This week, Nigel and Tazziii head to the Upside Down for a retrospective deep dive into Season 4 of Stranger Things with Auroch Digital Community Manager Pastelbat and Cosplayer Black Bettie. We get into the longest season so far and dissect the character journeys and troubled relationships seen from Hawkins to Russia Gulags. It’s a return to form for the show and we get to debate what worked so well, and what left room for improvement.
Other stories we’re enjoying: Destiny 2, Alchemy of Souls, Interview with the Vampire, Firefly Lane, Lilly and Dash, Saga Volume 4, Russian Doll, God of War Ragnarök.
This week, Nigel and Tazziii take on a common perception of comics…that there’s no money to be made in creating them. To help with the discussion, we’ve invited Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and previous UK Comics Laureate Hannah Berry onto the show.
We get into the common (mis?) conception that comics and money never meet, as well as digging into Hannah’s work on the first national survey of the UK comics industry to gain a better understanding of the challenges and ways to help those working within it.
If you are an aspiring comic creator, a family member supporting one, or just interested in learning more about the industry, this is an episode you won’t want to miss!
This week, Nigel and Tazziii welcome comic artist and writer Cara Gaffney to talk about her journey as into the world of comics. We discuss her anthology project Tilt: Six Tales, successfully funded on Kickstarter this month and how she tackles the concept of digital immortality in her story “In Lilac & Silver”.
Cara talks about her personal comic projects and what she learned from developing her craft in…underground “Original Comic Tournaments”?! We also discuss representation and the need to depict diverse relationship in stories, plus give a ton of advice for new and aspiring comic creators.
Podcast co-host Nigel sits down with Dutch comic creator Sabrina Koojimans in this week’s Story x Story episode. Sabrina tells us about their journey as a comic creator and how they discovered the world of manga through Akira! A discovery that lead to a life of comic art and storytelling, all the way to being a published comic creator!
We talk about having confidence in your work, knowing where to put your energy when drawing and crowdfunding as an independent comic creator.
It’s our first ever, second time returning interview guest!
Nigel and Tazziii welcome back Dutch comic artist Renee Rienties for her second “Behind The Story” episode. We catch up with what she has been up to since we first spoke at the start of the pandemic in 2020. Renee tells us about the challenges faced as an artist during COVID-19, her new comic anthology project and which anime character she would date! Check out our May “Casual Conversations With Comic Creators” Twitch livestream where we’ll be talking more with Renee about her Kickstarter campaign.
In this week’s Story x Story episode, Nigel and Tazziii talk with self-taught comic creator Feff Silvers.
We discover her journey from physics to illustration and how a visit to a comic convention sparked her passion for producing “very British” manga-style stories.
Feff also talks about the realities of self employment in the comics space, while giving plenty of tips for aspiring creators.
In this week’s Story x Story episode Nigel and Tazziii welcome creative storyteller Muniyra Douglas to talk about her journey into the African comic book industry. She tells us how she landed her role of Editor in Chief at Nigerian based creative content and entertainment company VX Comics. We talk about the need for an editor in the process of making comic stories, and how she works with a remote team spanning multiple continents! Muniyra also gives her advice for any aspiring comic creator, plus highlights the challenges of bringing more diversity into the comic book industry.
Making comics truly is a journey. The time it takes to read never really reflects the months and years in the making. It’s something I never fully appreciated before becoming a creator.
The London Comic Con is our biggest convention here in the UK and we’re excited for the opportunity to meet fans of our work and introduce new people to the mayamada universe!
Conventions are a great opportunity for any comic creator to get feedback on their comics from the people who invest in them. It gives people a chance to see those who actually make the comics that they enjoy and we’re looking forward to taking part!
This year our #BeCreative campaign continued with a really fun photoshoot with creative people from all walks of life. But it’s probably not going to surprise anyone who follows mayamada that cosplayers are one of our favourite groups to speak too!