Off Panel: A Comics Interview Podcast

Cartoonist Jamie McKelvie joins the show to talk about his new DSTLRY series One for Sorrow and his journey to making it happen. McKelvie discusses the coloring process for One for Sorrow, figuring out new collaborations, how The Killing Horizon shaped him, his perception as a creator, going to DSTLRY, his story in The Devil's Cut, deciding which projects to take on, the origins of One for Sorrow,...

Writer Geoff Johns joins the show to talk about his career and his work at his Image Comics imprint, Ghost Machine. Johns discusses his average day, the appeal of collaboration, the advantages to doing your own thing, his art background, starting out hot in comics, the most influential people from his comic journey, the projects he learned the most from, the draw of characters who need love, Ghost...

Retailer and distributor Christina Merkler joins the show to talk about the year at Discount Comic Book Service (or DCBS), In-Stock Trades, and Lunar Distribution. Merkler discusses her New York Comic Con experience, wearing multiple hats, the advantages of being a retailer and a distributor, the weird year at DCBS and In-Stock Trades, finding new customers, the timing of Ultimate and Absolute, th...

Writer Ryan North joins the show to talk about his career and relationship with comics, as well as his work on Fantastic Four and the upcoming The Rise of Emperor Doom. North discusses his busy travel schedule, balancing his life, how he got into comics, the origins of Dinosaur Comics, the advantages of constraints, the impact of his computer science brain, collaboration, how he chooses projects,...

Designer Tim Leong joins the show to talk about his recently released book, Marvel Super Graphic: A Visual Guide to the Marvel Comics Universe. Leong discusses his comic origins, the lasting nature of comics, the comics that hooked him, how his Eisner-nominated comics magazine Comic Foundry came together, his journalism background, the design of magazines, the importance of having something for yo...

Artist Michael Allred joins the show to talk about his life and career in comics and his soon-to-be-Kickstarted art book, The Marvel Art of Michael Allred. Allred discusses the importance of having non-comic outlets, his early journey with comics and art, his quiet influences, the impact of his passions, time as a restricting factor, what goes into successful collaborations, the story behind Doop,...

The hosts of the podcast Comic Book Couples Counseling, Brad and Lisa Gullickson, join the show to chat about the story behind their show and their first work in comics. The team discusses their busy October, work/life balance, the role of stories in their lives, how their different vibes work, the development of Comic Book Couples Counseling, editing's impact, the couples counseling side of the p...

The creative team behind the upcoming DC graphic novel This Land is Our Land: A Blue Beetle Story, Jacoby Salcedo and Julio Anta, join the show to chat about that book and their careers to date, both together and separate. The team discusses convention experiences, the build up to This Land is Our Land's release, the pace of graphic novel releases, how they met, how well they really know each othe...

It's time, folks! Comics critic Oliver Sava returns to the show for the seventh annual Superhero State of the Union! Sava joins for a discussion about his return to The AV Club, why we read superhero comics, leaning towards art, superhero comics outside the Big Two, following creators, art and arcs, where DC is right now, its hits and misses, DC editorial's moves, where Marvel's at, the new Ultima...

Writer/artist Declan Shalvey joins the show to talk about his rather considerable mix of projects. Shalvey discusses his busy dance card, the value of time, putting out fires, why he wanted to work on Mystique, cool versus good, writing and drawing an X-Book, what Mystique started with, how he's handling the character, how Old Dog Operations came together, what it's about, the creators of the proj...

Writer/artist Caitlin Yarsky joins the show to talk about her upcoming Dark Horse Comics series Living Hell and what goes into soloing a comics project. Yarsky discusses her current slate, working on Black Hammer, how she engages with comics, influences outside of comics, overthinking art, the origins of Living Hell, the appeal of folklore and mythology, domestic life, writing for yourself, the di...

Writer Kelly Sue DeConnick joins the show to talk about her upcoming Dark Horse Comics series FML and everything that comes with it. DeConnick discusses current stress levels, the origins of FML, its evolution, the glory of David López, FML's visual styles, her collaboration with López, building from her own life, FML's personal nature, embracing the pandemic, finding humor in the nightmare, relea...

Artist Chris Samnee joins the show to talk about Batman and Robin: Year One and how he does what he does. Samnee discusses how he works, his collaboration with Mark Waid, its evolution, learning about how he wants to work, managing multiple titles at once, the RC Coda experience, how Batman and Robin: Year One came together, what it's all about, the pressure of this project, how his own taste has...

Artist Dustin Nguyen joins the show to talk about his career and his upcoming crowdfunded art book, The Art of Descender. Nguyen discusses convention life, what he's working on these days, working with other publishers, his early days as an artist, figuring out your art, the impact of influences, watercolors, breaking in, learning on the job, his Wildstorm experience, comfort's place in his career...

IDW Associate Editor Jake Williams and Assistant Editor Nicolas Niño join the show to talk about their roles in the editorial ecosystem and their journeys in comics. The pair discusses the daily life of an editor, how editorial works, being roommates and co-workers, how different their roles are, drawing in new readers, how they got into comics, the value of big, bold takes, carrying that into the...

Writer/artist Dustin Weaver joins the show to chat about his career, path in comics, and his work on Image Comics releases like Paklis and 1949. Weaver discusses his night owl nature, maintaining a schedule, following whims, embracing himself, revisiting old work in Paklis, when he first got into comics, how his interest in the medium has evolved, being creatively autobiographical, his Wildstorm i...

Writer/artist Michael Walsh joins the show to talk about his incredibly busy workload on titles like Universal Monsters: Frankenstein, The Sacred Damned, and Nullhunter. Walsh discusses his full dance card, drawing Magic the Gathering cards, how that Frankenstein book came together, eliciting emotions, the looming shadow of its history, double page spreads, The Horizon Experiment, the twists of Th...

The Beat's Heidi MacDonald returns to the podcast to talk about Penguin Random House's acquisition of BOOM! Studios and our expectations for San Diego Comic Con. MacDonald discusses the big PRH/BOOM! news, why the former may have wanted to acquire the latter, the big news ahead of San Diego Comic Con, where things are right now, DSTLRY's big move, how SDCC is shaping up, how unique SDCC is relativ...

Writer/aritst Christian Ward joins the show to talk about his new art book, Many Worlds - The Art of Christian Ward - Volume One and his series at DSTLRY, Spectregraph. Ward discusses how his schedule works, leaning into momentum, idea generation, his crowdfunding emotions, the origins of his art book and why he wanted to do it, figuring out what to include in it, revisiting his work, what guides...

Writer/aritst Ryan Stegman joins the show to talk about his work on the upcoming X-Men at Marvel and the upcoming The Missionary at DSTLRY. Stegman discusses his work on the X-Men, refining his process, how his input changed the team, his personal X-Men history, the energy he wants for the team, character designs, finding his own visual identity, how the project came together, The Missionary's mas...

Writer James Tynion IV joins the show to talk about his busy dance card of late on books like The Department of Truth and The Nice House by the Sea. Tynion discusses Stephen Sondheim's influence, learning from other creators, finding power in old forms, how adaptations shift his view of his work, balancing everything, what exactly the new Tiny Onion is, maintaining momentum, the importance of avai...

Artist Terry Dodson joins the show to talk about his life as a working artist on comics like AdventureMan and The Manchurian. Dodson discusses his recent European trip, his European lean, the Lake Como Comic Art Festival experience, keeping himself excited, his video game work, how he decides which projects to take on, the appeal of risk, collaborating with his wife and inker Rachel, his recent ar...

Popverse's Editor Graeme McMillan joins the show to talk about his new role at the comics and pop culture site before we dig into an array of hot topics and trends in the world of comics. McMillan discusses his new role at Popverse, how it came together, the evolution of the comics journalism space, the impact of adaptations on comics, the end of Krakoa, what's next for the X-Men, the destruction...

Writer/artist Jim Starlin joins the show to talk about his career and the soon-to-be crowdfunded omnibus for his comic series, Breed. Starlin discusses his freestyling ways, how he approaches storytelling, the projects he's the most proud of, learning from his collaborators, The Death of Captain Marvel, the comings and goings of publishers, bringing Breed back, how he views himself, where he start...

Retailer Steve Anderson joins the show to talk about what he's seeing at his comic shop chain in Maryland and Virginia, Third Eye Comics. Anderson discusses Free Comic Book May, the importance of turning your shop into a destination, being more than a comic shop, creating crossover appeal, how the year has been in his shops, standout performers, the area of effect of big hits, marketing comics, Th...