Portrait of an Editor

Robyn Chapman discusses her work on First Second's release of HOMICIDE: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL, which is an adaptation of David Simon's nonfiction book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, which also was the source material for the award-winning TV show Homicide: Life on the Streets.  Robyn provides some great info on the unique journey Philippe Squarzoni's detailed adaptation took from the States...

My quick tour of Marvel's Avengers Heroes office wraps up. This time I talked with Annalise Bissa about her career's progress from intern to editor. By discussing her background, mentors, and various responsibilities at the House of Ideas for the past few years, she provides an excellent overview of how her take on editing has developed.

Marvel's Executive Editor Tom Brevoort and I discuss the genesis, execution, and response to two unique Marvel series--AVENGERS BEYOND and NAMOR: CONQUERED SHORES. Tom explains why Marvel's Two-In-One and Team-Up series might not work in today's market. Also, we talk about the unique campaign to save Spider-Girl that her extraordinary fans managed to pull off.

First, a huge congratulations to Alex Segura for winning the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books Prize for the Mystery/Thriller category for SECRET IDENTITY. As for this interview, it's a companion piece to my interview with Cliff Chiang, in which I get to talk with a former editor and see how their days as an editor influenced their creative process today as a writer. Also, of course, we talk abo...

No intro with this episode of CROPPED because I wanted to jump right into the Q&A with Will Dennis about his role with DSTLRY. And I asked him to explain what the hell is a Founding Editor.

Comixology Originals' EDGEWORLD relaunched a few months back. Three new issues from this new arc are already available. I caught up with series writer and co-creator Chuck Austen to discuss this arc's direction. Of course, sticking with the show's central theme, Chuck and I discuss Felix Horne's editorial contributions to what Chuck, Patrick Olliffe, Lee Loughridge, and Jodi Wynne have delivered....

Will Dennis and I journey down memory lane and review the nine issues of Captain America (#247 to #255) that Roger Stern and John Byrne pretty much teased readers with in 1980. We ask "What If" and "What Could Have Been" a lot regarding their way too short run on Cap.

I had a great talk with Cliff Chiang in which we discussed how his editing work at Vertigo Comics reverberates throughout his career right up to CATWOMAN: LONELY CITY . He also dived into the creative and somewhat laborious process he took to make Lonely City.

After Will Dennis and I realized we hadn't recorded a CROPPED since before New York Comic Con, we jumped into reviewing 2022 and pondered what would happen in 2023. Hey, it's only February, so we can talk about 2023 still. Will examines how his panel, How Not to Succeed in Comics , did on its inaugural tour of the convention circuit. We all talk about WYTCHES on Amazon. We also cover Will's readin...

In part 3 of my talk with Andy Khouri, we wrap up our talk about the early days of DC's Black Label and move on to his editing chores on DC's relaunch of Vertigo and working on the Young Animal pop-up imprint. We discuss FAR SECTOR and its place in the Green Lanterns mythos. Finally, he talks about the challenges of editing a creator-owned book compared to a DC Universe book, and we get to the lig...

In part 2 of my Portrait of an Editor interview with Andy Khouri, we wrap up his take on editing Green Arrow. Also, we discuss how he learned to navigate the politics of the DC offices and the tastes of his bosses. Finally, we talk about the early days of the Black Label imprint and its objectives and how DC revised them as the imprint moved forward. In Addendum 2, Andy talks about the creative fo...

One good reason for taking my time on this is that I think Andy delivered a great interview that explains some of the core reasons why I do this podcast. Over the course of 3 hours, he described what it was like for him to join DC Comics' editorial staff. If you want to "experience" one person's journey as a comic book editor, this multi-part podcast and its addendums are precisely what you need. 

Here's my final New York Comic Con 2022 interview. First, I talked with Scott Dunbier years ago on the eve of another New York Comic Con. You can find that talk on the Portrait of an Editor Patreon page. In our new conversation, we discuss his process of producing IDW's Artist Editions line. We also discuss the making of Scott's tribute to his friend Darwyn Cooke -- The gorgeous Parker: The Martin...

You could say my NYCC2022 talk with Fabrice Sapolsky should be called Portrait of a Publisher. We cover a lot here with what he is doing with FairSquare Comics. He delivers excellent points on the hustle it takes to keep an independent publisher going for the long haul. We also discuss the upside of printing in the United States, FairSquare Comics' slate for 2023, and the future of Mutiny Magazine...

At NYCC 2022, I reconnected with Heavy Metal's executive editor Joseph Illidge. We talked about George Perez's takes on Scarlet Witch and Wonder Woman, the deaths that hit the industry in 2022, and the exciting future for Heavy Metal with its partnership with Whatnot Publishing which launches in February.

Here's my sixth NYCC 2022 interview. I caught up with Greg Lockard about his editing work with James Tynion. We got a bit fanboy over Michael Avon Oeming's work with James on BLUE BOOK. We also discuss how an editor can help a creator avoid burnout, Greg's agenda for NYCC 2022, and how he approaches pitching to editors.

Here's my fifth NYCC 2022 interview. I caught up with Tyler Jennes, who works with Will Dennis and Scott Snyder. Tyler provided an update on the Wytches TV show at Amazon and his professional agenda for a convention like New York Comic Con. 

Here's my fourth interview from New York Comic Con 2022. This time I talked with Sandy King, founder of Storm King Comics. I apologize for the sound on this one. Still, I had to release it for Halloween. Happy Halloween, everyone!

Here's the third conversation I had while at New York Comic Con. The last time I talked with TKO's Editor-in-Chief, Sebastian Girner, was in January 2021 so we caught up. In addition to today's new chat, there are three previous interviews with Sebastian still available for free. 

Here's the second interview I did during New York Comic Con 2022.  This time I talk with Pornsak Pichetshote about a bunch of things, including THE GOOD ASIAN's Harvey Awards win for Book of the Year.

I took Portrait of an Editor on the road to New York Comic Con. It gave me the chance to catch up with previous guests on the podcast and see what they were doing at the con and beyond. First up-- IDW's Senior Editor Heather Antos.

For this quick drop, I talked with Will Dennis about the panel he's hosting at NYCC 2022. I hope to see some of our listeners there.  Will's panel: HOW (NOT) TO SUCCEED IN COMICS (Without Really Trying!) Friday 10/7/22 6:30 to 7:30:00 Industry 1-C03 Speakers: Will Dennis, Scott Snyder, Cliff Chiang, Stephanie Phillips, Brian Azzarello, and Pornsak Pichetshote

In CROPPED #19, Will Dennis and I chat with designer and letterer extraordinaire Jared Fletcher about working with Cliff Chiang, maintaining a 12-hour workday, and how the Joe Kubert School prepped him for the tech changes that hit the comic book industry. We also talk about ink saturation, how his job relates to what tech printers are using, and his workday schedule. Finally, I find out who decid...

My talk with Eric Harburn of BOOM! Studios covers on his adventures at 2022's San Diego Comic-Con, specifically his first Hall H experience, which was a doozy. We discuss how Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt , Ron Garney, and the rest of the creative team work together to get BRZRKR out . We also talk about the first moves on the development of Something Is Killing the Children , the reasons behind his pr...

Will and I talk about the Eisner wins for THE GOOD ASIAN and SNOW ANGELS and his overall experience at San Diego Comic-Con 2022. He also hints at a few future projects and his plan to get an open bar at the Eisners.