Off Panel: A Comics Interview Podcast

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.