Like many who grew up in the ’60s and ’70s (and perhaps even ’80s and later), Tim and Paul had the course of their lives changed by the 1966 Batman TV show, from the types of play they did growing up to their present-day interests.
In our premiere episode, we discuss the allure of the show and its effects on us — and invite you to share your own stories!
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Why draw in a manga style? Why are zombies popular? How can you represent the comics creation experience in a card game? These questions and more as Tim interviews Jason Thompson, author of Manga: The Complete Guide, the Web comic The Stiff, and Kickstarter project card game Mangaka.
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More than once, this podcast has explored the question of comics for kids. What we’ve never done, though, is ask an actual kid about his opinion of the comics he reads!
So this week, Kumar is joined by his son Ashwin, 7, to discuss eight different issues of DC Super Friends, from a few years back, and also a 2014 issue of Scooby-Doo Team-up!
DC Super Friends issues discussed:
#17 Just In Time
#18 This Am Not the Title
#5 Go Ape!
#11 Imp-Possible!
#16 Stopped Cold
#7 Just My Luck
#8 Nothing to Fear
#13 The Greatest Show on Earth
Scooby-Doo Team-up #5
Continue reading #442 The DC Super Friends: A kid’s-eye view
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American comics fans were introduced to Ken Niimura back in 2010, when his art appeared in the Image miniseries I Kill Giants, written by Joe Kelly. Since then, Ken’s work has been seen in some short Spider-Man stories, and more recently, his book Henshin, which just came out in English from Image.
He currently lives in Tim’s stomping grounds of Tokyo, so this week it’s an in-person interview with Ken, about why I Kill Giants was in black and white, his story goals and storytelling techniques in Henshin, and much more.
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Did you think Love & Rockets was over?! Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez continue to release new work about once a year, and in this episode Kumar and Matt sit down and discuss some of it, with particular attention paid to Jaime’s The Love Bunglers. (Spoiler warning!)
Also: the tension between indy creators who want to do single-issue type comics, and the economic realities shoving them toward larger collections…
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Ever wondered what it would be like to work in a manga studio in Japan? Jamie Lynn Lano got her chance in 2008 when she was hired by Takeshi Konomi to be part of his team for the Prince of Tennis sequel. Recently she’s published a book about her experience, and this week she talks about what brought her to Japan and how she got hired, cultural differences, drawing speed lines and tennis shoes, and much more.
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As John Layman and Rob Guillory’s Chew passes the 3/4 point, major characters (including badass galline fan favorites) get maimed and even killed — yet the story somehow retains a lighthearted tone! This week, John Layman (who’s also writing Cyclops for Marvel) talks with Tim about nonsequential storytelling, the one thing Rob Guillory can’t draw, Tiger Beat posters of Robert Kirkman, and much more.
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Sports have rarely been subject matter for comics in the US; perhaps comics’ inherent static-ness has seemed antithetical to an activity with so much movement. But Japan has seen comics about various sports, and some of them have been quite popular, even iconic.
Takehiko Inoue’s Real is not only about basketball, but about physical handicaps, relationships, and more. Kumar and Ilango find a whole lot to like about it — including the satisfying ways in which it translates sports action to the comics page.
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It’s one thing to have sex with a robot. What if you actually started having feelings for your A.I. S.O.? What if you started preferring the robot to your actual human partner? That’s the situation in Jess Fink‘s sexual, but also romantic and even moving, graphic novel Chester 5000 xyv. Jess discusses the book with Tim in this episode, as well as her sci-fi autobiographical story We Can Fix It, getting a book-jacket blurb from Alan Moore, making comics for kids, and more.
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Stef Marcinkowski’s Sarah Zero is an over-the-top, Web-browser-shaped comic that he developed by trying to mash up advertising, marketing, comics, and film. The comic is heavy on interpersonal relationships and Internet culture.
This week Stef tells Tim about his process, getting the comic right when life keeps getting in the way, struggles with self-promotion, and more.
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