SiDEBAR - COMICS, ART & POP CULTURE

Ep. 108: Dragon*Con Panel - "That's Illustration!" featuring MATT BUSCH, JASON PALMER and RANDY MARTINEZ

Three guys, one moderator and a room full of blood thirsty fans—here's the tale of the tape!

Matt Busch, the 'Rock Star of Illustration', has created licensed art for Star Wars, done design work for TV shows like Nash Bridges and NY Undercover, and directed films, too. He also hangs out with real live rock stars like Kid Rock and System of a Down. Okay, I'm jealous, how 'bout you?!

Jason Palmer is an illustrator of epic proportions (hey, he does illustrations for a lot of epics). He's known for his work on properties like Indiana Jones, Superman, Star Wars and Firefly. Jason also has his own line of sweet licensed merch that he sells through his website (see below).

Randy Martinez is another cool guy and a great artist. He too rocks the Lucasfilm characters, but also keeps busy doing other stuff for Topps Trading Cards, Scholastic and Playroom Entertainment. Randy is a musician and songwriter, in addition to being an illustrator, and he does storyboards and sketchcards as well.

Dwight sat down with these fellas at a Dragon*Con panel and got 'em to talk about everything: drawing, the business of art, their personal stories, the whole nine. A good time was had by all and we thank them immensely for their openness and candor.

Hope you enjoy!

mattbusch.com   

jasonplamer.net

randymartinez.net

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Ep. 107: Dragon*Con Panel - Home Town Heroes featuring MARK BROOKS

To be honest, Atlanta has such a thriving community of comic creators, the theme for this panel could go on forever. That said, it was cool to kick it off right with the talented Mr.Brooks.

Mark Brooks gets mad fanboy love based on his dynamic charcaters and lush rendering style, kids. His resume is plastered with big selling titles (Dark Reign: Young Avengers, New X-men, Cable & Deadpool, Ultimate Spider-man). He's a comic artist and illustrator, but he also pokes his iron in a few other fires like sketchcards and the vinyl toy scene.

And just in time for EssDick (that's how you pronounce the acronym for San Diego Comic-Con), he and Brandstudio Press released a 48-page artbook of his stuff called Devilish. I think he and Alberto both had it available at the Con.

Mark is indeed a home town guy. He lives right here in Atlanta with his wife and son, and reps 'The A' very well. It was fun hearing him share some of his story.

Joining Brooks on the panel was another local creator, his friend, writer Paul Jenkins (Civil War: Front Line, Sentry, Mythos, Sidekick). He sat in with Mark and Dwight, and basically ended up interviewing Mark by himself. Good lookin' out, Paul.

Oh, and another thing. A raffle was held after the festivities ended by toy company, Sideshow Collectibles. The prize—a comiquette of Dagger from Cloak & Dagger that Mark himself designed exclusively for Sideshow. The winner—SOME DUDE WHO'S LAST NAME HAPPENED TO BE BROOKS.

**sniff, sniff** We smell a fix!

Anyways, big thanks to Mark, Paul, the panel attendees and Dragon*Con for the great time we had on this one.

Now, who should be next year's home town hero? Hmmm...

Mark's DeviantArt Page

**Picture by PosiTori.

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Ep. 85: NYCC Panel - The Do's and Dont's of Being a Comics Professional

We'll try and keep this one short and sweet. This is our panel audio from the New York Comic Con last month and it was all about being a pro. Lots of great back and forth from the audience, much knowledge was imparted, and of course, a few laughs were had.

Our featured panelists were Paolo Rivera and Eric Canete, and you know both these dudes from Marvel's Mythos, Spiderman, The End League and Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin—so don't front! They were awesome to sit in and help D and I out, and we thank them profusely.

Speaking of profuse thanks, we need to direct some of that to a few other special people:

First up, Peter Tatara and Kim Mueller of the NYCC staff. Those two folks and everyone else at the show were extraordinarily nice to us and we thank 'em for having us.

Also, big ups to Madame Xanadu artist, Amy Reeder-Hadley and Haunted Tank writer, Frank Marraffino for stopping by and saying hello. Vertigo in the house!

And without a doubt, much love to Sarah Jane Sapang and Ron Salas, artists, friends and listeners of the podcast. They too were kind enough to come through and support us.

**Pic provided by comic writer and friend, Jon Tsuei—'preciate it, "Sway"! Snippet provided by Madonna.

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Ep. 67: Weekend with Bernie - A Conversation with the Legendary BERNIE WRIGHTSON

Artist. Writer. Illustrator. Painter. Legend.

All of these in their own way describe Bernie Wrightson and his esteem amongst fandom and the art community at large. Not many artists have had the kind of impact and influence that he's had over the last 35 years. Friends of his like Mike Kaluta, Barry Windsor-Smith or Jeff Jones can maybe relate, but that's probably about it.

Bernie was in our fair city recently as a guest of Dragon Con and spent his Labor Day weekend greeting fans, selling prints, signing things, and being an all-around wonderful guest. For me, even though he was super kind and gracious, it was still a little hard to not be intimidated. I started to think about, ohh...Swamp Thing and those incredible House of Mystery covers. Or The Studio and dare I say it—Frankenstein! I mean, c'mon...this was the first guy to draw Batman with the long ears, for Pete's sake! That's enough to bring the nervous fanboy out of anyone...

Mrs. Wrightson (Liz we were told to call her) was our facilitator with the man and she too was just as nice as could be. Trust when I say, Bernie had droves of people lining up at his tables, but Liz still managed to carve out some time for the three of us to sit down. And for that, Dwight and I are grateful.

Our chat was relatively short (for us, that is), but chocked full of interesting stories and tidbits. We realize Bernie gets asked to do things all the time and tried to honor the few minutes we had to spend with him. After all, he's given us so much over the years through his fantastic art and stories. And you know what? He's still givin'. 

Thanks, Bernie!

http://www.wrightsonart.com/

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Ep. 66: Brushstrokes of Genius ft. JEFF PRESTON, BRIAN STELFREEZE, JOE JUSKO and MARK TEXIERA

Labor Day came and went, and once again Dragon Con held the biggest party downtown Atlanta has ever seen. Just like in previous years, it left in its wake a great time had by all 35,000 attendees and some awesome convention audio for us (yaaay)!

Dwight and I did panel moderating at the big show and we're stoked to be able to bring one of 'em to you now. It's all about traditional painters and features some really cool guys. Here's the Tale of the Tape:

JEFF PRESTON - Illustrator, designer, educator and banjo player. The subject matter in Jeff's commercial work has often been an eclectic mix of classic horror, fantasy and religious imagery. At his busiest, he's painted over 300 illustrations in a single year, many of those for Christian groups. Preston's a proud member of The Society of Illustrators and his painting of Uncle Creepy, a character made famous by Warren Publishing in the mid '60s, will be showcased in the new Spectrum 15—due out in October.

BRIAN STELFREEZE- Painter, illustrator, comic artist and wearer of hats. Brian makes his home right here in Atlanta where he co-founded his home base, Gaijin Studios. Shadow of the Bat, Domino, Fallen Angel and many a 12 Gauge comic have been adorned with his images, and he too is a molder of young minds. He teaches a workshop in watercolor painting in conjunction with a life drawing class Gaijin offers every Tuesday and Thursday night. Brian is also the art director for the aforementioned 12 Gauge Comics.

JOE JUSKO - Painter, illustrator and former NY cop (listen to the podcast, he'll tell you). Joe is a New York City native and sold his first cover painting to Heavy Metal Magazine at the tender age of 17. His spectacular run as the cover artist for The Savage Sword of Conan is well chronicled and he's worked for almost every major publisher of comics, fantasy and science fiction. Joe's the winner of many awards including the Wizard Fan Award, the Golden Lion and the Chesley. He too is a member of The Society of Illustrators.

MARK TEXIERA - Painter, illustrator, comic artist and not a wearer of shoes..! Known to many as Tex, Mark is also a New Yorker and attended the famous Art & Design High School, and eventually SVA. He worked for Neal Adams' Continuity Associates during the '80s handling art chores on the book Megalith and doing commercial assignments for companies like Salem and Marlboro. Tex's own clients over the years have included New York Magazine, Scholastic Books, Def Jam Records, Marvel, DC and Wizards of the Coast.

Well, that's about it, folks, pound for pound a terrific group of panelists! Our thanks to Dragon Con for having us and to the guests and attendees for hangin' out. 'Twas much fun and we hope you too enjoy!

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Ep. 45: ACE Audio VI - The Wonder of It All ft. MIKE KUNKEL, ANDY RUNTON and RAGNAR

This is the last of our ACE panel audio and it's entitled, The Wonder of It All, unleashing imagination with a personal touch. It was all about expressing something different by reaching down inside yourself and these three panelists are certainly qualified to speak on that subject.

First up is Mike Kunkel, an artist, writer and animator who's done work for companies like Sony, Disney, Universal and Pixar. Mike also runs his own company, The Astonish Factory, where he produces all ages books like The Land of Sokmunster and his Eisner award-winning Herobear and the Kid. Herobear is the story of a boy named Tyler and his pet polar bear, and the lessons they learn on their journey together.

Kunkel's been a champion of kid-friendly reading for some time now and he's well known for his mantra, "Remember your childhood...and pass it on".

Next in line is Andy Runton. Andy is an Atlanta native and the writer and artist behind his own award- winning creation, Owly. Owly tells the tale of a lonely, yet friendly little owl  who many say could be Runton's alter-ego. Published by Top Shelf, Owly won an Ignatz award in 2006 for Best New Series and an Eisner for Best Publication for a Younger Audience. Double honors and well deserved! 

Andy works full-time on his graphic novels and every year he produces a new chapter in this wonderful little bird's adventures.

Then there's our good friend, artist, writer and character designer, Ragnar. Brandon Ragnar Johnson has an extensive background in animation like Mike and he too has some great all ages books you can find through Baby Tattoo Publishing. Got Your Nose and Izzy's Very Important Job are two special projects he created and dedicated to two of his children (a third is in the works now for his youngest son).

Back in '06, Ragnar wrote and drew a love letter to his time of traveling abroad called Kings of the Road. Celebrating if you will, hobo culture, Kings is a beautifully crafted book for older audiences.

The discussion in this one was pretty open and honest, and offered some real encouragement to creators who may be thinking of telling their story. And like all the other panels at ACE, it was a lotta fun for us to be a part of. Our thanks once again to the guests, attendees and promoters of the Atlanta Comics Expo for putting up with us—we had a blast, you guys!

http://www.theastonishfactory.com/ 

http://www.andyrunton.com/

http://www.littlecartoons.com/

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Ep. 42: ACE Audio V - "If You Want It Done Right..." ft. MIKE KUNKEL

Hey All, welcome back for Part V of our ACE panel audio, this time featuring writer, artist, and storyteller, Mike Kunkel. The title of the panel suggests getting it right by doing it yourself and Mike does that all too well. He's known as the creator of the Eisner award-winning, Herobear and the Kid, but some don't know he's also the publisher for the book too. 

His company, The Astonish Factory, was established in 1999 to serve as an umbrella for all of his projects. No matter what the medium—comics, books, toys, TV or film, Astonish will usher those properties into the marketplace. That way Mike can stay hands on with every aspect of the process and nothing gets lost in translation.

In the panel, Kunkel discusses his beginnings in the creator-owned world and some of the challenges of self-publishing. He also shares his thoughts on juggling business and family, and the joys of creating for yourself.

This was a short one, but there were lots of great questions from the attendees and a wealth of information dropped by Mike, too. And our thanks to him for holding it down all by himself. Two of the other panelists got the convention flu and couldn't be there, so Mike braved it alone. We were well served!

http://www.theastonishfactory.com/

Click here to download the show.

Ep. 41: ACE Audio IV - World Wide Web Comics ft. GINA BIGGS and GREG CARTER

The World Wide Web has become an integral part of our daily lives. In many ways, it challenges the standards of what art and commerce were and forces us all to recognize the profound effect of what is and what's coming. A shift is occurring where the creative playing field is being leveled and everyone must log on to be a player or get left behind.

Gina Biggs of the Strawberry Comics line and Greg Carter of UpDown Studios have taken up the challenge of web comics and understand the rules of surviving and thriving in this new frontier. They both attended the Atlanta Comics Expo in February and I (Dwight) had the pleasure of moderating a panel with them on this very subject.

Gina spoke to us about her successful endeavors with the all-female comics group, Strawberry Comics. Her current works include Erstwhile, an adaptation of "hidden gems" from the writings of The Brothers Grimm and Red String, a coming-of-age story about a teenager named Mirahu Ogawa.

Greg discussed his own UpDown Studios, an on-line collective of creators and artists who work in different media types and formats. UpDown's members not only represent comics, but photography, painting and fine arts. The studio also serves as a publishing imprint for the group on titles like Abandon: Borrowed Tale and Tombstone Sword Slinger.

In the panel, both these trailblazers cover much about their own projects and their growing industry. Included are some of the ins and outs on promoting and marketing, how to keep expenses down, effective site designs and some costly mistakes new web creators can avoid.

http://www.strawberrycomics.com/

http://www.updownstudio.com/

Click here to download the show.

Ep. 39: ACE Audio II - Character Design ft. SANFORD GREENE, STEPHANIE GLADDEN, RAGNAR and DEREK YANIGER

There's more where this came from! Today, we present another panel recorded in early February at ACE, the Atlanta Comics Expo. This one's called Character Design and it's full of info and insights on the subject from our four great panelists!

First up is Sanford Greene, penciler for DC’s Wonder Girl mini-series and the new Method Man/Wu Tang graphic novel. Sanford's done designs for companies like Sony Animation, Hasbro, SEGA and Nickelodeon, and was a member of the collective known as Artxilla Studios.

Then there's Stephanie Gladden, a wonderful character artist and designer who currently works for Cartoon Network. She's drawn tons of licensed characters like Ren & Stimpy, The Power Puff Girls and The Simpsons, but you may know her as the creator of Hopster's Tracks for Bongo Comics.

Next is Ragnar, a designer and illustrator who's done development work for people like Disney, Nickelodeon and Warner Bros. Ragnar's also a writer and he directed a five minute short film for Disney based on one of his own all-ages books, Got Your Nose.

And finally, Derek Yaniger, an artist with a delightfully retro style who's done work for Marvel Comics and Cartoon Network, and event shows like Tiki Oasis and The Wild Weekend. You can also see his art featured in magazines like Atomic Barracuda and Car Kulture Deluxe. 

This was an eclectic blend of backgrounds and perspectives and I (Swain) really appreciate everyone's candor. The discussion includes topics like working on established characters vs. working in development, trying to stay on model, pleasing a client (or not!) and responding to the Bat-Phone. I had a blast moderating this panel, folks and this time I even remembered to introduce everyone (yaay)!

http://www.sanfordgreene.com/

http://www.stephaniegladden.com/

http://www.littlecartoons.com/

http://www.derekart.com/

Click here to download the show.

Ep. 38: ACE Audio I - Digital Visions ft. RAGNAR, TONY SHASTEEN, BRIAN STELFREEZE and JIM BURNS

Dwight and I attended the Atlanta Comics Expo in February and had the pleasure of moderating some panels for the show. This is the first of several portions of ACE audio we'll be posting over the next week..and it's a good one! We call it Digital Visions and it focused on digital tools, the interface and how today's artists use them.

Our panelists were Ragnar, a California based artist and illustrator with a background in character design and animation. Ragnar has a tremendous following for his beautiful prints and art books, and his work's been featured in the prestigious pages of Spectrum.

Then, there's Tony Shasteen, a talented illustrator with a commercial background, but who many comics fans know from 12 Gauge's, Occult Crimes Task Force. He's had work in Spectrum as well and Tony's a new member of Gaijin Studios.

Next is Brian Stelfreeze, an artist and painter you know from his terrific Shadow of the Bat and Fallen Angel covers for DC Comics. He's the art director for 12 Gauge and a founding member of Gaijin.

And last up is Jim Burns, the creator behind books like Detached and Daemon Process and a comic artist who works completely in the digital realm. Jim does a weekly web and newspaper comic called Grumbles and he also does work for local publisher, Terminus Media.

All the guys were candid, insightful and full of opinions, and the panel was a lot of fun to be a part of. My thanks to ACE for having me and to the panelists for participating.

**This episode features a small snippet of Roger & Zapp's Computer Love 'cause it's all about the digital love, baby. And a shout out to John Burns for supplying the group image!

http://www.littlecartoons.com/

http://www.theillustrator.com/

http://www.gaijinstudios.com/

http://www.jamesburnsdesign.com/comics/index.html

Click here to download the show.

Ep. 11: 2007 Heroes Recap (Part III) with CHEEKS, PEKAR AND BAKER

It's a three way split from Charlotte, NC and everybody's a winner! Our 2007 Heroes Recap ends on a high note with up-and-coming artist and character designer, Sean (Cheeks) Galloway. Cheeks talks about working on Hellboy: Sword of Storms and let's us know just what it takes to make it in animation. Then, we grab five with amazing good girl artist and painter, Joe Pekar. Joe shares a little about his background in video game design, his new book Strawberry and his love for drawing all things female. And finally, an interesting conversation with cartoonist, Kyle Baker. Somewhat fresh into his new partnership with Image, Kyle explains his move away from self-publishing, using his name as a brand and why after all these years...he too kinda hates Saturn.

gotcheeks.blogspot.com
www.joepekar.com
www.kylebaker.com

Click here to download the show.

Ep. 10: 2007 Heroes Recap (Part II) - GAIJIN REUNION

Since its formation in 1991, Gaijin Studios has held a reputation for bringing some of the most exciting art and artists to the forefront of the comics scene. It was only a matter of time before someone had sense enough to chronicle its inception, members, impact and importance. Eric Nolen-Weathington of TwoMorrows Publishing moderated a reunion panel with the guys at the 2007 Heroes Con and he's putting together a book on this very subject. Six former and present day members of Gaijin sat down with a room full of fans in Charlotte to share their stories and talk about the view from the outside. We present to you, uncut and for your listening pleasure, Adam Hughes, Cully Hamner, Karl Story, Brian Stelfreeze, Jason Pearson and Georges Jeanty.

www.gaijinstudios.com/
http://twomorrows.com/
www.heroesonline.com/index2.htm
www.justsayah.com/
www.kabalounge.com/

**Our thanks to the Gaijin guys, Eric and especially Shelton Drum at Heroes for making this reunion happen.

Click here to download the show.

Ep. 9: 2007 Heroes Recap (Part I) with MICHAEL GOLDEN

Everybody wants to be LIKE MIKE! True words indeed for a certain legendary basketball player and even truer words for a comics legend. Michael Golden has influenced a generation of artists since he burst onto the scene in the late 70's. His dynamic style and unique vision for the medium were like no one that had come before him and brought him a legion of fans. Golden attended the 2007 Heroes Con to meet and greet admirers of his work, do some sketching and promote several of his new projects including two new art books, EXCESS: The Art of Michael Golden and Modern Masters #12. We grabbed 10 minutes...well, really 20...okay, hell...40 minutes with Mike to talk about Micronauts, painting, cover art and why he's not really an artist (oh yeah, and some music too).

http://www.evainkpublishing.com/
http://www.heroesonline.com/con-update.htm

** A very special thanks to Renee Witterstaetter, Michael's rep, for putting us on with him.

Click here to download the show.

Ep. 8: Post ACE Wrap-Up (Part III) with DICK GIORDANO and BOB SCHRECK

It's more fun with Dick and Bob as we present Part III of our ACE Wrap-Up audio. Dick Giordano and Bob Schreck spoke at a panel at the Atlanta Comics Expo called Legends of the DC Universe to talk about editing then and now. This half of the conversation covers Dick's days with Charlton Comics, the origins of Watchmen, high points and the politics of just getting it done. It's an intimate sit down with two very fascinating gentlemen...hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

http://www.atlantacomicsexpo.org 

Click here to download the show.

Ep. 7: Post ACE Wrap-Up (Part II) with RUIZ, MACK, GIORDANO AND SCHRECK

Welcome to Part II of our on-the-floor interviews from the Atlanta Comics Expo! First up is artist and publisher, Alberto Ruiz of Brandstudio Press. Full of passion, candor and humor, Alberto shares his insights and perspective on art and the freedom of self-publishing. Next is David Mack, writer and artist on Kabuki and the soon-to-be-released Daredevil: End of Days. David talks about his work as a collaborator on this new DD project and his friendship with comic legend, Jim Steranko. And last, but not least is a special Then and Now panel with former DC Editor-in-Chief, Dick Giordano and current DC Group Editor, Bob Schreck. Captured in the round with no mics, this segment is a great peak into the stories behind the stories. Hope you enjoy it and look for Part III of the Wrap-Up in a few days!

**A very special thanks to Thom Trainor and Billy Messina of ACE for the use of the panel audio with Dick Giordano and Bob Schrek. I had a great time moderating and Dwight and I both enjoyed being a part of it. Thanks again, fellas!

http://brandstudio.com/
http://www.davidmack.net/
http://www.dickgiordano.com/

Click here to download the show.

Ep. 4: Post ACE Wrap-Up (Part I) with FRANCAVILLA, SUYDAM AND THE O.C.T. CREW

We present Part I of our on-the-floor interviews from the first annual Atlanta Comics Expo. From Ape Entertainment's The Black Coat series and the soon to be released Left On Mission from Boom! Studios, artist and illustrator, Francesco Francavilla. The guy behind Cholly and Flytrap, The Art of the Barbarian and all those fantastic zombies covers, master painter, Arthur Suydam. And the talented trio that brings you Occult Crimes Taskforce from 12 Gauge Comics, writer David Atchison, writer/actress Rosario Dawson ( Sin City and Clerks 2) and artist Tony Shasteen. Hope you enjoy these and look for Part II of the Wrap-Up in a week or so!

http://www.the-black-coat.com/
http://www.boom-studios.com/leftonmission/LOM/index.html
http://www.francescofrancavilla.com/
http://arthursuydam.com/
http://www.12gaugecomics.com/oct.html

Click here to download the show.