Podcast appearances and mentions of John Porcellino

 Tom Devlin is a key figure in the world of graphic novels. His career mimics the evolution of the genre. As founder of Highwater Books, a publishing house he set up in the early 2000s, he treated alternative comics audiences in North America to their first book-length exposure to future star cartoonist/authors John Porcellino, Marc Bell, Ron Rege Jr., Brian Ralph and others - many of whom subsequently joined him at Drawn and Quarterly, the Montreal-based publishing house founded by Chris Oliveros. Tom now works at D&Q as executive editor (and co-owner) alongside his wife, publisher Peggy Burns. His early work - its high production values, thoughtful design and 'bookshelf-ready' formats, plus experience earned as a comics retailer and distributor - presaged, one could say, an explosion in the popularity of graphic novels, one that was amply fueled by the impressive stuff he put out with various artists over the years at D&Q.    I talk with Tom about his early love of comics, his work in comic book stores and his experiences publishing graphic novels; about his life with cartoonists and his work helping to build D&Q, plus the struggle experienced by the medium itself to be taken seriously. Drawn and Quarterly: Twenty Five Years of Contemporary Cartooning, Comics, and Graphic Novels serves as our guide.    We met underneath the well-walked wooden floors of La Petite Librairie D+Q, the company's children's retail bookstore outlet in the Mile End district of Montreal. 

Listen to Creative Elements: https://www.creativeelements.fm/austin-kleon/ (19 mins in)TranscriptI was like 27, or 26. At the time, these kids were probably 22. You know, so it's like, what can I be stoked on these, you know, these students? It's just absurd. And they wanted a title for the talk. And I said, Oh, it's called. I saw I looked at my blog, I was like, what's the most interesting thing I've written recently, it's called How to Steal Like an Artist. That's what it's called. And I didn't have it written or anything. Like, that sounds good. But I had this blog post that was like, all these quotes about artists talking about stealing. And then I went on this walk with my wife, and I said, you know, what do I say to these people that aren't that much younger than me? And she said, Well, the best talk I ever heard at school, was this lady got up in front of our class, and she just had a list of 10 things that she wish she had known when she was a student. I said, that's great. I'll steal that. And that's where the talk came from. The talk went over well, but you know, me being a sort of old millennial, right on the edge of, you know, I was born in 83. So it's like, I have a little bit at digital native to me, but not terribly. So it's kind of like, well, what happens to all this material after I give this talk that no one recorded? And so I thought, well, it would make a really cool blog post. And that's really the thing I posted the How to Steal Like an Artist blog post. And that went viral. And this is 2011. And it became clear, like, immediately, because I started hearing from editors is like, this is your next book. Even though you put this book out, there was a poetry book that sold okay, but like, didn't really blow any doors down. But this is like the new one. So you get a second chance.Jay Clouse 18:08This idea of being a second chance, was this the language that was told to you by the publisher?Austin Kleon 18:13No, no, no, no, no, that was just in the back of my head. You know, for the publisher, it's all. Publishers just think, is it going to be a good book or not? You know, I mean, it's a funny thing, my agent would hate it if I told this story, but which makes it even more fun to tell. But you know, Ted, my agent, there was a point after newspaper blackout came out that I wrote him an email and I said, I just realized that I really need an agent. You know, like, it would be good to have an agent, I realized that now. And he sent me this email back that was pleasant, but he was like, Look, kid, I make money by selling books. So when you got you better hope this book that you do on your own sells well. And if you got another idea for a book, then come see me. Right. So that was like, right after Newspaper Blackout came out? Well, I came to him when it was time to sell steal like an artist to publishers. So it was never the second but it almost feels like I don't know, like a bands like Nirvana puts out Bleach and then never minds the like, the major label, even though that doesn't really work because my publisher workman's independent, but it did feel like okay, this is the pop shot. This is like, this is the chance to do a book that might have a bigger audience than then the poetry book.Jay Clouse 19:32Well, I kind of blew past this. You know, a lot of people come on the show. They've self published books, some of them have gone through a publisher and they talk about it being like a miserably difficult experience to get to the point where someone says, Okay, we'll publish your book. Yeah, you publish Newspaper Blackout through a publisher. How did that happen?Austin Kleon 19:48That was just an editor that was a year younger than me. Harper Perennial, Amy Kaplan, who she's got a different name now. She said, Have you ever thought about a book I said, hell yeah, I thought about a book, let's do it, they sent me a contract, which, you know, really, in hindsight, I should have never signed. But you know, I, my, my mother in law's a lawyer, and she looked over it and it seemed fine. You know, it's like, cuz, you know, it's a poetry book. And the stakes seem very low. But I, my feeling was always with books, when people want to book from you, they'll they'll tell you, you know that that's always how I felt about it was like, it's much easier to be wanted than to try to sell something fresh or new. Now, you know, every writer now has the ability to grow an audience before they ever publish a book. But the thing is, is that you want an audience, if you want to self publish, you got to have an audience. And if you want to publish with a publisher, you need to have an audience. You know, it's kind of like, your, I think the thing that I tell people now is, it's like, it's both terrifying, and freeing the fact that you always run your own show. And it's always in your core, you are always the one doing the work. You know, I've been a published professional author for a decade now. And nobody ever comes to you and says, We're gonna do it for your kid, don't worry, we're gonna make your stuff that just doesn't happen. I mean, maybe it happens to like, a pop singer, something, you know, but it's never going to happen. Every person you see, that's like a big deal. There's just all this work that you don't see that happened before that, where they were making things happen for themselves. You know, I thought when I was younger, I'm such a genius. I'm so talented, someone will just come out of the woodwork and say bold. Here you go, kid. You know, I just I just had that stupid, wishful thinking. But you know, my agent has three things that he tells writers that I think are really, really, it's really, really good advice, I try to pass on, one, get famous first. And that sounds horrible, and terrible. But really what he's talking fame is just more people knowing you than, you know, people. So fame can be a tiny fame too. So that's just getting known in your field, like get known for something that's, I would actually change it from getting famous, I'd say get known for something, you know, first, Ted second. My second piece of advice is all publishing is self publishing. So whether you're self publishing, or whether you're going with the big five or Big Four, now, publisher, you are the one that cares the most about your work. And you're always going to be the one that pushes it and sells it and gets out in the world the best. And then three, the thing that Ted says that I think is even more true today than it was when he was saying 10 years ago is you're really CEO of your own multimedia empire to only think in terms of books is very limiting now, because you have these tools available to you now where you can just do whatever I mean, you've got the access to media now is stunning, you know, so it really becomes about what you want to do. But I always thought those three pieces of advice were really good. But I think the major thing is like don't wait on anybody. No one's going to come and night you, you know, no one's going to get out the sword and put it on both shoulders and say I knight thee you're in the club, you know, and by the time it feels like you're in the club, you don't need to be in the club. You know what I mean? So it's just so I'm always with people. I always think that young people need to get sort of the best of punk rock. earliest they can not they're like, oh Sal out there spit on us punk rock, but the real sort of the kind of punk rock that Michael Azur ad writes about in our band could be your life. These bands that got in the van, and they toured and they built audiences city by city, and they got addresses and built their mailing list. You know, that kind of great American. You know, it's the best of America punk to me, like, the band on the road. That's like, sort of the best of the American dream, you know, like building your audience slowly.Jay Clouse 24:26Yeah. I feel like there's like a, there's a lot of analogs, from music to all the online greeter stuff we talked about today, because they were just out there doing it going on the road, building this mailing list, every time they went to the city, it just got a little bit bigger. And that's not that different than what we're doing now. It's just instead of cities you have maybe internet communities, maybe you have these small pockets of culture. It's really about the same.Austin Kleon 24:52One newsletter subscriber at a time. Somebody tells their friend or his tweets that or whatever, you know, that musics interesting for me, I'm sort of a, I'm sort of a want to be, you know, music is what got me through my teenage years, I realized very early on, it wasn't going to be the lifestyle for me I wasn't going to be okay with just like being on the road and trying to entertain people, which is hilarious now because half of my job is getting up on the stage and performing for people. But music has always been an influence. And music is interesting, because musicians are always the kind of canaries in the coal mine. As far as media goes, anything bad that's going to happen will happen to musicians first. And it was true of streaming. It was well it was true of digital. It was true of Napster and all that. It was true of streaming. And it was trueThe pandemic. Musicians are really the artists, they're sort of, I can't think of another art form that's really more on the edge of whatever the world is doing. And they'll do it to them first.Jay Clouse 26:00Yeah, yeah. I thought when we started to see holograms of Tupac at Coachella, I was like, this is this is next.Austin Kleon 26:08Well isTupac. It's Gemini season right now. No one this layer, but you know, yeah, it's true. It's like, the indignities that are put upon the passed away musician.Jay Clouse 26:19Your three rules from Ted, if you believe them to be true, which it sounds like you do that number two rule of everybody is self publishing. What is the litmus test now for someone to decide if they should go with a traditional publisher? If they have the opportunity?Austin Kleon 26:34Oh, great question. I think it has a lot to do with business goals. It just depends. It depends completely on the person depends on what kind of stuff you're writing. You know, for me, my books do really well by the cash register, at the paper source or the, you know, Urban Outfitters, or wherever. Now, these books have taken a hit during the pandemic, because nobody's in person anymore. Yeah, so those books take a little bit of a hit. But, you know, like, I'm reading a book right now on how to take better notes. And I forget the guy's name. But it's like, that's a very niche.Jay Clouse 27:18Yeah.Austin Kleon 27:18Thing that most publishers probably like, take better notes. What is the you know, whatever, I'm sure this guy's probably sold a million copies, he's probably made of fortune. The thing about self publishing that I try to remind people is that it exists on a very wide economic spectrum. So like, for example, my two self publishing heroes are on one side, a guy named John Porcellino. And on the other side is a guy named Edward Tufte. Now John Porcellino has been doing this scene called King-Cat for 30 years, I think King-Cat since like, 19, you can tell I'm not good. It's late afternoon. My math skills are bad. But John's been doing this scene for 30 years at least it's it's it's one of the greatest American comics. And in my opinion, John's never gotten rich off of it. He, you know, started when he's a kid, it's so got that punk buddha, energy to it. But john, now I think he, he just started a Patreon. And I think he's just starting to be able to save enough to have a reasonable, like, lower middle class. I mean, this is just from what I've seen of him and seen of his work. He's just starting to be able to like kind of have a decent living through Patreon and his subscribers to King-Cat. So that's like one side of the economic spectrum. On the other side is someone like Edward Tufte. Edward Tufte. He was statistician at Yale. Nobody wants to publish his book called The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Can you imagine no one wanted to publish that book. So he self published it out of his garage, took out a second mortgage on his house. Ed sold like 1.5 million copies of these books, they retail for $40. So you do the math, even if there's half I mean, this guy's made Yeah, he's made $40 $50 million. If you do the math off of of self publishing these books and he towards like the Grateful Dead, you know, he's one of those guys. He goes around with a sound system. He sets up in a Hilton ballroom, 500 people come and they sell, you know, 300 bucks ahead, and everybody gets books and he just goes around does that and makes a killing too you know, meanwhile, John's at like a comic con, hand selling King-Cat, you know, so like, both these dudes to me are our punk. You know, like they're both. They have that DIY punk spirit that the Grateful Dead had to You know, they're doing it, they're just doing it themselves, you know. But yeah, I don't have a huge opinion. I mean, the publisher thing, to me, it's still about having the muscle of distribution and getting it everywhere. And of course, the publisher takes a little bit of the risk with the printing and stuff, but that with on demand and stuff, it's changing a lot. I mean, it'll be interesting to see where you know, what happens with my next book, you know, whether I do some self publishing experiments or not, it's still worth it for me to go with a major publisher. But I have friends that say, I'm stupid, you know, I have friends who say, why would why at this point, wouldn't you self publish something, and sell it for 20 bucks and keep 10 and make a killing. But for me, it's about just being patient. I'm planning on doing this for a very long time. And so I'm just sort of patient and to be perfectly honest, I'm not very business savvy. I mean, I'm number savvy. But I'm not really interested in being a business person, which has always been a problem for me. You know, I didn't get into this. Like, if I wanted to make money, I would have gone to business school.

Goodness me, it must be time for a brand new episode of Gutter Boys! The boys welcome very special guest John Porcellino, renowned cartoonist and zine figurehead from Beloit, Wisconsin. John has been self-publishing his ongoing autobio comic zine series King-Cat Comix for over three decades and running his small press distro, Spit and a Half, since 1992. We cover a wide range of topics including his sporadic cross-country moves, his lengthy history with self-publishing, the development of Spit and a Half, and his plans for the future. You can visit John's website at king-cat.net or follow him on Instagram @johnporcellin and Twitter @The_Real_John_P. Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email us at gutterboyspodcast@gmail.com and we'll read it on the next episode, or give the Gutter Boys a follow on Instagram and Twitter (JB: @mortcrimpjr; Cam: @camdelrosario). And of course, please rate, review, like, share, and subscribe on your preferred podcast platform and help grow the Gutter Gang Nation! If you're feeling generous, subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/gutterboys (or gutterboys.top) and browse our different subscription tiers to receive exclusive merch, behind-the-scenes comic process updates, bonus episodes, plus much more! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/gutterboys/support

'Let him step to the music he hears.' This week Tom returns and chats about the comics and zines of the brilliant John Porcellino. The pair focus in on King Cat Comics and Stories but stray into what makes a Diary Comic. Not one to miss. You can find Tom's podcast That Comics Smell here and follow them on Twitter right here. Many thanks for listening.

A quarterly of reissues from Drawn & Quarterly has offered a fresh opportunity to reexamine King Cat. Not that there's every a bad time to revisit John Porcellino's work. The cartoonist has self-published nearly 80 issues of the series over the past 32 years. The black and white mini comic remains both deeply influential and extremely singular, built from a DIY ethos that informs all of his work, including the Spit and a Half comics distro, which dates back nearly as far. Porcellino's work is hailed for its deeply personal subject matter, coupled with simple line work that distills images down to only the most necessary markings. 

With Drawn & Quarterly publishing new editions of King-Cat Classix, Map of My Heart, and Perfect Example, what better time for John Porcellino to return to the podcast? We talk about how King-Cat Comics & Stories has evolved over the ~30 years (!) he's been making it, how the refinement of his art and storytelling mirrors the battle of intuition vs. OCD, and how his newest comics (even those written before 2020) reflect life during the pandemic. We get into how Buddhism has helped him cope with life and aging, his lurking concern that he has an expiration date, what he wants to accomplish before then, and what it means to publish issue #80 and to look at reaching #100. We also discuss the joyfully awful band Flipper and what it's like being Flipper for aspiring storytellers, the example Lynda Barry set for him, the influence John has had on my stories in recent years, his joy at seeing his name drawn by Robert Crumb, and why his new dog Arlo is A Good Boy even when he barks during podcasts. Follow John on Twitter and Instagram, and support his work via Patreon • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Patreon or Paypal

Rob interviews writer and artist John Porcellino! Check out John's stuff at the links below: King-Cat Comics and Stories Spit and a Half Distribution Co. P.O. Box 142 / So. Beloit, IL / 61080 / USA www.king-cat.net www.spitandahalf.com www.johnporcellino.blogspot.com   Our theme song is by Benny and the No Goods.   Check out their awesome music right HERE Bennyandthenogoods.bandcamp.com One easy way to support this show is to rate and review Alley Chats wherever you listen to our podcast.  Those ratings really help us and help others find our show. Alley Chats is produced and edited by Rob Southgate for Southgate Media Group.  Thanks again to our affiliate sponsors Hunt a Killer and Tweaked Audio.  Be sure to use the coupon code SOUTHGATE when checking out for our special deals.  Links to them are also on our webpage.  Follow this show on Facebook @alleychats Follow our parent network on Twitter at @SMGPods Make sure to follow SMG on Facebook too at @SouthgateMediaGroup Learn more, subscribe, or contact Southgate Media Group at www.southgatemediagroup.com.   Check out our webpage at southgatemediagroup.com If you’re an artist or writer or creative type that would have a table at in artist alley and would like to be on Alley Chats, message us through the Facebook page or email us directly at southgatemediagroup@gmail.com and we’ll set up an interview.

I mentioned in a previous episode of the show I had participated in an annual zine fest in Madison called Print & Resist. One of the people showcasing his work at the event was John Porcellino, creator of the popular minicomic zine King Kat. Went to his table to introduce myself and I blurted out that I had this podcast and I would love to talk with him. We exchanged information and he was nice enough to talk with me a few weeks later on facebook messenger. John's Website http://www.spitandahalf.com/ John's Author Page on Amazon - https://amzn.to/2L5fkdU --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tomraysartpodcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tomraysartpodcast/support

Time Codes: 00:00:24 - Introduction 00:02:37 - Setup of interview 00:04:33 - Interview with Summer Pierre 01:19:14 - Wrap up 01:20:13 - Contact us The Two Guys were first introduced to the work of Summer Pierre during June of 2017. At the time, they were wanting to do a special episode of The Comics Alternative devoted to self-published creators, and John Porcellino recommended to Derek that they check out the work of Summer Pierre. At the time her minicomic Paper Pencil Life was at its fourth issue, and so they went to her website to get the full run of the title up to that point. They were impressed by her art and storytelling, and since then, Derek has made it a point of following Summer's work. She had told him last year in an email that she planned to have a new graphic memoir coming out from Retrofit in 2018, and at this week's Small Press Expo that book will officially debut. All the Sad Songs is a moving account of the role of music in Summer's life, from the creation of mix tapes to her performances as a musician, and how that music is linked to key moments with her various relationships and her growth as an artist. In many ways this book is a work of remembrance, but it's not soaked in the kind of nostalgia that would come across as sentimental. On the contrary, Summer takes a hard look at herself during those times in her life, bearing herself in ways that, at times, may be a bit uncomfortable. But her story is authentic and speaks from the heart. In this interview, Derek talks with Summer about the genesis of this project, her experiences writing in long-form narrative, the role that music has played in her life, and the potential pitfalls in writing about her past in such an open and honest way. This is an interview that's been a long time in coming, but it was definitely worth the wait.

Time Codes: 00:00:25 - Introduction 00:02:50 - Setup of interview 00:04:21 - Interview with John Porcellino 01:21:07 - Wrap up 01:23:19 - Contact us Gene and Derek are excited to have John Porcellino back on the podcast. His new book From Lone Mountain has just been released by Drawn and Quarterly, and John talks in depth about the time in his life covered in this collection, as well as the process of pulling all of these experiences together. The book collects King-Cat Comics & Stories #62-#68, released between 2003-2007. The Two Guys ask John about the evolution of his compositional strategies, the role that place and landscape play in his comics, how both prose and illustrations function for self-exploration, his thoughts on punk and the DIY aesthetic, and how his comics serve as a release for, as well as a reflection of, the many changes in his life. This isn't the first time John P. has been on The Comics Alternative -- he came on for an interview around the release of issue #76 of King-Cat Comics & Stories -- and the guys certainly hope that this isn't his last visit. And be sure to check out John's online store, Spit and a Half. There you can find not only his King-Cat Comics & Stories, but also a variety of other mini- and indie comics by other creators, as well!

King Cat Comics creator John Porcellino visits the show to talk comics, punk, & Buddhism. He is interrupted during our interview by Producer Ponyo barking after a child.    Cartoonist & friend to the show Liz Prince also jumps in the studio to talk about senior citizen drama, comics show politics, & how to prepare to sell your wares.    Much drama this week. Tune in! 

Chris reviews the new DCU by Mike Mignola - what it collects and more importantly what it doesn’t collect and what we may see in Volume 2. Also on the show: a new edition of Superman: The World of Krypton TPB (also by Mignola) and Vertigo by Ed Brubaker HC (DC Comics); Jane Arden, Hugh Striver and Deathless Dear from LOAC (IDW); Overwatch (Dark Horse with Blizzard); John Porcellino publishing Jenny Zervakis' Strange Growths, a lot of digital comics news and emails answered on Deadpool: The Adamantium Collection and The Golden Age Wonder Woman #23.

We sit down with the legendary John Porcellino, creator of King Cat Comics and one man comics distro under the Spit And A Half banner. King Cat is one of the longest continually published mini comics in existence, with 77 issues since 1989! John just dropped the new issue, which is full of John's great brand of animal stories. He also just published a collection of Jenny Zervakis' mini comics called Strange Growths, and we talk about her work and what drove this inveterate self-publisher to become a publisher of other artists. PLUS: Mike and Zack talk about Delaware Punch! Progress with projects! And a VANCAF scene report!

We sit down with the legendary John Porcellino, creator of King Cat Comics and one man comics distro under the Spit And A Half banner. King Cat is one of the longest continually published mini comics in existence, with 77 issues since 1989! John just dropped the new issue, which is full of John's great brand of animal stories. He also just published a collection of Jenny Zervakis' mini comics called Strange Growths, and we talk about her work and what drove this inveterate self-publisher to become a publisher of other artists. PLUS: Mike and Zack talk about Delaware Punch! Progress with projects! And a VANCAF scene report!

Time Codes: 00:01:30 - Introduction 00:03:21 - News and updates 00:12:05 - Best American Comics 2016 01:07:29 - Wrap up 01:08:37 - Contact us Every year the Two Guys with PhDs use the final two episodes of the year as a respective, a look back at some of the best comics out there. Next week they'll release their own favorites of the past twelve months, but for this, their penultimate show of the year, Andy and Derek discuss what others consider outstanding. The 2016 volume Best American Comics, edited by cartoonist Roz Chast (and with series editor Bill Kartalopoulos), includes thirty contributions from a variety of creators and displaying a wide range of styles and storytelling strategies. These comics were originally published between September 1, 2015 and August 31, 2015, and in many cases they include titles that the guys have discussed on past episodes. (For insights into the selection process for this volume, check out the previously published interview with Bill Kartalopoulos.) As the guys point out, there are entries in this collection that should come as no surprise to comics readers -- e.g., Adrian Tomine's "Killing and Dying," Drew Friedman's "R. Crumb and Me," various Kate Beaton strips, and excerpts from Richard McGuire's Here and Chris Ware's The Last Saturday -- but some of the most notable contributions are from artists with whom the guys weren't yet familiar, or are selections that might not be on most readers' "Best of" lists. As you'll hear on this episode, Derek and Andy are excited to discover the work of Taylor-Ruth Baldwin, Sophia Zdon, Lance Ward, and Char Esmé, while at the same time they are glad to see recognition of works by Joe Ollmann, John Porcellino, Keiler Roberts, and Nina Bunjevac. But every piece in this anthology is worthy of attention, as are the various titles listed in its "Notable Comics" section at the very end. With a new year on the horizon, it's always useful to look back at those comics that have helped define where we are today. And as the guys point out, the annual Best American Comics volumes are some of the gauges out there.

On this interview episode, Andy and Derek are pleased to have as their guest John Porcellino. Issue #76 of his long-running (twenty-six year!) minicomic, King-Cat Comics and Stories, has just been released, and the Two Guys talk with John about how different this issue is from his previous one. That issue, a heartfelt memorial to his cat, Maisie Kukoc, was more of a long-form story that may have expanded his audience. Andy asks John what readers who came to his work through issue #75 might think of the latest release, a more traditional issue of King-Cat Comics and Stories, and that question sets the stage for the rest of the conversation. Among the many topics John discusses in this interview are his processes of note-taking, the stylistic turning points of his career, his views on autobiographical comics, his experiences as a self-publisher and comics distributor, his philosophy of personal revelation, and the roles that music continues to play in his comics. In fact, one of the more interesting takeaways from the interview is John's understand of his zines as being analogous to record albums. He constructs them in the same ways musicians might pull together a two-sided LP. Along the way, Derek and Andy also talk with John about his book-length stories and collections, specifically Perfect Example and The Hospital Suite. This is an engaging conversation, one that is really a long time in coming for The Comics Alternative. If there is indeed a King of the Minicomics, then John Porcellino should be the one wearing that crown.

In which Alan, John and Jen discuss Helen Macdonald's Costa Award-winning memoir H Is For Hawk (2014), as well as a slew of other autobiographical writings, both real and imagined. Along the way we chat about Bob Dylan, Carrie Brownstein, Edmund White, John Porcellino and Kanye West. From John Porcellino's Perfect Example: http://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1380359337i/710397.png

This week's episode of the podcast is special, and in a number of ways. First, Derek and Andy W. record the show "live" from a common location and not from a distance via Skype. Also, they discuss their experiences at this year's Small Press Expo, which took place September 19-20. Most importantly, though, this episode is notable for its focus on the 2015 Ignatz Awards, the first time that the Two Guys have discussed this industry recognition in any in-depth manner.  In fact, almost the entire episode is devoted to the Ignatz nominees, a substantial number of texts, and as a result, this show goes longer than usual. And they break up recording the show over a two-day period: the first third after day one of SPX (and before the Ignatz winners have been announced), and the final segment after the event has ended. Andy and Derek begin by sharing some of their experiences at SPX, including the people they met, the creators they talked with, the small press publishers who attended, and the general demographics of the crowd (this was a con that definitely skewed young). Then they go into a rundown of all the 2015 Ignatz Award nominees, discussing the nine different categories and briefly highlighting the five nominees under each. There are some categories, such as "Outstanding Anthology or Collection," that the guys find a little problematic. Both Andy and Derek feel that a collection by a single artist and an anthology comprising a variety are completely different beasts and, as such, shouldn't be clumped together in this manner. There are others, including "Promising New Talent" and "Outstanding Comic," that would benefit by clearer context. (For example, what exactly defines a "new talent," and how   might an "outstanding comic" be distinguished from an "outstanding graphic novel"?) In the final segments of the episode -- the last 2/3 that was recorded after that final day of SPX -- Derek and Andy go into detail about many of the titles nominated for an Ignatz. They list the winners of each category, which were made public on Saturday night of the con, and provide a few observations. The Ignatz Awards winners are chosen by popular vote, anyone who attends the event can cast a ballot, so the Two Guys with PhDs take some of the results with a sizable grain of salt. For example, they're surprised by the fact that neither Noah Van Sciver and Ethan Riley (both highly accomplished and nominated multiple times) received anything. Or that Drawn and Quarterly: 25 Years of Contemporary Cartooning, Comics, and Graphic Novels was shut out. Or how Sophia Foster-Dimino came out as she did. Still, one of the most notable takeaways from this year's ceremony is the fact that women completely swept the awards, so this is definitely a year of significance. After a brief discussion of the winners, Andy and Derek get into a detailed analysis of may of the nominated titles, especially focusing on those works they've not yet discussed on previous episodes. These include Ed Luce's Wuvable Oaf (Fantagraphics), Jillian Tamaki's SuperMutant Magic Academy (Drawn and Quarterly) and "Sex Coven" (from Frontier #7, published by Youth in Decline), M. Dean's K.M. & R.P. & MCMLXXI (1971), Walter Scott's Wendy (Koyama Press), Gina Wyndbrandt's Big Pussy (2D Cloud), Jason Little's Borb (Uncivilized Books), John Porcellino's King Cat #75, and Georgia Webber's Dumb series. There are so many great titles to cover, and as a result, the show goes longer than the guys anticipated. But that's OK. SPX and the Ignatz Awards only come once a year, so why not take advantage of this celebrated occasion?

Betsy Shepherd hosts a discussion with minicomics creator John Porcellino.

John Porcellino is a leading author and illustrator in the independent comics and ’zine movement. He has been self-publishing the autobiographical 'zine King Cat Comics since 1989.

Reviews of Pretty Deadly by Kelly Sue Deconnick and Emma Rios, A Cat Named Tim and Other Stories by John Martz, Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast, BUMF! Vol. 1 by Joe Sacco, Doctors by Dash Shaw, Hospital Suite by John Porcellino, and Earthling by Aisha Franz.

I’d spoken with John Porcellino not all that long ago for Publishers Weekly feature discussing The Hospital Suite, the indie cartoonist longest self-contained work to date. Published by Drawn & Quarterly, the book is deeply personal, exploring long standing health concerns that caused Porcellino to be hospitalized numerous times over the years. Toward the end of that conversation, I asked the artist whether he’d be willing to meet up again for yet another interview when his book tour brought him to New York City. He’d only be in town for a couple of days for the Brooklyn Book Festival and would only have a couple of hours to spare, but he happily agreed to devote one of them to sitting down with me in front of a microphone yet again. Porcellino greeted me in the lobby of his Brooklyn hotel a few weeks later in a white t-shirt bearing the visage of celebrity cat, Lil Bub. He recognized me before I recognized him. He looked different than the last time we’d met, when I’d interviewed him on-stage at the Minneapolis Indie Expo a few years prior. Back then, he’d been in the throes of the health concerns at the center of his new book.  “I’ve put on a little weight,” he said proudly. “I just turned 46, after all.” He didn’t look overweight, he just looked, well, healthy. He offered me an English muffin and apologized for tucking into the hotel breakfast that had only just arrived. He was making the most of his limited time as I set up the recorder. After five ten minutes of discussing the relative niceness of various hardcore frontmen (Ian MacKaye, Kevin Seconds and Keith Morris all get gold stars), any concerns I harbored about our ability to fill yet another hour’s worth of SD card with conversation melted away. For episode 75, here’s a wide ranging one with one of the most fascinating and longest lasting figures in the world of self-published comics. Punk rock, buddhism, nature, health and art all abound.

John Porcellino has been publishing his King-Cat Comics & Stories mini-comics for 25 years, but I managed not to check them out until last month. BIG mistake on my part! Turns out the critics were right; John P.'s one of the best autobio cartoonists out there, as well as "a master at miniature poignance" (Entertainment Weekly). We sat down at SPX 2014 to talk about publishing his new work, The Hospital Suite, as a standalone book and developing the skill and courage to tackle longer stories, his disdain for "the culture of like", overcoming the shame and stigma of his OCD, the process of discovering an audience for his work, the pitfalls of autobiographical comics, discovering the power of negative space, turning his life into a narrative, how comics enabled him to communicate with people, and, most importantly, being an NFL bigamist. Bonus: Roger Langridge gives us a few minutes at SPX to talk about his new book, Jim Henson's The Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow! "I managed to go 43 issues before I hit the paralyzing grip of self-doubt and self-consciousness [from realizing that I had an audience]. I feel lucky that I had all those years to write comics in essentially a vacuum. I can't imagine what it would be like to be 20 years old and trying to write comics in this world with the internet's immediate response."

On this episode of Comic Books Are Burning In Hell, Chris, Joe and Tucker discuss the following topics: Taking vacations from comics: the pros and cons! The Hospital Suite, by John Porcellino and published by Drawn & Quarterly Bumperhead, by Gilbert Hernandez and published by Drawn & Quarterly Sally Heathcote: Suffrage by Kate Charlesworth, Bryan Talbot and Mary Talbot and published by Dark Horse 

John Porcellino and Dan Berry get together to talk about 25 years of King-Cat Comics and Stories, punk rock, style, sickness and health. John also has a new book coming out imminently from Drawn & Quarterly entitled The Hospital Suite and a US tour, so check both out quick as you can! Also check out the Patreon campaign to help support the show. Every one of your dollars helps in the production of this show a great deal.

Today’s interview is with John Porcellino of Spit and a Half Distribution and King-Cat Comics. John is a self-published full time comic (zine) creator and distributes other people independent comic works. The first King-Cat Comic was created in 1989, making it one of the best-known and longest-running “zine” series today. In this episode we cover the […]

This is episode 9 of Boing Boing's Tell Me Something I Don't Know podcast. It's an interview show featuring artists, writers, filmmakers, and other creative people discussing their work, ideas, and the reality/business side of how they do what they do. John Porcellino is the creator of the long-running, self-published mini-comic series, King Cat Comics (celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2014). His books include Perfect Example (Highwater Books, Drawn and Quarterly), Diary of a Mosquito Abatement Man (La Mano), King-Cat Classix (Drawn and Quarterly), Map of My Heart (Drawn and Quaterly), and Thoreau at Walden (Hyperion). His work is characterized by a thoughtful, minimal drawing/writing style and a unique approach to narrative interpretation and temporal representation. Besides his influential work as a cartoonist, Porcellino is the founder of Spit and a Half – a small press comics and zine distribution company that began in the early 90s. Tell Me Something I Don't Know is produced and hosted by three talented cartoonists and illustrators: Jim Rugg, a Pittsburgh-based comic book artist, graphic designer, zinemaker, and writer best known for Afrodisiac, The Plain Janes, and Street Angel. His latest project is SUPERMAG. Jasen Lex is a designer and illustrator from Pittsburgh. He is currently working on a graphic novel called Washington Unbound. All of his art and comics can be found at jasenlex.com. Ed Piskor is the cartoonist who drew the comic, Wizzywig, and draws the Brain Rot/ Hip Hop Family Tree comic strip at this very site, soon to be collected by Fantagraphics Books and available for pre-order now. Follow TMSIDK on Twitter GET TMSIDK: RSS | On iTunes | Download episode | Listen on Stitcher

Crashing through a brick wall just in time to punch out Hitler, it is Episode 104 with Graeme McMillan and Jeff Lester ready and willing to talk comic books until the cows come home, an image far less captivating than the one I opened with. Today, we have ourselves a good long talk about John Byrne and his career in the Eighties; news about the Superman litigation and the folding of Newsweek; a discussion about the new Valiant line, and review Archer and Armstrong issue #3, Batman #13, Marvel Now! Point Zero, Godzilla: The Half Century War #3, and the latest issue of King Cat Comics and Stories by John Porcellino. All this and a few surprises in just a little over two hours and compressed into handy pill-shaped form. As always, we hope you enjoy...and thanks for listening!

This is a pretty mellow show, but I think it's a good one.  John Porcellino is the cartoonist between the long-running King-Cat mincomic series, and many collections and other books. One of them that Phil and I (Matt) recently read is Perfect Example, a true-life high school story, that has been described as a coming-of-age story which reads like a "goodbye to the familiar Road trips, drunken concerts, and late-night make-out sessions."  According to cartoonist Chris Ware, "John Porcellino's comics distill, in just a few lines and words, the feeling of simply being alive." We caught up with John Porcellino before he went to SPX, one of the mainstays on the indie comics convention calendar.  Phil and I talk with John P. about self-publishing, what he gained from his art school experience at NIU, the difference between the early days of alternative comics (the 80/90s) and now.  We also talk about doing comics for the love of it, and learning from the artwork (it really applies to writing, drawing, and music, as well) while you are making it.  And since we share the stateline region with John, I had to ask him about the changes from living in an urban/suburban environment to living in the more rural environment of South Beloit.

The Next Day collaborators, John Porcellino and Jason Gilmore, joined Pop SandBox publisher, Alex Jansen came together to talk about both The Next Day book and accompanying online interactive project. It is a very thoughtful piece of work delicately exploring the issue of … Continue reading →