Off Panel: A Comics Interview Podcast

Jonathan Hickman guests on Off Panel this week to talk about his current and upcoming Image books - East of West and The Black Monday Murders. The conversation starts with a discussion about East of West, his comic with artist Nick Dragotta, looking at how that book developed, how the two of them work together, how far out Hickman plans, how his background in other fields impacts his writing, world-building, their recent silent issue, who his favorite character is, and what's next for the book. Hickman also discusses his recently announced title with Tomm Coker, The Black Monday Murders, why it's such an exciting project for him, how he's taking bonus content in the book to another level, how people response to the design elements in his books, and then the discussion shifts to talk about comic book economics, collection sales, what today's industry is like, how Image fits in, launching new titles at different points in your career, and much more. It's a sprawling discussion with one of the industry's best creators.

Cartoonist Faith Erin Hicks guests on this week's episode of Off Panel, as she joins the show to talk her new graphic novel, The Nameless City. She talks her insanely busy schedule, the long build to the release of the book, how it developed, why she wanted to create a trilogy of stories, visual storytelling, bringing action sequences to life, the diversity of her story, embracing fantasy elements, working with Jordie Bellaire on the book, working with First Second, the growing YA comic world, the power of Raina Telgemeier and Jeff Smith and much more.

This week's Off Panel is a rare double feature, as Christopher Sebela and Robert Wilson IV, the creative team behind the upcoming Heartthrob at Oni Press, join the show to talk their upcoming book. The pair talks how the book first came together, their creative process, Fleetwood Mac's fit on the book, researching the era of the book (and watching heart transplant YouTube videos), what they did to promote the project, what made Oni perfect partners for them, the story behind their Jamie McKelvie variant and much more. It's a great chat with an excellent upcoming book.

The team over at DC Entertainment is having a big weekend, so Brandon Burpee joins the show to break down all of the happenings. Things kick off with a discussion about today's Rebirth announcement, our initial thoughts, what books we're buying for sure, what's got them hyped, what doesn't, and then things get into the main event: a spoiler-filled discussion about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The pair talks what they liked, what they didn't, how they're feeling about DC's cinematic universe and much more. If you haven't watched the movie yet, you can cut out after the Rebirth talk, and there's a clear spoiler warning you can't and shouldn't miss if you haven't seen it yet.

Sina Grace, the hyphenate cartoonist behind the art of The Li'l Depressed Boy, the graphic novel Self-Obsessed and the star/writer behind a webseries based off that GN (which started yesterday!), joins the show this week to talk what's going on with him. They talk the webseries, how it came together, what the inspiration was for it, whether or not he got to diva up for it, the music of the series (and the lack of Jenny Lewis), how it was adapting his own book into a different medium, his growth as a cartoonist, what his experience as the editorial director of Skybound taught him, where he plans on taking his comics next, and much more.

Kate Leth, writer of Patsy Walker AKA Hellcat and Vampirella, joins the show this week to talk her work and the growing community of women who work in retail shops that she founded - The Valkyries. Leth talks how busy she's gotten these days, why she wanted to make that Hellcat a book anyone could enjoy, how comics have been changing recently, the freedom Marvel's given her on the book, how the character in Jessica Jones did (or didn't) impact her book, Patsy's history, gateway comics, finding your voice, Brittney Williams' prodigious gifts, how the Valkyries first came together, their growing reputation, how the retail world is changing, and then everything closes with five questions about Harry Potter, Zootopia and comics.

This week's guest is the former co-host of video show 4 Color News and Brews and podcast SKTCHD Out, Brandon Burpee, as he comes on the show to talk all things Rebirth. We talk about DC's plans, what our initial thoughts are, how they're going to handle things like "universes" and "legacy," and then we get into the main event. DC hasn't announced any of the 32 creative teams as of yet, but as with most things, Brandon and I have ideas. We split the 32 books and followed a few key rules - no writer could be on more than two books and no artist could be on more than one - and delivered the creative teams and ideas that we think would make for the best DC comics universe. Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter.

Artist Sanford Greene guests on Off Panel this week to talk his new Marvel book, Power Man and Iron Fist. He talks collaborating with David Walker and the rest of the team, the emotions tied to launching a new title, the internet's place in getting immediate feedback in your work, his personal connection to the title, the work of defining characters visually, his influences (including animation and Norman Rockwell (!!)), photo reference, the Carolina comic connection, the changing landscape in comics for artists, and much more. I could say this every time, but this is genuinely one of the best episodes of the show yet, especially if you're an art centric fan.

Marcos Martin, artist and co-creator of The Private Eye and Barrier as well as the artist on an upcoming Walking Dead special, joins the show this week to talk his art and the unique nature of his digital endeavor with Brian K. Vaughan, Panel Syndicate. Martin talks how the upcoming Walking Dead special came together, the serendipitous nature of that experience, what kind of oversight they've seen working with someone else's toys, how his hart changes with black and white and their horizontal format, the guerrilla nature of Panel Syndicate, the appeal of their release strategy, how he views print comics, Barrier and the complaints about the language barrier, challenging yourself creatively, and much more. It's a great chat with one of the best creators in comics.

Rich Johnston, the man behind Bleeding Cool, joins Off Panel this week to talk his site and the world of comics. The discussion goes all over the place, including how he first got into comics gossip, why he's an entertainer and not a journalist, how websites and news has changed, where his stories come from, breaking stories, his bar for substantiating stories, verifying and managing sources, his insane schedule, how Avatar influences his work, what's going on with DC's Rebirth, how he justifies running certain stories, and more. It's a really interesting listen with one of the most notable comic...entertainers around.