Internet Spotlight: Art & Story

What is Art & Story?

It is a weekly podcast where two comics creators share their experiences making comics and try to wrap their brains around the larger ideas behind their chosen art form. We are published creators, we also self-publish, we make webcomics, and we lead comics workshops. You can email us at artandstory-AT-gmail-DOT-com.

Silver and the Periodic Forces is another comic I've reviewed in the Showcase.

If you want proof that they know what they’re talking about, just check out their work. Jerzy is a rather busy boy. On top of helping put together the first Kids Read Comics convention locally, he also maintains the Sugary Serials website, a comic group that takes their cues from Saturday Morning and syndicated cartoons, back when the stations used to carry such stuff and the networks gave a slug. I’ve mentioned this site before, and it’s a great all ages site. You can also find his work alongside Sarah Turner at Make Like a Tree. His most often referenced comic is The Front, with the breakout star Jared the Yeti.

Mark's latest opus, John Oxbow: Man Out of Time

While Mark has also worked on projects for Sugary Serials, such as Curse of the Pharaohs, he also has his own projects via CV Comics, as well as other works, such as the “real world” set comic Closing Doors, part of his “City Yarns” series as well as other credits to his name. In addition to Art & Story, Mark also is involved in a heavy metal music podcast. So both of them have years of experience in making and selling their own comics.

The two also work together on their comic projects, such as Switch Runners (previously reviewed in my Saturday Night Showcase), and The Cosmic Adventures of Gena Kranz, joined by Jerzy’s wife, Anne. All come highly recommended by the Spotlight. (That would be me. 🙂 )

Art & Story is actually split into three parts:

1. The regular weekly podcast, where Mark and Jerzy (and the occasional guest) discuss a single topic, ranging from choosing your materials (paper, pencil, ink, art tools, few of which I match with them on at this time, but at least I’m thinking about it) to breaking down the narrative form. Some tips are good for seasoned pros, while others are better suited for the beginning comic artist/writer.
2. Art & Story Alive is a weekly live show where the two are joined by Krishna M. Sadasivan, another cartoonist whose works include PC Weenies (about an overly tech-savvy family) and Uncubed (a humorous look at his own life), where listeners can call in (using VOIP or Skype) or communicate through the live chat room. Unlike the main podcast, Alive usually covers a few topics as requested by the listeners. However, these haven’t been posted on the main blog as of late, and considering the troubles they’ve had with it, I can’t be certain they still do this one. (EDIT: 8/28: I actually found a separate RSS feed, so they do still make the Alive show. They just don’t post the new episode on the blog part anymore for some reason.)
3. The latest addition is Art & Story Extreme, an almost daily look at what they’ve done and other stuff off the top of their heads. They made Extreme to free up more time in the regular podcast, rather than the regular “art week”, where they would talk about some of the things they did that week. With this cast, more time is freed in the main cast to devote to the topic at hand. It’s a good idea. This one I’m waaaaaaaaay behind on.
4. I suppose a case can be made for a fourth part, now that they’ve added a video podcast, but there aren’t a lot of those at the moment.

If you are thinking of becoming an independent comic maker, hoping to get that big break at DC, or if you’re just curious about the behind-the-scenes of a comic writer/artist, I recommend this podcast. It’s always interesting.