Writer/editor Alejandro Arbona joins the show to talk about his shift towards writing and his upcoming Kickstarter for his new graphic novel Lake Yellowwood Slaughter. Arbona discusses how he views himself these days, shifting how he's perceived, navigating the current publisher landscape, how he decides which projects to take on, the big things he…

By Lisa MacDonald - Steel Pixel Studios

Writer Jonathan Hickman joins the show to talk about this phase in his career and the varying projects he's working on. Hickman discusses his love of the World Cup, the phase he finds himself in, his current reality versus his previous one, why Imperial is a focus, his project mix, whether he has to think differently because the current market, pro…

Writer/artist Sophie Campbell joins the show to talk about her career in comics and her work on the upcoming Supergirl at DC Comics. Campbell discusses her comic origins, the SCAD experience, her evolving relationship with comics, her writer/artist lean, how Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became her for-hire home, the project she learned the most fro…

Cartoonist Craig Thompson joins the show to chat about his comics career and life before diving into his upcoming graphic novel, Ginseng Roots. Thompson discusses his journeys as a creator, the people he meets, his comics connection, his lean towards black and white, his relationship with Blankets, how memoir work changes relationships, the Space D…

The Beat's Heidi MacDonald returns to the show to chat about a particularly wild time in the comic industry. MacDonald discusses the insanity of this moment, staying on top of everything, the Diamond Comic Distributors bankruptcy mess (note: This was recorded before the final decision of who won was in), the varying players, why Diamond may have fa…

Writer James Tynion IV and artist Michael Walsh join the show to share the story behind their upcoming Image Comics series Exquisite Corpses. They discuss their recent travel, convention experiences, the origins of Exquisite Corpses, it as a game, the book's summits, how they shaped the book, its iterative nature, the people and killers in the stor…

Cartoonist Zander Cannon joins the show to chat about the post-Kaijumax life and his upcoming Image Comics series, Sleep. Cannon discusses how he decides what projects to take on, the consolidation of art roles, coming off Kaijumax, losing momentum, his gap between big projects, palate cleansers, projects as business cards, the origins of Sleep, co…

Writer Matt Fraction joins the show to chat about the past few years of his life as a writer and storyteller. Fraction discusses what exactly happened to Matt Fraction, how we perceived creators, the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters experience, what he missed about comics, collaboration and control, what made their approach on AdventureMan the right one…

Cartoonist Daniel Warren Johnson joins the show to chat about his recent stretch on comics like Transformers and The Moon is Following Us. Johnson discusses managing the moment, physical media, the physical act of drawing, the phase he's in, original art's impact, whether Transformers has changed how he's viewed, engaging with fans, Transformers' l…

Retailer Katie Pryde joins the show to discuss the recent annual meeting for ComicsPRO and what's happening at her comic shop in Portland, Oregon, Books with Pictures. Pryde discusses this moment in time, separating from the job, the realities of owning a comic shop, the ComicsPRO experience, the standouts of the event, how the perception of Comics…

Artist Klaus Janson joins the show to discuss his legendary career and his approach and viewpoints on art. Janson discusses his introspective nature, a recent gallery show that celebrated his career, where artists are these days, where they were when he first started, what the 1970s and 1980s felt like for creators, learning from collaborations, th…

Kenny Meyers joins the show to discuss his work at Sweet, a company that makes software for comics folk like Bindings, a marketing tool, Find Your Comic Shop, and the upcoming digital comic store, Sweet Shop. Meyers discusses what Sweet is exactly, his starting point for new projects, the complicated nature of his work, why he wanted to focus his s…

Writer/artist Tradd Moore joins the show for a sprawling chat about his life, art, and work on projects like Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise. Moore discusses being social media free, external pressures, knowing yourself, his intentional nature, whether he always wanted to make comics, going to Savannah College of Art and Design, influences, his holist…

Polygon's Susana Polo joins the show to talk about the upcoming slate of comics adaptations and to highlight things in comics we didn't get to write about but would like to talk about. Polo discusses fandom, what she reps for, her coverage of comic adaptations, the shift in interest in them, how we're feeling about comic movies and shows, flaws fro…

Writer Matthew Rosenberg returns to the show to talk about his past few years in comics. Rosenberg discusses his podcast Ideas Don't Bleed, what he gets from it, what his Substack Pro Grant ultimately allowed him to do, the power of time, figuring out what's next, work/life balance, what kind of swing guy he is, collaboration, his humor, the marria…

Writer Kyle Higgins joins the show to talk about his career and his work on Radiant Black and The Massive-Verse. Higgins discusses the power of curiosity, how creating changes your relationship with the creation, Radiant Black as a response to his career to date, the importance of other people, his journey as a creator, the origins of Radiant Black…

Writer Deniz Camp joins the show to talk about his career and his current slate of projects. Camp discusses creator realities, being a Barnes and Noble kid, JLA's impact, the power of restrictions, the impact of experiencing different cultures, varied influences, what made him want to make comics, 20th Century Men's impact, working on PanelxPanel, …

The writer and artist behind the recently launched The Lucky Devils, Charles Soule and Ryan Browne, join the show to talk about the year their new Image Comics series and the path to bringing it to life. Browne and Soule discuss new release anticipation, how their projects evolve, the rules of these worlds, what they learned from Eight Billion Geni…

Retailer Patrick Brower joins the show to talk about the year that was in his Chicago comic shop, Challengers Comics + Conversation. Brower discusses the slow open to years, the top comics of the year at Challengers, stimulating foot traffic, the year that was at Challengers, Saga's immortal nature, Absolute learnings, what else is moving the needl…

Writer Wyatt Kennedy joins the show to talk about his career and his work on the Image Comics series, Nights. Kennedy discusses managing stress, his comic origins, finding your things, influences outside of comics, figuring things out in real time, comic book rules, the origin of Nights, his artistic collaborators, the world of Nights, its season m…

Cartoonist Guillaume Singelin joins the show to talk about one of my comics of the year, his graphic novel Frontier, and his career in comics. Singelin discusses his origins as a comic reader, France's relationship with comics, the works he originally connected with, what he originally wanted to do, his love animation, where inspiration comes from,…

My pal Brandon Burpee returns to the show for Off Panel's annual year in review episode. Burpee joins me to discuss the year that was in comics, the different flavors of comics, how we read these days, the appeal of micro lines, where the Big Two are, the From the Ashes era for the X-Men, surprise standout moments for us, and more, before we both c…

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writers Scott Snyder, Kelly Thompson, and Jason Aaron join the show to talk about their work in the Absolute Universe at DC with Absolute Batman, Absolute Wonder Woman, and Absolute Superman respectively. Snyder kicks things off, as he discusses the roots of Absolute DC, events as the thing before the thing, the…

In a special year end episode of Off Panel, we look at the defining themes of 2024 in comics with the help of retailer Steve Anderson from Third Eye Comics, The Beat’s Heidi MacDonald, and writer Joshua Williamson. Up first is Anderson (1:12), who talks about a time of struggle for Marvel in comic shops, the area of effect that can have on other pu…

Writer Alex Segura joins the show to talk about his busy dance card and about how his different roles and mediums interact. Segura discusses his marketing brain, handling promotion, trend chasing, deciding on projects, prioritizing mediums, the origins of The Question: All Along the Watchtower, its cast, Renee Montoya's appeal, the core murder myst…

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 p…

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…

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 …

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 scien…

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 ma…

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…

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, edit…

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,…

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 ed…

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 t…

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 myth…

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 t…

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, th…

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 W…

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, th…

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, …

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…

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, …

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 t…

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, h…

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 Onio…

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, collabora…

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 K…

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, bringin…