Tall Tale Radio

Mark Tatulli, graphic novelist, syndicated cartoonist of "Lio," and old friend of the show is here to talk about his brand new book coming out on April 30th, "The Ex-Pets!" The book is a rollicking adventure of a secret super-group of pets led by the Incredible Mr. Turtle, who protect the animals of the world. The story follows their newest member, Stanky Dog, and his reluctant journey to being a hero to save the kittens of the world from a dastardly plot by the villain, the Skunk! Mark and I talk about the joy of being silly, drawing cartoony animals, and making fun of superhero comics! Mark is a world-class cartoonist and writer, and even better person, so enjoy our chat! You can pick up a copy of his book here! You can read "Lio" right here over on GoComics! And you can read "Heart of the City," the comic Mark did for 22 years that was taken over by the amazing Christina "Steenz" Stewart in 2020!

It's Time to Talk Tolkien! I've been wanting to do some Tolkien-inspired episodes as I am a huge fan of Professor Tolkien's writings and the Lord of the Rings movies (with a big old soft spot for the Rankin-Bass animated specials way back in the day!)...and I finally got my chance! Alan Sisto, of the amazing Prancing Pony Podcast has a new book out, "Why We Love Middle Earth: An Enthusiast’s Book about Tolkien, Middle-earth & the LOTR Fandom." It's co-written by the original co-host of the PPP, Shawn Marchese. Alan came to the fantastic San Diego bookstore, Mysterious Galaxy, to do a presentation on the book, moderated by one of the great Instagram/Tik Tok Tolkien content creators/experts, Kelly Orazi, AKA @themiddlepage. It was a huge honor and pleasure to chat with the two of them about Alan's book and the Tolkien legendarium as a whole. And in a suprise nearly as good as Bilbo putting on the One Ring and disappearing at his Eleventy-First Birthday Party, yet another brilliant Instagram Tolkien content creator, the great mind behind "Tolkien Tuesdays" and "Faramir Fridays," Miranda AKA @exlibrismir was in attendance at the presentation and honored me with an interview about her own journey into and through Middle Earth! I was as pleased as a Hobbit discovering there's a THIRD Breakfast to chat with all these wonderful people and deeply nerd-out into the world of Tolkien! And be sure to check out the Prancing Pony Podcast for the deepest of dives into the Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings...and follow @themiddlepage and @exlibrismir for most excellent Tolkien-related content where you will learn something every day!

Cartoonist, MAD Magazine contributor, professor, sculptor, fine artist, banjo player, Houdini-like escape artist...John Kovaleski has quite the awesome resumé! And if you like a couple of bald guys with smooth, deep voices talkin' at you, then have we got a podcast for you! John and I talk about his career, our shared love of MAD Magazine, his first syndicated strip "Bo Nanas," and his current one, "Daddy Daze," and so much more. It was great to finally chat with John after admiring his work from a far for a long time.

National Book Award finalist and NY Times Bestselling author Laini Taylor, and her husband, award-winning graphic novelist/illustrator/mixed media fine artist/comic artist Jim DiBartolo, join me to talk about many things! Their young adult graphic novel "Billie Blaster and the Robot Army from Outer Space" recently debuted, and they are here to talk about how they collaborate, and how their artistic paths led to one another! Laini's YA novel series "Strange the Dreamer," and "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" both have topped many charts and are hugely popular, with their amazing world-building, characters, deep fantasy storylines, and a hearty sprinkling of romance. Laini and Jim are just a joy to talk to, and any worries I had about interviewing an author and an artist at the same time went away in the first minute of talking with them. Enjoy! Get a copy of "Billie Blaster and the Robot Army from Outer Space!" Laini Taylor's most excellent blog! Jim DiBartolo's most excellent site!

Long time animation pro, Julius Aguimatang joins Tall Tale Radio to talk about his career that involves work at Disney, Sony, ILM, Nickelodeon, and more! Storyboard artist, character layout artist, and now Director at Disney Jr.'s "Firebuds," Jules' discusses his early years as an artist (and high school band nerd), to his first gigs in the industry like storyboard on the amazing Disney feature "Mulan," to the freelance nature of animation. As a life long animation fan, I just adore these behind the scenes talks with big time pros in the industry, and I'm sure you'll learn a lot from Jules like I did!

The wonderful, talented, and extemely funny Teresa Roberts Logan joins me for a wide-ranging chat about growing up Southern Baptist, the struggles we all face with religion and spirituality, questioning authority, stand-up comedy, comics, art, and the macabre! As you can tell by the laughter that flows throughout the episode, she and I can tackle the most complex and potentially controversial subjects with a smile and understanding! Buckle up and enjoy my chat with The Laughing Redhead herself! Look for her stuff over at https://www.laughingredhead.com/ and on Instagram as @laughingredhead!

Author and artist Lucas Turnbloom returns to talk about "Steve L. McEvil - The Second Wind," book two in his trilogy of middle grade graphic novels! We get into the nitty gritty of graphic novel production and the challenge of creating the middle story of a planned trilogy! Plus, of course, we go off on nerdy tangents about recent movies, the state of the DC Universe, and more fun! Steve L. McEvil, The Second Wind drops July 11th and is available everywhere! Follow Lucas over on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lucasturnbloom and look for his amazing comic "How To Cat!"

It’s episode 308 of Tall Tale Radio and author Colleen AF Venable is here to talk about so many things! I met Colleen when she was on a panel I moderated up at Emerald City Comic Con in the Before Times of 2019, and I’m thrilled she’s her to talk about the amazing graphic novel “Kiss Number 8,” her latest series called “Katie the Cat Sitter” featuring 217 cats, and all about her process as a writer. Enjoy!

Tauhid Bondia's most excellent comic strip "Crabgrass" is about to debut on GoComics AND in newspapers across the country on June 28th! And his first book is coming out this September! I've been a fan of Tauhid's since I came across his earlier strip "A Problem Like Jamal," and it's off the charts exciting to see him hit the world of syndication. We talk about his roots as a cartoonist all the way to his upcoming nationwide exposure. And in "The Five Nerdiest Minutes You'll Waste This Week," Lucas Turnbloom and I discuss how responsible or not Obi Wan Kenobi was in the original "Star Wars," and discuss if Star Wars ships are faster or slower than Star Trek ships...or are their universes just different sizes?

My often co-host and dear friend Lucas Turnbloom steps out of that role and into the guest seat to talk about the first book in his new graphic novel series, Steve L. McEvil! It’s a project that’s been around for some time and is out in stores now delighting middle grade readers of all sorts! We talk about his career, writing and drawing a book in a pandemic, the return of “Imagine This!” (gasp) and as a bonus, completely rip of Stephen Colbert as we answer the questions from the Colbert Questionaire! Then as a BONUS bonus, the Five Nerdiest Minutes You’ll Waste This Week tackles the best spaceships and answers the eternal question: The Ring Wraiths vs. the Dementors!

We are talking to the vice president and co-publisher at Crown Books for Young Readers, Phoebe Yeh. Take a listen and we talk about what editors do, her incredible passion for children’s literature, the state of the publishing world, and what editors are looking for! It’s an incredible look behind the scenes from one of the best in the biz! And in the Five Nerdiest Minutes You’ll Waste this week, we discuss Star Wars deflectors vs. Star Trek shields, and the relative tastiness of tribbles vs. Porgs!

An interview with the Head Indiginerd himself, Dr. Lee Francis! Lee is a comic creator, a lecturer, a comic book store owner, a comic con organizer, a slam poetry champ, and one of the most interesting and motivating people you'll meet. He and his group Native Realities are committed to telling the stories of Indigenous people thru comics and other media, and it was such a pleasure to learn more about that world!

It’s episode 303 of Tall Tale Radio and we are talking to Norm Feuti, author and artist of the super popular early readers series “Hello Hedgehog,” and “Beak and Allie!” Both series have new books that just dropped this month, and Norm is here to talk about his process in writing for younger kids, how important it is to work with your editor, and we take a look back at his comic strip “Retail,” two years after he retired it. And in the Five Nerdiest Minutes You’ll Waste this week, Lucas Turnbloom and I discuss who was the best ensign in all of Star Trek and why Deep Space Nine was the best trek!

Terri Libenson's SIXTH book in the "Emmie and Friends" series of graphic novels, "Remarkably Ruby" is on bookshelves this week! We talk about this book, the previous one "Truly Tyler," which was a pandemic-struggle book, and about her ever-expanding Terri-Verse! Lucas Turnbloom and I then tackle the "Five Nerdiest Minutes You'll Spend This Week" question about the worst space admirals in sci-fi!

Take a listen to a great chat with two time Pulitzer Prize finalist (who broke the Pulitzer editorial cartoon process!), and current Herblock Award recipient for Editorial Cartooning Excellence, Mr. Lalo Alcaraz. We cover much of his career and how it started, the current state of editorial cartooning, his exciting work in animation and video games, and how he had his own hate-mail phone line at San Diego State back in the day! Plus, spend "The Five Nerdiest Minutes You'll Waste This Week" with me and Lucas Turnbloom as we blast through the nerdiest deep cut questions in a lighting round format! Get your nerd outrage primed and ready!

"Loose Parts" cartoonist, multiple Reuben Award winner, world traveler, musician, and all around amazing dude, Dave Blazek chats about his career! (Original air date: 3/19/2020)

Best-selling author and all around mensch Lincoln Peirce joins in to talk about his Max and the Midknights book! (Originally posted January 21, 2019)