Episodes

5d ago

In a special year end episode of Off Panel, we look at the defining themes of 2025 in comics with the help of retailer Steve Anderson from Third Eye Comics, The Beat's Heidi MacDonald, and writer Matthew Rosenberg. Up first is Anderson (1:37), whose theme is the impact of DC's Absolute line, as we discuss the Image Revolution of it all, unlocking the cool, the area of effect it's had on other comics, good times he sees on the horizon, how new readers are behaving, why Absolute has popped, how creators and publishers can capitalize on this, and more. After that is MacDonald (32:22), whose theme was the lack of new characters in direct market comics, as we discuss why that's a problem, the most successful new(ish) characters, recycling existing ideas, why it's a 2025 theme, attempts to make new characters happen, what's lost without them, marketing struggles, what needs to happen, and more. And to close is Rosenberg (1:06:59), whose theme is how comics are running behind the rest of pop culture, as we discuss the inferiority complex in comics, the cost that comes with this lag, the importance of cool, how this can change, how the market factors into this, and more.

Dec 8

Artist and writer Terry Dodson joins the show to talk Ultimate Endgame, AdventureMan, and where things are headed for him. Dodson discusses his work schedule, cat living, picking projects, taking on Ultimate Endgame, working with Deniz Camp, figuring out projects, designing in the Ultimate Universe, the freedom of the book, event comics versus regular ones, artist exclusive covers, the other side of artist work, AdventureMan's fit, collaborating with Matt Fraction, the impact of influences, the collections of AdventureMan, getting into writing, its impact on his art, taking on more responsibility, and more.

Dec 1

Christina Merkler, the co-owner of Lunar Distribution, Discount Comic Book Service (or DCBS), and InStockTrades, joins the show to talk about a strange year for comic book distribution and a good year for the retail side. Merkler discusses Thanksgiving and related takes, the year for her, Diamond Comic Distributors' bankruptcy, compressing timelines, figuring things out, big changes this year, balancing sides of her businesses, the year for DCBS and InStockTrades, what's driving success, how collections are doing, the non-licensed comics space, connecting readers with books, blind bags, how she's feeling going into 2026, and more.

Nov 24

Writer and cartoonist Gene Luen Yang joins the podcast to talk about his comics life and his upcoming run on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Yang discusses his daily life, his upcoming graphic novel, Overrated, embracing change, advocating for comics, its impact on his own work, having different inputs, his project that impacted him the most, collaborations and collaborators, Superman Smashes the Klan, figuring out which for-hire projects to take, how Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came together, impact of Eastman & Laird, the TMNT phenomenon, building his run, keeping those characters fresh, what keeps him excited for comics, tips for creators, and more.

Nov 17

Writer Grant Morrison joins the podcast to talk about this week's DC/Marvel: Batman/Deadpool and their views on life and comics. Morrison discusses the rekindled flame of writing comics, how they approach writing, the importance of new experiences, making yourself a laboratory, pushing the medium thinking visually, learning from collaborators, doing what feels right, why Batman/Deadpool was the move, how it came together, preferred flavors of themself, Dan Mora's greatness, the freedom of that project, the power of constraints, their approach to continuity, the joy of Batman/Deadpool, having a late career renaissance, deciding what's next, changing as the comic landscape does, the future of comics, and more.

Nov 10

Writer Kieron Gillen joins the podcast to talk about his current Image comics The Power Fantasy and Die: Loaded and everything that's going into them. Gillen discusses FOC vs. release, Die's longevity as an idea, staying in love with comics, the emotional side of the commercial part of the job, how he thinks of his comics, the direction of Die: Loaded, why Die returned, the approach to its story, Stephanie Hans' impact, comic RPGs, how The Power Fantasy has compared to expectations, where it is, activating your audience, promoting the work, surprises in the series, and more.

Nov 3

Cartoonist Erica Henderson joins the podcast to talk about her past few years and her work on Harley and Ivy: Life and Crimes at DC. Henderson discusses her whim based processes, writing Erica vs. drawing Erica, what she can do while working, recent learnings, the way she thinks of pages, things she needed to do in Harley and Ivy, how she approaches projects, single issues vs. graphic novels, bringing Harley and Ivy to life, their fit together, her background with them, the looks of these characters, research, building around moments, the project's origins, preferred genres, fighting boredom, how variants work, and more.

Oct 27

Recorded live at New York Comic Con, artists Hayden Sherman, Rachael Stott, and Russell Dauterman and cartoonist Trung Le Nguyen joined the podcast to talk about why they love comics, with each happening in individual segments. Up first, Sherman (1:22) discusses what fuels their love, controlling the read, what unlocked comics, artist's artists, where influences come from, how making comics impacts reading them, and more. Then Stott (17:25) joins to talk about early loves in comics, finding the unexpected, the impact of the individual, her relationship with the medium, smooth comics, and more. Dauterman (34:35) follows to discuss his love of comics, the appeal of the new, what's changed for him as a reader, looking to the past, what keeps him excited about comics, and more. Lastly, Nguyen (51:29) discusses the universality of images, accessibility, comics DNA, how making comics changed things, the process of comics, and more.

Oct 20

DC Executive Editor Chris Conroy, who works on the Absolute, Black Label, and Vertigo lines at the publisher, joins the podcast to talk about the newly returned Vertigo Comics line. Conroy discusses his Vertigo background, how it changed his reading habits, what led to Vertigo's return, adding clarity to how things work, the evergreen side of DC, the team behind Vertigo, its strategy to creative teams, how they built the line, its aesthetic, balancing the future and the past, the gap between announcements, the line's size, what he wants the line to mean, and more.

Oct 13

Artist Doc Shaner joins the podcast to talk about his life and career in comics. Shaner discusses working from home, his schedule, the impact of comic strips, wanting to be a cartoonist, Buddy Cops, showing a different side of yourself, getting into comics themselves, his music brain, drawing for yourself, developing your style, Comic Twart, which project he learned the most from, working with friends, New Champion of Shazam, the Strange Adventures experience, being the bright and shiny guy, how he works, video games, being off the stands, holding onto joy, and more.

Oct 6

Podcasters Badr Milligan (The Short Box Podcast) and Chris Hacker (The Oblivion Bar podcast) join the show to talk about the comic podcasting world and our upcoming panel at NYCC before we fantasy draft seven hyperspecific things we love about comics. Milligan and Hacker discuss how podcasting has ruined our brains, podcast living, our upcoming panel at NYCC, and more, before we fantasy draft hyperspecific things we love about comics, including self-adhesive bags and boards, a special Marvel relationship, superhero comics that approach the line of stupid, seeing art lines in writing, Marvel Treasury Editions, Wednesday Comics' format, and more, before a pair of guest judges come on to help declare a winner.

Sep 29

David Brothers and Nick Dragotta join the show to talk about their collaboration on the upcoming Good Devils: Don't Play Fair with Evil. Brothers and Dragotta discuss the FOC experience, promoting comics, how they met, the Creators for Creators grant, how David started writing comics, why they wanted to work together, helping others, the influences of Good Devils, how they work together, how opportunities shaped the story, why they wanted to bring these stories to print, Ghost Cage, why Absolute Batman works, what gets them excited about comics, and more.

Sep 22

Cartoonist John Allison joins the show to talk about where he's at right now in his comics career. Allison discusses finding things for himself, managing freelance living, how he's feeling about comics and the industry, where he fits, being an influencer, going the graphic novel route, how he figures out which projects to take on, writing vs. writing and drawing, how his reads impact his work, Hirayasumi, the types of projects he prefers, Kickstarter, what's next for him, the power of threes, what brings him joy in comics, a TV recommendation, Formula 1 takes, and more.

Sep 15

Cartoonist Ngozi Ukazu joins the show to talk about her upcoming graphic novels, Flip from First Second and Orion at DC Comics. Ukazu discusses book tour living, finding time for yourself, figuring out next steps, growing as a cartoonist, managing your workload, writing for others, the importance of having creative work outside comics, Flip's origins, autobiographical challenges, the body swap at the core of it, different types of creating, working with DC, becoming a Jack Kirby acolyte, why Orion was the right follow up, young adult graphic novels, knowing who you are, WNBA takes, and more.

Sep 8

Writer Brian K. Vaughan joins the show to talk about his work on comics like Saga and the upcoming Spectators, both of which are at Image Comics. Vaughan discusses the state of the world's impact on his writing, navigating his own emotions, how lasting relationships change collaborations, how much of his world is comics, Spectators' evolving covers, the approach to Spectators, writing a graphic novel, the book's origins, Niko Henrichon's art, how they figured things out, his predictive powers, risky approaches, the Exploding Giraffe community, where Saga is, the evolution of Fiona Staples, finding new readers, when he knew writing would work as a job, and more.

Sep 1

Comics critic Oliver Sava joins the show for the eighth annual Superhero State of the Union, as we dive deep into worlds of DC, Marvel, and beyond. Sava and I discuss our overall takes on superhero comics, corporate synergy, what's leading to DC's success, editorial vision, art as proof of concept, the Absolute line, hero families, Big Two digest editions, the DC/Marvel crossovers, where Marvel is, the lack of energy in the line, the current Fantastic Four book, saying nice things about Marvel, how we would fix Marvel, superhero comics outside the Big Two, and more.

Aug 27

Writer Ed Brubaker joins the show to talk about Criminal the show and the comic, particularly the latter and its new graphic novel release The Knives. Brubaker discusses showrunning the Criminal show, getting back to his roots, surprises from the experience, having two versions of Criminal in his head, adapting his own work, how present he is in The Knives, why they returned to Criminal, the different narratives in the book, the nature of its characters, the cast's journeys, the connection his comics have to his life, working with Sean Phillips, how making comics feels, how much the comic space has evolved, a new Criminal single issue, emphasizing the back catalog, finding new readers, and more.

Aug 25

Cartoonist Jesse Lonergan joins the show to talk about his current mix of projects and his just released graphic novel, DROME. Lonergan discusses managing workflow, the roots of DROME, pushing your approach, the book's title, its archetypal nature and cast, who he is versus what he does, his fit in comics, what he cares about the most, simple machines, outside influences, working with writers, figuring out the Mignolaverse, the impact of reviews, pushing in different directions, and more.

Aug 18

Artist Nicole Goux joins the show to talk about her career and her upcoming graphic novel, This Place Kills Me. Goux discusses the other parts of the job, how far ahead she's working, the importance of mixing it up, drawing digitally, her relationship with drawing, when comics entered the picture, figuring out what she wanted to do, convention life, how different projects and publishers feel, opportunity cost, age bands, the origins of This Place Kills Me, working with Mariko Tamaki, how they worked, her preferred method of working, learning from projects, character design, creating for herself, what keeps her excited about comics, and more.

Aug 11

Writer Mariko Tamaki joins the show to talk about her career and her upcoming graphic novel, This Place Kills Me. Tamaki discusses what she works to, the value of editors, her own editing at Surely Books, learning from artistic partners, the wide world of comics, getting into comics, the biggest things she's learned, different approaches for different formats, collaborative processes, giving artists space, attribution, the origins of This Place Kills Me, the collaboration behind it, the book's lead, outsiders as leads, the music of the book, characters that surprised, Ally Sheedy's impact, finding the right mix, and more.

Aug 4

Writer/artist Kyle Starks joins the show to talk about where he's at these days and his upcoming slate of projects. Starks discusses the merits of San Diego Comic Con, his approach to cons, his past few years, comics marketing, back catalog releases, how the moment feels for original comics, Where Monsters Lie's next phase, not letting stories go, Kickstarters, diversifying how you're viewed, Devil on my Shoulder's intensity, what inspired the story, his upcoming Image Comics series WrestleHeist, drawing his own comics, his quiet year, and more, before we close with some serious business NBA talk at the end.

Jul 28

Writer Robert Kirkman joins the show to talk about his wild ways in the direct market and work on comics like the upcoming Skinbreaker and Transformers. Kirkman discusses his feelings about San Diego Comic Con, a typical day for him, the Skybound side of things, his unconventional approach to the direct market, the impact of experimentation, paying attention to the market, creating vs. connecting, why the Energon Universe worked, building excitement, learnings from the Invincible show, the magic of comics, David Finch's work on Skinbreaker, how he built that series out, the unique collaboration on that book, his love of working with artists, creator-owned comics, the possessiveness of fans, taking over Transformers, how he's approaching it, 2025 in comics, the evolution of comics, and more.

Jul 21

Writer Si Spurrier joins the show to talk about his views on comics and his work on comics like The Flash and the upcoming The Voice Said Kill and A Mischief of Magpies. Spurrier discusses his departure from The Flash, how sales impact how creators are viewed, trying to be different, the power of support, ideas, how he's doing these days, the nature of single-issue comics, his European lens, the origins of The Voice Said Kill, its atmosphere, Vanesa Del Rey, the power of repeat collaborations, portal fantasies, his creative process with Matías Bergara, what an ideal mix looks like for him, and more.

Jul 7

Writer, artist, and newsletter impresario Chip Zdarsky joins the show to talk about his world (and the wider world) of comics. Zdarsky discusses the notoriety of Zdarsky Comic News, the work that goes into it, its Eisner Award nomination, learnings from reading manga, what ZCN and Mangasplaining offer him, the origins of White House Robot Romance, its odd timing, the impact of colorists, recent changes to his process, working in the DSTLRY format, the importance of risk taking, figuring out his approach, how reader expectations factor into his thinking, his approach to Captain America, the appeal of bigger stories, how Marvel and his position there has changed, how he figures out which projects he takes on, Comic Comps Con, and more.

Jun 30

IDW's Group Editor, Licensing Heather Antos joins the show to talk about the life of an editor and her work on the Star Trek line. Antos discusses what a typical day is like for her, her varying hats, casting roles on projects, her comic origins, the capabilities of comics, whether her job has changed how she feels about comics, her interest in story, how she made her way into comics, her first editorial project, the power of communication, the project she learned the most from, the project that was the most fun, who she learned the most from, the licensing side of IDW, her vision for the Star Trek line, building out its creative lineup, managing fanbases, finding things for yourself, and more.

Jun 23

Cartoonist Tillie Walden the show to talk about the her past few years and her soon-to-complete Clementine trilogy over at Skybound Comet. Walden discusses the disparate audiences for the Clemetine series, atmosphere, going outside the box, how tools define an artist, tapping into the right energy, her extremely busy recent stretch, learning on the job, her plan for Clementine, dealing with trauma, the different levels of working on a property, her creative process, Clementine as a focus, the character's fanbase, the evolution of how she sees the character, how her experiences affect how she feels about her books, how her recent projects changed her as a person, and more.

Jun 16

Co-writers Ethan S. Parker and Griffin Sheridan join the show to talk about the comics podcaster to comics creator pipeline. Parker and Sheridan discuss their comic origins, the way they work together, how they think about story, their first collaboration, the origins of their partnership, experimentation, how they ended up making comics, idea generation, working on licensed comics, the power of restrictions, working with editors, debut release anxiety, whether they're still figuring themselves out, operating during a time of chaos, what the future holds for them, and more.

Jun 9

Retailer Eitan Manhoff joins the show to talk about the year in his shop Cape and Cowl Comics and the year in the direct market. Manhoff discusses how his role has changed, how the year has been in his shop, what's driving things, success spreading to other titles, the sustainability of the moment, customer interactions, adjustments he's had to make, the impact of available space, when things changed for his shop, the original/creator-owned side of comics, Deniz Camp's moment, the impact of micro lines, challenges from the year, Diamond Comic Distributors' bankruptcy, its impact on other product lines, what should be learned from the moment, the Eisner judge experience and more.

Jun 2

Cartoonist Gabriel Bá joins the show to talk about his career and the upcoming The Umbrella Academy: Plan B. Bá discusses the build up to new releases, the past few years for him, whether that stretch has changed him as a creator and storyteller, San Diego Comic Con's impact on his journey, how his career and what he wanted from it evolved, following new directions, co-writing The Umbrella Academy: Plan B, Gerard Way's artistic background, script flavors, the differing approaches he and Fabio Moon have, learning about art, his art across the years on Umbrella Academy, the joy of the series, what keeps him excited about comics, and more.

May 26

In this week's road show episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Kazu Kibuishi, writer Ryan North, and cartoonist Lucy Knisley join the show to talk about why they love comics so much, albeit in individual segments. Up first, Kibuishi discusses the original appeal of comics, what stood out about the medium, comic strips and picture books, his reader self versus creator self, information compression, the excitement of the new, the power of Dog Man, and more. Then, North chats about his own love of comics, his view of the medium as a reader and creator, whether making them has changed his feelings about reading them, what keeps him excited about comics, knowing where the walls are, and more. To close, Knisley discusses her own love of comics, the primal impact of words and pictures, the comics that unlocked the medium for her, multi-generational creator relationships, the low barrier of entry for comics, diversifying what you do, what keeps her excited about comics, and more.

May 19

In the landmark, hologram-covered 500th episode of Off Panel, my pal Brandon Burpee returns to the show to hand out some awards and to answer questions from friends of the podcast. We discuss favorites and surprises from the first 500 episodes, the comics that aged the best and worst from the past decade, comic book crushes, advice for our previous and future selves, comics that made us cry, comic character influencers, what we would change in comics, the comic we think everyone should read, our favorite X-Men comic ever, my approach to interviews, detail in art, our Star Wars connections, comics that get better with rereads, who won the past decade, favorite birthdays and Halloween costumes, our favorite writer, artist, and comic from the past decade, comic and music pairings, and more.

May 12

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 learned from his editorial work, the origins of Lake Yellowwood Slaughter, his slasher movie background, the roots of its name, Suspiria Vilchez's cover, making a horror comic work, the difference between film and comics, the format of the book, his view of the current state of comics, the wonder of Goats Flying Press, and more.

May 5

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, promotional materials, working with artists, the origins of Aliens vs. Avengers, notable pitches, the space side of Marvel, Imperial's roots, finding new corners to work in, editorial experiences, the type of writer he is, Ultimate Spider-Man's timeline, delivering what people don't expect, creator-owned versus for-hire, the lasting feelings of his X-Men run, keeping things fresh, how he finds the right fit for himself, and more.

Apr 28

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 from, writing for other artists, the evolution of her art, the origins of Supergirl, its classic feel, being character first, finding joy in the work, Tamra Bonvillain's colors, her Mothra: Queen of the Monsters series, managing the workload, her preferred role in comics, and more.

Apr 21

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 Dumplins experience, how projects affect one another, the roots of Ginseng Roots, figuring out what to include in memoir work, the story's serialization, comic rhythms, how he thinks of comics, the color and challenges of the book, the physical act of making comics, how making comics has changed how he sees the world, and more.

Apr 14

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 favored Universal/Ad Populum, whether it matters who won, the importance of institutional knowledge, the infamous podcast appearance of Alliance's head, how the direct market responded to the bankruptcy, tariff concerns, actual and perceived impacts, the current state of the direct market, the ComicsPRO experience, what helps her in tough times, and more.

Apr 7

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 story, the importance of rules, making it feel cohesive, cosplayability, making it big, navigating this moment, and more.

Mar 31

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, conspiracies and speculation, whether he's a horror fan, sleep as a horror angle, creative exercises, the appeal of restrictions, how he develops stories, its locations and characters, the monster in the story, working with Image, managing this moment, and more.

Mar 24

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, the appeal of fun, the vibe he wants, counterprogramming, working with Jorge Jiménez, where Batman comes from for him, figuring the book out, what he thought Sex Criminals would be, the idea of hits, what his Batman pitch was, outlining vs. guidelines, how he decides what projects to take on, what keeps him passionate about comics, and more.

Mar 17

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' length, what he learned about his art from Transformers, the importance of fun, what goes into The Moon is Following Us, how it feels different, the creative process, the appeal of new things commissions as tools, how much happens in his comics, the stories he tells, his livestreams, and more.

Mar 10

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 ComicsPRO has shifted, the vibes of the event, an upcoming Books with Pictures anniversary, how much the shop has changed, building a community, how things are going at the shop, what's standing out in the shop, tastemaking, surprises in the shop, how varying hats affect each other, managing the current environment, and more.

Mar 3

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, the power of restrictions, penciling vs. inking, whether he draws for himself, how he works, whether teaching made him more open to change, the story behind his cover to 1987's The Punisher #1, how handling multiple roles changes things, storytelling and spectacle, how he views comics, the most gratifying part of his teaching career, what keeps him excited to do the work, and more.

Feb 24

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 skills on comics, the ethos that guides him, discoverability, what guides him, the "Scott Snyder problem," the ideal use case for Bindings, creator buy in, building relationships, why he wanted to build another digital comic shop, working with publishers, what he learned from his previous digital comics effort, how his products work together, why he decided to get back into comics, and more.

Feb 17

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 holistic approach, why he's writing and drawing comics, the impact of people on his life, whether his art reflects his worldview, the impact of original art sales, what he looks for in projects, two of his most recent efforts, the importance of freedom, drawing for himself, the merits of Waffle House and more.

Feb 10

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 from the recent stretch, how important this year is for comic movies, what we're most excited for, how adaptations could connect better with comics, Marvel's struggles on that front, Vertigo's theoretical return, DC's art, Batman's strange stretch, the return of arc titles, the year of manga, writing and podcasting about comics, how she manages to keep going amidst everything, and more.

Feb 3

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 marriage of ideas in his new series We're Taking Everyone Down with Us, its origins, long titles, how the creator-owned space has evolved, how that evolution is changing what he wants for himself, and more.

Jan 27

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, how The Massive-Verse became what it is, its improvisational nature, its leads, the biggest things they've gotten right and wrong to date, what makes comics such a draw, and more.

Jan 20

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, collaborating with artists, what guides him as he decides on projects, figuring Ultimates out, swinging for the fences, the upcoming Assorted Crisis Events, how he approaches his own writing, being musical with his work, the book's title, navigating the darker side of comics, what he wants his future to look like, and more.

Jan 13

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 Genies, how they balance each other out, the structure of 8BG, its Wishworld one-shot, what made them want to develop The Lucky Devils, its leads, the darkness of the series, how their collaborations evolve, the sins that tempt them, promotional efforts, how they continue to build, and more.

Jan 6

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 needle at Challengers, the impact of handselling, how customer behaviors have changed, the world of comics distribution, behind the scenes work, managing the amount of product, his view on the broader world of comics retail, the evolution of that space, and more.

Dec 30, 2024

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 model, the work of making a comic, what he wants to do next, and more.

Dec 23, 2024

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, working by himself or with others, creating French comics vs. American ones, the origins of Frontier, developing ideas, his process for creating Frontier, his cute characters, drawing environments, the political nature of the story, how the characters push each other, what he wants to do next, and more.

Dec 16, 2024

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 count down our 20 favorite comics of the year. Also, by popular demand, you can find Brandon and I's lists below. David 1. Hirayasumi 2. Frontier 3. Nights 4. Public Domain 5. The Library Mule of Córdoba 6. Self-Esteem and the End of the World 7. Local Man 8. Tokyo These Days 9. The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn 10. The Jellyfish 11. Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees 12. The Power Fantasy 13. Marriage Toxin 14. Lunar New Year Love Story 15. Dog Days 16. Fantastic Four 17. Ultimate Universe 18. Helen of Wyndhorn 19. Kaya 20. In Utero Brandon 1. Batman & Robin: World's Finest 2. Grommets 3. Falling in Love on the Path to Hell 4. Batman 5. Wolverine 6. NYX 7. Redcoat 8. Radiant Black 9. Avengers Twilight 10. Cobra Commander 11. Ultimate Spider-Man 12. Local Man 13. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 14. Batman: Dark Age 15. Geiger 16. Spider-Man: Reign 2 17. X-Men 18. Uncanny X-Men 19. Wolverine Deep Cut 20. Green Arrow

Dec 9, 2024

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 environment Absolute grew in, and the power of jumping on points, before Thompson and Aaron join to talk about taking on this type of project, the idea of competition, collaboration, figuring out how varying pieces fit, the "big" of it all, their favorite art so far, the most challenging part, trying to make something sustainable, and more.

Dec 2, 2024

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 publishers, what seems to be fueling those struggles, his hopes for the future, and more. After that is MacDonald (29:26), who discusses "The Big Lie," which is all about the intersection of comic publishers and media rights, the focus publishers have on media rights these days, the new publishers chasing IP plays, the impact that has on the rest of the industry, and more. And to close is Williamson (1:01:02), who talks a year defined by the phrase "go big or go home," varying examples of that thinking, why that's so important, the importance of big swings, how that affects creators and publishers alike, and more.

Nov 25, 2024

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 mystery, minis vs. ongoings, how Alter Ego came together, the power of IP, being character centric, advice for aspiring novelists, what Zestworld was, how he's managing the current environment, and more.

Nov 18, 2024

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 projects to take on, the origins of One for Sorrow, its different influences, pacing the story, research for the project, character design, its twist on the Sherlock Holmes mythos, what he wants for himself creatively, and more.

Nov 11, 2024

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 from, the draw of characters who need love, Ghost Machine's appeal, its origins, how the group came together, what drives him creatively now, and more.

Nov 4, 2024

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 customers, the timing of Ultimate and Absolute, the publisher mix, nostalgia comics, 2019 comparisons, readers versus collectors, DC's Compact Comics, manga, views from a distributor standpoint, the biggest things she's learned as a distributor, DC's return to Wednesday, relationship management, her outlook on the direct market, and more.

Oct 28, 2024

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 science brain, collaboration, how he chooses projects, Fantastic Four's structure, his approach to continuity, how he builds arcs, Johnny Storm's mustache, The Rise of Emperor Doom, the greatness of Doom, working at the center of Marvel, what keeps him coming back to comics, and more.

Oct 21, 2024

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 magazines, the importance of having something for yourself, the origins of Super Graphic, the variety in that book, how comics have evolved, taking on the House of Ideas with Marvel Super Graphic, how he's evolved as a designer, the subjects he included in the book, the research process, his creative process, what excites him about the current state of comics, and more.

Oct 14, 2024

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 successful collaborations, the story behind Doop, why Madman has been home for him, the origins of The Marvel Art of Michael Allred, what went into the book, his art process, how he's perceived, the projects he leaned on for the book, keeping his original art, continuing to learn, and more.

Oct 7, 2024

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, editing's impact, the couples counseling side of the podcast, their lean into interviews, figuring out which direction to take, programming the show, imposter syndrome, their improvements as podcasters, the upcoming Pots & Panels anthology, their comic in it, how collaborating has affected their relationship, their relationship with comics, and more.

Sep 30, 2024

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, how they met, how well they really know each other, the impact of Sonic comics on Julio, what inspired Jacoby to draw, their biggest influences, how their friendship affects their collaborations, the origins of This Land is Our Land, their Blue Beetle backgrounds, Easter Eggs, the art and design of the book, tackling immigration, their collaborators, what they learned from the project, what they want next, and more.

Sep 23, 2024

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 editorial's moves, where Marvel's at, the new Ultimate universe, our Ultimate rankings, where Fantastic Four fits, the power of cool, the From the Ashes era for the X-Men, Jonathan Hickman's recent stretch, Marvel's safer path, what we'd like to see more from the Big Two, and more.

Sep 16, 2024

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 together, what it's about, the creators of the project, what's next for Old Dog, the Thundercats explosion, becoming a licensed guy, the stigma around those titles, what he's missing, and more, before we close with a conversation about John Cassaday.

Sep 9, 2024

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 mythology, domestic life, writing for yourself, the different levels of ideas, the hook of the book, pulling from real life, her process, working with Dark Horse, the business side of comics, the Portland art community, and more.

Sep 3, 2024

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 the pandemic, finding humor in the nightmare, relearning creator-owned, marketing comics, Dark Horse's fit, figuring out next steps, the human side of creation, and more.

Aug 26, 2024

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, the pressure of this project, how his own taste has guided the project, the joy of drawing Batman, working with Mat Lopes, tackling The Last Halloween, Mark Chiarello, the importance of always learning, and more.

Aug 19, 2024

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 Wildstorm experience, comfort's place in his career, working with Jeff Lemire, the origins of The Art of Descender, what's going into the book, his pencils, how he decided what to include, crowdfunding, how the role of an artist has changed, what keeps him excited about art and comics, and more.

Aug 12, 2024

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, the value of big, bold takes, carrying that into their editorial work, why they wanted to work in comics, breaking in, finding your angle on properties, figuring out the job, their favorite part of the work, cover artists they'd like to work, a project they nailed, the new TMNT era, what has them excited about comics, hair choices, and more.

Aug 5, 2024

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, being creatively autobiographical, his Wildstorm internship, what he learned at Marvel, the origins of Paklis, doing his own thing, existing on multiple sides, how he decides what to include, his creative process, writing but not drawing, continuing to evolve, and more.

Jul 22, 2024

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 spreads, The Horizon Experiment, the twists of The Sacred Damned, the horror shift, Nullhunter's origins, why he's not drawing it, its visuals, pairing interests together, balancing wants and needs as a creator, the world of Magic the Gathering, managing an increasingly busy life, and more.

Jul 15, 2024

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, how SDCC is shaping up, how unique SDCC is relative to other conventions, the big plans The Beat has for the event, her upcoming daily TV show, celebrating 20 years of The Beat, the evolution of comic cons, what keeps her excited about The Beat, and more. There are two corrections from the podcast. First, Filip Sablik's title at BOOM! Studios was actually President of Publishing & Marketing, not Sales & Marketing as I stated in the episode. Second, while Tiny Onion does a lot of design and production work for DSTLRY, Emma Price, Erika Schnatz, Jared K. Fletcher, Francesco Francavilla, and Lee Garbett have also done design work on a variety of individual titles and logos.

Jul 8, 2024

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 to include in it, revisiting his work, what guides his art, his approach to Spectregraph, thinking out visuals, the appeal of horror, writing for himself, how the role of an artist has changed, and more.

Jul 1, 2024

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, how the project came together, The Missionary's mash up nature, canon texts, the origins of The Missionary, collaborating with Jason Howard, his work as a writer, idea creation, and more, before we close with a little talk about the Detroit Pistons and the NBA.

Jun 24, 2024

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 Onion is, maintaining momentum, the importance of availability, w0rldtr33's surprises, the new direction in The Nice House by the Sea, what he learned from his recent Kickstarter, crowdfunding's power, how far his plans go out, and more.

Jun 17, 2024

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, collaborating with his wife and inker Rachel, his recent art book, how his decision making process has evolved, what covers do for him, the places his job take him, how industry variance affects his thinking, his longevity, and more.

Jun 10, 2024

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 Krakoa, what's next for the X-Men, the destruction of social media, comics marketing, the fractured conversation, newsletters, the power of comic lines, publishers crowdfunding, converting comics to other formats, Miracleman's struggles, The Power Fantasy, what he's excited for in the rest of the year, and more.

Jun 3, 2024

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, bringing Breed back, how he views himself, where he starts with his stories, creating and building on characters, writing for others, KGBeast, the evolution of comics, what keeps him motivated, and more.

May 20, 2024

Retailer Steve Anderson joins the show to talk about what he's seeing at his comic shop chain in Maryland and Virginia, Third Eye Comics. Anderson discusses Free Comic Book May, the importance of turning your shop into a destination, being more than a comic shop, creating crossover appeal, how the year has been in his shops, standout performers, the area of effect of big hits, marketing comics, Third Eye's expansion, his product mix, what's working, what isn't, the X-Men transition, the cyclical nature of comics, and more.

May 13, 2024

Artist/writer Sanford Greene joins the show to talk about his work in this week's Doom #1 and where he's at in his career. Greene discusses the origins of his Doom book, its nature as a story, the book's focus, working with Jonathan Hickman, writing comics for the first time, his art on the book, the title's unusual nature, Doom's NBA comp, how Bitter Root changed things for him, how his career is shifting, future interest in writing, his work on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, art style, and more, before we close with a chat about the NBA playoffs (as of May 6th).

May 6, 2024

Artist Humberto Ramos joins the show for a rare in-person episode, as we chat about his career, art, and love of comic book artists. Ramos discusses the different types of conventions, experiences, his love of art and artists, the artists that inspired him, the early days of his career, learning from each project, Mark Waid's impact, learning from his peers, becoming an influence himself, what keeps him motivated, how he views his own art, and more.

Apr 29, 2024

Cartoonist Patrick Horvath joins the show to talk about his path to comics and his IDW series Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees. Horvath discusses the convention experience, the appeal of comic art versus movies, the costs of creativity, learning on the job, how his route to comics changed his approach, the origins of Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, thinking in story, the book's lead, serial killers, selling anthropomorphic characters, his creative process, knowing where you're going, his use of gouache, his learning curve, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou's lettering, the book's hit nature, where he's headed, and more.

Apr 22, 2024

Artist Jacob Phillips joins the show to talk about his career and busy dance card with Newburn, That Texas Blood, and The Enfield Gang Massacre. Phillips discusses how he works, managing schedules, his speed, how coloring himself impacts his process, tackling multiple roles, how he ended up as a comic artist, illustration work, the different steps in the process, happy accidents, his work on Megalopolis, his crime heavy slate, genre requirements, balancing multiple projects, drawing for yourself, photo reference, finding solutions, his cover work, what's next for him, and more.

Apr 15, 2024

ShortBox and ShortBox Comics Fair's Zainab Akhtar join the podcast this week to talk about her journey in comics, the recent closure of ShortBox, and what's next for the Comics Fair. Akhtar discuss how things have changed since ShortBox closed, the different roles of a publisher, ShortBox's evolution, the amount of work connected to it, the path to closing, how ShortBox Comics Fair came to be, the variety of comics in the Fair, Fair comics versus ShortBox comics, production value, the quarterly boxes, staying true to yourself, her love of comics, how her experiences have changed those feelings, and more.

Apr 8, 2024

Writer Murewa Ayodele and artist Dotun Akande joins the show to talk about their careers, collaboration, and current Oni Press series, Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods. Ayodele and Akande discuss the launch of their new book, figuring out who and what to listen to, how they became comic readers, their influences, their path to comics, computer science, print versus digital, Akande's path to becoming an artist, how Akogun came to be, their own take on gods, the oversized nature of the book, the book's structure, the variant covers, how their goals have changed, and more.

Apr 1, 2024

Inklore's Editorial Director Rebecca "Tay" Taylor joins the show to talk about her career and what's going on at Inklore, the imprint at Penguin Random House that's publishing manga, manhwa, manhua, webcomics, and graphic novels. Taylor discusses what editorial really is, how Inklore fits her, where things were when she started in comics, Nightwing, her path to comics, previous roles in comics, editing single issues versus graphic novels, what Inklore is, its audience, the global aspect of her job, how Lore Olympus fits, where she finds new projects, vertical scroll to print, connecting with comic markets, the convention world, and more.

Mar 25, 2024

Cartoonist Katie Cook joins the show to talk about her career and her recently released graphic novel, Nothing Special Vol. 1: Through the Elder Woods. Cook discusses recent challenges, her early comics, the importance of newspaper comics, the art school experience, the environment when her career started, the origins of Gronk, My Little Pony's impact on her career, how her career evolved, Nothing Special's origins, getting used to the Webtoon format, how she works, converting it to print, telling your own stories, her love of Star Wars, how the job of making comics has evolved, what has her excited, and more.

Mar 18, 2024

Writer Kieron Gillen returns to the show to talk about the end of his time at Marvel and the beginning of the next creator-owned phase of his career. Gillen discusses finishing his Marvel run, the language of comics, how he's changed over this stretch, ending a story he didn't start, closing Krakoa out, the data pages, favorites and challenges from his time at Marvel, the X-Office, the con experience, The Power Fantasy's arrival, responding to your collaborators, research, pop comics, what he's most excited about next, and more.

Mar 11, 2024

IDW's Special Projects Editor Scott Dunbier joins the show to talk about his career and his work on the Artist's Editions program. Dunbier discusses the upcoming Batman: Year One Artist's Edition, the story behind the Artist's Edition, his time as an original art dealer, his path to WildStorm, his role there, that stretch at WildStorm, the origins of DC's Absolute Editions, his role at IDW, the first years of the Artist's Edition program, how he decides what to feature, digital art's impact, assembling the books, complicated projects, how much art he really has, and more.

Mar 4, 2024

Writer Brian Michael Bendis joins the podcast to talk about his current Dark Horse Comics series Masterpiece and this moment in time for his career. Bendis discusses focusing on his own work, being a night person, collaboration and collaborators, the longevity of his relationships, how Masterpiece came together, going anti-cliche, simplifying the work, building projects for collaborators, his adeptness at writing young characters, getting out of scenes, decompression, the evolution of comics, finding inspiration, rhythmic writing, the evolution of Jinxworld, helping the next generation of creators, the ups and downs of comics, and more.

Feb 26, 2024

Comic Book Herald's Dave Buesing joins the show to discuss the past, present, and future of the X-Men. Buesing discusses what Comic Book Herald is all about, the importance of helping people find where to start, how the experience has shifted his views on comics, our takes on the Krakoa Era, how it'll be viewed in retrospect, our expectations for the Tom Brevoort Era of the X-Men, and more, before we get into our X-Men Fantasy Draft, during which we both cast the comics we predict will be part of the line versus the titles we want to see, but also chat about why Uncanny X-Men is certain to return, which Krakoan had the biggest glow up, how Marvel Unlimited fits, getting trapped in expectations, and much more.

Feb 19, 2024

Cartoonist Kazu Kibuishi joins the show to explore his journey to completing his Scholastic Graphix series, Amulet. Kibuishi discuss the early days of Amulet, the time between its conception and launch, the evolution of comics, how much Amulet changed over its creation, being flexible, the initial response to the series, how the final volume changed, his creative process, the importance of accessibility, pushing yourself, giving characters a moment, the reality behind Amulet's villain, Emily and Navin, how he's changed in the process of making Amulet, the evolution of what he wants, and more.

Feb 12, 2024

Writer Pornsak Pichetshote and artist Jesse Lonergan join the show to discuss their collaboration on the upcoming Man's Best at BOOM! Studios. Pichetshote and Lonergan discuss how they got together, Lonergan's greatness, Pichetshote's editorial background, learning from collaboration, finding different ways to do one thing, how they work together, the personal nature of Man's Best, its character designs, making pets the leads, the challenges that presents, working with BOOM!, promoting the work, the evolution of comics, and more.

Feb 5, 2024

Writer/artist Chip Zdarsky returns to the show to talk about his wider world of projects and the story behind those. Zdarsky discusses his schedule, collaboration, the wonder of Jorge Jimenez, ten years of Sex Criminals, the legacy of books, his journey as a creator, what Batman means, Newburn's position, that title's backups, Avengers Twilight's long journey to release, connections in superhero comics, Marco Checchetto's greatness, taking on major characters, finding different angles, the secret to endings, his cross country comic shop trip, what's next for him, and more.

Jan 29, 2024

Polygon's Entertainment Editor Susana Polo returns to the show to chat about the recent removal of the journalism Eisner Award and some of the things we've been thinking about of late in comics but haven't had a chance to write about. Polo discusses article creation, balancing needs, the Eisner Awards changes, its impact on the comics journalism space, whats affecting that broader area, interview approaches, her love of Poison Ivy, that character's fandom, Dark Horse Comics' hot streak, the weird stretch for comic movies, where the space is at, the return of the Ultimate universe, the differences in Ultimate Spider-Man, Batman's splintered nature, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off's approach to adaptations, the destruction of digital comics, the greatness of the current Fantastic Four run, and more.

Jan 22, 2024

My wife Amber Harper joins the show to chat about the medium from the viewpoint of a fan of comic movies and anime who doesn't read comics, before digging into three comics she read just for the show. Harper discusses her comic history, her perception of comics, how challenging comics feel to a non-reader, the comic shop experience, an unfortunate Thor read, what she appreciates about adaptations, why those appeal over comics, her take on the first volume of Runaways, its fit as a Marvel story, coloring as storytelling, standout elements, whether it made her want to read more, Danger and Other Unknown Risks, chosen one stories, how art changes the story, it being an original graphic novel, Catwoman: Lonely City, the appeal of different formats, its art, world-building, understanding superhero worlds, her comic book reading experience, and more.

Jan 15, 2024

Cartoonist Nate Powell joins the show to talk about his career and upcoming graphic novel, Fall Through. Powell discusses promoting comics, the social media environment, his love of the X-Men, how his varying interests affect him as a cartoonist, the overlap between comics and music, Swallow Me Whole's position in his career, March's impact, the big emotions of Fall Through, the universal nature of youth, the pandemic and Haim's impact on the book, Diamond Mine, his band Soophie Nun Squad, music world specifics, his process, what keeps him focused on comics, and more.

Jan 8, 2024

Retailer Patrick Brower returns to the show to talk about the year for his shop, Chicago's Challengers Comics + Conversation. Brower discusses the holiday season, his comics retail podcast, promoting comics, how the year was and its progression, product vs. process, excitement levels, what's working, building other paths, in-store sales versus online, what hasn't been working, the reasons things are a struggle, what customers are saying, awareness of titles, the conversation about the direct market, what has him hopeful about comics, and more.

Dec 26, 2023

Cartoonist Lucie Bryon joins the show to talk about her career in comics and her ShortBox Comics Fair comic (and my comic of the year), Ocean. Bryon discusses her recent trip to Japan, France's relationship with comics, her gateway into comics, why manga works so well for her, her art school experience, expressing herself through comics, learning from her own work, the origins of Ocean, finding the universal in specificity, the colors of the comic, finding answers in the work, the book's leads, bending archetypes, her comic making process, the future of Ocean, what she wants from comics, and more.

Dec 18, 2023

In a special, year-end episode of Off Panel, friend of the show Brandon Burpee returns to chat about the year in comics before we count down our 20 favorite comics of the year. We discuss the year in comics, Brandon's disconnect from the larger conversation, the perils of being overinformed, deciding what to read, how the Big Two are doing, the end of Krakoa, the Ultimate Universe's return, honorable mentions for our faves of the year, our top 20 comics of the year, and more. Bonus! By popular demand, our lists in full can be found below. David Harper Ocean by Lucie Bryon Damn Them All by Si Spurrier, Charlie Adlard, Sofie Dodgson, and Jim Campbell Wild's End by Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard Impossible People by Julia Wertz Monica by Daniel Clowes Why Don't You Love Me? By Paul B. Rainey Kaya by Wes Craig, Jason Wordie, and AndWorld Design Now Let Me Fly by Ronald Wimberly and Brahm Revel Danger and Other Unknown Risks by Erica Henderson and Ryan North A Guest in the House by Emily Carroll Time Before Time by Declan Shalvey, Rory McConnville, Geoffo, Joe Palmer, Chris O'Halloran, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou Peacemaker Tries Hard! by Kyle Starks, Steve Pugh, Jordie Bellaire, and Becca Carey Night Fever by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, and Jacob Phillips Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy by Faith Erin Hicks Clementine Book Two by Tillie Walden Lights by Brenna Thummler Roaming by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki w0rldtr33 by James Tynion IV, Fernando Blanco, Jordie Bellaire, and Aditya Bidikar Mobilis by Juni Ba X-Men Red/Immortal X-Men by Al Ewing, Yildiray Cinar, Kieron Gillen, Lucas Werneck, and more Brandon Burpee World's Finest – Waid, Mora, and Bonvillain Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Campbell, Smith, Federici, and more Darth Vader – Pak, Roberson, and Gorham X-Men – Duggan, Cassara, Caselli, and more Local Man – Fleecs, Seeley, Simpson, and Sobreiro Daredevil – Zdarsky, Checchetto, and De La Torre Peacemaker Tries Hard! – Starks, Pugh, and Bellaire Ambassadors – Millar, Charest, Quitely, Kerschl, Coipel, etc. Radiant Black – Higgins and Carlos World's Finest: Teen Titans – Waid, Lupacchino, and Bellaire Superman – Williamson, Campbell, Dragotta, and more Void Rivals – Kirkman and De Felici Immortal X-Men – Gillen, Werneck, and Ryp Adventures of Superman – Taylor and Henry Nightwing – Taylor, Redondo, and Byrne Dark X-Men – Foxe and Scharf Titans – Tom Taylor and Nicola Scott The X-Cellent – Milligan and Allred Jean Grey – Simonson and Chang Batman – Zdarsky and Jimenez

Dec 11, 2023

In a special year end episode of Off Panel, we look at the defining themes of 2023 in comics with the help of Books with Pictures' Katie Pryde, The Beat's Heidi MacDonald, and writer/artist Jamal Igle. Up first is Pryde (1:10), who talks about this unusual time in comics retail, what started us on this path, the exhaustion in the space, where it's manifesting itself, the metadata situation, how Books with Pictures is adjusting to it, and more. After that is MacDonald (30:01), who discusses the world of comics marketing, how the current state of social media and comic sites is affecting things, the unseen work of marketing, fitting within the distribution system, its impact, and more. And to close is Igle (1:02:15), who talks about the overwhelming fear of the unknown in comics, where and how it manifests, how it impacts things, the path forward, and more.

Dec 4, 2023

Writer Si Spurrier joins the show to talk about his dense workload of late on comics like The Flash, the Uncanny Spider-Man, Damn Them All, and more. Spurrier discusses this busy stretch, testing boundaries, the yes/no conundrum, balance within the chaos, finding his way into superheroes, delivering the necessary story, his contrarian nature, tie-ins, the X-Office, jumping on points, how his different flavors of writing impact each other, data pages, the difficulty of Damn Them All, the bad/good of that book, what he wants from comics, and more.

Nov 27, 2023

Writer/artist Skottie Young joins the show to talk about this moment in time in his career. Young discusses being a writer (but kind of not an artist) right now, storytelling, figuring out how to write, Twig's position in his career, the moment he finds himself in, not drawing interiors, Boy at the End, expectation paralysis, Stupid Fresh Mess, sustaining your career, finding new ways to excite fans, Oz's position in his career, building trust, his newsletter, the power of community, what has him excited right now, and more.

Nov 20, 2023

Writer Alex de Campi joins the podcast to talk about her career in comics and her recent slate of Image releases, including Parasocial, Bad Karma, and Scrapper. de Campi discusses being both a writer and letterer, the fluidity of creation, collaboration, having a day job, finding collaborators, Hell's Kitchen Movie Club and Bad Karma, the importance of research, how her experiences have affected her as a storyteller, her love of trying new things, anthologies, being herself, keeping things tight, graphic novels as a focal point, how she decides which projects to take on, the impact of visuals and music in her writing, why she keeps coming back to comics, and more.

Nov 13, 2023

Retailer Bruno Batista from Dublin's Big Bang Comics joins to talk about his path to Big Bang and what he's seeing at the shop and beyond. Batista discusses daily variance in comics retail, how Big Bang's online store changed things, how he ended up in Ireland, the evolution of Big Bang, staying ahead of trends, the year in the shop, working with libraries, their product mix, changing customer behavior, quality as a sales point, Transformers and the Energon Universe, Jonathan Hickman's Marvel, Dawn of DC post Knight Terrors, single issues, manga's performance, the larger direct market conversation, maintaining motivation, and more.

Nov 6, 2023

Skybound's Brand Manager - Editorial Morgan Perry joins the podcast to chat about her path in comics, her current role, and the world of promoting comics. Perry discusses her role at Skybound, the complexity of comics marketing, the broader Skybound ecosystem, her first comic, accessibility, working at Earth 2 Comics, manga and comics, her time at BOOM!, its rise, managing fanbases, the Energon Universe, the big takeaway from its reception, what's missing from comic marketing, building hype, what has her excited about comics right now, and more.

Oct 30, 2023

Cartoonist Juni Ba joins the podcast to chat about his two new graphic novels, Mobilis and The Unlikely Story of Felix and Macabber. Ba discusses looking back on already finished projects, the origin of Mobilis, the similarities between his two latest books, project sequencing, the evolution of his storytelling, his sketchbooks, the appeal of Captain Nemo, the book's lead, the nature of its ending, character designs, Mobilis' oversized nature, the roots of Felix and Macabber, working with Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, his growth, what he wants for himself, and more.

Oct 23, 2023

Writer Rick Remender joins the podcast to talk about his life, career, and work at his imprint at Image Comics, Giant Generator. Remender discusses New York Comic Con, collaborators, the evolution of cons, what he loves about comics, his art brain, learning from projects, what writing is for him, evolving the work, idea generation, his artist lean, signing an Image exclusive, what Giant Generator is, this creator-owned moment, following the story, why he's leaning into comics right now, and more.

Oct 9, 2023

Writer Christopher Yost joins the podcast to talk about his career and his upcoming series at Vault, Unnatural Order. Yost discusses his comic origins, how other mediums drove him to comics, the idea of making comics, his early days at Marvel, his interview process, the X-Men, X-23's place in his career, writing in different mediums, trusting collaborators, Unnatural Order's origin, idea generation, understandable villains, fantasy as a genre, Unnatural Order #1's free plan, the changing landscape for storytellers, why comics are always part of the mix, and more.

Oct 2, 2023

Artist Erica Henderson returns to the podcast to talk about her new graphic novel, Parasocial, and how she's approaching her art and career. Henderson discusses the interview experience, the origins of Parasocial, its appeal, the intimate nature of Parasocial, the freedom comics, small moments, celebrity photos, distinguishing projects visually, collaborating with Alex de Campi, Rogue Nebula influences, conventions, the importance of color, figuring out what's next, writing and drawing, graphic novels versus single issues, and more.

Sep 25, 2023

Writer Joshua Williamson returns to the podcast to talk about his extensive dance card right now and the current environment for creators in comics. Williamson discusses his current workload, event comics, writing back to back events, non-writing time, his project mix, alternative paths, his current focus, workshopping ideas, the art side of DC, the positioning of superhero titles, Skybound as a fit, Duke's art team, the Energon Universe, the current direct market environment, the cyclical nature of comics, and more.

Sep 18, 2023

Retailer and ComicsPRO President Jenn Haines joins the show to talk about the current state of things for her shops, The Dragon in Guelph, Ontario, and comics retail as a whole. Haines discusses The Dragon's 25th anniversary, welcoming families, Guelph Comics Jam, the year for her shops, the generally strange nature of this time, variance in her shops, what's working, single issues versus trades, the single issue space, price points, balancing her two roles, the direct market environment, a recent metadata project, one thing she wants in the direct market, what excites her about the job, and more.

Sep 11, 2023

Writer/artist Declan Shalvey joins the podcast to talk about his current Kickstarter for Old Dog: Dossier and the rest of his busy workload. Shalvey discusses his different roles, finding time to tell more stories, the origins of Old Dog: Dossier, Kickstarter stress levels, the social media situation, what Old Dog: Dossier includes, the other roles in a creator's job, managing a shifting environment, Time Before Time's graybeard nature, foundational projects, the current environment, Joe Palmer's return, his Alien run, finding the right answers, and more.

Sep 4, 2023

Writer Jed MacKay joins the podcast to talk about his path to comics and current titles in The Avengers, Doctor Strange, and Moon Knight. MacKay discusses problem solving, what guides his schedule, his earliest comics, his approach as a storyteller, following a big run, Steve McNiven's Moon Knight covers, learning comics on the job, Nick Lowe's impact, Black Cat #1's area of effect, his starting points for a title, his approach to Moon Knight, the space he got on Doctor Strange, writing a Marvel #1, the shared universe, working with artists, where he wants to go next, and more.`

Aug 28, 2023

Writer Nadia Shammas joins the show to talk about their career to date and the upcoming graphic novel, Confetti Realms. Shammas discusses the weird year, Confetti Realms, Barnes & Noble origins, manga's influence, the Marvel internship experience, the CORPUS anthology, the power of anthologies, collaboration, putting yourself in stories, their project mix, the roots of Confetti Realms, the cast and art of the book, the current state of comics, celebrating your work, and more.

Aug 21, 2023

Comics critic Oliver Sava returns to the show for the sixth annual Superhero State of the Union. Sava discusses the mini-series gap between the Big Two, Dawn of DC, DC's castings, the Knight Terrors bump, event comics, price points, Big Two cohesion, continuity, Marvel's current state, Al Ewing and the upcoming Immortal Thor, the X-Men line, Marvel's messiness, Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise, the Energon Universe, Daredevil, our most desired turns for the Big Two, and more.

Aug 14, 2023

Cartoonist Emily Carroll joins the show to talk about her career, craft, and upcoming graphic novel, A Guest in the House. Carroll discusses early influences, their lasting impact, storytelling flow, having fun in the work, experimentation, how she views her webcomics, her process, lettering and coloring, domestic life, A Guest in the House's lead, horror endings, age specificity (or the lack thereof), the long shadow of Through the Woods, pushing herself as a storyteller, and more.

Aug 7, 2023

Cartoonist Daniel Warren Johnson returns to the show to talk about his career and the upcoming The Transformers. Johnson discusses the San Diego Comic Con experience, how the con experience has evolved for him, a recent, giant commission, maintaining his passion, how The Transformers came together, the intensity of creator-owned, drawing for himself, figuring out how to draw The Transformers, Skybound's pitch, working with Hasbro, the version of the characters he's working with, the vibe he's going for, how his love of Transformers changes things, the freedom of Do a Powerbomb!, finding his answers, and more.

Jul 31, 2023

Retailer Eitan Manhoff joins the show to talk about his now Eisner Award-winning shop in Oakland, Cape & Cowl Comics, and what he's been seeing this year. Manhoff discusses that Eisner win, what went into it, Cape & Cowl's origin story, building his shop, accessibility, the selling secret, how the year is going in his shop, uneasy feelings, what's working, his online store, the impact of pre-orders, the Eisner bump, what isn't working, Marvel's troubles, how consumers have changed since he opened, the difficulty of ordering, and more.

Jul 24, 2023

Cartoonist Chris Schweizer joins the show to talk about his life, career, and collaborations with Kyle Starks. Schweizer discusses his Assassin Nation self, how his background shaped his path as an artist, comic strips, how he decided to make comics, his wide variety of jobs, finding new ways to tell comic stories, his middle-grade comic work, collaborating with Starks, problem solving, his coloring work, the underrated nature of Mars Attacks, his goals as a creator, and more.

Jul 17, 2023

Writer Kelly Sue DeConnick joins the show to talk about Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons and her approach to telling stories in comics and beyond. DeConnick discusses the life of a creator, the value of shutting our brains down, collaboration, artistic interpretations, controlling pace, letting go of the work, where comics are right now, her progression as a comic writer, Wonder Woman Historia's place in her career, growing as a storyteller, building communities, making panels fun, the freedom of Black Label, figuring out what projects to take on, and more.

Jul 10, 2023

François Hercouet, the Editor-in-Chief of France's Urban Comics (the publisher of DC Comics and assorted Image, Dark Horse, and BOOM! titles in the country), joins the show to talk about the French comic market and his work at Urban. Hercouet discusses connecting American comics with French readers, the essence of Urban Comics, emphasizing creators, production value, the France comic market, his path to running Urban, making superhero comics easier to read, working with retailers, curating a publishing line, having an art-centric approach, cover art, the evolution of comics in France, his view of the American market, and more.

Jun 26, 2023

Cartoonist Scott Kurtz joins the show to talk about the past, present, and future of webcomics and his career on comics like PVP and Table Titans. Kurtz discusses his earliest comics and main influences, the earliest comics he made, making his way into comics, the early days of webcomics, what success looks like, webcomics and community, what fueled the changes in webcomics, how they're changing, crowdfunding's role, his new career path, what's next for webcomics, and more.

Jun 19, 2023

Writer Ed Brubaker joins the show to talk about his latest graphic novel with artist Sean Phillips, Night Fever. Brubaker discusses the picket line experience, the insanity of Night Fever, his expectations for the response, the personal nature of the book, why it was the right idea right now, Refn vibes, section breaks, his artistic collaborators, Sean Phillips' working with bigger pages, the book's international feel, wanting to be someone else, the cover change of the book, how their sales have been shifting, their sales arc, the power of schedules, surprise comics, John Romita, Sr.'s greatness, and more.

Jun 12, 2023

Writer/artist Kyle Starks returns to the show to talk about his work in I Hate This Place, Where Monsters Lie, Peacemaker Tries Hard!, and more. Starks discusses his updated business card, the inescapable humor label, the impact of the Eisner Awards, where he's at now creatively, new challenges, comics as business cards, the James Gunn vibe, the origins of Peacemaker Tries Hard!, Steve Pugh's greatness, tonal balance, Black Label freedoms, his recurring use of dogs, condensing the conclusion of I Hate This Place, back matter, what he considers himself as a creator, and more.

May 29, 2023

Writer Kelly Thompson joins the show to talk about her creator-owned work and her overall approach to writing. Thompson discusses the superstar that is Jeff the Landshark, , the power of cute things, the glory of Stefano Caselli and Gurihiru, Jeff's appeal, the origins of Black Cloak, Meredith McClaren's gifts, collaboration, Black Cloak's cover design, world-building, handling mysteries, Substack's impact, the difficulty of creator-owned, Black Cloak's shape, narrative escape hatches, The Cull as a mini-series, her project mix, and more.

May 22, 2023

Writer Ram V returns to the show to talk about his approach to writing on titles like The Vigil, Detective Comics, and more. Ram discusses a sneak attack reveal, the Paris Fan Festival experience, balancing his workload, idea creation, his pursuit of the new, the idea of success, the origins of Rare Flavours, his Detective Comics run, Evan Cagle's covers, the artists he works with, contrasting Batman stories, the hook of The Vigil, the value of the big swing, the appeal of DSTLRY, what has him most excited about comics, and more.

May 15, 2023

It's Off Panel #400, and to make this anniversary episode of Off Panel special, it's the first ever call-in show, as listeners of the show ask the questions and I have the answers. That's right. I'm the guest, as I answer questions about the future of my theoretical comic shop, what my Stilt-Man series would be about, what takes me out of the reading experience, French museums, the responsibilities of the job, comic revisits, cat dad thoughts, favorite writers/artists, comic price points, surprising things I learned from the podcast, different formats at the Big Two, how I do what I do, which Original 5 X-Men has to go, my wife's comic thoughts, what more creators should do, the podcasts I learned the most from, and more.

May 8, 2023

The Beat's Heidi MacDonald returns to Off Panel to talk about the past month or so of crazy news in the world of comics. MacDonald discusses the merits of Free Comic Book Day, the onslaught of news, building up The Beat's staff, Ike Perlmutter's departure, how Marvel looks post changes, the impact of this move, IDW's layoffs and reorganization, IDW's identity, where things went wrong, where IDW is headed, our DSTLRY thoughts, Substack and Zestworld, what makes DSTLRY work (conceptually), the drop culture comic, the digital comics landscape, what young cartoonists are focused on, and more.

May 1, 2023

The Editor-in-Chief of Abrams ComicArts, Charles Kochman, joins the show to talk about the history and present of that graphic novel division of Abrams Books. Kochman discusses the details of his job, his work on Diary of a Wimpy Kid, his publishing background, the origins of Abrams ComicArts, the artists they work with, how MarvelArts came together, drawing in direct market creators, the evolution of Abrams ComicArts, its general vibe, taking on manga, the current landscape, and more.

Apr 18, 2023

Writer James Tynion IV joins the show to talk about launching his new Image series, W0rldtr33, in the current industry environment. Tynion discusses hitting final order cutoff, the collector market, cultivating hits, W0rldtr33's origins, its 90s aesthetic, the importance of a title's vibe, the key to a good first issue, its visuals, why it ended up at Image, learning from projects, publishing at Dark Horse, how publishers differ, creating your own cash flow, setting up his future, and more.

Apr 10, 2023

Cartoonist Joe Sparrow joins the show to talk about his work in animation and his new graphic novel at ShortBox, Cuckoo. Sparrow discusses taking on new roles, the advantages and pressure of comics, how animation jobs work, how his two roles impact each other, his influences, taking on shorter comics, the origins of Cuckoo, the superpowers of it all, how much of him is in the book, the evolution of its need, his comic making process, the book's cast, the appeal of ShortBox, and more.

Apr 3, 2023

Erica Henderson and Ryan North join the show to talk about their new graphic novel, Danger and Other Unknown Risks. They discuss the origins of the book, how it evolved, its Y2K setup, the Chosen One concept, scripting the book, their collaboration, the prologue of the book, how the visuals changed the writing, the space of graphic novels, how the realms impact everything, the book's main character, how people deal with the state of the world, all-ages comics, and more.

Mar 27, 2023

Writer Torunn Grønbekk joins the show to talk about her path to comics and her work on comics like Thor and Red Sonja. Grønbekk discusses the greatness of Nic Klein, her natural art lean, the Norway comic scene, how comics saved her, her breaking in story, the origins of her writing Jane Foster: Valkyrie, co-writing as a gateway, launching her Marvel career during the pandemic, being a pinch hitter, writing Red Sonja, her instinctual nature, genre leans, where she wants to go next, and more.

Mar 20, 2023

Retailer Steve Anderson joins the podcast to chat about how things are going at his comic shop chain, Third Eye Comics. Anderson discusses how he manages his seven shops, the importance of being proactive, the ComicsPRO experience, DC's smart moves, how he's feeling about comics retail, previous pessimism, pathing customers to comics, why success felt harder in 2022, his upcoming shop launches, what's working at his shops, trade waiting, building spectacle, what isn't working, how to adjust to uncertainty, and more.

Mar 13, 2023

Manga journalist Deb Aoki joins the podcast this week to chat about the explosion in manga sales the past few years and what has led to it. Aoki discusses her Emerald City Comic Con experience, making connections for manga stories, how she became a manga journalist, the world of writing about manga, Japan's manga sales, speaking to different audiences, the impact of adaptations, price and accessibility, why there are always manga "booms," the amount of product, simplicity in manga stories, supply chain issues, the gifts of manga storytellers, and more.

Mar 6, 2023

Writer/artist John Allison returns for a conversation about the upcoming The Great British Bump-Off and his larger views on comics right now. Allison discusses the origins of The Great British Bump-Off, its evolution, pairing baking shows with mystery stories, the episodic nature of finite series, Shauna Wickle, how writing Shauna differs from other characters, the book's supporting cast, Primrose the cat, the greatness of Max Sarin, how they work together, the title's tone, how his feelings about the comic industry have evolved, his Patreon, where he's at now, and more.

Feb 27, 2023

Writer Al Ewing joins the show to chat about his approach to writing comics like X-Men Red, Wasp, Venom, and more. Ewing discusses managing the work, what drives his schedule, where pitches fit in, dealing with external forces, constraints as opportunities, Fury's evolving identity, Immortal Hulk's structure, no longer being the space guy, avoiding repetition, mic drop moments, realizing the potential of characters, the secret to tie-ins, how he works with artists, pushing himself as a writer, and more.

Feb 20, 2023

BOOM! Studios' President of Publishing & Marketing, Filip Sablik, joins the show to discuss what BOOM! is up to as we head into ComicsPRO's annual meeting. Sablik discusses the ComicsPRO experience, what he's looking for at the event, its value, what's working for BOOM!, the anomalies of 2020 and 2021, BOOM!'s number of titles, balancing variants, Kickstarter as a tool, comics promotion, inspiring in-store sales, experimentation, format focuses, whether a shift is on for single issues, finite series, changes to distribution and digital, what's next for BOOM!, and more.

Feb 13, 2023

Artist Jamie McKelvie joins the show to discuss his past few years and his work in Batman: One Bad Day - Catwoman. McKelvie discusses his work schedule, taking on more small projects, the challenges of a long run, his fluid approach to art, pushing his art, his process on Catwoman, how much runway he had on the book, why he took on that project, working with G. Willow Wilson, the appeal of Catwoman, having fun with the project, his depiction of Catwoman, factoring letters and colors into his art, writing as an artist, the learnings from Captain Carter, how his relationship with his art has changed, the evolution of what he wants from comics, The Killing Horizon, and more.

Feb 6, 2023

Writer Gerry Duggan joins the show to chat about his most recent work, amongst other things. Duggan discusses what his new series The Giant Kokjü does, its origins, how the state of the world has impacted him as a storyteller, the comedy of the series, Scott Koblish's work, his book of photography, why villains were the priority in X-Men, his X-Men plan, differentiating his run, building connections in Invincible Iron Man, writing X-Men versus Marauders and Iron Man, how the X-Office experience has changed things for him, and more.

Jan 30, 2023

Letterer Clayton Cowles joins the show for a conversation about his career and approach to lettering titles like Batman, Immortal X-Men, Daredevil, and more. Cowles discusses managing his expansive workload, where his love of comics started, going to The Kubert School, working with Virtual Calligraphy, his process to starting a project, how the lettering space has evolved, for-hire versus creator-owned, where challenges lie, the impact of repeat collaborators, pushing yourself, impact projects from his career, revisiting old work, and more.

Jan 23, 2023

Polygon's Entertainment Editor Susana Polo returns to the show for a free-flowing chat about the wider world of comics. Polo discusses Polygon's content development process, how much of the focus is on what works, whether that impacts her view of comics, the Eternals as a Tumblr fave, Kieron Gillen and Esad Ribic's run, downstream impacts of downturns at Netflix and HBO Max, She-Hulk and Jack of Hearts, the comics conversation, the X-Men line, favored D-list characters, superheroes as copaganda, the greatness of Friday, Sandman's fandom, Defenders Beyond, 2022's electric year in bio and autobio comics, the impact of editors, and more.

Jan 16, 2023

Writer/artist Rob Guillory guests this week, as we chat about his shifting approach and newly launched BOOM! series Mosely. Guillory discusses his many hats as a creator, what he's learned from recent projects, how he's pushing his career, adding writing to the mix, Farmhand's evolution, how autobiographical his work has become, Mosely's origins, the visuals of the book, tech commentary, the importance of family in his stories, his publishing partners, how his view of his work and career has shifted, and more.

Jan 9, 2023

Retailer Patrick Brower joins the show to chat about the year at his comic shop, Challengers Comics + Conversation, and the state of the direct market. Brower discusses the year at Challengers, the flip side of success, the weird vibes today, time costs, the difficulty of handselling, what moved the needle this year, the impact of economic uncertainty, what isn't working, the retailer conversation, variant covers, what he wants more from publishers, where single issue comics are headed, the medium versus the business, what he's excited for in 2023, and more.

Jan 3, 2023

Artist Liana Kangas returns to the show to discuss their busy past few years and their new BOOM! series, Know Your Station. Kangas discusses how they manage their extreme levels of busy, what goes into being a creator, balancing today and tomorrow, cover work, the Zestworld experience, the state of social media, returning to conventions, Trve Kvlt at IDW, whether that series was their baby, the story behind Know Your Station, its collaborative process, their growth as an artist, this time for comic creators, and more.

Dec 26, 2022

Writer Kieron Gillen joins Off Panel to discuss his big year on A.X.E.: Judgment Day, Immortal X-Men, Once & Future, and beyond. Gillen discusses his writing schedule, balancing responsibilities, Judgment Day's position for him, his approach to superhero stories, the fluidity of storytelling, "gets" in superhero comics, the X-Office, the surprising nature of Judgment Day, writing tie-ins, Syne the Memotaur, his collaborators, how Immortal X-Men and X-Men Red fit together, Sins of Sinister, the current path he's on, and more.

Dec 19, 2022

My pal Brandon Burpee returns to Off Panel this week for our eighth annual end of the year countdown episode. Burpee joins me to discuss the year in comics, the value of surprise, what surprised this year, the appeal of minis, superhero takes, the overwhelming amount of Batman, the year in event comics, the state of the X-Men, our honorable mentions, and more, before we close by counting down our 20 favorite comics of the year.

Dec 12, 2022

In a special, year end episode of Off Panel, we look at the defining themes of 2022 in comics with the help of Big Bang Comics' Bruno Batista, The Beat's Heidi MacDonald, and Vault Comics' Damian Wassel. Up first is Batista (1:10), who talks about the number of comics in the direct market with no clear audience, how widespread this issue is, how focused this issue is, how much this issue has worsened, whether marketing fits into this, and how this has affected the market. After that is MacDonald (33:00), who discusses the stagnant page rates, creator monetization, where those subjects are all headed. And to close is Wassel (109:09), who talks about the state of storytelling in comics, where sci-fi and fantasy are as genres, longform storytelling in comics, how things are evolving, comics being the last bastion of serialized storytelling, and more.

Dec 5, 2022

Writer Jason Aaron joins Off Panel this week to talk about what he's been up to this year, namely, his new BOOM! series Once Upon a Time at the End of the World. Aaron discusses where things are headed for him, being at the culmination of something, the development of Once Upon a Time, the appeal of limited series, the three pronged nature of the story, its two leads, how they evolved, why the book needed three artists, it ending up at BOOM!, scratching other itches, the value of being uncomfortable, long runs on a title in 2022, his goals for The Punisher, pitching comics, and more.

Nov 29, 2022

Popverse's Deputy Editor Tiffany Babb joins Off Panel this week to talk about the story behind that comics and pop culture website. Babb discusses what a day at Popverse is like, her comics and comics criticism origins, seriality in comics, differentiating Popverse, moving from criticism to journalism, balancing content, her role at Popverse, content development, how memberships impact approach, live blogging, covering conventions, the ReedPop of it all, what she'd like more of, where comic sites fit, the slow death of Twitter, the year in comics, autobio comics, the business side of comics, and more.

Nov 21, 2022

Writer Ed Brubaker returns to Off Panel this week to talk about his latest projects and the larger comic industry. Brubaker discusses revisiting your own work as an adaptation, his Panel Syndicate series Friday, his nemesis, digital vs. print, the greatness of Marcos Martin, the flexibility of the idea, Friday Fitzhugh, the Reckless series, finding more story as he works, readers following creatives over characters, graphic novels vs. single issues, what Night Fever is for them, the state of comics, experimentation, his own sense of change, and more.

Nov 14, 2022

Writer/artist Alex Ross joins Off Panel this week to talk about his latest graphic novel Fantastic Four: Full Circle. Ross discusses the origins of that project, the appeal of the idea, what it built from, the draw of the Fantastic Four, getting their voices right, how time changed the project, the shadow of Marvels and Kingdom Come, his visual approach to the book, testing his art, covers versus interiors, the graphic novel format, and more.

Nov 7, 2022

Writer and cartoonist Chip Zdarsky joins Off Panel this week to chat about his vast slate of current projects. Zdarsky discusses his Substack's impact on his promotional approach, the origins of Public Domain, the idea of genres, tackling creator rights...while working for DC and Marvel, blending character and story, getting back to drawing an ongoing series, the power of no, his newsletter, the difference between Batman and Daredevil, finding his own stories with them, Daredevil's isolated nature, his artistic collaborators, what the future looks like, and more.

Oct 31, 2022

Writer Kyle Starks joins Off Panel this week to chat about his Skybound horror series, I Hate This Place. Starks discusses I Hate This Place's origins, the subjectivity of horror and comedy, confronting realities, connecting with readers, comedy as a four letter word, the haunted ranch angle, the title's two leads, its backup comic strips, the greatness of Dante Howitzer, Artyom Topilin's art, the current state of comics, his goals for comics, and more, before we close with hot takes about the current NBA season.

Oct 24, 2022

Cartoonist Gale Galligan joins Off Panel for an extended chat about their work and their just released graphic novel, Freestyle. Galligan discusses the intersection of drawing and comics as a youth, the impact of comic strips and manga, what they learned from working with Raina Telgemeier, The Baby-Sitters Club club, the appeal of shorter comics, blending emotions, how Freestyle evolved at Scholastic, its main cast, telling stories about young people, establishing shots, their process, photo reference, the honesty of kids, secret teammates, and more.

Oct 17, 2022

Writer Marjorie Liu joins the show for a career-spanning chat with a slight focus on her latest graphic novel, The Night Eaters: She Eats the Night. Liu discusses time traveling in writing, never being off the clock, her early days as a writer, the appeal of comics, her path to comics, the collaborative nature of comics, partnering with Sana Takeda, Sana's malleability, world-building, the origins of The Night Eaters, balancing tones, why family is such an interest, horror as a genre, the presence of COVID in the story, the graphic novel format, managing workloads, and more.

Oct 10, 2022

Marvel's Senior VP of Publishing and Executive Editor Tom Brevoort joins Off Panel for an expansive chat about his career at Marvel. Brevoort discusses his email newsletter, his internship at Marvel, working with artists, his time in Special Projects, transitioning into editorial, editorial when Image was started, when things turned post-bankruptcy, sticking around in the Marvel Heroes office, The Bendis Era, "gets" from events, Marvel's editorial structure, whether the 2010s shift what a Marvel comic could be, subjectivity in art, finding new talent, the best creator at pitching at retreats, and more.

Oct 3, 2022

The Beat's Heidi MacDonald joins Off Panel for a chat about the return of conventions and where the comics industry is right now. MacDonald discusses how cons are ramping up, how they're performing after much time off, the value of conventions for websites, the importance of comic sites, how they're valued, comic book distribution, the health of single issues, finding new paths, AI art, where things are right now, the state of DC, and more.

Sep 26, 2022

Writer Ed Brisson returns to the show to dive deep into our mutual love, and his current writing of the Marvel series, Predator. Brisson discusses his recent promotional road trip, his Predator origin story, blending horror and action, dialing back the Predator, the origins of this title, the dos and don'ts of Predators, inverting the concept, the flexibility of the idea, Kev Walker's impact, revisiting the movies, and more, before we close with a Predator lightning round.

Sep 19, 2022

Artist Ryan Stegman joins the show the week his new Image series Vanish debuts, as we talk about that title's development and more. Stegman discusses his love of Wizard and Image growing up, the pursuit of cool, antiheroes, doing his own thing, planning Vanish, his approach to design, how the KLC Press Substack changed Vanish, the value of editors, why he doesn't ink himself, his growth as an artist, planning out variant covers, getting into writing, the upcoming NBA season, and more.

Sep 12, 2022

Comics journalist Oliver Sava returns to Off Panel, as it's once again time for our annual Superhero State of the Union! In this episode, we discuss how we're feeling about superheroes right now, the current events (meaning Judgment Day and Dark Crisis), Amazing Spider-Man's current quality, John Romita, Jr., the current Venom run, where the X-Men line is, the curious spot for The Avengers side of the line, the Fantastic Four looking up, DC being Batman comics, its all over the place approach, The New Champion of Shazam popping, Black Label takes, the One Bad Day books, what we'd like to see more of from DC and Marvel, and more.

Sep 5, 2022

Cartoonist Wes Craig joins Off Panel for a conversation about his upcoming Image series, Kaya. Craig discusses the ending of Deadly Class, balancing projects, the biggest things he learned during that project, the origins of Kaya, the power of narration, how Kaya developed, the title's main characters, changing flavors, writing and drawing the series, the learning curve of soloing the series, his covers, whether he wants to focus on drawing and writing, and more.

Aug 29, 2022

The Three Worlds/Three Moons crew of Mike Del Mundo, Jonathan Hickman, and Mike Huddleston join Off Panel for a chat at this year's Emerald City Comic Con about their Substack-based concept universe. The 3W3M crew discusses the first year of the experience, how different it feels, live creation, what guides their decision making, letting the work speak for itself, crediting themselves as 3W3M, being unleashed as creators, interacting with the community, and more.

Aug 22, 2022

Friend of the show Brandon Burpee returns Off Panel for a rare discussion oriented on...comic book adaptations? Burpee discusses the greatness of the new Marvel Legends Maggott toy, his affinity for the character, our current feelings about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, MCU fatigue, hype levels about the recent announcements at San Diego Comic Con, thoughts on the multiverse, how the X-Men could enter the fray, DC's status, the Wakanda Forever trailer, and more.

Aug 15, 2022

Cartoonist Faith Erin Hicks joins Off Panel to chat about her past few years and her upcoming graphic novel, Ride On. Hicks discusses revisiting works, the origins of Ride On, her desire to slow down, the power of no, horse books, her process, fandom as a skeleton key, tapping into your inner fan, developing the book's cast, improvements in her art, character acting, Kelly Fitzpatrick's colors, writing for someone else, creating as the world falls apart, and more.

Aug 8, 2022

Cartoonist Tyler Crook joins Off Panel to chat about his career and current Dark Horse series, The Lonesome Hunters. Crook discusses his comic and art origins, influences, his time in video games, tackling Petrograd, following Guy Davis on B.P.R.D., the origins of Lonesome Hunters, the relationship at the core of the story, narration, emotions over plot, magpies as villains, writing as an artist, water colors, the perks of doing your own thing, and more.

Aug 1, 2022

Cartoonist Declan Shalvey joins Off Panel to talk about what he's been up to and his upcoming Image series, Old Dog. Shalvey discusses embracing different models, the nature of the market, the origins of Old Dog, production value, why he wanted to tell his own story, spy details, pushing yourself, soloing the series, promoting your work, the title's lead, finding a balance in your career, and more.

Jul 25, 2022

Marvel Editor Sarah Brunstad joins Off Panel for a discussion about the wider world of editing comics. Brunstad discusses her path to comics, continuity's impact on editing, editorial divisions, relationship building, the importance of communication, story versus sales, supporting creators, the impact of format, misconceptions about editors, her favorite part of the job, and more.

Jul 18, 2022

Jordan Blum and Patton Oswalt join the show to talk about C-list villains and their upcoming Dark Horse mini-series, Minor Threats. Blum and Oswalt discuss their love of the lovable losers of comics, the origins of Minor Threats, the book's cast, narrative freedoms, the greatness of Scott Hepburn, villain bars, legacy, building a vibe, creative processes, why comics are always such a draw for them, and more.

Jul 13, 2022

Retailer Brian Hibbs joins the show to talk about the world of comic shops. Hibbs discusses the year at his shop, Comix Experience, online stores, different paths to success, the speculator market, what's working at his shop, the major problems facing comics retail right now, Diamond Comic Distributors' issues, serialization, selling single issue comics, product vs. process, his graphic novel clubs, the impact of those, and more.

Jul 4, 2022

Comics journalist Graeme McMillan joins the show to talk about the world of writing about comics and five topics or trends of note in the comics space. McMillan discusses the evolution of writing about nerd culture, how it's gotten better and worse, the origins of Popverse, single issue comics distribution, supply chain issues, the dominance of the book market, the shift that's on, manga's success, Marvel's lack of cohesion, DC's big smart plan, digital disruption, the ComiXology mess, the state of Webtoon, creators as publishers and brands, Substack takes, what it does, who is interesting in this space, and more.

May 30, 2022

Writer Brian K. Vaughan joins the show to chat about his career, collaborators, Saga, and Spectators over on Substack. Vaughan discusses the return of Saga, his breaking in story, how Y the Last Man changed things, his artistic collaborators, atypical routes, being surprised by the work, how Spectators works, finding new approaches, sensitive subjects, making the single issue valuable, Saga's hiatus, fan theories, Saga's longevity, finite stories, why he always comes back to comics, and more.

May 23, 2022

Cartoonist Tillie Walden joins Off Panel this week to chat about her career, craft, and the upcoming Clementine: Book One. Walden discusses managing workloads, comics vs. video games, the areas in-between, big influences, a fateful comic book workshop, teaching comics, making choices in your art, the origins of Clementine: Book One, the focus of the book, Clem's agency, her process as a creator, operating within boxes, accessibility, and more.

May 16, 2022

Writer Tini Howard joins Off Panel this week to chat about her new series on Substack, Phenomenocity. Howard discusses the interesting wrinkles to Substack, risks, launching off Knights of X, dialing back on social media, social media's role in Phenomenocity, collaborating with readers, real estate as a reward, her fascination with magic, being reader funded, the glory of Phillip Sevy, creating supporting content, what she learned from her previous work, the power of teammates, and more.

May 9, 2022

Writer James Tynion IV joins Off Panel this week to dive deep into his views on comics and the business of being a creator. Tynion discusses how he balances his work, finding ideas, the collector market's value, playing the game of comics, building hits, leaving Batman at an apex, the work outside of comics, the value of Substack, managing relationships, building and sustaining excitement, The Closet's guinea pig nature, balancing art and business, The Nice House on the Lake, how the comic industry is changing, and more.

May 2, 2022

Cartoonist Daniel Warren Johnson returns to Off Panel this week to chat about his past few years and the upcoming Do a Powerbomb at Image. Johnson discusses Jurassic League's name, whether his audience has grown, getting back to telling his own stories, the origins of Do a Powerbomb, merging ideas, foster connections, trying to do new things with his art, the impact of commissions, building stakes, finite stories, the move to Image, writing for other artists, and more.

Apr 18, 2022

Writer Ed Brubaker guests on Off Panel this week as we talk about the latest Reckless book, The Ghost in You, and how the series is going four books deep. Brubaker discusses launch week for The Ghost in You, the Brubaker/Phillips backlist, the origins of this latest book, managing narration, building familiarity, final pages, learnings from the format, this moment in time in comics, the shift in what's selling, the future of Reckless, revisiting old ideas, updating Gotham Central, time traveling in his work, comics as his constant, and more.

Apr 11, 2022

Mike Del Mundo and Mike Huddleston, part of the 3 Worlds/3 Moons collective from Substack, join Off Panel this week to talk about bringing that concept universe to life. Del Mundo and Huddleston discuss the 3 Worlds/3 Moons experience, the extra things that come with Substack, managing a business, designing for other artists, how design informs the story, the origins of 3W3M, little details, how big the plan is, freedom, their approach to design, working with Jonathan Hickman, casting guest artists, biggest surprises from the experience, how it feels from the inside, and more.

Apr 4, 2022

The team of Charles Soule and Ryan Brown join Off Panel this week to talk about their upcoming eight issue Image series, Eight Billion Genies. Browne and Soule discuss their creative process, planning stories, the finite nature of the title, Eight Billion Genies' origins, how the genies work, Browne's artistic approach, collaboration, what they learned while making Curse Words, joke making, the title's Andrew Divoff variant, core questions to the title, whether they'd want a wish, and more. Also, a quick note for listeners: shouts to Deanna Chapman for stepping in to edit this one. She crushed it, as per usual!

Mar 28, 2022

Writer Joshua Williamson returns to Off Panel to talk about his busy dance card over at DC Comics. Williamson discusses the reaction to the death of the Justice League, the DNA of Dark Crisis, death's place in superhero stories, the architectural side of DC, his long-term view on things, how his position at DC has evolved, being the lore guy, his Black Label series Rogues, its development, Captain Cold's position, the Black Label approach, the impact of style, how his views of his career have evolved, and more. Also, a quick note for listeners: shouts to Deanna Chapman for stepping in to edit this one. She crushed it, as per usual!

Mar 21, 2022

Retailer Katie Pryde returns to Off Panel to talk about her comic shop in Portland, Oregon, Books with Pictures. Pryde discusses day-to-day variance in comics retail, the "new" Books with Pictures, how 2021 was and how 2022 is starting, graphic novels/collections vs. single issues, top performing comics, Saga's insanity, working with libraries, the manga boom, Marvel's trade program, the value of floor space, single issue distributors, doing work on ComicsPRO's board, and more. Also, a quick note for listeners: shouts to Deanna Chapman for stepping in to edit this one. She crushed it, as per usual!

Mar 14, 2022

Cartoonist (and Silver Coin head honcho) Michael Walsh returns to Off Panel talk about his Image horror series, The Silver Coin, and his upcoming graphic novel, The Oates & The Elphyne. Walsh discusses his role on The Silver Coin, competition amongst writers on the title, his feelings about horror, seeding ideas into the series, the universality of fear, the versatility of The Silver Coin, experimenting in art, Silver Coin's covers, the rise of horror comics, The Oates & The Elphyne, how it ended up at Humanoids, whether he's entered a different phase of his career, and more.

Mar 7, 2022

Cartoonist Ronald Wimberly makes his debut on Off Panel this week, as he joins the show to chat about his upcoming Kickstarter for his stealth epic, GratNin. Wimberly discusses his earliest comics, cultural elements, his affinity for history, the origins of GratNin, how he viewed his path originally, playing with the comics form, the upcoming print edition of GratNin, his love of ninjas, the value of constraints, economy in art, what's in the GratNin print edition, and more.

Feb 28, 2022

In this week's episode of Off Panel, the publisher of Iron Circus Comics, C. Spike Trotman, joins to talk about going her own direction in crowdfunding The Poorcraft Cookbook. Trotman discusses mid-campaign feelings, advertising, differences between crowdfunding efforts, previous expectations for Iron Circus' path, reactions to Kickstarter's plans, building out her own platform, The Poorcraft Cookbook, the process of moving platforms, biggest concerns, serving niches, Nero Villagallos O'Reilly's work, big learnings from the campaign, how the industry has shifted since her first Kickstarter, and more.

Feb 21, 2022

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer/artist Christian Ward joins to talk about his work on titles like Aquaman: Andromeda and the upcoming Blood Stained Teeth. Ward discusses announcement day for the Aquaman title, underwater horror, the joy of that project, working with Ram V, developing his art style, the importance of color, adding writing to drawing, the origins of Blood Stained Teeth, the creative team of the book, unique approaches to vampires, eternal wealthy living, deciding which projects to take, Oscar Isaac, working on 3 Worlds, 3 Moons, and more. Quick bonus note: Shouts to Deanna Chapman, who stepped in to edit this episode, making it sound way better than usual. Thanks Deanna!

Feb 14, 2022

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Tom King returns to the show to discuss some of his latest work and his move over to Substack. King discusses the origins of Human Target, the appeal of finite stories, valuing art and artists, his most oppressed character, knowing yourself as a writer, taking big swings, working with John Paul Leon, turning Batman/Catwoman Special #1 into a JPL tribute, Mitch Gerads making everything work, going romance-ish with Love Everlasting, creator-owned versus for-hire, why they went to Substack, making Love Everlasting free, working with contrasts, the current comic industry environment, and more.

Feb 7, 2022

In this week's episode of Off Panel, the co-writer of Five Worlds and founder/editorial director of First Second, Mark Siegel, joins to chat about the story behind First Second and his latest graphic novel. Siegel discusses editor brain vs. creator brain, the early days of First Second, the range of their comics, how being raised in France affected his view on comics, how the publisher first came together, the size of First Second releases, how comics have changed over the past 16 years, Five Worlds, its origins, incorporating world change into story, working with family, hopes for the future, and more.

Jan 31, 2022

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Elsa Charretier returns to the show to talk about her new comic, Love Everlasting, with writer Tom King on Substack. Charretier discusses the new series, what Love Everlasting is, romance comics, pushing yourself as an artist, pairing up with King, how they made it to Substack, its appeal, why they made their comic free, whether it will be in print, how her YouTube show has affected her art, looking outside traditional structures, and more.

Jan 17, 2022

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Patrick Brower, the co-owner of Challengers Comics + Conversation, a comic shop in Chicago, joins to chat about the year in his store. Brower discusses his exhausting year, changing point-of-sale system, how the year was for the shop, the state of Wednesdays, what's working, the X-Men line, Reckless, Saga's return, what isn't performing well, Bad Idea, the lack of ongoings, Black Label, single issues versus graphic novels, the current distributors, supply chain issues, digital impacts, hopes for 2022, and more.

Jan 10, 2022

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Susana Polo, the Entertainment Editor at Polygon, joins to talk 2021 trends in comics and things we're anticipating in 2022. Polo discusses labor shifts, Substack, its potential longevity, tokusatsu taking a lead in comics, the Power Rangers Effect, Dawn of X's spread, leaning into design, the potential of a Marvel relaunch, its current state, DC getting itself sorted, Black Label's position, Webtoon and distribution, accessibility in comics, supply chain issues, Saga's return, and more.

Jan 3, 2022

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Juni Ba joins the show to chat about his upcoming Image series, Monkey Meat. Ba discusses the arrival of Monkey Meat, his art beginnings, figuring his work out, Mike Mignola's impact, storytelling environments, the impact of the internet, the origins of Djeliya, how Monkey Meat came together, finding joy in the work, following his passions, character design, building the career he wants, and more.

Dec 27, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist R. Kikuo Johnson joins to chat about my favorite comic of the year, his graphic novel, No One Else. We discuss Maui as an influence for him, his RISD experience, his editorial illustration work, the origins of No One Else, the work that went into it, its structure and format, comic strips, silence, simplifying his art, balancing the cast, parallels, character acting, the glory of Batman, the color and design of No One Else, whether comics will always be a part of his work, and more.

Dec 20, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, my pal Brandon Burpee returns for our year end spectacular once again. We discuss the year that was for us, how it was in comics, our awareness of what's going on in comics, Marvel and DC, the current state of the X-Men, binge reading versus monthly, Marvel Unlimited's changes, our favorite adaptations of the year, the comics that almost made the cut, and more, before we close with counting down our 20 favorite comics of the year.

Dec 13, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Kieron Gillen returns to talk about his current run of comics. Gillen discusses Immortal X-Men's announcement, its Mark Brooks drawn teaser, his audience, Once & Future's blend, fighting boredom, experimentation at Marvel, the usage of continuity, problem solving the Eternals, Sersi's place, The Machine's narration, why he went back to the X-Men, the cast of Immortal X-Men, his evolution as a writer, and more.

Dec 9, 2021

In a special episode of Off Panel recorded at Emerald City Comic Con 2021, artist Tula Lotay joined the show to chat about her art and the story behind it. Lotay discusses getting back to conventions, the origins of Thought Bubble, working in comic shops, the impact of influences, film's impact on her, covers versus prints, the appeal of her new title Barnstormers, sequential art, the look of her art, and more.

Dec 6, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Victoria Grace Elliott joins the show to talk about her debut graphic novel, Yummy: A History of Desserts. Elliott discusses pre-release hype, art and comic origins, getting into making comics, her webcomic Balderdash!, the roots of Yummy, the Random House Graphic connection, the structure of the book, nebulous histories, the guides to the story, injecting personality into the book, research, finding a balance between history and personality, Yummy's sequel, and more.

Nov 29, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, letterer Aditya Bidikar joins the show to chat about his career and lettering as a whole. Bidikar discusses managing workloads, health problems related to the work, getting into comics, lettering approaches, the language of comics, learning the craft, how the line artist affects the work, the impact of time, the important of collaboration, how much the role shifts project to project, the phases of lettering, getting back into writing, and more.

Nov 22, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Joshua Dysart joins to talk about his life and career. Dysart discusses his surprising first comic, his formative years, his atypical approach to typical stories, the terror of Swamp Thing, working on the B.P.R.D., artist collaborators, the greatness of Alberto Ponticelli, the origins of Unknown Soldier, respecting subjects, Odinn's Eye, the types of stories he wants to tell, his time at Valiant, Goodnight Paradise, the evolution of comics, and more.

Nov 15, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Christopher Sebela joins to chat about his very busy dance card these days. Sebela discusses the opening day of his Kickstarter for his new comic Foulbrood, figuring out each project, the evolution of Foulbrood, the appeal of Kickstarter, figuring out marketing, crowd-funding versus for-hire, what makes his new series .Self an interesting subject to tackle, Cara McGee, Dirtbag Rapture's jokey origin, the weirdness of the world, making dark ideas fun, his current work mix, and more.

Nov 8, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Pornsak Pichetshote joins to chat about his career and his current Image series, The Good Asian. Pichetshote discusses his comic origins, his time editing at Vertigo, learning about comics during that time, the origins of The Good Asian, how it evolved, the title's lead, Alexandre Tefenkgi's art, Dave Johnson's covers, how the covers reinforce the series, the current environment of comics, the title's future, and more.

Nov 1, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, retailer Steve Anderson joins to chat about his shops in the Maryland/Virginia area, Third Eye Comics. Anderson discusses the story behind Third Eye, differentiating his six shops, his expanding list of product lines, the shop's evolution, what's working for his shop, Marvel's weird place, Saga's return, the state of variants, Third Eye Buys, controlling his fate, where comics retail is, and more.

Oct 25, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Sloane Leong joins to talk about the latest graphic novel she wrote, Graveneye at TKO Studios. Leong discusses her first comics, sports comics, making your own rules, the EnterVOID experience, finding the right medium, the im,portance of color, Graveneye's origins, Anna Bowles' genius, the house as a narrator, art leading in the book, her relationship with her own art, exploring genres, her curiosity, and more.

Oct 18, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Cliff Chiang joins to chat about his new DC Black Label series, Catwoman: Lonely City. Chiang discusses the Prestige Plus format, watching heist movies as research, the origins of Catwoman: Lonely City, his Catwoman design, the adaptability of the character, the title's supporting cast, continuity, the real world being present, handling all aspects of a title, his emotional connection to the series, how he works, and more.

Oct 11, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Jonathan Hickman returns to talk about what's been happening in his world as of late. Hickman discusses this time of change, excitement levels, evolving how he does things, the recent X-Men retreat, his position at Marvel, his Substack for Three Worlds, Three Moons, the origins of that project, the greatness of Mike Huddleston and Mike Del Mundo, community, where things are headed, the positives and learnings from the X-Men experience, where Inferno fits in everything, and more.

Oct 4, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Matthew Rosenberg joins to chat about his upcoming Image series What's the Furthest Place from Here? Rosenberg discusses this busy stretch, the development of that series, world-building, the gangs from the book, Tyler Boss' art, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou's lettering, the value of variants, the deluxe editions of the series, putting vinyl records together, the promotional side of comics, and more.

Sep 27, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Christina Merkler - the co-owner of Discount Comic Book Service and Lunar Distribution - joins me to chat about her world. Merkler discusses a typical day in her job, the evolution of DCBS, learning curves, the main appeal of DCBS, how their ordering works, the pandemic lift, brick and mortar shops versus DCBS, the origins of Lunar, the multi-distributor model, managing issues, perceptions of Lunar, its expansion, supply chain issues, where the direct market is headed, and more.

Sep 20, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Terry Dodson joins the show to chat about his Image series Adventureman. Dodson discusses the past year for him, delighting in Adventureman, the importance of coloring for him, the title's release gap, their larger plans for the book and how they've evolved, the global nature of the story, creator-owned life, what he values in his art, conventions, and more, before we close with some Ted Lasso talk.

Sep 13, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, comics critic Oliver Sava returns for the eight millionth annual Superhero State of the Union. Sava discusses idealogical differences between Marvel and DC, different flavors of Batman, DC's current approach, Black Label, Wayne Family Adventures, event comics, general disruption in superhero comics, Marvel's Infinity Comics, the Avengers trinity, Marvel's lack of a plan, Hickman's departure from the X-Men, our favorite non-Marvel/DC superhero book, and more.

Sep 6, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, The Beat's Heidi MacDonald returns to the show to chat about the recent craziness in the comics world. MacDonald discusses recent events, what it means, the Substack deal, Substack's reading experience, its viability, ComiXology's big change, the retailer response to this digital wave, the DC/Webtoon deal, creators protecting themselves, conventions, the distribution situation, and more.

Aug 30, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, my pal Brandon Burpee returns to the show for another random episode covering comics and assorted other topics. Brandon and I chat about subjects like Substack, upcoming comic adaptations, cosmic beings and their lives, what we'd do with a billion dollars, superhero chefs, collecting vs. reading, the Phoenix Suns, fantasy football, continuity, surprising comics from 2021, maximum Batman, Image and AEW, event comics, and more, before we close with a superhero expansion draft.

Aug 23, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Chip Zdarsky returns to chat about his Substack deal and assorted other works. Zdarsky discusses his Substack offerings, the pressure of crowd-funding, the deal's origins, what appealed to him about it, whether it was a difficult move, how it changes things for him, getting back to art, Daredevil's weird spot, its co-leads, What If...?, working with Jason Loo, sustainability of self, and more.

Aug 16, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Joshua Barkman joins me to chat about his webcomic, False Knees. Barkman discusses the origins of the webcomic, how different formats affect it, when it became a real thing, how he starts his comics, timing and pacing, varying structures, the impact of social engagement, the value of reposting, the prints he sells, the tensions of the platforms he used, bird power rankings, and more.

Aug 9, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer/artist Skottie Young returns to catch up on what he's been up to and to chat about his new book, The Me You Love in the Dark. Young discusses release weeks, his past five years, the online store he launched, the world with no conventions, the origins of Stupid Fresh Mess, stepping back from interiors, Jorge Corona, the power of covers, The Me You Love in the Dark, its autobiographical nature, why it's a mini-series, Kansas City BBQ, and more.

Aug 2, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, the creator of the Key Collector Comics app, Nick Coglianese, joins to chat about the app, the exploding back issue market, and the app's position in that. Coglianese discusses what the app really is, the different aspects of it, the inspiration for it, the tension between readers and collectors/flippers, what's driving the insane collectors market, its sustainability, graded vs. ungraded, the app as an arbiter of what sells, the idea it's a speculator app, quirky things of the collector world, what's next for the app, and more.

Jul 26, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, retailer John Hendrick joins to chat about his shop, Dublin's Big Bang Comics. Hendrick discusses his first nerd love, the last year in the shop, their shift to toys, how the store itself has changed, changing consumer behaviors, the increase in work, trades and graphic novels, the explosion of young customers, whether this will keep going, the biggest thing he learned in the last year, his own happiness, and more.

Jul 19, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Maria Capelle Frantz joins to chat about her career and art. Frantz discusses growing up in Alaska, Alaska's impact on her storytelling, where her love of comics and art come from, short stories, making universal stories, learning from projects, the value of Helioscope Studios, imposter syndrome, generational differences, her upcoming Joan of Arc graphic novel, how she works, the importance of lettering, what she wants to do with her comics, and more.

Jul 12, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, the writer and artist behind the recently released graphic novel Everyone is Tulip, Dave Baker and Nicole Goux, join to chat about that release. Baker and Goux discuss the first days of its release, idea creation, the book's origins, its path to creation, social media, the Instagram Effect, the sadness of the book, atmosphere, finding publisher fits, the work behind the work, what's next, how Tulip impacted their partnership, and more.

Jul 5, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Karl Kerschl joins to talk about his currently being Kickstarted webcomic The Abominable Charles Christopher. Kerschl discusses Kickstarter stress levels, crowd-funding as a discoverability tool, Seinfeld, what Charles Christopher is about, its personal nature, the pacing of the comic, how format impacts the series, changes he made in the past year, print audiences versus webcomic ones, ending the story, the idea of mainstream comics, and more.

May 31, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer/artist Declan Shalvey joins to talk about his new series Time Before Time. Shalvey discusses working on art interiors, his schedule turning upside down, rethinking his path, managing creator-owned projects, Sasha Head's design, releasing Bog Bodies during the pandemic, Immortal Hulk Flatline, Time Before Time, the co-writing experience, writing for ongoings, world-building, the Time Before Time Kickstarter, and more.

May 24, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Kyle Starks joins me to chat about the upcoming The Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton. Starks discusses how the last year has been, adjusting to the new world order, how conventions open things up for him, expanding genres, the difficulty of funny comics, the origins of Trigger Keaton, partnering with Chris Schweizer, the cast and process of the book, balancing humor, catchphrases, and more, before we close with some serious basketball talk.

May 17, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Ed Brubaker returns to talk about his recent work in Friend of the Devil and Friday. Brubaker discusses how Friend of the Devil is doing, the graphic novel switch, Dad comics, how formats influence his writing, taking time for character, building Reckless, its position as a culmination of his work with Sean Phillips, showcasing character skills, the importance of Destroy All Monsters, graphic novels versus single issues, how characters evolve, bad movies, and more.

May 11, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Erica Schultz joins to chat about her career and the currently being Kickstarted The Deadliest Bouquet. Schultz discusses her path to comics, agency life, the appeal of the medium, what an Erica Schultz comic is, the importance of the hustle, her different roles, the impact of a good editor, The Deadliest Bouquet, the three sisters of the book, the creative team, Kickstarter, and more.

May 3, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Elsa Charretier joins to chat about her new YouTube channel and Image Comics series November. Charretier discusses her curiosity, delivering good looking products, the origins of and plan behind her YouTube channel, content plans, how she sees comics, launching with the right subjects, whether she's looking to reframe her career, protecting yourself, her new Patreon, what she learned from November, very good dogs, and more.

Apr 26, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Christopher Cantwell joins to chat about writing comics like Doctor Doom, Iron Man, and the upcoming The Blue Flame at Vault. Cantwell discusses why he decided to get into comics, his starting point for comics and TV, the feedback loop of comics, planning across mediums, how writing comics changed his relationship with them, managing continuity, B-list characters, marrying street level and cosmic, major characters with human issues, the origins of The Blue Flame, the idea of superheroes, the creative team on the book, what he's learned from his artistic collaborators, and more.

Apr 19, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Gerry Duggan joins to chat about his work in the X-Office. Duggan discusses his recent run of news, Cable's ending, the story they're telling, finite stories vs. ongoings, writing for different artists, the X-Men line as a glacier, the joyfulness of the X-Office, Russell Dauterman's design game, Marauders and continuity, the X-Men vote, the new X-Men team, and more.

Apr 12, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Frank Quitely joins to chat about his art and career. Quitely discusses keeping his pseudonym, why he went the illustration route originally, the impact of influences, being an influence himself, working with Grant Morrison and Mark Millar, why Flex Mentallo was such a challenge, having an outsider perspective, reinventing the X-Men, his Sandman short, innovating on We3, different ways to approach comics, the lasting impact of All-Star Superman, building Jupiter's Legacy, and more.

Apr 5, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, retailer Jenn Haines joins to talk about her shop The Dragon and being the President of comics retail trade organization ComicsPro. Haines discusses the origins of her shop's name, how The Dragon came to be, investing in the future of comics, her shop's product mix, the pandemic's impact, becoming ComicsPro's President, the Marvel/Penguin Random House deal, the future of comics, and more.

Mar 29, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Ram V joins the show to talk about his approach to writing, Swamp Thing, and the upcoming The Many Deaths of Laila Starr. Ram discusses his engineering background, how that affects his writing, being beholden to comics, curiosity, the impact of collaborators, why Swamp Thing stands out, freedom of story, how his Swamp Thing story came together, genres, the origins of Laila Starr, Filipe Andrade, the gods from the book, balancing workloads, and more.

Mar 23, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer - as well as the Co-President of Archie Comics - Alex Segura joins the podcast to talk about his currently being Kickstarted graphic novel The Dusk and Archie's progressive nature. Segura discusses the last year for him, how the pandemic affected his thinking, the origins of The Dusk, rethinking superheroes, all-ages comics, the team on the book, the appeal of co-writing, David Hahn's design, why he's such a crime guy, Archie's recent moves, being everywhere readers are, what's next for comics, and more.

Mar 15, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Rodney Barnes joins to talk about getting into comics after a career in TV and his work in Killadelphia at Image Comics. Barnes discusses why he got into comics, his love of Neal Adams, grounded stories, the connective nature of comics, the origins of Killadelphia, marrying ideas, the trauma of vampires, learning comics, the title's procedural nature, creating tension, Jason Shawn Alexander's work, the book's holistic feel and design, entering comics from another field, his upcoming Lakers series at HBO, and more.

Mar 8, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Andy Schmidt joins to talk about his career and work on the new Crime Syndicate mini-series at DC. Schmidt discusses all of his different roles in comics, how he decided to enter the fray, learning comics on the fly, the projects he learned the most from, writing comics, what happened with Generations, the appeal of working with DC, how Crime Syndicate came together, why it's different than other Syndicate stories, bad good guys, Earth 3, what's next for him, and more.

Mar 1, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Joëlle Jones joins to chat about her career and work on Future State: Wonder Woman and the upcoming Wonder Girl. Jones discusses how she decided to become a comic artist, her love of art, what spoke to her about comic art, how she became interested in writing, figuring that world out, the influence of just doing the work, the DC Talent Development Workshop, writing vs. art, her process, the appeal of darkness, the origin of Yara Flor, who the character is, how the pandemic helped her figure things out, and more.

Feb 22, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Vita Ayala joins the show to chat about New Mutants and the world of the X-Men. Ayala discusses the video conference era, X-Men origins, learnings from Prisoner X, answering questions in the work, how their New Mutants run came together, what's up with the kids, the New Mutants as teachers, the greatness of Rod Reis, the vibe of the book, X of Swords, synergizing powers, planting seeds, carrying collaboration into other projects, and more.

Feb 15, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, author Abraham Riesman joins to chat about his new book, True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee. Riesman discusses the pre-release response to the book, Stan Lee and Marvel's inseparability, what appealed to him about the project, Lee's relationship with his own life, the research process, the most interesting character from the process, the ambiguity of Marvel's origins, Stan the Brand, biggest surprises, Riesman's changing relationship with superheroes, becoming a biographer, and more.

Feb 8, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Chris Samnee joins to chat about his work on books like Fire Power and the upcoming Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters. Samnee discusses his post-Marvel time, why he went the directions he did, Fire Power's origins, looking back on his art, the appeal of simplicity, where Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters came from, working with his wife Laura, the importance of family, his monsters, Oni Press, why they went the single issue route, Matt Wilson, and more.

Feb 1, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, ComicsXF's Zack Jenkins joins me for a chat about the state of comic sites and his site's recent rebrand. Jenkins discusses the origins of the site, how it evolved, the power of rankings, researching the comic site landscape, finding new angles on content, letting writers do their thing, differentiating yourself, merging comic sites, the X-Men election, and more.

Jan 25, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Polygon's Comics Editor Susana Polo joins to chat about five things we're each watching for in comics in 20201. Polo discusses her comic book origin story, how The Mary Sue came together, her approach at Polygon, what's coming for DC, format changes, the box office schedule, digital's future, Mariko Tamaki on Detective Comics, Saga's return, convention reinvention, Scholastic + Marvel, creators going rogue, Wonder Woman: Historia, and more.

Jan 18, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Zander Cannon joins to chat about his Oni Press series, Kaijumax. Cannon discusses working from home, how the state of the world has affected his storytelling brain, Kaijumax's evolution, empathy in storytelling, what he's learned from the series, its season model, kaiju as proxies, the type of kaiju he'd be, and more.

Jan 11, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, retailer Patrick Brower returns to the show to chat about the year that was for his shop, Challengers Comics + Conversation in Chicago. Brower discusses his own year, what happened with Challengers' second shop, the year for the store overall, the volume of comics being released, new tactics, the need to change, explosive Wednesdays, new readers and disappearing pull list customers, the state of DC, the X-Men line, hopes for 2021, and more.

Jan 4, 2021

In this week's episode of Off Panel, the writer of my comic of the year - Ryan North - joins to share the story behind his adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five. North discusses his own history with the story, its impact on him, his reaction to the idea of adapting it, its fit as a comic book, the experience of adapting it, wham lines, the genius of Albert Monteys, the timing of its release, adapting stories into other mediums, the Billy Pilgrim in him, and more.

Dec 28, 2020

In this week's end of the year episode of Off Panel, my pal Brandon Burpee returns to the show for a chat about the year that was in comics. Brandon and I discuss how our years were, the year in comics, how the way we engage with media is shifting, X of Swords, the best current fit for Maggott, the Hill House line's viability, horror comics, and more, before we dive into the countdown of our respective 20 favorite comics of the year.

Dec 21, 2020

In this week's special episode of Off Panel, we look at the defining themes of 2020 in comics with the help of Random House Graphic's Publishing Director Gina Gagliano, Third Eye Comics' Steve Anderson, and The Beat's Heidi MacDonald. Up first is Gagliano (1:15), who talks about a year of revolutionary change, the year's impact on promoting and publishing comics, how the book market was affected, and the year that was in that market. After that is Anderson (27:57), who discusses the disappearing backlist of trades in the direct market, distributor changes, and how single issues were affected. And to close is MacDonald (59:46), who talks about the end of the single issue, the rise of the webcomic, and how the balance of formats is shifting.

Dec 14, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Sean Phillips joins the podcast to talk about his career, art and the soon-to-be-released Reckless. Phillips discusses his early start working in comics, where he learned the craft, the comics he grew up on, whether he would have been satisfied drawing superheroes, what he likes to draw, avoiding boredom, how quickly he and Ed Brubaker realized they jived together, the importance of finding a creative home, pushing your collaborators, Reckless, bringing characters to life, characters smoking, the graphic novel format, the Image deal, how he works, working with his son, Jacob, and more.

Dec 7, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Ed Brisson joins the podcast to chat about crime stories and the currently being Kickstarted Catch & Release: A Murder Book Story. Brisson discusses the Halifax life, how he got into comics, marrying that interest with crime, his personal connection to these stories, writing what you know, the stakes of the stories he likes, returning to Murder Book, his collaborators, why Kickstarter, creating rewards, his preferred Ghost Rider, and more.

Nov 30, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, the co-showrunner of HBO Max's Harley Quinn, Patrick Schumacker, joins to talk comics and all things Harley. Schumacker discusses his early love of comics, how that affected his interest in storytelling, the origins of varying comic projects, what he saw in Harley Quinn, the mundane aspects of supervillains, Harley's malleable nature, the good and bad of the character, Easter Eggs, Noonan's Bar, finding the right casting fits, and a whole lot more.

Nov 23, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, colorist Tamra Bonvillain joins the show to chat about her path to comics and the world of coloring. Bonvillain discusses her early attractions to the comics world, when art entered the picture, the Kubert School, flatting's position in the coloring world, her process, finding artists you mesh with, how those partnerships come together, what capacity looks like, how the job shifts artist to artist, layers, for hire vs. creator-owned, dream collaborators, supporting your role in comics, and more.

Nov 16, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, podcaster and original art collector Jason Wood joins to talk about the state of original art collecting. Wood discusses how he first got into original art collecting, where to start, the impact of art reps, his collection, deciding what to get, supporting new artists, why the market has blown up during the pandemic, original art vs. commissions, tips for new collectors, comic connections, his podcast 11 O'Clock Comics, the comics community, and more.

Nov 9, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Trung Le Nguyen joins the show to chat about their origins and The Magic Fish. Nguyen discusses The Magic Fish's relatively autobiographical nature, the importance of libraries, fairy tales, the magic and value of comics, when comics and art came in, how The Magic Fish came together, its fairy tale foundation, the power of stories, working with Random House Graphic, the book's colors, the importance of language, the Minnesota comics scene, the name Trungles, the glory of hens, and more.

Nov 2, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer/artist Chip Zdarsky joins the show to chat about the wider world of Chip. Zdarsky discusses how Sex Criminals changed things for him, its community driven nature, photo reference, future interior work, his time on Daredevil, working within parameters, the art of Daredevil, the bad guys of the book, the origins of Stillwater and Afterlift, the appeal of complete stories, building an identity, the attractiveness and rules of Stillwater, Ramon Perez's strength, the disappearance of his beard, and more.

Oct 26, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer James Tynion IV joins for a deep dive talk about horror comics and his new horror anthology Razorblades: The Horror Magazine. Tynion discusses where his love of horror stories came from, how they became ones he wanted to tell, how he fits the genre, his favorite horror comics, the strengths and weaknesses of horror in comics, the evolution of horror, the origin of Razorblades, why Gumroad is its home, his tactics for attracting readers, the creators and stories of Razorblades, writing for horror versus other genres, how his plans have shifted, and more.

Oct 19, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Jordan Blum joins to talk about the upcoming M.O.D.O.K. series on Hulu and the upcoming M.O.D.O.K.: Head Games mini-series he's co-writing with Patton Oswalt. Blum discusses his comic book origin story, the appeal of Marvel oddities, his TV writing career, the origins of the M.O.D.O.K. show, what they saw in the character, the angle they're taking, the iconic look of A.I.M., their approach to M.O.D.O.K.: Head Games, the impact of Jack Kirby, deep cut characters in the show, how they figured out what to include, the cast and look of the show, how the comic and show fit together, promoting the comic in the show, and more.

Oct 12, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Mark Sable joins to talk about his truly unique career and the upcoming Miskatonic at Aftershock. Sable discusses what connected him with comics, his winding path, his A-list collaborators, the importance of finding artists early on, the origins of Miskatonic, its foundation, the series lead, the current fascination with Lovecraftian stories, his touring of genres, the book's creative team, his work as a futurist, how that affects his thinking about comics, the New York Knicks, and more.

Oct 5, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, John Weddleton - the owner of my local comic book shop Bosco's - joins the show to talk about the history of the shop and what goes into running a comic shop in Alaska. Weddleton discusses what made him want to own a comic shop, the origins of Bosco's, his favorite comics, how comics have evolved, the expansion of the shop, events and community, the differences of having a comic shop in Alaska, the Alaska comics scene, how interest in varying product lines shift, the impact of the pandemic, finding a balance, the importance of good employees, how things have changed over his 33 years, why comics are so lasting, favorite memories, and more.

Sep 28, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer/artist Erica Henderson returns for a chat about her work and the upcoming Dracula, Motherfucker! Henderson discusses her eclectic projects, Dracula, Motherfucker! being on vibe for her, the look of vampires, the project's origins and appeal, horror stories, the clarity of the script's vibe, her changes of approach in this story, the creative side of coloring, working with Alex de Campi, the look of Dracula, making action scenes work, teaching art, pandemic projects, and more.

Sep 21, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Nick Roche joins the podcast to chat about his comics life and upcoming IDW series Scarenthood. Roche discusses growing up in a small town, stories sneaking up on you, his likability, when he first started reading comics, the development of his art, how he broke into comics, whether he wanted to do something smaller with Scarenthood, the scariness of being a parent, the origins of fear, character acting, telling more personal stories, shattering trousers, and more.

Sep 14, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, The AV Club's comics critic Oliver Sava returns for the fifth annual Superhero State of the Union. Sava and I discuss the state of the X-Men, our five favorite X-Books, the connectivity of superhero stories, Al Ewing's elite nature, the importance of events, the general shape of Marvel, Donny Cates' position at Marvel, superhero titles that are keeping it fresh, what's working at DC, the greatness of Tom Taylor, Wonder Woman: Dead Earth, Black Label, DC's new focus, how DC can fix things, what a DC HoX/PoX could look like, the future of these publishers, and more.

Sep 7, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Scott Snyder joins the podcast to chat about his currently being Kickstarted series, Nocterra. Snyder discusses the origins of...everything involving that project, why he's going heavier on creator-owned and Kickstarter, his scripts, the importance of doing your own thing, the three pillars to his approach, the universality of fear, the power of darkness, his path to comics, the Kickstarter team, the importance of not being boring to yourself, finding your own answers, and more.

Aug 31, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer and TKO Studios editor-in-chief Sebastian Girner joins to chat about his new series The Devil's Red Bride at Vault and the world of TKO. Girner discusses the origins of The Devil's Red Bride, women samurai, scratching different itches, working with other editors, when the fear hits, the art on the book, samurai comics in America, the appeal of revenge stories, what's up with TKO, what happens between each wave, whether the editing process is different at TKO, editor brain vs. writer brain, and more.

Aug 24, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, general contrepreneur and the co-founder of Lightbox Expo Jim Demonakos returns to the show to talk the Expo and conventions. Demonakos discusses Lightbox Expo's origins, its educational side, what Artist Alley was like for it, what makes it work, the pandemic decision making process, its impact on the event, their virtual artist alley, paneling at the event, the event's artist database, the future of conventions, how online elements could factor in, what's missing without physical conventions, and more.

Aug 17, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, retailer Brandon Schatz joins the show to chat about the shop Variant Edition he co-owns (with his wife, Danica LeBlanc) in Edmonton, Alberta. Schatz discusses the origins of Variant Edition, opening on Free Comic Book Day, their product mix, the wider view of comic shops, delivery, what works in his shop, all-ages comics, the importance of production value, online sales, the power of back issues, how single issues are doing, comics with a purpose, and more.

Aug 10, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Jesse Lonergan joins to chat about making comics like his recent Image Comics one-shot, Hedra. Lonergan discusses his foundational comics, the impact his roots had on his work, the appeal of more visual comics, traditional inking, his approach to art, the origins of Hedra, the 5x7 grid in the book, story vs. feel, whether creative parameters makes the work more interesting, how Hedra made it to Image, digital vs. print for the comic, and more.

Aug 4, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Stephen Mooney joins the show to chat about crowdfunding and his upcoming Kickstarter for Half Past Danger Christmas Special. Mooney discusses the pandemic, how it has affected his thinking about comics, figuring out crowdfunding, the conversation amongst creators about what's next, Half Past Danger's story, the power of nostalgia, the guest list on Half Past Danger Christmas Special, why a Christmas special, the physicality of comics, rare covers, building rewards in crowdfunding, surprising parts of crowdfunding, his abilities in Star Trek: Bridge Crew, and more.

Jul 27, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Al Ewing returns to chat about his busy dance card at Marvel and beyond. Ewing discusses where he's at in Immortal Hulk, how Alex Ross' covers guide his work, the hammer issues, the political tones and anger of the book, continuity, what he's going for in Guardians of the Galaxy, unifying cosmic Marvel, structure in superhero comics, how different co-writing Empyre has been versus other co-writing projects, his upcoming BOOM! series We Only Find Them When They're Dead, why he wanted to go creator-owned, why BOOM!, karaoke faves, and more.

Jul 20, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Comichron's John Jackson Miller joins to chat about his big yearly comic sales report he did in partnership with ICv2's Milton Griepp. Miller discusses whether the record setting year in comics surprised him, how the report comes together, back issues, whether single issue comics have hit their ceiling, collectibility, libraries, comics vs. graphic novels, misunderstandings of the data, pandemic projects, Diamond's health, the idea of a Dog Man bubble, his writing on projects like Star Trek: Discovery - Die Standing, and more.

Jul 13, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Robert Kirkman returns to the show to chat about Fire Power and Negan Lives. Kirkman discusses the story of Fire Power, working Chris Samnee, its first idea, the pressure of the Walking Dead, balancing his workload, his love of experimentation, what he's learned from it, why Negan Lives happened, how it came together, The Walking Dead's ending, format impacting story, how his own fandom impacts his comics, how the pandemic is affecting his thinking on comics, and more.

Jul 6, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Rob Guillory returns to the show to check in on Farmhand at the midway point and to chat about the state of comics. Guillory discusses Farmhand's hiatus, creator-owned comics as a business, how his creative process has evolved, how Farmhand has changed, the expansion or contraction of character roles and story beats, the importance of Riley and Abigail, the impact of story formats, the value of single issues, finding your audience, how the pandemic has affected how he thinks of comics, returning to Chew, and more.

Jun 29, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Caitlin Yarsky joins to chat about her path to comics and upcoming Image series, Bliss. Yarsky discusses her initial designs on becoming an illustrator, how work in non-comics fields affected her, the inspiration of Sandman, the expansiveness of comics, the value of freedom, her recent Buffy story, why she wanted to work in comics, learning curves, finding your style, photo reference, why she does everything in her work, the origins of Bliss, what she learned during Coyotes, why she inks traditionally, designing Feral City, her teaching experience, and more.

Jun 22, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, my pal Brandon Burpee returns for another quarantine question and answer session, at least partially driven by you, the listeners. Topics discussed include our love of collecting, QB equivalents in comics, whether we think sports should come back, the longevity of the New 52 and Rebirth, quarantine binges, Wizard Magazine in 2020, Last Dance-style documentaries, X of Swords, HOXPOXing Marvel's line, the value of creator social media accounts, deep cut Marvel Unlimited reads, the impact of the pandemic, desired time travel trips, DC's divorce from Diamond, the most promising comic markets, what comics we would Grand Design, and more.

Jun 15, 2020

In this week's fifth anniversary episode of Off Panel, writer/artist Liana Kangas joins the show to chat about her comic book story. Kangas discusses her early love of fine art, how working in a comic shop affected her, the importance of the people she met coming up, how anthologies helped her, the upside of longer stories, working with Vault, her continuing evolution as an artist, her upcoming TKO project, how it feels to co-write a comic, how her art brain affects her writing, helping the world while working, managing burn out, her upcoming podcasts, and more.

Jun 8, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Jeff Smith joins the show to chat about his immensely popular comic series, Bone. Smith discusses how he started on the path towards publishing Bone, fusing comic strips with comic books, the importance of freedom, how much he learned on the job, how the story expanded and contracted, respecting young readers, balancing tones, the value of taking risks, the evolution of comics, how the One Volume Edition of Bone changed things, multi-generational fandom, the Scholastic deal, leading off Graphix, revisiting Bone today, and more.

Jun 6, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Brian Michael Bendis makes his debut appearance on the show to discuss...well, really a little of everything from his entire career. Bendis discusses how his background in art affects how he thinks about comics, working with artists who are friends versus those who aren't, learning on the job, where Marvel was when he started, his uncertainty in telling superhero stories, the greatness of the aughts at Marvel, what he learned from Avengers Disassembled, longevity, the power of fear in creation, Miles Morales, the importance of change, the unique challenges of the X-Men, the importance of paying it forward, whether certain art styles fit his work better, openness to new ideas, the roots of Wonder Comics, balancing multiple projects, and more.

May 25, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Jeff Lemire returns to the show to discuss his currently being Kickstarted graphic novel Cosmic Detective and his approach to making comics. Lemire discusses the origins of Cosmic Detective (and other ideas), why he jives with Matt Kindt, the power of unscheduled creation, writing for David Rubin, why they Kickstarted the book, what guides Black Hammer's expansion, the greatness of Tonci Zonjic, the impact of collaboration, the appeal of experimentation, getting back to for-hire work, drawing the Legion, Andrea Sorrentino's productivity, Sweet Tooth's return, and more.

May 18, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, retailer Menachem Luchins joins the show for a chat about his shop Escape Pod Comics and retail in the time of a pandemic. Luchins discusses the origins of his shop, what his hopes were, the product lines that work for him, comics and community, the problem with single issues, where DC is, readers versus customers, comics retail in the coronavirus era, the divisiveness of retail, short term thinking, "new comics," change versus staying the same, Diamond's return, and more.

May 11, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Marcos Martin joins to chat about his new series Friday and the world of Panel Syndicate. Martin discusses why he approached Ed Brubaker to work together, the appeal of Ed's writing, the creative back and forth, character development, collaboration, bringing the 1970s to life, the length of Panel Syndicate comics, how they feel different, comic schedules, his influx of cover work, the fundamentals of Panel Syndicate, and more.

May 4, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Ngozi Ukazu joins the show to chat about her recently wrapped series, Check, Please! Ukazu discusses its origins, how the story expanded as it went along, comics and sports, our mutual love of the NBA, what fascinated her about hockey, why vlogging and baking, the value of hockey shit, comedy in comics, how her work grew during that time, her next big project, the Check, Please! community, and more.

Apr 27, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Ed Brubaker joins the show to chat about his new series Friday and his approach to storytelling. Brubaker discusses the appeal of Friday, the flexibility of Panel Syndicate, world building, working with Marcos Martin, how ideas come together, threads between projects, collaboration, comic communities, where comics are now, working in other formats, what's next for him and Sean, and more.

Apr 20, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Heidi MacDonald from The Beat returns to the show for a chat about the state of comics during a pandemic, which, I should note, was recorded Thursday evening before the insanity of Friday (we did an addendum in the episode). MacDonald discusses how her world is, comics changing from the inside, conventions, whether Diamond would be the only direct market distributor at the end of this, comics' obsession with the new, DC's distribution solutions, DCBS and Midtown as retailers/distributors, doing this when shops can't even open, the William Schanes story, AWA and Bad Idea, the state of Image, the book market, ComicHub vs. retailer solutions, who she's concerned about, learning from this experience, the comics community, and more.

Apr 13, 2020

In this special anniversary episode of Off Panel, my pal Brandon Burpee returns for the 250th episode of the podcast. It's an all random episode, as Off Panel listeners and I generated a monster list of topics for us to discuss, and discuss we did. Subjects included the dumb characters we rep for, the quarantine life, the ComicHub situation, inventions we'd remove, comic bad boys, Maggott, most exciting/traumatic story beats, which comic character would solve the coronavirus crisis first, Dawn of X, Bill and Ted, best quarantine pals, varying sports topics, our ideal Pokemon squad, superheroes who would fail at social distancing, and a whole lot more. It's ridiculous.

Mar 30, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Iron Circus Comics' C. Spike Trotman joins the show to chat about her publisher and current Kickstarter for Lackadaisy: The Animated Short Film. Trotman discusses how she and Iron Circus are handling the current crisis, being a multimedia company, why she started Iron Circus Comics, the power of Kickstarter, the story behind Lackadaisy: The Animated Short Film, the rewards for the Kickstarter, what made this project appealing, the value of stretch goals, launching during a crisis, what she looks for in projects, the impact of production value, differentiating yourself, and more.

Mar 28, 2020

In this special episode of Off Panel, my good friend and talented natural sciences artist Amanda Jorgenson joins the show to talk about our friendship, her work, and how the coronavirus has affected the latter. Jorgenson discusses the origins of our friendship, lasting friends, how she became an artist, moving away from a narrative focus with her art, the art hustle, whether that required a personality shift, how she went towards natural sciences, comic conventions, always improving, being in Seattle during the rise of the coronavirus, adjusting to this new world order, what kind of work she has on sale on her site, what she wants for her career, and more.

Mar 27, 2020

In this episode of Off Panel, cartoonist John Allison returns to the show to chat about Wicked Things and his favorite shows to shelter-in-place with. Allison discusses the origins of Wicked Things, the greatness of Lottie Grote, showboating versus reality, working with Max Sarin, finding his ceiling, learning what works for you and what doesn't, world-building, detective stories, the potential end of the Bobbinsverse, and more, before we dive into John's five self-quarantining TV recommendations that double as inspirations for him as a creator.

Mar 26, 2020

In this episode of Off Panel, The AV Club's Oliver Sava returns to the show to provide comic recommendations for everyone who is at home during the coronavirus pandemic. Sava and host David Harper share ten comics they love that people can find at their local comic book shop or on varying online platforms, discussing what makes them favorites in the process.

Mar 25, 2020

In this episode of Off Panel, John Hendrick of Dublin's Big Bang Comics joins the podcast to chat about running a comic shop during the coronavirus pandemic. Hendrick discusses how it's going for him, how he would have handled the situation for comics retail, the publishers that helped, the failures of Diamond, Marvel and DC, what the best response would have been, the impact of Marvel and DC going digital first (if they did it), his Marvel order from Tuesday, Marvel's deep discount offer, Diamond stopping shipments, ComicHub, rebuilding the direct market, how readers can help shops, how David would have handled this, and more.

Mar 24, 2020

In this episode of Off Panel, White Squirrel's Andrea Demonakos returns to the show to chat about earning options for creators in a con-less period. Demonakos discusses the state of things in her neck of the woods, how the coronavirus crisis has affected White Squirrel's work, adjusting plans, advice for creators on what to do with existing products, products creators can lean towards, mechanics for selling your work, what platforms to work with, crowd-funding options, the value of learning from others, and more.

Mar 23, 2020

In this episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Tyler Boss joins the podcast to chat about his work and upcoming mini-series Dead Dog's Bite. Boss discusses his comic origin story, his love of Daredevil, the School of Visual Arts experience, finding different solutions for his art, working at Forbidden Planet, the origins of Dead Dog's Bite, whether he thinks art first, when art becomes writing, finding rhythms, his feelings towards small towns, creating in a time of crisis, and more.

Mar 16, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Terry Dodson joins to show to discuss his art and work in X-Men/Fantastic Four and Adventureman. Dodson discusses making comics during a national emergency, why Emerald City Comic Con rules, how important interiors are for him, the power of covers, the origins of Adventureman, his influences, the two sides of his career, world building, why X-Men/Fantastic Four jives with him, how he works with his wife (and inker) Rachel, where comics are today relative to when he started, and more.

Mar 9, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, the writer/artist pair of Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey join the show to chat about their partnership and current Kickstarter for The Comic Book History of Animation. Van Lente and Dunlavey discuss their meet cute, how they became "history guys," how they pick their subjects, making history comics pop, why they wanted to tell the history of animation, how they split the eras, the process for them on projects, why they went with Kickstarter, the volume of comics being released today, marketing a Kickstarter, and much more.

Mar 2, 2020

Writer/artist Elsa Charretier joins the podcast to chat about her art and latest works. Charretier discusses the work of a Kickstarter, the importance of a personal touch, her origins as an artist, her love of beauty, bringing characters to life, influences and impact, the freedom that comes without expectations of form and story, the origins of her graphic novella series November, the book's creative team, the challenges of the project, how creatively fulfilling her artbook project was, her desire to go the DIY route, and more.

Feb 24, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Sanford Greene returns to the show to chat about what's going on in the world of Bitter Root. Greene discusses how the first arc went, how cons have changed after the launch of the book, whether the movie deal changes things for them, the gap between arcs, what the new arc of Bitter Root is all about, how the team works together, their new editor and colorist, why they did the Blood Red Summer special, the expandability of their universe, their homage variants, and more, before we close with some NBA talk about the recent All Star Game, Kobe Bryant, his all-time crunch time squad, and more.

Feb 17, 2020

The Co-CEO and Co-CCO of new comics publisher Bad Idea, Dinesh Shamdasani, joins Off Panel to give a download on their...atypical business model. Shamdasani discusses why Bad Idea was something they wanted to do, how wider distribution limits quality, what their goals are, the decision to not include variants, the dissonance between making great comics and making them less accessible, the reason for no trades or digital, who their target audience is, what they are looking for in their 20 starter shops (quick note: they are only going to be in 20 shops to start with), adding to retailer workloads, restricting accessibility, pitching creators on this new structure, what kind of deal they offer creators, and a whole lot more.

Feb 10, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer/artist Declan Shalvey returns to the show to chat about his upcoming graphic novel, Bog Bodies, and his upcoming mini-series, The Punisher vs. Barracuda. Shalvey discussed the big moments of his career to date, Moon Knight's lasting nature, why he wanted to do The Punisher vs. Barracuda, his covers on the book, taking different approaches to covers, getting back into interiors, his increased writing workload, how that reframed how people perceive him, the origins of Bog Bodies, flipping expectations, what he learned while making his first graphic novel, and more.

Feb 3, 2020

Cartoonist Gene Luen Yang joins Off Panel to chat about his work and his upcoming graphic novel, Dragon Hoops. Yang discusses what made him fall in love with comics, his love of telling stories, the development of Dragon Hoops, whether he resisted making a basketball book considering his (previous) distaste of the sport, telling a story set in the real world, the secret identities of athletes, figuring out the structure of the book, the inclusion of basketball history, handling real people in real time, how his relationship with basketball changed, what he learned about himself and storytelling over the experience, and more.

Jan 27, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer and filmmaker Darcy Van Poelgeest joins the show to share the story behind the making of his Image Comics series, Little Bird. Van Poelgeest discusses why he wanted to make a comic, why Little Bird was a natural fit as a comic, its long gestation period, partnering with artist Ian Bertram, the book's creative team, the comic book creative process, how lettering affects pace, the title's origins, its path to Image, why it became a hardcover first, the importance of design, the crash course of his first comics experience, and more.

Jan 20, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, the co-owner of Chicago's Challengers Comics + Conversation comic shops, Patrick Brower, joins to chat about 2019 in comics retail. Brower discusses their opening of a second shop, what goes into opening a store, the state of comics retail relative to when Challengers first opened, the rise of the mini-series, what's working for them, differentiating titles today, how the year was for them, risk aversion, figuring out what customers want, second issues, how BOOM! Studios is handling things, whether he'd like more experimentation from comic publishers, the in-store comics conversation, whether he still loves comics, and more.

Jan 13, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, comics marketer David Hyde from Superfan Promotions joins the show. Hyde discusses his background with comics, the things that make us love them, what he learned from working in book stores and at book publishers, the learning curve of promoting comics, his time at DC, the New 52 experience, why he decided to start Superfan promotions (which arrives at 29:50 and begins the marketing talk), paying attention to marketing outside of comics, connecting viewers of comics media to the comics themselves, the important parts of comics marketing, the news cycle, whether the old standards of comics marketing still work, the comics marketing playbook, what can be learned from House of X and Powers of X, whether comics marketing is limited by the distribution model, and more.

Jan 6, 2020

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Jen Wang joins the podcast to chat about her career, craft and latest graphic novel, Stargazing. Wang discusses her Twitter handle, what her webcomics experience taught her about making comics, her art process, the importance of community, how her work has evolved, the origins of Stargazing, the universality of stories, working on a middle grade book, putting herself in the story, not coloring herself on Stargazing, giving herself breaks, keeping momentum going, Comic Arts LA, Alaska Robotics Mini-Con, and more.

Dec 30, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Matthew Rosenberg returns to the show to chat about writing and Hawkeye: Freefall. Rosenberg discusses how things change when you're writing a comic where you know what's coming next, his X-Men run, taking risks in stories, managing reader expectations, patience in storytelling, the origins of Hawkeye: Freefall, standing out from previous with the character, what makes a good Hawkeye comic to him, finding new angles with existing characters, why The Hood and Ronin are in Hawkeye, Otto Schmidt's art, the appeal of shorter stories, and more.

Dec 23, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Jeff Loveness joins the show to chat about comedy and writing and his BOOM! series Strange Skies Over East Berlin. Loveness discusses his comic origins, how reading comics affected his comedy and storytelling, why he chooses to write comics, how situation changes the way we engage with stories, how comedy prepared him for comics, the origins of Strange Skies Over East Berlin, the impact of his collaborators, the title's amazing covers, learning to write comics, the loss of privacy, balancing comedy and drama, and more. Note: Jeff's audio quality starts a little low, but it picks up a couple minutes in.

Dec 16, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, my pal Brandon Burpee returns to the podcast for a year in review episode. We discuss the year that was, the impact having good X-Men comics has on us as readers, how much we engage with comic sites, how our reading habits are changing, the honorable mentions for the year that was, before we dive into counting down our 20 favorite comics of the year.

Dec 9, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Gerry Duggan joins the show for a deep dive discussion about Marauders. Duggan shares his X-Men origin story, what makes Kate Pryde so great, how Marauders came together, the X-Men writers room, the energy of the book, its playbook, how the X-Titles got their casts, his thoughts on the whole cast, political vs. character decisions, balancing fandom with story needs, planning long-term for a title and the line, whether we're at Peak Fanboy Gerry Duggan, and more.

Dec 5, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer/artist Jonathan Luna joins the show for a special podcast in Anchorage, Alaska about his new series 20XX. Luna discusses the influence of growing up outside the US, how he started making his own comics, the development of his style, why he went black and white on 20XX, the cost of art, the origins of 20XX, why Alaska for its setting, how the contrasts in his stories come together, the implication of the title, the technology of the future, why he decided to create a short story made entirely by him, and more.

Nov 25, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Mark Waid joins the podcast for a career-spanning chat examining his writing. Waid discusses how his early jobs editing comics and writing about them affected his storytelling approach, how he became a writer, his love of writing himself into a corner, where his love of problem solving comes from, how The History of the Marvel Universe fits in there, Javier Rodriguez's greatness, why he loved writing Impulse so much, the intersection of writing young characters + knowing comic history, what continuity means to him, comics in mourning, differentiating H1 from other superhero universe, his love of not being in a box, why Ignited appealed to him as a storyteller, what the most interesting thing happening in comics today is to him, and more.

Nov 18, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Daniel Warren Johnson joins the podcast to talk about his art and Wonder Woman: Dead Earth. Johnson discusses how his career has changed since Extremity, the elevating nature of telling your own stories, how life drives adaptation, Wonder Woman: Dead Earth as a palate cleanser, why Dead Earth was the right next step, finding a new angle for the character, introducing fallibility, the idea of hope, developing the look of the book, working off the Black Label setup, the pressure of commissions, Old Man Skywalker, and more.

Nov 4, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Sam Humphries joins the show to talk about Dial H for Hero. Humphries discusses how the different parts of his career impact him as a storyteller, touring his personal history of comics in Dial H, the style shifting of the book, its origins, Joe Quinones' fit on the book, the importance of legacy, experimentation in storytelling, the title's unique 8th issue, expanding from six issues to 12, the guest artists of issue #7, the addictive nature of superpowers, and more.

Oct 28, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Jonathan Hickman joins the show to talk about his rather notable relaunch of the X-Men. Hickman discusses how he's doing post House of X and Powers of X, uniting the X-Men fans, the cohesion of the line, the state of the X-Men, how this whole project came together, the collaborative nature of these books, how being an X-Men fan changed the experience of writing them, the assembling of the creative team, being additive, not destructive, the importance of value, what his job really is on the X-Men line, evolving the X-Men, why New Mutants as his other title, interconnectivity between his own stories, whether Krakoa has a baseball field, and more.

Oct 21, 2019

In another episode of Off Panel recorded at New York Comic Con, artist Rosemary Valero-O'Connell joins the show to talk about the graphic novel she did with Mariko Tamaki, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me. Valero-O'Connell discusses her notably good few weeks, balancing drawing Laura Dean with going to college, the important of working on this book for her, bringing characters to life, her love of details, drawing, coloring and lettering the book herself, her paneling and layout choices, working with Tamaki, the greatness of First Second, making the comics she wants to make, and more.

Oct 17, 2019

In a special episode of Off Panel recorded at New York Comic Con 2019, writer Brian K. Vaughan joins the podcast to talk about his approach to comics and more. Vaughan discusses writing for non-comic readers, how creator-owned helps with that, Fiona Staples' glory, capitalizing on the freedoms his success provides him, how he changes his writing depending on his collaborator, coming full circle with Paper Girls, the value of taking a break, the power of community, and more.

Oct 14, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Dave Baker joins the show to talk about his Kickstarter for his comic with Alexis Ziritt, Night Hunters, and what drives him as a creator. Baker discusses the NYCC experience, his different interests as a creator, existing in different sides of comics at once, his love of Todd McFarlane, charting his own path, the story behind Night Hunters, working with Ziritt, partnering with Floating World, the stresses of Kickstarter, con life, the value of having a con crew, and more.

Sep 30, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, The Beat's Heidi MacDonald returns to the podcast for a bit of a New York Comic Con precap and check-in on the world of comics. MacDonald discusses her view on cons, the celebrity circuit, how that scene is changing, how The Beat works, adjusting to the new media landscape, the state of comics right now, New York Times bringing the best selling graphic books back, changes at Diamond, the three publishers she's most intrigued by, what we're looking forward to at NYCC, and more.

Sep 23, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Matt Kindt joins the podcast to talk about his career and the upcoming Folklords at BOOM! Studios. Kindt discusses his early comic beginnings, art school, his desire to learn new things, the origins of Folklords, Matt Smith's greatness, the idea of quests, fighting boredom, HEK Studio, his mech story in the upcoming HEK Treasury, his love of Ninjak, and more.

Sep 16, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, comics critic and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou returns to the show to chat about his Eisner winning comics magazine, PanelxPanel. Otsmane-Elhaou discusses the Eisner win, how he manages the magazine, where its feature comics come from, comics marketing, the PxP redesign, the advantages of doing a paid PDF instead of a website, the upcoming PxP pocket books, the appeal of lettering, what his approach is, lettering tips, the start to the Dallas Cowboys season (note: this was recorded right after the Patriots signed Antonio Brown, so knowledge of his situation was limited), and more.

Sep 9, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, retailer Brian Hibbs returns to the podcast to talk about how the year is going for his two San Francisco comic shops, Comix Experience and Comix Experience Outpost. Hibbs discusses the impact of House of X and Powers of X, their weekly nature, the limit to the ceiling of those titles, what could have been done to reach that ceiling, Once & Future and print run games, whether DC and Image reducing their lines has helped, exploding graphic novel sales, his graphic novel clubs, the growth of speculation, transitioning HoX/PoX readers into Dawn of X readers, and more.

Sep 2, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, my pal Brandon Burpee joins me for a little something different, as we did a House of X and Powers of X focused episode themed after ESPN's Pardon the Interruption. What does that mean? Each topic is timed, as we discuss our feelings on the titles overall, our opinion on the Moira retcon, what we think Moira's sixth life was, the data pages, the MVP of the titles so far, our favorite changes to the larger X-Men story, Chimera mutants, Destiny's position, how many of the X-Men titles that follow we'll be reading, and a whole lot more. Needless to say, spoilers will be discussed.

Aug 27, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, the writer and artist of Pumpkinheads, Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks, join the podcast to chat about their new graphic novel. The pair discusses what they liked about each other's work before working together, why these characters spoke to them, Deja's greatness, whether this was the first comic Rainbow wrote, their visit to a pumpkin patch in Nebraska, chapter breaks, the map in the book and its importance, building the cast of the book, what impressed them about each other once they had worked together, and more.

Aug 19, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Charlie Adlard joins the podcast for a chat about ending The Walking Dead and what comes next for him. Adlard shares why exactly The Walking Dead ended, ending with issue #193, the surprise ending, his emotions related to it, the pressures of an endless deadline, the power of inking, having longevity on a project, the freedom The Walking Dead provided, telling your own comic stories, his love of the French comics scene, what he wants next from comics, his fondest memories from The Walking Dead, and more.

Aug 12, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Cliff Chiang returns to the podcast to chat about ending Paper Girls. Chiang discusses how much they had sketched out from the jump, the callbacks in the finale, telling a long running story in 2019, building a community, the look of the covers, Jared K. Fletcher's impact, Matt Wilson's secret power, those two being co-creators rather than hired guns, the difference of creator-owned, staying on schedule, what he learned during the series, what's next for him, and more. Oh, and in case you are concerned, we do not get into spoiler territory for the comic in this episode, keeping it to generalities and emotions related to the issue within.

Aug 5, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Phillip Sevy joins the show to talk about his new series Triage and his unique path to comics. Sevy discusses his foundational comic pieces, what made him want to draw comics, how his comics nostalgia fed into Triage, what he learned as a SCAD student, the Top Cow Talent Hunt, the impact Tomb Raider had on him, the story behind Triage, the value of representation, the theme of identity, the trading cards he made for Triage, and more, before we close with a brief chat about the glory of House of X #1 and Powers of X #1.

Jul 29, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, designer Tom Muller joins to walk us through his work on the X-Men relaunch in House of X and beyond. Muller discusses how much of his workload is comics, how he decides which projects to take on, when he came onboard for the X-Men books, how his initial "X" is carrying throughout the books, the initial wave of X-Men logos, how he and line maestro Jonathan Hickman worked together, whether this project felt different than usual, design as storytelling, the Big Two and design, his fake House of X/Powers of X billboards, the importance of taking in other media for creatives, and more.

Jul 22, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Steve Lieber joins to chat about his new series, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen and his position as a trusted mentor in the comic book world. Lieber discusses the attention paid to Jimmy Olsen, the title's development, DC's reaction to the book's oddness, how he and writer Matt Fraction collaborate on the title, the importance of pie, his Jimmy Olsen memories, becoming a "funny" artist, the key to making comedy work, his love of helping others, how much the industry has changed, specialization in the comic industry, comic marketing, his advice to newer creators, and more.

Jul 15, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, The AV Club's Oliver Sava returns for our annual chat about the state of superheroes. Sava discusses where superhero comics are right now, DC's big changes, Marvel and DC's current architects, Bendis killing it on DC, Immortal Hulk, the coming Hickman era on the X-Men, Tom Taylor's greatness, recent moves by creators, house styles in art, The Joker and Harley Quinn's immense presence, Ink and Zoom's launch books, Squirrel Girl's coming end, what we're excited for on the horizon, and more.

Jul 8, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, comic retailer and the founder of ComicHub, Stu Colson, joins to talk about ComicHub - a hybrid point of sale and marketing solutions systems (of a sort) and why he decided to create this potentially game changing new system for comic shops. Colson discusses how he got into comics retail, the differences between American and New Zealand shops, what exactly ComicHub is, its origins, how it aids in discoverability, his partnership with BOOM! Studios, developing partners, comics being slow to change, managing sell-through data, prospecting for new customers, his hopes for the future of comics, and more.

Jul 1, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Brenna Thummler joins the show to talk about her path to comics and her graphic novel, Sheets. Thummler discusses her education and pre-comics plans, her original desire to not work in comics, what finally connected her to comics, illustration as storytelling, her first comic experience, her approach as a comics outsider, the development of Sheets, letting the art speak first, character acting, her colors, having her book represented on Free Comic Book Day, its upcoming sequel, Delicates, some spicy peanut butter takes, and more.

Jun 24, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Christopher Sebela joins to talk about his writing on titles like Test and Crowded. Sebela discusses his recent efforts to take weekends for himself, getting out of the house on dog walks, his project notebooks, how they help his process, putting himself into his work, working at a test marketing firm, what his Test pitch is, its origins, what's next for Crowded, the book's cast, the success of creator-owned books, merch in comics, how much he's working on at on time, and more.

Jun 17, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, retailer Jacob Sareli joins to talk about his shop Comikaza, the first comic shop ever in Israel. Sareli discusses how he got into comics, the Israel comics scene, how he ended up taking over Comikaza, how the shop has evolved, what's working for his shop, the impact of manga and kids comics, how the past couple years have been, what he'd like to see more of, what doesn't work in his shop, Free Comic Book Day's impact, his shop's demographics, and more.

Jun 10, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Michael Walsh joins the podcast to talk about his work and the upcoming Black Hammer/Justice League: Hammer of Justice! Walsh discusses his fantastic author photo, finding a balance between his desires as an artist, the types of stories he's worked on, his experience on Secret Avengers, photo reference, adapting The Last Jedi, reflecting on his work, working with Jeff Lemire, the challenges of Black Hammer/Justice League, coloring himself, talent versus work, what he turns to if he needs a push as an artist, horror comics, Emily Carroll's greatness, and more, before we dive into five questions about Michael Walsh, the person.

Jun 3, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, the CCO & Editor-in-Chief and CEO & Publisher of Vault Comics - Adrian and Damian Wassel - join the podcast to talk about the world of Vault. The Wassels discuss how they decided their roles, why comics, why sci-fi and fantasy are their brand, what makes a Vault comic, where Myriad - their YA imprint - fits in their efforts, their perspective on the larger comic marketplace, design and production value, their approach on digital, what they've learned in the process of running Vault, creator relations, how they find collaborators, expanding the Vault footprint, building an audience, and more.

May 27, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Andrea Demonakos joins the podcast to talk about the world of merchandising and White Squirrel, her company that's designed to help artists sell their products online. Demonakos discusses Toronto's part in her comic background, her varying roles in the comics and how they helped her better understand that world, running Vancouver Comic Arts Festival, the origins of White Squirrel, the evolution of cons, what merchandising does for creators, managing Kickstarters, where White Squirrel is headed, the future of merchandising, and more.

May 20, 2019

We have a special and atypical episode of Off Panel this week, as artist Jen Bartel joins the podcast for a deep dive discussion about how to get started as an artist. Bartel discusses the value of art school, developing your voice and style, having a day job, the tools of the trade, whether sequentials are essential, creating your portfolio, cover work, where fan art fits in a portfolio, the impact of social media, where conventions fit in, communicating with collaborators, the value of working with an editor, managing your own schedule, the importance of paying attention to the larger industry, and more. This is a beast of an episode, but if you're interested in working in comics, there's a ton to learn from here.

May 13, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Robbie Thompson joins the podcast to talk about his Marvel mini-series Meet the Skrulls. Thompson discusses shipping, fandom, why he wanted to write comics, the greatness of Javier Rodriguez, the origins of his current Marvel mini-series Meet the Skrulls, this being the most him Marvel project he's had, the themes of family and identity in the book, Niko Henrichon's art, the nuance of Skrulls, individuating shapeshifters, and more, before we close with five questions about Thompson, the person.

May 6, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Jody Leheup joins the podcast to talk about his Image series, The Weatherman. Leheup discusses the stories that made him, his time at Marvel editorial, what he learned during that time, spinning plates, the origins of The Weatherman, Nathan Fox's impact, Tom Muller's design, the complexity of series lead Nathan Bright, the troubling death from the first issue, our relationship with animals in fiction, the season model, what's coming next, marketing the book, and more.

Apr 25, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, former Marvel editor and the guy behind Comics Experience, Andy Schmidt, joins the show for a Marvel Cinematic Universe power rankings episode. Schmidt discuss the overall quality of the MCU, how being a former Marvel editor changes his viewing experience, Avengers Endgame expectations, and more, before we rank a whole lot of MCU related topics, like our favorite deep cut characters, the best castings, scores and villains, our favorite random moments, things that we were surprised worked, our favorite MCU movies, and more. Note: This was recorded well before the release of Avengers: Endgame, so no spoilers are discussed here.

Apr 22, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Vita Ayala joins the show to talk about their work. Ayala discusses old video game loves, their gateway characters, the power of spinner racks, the importance of representation, bringing your worldview into your work, The Wilds, Emily Pearson's art, adding depth to reads, working at Forb idden Planet, how that changed their perspective about comics, DC's Talent Workshop, doing fill-in work, telling Livewire's first solo story, working with varying publishers, the con experience, the glory of cats, and more.

Apr 15, 2019

In this week's landmark 200th episode of Off Panel, friend of the show Brandon Burpee returns for a look back on 10 years of writing about comics in the podcast's longest episode ever. Topics discussed include giving out some awards for the decade, including MVP, most improved, publisher of the decade, and more, answering listener questions, like our comic book origin stories, thoughts on the comics internet, where back issues fit in comics, and more, before we close with sharing our ten favorite comics from the past ten years.

Apr 15, 2019

In this week's landmark 200th episode of Off Panel, friend of the show Brandon Burpee returns for a look back on 10 years of writing about comics in the podcast's longest episode ever. Topics discussed include giving out some awards for the decade, including MVP, most improved, publisher of the decade, and more, answering listener questions, like our comic book origin stories, thoughts on the comics internet, where back issues fit in comics, and more, before we close with sharing our ten favorite comics from the past ten years.

Apr 8, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Lucy Knisley joins the show to talk about her work and recent graphic novel, Kid Gloves. Knisley discusses the appeal of telling her own story in comics, how that changes fan interactions, the Instagram Effect, reflecting on her art as an artist and a person, the origins of Kid Gloves, representing all facets of having kids, how her art has evolved, food comics, the expansion of the comic market, making picture books, living and creating in Chicago, and more, before closing with five questions about food.

Apr 1, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel from Emerald City Comic Con, writer Matthew Rosenberg joins the show to talk about his path to Marvel and the experience of writing the X-Men. Rosenberg discusses how his work experience in comic shops impacts him, the role his Black Mask work played in getting him on radars, the DC Writers Program, why Marvel has been a good fit for him, the Bendis vacuum, tying his early X-Men work into his Uncanny run, Peter David's X-Factor, his oddball Uncanny team, their strange mix of costumes, managing expectations, what the X-Men mean to people, and more. Note: this was recorded before the announcement about Jonathan Hickman's pending arrival on the X-Books.

Mar 27, 2019

In a special episode of Off Panel recorded at Emerald City Comic Con, writer Jim Zub joins the show to discuss his freshly announced and released ComiXology Originals series with artist Max Dunbar, Stone Star. Zub discusses the art of con karaoke, the con experience, Stone Star's bold release strategy, experimenting with comics, accessing the larger Amazon umbrella, downsides, what Stone Star is all about, Dunbar's art, making comics for everyone, world building, the ideal format to work in, and more.

Mar 25, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Jamie McKelvie joins the show from Emerald City Comic Con for a chat about his art and The Wicked + The Divine. McKelvie discusses fandom, his partnership with Kieron Gillen, long running titles, cover design, the importance of highlighting other artists, formalistic experimentation, the faux cartoonist, what he's learned in the process of making The Wicked + The Divine, getting things right with your art, the physical toll of art, and more.

Mar 18, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Eric Powell joins the podcast to discuss the 20th anniversary of The Goon. Powell takes us into the origins of the series and its cast, the experience of building an independent success, what the look of The Goon and Franky says about them, concept books, the learning curve of making a comic all on your own, when the idea of Chinatown came together, why he's doing more of The Goon and going back to self publishing, whether he considered changing the format of the book, what his art process is, how he uses color, why he's bringing in other creators into The Goon, building and keeping an audience, and more.

Mar 11, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, BOOM! Studios' President of Publishing and Marketing Filip Sablik joins the show to discuss the world of BOOM! and his recent speech at ComicsPRO's annual meeting. Sablik discusses his time at Diamond Comic Distributors, his role at BOOM!, the value of licensed books, what's dictating their move towards younger readers and women, where they are seeing growth, their bold plan for Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora's Once and Future, why they did it, what makes it stand out, staying in favor with multiple markets, servicing different audiences, marketing comics, the greatness of Giant Days, and more.

Mar 4, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Garth Ennis joins the show to talk his love of war comics and his latest series from TKO Studios, Sara. Ennis discusses where his love of war stories came from, why they speak to him as a writer, fitting those types of tales into Marvel and DC, the importance of editorial allies, the origins of Sara, Russia's secret police, the Eastern Front of World War II in fiction, how Sara thinks about war, the pacing and structure of the story, Steve Epting's art, why he worked with TKO on this book, why he works with so many different publishers, the importance of realism in his stories, and more.

Feb 25, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Random House Graphic Publishing Director Gina Gagliano joins the show to talk about the upcoming children and teenaged graphic novel readers imprint she's building. Gagliano discusses her comic book origin stories, how she got into marketing, the beginnings of First Second, the elongated release window of the book market, her podcast, Graphic Novel TK, how Random House Graphic first came together, where you start when you are opening an imprint, her curation strategy, her very positive Twitter feed, Lucy Knisley at RHG, whether other Random House releases impact her approach, the biggest surprise of launching Random House Graphic, and more, before we close with a new segment, as Skybound's Sr. Vice President of Business Development, Shawn Kirkham, joins the show to highlight our Beasts of the Week in the world of comics.

Feb 18, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Erica Henderson joins the podcast to talk her art and upcoming series, Assassin Nation. Henderson discusses her background in film, animation and video games, storytelling in art, why she decided to work in comics, how she works, how a prolonged run impacted her approach on Squirrel Girl, her rules for that series, visual humor, managing workloads, how Assassin Nation came together, the development of the book, her coloring herself, the cast of characters, developing their looks, and more.

Feb 11, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Tadd Galusha joins the show for a rare live episode about art and his upcoming graphic novel, Cretaceous. Galusha discusses how he got into comics, the magic of Capwolf, The Kubert School experience, interning at Heliscope, how he actually started working in comics, the artist grind, comics vs. other art fields, figuring out the work, the origins of Cretaceous, finding a home for the book, its silent nature, his research process, building an audience, creating comics in Alaska, and more.

Feb 4, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, the founder and CEO of ICv2, Milton Griepp, joins the show for a look at the state of the comic industry. Griepp discusses his time in comic book distribution, what it used to be like, the positives and negatives of Diamond being the sole distributor, whether he considered leaving comics after selling Capital City, the growth of geek culture, where the Direct Market is today, the biggest problem facing the Direct Market, reader diversification, Marvel and DC's latest moves, whether the book market fits, whether periodicals are dying, why digital has plateaued, the overall health of comics, and more.

Jan 28, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, the line art team from the Image series Crowded, Ro Stein and Ted Brandt, join the podcast to discuss their work. Stein and Brandt talk about their path to comics, how they met, Ro's interest in animation and its influence, their breaking in story, their process and how it evolved, Crowded's development, world building, bringing the characters to life, layering Easter eggs into the world, sound effects, animals in fiction, the power of inkers, cover work and a whole lot more.

Jan 21, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Mike Carey joins the show to talk about his changing comics workload and his latest series, The Highest House. Carey discusses what he's been doing in recent years, his X-Men run, how The Unwritten came to be, collaborating with artist Peter Gross, The Highest House's development, the politics and mythology of its world, the unique challenges its oversized format presents, story density, the complications of Peter Gross's work, balancing a giant cast, finding a market for the book, Yuko Shimizu's covers, where the book stands now, and more.

Jan 14, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Tze Chun joins the show to talk about the new comic company he's the co-publisher of, TKO Studios. Chun discusses his comic book origin story, how TKO and its team came together, binge releasing comics, why they decided to do things completely different than other publishers, where comic shops fits in their overall plans, the format of TKO's comics, why trades and single issues, attracting creators, distributing themselves, giving first issues away for free, competing for readers' time, developing an audience, and more.

Jan 7, 2019

In this week's episode of Off Panel, comics retailer Patrick Brower (Chicago's Challengers Comics + Conversation) returns to the podcast for a look back on 2018 for his shop. Brower discusses how the year was for Challengers, how it compared to 2017, disappearing subscribers, their ineffective events, what worked for them, the surprising single issue boom, the Marvel/DC divide, graphic novels, Saga's disappearance, what isn't working, the impact of pricing, big retailers speaking up, how back issues are doing, what publishers could do to help retailers, and more.

Dec 17, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Chip Zdarsky returns to the show to discuss what's coming for him in 2019 and to dive deep into my favorite comic of the year, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #310. Zdarsky chats about his Spider-Man origins, how the period when you grew up influences your writing, what formed his vision of Spider-Man, J. Jonah Jameson, the length of his run, how his approach and story on #310 came together, hot dog icing, what makes Spider-Man special, overcoming his rep as the funny guy, what's coming for him in 2019, tackling Daredevil, the appeal of Namor, and more.

Dec 10, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, friend of the show Brandon Burpee returns for a deep dive look at 2018 in comics. We discuss what kind of year it was for comics, how our reading habits evolved, the biggest surprises and disappointments from the year, what we're looking forward to in 2019, where the X-Men are headed, favorites versus bests, the honorable mentions from our respective lists, before breaking down our 20 favorite comics of the year.

Dec 3, 2018

This week's episode of Off Panel is the debut of a new format that might be appearing the first week of each month, in weeks where we're not running our standard interviews. It's Off Panel Book Club, where a guest comes on the show to discuss the past month in comics. And the first Book Club guest is Zach Jenkins, the man behind Xavier Files and the co-host of the Battle of the Atom podcast. Jenkins joins to share the story behind Xavier Files, the importance of having a niche, our five favorite comics of the month, Warren Ellis's approach, the visual storytelling from The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, slow burn comics, the small moments of Runaways, the most surprising and confusing comics of the month, the eternal return of Wolverine, before we dive into the Big Question of the month: What would it take for the X-Men to recapture an approximation of their past glory, and does that even matter?

Nov 26, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, comics retailer Katie Proctor comes on to talk about the experience of running her comic shop, Books with Pictures. Proctor discusses why she wanted to open a comic shop, the influence of other stores, her store's layout, creating an inviting space, inclusivity, her unique product offerings, what sells for her, how 2018 has been for her shop, figuring out ordering, what's working and what isn't, the impact of Fresh Start at Marvel, the loss of Saga, what she's looking forward to in 2018, what someone looking to open a shop should know, and more.

Nov 19, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Jeff Lemire joins the show to talk about his work on titles like Black Hammer and Gideon Falls. Lemire discusses his organizational abilities, what getting ahead with your writing offers you, a day in his life, studio space, his connection to rural locations, Black Hammer's connection to his love of comics, the divide between independent and superhero comics, how Black Hammer evolved, his collaborators, expanding its universe, the appeal of horror, Gideon Falls's development, working with Andrea Sorrentino, the JH Williams III effect, creating tension, writing for others versus himself, him stepping back from for-hire work, and more.

Nov 12, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer and inker Jimmy Palmiotti joins for a deep dive discussion about the creation of the Marvel Knights imprint for its 20th anniversary. Palmiotti shares where he was before Marvel Knights started, personal branding, how the project came together, why Daredevil was their #1 draft pick, Marvel vs. DC, going for realism, Frank Castle punching a polar bear, why Marvel Knights focused on standalone stories, whether he considered sticking around at Marvel like his Marvel Knights partner Joe Quesada, whether this kind of project could happen again, its lasting impact, and more.

Nov 5, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer and comics newcomer Mat Groom joins the show to discuss his background and new Image series, Self/Made. Groom discusses when he first got int storytelling, regional comics, his comic making origin story, comic writers coming from other fields, his day job and its impact on his writing, the comic difficulties of living in Australia, Self/Made, his collaborators Eduardo Ferigato and Marcelo Costa, the difficulty in talking about his series, what inspired him to tell this story, how design factored in the comic, the struggles that come with gaining traction as a new creator, the biggest surprises about making comics, and more.

Oct 29, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, comics retailer Brian Hibbs returns to the show to check in about the world of comic book shops. Hibbs discusses how his shops are doing this year, Saga's area of impact, the kids comic explosion, DC's weird year, the Walmart Giants, Black Label, Marvel's short sightedness, Image's recent volume of titles, the longevity of the print market, whether he's going to keep his second shop open, whether comics could become a graphic novel only industry, and more.

Oct 22, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Sanford Greene joins the podcast to discuss his art and his upcoming Image Comics series, Bitter Root. Greene talks about the influence of cartoons on his art, what stood out to him about comics when was younger, the impact of youth, whether he always knew he wanted to draw comics, the impact of artists like Toth and J.C. Leyendecker, becoming a Voltron of influences, getting into artists you disliked in your youth, Bitter Root's origins, the setting of the book, his approach to art, the importance of Bitter Root's diverse team, managing schedule and health, before we close with a brief chat about the NBA.

Oct 15, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, The Beat's Heidi MacDonald joins the podcast to talk about New York Comic Con and recent happenings in the comic world. MacDonald discusses the NYCC experience, her favorite announcements from the con, the publisher boom, what's happening at DC, Bendis's fit, the Batman Damned controversy, the rare double Telgemeier, the Chuck Wendig news, the C.B. Cebulski era at Marvel, Ike Perlmutter's influence, industry doom and gloom, and more.

Oct 8, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Brenden Fletcher joins the show to talk the comic industry and his Image series with artist Karl Kerschl, Isola. Fletcher discusses what he was doing before comics, the language of fandom, the musicality of language, how Gotham Academy and Batgirl came together, why he co-writes so often, balancing abstraction with narrative, fitting the comic marketplace, the impact of continuity, the first volume's cover, long distance collaboration, the Motor Crush format change, the evolution of the comic market, and more.

Oct 1, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist John McCrea joins the show to talk his career and new Image series, Dead Rabbit. McCrea discusses how he and writer Garth Ennis met, how he got into comics, learning art, how his style shifted over the years, getting away with things on Hitman, the greatness of Dogwelder, his fondness of Section Eight, how Hitman affected him and his career, the origins of Dead Rabbit, Gerry Duggan's writing, the Image Expo reveal, character design, his style for Dead Rabbit, Mike Spicer's colors, the gross/sincere balance, and more.

Sep 24, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Ramon Villalobos joins the show to talk his art and new Vertigo Comics series, Border Town. Villalobos discusses the Marvel movies, non-comics influences, learning about art, making something 100% his, Border Town, how it came together, the appeal of teen stories, his process, creating character through art, Tamra Bonvillain's colors, the response to the book, how he's promoted it, Comicsgate, his shoe game, and more, before closing with five questions about Ramon Villalobos, the person.

Sep 17, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Faith Erin Hicks joins to talk her work and latest graphic novel, The Divided Earth. Hicks discusses her 19 years in comics, how her skills have evolved, key influences, the power of silence, The Nameless City trilogy, what she learned from that experience, creating empathy, long-term planning, Jordie Bellaire's impact, what she gives herself breathers between projects, working with Rainbow Rowell, selling humor, her upcoming schedule, working on Avatar: The Last Airbender, and more. As a note, some details of The Divided Earth are discussed within, so if spoilers are a concern, beware the section between 20 minutes and 35 minutes.

Sep 10, 2018

In this week's special edition of Off Panel, creators Declan Shalvey and Stephen Mooney and retailers Bruno Batista and John Hendrick join the show in a live podcast recording from Dublin's preeminent comic shop, Big Bang Comics. In the episode, we discuss how creators, retailers and journalists can work together to give comics a bright future, how promoting comics is changing, what comics are today, whether artists can consider the industry as a whole while working, what artists can do to work with retailers, the biggest misconceptions about retailers, whether fill-in artists impact orders, incentive covers, social media's impact, how your location impacts your ability to work in comics, whether it's good enough to just be good, comic sites, what the future of comics looks like, and more, before diving into a quick Q&A.

Aug 27, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Jason Howard joins the show to talk his art and upcoming Image series with Warren Ellis, Cemetery Beach. Howard discusses his time studying graphic design, how that influences his art, his path to comics and focus on creator-owned work, the origins of Cemetery Beach, its appeal, world building, the power of his sketchbook, why things click with Warren Ellis, how he works, character acting, his colors, cover design, Sea Bear & Grizzly Shark, and more.

Aug 20, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, editor and writer Alejandro Arbona joins the show to talk his path to comics and his current work as a freelance editor on books like Lazarus, The Old Guard and Black Magick. Arbona discusses his time at Wizard Magazine, interviewing Alan Moore, how he got to Marvel, how he approaches editing, Lazarus's new format breaks down, working with Warren Simons, Fantastic Four: Isla de la Muerte, chupacabras, why he's still editing comics, the differences between editing for a company and as a freelancer, whether Lazarus is a different beast than the other Rucka books, Ghost in the Shell: Global Neural Network, his upcoming book about video games, and more, before diving into five questions about Alejandro Arbona, the person.

Aug 13, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, colorist Rico Renzi (Spider-Gwen, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl) joins the show to talk his work. Renzi discusses his time in a ska band, how that world influenced his art, what led him to coloring comics, how his take on colors developed, his time as the creative director at Heroes Aren't Hard to Find and HeroesCon, the art of arranging people at cons, how his shop experience changed his understanding of comics, going full time as a colorist, his approach to colors, the importance of Spider-Gwen, working with Robbi Rodriguez, workload, his t-shirt design side hustle, and more.

Aug 6, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, BOOM! Studios senior editor Dafna Pleban joins the show to talk her role as an editor. Pleban discusses her comic book origin story, 90s teen heroes, her time in comic shops, how she started at BOOM!, what her job as a senior editor entails, how the order cycle impacts her, Wild's End, how complete that book felt, the mix of titles she edits, editing licensed books, casting comics, and more, before closing with five questions about Dafna Pleban, the person.

Jul 30, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Daniel Warren Johnson returns to the show to talk the end of Extremity and the story behind his new comic, Murder Falcon. Johnson discusses his recent San Diego Comic Con experience, whether his cons have changed since Extremity, the personal connection people had with the book, the power of story, what he did after he wrapped that project, the key takeaways from tackling Extremity, the origins of Murder Falcon, putting so much of himself in a book, the importance of emotional throughlines, the sound and look of Murder Falcon, building a mythology, his collaborators, his manga influence, before a little baseball talk to close the podcast.

Jul 23, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Nathan Fox joins the show to talk his art and work on his new Image series, The Weatherman. Fox discusses what attracted him to art and storytelling first, his path to becoming a working artist, his approach to art, some of his earliest influences, the street art influence, why he took a break from comic interiors, whether he wanted his own project to build, the story behind The Weatherman, world building, his art process, character acting, the first issue's shocking moment, the complexity of The Weatherman's lead, his work outside of comics, his experience running SFA's MFA Visual Narrative program, and more.

Jul 16, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Skybound Entertainment's Senior Vice President of Business Development, Shawn Kirkham, joins the show to discuss their stealth launch of the new comic series from Robert Kirkman, Scott Gimple, Chris Burnham, Nathan Fairbairn and Rus Wooton, Die!Die!Die!, and everything his job includes at Skybound. Kirkham discusses fancy titles, the origins of Die!Die!Die!, why they wanted to release a comic without any advance warning, the upside of doing a comic that way, trying new things in comics, Murder Falcon, The Walking Dead's 15th anniversary blind bags, original art, Wildstorm, balancing collectability with readership, what a day at his job is like, The Megabox, Skybound Games, the secret to being good at cons, and more, before closing with five questions about Shawn Kirkham, the person.

Jul 9, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, former writer, artist and Marvel editor joins the show to talk his career, the Transformers, and more. Budiansky discusses having his life dramatized in The Toys That Made Us, the origins of The Transformers (and his part in it), how he ended up at Marvel, whether he viewed comics as a career at the time, what Marvel was like in the 80s, Mark Gruenwald, how he started writing The Transformers, his approach on the book, why he left it, whether his relationship with the property has changed, the Marvel Universe trading cards he was the architect of, the Marvel implosion in the 90s, why he never returned to comics, and more.

Jul 2, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Al Ewing joins the show to talk about his new series, the Immortal Hulk. Ewing discusses his background as a comic reader, the strips hew grew up on, his Marvel background and love of the Hulk, Peter David's Hulk, how the idea for the Immortal Hulk came together, the Banner/Hulk dichotomy, Joe Bennett's impact on the book, how they're handling the art on the book, his writing approach, consecutive double page spreads, borrowing from other creators, using your tools correctly, and more.

Jun 25, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer and DC Comics legend Paul Levitz joins the show to talk his career and latest trade paperback, Brooklyn Blood. Levitz discusses his comics journalism background, what comics were like when he joined DC, comic book pro poker night, Jenette Kahn's impact, his time writing the Legion of Super-Heroes, his self-created position at DC, the development of the modern DC creator contract, the direct market, the development of the trade paperback and its market, Vertigo and its 25th anniversary, how different his role was as president/publisher, Brooklyn Blood, the trickiness of the Dark Horse Presents format, how he approaches writing, collaboration, the current state of comics, and more.

Jun 18, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, The AV Club's resident comic critic Oliver Sava returns to the show for a deep dive into the state of the superhero union. We discuss how we feel about superhero comics in general today, Geoff Johns' big move out of DC Entertainment, what he's liking and not liking at DC right now, The Killing Zone, Bendis's start at DC, Young Animal ending, DC's love of imprints, Vertigo's relaunch, where Marvel is at, Ta-Nahisi Coates' work on Black Panther, the titles we're really digging, who we'd want to write a Marvel event today, the upcoming Marvel comic we're most excited for, which publisher has more momentum right now, who is making the best comics, which superhero title has the belt right now, and more.

Jun 11, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Vera Brosgol joins the show for the first time to talk her latest graphic novel Be Prepared and her work overall. Brosgol discusses her recent book tour, the experience of visiting schools, solely focusing on being a graphic novelist, the difficulty of writing, how she works, revisiting her past in her work, going the memoir route, the impact working in animation for Laika Studios had on her comic work, working with first second, her approach to layouts, the value of turning your brain off, the growing kids market and more, before diving into five questions about Vera Brosgol, the person.

Jun 4, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, it's a special Power Rankings episode with cartoonist John Allison of Giant Days and Bad Machinery fame, who joins the show to rank a few of his favorite things. Allison discusses his favorite characters of his own, why writing is easier for him than art, favorite colloquialisms, his love of television, the MCU, favorite elements of old superhero comics, science fiction stories, Death's Head II, his characters he's most similar to, bizarre, modern things he takes the most joy from, comic strips, Eurovision, superhero artists, and more.

May 28, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Greg Rucka joins the show to talk Lazarus and its big format and schedule change. Rucka discusses why that change was necessary, the varying ways you can handle delays, how he figured out solutions, how it changes his job, artist Michael Lark's subtle skills, the impact the format change will have, Eric Trautmann's low-key MVP nature on the title, whether today's market is more conducive to atypical comic approaches, balancing workloads, his relationships with characters from his past, the World Cup, and more.

May 23, 2018

In the second episode of two on Off Panel this week, artist Leslie Hung joins the show to talk Snotgirl and her art. Hung discusses the TCAF experience, art school, the magic of comics, how she and Snotgirl collaborator Bryan Lee O'Malley teamed up and created Snotgirl, fashion bloggers, social media stars, the learning curve on making comics, her art process, the colors in the book, creating the looks of the cast, character acting, her understanding of the cast, her podcast Salt & Honey, and more.

May 21, 2018

In this week's first episode of two on Off Panel, cartoonist Bryan Lee O'Malley joins the show to talk his Image Comics series Snotgirl and his career making comics. He discusses what stood out to him about his collaborator on Snotgirl, Leslie Hung, where the idea for the book came from, the impact of Los Angeles had on the book, fashion bloggers and social media curation, whether he feels like part of the online conversation, the Warren Ellis Forums, allergies, the improvisational nature of monthly comics, fine tuning scripts for collaborators, schedule management, the specter of Scott Pilgrim, food in his comics, our relationship with stories today, and more.

May 14, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Russell Dauterman joins the show to talk his art and recently completed run on The Mighty Thor. Dauterman discusses how he celebrated The Mighty Thor concluding, the experience of tackling such a long run, his character design background, designing the cast of Thor, differentiating Jane Foster and Jane Thor, his art process, photo reference, working with Matt Wilson, page layouts, the power of continuity, having a long run under his belt, and more, before concluding with five questions about his own comic book loves.

May 7, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, editor Will Dennis joins the show to talk his role in comics, specifically on the upcoming anthology comic, Where We Live. Dennis discusses the role of an editor, what drives the projects he takes on, the importance of trust, Will Dennis books, the Vertigo brand, Scalped, Vertigo's incredible run of cover artists, what he's doing on Where We Live, how working in comics changes your relationship with them, how the project has come together, the unexpected help on the book, balancing the creator lineup, the project's importance, Vertigo's place in comics today, and more.

Apr 30, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, comic shop owner (and Free Comic Book Day creator) Joe Field joins the show to talk FCBD and the world of retail. Field discusses Free Comic Book Day, the power of the day, the unique environment that led to the day, growth of interest, converting FCBD customers into regular customers, the power of events, how his shop has evolved in its 30 years, what 2017 was like for his shop, the year so far, the state of Marvel, DC making moves, Action Comics #1000, the cockroaches of pop culture, and more.

Apr 23, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Karl Kerschl joins the show to talk his influences and his new Image series, Isola. Kerschll discusses the impact the Image founders had on him, being a contrarian, his career path, the appeal of comic strips, doing your own thing, modern coloring, Isola's colors, sound effects, research, telling a story with a silent character, the creative process on the book, the value of hooks, the map of the world, and more, before closing with five questions about his webcomic, The Abominable Charles Christopher.

Apr 16, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Ryan Browne joins the show to talk his latest Kickstarter for GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS presents 3-D COWBOY'S 2-D SPECTACULAR! Browne discusses the origins of God Hates Astronauts, building an audience, webcomics, why he went back to Kickstarter, the story behind it, his incredible artistic collaborators, the creative process on the book, living with Paolo Rivera, the importance of taking things seriously, crazy character names, Kickstarter rewards, the stress of Kickstarter, Curse Words, working with Charles Soule, and more, before closing with five questions about Ryan Browne, the person.

Apr 9, 2018

In this week's special, 150th episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Kazu Kibuishi joins the show to talk comics, art and ten years of Amulet. Kibuishi discusses creating a story readers grow up with, the next generation of comic creators, Amulet's evolution, managing such a sprawling story, respecting readers, digging into Amulet's world, his creative process, expanding comics' genres, the value of simple character depictions, Final Fantasy, and more, before diving into five questions about Kazu Kibuishi, the person.

Apr 2, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, friend of the show Brandon Burpee returns for a power rankings episode all about the X-Men. The show begins with a discussion about our X-Men backstories, before we dive into the ranks, as we share our favorite X-Men artists, the best characters who died and came back, X-Bases, villains, writers, moments, stories and more, before closing with a fantasy draft to create our own X-Men line of comics. It's a fun episode, but as a note, it's also one with some audio issues on my side of things thanks to it being recorded on Zencastr.

Mar 26, 2018

Live from Emerald City ComiCon, it's a panel episode as colorists Tamra Bonvillain (Doom Patrol) and Kelly Fitzpatrick (Shade the Changing Woman) join the show to discuss their work. They talk getting into art, whether they studied art at school, the idea of coloring as a stepping stone, how their line art experience impacts their coloring, how much their colors change based off the line artist, attribution, their processes, whether they have specific palettes, balancing workload, the power of saying no, and more.

Mar 19, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Robert Kirkman joins the show to talk comics and his new book, Oblivion Song. Kirkman discusses why he keeps making comics, whether he's an art nerd, how his success allows him to take risks, learning from other creators and comics, Oblivion Song's lead time, his approach to writing, Savage Dragon's impact on him, how artists have changed the path of his comics, what made Lorenzo de Felici the right fit for Oblivion Song, what he looks for in his collaborators, the ending of Invincible, seeing so many other people working in his sandbox, the glory of Andrew J. Shaw, fictional editors, and more.

Mar 12, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Jen Bartel and Sam Humphries - the creative team behind the upcoming Image Comics series, Blackbird - join the show to discuss their upcoming book. They discuss what stood out about each other's work, their commonalities as creators and people, comic creators as entrepreneurs, when Blackbird first started coming together, how they highlight each other's strengths, the development of the book, what it's all about, the comic's influences, making the book stand out in a cluttered market, and more.

Mar 9, 2018

In this week's bonus episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Rob Guillory joins the show to talk his recently announced series from Image Comics, Farmhand. Guillory discusses the Todd McFarlane experience, the Chew recovery process, figuring out what was next for him, the development of Farmhand, what the book is all about, how it's coming together, his collaborators on it, the plan behind it, why Image was the fit for Farmhand, being disconnected from the comic conversation, and more.

Mar 6, 2018

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Gerry Duggan joins the podcast to discuss his new Image series, Analog, and his views on writing. Duggan talks about the ComicsPRO experience, his comics retail past, comic naming conventions, working with the Allreds, his wave of creator-owned books, Analog vs. reality, whether he needed to mix things up, his time writing for television, the surprising script that helped him get Deadpool, why the lead of Analog is such a perfect gateway into its world, his collaborators on the book, working with John McCrea on Dead Rabbit, and more.

Mar 1, 2018

In a bonus episode of Off Panel, we have one recorded live last week from ComicsPRO's annual meeting in Portland, Oregon with two of the best retailers in comics - John Hendrick of Dublin's Big Bang Comics and Steve Anderson of Maryland's Third Eye Comics. It's a caffeine fueled discussion - at least on my end - where we talk about the origins of their shops, their affinity for retail, how they organize their comics, what 2017 was like for their shops, Rick & Morty, their hopes for 2018, Marvel's Fresh Start, customer behavior, the value of signings and events, and more.

Feb 26, 2018

This week on Off Panel, artist Ryan Stegman returns to the show for a special episode breaking down his personal power rankings of varying subjects important to him. Stegman discusses his favorite artists growing up, his most surprising influences, the Malice in the Palace, his personal Mount Rushmore of comics, the artists he'd steal the powers of, the most important meals of the days, his favorite projects, and more. It's a bit different for Off Panel, but I hope you enjoy it.

Feb 22, 2018

In a special bonus episode, artist Nick Pitarra joins the show to talk his newly announced Image series with writer John Layman and colorist Mike Garland, Leviathan. Pitarra discusses what he's been up to since Manhattan Projects, his art philosophy, the origins of Leviathan, what it's all about, his preferred type of storytelling, his vision for the book, his vision for Leviathan, his approach on art, the importance of integrity in art, his view on art, how deadlines and schedules can impact art's integrity, his love of original art, his connection to Seth Fisher, and more.

Feb 19, 2018

This week on Off Panel, Dan Gearino, the author of Comic Shop: The Retail Mavericks Who Gave Us a New Geek Culture, joins the show to talk his new book about the world and history of comic shops. Gearino discusses his comic book origin story, when he first visited a comic shop, why he wanted to write a book about the direct market and comic shops, the origin of the book, the tenor of conversation with his interviewees, the research process for the book, the cyclical nature of comics, the essential nature of the women of the direct market, the difficulty of pinning down who Phil Seuling was, his ideal comic shop, how shops will need to evolve, barometer comics, how comic shops reflect personalities, the future of comics, and more.

Feb 12, 2018

This week on Off Panel, cartoonist Box Brown joins the show to discuss his new graphic novel, Is This Guy for Real?, a biocomic exploring the life of Andy Kaufman. Brown talks about his recent trip to France for Angoulême, the mindset as major projects are released, why Andy Kaufman was a subject of interest to him, whether his biocomic subjects were ones he had connections to, the impact of The Man on the Moon, who Kaufman really was, his process on biocomics like this one, the impact of First Second on his work, the new opportunities available to creators, how comics will look in the future, and more.

Feb 5, 2018

Jon Davis-Hunt, the artist of The Wild Storm at DC Comics, joins the show to talk his art and the development of the book. He discusses WildCATs/Aliens, what came first for him: comics or art, his background in video games, the impact that had on his art, being "the new guy," how the Wild Storm came together, coming up with the look of that universe, his art process, and more, before diving into five questions about Jon Davis-Hunt, the person.

Jan 29, 2018

Writer Tee Franklin joins Off Panel this week to talk her upcoming Image Comics graphic novella, Bingo Love. Franklin discusses her path into comics, her interest in writing comics before, figuring out how to write comics, the origins of Bingo Love, the impact of artist Jenn St. Onge, the Kickstarter experience, the downside of crowd-funding, what made Image the right fit for the comic, the importance of representation in comics, the marketing of independent comics, her personal and business mottos for 2018, and more.

Jan 22, 2018

The newly minted publisher of Oni Press, James Lucas Jones, joins the podcast to discuss 20 years of the publisher. Jones discusses his path to becoming publisher, Oni's evolution, the development of the comic industry, how competition has changed their approach, recent position changes at Oni, the power of libraries, why Oni moved from Diamond to Simon & Schuster for book distribution, deciding between publishing in single issues or graphic novels, before he talks about some of Oni's biggest books over the years and the 2017-18 NBA season.

Jan 15, 2018

Comic shop owner Patrick Brower returns to the podcast to talk about 2017 in comic book retail. Brower discusses why the last quarter of the year lagged so badly in his shop, what he thinks triggered the downturn in 2017, the volume of comics being produced, what worked in his shop, the Rickmobile, the impact of in-store events, what didn't work in his shop during the year, society's impact on sales, why pull list customers disappeared in December, his take on what's driving fans away, what's causing Marvel's struggles, the devaluation of artists at Marvel, the dip in graphic novel sales, the impact of comic book culture going mainstream, the lack of impactful marketing in the industry, the shop's plans for 2018, and more.

Jan 8, 2018

Artist Esad Ribić guests on this week's episode of Off Panel, as he joins to discuss his art and his upcoming Image series, VS. He discusses his path to making American comics, his influences outside of comics, the Croatian comics scene, his approach to comic art, why he's turned to creator-owned after a long stretch at Marvel, the appeal of VS, his line art getting painted by someone else, attribution of art storytelling choices, world building, the impact schedule has on his art, his Hawaii art book for Louis Vuitton, and more.

Jan 1, 2018

Writer Ivan Brandon visits Off Panel this week, as he joins the podcast to discuss his new Image series VS. Brandon chats about his own comics background, learning from David Mazzucchelli, how he first decided to work in comics, the stretch between the late 90s and early 00s in comics, the experience on Men of War in DC's New 52, longform projects, the difference between Western comics and manga, the development of VS, Nic Klein's painted colors on VS, how Esad Ribic realizes futuristic environments, familiarity's impact on collaboration, the level of collaboration necessary for VS, marketing comics in 2017, and more.

Dec 18, 2017

On this week's 2017 finale of Off Panel, my pal Brandon Burpee returns to the show to talk the year in comics. We discuss why 2017 was an improvement on 2016, parity in comics, the depth of the field, positive surprises and disappointments from the year, noticeable storytelling trends, our outlook for 2018, before closing with a countdown of our 20 favorite comics of the year. Also, an FYI: Off Panel will return the first week of 2018!

Dec 11, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Kris Anka joins the show to discuss his art and work on Runaways. Anka discusses his path to comics (both as a reader and as a creator), fan art, character acting, his animation background, sound effects, his personal background with Runaways, whether the style of the cast appealed to him in particular, the Gert struggle, his art process, working with reference, collaborating with Matt Wilson, whether there is anything he finds hard to draw in particular, merchandising art, before closing with five questions about Kris Anka, the person.

Dec 4, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, Michael Oeming and Taki Soma join the show to discuss their new webcomic, The After Realm. Oeming and Soma discuss idea creation, the origin story and development of The After Realm, their background and experimention in webcomics, embracing fantasy, Patreon, managing workload, the process behind the comic, Soma's colors, how reader engagement changes approach, foods from yesteryear, their long-term goals for the comic, and more.

Nov 20, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Geof Darrow joins to talk his work on Shaolin Cowboy. Darrow discusses the impact of kung fu films on his work, the humor in Shaolin Cowboy, how his influences and background impacts his approach in his comics, his storytelling process, choreographing action sequences, creating stories within the story, why his pencils are so tight, Dave Stewart's impact on his art, how much Shaolin Cowboy reflects his own worldview, and more.

Nov 18, 2017

On this emergency episode of Off Panel, AV Club's Oliver Sava returns to discuss the big switch at the top at Marvel, as C.B. Cebulski replaced Axel Alonso as Editor-in-Chief. Subjects discussed include whether it was necessary, Marvel's aimlessness, the trouble with Legacy, the impact Alonso's comments about artists might have had, whether Cebulski is a good fit as EIC, David Gabriel's role in Marvel's struggles, the good things Alonso accomplished, risk taking at the top, our levels of concern with Marvel, before closing with a discussion about what we'd do if we were Cebulski.

Nov 13, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Alison Sampson joins the show to talk about her Image Comics series, Winnebago Graveyard. She discusses her architectural background, how her architecture background influences her comic art, panel layouts, her art process, backmatter, whether Winnebago Graveyard is more of a book market comic, women working on horror comics, whether she's gotten faster as an artist, getting bogged down in details, breaking in after an entirely different career, what Winnebago Graveyard taught her as a creator, Think of a City's present and future, and more.

Nov 8, 2017

It's emergency podcast time, as I just had to address the big news about writer Brian Michael Bendis leaving Marvel to sign exclusively with DC Comics. To do that, the AV Club's Oliver Sava joins the show, as we discuss how shocking the news was, what makes it so stunning, what books we'd most want to see him to take over at DC, what the deal means for DC, Bendis's ability to lure for other creatives, Marvel's other loss on the day, what losing Bendis means for Marvel, the silver lining of losing Bendis for Marvel, Marvel's need for a new architect, Hickman's reaction to all this, whether the next generation of superhero writers will be interested in shared universe stories, DC's momentum, and more.

Nov 6, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, Comichron's John Jackson Miller joins the show to discuss the comic market and his origins. Miller talks about his 25 years in comics, the origins of Comichron, what it's trying to accomplish, whether being estimates impacts Comichron's legitimacy, how people use the data, the myth of cancellation levels, the comic market today vs. the 90s, the importance of single issues, the trickiness of variant covers, Marvel's position in the market, the amount of comics in the market today, whether publisher gamesmanship impacts the legitimacy of sales numbers, doom and gloom, and more.

Oct 30, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Ed Piskor talks about his upcoming series X-Men: Grand Design. He discusses his comic book origin story, what a comic book collection says about a person, why the Byrne/Claremont run is so specifically his jam, hanging out with Chris Claremont at NYCC, how X-Men: Grand Design came together, the process of organizing and structuring the series, his process on the book, recoloring X-Men #1, making a Marvel comic as a cartoonist, style vs. storytelling, entering the world of superheroes, his Nike Air Force 1 project, and more.

Oct 23, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Jim Zub joins the show to talk the upcoming "No Surrender" story in Avengers and the business of comics. Zub discusses the influences of Dungeons & Dragons on his writing, dealing with internet trolls, the development of No Surrender, collaborating with multiple writers on one book, the playful competitiveness on the project, his Avengers fame, his write-ups on the business of comics, armchair quarterbacking comics sales, the appeal of Image Comics, and more, before talking Overwatch to close the show.

Oct 16, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Matt Fraction joins the show to discuss his work on comics like Sex Criminals, Casanova, and Solid State. Fraction talks the impact of the Warren Ellis Forums, the rise of the Brimpers, why so many connected deeply to Sex Criminals, the book's backmatter, following your gut in writing, accessibility, getting over the fear of writing, integrating Elizabeth Breitweiser into their creative routine, collaboration, Casanova's impact, the unique challenge of Solid State, the importance of a comic being of physical substance, the Milkfed newsletter, and more.

Oct 12, 2017

On this week's bonus episode of Off Panel, my pal Brandon Burpee joins the to talk the greatest event comics of all time and our thoughts on the Marvel Legacy one-shot. We share our take on the one-shot's quality (with the review portion ending 15 minutes in), whether it made us want to read more Marvel comics, Brandon's related conspiracy theories, the appeal of the upcoming Rogue & Gambit series, where we are with event comics these days, whether events are old hat, how the way comics news is handled has impacted events, what makes a good event, before we close with a discussion about our ten favorite event/weekly comics ever.

Oct 9, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, the owner of Big Bang Comics in Dublin, John Hendrick, returns to the show to talk the world of comics. Hendrick discusses his shop's perspective on Marvel, their comic market tweets, BookScan's plan to track sell-through of comics, the difference between Rebirth and Legacy, the lack of awareness amongst their customers in Legacy, DC's handling of Alan Moore properties, how his shop is doing this year, the impact of having a great staff and a good looking store, the controversial retailer meeting at NYCC, whether the direct market is killing print comics, the crew of people trolling Big Bang and varying people in comics, and more.

Oct 2, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, Vulture and New York Magazine's Abraham Riesman comes on the podcast to discuss his feature writing and recent massive piece on the change of approach at DC Entertainment. Riesman discusses his work through the prism of his Fantastic Four tattoo, the story of seeing Logan with Chris Claremont, how his feature writing develops, how much social media and corporate mergers have changed interviews with people in comics, the skills necessary to succeed in comics these days, how his big DC Entertainment feature developed, how The New 52 became The New 52, his upcoming Batman: The Animated Series oral history, the art of the interview, and more, before we dive into five questions about Riesman himself.

Sep 25, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Jason Aaron joins the show to talk his work and process. Aaron discusses how he balances his workload, his writing process, the difference between creator-owned and for-hire, the impact of a good editor, how far he planned out his Thor run, why the major story beats of his Thor run appealed to him, the Nick Fury mystery beat, whether he misses tackling smaller, more finite stories, turning the Legacy one-shot into a cohesive story, how his work differs (or doesn't) from artist to artist, his personal connection to Scalped, whether Southern Bastards feel like a different beast than his other creator-owned books, the community building of letters columns, growing up in a small town and its impact on his relationship with comics, Alabama football, and more.

Sep 18, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, Strip Panel Naked and PanelxPanel's Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou joins the show to discuss his work. Hass shares how he got into comics originally, his film background, how that all informed Strip Panel Naked, what made him want to start the show, how he works puts the show together, how he deals with the grind of creating, what made Patreon the right move for him, the origins of PanelxPanel, its monetization model, the niche he's filling in comics journalism, his Under the Hood podcast, and more.

Sep 11, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, The Beat's Heidi MacDonald returns to the show to talk the state of comics and comics journalism. MacDonald discusses where comics are creatively, the sheer volume of comics these days, how new opportunities have changed things for creators, what she's really enjoying in comics, the health of the comics industry, Marvel's arrogance, DC's bold moves, where comics journalism is these days, the Craig Yoe controversy, the niche-y nature of journalism, monetization models, how the journalism struggle goes beyond comics, and more.

Sep 4, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Caspar Wijngaard joins the show to talk his art and his upcoming Image comic with writer Si Spurrier, Angelic. Wijngaard discusses how his interest in comics and art developed, the influence video games had on him, the development of his career, why creator-owned appeals to him so much, how for-hire work prepared him for Angelic, the development of the book, meshing the natural and future looks of Angelic, the appeal of world building, the perks of working digitally, why he colors himself, and more.

Aug 28, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Paul Azaceta joins the show to discuss his work on the Image/Skybound title, Outcast. He discusses how he got started in comics, the Alex Toth influence, finding efficiencies in his art, his process on Outcast, the benefits of digital art, how his process has evolved, why he and colorist Elizabeth Breitweiser jive so well, Outcast's covers, whether he as trepidatious about signing onto the project, the value of working on an ongoing, the book's inset panels, and more.

Aug 21, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Zander Cannon joins the show to discuss his Oni Press comic, Kaijumax. He discusses how the book became more than a side project, why he went with a season model on the book, his trepidation diving into it without a safety net, whether his DC layout work prepared him for Kaijumax, problem solving on the page, handling everything himself on the book, his process, working with Oni and Charlie Chu, balancing tone in the book, the benefits of the season model, the appeal of studio life, and more.

Aug 14, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, comic shop owner Brian Hibbs joins the show to talk about the state of comic retail. Hibbs discusses how his shops are performing in 2017, whether Marvel's downturn has impacted other publishers, the idea that trades can solve everything for a book that doesn't sell, how Rebirth is holding up in his stores, whether there's a cyclical relationship between Marvel and DC, customer interest in DC's Metal and Dark Matter endeavors, the trouble with lenticular covers, the grim outlook for Marvel Legacy, why some shops buy into variants, the gates and discounts of Legacy, the immense volume of titles these days, and more. As a heads up, in the middle, there's a bit of wonky audio, but it cleans up pretty quick.

Aug 10, 2017

On this week's (second) episode of Off Panel, Image Comics' Branding Manager David Brothers joins the show to talk comics. Brothers' discusses his comic book origin story, why manga tackles so many more subjects than Western comics, why he got into writing about comics, whether working in comics has changed his relationship with them, the difference in approach he had on 4thLetter! and Comics Alliance, what helped him improved the most as a writer, what makes a good interview, how his job at Image came together, the evolution of Image+, the current state of writing about comics, and more, before diving into five questions about Brothers, the person.

Aug 7, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Si Spurrier joins the show to discuss his new Image Comics title, Angelic. Spurrier discusses what the book is all about, its lowkey all-ages nature, why the idea of genre bothers him, the book's origins, working with Caspar Wijngaard, Jim Campbell and Emma Price, how he works on this book compared to other projects, the difficulties of the comic distribution model and ongoings, why his works are typically shorter runs, the language of Angelic, and more.

Jul 31, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, writer/artist Declan Shalvey joins the show to talk about his upcoming graphic novel, Savage Town. Shalvey discusses the origins of the story, what made it one he wanted to tell, what made the rest of the creative team the best fits for the book, how it changed as it developed, finding the right balance with humor, the language of Ireland, the full creator-owned experience, how his upcoming Deadpool vs. Old Man Logan mini-series came together, the influence other writers have had on his own writing, whether becoming a "writer" has changed his perception as a creator, the impact of his Art Cred article in Image+, and more.

Jul 24, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Becky Cloonan joins the show to talk about her work and the rerelease of By Chance or Providence at Image. She talks that book's origin story, self-publishing, why she wanted to rerelease it AND color it, the updates to the new book, the story behind the dedications in both versions, whether she has crushes on her characters, her current projects, collaboration, working with Steve Dillon, the monthly comic format, finding her voice on The Punisher, her recent focus on writing, focusing on storytelling in art, and more, before diving into five questions about Cloonan the person.

Jul 17, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, writer/artist Chip Zdarsky joins the show to talk about the magic of comics and everything he's up to. Zdarsky discusses the first comic that attracted him to the medium, the Warren Ellis forums, the Brimper community, how Sex Criminals changed his life, the cyclical nature of comics, why he decided to handle every aspect of Sex Criminals' art, the human cost of creator-owned, expectations about him and his work because of his public persona, finding the right balance on Spider-Man, collaboration, his recent focus on writing, how much he had to change at Marvel, the unending serial, and a lot more.

Jul 10, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Stephen Mooney joins the show to discuss the return of his comic Half Past Danger. Mooney talks the appeal of working on an adventure comic, how the book came together, why IDW was the right fit for it, the origins of the Half Past Danger sequel's subtitle (Dead to Reichs), trying to handle everything himself on the book, the work he did at DC, the impact that work had on him and his career, why he decided to go back to Half Past Danger, how easy it was to jump back into that world, his process on HPD, photo reference, the Irish art community, and more, before closing with five questions about Mooney himself.

Jul 3, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Kelly Thompson joins the show to talk her work on Hawkeye at Marvel Comics. Thompson discusses her path to comics, the impact of studying art at SCAD has on her writing, how Jem and the Holograms changed her career, the pressure of working on a licensed book, co-writing at Marvel, the genesis of Hawkeye, the difficulty of following the Fraction/Aja/Wu run, how her scripting has evolved while working with Leonardo Romero and Jordie Bellaire, managing fill-in artists, Julian Totino Tedesco's covers, working on the upcoming Captain Phasma book, before closing with five questions about Thompson.

Jun 26, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, writer and editor Sebastian Girner joins the show to talk his new books, Shirtless Bear Fighter and Scales & Scoundrels . Girner discusses his path into writing after starting his career as an editor, how editing impacted his writing approach (and vice versa), the development of both of his new books, what they're all about, the magic of Final Fantasy, what made telling an all-ages story something he wanted to do, how his writing approach depends on his collaborators, the influence of 80s action movies on Shirtless, Paolo Rivera's ncredible cover for Shirtless Bear Fighter #4, the SBF mobile game, why writing comics saved them for him, and more.

Jun 19, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, the co-creator, writer, and colorist of Image's Lake of Fire - Nathan Fairbairn - joins the show to talk the book and his experience bringing it to life. Fairbairn discusses how and why he first got into comics, why he didn't try and tackle more writing work for DC or Marvel, why he wanted to go creator-owned, the development of Lake of Fire, why faith was such an important part of the story for him, what made artist Matt Smith the right fit, why he didn't release it as a graphic novel, long-tail success, the marketing/PR side of creator-owned, what he learned during the experience, and more.

Jun 12, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Benjamin Dewey joins the show to talk his art on books like The Autumnlands. Dewey discusses his path to comics, pursuing other passions as an artist, finding yourself in your art, how much an artist's personality influences their work, comics and community, the convention experience, his art process, the importance of inking to his work, the overstated impact tools have on art, painting himself versus getting colored by someone else, taking on projects outside of The Autumnlands, before closing with five questions about Dewey himself.

Jun 5, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, the AV Club's comic critic - Oliver Sava - joins the show to not talk Marvel's problems, but solutions to those problems. Sava discusses his reaction to AV Club earning an Eisner nomination this year, his hype levels for the upcoming Runaways book, Marvel's current state, expectations for Legacy, and the cyclical nature of Marvel and DC, before Oliver and David share their recommendations on how Marvel could fix things and the books they'd publish if they ran Marvel (with creative teams).

May 29, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, the host of the comic book interview podcast Word Balloon - John Siuntres - joins the show to talk about his 12 years hosting the show. Siuntres talks the origins fo Word Balloon, his background before the show started, the impact of having so many comic book podcasts, how he developed Word Balloon's audience, monetizing podcasts, the evolution of his show, Secret Empire and the state of Marvel and fandom, getting personal with his guests, show regulars, whether he thinks its harder to develop a show now, Newsarama's impact on the show's growth, before the show comes to a close with five questions about the 12 years of Word Balloon.

May 22, 2017

On this week's special anniversary episode of Off Panel, friend of the show Brandon Burpee joins for a head-to-head question off where we talk everything comics from the past, present and future. Topics discussed include who won each decade for superhero comics - Marvel or DC, favorite comic anniversary gimmicks, what we'd do to get OG Wolverine back, how to help people who want to get into comics, favorite Off Panel guests, how social media impacts our buying habits, LaVar Ball-ing our favorite comics, Marvel's biggest problem right now, what we'd like to see from Legacy, the tradewaiting experience, the divisiveness of fandom, the state of the X-Men books, and more.

May 15, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Christopher Sebela joins the show to talk his currently being Kickstarted comic, Short Order Crooks. He talks the Kickstarter experience, what Short Order Crooks is all about, the origin of the project, the value of Two Headed Press, how the Kickstarter developed, how the crew on the book came together, the difficulty of creating Kickstarter rewards, whether he can be the same on for-hire jobs as creator-owned, the amount of food based research he did, what he'd sell at his own food cart, secondary revenue streams for comic creators, his recent experience working in retail, and more.

May 8, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, The Ringer writer Jason Concepcion joins the show to talk Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and the 2017 slate of comic book movies. Concepcion talks Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (spoiler alert like crazy!) (00:51s), whether Guardians feels disconnected from the rest of the Marvel universe (4:55), the stingers (8:27), what worked in the movie (12:34), whether it had the best Stan Lee cameo (14:53), what didn't work (16:37), then Guardians talk (and the spoilers ends) as we talk the comic movie Mount Rushmore (22:10), hype levels for 2017's remaining comic movies (25:30), the advent of rated R comic book movies (42:09), the state of the X-Men movies (47:00), Inhumans as a TV show (49:30), why comic adaptations work and video game adaptations don't (53:45), before closing with five questions about Concepcion (59:00).

May 4, 2017

On this week's bonus episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Peter Wartman joins the show to talk his webcomic Stonebreaker. Wartman discusses his path to comics, the comic that unlocked the medium for him, the influence of video game designer Fumito Ueda, how his webcomics Over the Wall and Stonebreaker developed, his art process, the evolution of his art, the impact of being colorblind on his art, the architecture of Stonebreaker, how webcomics have changed since he started, balancing comics and a day job, the Minneapolis comic book scene, and more. Also, in case you missed it, Off Panel now has a Patreon. Support the show at Patreon.com/OffPanel and get fun rewards while unlocking bonus episodes each month.

May 1, 2017

On this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Mark Russell joins the show to talk his approach and work on comics like The Flintstones and Prez. He talks what he was doing before comics, how he was hired by DC, whether his approach might be different from other comic writers because of his lack of a comic background, his guiding principles for developing comics, the comic book learning curve, working with DC editorial, why he took The Flintstones gig, finding a new take on the classic cartoon, giving non-human characters humanity, collaborating on sequentials with Steve Pugh and Ben Caldwell, what he has in store for his Snagglepuss book, and more.

Apr 24, 2017

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Mike Norton joins the show to talk his epic workload in recent years. Norton talks what his life has been like since he wrapped Battlepug and Revival , how he balanced multiple projects at once, what he learned most from his recent workload, managing workflow, what he took away from his creator-owned work, studio life, the emotions of ending Revival , whether long runs by a single creative team are dying out, how the role of the comic artist has evolved, the changing landscape of comics, webcomics, the response to his webcomic Lil' Donnie , before coming to a close with five questions about Norton himself. One quick note: I fully botched the money Check, Please! generated on Kickstarter. It wasn't $2.5 million, it was $400,000. Still a lot of money!

Apr 17, 2017

In this week's episode of Off Panel, artist Jen Bartel joins the show to talk about breaking into comics. She talks about her art background, the pros and cons of art school, her path to the world of comics, the importance of just making art, the power of the internet and social media, her advice for people looking to break in, why she's focused on covers over sequential art, the reason she prefers inking and coloring over the problem solving part of art, her affinity for neon colors, merchandising, valuing your work monetarily, before the podcast closes with five questions about Bartel herself.

Apr 10, 2017

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Hannah Blumenreich joins the show to talk her fan comic Spidey Zine and her work on Amazing Spider-Man #25. She talks her experience in art school, what her first foray into comics was, how she has seen her art grow as she's moved along, the origin story of Spidey Zine, the power of fan comics, the personhood of superheroes, what her process is, the restrictions of publishing on Twitter, making her way into working on Spider-Man for Marvel, how working with Jordan Gibson, Jordie Bellaire and Clayton Cowles changed things for her, and what's next for her, before closing with five random questions about her.

Apr 3, 2017

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Jim Rugg joins the show to talk his upcoming one-shot with writer Brian Maruca, Street Angel: After School Kung Fu Special. He talks the origin story of Street Angel, why it's his home base book, how his art has evolved over the years, whether he thinks he has a core art style, why he likes to adventure with the format of comics so much, why he brought Street Angel to Image, the Pittsburgh comic scene, and more.

Mar 27, 2017

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Kyle Starks joins the show to talk his new comic at Image, Rock Candy Mountain. Starks discusses what appealed to him about the hobo treasure hunt genre, the tropes of rail travel, researching hobo culture, when the song "Big Rock Candy Mountain" came into play, world building, the realities of hobo life, the language in the book, the impact of colorist Chris Schweizer and designer Dylan Todd, overcoming the perceptions of his "cartoony" art style, his process for bringing an issue to life, before the episode comes to a close with serious basketball talk starting around the 52 minute mark.

Mar 20, 2017

In the last episode recorded at this year's Emerald City ComiCon, colorist and writer Jordie Bellaire joins the show to talk her new book at Image Comics, Redlands. She talks the experience of announcing Redlands, how announcements differ between personal projects and for-hire jobs, what Redlands is all about, what made Vanesa del Rey the perfect partner for the book, how del Rey changed the book, how Bellaire's color brain influences he writer brain, why she wanted to add being a writer to her busy schedule, how she ended up in Ireland after living in Florida, why the rep of colorists has improved in recent years, and more.

Mar 16, 2017

In the second episode of Off Panel from Emerald City ComiCon, the Oscar nominated writer of Arrival as well as the writer of the upcoming Secret Weapons at Valiant Comics, Eric Heisserer, joins the show. Heisserer talks his comic book origin story, the difference between screenwriting and working on comics, partnering with Raul Allen and Patricia Martin, what appealed to him about the Valiant universe, bringing Secret Weapons back, why Livewire is such a fascinating character to him, how writing film scripts differs from writing comics, humanizing island of misfit toys characters, why he loves writing comics so much, what compelled him to write Arrival, his reactions to Amy Adams not getting nominated and the Oscar mixup on Best Picture, and more.

Mar 13, 2017

In this week's episode of Off Panel, Image Comics publisher Eric Stephenson joins the show in a special episode from Emerald City ComiCon. Stephenson talks Image's move to Portland, why there wasn't an Image Expo this year, the big announcements from ECCC, diversity in comics, finding different ways to tell stories in the medium, the devaluation of single issues, managing a publisher in uncertain times, the influx of variants at Image during its 25th anniversary, what he's most proud of from 25 years of Image, how it's changed the most since its launch, how Image's staff has helped drive its growth, and more.

Mar 6, 2017

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Daniel Kibblesmith joins the show to talk his new comic, Valiant High. Kibblesmith discusses his comic book origin story, whether he needed to dig into Valiant's history for the project, finding the right roles for each character, whether you can go too far in lampooning characters, the differences between writing for TV versus for comics, whether writing comics is a breath of fresh air given his day job, the impact of this presidency on late night, his long term view on writing comics, and more.

Feb 27, 2017

In this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Daniel Johnson Warren joins to talk his new book Extremity. He talks Extremity's development, world building, why he needed a little something more to make his lead character work, what makes a good villain, his creative process, the advantages of traditional art for him, colorist Mike Spicer's fit on the book, Extremity's rad logo, commissions, finding joy in art, and more.

Feb 20, 2017

In this week's episode of Off Panel, writer Joe Keatinge joins the show to talk 25 years of Image Comics from his perspective as a reader, creator and former employee. David and Joe talk when they discovered Image, what makes Image special, 90s comics revisionist history, what his experience was working at Image, how it's changed over the years, our ten-ish favorite comics from Image's 25 years, what the future looks like for Image, and more.

Feb 16, 2017

In the final Image founderscentric edition of Off Panel, Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane joins the show to share his perspective on the story of Image. McFarlane talks the appeal of the move away from Marvel, the story behind Image's creation, the meeting at Marvel and why they went to DC after it, why he stayed exclusive to Image, how the Image deal became more appealing to others, Robert Kirkman's fit as a partner, Eric Stephenson's impact, whether Image looks as he expected after 25 years, what the biggest difficulties were in figuring everything out, and more.

Feb 13, 2017

In another special edition of Off Panel, Image Comics co-founder Jim Valentino joins the show to share his perspective on the origins of Image. Valentino talks how everything came together, what the biggest motivator was to break away from Marvel, why Image worked and other similar ventures didn't, why expanding beyond superheroes was important, whether it was always their intent to offer the Image deal to others, how Robert Kirkman joined up, Eric Stephenson's influence, what Image's "i" means today, how Image's role in the industry has changed over the years, and more.

Feb 9, 2017

In a special edition of Off Panel, Image Comics co-founder Erik Larsen joins the show to share his perspective on the rise of Image. Larsen talks the Image's story from the beginning, whether it worked because of the numbers they brought to Image, whether he expected Savage Dragon to go as long as it has, what the response to them leaving was like, what influenced the wave of big creators to Image in recent years, what made Robert Kirkman a good fit for Image, how Image has changed over the years, and more.

Feb 6, 2017

In a special edition of Off Panel, Image Comics co-founder Rob Liefeld joins the show to talk about the publisher 25 years after it started. Liefeld talks the popularity of the Image founders, why it needed to be more than just himself who did it, how Image came together, why Robert Kirkman fits Image so well, Eric Stephenson's role in Image's rise, whether Image's developing surprised him over its 25 years, who the heart and soul of Image is, what Image's future looks like, and more. You can read the article I wrote on Image's history and evolution, featuring Liefeld, on The Ringer.

Jan 30, 2017

Brian Hurtt and Cullen Bunn, the artist/writer team behind the recently wrapped The Sixth Gun and the soon-to-be revived The Damned at Oni Press, join the show this week to talk about their collaboration. The pair talks about how they first met, what appealed to them about working together, how they develop projects like The Sixth Gun, world building, getting invested in their characters, designing the world of The Sixth Gun, why they initially launched the book Free Comic Book Day, ending a longform story, where world building to go wrong, their return to The Damned, how market pressures has impacted longform storytelling, and more.

Jan 23, 2017

Comics lawyer Caitlin DiMotta joins Off Panel this week to talk about her role in helping some of the biggest names in comics do what they do. DiMotta shares her path to becoming a lawyer, how her background in ballet impacted her, how she first got involved with the comic industry, the importance of her role, creative transparency in deals between creators and publishers, the power of saying "no" in negotiations, whether comic creators should talk to a lawyer when making a deal, the next big frontier of comics, and more.

Jan 16, 2017

Writer Joshua Williamson returns to the show to talk about a little bit of everything, from the professional to the personal. Williamson talks about writing the biggest selling title in comics (Justice League vs. Suicide Squad), bringing his Image Comics series Nailbiter to a close, how the health of the comic industry impacts the way he plans his projects, revisiting Williamson's Applecart Theory because of Marvel's latest #1s, what he does with his free time, whether he gets hyped over his recent big news, his initial reaction to learning DC was bringing Watchmen into play, his take on Suicide Squad and comic adaptations overall, how his writing changes depends on the art he works with, his most impossible to resist vice or crutch, how the state of the country impacts as a writer, and more.

Jan 9, 2017

This week's first Off Panel of 2017 welcomes artist/writer Declan Shalvey back to the show to talk his first major moves into the world of writerdom and his return to his creator-owned project with Warren Ellis and Jordie Bellaire, Injection. Shalvey talks how the Nick Fury, Jr. story he was the writer/artist for in Civil War II: Choosing Sides came together, the excellence of Marvel editor Wil Moss, the challenges of writing and drawing his own project, the benefits of being a hyphenate, making such a short story work, the difference between scripting for himself versus someone else, how the return to Injection is going, his studio's previous intern getting his first gig, his perspective on Steve Dillon as an artist, and more.

Dec 19, 2016

On the 2016 finale for Off Panel, the co-owner of the Eisner Award winning comic shop Challengers Comics + Conversation, Patrick Brower, joins the show to talk about the year for his shop and the state of comic book retail as a whole. He shares how his shop did this year, what worked, what didn't, Rebirth, Civil War II, what he thinks is driving some of the retailer doom and gloom, whether he think it's different than the usual doom and gloom, what he's hearing from other shops, what he loved in comics in 2016, what he's excited for in 2017, and more.

Dec 12, 2016

On this week's special episode of Off Panel, frequent guest and friend of the show Brandon Burpee joins the show to talk the year in comics. Brandon and David discuss what worked for them, what didn't, what they're excited for in 2017, before breaking down their 20 favorite comics of the year.

Dec 5, 2016

Artist Charlie Adlard guests on Off Panel this week to talk about his work on The Walking Dead as well as his new role as the United Kingdom's Comics Laureate. Adlard talks his incredible (and expansive) run on The Walking Dead, staying engaged with such a long-running project, maintaining an ongoing schedule like he does, his layout phase (or lack thereof), how he and Robert Kirkman work together, working digitally on Vampire State Building, working with an inker after years of not, what exactly being a comics laureate entails, before closing with five questions about Star Wars, Legos, his band, and more.

Nov 28, 2016

On this week's Off Panel, artist John Paul Leon joins the show to talk art and his work on comic covers for books like The Sheriff of Babylon and DMZ. He talks his art background, giving fantastical worlds a sense of realism, his approach on covers, how he handled The Sheriff of Babylon, the power and importance of photo reference, the key to a quality cover, how he handles interiors, how color changes the way he approaches a piece, the freedom of comics, and more.

Nov 21, 2016

On this week's Off Panel, artist Ryan Stegman joins the show to talk his art and Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows. He discusses his famous stegosaurus signature, when he first realized he wanted to work in comics, the influence of the early 90s on him, why he wants to blow people's minds with his art, animation as an influence, his process, the trouble with layouts, Akira, his rare Spider-Man achievement, why Spidey is his jam, and more.

Nov 17, 2016

The owner of comic retailer Comics Conspiracy, Ryan Higgins, joins Off Panel this week to talk Marvel Now and where the publisher is these days. Higgins shares how he got into comics retail, what his customer base is like, his take on Marvel overall, how Marvel Now has performed at his shop, why he thinks Marvel is struggling in his store, why Rebirth has connected so well with his audience, the trouble with variants, the positives of Marvel Now, what he'd do if he ran Marvel Comics, the trouble with relaunches, how he feels about the current state of the comic industry, the perception of the direct market, and more.

Nov 14, 2016

Writer Vivek Tiwary joins Off Panel this week to talk the new edition of his graphic novel The Fifth Beatle. Tiwary talks his comic background, what the learning curve was like for writing comics after years in Broadway and beyond, why the story of Brian Epstein was so interesting to him, turning the story into a graphic novel and a TV series, why Andrew Robinson and Kyle Baker were perfect fits for the art of the book, balancing historical accuracy and getting the right feel for the book, why The Fifth Beatle released a paperback edition, promoting his work, and more.

Nov 7, 2016

Artist Paolo Rivera joins Off Panel this week to talk how he works and what he's up to these days. He talks how sculpture changes his art, bringing characters to life with his art, what his process is, why he's dialed back on drawing interiors, maintaining cash flow without that, learning to loosen up on bringing scripts to life, why he wishes he left Daredevil later than he did, the importance of ownership, and more.

Oct 31, 2016

Writer Shea Serrano joins Off Panel this week to talk about writing and his work for The Ringer and in his New York Times Best Selling book The Rap Year Book. Serrano talks the learning curve of writing, how he refined it as he went along, why he marries his writing with original art, how he paired up with Arturo Torres, the intent of The Rap Year Book, the importance of creating a framework for the book, his process for conceptualizing articles, how he makes writing work for him, why writing for exposure is not the way to go, the FOH army (his massive group of fans), and some hoops talk before closing with five questions about a little of everything, including John Wick, who he's looking forward to watching this NBA season, HEB commercials, and more.

Oct 24, 2016

Writer Tom King joins Off Panel this week to talk his work on books like The Vision, The Sheriff of Babylon, The Omega Men and Batman. He talks his experience writing Batman, what appealed to him about comics as a storyteller, his career path, how he's refined his approach as he went along, the Trilogy of Best Intentions, the "Tom King" voice or lack thereof, why consistent artistic collaborators was so important for the trilogy, how his artistic collaborator changes how he writes, baking informational structure into his work, how he views continuity, and more.

Oct 20, 2016

Alert! Alert! Things have gotten weird for Marvel Comics lately, between the delayed Civil War II and the uninspiring Marvel Now line, and Off Panel's here to fix everything. To do that, recurring guest Brandon Burpee joins the show to put on co-publisher hats with David and create a whole new Marvel universe line. The show starts with a discussion as to where Marvel is now, how Civil War II has impacted their reading lists, the oddness of some of the Marvel Now titles, event related confusion, how the Rebirth strategy could work for Marvel, before the main event: the Marvel fantasy draft. Ground rules are laid out, and then Brandon and David team up to draft new creative teams for their line of comics, as well as sharing their vision for why these books are the right fit for this new Marvel universe.

Oct 17, 2016

Chris Samnee, the co-writer and artist of Marvel's Black Widow, joins Off Panel this week to talk his work on that book and his new Daredevil Artist's Edition from IDW Publishing. Samnee talks how that Artist's Edtion came together, his approach to art, why the inking process is so important to him, what makes working on Black Widow so special, how co-writing that book changes things for him, the superpowers of color artist Matt Wilson, character acting, and more. It's a great chat with one of the best in the biz these days.

Oct 10, 2016

On this week's episode of Off Panel, cartoonist Brahm Revel joins the show to talk his Oni Press series Guerillas. Revel shares what the series is all about, how it developed, its long journey to completion, switching from single issues to graphic novels, how the marketplace has changed since it first launched in 2009, why the book took such a turn in the third volume, how the format and expanded timeline of the book has impacted his art, character acting, balancing Guerillas and paying gigs, and more.

Oct 3, 2016

On this week's episode of Off Panel, Skybound Entertainment Editorial Director Sean Mackiewicz joins the show to talk his work at the publisher on books like The Walking Dead and Invincible. He talks what his role at Skybound entails, how his role takes him into other mediums, how Skybound develops new titles and talent, their new title Green Valley, how sales viability factors into looking at Skybound pitches, how the editorial experience differs between Skybound and DC, the end of Invincible, and more.

Sep 26, 2016

Writer Sara Kenney and editor Karen Berger come onto the show this week to talk their new Image Comics title, Surgeon X. The pair shares what the book is all about, its origin story, how Berger joined up and what made it the one she wanted to return to comics with, the learning curve in going from film/TV to comics and from DC/Vertigo to Image, how the rest of the creative team - artist John Watkins, colorist James Devlin and letterer Jared K. Fletcher - joined the book, balancing realism with entertainment value, and a discussion about why having app for the comic was a move they wanted to do.

Sep 22, 2016

Cartoonist John Allison joins Off Panel for the first time this week to talk his work writing Giant Days and writing/drawing webcomics like Bad Machinery and Scary Go Round. It's a conversation that goes all over the place, as Allison discusses keeping the continuity of his webcomics work straight, how his DIY origins and page limits impacted his work on Giant Days, fostering a relationship between readers and characters, character acting in art, world building, properly handling humor, how the webcomic world has changed as the internet has, and much more.

Sep 19, 2016

Newsarama Editor Chris Arrant joins the show this week to talk writing about comics. Arrant discusses his comics journalism origin story, whether "comics journalism" is a proper term, the difference between his approach and that of his peers, how he made writing about comics his career, what makes for a good interview, how the landscape of writing about comics has changed over the years, recent redesigns and changes at comic sites, adapting to the changing nature of the internet, and more. As a special change of space, the five questions at the end? They're of Chris interviewing David, as opposed to the usual.

Sep 12, 2016

Cartoonist Andrew MacLean joins the show to talk about one of my favorite books, his Image Comics title Head Lopper. Maclean shares how the book came together, the quarterly format and doing things his way, his hyper DIY mentality, the Mike Mignola connection and influence, his creative process, making a good villain and action sequence, holding things back from readers, and more.

Sep 5, 2016

Writer Jim Zub joins the show this week to talk his brand new Image title that launches this week, Glitterbomb. Zub talks what Glitterbomb is all about, the horror of the reality of the story, how he works out hard storytelling beats, the amazing that is artist Djibril Morissette, how this book differs from the rest of his work, the motives of the book's lead, building hype without spoiling your own book, the incredible creative team, how important promoting your own work is in comics, before closing with five questions about poutine, Canada, Overwatch and more. Important note: there were technical difficulties in recording this episode, so there are some issues in the sound quality.