Off Panel: A Comics Interview Podcast

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, writer Christopher Sebela joins to talk about his writing on titles like Test and Crowded. Sebela discusses his recent efforts to take weekends for himself, getting out of the house on dog walks, his project notebooks, how they help his process, putting himself into his work, working at a test marketing firm, what his Test pitch is, its origins, what's next for Crowded, the book's cast, the success of creator-owned books, merch in comics, how much he's working on at on time, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, retailer Jacob Sareli joins to talk about his shop Comikaza, the first comic shop ever in Israel. Sareli discusses how he got into comics, the Israel comics scene, how he ended up taking over Comikaza, how the shop has evolved, what's working for his shop, the impact of manga and kids comics, how the past couple years have been, what he'd like to see more of, what doesn't work in his shop, Free Comic Book Day's impact, his shop's demographics, 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.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Andrea Demonakos joins the podcast to talk about the world of merchandising and White Squirrel, her company that's designed to help artists sell their products online. Demonakos discusses Toronto's part in her comic background, her varying roles in the comics and how they helped her better understand that world, running Vancouver Comic Arts Festival, the origins of White Squirrel, the evolution of cons, what merchandising does for creators, managing Kickstarters, where White Squirrel is headed, the future of merchandising, 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, writer Robbie Thompson joins the podcast to talk about his Marvel mini-series Meet the Skrulls. Thompson discusses shipping, fandom, why he wanted to write comics, the greatness of Javier Rodriguez, the origins of his current Marvel mini-series Meet the Skrulls, this being the most him Marvel project he's had, the themes of family and identity in the book, Niko Henrichon's art, the nuance of Skrulls, individuating shapeshifters, and more, before we close with five questions about Thompson, the person.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Jody Leheup joins the podcast to talk about his Image series, The Weatherman. Leheup discusses the stories that made him, his time at Marvel editorial, what he learned during that time, spinning plates, the origins of The Weatherman, Nathan Fox's impact, Tom Muller's design, the complexity of series lead Nathan Bright, the troubling death from the first issue, our relationship with animals in fiction, the season model, what's coming next, marketing the book, and more.

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.