Robots From Tomorrow!

Andrew Aydin and GOOD TROUBLE COMICS

We live in troubling times. Turn on the news or your phone and that seems to be all there is: trouble.  But according to John Lewis, the late U.S. Congressman from Georgia’s 5th District, trouble… doesn’t always HAVE to be bad. In fact, there can be GOOD trouble that helps you deal with all the bad. Carrying the Congressman’s message of GOOD trouble into these times we find ourselves in, is the Congressman’s former staffer, writing partner, and steadfast ally Andrew Aydin. Andrew’s publishing venture Good Trouble Productions is built on the foundation of that message of GOOD trouble, and is the focus of today’s episode. Good Trouble Productions, through its Appalachia Comics imprint, is running a Kickstarter campaign for ISLANDS IN THE SKY, a 112-page comics anthology to benefit the survivors of last year’s Hurricane Helene that pairs actual survivors with comics writers like Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction, Gene Leun Yang, Greg Pak, Alex Segura, and more to capture their own accounts on the storm and its aftermath. The Good Trouble Comics imprint is home to titles like the LGBTQ anthology RECOGNIZED, the historical reprint series COMICS OF THE MOVEMENT, and REGISTER! a new series about history and an extraordinary group of teens. And finally, talks swings back to Appalachia Comics for MONSTER APPRECIATION SOCIETY, where Andrew and artist Johnathan Marks Barravecchia delve into the horror genre with all manner of monsters lurking in the namesake mountains: Bigfoot, The Moon-Eyed People, and the worst monsters of them all: real estate developers!  [This episode is number 815 in a series.] ****************************** CHAPTERS 00:00 – Preamble 00:46 – Intro 03:12 – ISLANDS IN THE SKY Kickstarter Campaign 04:04 – Pairing Survivors With Comics Writers To Tell Their Stories 10:57 – Hurricane Helene From Andrew's POV 17:06 – Getting The Word Out About Appalachia and Helene 22:25 – Alternate Distribution Models with Etsy & Kickstarter 28:33 – The Beginnings of Good Trouble Productions 33:16 – What Makes a Comic a Good Trouble Comic 38:07 – Register! (With An Exclamation Point) 40:20 – MONSTER APPRECIATION SOCIETY  47:07 – Outro ****************************** Go to the episode page at: https//robotsfromtomorrow.net/andrew-aydin-good-trouble

Spotlight on Colleen Doran (From HeroesCon 2024)

Today’s episode comes directly from this year’s HeroesCon in lovely Charlotte, NC. Greg had the opportunity to host a few panels this year; the first of which was this spotlight on cartoonist/illustrator Colleen Doran. As described in the show programing guide: Her work has garnered more nominations and awards than we have space to list here, but trust us, it’s a looong list. Eisners, Bram Stokers, Harveys, Hugos, inclusion in the Best American Comics series… when discussing COLLEEN DORAN’s career as a cartoonist and illustrator, there are so many highlights only the bravest of souls would try and host a panel looking to take stock of them all. T hankfully for HeroesCon, GREG MATIASEVICH (Multiversity Comics) has taken up the challenge. Come see how he does in conversation with one of the best artists working in comics, or any other field, today! [This episode is number 816 in a series.] ****************************** CHAPTERS 00:00 – Preamble 01:26 – Intro 02:52 – How has it been adapting Gaiman’s prose work to comics? 08:41 – What’s your process like when you’re working from someone else’s material? 21:48 – What is the status of A DISTANT SOIL, and how different do you think your career would have been if you hadn’t had a creator-owned project like it to start your career with? 22:51 – Which word is more important for a creator to know – yes or no? 24:12 – What are some working tips from your freelance career that you think every creator should know? 39:53 – Remembering Keith Giffen 42:23 – Who was the last big art revelation you had? 44:06 – Is it possible to divorce illustration from storytelling? 45:19 – Do you think the American market will ever appreciate how much of comics ‘writing’ is done by the artist? 51:15 – Outro ****************************** Go to the episode page at: https//robotsfromtomorrow.net/colleen-doran-hc24

Paul Gravett: At Comica's Crossroads

  "The cycle of renewal in art is peddled by the periodic influx of stuff from somewhere else. That’s why you need a man at the crossroads… He will be the purest, most fresh faced wee fellow you have ever met. His ingenuous enthusiasm will beam from his cheery countenance." -- Eddie Campbell on Paul Gravett, ALEC: HOW TO BE AN ARTIST   Today’s guest is Campbell’s Man at the Crossroads, and he has been observing, studying, and directing comics traffic for over 40 years.   As this fellow’s understanding of its ebbs and flows has grown over that time, so has his endeavors in making sense of it for himself. And thankfully, Comics fans around the globe.    He’s written at least seven books, including Mangasia, the definitive guide to Asian comics, which has been transformed and translated into reality as the touring exhibition: ASIAN COMICS: EVOLUTION OF AN ART FORM.   The Barbican website describes the exhibit at The Bowers Museum in Los Angeles, CA as "with a team of more than 20 international advisors, ASIAN COMICS features over 500 works, the largest selection of artworks from the continent, including Japanese woodblock prints, Hindu scroll paintings, digital media, printed comics, and contemporary illustrations. This unique exhibition is a gateway to an unexplored world of graphic storytelling and its artistic value."   He’s also an accomplished editor and anthology curator. Among the books he’s assembled have been 2011’s 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die, which is a fantastic title, and The Mammoth Book of Best Crime Comics. He’s contributed to countless periodicals and documentaries about comics. He’s published one of the best comics magazines of the 1980s, Escape, with partner Peter Stanbury, giving a platform to such creators as James Robinson, Dave McKean, and Neil Gaiman. He started Comica, the London International Comics Festival with John Harris Dunning in 2003.   He gives lectures, he hosts panels, and he continues to be one of the most respected comics patrons of his generation. Frankly, it’s been exhausting just narrowing down his endeavors to a reasonable summary for this blog post.   He's Paul Gravett and he joins Greg today to talk about comics in all their wonderful forms and many varied locations.   [This episode is number 818 in a series.]   ******************************   CHAPTERS   00:00 Preamble 02:50 Intro 05:40 “I want to know about everything…” 06:17 What was the first thing you learned that gave you your paradigm shift of what comics could be? 08:28 Shonen Magazine / Fishing Crazy Senpai 10:32 “No nostalgia, no loyalties, no limits” 12 36 How do you keep all these perpendicular lines of comics in your head? 17:52 "An unlimited multiversity to comics" 19:53 Photo comics & Gregory Crewdson 22:11 Jayme Cortez 24:18 Comics 1964-2024 27:20 Sawwaf Collection 29:31 Lusanne / Taiwan 32:27 Lodz Poland 33:19 Posy Simmonds 35:40 ASIAN COMICS 37:10 Talk about your growing understanding of Asian comics as you were working on the books and the exhibition. 41:38 Is the diversity of Asian comics and inspiration to you about the future of comics? 44:05 Comics preservation in the Philippines and Mexico 50:41 How important is humility (or lack thereof) when putting together an anthology or exhibition? 57:25 Talk about your working relationship with your partner Peter Stanbury. 1:02:25 Comics 1:06:00 Outro   ****************************** #1001comicsyoumustreadbeforeyoudie #Angouleme #asiancomics #comics #comix #comicbooks #graphicnovels #comica #escapemagazine #manga #manhwa #paulgravett #peterstanbury #posysimmonds        

Joseph Illidge on THE SHADOW CABINET

Today's guest is making his SIXTH appearance on the show, which means he's the most returned non-Multiversity guest in the history of the show. Previous episodes have had us talk about various aspects of his almost-30-year career in comics, from intern to editor at such publishers as Valiant, Humanoids, Heavy Metal, A Wave Blue World, and of course, DC Comics. But Joseph Illidge is here now as the writer of that company's Milestone Universe: The Shadow Cabinet #1, a four-issue limited series bringing him back to Milestone Comics, where his professional journey began. Issue #1 debuts on November 20th with art by Darryl Banks and Artigun Ilhan.    * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 02:10 The SHADOW CABINET Pitch 02:57 The Shadow Cabinet Working on SHADOW CABINET 05:52 What brought you back in the Milestone fold? 08:38 What was it like being back? 13:27 What kind of script / art collaboration do you prefer? 16:51 How was working with editor Marquis Draper, aka your generational echo? 23:48 For writing Rocket, how do you dial into her and speak for her? 28:27 Anything you want to tease about the rest of the mini? 30:33 Outro * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  [This is episode 817 in a series.]

Michel Fiffe on the Life and DEATH OF COPRA

Today we're talking about Copra, the indie comics darling that fuses 80s mainstream comic sensibilities with modern execution to give us an adventure story that looks familiar... up until it doesn't. In the 12 years since its inception, Copra has taken readers on a journey both on the page and off. This year saw the publication of Creating Copra, the definitive guide to making and self publishing comics. A 64-page reference guide to... well, you know. But all things must come to an end, and Copra is no exception. The four-issue limited series titled Death of Copra starts on January 8th of next year, with final order cut off on December 2nd. To cover this comic's beginning and probable end, we have cartoonist/creator Michel Fiffe in the studio to talk about all things Copra.