CAG! 99 – Code of Hero, with Jamie Gambell

Talking about independent publishing on the Comics Are Great! show!

This time I’m joined by Jamie Gambell, writer of The Hero Code, for a discussion on the various channels available to us when publishing our comics independently. With so many options like Kickstarter, Comixology, IndyPlanet, Patreon, and publishing on the web, how do you find the right option for your comic?

David Carter, Programming Librarian at the University of Michigan’s Computer and Video Game Archive, also stops by to share some exciting announcements about the Kid’s Read Comics pre-conference for educators, librarians, and cartoonists.

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

• The Hero Code
• 2000 AD
• David Goyer on Comics
• The Lego Movie
• Stuff Said
• Jacko Energizer Commercial
• The Defenders
• Comixpress
• Ben Burtt Sound Design of Star Wars
• Jamie Gambell on Patreon
• Comixology
• Dark Horse Comics
• Black Wraith on Comixology
• Kids Read Comics Convention

Comics and book recommendations:

• Basewood
• Plastic Farm
• Rice Boy
• The Black Coat
• The Dreamer
• G-Man
• The Warren Commission Report: A Graphic Investigation Into the Kennedy Assassination

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

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CAG! 98 – The Performance Cartoonist, with Mark Mariano

Talking about getting out from behind the desk and reaching out to new fans on the Comics Are Great! show!

We all know that making the work is only half of the battle facing an author or cartoonist these days. Once the work is done you have to market the work, and for many of us this means posting to social media, email lists, making YouTube trailers, and hitting the convention circuits. For many of us this can be an unpleasant part of the deal that comes with being an author.

But how might our thinking change if we think of ourselves as an author/performer? On this episode I’m joined by Mark Mariano, kids’ author of The Other Side of Hugless Hill, and member of the rock band The O>Matics, for a discussion on how advocacy can be a fun way to reach out to potential fans and spread awareness of your work.

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

• Happy Tree Friends
• Stuff Said podcast
• The Powerpuff Girls
• Samurai Jack
• Kids Love Comics
• The O>Matics
• Gemini
• The Wiggles
• Alex Simmons
• Doodle! Scribble! Draw!
• SPX
• Transformers Insignia
• Voltron

Comics and Book Recommendations:

• Pokemon Adventures
• Superman: Kryptonite
• Astro Boy
• Ariol
• Bloop
• Starbunny Inc.
• Cucumber Quest

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! 97 – What’s so Great about Batman?

Talking about everyone’s favorite Dark Knight on CAG 97!

You may have heard that 2014 is the 75th anniversary of the first appearance of Batman. So for this episode of the Comics Are Great! show we had a roundtable discussion on why the Caped Crusader remains such an enduring character.

I’m joined by Dean Trippe, author of the powerful comic Something Terrible, and Kohl Glass, film maker behind Orc Wars, and Rachel Polk, cartoonist behind Melvin the Fat Bird, who help us explore how Batman became such an iconic character whose appeal spans generations.
Links mentioned in this episode (thanks to Eric Klooster for collecting the links!):

• Footprints in the Sand
• Smodcast: Fatman on Batman
• Batman
• Robin
• Something Terrible by Dean Trippe
• Kevin Conroy
• Justice League Unlimited
• The Dark Knight Returns
• Spanx
• Jon Hamm as Superman
• Ayn Rand
• Phoenix
• Anatomy of a Bad Cover: DC’S NEW “TEEN TITANS” #1
• LET’S TALK ABOUT HOW SOME MEN TALK TO WOMEN IN COMICS
• The Killing Joke
• The Long Halloween
• Bruce Timm
• Paul Dini
• Robin: Year One

Comics and book recommendations:

• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Lumberjanes
• Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia
• The Adventures of Superhero Girl
• Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka

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! 96 – The Positive Pro is Pro-Positive, with Jim Lujan

Talking about independent animation, working with what you got, and keeping on!

In CAG 92 I talked with Ben Hatke about the importance of giving our heroes a reason to quit. Why? Because it’s so, so satisfying to see them not quit when all evidence suggests that quitting is the sensible solution. Why is that satisfying? Because creative people encounter this on a regular basis. You sacrifice time, money, and relationships in order to pursue your craft, and you’re not even sure if it’s any good at first. Often when you’re starting out you don’t have the resources or the skill to create work at the quality level you hope to. So how do you overcome these reasons to quit?

I’m glad to be joined by Jim Lujan, the creator of many, many animated films, and the writer/animator of the new animated feature Kounterclockwise in Forever-Land. Jim is very nearly the living embodiment of the hero who looks those “reasons to quit” in the eye and answers it by pushing on and making wonderful things. Together we’ll discuss how he worked with what he had to leverage a career for himself as an award-winning independent animator.

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

• Jerzy Drozd Basses
• Mary Tyler Moore
• Prince
• Star Wars (A New Hope)
• Ghettomation
• Paul F. Tompkins
• Uncanny Valley
• Jack Of All Nerds
• Andy Kaufman
• Stanley Kubrick
• Peter Criss
• Bill Plympton
• John Wayne Gacy
• March of the Swizelstik Army, in which Jerzy has a cameo

Comics and book recommendations:

• Never Eat Alone
• Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade
• Fullmetal Alchemist
• Murder She Writes
• The Sumo Art of Jose Cabrera
• My Pickel Tastes Funny
• Chewing on Tinfoil

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! 95 – Puzzling out Your Comic’s Destiny, with Jason Shiga

Find a publisher, POD, Webcomic, or all three? Figuring out your comic’s destiny!

Whether your hope to get your comic published in the Direct Market or by one of the major book publishers, or self-publish through a Kickstarter or print-on-demand service like Ka-Blam, or publish directly to the web (as either a webcomic or a series of ebooks), you have to decide which choice is the best for your story. How do you decide what destiny is best for your beloved comic?

This episode we’re joined by Jason Shiga, the cartoonist behind the celebrated multi-path comic Meanwhile, Empire State, and the recently launched webcomic Demon. Together we’ll look at his career, spanning from Xeric Grant-funded comics to working with publishers like Abrams ComicArts to updating his own webcomic, and explore how a cartoonist navigates what method works best for your comic.

We’re also joined by David Carter of the University of Michigan Video Game Archive to talk briefly about this year’s Mini-Comics Day in Ann Arbor,  which happened Saturday, March 22!

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

• Matt Feazell
• Empire State
• Knock Knock
• List of Xeric Award Winners
• Brewster’s Millions
• Kickstarter Comics Projects
• Floppy
• Flexagon

Comics and book recommendations:

• Thor: The Mighty Avenger
• Static Shock
• Finding Gossamyr
• The Drifting Classroom
• Inverloch
• Dreamless
• The Phoenix Requiem

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! 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.

Follow Jerzy and Ben on Twitter!
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