In this week's road show episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Kazu Kibuishi, writer Ryan North, and cartoonist Lucy Knisley join the show to talk about why they love comics so much, albeit in individual segments. Up first, Kibuishi discusses the original appeal of comics, what stood out about the medium, comic strips and picture books, his reader self versus creator self, information compression, the excitement of the new, the power of Dog Man, and more. Then, North chats about his own love of comics, his view of the medium as a reader and creator, whether making them has changed his feelings about reading them, what keeps him excited about comics, knowing where the walls are, and more. To close, Knisley discusses her own love of comics, the primal impact of words and pictures, the comics that unlocked the medium for her, multi-generational creator relationships, the low barrier of entry for comics, diversifying what you do, what keeps her excited about comics, and more.
In the landmark, hologram-covered 500th episode of Off Panel, my pal Brandon Burpee returns to the show to hand out some awards and to answer questions from friends of the podcast. We discuss favorites and surprises from the first 500 episodes, the comics that aged the best and worst from the past decade, comic book crushes, advice for our previous and future selves, comics that made us cry, comic character influencers, what we would change in comics, the comic we think everyone should read, our favorite X-Men comic ever, my approach to interviews, detail in art, our Star Wars connections, comics that get better with rereads, who won the past decade, favorite birthdays and Halloween costumes, our favorite writer, artist, and comic from the past decade, comic and music pairings, and more.
Writer/editor Alejandro Arbona joins the show to talk about his shift towards writing and his upcoming Kickstarter for his new graphic novel Lake Yellowwood Slaughter. Arbona discusses how he views himself these days, shifting how he's perceived, navigating the current publisher landscape, how he decides which projects to take on, the big things he learned from his editorial work, the origins of Lake Yellowwood Slaughter, his slasher movie background, the roots of its name, Suspiria Vilchez's cover, making a horror comic work, the difference between film and comics, the format of the book, his view of the current state of comics, the wonder of Goats Flying Press, and more.
Writer Jonathan Hickman joins the show to talk about this phase in his career and the varying projects he's working on. Hickman discusses his love of the World Cup, the phase he finds himself in, his current reality versus his previous one, why Imperial is a focus, his project mix, whether he has to think differently because the current market, promotional materials, working with artists, the origins of Aliens vs. Avengers, notable pitches, the space side of Marvel, Imperial's roots, finding new corners to work in, editorial experiences, the type of writer he is, Ultimate Spider-Man's timeline, delivering what people don't expect, creator-owned versus for-hire, the lasting feelings of his X-Men run, keeping things fresh, how he finds the right fit for himself, and more.