Inkstuds

German cartoonist, Aisha Franz joined me to talk about her latest comics work, Shit is Real, out from Drawn and Quarterly. She is also one of the people behind the fantastic Clubhouse anthology, beautifully printed by Colorama. The latest issue, lucky number 13 is out now and looks amazing.

A very delayed inkstuds. Apologies to everyone! here is an interview with the Great Eric Kostiuk Williams. His latest work is Our Wretched Town Hall from Retrofit. I love love love Eric’s work. It’s political, funny and beautifully drawn. He is able to work out some really complicated topics while also keeping things strangely stunning and outrageous. Eric also has Condo Heart Break Disco from Koyama Press.

Sometimes life is hard and you try to find things that get you through. Energy drinks seem to be that thing for me. I love comics. Dearly. But they are hard. It’s hard to keep up and understand what’s going on. A nice can of monster can be the only thing that gets me up and out the door in the morning. I’ve been thinking really hard about who i am and my place in the world, and i think it’s important to try and do for energy drinks, what i have been doing for Inkstuds for the past 14 years. Expect deep talk on life and the challenges it brings. I am joined by my friend Simon, who has similarly found joy in energy drinks. Taking him to the next level during his immigration to America. Using these powerful brews to better understand the American zeitgeist. Please enjoy, the first episode of DRINKSTUDS

I was able to meet up in person with Liam Sharp while he is Vancouver for a local comics show. I have always been really into his work and fascinated by his approach. He’s currently the artist on Green Lantern with writer Grant Morrison. His most recent work includes Brave and the Bold Wonder Woman/Batman which he wrote, and the Wonder Woman work with writer Greg Rucka.

Karl Stevens joined me to talk about his painting and comics work. His latest book, The Winner from Retrofit/Big Planet, is a great move forward in his work and shows some amazing growth and introspection. I am really excited by his work and where he is taking it.

Breakdown Press Co-Founder, Designer and Cartoonist, Joe Kessler joined me to talk about his new collection, Windowpane and shine a light on a bit of the history of Breakdown Press. Breakdown is one of the most interesting publishers in the UK right now, putting out some top notch forward thinking comics. I am a huge fan of all they do and Joe’s comics are pretty great too.

Vancouver cartoonist, Steve Skroce joined me to talk about his latest book, Maestros. This is Steve’s first book written for himself, having previously worked with a wide range of writers like Alan Moore on Youngblood, Brian K Vaughn on We Stand on Guard and The Wachowskis on Doc Frankenstein. Steve is someone whose work I had been following since back when I worked in a comic store as a teenager, so it was nice to finally get an interview done.

David Small joined me to talk about his latest book, Home After Dark. While his previous work, Stitches was a memoir, his latest is a work of fiction that still captures a similar feeling and emotion. I really liked the book and this conversation.

Here’s another in a run of interviews with dedicated folks who put together independent comics shows in North America. Los Angeles’ CALA is about to hold their fifth annual event, and guest ‘stud Kit Brash talked to two of the team behind it, Jen Wang and Jake Mumm, a couple of weeks after last year’s show. This year’s CALA will run on December 8th and 9th, from 10am til 5pm each day. Guests will include Taneka Stotts, Sophia Foster-Dimino, Marinaomi, Laura Lannes, Cathy G. Johnson, Landis Blair, Ezra Claytan Daniels, and Hartley Lin. The venue, a gymnasium at 3000 Dolores St in Glendale, has that common LA curse of being five times quicker by car than by public transport, but there’s parking onsite and in surrounding streets, with a food truck and tables to save precious table-browsing time. Entry is free, re-entry is probably because you had to hit the ATM and come back. All the details are at comicartsla.com.     If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please consider supporting Inkstuds on Patreon.

Last year I joined the board of Directors for the Vancouver Comic Art Festival. It’s been really fun getting more involved in supporting local events and comics happening. The first event we did outside of the regular festival, was this talk with Anna Haifisch, Olivier Schrauwen and Marian Churchland. We did the event in the new theatre in the main branch of the Vancouver Public Library. Many thanks to Fantagraphics for facilitating the visit from Anna and Olivier and to the VPL for hosting.