Writer Kyle Starks joins Off Panel this week to chat about his Skybound horror series, I Hate This Place. Starks discusses I Hate This Place's origins, the subjectivity of horror and comedy, confronting realities, connecting with readers, comedy as a four letter word, the haunted ranch angle, the title's two leads, its backup comic strips, the greatness of Dante Howitzer, Artyom Topilin's art, the current state of comics, his goals for comics, and more, before we close with hot takes about the current NBA season.
Cartoonist Gale Galligan joins Off Panel for an extended chat about their work and their just released graphic novel, Freestyle. Galligan discusses the intersection of drawing and comics as a youth, the impact of comic strips and manga, what they learned from working with Raina Telgemeier, The Baby-Sitters Club club, the appeal of shorter comics, blending emotions, how Freestyle evolved at Scholastic, its main cast, telling stories about young people, establishing shots, their process, photo reference, the honesty of kids, secret teammates, and more.
Writer Marjorie Liu joins the show for a career-spanning chat with a slight focus on her latest graphic novel, The Night Eaters: She Eats the Night. Liu discusses time traveling in writing, never being off the clock, her early days as a writer, the appeal of comics, her path to comics, the collaborative nature of comics, partnering with Sana Takeda, Sana's malleability, world-building, the origins of The Night Eaters, balancing tones, why family is such an interest, horror as a genre, the presence of COVID in the story, the graphic novel format, managing workloads, and more.
Marvel's Senior VP of Publishing and Executive Editor Tom Brevoort joins Off Panel for an expansive chat about his career at Marvel. Brevoort discusses his email newsletter, his internship at Marvel, working with artists, his time in Special Projects, transitioning into editorial, editorial when Image was started, when things turned post-bankruptcy, sticking around in the Marvel Heroes office, The Bendis Era, "gets" from events, Marvel's editorial structure, whether the 2010s shift what a Marvel comic could be, subjectivity in art, finding new talent, the best creator at pitching at retreats, and more.
The Beat's Heidi MacDonald joins Off Panel for a chat about the return of conventions and where the comics industry is right now. MacDonald discusses how cons are ramping up, how they're performing after much time off, the value of conventions for websites, the importance of comic sites, how they're valued, comic book distribution, the health of single issues, finding new paths, AI art, where things are right now, the state of DC, and more.