Steve Bissette on TYRANT and Comics in Vermont

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