Speech Bubble

Live from Toronto Comicon 2019, Aaron sat down with Marvel inker Craig Yeung. Born and raised in Toronto, Craig is best known as the long time inker of Runaways, written by Brian K. Vaughan with pencils by another Toronto resident, Adrian Alphona. Since Runaways, (now a live action TV series on Hulu in the U.S. and Showcase in Canada) Craig has inked other Marvel comics like X-Men: Gold, The Superior Octopus and Daughters of the Dragon. His pencils have been featured on Riftworld Legends 8, Arrow Season 2.5 and Bitch Planet: Triple Feature.

On the podcast, Craig explains what it was like to break into comics before the internet as part of Bright Anvil Studios with Steve McNiven, (Death of Wolverine) a high school age Francis Manapul (Justice League: No Justice) and past Speech Bubble guests Marvin Law (Image's The Pact) and Valentine De Landro (Bitch Planet). Craig's big break on Runaways actually came because without high-speed internet, it was too difficult for artist Adrian Alphona to communicate with the original inker what he wanted and with Craig right there in the studio, it became right place, right time.

Aaron also goes over Craig's process using India ink with tips for aspiring inkers to make the work go a little faster and they touch on what its like to see a comics Craig worked on (Runaways, Legion, Daughters of the Dragon) be adapted for TV. Finally, Craig shares his hopes for the upcoming Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu movie adaption and gives his own martial arts movie recommendations, including Kill Zone starring Donnie Yun and Sammo Hung.

This episode of Speech Bubble is sponsored by Hairy Tarantula, Hastings Barbershop and the AMOK Podcast Fundraising Campaign.

Instagram - @craigyeung

Twitter - @csyeung

Facebook - @csyeung

Craig's Deviant Art page

Craig's Blog

Buy Riftworld Legends 8 on Comixology

Kill Zone (SPL) trailer

Sponsors

Hairy Tarantula

Hastings Barbershop

The Amok Podcast Fundraising Campaign

Mark is the managing editor, arts editor and designer of Carousel Magazine – a Canadian arts and literary journal published twice a year. He's also the curator of the 4Panel Project, which began as a back page supplement in Carousel, and the publisher behind Popnoir Editions' comics and zines.

Growing up in Windsor, ON. during the black and white comics boom of the 1980s, Mark discovered that some of his favourite comics were printed right in his hometown. Being the enterprising fan that he was, he decided to call them up and see if he could order his favourite comics directly from the printer and cut out the middleman. Even though the printer explained that's not how things worked, they were still nice enough to show Mark around and employ him as an assistant, sparking his love for self-publishing his own comics and graphic novels to this day.

Early on in his career, Mark's self-published zines featured the typical run-of-the-mill nihilism you might see from any punk in their twenties, but they came into the notice of the wrong authorities sparking an infamous obscenity trial knows as the Head Trip Scandal and a landmark obscenity verdict in Mark's favour that set precedent for obscenity cases in Canada for all time.

On the podcast, Mark admits that winning the case put a certain attention on his career that many independent artists only dream of, including a write-up in The Comics Journal. While spearheading his own experimental indie books like BRICKBRICKBRICK, Grey Supreme 01 r and Suture Series Fragment A: It Looked Like Rain, along with curating avant garde comic anthologies like Dehuman and Sequential Desire, he became the main man at the Canadian literary arts magazine Carousel.

Needing a back page supplement for the magazine, but wanting to stay away from the already played out comic strip, Mark issued a challenge to people he knew in the art scene: take the four panel comic strip format, but stay away from the set-up punchline of the traditional newspaper funnies and experiment.

What he got were four panel strips that pushed the boundaries of the form. Sometimes the four panels simply acted as windows into another world beyond with the panels barely containing what was within them. This challenge became extremely popular, so popular that it quickly moved beyond the carousel back page and was soon published online as the 4 Panel Project and in two anthologies featuring artists like Fiona Smyth, Jessica Bartram, Jesse Jacobs and Hartley Lin.

Mark was so taken by the work of the artists who contributed to the 4 Panel Project that his publishing company Popnoir editions has begun publishing these artists own graphic novels. Jessica Bartram's Ghost Water Kiss and Ben Oneil's Apologetica arrives from Popnoir Editions in Spring 2019, making their debut at the 2019 Toronto Comic Arts Festival.

Mark Laliberte's website

@originobscure

The 4Panel Project

Pop Noir Editions

Carousel Magazine

Pop Noir Shop

Sponsored by:

Hairy Tarantula

Old Town Bodega

AMOK Podcast Fundraising Campaign

Jason is a Thornhill, ON. native who always wanted to be a comic artist. He could always draw his classmates under the table, but Thornlea Secondary School was the basis for author Gordon Korman's 1985 novel Don't Care High and the moniker was still true when Lapidus went there.

The vibe killed any enthusiasm he had for institutional education and that buzz kill continued in art school where he just couldn't connect painting on wood block and philosphizing about art with the practical skills he wanted to learn in order to make comics.

Instead, he leaned into his job at the Royal Ontario Museum teaching comic book classes for kids in informal settings. Ironically, this lapsed art student has made a career out of teaching art in unconventional environments to elementary school and college age students.

That seemed like where his art talent would go until a double date he definitely didn't want to be on. That's where he met Chris Sanagan. Their girlfriends (now wives) were already best friends and they were just dragged along for the ride. Thankfully, they had the same interests: comics, Wilco, the Leafs, Batman the Animated Series and more. It was enough to hit it off, so when Sanagan proposed this crazy idea for a comic he had to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Canada's involvement in World War I, he went with it.

This is what eventually became known as The Group of 7 – a historical fiction comic centring on the real life convergence of several Canadian historical figures in Europe during WWI, except in this version they're all recruited for an off book secret mission. Think a Canadian League of Extraordinary Gentlemen featuring Conn Smythe, John McCrea, Lester Pearson, Frederick Banting and more.

Jason explains how this project has pushed and challenged him in several unexpected ways and he gives a sneak peek of a spin-off comic coming out of the same alternate history called Peregrines.

This podcast is sponsored by the good folks at Hairy Tarantula and Strangers, the new album from Summer and Youth.

@jasonlapidus

@JasonLapidus

Groupof7comic.ca

@groupof7comic

Group of 7 on Facebook

Sponsors

Hairy Tarantula

Strangers, the new album from Summer and Youth

It's a jam-packed episode with one returning guest and one brand spanking new one.

First, friend of the Show Shane Heron (Morris, Black Have Hunters Club) returns in his capacity as co-editor of Cauldron Magazine to promote the Kickstarter for the Spring 2019 issue. If you haven't heard of Cauldron, this is an adult fantasy-horror comic anthology magazine in the vein of Heavy Metal, Savage Sword of Conan, Creepy and Eerie. The upcoming spring issue has a cover from Toronto's own Adam Gorham (New Mutants, Rocket Raccoon) and if you donate to the Kickstarter before it expires on February 22, 2019 you will have a chance to own Adam's original art for the cover.

Once Shane takes his leave, we welcome his actual roommate -- fellow artist Christopher Yao. Chris is a straight-up assassin when it comes to sketch covers. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say but he could draw anyone under the table head to head in a sketch cover duel.

As a star pupil of Ty Templeton's Comic Book Bootcamp, Chris showed so much promise. But a series of personal setbacks and a lack of proper motivation, meant that many of his personal ongoing comic projects didn't make it past the first issue. Then he moved in with Shane and in an environment where everyone around him was constantly drawing, a renewed fire was lit within him. Now, he has a new comic out called Greylight with issue one already on its second print as he works diligently on issue three. Aaron and Chris do a deep dive on Greylight as they trace Chris's emotional comeback in the sequential arts. They highlight several ways he has been able to up his game, including the often underrated skill of drawing background elements like buildings and vehicles to give the comic a sense of time and place. Plus, they reveal a project that marks the comeback of the Canadian superhero he co-created with Cauldron co-editor Sam Noir -- Major North. This podcast is sponsored by the good folks at Hairy Tarantula and Sequential Magazine.

Donate to the Cauldron Magazine Spring 2019 Kickstarter now until February 22, 2019

@yaozagraphx

Yaoza Studio

Chris Yao on Facebook

Chris Yao on Twitter

Sponsors

Sequential Magazine

Hairy Tarantula

Wes is the cartoonist behind the Prophet of Zoom comic strip on the back page of Zoomer Magazine and he's the president of the Association of Canadian Cartoonists representing some of the finest editorial cartoonists from across the country. Aaron met Wes when the cartoonist moderated a panel discussion featuring the Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man creative team of Chip Zdarsky and Adam Kubert at the Royal Ontario Museum. Since then, he's been wanting to get Wes in the NSN studios and now he finally has his chance.

The two begin by paying tribute to Wes's groovy grandma who exposed him to the underground comix of Robert Crumb, Spain Rodriguez and Kim Deitch at a very young age long before he ever knew about superhero comics. Meanwhile his parents took him to the circus and his favourite teacher Mr. Case fostered an advanced talent for drawing. From there, Aaron and Wes talk about his love of British comics from Beano and Dandy to 2000 AD and that time Paul McCartney dropped by Wes's cousin's place to ring in the new year. As a political head, Wes talks about his time working on a kibbutz in Israel, his four years in Cuba and how political cartooning pushes the envelope internationally way further than your ever allowed to in English Canada where you're much more beholden to the whims of the readership.

Speaking of Cuba, Wes talks about that time he almost died in a car accident there and when his phones were bugged because everyone thought he was an American spy. Wes also breaks down the fundamentals of caricature for Aaron, the dangers of censorship -- including his thoughts on the Charlie Hebdo Massacre and when he learned to dodge bullets – and the disrespect of creative industries, especially cartooning with the death of newspapers.

This episode is sponsored by Hairy Tarantula and Sequential Magazine.

Wes' website

Wes on Twitter

Prophet of Zoom

Idea City 2015 Charlie Hebdo discussion

Wes' books with Neil Crone and David Roth on Goodreads

Association of Canadian Cartoonists

Jonathan is one of the most multi-faceted individuals to ever grace Speech Bubble. Not only does he both write and draw his own self-published comics, but he also draws album covers and is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for local Toronto band Summer and Youth.

Aaron traces Jon's artist trajectory from childhood to adulthood, as he goes from making comics with his brother in the 90s (long-haired characters with shoulder pads and pouches) to joining forces with past Speech Bubble guest Jason Loo (Pitiful Human-Lizard) in high school to spending one year in illustration at the famed Sheridan College while waiting for his daughter to be born at age 20.

Parental responsibilities meant self-publishing comics was put on the back-burner for ten years, but now Jonathan Kociuba is back with a vengeance. First up, was art chores on a body horror story for those who feel they are pulled in multiple directions called All of This written by Suzanne Alyssa Andrew and then, Paperhead -- a story about a comic creator who literally gets absorbed into his creation following a break-up. Even his band, Summer and Youth, has a new album on the horizon and he's got a new comic he's working on now that marries music with the medium.

Find out what it's like balancing single fatherhood with artistic pursuits, how writing a comic is like writing a song and the origins of the safety coffin.

This podcast is sponsored by Hairy Tarantula

@j.s.kaye

Jonathan's Website

Jonathan's Tumblr

Summer and Youth on Facebook

A Review of Paperhead

Jo Lalonde tells Aaron she was an artist since she figured out how not to eat the crayons. First

TheChalkChick.com

The Chalk Chick's Facebook Gallery

The Chalk Chick's Instagram

A blog about The Chalk Chick

For this episode Speech Bubble is coming to you live in front of an audience on Halloween Weekend 2018 at Hairy Tarantula's Hairoween Party at their new location at 3456 Yonge Street in Toronto, Ontario Canada. The show is a sort of coming out party for Aaron's guest Attila Adorjany, since a huge re-branding project for a massive corporation took him out of the comic scene for a very long time. Now he's back miking his special effects background with a new custom toy company of his own making called Titly Toys where he's making mini cthulhu figures, zombie Hello Kitty (Goodbye Kitty) and a collection of figures called The Dirty Dozen – an anthropomorphic donut army that's in a lot of ways a G.I. Joe satire (Yo Dough!). His followers on instagram have also been treated to his Kaiju Kars series of drawings mashing popular characters with popular cars from pop culture, like the Demogorgon from Stranger Things driving the Scooby-Do Mystery Machine in a drawing called Stranger Danger. Other artists have been invited to contribute and these drawings will be made into collectible cards akin to Garbage Pail Kids and may one day be made into Hot Wheels like toys themselves.

Before corporate work took him away from comics, he'd worked for independent publishers like the now defunct Speakeasy on various comics and covers. He'd worked on comic adaptions for Planet of the Apes, Beowulf and Warhammer. His Shuster nominated webcomic Metaphysical Neuroma was best known for breaking the form of comics and they could be read -- sending readers down various, interactive, “Choose Your Own Adventure” rabbit holes. Now he's doing a new comic spinning out of the pages of the Monstrosity anthology called XuluKhan.

In the pod we talk about all of these projects, as well as his take on artistic toys from artists like Ron English, his fascination with diner culture, his appearance as a goon in movies like Dirty Work starring Norm MacDonald and his background being raised by two amazing artists himself. He wanted to be a stuntman, he worked in a mannequin factory and that lead him to special effects, storyboarding and motion graphics. Attila is a true artist --- in the sense that he has done a little of everything – and we get cerebral in tracing his artistic journey and parsing out the importance of impermanence in his artistic philosophy. This podcast is sponsored by and recorded at Hairy Tarantula.

@attilaadorjany

Tilty Toys Webside

@tilty_toys

Attila's Patreon

Attila's Sketchbook

XuluKhan

Attila's Facebook Page

Attila on Comic Vine

Hairy Tarantula's Flashback Podcast

Sponsors

Hairy Tarantula

Coupon Codes

Enter these codes at checkout when you shop online and we'll get some money to support the podcast.

Geeky t-shirts – Riptapparel.com – 10% OFF – NEVERSLEEPS

Last minute gifts – Giftagram.com -- $15 OFF -- NEVERSLEEPS15

William S. Burroughs once said, “Seize control of the reality studio” and Adam “A.G.” Pasquella has been doing that since he was in second grade. Born in Dallas, Texas but now living in Toronto, he started making comics that ended with him getting all the candy in grade school and just kept right on going through middle school when he sold mini comics through the mail. When the small publisher he sold his first book to went out of business just as the ink was drying on the contract, he once again seized the reality studio and self-published his first two novellas, Why Not a Spider Monkey Jesus and New Town. He comes to discuss the scifi and comic book influences of those two works, a noir chapbook featuring Ms. Pac Man he co-edited with author Terri Favro called Pac N Heat and his latest book – this time for Dundurn Press, Yard Dog – book one in a thriller series featuring a hard luck character named Jack Palace. (A play on Frank Castle)

While promoting Yard Dog and its upcoming launch at The Tranzac Club in Toronto on Nov. 29, 2018, Aaron and A.G. go on a long, strange trip that features Adam selling his Marvel stock, just before they were acquired by Disney, Carl Barks and Uncle Scrooge, The Air Pirates and a nearly endless quest recapturing the Texas burger of Adam's youth. Plus: Michael Kupperman of Tales Designed to Thrizzle draws Adam's book covers and the Incredible Hulk's possible current connection to The Synthetic Men of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs is ruminated on. This episode sponsored by Hairy Tarantula and dedicated to Stan Lee.

@agpasquella

A.G.'s Facebook Page

A.G's website

Yard Dog on Dundurn Press

The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library

Michael Kupperman – Tales Designed to Thrizzle

The Air Pirates

Terri Favro

What Mad Universe!?! Podcast

Synthetic Men of Mars

Review of Durango Street

Sponsor

Hairy Tarantula

Coupon Codes

Enter these codes at checkout when you shop online and we'll get some money to support the podcast.

Geeky t-shirts – Riptapparel.com – 10% OFF – NEVERSLEEPS

Last minute gifts – Giftagram.com -- $15 OFF -- NEVERSLEEPS15

Our illustrious audio editor Joseph Ianni makes his long-awaited return to the show. Having listened to and edited every episode of Speech Bubble since launch, he's like our own version of The Watcher of the Marvel Universe: always observing, never interfering...until now.

He comes to us for the first time, to pitch a comic of his own to the Toronto comic artists he knows are making Speech Bubble appointment listening every two weeks. The project is called Noon, a horror /teen drama comic where a state-of-the-art high school goes on lock-down, trapping the students inside with the progenitors of a zombie virus that -- like every good virus -- is about to go global. Thankfully, the students employ their own set of unique skills and abilities to fight back against the zombie horde and hopefully escape the school before they themselves succumb to the curse of the undead.

Those who heard Joe's first appearance on the show may remember that this is not his first foray into self-published comics. Past Speech Bubble guest, Shawn Daley (Samurai Grandpa) actually assisted Joe with the art chores on his first comic book, The Iamgrim long before Speech Bubble existed.

So he has the pedigree, but does he have the pitch? We'll let you know if an artist comes forward to make Joseph's comic book dreams come true.

If you are interested in working with Joe, please e-mail him at [email protected]

This episode of Speech Bubble is sponsored by Hairy Tarantula

Giant Enemy Comic

Joseph on Twitter

Joseph on Instagram

Echopodcasting.com (Joseph's podcasting portfolio)

Sponsor:

Hairy Tarantula

Coupon Codes

Enter these codes at checkout when you shop online and we'll get some money to support the podcast.

Geeky t-shirts – Riptapparel.com – 10% OFF – NEVERSLEEPS

Last minute gifts – Giftagram.com -- $15 OFF -- NEVERSLEEPS15