Panel Borders: Dylan Horrocks and the Magic Pen

Starting a month of shows about Australasian comics, Alex Fitch talks to New Zealander cartoonist Dylan Horrocks about his work. Fitch and Horrocks discuss the latter’s run on DC Comics’ Batgirl from 2003-2004, his self-published comics Atlas and Pickle and his latest graphic novel Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen. In this, the protagonist from Hicksville returns in a magical realist tale about artistic fantasies, inspired by the work of pulp writers from the early 20th Century such as Edgar Rice Burroughs. (Originally broadcast on Resonance 104.4 FM, 2nd July 2015)

Alex Fitch interviews Dylan Horrocks, drawing by Patch Miller / covers of Sam Zabel and Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks / cover of Batgirl vol. 1 no. 49 by James Jean, Horrocks et al.

For more info and a variety of formats to stream or download this podcast, please visit archive.org

Links: Dyaln Horrocks’s website www.hicksvillecomics.com
Wikipedia page on Batgirl
Buy Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen from publishers Knockabout Books
Patch Miller’s website

Panel Borders: Dylan Horrocks and the Magic Pen [ 29:47 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: Crowd-Funded Comics

Concluding a month of shows looking at cartoonists who launch their projects using crowd-funding websites, Alex Fitch talks to comic book creators Emma Vieceli, Paul Duffield, Anastasia Catris and Mike Garley in a panel on the subject recorded at True Believers Comic Festival, Cheltenham, February 2015. Emma discusses using Patreon to fund her webcomic Breaks, Paul talks about collecting shorter works that were unlikely to find a republisher, while Anastasia and Mike explore the advantages and disadvantages of using Kickstarter to pay for unusual themed anthologies. (With thanks to The Nerds Who Haunted Themselves podcast / Originally broadcast on Resonance 104.4 FM, 25th June 2015)

Crowd-funded Comics by Emma Vieceli, Paul Duffield, Anastasia Catris and Mike Garley

For more info and a variety of formats to stream or download this podcast, please visit archive.org

Website links: emmavieceli.com, paulduffield.co.uk, anastasiacatris.com, mikegarley.com
True Believers Comic Festival
Listen to Alex’s previous interviews with Emma Vieceli and Paul Duffield

Panel Borders: Crowd-Funded Comics [ 40:18 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: Kickstarting the Riven Seal

Continuing a month of shows about comic book creators who have used online fundraising to launch various titles, Alex Fitch talks to Amanda Gomes and Julie Wright about their webcomic Riven Seal – Ars Ianua, which is being collected as a graphic novel via kickstarer funding. Riven Seal is an on-going fantasy narrative set in a bustling port town in the 1860s, where the use of magic, demonic possession and exorcism is common day in an all-ages strip which mixes positive depictions of LGBTQIA characters with manga and anime style art. Amanda and Julie discuss the origin of the comic, their use of sites such as Patreon and the commissioning of branded tea bags to fund their work, and interactions with fans at gaming and comic conventions. (Originally broadcast on Resonance 104.4 FM, 11th June 2015)

Images from Riven Seal by Amanda Gomes and Julie Wright

For more info and a variety of formats to stream or download this podcast, please visit archive.org

Links: Read the archive of Riven Seal at www.lesserkeystudios.com
Support Riven Seal on kickstarter and patreon
Listen to Alex’s interview with ‘gas-lamp fantasy’ creators Phil and Kaja Foglio about their comic Girl Genius

Panel Borders: Kickstarting the Riven Seal [ 30:22 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: My So-Called Secret Identity

Continuing a month of shows about comic book creators who have used online fundraising to launch various titles, Alex Fitch, with the help of guest presenter Nicola Streeten, discusses the crowd-funding campaign for the webcomic turned graphic novel series My So-Called Secret Identity with its writer Dr. Will Brooker. Will explains the history of the project, which with Batgirl as inspiration looked to create a new super-heroine for the modern age who uses her wits rather than fists to solve problems; why Kickstarter was used to finish the first volume of the comic and fund the second, and how MSCSI is connected to his research as an academic writer on Batman and other pop culture texts. (Recorded at Cartoon County, Brighton, July 2014 / Originally broadcast on Resonance 104.4 FM, 4th June 2015)

Volume 1 finale and character designs for My So-Called Secret Identity, art by Suze Shore

For more info and a variety of formats to stream or download this podcast, please visit archive.org

Links: My So-Called Secret Identity website and kickstarter
Info about Will Brooker at Kingston University website
Nicola Streeten’s website
Info about the interview at www.cartooncounty.com
Listen to Alex’s previous interview with Will Brooker, alongside Kieron Gillen, Si Spurrier and Richard Reynolds

Panel Borders: My So-Called Secret Identity [ 1:02:00 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: Martian Comics and Ocular Anecdotes

Starting a month of shows about comic book creators who have used crowd funding to launch various titles, Alex Fitch talks to writer Julian Darius and artist Peter Cline about the Kickstarter campaigns for their respective anthologies Martian Comics and Ocular Anecdotes. Alex and Julian discuss the latter’s work for the academic publisher Sequart Organization and comic book imprint Martian Lit, and the cross-over audience between the two, while Peter discusses his background in print making at the London College of Communication and editing titles by other creators published by Otto Press. (Originally broadcast on Resonance 104.4 FM, 4th June 2015)

Promo art for Ocular Anecdotes by Peter Cline / covers of Martian Comics issues 1-3 edited by Julian Darius

Links: Martian comics website and kickstarter
Peter Cline’s website and kickstarter
Sequart website
Otto Press website

Panel Borders: Martian Comics and Ocular Anecdotes [ 35:08 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: Roach and Collins

Concluding a month of shows comparing independent and ‘mainstream’ comics, Alex Fitch talks to British artists Mike Collins and David Roach. Collins and Roach have worked together and seperately on Doctor Who comics as penciller and inker respectively; Mike Collins has also drawn a variety of American comic books including Batman, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt and Star Trek, while David Roach is a veteran of the British periodical 2000AD, having drawn classic strips such as Nemesis the Warlock and Judge Anderson. (Recorded at Birmingham International Comic Expo / Originally broadcast as part of a Clear Spot on Resonance 104.4 FM, 5th June 2015)

Comics by Mike Collins and David A Roach

For more info about this show and various file formats to stream or download, please visit the home of this podcast on archive.org

Links: Comic Vine pages on David Roach and Mike Collins
Mike Collins’ website
Buy comics by Mike Collins and David Roach from Amazon

Panel Borders: Roach and Collins [ 43:42 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: TorsoBear, Cogs and Claws

Continuing a month of shows about creators whose work sits in the middle ground between ‘mainstream’ and independent comics, talks to a trio of creators whose comics take stuffed bears and other children’s toys and place them in genre adventures. Brett Uren explains the history of his noir themed anthology series TorsoBear, featuring a bear and a wooden policeman investigating crimes in Toyburg while, Brian Bennett and Jimmy Pearson discuss the webcomic Cogs and Claws, a monochrome, fast paced space opera serial published as a graphic novel by Markosia (recorded at Cartoon County, Brighton).

Cover and interior art from Cogs and Claws by Brian Bennett and Jimmy Pearson / from Torsobear by Brett Uren, Saoirse Louise Towler and others

For more info and a variety of formats to stream or download this podcast, please visit archive.org

Links: TorsoBear website and Kickstarter page
Cogs and Claws website
Brett Uren’s previous comic Kuzimu
Brian Bennett’s deviant art site
Jimmy Pearson’s profile on freelanced.com

Panel Borders: TorsoBear, Cogs and Claws [ 1:06:57 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: The Umbral Fuse

Continuing a month of shows about creators whose work sits in the middle ground between ‘mainstream’ and independent comics, Alex Fitch talks to writer Antony Johnston about his career so far. Fitch and Johnston discuss the latter’s comics published by Image: fantasy saga Umbral and Sci-Fi detective drama The Fuse, the author’s parallel career as a video game scripter and his experiences writing Daredevil titles for Marvel. Recorded at Cartoon County, Brighton, April 2015.

Covers and interior art from The Fuse, Umbral and Wasteland written by Antony Johnston

For more info and a variety of different formats you can stream or download, please visit the home of this podcast at www.archive.org

Links: Antony Johnston’s website
Alex’s 2009 interview with Johnston about his work
Info about Johnston’s work for Image Comics

Panel Borders: The Umbral Fuse [ 1:06:22 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download