Over the last decade, I’ve gone from producing one or two comics a year to producing over a dozen comics yearly, along with webcomics, short stories in anthologies, a few graphic novels, and helping produce the very newspaper you hold in your hands. On top of all that, I’m also happily married, a father of three wonderful children, and work a full-time non-comics related job. Before you ask, no, there’s not two of me. In fact, I accomplished this level of productivity by making a few simple changes in my life.
Continue reading “Tips to Improve Your Productivity”10 Questions with Ben Towle
Ben Towle is a five-time Eisner Award nominated cartoonist with a lengthy bibliography. His first book, Midnight Sun, was published by SLG Publishing in 2007 and is a historical fiction tale inspired by the real-life crash of an airship expedition in 1928. Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean is also a work of historical fiction. Published by Disney/ Hyperion Books in 2010, it features the famous aviator and her quest to fly across the Atlantic. Oyster War, published in 2015 by Oni Press, is a nautical fantasy about dastardly pirates looting the seas and the pragmatic Commander and crew hired to stop them. Ben’s latest book, Four- Fisted Tales: Animals in Combat, published by Dead Reckoning in 2021, shares stories of animals that have fought alongside soldiers throughout the centuries. Ben currently serves as a professor of Illustration at the Columbus College of Art and Design.
Continue reading “10 Questions with Ben Towle”Persepolis
I recently sat down to watch the animated movie Persepolis based on the acclaimed graphic novel, which was so good that it drove me to re-read the book.
Continue reading “Persepolis”Other Ever Afters
Late in 2022, I walked down to German Village’s “The Book Loft” for an author’s reading. Melanie Gillman was reading from her newly released book Other Ever Afters. Released by Penguin Random House, the book contains seven fairy tales for the modern age. In these tales, there was nothing short of magic where monsters were heroes and princes could be villains.
Continue reading “Other Ever Afters”Meet Your Host
Comic Podcasts You Should Know
Small press creators often live off the generosity of time and influence that podcasters can provide. In thanks, we wanted to give our readers a chance to catch up on some fantastic comic-related podcasts.
Continue reading “Meet Your Host”My First Comic
A Retrospective of Bugman
The youth of the nation was enraptured in the throws of Ninja-Turtle-mania and Simpsons-mania. At the same time, the Hollywood hype machine was in full swing for what was soon to be a blockbuster movie, Dick Tracy. It was 1990 and, in this swirl of pop culture, I decided to sit down and make my first comic.
Continue reading “My First Comic”Top Five with Freddie Crocheron
What are your top 5 comics EVER?
Freddie Crocheron is a Columbus-based cartoonist who is best known for his stickers, animations, comics, and fine arts exhibitions. His work pays homage to a blend of underground comics and cartoons from the 80s and 90s while embracing his love for hip hop and black culture. He is currently the head of programming for ROY G BIV gallery in Franklinton. You can find his work on Instagram @freddie.crocheron.
Continue reading “Top Five with Freddie Crocheron”Dinosaurs Marching and Other Dreams Brought to Life
A Brief History on the Dual Life of Winsor McCay
The Palace Theater in Chicago was silent the night of February 8, 1914 as a lone well-dressed man stepped onto stage out of the darkness. The man was Winsor McCay, a cartoonist known for crafting imaginative comic strips for the New York Herald and New York American, he was carrying a whip. No one in the audience knew what to expect as McCay began talking about something new called “animation,” this was a vaudeville act, a stage play, after all. Then McCay turned to the film screen beside him and introduced “the only dinosaur in captivity.”
Continue reading “Dinosaurs Marching and Other Dreams Brought to Life”Straight from the Student’s Mouth
Current and former Columbus College of Art and Design students chime in about their time in the Comics and Narrative program.
Continue reading “Straight from the Student’s Mouth”Major Change at CCAD
Comics as a medium have grown in popularity over the last few decades. That growth has spawned an increase in the demand for comics education. Some universities and colleges nationwide have started to offer “Comics” as a major, including Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD). CCAD separated the Comics and Narrative Practice from the Illustration major in 2022. I took a brief tour of CCAD’s campus to learn more about the teachers and students of the program.
Continue reading “Major Change at CCAD”