consensual couplings. She talks about how “living the dream” can sometimes be a double-edged sword.
Minneapolis is increasingly becoming a “comics town”. While it doesn’t have the publisher presence of Portland, it’s filled with comics creators of all stripes, from mainstream guys to indy creators to web cartoonists.
It also may be the only town in the U.S. where New Comic Book Day is a bar event every Wednesday, with comics giveaways, standup comedy, and a creator interview!
In this episode, Tim talks with:
Katy Rex, writer of Jade Street Protection Services, from Black Mask, editor of another Black Mask title, Kim and Kim, and writer of a forthcoming Dr. Who special from Titan Comics. She also works at local retailer Hot Comics.
Eliot Rahal, writer of Bloodshot’s Day Off and other books from Valiant, and a host of the New Comic Book Day event.
John Bivens, artist on Image Comics’ Spread and Dark Engine.
My Little Pony is a toy line that initially had success in the ’80s (including TV and film appearances) but then stumbled until the 21st century. Its fourth iteration debuted in 2010, with a hit TV show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and more world building and continuity than before.
IDW has the license to make My Little Pony comics, and Ted Anderson is one of the writers on the book. Tim recently talked with him in Minneapolis about his approach to writing for kids, how he gets from a story concept to an actual story, the stumbling blocks in writing for a multimedia franchise, and more.
Andre Mateus, writer of Wanderer, is back, this time with artist Pedro Mendes, with issue 1 of sword and sorcery tale Deiciders. Tim and Mulele critique.
Our friend Matt Silady is back with us for the first time in five years, and he’s here to introduce us to a friend: Thi Bui, who recently completed her decade-long quest to create a graphic novel about three generations of her family in the context of Vietnamese and American history. After catching up with Matt, Tim talks with Thi about the book, The Best We Could Do, and how she now finds herself teaching comics!
Vanessa Davis is an L.A.-based creator of autobio comics Spaniel Rage, Make Me A Woman and Out of Time. Koom has been an admirer of her work, and this week he talks with her in depth about whether she sees herself as part of a “movement”; the pitfalls of reporting in your comics on what your family members do (like that time with her mom in the museum…); how her parents affected the direction of her art; and much more.
One breakout hit comic of the past year is DC’s The Flintstones, by Mark Russell and Steve Pugh. This week, Tim and John Roberson talk with Pugh about the challenges of adapting the 1960s characters to a slightly more serious art style and discuss writer Russell’s decidedly different take on this classic Hanna-Barbera property.
Robert Sikoryak is known for adopting the styles of various famous comics and mashing them up with classic literature, Donald Trump quotes, and even the iTunes user agreement. This week he talks with Koom how he chooses the specific pairings of comics titles and other content, why he didn’t want to do his book on Trump, what Kafka’s Metamorphosis and Schulz’s Peanuts have in common, getting inside the head of the creator whose work he’s parodying, and more.
This year’s Toronto Comic Arts Festival was held May 13 & 14. Koom was there and brought back interviews with Dave McKean, Jessica Campbell, Rick Geary, and Charlie Adlard!
Love and Rockets continues to impress, and in this episode Koom asks creator Jaime Hernandez some burning questions. Hernandez talks about writing Maggie and Hopey, the dynamics of working on something with your brother, why he gravitates toward female characters, his influences and art style, and more.
Also, Tim and Mulele discuss the current state of the US comics market and Marvel’s recent problems.