Sam Henderson is an American cartoonist, writer, storyboard director, and expert on American comedy history.

From Sam:

“Technically, I started doing [mini-comics] at 12 in 1982. When I went to art school in the late eighties I got other students (including a young Tom Hart) into doing them. But I guess for this you'd say 1991. I did a bunch with different titles but did MAGIC WHISTLE as a regular series in 1993. All the while I was starting to sell work professionally and had an alt-weekly strip for a few years, doing MW as a minicomic until 1998 when it became a "real" comic (i.e. a minicomic with a slightly higher circulation and better production values). Most of my 90s minicomics were collected in a book called HUMOR CAN BE FUNNY.”

Our very last episode of The Terrible Anvil (Season One) was recorded this week! With Tom and Jess together in the same room!

We tried to tie a bow around the business of comics by offering ideas on HOW TO KEEP GOING (FOREVER), AKA making your own sustainable comics practice amidst inner/outer turmoil and also remembering to wash the dishes.

A big takeaway from this episode: CELEBRATE SMALL WINS!

Upcoming SAW Pro-Call with Katharine Woodman-Maynard. We bring in comic professionals from all walks of life to guest speak (virtually) at SAW. These guest speakers give SAW students/members some insight from their personal experiences throughout their comics career and welcome questions at the end of each session. Come join us!

This week we recorded the penultimate episode of THE TERRIBLE ANVIL, this time discussing scripts, dialogue, and writing for comics!

The words we use and how they are arranged on the page can guide readers' understanding of our comics and influence how they feel about a story and its characters. But how do you pick the right words? How much is too much dialogue? How can you make sure readers understand your text the way you intend?

What are the stories that keep us small? That make us feel unloveable? 🤔 Comics are powerful. Comics can help release us from what keeps us stuck. Explore your Cone of Shame Stories with Cara Gormally in a 4-Week Online Zoom course kicking off July 1st.

Saša Rakezić (born 1963 in Pančevo, Serbia), better known by his pen name Aleksandar Zograf, is a Serbian cartoonist, who was working in the former Yugoslavia in the 80s and 90s.

His was the main and sometimes only cartooning voice that many in the United States knew of from that region, and was very active in American mini-comics and underground publishing. Chris Lanier, on Zograf's website, writes, "Zograf's email dispatches (later collected in a book titled "Bulletins from Serbia," published by Slab-O-Concrete), ... talked about the images on Serbian TV, which mixed together old Yugoslavian war movies, Disney films, and news footage of gypsies taking scrap metal from a downed F-117 NATO plane. He mentioned the email battle of insults which took place after some Italians got hold of the email addresses of American bomber pilots, and forwarded them to Serbian friends living in towns that were slated for attack. He told how a refinery near his home was bombed, and released a cloud of steam that engulfed the area. He and his wife looked out the window of their flat, and "we saw just white fog, as if the whole world had disappeared..."

His many works include books about this time, Life Under Sanctions and Bulletins from Serbia, but he also created many dream comics, notably Psychonaut, and Dream Watcher.

His website is http://www.aleksandarzograf.com/http:...

We're very honored he spoke with us.

Thanks for listening!

4 Weekly Zoom talks wtih Q+A taking you from story idea to pitching your book.

Remembering the generosity of our history teacher, John Ronan.

This week on the Terrible Anvil we talked about CRITICISM!

Criticism and rejection are inevitable parts of the creative process—so how can we make them more bearable?

It was a privilege to have cartoonist Carl Antonowicz speak at the Sequential Artists Workshop about his journey through comics and performance art, among his many other creative endeavors!

ABOUT CARL:

Carl Antonowicz is a Tulsa-based illustrator, performer, writer, director, cartoonist, and calligrapher. He dabbles in medieval history, the occult, theatre, and any of a number of other enterprises. He is currently enjoying his third year in the Tulsa Artist Fellowship.

Carl earned his Master's of Fine Arts in Cartooning at the Center for Cartoon Studies in 2011, and his Bachelor of Arts in Studio Arts and English Literature from Austin College in 2008. He recommends both institutions highly.

This week we talked all about creative collaboration!

Comics can often be a solitary endeavor, but you'll find lots of ways to collaborate with other people—be it editors, writers, artists, colorists, copy editors, designers, publishers or co-creators!

Collaboration in any art form can be a great way to breathe new life into the creative process. They can be scary or uncomfortable if you're used to having total control over your creative projects, or this shared control might feel liberating.

Either way, there's lots to gain from working with others on a shared project, from morale boosts and accountability systems, to practical knowledge sharing and the creative alchemy of multiple minds coming together.

But how do collaborations happen? How do you make them successful? How can you maximize fun and minimize pain in the process?

There's lots of advice in this episode, but the core of it is to establish clear communication and boundaries and to have a shared goal with your collaborators.

Tommi Parrish Invites You to Join Them for 4 Weeks of Creative Play