CAG! 92 – Give Your Heroes a Reason to Quit with Ben Hatke

Zita the Spacegirl! Superman! Writing heroes, and more!

I’m joined by Ben Hatke, author of the Zita the Spacegirl graphic novels, for a talk on writing Really, Really Good Guys (and Gals). Together we discuss the appeal of a character who has an inner sense of what is right, the perils of writing ultra-powerful characters, and what the role of restraint (both from within and without) plays in making a character’s choices compelling.

Links mentioned in this episode:

• CAG 89 with Zack Giollongo
• Kids’ Comics Revolution! episode 05
• Ben’s Justice League redesigns
• Improv Everywhere
• I Shall Destroy All The Civilized Planets! by Fletcher Hanks
• Quantum Leap
• The Man of Steel
• Batman Begins
• Justice League Unlimited

Live streams every other Wednesday at Comicsaregreat.tv and on Google+!

Audio hosting provided by Ka-Blam Digital Printing.

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CAG! 89 – Amassing our Influences with Zack Giallongo

Broxo! Star Wars! Zack Giallongo, and more!

Most of us love to talk about our influences. They’re often the reason we decided to get into this cartooning game. We’re influenced by things that evoke a strong emotional reaction in us. But how does our approach to our work change when we search out and broaden our influences?

I’m joined by Zack Giallongo, author of Broxo and Ewoks: Shadows of Endor for a special audio-only discussion on the ways your work might improve if you intentionally set out to collect new influences.

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Zack’s I Love Illustrators Tumblr, where he collects his influences
• 4 Rules to Make Star Wars Great Again
• Zack’s Advice for Artists: Who Do You Love?

Live streams every other Wednesday at Comicsaregreat.tv and on Google+!

Audio hosting provided by Ka-Blam Digital Printing.

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CAG! 88 – Make Your Story as Awesome as a Game, with Eli Neiburger and Dave Carter

Video games in libraries, what cartoonists can learn from video games, and more!

We’ve all heard the dig: a book starts with a map, and many readers immediately tune out. But there are plenty of stories about the excitement gamers felt when opening up the big Zelda or Metroid map in Nintendo Power Magazine. What’s the difference here?

How might our approach to storytelling change when we study a good gaming experience? I’ve talked with a game designer about this on the Lean Into Art Cast, but this time I’m joined by David Carter, Librarian at the University of Michigan’s Computer and Video Game Archive, and Eli Neiburger, Associate Director of IT and Production at the Ann Arbor District Library and author of Gamers… In the LIBRARY?. Together we’ll explore how storytellers might steal from games to give their readers that “epic win face.”

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

• Apple IIGS
• Pac-Man
• Cobra Commander
• The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
• JS Mess
• Centipede
• Pong Home Console
• AADL Summer Game
• AADL Lego Content
• Animal Crossing
• Goldeneye
• Life Force (Salamander)
• Isabelle, the Animal Crossing twitter account
• Achewood
• 1,000 true fans
• Scenes from a Multiverse
• Tumblr
• Zita the Spacegirl
• Zita the Spacegirl Breakfast
• Pretty Little Liars 
• Shaq Fu
• Combat
• Kool-Aid Man
• Star Wars Arcade Game
• Ms. Pac Man
• Marble Madness
• The Legend of Zelda
• Kid Icarus Codes
• Grand Theft Auto
• Bioshock
• Gravity Falls
• Pokemon
• The Nintendo Power Line
• Kerbal Space Program
• ELotH:TES
• Might and Magic II
• A Fire Upon the Deep
• War in Middle Earth
• phpBB
• Skylanders
• Quest for the Rings
• Xonox
• The Bechdel Test

Comics and Book Recommendations:

• Ganges
• Castle Waiting
• The Cartoon Introduction to Economics
• Terminal City
• To Be or Not To Be

Live streams every other Wednesday at Comicsaregreat.tv and on Google+!

Audio hosting provided by Ka-Blam Digital Printing. This episode was recorded live at the Ann Arbor District Library.

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CAG! 87 – What Makes a Story Scary? With Eric Orchard and Jon David Guerra

Horror! Thrillers! Bera the One Headed Troll, Nightmare Pro Wrestling, and more!

How do you make a horror story in a static medium like comics? What are the tricks to building dread and suspense? And how does visual style contribute to creating images that are unsettling or frightening?

I’m joined by cartoonists Jon David Guerra and Eric Orchard, who help us uncover some of the dark secrets of haunting your readers with your story.

We close with another round of book recommendations with Rachel Moir of the Ann Arbor District Library.

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

• Ghost King, a digital comic by Jon David Guerra
• Night of the Living Dead
• The Woman in Black
• The Ring
• The Amityville Horror house
• Uncanny Valley
• The creepy parents in Coraline
• Hellraiser 2
• Torture Porn
• John Carpenter’s Halloween
• Fright Night
• The Pale Man
• Creaure from the Black Lagoon
• Predator
• Mickey Mouse Haunted House
• Agnes Quill
• The Changeling
• The Turn of the Screw
• The Innocents
• The Orphanage
• The Omen
• Alfred Hitchcock on mastering tension
• Evil Dead 2
• Cabin in the Woods
• Bride of Frankenstein
• Christopher Lee vampire movies

Comics and Book Recommendations:

• The Hidden
• Daybreak
• Eerie
• Creepy
• Fall of the House of Usher
• Melvin Monster
• Charles Addams
• Edward Gorey
• Luther

Live streams every other Wednesday at Comicsaregreat.tv and on Google+!

Audio hosting provided by Ka-Blam Digital Printing. This episode was recorded live at the Ann Arbor District Library.

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CAG! 86 – Getting Out From Under Your Medium with Jake Parker and Kohl Glass

Missile Mouse! Orc Wars! Jake Parker, Kohl Glass, and more!

There is so much to learn and master in making comics. Drawing, design, composition, pacing, color, and sound all stand ready to bewilder us as we try to communicate our ideas and stories.

And while intense work and study in our medium is often an honored notion, how might studying other mediums change how we view and choose between the various visual storytelling tools to which we have access?

It’s a fun discussion with NYT bestselling artist Jake Parker and Emmy Award-winning writer and director Kohl Glass on how to look at the comics medium afresh by studying other visual storytelling disciplines.

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Der Ostwind, a film by Kohl Glass
• Orc Wars, directed by Kohl Glass
• Jake Parker’s Drawings Kickstarter (and check out his new Inktober book!)
• Jake Parker’s Pinterest boards

Live streams every other Wednesday at Comicsaregreat.tv and on Google+!

Audio hosting provided by Ka-Blam Digital Printing. This episode was recorded live at the Ann Arbor District Library.

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CAG! 85 – Your Compositions Tell The Story with Nicolas Bannister

Elsewhere Chronicles! Bande dessinée! Famous Shoes! Nicolas Bannister, and more!

What are the secrets to designing a world that your readers will believe in? How do you compose panels that communicate tone, tension, blocking, and character? If the “camera” in comics can be anywhere, how do you navigate the nearly infinite choices to create moments that tell the story?

I’m joined by Nicolas Bannister, artist of many amazing comics including The Elsewhere Chronicles and Tib & Tumtum, for a discussion on the narrative power of choosing the right angles in your panels.

Later we’re joined by Sharon Iverson of the Ann Arbor District Library for another round of book recommendations!

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

• Bannister’s Iconic Footwear series
• Bannister’s Pole Position fanart
• The Frighteners
• Aliens Stompers
• The Flight anthology series

Book Recommendations:

• Ariol
• Bone
• Burquette
• The Chicken Thief
• Vampire Loves
• Big Bang Cats
• Perkeros

Live streams every other Wednesday at Comicsaregreat.tv and on Google+!

Audio hosting provided by Ka-Blam Digital Printing. This episode was recorded live at the Ann Arbor District Library.

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Comics Are Great! 84 – Should You do Free Work “for Exposure?”

Working for money vs. working on spec, Ryan Estrada, and more!

Is there anything wrong with agreeing to do some work for free? After all, it might catch on with the Internet, and you can cash in later.

And this is the webcomics model, after all! You put out consistent and professional-quality work for free, hoping to attract an audience, and only begin to sell to them once you’ve got 5,000 fans or more. It’s an investment!

Or you may just be doing your work for “the sake of art.” And if this is so, what’s wrong with others asking you to do the same work, in the same name, for them?

I’m joined by Ryan Estrada, creator of the @forexposure_txt Twitter account and producer of the For Exposure dramatic readings series, for a discussion on the perils and misconceptions of “working on spec.”

Later we’re joined by Sharon Iverson of the Ann Arbor District Library for another round of book recommendations!

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

• Comics Are Great! 82 – Funding Your Kickstarter
• Kids’ Comics Revolution! 09 – Kickstarting Your Graphic Novel
• Comics Are Great! 29 – Just Be Interesting!
• Aaron Diaz weighs in on “doing it for the sake of art”
• A comic inspired by a speech by Bill Watterson that sparked some debate amongst cartoonists on the topic of “following one’s dream”
• (and David Willis’ reaction to said comic)
• Rob Stenzinger’s Polytechnicast on “doing what you love”
• Harlan Ellison’s stance on whether or not artists should get paid (NSFW – SWEARS)
• The Submissions Guidelines for Every Comic and Manga Publisher in the Universe
• Lean Into Art Cast 84 – Getting a Reaction and Showcasing Yourself
• My Three Sons

Book Recommendations:

• Astronaut Academy: Re-Entry
• Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta
• Mal & Chad: Belly Flop!
• Tales of the Brothers Three: Mustaches, Monsters, & Other Hairy Situations!
• Aki Alliance

Live streams every other Wednesday at Comicsaregreat.tv and on Google+!

Audio hosting provided by Ka-Blam Digital Printing. This episode was recorded live at the Ann Arbor District Library.

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Comics Are Great! 83 – Drawing Dynamic with Tony Cliff

Character Design! Delilah Dirk! Tony Cliff, and more!

Comics may be a static medium, but the best cartoonist create an illusion of movement so convincing we’ll often forget that we, the readers, are creating the movement in our minds. How do they do they pull off this trick? And what’s the “secret” to writing engaging and interesting casts? Is there one? Or is it a simple matter of doing one’s research and writing characters with contrast?

Tony Cliff of the recently released Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant stops by the show to share the secrets of creating dynamic and interesting characters, reference strategies for your story’s location, and “The Importance of Being Important.”

We’re joined at the end by Rachel Moir of the Ann Arbor District Library for another round of book recommendations!

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

• Tony’s appearance on CAG 77 -Action and Comedy
• Tony’s Tumblr
• Calista Brill (and check out Calista’s talk on pitching books on CAG 75!)
• Jerzy’s take on Delilah Dirk
• Foreshortening
• Eric Orchard
• Dan Mishkin
• Fustanella
• Star Wars art books
• Elmore Leonard and his Ten Rules of Writing
• Jane Austen
• Jake Parker and his amazing Pinterest boards
• Corbis Images
• Jon Klassen’s refrence Tumblr
• Jerzy’s take on the Masters of the Universe
• Calvin and Hobbes: Santa’s a CIA Spook?

Book Recommendations:

• Superman: Birthright
• Gunnerkrigg Court
• Koko Be Good
• Good Dog
• Astronaut Academy: Re-Entry
• Relish: My Life in the Kitchen
• Hilda and the Bird Parade

Live streams every other Wednesday at Comicsaregreat.tv and on Google+!

Audio hosting provided by Ka-Blam Digital Printing. This episode was recorded live at the Ann Arbor District Library.

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Jerzy on Google+
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Comics Are Great! 82 – Funding Your Kickstarter with C. Spike Trotman and Laur Uy

Crowdfunding! Kickstarter! Self-Publishing! Getting the Word Out!

Hooray! Thanks to services Kickstarter and Indiegogo, we finally have a mechanism to fund our dream project! But is it as easy as just asking your friends or audience to support your thing? It sounds like a lot of work. And how do you avoid annoying everyone with tweets and updates during the campaign’s run? Suppose I raise a boatload of money during the campaign: Do I get to keep the extra income, or does it have to go back into the project?

I’m joined by C. Spike Trotman and Laurianne Uy on how to run a successful Kickstarter campaign. Spike and Laur spill their secrets to engaging an audience, managing costs, and building a system of reward tiers that will elicit support for your dream project.

We also have our regular round of book recommendations with AADL PLA Rachel Moir!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• CAG 72 – Living Well on Less with Spike and Laur
• Spike’s Kickstarter advice
• Spike’s Kickstarter campaigns: Poorcraft, Smut Peddler, and Sleep of Reason
• Laur’s Polterguys Kickstarter campaign
• Zach Braff’s Kickstarter campaign
• The Penny Arcade Podcast Kickstarter campaign
• Laur’s essay on tabling at ALA Annual
• Ryan Estrada
• Wil Wheaton
• Neil Gaiman
• Kris Straub’s Broodhollow Kickstarter campaign
• The Sullivan’s Sluggers Kickstarter campaign
• The Order of the Stick Kickstarter campaign
• PHPBB
• Spike’s Iron Circus
• Kids’ Comics Revolution! 09 – Talking Kickstarter with Alexis Fajardo

Book Recommendations:

• Ava’s Demon
• Namesake
• Lady Sabre & The Pirates of Ineffable Aether
• Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant
• Taboo Anthology
• Museum of Terror

Live streams every other Wednesday at Comicsaregreat.tv and on Google+!

Audio hosting provided by Ka-Blam Digital Printing. This episode was recorded live at the Ann Arbor District Library.

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Comics Are Great! 80 – Public Domain Comics with Barry Gregory and Kim Holm

Copyright! Public Domain! Fair Use, and More!

What is the benefit of working with public domain characters and stories? Is it just fun to play in “someone’s sandbox,” or is there a larger cultural benefit to authors building on and expanding the works of those who came before? What might happen if more creative works were to enter into the public domain? And is copyright “stealing” from the public?

I’m joined a great roundtable to help navigate these challenging questions! Barry Gregory is the man behind Ka-Blam Digital Printing (and the provider of audio hosting for this show!). Barry teamed up with Steven Butler to create Gallant Comics featuring public domain characters created by Jack Kirby, Bill Everette, and others. Kim Holm is the author of the graphic novel adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s Pikman’s Model, which you can purchase or download for free on archive.org.

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

Links mentioned in this episode:

• CAG 38 – Ideas are Crap
• CAG 12 – Calling all LCS
• CAG 68 – Watson and Holmes
• Public Domain
• “Greatest Story Ever Told”
• Cthulu (South Park)
• John Aman, Prince of Orphans
• The Amazing Man, John Aman
• H.P. Lovecraft
• Sergio Aragonés
• The definition of “Free” software
• DreamStudio

Book recommendations:

• Red Handed: The Fine Art of Strange Crimes
• My Dirty Dumb Eyes
• Rob Hanes Adventures
• Genesis by R. Crumb
• Neste gang blir alt riktig
• Letting it Go

Live streams every other Wednesday at Comicsaregreat.tv and on Google+!

Audio hosting provided by Ka-Blam Digital Printing. This episode was recorded live at the Ann Arbor District Library.

Follow Jerzy, Barry, and Kim on Twitter!
Find us on Google+
Support the show and get a PDF comic!
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