Catching up with Ed Bickford

Greetings, friends!

Believe it or not, I actually have TWO new episodes of Aaron’s Indie View to tell you about! The newest episode features my friend and longtime collaborator, Ed Bickford. Ed and I have worked together on two graphic novels, The Birdlander and American Chop Suey, which we published in 2016 and 2018. We talked about Ed’s history in art, making comics, and figuring out a way to make money at comic conventions. Check it out!

The second episode, which went up last week, is a short review of cartoonist Tom Scioli’s biography of Jack Kirby. It’s a very good book and I recommend it! I am considering doing more of these types of short review episodes if I can come up with a quick and easy production style. Check it out here!

Also, we have just FOUR days left on the Amoral Stingray 5 Kickstarter! We are only 35% funded, so it is likely that we won’t reach our goal, but we’ll see what happens. I’ll write more about the campaign once it’s finished, but thanks to everyone who has supported the book. It means a lot to both Chris McJunkin and I.

As always… Thanks for reading!

-Aaron

Coming Back to Art with Chris Reader

Greetings, friends!

On the newest episode of Aaron's Indie View, I sit down with Chris Reader to talk about his upcoming comic, The Vigilantes.  He discusses coming back to art after working a career and starting a family and all the work that goes into writing and drawing your first comic.  Check it out!

Also, don't forget to check out the Amoral Stingray 5 on Kickstarter if you haven't already!  Here's a look at the fully colored and lettered page 1.  We still got a few weeks to go before the campaign ends, but we can use all the support and word of mouth we can get!

The Amoral Stingray is BACK!

Greetings, friends!

I’m just dropping a line to let you know that I have a new issue of The Amoral Stingray currently funding on Kickstarter right now! I’m very excited to get this book to print. It is a 24 page, full color, self contained story written by myself and illustrated by Chris McJunkin and Paul Little.

In the previous issues of Amoral Stingray, we saw novice villain, Duncan Daniels, face off against egotistical millionaire hero Steel-Man and Friendly Neighborhood Jerk, Aphid. In the all new issue, Stingray crosses paths with The Sinister Saint, the edgiest anti-hero this side of 1999. He’s one part angel, one part demon, all parts bad ass!

If you like my work, please consider supporting the Kickstarter and help me get this issue printed. Nearly ALL the money raised (except for printing and shipping costs) is going to the artists to compensate them for their amazing work on this issue.

We also have this AMAZING variant cover by Mark Welser (Gods of Brutality) and colorist Paul Little, and it's like my favorite thing I've ever seen. If we can hit our stretch goals, everyone will get a cool print of this great homage cover to Amazing Spider-man 129!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE AMORAL STINGRAY!

Thanks for reading!
-Aaron

Editing Comics with Jason Green (plus new comic announcement!)

Greetings, Friends!

The newest episode of Aaron’s Indie View is live! I chat with my friend and editor, Jason Green. Jason has done some editing work for me, notably the short stories I write for Robot Pulp. He is also the founder of The Arts STL, an online culture magazine centered around the city of St. Louis. He is ALSO one of the founders and editors of Ink and Drink, a comic anthology series featuring local St. Louis creators. Check it out here!

This episode came out over a week late and I considered writing a lengthy blog post talking about managing day jobs, creative deadlines, etc, but frankly, I don’t think I have a lot to say about it. I am going to do my best to do this podcast weekly, but there are likely going to be weeks where I don’t have time to edit or record with someone, and there’s just no getting around it.

Rest assured, if I am ever late with a podcast it’s because I’m too busy juggling various comic projects. For example, this week I am also happy to announce that Chris McJunkin and I are launching a Kickstarter for a NEW issue of The Amoral Stingray. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you’ve probably already seen it, but here is the cover for Issue #5. Hitting Kickstarter July 1st. I hope you all enjoyed the first Amoral Stingray graphic novel, because this issue is going to be even better! We are introducing a new badass superhero, the edgiest anti-hero this side of the 90’s… Sinister Saint! He’s a good guy, but also a bad guy! What a twist! I think you’re going to like it. Stay tuned for more information!

Thanks for reading!
—Aaron

Writer's Retreat with Scott Schmidt

Greetings, friends!

I have a great new episode of Aaron’s Indie View in which I chat with indie comic writer, Scott Schmidt. Scott writes and publishes his own books including Northern Steele and Final Street. Scott is the first podcast guest who, like myself, is strictly an indie comic book writer. I really enjoyed this conversation because Scott and I both share that comic writer camaraderie, but I did have to be careful not to let the episode turn into a therapeutic writer’s gripe session, haha! We talk a lot about finding funding for books, production costs, crowd funding, working conventions, and pitching to publishers. Check it out here!

Scott has a Patreon for his book, Northern Steele an action/horror comic about a Canadian Mountie named Sam Steele fighting monsters and Cryptids. You can read the comic here!

Thanks for reading,
--Aaron Walther

Making Your Own Path

Greetings, friends!

On the newest episode of Aaron’s Indie View, I sit down with my good friend, Gabe Dunston. We had a very long conversation about his creative path as a comic creator, writer, and illustrator. Gabe is a very boisterous and extroverted individual who loves to talk about comic related things, so this episode clocks in at just under 2 hours, though I don’t mind telling you… We actually spoke for nearly FIVE hours!

I went into this episode fully intending to keep it around an hour long, but once we got going it was hard to stop. After nearly two hours of conversation, I gave up and just enjoyed hanging out and having an extended chat, resolving myself to editing our conversation down to a manageable length after the fact. This is why you will notice many edits in this episode. I was able to trim out the parts of conversation that are most relevant to the podcast, notably Gabe’s creative style and artistic career in self publishing. Check it out here!

Thankfully, this weekend is Memorial Day weekend, so I have an extra day to edit our mammoth conversation. I hope everyone has a relaxing holiday.

Thanks for reading,
--Aaron Walther

Rich Woodall & Mark Welser combine metal music with action comics

Greetings, friends!

I have a very special episode of Aaron’s Indie View this week in which I speak with Rich Woodall and Mark Welser about their new book, Gods of Brutality. Coming July 2021 from Scout Comics.

Gods of Brutality is about an 80’s heavy metal rock god that has to fight his way out of hell with the help of Thor and Hercules. It’s one part heavy metal album covers and two parts old school Jack Kirby/Steve Ditko comics and definitely lives up to its influences.

Rich and Mark were very nice and let me read an advanced copy of Gods of Brutality and I was honestly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Not to say that Rich and Mark’s talents were ever in doubt, but I went into Gods of Brutality excepting something that would cater exclusively to heavy metal music fans, but did not expect to see that it equally appeals to fans of classic monster and superhero comics.

In the podcast, we discuss their artistic influences (both music and comic), our favorite metal bands, and how much fun it is to make comics in the “Mighty Marvel Method”. Check it out here!

Next week I chat with my good friend, Gabe Dunston about a whole mess of stuff!

Thanks for reading!

-Aaron Walther

Jordan Kroeger is Making Comics With His Kids

Greetings friends,

I am back with another comic creator interview, this time with Jordan Kroeger. Jordan is a writer/artist out of Kansas City. We talk about his history of getting into the indie comic scene and his creative process in working with other writers. Check it out here!

Jordan has a brand new comic that he is funding on Kickstarter right now called TIGER-BOY VERSUS and I can’t recommend it enough. TIGER-BOY VERSUS was co-created by, and even stars, Jordan’s five year old son, River. It’s a fun, manic, action packed Mad Max style world full of superheroes, pirates, and robots. Check it out here!

Jordan has also created a motion comic for the first issue which is available to see on YouTube right now! The motion comic also stars River Kroeger as the eponymous TIGER-BOY!

Also, this is your regular reminder that The Uncontrollable Wreck-Lass is still updating weekly at www.wrecklasscomic.com. We just started the final chapter and are right in the middle of the epic climax! I don’t want to spoil it, but there is a giant cat involved!

Next week I chat with both Rich Woodall and Mark Welser about their new book, Gods of Brutality and I am very excited to rock out with them.

Thanks for reading,
- Aaron Walther