Off Panel: A Comics Interview Podcast

In this week's episode of Off Panel, it's a special Power Rankings episode with cartoonist John Allison of Giant Days and Bad Machinery fame, who joins the show to rank a few of his favorite things. Allison discusses his favorite characters of his own, why writing is easier for him than art, favorite colloquialisms, his love of television, the MCU, favorite elements of old superhero comics, science fiction stories, Death's Head II, his characters he's most similar to, bizarre, modern things he takes the most joy from, comic strips, Eurovision, superhero artists, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Greg Rucka joins the show to talk Lazarus and its big format and schedule change. Rucka discusses why that change was necessary, the varying ways you can handle delays, how he figured out solutions, how it changes his job, artist Michael Lark's subtle skills, the impact the format change will have, Eric Trautmann's low-key MVP nature on the title, whether today's market is more conducive to atypical comic approaches, balancing workloads, his relationships with characters from his past, the World Cup, and more.

In the second episode of two on Off Panel this week, artist Leslie Hung joins the show to talk Snotgirl and her art. Hung discusses the TCAF experience, art school, the magic of comics, how she and Snotgirl collaborator Bryan Lee O'Malley teamed up and created Snotgirl, fashion bloggers, social media stars, the learning curve on making comics, her art process, the colors in the book, creating the looks of the cast, character acting, her understanding of the cast, her podcast Salt & Honey, and more.

In this week's first episode of two on Off Panel, cartoonist Bryan Lee O'Malley joins the show to talk his Image Comics series Snotgirl and his career making comics. He discusses what stood out to him about his collaborator on Snotgirl, Leslie Hung, where the idea for the book came from, the impact of Los Angeles had on the book, fashion bloggers and social media curation, whether he feels like part of the online conversation, the Warren Ellis Forums, allergies, the improvisational nature of monthly comics, fine tuning scripts for collaborators, schedule management, the specter of Scott Pilgrim, food in his comics, our relationship with stories today, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Russell Dauterman joins the show to talk his art and recently completed run on The Mighty Thor. Dauterman discusses how he celebrated The Mighty Thor concluding, the experience of tackling such a long run, his character design background, designing the cast of Thor, differentiating Jane Foster and Jane Thor, his art process, photo reference, working with Matt Wilson, page layouts, the power of continuity, having a long run under his belt, and more, before concluding with five questions about his own comic book loves.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, editor Will Dennis joins the show to talk his role in comics, specifically on the upcoming anthology comic, Where We Live. Dennis discusses the role of an editor, what drives the projects he takes on, the importance of trust, Will Dennis books, the Vertigo brand, Scalped, Vertigo's incredible run of cover artists, what he's doing on Where We Live, how working in comics changes your relationship with them, how the project has come together, the unexpected help on the book, balancing the creator lineup, the project's importance, Vertigo's place in comics today, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, comic shop owner (and Free Comic Book Day creator) Joe Field joins the show to talk FCBD and the world of retail. Field discusses Free Comic Book Day, the power of the day, the unique environment that led to the day, growth of interest, converting FCBD customers into regular customers, the power of events, how his shop has evolved in its 30 years, what 2017 was like for his shop, the year so far, the state of Marvel, DC making moves, Action Comics #1000, the cockroaches of pop culture, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Karl Kerschl joins the show to talk his influences and his new Image series, Isola. Kerschll discusses the impact the Image founders had on him, being a contrarian, his career path, the appeal of comic strips, doing your own thing, modern coloring, Isola's colors, sound effects, research, telling a story with a silent character, the creative process on the book, the value of hooks, the map of the world, and more, before closing with five questions about his webcomic, The Abominable Charles Christopher.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Ryan Browne joins the show to talk his latest Kickstarter for GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS presents 3-D COWBOY'S 2-D SPECTACULAR! Browne discusses the origins of God Hates Astronauts, building an audience, webcomics, why he went back to Kickstarter, the story behind it, his incredible artistic collaborators, the creative process on the book, living with Paolo Rivera, the importance of taking things seriously, crazy character names, Kickstarter rewards, the stress of Kickstarter, Curse Words, working with Charles Soule, and more, before closing with five questions about Ryan Browne, the person.

In this week's special, 150th episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Kazu Kibuishi joins the show to talk comics, art and ten years of Amulet. Kibuishi discusses creating a story readers grow up with, the next generation of comic creators, Amulet's evolution, managing such a sprawling story, respecting readers, digging into Amulet's world, his creative process, expanding comics' genres, the value of simple character depictions, Final Fantasy, and more, before diving into five questions about Kazu Kibuishi, the person.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, friend of the show Brandon Burpee returns for a power rankings episode all about the X-Men. The show begins with a discussion about our X-Men backstories, before we dive into the ranks, as we share our favorite X-Men artists, the best characters who died and came back, X-Bases, villains, writers, moments, stories and more, before closing with a fantasy draft to create our own X-Men line of comics. It's a fun episode, but as a note, it's also one with some audio issues on my side of things thanks to it being recorded on Zencastr.

Live from Emerald City ComiCon, it's a panel episode as colorists Tamra Bonvillain (Doom Patrol) and Kelly Fitzpatrick (Shade the Changing Woman) join the show to discuss their work. They talk getting into art, whether they studied art at school, the idea of coloring as a stepping stone, how their line art experience impacts their coloring, how much their colors change based off the line artist, attribution, their processes, whether they have specific palettes, balancing workload, the power of saying no, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Robert Kirkman joins the show to talk comics and his new book, Oblivion Song. Kirkman discusses why he keeps making comics, whether he's an art nerd, how his success allows him to take risks, learning from other creators and comics, Oblivion Song's lead time, his approach to writing, Savage Dragon's impact on him, how artists have changed the path of his comics, what made Lorenzo de Felici the right fit for Oblivion Song, what he looks for in his collaborators, the ending of Invincible, seeing so many other people working in his sandbox, the glory of Andrew J. Shaw, fictional editors, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Jen Bartel and Sam Humphries - the creative team behind the upcoming Image Comics series, Blackbird - join the show to discuss their upcoming book. They discuss what stood out about each other's work, their commonalities as creators and people, comic creators as entrepreneurs, when Blackbird first started coming together, how they highlight each other's strengths, the development of the book, what it's all about, the comic's influences, making the book stand out in a cluttered market, and more.

In this week's bonus episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Rob Guillory joins the show to talk his recently announced series from Image Comics, Farmhand. Guillory discusses the Todd McFarlane experience, the Chew recovery process, figuring out what was next for him, the development of Farmhand, what the book is all about, how it's coming together, his collaborators on it, the plan behind it, why Image was the fit for Farmhand, being disconnected from the comic conversation, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Gerry Duggan joins the podcast to discuss his new Image series, Analog, and his views on writing. Duggan talks about the ComicsPRO experience, his comics retail past, comic naming conventions, working with the Allreds, his wave of creator-owned books, Analog vs. reality, whether he needed to mix things up, his time writing for television, the surprising script that helped him get Deadpool, why the lead of Analog is such a perfect gateway into its world, his collaborators on the book, working with John McCrea on Dead Rabbit, and more.

In a bonus episode of Off Panel, we have one recorded live last week from ComicsPRO's annual meeting in Portland, Oregon with two of the best retailers in comics - John Hendrick of Dublin's Big Bang Comics and Steve Anderson of Maryland's Third Eye Comics. It's a caffeine fueled discussion - at least on my end - where we talk about the origins of their shops, their affinity for retail, how they organize their comics, what 2017 was like for their shops, Rick & Morty, their hopes for 2018, Marvel's Fresh Start, customer behavior, the value of signings and events, and more.

This week on Off Panel, artist Ryan Stegman returns to the show for a special episode breaking down his personal power rankings of varying subjects important to him. Stegman discusses his favorite artists growing up, his most surprising influences, the Malice in the Palace, his personal Mount Rushmore of comics, the artists he'd steal the powers of, the most important meals of the days, his favorite projects, and more. It's a bit different for Off Panel, but I hope you enjoy it.

In a special bonus episode, artist Nick Pitarra joins the show to talk his newly announced Image series with writer John Layman and colorist Mike Garland, Leviathan. Pitarra discusses what he's been up to since Manhattan Projects, his art philosophy, the origins of Leviathan, what it's all about, his preferred type of storytelling, his vision for the book, his vision for Leviathan, his approach on art, the importance of integrity in art, his view on art, how deadlines and schedules can impact art's integrity, his love of original art, his connection to Seth Fisher, and more.

This week on Off Panel, Dan Gearino, the author of Comic Shop: The Retail Mavericks Who Gave Us a New Geek Culture, joins the show to talk his new book about the world and history of comic shops. Gearino discusses his comic book origin story, when he first visited a comic shop, why he wanted to write a book about the direct market and comic shops, the origin of the book, the tenor of conversation with his interviewees, the research process for the book, the cyclical nature of comics, the essential nature of the women of the direct market, the difficulty of pinning down who Phil Seuling was, his ideal comic shop, how shops will need to evolve, barometer comics, how comic shops reflect personalities, the future of comics, and more.

This week on Off Panel, cartoonist Box Brown joins the show to discuss his new graphic novel, Is This Guy for Real?, a biocomic exploring the life of Andy Kaufman. Brown talks about his recent trip to France for Angoulême, the mindset as major projects are released, why Andy Kaufman was a subject of interest to him, whether his biocomic subjects were ones he had connections to, the impact of The Man on the Moon, who Kaufman really was, his process on biocomics like this one, the impact of First Second on his work, the new opportunities available to creators, how comics will look in the future, and more.

Jon Davis-Hunt, the artist of The Wild Storm at DC Comics, joins the show to talk his art and the development of the book. He discusses WildCATs/Aliens, what came first for him: comics or art, his background in video games, the impact that had on his art, being "the new guy," how the Wild Storm came together, coming up with the look of that universe, his art process, and more, before diving into five questions about Jon Davis-Hunt, the person.

Writer Tee Franklin joins Off Panel this week to talk her upcoming Image Comics graphic novella, Bingo Love. Franklin discusses her path into comics, her interest in writing comics before, figuring out how to write comics, the origins of Bingo Love, the impact of artist Jenn St. Onge, the Kickstarter experience, the downside of crowd-funding, what made Image the right fit for the comic, the importance of representation in comics, the marketing of independent comics, her personal and business mottos for 2018, and more.

The newly minted publisher of Oni Press, James Lucas Jones, joins the podcast to discuss 20 years of the publisher. Jones discusses his path to becoming publisher, Oni's evolution, the development of the comic industry, how competition has changed their approach, recent position changes at Oni, the power of libraries, why Oni moved from Diamond to Simon & Schuster for book distribution, deciding between publishing in single issues or graphic novels, before he talks about some of Oni's biggest books over the years and the 2017-18 NBA season.

Comic shop owner Patrick Brower returns to the podcast to talk about 2017 in comic book retail. Brower discusses why the last quarter of the year lagged so badly in his shop, what he thinks triggered the downturn in 2017, the volume of comics being produced, what worked in his shop, the Rickmobile, the impact of in-store events, what didn't work in his shop during the year, society's impact on sales, why pull list customers disappeared in December, his take on what's driving fans away, what's causing Marvel's struggles, the devaluation of artists at Marvel, the dip in graphic novel sales, the impact of comic book culture going mainstream, the lack of impactful marketing in the industry, the shop's plans for 2018, and more.

Artist Esad Ribić guests on this week's episode of Off Panel, as he joins to discuss his art and his upcoming Image series, VS. He discusses his path to making American comics, his influences outside of comics, the Croatian comics scene, his approach to comic art, why he's turned to creator-owned after a long stretch at Marvel, the appeal of VS, his line art getting painted by someone else, attribution of art storytelling choices, world building, the impact schedule has on his art, his Hawaii art book for Louis Vuitton, and more.

Writer Ivan Brandon visits Off Panel this week, as he joins the podcast to discuss his new Image series VS. Brandon chats about his own comics background, learning from David Mazzucchelli, how he first decided to work in comics, the stretch between the late 90s and early 00s in comics, the experience on Men of War in DC's New 52, longform projects, the difference between Western comics and manga, the development of VS, Nic Klein's painted colors on VS, how Esad Ribic realizes futuristic environments, familiarity's impact on collaboration, the level of collaboration necessary for VS, marketing comics in 2017, and more.

On this week's 2017 finale of Off Panel, my pal Brandon Burpee returns to the show to talk the year in comics. We discuss why 2017 was an improvement on 2016, parity in comics, the depth of the field, positive surprises and disappointments from the year, noticeable storytelling trends, our outlook for 2018, before closing with a countdown of our 20 favorite comics of the year. Also, an FYI: Off Panel will return the first week of 2018!

On this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Kris Anka joins the show to discuss his art and work on Runaways. Anka discusses his path to comics (both as a reader and as a creator), fan art, character acting, his animation background, sound effects, his personal background with Runaways, whether the style of the cast appealed to him in particular, the Gert struggle, his art process, working with reference, collaborating with Matt Wilson, whether there is anything he finds hard to draw in particular, merchandising art, before closing with five questions about Kris Anka, the person.

On this week's episode of Off Panel, Michael Oeming and Taki Soma join the show to discuss their new webcomic, The After Realm. Oeming and Soma discuss idea creation, the origin story and development of The After Realm, their background and experimention in webcomics, embracing fantasy, Patreon, managing workload, the process behind the comic, Soma's colors, how reader engagement changes approach, foods from yesteryear, their long-term goals for the comic, and more.

On this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Geof Darrow joins to talk his work on Shaolin Cowboy. Darrow discusses the impact of kung fu films on his work, the humor in Shaolin Cowboy, how his influences and background impacts his approach in his comics, his storytelling process, choreographing action sequences, creating stories within the story, why his pencils are so tight, Dave Stewart's impact on his art, how much Shaolin Cowboy reflects his own worldview, and more.

On this emergency episode of Off Panel, AV Club's Oliver Sava returns to discuss the big switch at the top at Marvel, as C.B. Cebulski replaced Axel Alonso as Editor-in-Chief. Subjects discussed include whether it was necessary, Marvel's aimlessness, the trouble with Legacy, the impact Alonso's comments about artists might have had, whether Cebulski is a good fit as EIC, David Gabriel's role in Marvel's struggles, the good things Alonso accomplished, risk taking at the top, our levels of concern with Marvel, before closing with a discussion about what we'd do if we were Cebulski.

On this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Alison Sampson joins the show to talk about her Image Comics series, Winnebago Graveyard. She discusses her architectural background, how her architecture background influences her comic art, panel layouts, her art process, backmatter, whether Winnebago Graveyard is more of a book market comic, women working on horror comics, whether she's gotten faster as an artist, getting bogged down in details, breaking in after an entirely different career, what Winnebago Graveyard taught her as a creator, Think of a City's present and future, and more.

It's emergency podcast time, as I just had to address the big news about writer Brian Michael Bendis leaving Marvel to sign exclusively with DC Comics. To do that, the AV Club's Oliver Sava joins the show, as we discuss how shocking the news was, what makes it so stunning, what books we'd most want to see him to take over at DC, what the deal means for DC, Bendis's ability to lure for other creatives, Marvel's other loss on the day, what losing Bendis means for Marvel, the silver lining of losing Bendis for Marvel, Marvel's need for a new architect, Hickman's reaction to all this, whether the next generation of superhero writers will be interested in shared universe stories, DC's momentum, and more.

On this week's episode of Off Panel, Comichron's John Jackson Miller joins the show to discuss the comic market and his origins. Miller talks about his 25 years in comics, the origins of Comichron, what it's trying to accomplish, whether being estimates impacts Comichron's legitimacy, how people use the data, the myth of cancellation levels, the comic market today vs. the 90s, the importance of single issues, the trickiness of variant covers, Marvel's position in the market, the amount of comics in the market today, whether publisher gamesmanship impacts the legitimacy of sales numbers, doom and gloom, and more.

On this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Ed Piskor talks about his upcoming series X-Men: Grand Design. He discusses his comic book origin story, what a comic book collection says about a person, why the Byrne/Claremont run is so specifically his jam, hanging out with Chris Claremont at NYCC, how X-Men: Grand Design came together, the process of organizing and structuring the series, his process on the book, recoloring X-Men #1, making a Marvel comic as a cartoonist, style vs. storytelling, entering the world of superheroes, his Nike Air Force 1 project, and more.

On this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Jim Zub joins the show to talk the upcoming "No Surrender" story in Avengers and the business of comics. Zub discusses the influences of Dungeons & Dragons on his writing, dealing with internet trolls, the development of No Surrender, collaborating with multiple writers on one book, the playful competitiveness on the project, his Avengers fame, his write-ups on the business of comics, armchair quarterbacking comics sales, the appeal of Image Comics, and more, before talking Overwatch to close the show.

On this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Matt Fraction joins the show to discuss his work on comics like Sex Criminals, Casanova, and Solid State. Fraction talks the impact of the Warren Ellis Forums, the rise of the Brimpers, why so many connected deeply to Sex Criminals, the book's backmatter, following your gut in writing, accessibility, getting over the fear of writing, integrating Elizabeth Breitweiser into their creative routine, collaboration, Casanova's impact, the unique challenge of Solid State, the importance of a comic being of physical substance, the Milkfed newsletter, and more.

On this week's bonus episode of Off Panel, my pal Brandon Burpee joins the to talk the greatest event comics of all time and our thoughts on the Marvel Legacy one-shot. We share our take on the one-shot's quality (with the review portion ending 15 minutes in), whether it made us want to read more Marvel comics, Brandon's related conspiracy theories, the appeal of the upcoming Rogue & Gambit series, where we are with event comics these days, whether events are old hat, how the way comics news is handled has impacted events, what makes a good event, before we close with a discussion about our ten favorite event/weekly comics ever.

On this week's episode of Off Panel, the owner of Big Bang Comics in Dublin, John Hendrick, returns to the show to talk the world of comics. Hendrick discusses his shop's perspective on Marvel, their comic market tweets, BookScan's plan to track sell-through of comics, the difference between Rebirth and Legacy, the lack of awareness amongst their customers in Legacy, DC's handling of Alan Moore properties, how his shop is doing this year, the impact of having a great staff and a good looking store, the controversial retailer meeting at NYCC, whether the direct market is killing print comics, the crew of people trolling Big Bang and varying people in comics, and more.

On this week's episode of Off Panel, Vulture and New York Magazine's Abraham Riesman comes on the podcast to discuss his feature writing and recent massive piece on the change of approach at DC Entertainment. Riesman discusses his work through the prism of his Fantastic Four tattoo, the story of seeing Logan with Chris Claremont, how his feature writing develops, how much social media and corporate mergers have changed interviews with people in comics, the skills necessary to succeed in comics these days, how his big DC Entertainment feature developed, how The New 52 became The New 52, his upcoming Batman: The Animated Series oral history, the art of the interview, and more, before we dive into five questions about Riesman himself.

On this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Jason Aaron joins the show to talk his work and process. Aaron discusses how he balances his workload, his writing process, the difference between creator-owned and for-hire, the impact of a good editor, how far he planned out his Thor run, why the major story beats of his Thor run appealed to him, the Nick Fury mystery beat, whether he misses tackling smaller, more finite stories, turning the Legacy one-shot into a cohesive story, how his work differs (or doesn't) from artist to artist, his personal connection to Scalped, whether Southern Bastards feel like a different beast than his other creator-owned books, the community building of letters columns, growing up in a small town and its impact on his relationship with comics, Alabama football, and more.

On this week's episode of Off Panel, Strip Panel Naked and PanelxPanel's Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou joins the show to discuss his work. Hass shares how he got into comics originally, his film background, how that all informed Strip Panel Naked, what made him want to start the show, how he works puts the show together, how he deals with the grind of creating, what made Patreon the right move for him, the origins of PanelxPanel, its monetization model, the niche he's filling in comics journalism, his Under the Hood podcast, and more.

On this week's episode of Off Panel, The Beat's Heidi MacDonald returns to the show to talk the state of comics and comics journalism. MacDonald discusses where comics are creatively, the sheer volume of comics these days, how new opportunities have changed things for creators, what she's really enjoying in comics, the health of the comics industry, Marvel's arrogance, DC's bold moves, where comics journalism is these days, the Craig Yoe controversy, the niche-y nature of journalism, monetization models, how the journalism struggle goes beyond comics, and more.

On this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Caspar Wijngaard joins the show to talk his art and his upcoming Image comic with writer Si Spurrier, Angelic. Wijngaard discusses how his interest in comics and art developed, the influence video games had on him, the development of his career, why creator-owned appeals to him so much, how for-hire work prepared him for Angelic, the development of the book, meshing the natural and future looks of Angelic, the appeal of world building, the perks of working digitally, why he colors himself, and more.

On this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Paul Azaceta joins the show to discuss his work on the Image/Skybound title, Outcast. He discusses how he got started in comics, the Alex Toth influence, finding efficiencies in his art, his process on Outcast, the benefits of digital art, how his process has evolved, why he and colorist Elizabeth Breitweiser jive so well, Outcast's covers, whether he as trepidatious about signing onto the project, the value of working on an ongoing, the book's inset panels, and more.

On this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Zander Cannon joins the show to discuss his Oni Press comic, Kaijumax. He discusses how the book became more than a side project, why he went with a season model on the book, his trepidation diving into it without a safety net, whether his DC layout work prepared him for Kaijumax, problem solving on the page, handling everything himself on the book, his process, working with Oni and Charlie Chu, balancing tone in the book, the benefits of the season model, the appeal of studio life, and more.

On this week's episode of Off Panel, comic shop owner Brian Hibbs joins the show to talk about the state of comic retail. Hibbs discusses how his shops are performing in 2017, whether Marvel's downturn has impacted other publishers, the idea that trades can solve everything for a book that doesn't sell, how Rebirth is holding up in his stores, whether there's a cyclical relationship between Marvel and DC, customer interest in DC's Metal and Dark Matter endeavors, the trouble with lenticular covers, the grim outlook for Marvel Legacy, why some shops buy into variants, the gates and discounts of Legacy, the immense volume of titles these days, and more. As a heads up, in the middle, there's a bit of wonky audio, but it cleans up pretty quick.

On this week's (second) episode of Off Panel, Image Comics' Branding Manager David Brothers joins the show to talk comics. Brothers' discusses his comic book origin story, why manga tackles so many more subjects than Western comics, why he got into writing about comics, whether working in comics has changed his relationship with them, the difference in approach he had on 4thLetter! and Comics Alliance, what helped him improved the most as a writer, what makes a good interview, how his job at Image came together, the evolution of Image+, the current state of writing about comics, and more, before diving into five questions about Brothers, the person.

On this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Si Spurrier joins the show to discuss his new Image Comics title, Angelic. Spurrier discusses what the book is all about, its lowkey all-ages nature, why the idea of genre bothers him, the book's origins, working with Caspar Wijngaard, Jim Campbell and Emma Price, how he works on this book compared to other projects, the difficulties of the comic distribution model and ongoings, why his works are typically shorter runs, the language of Angelic, and more.