Off Panel: A Comics Interview Podcast

Cartoonist Daniel Warren Johnson returns to Off Panel this week to chat about his past few years and the upcoming Do a Powerbomb at Image. Johnson discusses Jurassic League's name, whether his audience has grown, getting back to telling his own stories, the origins of Do a Powerbomb, merging ideas, foster connections, trying to do new things with his art, the impact of commissions, building stakes, finite stories, the move to Image, writing for other artists, and more.

Writer Ed Brubaker guests on Off Panel this week as we talk about the latest Reckless book, The Ghost in You, and how the series is going four books deep. Brubaker discusses launch week for The Ghost in You, the Brubaker/Phillips backlist, the origins of this latest book, managing narration, building familiarity, final pages, learnings from the format, this moment in time in comics, the shift in what's selling, the future of Reckless, revisiting old ideas, updating Gotham Central, time traveling in his work, comics as his constant, and more.

Mike Del Mundo and Mike Huddleston, part of the 3 Worlds/3 Moons collective from Substack, join Off Panel this week to talk about bringing that concept universe to life. Del Mundo and Huddleston discuss the 3 Worlds/3 Moons experience, the extra things that come with Substack, managing a business, designing for other artists, how design informs the story, the origins of 3W3M, little details, how big the plan is, freedom, their approach to design, working with Jonathan Hickman, casting guest artists, biggest surprises from the experience, how it feels from the inside, and more.

The team of Charles Soule and Ryan Brown join Off Panel this week to talk about their upcoming eight issue Image series, Eight Billion Genies. Browne and Soule discuss their creative process, planning stories, the finite nature of the title, Eight Billion Genies' origins, how the genies work, Browne's artistic approach, collaboration, what they learned while making Curse Words, joke making, the title's Andrew Divoff variant, core questions to the title, whether they'd want a wish, and more. Also, a quick note for listeners: shouts to Deanna Chapman for stepping in to edit this one. She crushed it, as per usual!

Writer Joshua Williamson returns to Off Panel to talk about his busy dance card over at DC Comics. Williamson discusses the reaction to the death of the Justice League, the DNA of Dark Crisis, death's place in superhero stories, the architectural side of DC, his long-term view on things, how his position at DC has evolved, being the lore guy, his Black Label series Rogues, its development, Captain Cold's position, the Black Label approach, the impact of style, how his views of his career have evolved, and more. Also, a quick note for listeners: shouts to Deanna Chapman for stepping in to edit this one. She crushed it, as per usual!

Retailer Katie Pryde returns to Off Panel to talk about her comic shop in Portland, Oregon, Books with Pictures. Pryde discusses day-to-day variance in comics retail, the "new" Books with Pictures, how 2021 was and how 2022 is starting, graphic novels/collections vs. single issues, top performing comics, Saga's insanity, working with libraries, the manga boom, Marvel's trade program, the value of floor space, single issue distributors, doing work on ComicsPRO's board, and more. Also, a quick note for listeners: shouts to Deanna Chapman for stepping in to edit this one. She crushed it, as per usual!

>Cartoonist (and Silver Coin head honcho) Michael Walsh returns to Off Panel talk about his Image horror series, The Silver Coin, and his upcoming graphic novel, The Oates & The Elphyne. Walsh discusses his role on The Silver Coin, competition amongst writers on the title, his feelings about horror, seeding ideas into the series, the universality of fear, the versatility of The Silver Coin, experimenting in art, Silver Coin's covers, the rise of horror comics, The Oates & The Elphyne, how it ended up at Humanoids, whether he's entered a different phase of his career, and more.

Cartoonist Ronald Wimberly makes his debut on Off Panel this week, as he joins the show to chat about his upcoming Kickstarter for his stealth epic, GratNin. Wimberly discusses his earliest comics, cultural elements, his affinity for history, the origins of GratNin, how he viewed his path originally, playing with the comics form, the upcoming print edition of GratNin, his love of ninjas, the value of constraints, economy in art, what's in the GratNin print edition, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, the publisher of Iron Circus Comics, C. Spike Trotman, joins to talk about going her own direction in crowdfunding The Poorcraft Cookbook. Trotman discusses mid-campaign feelings, advertising, differences between crowdfunding efforts, previous expectations for Iron Circus' path, reactions to Kickstarter's plans, building out her own platform, The Poorcraft Cookbook, the process of moving platforms, biggest concerns, serving niches, Nero Villagallos O'Reilly's work, big learnings from the campaign, how the industry has shifted since her first Kickstarter, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer/artist Christian Ward joins to talk about his work on titles like Aquaman: Andromeda and the upcoming Blood Stained Teeth. Ward discusses announcement day for the Aquaman title, underwater horror, the joy of that project, working with Ram V, developing his art style, the importance of color, adding writing to drawing, the origins of Blood Stained Teeth, the creative team of the book, unique approaches to vampires, eternal wealthy living, deciding which projects to take, Oscar Isaac, working on 3 Worlds, 3 Moons, and more. Quick bonus note: Shouts to Deanna Chapman, who stepped in to edit this episode, making it sound way better than usual. Thanks Deanna!

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Tom King returns to the show to discuss some of his latest work and his move over to Substack. King discusses the origins of Human Target, the appeal of finite stories, valuing art and artists, his most oppressed character, knowing yourself as a writer, taking big swings, working with John Paul Leon, turning Batman/Catwoman Special #1 into a JPL tribute, Mitch Gerads making everything work, going romance-ish with Love Everlasting, creator-owned versus for-hire, why they went to Substack, making Love Everlasting free, working with contrasts, the current comic industry environment, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, the co-writer of Five Worlds and founder/editorial director of First Second, Mark Siegel, joins to chat about the story behind First Second and his latest graphic novel. Siegel discusses editor brain vs. creator brain, the early days of First Second, the range of their comics, how being raised in France affected his view on comics, how the publisher first came together, the size of First Second releases, how comics have changed over the past 16 years, Five Worlds, its origins, incorporating world change into story, working with family, hopes for the future, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Elsa Charretier returns to the show to talk about her new comic, Love Everlasting, with writer Tom King on Substack. Charretier discusses the new series, what Love Everlasting is, romance comics, pushing yourself as an artist, pairing up with King, how they made it to Substack, its appeal, why they made their comic free, whether it will be in print, how her YouTube show has affected her art, looking outside traditional structures, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Patrick Brower, the co-owner of Challengers Comics + Conversation, a comic shop in Chicago, joins to chat about the year in his store. Brower discusses his exhausting year, changing point-of-sale system, how the year was for the shop, the state of Wednesdays, what's working, the X-Men line, Reckless, Saga's return, what isn't performing well, Bad Idea, the lack of ongoings, Black Label, single issues versus graphic novels, the current distributors, supply chain issues, digital impacts, hopes for 2022, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Susana Polo, the Entertainment Editor at Polygon, joins to talk 2021 trends in comics and things we're anticipating in 2022. Polo discusses labor shifts, Substack, its potential longevity, tokusatsu taking a lead in comics, the Power Rangers Effect, Dawn of X's spread, leaning into design, the potential of a Marvel relaunch, its current state, DC getting itself sorted, Black Label's position, Webtoon and distribution, accessibility in comics, supply chain issues, Saga's return, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Juni Ba joins the show to chat about his upcoming Image series, Monkey Meat. Ba discusses the arrival of Monkey Meat, his art beginnings, figuring his work out, Mike Mignola's impact, storytelling environments, the impact of the internet, the origins of Djeliya, how Monkey Meat came together, finding joy in the work, following his passions, character design, building the career he wants, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist R. Kikuo Johnson joins to chat about my favorite comic of the year, his graphic novel, No One Else. We discuss Maui as an influence for him, his RISD experience, his editorial illustration work, the origins of No One Else, the work that went into it, its structure and format, comic strips, silence, simplifying his art, balancing the cast, parallels, character acting, the glory of Batman, the color and design of No One Else, whether comics will always be a part of his work, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, my pal Brandon Burpee returns for our year end spectacular once again. We discuss the year that was for us, how it was in comics, our awareness of what's going on in comics, Marvel and DC, the current state of the X-Men, binge reading versus monthly, Marvel Unlimited's changes, our favorite adaptations of the year, the comics that almost made the cut, and more, before we close with counting down our 20 favorite comics of the year.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Kieron Gillen returns to talk about his current run of comics. Gillen discusses Immortal X-Men's announcement, its Mark Brooks drawn teaser, his audience, Once & Future's blend, fighting boredom, experimentation at Marvel, the usage of continuity, problem solving the Eternals, Sersi's place, The Machine's narration, why he went back to the X-Men, the cast of Immortal X-Men, his evolution as a writer, and more.

In a special episode of Off Panel recorded at Emerald City Comic Con 2021, artist Tula Lotay joined the show to chat about her art and the story behind it. Lotay discusses getting back to conventions, the origins of Thought Bubble, working in comic shops, the impact of influences, film's impact on her, covers versus prints, the appeal of her new title Barnstormers, sequential art, the look of her art, and more.