Off Panel: A Comics Interview Podcast

Cartoonist Ngozi Ukazu joins the show to talk about her upcoming graphic novels, Flip from First Second and Orion at DC Comics. Ukazu discusses book tour living, finding time for yourself, figuring out next steps, growing as a cartoonist, managing your workload, writing for others, the importance of having creative work outside comics, Flip's origins, autobiographical challenges, the body swap at the core of it, different types of creating, working with DC, becoming a Jack Kirby acolyte, why Orion was the right follow up, young adult graphic novels, knowing who you are, WNBA takes, and more.

Writer Brian K. Vaughan joins the show to talk about his work on comics like Saga and the upcoming Spectators, both of which are at Image Comics. Vaughan discusses the state of the world's impact on his writing, navigating his own emotions, how lasting relationships change collaborations, how much of his world is comics, Spectators' evolving covers, the approach to Spectators, writing a graphic novel, the book's origins, Niko Henrichon's art, how they figured things out, his predictive powers, risky approaches, the Exploding Giraffe community, where Saga is, the evolution of Fiona Staples, finding new readers, when he knew writing would work as a job, and more.

Comics critic Oliver Sava joins the show for the eighth annual Superhero State of the Union, as we dive deep into worlds of DC, Marvel, and beyond. Sava and I discuss our overall takes on superhero comics, corporate synergy, what's leading to DC's success, editorial vision, art as proof of concept, the Absolute line, hero families, Big Two digest editions, the DC/Marvel crossovers, where Marvel is, the lack of energy in the line, the current Fantastic Four book, saying nice things about Marvel, how we would fix Marvel, superhero comics outside the Big Two, and more.

Writer Ed Brubaker joins the show to talk about Criminal the show and the comic, particularly the latter and its new graphic novel release The Knives. Brubaker discusses showrunning the Criminal show, getting back to his roots, surprises from the experience, having two versions of Criminal in his head, adapting his own work, how present he is in The Knives, why they returned to Criminal, the different narratives in the book, the nature of its characters, the cast's journeys, the connection his comics have to his life, working with Sean Phillips, how making comics feels, how much the comic space has evolved, a new Criminal single issue, emphasizing the back catalog, finding new readers, and more.

Cartoonist Jesse Lonergan joins the show to talk about his current mix of projects and his just released graphic novel, DROME. Lonergan discusses managing workflow, the roots of DROME, pushing your approach, the book's title, its archetypal nature and cast, who he is versus what he does, his fit in comics, what he cares about the most, simple machines, outside influences, working with writers, figuring out the Mignolaverse, the impact of reviews, pushing in different directions, and more.

Artist Nicole Goux joins the show to talk about her career and her upcoming graphic novel, This Place Kills Me. Goux discusses the other parts of the job, how far ahead she's working, the importance of mixing it up, drawing digitally, her relationship with drawing, when comics entered the picture, figuring out what she wanted to do, convention life, how different projects and publishers feel, opportunity cost, age bands, the origins of This Place Kills Me, working with Mariko Tamaki, how they worked, her preferred method of working, learning from projects, character design, creating for herself, what keeps her excited about comics, and more.

Writer Mariko Tamaki joins the show to talk about her career and her upcoming graphic novel, This Place Kills Me. Tamaki discusses what she works to, the value of editors, her own editing at Surely Books, learning from artistic partners, the wide world of comics, getting into comics, the biggest things she's learned, different approaches for different formats, collaborative processes, giving artists space, attribution, the origins of This Place Kills Me, the collaboration behind it, the book's lead, outsiders as leads, the music of the book, characters that surprised, Ally Sheedy's impact, finding the right mix, and more.

Writer/artist Kyle Starks joins the show to talk about where he's at these days and his upcoming slate of projects. Starks discusses the merits of San Diego Comic Con, his approach to cons, his past few years, comics marketing, back catalog releases, how the moment feels for original comics, Where Monsters Lie's next phase, not letting stories go, Kickstarters, diversifying how you're viewed, Devil on my Shoulder's intensity, what inspired the story, his upcoming Image Comics series WrestleHeist, drawing his own comics, his quiet year, and more, before we close with some serious business NBA talk at the end.

Writer Robert Kirkman joins the show to talk about his wild ways in the direct market and work on comics like the upcoming Skinbreaker and Transformers. Kirkman discusses his feelings about San Diego Comic Con, a typical day for him, the Skybound side of things, his unconventional approach to the direct market, the impact of experimentation, paying attention to the market, creating vs. connecting, why the Energon Universe worked, building excitement, learnings from the Invincible show, the magic of comics, David Finch's work on Skinbreaker, how he built that series out, the unique collaboration on that book, his love of working with artists, creator-owned comics, the possessiveness of fans, taking over Transformers, how he's approaching it, 2025 in comics, the evolution of comics, and more.

Writer Si Spurrier joins the show to talk about his views on comics and his work on comics like The Flash and the upcoming The Voice Said Kill and A Mischief of Magpies. Spurrier discusses his departure from The Flash, how sales impact how creators are viewed, trying to be different, the power of support, ideas, how he's doing these days, the nature of single-issue comics, his European lens, the origins of The Voice Said Kill, its atmosphere, Vanesa Del Rey, the power of repeat collaborations, portal fantasies, his creative process with Matías Bergara, what an ideal mix looks like for him, and more.