Bad at Sports Episode 116: Scott McCloud! - a podcast by Bad at Sports

Critic and Curator Jeff Ward joins Duncan and Richard in interviewing Comic theorist, artist, educator and all around kickass guy Scott McCloud.

From Scott McCloud's website (www.scottmccloud.com)

"At the age of 15, I remember telling my friend Kurt Busiek "I've
decided to become a professional comic book artist." It was the Summer
between 10th and 11th Grades. My previous decision to become World Chess Champion
had proved impractical, but this time I knew I could pull it off and a year and
a half out of college, I finally did.

Today, I'm probably best known for:

• Understanding Comics.
  A 215-page comic book about comics that explains the inner workings of the
  medium and examines many aspects of visual communication along the way. Understanding
  Comics has done well in stores, is in over 15 languages and, while not
  universally liked, is about
  as close to it as I'm ever likely to see. A favorite of interface, game
  and Web designers despite the fact that it doesn't mention computers once.
  (Published 1993).
• Reinventing Comics.
  The controversial 242-page follow-up to U.C. advocates 12 different
  revolutions in the way comics are created, distributed and perceived with
  special emphasis on the potential of Online Comics. Nearly every page
  seemed to step on somebody's toes, and the debates in the comics industry
  over comics on the Web have gotten increasingly heated since its
  publication. Reinventing Comics is the only book I've ever written
  that's been actually described as "dangerous."
  (Published 2000).
• My Online Comics.
  They're all here (or at least linked
  to from here). Take a look.
• Public
  Speaking and Teaching. Click to find out more.
• Zot!. My
  first series ran for 36 issues at California's
  Eclipse Comics. Though ostensibly a superhero story, Zot! had an
  alternative flavor and featured some unorthodox storytelling and
  compositions. "A cross between Peter Pan, Buck Rogers and Marshall
  McLuhan" is how I usually describe it. (1984-1991)
• My Inventions.
  Over the years, I've created a number of strange, comics-related, um...
  things. Enough that I decided to give them their own section of this site.
  Check it out.
• My Other Comics.Though
  not numerous, I have done other printed comics including 1985's Destroy!!,
  a 12 issue stint writing Superman
  Adventures, in the mid-90's, a bizarre and generally disliked graphic novel about
  Abraham Lincoln, some mini-comics, short pieces, and various
  comics-style articles in magazines like Wired, Nickelodeon, Computer
  Gaming World, Wizard and Publishers' Weekly.

Depending on who you ask, I'm either comics' leading theorist or a deranged
lunatic, but life continues to be very interesting for me and the ideas that
I've raised continue to provoke reactions throughout the comics community and
-- increasingly -- beyond it. Pick up Understanding Comics
(or look for it at your local library) to begin finding out why."

ALSO: Mark Staff Brandl checks in to review art with his students from the Central European Bureau!

Lastly Duncan and Joanna act wacky and Joanna has some interesting ideas.

 

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