This week, part two of the Kaigai Manga Festa 2017 roundup, recorded in Tokyo on November 23 at Tokyo Big Sight.

1:48

Adoor Yeh and Champignonlin

Adoor Yeh and Champignonlin

9:09

Natalie Andrewson

Natalie Andrewson

 

13:14

Ryan Cecil Smith

Ryan Cecil Smith (r)

 

17:17

Graeme McNee

Graeme McNee

 

21:16

saicoink

saicoink

 

22:37

Koyama Press

Ed Kanerva

 

23:50

Andrew Wheeler

Andrew Wheeler

 

25:46

Ramon Perez

Ramon Perez

 

27:20

Jason Fisher and Freddy Carrasco

Jason Fisher and Freddy Carrasco

 

30:54

Rupert Bottenberg

Rupert Bottenberg

 

33:19

Christine Wong and Emily Carroll

Christine Wong and Emily Carroll

 

36:06

break

39:07

Mulele

Mulele (l)

 

43:47

Matt Loux

Matt Loux

 

45:45

Johny-san, Coh Miyazaki, and Gabriele Pala

Johny-san and Coh Miyazaki (Neko Studio), and Gabriele Pala

 

51:08

Alti Firmansyah

Alti Firmansyah

 

53:45

Shoko Kimura and Tania Vicedo

Tania Vicedo and Shoko Kimura

 

1:00:17

It’s time for another Kaigai Manga Festa roundup! This year’s international comics festival in Tokyo was held on November 23 at Tokyo Big Sight, alongside the Comitia festival as always. Tim caught up with some familiar faces and met some new ones as well!

3:26

Ario Anindito

Ario Anindito

6:37

Raul Trevino

Raul Trevino

 

8:43

Steven Cummings

Steven Cummings

 

10:22

JL Mast

JL Mast

 

13:33

Mokutan Angelo

Mokutan Angelo (r)

 

17:13

Wai On and Wah Kee

Wai On and Wai Kee

 

19:08

Howard Chan (Comic Gravitation)

Howard Chan (l)

 

21:11

Eric Chen

Eric Chen

 

22:25

Ryo Katagiri, Fiona Ostby, and Mutsumi Kanzawa

Mutsumi Kanzawa, Fiona Ostby, Ryo Katagiri

 

26:40

Ian Herring and Moo

Moo and Ian Herring

 

29:35

Harmony Becker

Harmony Becker

 

33:02

break

34:04

Moemai

Moemai

 

35:41

Ruki Kotobuki

Kotobuki Ruki

 

39:17

Nao Yazawa

Nao Yazawa

 

42:24

Petar Tasev

Petar Tasev (r)

 

44:47

Felipe Kolb Bernardes and Julia Nascimento

Felipe Kolb Bernardes and Julia Nascimento

 

47:43

This week, Nicole Georges talks about her latest book, Fetch: How a Bad Dog Brought Me Home. Was her dog Beija really such a difficult dog, or was it all in Nicole’s mind? Also the prevalence of autobio comics, the public perception of comics in general, where the zine scene is today, and much more.

Ryan O’Sullivan, whose writing on Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War we discussed a few months back, returns with a new Image book called Void Trip, with art by Plaid Klaus. The story features a couple of stoners traveling through space, with a mysterious pursuer. But what, exactly, is it about? Tim and Mulele ponder.

This week we wrap up both Tim’s visit to Heliscope Studio in Portland, and the whole three-month string of episodes from Tim’s trip around the US this past summer.

We’ll hear from Fred Chao about the double-edged sword of living in New York and how it informed his book Johnny Hiro: Half Asian, All Hero; how his approach to photos is really old-school; and his Kickstarted childrens’ book Alison and Her Rainy Day Robot.

Then, veteran comics artist Ron Randall on the right and wrong ways to use photo reference, his experience pencilling from an Alan Moore Swamp Thing script; his creator-owned project from the ‘80s, Trekker, and why he’s reviving it now; attending the nerd Mardi Gras; and why we’re living in a golden age of comics!

Three more talks with the folks at Helioscope Studio in Portland in this episode!

Steve Lieber, an artist in his own right and also manager of the studio, gives us a brief history of the studio (including its self-naming woes) and tips on how to start your own studio.

Intern/mentee Maria Frantz, a university student and web cartoonist who grew up reading Calvin and Hobbes, explains her internship and the aims of her comics work, and how her generation approaches comics.

Finally, Ben Dewey (Autumnlands, Beasts of Burden) talks about his process of doing art (involving digital pencils and analog watercolors), why you shouldn’t get too fussy over your comics, managing your comics creating time, and what was good about Rob Liefeld’s work.

For the past several decades there have been a lot of comics, movies, and other fiction involving “bad futures”, with lots of poverty, violence, environmental destruction, and the like. Why has this genre been so appealing to so many?

In this episode, Emmet O’Cuana talks with Mark Hobby about why this genre endures and how Mark has approached it in his own comic, Job Dun: Fat Assassin. They also discuss why British writers have led the pack on bad future stories, how Watchmen and the X-Men fit into the discussion, why sex in media seems to upset some people more than violence, and more.

This week, two more creators from Portland’s Helioscope Studio:

Cat Farris is working on “Emily and the Strangers” for Dark Horse, and her own web comic “The Last Diplomat.” She talks about the learning curve of drawing digitally, pacing the revealing of story information, the down side of telling people what she does for a living, and more.

Terry Blas has done covers for such comics titles as Adventure Time and Rick & Morty, and is the co-writer of a forthcoming graphic novel from Oni Press called Morbid Obesity, a murder mystery set at a fat camp. He talks about how to make stories less formulaic and more emotional, and points out a neglected segment of the American comics market.

This week we begin our visit with the creators at Helioscope, a comics studio in Portland, Oregon!

Karl Kesel has been in mainstream comics for 30 years and has worked on some of the most popular characters from the Big Two. How has the industry changed in that time, for good and bad? Why is his fingernail always broken? How is inking therapeutic for him?

 

 

 

Then graphic novelist Dylan Meconis (Bite Me!: A Vampire Farce; Family Man; Outfoxed) gives us a lot of thoughts and tips for promoting a comic online, as well as why foxes are thought of as tricksters in numerous cultures, and how we’ll know when comics have really “arrived”.

 

 

This week, a couple of old friends stop by to give us their thoughts and advice on comics creation.

First, artist Irene Strychalski (Gwenpool) talks about her 10 tips for thumbnailing a comics page. At this stage, your main concern is clear storytelling technique. Listen for some guidelines!

Then, writer Jason McNamara (The Martian Confederacy, The Rattler), now creative consultant for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, talks about recognizing when a comics collaboration isn’t gelling, and knowing when to let go.