#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.

#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!

#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.

Yugata, I’ve got a question…

Actually, several questions. I’ve become a follower of Yugata’s career since meeting her at the massive Comic Market (“Comiket”) event in Tokyo last December. At that event and also at Comitia in May, I bought some of her work. The juxtaposition of cute high school girls and creepy insects is interesting, but the main attraction is not so much the subject matter as that it’s just drawn and colored so beautifully. This is a lady with real talent.

Silverfish girl

I feel I’d like to show characters who are both scary and cute. Putting horror elements together with cute ones, I think I can create something new and interesting. — Yugata

Stunned that this twentysomething artist is not already the toast of the Tokyo manga world, I’ve been wanting to spread the word about her. I first inquired about doing an interview in January. She has a lot going on, but finally found some time to sit down with me on June 21, 2015, in the Nakano area of Tokyo. What follows is a transcript, translated from Japanese and edited for length and clarity.

(Note: “Yugata” is a pen name; as is not unusual in Japan, she doesn’t put her real name on her work, at least in part because moonlighting is frowned upon. She also declined to let me take a photo of her; it’s your loss, I have to say.)

Working for a Living

DCP: Is making comics your job?

YUGATA: Well, I really want it to be my job, and lately I’ve been getting some things published in magazines. Continue reading Yugata, I’ve got a question…

#456 Dakota McFadzean: What’s eating him?

Don't Get EatenThe daily strips on Dakota McFadzean‘s site are darkly humorous, or sometimes just dark. (Folks gets eaten!) On this week’s show, Dakota talks about how doing daily strips has helped him as an artist, surviving Cartoonist Boot Camp at the Center for Cartoon Studies, why kids stop drawing at a certain age (and why we should encourage them not to stop!), and more.

#455 Streetwise

Streetwise

When Kumar was in Toronto in May and met up with Koom, one topic that came up was a 2000 anthology book called Streetwise, featuring autobiographical stories by a number of well-known comics artists (including Jack Kirby, Sergio Aragones, Paul Chadwick, Joe Kubert, John Severin & Roy Thomas, Walter Simonson, Rick Veitch, and Barry Windsor-Smith). This week, with Kumar back in Australia, they chat via Skype/phone about an overlooked book that’s worth a look.

#454 Kumar Across Canada

Kumar at ECCE Kumar reports on the three comics shows he attended while in Canada last month: Toronto Comic Arts Festival (where he spoke on a manga translation panel), East Coast Comics Expo (where he had a table), and Vancouver Comic Arts Festival. (Click below for photos)
Sithra Then Tim and Mulele discuss Jason Brubaker’s “Sithra: Book One”. Brubaker recently quit DreamWorks — yes, that’s right, QUIT DREAMWORKS — to follow his muse, which prompts Tim and Mulele to think about their own career hopes, in comics or otherwise.

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