Kim Deitch’s latest book, How I Make Comics, continues his tradition of great fantastic tales that he weaves his own history into a narrative that takes you to places you won’t expect. Kim has been professionally creative for 60 years now. in 1966, he pursued a career of art and hasn’t looked back. There is something about the imaginative wonders in Kim Deitch’s work that keeps pulling people in and engaging with his work. He’s also been interested in telling a good story. There is a lot to explore with Kim’s vast history of comics and the way his stories can interconnect, but it’s done in a way where you can read one book and get so much out of it without knowing other stories.

How I make Comics really dives into his process while also exiting in his own unique comic book reality. I first interviewed Kim probably more than 15 years, so it was nice to get caught up with him again and see how is process has changed and also coming into a period of reflection.

This podcast is produced with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

In the process of restarting the podcast, I wanted to do interviews were I reconnected with guests that I haven’t spoken with in quite some time. I am sure it has been more than 10 years since the last time that I had interviewed Michael Deforge. Over those years, his work has continued to excite. His comics are never static, they are constantly forming and shaping, telling stories in a way that challenges the reader to take time to see the play between his language and art. Michael’s creative voice is beautifully singular and always refreshing.

His latest work from Drawn and Quarterly, All the Cameras in My Room, is anthology of short stories that feel very present and vital. He is actively navigating, organizing and participating in his world. This work feels very informed by current experiences but in way that makes it timeless. These struggles aren’t new, but they are universal. I took a lot from this book and really spent some time soaking it in after.

This Inkstuds episode is sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Breakdown Press Co-Founder, Designer and Cartoonist, Joe Kessler joined me to talk about his new collection, Windowpane and shine a light on a bit of the history of Breakdown Press. Breakdown is one of the most interesting publishers in the UK right now, putting out some top notch forward thinking comics. I am a huge fan of all they do and Joe’s comics are pretty great too.

I was joined by UK cartoonist, Sean Azzopardi to talk about his comics work. Sean has a range of different work ranging from genre series Necessary Monsters for the renewed First comics to his wandering autobio work like in Rain on Glass and Twelve Hour Shift, which I especially enjoyed for how he was able to explore the world around himself with an interesting compelling distance.

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

Jane Mai joined me to talk about her new books, Soft from Peow and See You Next Tuesday from Koyama. Jane’s new books are very different but both great. See You Next Tuesday is a natural extension of her previous book from Koyama, Sunday In The Park With Boys. Really funny personal revealing sketchbook and off the cuff comics. Soft is more of a fleshed out contained story exploring the high drama and despair of teen romance.

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

New Zealand cartoonist, Ant Sang, joined me to talk about his work in comics. Specifically we discussed the release of his classic work, Dharma Punks. Collecting the series he put out in the early 2000s, Dharma Punks is a fantastic look at passing through adolescent, reconciling nihilism and coming out at the end. I really liked this book and am happy to talk to Ant about it. More recently, he took his work into a different direction with the book Shaolin Burning.

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

Harrow County artist Tyler Crook joined me to talk about his comics work. Tyler has been making some fantastic series with writer Cullen Bunn. Tyler also worked on a lengthy run of BPRD and Bad Blood both also for Dark Horse. Tyler first got notice for his art on the Petrograd graphic novel. He has been churning out some refined work really quickly. I am excited by his stuff and to see where he goes with it.

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

I caught up with Gene Luen Yang to chat about work while he was in Vancouver for a writers festival. Gene’s latest work is Secret Coders illustrated by Mike Holmes and Shadow Hero with artist Sonny Liew. Gene has been actively putting out a wide range of comics capturing the young adult market. Starting with American Born Chinese, Gene has deftly exploring sensitive topics in a way that hit’s close to home for his young readers. Gene was one of the best in his field and i was very happy to get the chance to catch up with him.

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

This week we’re talking to Iasmin Omar Ata who has recently finished their first longform webcomic MIS(H)ADRA. It is a meticulous exploration of the life of Isaac, a young epileptic Arab-American. It follows him as he comes to grips with his disability and attempts to move through an often inhospitable, insensitive and troublingly ignorant world. Iasmin has a unique visual voice and an intimately perceptive way of delivering a story.

You can find MIS(H)ADRA and more of Iasmins work here

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon. Special thanks to Sloane for hosting this episode.

I caught up with Meags Fitzgerald while she was in Vancouver to talk about her books from Conundrum Press. Her latest book, Long Red Hair just came out a couple of weeks ago. It’s a great book looking at personal identity. Her other book is Photobooth, an immense illustrated immersive comic on the history of the photobooth. Meags is a great Canadian talent quickly creating some stellar work.

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

St Louis cartoonist, Mardou, joined me to talk about her Sky in Stereo collection from Revival House press. Mardou’s work can also be found featured in the new film, The Missing Girl.

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

Image courtesy of Colin Upton. Taken in 1991. “Dennis Eichhorn at Misfit Lit, a major show of underground/Indie comics in Seattle’s Coco Gallery curated by the folks at Fantagraphics in 1991. As far as I know it was one of the first comic art shows of it’s kind. This was when Seattle was the place to be for comic artists, when comics wasn’t so much a business as a cause.”

With the passing of Dennis Eichhorn, I wanted to repost this interview that we did back in 2007. I was joined by Colin Upton and Donald King. All three of us were really excited to interview him. Dennis was one of the most important folks in late 80’s/early 90’s alternative comics. His series of autobio comics, Real Stuff and Real Smut, were revealing, brutal, human, hilarious and heart breaking. almost every independent cartoonist that you can think of from that era, has drawn a comic based on an Eichhorn script. Last Gasp comics recently released a new book of Real Stuff strips. Go check it out.

Colin Upton was one of those collaborators. I asked him for comments on Dennis’ passing

“I’m sorry to have to tell you this but JR Williams has reported that Dennis Eichhorn, journalist and comics author, has passed away suddenly. Details so far are non-existent, although he was known to be suffering from heart trouble. He wrote a story about it in his latest book. Dennis was the most important author of American autobiographical comic stories after the late Harvey Pekar. While Harvey’s life was one of angst and working class routine Dennis, who began as a burly, football playing redneck from Idaho, had a life full of adventures, often skirting the fringes of society, to write about. I had collaborated with Dennis over the last few decades, stories autobiographical, historical and journalistic. He often came to me to do Vancouver or historical related stories. I always found Dennis easy to work with, he was willing to incorporate suggested changes I made to the stories we worked on together without rancor. He had outlined a story to me, “Doughnuts of Spokane”, for the next book which now will never happen. Did I mention he was kind, gentle and open to people, no matter how strange? There was a Zen like calm to Dennis. It’s not right, it’s too soon… Dennis still had stories to tell for others to draw…”

I also asked Don for some comments too “Probably one of the most underrated writers in underground/ alternative comics. He deserves the same kind of status given to Harvey Pekar for being able to entertain and be poignant with slice-of-life stories. And I helluva nice guy. I’m glad I had the opportunity to meet him. I’m saddened to hear he’s gone.”

Drawing by Dennis from Colin Upton’s sketchbooks “This is a drawing I finally persuaded Dennis to do at a slow comic con in a failed shopping mall in Moscow, Idaho.”

Antoine Cossé joined me to discuss his new works. Over the past couple of years, Antoine has released a good amount of really strong comics work. From British publisher Breakdown Press, he has the book Mutiny Bay as well as smaller works Nwai and Showtime. Retrofit/Big Planet put out the one shot Harold last year. I really like Antoine’s work and looking forward to see where he goes with it.

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

Vancouver cartoonist, Steve Skroce joined me to talk about his latest book, Maestros. This is Steve’s first book written for himself, having previously worked with a wide range of writers like Alan Moore on Youngblood, Brian K Vaughn on We Stand on Guard and The Wachowskis on Doc Frankenstein.

Steve is someone whose work I had been following since back when I worked in a comic store as a teenager, so it was nice to finally get an interview done.

I caught up with Portland cartoonist, Jason Overby. I have been a big of his work for quite a while and really happy to see a nice book of it collected. Being Being is published by Gridlords and well worth hunting for. Jason has a really unique voice in comics and is worth investigating.

It has been a couple of years since I had done a critics roundtable. I took break partially because Comics Are Burning In Hell does a great job of podcasting comics critics. I was somehow able to convince The Comics Reporter’s very own, Tom Spurgeon and the great voice in comics podcasting, Joe McCulloch to return. This time we were joined by Zainab Akhtar, the head boss of Comics and Cola. Both Tom and Zainab have Patreon’s that are very much worth supporting. they produce high quality comics criticism and are important voices to pay attention too. If Joe had a Patreon I would suggest supporting that too, but he doesn’t.

Unfortuantely there was a lot of technical difficulties while recording. Our first session was cut short because of power failure at my house caused by a major storm in Vancouver. The second session had a lot of problems with signals especially near the end. Many apologies to my guests and listeners for the substandard qualities. I am very thankful for their scheduling flexibility.

Here is our discussion list in order of what we talked about

Demon by Jason Shiga
Vacancy by Jen Lee
Flop to the Top by Eleanor Davis and Drew Weing
Master Keaton by Naoki Urasawa and others
Resident Alien: The Sam Hain Mystery by Steve Parkhouse and Peter Hogan
Corto Maltese: Beyond the Windy Isles by Hugo Pratt
Wuvable Oaf by Ed Luce
First Year Healthy by Michael DeForge

We were also supposed to talk about Phoebe Gloeckner’s Diarty of a Teenage Girl but had to end early because of previously mentioned technical difficulties.

This special episode of Inkstuds is hosted by Katie Skelly. Because of the support through the Inkstuds Patreon, I am able to bring on some excellent guests hosts. I am really happy to have Katie taking part. I am a big fan of both Katie’s work and her guest for this week, Liz Suburbia.

Liz’s new book is a collection of her long running webcomic, Sacred Heart. Published by Fantagraphics, Sacred Heart is a great look at exploring teen relationships on different levels. Liz has a natural flair for full realized characters and is a book well worth checking out.

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

Glenn Head‘s new book, Chicago is an excellent first big release from one of the greats in comics. Glenn has been producing fine work under titles likes Avenue D and Guttersnipe as well as editing the excellent anthologies Hotwire Comix and Snake Eyes (co-edited with Kaz). Glenn was a child of underground comix. Coming to age in the 1970s, feeding on the work of generation before him. His latest work explores that time, looking at Glenn as a young impulsive reckless man. I really enjoyed it and it’s quite worth checking out.

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

Vortex cartoonist William Cardini joined me to talk about his comics work. William has an amazing loose style that takes his work into some really odd space and direction. I am especially enjoying his work on the great Study Group website. William will be at SPX launching a new comic with Yeah Dude Comics.

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

Robert Goodin returned to the show his initial interview 5 years ago. His new book is Kurdles from Fantagraphics. A beautifully drawn children’s book, showing a nice departure in style. Robert’s a great drawer and I love to see anything that has his ink.

Robert was also the founder of the much loved Covered blog.

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

This weeks guest is cartoonist Daryl Seitchik. I first got Daryl’s mini comics through the great Oily subscription and have sine picked up others thoroughly enjoyed her introspective work that explores her childhood and adolescence. You can find her Missy comics on her tumblr and finer comic stores.

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

I caught up with Noah Van Sciver about his wide selection of new and wonderful books. His latest releases include My Hot Date from Kilgore Books, Cheer Up from Hic and Hoc and 2 books from Fantagraphics, Fante Bukowksi and Saint Cole.

This is my third time talking to Noah and it’s really interesting to see how much his cartooning has grown and improved between each conversation. His latest releases are quite excellent and I look forward to what he has coming up. Noah will be at the Center for Cartoon Studies this year as their fellow. I am expecting some great work to come out over the wonderful Vermont winter.

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

Marc Bell joined me, Brandon and local cartoonist, Owen Plummer, to talk about his new book from Drawn and Quarterly, Stroppy. For me, Marc is one of the most important Canadian cartoonists with his work pushing different ideas around storytelling, style and more. His new book is his first long form work and a return  to comics after an extended period focusing on his fine like the work in Hot Potatoe. Marc has also been promoting lesser known Canadian cartoonists like Mark Connery and Joe Hale and the wonderful Nog A Dod anthology.

Marc is currently in Minneapolis taking part in the PFC project and Autoptic this weekend.

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

Spanish cartoonist, Emma Rios joined me and Brandon to talk about her comics work. Her latest work can be found in the pages Island Magazine from Image comics(which she is editor of, along with episode cohost Brandon Graham). Emma also has, along with writer Kelly Sue DeConnick the second volume of Pretty Deadly coming in the fall. Thirdly, Emma is writing the 8house series Mirror with artist Hwei Lim. Emma has some great thoughts around her work and I am always happy to talk comics with her. I was supposed to interview Emma while in the UK, but was far too sick with a terrible convention crud to be able to do it.

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

David Small joined me to talk about his latest book, Home After Dark. While his previous work, Stitches was a memoir, his latest is a work of fiction that still captures a similar feeling and emotion. I really liked the book and this conversation.

Jen Lee, the cartoonist behind the amazing Thunderpaw webcomic joined me to chat about her new comic from NoBrow, Vacancy. It’s fantastic read, exemplifying Jen’s talent for complex characters navigating situations.

Christopher Butcher is the co-founder and festival director of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. One of the greatest annual gatherings of cartoonists, fans of the medium and the general public. David Brothers is the Branding Manager for Image comics, probably the most powerful publisher of creator own comics in the comics industry.

This conversation came about after joking around on twitter that I like talking to them anytime, so they called me on it and we set up a conversation. Both of these men have a considerable public face in comics. Even before working at Image, David’s critical writing on the industry has been powerful and positively provocative. Being one of many imporant voices bringing conversations around ethics and diversity to the forefront. Now in his role at Image, David is one of their most public faces, hosting the most recent Image Expo and moderating more panels at conventions than I do inkstuds.

TCAF has set a standard for the indy comics festival circuit in an increasingly busy and packed market.

The reason that I am highlighting both of their current works because that’s what this conversation is about; comics and comic conventions. Over the last 10 years, conventions have grown to be the center of the comics industry with most activities and publishing schedules revolving around these events.

We are of course joined by Brandon Graham, who brings his own experience as a creator attending shows. Check out his very new work Island and Arclight, both published by Image.

Clément Oubrerie artist of the award winning Aya series published in english by Drawn and Quarterly, joined me to talk about his new book from Self Made Hero. Pablo is a look at the world of Pablo Picasso’s early days through the eyes of his companion Fernande Olivier. It’s a really fantastic book that captures an amazing array of distinct visual art styles.

Kat Verhoeven joined me and Brandon to talk about her new book about little neighborhood in Toronto, Towerkind. Kat also has an excellent webcomic called Meat and Bone.

While Zac Gorman was in Vancouver for Vancaf, Brandon and I were able to meet up with him for some comics chatting. Zac’s work includes his Magical Game Time web comic and the Costume Quest book and Rick and Morty comic both from Oni Press.

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

One the great underground publishers, Ron Turner, joined me to chat about his history in comics. Last Gasp books has gone from publisher of a couple of underground comix, to being one the major forces in counter culture art. From publishing series like It Ain’t me Babe and Wimmens Comix to the work of Ron English and Junko Mizuno, Last Gasp has continued to put out really forward thinking work.

The City of San Francisco just recognized Ron on May 5th by declaring that day, Ron Turner!

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

Alex Degen joined me to talk about his new book from Koyama press, Mighty Star and the Castle of the Cancatervater. Alex has a wide range of really interesting work utilizing distinct manga sensibilities in contemporary alt comix context.

Alex will be appearing at TCAF this weekend, so here is something to check out while you are there!

Anne Ishii and Graham Kolbeins joined me and Brandon to talk about their Massive comic anthology; a collection of gay manga comics featuring a wide range of burly men. It’s a really interesting and important piece of work. Graham and Anne have brought together a diverse range of men doing very different but similar work in Japan. They also have the Massive Gay Apparel line, featuring a some sexy outfits and wares.

This week, they will be bringing Gengoroh Tagame to an event in New York and then as a featured artist at TCAF.

Connor Willumsen has a wide variety of comics. When preparing for this interview, both Brandon and I were surprised by how he approaches comics from such and exciting directions. His most recent work in print, Treasure Island can be found from Breakdown Press. He also has a short piece in the 3-d Studygroup anthology and a great short comic with Studygroup bigwig Zack Soto, about Damo Suzuki. We also discuss the comic he did about his brief period as a marvel artist.

In celebration of the complete Zap collection and release of issue 17, Paul Mavrides joined me to discuss his varied comic work. Paul’s work can be found not only in the more recent issues of Zap, but also in the comic posted above, Cover Up Lowdown, Co-Editing the fantastic Anarchy Comics series with Jay Kinney. As an early member in the Church of the Subgenius, you can see his visual sensibilities throughout, especially in the book Revelation X.

Paul also led a court case against the state of California to repeal an extremely damaging tax levy that would hit cartoonists hardest.

Paul continues to be active, most recently with this series of paintings.

Here’s another in a run of interviews with dedicated folks who put together independent comics shows in North America. Los Angeles’ CALA is about to hold their fifth annual event, and guest ‘stud Kit Brash talked to two of the team behind it, Jen Wang and Jake Mumm, a couple of weeks after last year’s show.

This yearâ€s CALA will run on December 8th and 9th, from 10am til 5pm each day. Guests will include Taneka Stotts, Sophia Foster-Dimino, Marinaomi, Laura Lannes, Cathy G. Johnson, Landis Blair, Ezra Claytan Daniels, and Hartley Lin. The venue, a gymnasium at 3000 Dolores St in Glendale, has that common LA curse of being five times quicker by car than by public transport, but thereâ€s parking onsite and in surrounding streets, with a food truck and tables to save precious table-browsing time. Entry is free, re-entry is probably because you had to hit the ATM and come back. All the details are at comicartsla.com.

If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

New York comicer and animator, Lale Westvind joined me to talk about her comics Hot Dog Beach, Here and Now and much more. She also has a new music video she did for Lightning Bolt.

And go check out the inkstuds patreon!

Ed Luce joined me to chat about his new Wuvable Oaf collection from Fantagraphics. It’s a terrific collection bringing together his great self published run of comics following a uniquely San Francisco cast of characters. It’s a fun book that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Dylan Horrocks is up there as one of my favorite cartoonists and thinker on comics. He has run the mile in comics, from his grown breaking Hicksville to working deep in the mainstream, Dylan has since returned to his roots. His latest book, Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen, feels like a natural follow up to Hicksville, exploring different facets of comics in a more decompressed experiential work. We had last talked about 5 or so years ago and Dylan is always a welcome presence.

It’s the end of the great Inkstuds Roadtrip. To end my time in London, I sat down with Alison Sampson, Jamie Mckelvie and Darryl Cunningham about all things comics. We recorded it at Gosh comics. A really great comic store that I went to a couple of times that week for various interesting comics events. They were great hosts and I was happy to be there.

Brandon and I sat down with Scott McCloud in the midst of his publicity blitz for his new book, The Sculptor. With academic and institutionalized success of Understanding Comics, Scott is one of the most visible ambassadors of comics and always has something interesting to say. Scott was also guest editor on the latest Best American comics, which we also discussed.

Oliver East was someone who I had wanted to talk to while I was in the UK, but naively didn’t realize how most folks in the UK don’t live super close to London. Oliver’s work is an ongoing exploration of his surroundings and his own personal dialogue. I really get a lot out of how much Oliver puts himself out there in his work. Comics that really worth exploring and thinking about.

His latest work is the Homesick Truant, which features Oliver travelling through the North of England.

Lala Albert joined me to talk about her new book from Breakdown Press, Janus. It’s a fantastic book showing a lot of unique insights and a really great usage of riso printing.

Up and coming uk cartoonist Lando, joined me in my London flat for a chat about his self published work from Decadance Comics and his new book from Breakdown Press, Gardens of Glass. Lando’s style reminds me of what Frank Santoro and I used to talk about with the idea of fusion comics, where you see someone pulling from so many different sources and creating something completely new.

My first interview in London was with Joe Decie. I have been meaning to interview Joe for quite a long time, so this was perfect timing. He was in London to see Deltron 3030 that night, so we were able to make the time work.

Joe and I were both recovering from Thought Bubble con crud, so apologies for the sound of our stuffed up noses. I actually slept all day and woke up about 20 minutes before Joe showed up. Sorry Joe!

Joe’s work can mostly be found on his website, but he does have 2 books from Blank Slate.

Joe drew this for me after I told him i want to move onto a mountain in Scotland.

While in Vancouver for an art installation, Walter Scott and I met up to talk about his book Wendy from Koyama. I really get a lot out of his work and love the balance between his comics and conceptual artwork. Walter is doing a signing and performance at Luckys on Friday evening and his showing at Macaulay Fine Art in Vancouver opening Thursday January 15th until February 17th.

Last year I joined the board of Directors for the Vancouver Comic Art Festival. It’s been really fun getting more involved in supporting local events and comics happening. The first event we did outside of the regular festival, was this talk with Anna Haifisch, Olivier Schrauwen and Marian Churchland. We did the event in the new theatre in the main branch of the Vancouver Public Library. Many thanks to Fantagraphics for facilitating the visit from Anna and Olivier and to the VPL for hosting.

I dont remember where i got this, sorry, please let me know if it’s yours so i can credit.

My second day at Thought Bubble brought me together with a stellar group of cartoonists. Boulet, Becky Cloonan and Emily Carroll are all make amazing work from their own artistic perspectives. Becky has been writing Gotham Academy for DC Comics and her own self published cartooning work By Chance or Providence. Boulet is constantly busy with his world class comics work. He was probably the most talked about cartoonist at Thought Bubble, doing amazing drawings for a massive line of very happy folks. Emily Carroll‘s new work is the 6th volume of Frontier from Youth in Decline and her collection, Through the Woods.

image stolen from Fredeggcomics http://fredeggcomics.blogspot.ca/2014/11/thought-bubble-2014.html

Here is my first interview from the UK leg of the roadtrip. A conversation with three very nice people. I am a fan of all of them and they also happen to be some of the most personable folks to talk to. Emma Rios is probably most known for her work on the image series Pretty Deadly. Dave Taylor has been on the show in the past and is always a blast to hear from. I have been a fan of his work since I first saw it long ago in some batman comics. He is currently working on Dr Who comics. Lastly Scott Snyder has been quickly producing a solid run of great comics in the mainstream with a number of series for Vertigo, DC and Image. His most recent is the horror series Wytches.

This was my first time attending Thought Bubble. They were a really great accommodating show. Thanks for hooking me up with these great guests.

Brandon and I really wanted to talk to Tom Spurgeon while we are all at SPX, unfortunately a long and chatty breakfast got in the way. Now that all of the inkstuds roadtripping is finished, Brandon and I are getting caught up with the interviews we wanted to do, but didn’t get the chance.

Tom’s Comics Reporter site is a high point for current comics journalism. His site is a daily stop for me. Tom recently took on a new opportunity as Festival Director for Cartoon Crossroads Columbus. A comics expo project partnering with the great Billy Ireland Museum.