SPECIAL MANGASTUDS PODCAST

I forgot to mention before I left for Japan, I was a guest on a special manga-themed edition of the excellent comics podcast, Inkstuds! Inkstuds is hosted by Robin McConnell, and features interviews and group discussions centered around indie comix. I've been listening to Robin's show for a while now online, so it was an honor to get to participate in this discussion (along with folks whose blogs and opinions I hold in high regard).

Today’s episode of Inkstuds takes a detour East, with a chat about Japanese manga for indie comics readers with your guest host, Deb Aoki, Manga Editor for About.com (manga.about.com) and special guests:

Chris Butcher, manager of The Beguiling, comics blogger (comics212.net) and co-founder of the Toronto Comics Arts Festival.

David P. Welsh, manga and comics blogger at The Manga Curmudgeon, and former columnist for Flipped!, a weekly feature on Japanese comics for The Comics Reporter.

Ryan Sands, indie/horror manga and comics blogger at Same Hat!, editor of Electric Ant Zine and translator/editor for Tokyo Zombie by Yusaku Hanakuma and the upcoming The Strange Tale of Panorama Island by Suehiro Maruo, both from Last Gasp.

You can check out the podcast here; it's a 45-minute discussion, talking about how folks got into manga, manga titles of interest to comix fans who usually read Fantagraphics/Drawn & Quarterly/Top Shelf style American comics, and lots of other stuff. It's over Skype, so I sound even more dorky, nasally and professorial than usual; The link above includes a full list of all the titles that came up, including many Same Hat favorites. Thanks again to Deb for putting a great show together and inviting me to take part. Enjoy!(?)

[Working today on a few Japan trip posts and the back log of "Early Manga Days" posts too!]