Stick to your knitting. Specialize. Find your niche. Operate in your wheelhouse. And a zillion other clichés that get thrown around. It’s been accepted as common wisdom that one should find the one thing they have some talent in and pursue that to the end. And even if this is true (though we’re not saying it is), how does one even go about finding the precise knitting to which they should be sticking?

We’re fortunate to be joined this time by Kris Straub, the author behind Starslip, Chainsawsuit, Broodhollow, the Webcomics Weekly podcast, and more for a discussion on finding the proper venue for your work once you’ve tackled that tricky business of finding your voice.

And Erin Helmrich of the Ann Arbor District Library returns for another round of great book talks!

Links mentioned in this episode (thanks to Eric Klooster for collecting them!):

The hard fact of it is, few people make a ton of money at this comics jazz. And while we’ve talked about creating various streams of income in past shows, we’ve yet to talk about how to get more out of less of our financial resources!

We’re joined this episode by C. Spike Trotman, author of Poorcraft: The Funnybook Fundamentals of Living Well on Less, for a talk on facing the inevitable cruelties of managing one’s finances. We also have in-studio guests Laurianne Uy and Dave Carter who provide some tips and tools to help you make a budget and stick to it!

And Sharon Iverson of the Ann Arbor District Library returns for another round of great book talks!

Links mentioned in this episode (thanks to Eric Klooster for collecting them!):

We’re thrilled to have Gregg Schigiel, the artist behind many of the ever-present images of Spongebob Squarepants in comics and on products, for a talk on working on a beloved children’s character. Is it all fame and candy-eating, or is there a certain work ethic that goes into working on such a highly-visible property?

We also talk about Gregg’s excellent Stuff Said podcast and the thoughts behind it. What does it take to make a podcast, and how do you know if you’re ready to dive into this medium?

Note: This episode is part of a 3-episode crossover between Gregg’s show, the Kids’ Comics Revolution! podcast, and Comics Are Great! You can check out Part 1 on KCR!, featuring a talk on the power of superhero stories, Part 2 on Stuff Said, featuring an interview with me, and conclude with this very episode.

We’re joined at the end by Sharon Iverson of the Ann Arbor District Library for some more book recommendations!

Links mentioned in this episode (thanks to Eric Klooster for collecting them!):

Whether you’re self-publishing or working with a publisher, a cold hard reality we cartoonists face is getting the word out about your book. This time I’m joined by author Stephen McCranie for a discussion on how he used a special promotion on his site offering free Skype visits to schools to inspire kids and help spread awareness of his graphic novels.

Links mentioned in this episode (thanks to Eric Klooster for collecting them!):

We close out the 2012 broadcast schedule with a special event! I’m joined by guest co-host Cassie, who helps me interview Raina Telgemeier about her latest graphic novel Drama. Together we talk about how Drama is a “spiritual sequel” to Smile, how an author might use their own experiences to inform their stories, and whose work most inspired Raina.

Toward the end of the episode we’re visited by Erin Helmrich of the Ann Arbor District Library for another round of great book recommendations!

Links mentioned in this episode (thanks to Eric Klooster for collecting them!):

This time we talk with the team behind the new Watson and Holmes comic about iterating on public domain stories, new publishing strategies, and how a cartoonist might think about “acting” through their characters.

And we’re joined once again by Sharon Iverson of the Ann Arbor District Library for a nautically-themed round of book recommendations!

Links mentioned in this episode (thanks to Eric Klooster for collecting them!):

It’s a Halloween-themed episode with a talk on what characterizes a scary story, and we’ve got a full roundtable of people well-suited for the job! I’m joined by Jon David Guerra, Paul Storrie, and Dave Carter, who help to draw the line between “disturbing” and “frightening,” and how telling a story visually presents a unique challenge when creating scary stories.

We close, as always, with a bunch of great comics recommendations when we’re joined by Erin Helmrich of the Ann Arbor District Library.

Links mentioned in this episode (thanks to Eric Klooster for collecting them!):

• RL Stine video on what makes a scary story
• The Saturday Supercast Halloween specials, Part 1 | Part 2
• Dr. Zaius
• It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
• Ben Cooper Costumes
• Zatara
• The William Shatner Mask is Michael Myers’ mask!
• The Steve Miller “Spider” mask
• The Jump Scare
• Horror Manga
• The Woman in Black
• Resident Evil
• H.P. Lovecraft
• Invasion of The Bodysnatchers
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• The Horror, Etc. Podcast
• The Ring
• Jon Lovitz as the Devil
• Parents
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• The Mist
• Titanic
• John Carpenter
• Soylent Green
• Planet of The Apes
• Werewolf by Night
• The Shining
• Twisted Journeys
• My Boyfriend is a Monster
• Bram Stoker’s Dracula
• Creepshow
• Doc Macabre
• Ted Cassidy
• 30 Days of Night
• Anathema
• Gravity Falls
• Magic
• The Hunger

Comics Recommendations (some affiliate links):

• Peculia and the Groon Grove Vampires
• Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
• The Rick Geary series of non-fiction comics
• Uzumaki

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What’s the difference between story and backsory? It’s a tricky question, so I was lucky to assemble a rather impressive roundtable of comics people to help sort this one out. Brandon Dayton, Dave Roman, and Paul Storrie all return to the show to help determine how to know what information belongs within and supports your story, and what information is world building material to inform the choices you make when constructing your story.

Sharon Iverson of the Ann Arbor District Library shows up later to share some more book recommendations and comics events happening in the Southeast Michigan area.

Links mentioned in this episode (thanks to Eric Klooster for collecting them!):

• Steel Cut Oats
• Romney vs Big Bird
• Wikipedia’s definition of Backstory
• Wikipedia’s definition of Exposition
• The Incredibles
• Batman’s origin
• Dungeon Masters
• Memento
• Spidey’s Uncle Ben
• Finding Nemo
• John Carter
• The Emperor’s New Groove
• Lost
• American Flagg!
• Orson Scott Card
• Goofus & Gallant
• The Silmarillion
• Jaws
• The Empire Strikes Back
• Aang (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
• Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
• The Legend of Korra
• Supernatural
• The Name of the Wind
• Game of Thrones S1
• The Paper Wings Podcast
• Kevin Costner
• Ben-Day Dots
• Dear Teen Me (and check out Dave’s appearance in the trailer video)

Comics Recommendations (some affiliate links):

• The Dreamer
• Robyn of Sherwood
• Three Shadows
• Hilda and the Midnight Giant
• Broxo
• Binky the Space Cat (A Binky Adventure)
• City of Spies
• Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography
• Ernest and Rebecca
• Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden

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Some of us have come face-to-face with the grim reality of getting our work published. It’s not quite as glamorous and easy as the fantasy we might have constructed as a kid. But Gina Gagliano of First Second Books stops by the show to lend a bunch of great insights on what happens behind the scenes at one of the top-flight comics publishers in order to better equip those of us who wish to see our books shelved along side of graphic novels like Laika, Vampire Love, Koko Be Good, and Feynman.

Check out Gina’s Behind the Scenes blog for even more terrific and useful info!

Erin Helmrich of the Ann Arbor District Library shows up later to share some more book recommendations and comics events happening in the Southeast Michigan area.

Links mentioned in this episode (thanks to Eric Klooster for collecting them!):

• First Second Serials: Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong
• The First Second Books FAQ
• First Second Top Sellers
• Editorial Anonymous
• Order of the Stick
• Gina’s post on Publishing vs. Kickstarter

Comics and Book Recommendations (some are affiliate links):

• Mr. Big: A Tale of Pond Life
• A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel
• Lio: There’s a Monster in My Socks
• Sailor Twain: Or: The Mermaid in the Hudson
• Friends with Boys
• Broxo

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I’m back from the Small Press Expo and ready to share some of the exciting things that happened while I was there. I’m joined by two other SPX 2012 exhibitors, Chad Sell and Sally Carson. Together we talk about the unique tone the convention has, offer some tips on tabling at conventions, and take a brief look at setting up your table from a User Experience Designer’s point of view.

Erin Helmrich of the Ann Arbor District Library shows up later to share some more book recommendations and comics events happening in the Southeast Michigan area.

Links mentioned in this episode (thanks to Eric Klooster for collecting them!):

• Chad’s webcomic running on the RuPaul’s Drag Race Facebook page
• Manta-Man
• Sally’s Trapped in the Comic project
• Toronto Comics Art Festival
• Alternative Press Expo
• Chicago Alternative Comics Expo
• Michael David Thomas
• Eden Miller
• Mike Birbiglia
• Cap’n Cat: Former Shark Hunter
• Ram-Man, part of my He-Man Reimaginings series
• Quentin Blake and his drawing process
• Visual fixations between Men vs Women (Possibly NSFW)
• The 501st – Vader’s Fist
• Neil Kaplan’s Voice Acting Presentation at Kids Read Comics 2012
• Rob Stenzinger
• Lean Into Art
• Sally’s Tips for Tabling at Conventions

Comics and Book Recommendations (some are affiliate links):

• School of World
• Disappearance Diary
• Salad Days
• Runner Runner
• Overboard
• Indestructible Universe
• Heinrich Kley
• Elephant Can’t Play Piano
• Rat Bastard Comics
• Hugo Tate
• Darth Vader and Son
• Chi’s Sweet Home, volume 1
• Get Jiro!

Upcoming Comics Events in Southeast Michigan:

• The Ann Arbor Comics Artist Forum with James Anderson, October 7
• Drawing Lab: Sketching the Human Head September 22

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