Comics Are Great! 61 – Talking Korra, Pt 2 with Gene Yang and Kevin Coppa

Tue, 12/04/2012 - 4:00pm by dubaym

Spoiler alert! If you haven’t finished watching the first season of The Legend of Korra, you might want to do so before enjoying this episode. But even if you’re not a Korra fan, there’s some fun storytelling talk and analysis on this edition of CAG, as I’m joined by Gene Yang (Prime Baby, The Eternal Smile, Level Up, American Born Chinese and more) and Kevin Coppa of the Puppetbenders YouTube series. Together we evaluate how the first season of Korra turned out, focusing on the great character writing, terrific world development, and some of the problems that can arise when you try to fit too much into too little a package.

We’re joined at the end by Sharon Iverson of the Ann Arbor District Library for another round of book recommendations.

And if you haven’t yet, check out our first discussion on this series held right after the launch of the season.

Links mentioned in this episode (thanks to Tom Smith and Kevin Coppa for collecting them!):

• Flickr Group of Avatar/Korra Panel Meetup
• Avatar Fan Panel YouTube video series
• Public reading of Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise (written by Gene Yang)
• Legend of Korra official Panel at SDCC
• Bryan Konietzko Tumblr mentions – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
• Puppetbenders in Entertainment Weekly
• Doctor Who Costumes on MTV
• Kevin Coppa on DeviantArt
• Gamespot 360 Costume Cam
• The X-Men Family Tree
• Thien Pham on Twitter
• Mythomania, a web series about cartoonists by Derek Kirk Kim

Comics and book recommendations (affiliate links):

• Hilda and the Midnight Giant
• Monster Mess
• Friends with Boys
• Long Tail Kitty

Upcoming Comics Events at AADL:

• Comics Digital Coloring 101 – August 21 and August 22
• Creating Noir Comics with Shawn Martinbrough – August 29
• The Ann Arbor Comics Artist Forum with guest speaker Jim Anderson – September 9

To download the episode right-click link below and save link as...

Comics Are Great! 60 – Getting Your Comics into Libraries with Erin Helmrich

Mon, 12/03/2012 - 1:08pm by dubaym

Many of us agree that web publishing is a terrific way to build an audience for your comic, graphic novel, or comic strip. It’s an easy, low-risk way for audiences to try before they buy. And the same is true for getting your books into libraries! But how does one do it? Do you just walk in and toss your book across the information desk? And even once your book is in the library’s collection, how can you take steps to let the library’s patrons know that it’s there?

We’re joined by Erin Helmrich, Teen Librarian and Comics Selector for the Ann Arbor District Library, who drops a ton of great advice for cartoonists who hope to get their work into library collections.

And as usual, we close with some great comics recommendations!

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

• The Printz Awards
• Teen Boat!
• MARC Records
• Clare, Michigan
• The Eisner Awards
• Joe Foo
• The Walking Dead
• Archie comics
• Pokemon
• Are You My Mother?
• AADL’s Hot Graphic Novel List
• Kids Read Comics
• The AADL Summer Game

Comics and Book Recommendations:

• Archie Americana Series
• Chew Volume 1: Tasters Choice
• Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb
• Stuck in the Middle: 17 Comics from an Unpleasant Age
• PC Weenies
• Happyloo

To download the episode right-click link below and save link as...

Comics Are Great! 59 – Speed Comicking

Mon, 12/03/2012 - 1:05pm by dubaym

Making comics takes a lot of time. We all understand this. But Ryan Estrada shows us that it doesn’t have to take as much time as we think it does! This time we’re treated to what is essentially an online workshop in automating much of the comics process to speed things along and maximize our time behind the desk. You might want to watch the video for this one to see how Ryan uses the Photoshop Actions Palette, Layer Groups, and the Mac program Automator in order to get lots more work done.

We’re joined later by Erin Helmrich of the Ann Arbor District Library for another great round of book recommendations!

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

• The Whole Story comics ebook bundles
• Busan, South Korea
• The Kind, by Ryan Estrada
• Uni-Ball Pens
• Stylo Refill Pens
• Bone, by Jeff Smith
• The Humble Indie Bundle
• Brandon Dayton’s appearance on CAG 41
• The AADL Summer Game
• Rack My Book! A new workshop at Lean Into Art July 25

Comics and Book Recommendations:

• My Sister, the Freak
• Power Lunch
• The Intrepid Girlbot
• Friends with Boys
• Twin Spica: Volume 12
• Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 8 Library Edition Volume 1 HC
• Romeo and Juliet: The War
• Poorcraft
• Life in the Analog Age

To download the episode right-click link below and save link as...

Comics Are Great! 58 – Writing for Kids

Mon, 12/03/2012 - 1:01pm by dubaym

Whether or not one should make any special considerations when writing for kids is a topic that goes round and round on the twitters. Is it better to shield young people from the difficulties and terrors of adulthood, or should we be preparing kids for this? Are there advantages to both?

It’s a philosophical episode with a packed house of panelists as we’re joined by Dave Carter, Paul Storrie, Sharon Iverson, and Brandon Dayton. Brandon helps frame the discussion by presenting two popular models in kids’ storytelling: the Disney Model and the Pixar Model. Pinocchio gets his wish, while Buzz Lightyear learns to reconcile with a disappointing truth. Together we evaluate the differences between these models and what their strengths and weaknesses are, with plenty of interaction in the chat client!

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

• Ed Catmull talks storytelling (video)
• Maurice Sendak talks storytelling (video)
• Maurice Sendak on the Colbert Report
• Vogons
• Kid Devil and KD jumps through a hoop
• The Legend of Korra
• Pinocchio
• Toy Story
• The Uses of Enchantment
• The Frog Prince
• Grave of the Fireflies
• Up
• The Graveyard Book
• University of Michigan’s Coursera online classes
• Pablum
• Megatron
• Game of Thrones
• Alfred Hitchcock
• Commando
• Serenity
• Dave Roman
• The Kids’ Comics Revolution podcast
• The Kids Read Comics Librarian/Educator/Cartoonist mixer, July 8 at 10:30 am

Comics and Book Recommendations:

• Delilah Dirk and the Seeds of Good Fortune
• Level Up

Upcoming Events and Appearances:

• Kids Read Comics July 6-8
• ALA Annual in Anaheim, CA

To download the episode right-click link below and save link as...

Comics Are Great! 57 – Eric Orchard and Scary Comics for Kids

Mon, 12/03/2012 - 12:59pm by dubaym

This time we’re joined by Eric Orchard for a talk about his new kids’ horror comic Marrowbones. What are the special parameters one must consider when making a scary story for kids? How do you walk that line in a visual medium like comics? Also, a contest! For the folks who tuned in during the live stream at http://comicsaregreat.tv we gave away a free advance copy of Raina Telgemeier’s new book Drama (available for preorder now).

We’re once again joined 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!):

• First Second Books
• Saturday Morning Webtoons
• Terrible, Horrible, Smelly Pirate
• Anything But Hank
• Adventures of the Flying Boat Facebook page
• Oliver’s Tomb
• Saw
• The Prince of Darkness
• Halloween
• Hammer Studios
• M. R. James
• Love & Rockets
• Mike Mignola
• Let the Right One In
• “How did movie zombies get so fast?”
• Simon Pegg on why zombies should not be allowed to run
• The #dramaCAG tweets and the winning tweet
• Wacom Cintiq
• Manga Studio
• Ray Frenden
• Charlie Harper
• Art & Story: Your Comic From the Ground Up
• E-junkie
• Winters in Lavelle
• Remember the Alamo
• Kids Read Comics

Comics and Book Recommendations:

• Bad Island
• The Lives of Sacco & Vanzetti
• A Treasury of Victorian Murders
• The Happy Undertaker
• The Storm and the Barn
• Adventure Time
• Delilah Dirk

Upcoming Events and Appearances:

• Kids Read Comics July 6-8
• ALA Annual in Anaheim, CA
• Comic Artists Forum June 3 with guest Jannie Ho

To download the episode right-click link below and save link as...

Comics Are Great! 56 – Mark Waid

Mon, 12/03/2012 - 12:55pm by dubaym

It’s a spirited talk about the future of comics publishing and storytelling opportunities available in digital comics this time, as I’m joined by comics legend Mark Waid. Using his new project Thrillbent as a starting point, we explore how digital publishing and web culture are challenging us to re-think 20th Century ideas of publishing and distribution. We also have Paul Storrie in studio to help us explore how digital publishing presents some unique storytelling opportunities in comics without discarding what makes comics, well, comics. We’re joined at the end by Eli Neiburger of the Ann Arbor District Library for some thoughts on monetizing a digital comic as well as some great comics recommendations!

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

• The drama surrounding Mark Waid’s Thrillbent announcement
• Yves Bigerel’s Digital Comics Manifesto
• Walking Dead
• Scott Kurtz
• R Stevens
• Comics Are Great! 50 – A Tale of Two Cities
• Blind Ferret
• Atomic Robo
• iVerse Library
• Mark Waid’s Harvey Awards Speech
• Louis CK
• Aziz Ansari
• Residual Self Image
• Peter Krause
• Kurt Busiek
• Waid’s Thrillbent comic Luther
• Scott McCloud’s Zot! webcomic
• Responsive Web Design
• Insufferable
• Martin & Lewis
• Terry and the Pirates
• Upton Sinclair’s quote about people’s resistance to change
• Robot Butts (no, really)
• Ruben Bolling’s Inner Hive
• Ryan Estrada
• John Allison’s Subscription Plans
• The Long Form Web Comics Twitter discussion thread
• Deb Aoki

Comics and Book Recommendations:

• Grey is…
• Skin Horse
• Mark Waid’s Daredevil run

Upcoming Events and Appearances:

• Kids Read Comics July 6-8
• ALA Annual in Anaheim, CA

To download the episode right-click link below and save link as...

Comics Are Great! 55 – Who Needs Flying Cars?

Mon, 12/03/2012 - 12:51pm by dubaym

Digital comics in libraries. Comics textbooks in schools. Has the utopian future finally arrived?I’m joined this week by Eli Neiburger of the Ann Arbor District Library and Josh Elder of Reading With Pictures for a talk on the future of digital delivery and licensing in regards to comics. Josh’s new venture, the iVerse Media Comics+ Library Editions promises some new ways to think about how digital comics can find their audiences. Given that libraries account for nearly 40% of youth graphic novel sales, we talk about the leverage that they currently have and how comics makers might think of libraries as distribution points for their work. We close with some more thoughts on how the Internet “exposes the posers” and brings us up against the real challenge, to just make something awesome. But what does that even mean? It’s a fun talk about futurism with two intensely smart people.

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

• Video of Josh Elder explaining the origins of Reading With Pictures
• Comics+
• The Graphic Textbook, a Kickstarter campaign to create a comics textbook for schools
• Access, Schmaccess, a talk by Eli at the VALA 2012 conference
• C2E2
• Nyan Cat
• Cobra Commander
• Kobo Ereader
• BitTorrent
• Diesel Sweeties
• Michael Stackpole
• The razor blade sales model
• Sturgeon’s Law
• The 10,000 hour rule
• AADL’s music download collection
• Rob Stenzinger
• Borders book stores
• AADL’s telescope collection
• Jake Parker and his Kickstarter campaign
• Pottermore
• The 8 Billion Dollar iPod (TED talk)
• James Kochalka’s Tumblr
• The Back to Work podcast
• Free Comic Book Day

Comics and Book Recommendations:

• Sinfest
• The Eternal Smile
• Pinky & Stinky
• Dr. Horrible

To download the episode right-click link below and save link as...

Comics Are Great! 54 – Hugo Tate and Evolution (Audio Only)

Mon, 12/03/2012 - 12:50pm by dubaym

It’s another audio-only episode featuring the return of Nick Abadzis, author of Laika, and the upcoming collection Hugo Tate from Blank Slate Books. Nick sits down with me to talk about Hugo and the project’s evolution, and throughout our discussion we use it as a metaphor for an artist’s evolution. How do you find the proper distance between you and your story so that you might refine it with brutal honesty? What are the payoffs of sticking with it and “muscling through” the tough parts? Does it ever get any easier to create? It’s a fun discussion full of terrific insights from a great storyteller.

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Hugo Tate on Tumblr
• Hugo Tate on Facebook
• Eddie Campbell
• Paul Chadwick
• Bill Willingham
• Preacher
• Fast Fiction
• RAW
• Escape
• 2000 A.D.

To download the episode right-click link below and save link as...

Comics Are Great! 53 – Talking Korra

Mon, 12/03/2012 - 12:42pm by dubaym

It’s an eclectic mix of talents and opinions this time as I’m joined by Kevin Coppa, Faith Erin Hicks, and Paul Storrie for a talk about the new Avatar: The Legend of Korra cartoon series!

We share our reactions to the first two episodes, compare them to the original series, discuss some of the many things the series creators do to continually surprise and delight audiences, and close with some rumors about where the series is headed.

It’s a fun and lively talk with some stellar creators who happen to be big fans of the series. We’re joined at the end by Sharon Iverson of The Ann Arbor District Library for some book recommendations.

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

• Korra Nation: The TRUE Story (video)
• Korra Nation
• Kevin Coppa’s DeviantArt page
• First Second Books
• Straw Boaters
• Slash Fiction
• Faith No More
• A Whole New World (video)
• Kung Fu Hustle
• Shaolin Soccer
• Sparkly Sparkly Bush Man
• Bette Davis
• Sokka
• The Hunger Games
• Emo Philips
• Amon
• Beast Wars
• Katara
• NAFTA
• You Can’t Do That On Television
• Chester Brown
• Jannie Ho
• nemu*nemu
• Patbird & Galesaur
• College for Creative Studies

Comics and Book Recommendations:

• Cross Game
• The Lost Scrolls Collection
• Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise, Part 1
• Twisted Journeys: Nightmare on Zombie Island
• Teen Boat!

Upcoming Events at AADL:

• Drawing Lab: Sketching the Human Hand
• The Ann Arbor Comic Artists Forum with special guest Gale Williams
• Kids Read Comics

To download the episode right-click link below and save link as...

Comics Are Great! 52 – Draw! Draw! Draw!

Mon, 12/03/2012 - 12:38pm by dubaym

It’s some fun talk about the effusive joy one finds in a life committed to art and getting others excited about art, as we’re joined by Mark Kistler, legendary host of the PBS series The Secret City Adventures and The Imagination Station. We talk about Mark’s career in teaching kids how to draw and his new project, 100 Pounds 100 Cities. We’ve also got Lee Cherolis in studio to talk about his latest comics project, Little Guardians, and to help me teach Mark how to Twitter.

Eli Neiburger makes a stop by the studio at the end for some closing thoughts and book recommendations!

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

• Mark Kistler’s YouTube Channel
• The 100 Pounds 100 Cities video blog
• The Secret City Adventures
• The Draw Squad
• The Imagination Station
• Mark’s Summer Art Camps
• Little Guardians

To download the episode right-click link below and save link as...