Comic Riffs: Interviews With Cartoonists


Posted at 07:30 AM ET, 01/11/2011

IMAGE OF THE DAY: New Yorker cover artist sends Spider-Man to the hospital
By Michael Cavna
Barry Blitt had a big assignment and very little time, and that was precisely when his Spidey sense of humor kicked in: What if the webslinger, he mused, was rendered as a Last Traction Hero? "The first thing that...

By Michael Cavna  |  07:30 AM ET, 01/11/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  Barry Blitt, Christopher Tierney, Francoise Mouly, Julie Taymor, Spider-Man, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, The New Yorker magazine

Posted at 06:45 PM ET, 01/04/2011

STAN LEE gets a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
By Michael Cavna
(Photo: Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images) Stan Lee has helped build iconic comics characters out of stone, sand and adamantium. On Tuesday, the Marvel mastermind conquered concrete. Lee has just received a star on the Walk of Fame sidewalk in front...

By Michael Cavna  |  06:45 PM ET, 01/04/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  Gill Champion, Stan Lee, Todd McFarlane

Posted at 01:00 PM ET, 12/13/2010

PARODY OF THE DAY: The story behind 'How WikiLeaks Stole Christmas!'
By Michael Cavna
(used by permission of Ward Sutton / boston.com) WikiLeaks is such a topical gift to cartoonists this time of year, it's as if the snowy-haired Julian Assange were Santa himself. And our favorite seasonal mash-up thus far is illustrator...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:00 PM ET, 12/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  Chuck Jones, Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Ward Sutton, WikiLeaks

Posted at 01:15 PM ET, 10/28/2010

The 'Riffs Interview: 'American Vampire's' SCOTT SNYDER on vampires, Vertigo & collaborator Stephen King
By Michael Cavna
(DC Comics/Vertigo) Unlike his tag-team partner in vampiric crime, SCOTT SNYDER does not strike a pose that embodies the macabre. Stephen King, of course, sometimes likes to glower at the viewer of his publicity stills, fulfilling our visual expectation...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:15 PM ET, 10/28/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  American Vampire, Jim Lee, Rafael Albuquerque, Scott Snyder, Stephen King

Posted at 12:45 PM ET, 10/08/2010

State Dept. sends Katrina cartoonist JOSH NEUFELD to Mideast to 'showcase cultural freedoms'
By Michael Cavna
"A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge" cartoonist Josh Neufeld is going back out on the road on behalf of the State Department. "As with my trip to Burma [in March], it seems that -- because of 'A.D.' -- I...

By Michael Cavna  |  12:45 PM ET, 10/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge,, Brandon Jerwa, Josh Neufeld

Posted at 01:05 PM ET, 09/13/2010

The 'Riffs Interview: TED RALL returns from Afghanistan, ready to draw upon his up-close encounters
By Michael Cavna
(images courtesy of Ted Rall) A month ago, alt-political cartoonist and graphic novelist TED RALL heaed back to Afghanistan, where he traveled nearly a decade ago. This time, the author of "From Here to Afghanistan" was trekking unembedded with...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:05 PM ET, 09/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  Matt Bors, Steven Cloud, Ted Rall

Posted at 12:30 PM ET, 09/03/2010

The 'Riffs Interview: 'PENNY ARCADE' artist Mike Krahulik talks success, charity & today's PAX
By Michael Cavna
It's been a good year for the "Penny Arcade" guys. Their online reality show "Penny Arcade: The Series" debuted in February. They released their sparkling milestone collection, "The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11.5 Anniversary Edition" early this...

By Michael Cavna  |  12:30 PM ET, 09/03/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  Jerry Holkins, Mike Krahulik, PAX, Penny Arcade

Posted at 12:30 PM ET, 08/29/2010

The 'Riffs Interview: Comic artist CLIFF CHIANG offers an insider's tour of Neil Young's 'Greendale'
By Michael Cavna
(Images courtesy of Vertigo / DC Comics Comic artist and editor CLIFF CHIANG is accustomed to working in the action stories of Human Target and The Spectre and Green Arrow/Black Canary. So when legendary rocker Neil Young came calling,...

By Michael Cavna  |  12:30 PM ET, 08/29/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  Baltimore Comic-Con 2010, Cliff Chiang, Dave Stewart, Joshua Dysart, Neil Young

Posted at 12:05 PM ET, 08/11/2010

The 'Riffs Interview: Being Bill Watterson -- 'LIO' creator MARK TATULLI shares the secrets of spoofing 'Calvin & Hobbes'
By Michael Cavna
(Images courtesy of Universal Press Syndicate & Mike Lynch Cartoons) Will the real bespectacled, besweatered Bill Watterson please stand up? Because a fellow Universal Press Syndicate creator, it seems, is cribbing your look. Numerous cartoonists have been accused over...

By Michael Cavna  |  12:05 PM ET, 08/11/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes, Lio, Mark Tatulli, Universal Press Syndicate

Posted at 12:01 PM ET, 08/09/2010

'No filter': Cartoonists MATT BORS & TED RALL depart for Afghanistan eager to tell 'the people's story'
By Michael Cavna
For 18 long months, Matt Bors spent his days at war. In every hot spot, his eyes trained on every Humvee, on every rocket, on every malaria pill. It was challenging, grueling, exhausting -- and all from the safe...

By Michael Cavna  |  12:01 PM ET, 08/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  David Axe, Matt Bors, Steven Cloud, Ted Rall

Posted at 01:00 PM ET, 08/03/2010

The 'Riffs Interview: New Eisner winner JOHN LAYMAN relishes the success of 'CHEW'
By Michael Cavna
(All images used by permission courtesy of John Layman) When your line of work often involves covering people who openly aspire to be good and great and legendary, you hear a lot of boasts and bravado. Rarely, though, do...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:00 PM ET, 08/03/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  Baltimore Comic-Con, Chew, John Layman, Rob Guillory, San Diego Comic-Con

Posted at 08:00 AM ET, 07/27/2010

WORKING IN OILS: Pulitzer winner STEVE BREEN visits Gulf to create 'spill' cartoons out of BP's own crude
By Michael Cavna
(All cartoons courtesy of Steve Breen / The San Diego Union-Tribune) It was a mission so potentially sketchy, STEVE BREEN didn't whisper a word of it to his friends or bosses, neither his newspaper nor syndicate. Only his wife...

By Michael Cavna  |  08:00 AM ET, 07/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  BP oil spill, Steve Breen

Posted at 02:15 PM ET, 07/22/2010

COMIC-CON 2010: Keith Knight talks new books, Nappy Hours & why he won't be on an Angry Black Panel
By Michael Cavna
KEITH KNIGHT used to sneak onto Artists' Alley at San Diego Comic-Con, displaying his 'zines till someone told him to fold up shop. Now, nearly two decades later, for the first time, the acclaimed creator of "The Knight Life"...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:15 PM ET, 07/22/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  Keith Knight, San Diego Comic-Con 2010, The K Chronicles, The Knight Life

Posted at 11:05 AM ET, 07/19/2010

Q&A: Muslim cartoonist offers her thoughts on depicting Muhammad
By Michael Cavna
Comic Riffs reported a week ago that Molly Norris, the Seattle cartoonist whose poster art spawned the recent "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day," has had an execution hit ordered against her -- one that the FBI reportedly is treating as...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:05 AM ET, 07/19/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  Molly Norris, Sepideh Anjomrooz

Posted at 06:20 AM ET, 07/13/2010

A PEKAR TRIBUTE: Collaborators & colleagues remember 'sweet, curmudgeonly' Harvey
By Michael Cavna
ED. NOTE: This collection of memories has been updated since it first was published Monday evening. There was much Pekar love in the comics community. Beyond the curmudgeonly persona and larger-than-life onscreen personality, Pekar represented an iconoclast who pioneered...

By Michael Cavna  |  06:20 AM ET, 07/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  American Splendor, Andrew Farago, Dean Haspiel, Frank Stack, Harvey Pekar, Josh Neufeld, Neil Gaiman, Scott McCloud, Ted Rall, Tom Spurgeon

Posted at 09:15 AM ET, 06/27/2010

The 'Riffs Interview: Lincoln Peirce's 'BIG NATE' becomes an 'overnight' best-seller
By Michael Cavna
Jeff Kinney, creator of the publishing phenomenon that is the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" children's book series, was in the Post newsroom a coupla years ago when he mentioned to Comic Riffs his new interactive website, Poptropica. Today,...

By Michael Cavna  |  09:15 AM ET, 06/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  Big Nate, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney, Lincoln Peirce, Poptropica

Posted at 09:05 AM ET, 06/27/2010

The 'Riffs Interview: How the incisive TRACY WHITE made it to 'Eighteen' (A Cartoon Memoirist's Tale)
By Michael Cavna
Comic Riffs first discovered the beguiling work of Tracy White a couple of years ago at the SPX Small Press Expo in suburban Washington. Her animation on Traced.com was nominated for an Ignatz Award, and her storytelling talent was...

By Michael Cavna  |  09:05 AM ET, 06/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  How I Made It to Eighteen, Tracy White

Posted at 05:45 PM ET, 06/03/2010

WEINGARTEN: People who 'critique comic strips are anuses'
By Michael Cavna
"I have decided that people like me, who presume to critique comic strips, are anuses." Such is the self-realization -- perhaps even the tongue-in-cheek epiphany with an, um, surprise end -- of Post Magazine humor columnist Gene Weingarten. As...

By Michael Cavna  |  05:45 PM ET, 06/03/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  Barney & Clyde, Gene Weingarten, Washington Post Writers Group

Posted at 10:30 AM ET, 03/26/2010

The 'Riffs Interview: 'TRAIN YOUR DRAGON' directors enter a new dimension
By Michael Cavna
Hiccup, dragon trainer. (DreamWorks Animation SKG) The modern Hollywood animator is accursed with a burden that never bedeviled Walt Disney, Chuck Jones or even the '80s Imagineers who framed each shot of Roger Rabbit. In the era of "Avatar,"...

By Michael Cavna  |  10:30 AM ET, 03/26/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists | Tags:  Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois, DreamWorks Animation, How to Train Your Dragon, Jeffrey Katzenberg

Posted at 02:24 PM ET, 03/08/2010

Oscars to 'Alice' to 'iToons': The new Comic Riffs podcast is now up
By Michael Cavna
In Sunday night's animation categories, at least, the Oscars went pretty much according to form: The heavy favorite "Up" won for feature film animation. France's "Logorama" (which 'Riffs tabbed as a better-than-even shot to edge Wallace & Gromit) was...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:24 PM ET, 03/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists

Posted at 02:40 PM ET, 02/12/2010

The 'Riffs Interview: 'PvP' creator Scott Kurtz speaks today at Macworld
By Christian Hettinger
Among Scott Kurtz's gifts is his talent for turning heads and raising eyebrows. This afternoon, Kurtz, creator of the webcomic "PvP," will speak at Macworld at San Francisco's Moscone Center. The provocative title of his main-stage session: "He Wants...

By Christian Hettinger  |  02:40 PM ET, 02/12/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 10/24/2009

Playing the Palace: Hours back from Iraq, top cartoonists share tales of a USO tour
By Michael Cavna
I'm sitting in a hotel bar-and-grille that's so close to Virginia's Dulles International Airport, the hotel's walls have flight-time boards that flicker like mood lighting in the lobby. The mood at my table is a bit more subdued. Until,...

By Michael Cavna  |  09:00 AM ET, 10/24/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists

Posted at 10:10 AM ET, 10/02/2009

The 'Riffs Interview: Tom Tomorrow Is High on Drawing for Kids & Rock Stars. The Future of Alt-Cartoons, Not So Much.
By Michael Cavna
A self-portrait by Tom Tomorrow. TOM TOMORROW calls it his "up and down" year, and so far, has it ever been: At the beginning of '09, his alt-political cartoon feature "This Modern World" was bleeding newspaper clients; by summer,...

By Michael Cavna  |  10:10 AM ET, 10/02/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists

Posted at 09:09 AM ET, 09/09/2009

The Riffs Interview: Tim Burton & Jennifer Connelly Were Deeply Drawn to the Beguiling '9'
By Michael Cavna
As a brilliant animator himself for the better part of three decades, off and on, TIM BURTON is not easily impressed by new talent. So when he decided to back turning Shane Acker's Oscar-nominated student short into a feature...

By Michael Cavna  |  09:09 AM ET, 09/09/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists

Posted at 03:15 AM ET, 08/29/2009

The 'Extract' Interview: Filmmaker Mike Judge After 'Office Space'
By Michael Cavna
MIKE JUDGE's newest film almost didn't survive the bombing. From "Beavis & Butt-Head" to a still-new "King of the Hill," Judge had been an animator for the better of a decade when, in 1999, he made the transition to...

By Michael Cavna  |  03:15 AM ET, 08/29/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 08/19/2009

The Interview: Archie Comics EIC Victor Gorelick
By Michael Cavna
Veronica, Archie and Betty: They enjoy sharing a float and a sandwich. (AP Photo/Archie Comic Publications) When you spend a half-century at arguably the oldest humor comics firm in America, you pick up a little something. Or rather, at...

By Michael Cavna  |  07:00 AM ET, 08/19/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 07/14/2009

The Interview: 'SpongeBob' Creator Stephen Hillenburg
By Michael Cavna
Stephen Hillenburg (Reuters/Luis Enrique Ascui) Tom Kenny, who voices the character of "SpongeBob SquarePants," says the show's creator, STEVE HILLENBURG, is a prime lesson in the importance of following your passions. Hillenburg was working as a marine biologist, but...

By Michael Cavna  |  07:00 AM ET, 07/14/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists

Posted at 10:05 AM ET, 07/01/2009

The Interview: 'Ice Age' Director Carlos Saldanha
By Michael Cavna
Scratte (left) and Scrat in "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs." (Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox) "Coraline," "Monsters vs. Aliens" and "Up" have all delivered brilliant 3-D effects this year -- each offering its own visual strengths -- yet...

By Michael Cavna  |  10:05 AM ET, 07/01/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists

Posted at 12:05 PM ET, 06/19/2009

The Interview: 'Twitter Bird' Artist Simon Oxley
By Michael Cavna
Simon Oxley, who designed the Twitter logo. (Noriko Oxley) Japan-based illustrator SIMON OXLEY is not a cartoonist, but rather a brilliant artist with a truly comic sense of humor. He has created thousands of whimsical illustrations, yet most of...

By Michael Cavna  |  12:05 PM ET, 06/19/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 03/10/2009

The Interview (Pt. 2): David Horsey of the (RIP?) 'Seattle Post-Intelligencer'
By Michael Cavna
As his newspaper faces its D-Day sale deadline today, Comic Riffs continues its interview with Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorial cartoonist DAVID HORSEY. Horsey, who has the highly trafficked Web site DavidHorsey.com through Hearst Corp., says he is ensured of keeping his...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:30 AM ET, 03/10/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists, Interviews With Cartoonists

Posted at 11:17 AM ET, 10/02/2008

The Interview: Alt-Political Cartoonist Ted Rall
By Michael Cavna
Ted Rall: alt-cartoonist, reporter, new association prez, syndicate executive -- the portfolio still grows... (TED RALL) When we caught up with "alternative" political cartoonist TED RALL recently, his resume was as long as our arm -- and since then,...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:17 AM ET, 10/02/2008 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 10/01/2008

The Interview: "Iron Man" Writer Matt Fraction
By Michael Cavna
Matt Fraction got his shot at Iron Man -- and sought to embrace new fans and honor the die-hards. (MARVEL) As the monster hit film "Iron Man" comes to DVD this week -- and Marvel and Paramount reach a...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:00 AM ET, 10/01/2008 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 08/19/2008

Interview With the Creator: Writer Brian K. Vaughan
By Michael Cavna
"Y: The Last Man." (Courtesy of Brian K. Vaughan) He writes for DC. He writes for Marvel. He bags his second Eisner Award this year for his own creation, the apocalyptic comic-book series "Y: The Last Man" (for which...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:00 AM ET, 08/19/2008 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Interviews With Cartoonists