MakingComics.com Gutter Talk Podcast

April showers may bring May flowers but the one thing you can be sure of that May will also bring is yet another spate of talented artists to the Making Comics Gutter Talk podcast. Two of them will be with artists we met and talked to while at WonderCon back in the first week of last month. Today’s episode, however, was recorded away from the craziness that conventions can sometimes bring. In this Gutter Talk episode, Adam and co-host Patrick Yurick, a voice you’ll hear this week and next, get the pleasure and opportunity to talk to Paolo Rivera, artist and illustrator, both freelance and working for others. It took a few emails back and forth, even a reschedule or two, to nail down a specific day and time but in the end, it was completely worth it. The conversation spanned topics of why he went to the Rhode Island School of Design (a question in which he has a few answers, actually) to a question he is often asked, how does an artist get their voice and style. We’re pretty sure you’re going to dig this episode. If not, we’ll guarantee your money back. What? You didn’t pay anything for the podcast? Well, then it looks like you’ll get a full refund. Lucky you. But again, we’re pretty sure it won’t even come to that. Also, one more thing. Please be all that you can be and head over to iTunes to give us a rating and a review. The more this happens and the higher the average rating the more exposure this awesome little podcast gets. And while in some states exposure is illegal, we’re big proponents of artistic exposure of comics and comic-related information. We’re free souls like that. Paolo’s Links: Paolo’s site (@PaoloMRivera) Podcast w/ Paolo in which the host sounds like Adam Our Links: Intro & Outro Song: “RetroFuture Clean” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Outro Song Behind Vocals: “Backed Vibes (clean)” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Transitions: InceptionBrassHitMedium.wav: Herbert Boland / www.freesound.org Old Fashion Radio Jingle 2.wav: club sound / www.freesound.org

Fresh off a highly successful panel at WonderCon, as well as your benevolent host recording three other future podcast episodes, the Making Comics Gutter Talk podcast returns with a flashback, or a re-issue as they’ve come to be known around these parts. In this episode we return to the great conversation Jason Brubaker was in the midst of with Daniel Lieske, the mastermind and artist behind the Wormworld Saga. If you have not yet had a chance to listen to the first half of this conversation, click here to check it out. In this episode Jason and Daniel Lieske go into detail about their strange and exciting successes with their respective Kickstarter projects, as well as some great conversation about crowdsourcing in general. It really does seem to be important to make sure you continue to build your fan base in order to help drive your successful project. As a side note but one that also reaches up for the WonderCon mention above, were you there? If so, let us know. We’d love to hear what your thoughts were, what you liked, didn’t liked, wanted to hear but didn’t, heard but didn’t expect to hear, all of it. It was a pretty great panel, Jason Brubaker included, and the discussions had were as awesome as the questions asked by the crowd. If you were not there, though, no worries. Click here to take a listen. Oh, and one more thing. Please consider going to iTunes to rate the Making Comics Gutter Talk podcast. Leave a review, count some stars, maybe check out some episodes you haven’t listened to yet. This really will help us get the word out about the great things we’re doing here and we really do want to hear from you. We see you on Twitter and Facebook and other places doing amazing things so please consider doing the same and leaving a review on iTunes. Ok, now you can listen to today’s podcast. Enjoy, dear listeners. Their Links: Daniel Lieske’s Wormworld Saga (@daniellieske) Jason Brubaker’s Sithra (@Jason_Brubaker) Our Links: Intro Song: “RetroFuture Clean” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Transitions: InceptionBrassHitMedium.wav: Herbert Boland / www.freesound.org

The Making Comics Gutter Talk podcast goes live once again from the halls and walls that make up the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California as several of the Making Comics crew invades WonderCon 2015. Last year’s panel was so much fun we had to do it again, though this time there were no Godzilla facts. Sorry to disappoint you. But there were other facts we figure you will want to hear. This year’s Gutter Talk WonderCon panel was led by Adam and focused on storytelling in comics. The topics ranged from story idea inspiration to editing a story halfway through to collaborating with an artist or storyteller. There were questions from Adam, including a pop quiz, and some fantastic questions from the audience, which the panelists handled like the professional artists they are. Speaking of the panelists…. Just like last year’s Making Comics panel, this year’s guests were top notch. The list included Rachel Beck from Storyforge Productions, Jason Brubaker, the creator of Sithrah and reMIND, Ted Washington, artist, writer, and founder of the small publication company Puna Press, and Making Comics Worldwide’s czar- uh, CEO, Patrick Yurick. The list of qualifications among them made them perfect people to discuss the art of storytelling in comics, especially, but other formats as well. If you were unfortunately unable to make WonderCon this year, we have your back. We always do. Please enjoy this amazing conversation with some of our favorite artists. Big, big thank you to Karyn Keene, co-founder of Storyforge Productions, for the fantastic photos. Check these out! Panelists Links: Rachel Beck: Storyforge Productions (@Storyforgers) Jason Brubaker: Sithrah & reMIND (@Jason_Brubaker) Ted Washington:

Several of the Making Comics Worldwide crew graced the rooms and halls of WonderCon 2015 recently and while there, Adam was able to record four upcoming podcasts, the live Gutter Talk panel “Storytelling in Comics” included, in a 24 hour period. That has to be some kind of record, right? And while very little time was spent wandering the floor, it was a worthy sacrifice to be able to capture conversations like the one you’re about to listen to. In this Three Questions episode, freelance writer and soon-to-be mom Sarah Yoon sits down with Karyn Keene, co-founder of Storyforge Productions, a company with a stated mission of helping tell stories across various mediums. In an age where there are numerous ways of telling a story, it can be both tricky and overwhelming. One of the biggest steps to being a better effective storyteller that Sarah discusses is knowing the type of writer and storyteller you are. Using ideas from her book, “Firestarters: Multi-Disciplinary Inspiration for Writers,” Sarah dives in to the three types of writers she has discovered through her research. Whether you are a writer or not, this podcast episode is a must-listen. It will not only make you stronger as a writer and artist overall, it could help you understand other writers you will encounter in your career and life. These are Sarah’s three questions: Question 1: What are the three ways creativity manifests itself in writers? Question 2: What do you find yourself working the most with? Question 3: How did you decide what you wanted to write about? Sarah’s Links: Website (@sarahlyoon) FireStarters book Karyn’s Links: StoryForgers site (@Karyn_Keene) Music: Intro: Please Listen Carefully by Jahzzar is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike License (http://freemusicarchive.org) Segment 1: Pigalle by Jahzzar is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License (http://freemusicarchive.org) Segment 2: Become Death by Jahzzar is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike License (http://freemusicarchive.org) Segment 3: Julia by Jahzzar is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License (http://freemusicarchive.org) Outro: Good Night by Jahzzar is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike License (http://freemusicarchive.org)

Welcome to April and what is shaping up to be another stellar month of Gutter Talk podcasts, including the audio from our live Gutter Talk panel at WonderCon. In order to remain in the moment, let’s start with today’s podcast. In this eposide, Adam sits down with artist and writer, Michael Dambold. The topics discussed in this episode ranged from the difficulties of what it’s like to grow up in the Louisiana, right in the heart of Cajun Country, when your bloodline is not from there to the process of creating a story and both the successes and failures that came from it. Turns out what was needed was Michael telling the story he wanted to tell, not necessarily the story he thought people wanted to hear or read. As an artist, that realization is a difficult one to get to. On the one hand, you want readers and viewers to enjoy the story and art so it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to satisfy them by giving them what you think they want. However, what’s more important and rewarding as an artist and writer is to be sure the story you tell and create is a story you as the artist and writer is what you want to tell. If you do it well, the readers and viewers will show up and stick around. One more note before you listen to this great conversation between Adam and Michael Dambold, if you’re going to be at WonderCon this coming weekend, please be sure to check out the live Gutter Talk panel on Saturday at 10am in Room 211. Michael’s Links: Michael’s site (@michaeldambold) Space Barista (Patreon) Our Links: Intro & Outro Song: “RetroFuture Clean” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Outro Song Behind Vocals: “Backed Vibes (clean)” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Transitions: InceptionBrassHitMedium.wav: Herbert Boland / www.freesound.org Old Fashion Radio Jingle 2.wav: club sound / www.freesound.org Saturday, April 4th Room 211 10am

The Making Comics podcast returns this week with another Jason Brubaker re-issue. This episode is the first part of a two part conversation between Jason and sometimes co-host, sometimes guest, but all the time favorite, Daniel Lieske, an artist based in Germany. In one of the re-issues we released last year, Jason and Daniel were going through some rather successful Kickstarter campaigns. It was hard to not join in their excitement. But as much as we wish it weren’t the case, time moves on and that edge on the excitement begins to soften some. This leads to what can be a very scary question: Now what? In this re-issue episode, Jason and Daniel attempt to answer that question. The fun thing is we have the ability to see the things they’ve done since this conversation first happened, or in this case the “what” in the big question, and the successes they’ve continued to find. And in a way, they’ve provided somewhat of an educational roadmap into comic creation. It may not be the exact path you or I may take but the experiences they have and share with us become plot-points along our own roadmap. Before that conversation begins, Adam discusses a few things that came up between Jason and Daniel. Oh, and we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention one of the more exciting upcoming events we’re participating in this year, Wondercon 2015. This year, on Saturday, April 4th at 10am in Room 211, Adam will be moderating a panel on storytelling in comics. Check out this list of panelists: Jason Brubaker: Artist, creator of reMIND and Sithrah Rachel Beck: Co-founder of Storyforge Productions Ted Washington: Artist, poet, and founder of Puna Press Patrick Yurick: Artist, creator of Hipster Picnic, educator, and CEO of Making Comics Worldwide If you’ll be at Wondercon 2015, make sure you check out our panel and say hi! Links: Daniel Lieske’s Wormworld Saga (@daniellieske) Jason Brubaker’s Sithra (@Jason_Brubaker) Intro Song: “RetroFuture Clean” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Transitions: InceptionBrassHitMedium.wav: Herbert Boland / www.freesound.org

The Making Comics Worldwide crew returns to Anaheim for Wondercon 2015! That’s right. We’re back! And this time around we have an even more fantastic panel of guests to discuss storytelling in comics. The panelists include Jason Brubaker, Rachel Beck, Ted Washington, and others. See you there, right? Right. This year’s Making Comics Worldwide Gutter Talk Wondercon panel will be about storytelling in comics and will focus on the beginning stages of telling a story. For a lot of creative folks out there, sometimes the hardest part of telling a story is starting. Sure, it’s one thing to come up with a story idea. The tricky part, though, is fleshing out that story and making it come alive on paper. Join us April 4th at 10am in Room 211 to get the push you need. The various aspects we’ll discuss are some of the more common steps of storytelling people can lose focus or even the entire story itself. Depending on the type of thinker you are, either the ideas are coming too fast to write them down or they’re just not happening fast enough. In this panel, all topics are on the drawing table and they will range from ideation, or creating the story idea, to world building to setting a schedule to make sure you stay on pace. If you will be attending Wondercon this year, this will be the one panel you won’t want to miss. However, if you are not lucky enough to be there, fear not, friends. We will be releasing the panel as a podcast later on in the month of April. We do this because we care. Oh, and also for the art. Can’t forget the art. Saturday, April 4th 10am Pacific Room 211 Click here for more information. Music: “It’s a Trap” by JO is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. (www.freemusicarchive.org)

When it comes to creating art, it’s more than just the process or tools you are using. While those things are major factors in the big picture, pun intended, the philosophies of art are just as important. In this heavy Making Comics Gutter Talk episode, Adam and his co-host Patrick Yurick sit down with Stephen McCranie, artist of “Mal and Chad” and creator of the website Doodle Alley, to discuss everything from Stephen’s beginning in art to separating the individual from the individual’s work. Yeah, we know. Deep, huh? We pride ourselves in providing creativity-based information, whether it’s through the written word or these podcasts, and Stephen’s work fits that mold. After reading through Stephen’s “Brick by Brick,” a collection of artistic essays that act as a guide to comic creation, it just made sense that Stephen needed to be on the show. When it was all said and done, there was a sense of accomplishing a mission, as if our goal of information dissemination was met in a very successful way. However, Stephen was the perfect guest to make this happen. If you’re struggling with the mental aspect of being an artist, you’re not alone. Furthermore, you’re not the first and won’t be the last. Consider this a good thing. It means there are people out there like Stephen McCranie who can provide experience-based knowledge and advice to help keep you on your path. Stephen’s Links: Doodle Alley Mal and Chad Twitter: @stephenmccranie Our Links: Intro & Outro Song: “RetroFuture Clean” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Outro Song Behind Vocals: “Backed Vibes (clean)” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Transitions: InceptionBrassHitMedium.wav: Herbert Boland / www.freesound.org Old Fashion Radio Jingle 2.wav: club sound / www.freesound.org

One of the main goals of the Three Questions format is to allow artists of every level to learn from their peers. It affords one artist a window into the mental and physical process of a fellow artist in order to possibly grow themselves. In doing so, you the listener also benefits. Through these podcasts we learn there is only one way to do things: The way that works best for you, whether it’s the process of others or one you created on your own. In this particular episode, Gutter Talk alumni Ted Washington and Sam Wallace sit down for a three question conversation touching on topics such as being an artist and homeless to a process suggestion that may surprise you in a “Hey, I never thought of it that way” kinda way. Though if you know Ted, it makes perfect sense. These are Ted’s three questions. Question 1: What was the moment that made you say, “This is what I want to do with the rest of my life.” Question 2: If you could choose one medium of art to work in for the rest of your life, what medium would that be? Question 3: What do you believe is something everybody should do in their process that you believe most people don’t do? LINKS Ted Washington (@tedwa) Puna Press YouTube videos (lotekted) Ted’s studio pics:          Sam Wallace (@SammyMayhem) Mutant Chasers MUSIC Intro: Stingray – Dangerous Thought by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License (http://freemusicarchive.org) Outro: Stingray – Once a moment by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License (http://freemusicarchive.org) Segment 1: Grand Caravan by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License (http://freemusicarchive.org) Segment 2: Red Cowboy by Dyman is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License (http://freemusicarchive.org) Segment 3: Noahs Stark by krackatoa is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License (http://freemusicarchive.org)

Usually the Jason Brubaker re-issues are reserved for the last Friday of each month. However, when there are two parts to the conversation, it really does make more sense to release them concurrently. While Adam said it wouldn’t be until the end of March for Part 2, the backlash (which was wholly internal) was too much for Adam to bear, forcing him to adjust the schedule. It’s hard being a podcast host sometimes. That said, the Gutter Talk podcast returns with Part 2 of the Jason Brubaker re-issue from last week with Kazu Kibuishi and Jason Caffoe. If you missed Part 1, click here. And the return of this week’s podcast also brings the return of Kevin Cullen to Adam’s apartment- uh, studio. Yeah, studio. That’s it. The big difference this week? No caffeine. If you were hoping for Caffeinated Kevin, sorry to disappoint you. We all enjoyed listening to Kevin deal with the rush of energy he was feeling pump through his veins but we here at Making Comics Worldwide feel its best if we ease you into Caffeinated Kevin. You don’t want to build up a tolerance, do you? You’ll thank us later. In the extended intro, Calm-ish Kevin and Adam talk about the different kinds of music they listen to while on a creative streak and some of the various points of Part 2 of the conversation Jason Brubaker had with Kazu Kibuishi and Jason Caffoe. If you thought the first part of this conversation was enjoyable, there are plenty more head-nodding moments to come. Jason’s Sithra site & Patreon (@Jason_Brubaker) Kazu Kibuishi’s Bolt City site (@boltcity) Jason Caffoe’s site (@jcaffoe) Our Links: Intro: “RetroFuture Clean” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Transition: InceptionBrassHitMedium.wav: Herbert Boland / www.freesound.org Article of “artist” burning his books

We round out February with Part 1 of a stellar conversation between Jason Brubaker and the creators of Amulet, Kazu Kibuishi and Jason Caffoe. Before that, Adam is joined by Kevin to talk some Making Comics Worldwide shop, as well as a glimpse of what Kevin is like on caffeine. Jason’s Sithra site & Patreon (@Jason_Brubaker) Kazu Kibuishi’s Bolt City site (@boltcity) Jason Caffoe’s site (@jcaffoe) Our Links: Intro: “RetroFuture Clean” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Transition: InceptionBrassHitMedium.wav: Herbert Boland / www.freesound.org

The majority of these Gutter Talk episodes have consisted of one or two hosts and only one guest. While this formula has worked well since we started, in this episode we add a new mix to the fold with two guests and one host. Listen in on Adam’s conversation with Jennifer Jordan and Sophie Goldstein, the creators of the amazing webcomic Darwin Carmichael is Going to Hell, as they discuss everything from collaborating to hoverboards. Subscribe & Give us a review in the itunes store (It really helps). Follow the brand new Gutter Talk Twitter feed – @MC_GutterTalk Their Links: Darwin Carmichael is Going to Hell Jenn on Twitter: @jennlynnjordan Sophie’s site (@redinkradio) Our Links: Intro & Outro Song: “RetroFuture Clean” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Outro Song Behind Vocals: “Backed Vibes (clean)” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Transitions: InceptionBrassHitMedium.wav: Herbert Boland / www.freesound.org Old Fashion Radio Jingle 2.wav: club sound / www.freesound.org

Three Questions returns and brings with it one of Making Comics Worldwide’s favorites, Jason Brubaker. Listen in as Kevin Cullen, editor-in-chief here at Making Comics Worldwide, visits Jason in his studio in Los Angeles to discuss growth, process, and preference.   Jason’s Links: Sithrah reMIND Music by Chris Zabriskie (Bandcamp page) Intro music: The Life and Death of a Certain K. Zabriskie, Patriarch by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License (http://freemusicarchive.org) Segment 1 music: Air Hockey Saloon by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License (http://freemusicarchive.org) Segment 2 music: Divider by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under Attribution 4.0 International License (http://freemusicarchive.org) Segment 3 music: What Does Anybody Know About Anything by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under Attribution 4.0 International License (http://freemusicarchive.org) Outro music: Prelude No. 1 by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License (http://freemusicarchive.org)

What do you get when you mix honesty and humility with a little bit of trepidation and an immeasurable amount of talent? You get an artist like Jared Cullum, that’s what. Adam finally gets a chance to sit down one on one with Jared, who is no stranger to the Making Comics Worldwide calendar. Last year he appeared on one of the panels for the amazing MOOC we did and he has contributed a treasure’s worth of knowledge for the website. This time around Jared opens a window into himself and we guarantee you’ll find it comfortably familiar. Why? Because there’s a pretty good chance you’ve been there before or are there right now. What do you get when you mix honesty and humility with a little bit of trepidation? @Jared_Cullum…Click To Tweet Jared’s Links: Jared’s Tumblr site (@Jared_Cullum) Pea Green Coffee Cup Our Links: Intro & Outro Song: “RetroFuture Clean” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Outro Song Behind Vocals: “Backed Vibes (clean)” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Transitions: InceptionBrassHitMedium.wav: Herbert Boland / www.freesound.org Old Fashion Radio Jingle 2.wav: club sound / www.freesound.org

Rounding out the month, as we do, is another awesome Jason Brubaker re-issue. In the words of Michael Yakutis, yahoo! Today’s episode is with Jake Parker, a fantastic artist and instructor, as well as the creator of InkTober, a challenge that tasks the artist to ink one drawing a day for the entire month of October. He is also the creator of a Kickstart project, Drawings, that blew his initial goal out of the water. Later in the podcast Jason and Jake are joined by Daniel Lieske, also a very successful Kickstarter artist and creator of The Wormworld Saga. To start off, join Adam and his co-host Michael Yakutis as they discuss some business and a few things they gleaned from this great re-issue episode. Jason’s Links: reMIND (@Jason_Brubaker) Sithra  Jake’s Links: Jake’s site (@mrjakeparker) Tumbler page InkTober Daniel’s Links: Daniel’s site (@daniellieske) The Wormworld Saga Intro Links: Intro Song: “RetroFuture Clean” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Transitions: InceptionBrassHitMedium.wav: Herbert Boland / www.freesound.org