#489 Tapastic’s Michael Son & The Rattler’s Jason McNamara

TapasticTapastic is one of the many places online that you could put your comic. Why put it there? This week, Tapastic Editor-in-chief Michael Son joins Tim to explain the advantages of the site, issues they’re working to solve, what kind of audience is reading the site (and how reader demands have changed), and what new features are in the pipeline.

The RattlerJason McNamara is back with us after two years, and now his book with Greg Hinkle, The Rattler, has just been published by Image! He joins us to talk about the disturbing inspiration for the book, how the 2014 Kickstarter project for the book helped it get published, and more.

 

#473 Matt Seneca on sports, hate, and religion

Matt Seneca from AffectedYou may have heard Matt Seneca on the podcast Comic Books are Burning in Hell (and, hey, he was on our show once, in the persona of a mild mannered comics shop manager!), but he’s also a comics creator in his own right. His comics are deep, dark, and very honest in expressing his opinions. This week he talks with Tim about the lack of sports in American comics, why he needs to feel hate for something to make a good comic, and more.

#473 Matt Seneca on sports, hate, and religion

Matt Seneca from AffectedYou may have heard Matt Seneca on the podcast Comic Books are Burning in Hell (and, hey, he was on our show once, in the persona of a mild mannered comics shop manager!), but he’s also a comics creator in his own right. His comics are deep, dark, and very honest in expressing his opinions. This week he talks with Tim about the lack of sports in American comics, why he needs to feel hate for something to make a good comic, and more.

#472 Brian Schirmer and “Black Jack Ketchum”

Black Jack KetchumBrian Schirmer, a comics educator in San Francisco and writer of Ultrasylvania and the forthcoming Image series Black Jack Ketchum, joins Tim this week to talk about the difference between writing screenplays and writing comics; how he turned his comics script into a for-credit class for artists; tips that have led him to have both successful crowdfunding projects and good sales at 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!

#409 Avast, maties! Comics!

Captain KittenTim came back from his Tim Across America trip with an assortment of comics, including a couple from the New York Aspiring Comics Creators Club, and trove of self-published books that he bought at Isotope Comics, including one about a feline pirate captain. This week, he and Mulele read through those comics and review them:

Captain Kitten #2 by Jemma Salume

The Nomad Church #1 by Daniel Merlin Goodbrey

Dreamwalker by Diane Pascual

Jerks in Space #1 by John Karnes

Torchbearer vol 0.25 by Nicholas Dedual and Dennis Calero

Nippy Wallaboosh #3 by Jamie Cosley

Sara Rising #1 by Emilio Rodriquez, James Rodriquez, Michele St. Martin, and Wilson Ramos

#400.5 California Coda

CA-CodaIn a special bonus episode, we check out a few remaining tidbits from Tim Across America’s final state, California!

First, Stephenny Godfrey recalls the events that inspired her comics “Panorama” and “Two Buses”, leading Dale Wilson to try to top that story with another, about a weird occurrence from his childhood!

Then, Jason McNamara gives Tim some pointers on the novel he’s started writing.

#399 Corporate Comics: Love ’em, Hate ’em

corporatecomicsTim Across America, part nine! When it comes to Big Two comics these days, there’s a lot to complain about. Marvel characters changed to look like the actors who play them in movies; nearly the entire DC line subsumed into a grim-and-gritty muck. And yet… we still like some of these books! Superior Spider-man, anyone?

In a cafe in Berkeley, California, Tim discusses this and more with three past guests who all live in the East Bay area, but had never previously met: Deb Aoki, John Roberson, and Jason McNamara! Conversation also swung to whether Image can eclipse the Big Two, comparison of black and white comics vs. color, doing a Kickstarter project for your comic vs. doing print-on-demand, and more!

Jason’s Kickstarter page for The Rattler

#398 Comics Journalism Panel

journalismpanelmontageTim Across America, part eight! Comics journalism (a.k.a. “graphic journalism”, and other names) has been gradually making a place for itself within the larger journalism world (and the comics world) for the past 20 years or so. Just as Tim was heading to San Francisco, a group of Bay Area journalists on Meetup.com was preparing to hold panel discussion featuring three comics journalists: Dan Archer, Susie Cagle, and Andy Warner. This week, we present that panel discussion in its entirety!

Also, in a special Ask a Retailer, Tim talks to Brian Hibbs of Comix Experience!

More photos after the jump…

Continue reading #398 Comics Journalism Panel

#379 Jason McNamara: Read, Write, and Rattle

ShorthandJason McNamara, last seen in a San Francisco Italian restaurant, returns to the podcast! He talks with Tim about his latest comics, Shorthand and The Rattler, publishing through Comixology, The Martian Confederacy, and Superior Spider-Man, and we also discuss the art of writing.