Category: Interviews

Smash Pages Q&A: Scott Snyder on ‘Clear’ and more

The writer and teacher discusses the first three comics released through his exclusive deal with comiXology Originals.

Scott Snyder made a splash earlier this year by announcing eight new comics coming out digitally through comiXology and then in print from Dark Horse Comics.

Three very different first issues have already come out from the line:

  • We Have Demons, which re-teams Snyder with Greg Capullo after the duo’s long run on Batman and other DC projects.
  • Clear, a cyberpunk tale featuring art and colors by Francis Manapul.
  • And Night of the Ghoul, a monster horror tale drawn by Francesco Francavilla.

With these three books out, I checked in with Snyder about the books and how they represent what he’s thinking about right now.

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Smash Pages Q&A | Greg Pak on ‘Cooking Will Break Your Heart’

The prolific writer of ‘Planet Hulk’ and ‘Mech Cadet Yu’ cooks up a different kind of project for his latest Kickstarter.

Greg Pak is an acclaimed comics writer best known for a long series of projects at Marvel Comics, including writing the “Planet Hulk” storyline, co-creating Amadeus Cho, and writing Weapon X and Incredible Hercules. That’s in addition to writing the ongoing Firefly series, Darth Vader, Stranger Things and John Wick. Pak’s incredible creator-owned projects include Ronin Island and Mech Cadet Yu (currently being developed as an animated series for Netflix). There’s also his picture books (Princess Who Saved Herself) and his films (Robot Dreams). Greg Pak is, simply, a very busy person.

Those of us who follow Pak on social media, though, know another side to him: he loves to cook. More than just being a good writer about food and a good recipe writer, he often writes about his connections to food. As he describes the Kickstarter for his new project, Cooking Will Break Your Heart – “A Korean American Midwestern Texan cookbook and memoir about food, family, memory, love, joy and grief.”

The campaign runs through Nov. 22 and Park was kind enough to answer a few questions about family and food.

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Smash Pages Q&A: Harmony Becker on ‘Himawari House’

The artist of George Takei’s award-winning graphic memoir ‘They Called Us Enemy’ discusses her new graphic novel from First Second.

Harmony Becker is a recognizable name to many comics readers as the artist behind George Takei’s award-winning graphic memoir They Called Us Enemy. Becker’s new book is Himawari House, which she wrote and drew.

The story began as a webcomic on Tapas called Himawari Share and tells the story of a group of language students in Japan. The book explores what led the characters there and details their adjustment to the country. The book is also striking for how Becker depicts language and language learning in a striking way that echoes trying to learn a new language and being surrounded by conversation one struggles to understand.

It’s a beautiful and thoughtful book that manages to be as funny as it is profound, and Becker was kind enough to answer a few questions about the book.

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Smash Pages Q&A | Stephanie Williams on ‘Nubia and the Amazons’

The co-writer of the DC Comics miniseries talks about her approach to writing Nubia, the Well of Souls, her journey to becoming a comics writer and more.

Stephanie Williams has been writing about comics and making her own comics for several years, with her work appearing on NPR, the AV Club, Den of Geek and more. She’s also written Living Heroes, a fan comic/mash-up of the sitcom Living Single with Marvel characters, as well as the webcomics But What If Though and Parenthood Activate.

Earlier this year, Williams began working for DC, with her first story for them appearing in Wonder Woman: Black and Gold #2. This was soon followed by the announcement that she would co-write Nubia and the Amazons with Vita Ayala, who recommended her to the Wonder Woman editorial office. Featuring art by Alitha Martinez, the story focuses on the current queen of the Amazons and also introduces Bia, a Black trans woman who emerges from the Well of Souls.

I spoke with Williams about her work on the title, her approach to writing Nubia, the introduction of Bia and much more. Big thanks to Williams for taking the time to answer my questions.

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Smash Pages Q&A | Stjepan Šejić explains ‘Fine Print’

The acclaimed creator of ‘Sunstone’ talks about his newest project, creating a supernatural world, what makes a good sex scene and more.

Stjepan Šejić was an acclaimed artist who spent years drawing comics like Witchblade, Artifacts and Aphrodite IX before he wrote and drew Sunstone, which has become a smash hit. The series has been acclaimed for his skill at telling a romance story, and the realistic and thoughtful details with which he portrays BDSM.

In recent years Šejić has been busier than ever. DC’s Black Label imprint released Harleen, but Šejić has made clear that his focus is on creator-owned projects, which include Sunstone, Death Vigil and The Queen and The Woodborn.

Top Cow will release the first book of a new series from Šejić, Fine Print on Nov. 24. The story bears some resemblance to some of his other books (and is part of a shared universe of other books by Šejić and his wife Linda Šejić’s book Punderworld) but Šejić’s art continues to be masterful in his ability to convey so much through body language and facial expressions. The book manages to be a story about mythology and a tale of a self-destructive antihero, but has the same wry sense of humor that Šejić’s work is known for. Startling and laugh-out-loud funny, the first volume of Fine Print is some of Šejić’s best work, and he was kind enough to answer a few questions about it.

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Smash Pages Q&A | Siena Cherson Siegel and Mark Siegel

The creators of ‘Tiny Dancer’ their approach to the memoir, the ways that comics can capture dance and working together in a difficult time.

Siena Cherson Siegel and Mark Siegel are the authors of the new graphic memoir Tiny Dancer, which is a companion of sorts to their earlier collaboration, the picture book To Dance, which was released in 2006. In the years since, Mark has become known for books like Sailor Twain, or the Mermaid in the Hudson, and for his work as the editorial director of First Second Books. 

In Tiny Dancer, Siena talks about her youth as a dancer and her elite education before being injured as a teenager. It is a beautiful and moving story that offers insight into an art form and life that few people know. It’s a complicated and at times heartbreaking story that ends in a beautiful  and emotional way, featuring some of the best work of Mark Siegel’s career to date. I spoke with the couple over Zoom from their home in New York’s Hudson Valley about passion and time, the ways that comics can capture dance and working together in a difficult time.

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Smash Pages Q&A: Casey Gilly

The writer of ‘My Little Pony: Generations’ and ‘Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer’ talks about both projects, writing licensed comics, creating new ponies and more.

Casey Gilly has been busy in the past couple years, writing comics that ranged from a short in the anthology You Died (drawn by Raina Telgemeier) to Star Wars Adventures. This fall, she’s launching two big, high-profile and very different projects.

IDW’s long-running My Little Pony series just ended, and Gilly and Michela Cacciatore team up for the five-issue miniseries My Little Pony: Generations, the first of which is out this week. It brings together the Friendship is Magic ponies with the Generation 1 ponies, along with some new characters. Then in December, BOOM! Studios launches the four-issue miniseries Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer with artist Joe Jaro, which features Buffy Summers in her 50s in a near future that — well, Gilly will explain that and more.

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Smash Pages Q&A: Mike Federali on ‘Felix the Cat’

The comics writer discusses his work on the upcoming series featuring the beloved character and his bag of tricks.

Mike Federali has worked as a convention organizer, art director, comic writer and executive producer, with a resume that includes Mystery Science Theater 3000, the upcoming Owl Girl with Craig Rousseau and Incredible Conventions, which puts on pop culture shows on the East Coast.

He’s also the co-writer of the upcoming Felix the Cat comic from Source Point Press. The publisher announced the new comic to great fan reaction in August; Federali will be joined by co-writer Bob Frantz, artist Tracy Yardley, colorist Matt Herms and letterer Dave Lentz.

I caught up with Federali on the new comic and what fans can expect from his interpretation of the wonderful, wonderful cat.

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Smash Pages Q&A: Brian Michael Bendis on ‘Joy Operations’

The Jinxworld creator discusses his newest comic, ‘Joy Operations’ with Stephen Byrne; the move to Dark Horse; and more.

Brian Michael Bendis has made so many comics over the years. For some people, he will always be the writer of Ultimate Spider-Man, one of the great Daredevil writers, the co-creator of Jessica Jones and Miles Morales, and one of a handful of creators who helped shape the Marvel Universe in innumerable ways. Others know him for his more recent work at DC Comics as the writer of the Superman titles, Justice League and other books, co-creating and co-writing Naomi in addition to curating the Wonder Comics imprint at the company. For others, he’s the writer behind Powers, Takio, Pearl and Cover. And for some of us, he will always be the man behind Jinx and AKA Goldfish. 

It was announced this summer that Bendis’s Jinxworld imprint is moving to Dark Horse Comics, which will include new editions of older comics, continuations of series, and brand new projects. The first to launch is Joy Operations, a five-issue miniseries drawn by Stephen Byrne (Wonder Twins) that launches in November. I spoke with Bendis recently about the science fiction saga, and how (and why) he’s returning to the drawing board with a new series.

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Smash Pages Q&A: NireLeet

The illustrator and teacher discusses the story “Not Alone,” which was part of Decoded’s Pride Month anthology.

NireLeet is a teacher and illustrator, and this year for Decoded, the annual story-a-day anthology for Pride Month, she made the short comic “Not Alone.” A quiet and perfectly told story, it’s a story about a witch that’s about loneliness in a way that will resonate with people more than the story would have previously.

This year’s collection of Decoded has been released as a full color PDF, and NireLeet just launched Malic’s Deep, a new webcomic on Tapas. We spoke recently about art, fantasy and the joys of teaching art in elementary school.

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Smash Pages Q&A: Kim Dwinell on ‘The Science of Surfing’

The creator of ‘The Surfside Girls’ graphic novels focuses on the science of the ocean in her new nonfiction graphic novel from Top Shelf.

Kim Dwinell made a splash with her comics debut, The Surfside Girls, and its sequel. The two fictional mystery books were about a pair of friends, Sam and Jade, who explored the natural world and the historical past of their fictional seaside town.

Dwinell’s new book is The Science of Surfing: A Surfside Girls Guide to the Ocean, which is a nonfiction book, but it feels very much like her other books. Some of this is simply because the book is narrated by the two main characters of the series, but it goes beyond the style of the book. Dwinell has from the beginning been interested in building a fictional world that is a character in its own right, but in finding ways to present a very tactile world to readers.

This new book is a nonfiction book that is just as masterfully told as her comics debut was. The book is out this month, and we spoke recently about how science is more than math, finding joy in nature and crafting a field guide to the Southern California coast for surfers.

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Smash Pages Q&A: Kasia Babis on ‘Re: Constitutions’

The political cartoonist discusses her work with Beka Feathers on the latest title from First Second’s World Citizen Comics imprint.

Kasia Babis has been making comics for many years, but she gained a new international audience when she began contributing to The Nib about a wide range of topics. In particular, her comics about Polish politics offer an outsider’s take on events within the United States.

Babis has drawn the new book, Re: Constitutions, part of the World Citizen Comics imprint. Written by Beka Feathers, an expert in political development and post-conflict institution building who has worked in more than a dozen countries to help draft constitutions and design political transition, the book is about constitutions, but it’s also about what it means to be a citizen, our political landscape, the rights of individuals and what binds us together. It is a complex topic, and Babis’ art and designs help to masterfully juggle many ideas and complex topics in striking ways.

We spoke recently about her work and making the book while being an engaged citizen in a period of protest, as many basic rights are being eroded by an increasingly authoritarian government.

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