What's Your Story?

Andy Runton’s cute little Owly character found his way home before my very eyes  while perusing online sometime in the very early 2000’s and I couldn’t help but smile as Owly's deceptively simplistic shape design immediately appealed to all of my senses.  In a sea of overdone and worn-out superhero types littering both print and digital platforms, Owly was a breath of fresh air!  After digging deeper into the book series, I so...

Raissa Figueroa’s beautiful illustrations first caught my attention while perusing online through my usual community outlets and immediately captivated me with her use of organic and luminescent colors weaved beautifully into her water-colored worlds of both land, sky and sea. Her ability to accentuate the environments depicted in her images with her stunning use of color serves as the perfect backdrop for her equally charming subj...

I discovered Paige Keiser’s wonderful children's book/spot illustrations while perusing online through the usual popular community social outlets and I was immediately attracted to the wonderfully “soft and breezy” style of her watercolor strokes and subject matter. She struck such a perfect balance between simplicity and detail which is not as simple as it may seem.  As I looked deeper into her portfolio of work, I was struck...

I first was introduced to Rob Renzetti’s magnificent work through my son Wyatt while preparing him to get in the car and head out to school one morning..... and of course..... struggling to pull him away from a cartoon that would not relinquish its mighty grip from his undivided attention; much to my dismay. 

The show turned out to be “My Life as a Teenage Robot”, and soon at had a grip on me and when we finally managed t...

I first discovered Anna's work through social media where illustrations shared from  her recent authored illustrated Children's book entitled, "The Friendly Mammoth" first appeared.  My love for the Woolly Mammoth and appreciation for great story telling coupled with the beautiful artwork contained within the pages of the book immediately drew me in!  After reading through the entire book and diving deeper into ...

It was with great pleasure that I had the opportunity to chat with my recent guest and a rising star in the world of Children's Book Illustration, . . . Alice McKinley!  I may think of her as a rising star but with several illustration credits already to her name, she is quickly reaching star status amongst the Children's book inner circles. 
 
Her wonderfully crafted art and talent for storytelling take center st...

It is with great excitement that I have the opportunity to share with you my recent interview with the very talented Scott Christian Sava.  Scott has donned many hats thus far in his diverse and quite exciting career in the creative arts industry which encompasses that of Producer, Writer, Illustrator, Animator, Director, and many more; not to mention the cool Fedoras he likes to wear as part of his daily wardrobe.
 
 Scott...

When I think of Charles Brubaker, I immediately think of some of the old Terrytoons styles of cartoons, namely Tom Terrific, as well as a combination of works from Jay Ward Productions (60's Rocky and Bullwinkle fame), Total Television (60's Underdog fame) and an added sprinkling of Harveytoons and UPA styles thrown in for good measure.  Charles has his hands in many facets of cartoons, including webcomics, traditional co...

Today it is such a great honor to have a special guest who is a legend in the animation industry whose works date back to the early days of that MAGICAL, MYSTICAL studio located in California that was proudly named after its namesake and creator, The Walt Disney Studios.

Floyd Norman, a name synonymous with animation magic, was and continues to be an integral part of Disney's success and worked on many of the great ti...

I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to sit down with today’s guest, Fred Blunt and chat about his background, family roots along with his art process(s) behind the creation of his many whimsical characters that grace the pages of so many children’s books available in the marketplace today. His books have a worldwide reach that attracts both children and adults alike.
 
 Fred was generous enough to share some time out...

As a young lad on Saturday mornings during the late 60's and early 70's, transfixed in front of our little color TV in the den... watching as many cartoons as possible...., it never once occurred to me that behind all of the wonderful art and hilarious plots, were many talented artists, writers, designers and animators that labored away to produce this fantastic stuff in some studio in sunny California.

The Flintstones, Je...

I'm excited to announce that yet again, we have a legend here and this time all one has to do is go back to the glory days of animation where the most memorable shows from the past possessed a common thread; STORY.  When you look at an animated cartoon (past or present...Series or Movie production) the common thread to all of the hugely successful productions is that they are all "story driven"! As my guest today, To...

I remember perusing through the paltry animated series offerings in the 90's on my television and just pining for a cartoon that one could enjoy as an adult as well as a child. Where had all of those great animated shows disappeared to? Pink Panther, Rocky and Bullwinkle, The Flinstones......ahhhhh,..but lo and behold,.....what do my tear filled eyes see? It's The Angry Beavers!!! It came at a time when cartoon programmin...

One look at the comic strip, "Pipe the Pelican", and I was hooked! With a vibe that dates back to the 30's and 40's, the style, the line art and the design aspects all point to an earlier time in cartooning history. There is a certain innocence and sense of boundless imagination in Jason Lethcoe's story and it is difficult to break away from it once you enter into Pipe's world.

There's so much more...

I discovered Mark Siegel purely by accident as I often do with many of my special guests on this webcast. Listening to a friend's webcast, (komicskast.libsyn.com) I heard him talk about this really neat webcomic that will soon be released as a graphic novel (October 5th) entitled, "Sailor Twain or the Mermaid In The Hudson".  The fact that Mark employed the use of charcoal for his art throughout the story really entr...

I recall as if it were yesterday, running over to the magazine rack in the grocery store when I was 10 years old, with the hopes of spotting the latest edition of MAD magazine.  I wasn't always permitted to purchase the copy despite its advertised "cheap" price. Carefully I would seek out the "Fold in" and gently turn in the pages to see a transformation that wowed me as well as a million other readers thro...

I recall laying in bed while reading books to my son and picking up an all ages comic book that had been sitting on a stack just within arm's reach on the floor.  I had purchased a few books from our local comic shop a week prior and had placed them by my son's bed with the hopes of discovering a series that I could feel good about reading to a then inquisitive 8 year old. It was then that he and I first discovered the ma...

In my household, its an impossibility to leave for work without at least seeing some excerpts from the cartoon hit, "My Life as a Teenage Robot" created by Rob Renzetti. My son has to watch it on TV before he heads off to school, therefore I must walk past it on my way to the kitchen. There's a reason for this ritual, and it is basically because my son only watches what he considers to be the BEST in cartoons.  His l...

It's spooky, it's creepy, it's absolutely hilarious and it's poised to take the comic strip world by storm! Scary Gary is a comic strip reminiscent of the old Addam's Family style of humor, and after reading just a few strips back when I first discovered it in June, I was hooked! 

Join me as I interview the wonderfully talented Mark Buford, the mastermind and artist behind the comic strip Scary Ga...