10 Years Running

Drawing by Noah Van Sciver. Inkstuds has been on longer than he has been doing Blammo…

When I first started doing the Inkstuds 10 years ago. I had a whole other concept in mind. Inkstuds happened because it was the right time and right place. My friend Robin Fisher was moving to Montreal after hosting the Onomatopoeia show at CiTR for many years with the help of folks like Colin Upton, Donald King and Robin Konstabaris. She would go on to continue that for a number years at CJLO.

I had just left a really terrible job and was going to university to hope to never do a job like that again. So I had free time and there was a gap at the radio station for a show about comics. I had listened to CiTR as a stubborn teen seeking decent music in a city dominated by something called the FOX. I talked to Colin about continuing and we recorded a demo of us talking about the latest issue of World War 3 illustrated. It wasn’t great, but it filled the airwaves. At first, the show was intended to be just us talking about our fav comics with guests and occasional interviews. I grew to quickly hate that format. I don’t like filling the silence with nasely voice when there were far more interesting folks to talk to. We lucked out by having Seth as our first interview. Colin and I recorded that before the first show even aired. Somehow I was able to convince Drawn and Quarterly that it was a good idea.

Jen Vaugh and Al Columbia taken during one of many inkstuds roadtrips

Things on the show changed very quickly. As I was getting more familiar with what modern comics were like, the more interested I was in talking to folks actively making new work. I had worked in a comic store as a teen and that informed a lot of my knowledge when i first started the show. my preferred books were anything by Alan Moore and a bunch of vertigo things. That changed really quickly while doing the Inkstuds.

Me and Bougie in Times Square.

I went to SPX in 2006, joined by Robin Bougie who was tabling his books and making a killing when security wasn’t trying to cover his comics and zines with a tarp because it was too filthy. That show was a major revelation of just how much stuff was out there. Some folks were aware of the studs at the show, since there was only a handful of comics podcasts at that point. I spent most of weekend palling around with new favorite person Philip Barrett, who was already super familiar with everything and was a good man to have leading you around a room. I got to meet some really great folks that weekend.

photo stolen from Scott McCloud. I was so young once.

Since then Inkstuds has gone on to grow in leaps and bounds. The show has seen me interview well over 500 different cartoonists. When I started the show, people joked with me about how long I could do this and still have new guests. That seems impossible now. Even in the last 3 years, North American comics have shifted dramatically. I am honestly struggling hard to stay on top of it.

TCAF many years ago with me, Pope, Graham and Hiti (we miss you Sam)

That’s one of the reasons you are seeing guests hosts on the studs lately. I am less interested in inkstuds being unitary institution and more excited about it being a source for interesting conversations with cartoonists. So far we have seen Katie Skelly and Sloane Leong join in, but expect more folks to come on, as well as those great peeps doing more interviews too. I should mention other past guest and cohosts like Colin Upton, Donald King, Robin Bougie, Robert Dayton, Jordyn Bochon, Kliph Nesteroff, Leonard Wong and a bunch more folks that I am completely forgetting about.

stolen from http://www.ttdila.com/2014/04/so-pen-ward-bryan-lee-omalley-and-jaime.html

Also big thanks to main bud, Brandon Graham who takes a break from his own busy cartooning career to join me behind the mic. Having Brandon take part has been amazing and providing some much needed energy when I have been feeling particularly lagging behind is infectious enthusiasm.

Frank Santoro`s photo

Inkstuds isn’t going anywhere. There are still a lot of folks that I really want to interview as well as folks that i hope to provide the space for, for them to be able to do interviews.

If you like the studs and want to see more, consider supporting the patreon or just listen, comment, review, whatever. I could say a lot more about the history of the studs or whatever, but it`s not about me, it`s about the content. That`s on purpose. There`s a reason you don`t see my name plastered over everything that there is to do with Inkstuds. Which is probably terrible branding.