Off Panel: A Comics Interview Podcast

Artist Rafael Albuquerque joins the show to talk about his life and career in comics and the upcoming Absolute Green Arrow. Albuquerque discusses traditional vs. digital art, his comic origins, the generations of artists in Brazil, how he figured out art, the impact of influences, the project that changed how he was seen in comics, why Absolute Green Arrow feels like a next step, his original Abso...

Writer Pornsak Pichetshote joins the show to talk about where he is in his career and the upcoming Absolute Green Arrow. Pichetshote discusses his new email newsletter, being vulnerable, how he sees himself in comics, why he hasn't taken on more for hire work before, what differentiated Absolute, when his journey to Absolute Green Arrow started, the personal nature of the book, Rafael Albuquerque'...

Cartoonist Julia Wertz joins the show to talk about her career and her new graphic novel Bury Me Already (It's Nice Down Here). Wertz discusses her upcoming book tour, perceived age, promotional images, when she started making comics, what comics are for her, her comic strip-like approach, her natural art style, comic processes, approaching sensitive subjects, continuity, parenting books, the emot...

Comics critic Tiffany Babb joins the show to talk about her comics zine, The Comics Staple, and the world of comics journalism. Babb discusses pre-Kickstarter feelings, the joy of creating, her fearless nature, the importance of failure,  why comics needs something like The Comics Staple, the importance of tastemakers, the contributors to the zine, the Staple's audience, what differentiates it, wh...

Cartoonist Faith Erin Hicks joins the show to talk about her new graphic novel Inbetweens and the evolving role of comic creators. Hicks discusses her (tough) love of horror, operating outside the box, the path to release for Inbetweens, battling boredom, Inbetweens' origins, its evolution, the leads of the book, its timeframe, the gender disparity of animation, changing requirements for cartoonis...

Writer/letterer Aditya Bidikar joins the show to talk about his first major comics writing project, In Your Skin at Image Comics. Bidikar discusses his feeling about tackling that new project, putting yourself out there, the evolution of In Your Skin, the parasocial side of the project, the importance of character, how the book's artist Som signed up for the book, how that collaboration changed th...

Writer/artist Skottie Young joins the show to talk how his work on Lobo at DC Comics and his views on comics and art. Young discusses the artists that hit him the most, the intersectionality of comics and music, the visual foundation of Lobo, playing with the character's history, the origins and nature of the project, the power of no, the coolness of Marie Javins, doing Lobo at the right time, wor...

Writers (and comics journalism legends) Laura Hudson and Tim Leong join the show to talk their new Mad Cave series Exploit and their journeys to it. Hudson and Leong discuss the power of honesty, publishing their first comic, the evolution of Exploit, whether they always wanted to make comics, how the series developed, the impact of collaboration, Exploit's origins, channeling frustrations into th...

In an episode recorded in-person at this year's annual conference for the trade organization for comic shops, ComicsPRO, The Beat's Heidi MacDonald and the head of Lunar Distribution and Discount Comic Book Service, Christina Merkler, join the podcast for a vibe check about the event and state of the industry. Up first, MacDonald joins to share her read on the event, how it compares to previous ed...

Writer Chris Condon joins the show to talk about his comics career, his new Vertigo series The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery, and more. Condon discusses managing the promotional side of comics, his comic origins, the power of gimmicks, his love of comic art, his film background, how That Texas Blood came together, the journey of Brutal Dark, what made Vertigo the right home for th...

Writer James Tynion IV joins the show to talk about his incredibly busy slate and how he's navigating it all. Tynion discusses the recent Exquisite Corpses pop up in Paris, how he's managing his project load, prioritizing your work, building up speed as a writer, figuring out which projects are a yes, Vertigo's potential impact, the direction of the market, Vicky from w0rldtr33, the Exquisite Corp...

Writer/artist Tony Fleecs joins the show to talk about his life and career in comics and his work on comics like Feral and the upcoming Deathstroke: The Terminator. Fleecs discusses comic shop living, his comic origins, 1990s comic energy, how those comics impacted him as a storyteller, having comics that speak to your age, how My Little Pony changed his life, the success of Stray Dogs, putting an...

Artist Charlie Adlard joins the show to talk about post-Walking Dead living and his new Image Comics graphic novel, Altamont. Adlard discusses a recent signing, becoming a different Charlie, figuring out which projects to take on, the constant drumbeat of deadlines, leaning in different directions, the story of the Altamont Free Concert, what made that story a draw, how Altamont came together as a...

Journalist Susana Polo joins the show to talk about her interesting year and a bevy of subjects we didn't get to highlight from the wider world of comics in 2025. Polo discusses post-Polygon living, the loss of personality-driven sites, how the Polygon experience shaped her, the reverse energies of 2025's comic movies, the muted comics conversation, recency biases, the importance of back catalogue...

Writer Scott Snyder joins the show to talk about Absolute Batman and his past few years at DC and beyond. Snyder discusses his initial uncertainty about Absolute, his journey to Absolute Batman, the power of fear, their approach to making the best story, collaborating with Nick Dragotta, his experimentation phase, the ethos of the book, finding a balance, creating a sense of urgency, the single is...

Big Clutch Comics' Shawn Kirkham joins the show to talk about the collectible side of the comics world. Kirkham discusses his stray cat adventures, Kirkham's background, what Big Clutch Comics is, how his work at Skybound informed that work, what fuels him, the current secondary market for comics, how it's different than previous booms, how new readers are playing a part, the secondary market as a...

Retailer Patrick Brower returns to the show to talk about the year that was in his Chicago-based comic shop, Challengers Comics + Conversation. Brower discusses his weird year, the year in Challengers itself, the consistent nature of 2025, what drove the year's success, Absolute Martian Manhunter's surprising heat, the performance of the Absolute Batman Annual, managing different printings, Marvel...

Cartoonist Beetle Moses, aka Harris Fishman, joins the podcast for my annual Comic of the Year chat, as we talk about his social media-based comic strip Beetle Moses. Fishman discusses the year for Beetle Moses (the comic), figuring things out, his own comics journey, putting in the reps, his art style, the depth of the strip, Beetle Moses' origins, how people reacted to making the move into comic...

My pal Brandon Burpee returns to the podcast for our annual look at the year in comics before we count down our 20 favorite comics of the year. Burpee discusses the year in comics, the state of the Big Two, where the X-Men are, older comics that might have previous lists, anticipated comics from 2026, ancient Star Wars takes, and more, before we share our honorable mentions from the year in comics...

In a special year end episode of Off Panel, we look at the defining themes of 2025 in comics with the help of retailer Steve Anderson from Third Eye Comics, The Beat's Heidi MacDonald, and writer Matthew Rosenberg.  Up first is Anderson (1:37), whose theme is the impact of DC's Absolute line, as we discuss the Image Revolution of it all, unlocking the cool, the area of effect it's had on other com...

Artist and writer Terry Dodson joins the show to talk Ultimate Endgame, AdventureMan, and where things are headed for him. Dodson discusses his work schedule, cat living, picking projects, taking on Ultimate Endgame, working with Deniz Camp, figuring out projects, designing in the Ultimate Universe, the freedom of the book, event comics versus regular ones, artist exclusive covers, the other side...

Christina Merkler, the co-owner of Lunar Distribution, Discount Comic Book Service (or DCBS), and InStockTrades, joins the show to talk about a strange year for comic book distribution and a good year for the retail side. Merkler discusses Thanksgiving and related takes, the year for her, Diamond Comic Distributors' bankruptcy, compressing timelines, figuring things out, big changes this year, bal...

Writer and cartoonist Gene Luen Yang joins the podcast to talk about his comics life and his upcoming run on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Yang discusses his daily life, his upcoming graphic novel, Overrated, embracing change, advocating for comics, its impact on his own work, having different inputs, his project that impacted him the most, collaborations and collaborators, Superman Smashes the Kl...

Writer Grant Morrison joins the podcast to talk about this week's DC/Marvel: Batman/Deadpool and their views on life and comics. Morrison discusses the rekindled flame of writing comics, how they approach writing, the importance of new experiences, making yourself a laboratory, pushing the medium thinking visually, learning from collaborators, doing what feels right, why Batman/Deadpool was the mo...

Writer Kieron Gillen joins the podcast to talk about his current Image comics The Power Fantasy and Die: Loaded and everything that's going into them. Gillen discusses FOC vs. release, Die's longevity as an idea, staying in love with comics, the emotional side of the commercial part of the job, how he thinks of his comics, the direction of Die: Loaded, why Die returned, the approach to its story,...