Off Panel: A Comics Interview Podcast

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Russell Dauterman joins the show to talk his art and recently completed run on The Mighty Thor. Dauterman discusses how he celebrated The Mighty Thor concluding, the experience of tackling such a long run, his character design background, designing the cast of Thor, differentiating Jane Foster and Jane Thor, his art process, photo reference, working with Matt Wilson, page layouts, the power of continuity, having a long run under his belt, and more, before concluding with five questions about his own comic book loves.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, editor Will Dennis joins the show to talk his role in comics, specifically on the upcoming anthology comic, Where We Live. Dennis discusses the role of an editor, what drives the projects he takes on, the importance of trust, Will Dennis books, the Vertigo brand, Scalped, Vertigo's incredible run of cover artists, what he's doing on Where We Live, how working in comics changes your relationship with them, how the project has come together, the unexpected help on the book, balancing the creator lineup, the project's importance, Vertigo's place in comics today, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, comic shop owner (and Free Comic Book Day creator) Joe Field joins the show to talk FCBD and the world of retail. Field discusses Free Comic Book Day, the power of the day, the unique environment that led to the day, growth of interest, converting FCBD customers into regular customers, the power of events, how his shop has evolved in its 30 years, what 2017 was like for his shop, the year so far, the state of Marvel, DC making moves, Action Comics #1000, the cockroaches of pop culture, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Karl Kerschl joins the show to talk his influences and his new Image series, Isola. Kerschll discusses the impact the Image founders had on him, being a contrarian, his career path, the appeal of comic strips, doing your own thing, modern coloring, Isola's colors, sound effects, research, telling a story with a silent character, the creative process on the book, the value of hooks, the map of the world, and more, before closing with five questions about his webcomic, The Abominable Charles Christopher.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Ryan Browne joins the show to talk his latest Kickstarter for GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS presents 3-D COWBOY'S 2-D SPECTACULAR! Browne discusses the origins of God Hates Astronauts, building an audience, webcomics, why he went back to Kickstarter, the story behind it, his incredible artistic collaborators, the creative process on the book, living with Paolo Rivera, the importance of taking things seriously, crazy character names, Kickstarter rewards, the stress of Kickstarter, Curse Words, working with Charles Soule, and more, before closing with five questions about Ryan Browne, the person.

In this week's special, 150th episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Kazu Kibuishi joins the show to talk comics, art and ten years of Amulet. Kibuishi discusses creating a story readers grow up with, the next generation of comic creators, Amulet's evolution, managing such a sprawling story, respecting readers, digging into Amulet's world, his creative process, expanding comics' genres, the value of simple character depictions, Final Fantasy, and more, before diving into five questions about Kazu Kibuishi, the person.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, friend of the show Brandon Burpee returns for a power rankings episode all about the X-Men. The show begins with a discussion about our X-Men backstories, before we dive into the ranks, as we share our favorite X-Men artists, the best characters who died and came back, X-Bases, villains, writers, moments, stories and more, before closing with a fantasy draft to create our own X-Men line of comics. It's a fun episode, but as a note, it's also one with some audio issues on my side of things thanks to it being recorded on Zencastr.

Live from Emerald City ComiCon, it's a panel episode as colorists Tamra Bonvillain (Doom Patrol) and Kelly Fitzpatrick (Shade the Changing Woman) join the show to discuss their work. They talk getting into art, whether they studied art at school, the idea of coloring as a stepping stone, how their line art experience impacts their coloring, how much their colors change based off the line artist, attribution, their processes, whether they have specific palettes, balancing workload, the power of saying no, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Robert Kirkman joins the show to talk comics and his new book, Oblivion Song. Kirkman discusses why he keeps making comics, whether he's an art nerd, how his success allows him to take risks, learning from other creators and comics, Oblivion Song's lead time, his approach to writing, Savage Dragon's impact on him, how artists have changed the path of his comics, what made Lorenzo de Felici the right fit for Oblivion Song, what he looks for in his collaborators, the ending of Invincible, seeing so many other people working in his sandbox, the glory of Andrew J. Shaw, fictional editors, and more.

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Jen Bartel and Sam Humphries - the creative team behind the upcoming Image Comics series, Blackbird - join the show to discuss their upcoming book. They discuss what stood out about each other's work, their commonalities as creators and people, comic creators as entrepreneurs, when Blackbird first started coming together, how they highlight each other's strengths, the development of the book, what it's all about, the comic's influences, making the book stand out in a cluttered market, and more.