Our report on the October 20 International Manga Festival (Kaigai Manga Festa) at Tokyo Big Sight concludes, with analog cloud computer support, an unexpected Boston Comics Roundtable connection, a young boy in strange lands, talk of censorship, Bulgarian comics, and finally, the artist behind Blacksad, Juanjo Guarnido!
Info on all the exhibitors we talk to in this episode is below!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
On October 20, Tim and Mulele visited the International Manga Festival (Kaigai Manga Festa) at Tokyo Big Sight. Comics creators from around the world were exhibiting their work to an enthusiastic mostly-Japanese crowd. This week: part one of our report.
Info on all the exhibitors we talk to in this episode is below!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
This is the prettiest comic we’ve seen in quite a while! Gorgeous art and a promising story characterize George Caltsoudas’ all-ages digital comic Barbadango. Tim and Mulele savor.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Waaay back in episode 250, Tim talked to Thomas Negovan about the Kickstarter project for a comic called Cursed Pirate Girl. Negovan was the publisher of the single issues of the series, and was handling media inquiries while the comic’s creator, Jeremy Bastian, put all his time into the comic’s insanely detailed art.
The first three issues are now out in a fancy hardcover from Archaia, and this time Jeremy himself comes on the show to talk to Tim about what’s happened since the successful 2010 Kickstarter project, and what to expect from here.
Plus, Tim and Brandon review the book!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
What happened on that night eight years ago? An experimental drug was tried by four friends, leading to widely contrasting outcomes for each. That’s the premise of Shattered with Curve of Horn, by Max Miller Dowdle. Tim and Mulele critique.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
It’s a 15-week comics course in 78 pages! Ivan Brunetti’s Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice is about comics creation, but it’s less about technique or how-to than about shoving aside any preconceived notions and looking at the very basic pieces of sequential storytelling – or even boiling down an entire novel into a non-sequential single panel. Tim and his brother Paul use the book as a launching pad for discussing various comics-philosophy ideas, like: is there a difference between a “cartoonist” and a “comics artist”? What can you learn from a “bad” artist? Is it valuable to learn comics creation, or anything else, the old, low-tech way before digging into the modern, digital way?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Sales of digital comics have grown by leaps and bounds the past couple of years. Interestingly, this hasn’t hurt sales of paper comics, and may even have helped it. But is buying these comics really “buying” them? What considerations go into the pricing of them? What other issues, such as digital rights, still remain to be sorted out? Tim talks with cartoonist and writer Shaenon Garrity about all this and more.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Mulele bought a print comic from one of his favorite online artists, the mysterious creator of the Tanglefoot page on Tumblr. The comic, Dime a Dance, is a fun silent story with dynamic art. Too bad it doesn’t have more room to breathe.
Tim and Mulele also look at:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Comics that you buy in comics shops or bookstores are facing enough business challenges, but how about newspaper comics? Their traditional delivery system is dying out, with many printed papers ceasing publication. The comic strip faces a number of challenges, but there are positive trends as well. How are Web comics and other new technology changing the game? This week, Tim talks newspaper(-style) strips with Tom Racine, host of the Tall Tale Radio podcast!
Stephan Pastis interview (gigaom.com)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Drawing backgrounds is seldom the most enjoyable part of drawing a comic. Many artists dislike it, and might try to give it short shrift. But it’s an important part of telling your story, so you’ve got to do it right. Tim and Mulele discuss some important points to keep in mind when drawing your backgrounds — and a few things to avoid.
Sean Gordon Murphy’s background tips
Drawinghowtodraw.com (beware of the popup ad!)
idrawdigital.com: backgrounds tutorial
The Mindgator: invisible Coke machine in last panel
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
