In this week’s episode of Off Panel, artist Charlie Adlard joins the podcast for a chat about ending The Walking Dead and what comes next for him. Adlard shares why exactly The Walking Dead ended, ending with issue #193, the surprise ending, his emotions related to it, the pressures of an endless deadline, the power of inking, having longevity on a project, the freedom The Walking Dead provided, telling your own comic stories, his love of the French comics scene, what he wants next from comics, his fondest memories from The Walking Dead, and more.
In this week’s episode of Off Panel, designer Tom Muller joins to walk us through his work on the X-Men relaunch in House of X and beyond. Muller discusses how much of his workload is comics, how he decides which projects to take on, when he came onboard for the X-Men books, how his initial "X" is carrying throughout the books, the initial wave of X-Men logos, how he and line maestro Jonathan Hickman worked together, whether this project felt different than usual, design as storytelling, the Big Two and design, his fake House of X/Powers of X billboards, the importance of taking in other media for creatives, and more.
In this week’s episode of Off Panel, The AV Club's Oliver Sava returns for our annual chat about the state of superheroes. Sava discusses where superhero comics are right now, DC's big changes, Marvel and DC's current architects, Bendis killing it on DC, Immortal Hulk, the coming Hickman era on the X-Men, Tom Taylor's greatness, recent moves by creators, house styles in art, The Joker and Harley Quinn's immense presence, Ink and Zoom's launch books, Squirrel Girl's coming end, what we're excited for on the horizon, and more.
In this week’s episode of Off Panel, comic retailer and the founder of ComicHub, Stu Colson, joins to talk about ComicHub - a hybrid point of sale and marketing solutions systems (of a sort) and why he decided to create this potentially game changing new system for comic shops. Colson discusses how he got into comics retail, the differences between American and New Zealand shops, what exactly ComicHub is, its origins, how it aids in discoverability, his partnership with BOOM! Studios, developing partners, comics being slow to change, managing sell-through data, prospecting for new customers, his hopes for the future of comics, and more.
In this week’s episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Brenna Thummler joins the show to talk about her path to comics and her graphic novel, Sheets. Thummler discusses her education and pre-comics plans, her original desire to not work in comics, what finally connected her to comics, illustration as storytelling, her first comic experience, her approach as a comics outsider, the development of Sheets, letting the art speak first, character acting, her colors, having her book represented on Free Comic Book Day, its upcoming sequel, Delicates, some spicy peanut butter takes, and more.
In this week’s episode of Off Panel, artist Michael Walsh joins the podcast to talk about his work and the upcoming Black Hammer/Justice League: Hammer of Justice! Walsh discusses his fantastic author photo, finding a balance between his desires as an artist, the types of stories he's worked on, his experience on Secret Avengers, photo reference, adapting The Last Jedi, reflecting on his work, working with Jeff Lemire, the challenges of Black Hammer/Justice League, coloring himself, talent versus work, what he turns to if he needs a push as an artist, horror comics, Emily Carroll's greatness, and more, before we dive into five questions about Michael Walsh, the person.
In this week’s episode of Off Panel, the CCO & Editor-in-Chief and CEO & Publisher of Vault Comics - Adrian and Damian Wassel - join the podcast to talk about the world of Vault. The Wassels discuss how they decided their roles, why comics, why sci-fi and fantasy are their brand, what makes a Vault comic, where Myriad - their YA imprint - fits in their efforts, their perspective on the larger comic marketplace, design and production value, their approach on digital, what they've learned in the process of running Vault, creator relations, how they find collaborators, expanding the Vault footprint, building an audience, and more.
We have a special and atypical episode of Off Panel this week, as artist Jen Bartel joins the podcast for a deep dive discussion about how to get started as an artist. Bartel discusses the value of art school, developing your voice and style, having a day job, the tools of the trade, whether sequentials are essential, creating your portfolio, cover work, where fan art fits in a portfolio, the impact of social media, where conventions fit in, communicating with collaborators, the value of working with an editor, managing your own schedule, the importance of paying attention to the larger industry, and more. This is a beast of an episode, but if you're interested in working in comics, there's a ton to learn from here.
In this week's episode of Off Panel, former Marvel editor and the guy behind Comics Experience, Andy Schmidt, joins the show for a Marvel Cinematic Universe power rankings episode. Schmidt discuss the overall quality of the MCU, how being a former Marvel editor changes his viewing experience, Avengers Endgame expectations, and more, before we rank a whole lot of MCU related topics, like our favorite deep cut characters, the best castings, scores and villains, our favorite random moments, things that we were surprised worked, our favorite MCU movies, and more.
Note: This was recorded well before the release of Avengers: Endgame, so no spoilers are discussed here.
In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Vita Ayala joins the show to talk about their work. Ayala discusses old video game loves, their gateway characters, the power of spinner racks, the importance of representation, bringing your worldview into your work, The Wilds, Emily Pearson's art, adding depth to reads, working at Forb idden Planet, how that changed their perspective about comics, DC's Talent Workshop, doing fill-in work, telling Livewire's first solo story, working with varying publishers, the con experience, the glory of cats, and more.
In this week's landmark 200th episode of Off Panel, friend of the show Brandon Burpee returns for a look back on 10 years of writing about comics in the podcast's longest episode ever. Topics discussed include giving out some awards for the decade, including MVP, most improved, publisher of the decade, and more, answering listener questions, like our comic book origin stories, thoughts on the comics internet, where back issues fit in comics, and more, before we close with sharing our ten favorite comics from the past ten years.
In this week's landmark 200th episode of Off Panel, friend of the show Brandon Burpee returns for a look back on 10 years of writing about comics in the podcast's longest episode ever. Topics discussed include giving out some awards for the decade, including MVP, most improved, publisher of the decade, and more, answering listener questions, like our comic book origin stories, thoughts on the comics internet, where back issues fit in comics, and more, before we close with sharing our ten favorite comics from the past ten years.
In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Lucy Knisley joins the show to talk about her work and recent graphic novel, Kid Gloves. Knisley discusses the appeal of telling her own story in comics, how that changes fan interactions, the Instagram Effect, reflecting on her art as an artist and a person, the origins of Kid Gloves, representing all facets of having kids, how her art has evolved, food comics, the expansion of the comic market, making picture books, living and creating in Chicago, and more, before closing with five questions about food.
In this week's episode of Off Panel from Emerald City Comic Con, writer Matthew Rosenberg joins the show to talk about his path to Marvel and the experience of writing the X-Men. Rosenberg discusses how his work experience in comic shops impacts him, the role his Black Mask work played in getting him on radars, the DC Writers Program, why Marvel has been a good fit for him, the Bendis vacuum, tying his early X-Men work into his Uncanny run, Peter David's X-Factor, his oddball Uncanny team, their strange mix of costumes, managing expectations, what the X-Men mean to people, and more.
Note: this was recorded before the announcement about Jonathan Hickman's pending arrival on the X-Books.
In a special episode of Off Panel recorded at Emerald City Comic Con, writer Jim Zub joins the show to discuss his freshly announced and released ComiXology Originals series with artist Max Dunbar, Stone Star. Zub discusses the art of con karaoke, the con experience, Stone Star's bold release strategy, experimenting with comics, accessing the larger Amazon umbrella, downsides, what Stone Star is all about, Dunbar's art, making comics for everyone, world building, the ideal format to work in, and more.
In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Jamie McKelvie joins the show from Emerald City Comic Con for a chat about his art and The Wicked + The Divine. McKelvie discusses fandom, his partnership with Kieron Gillen, long running titles, cover design, the importance of highlighting other artists, formalistic experimentation, the faux cartoonist, what he's learned in the process of making The Wicked + The Divine, getting things right with your art, the physical toll of art, and more.
In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Eric Powell joins the podcast to discuss the 20th anniversary of The Goon. Powell takes us into the origins of the series and its cast, the experience of building an independent success, what the look of The Goon and Franky says about them, concept books, the learning curve of making a comic all on your own, when the idea of Chinatown came together, why he's doing more of The Goon and going back to self publishing, whether he considered changing the format of the book, what his art process is, how he uses color, why he's bringing in other creators into The Goon, building and keeping an audience, and more.
In this week's episode of Off Panel, BOOM! Studios' President of Publishing and Marketing Filip Sablik joins the show to discuss the world of BOOM! and his recent speech at ComicsPRO's annual meeting. Sablik discusses his time at Diamond Comic Distributors, his role at BOOM!, the value of licensed books, what's dictating their move towards younger readers and women, where they are seeing growth, their bold plan for Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora's Once and Future, why they did it, what makes it stand out, staying in favor with multiple markets, servicing different audiences, marketing comics, the greatness of Giant Days, and more.
In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Garth Ennis joins the show to talk his love of war comics and his latest series from TKO Studios, Sara. Ennis discusses where his love of war stories came from, why they speak to him as a writer, fitting those types of tales into Marvel and DC, the importance of editorial allies, the origins of Sara, Russia's secret police, the Eastern Front of World War II in fiction, how Sara thinks about war, the pacing and structure of the story, Steve Epting's art, why he worked with TKO on this book, why he works with so many different publishers, the importance of realism in his stories, and more.
In this week's episode of Off Panel, Random House Graphic Publishing Director Gina Gagliano joins the show to talk about the upcoming children and teenaged graphic novel readers imprint she's building. Gagliano discusses her comic book origin stories, how she got into marketing, the beginnings of First Second, the elongated release window of the book market, her podcast, Graphic Novel TK, how Random House Graphic first came together, where you start when you are opening an imprint, her curation strategy, her very positive Twitter feed, Lucy Knisley at RHG, whether other Random House releases impact her approach, the biggest surprise of launching Random House Graphic, and more, before we close with a new segment, as Skybound's Sr. Vice President of Business Development, Shawn Kirkham, joins the show to highlight our Beasts of the Week in the world of comics.
In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Erica Henderson joins the podcast to talk her art and upcoming series, Assassin Nation. Henderson discusses her background in film, animation and video games, storytelling in art, why she decided to work in comics, how she works, how a prolonged run impacted her approach on Squirrel Girl, her rules for that series, visual humor, managing workloads, how Assassin Nation came together, the development of the book, her coloring herself, the cast of characters, developing their looks, and more.
In this week's episode of Off Panel, the founder and CEO of ICv2, Milton Griepp, joins the show for a look at the state of the comic industry. Griepp discusses his time in comic book distribution, what it used to be like, the positives and negatives of Diamond being the sole distributor, whether he considered leaving comics after selling Capital City, the growth of geek culture, where the Direct Market is today, the biggest problem facing the Direct Market, reader diversification, Marvel and DC's latest moves, whether the book market fits, whether periodicals are dying, why digital has plateaued, the overall health of comics, and more.
In this week's episode of Off Panel, the line art team from the Image series Crowded, Ro Stein and Ted Brandt, join the podcast to discuss their work. Stein and Brandt talk about their path to comics, how they met, Ro's interest in animation and its influence, their breaking in story, their process and how it evolved, Crowded's development, world building, bringing the characters to life, layering Easter eggs into the world, sound effects, animals in fiction, the power of inkers, cover work and a whole lot more.
In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Tze Chun joins the show to talk about the new comic company he's the co-publisher of, TKO Studios. Chun discusses his comic book origin story, how TKO and its team came together, binge releasing comics, why they decided to do things completely different than other publishers, where comic shops fits in their overall plans, the format of TKO's comics, why trades <em>and</em> single issues, attracting creators, distributing themselves, giving first issues away for free, competing for readers' time, developing an audience, and more.
In this week's episode of Off Panel, comics retailer Patrick Brower (Chicago's Challengers Comics + Conversation) returns to the podcast for a look back on 2018 for his shop. Brower discusses how the year was for Challengers, how it compared to 2017, disappearing subscribers, their ineffective events, what worked for them, the surprising single issue boom, the Marvel/DC divide, graphic novels, Saga's disappearance, what isn't working, the impact of pricing, big retailers speaking up, how back issues are doing, what publishers could do to help retailers, and more.