Souther Salazar - Season 5, Episode 2

Thien and Rina are happy to talk to one of their favorite artists, cartoonists, zinesters, Souther Salazar, who talks about his ambitious art and community-inspired traveling project, The Trading Tortoise. If you haven't donated to the project's kickstarter campaign, do it now! His perspective on making art was inspiring to us and I think it will make you go out and start making zines right now too. We also talk to Josh about exciting new comics from Retrofit Comics and crazy stuff from Image Comics. Give it a whirl!

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Tom Hart - Season 5, Episode 1

a panel from Tom Hart's Daddy Lightning

We begin the new year with a thoughtful interview with Tom Hart, creater of Hutch Owen and founder of the Sequential Artists Workshop (The SAW!), a new comics school in Gainsville, Floria. Tom talks more about the school, the move to Gainsville and his upcoming projects with a new Hutch Owen collection and Daddy Lightning with Retrofit Comics. We also talk to Josh about comics we are looking forward to in 2012. Welcome back everyone!

Errata Stigmata: Tom wanted to point out that he mistakenly credited Richard Outcault for creating The Happy Hooligan. The author of The Happy Hooligan is actually Frederick Opper while Outcault is the creator of The Yellow Kid. Thanks, Tom. He's so hard on himself.



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Lauren Weinstein - Season 4, Episode 5

Introducing Miss Ellie! drawn by Lauren Weinstein

Just in time for your thanksgiving holiday, we bring you an ever so delightful interview with funny and talented, Lauren Weinstein. We talk about the new comics she's been posting on her blog, exciting upcoming projects, the crazy experiences of parenthood and how that all has affected her comics process, storytelling and her sanity! Also Rina gives us the scoop on her time at the Minneapolis Indie Expo and Josh finds a surprise inside the new Love and Rockets: New Stories #4! A great episode to listen to while traveling to your various turkey/tofurkey dinner parties! Gobble! Gobble!



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Michael DeForge - Season 4, Episode 4

cover of "Lose #3" by Michael DeForge

In this episode, Thien and Rina have the great pleasure of talking to exciting and extremely talented comic artist Michael DeForge. We talk to him about all of the projects he's busy working on these days, his comic "Lose #3" published by Koyama Press, co-editing smutty comic anthology "Thickness #2" with Ryan Sands, and pigging out in Canada. Also, Thien and Josh talk about their time at the Alternative Press Expo and all the exciting comics they got at the show! This one was fun! So listen!


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The Comix Claptrap Live Recording (at APE)

photo by BasicGeometry


Rina, Thien and Josh recorded the Comix Claptrap live at the 2011 Alternative Press Expo (APE). Here is a recording of what ensued. As usual, the sound quality is not the best, but why would we do things differently just because it's live, right? Our guests were Mike Dawson (Troop 142), Scott Campbell (Zombie in Love), Levon Jihanian (Danger Country) and Esther Pearl Watson (Unlovable). Listen as we talk about their current and upcoming projects, intersecting art and comics-making, thoughts on the APE show, and the experiences with youth organizations. It was fun so you should listen!


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Comix Claptrap LIVE! at APE

Make sure to check out the ALTERNATIVE PRESS EXPO (APE) in San Francisco this weekend! Thien, Rina and Josh are going to do a LIVE show on Saturday at 2pm. Details are below. If you won't be able to attend, we'll have a recording of it posted on this blog soon!

The Comix Claptrap...LIVE
October, 1 -Saturday, 2:00pm !

Co-hosts Rina Ayuyang and Thien Pham record an episode of their enlightening, riotous, and controversial podcast, The Comix Claptrap LIVE at APE! At this live taping, Rina and Thien will be interviewing 4 artists who are making waves in the comics scene today: Mike Dawson (Troop 142), Scott Campbell (Zombie In Love), Levon Jihanian (Danger Country), and Esther Pearl Watson (Unlovable). Now in their fourth season, Rina and Thien have interviewed comics artists in the indie comics scene about their work, creative processes, and experiences in the industry. Each show has included New Comics Wednesday beat reportage from fellow cartoonist Josh Frankel, and new favorite segment, The Comix Cranktrap, where they crank-call a well-known cartoonist listed in their Rolodex. This panel promises to be total mayhem!

ALTERNATIVE PRESS EXPO

October 1-2, 2011
Concourse Exhibition Center
San Francisco, CA
http://www.comic-con.org/ape/index.php

Chris Cilla - Season 4, Episode 3

Cover art by Chris Cilla

Recorded a couple days before SPX, Thien and Rina discuss Rina's experience of being an Ignatz judge and of course all hell breaks loose. We apologize in advance. (Rina has actually recommended that you just skip that part and start the podcast at the 10:00 minute mark where they crank call one of their favorite Chicago cartoonists!) They spend the rest of the podcast with a fun, spirited discussion with cartoonist's cartoonist, Chris Cilla about his Ignatz-nominated book The Heavy Hand, his comics influences and working with publisher and our dear friend Dylan Williams. Also, somewhere in all of this, Josh recommends the latest Jacques Tardi book.

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Also we want to take the time to ask you to donate to the Dylan Williams Scholarship Fund, bid on some wonderful art pieces or buy books from Sparkplug Comic books to help Dylan's family. The links are below.

Sparkplug Comic Books online store:
http://sparkplugcomicbooks.com/books/books.html

The Divine Invasion - Fundraising auction for Dylan:
http://thedivineinvasion.tumblr.com/

IPRC, The Dylan Williams Scholarship Fund:
http://www.iprc.org/uncategorized/the-dylan-williams-scholarship-fund