Yoshihiro Tatsumi, although he was a somewhat influential figure in the manga of the 1950s and ’60s, is largely forgotten in Japan today. However, within the past 10 years he has gained some belated fame in the West, thanks largely to the efforts of Adrian Tomine and Drawn & Quarterly. Tatsumi passed away last month, […]

This week Rob Guillory joins Tim to give his side of the genesis of Chew (following on John Layman‘s side a few weeks ago), describe how he had trouble finding anyone who wanted him to draw in his own style, recall the shock of realizing that drawing could actually be a paying job, and more.

Our frequent guest Tom Spurgeon this time sits for an interview with Tim, discussing his childhood interest in comics; his lousy pre-Comics Journal job & how he got into TCJ; the Top 100 comics of the 20th Century issue (and why nothing by Dave Sim made the list); his new job, organizing an annual comics […]

Now that we’ve set the stage, it’s time to get down to business and really look at the Batman show — and where else to start but the beginning? We talk about how the series made its way to the air, and the pilot story arc Hi Diddle Riddle and Smack in the Middle, starring […]

By now you’ve no doubt read or listened to several reviews of Scott McCloud’s The Sculptor — and perhaps you’ve read the book itself. Mainstream-media and average-Amazon-user reviews have been adulatory; reviews in the comics media have ranged from a hesitant thumbs-up to vitriol-fests. But, it seems to us, all of those reviewers are missing […]

Years ago, when the Scott Pilgrim series was only half-finished, Tim and Brandon discussed it on this show. Since the series was completed, we’ve discussed Bryan Lee O’Malley’s other books (Lost at Sea and Seconds), causing Tim to reconsider Pilgrim, what O’Malley did right (and wrong) in the series, and what it all means. This […]

Like many who grew up in the ’60s and ’70s (and perhaps even ’80s and later), Tim and Paul had the course of their lives changed by the 1966 Batman TV show, from the types of play they did growing up to their present-day interests. In our premiere episode, we discuss the allure of the […]

Why draw in a manga style? Why are zombies popular? How can you represent the comics creation experience in a card game? These questions and more as Tim interviews Jason Thompson, author of Manga: The Complete Guide, the Web comic The Stiff, and Kickstarter project card game Mangaka.

More than once, this podcast has explored the question of comics for kids. What we’ve never done, though, is ask an actual kid about his opinion of the comics he reads! So this week, Kumar is joined by his son Ashwin, 7, to discuss eight different issues of DC Super Friends, from a few years […]

American comics fans were introduced to Ken Niimura back in 2010, when his art appeared in the Image miniseries I Kill Giants, written by Joe Kelly. Since then, Ken’s work has been seen in some short Spider-Man stories, and more recently, his book Henshin, which just came out in English from Image. He currently lives […]