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, […]

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Comics Are Great! 79 – The Final Superhero Discussion with Dan Mishkin and Dean Trippe

Superheroes! Batman! Superman! Dean Trippe! Dan Mishkin, and more! Over the past years we’ve seen more and more summer blockbusters featuring superhero characters and stories. Are they just fashionable again, or is there something to these kinds of stories that connects us to them? What characterizes an effective superhero story? I’m grateful to be joined […]

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Comics Are Great! 81 – Pacific Rim and the Analytic Eye

Pacific Rim! Jaegers! Kaiju! Dave Roman! and Spoilers! I’m joined by Dave Roman for a talk on how the author’s analytic eye affects his or her enjoyment of media. What happens when you can’t stop picking at story when reading a book or watching a film? Besides making you insufferable at parties, are there any […]

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Comics Are Great! 78 – Cartoon Appeal with Chris Giarrusso

Designing characters with appeal, G-Man, writing from life, and more! It’s hard enough to learn how to draw, but things get even dicier when we start talking about what it takes to create appeal. Fortunately I’m joined by Chris Giarrusso of the eminently appealing G-Man series and Dave Carter of the University of Michigan comics […]

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Comics Are Great! 77 – Action and Comedy with Tony Cliff and the Houghton Brothers!

Chris Houghton! Shane Houghton! Tony Cliff! And more! How do you design awesome action sequences? What’s the secret to writing scenes that make the audience roar with laughter? I know I couldn’t answer these questions on my own, so I’m grateful to be joined by the perfect roundtable for the job: Tony Cliff, author of […]

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Comics Are Great! 76 – Bringing the Gods to Life with George O’Connor

He-Man! Zeus! Posedion! Olympians rule! George O’Connor, and more! What better medium than comics to capture the majesty and mayhem of Greek Mythology? Especially in the hands of celebrated cartoonist George O’Connor, creator of The Olympians series from First Second books. Together we talk about kid logic, how an author must get to the heart of […]

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Thunder Punch Daily 119 – Justice Heroes

Inspired by the rage I felt when I read about a new Zorro film (shared by Jon David Guerra), I rant a little bit about the value of the Justice Hero, or better yet, the Smiling Justice Hero. A revisiting of topics first explored in A&S 112 – The Big Good Guy. Subscribe through iTunes […]

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Thunder Punch Daily 114 – Emotional Honesty

Today I share some thoughts inspired by a conversation I had with Dan Mishkin about writing characters and keeping their emotional arcs “honest”. Believe it or not, I manage to tie my points into a common argument amongst cartoonists over “how much is too much backstory?” Subscribe through iTunes RSS http://media.blubrry.com/comicsaregreat/p/www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/www.comicsaregreat.com/audio/tpd_114_h0nest.mp3Podcast (thunderpunchdaily): Play in new […]

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Comics Are Great! 11 – Continuity vs Iteration

It’s the return to the roundtable discussion as we try to weigh the pros and cons between canonical storytelling and story franchises that undergo multiple reboots and iterations! What are the perils of working in a strict continuity? Does rebooting your story run risk of alienating readers? When does pleasing your readers cross the line […]

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Thunder Punch Daily 91 – Cooperative Storytelling

I recently tweeted a bit about my disappointment with the new Transformers TV show, and my specific problems with the show, reminded me of a distinct advantage that comics has over moving visual storytelling. I use the fantastic Manga Twin Spica to round out my point. Subscribe through iTunes RSS http://media.blubrry.com/comicsaregreat/p/www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/www.comicsaregreat.com/audio/tpd_091_pac1ng.mp3Podcast (thunderpunchdaily): Play in new […]

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