CAG! 94 – Make Your Comic Like a Movie, with Kohl Glass, Donald Harrison, and Sharad Patel

Talking about what cartoonists can learn from filmmakers on Comics Are Great!

Comics and film share a lot of DNA, though their strengths and weaknesses greatly differ. In the end they’re trying to do the same thing–convey ideas and explore narratives visually. So what might cartoonists learn about their own craft by studying the approaches and workflow of fimmakers?

I’ll be joined by three independent filmmakers to discover how they find their narratives and ultimately express them in their visual mediums. Kohl Glass is the Emmy-award winning creator behind such films as Der Ostwind and Orc Wars. Donald Harrison is the former director of the Ann Arbor Film Festival and creator of films such as Limited Aesthetic. Sharad Patel  is a one-man production studio and has written, acted, and directed his own films.

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

• The Ann Arbor Film Festival
• An Apple a Day
• The 180 Degree Rule
• Dadaism
• The Great Muppet Caper
• Dr. Hooves
• The AADL Summer Game

Comics and book recommendations:

• Difficult Men
• Whiteout
• Justice League International
• Tag & Bink Were Here
• Sandman
• The Making of Star Wars

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! 93 – The Hero who Refuses to Fight, with Kevin Coppa

Talking Doctor Who, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Masters of the Universe with Kevin Coppa of The Puppetbenders!

What’s the appeal of action heroes who use violence as a last resort? I’m joined by Kevin Coppa of The Puppetbenders for a discussion on how our hearts can sometimes be captured by an action hero who knows when not to fight.

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

• Skeletors Playing With Action Figures
• Brony Con
• Legend
• Rio Blas
• Masters of the Universe Movie
• The Problem with Power
• The Dragon’s Gift
• Mark Evanier on D&D
• The Tenth Doctor
• Commando Body Count:
• Aang
• Stinkor
• Strawberry Shortcake
• Lifeline from G.I. Joe
• Not so Blind
• The Rainbow Warrior
• Teela’s Triumph
• The Secret of the Sword
• Dragon Walker
• Attak Trak
• Quest for the sword
• Prince Adam No More
• Wizard of Stone Mountain
• The Heart of a Giant
• Mantenna
• Castle Grayskull Man

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! 91 – Comics for the Holidays!

The ultimate comics gift guide on this episode of Comics Are Great!

The final CAG of 2013! I’m joined by Dave Roman, Raina Telgemeier, and Sharon Iverson for a list of our favorite comics and graphic novels of 2013 and which ones would make a great gift for that loved one who doesn’t consider themselves a comics reader.

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

• Autobot Logo
• Astronaut Academy
• The Fezziwigs
• Campbell’s Soup Snowman
• Frozen
• Avenue Q
• Saturday Supercast
• Sarah Silverman
• Monster on the Hill
• Bill Peet
• Adventure Time Fionna and Cake
• Balloon Toons: The Radically Awesome Adventures of the Animal Princess
• Battling Boy
• Will & Whit
• Maison Ikkoku
• Goliath
• A Game For Swallows
• March Book 1
• The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation
• Star Wars #1 Lucas Rough Draft
• Smurfs Anthology #1
• Carl Barks’ Donald Duck: Lost in the Andes
• Mickey Mouse Comics
• Ariol
• Tales of the Brothers Three
• Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant
• Gunnerkrigg Court
• Courtney Crumrin
• Relish: My Life in the Kitchen
• Bluffton: My Summers with Buster Keaton
• Chi’s Sweet Home
• Bird & Squirrel on the Run
• Daybreak
• Bad Houses
• Zeus: King of the Gods
• Fairy Tale Comics
• Cucumber Quest
• Flabbergast
• Tune: Still Life
• Sumo
• Squee’s Wonderful Big Giant Book of Unspeakable Horrors
• Boxers & Saints
• Astronaut Academy: Re-entry
• Explorer: The Lost Islands
• Scene But Not Heard
• ’Twas the Night Before Christmas
• Arthur Christmas
• A Muppet Family Christmas
• Jack Frost
• A Christmas Carol (1951)
• Scrooge (1970)
• The Muppet Christmas Carol
• Mickey’s Christmas Carol

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! 90 – Why are all of the Cartoonists on Tumblr?

Talking about how to get your work seen on the Comics Are Great! show!

There are more ways than ever to share our work with our intended audience. Some solutions are as simple as pushing a button, while others may require a little bit of technical know-how.

But how do you find the hosting/publishing/social media solution that connects you to the right readers? Do you use them all? Or is there a value in investing in the culture of a smaller set?

How do the cultures of sites like DeviantArt, Tumblr, Reddit, or Smack Jeeves affect the way the audience interacts with our work, and how might that help us find the right solution and find the right audience?

And why have so many visual artists turned to Tumblr, anyway?

I’m joined by a group of young artists who will help me unravel these questions on Comics Are Great! 90.

• Megan Brennan is the cartoonist behind the fantastic webcomic Pencil Pup and School of World
• Meggie Ramm is an Ann Arbor cartoonist behind Piffle the Comic and currently contributing to the Secret Zen Garden. You can also check out her process blog.
• Lauren Houser is an Ann Arbor cartoonist working on the upcoming Minimum-Wage Mages, and her work can be found here.

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! 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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