Writer Ed Brubaker joins the show to talk about his latest graphic novel with artist Sean Phillips, Night Fever. Brubaker discusses the picket line experience, the insanity of Night Fever, his expectations for the response, the personal nature of the book, why it was the right idea right now, Refn vibes, section breaks, his artistic collaborators, Sean Phillips' working with bigger pages, the book's international feel, wanting to be someone else, the cover change of the book, how their sales have been shifting, their sales arc, the power of schedules, surprise comics, John Romita, Sr.'s greatness, and more.
Writer/artist Kyle Starks returns to the show to talk about his work in I Hate This Place, Where Monsters Lie, Peacemaker Tries Hard!, and more. Starks discusses his updated business card, the inescapable humor label, the impact of the Eisner Awards, where he's at now creatively, new challenges, comics as business cards, the James Gunn vibe, the origins of Peacemaker Tries Hard!, Steve Pugh's greatness, tonal balance, Black Label freedoms, his recurring use of dogs, condensing the conclusion of I Hate This Place, back matter, what he considers himself as a creator, and more.
Writer Kelly Thompson joins the show to talk about her creator-owned work and her overall approach to writing. Thompson discusses the superstar that is Jeff the Landshark, , the power of cute things, the glory of Stefano Caselli and Gurihiru, Jeff's appeal, the origins of Black Cloak, Meredith McClaren's gifts, collaboration, Black Cloak's cover design, world-building, handling mysteries, Substack's impact, the difficulty of creator-owned, Black Cloak's shape, narrative escape hatches, The Cull as a mini-series, her project mix, and more.
Writer Ram V returns to the show to talk about his approach to writing on titles like The Vigil, Detective Comics, and more. Ram discusses a sneak attack reveal, the Paris Fan Festival experience, balancing his workload, idea creation, his pursuit of the new, the idea of success, the origins of Rare Flavours, his Detective Comics run, Evan Cagle's covers, the artists he works with, contrasting Batman stories, the hook of The Vigil, the value of the big swing, the appeal of DSTLRY, what has him most excited about comics, and more.
It's Off Panel #400, and to make this anniversary episode of Off Panel special, it's the first ever call-in show, as listeners of the show ask the questions and I have the answers. That's right. I'm the guest, as I answer questions about the future of my theoretical comic shop, what my Stilt-Man series would be about, what takes me out of the reading experience, French museums, the responsibilities of the job, comic revisits, cat dad thoughts, favorite writers/artists, comic price points, surprising things I learned from the podcast, different formats at the Big Two, how I do what I do, which Original 5 X-Men has to go, my wife's comic thoughts, what more creators should do, the podcasts I learned the most from, and more.
The Beat's Heidi MacDonald returns to Off Panel to talk about the past month or so of crazy news in the world of comics. MacDonald discusses the merits of Free Comic Book Day, the onslaught of news, building up The Beat's staff, Ike Perlmutter's departure, how Marvel looks post changes, the impact of this move, IDW's layoffs and reorganization, IDW's identity, where things went wrong, where IDW is headed, our DSTLRY thoughts, Substack and Zestworld, what makes DSTLRY work (conceptually), the drop culture comic, the digital comics landscape, what young cartoonists are focused on, and more.
The Editor-in-Chief of Abrams ComicArts, Charles Kochman, joins the show to talk about the history and present of that graphic novel division of Abrams Books. Kochman discusses the details of his job, his work on Diary of a Wimpy Kid, his publishing background, the origins of Abrams ComicArts, the artists they work with, how MarvelArts came together, drawing in direct market creators, the evolution of Abrams ComicArts, its general vibe, taking on manga, the current landscape, and more.
Writer James Tynion IV joins the show to talk about launching his new Image series, W0rldtr33, in the current industry environment. Tynion discusses hitting final order cutoff, the collector market, cultivating hits, W0rldtr33's origins, its 90s aesthetic, the importance of a title's vibe, the key to a good first issue, its visuals, why it ended up at Image, learning from projects, publishing at Dark Horse, how publishers differ, creating your own cash flow, setting up his future, and more.
Cartoonist Joe Sparrow joins the show to talk about his work in animation and his new graphic novel at ShortBox, Cuckoo. Sparrow discusses taking on new roles, the advantages and pressure of comics, how animation jobs work, how his two roles impact each other, his influences, taking on shorter comics, the origins of Cuckoo, the superpowers of it all, how much of him is in the book, the evolution of its need, his comic making process, the book's cast, the appeal of ShortBox, and more.
Erica Henderson and Ryan North join the show to talk about their new graphic novel, Danger and Other Unknown Risks. They discuss the origins of the book, how it evolved, its Y2K setup, the Chosen One concept, scripting the book, their collaboration, the prologue of the book, how the visuals changed the writing, the space of graphic novels, how the realms impact everything, the book's main character, how people deal with the state of the world, all-ages comics, and more.
Writer Torunn Grønbekk joins the show to talk about her path to comics and her work on comics like Thor and Red Sonja. Grønbekk discusses the greatness of Nic Klein, her natural art lean, the Norway comic scene, how comics saved her, her breaking in story, the origins of her writing Jane Foster: Valkyrie, co-writing as a gateway, launching her Marvel career during the pandemic, being a pinch hitter, writing Red Sonja, her instinctual nature, genre leans, where she wants to go next, and more.
Retailer Steve Anderson joins the podcast to chat about how things are going at his comic shop chain, Third Eye Comics. Anderson discusses how he manages his seven shops, the importance of being proactive, the ComicsPRO experience, DC's smart moves, how he's feeling about comics retail, previous pessimism, pathing customers to comics, why success felt harder in 2022, his upcoming shop launches, what's working at his shops, trade waiting, building spectacle, what isn't working, how to adjust to uncertainty, and more.
Manga journalist Deb Aoki joins the podcast this week to chat about the explosion in manga sales the past few years and what has led to it. Aoki discusses her Emerald City Comic Con experience, making connections for manga stories, how she became a manga journalist, the world of writing about manga, Japan's manga sales, speaking to different audiences, the impact of adaptations, price and accessibility, why there are always manga "booms," the amount of product, simplicity in manga stories, supply chain issues, the gifts of manga storytellers, and more.
Writer/artist John Allison returns for a conversation about the upcoming The Great British Bump-Off and his larger views on comics right now. Allison discusses the origins of The Great British Bump-Off, its evolution, pairing baking shows with mystery stories, the episodic nature of finite series, Shauna Wickle, how writing Shauna differs from other characters, the book's supporting cast, Primrose the cat, the greatness of Max Sarin, how they work together, the title's tone, how his feelings about the comic industry have evolved, his Patreon, where he's at now, and more.
Writer Al Ewing joins the show to chat about his approach to writing comics like X-Men Red, Wasp, Venom, and more. Ewing discusses managing the work, what drives his schedule, where pitches fit in, dealing with external forces, constraints as opportunities, Fury's evolving identity, Immortal Hulk's structure, no longer being the space guy, avoiding repetition, mic drop moments, realizing the potential of characters, the secret to tie-ins, how he works with artists, pushing himself as a writer, and more.
BOOM! Studios' President of Publishing & Marketing, Filip Sablik, joins the show to discuss what BOOM! is up to as we head into ComicsPRO's annual meeting. Sablik discusses the ComicsPRO experience, what he's looking for at the event, its value, what's working for BOOM!, the anomalies of 2020 and 2021, BOOM!'s number of titles, balancing variants, Kickstarter as a tool, comics promotion, inspiring in-store sales, experimentation, format focuses, whether a shift is on for single issues, finite series, changes to distribution and digital, what's next for BOOM!, and more.
Artist Jamie McKelvie joins the show to discuss his past few years and his work in Batman: One Bad Day - Catwoman. McKelvie discusses his work schedule, taking on more small projects, the challenges of a long run, his fluid approach to art, pushing his art, his process on Catwoman, how much runway he had on the book, why he took on that project, working with G. Willow Wilson, the appeal of Catwoman, having fun with the project, his depiction of Catwoman, factoring letters and colors into his art, writing as an artist, the learnings from Captain Carter, how his relationship with his art has changed, the evolution of what he wants from comics, The Killing Horizon, and more.
Writer Gerry Duggan joins the show to chat about his most recent work, amongst other things. Duggan discusses what his new series The Giant Kokjü does, its origins, how the state of the world has impacted him as a storyteller, the comedy of the series, Scott Koblish's work, his book of photography, why villains were the priority in X-Men, his X-Men plan, differentiating his run, building connections in Invincible Iron Man, writing X-Men versus Marauders and Iron Man, how the X-Office experience has changed things for him, and more.
Letterer Clayton Cowles joins the show for a conversation about his career and approach to lettering titles like Batman, Immortal X-Men, Daredevil, and more. Cowles discusses managing his expansive workload, where his love of comics started, going to The Kubert School, working with Virtual Calligraphy, his process to starting a project, how the lettering space has evolved, for-hire versus creator-owned, where challenges lie, the impact of repeat collaborators, pushing yourself, impact projects from his career, revisiting old work, and more.
Polygon's Entertainment Editor Susana Polo returns to the show for a free-flowing chat about the wider world of comics. Polo discusses Polygon's content development process, how much of the focus is on what works, whether that impacts her view of comics, the Eternals as a Tumblr fave, Kieron Gillen and Esad Ribic's run, downstream impacts of downturns at Netflix and HBO Max, She-Hulk and Jack of Hearts, the comics conversation, the X-Men line, favored D-list characters, superheroes as copaganda, the greatness of Friday, Sandman's fandom, Defenders Beyond, 2022's electric year in bio and autobio comics, the impact of editors, and more.
Writer/artist Rob Guillory guests this week, as we chat about his shifting approach and newly launched BOOM! series Mosely. Guillory discusses his many hats as a creator, what he's learned from recent projects, how he's pushing his career, adding writing to the mix, Farmhand's evolution, how autobiographical his work has become, Mosely's origins, the visuals of the book, tech commentary, the importance of family in his stories, his publishing partners, how his view of his work and career has shifted, and more.
Retailer Patrick Brower joins the show to chat about the year at his comic shop, Challengers Comics + Conversation, and the state of the direct market. Brower discusses the year at Challengers, the flip side of success, the weird vibes today, time costs, the difficulty of handselling, what moved the needle this year, the impact of economic uncertainty, what isn't working, the retailer conversation, variant covers, what he wants more from publishers, where single issue comics are headed, the medium versus the business, what he's excited for in 2023, and more.
Artist Liana Kangas returns to the show to discuss their busy past few years and their new BOOM! series, Know Your Station. Kangas discusses how they manage their extreme levels of busy, what goes into being a creator, balancing today and tomorrow, cover work, the Zestworld experience, the state of social media, returning to conventions, Trve Kvlt at IDW, whether that series was their baby, the story behind Know Your Station, its collaborative process, their growth as an artist, this time for comic creators, and more.