Episode 246: Reviews of Greek Diary, Paper Pencil Life, and KatZine - a podcast by Stergios Botzakis & Derek Royal

Time Codes:

• 00:00:29 - Introduction
• 00:02:36 - Listener messages!
• 00:08:24 - HeroesCon, podcast fans, and self-published comics
• 00:14:58 - Greek Diary
• 00:37:36 - Paper Pencil Life
• 00:59:42 - KatZine
• 01:16:04 - Wrap up
• 01:17:17 - Contact us

This week on The Comics Alternative, Andy and Derek do something they've never done before on the podcast: discuss only self-published titles. They got the idea for this special episode from one of the creators they look at, Glynnis Fawkes, when she was kind enough to send them copies of her latest book. So after hearing from her, Derek and Andy thought, "Why not devote an entire episode to creators like Glynnis?"

Appropriately enough, they begin with Fawkes's book, Greek Diary, which won the 2017 MoCCAfest Award of Excellence. This is an account of the author's experiences in Greece during June and early July 2016. Fawkes devoted the first part of her diary to her work as an archeological illustrator, but the majority of the text covers the time that her family joined her for vacation after her professional obligations. As the Two Guys reveal, this part of Greek Diary is an entertaining mix between a travelogue and a journal of familial "challenges." (If you've ever traveled with small children, you certainly know what that means.)

Next, they discuss the first four issues of Summer Pierre's Pencil Paper Life. This is Pierre's ongoing collection of diary comics that she began keeping back in 2013. Each issue is a series of the creator's occasional observations, reflections, and personal accounts that mostly follow a standard nine-panel grid. These comics explore her life as an artist, memories linked to pop-cultural signposts, her efforts in negotiating varying social terrains, and especially her joys -- as well as her struggles -- in being a mother.

Finally, the guys wrap up with Katriona Chapman's KatZine. At the time of the recording there are so far seven issues that have been released, and this title stands out from Fawkes's and Pierre's in several ways. First, KatZine is more of a single-author anthology, with there being a variety of entries, including several regular features (including "Sergio Talk!," "Local Business," "Featured Plant," and "Fears and Loves"). It's also different in that the comic is a mix between straight-out comics and prose-heavy pieces. In other words, this is a zine in the more traditional sense. But KatZine also stands in contrast to Greek Diary and Paper Pencil Life in that it's not entirely autobiographically based. There are a few pieces collected among the seven issues that are clearly fictional in nature. What's more, in some of her more recent issues Chapman expresses her interests in melding life writing with fiction, an impulse that she is apparently carrying into her first graphic novel.

Please help support these independent creators by visiting their websites and buying their comics:

• Glynnis Fawkes
• Summer Pierre
• Katriona Chapman

Further episodes of The Comics Alternative

Further podcasts by Stergios Botzakis & Derek Royal

Website of Stergios Botzakis & Derek Royal