#266 Jamie Delano: The Accidental Writer

Hellblazer 1Jamie Delano never set out to be a comics writer. His high school friend, a bloke by the name of Alan Moore, was big into comics, but Delano was not a comics reader. It was only at Moore’s suggestion, many years later, that Delano tried out, doing some work for Marvel UK, then landing the job writing Moore’s John Constantine character in the Hellblazer title as it launched in 1987. The rest is history. Delano is nice enough to give some of his time to Tim for an interview.

Jamie Delano’s site

#265 Indy comics critiqued, con-going advice given

In the tradition of our Web comics critiques, this week Tim and Mulele pick out a few interesting stories from indy anthology comics sent to us by Mike Kloran.

From Supertalk #1 (at the bottom of the linked page):

From Rabid Rabbit #10:

Also, Tim asks Mulele for some con-going advice for his upcoming trip to Emerald City!

#264 Lars Martinson

Tonoharu -- The zebra is killing me over hereIn the years of doing this podcast, we’ve encountered many comics from Japan, but not many about Japan. One in the latter category is “Tonoharu”, about an American teaching English in Japan (an occupation that some of us on this podcast know a bit about!); the second installment of the four-book series was recently released.

This week Tim calls up creator Lars Martinson to pick his brain on such questions as, is it jarring for some readers to see a comic about Japan that doesn’t look like manga? What was the inspiration for the style you did choose? And just how long does it take to draw all those lines?! A great discussion ensues.

Lars Martinson blogs on Creating “Tonoharu”

#263 Adrian Tomine’s “Shortcomings” … and our own

Shortcomings“Shortcomings” is a relationship story that mixes in issues of race and gender, and features a rather unlikeable character as its protagonist. Some say it’s Adrian Tomine’s masterwork, others say it’s more of the same from him. Tim (battling a cold that’s bestowed on him the voice of a frog) and Kumar (with a mic that keeps going on the fritz) overcome their own shortcomings to discuss the book.

#262 “The Supervillain” and a Shoutout

stumpMulele & Tim, long overdue to critique some Web comics on the podcast, find a couple of sites chock-full of them.

First, The Supervillain, which features five different creators, a different one every weekday — and an opportunity for other artists on the weekend!

Then, the comics of John Roberson, who recently gave this podcast some warm fuzzies in his blog. Can Tim & Mulele return the favor?

Finally, time to do some self-promotion: Mulele talks about Weird Crime Theater.

#261 Little Lulu

Little LuluYou’ve probably heard of Little Lulu. Perhaps you’ve read one of her comics, or maybe you saw the ’90s cartoon series on HBO. But did you know that, in the mid-20th century, Lulu was a merchandising juggernaut? Tim and Kumar discuss the background of the character, and review the Dark Horse book Lulu Takes a Trip.

Little Lulu at Harvard

#260 The Rocketeer

RocketeerDave Stevens’ The Rocketeer was part of the early ’80s wave of indy comics that brought us American Flagg! and others. It features a ’30s setting, an un-heroically motivated protagonist, and enough cheesecake to fill a bakery. Tim and Kumar evaluate the value of the work 30 years on.

#259 Jarrett Williams and “Super Pro K.O.”!

When last we checked in with Jarrett Williams, he was a student at Savannah College of Art & Design, and creator of the Web comic “Lunar Boy”. Since then, he’s graduated from SCAD and signed with Oni Press to publish a pro wrestling graphic novel series, “Super Pro K.O.”!  Tim talks with Jarret about his take on the wrestling business, how he deals with criticism, his work process, and more.