Off Panel: A Comics Interview Podcast

Comics critic Oliver Sava joins the show to for the ninth annual Superhero State of the Union, as we talk about where DC, Marvel, and other superhero comics are today. Sava discusses Marvel's big changes, its lack of urgency, the publisher's necessary fixes, its lack of cohesion, the artist gap, Doom exhaustion, the number of Marvel events, the upcoming Midnight line, where we stand on DC, the current Batman book, Absolute DC, Hayden Sherman's greatness, Next Level's merits, the Big Two crossovers, Chris Samnee's glory, the Fourth World, superhero titles outside the Big Two, what's next for DC and Marvel, and more.

Writer Olivia Dufault joins the show to talk about her comic journey and her new comic, Prima Apparata. Dufault discusses the roots of ideas, her comic origins, the impact of libraries, her writing journey, the overlap between theater and comics, breaking into comics, where Prima Apparata came from, her very original ideas, the lead characters of the book, Rebekah Isaacs, its ballet elements, the book's ashcan, the book's different titles, Ignition Press, her pride in the book, her comic writing future, and more.

Writer Jack Mulqueen joins the show to talk about his atypical path to comics and new series at Vault, Project Perseus. Mulqueen discusses why he started writing comics, his job as a nightlife developer, the community of comics, Mike Tyson experiences, self-publishing comics, being a part of comics, the origins of Project Perseus, the greatness of artist Edison Neo, bringing the book to life, its bananas energy, the characters of the book, working with Vault, whether he wants to keep making comics going forward, his next steps for writing, the New York Knicks' championship, the upcoming NBA season, and more.

Retailer Shannon Live joins the show to talk about the story behind her comic shop, Bat City Comic Professionals, and the year far for it and the direct market itself. Live discusses her level of busy, managing burnout, Bat City's unique nature, its different sides, their product mix, its indie emphasis, the year for shop, its energy, what's working, what can be learned from DC's success, new reader behavior, the direct market's overall health, ComicPRO's impact, tips for other retailers, and more.

Cartoonist Terry Moore joins the show to talk about his career and soon to launch crowdfunding campaign for Pandora's Box: An Echo Story. Moore discusses this moment in his career, his library of works, building a universe, gateway comics, why he went the cartoonist/self-publishing route, figuring things out, why Strangers in Paradise has proven to be such a lasting work, shifting to shorter runs, how his readership has evolved, crowdfunding as an option, doing his own thing, his new Dark Horse deal, working in other formats, the appeal of experimentation, what's next for him, the evolution of comics, and more.