JAVILAND Episode 8: 2008 Comic Book Christmas Show

The 2008 JAVILAND Christmas podcast was a mix of creator roundtable discussion and geeky talk about toys! In other words, a perfect podcast! Listen to the episode with the player on the right, or access the JAVILAND page at TALKSHOW.COM.

The roundtable consisted of Mark Rudolph of CV Comics, Krishna Sadasivam of PC Weenies, Kevin Cross of Mini Comics Dumptruck, and regular caller Ted Seko of Xomix Comix! Joining us in the chatroom were markCalifornia, DungeonWarden and Kaiki. Thanks to the chatters!

We talked about our approaches to our art in the past year, and what we plan to do for 2009. Some of the discussion touched base on not being carried by Diamond Comics Distribution (and not letting that be an issue), remaining indestructible as an indie creator, and how we manage our time between creating our comics, podcasting and maintaining a web presence.

The show ended with a talk about our favorite Christmastime comics and toy memories! Lots of talk about The Six Million Dollar Man, Mego action figures, and how storytelling with action figures turned us all into comic creators!

This show wraps up JAVILAND for the year. But I'll be back on Sunday, January 4th for a new episode and a whole new year of JAVILAND. Thanks to everyone who listens to the show, I really do appreciate it, and I hope it gives value (entertainment or educational) to everyone. Thanks also to my fellow artists who call in, and special thanks to Ted "Don't-call-me-cohost" Seko for co-hosting every episode with me!

Episode 7 now available: PODCAST SUPER SUMMIT

The PODCAST SUPER SUMMIT held on Sunday, Dec. 7 was quite the fun adventure. The episode is now available for your listening pleasure with the player on the right, or through my Talkshoe.Com page.

I want to thank my guest callers, and fellow podcasters/cartoonists, KEVIN CROSS, MARK RUDOLPH & JERZY DROZD, and KRISHNA SADASIVAM. Also joining us on the call has been my 'co-host/perennial caller on JAVILAND, TED SEKO! All these folks have inspired me with their own podcasts, and with the quality of craftsmanship they bring to their own comics work.

We actually went a full 2 hours! Topics ranged from how we see our role as hosts, to what we get out of podcasting. The five of us have never actually met as a group, but we're all fans of one another's podcasts. We get along surprisingly well, which speaks to the community aspect of these podcasts.

Among our guests in the chatroom were The Real Juny, LargoPredator, Mark California and Terran. Thanks to everyone who participated...and looking forward to the next Summit!

Podcast Super Summit starts tonight!

Tonight's episode of JAVILAND will be hosting a Podcast Super Summit! I've invited the hosts of three other comics podcasts to come on JAVILAND and join in a roundtable discussion. These are podcasts that I've been listening to for the last several months, and I find the topics and conversations held there to be extremely enlightening and beneficial to my own approach to making comics. Each of the hosts of the shows are actually comics creators themselves, so they can approach the subjects with a keen understanding.

My guests tonight are:
JERZY DROZD & MARK RUDLOPH, hosts of ART & STORY: This podcast has almost 70 episodes under it's belt, and I've heard about 96% of them! Mark and Jerzy will discuss an aspect of making comics, such as Character Building or working outside one's comfort zone, and bounce the idea back and forth for the podcast. This show really gets down to the nuts and bolts of storytelling.

KRISHNA SADASIVAM, host of SEQUENTIAL ARTISTS'S PUB: Krishna's show offers a true roundtable discussion. He's a web cartoonist, and his the callers on his show are a mix of print and web cartoonists. There will be about two topics per episode, and Krishna keeps the show moving by asking everyone to share in the topic. This is a virtual version of hanging out with other cartoonists after a convention at the hotel bar talking shop!

KEVIN CROSS, host of MINI-COMICS DUMPTRUCK: Kevin started a Mini-Comics club where participating cartoonists agree to produce a mini-comic, and send finished copies to the other cartoonists in the group. I myself have joined the club, and in fact am in the middle of my mini-comic! Kevin's podcast is an ongoing discussion between the Dumptruckers on their process for creating their comics, as well as discussing specific topics such as getting your mini distributed to stores.

If you would like to participate in tonight's podcast, you can join the chatroom and interact by typing in questions or comments. JAVILAND is hosted on TalkShoe.com, and they have a great interface you can use. Just go to my page at TalkShoe, and either create a profile and register, or just click the Join As Guest button once the show starts.

Podcast will start at 6pm (PT)/ 9pm (ET). Otherwise you can download the episode later this evening via either my page at iTunes or with the TalkShoe Player located at the top right.

Thanks for listening!

JAVILAND Episode 6: Comic Book Convention Survival Guide

This episode focused on comic book conventions: why exhibit?/How to find the right show for your comic/What to expect/etc.

I was joined on the show by regular caller Ted Seko, as well as Kevin Cross. Also joining us for the first time on the show was Krishna Sadasivam, which was a very welcome surprise. I pointed out the recent episode of the Art & Story podcast, Episode #65: The Big Detroit, as a great example of analyzing a weekend convention appearance. Art & Story is hosted by cartoonists Mark Rudolph and Jerzy Drozd.

I've been exhibiting at conventions myself for 10 years now, so I was glad to have a chance to share many of my experiences about the ups, and downs, of these shows. Krishna, whose been producing a succesful web comic for 10 years, hasn't exhibited at shows, so he had some good questions that helped drive the conversation.

My main mantra on doing comic shows is that they are (or should be looked at as) fun and exciting experiences. Of course they function as venues for one to network and promote, meet fans and make some money selling our products. But if you go in with the idea of making the event as positive an experience as possible, you will look at the results beyond just how much money you made.

Joining us in the chatroom were Steve Romo, Terran, Vertigo X, Tim Fischer and Frumph. You can listen to the episode using the Talkshow.Com player on the right (click on Past Episodes line) or go to JAVILAND page at Talkshoe.Com.

New television interview!

Here's a cool segment that was filmed at the studio where I do my radio show, PLANET COMIC BOOK RADIO!

JAVILAND Episode 5: Building a Comic Imprint:XOMIX COMIX

This episode turned out to be even better than I could hope for. Due to some scheduling conflicts, some of the usual callers couldn't make it. So me and regular JAVILAND caller Ted Seko were going to go 'solo'. But then Jerzy Drozd entered the chatroom to listen to the show and joined the call after I asked him to participate in the roundtable.

Jerzy is the co-host of the excellent ART & STORY podcast, in which he and Mark Rudolph discuss issues relating to the craft of storytelling and creating comic books. These guys really get down to many of the details in creating comics: character creation, approaches in drawing, getting over slumps in one's own work, etc. Can't recommend their show enough to other creators as well as aspiring cartoonists.

So once Jerzy joined the call, Ted and I felt we could have a third person in which to interact off of. We talked about the reasons Ted and I came up with the Xomix Comix imprint, as well as other comic imprints we've used as inspirations. (anyone out there remember ATLAS Comics?!)

Also discussed in the episode was 'collaborating with others' and how your vision fits with someone else's, and when it can make sense to join another artist on a joint publishing venture.

Many thanks to Ted for our years of collaborations, and to Jerzy Drozd for really giving some great insight and perspective to this episode.

JAVILAND Episode 4: Printing comics in the Age of Web Comics

Episode 4 is now available, and you can access it with the Talkshoe player on the right by clicking the PreviousEpisodes link. Or here's the direct link to the JAVILAND page on Talkshoe.com ( once you access our Talkshoe page, you can subscribe to JAVILAND via our iTunes link, and get every episode delivered directly to your iTunes library). Joining me on this episode was regular caller, Ted Seko, as well as Jason Martin, Kevin Cross and joining us for the first time was Colin Panetta.

Basically we tackled the topic of printing comic books, even with the ever-growing feasability of uploading comics directly to the web. Printing obviously incurs costs you just wouldn't have by publishing online, but there are reasons, and options, to continue paying for printing a comic book.

Several of us shared our experiences using a POD (Print of Demand) service such as Ka-Blam. My own experience with my new comic book, El Muerto: Dead & Confused, was favorable overall, and I, as well as some of the other callers, cite them as a viable option. Other topics we covered while discussing actual websites was online advertising and selling ad space, as well as setting up an online storefront at Etsy.com.

JAVILAND Episode 3: Making Your Brand

Episode 3, 'MAKING YOUR BRAND', is now available to listen to. You can use the player on the right to access the episode, or go to iTunes and subscribe to JAVILAND and get each new episode downloaded directly to your iTunes library.

The show was recorded live at 6pm this past Sunday. I'm very happy with the way the episode turned out. A sincere thanks to the artists who called in and shared their time and opinions. We basically looked at the idea of 'branding' from a variety of angles, such as why do we create a brand name, can we have multiple brands, what common threads are found in our various works, does one start off creating their brand or is it something that just naturally arises from the work?

Joining in on the calls were the following DIY cartoonist/publishers: Jason Martin of SuperReal Graphics, animator/cartoonist Jim Lujan, cartoonist Ted Seko, cartoonist Kevin Cross and cartoonist/podcaster Jerzy Drozd . One of the reasons we had a really great discussion is because all of us have varied experiences in self-publishing and creating our own brands. It's times like these that make me glad I take the time to do these JAVILAND podcasts! It's like sitting around with a bunch of artists after a convention over a couple of pizzas!

You can tune in to every episode live and participate in the chat room and ask questions or add comments to the discussion. Go to my page at TALK SHOE.COM and sign up!

JAVILAND Episode 2: Creating Comic Book Characters

Just finished podcasting the new episode, and now it's up for your listening pleasure HERE.

The topic was 'Creating Comic Book Characters' and the question I posed was "Which comes first, creating the character or creating the story?". Joining me on the call were some familiar voices:
Jim Lujan, animator and my fellow Co-founder of the Cartoonistas,
Ted Seko, cartoonist and my fellow Co-publisher of our upcoming XOMIX COMIX imprint,
and Kevin Cross, cartoonist, podcaster and founder of the Mini Comics Dumptruck (which I'll be contributing a mini comic to).

All the artists had interesting approaches in creating characters and story. Also, I asked each caller what character really made an impression on them as kids, in terms of influencing them as artists. The answers were really revealing, so listen for that.

We were joined in the chatroom by The Real Juny, a long-time fan of my work. He had problems with the audio, but I want to thank him for logging in. Juny: The episode is now available!

I've enjoyed doing these two episodes, particularly for the round table discussion of key artistic choices we make as creators. Hopefully listeners of the podcast, especially people wanting to create their own comics, get something out of the episodes.

JAVILAND premiere podcast now available!!!

The podcast is up! Yep, the 1st JAVILAND podcast was recorded live a few hours ago, and now it's up! (You can listen to the episode using the player at the left). I had a great time doing the show, and it was really fun to have several people interacting on the show, both in the chat room and on the phone. I can get real use to this! (Actually, I already host another radio show, PLANET COMIC BOOK RADIO, but that one is geared toward one-on-one interviews with creators, as opposed to the free-wheelin' JAVILAND!)

Anyways, the rundown of the show goes like this:
First 25 minutes or so I introduce myself, talking about my start 10 years ago as an independent, DIY comic creator. I update folks with my plans for the new EL MUERTO comic, and my upcoming DEMOLITION DOVE. Also talk about the EL MUERTO movie and PLANET COMIC BOOK RADIO.

After my intro, our first guest joins us via phone, TED SEKO. Ted and I have worked on several projects over the years, and his new character ZOMBIEMAN ZERO will be joining DEMOLITION DOVE in our upcoming imprint, XOMIX COMIX (see our trailer here). Also joining us are Xeric Award-winning cartoonist, JOSHUA KEMBLE, a talented and creative artist. I met Josh about a year ago down here in Los Angeles at WizardWorld, and I always meant to join his cartooning group for some Friday night drawing sessions. Since then he's moved up to Portland, but it's cool that he joined us tonight.

JIM LUJAN, animator and Co-founder with me of the CARTOONISTAS, called in as well, bringing with him his usual magnetic charm and nonchalant attitude! Jim also brought along a good friend of his, JUSTIN STEWART. Justin is a cartoonist from Kentucky, and he's a member of the Lexington Kentucky Comic Creators Group. I had never met Justin before, but he comes across as good comic book people. (Nice meeting you, Justin!). And joining us toward the end of the podcast was KEVIN CROSS, another recently-transplanted Portland cartoonist. Kevin does comics, plays in a band, and hosts his own podcast (of which I was fortunate to have been a guest on!). Kevin joined in late because he came from an interview he recorded on another podcast, ART & STORY! What a busy podcast superstar, that Kevin! (I interviewed him on a recent episode of PLANET COMIC BOOK RADIO.)

We pretty much had a nice, free-wheeling conversation, with our cartoonists chiming in with talk about the craft of making comics, selling books to comic shops, cartoonist groups and lots of other related topics. It was a really good mix of artists, I thought. We also had two other folks in the chatroom, Irmajoy7 and Terran. Thanks to all for participating, it was a really fun way to launch the podcast.

I certainly plan to do more shows. Will it be weekly? Well, I'm already doing the weekly interview show, but I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to talk an extra hour or so a week about comics! Stay tuned to this blog and my TALK SHOE.COM page for updates on the next episode. I've submitted the podcast to iTunes, so hopefully they'll include it in their podcast library. Thanks for reading...and listening!

Here comes JAVILAND!

Sunday night at 6pm (PT) will be the live podcast for my new show, JAVILAND! This will podcast live through TALK SHOE.COM, and you can interact with the show in real time via the chat room.

For the premiere episode, (the First Issue Collector's Item, as we say in the comics biz!), I'll open the show with a little intro on who I am and how I got started making my own comics. But what I want to do with this podcast is talk about the process of creating comic books, particularly on the DIY, self-published level. I've been publishing for 10 years now, so I have more than enough stories to share about creating a comic book, drawing and writing my own stories, printing the books and then finding the audience for them. And I mean literally finding the audience by attending comic book conventions and other venues where you can sell your books, as well as yourself as an artist.

I've been concentrating more lately (or at least being more conscious of it) on establishing a brand name for myself as someone with a multi-faceted approach: an artist, a publisher, a podcaster, etc. Really though, I guess I'm someone who loves creating his own comics and sharing the love of the artform and medium with others. A comic book evangelist, ya might say!

I want the podcast to be a resource for other creators to share their experiences so that they, myself, and the listener can learn new and different approaches to making comics. And I also want anyone who is thinking of making their own comics to get some insight and inspiration on making their own comics.

I won't be conducting formal interviews on this podcast (that's what my weekly radio show, PLANET COMIC BOOK RADIO is for!), but I will have other cartoonists and creators call in and join the discussion. And of course the live chat room will allow others to comment on the topics or even ask questions directly.

I'll probably stick to the Sunday, 6pm schedule. Not sure at the moment if the show will be weekly though. That probably would depend on the level of participation we get. I hope to make it a lively show that provides beneficial information to folks interested in making their own comics. Each episode will be linked to here on the JAVILAND Blog, once it's been podcast, with show notes and relevant links