Anne Hambrock, wife of John Hambrock of “The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee” and colorist for the strip, is deep in the throes of organizing the 2nd Kenosha Festival of Cartooning. She threw this bash last year, and it went so well, the public has demanded another.  She’s here to talk about why she loves meeting cartoonists, why it’s important that people DO meet cartoonists, and about how she’s raising money to pay for an amazing group of artists to show up, all while keeping the Festival free to the public!

The scheduled cartoonists are Stephan Pastis, Norm Feuti, Dave Coverly, Greg Cravens and Michael Jantze, with the great Hilary Price on deck and ready to show up if Anne reaches her Kickstarter goal.  I am also involved as the panel moderator, so I have no shame in doing a PBS-like plea for money, so click here! Or here! Or here! (Actually, they all go to the same place…just click.) There are tons of great incentives…get moving, people!

It’s an honor to be involved with talent of this magnitude, and these sorts of festival gatherings are truly important in keeping the comics art form out there in front of the public, so thank you for your support!

Follow all the news on Facebook right here!

How has the world of Social Media affected the creative process? Can you create in a world where people put up pictures of what they’re about to eat every five minutes? How do you best use the internet when you’re starting up a new idea or developing a new strip?  These are the questions tackled in this very special Tall Tale Radio episode.  I’ve gathered some of the best and brightest, all of whom are currently going through this in one way or another.  Joel Duggan of “Starcrossed” has been introducing new characters and developing them as they go. John Sanford of “Chippy and Loopus” and “K and J” is working on a new idea he hopes to launch this summer.  And Irma Eriksson of “Imy” fame has recently started to develop her astronomy-based comic called “Cosmicals.”

All three have great things to say about the creative process and how the internet and specifically social networking has affected their approach.

All this, AND a new Lemon List by the ever amazing Jonathan Lemon of “Rabbits Against Magic!” This week, he takes us on a tour of famous cartooning Meccas that should be on every cartoonist’s Travel Bucket List.

Also, a short plug for the Kenosha Festival of Cartooning that’s coming this September. I’ve been asked to be the panel moderator during this amazing festival now in its second year. This September, you’ll be able to see me grill Stephan Pastis, Dave Coverly, Greg Cravens, Norm Feuti and Michael Jantze for free in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  Anne Hambrock, colorist of “The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee” is organizing, and this year, she’s started a Kickstarter campaign to help ensure she can keep the entry fee to ZERO! Help us gather the funds needed to pay the artists for their time, secure the venues and to get some cool surprises as well.  Thanks for your support!

Scott King, creator and writer of the very cool long form webcomic “Holiday Wars,” is here to talk about his background in comics, his extremely personal graphic novel about his father’s illness called “Dad! A Documentary Graphic Novel,” and why he thinks the Easter Bunny makes such a wonderfully ruthless villain.  There’s a cool Kickstarter going on to help fund the printing of Volume One, along with some cool giveaways from the fine folks of Th3rd World Studios, so be sure to check them out.

There’s also another amazing Lemon List, from the ever-educational Jonathan Lemon, creator of “Rabbits Against Magic.”  This one is about comics, surrealism, film making, and communist dictatorships! I love having Jonathan on the show, and I seriously learn something every time!

With me today is Caanan Grall, artist and writer of the wonderful webcomic, “Max Overacts.”  Caanan first came to my attention some time ago when I stumbled on his 24-Hour Comic Day creation called “Muppet Thor.”  It was immediately obvious this guy had talent as an artist, but by the end of reading that comic, I had a sentimental tear in my eye.  He’s here to talk about both “Max” and his other work, his upbringing in Australia, how he was fired from a job because he was working too hard, his time with Zuda Comics doing “Celadore” (see a great review here), and why he thinks squirrels are fascinating.  His work has been compared to Bill Watterson, but if you take a read, you’ll see he’s got his own really unique voice.

Stacy Curtis, former editorial cartoonist, current award-winning children’s book artist, and his most recent gig, helping out the great Richard Thompson by inking “Cul de Sac,” is here to talk about all those things, as well as banjo playing pigs.  You heard me.

Check out Stacy’s work here, and see the amazing work he’s doing playing in Richard Thompson’s backyard here.

Keith Knight, Gentleman Cartoonist of “The K Chronicles” and “The Knight Life,” recently completed a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise money for his coming-of-age graphic novel, “I Was A Teenage Michael Jackson Impersonator.”  We talk about the ups and downs of the process, the things he did right, the things he learned along the way, and how the whole process went.  If you didn’t get in on the ground floor, keep your eyes on Keith’s site, because I’m you’ll still be able to get a piece of this very cool project when it comes out!

“Team Cul de Sac” mastermind Chris Sparks joins me to talk about his amazing project to help raise money for Parkinson’s Disease via the Team Fox organization, started, of course, by Michael J. Fox.  Cartoonist and all around mensch Richard Thompson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s back in 2009, and Chris has organized 150 artists to contribute original work that will be auctioned off this summer, and has been compiled into a 144 page hardcover book coming out on June 5th.  Order your copy here!

The book and art auction contain works from a veritable “who’s who” list of cartoonists, including 14 Reuben Award winners, 3 Pulitzer Prize winners, and a score of great artists from the web as well.  There’s not much of a worthier cause out there, so do your part by picking up a copy.  You can stay abreast of the current information on when the actual art auction is this summer by reading Chris’s blog. And naturally, if you’re not keeping up with the man himself, here’s a link to Richard Thompson’s blog. Go forth and see the work of a master of our time!

We also manage to talk about comic books and comic shops, as Chris once owned one. He has a fascinating insider’s look from the “brick and mortar” shop owner’s perspective, and is something I’ve wanted to talk about for some time.

Darrin Bell, of the most excellent “Candorville” and “Rudy Park” joins me to talk about political cartooning, his early days of newspaper work, how he snuck into offices to get his cartoons seen, how 9/11 affected his comics and everyone’s approach, whether Lamont and Susan will ever get together, and his favorite “Star Trek” TV show.  (Hint: It’s NOT “Enterprise.”)   This was one of those interviews you know is going well because at 55 minutes in, I realized I’d barely hit half the questions in my notes!

Check out “Candorville” here, and see him take over the writing duties in the very near future for “Rudy Park” here.  And cry with envy when you find out he can do a week’s worth of drawing in one day!

Until then, Darren was nice enough to put on his “Boy Reporter” hat for me and give us a look at the first London Super Comic Con!  Looks like they rented a hall big enough to hold several 747s, but other than that, it looks pretty much like what you want a Comic Con to look like! Here’s hoping it was a success and that it grows and prospers! 

Take it away, Rolfe!

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Tom Racine rarely turns down the chance to attend a Comic-Con. I, and no doubt all of you, have enjoyed his excellent coverage of both San Diego and New York Comic-Con on numerous occasions. But London Super Comic Con proved to be a con too far. Well, at least this year anyway.

So, I was hastily promoted through the ranks of the Tall Tale Media Group Empire to the position of Chief-European Correspondent and was duly set the task of being Tom’s eye and ears on the ground at the inaugural London Super Comic-Con. This was a thrilling prospect, as I’ve never been to a Comic-Con before! Apparently there hasn’t been a proper a con like this for over 10 years in the U.K. and judging by the press and T.V. coverage it seemed to be big news! This I’m in no doubt was down to the simple fact that they had managed to book Stan “Excelsior” Lee as the main guest. Stan is now 89, and apparently this was probably going to be his last con in London.

The Comic-Con was at ExCel which is in London’s docklands and it’s a huge building! As I approached ExCel it wasn’t long before I spotted to a young woman in spandex, lycra body-suit with long, flowing hair. Naturally, I immediately assumed that his young woman must have been attending the con and felt it her moral duty to go the extra mile and dress up as her favourite super-herione. My mistake…it wasn’t Mystique from the X-Men it was actually Doreen from Dartford who was attending the Zumba Instructors Conference also being held at the ExCel that weekend.  So with my camera back in its case I continued onwards.

As I got inside it slowly dawned on me that they hadn’t booked the entire ExCel. We would actually be sharing it with Zumba, The Baby Show and some Hotel Hospitality Conference.

And they were all bigger than the Comic-Con!

The hall was huge! But, can you spot the con?

The brilliant Mr. David Lloyd (“V for Vendetta.”) His queue was easily one of the longest. Apparently it was even longer the day before.

(Tom’s note: Check out my interview with David Lloyd from the 2011 San Diego Comic Con…one of my favorite interviews!)

Another British comic book legend. The amazing, Brian Bolland in the official signing area. He also had very long queues.

This is Jamal Igle; he was on the table next to Mr. Lloyd. What an amazingly talented artist and genuinely friendly guy. He had come all the way from Brooklyn, New York to attend the show. You will see him at the most of the major cons in the U.S. this year. It is well worth hunting him to down to check through his portfolio.

Here are more pics! Enjoy!

Howard Tayler, the Hugo Award nominated artist and writer behind the wonderful sci-fi comic “Schlock Mercenary” joins me to talk about his recent Kickstarter success, where he and the folks at Living Worlds Games raised over $82,000 to create the Schlock Mercenary Board Game.  Howard is always amazing to talk to, because he tells it like it is, both the good and the bad, and you will learn a lot about the Kickstarter process here. If you’re wondering about the inner workings of Kickstarter and raising money for your business, this is a great place to start.

He also recommends you take a listen to Richard Bliss’ podcast, “Funding the Dream,” which is specifically about using Kickstarter to raise money for games and other projects.

Howard also is one of the hosts of the most excellent podcast “Writing Excuses,” a great resource for writers of all genres!

PROGRAM NOTE: In the interview, Howard mentions at one point that Kickstarter allows people to become investors.  After we talked, Howard wrote me to say that after checking, it turns out Kickstarter does NOT currently allow that. You can not offer fiduciary rewards, shares in the company, or anything similar due to SEC regulations.   So, in terms of legalese, keep in mind that this podcast does not intend to be a source of financial or legal advice in regards to Kickstarter (or any other financial or legal subject) and is merely meant as entertainment. Howard is full of facts and great information, but as always, if you are thinking about your own Kickstarter campaign, be sure to do all your own research and get the facts for yourself.