Cartoonist / writer / scholar / educator (and now Comics Laureate) Stephen R. Bissette joins Greg for the first part of their two-part talk about all things Tyrant and more as the Kickstarter campaign to bring his long out-of-print series back to life has roared past its funding goal and continues to smash any stretch goal in its path!

Bissette goes into why Vermont is such a good place to be a cartoonist, what his plans are for his tenure as the state’s sixth Comics Laureate, why repressive eras seem to spur on transcendent works of horror, and how Zap Comix #0 changed his life. He dives deep into his fifteen years as an instructor at James Sturm’s Center for Cartoon Studies, including some of the difficulties in teaching the history of the medium when some of the pioneers’ work is held in disdain by the current generation. Finally, Bissette details how the 1990s direct-market distribution collapse aborted Tyrant and how today’s crowdfunding and print-on-demand landscape—aided by Lighthouse publisher Chris Stevens and advocate/designer Jim Rugg—enabled Tyrant’s Kickstarter-fueled revival.

[This episode is number 829 in a series.]

CHAPTERS

00:00 – Intro
02:48 – Why Vermont Loves Comics
06:57 – Saying Yes To Laureate
08:30 – Vermont Cartooning Legacy
13:22 – Arts In Regressive Times
17:17 – Underground Comics Awakening
19:04 – Kubert School v CCS
24:25 – Teaching Comics History Debates
28:01 – Never Go Away Philosophy
33:48 – Tyrant Returns And Distribution
38:34 – Print On Demand Revolution
41:57 – Ads Reviews Retailers
42:45 – Direct Market Collapse
43:57 – Crowdfunding Changes Everything
45:46 – Perks Backstock Ceramics
47:40 – Success Fears Next Steps
51:50 – Life In The Zone
01:00:20 – Why Trust Stevens And Rugg
01:04:44 – Past Projects Credibility
01:11:10 – Lighthouse Team Scanning
01:13:31 – Momentum And Final Thoughts