Making Comics

Continuing the year-end Making Comics tradition, it's part two of our year-end suite with guest Gary Hodges, this time with favorites of the year! Roll out the year with us as we share our favorite comic book (8:30), artist (15:45), writer (43:00), TV show (53:45), movie (1:05:00), and band (1:13:00), among other favorites.

This week, we welcome Gary Hodges back to the show for our year-end tradition! To get things started, we discuss the compromise between productivity and perfectionism that every comic has (4:30), tackling the tough work when that's all that's left (30:10), reaching the point where creativity has to give way to research (38:30), and the importance of backing up your work (45:00) before this week's main topic: the holiday special! We compare holiday traditions that have nothing to do with the holidays (52:40), then get into songs and shows we're either feeling or not feeling this holiday season (1:11:30).

This week, we discuss feeding your brain with pop culture (4:15), sticking to page-a-week work goals (7:45), a different way of doing research while working on your story (12:10), when work and payment schedules don't go smoothly for commissions (24:15), and rewriting dialogue and scene descriptions for already-completed art using paper and pencil (28:20) before this week's main topic: the other rule of thirds (39:15).

This week, we talk sticking to getting your page done for the week and becoming aware of a change in your style (7:00), working out an interesting way to deliver 'talking heads'-type information (11:00), working through editor feedback on your comic (20:15), writing your way through a story to figure it out (33:30), and considering a change in your daily goals (38:30) before this week's main topic: using color to make an impact (45:10).

This week, we discuss finding even better ways to retrofit prior ideas into a story (5:00), completing a panel a day while also developing your style (13:15), re-focusing your project priorities (21:30), using for-hire artists to finish a project (29:10), and getting feedback from a professional (43:00) before this week's main topic: understanding characters different from you (48:30).

This week, we talk about returning to a project with renewed energy (6:25), exploring the rules of your story world (14:00), commission updates (22:45), writing critical scenes to your story as you need to do it (25:20), and using and growing a network of contacts (37:30) before this week's topic: comic convention 101, from getting a table at conventions, to remembering the right things to bring and what to expect (41:30).

This week, we discuss the big thinking that goes into stories and repurposing prior ideas (11:30), writing as exploration (25:30), fighting to work when you're under the weather (28:55), incorporating all notes (big and small) into your comic (33:15), and working with client corrections (39:30) before this week's topic: your comic's done... now what? (43:00)

This week, we discuss the end of separate journeys; the end of a month-long panel a day project (3:45) and the end of a nearly five-year journey in completing a novel (8:00), working on different projects and the differences in them (15:20), starting a new project and consciously thinking about new processes (21:00), balancing paid work with your own projects (26:30), and seeking outside opinions on your work (29:00) before this week's main topic: creating from life and life experiences (36:00).

This episode, we welcome E.Bursonson (Ed Brown) to the podcast and start with a discussion of comics we grabbed at Alakazam comics in Irvine, CA (4:00) before we discuss editing multiple comic scripts and story planning (24:40), doing the hard work on pages, so final editing can happen (37:00), and working on commissions and compensating for you own time (48:30). 

This week, we discuss the work ahead involved in Drawtober when you're using Drawtober for a project (5:45), the need for detailed thinking around your characters (12:00), a commission update (23:40), and improving a cliffhanger ending for a comic (26:00) before this week's topic: making every word (and line) count (35:05).