Off Panel: A Comics Interview Podcast

In this week's episode of Off Panel, ComicsXF's Zack Jenkins joins me for a chat about the state of comic sites and his site's recent rebrand. Jenkins discusses the origins of the site, how it evolved, the power of rankings, researching the comic site landscape, finding new angles on content, letting writers do their thing, differentiating yourself, merging comic sites, the X-Men election, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Polygon's Comics Editor Susana Polo joins to chat about five things we're each watching for in comics in 20201. Polo discusses her comic book origin story, how The Mary Sue came together, her approach at Polygon, what's coming for DC, format changes, the box office schedule, digital's future, Mariko Tamaki on Detective Comics, Saga's return, convention reinvention, Scholastic + Marvel, creators going rogue, Wonder Woman: Historia, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Zander Cannon joins to chat about his Oni Press series, Kaijumax. Cannon discusses working from home, how the state of the world has affected his storytelling brain, Kaijumax's evolution, empathy in storytelling, what he's learned from the series, its season model, kaiju as proxies, the type of kaiju he'd be, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, retailer Patrick Brower returns to the show to chat about the year that was for his shop, Challengers Comics + Conversation in Chicago. Brower discusses his own year, what happened with Challengers' second shop, the year for the store overall, the volume of comics being released, new tactics, the need to change, explosive Wednesdays, new readers and disappearing pull list customers, the state of DC, the X-Men line, hopes for 2021, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, the writer of my comic of the year - Ryan North - joins to share the story behind his adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five. North discusses his own history with the story, its impact on him, his reaction to the idea of adapting it, its fit as a comic book, the experience of adapting it, wham lines, the genius of Albert Monteys, the timing of its release, adapting stories into other mediums, the Billy Pilgrim in him, and more.

In this week's end of the year episode of Off Panel, my pal Brandon Burpee returns to the show for a chat about the year that was in comics. Brandon and I discuss how our years were, the year in comics, how the way we engage with media is shifting, X of Swords, the best current fit for Maggott, the Hill House line's viability, horror comics, and more, before we dive into the countdown of our respective 20 favorite comics of the year.

In this week's special episode of Off Panel, we look at the defining themes of 2020 in comics with the help of Random House Graphic's Publishing Director Gina Gagliano, Third Eye Comics' Steve Anderson, and The Beat's Heidi MacDonald. Up first is Gagliano (1:15), who talks about a year of revolutionary change, the year's impact on promoting and publishing comics, how the book market was affected, and the year that was in that market. After that is Anderson (27:57), who discusses the disappearing backlist of trades in the direct market, distributor changes, and how single issues were affected. And to close is MacDonald (59:46), who talks about the end of the single issue, the rise of the webcomic, and how the balance of formats is shifting.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Sean Phillips joins the podcast to talk about his career, art and the soon-to-be-released Reckless. Phillips discusses his early start working in comics, where he learned the craft, the comics he grew up on, whether he would have been satisfied drawing superheroes, what he likes to draw, avoiding boredom, how quickly he and Ed Brubaker realized they jived together, the importance of finding a creative home, pushing your collaborators, Reckless, bringing characters to life, characters smoking, the graphic novel format, the Image deal, how he works, working with his son, Jacob, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Ed Brisson joins the podcast to chat about crime stories and the currently being Kickstarted Catch & Release: A Murder Book Story. Brisson discusses the Halifax life, how he got into comics, marrying that interest with crime, his personal connection to these stories, writing what you know, the stakes of the stories he likes, returning to Murder Book, his collaborators, why Kickstarter, creating rewards, his preferred Ghost Rider, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, the co-showrunner of HBO Max's Harley Quinn, Patrick Schumacker, joins to talk comics and all things Harley. Schumacker discusses his early love of comics, how that affected his interest in storytelling, the origins of varying comic projects, what he saw in Harley Quinn, the mundane aspects of supervillains, Harley's malleable nature, the good and bad of the character, Easter Eggs, Noonan's Bar, finding the right casting fits, and a whole lot more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, colorist Tamra Bonvillain joins the show to chat about her path to comics and the world of coloring. Bonvillain discusses her early attractions to the comics world, when art entered the picture, the Kubert School, flatting's position in the coloring world, her process, finding artists you mesh with, how those partnerships come together, what capacity looks like, how the job shifts artist to artist, layers, for hire vs. creator-owned, dream collaborators, supporting your role in comics, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, podcaster and original art collector Jason Wood joins to talk about the state of original art collecting. Wood discusses how he first got into original art collecting, where to start, the impact of art reps, his collection, deciding what to get, supporting new artists, why the market has blown up during the pandemic, original art vs. commissions, tips for new collectors, comic connections, his podcast 11 O'Clock Comics, the comics community, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Trung Le Nguyen joins the show to chat about their origins and The Magic Fish. Nguyen discusses The Magic Fish's relatively autobiographical nature, the importance of libraries, fairy tales, the magic and value of comics, when comics and art came in, how The Magic Fish came together, its fairy tale foundation, the power of stories, working with Random House Graphic, the book's colors, the importance of language, the Minnesota comics scene, the name Trungles, the glory of hens, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer/artist Chip Zdarsky joins the show to chat about the wider world of Chip. Zdarsky discusses how Sex Criminals changed things for him, its community driven nature, photo reference, future interior work, his time on Daredevil, working within parameters, the art of Daredevil, the bad guys of the book, the origins of Stillwater and Afterlift, the appeal of complete stories, building an identity, the attractiveness and rules of Stillwater, Ramon Perez's strength, the disappearance of his beard, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer James Tynion IV joins for a deep dive talk about horror comics and his new horror anthology Razorblades: The Horror Magazine. Tynion discusses where his love of horror stories came from, how they became ones he wanted to tell, how he fits the genre, his favorite horror comics, the strengths and weaknesses of horror in comics, the evolution of horror, the origin of Razorblades, why Gumroad is its home, his tactics for attracting readers, the creators and stories of Razorblades, writing for horror versus other genres, how his plans have shifted, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Jordan Blum joins to talk about the upcoming M.O.D.O.K. series on Hulu and the upcoming M.O.D.O.K.: Head Games mini-series he's co-writing with Patton Oswalt. Blum discusses his comic book origin story, the appeal of Marvel oddities, his TV writing career, the origins of the M.O.D.O.K. show, what they saw in the character, the angle they're taking, the iconic look of A.I.M., their approach to M.O.D.O.K.: Head Games, the impact of Jack Kirby, deep cut characters in the show, how they figured out what to include, the cast and look of the show, how the comic and show fit together, promoting the comic in the show, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Mark Sable joins to talk about his truly unique career and the upcoming Miskatonic at Aftershock. Sable discusses what connected him with comics, his winding path, his A-list collaborators, the importance of finding artists early on, the origins of Miskatonic, its foundation, the series lead, the current fascination with Lovecraftian stories, his touring of genres, the book's creative team, his work as a futurist, how that affects his thinking about comics, the New York Knicks, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, John Weddleton - the owner of my local comic book shop Bosco's - joins the show to talk about the history of the shop and what goes into running a comic shop in Alaska. Weddleton discusses what made him want to own a comic shop, the origins of Bosco's, his favorite comics, how comics have evolved, the expansion of the shop, events and community, the differences of having a comic shop in Alaska, the Alaska comics scene, how interest in varying product lines shift, the impact of the pandemic, finding a balance, the importance of good employees, how things have changed over his 33 years, why comics are so lasting, favorite memories, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer/artist Erica Henderson returns for a chat about her work and the upcoming Dracula, Motherfucker! Henderson discusses her eclectic projects, Dracula, Motherfucker! being on vibe for her, the look of vampires, the project's origins and appeal, horror stories, the clarity of the script's vibe, her changes of approach in this story, the creative side of coloring, working with Alex de Campi, the look of Dracula, making action scenes work, teaching art, pandemic projects, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Nick Roche joins the podcast to chat about his comics life and upcoming IDW series Scarenthood. Roche discusses growing up in a small town, stories sneaking up on you, his likability, when he first started reading comics, the development of his art, how he broke into comics, whether he wanted to do something smaller with Scarenthood, the scariness of being a parent, the origins of fear, character acting, telling more personal stories, shattering trousers, and more.