AIPT Comics

Bookclub beginnings with Venom! Plus writer Frank Gogol talks 'No Heroine'

Episode Summary

Guest comic book writer Frank Gogol talks June 2020 series No Heroine. We also discuss the industry, some tips at breaking in, and more. We also begin our very first book club dissecting Venom by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman.

Episode Notes

NEWS

• Diamond stops paying vendors
• Marvel pauses work and publishing on 1/3rd of May and June releases
• Meanwhile, DC donates $250,000 to retailer charity
• Boom! Halts physical and digital single issues, will release trades
• DC releasing books digitally, exploring “multi-distributor” deal
• Marvel to halt digital release of new comics...for now
• Publishers have worked out temporary distribution method with ComicHub
• Nevermind about that ComicHub thing actually
• Bad Idea postpones launch
• LION FORGE LABS Closed, All Employees Laid Off

AIPT BOOKCLUB: Venom by Donny Cates/Stegman. We break down the ongoing run with these categories:

The Story So Far: 
What Works: 
What Doesn’t: 
Favorite Artistic Moment: 
Favorite Narrative Moment: 
Where We Think This is Going:

Segment: Frank Gogol Interview: Coming in June, NO HEROINE #1 Ringo Award-nominated writer Frank Gogol (Dead End Kids), father-daughter art team Criss Madd and colorist Shawna Madd, with letters by Sean Rinehart, and cover by Ahmed Raafat. (Gogol also wrote GRIEF, and Dead End Kids)

1. No Heroine is a story about addiction, a protagonist with a checkered past, and vampires, how did you get to this developed story and how long has it been in development?
2. It seems like American history has had a few different periods where vampires were hugely important in pop culture. Do you think it’s time for a another streak? Why?
3. We’ve seen vampire hunters take out the bloodsuckers in a variety of ways and No Heroine #1 offers up a few new ones. What goes into creative kills?
4. Frank, you seem to hustle a lot to get the word out on comics. What are some things you learned when it comes to getting the word out on your comics?
5. Talk about a unique time to be in the comics industry, how’s it looking out there from your perspective?
6. How impacted are you with conventions closing due to the pandemic?
7.  What is it about small town america that appeals to you in your stories? I understand Dead End Kids and now No Heroine seem to be set there.
8.  When you were little, what did you think you’d be when you grew up?

OFF TOPIC TOP SHELF: Gogol makes his picks which include Resident Evil, James Bond, and more.