Up and coming uk cartoonist Lando, joined me in my London flat for a chat about his self published work from Decadance Comics and his new book from Breakdown Press, Gardens of Glass. Lando’s style reminds me of what Frank Santoro and I used to talk about with the idea of fusion comics, where you see someone pulling from so many different sources and creating something completely new.
My first interview in London was with Joe Decie. I have been meaning to interview Joe for quite a long time, so this was perfect timing. He was in London to see Deltron 3030 that night, so we were able to make the time work.
Joe and I were both recovering from Thought Bubble con crud, so apologies for the sound of our stuffed up noses. I actually slept all day and woke up about 20 minutes before Joe showed up. Sorry Joe!
Joe’s work can mostly be found on his website, but he does have 2 books from Blank Slate.
Joe drew this for me after I told him i want to move onto a mountain in Scotland.
While in Vancouver for an art installation, Walter Scott and I met up to talk about his book Wendy from Koyama. I really get a lot out of his work and love the balance between his comics and conceptual artwork. Walter is doing a signing and performance at Luckys on Friday evening and his showing at Macaulay Fine Art in Vancouver opening Thursday January 15th until February 17th.
I dont remember where i got this, sorry, please let me know if it’s yours so i can credit.
My second day at Thought Bubble brought me together with a stellar group of cartoonists. Boulet, Becky Cloonan and Emily Carroll are all make amazing work from their own artistic perspectives. Becky has been writing Gotham Academy for DC Comics and her own self published cartooning work By Chance or Providence. Boulet is constantly busy with his world class comics work. He was probably the most talked about cartoonist at Thought Bubble, doing amazing drawings for a massive line of very happy folks. Emily Carroll‘s new work is the 6th volume of Frontier from Youth in Decline and her collection, Through the Woods.
Live at Thought Bubble with Emily Carroll Becky Cloonan and Boulet [ 57:54 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
image stolen from Fredeggcomics http://fredeggcomics.blogspot.ca/2014/11/thought-bubble-2014.html
Here is my first interview from the UK leg of the roadtrip. A conversation with three very nice people. I am a fan of all of them and they also happen to be some of the most personable folks to talk to. Emma Rios is probably most known for her work on the image series Pretty Deadly. Dave Taylor has been on the show in the past and is always a blast to hear from. I have been a fan of his work since I first saw it long ago in some batman comics. He is currently working on Dr Who comics. Lastly Scott Snyder has been quickly producing a solid run of great comics in the mainstream with a number of series for Vertigo, DC and Image. His most recent is the horror series Wytches.
This was my first time attending Thought Bubble. They were a really great accommodating show. Thanks for hooking me up with these great guests.
Thought Bubble Panel with Emma Rios Dave Taylor and Scott Snyder.mp3 [ 55:17 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
I’m not going to say to much other than thanks. This year has been pretty amazing. The list of folks that we have talked to is pretty amazing.
Thanks to guests Tom Spurgeon, Ed Piskor and Joe Keatinge, Gary Panter, Nick Bertozzi, Bill Kartalopolous, Ron Wimberly, Simon Hanselmann and Jacq Cohen, Mariko Tamaki, Katie Skelly, Mimi Pond, Eleanor Davis and Emily Carroll, Farel Dalrymple, Patrick Kyle and Michael Deforge, Stephen Collins, Jillian Tamaki, Prophet boyz, Lin Visel, Sean Christensen, Bob Schreck, John Martz, Roman Muradov, Matt Fraction, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Wendy and JH Williams III, Ed Brubaker, Rob Liefeld, Pendelton Ward and Tom Herpich, Georgia Webber, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Jaime Hernandez, Frederik Peeters, Steve Wolfhard, Ladronn, Lamar Abrams, Rebecca Sugar, Lane Milburn, Jesse Moynihan, John Pham, Ron Rege jr, Jordan Crane, Junko Mizuno, Laura and Michael Allred, Alec Longstreth, Tom Hart, Juanjo Guarnido, Jess Fink, Craig Thompson, LeSean Thomas, Jay Potts, Spike Trotman, Darryl Ayo, Whit Taylor, Qiana Whitted, Jimmie Robinson, David Brothers, Jay Lynch, Dakota McFadzean and lastly, Nick Bantock. I am also sitting on interviews with Oliver East, Scott Mcloud, Joe Decie, Lando and live panels with Emily Carroll, Becky Cloonan and Boulet; Emma Rios, Dave Taylor and Scott Snyder; Jamie Mckelvie, Alison Sampson and Darryl Cunningham.
Yeah. lots of good interviews.
and to finish your year, here is Simon Roy in his Tom of Finland Cosplay.
Brandon and I really wanted to talk to Tom Spurgeon while we are all at SPX, unfortunately a long and chatty breakfast got in the way. Now that all of the inkstuds roadtripping is finished, Brandon and I are getting caught up with the interviews we wanted to do, but didn’t get the chance.
Tom’s Comics Reporter site is a high point for current comics journalism. His site is a daily stop for me. Tom recently took on a new opportunity as Festival Director for Cartoon Crossroads Columbus. A comics expo project partnering with the great Billy Ireland Museum.
Hot on the heels of the successful roadtrip series of interview, Brandon revisits the work of our most popular subject, Rob Liefeld. Brandon is joined by Ed Piskor and Joe Keatinge for an indepth discussion of Rob’s work, hopefully providing an understanding and perspective on Rob’s work. His impact in comics is felt long and far. He is quickly dismissed and maligned, but I hope with this discussion, we can provide a more indepth understanding of the importance of Rob’s work on the current milieu of comics. There is a lot of debate that comes with even mentioning the impact of Rob Liefeld and hopefully this provides some backgroud info on where to start and why he is important.
This is a special solo studs, hosted by Brandon while I sat in a corner.
To end our trip in New York City, Brandon and I traveled across Brooklyn to the home of Gary Panter. We were joined by the our touring friends, Simon Hanselmann, Michael Deforge and Patrick Kyle. We thought it would be fun to bring together some amazing talent, a bunch of young cartoonists heavily influenced by one man, our host Gary.
It was a really delightful afternoon. Gary has been on the show before and is one of the great conversationalists in comics. He continues to move forward in his work, trying new things and taking on new challenges. His latest work is Dal Tokyo from Fantagraphics. It was probably the best way to end our NYC leg of the roadtrip.
Nick Bertozzi is a fav of both mine and Brandon’s. His Rubber Necker series really pushed forward some amazing story telling techniques on top of being great comics. Nick has quietly been producing a massive volume of comics for First Second books. He recently returned to Rubber Necker, releasing the 5th and 6th issues over the last year. He self published his Persimmon Cup graphic novel recently after a successful kickstarter campaign.
We met up with Nick for a delicious italian lunch followed by the interview, which was conducted on the roof of the PS1 Moma in Long Island City.
