Strip Search, Episode 42 — Comics in Color 2023 with Cagen Luse & ZeroSnake

When Boston cartoonist Cagen Luse and fellow artist and comics fan Barrington Edwards headed to the Black Comic Book Festival at Harlem’s Schomburg Center back in 2015, they were inspired by seeing “a space for people of color to come and enjoy comics together,” Luse recalls. “We felt like Boston needed that,” he says.

And now, eight years later — thanks primarily to their efforts during that time — Boston has that. April 29 will see the third free Comics in Color Festival come to the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury, billed as “New England’s first comic arts festival focused on stories by and about people of color.”

This years version includes an all-star lineup of guests, including “Iron Man” and “Batgirl” artist Alitha E. Martinez, “X-Men” and “Ghost Rider” artist Larry Stroman, and comics historian and scholar Joel Christian Gill. Plus workshops, an artists alley, animated short films, music and dance performances, a cosplay contest, and even a fashion show. Not bad for something that started on a single table at the neighborhood library.

Listen or watch below as Cagen — in his third time on the "Strip Search" podcast — and manga artist and animator ZeroSnake (he drew the promotional artwork you see above) talk about what this year's Comics in Color Festival has to offer, and why it's such an important event for Boston. Also, in our intro, we pay tribute to the latest round of great cartoonists gone off to the big drawing table in the sky.

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Strip Search, Episode 41 — Jimmy Craig

When most comic strip animals talk, they don’t exactly scream “realism.” It was hard to imagine that Garfield was speaking for most cats when he declared his hatred of Mondays or his love for lasagna. But the animals that populate “They Can Talk,” the wry, brilliant weekly webtoon by cartoonist Jimmy Craig, don’t just sound authoritative — they’re downright relatable. And fans of both comics and animals are clearly listening to what Craig’s creatures have to say. In the seven years since he launched the strip, it’s amassed 615,000 followers on Instagram, 658,000 on Facebook, and has spawned two books; the latest, “Are You Gonna Eat That?” from Ulysses Press , hits shelves this month. Listen or watch below as we catch up with Craig to talk about talking to the animals, and them talking back. You'll find samples of his work at the bottom of this post, and for more you can visit Jimmy's website, theycantalk.com , or his Facebook and Instagram feeds. (Plus, for his standalone New...

Strip Search, Episode 52 — Jeff Kinney

Jeff Kinney (right). A self-described failed cartoonist, Jeff Kinney spent eight years developing his first “ Diary of a Wimpy Kid ” novel after syndicates passed on his daily comic strip. Within a few years after that, he found himself with a hit book series and a movie in the works (the first of many), and he’s since become the steward of a worldwide franchise that shows no signs of abating. Plus, he gives back every day to his community of Plainville, Massachusetts, via his bookstore, An Unlikely Story . How cool is that? For some reason, Jeff sat down with London & Chianca for a wide-ranging interview on Strip Search: The Comic Strip Podcast. In the middle of an international tour in the wake of the publication of his 19th “Wimpy Kid” book, “Hot Mess,” Kinney talked about his love of comic strips, where “Wimpy Kid” came from, how he wound up in Massachusetts, his input on the “Wimpy” movies, his drawing methods and tools, and much more. Listen or watch b...

Strip Search, Episode 55 — Arnon Z. Shorr

Arnon Z Shorr Arnon Z. Shorr has done his part to expand the palette of Jewish stories being told, in both film and later in comics and graphic novels . He's penned tales of mythical creatures (a High Holidays unicorn tale will be out soon), monsters, and perhaps most successfully, pirates , all with more than a nod toward Jewish history and culture. (Yes, there really were Jewish pirates!) Shorr talked to us about the joys of telling those stories — and also the challenges, especially in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the war that followed. Shorr is currently working with a small team of creators on a Jewish comics anthology called “Chutzpah!” Find out more on Kickstarter . Also in this episode: An update on Friends of Strip Search taking home the gold (i.e. a Reuben Award), and find out where to see us this coming November! (Spoiler alert: It's here and here !) Listen below:

Strip Search with London + Chianca

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