Interviews with writers & artists who create comic books and graphic novels
Episodes
Thursday Feb 25, 2021
Thursday Feb 25, 2021
Gregg Schigiel began his professional career in 1997 working as an assistant editor for Marvel Comics, was character artist for Nickelodeon in 2000, and from 2010-2018 was a regular contributor to SpongeBob Comics. One would think with such an impressive resume and experience, people would know how to pronounce his name. But no.
We begin our discussion with an easy way to remember the correct pronunciation of Schigiel.
With the formalities out of the way, things get personal. I recall with Gregg the circumstances under which we first met, and the impact his work has had on my two boys.
Why are kids, and adults, attracted to Gregg's comics? How does he do it?
In part, it's because Gregg never forgot what it was like to be a kid.
But there are things we do forget, and we recount some of the memories that come flooding back when we re-discover books that we read many, many years ago as kids.
Turning our attention to Gregg's books, we talk about his coloring books Zooperhero Universe and Uniquecorns.
Why does Gregg make coloring books now?
We also discuss his latest graphic novels Pix: One Weird Weekend and Pix: Too Super For School.
How is Pix like Spider-Man crossed with fairy princess? Why would Gregg create such a character since, as we learn, he not a big fan of "hard" fantasy? And what does Gregg eschew had fantasy.
In addition to comic shops and bookstores, Gregg explains why libraries are such an important brick and mortar location to reach, and teach, kids about making art and sharing his work.
Gregg also has a podcast all about Tom Cruise movies titled Crusin' Together. We share about some of our favorite, and not so favorite, Tom Cruise films.
Did you know that Gregg's art is also wearable? He has a creative tee-shirt line celebrating the films and many characters of an American treasure, Tom Hanks.
I close our interview with Gregg answering the fun questions I ask all my guest including the toughest of them all for Gregg, what would be his one his island book.
Only one book, and Tom Hank's is not on the island as a source of entertainment. "Wilson!!!"
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Gregg Schigiel's comics & coloring books
Gregg Schigiel's Hanks A Lot Tees
Gregg's Podcast Crusin' Together
Monday Feb 15, 2021
Monday Feb 15, 2021
Laurence Luckinbill is an actor, playwright and director best know for his one-man plays in which he portrayed President Theodore Roosevelt, Clarence Darrow, Ernest Hemingway and President Lyndon Johnson.
Laurence is best known by science fiction fans as Spock's half-brother Sybok in the motion picture Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989).
Laurence's first graphic novel Teddy is based on his one-man play Teddy Tonight! The graphic novel adaptation was illustrated by artist Eryck Tait and published by Dead Reckoning.
We learn the story of Theodore Roosevelt's life and why Laurence decided to set his play Teddy Tonight! during a speech T.R. had to deliver in July 1918.
What event did he just learn about the changed the course of his speech?
I ask Laurence how he kept his live performances night after night fresh and if he ever needed to adjust a portrayal based on audience feedback.
Of course we talk about Star Trek V, why Laurence was offered the part, and what he told the director William Shatner about how he wanted to play the part of Sybok.
When I Kick Back With The Creator, we discuss how Laurence keeps fit and healthy at 86 years of age and how to have a happy marriage!
Creator Talks Theme Song: "Jazz Relax" from LoopsLab
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Link to video of performances by Laurence Luckinbill
Link to buy Teddy the graphic novel
Thursday Feb 11, 2021
Thursday Feb 11, 2021
Sal Abbinanti, a favorite guest of comic book podcasts, makes his Creator Talks debut.
Sal is the art representative for master comic book artists Alex Ross and Bill Sienkiewicz. Sal is the creator of the comic series Atomika (2005) which was self-published through his imprint Mercury Comics.
We discuss Sal's first Kickstarter The Hostage, a story that draws from his experience in Rio de Janeiro and the religious culture of the city.
How did that experience change his life...forever?
We also talk about Sal's first published Marvel work that was released the same month as his first Kickstarter.
Sal contributed the art for "I Am a Revoltin' Development", written by Alex Ross and published in Marvel #4.
Sal grew up reading Marvel Comics and is a huge fan of Jack Kirby and John Buscema's art.
What did Jack Kirby say about comics that inspired Sal to try to break into the business?
Why did Marvel Comics' editors repeatedly reject Sal's art portfolio in the 90's?
We also talk about life in cold, windy Chicago and warm, sunny Las Vegas.
When I Kick Back with The Creator, Sal answers such questions as: his favorite island book, posters he had on his bedroom wall as a pre-teen and his guilty pleasure. Plus how to avoid marital arguments... and extend your life!
Creator Talks Theme Song: "Jazz Relax" from LoopsLab
Creator Talks logo by The Design Punk
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Link to The Hostage Kickstarter which ends February 25, 2021
Thursday Feb 04, 2021
Thursday Feb 04, 2021
In honor of Black History Month, Creator Talks is joined by Ken Quattro, long-time comic book reader, collector and writer of history.
Ken discusses his recent published work Invisible Men: The Trailblazing Black Artists of Comic Books.
Researched over two decades using original source materials, including official documents, contemporaneous newspaper articles and comics, Ken examines the lives of black men who worked in comic art shops during the Golden Age of Comics.
Ken writes in his book:
"One thing they shared was for too long they lingered, out of mine and out of sight of their light-skinned peers, evading the scrutiny of historians and the eyes that looked past them, to everyone who saw only their skin color and then saw nothing more. Without body or substance. As if they were invisible."
We learn how some of these artists denied their heritage, while others embraced it. Most led two professional lives, one working in comics and the other outside of the medium.
After discussing his book, we turn to the subject of his life long passion, comic books. We cover:
The dawn of the Marvel Age of Comics in 1961, and Ken was there.
What is the difference between writing and story telling?
What issue explains the greatness of comics in just five pages?
Why are we both vehemently opposed to "slabbing" comics?
Why has there never been a highly successful Fantastic Four movie? Ken has the answer, and it lies in embracing the FF's Silver Age roots.
All this and more packed into this 45-minute interview, commercial free!
Creator Talks Theme Song: "Jazz Relax" from LoopsLab
Creator Talks logo by The Design Punk
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Now available Invisible Men: The Trailblazing Black Artist of Comic Books
Ken Quattro's companion Invisible Men Blog
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Chip Zdarsky (Sex Criminals, Daredevil) and Jason Loo (The Pitiful Human Lizard) spend time with Creator Talks to talk about their Comixology original Afterlift, available for the first time in print in books stores February 2nd and in comic shops through Dark Horse Comics on February 3rd, 2021.
The Eisner and Shuster Award winning comic is about Janice Chen who works for the ride sharing app CABIT. She picks up a man who insists she stop for a young woman on the way to his final destination. Janice learns he is a demon named Dumu who wants a ride to The Midway, the first step in the afterlife, to cross the River Styx into Hell.
The print edition is loaded with Chip's commentary and Jason's design sketches.
Chip and Jason talk about their first impression of each other and working on Afterlift.
We also discuss why some people who read comics digitally double dip for the print copy.
Chip know why, because he does too.
Will this be the future of comics, from digital edition to print trade?
I also ask Chip and Jason their thoughts on what lies beyond this life. Is it anything like Afterlift ?
When I ask my guests nine fun questions, I discover what is their favorite birthday, beverage, island book and guilty pleasure!
Creator Talks Theme Song: "Jazz Relax" from LoopsLab
Creator Talks logo by The Design Punk
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Thursday Jan 14, 2021
Thursday Jan 14, 2021
Joining Creator Talks is Brandon Montclaire who has written a graphic novel anthology with Frank Marraffino titled Ludwig van Beethoven - The Final Symphony (Z2 Comics). It features dozens of artists and sports a cover by David Mack.
2020 was the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven. We discuss Beethoven's influence on pop culture and cite a few examples from the 20th century. Brandon also explains the development of the graphic novel, how he and Frank split writing duties and some of the artists on the book.
We talk about how early performances of Beethoven's music changed how the public approached listening to classical music, and we digress about our own experience listening to and collecting vinyl records.
Brandon discusses his previous work for Marvel Comics writing Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, the end of the series and it's continued growth through trade paperbacks and a cartoon in production for Disney.
We conclude our discussion with the 9 Questions I ask my guests including "the one that got away" and the time Brandon took a risk buying a comic shop.
Audio Clips:
A Charlie Brown Christmas - Bagatelle No. 25 "Fur Elise"
A Clock Work Orange - Beethoven's 9th Symphony
Soylent Green - “Pastoral” from Beethoven's Symphony No. 6
A Fifth of Beethoven - Walter Murphy
Creator Talks Theme Song: "Jazz Relax" from LoopsLab
Creator Talks logo by The Design Punk
Please rate and review Creator Talks on Apple Podcasts
Order Ludwig van Beethoven - The Final Symphony
Friday Jan 01, 2021
Friday Jan 01, 2021
Celebrate the New Year with this special bonus interview!
The last interview with writer Zack Kaplan was on my 12th episode. Zack returns to Creator Talks to kick off 2021 by discussing his latest trade paperback Join The Future (Aftershock Comics).
It is a Sci-Fi Western about ultra-modern megacities rewarding millions of their citizens with a completely funded life, with every need met, from food to housing and healthcare, in order to compete in an economic power struggle in which population is key.
We talk about Join The Future and the artists Zack has collaborated with on all his comic book series.
Zack's prior work Eclipse (Top Cow 2016), Port of Earth (Top Cow 2018) and The Lost City Explorers (Aftershock 2018) have been optioned for TV series development.
I ask Zack, are comics getting optioned for television really that common?
As I learned in our first interview Zack loves to play poker.
How much of Poker's strategy is based on psychology, i.e., reading the other person?
In Zack's opinion, has any book or film portrayed a realistic game of Poker ?
How would Zack re-write a script for game of Poker for a James Bond film?
Zack also answers nine fun questions I ask including:
What's his beef?
What is his guilty pleasure?
When did he take a risk?
Creator Talks Theme Song: "Jazz Relax" from LoopsLab
Creator Talks logo by The Design Punk
Please rate and review Creator Talks on Apple Podcasts
Thursday Dec 17, 2020
Thursday Dec 17, 2020
Tony Isabella began working for Marvel Comics on October 31, 1972. He shares his thoughts about working at Marvel and about some of the people he worked alongside.
What was it like working for editors Roy Thomas, Stan Lee and Len Wein?
Among the Marvel Comics we discuss that Tony wrote are Ghost Rider, The Champions, Luke Cage, Power Man and Black Goliath.
Learn why one of his characters in Ghost Rider was changed at the end of story.
Tony also wrote for DC and shares his thoughts about working for the publisher over the years.
Tony pitched Black Lightning to DC when asked to write for another character.
Why did DC prefer his idea for Black Lightning rather than the other pitch?
Why did Tony initially leave the series in 1978 and what were his ultimate plans for the series villain during its 1995 revival?
Tony explains why he has a problem with the way Black Lightning has been portrayed in other DC magazines and why his 2018 six-part story Cold Dead Hands is true to the character's core values.
We also discuss the future of single-issue comics, Super Hero movies, Tony's Blog and series of books he plans to write about cheesy monster movies!
All of this in this jam-packed interview plus my Kicking Back With the Creator questions.
Creator Talks Theme Song: "Jazz Relax" from LoopsLab
Creator Talks logo by The Design Punk
Please rate and review Creator Talks on Apple Podcasts
Read more from Tony at tonyisabella.blogspot.com
Thursday Dec 10, 2020
Thursday Dec 10, 2020
My guest Birdie Willis is a queer, non-binary comic book writer. Birdie's latest work is Seen: Rachel Carson scheduled for release through Boom! Studios March 2021 .
Rachel Carson was a Marine Biologist who fought against the environmental crisis which ultimately lead to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
One of her biggest contributions was alerting the world about the environmental impact of fertilizers and pesticides.
One of her most popular books published in 1962 on the subject was Silent Spring.
Seen: Rachel Carson is the 2nd in a series of graphic novels spotlighting true stories of ground breakers who changed our world for the better.
We talk about writing Seen: Rachel Carson and the book's illustrator Rii Abergo.
Birdie also provides answers to difficult questions we face today including:
How we can become more aware of those who are marginalized and subsets of society?
What do we say to those who hold onto the past and believe their way of life is threatened by the marginalized?
How can we learn to better understand and respect each other?
We also discuss Birdie's other work Over the Garden Wall: Soulful Symphonies (BOOM!) and next project Of Her Own Design (Mad Cave Studios) with Jess Taylor and Stephanie Palladino.
All this plus the fun questions when we Kick Back With The Creator!
Creator Talks Theme Song: "Jazz Relax" from LoopsLab
Creator Talks logo by The Design Punk
Please rate and review Creator Talks on Apple Podcasts
More about Seen: Rachel Carson
Thursday Nov 26, 2020
Thursday Nov 26, 2020
Élodie Durand is a French cartoonist who has written and illustrated several children's books including Les grandes années.
Élodie's published her black and white graphic novel Parenthesis in 2011. It is the story of Julie, barely out of her teens, when she develops a brain tumor that leads to seizures, memory gaps and a loss of self.
The opening of parenthesis that may never close interrupts the sentence of her normal life.
Parenthesis is actually a memoir based on Élodie's real life experience of her own brain tumor.
It was her debut title and was awarded the Revelation Prize of the Angoulême International Comics Festival.
Parenthesis is schedule for release for the first time in English through Top Shelf/IDW publishing January 12th, 2021.
Élodie Durand resides in Marseille, France and joins me for this interview with her friend and translator Lena.
Learn from the source what Élodie's experience was like, how she managed to close the parenthesis and the advice she has for others suffering from a sense of loss.
Before we conclude our interview I Kick Back With the Creator and ask Élodie about her favorite birthday, her beverage of choice, life in Marseille and her next project.
Creator Talks Theme Song: "Jazz Relax" from LoopsLab
Creator Talks logo by The Design Punk
Please rate and review Creator Talks on Apple Podcasts