Comics Are Great! 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!):

Comics and book recommendations:

Kids Read Comic 2014: KCR Awards!

What was the grossest moment in comics in 2013? Which comics character had the best hair? Kids voted for these categories as well as their favorite characters and graphic novels! Help us celebrate the first annual Kids’ Comics Revolution Awards Ceremony as we reveal the winners! No black tie required, but you could wear your favorite comics-inspired costume! With live music and lots of laughs!

Hosted by Matthew Holm & Jerzy Drozd, with a bevy of special guests!

Comics Are Great! 100 – Getting Your Comic Into Libraries

It’s the 100th episode of the Comics Are Great show, recorded live before a studio audience at the 2014 Kids Read Comics Celebration!

I’m joined by guest co-host Gregg Schigiel of the Stuff Said Show, librarian Laura Given, and librarian Erin Helmrich. Together we discuss the growing importance of libraries in the world of comics, and how cartoonists can better connect with libraries to promote the medium.

We also spend a bit of time talking about Gregg’s new comic, PIX: ONE WEIRDEST WEEKEND, which is available for pre-order in Previews now! Item #DEC141546

Links mentioned:

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

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!):

Comics and book recommendations:

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

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!):

Comics Are Great! 91 – Comics for the Holidays!

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!):

Martin Bandyke Under Covers: Interview with Vivek Tiwary

In this episode, Martin talks to Broadway theater producer Vivek Tiwary about his latest project, a graphic novel entitled The Fifth Beatle, which recently reached the #1 spot on the New York Times best-sellers list. The Fifth Beatle tells the story of Brian Epstein, the Liverpool record shop owner who discovered and then managed the Beatles from 1961 until his untimely death in 1967. Tiwary will also write and produce a feature film based on his book, due out in 2015.

Watch Me Move: The Animation Show

Watch Me Move: The Animation Show, now on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts until January 5, is the most extensive animation exhibition ever mounted, featuring both iconic moments and lesser-known masterpieces from the last 150 years.

DIA Docent Greg Leslie will present a fascinating inside look at this important special exhibit. Watch Me Move: The Animation Show includes animation's great inventors, innovators and artists, from Georges Méliès and Chuck Jones to William Kentridge and Tim Burton, as well as work from animation studios such as Walt Disney, Aardman, Studio Ghibli and Pixar.

DIA visitors have the rare opportunity to see an incredible array of animation techniques in more than 100 animated film segments from across generations and cultures through this exhibit.

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

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!):

Comics and Book Recommendations:

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