Off Panel: A Comics Interview Podcast

Writer Matthew Rosenberg joins the show to talk about his new book, If Destruction Be Our Lot..., and his approach to comics overall. Rosenberg discusses hitting podcast row, The Mets, the origins of If Destruction Be Our Lot..., the medium it ended up in, the complexity of Abraham Lincoln, the book's art team, collaboration, the impact of time and money, its extra sized first issue, the power of character, his promotional efforts, speculation, taking over Spawn and King Spawn, figuring out the right approach for those books, finding the right mix, his public advocacy for comics, and more.

Writer/artist Tony Fleecs joins the show to talk about his life and career in comics and his work on comics like Feral and the upcoming Deathstroke: The Terminator. Fleecs discusses comic shop living, his comic origins, 1990s comic energy, how those comics impacted him as a storyteller, having comics that speak to your age, how My Little Pony changed his life, the success of Stray Dogs, putting animals in peril, the art of Feral and Stray Dogs, when Feral came together, running a creator-owned comic business, how Deathstroke came together, what DC Next Level is, the different versions of Deathstroke, how the market affects his approach, putting himself out there, and more.

Journalist Susana Polo joins the show to talk about her interesting year and a bevy of subjects we didn't get to highlight from the wider world of comics in 2025. Polo discusses post-Polygon living, the loss of personality-driven sites, how the Polygon experience shaped her, the reverse energies of 2025's comic movies, the muted comics conversation, recency biases, the importance of back catalogue, Worldcon, expanding the comic box, the insane number of crossovers, Harley & Ivy: Life & Crimes, expanding genres, Marvel's lack of excitement, Batman's quality, Mark Waid's eternal nature, the European comic invasion, things we're excited for in 2026, Vertigo's return, the Archie/Oni partnership, the reverse European comic invasion, Avengers: Doomsday, and more.

Big Clutch Comics' Shawn Kirkham joins the show to talk about the collectible side of the comics world. Kirkham discusses his stray cat adventures, Kirkham's background, what Big Clutch Comics is, how his work at Skybound informed that work, what fuels him, the current secondary market for comics, how it's different than previous booms, how new readers are playing a part, the secondary market as a guide, comics marketing, the sustainability of blind bags, Ultimate Endgame's blind bags, how collectibles fit in the comic ecosystem, what creators can do in that space, what has him excited about 2026 in comics, and more.

Cartoonist Beetle Moses, aka Harris Fishman, joins the podcast for my annual Comic of the Year chat, as we talk about his social media-based comic strip Beetle Moses. Fishman discusses the year for Beetle Moses (the comic), figuring things out, his own comics journey, putting in the reps, his art style, the depth of the strip, Beetle Moses' origins, how people reacted to making the move into comics, his big year, the atemporal nature of comic strips, his most well-liked comics, moving into longform, turning Beetle Moses into a business, how his 2026 is looking, and more.

In a special year end episode of Off Panel, we look at the defining themes of 2025 in comics with the help of retailer Steve Anderson from Third Eye Comics, The Beat's Heidi MacDonald, and writer Matthew Rosenberg. Up first is Anderson (1:37), whose theme is the impact of DC's Absolute line, as we discuss the Image Revolution of it all, unlocking the cool, the area of effect it's had on other comics, good times he sees on the horizon, how new readers are behaving, why Absolute has popped, how creators and publishers can capitalize on this, and more. After that is MacDonald (32:22), whose theme was the lack of new characters in direct market comics, as we discuss why that's a problem, the most successful new(ish) characters, recycling existing ideas, why it's a 2025 theme, attempts to make new characters happen, what's lost without them, marketing struggles, what needs to happen, and more. And to close is Rosenberg (1:06:59), whose theme is how comics are running behind the rest of pop culture, as we discuss the inferiority complex in comics, the cost that comes with this lag, the importance of cool, how this can change, how the market factors into this, and more.

Christina Merkler, the co-owner of Lunar Distribution, Discount Comic Book Service (or DCBS), and InStockTrades, joins the show to talk about a strange year for comic book distribution and a good year for the retail side. Merkler discusses Thanksgiving and related takes, the year for her, Diamond Comic Distributors' bankruptcy, compressing timelines, figuring things out, big changes this year, balancing sides of her businesses, the year for DCBS and InStockTrades, what's driving success, how collections are doing, the non-licensed comics space, connecting readers with books, blind bags, how she's feeling going into 2026, and more.

Writer Grant Morrison joins the podcast to talk about this week's DC/Marvel: Batman/Deadpool and their views on life and comics. Morrison discusses the rekindled flame of writing comics, how they approach writing, the importance of new experiences, making yourself a laboratory, pushing the medium thinking visually, learning from collaborators, doing what feels right, why Batman/Deadpool was the move, how it came together, preferred flavors of themself, Dan Mora's greatness, the freedom of that project, the power of constraints, their approach to continuity, the joy of Batman/Deadpool, having a late career renaissance, deciding what's next, changing as the comic landscape does, the future of comics, and more.