Panel Borders: Canadian (Web) Comics with Stuart and Kathryn Immonen, and more

By John Freeman on November 9, 2015

In a trio of interviews recorded at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival in Kendal, Alex Fitch talks to a quartet of Canadian comic book creators about their work on the Panel Borders radio show tomorrow. Husband and wife team Stuart and Kathryn Immonen discuss working together and apart on such Marvel comic books as NextWave, Heralds, HellCat and Fear Itself, and on their more personal projects including the webcomic Moving Pictures and their latest graphic novel Russian Olive To Red King.

Award-winning artistic chameleon and Marvel Architect Stuart Immonen began his comics career in 1988, having worked for most of the industry’s major publishers including Marvel, DC and Image in the quarter-century since.

During his decade-long tenure at DC, in addition to writing and pencilling Adventures of Superman, Stuart illustrated the critically acclaimed miniseries Superman: Secret Identity. For Marvel, in addition to 2011’s Fear Itself event, he has drawn such high-profile series as Ultimate Spider-Man, The Mighty Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The Avengers and the cult favourite Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.

After joining forces with Mark Waid to inaugurate Marvel’s digital Infinite Comics line, in the Marvel NOW! era, Immonen launched All-New X-Men and All-New Captain America.

His creator-owned credits include collaborations with Kurt Busiek on Shockrockets and Superstar, and with Kathryn Immonen on Never As Bad As You Think, Moving Pictures and the recently-completed Russian Olive To Red King.

Kathryn Immonen has been getting paid to make things up for more than twenty years.

She has written stories for both DC and Marvel, but is best known for Journey into Mystery with Valerio Schiti and the sleeper hit miniseries Patsy Walker: Hellcat with David Lafuente with whom she will be reuniting for the 2013 Avengers Christmas Annual. She wrote the final arc of the fan-favourite series Runaways and the X-Men miniseries Pixie Strikes Back! both drawn by Sara Pichelli, Heralds, with Tonci Zonjic and the sell-out Wolverine and Jubilee limited series with Phil Noto.

In 2011, she contributed to the canon for Captain America’s first love interest, French Resistance fighter Peggy Carter, in the one-shot Captain America and the First Thirteen and has recently returned to Agent Carter with the Operation S.I.N. miniseries.

With her husband, artist Stuart Immonen, their creator-owned webcomic Never as Bad as You Think was published in a 2009 hardcover edition by BOOM! Studios and Moving Pictures, a story of the theft and commoditization of both art and desire during the Second World War, was released by Top Shelf to wide acclaim in May 2010. It has had subsequent translations by Glenat, Dolmen and Gruppo Pesce for the European market. They recently completed their latest project, Russian Olive to Red King.

Kathryn’s work has been supported by The Canada Council for the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Andy Warhol Foundation and the Institut Français in Paris. She lives in a forest with her very talented husband and their very bad dog.

In live Q and As in front of an audience, Alex also talks to Quebec based cartoonist Estelle Bachelard, who draws under the pen-name Bach, about her first graphic novel from Soaring Penguin press – It’s Hard to be a Girl – which collects her humorous autobiographical facebook strips, and to New York Times best selling author Kate Beaton about the latest collection of her webcomic Hark! A Vagrant: Step Aside Pops!, and her children’s book The Princess and the Pony.

Estelle Bachelard

Estelle Bachelard (aka Bach) is based in Quebec and works as in illustrator in the video games industry. She published her first comic in 2012 and her first graphic novel, It’s Hard to Be a Girl was first released in French in 2014 and Soaring Oenguin Press will relaase it in English in November. Armed with a great sense of humour, superb observational skills, and good dose of self-mockery – she uses this to inspire her comics on everyday life, which can be seen on her very popular Facebook page, Bach Illustrations. She also has a great love for jujubes and tea!

Kate Beaton

Kate Beaton is a Canadian comic artist who made a name for herself finding humour in historical subjects with her series Hark! A Vagrant, but she makes comics about anything from pop culture to literature to autobiography.She came into the comics scene in 2007 and refuses to leave.

• Panel Borders: Canadian (Web) Comics airs at 8.00pm Tuesday 10th November, repeated 9.00am Wednesday 11th November 2015, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / podcast after broadcast at www.panelborders.wordpress.com

Podcasts of last month’s Panel Borders can be found here:

https://panelborders.wordpress.com/2015/10/25/panel-borders-erica-smith-girl-frenzy

https://panelborders.wordpress.com/2015/11/02/panel-borders-big-punch-studios

Panel Borders continues on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 8.00pm, repeated the following day at 9.00am.

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.