Making Comics

This week, we discuss getting in your work when you can (3:20), a new audio project (10:30), recognizing spots of other people's influence when it creeps into your work (19:00), getting a lot of art back and revisiting a prior editor's note (30:20), staying up to date on your inventory (39:20), and gorging on culture for a project (47:00).

This week, we talk about a wild surge of activity on a new comic (4:15) and designing a banner (18:25) avoiding the stodgy bullshit (21:30), and this week's topic: when to offload work (30:00), before we review Free Comic Book Day events (39:00).

This week, we welcome Rory Smith (Illumination Studios, Mighty Hunters of Mythria) to the podcast to talk about the act of creation, drawing techniques, and much more!

This week, we talk about how much toning and grayscaling can add in the hands of an expert (3:30), today's main topic - making sure you've done your best on every panel (9:00), those moments of serendipity when you get script notes back (23:20), a backlog of commissioned covers (29:40), and the difference between an idea and a story (38:00).

This week, we talk about varying up your distance when it comes to panels (5:00), getting a reminder of your limitations and your strengths (10:00), aligning on payment terms with clients (21:30), and when communication gets warped (35:40) before we discuss the state of the industry (40:00).

This week, we talk about an influx of commission work and the importance of being flexible (3:20), getting clarification from an artist on page art (13:45), fixing printing errors (20:00), controlling the small costs (26:50), prepping a project for a quick turnaround (31:20), and getting struck by inspiration (44:10) before we get to this week's topic: innovation (53:00).

This week, we talk about the close of a Kickstarter campaign (4:10), changing the art style halfway through an issue (18:40), and restocking your books (27:00) before we get to this week's main topic: a recap of Wondercon (31:30).

This week, we discuss getting back art with a change in color (3:30), getting comic work in when the business side commands attention (12:00), reviewing pages from a copy editor (20:15), and ordering limited-edition books (30:20) before this week's topic: immersive environments (40:30).

This week, we talk about approvals from other creators on a collaborative project (2:30), rewriting a story from memory (9:15) working on a cover for potential use (21:40), getting interior art and cover art back (26:00), and returning to traditional methods (29:30) before we get to this week's topic: adapting your prose story into comics (37:00).

This week, we welcome creator Scott Serkland ( Young and the Dead , Make Your Own Comics series, The Artcasters) to the podcast and talk about working on a special project (3:55), sticking or not sticking to genre convention (7:30), recreating authentic old collectibles (22:00), client projects and how comics are viewed (28:45), and self-publishing (37:00) before this week's main topic: invent...

This week, we talk about including or not including dialogue on your Kickstarter sample art pages (2:50), finishing a first draft (10:30), strategizing around commissioned covers (19:30), giving your artist too much information (27:40), fitting comics into a changed schedule (37:15), convention prepping (41:40), and getting notes back on a script (46:20) before this week's topic: undertelling...

This week, we talk about acknowledging and avoiding convention in the first draft of a story (7:30), writing the first draft of word balloons in a Marvel Method-process comic (19:20), the need to sometimes be on-the-nose (30:15), scheduling work for future covers (39:15), the importance of clear art direction (47:20) before this week's topic: Other people's (comic) properties (54:00).

This week, we talk about thumbnails for a new comic (4:30), incorporating editor notes into a near-finished work (9:35), finding cover artists (17:30), distributing art pieces evenly in a novel (23:20), working on rough pencils (31:40), and understanding the ups and downs of the freehand writing process (34:20) before we get to this week's topic: listener goals and questions (45:00).

This week, we discuss being productive writing a first draft in a journal (5:30), creating pages of art for a special story (17:15), channeling inspiration when you don't expect it (24:45), giving feedback and giving it the proper weight (28:30), and the value of a journal (49:50).

This week, we talk about work on a detailed cover (2:45), returning to productive writing (12:30), a surprise new project (19:00), getting toned art pages back (25:45), and the promise of a new idea (30:40) before we get to this week's topic: the nuances of character (39:00).

This week, we talk about finishing two covers in a week (5:40), a different release of a new comic (11:30), coordinating work on variant covers (15:50), how a snippet from a video created a path forward for a story (21:00), how helpful it is talking to other professionals (31:30), and the main topic: comic book hacks (38:40).

This week, we talk about daily focused reading (7:20), finishing the first draft of a short comic (14:15), and getting feedback on a story (29:30) before we get to this week's episode: the trappings of genre (42:00).

This week, we talk about finding a path to finishing the first draft of a story (3:00) and moving on from an artist (12:45), then welcome Doug Wagner ( Plastic , Vinyl , Plush , Klik Klik Boom , Beware the Eye of Odin ) to discuss preference delivering scripts (27:50), breaking into comics (36:35), influences (45:00), finding your true voice (1:03:00), business considerations in storytelling (1:27...

This week, we discuss the best attitude to have for giving and receiving feedback (4:30), understanding who holds the ultimate veto on your work (16:30), how down time can make you more productive (22:15), thinking your way through new characters (27:20), getting pages back from a new artist and editing in the lettering stage (33:00) and how taking criticism is important (41:00) before we get to t...

This week, we talk about a comic book within a story (4:40), dialing into craft elements that make a style distinctive (13:30), reworking your dialogue to the balloons and the available panel space (24:10), and hitting a stalemate on work for hire (31:05) before we get to this week's topic: 2024 goals (49:20).

This week, we recap our Making Comics creative retreat and discuss working your way through a comic script (12:45), working on art using a new style (24:30), denouements (36:00), post-workshops edits (44:45), and much more.

It's the year-end episode! creator Gary Hodges joins us to discuss our favorite comic (6:15), favorite artist (24:00), and others including movie of the year (54:30), game of the year (1:17:00), and many more. NOTE: This is an early-release episode for the week! There will not be an episode dropping on January 1st.

It's the holiday episode! Dinosaurs vs Marsbots creator Gary Hodges joins us to get in spirit for the season. We review the "nice" - our best creative achievements (13:15), "naughty" - our biggest creative learning (36:05), revisit our personal holiday traditions (1:05:00), and of course discuss the holiday music and movies we're both feeling and not feeling this year (...

This week, we talk about the initial work on a script (3:20), LA Comic Con (9:30), streamlining reward delivery on Kickstarter (25:10), a business summit (33:15), pencils for a new comic (39:30), and having the courage to cut (48:00) before this week's topic: strengthening your dialogue (61:00).

This episode, we talk about the right amount of information to give in a mystery (3:00), creating back matter for a comic (11:00), the release schedule that follows the creative schedule (20:40), a comic book in-store (27:45), hitting a rhythm with the colorist (35:20), a holiday tale of resourcefulness (41:00), and using the zoom function to help with your lettering (49:20).