Makingcomics.com Gutter Talk Podcast

The world these days is far from easy to understand. Sometimes there's an answer and sometimes there isn't. And sometimes, it takes all we have to find a way to even try to comprehend everything. But perhaps that's where art comes into play. Maybe, just maybe, our sight becomes a little clearer when we break it down into more of an expression than trying to fit a round understanding in a square hole. In the case of The Little Red Fish by Bizhan Khodabandeh and James Moffit, a simple, yet powerful story is told and it's all inspired by the Iranian revolution in 1979. Nah, that's not complicated to explain. In this Making Comics Gutter Talk episode, Adam is joined by Bizhan and James to discuss how this story came about and what makes this story have such an impact. There's also something to be said about the use of animals as the characters, a la Animal Farm by George Orwell, which is another side of the story Adam and his guests dive into. Following this discussion, Adam and Bizhan are left to their own devi

"This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play."  - Alan Watts As we walk out into the world we are entering a story. This story defines us and the way that we interact with our beliefs, actions, society, etc. As much as we are always entering into the story that others have defined for us, we are also given the gift of writing our own story in every action we take. This month I sat down with Rachel Beck, founder of Storyforge Productions, and we discussed the nuances of story telling. We looked at our society and how we are working to rectify our long history with marginalizing females - specifically in the comic industry. We also looked at the basic construction of worlds and characters and how those construction create compelling reasons that keep us reading. Reflecting on the talk I am reminded that complications are what keep us interested in the world around us. As comic artists we create ficti

One of the great things about attending comic conventions of all sizes is meeting people from all over. Because of its sheer size and international draw, it's actually pretty hard to not meet someone new from far off places while at San Diego Comic Con. At least far off from where you are. If you want to get all Inception on the topic, you are far off to those people you find far off. But we digress. In this Making Comics Gutter Talk episode, Adam is joined by Australian artist and creator Cristian Roux, whom he met while peddling a book of poetry at easily one of the largest comic conventions in the world. Cristian was drawn to the table by the amazing work of Ted Washington and began conversations with both Ted and Adam, both of which were equally impressed with Cristian's work. By the time Cristian left the table, Ted pretty much made up his mind that he was taking Puna Press to Australia for their comic and zine conventions and Adam made up his mind to ensure Cristian was added to the long list of stella

"...it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward."  Rocky Balboa's inspirational speech to his son in the 2006 installment into the Rocky franchise is definitely the inspiration for this show. There're a lot of projects I work on right. Art, design, and educational experiences I am currently slaving away over. I spend a lot of time, and incur a good deal of mental anguish, trying to figure out what the "right" thing to do is as a day job. When Rocky talks about taking hits, in my context that is all about my own personal demons regarding my design process. My own shadow/devil on my shoulder telling me I'm wasting my time. Last month, I'll be honest, I almost considered #ComicFuel a waste of my time. Three episodes in and I was ready to give up. I almost didn't finish episode 3. Even during the process of doing it, I didn't want to finish it. I did finish, barely, and then I swore to myself that I wasn't going to do another episode the same way again (if I did

Always remember: You are unique... just like everyone else. Ok, but seriously. There really is something to be said about originality, and Adam and his terrific guest, Gerhard Ka'aihue, have a lot to say about being original in this Making Comics Gutter Talk episode. Sure, fan art is great, and even better when its purpose is to help you, the artist, hone in on your skills and voice. Still, should that be marketed as your own? Is it your intellectual property to do what you wish with it? To Gerhard, it can be a very fine line to walk. Yet when it comes to Gerhard's work, it's all original, all the time. From his recent comic "Stella Noir" to his graphic illustrations that are eye-popping and brilliantly composed, Gerhard walks his own line between stunning art and simply being productive for productive sake. And isn't that what being an artist is about? The ABC of art? Yes, always be creating. Sure, he may have a day job and family responsibilities but Gerhard is quite satisfied with that arrangement. In fac

There is not a place we can turn where current events are not effecting our every day lives. I feel incredibly honored to unveil the first episode of comic fuel to feature Ulises Fariñas and Lucy Bellwood as cohosts. Ulises and I jump right into the questions and geek out on what is important to think about when inking - both digital and traditional. We then go into great depth discussing "style" and how it is actually an incidental occurrence in your art as opposed to a measured goal. Lucy hops in during question three to talk about how to think about drawing background art in your panels. Ulises and I cap the entire episode off with a very important discussion regarding how race and equity is reflected in the comic industry. In fact, in writing the show notes for that segment, I was delighted to find several amazing articles that dealt specifically with how the comic industry is connecting to these important topics. This episode also includes some amazing borrow audio clips from Jason Brubaker, Ven. Robin

Holy MOLY, what a whirlwind of amazingness it has been in the time between the release of episode 1 of Comic Fuel and Episode 2! We have had a thousand people download and listen to the episode and I have enough questions that I have to wait for another four episodes before I can put out another call for questions. Wow. In this episode, episode 2, we'll discuss project management, the comic creation process, coloring comics, penciling comics, and hosting comics online. The questions came from places like Ireland, India, Brazil, California, and Indiana. For legit #comicfuel we'll hear about why we do art from Stephen McCranie, transitioning into fame and what is at the core of what artistry is really about from "How I Met Your Mother" actor Josh Radnor, and we'll also hear about the art of really listening by famed audio producer Chris Watson. Questions answered in this episode (jump-to specific question times listed below) How many pages should a comic issue be to be printed? How long would it take to

I was staring angrily at my computer screen. My final in my advanced composition class was due, and I was hours later in the process than I thought I would be at the time. My phone rang. On the other end was the excited voice of my younger sister who had just graduated from high school and was making her way slowly through her freshman year. I was starting my second year as a graphic design major and was struggling to take care of myself. "Patrick! You'll never guess what I discovered today!" I was annoyed at the sound of her voice. Mostly I was agitated at being behind on my assignment and was only thinking about how quickly I could get off of the phone with her. "Yeah, what exactly did you discover?" I grumbled into my bulky Nokia cell phone (it was 2004). "I'm an artist! I just took an elective art class and I absolutely loved it! I'm an artist like you!" I choked at the sound of this. How could she think that she was an artist after taking just one class? I had been trying to become an artist since I w

If you haven't figured it out already, we here at MakingComics.com love spreading knowledge to comic artists of all ages and levels. We enjoy it so much that recently we teamed up with Coursera and High Tech High to create a free (yes, free!) Massive Open Online Course (aka MOOC) about how to make comics. It is designed by our CEO Patrick Yurick to be a six week course to guide you through everything from scripting to thumbnailing to penciling and inking. To really push it over the top, we had discussions with amazing minds and talents in the comics industry, such as Mark Waid, Eric Shanower, and Caleb Cleveland. In this Gutter Talk episode, we are releasing the audio from the first three weeks of the How to Make a Comic Book MOOC. The course itself is video based so when you sign up to take the course, you'll be able to visually take in the knowledge. However, we thought it would be a great idea to publish the audio for you, the podcast listener, so you can also benefit from the information found in the cou

Once again, the Making Comics crew invades Wondercon and this year's raid was pretty epic. Ok, maybe epic is overstating things and perhaps overused but it sure as heck felt that way. Why did it feel that way? Because this year we not only had our standard Gutter Talk panel but we partnered up with high school students from the Graphic Novel Project at High Tech High in Chula Vista, CA, too. To put the proverbial cherry on top, we even had a table in a prime location on the floor. If you're not familiar with the Graphic Novel Project, it's an after school student volunteer program that is designed to teach students the ins and outs of making a comic, from conceptualization to production to even the business side of marketing and selling the product. What made it really special was that the students got to participate in this year's Gutter Talk panel. Imagine being a 15 year old student sitting up on stage at one of the more major comic conventions in the country and talking about yourself and the work you pu

In society, the word "expert" is bandied about way too much. Rarely do you find the person it is referencing is actually an expert, someone with a comprehensive understanding and knowledge of a particular subject or skill. And, if humility is in play, that person wouldn't call themselves an expert, either. Then there are nerds, or those that are highly focused on a particular subject or skill, and boy, do they seem to be everywhere. Most nerds would think they are experts but any expert would say they're not. In today's Making Comics Gutter Talk episode, Adam is joined by one of the leading experts- uh, nerds- no, great minds in the field of writing about and analyzing comics, Glen Weldon. He has written several books about comics already, including "Superman: The Unauthorized Biography," so we're pretty sure he knows a thing or two about a thing or two. It also helps that he's a weekly contributor to NPR's Monkey See about all things comics and pop-culture. A majority of the ground covered by Adam and Glen

We here at Making Comics take pride in the type of things we present to you, the artist and comic creator, from the articles to the tutorials to even our amazing Underdog community. The same goes for the guests we are lucky enough to get on the Gutter Talk podcast. Every guest we've had on the podcast and also the panels we've had at conventions has been a treat and an honor to have on the show. We really consider ourselves extremely lucky to be able to gain insight and knowledge on how they perform and perfect their craft. This Gutter Talk episode continues that rich tradition in a major way. In today's episode, Adam is joined by Graham Annable, the co-director of the Academy Award nominated movie, The Boxtrolls, as well as the amazing animator and artist behind Grickle. One of the more gracious guests we've had on the Gutter Talk podcast, the conversations were open windows into Graham's thought processes as not just the great artist he is but also what it takes to be a director, even if a co-director, on

The ultimate goal of MakingComics.com and our website is to provide an extensive educational resource for those that want to, simply put, make comics. These individuals range not just in age, from pre-teens to adults, but also in experience, from those who are just starting out to those that are looking to learn something new to help push their artistic process and ventures to new levels. We even have the testimonials to prove how useful and effective the articles on our site have been to artists. Still, we strive to do more for the artistic community than just post articles online. It's why we have the Underdog community and these Gutter Talk podcasts. Now we have, in conjunction with Coursera and also the High Tech High Graduate School of Education, a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) that is video based in nature. You can find that course by clicking here. In this Gutter Talk episode, Adam sits down with the MakingComics.com enigmatic, benevolent, and oft-times well-dressed leader to discuss the How To M

The MakingComics.com headquarters is located in beautiful San Diego. Saying the Making Comics Gutter Talk podcast took a winter break seems somewhat ridiculous, mostly because winter does not really exist in San Diego. Still, that's exactly what happened and now the podcast is back. Well, sort of. In this episode, we return to the Coffee Table Comics podcast, the new-ish podcast by artist and creator Jason Brubaker. If you're not familiar with his work, you really should be. He has put out such work as reMIND and his most current comic Sithrah. This particular episode is the second half of a fantastic conversation between Jason and his guests. On the show is Gutter Talk alumni, Daniel Warren Johnson, the creator of the stupendous comic Space Mullet, and also Royden Lepp, the creator of another amazing comic called Rust. Their Links: Jason's Patreon site (@Jason_Brubaker) Sithrah reMIND Daniel's site (@danielwarrenart) Space-Mullet Royden's site (@RoydenLepp) Rust Our Links: Twitter Facebook

It's the final Making Comics Gutter Talk episode of the year, our second year here with MakingComics.com, and we couldn't be more excited about this episode. While it is not your standard Gutter Talk podcast you've all come to know and love, this is something equally as cool. Recently we heard from Jason Brubaker, creator of Sithrah and reMIND, and he mentioned how he's been working on new podcasts to release to the world. He was also curious if we wanted to release them in the Gutter Talk timeline alongside his own posts. Clearly this was a no-brainer. In this first episode Jason sits down with two amazing comic creators in a roundtable discussion. His guests are Royden Lepp, creator of the comic Rust, and Daniel Warren Johnson, both Gutter Talk alumni and creator of Space-Mullet.  

Over the last two years, the Making Comics Gutter Talk podcast has been fortunate enough to speak to amazing artists from international locations such as Canada, Australia, and Denmark. In today's episode, we place a checkmark next to Ireland as Adam sits down with Irish writer and filmmaker James Mulholland. It was borderline middle of the night for James at the time of the conversation but a great conversation was had. The episode begins with some political soapboxing but we promise, it soon dives into comics and the arts, and also the love James has for the city of Orlando, Florida. Another topic that comes up is the late start James got when getting into comics. It's just more proof that there is no single path an individual must take to become a comic artist. One of these days the MakingComics.com crew will travel abroad to spread the good word in person. There's a reason the word "worldwide" is in our name. But until then, our next best option is to speak to folks outside of the United States through

As we end Year Two for both MakingComics.com and the Gutter Talk podcast, we're pretty darn excited and grateful for how far we've come and where we're heading. We have a lot of big plans for the future but before we get too ahead of ourselves, let's deal with where we currently are. In today's Gutter Talk episode, Adam sits down with artist and creator, Ian McGinty, to discuss everything from creating music in his teens to creating comics in his twenties and beyond, and also how the two can sometimes require the same process. It's also pretty cool and inspiring to see and hear how far Ian has come since his high school days when he began to take comics seriously. While he explains how this came at the expense of something else, the moral is that sometimes the sacrifice is worth the reward. Ian's recent bouts of success are proof of that. Ian's Links: Ian's site (@ianmcginty) Our Links: Intro & Outro Song: "RetroFuture Clean" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By At

It's not very often you meet someone that makes it difficult to distinguish if you're talking to yourself or another person all together. However, in this Making Comics Gutter Talk episode with artist and creator Joe Badon, it seems that's exactly what happened; Adam has met his soul-twin and he's a damn fine artist. And not only is he an artist in the drawing sense, but Joe is also an artist in the musical sense. Today's episode opens with a song called "Monster Zero" from Joe's band The Band That Wouldn't Die. It's a bit experimental but we dig it just the same. It's perfect to draw or write to, if not both. This episode is yet another strong example of why being around like-minded peers in a community is an important part of not just becoming an artist but being one, as well. There's always a certain comfort level during the growing process in knowing not only are you not alone but you're more alike with others than you may have originally thought. Your ideas, concerns, goals, and sometimes even the same

It seems the Making Comics Gutter Talk podcast has its first ritual and we couldn't ask for a better one. You see, last year for Halloween we opened the show with a Vincent Price reading of a classic Edgar Allan Poe tale, which was followed by a fantastic talk with one of the masters in the horror movie and comic genre, Stephen R. Bissette. We had so much fun putting that podcast out that we decided it was imperative this become a regular thing. So we made that happen. You're welcome. Last year we opened with Vincent Price masterfully reading Poe's "The Raven." This year we have Vincent Price reading Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." While there may be some who can read a Poe story out loud, not many can give it the respect and justice it deserves like Vincent Price. Following that Adam is joined again by Stephen Bissette to discuss what he's been up to the last year, and as it turns out, he's quite the busy guy. In the conversation they discuss what is needed to create a top-notch horror story, whether it's in

Oh, to be young again! Or just young, period. However, don't let the not-quite-ripe age of 21 fool you when it comes to Vincent Kings, an up and coming artist in the Los Angeles area. He may have the energy of a young buck but he speaks with the depth and wisdom of a wise, old man that has been in the game for ages. In today's Making Comics Gutter Talk episode, Vincent travels down to San Diego and over to Adam's studio (and let's be honest here, it's really just his living room) to talk about what it takes to maintain pace and structure as an artist. You'll also get to hear Vincent discuss some rules and guidelines he does his best to follow in order to aid in not just his successes now but the successes of his future. Don't get Vincent wrong, though. He fully understands he has a long way to go before he feels comfortable being the artist he seeks to be, even if that doesn't happen until his last dying breath. Still, when you hear him speak about his process in both thought and action when it comes to art