Cartoonist Gabriel Bá joins the show to talk about his career and the upcoming The Umbrella Academy: Plan B. Bá discusses the build up to new releases, the past few years for him, whether that stretch has changed him as a creator and storyteller, San Diego Comic Con’s impact on his journey, how his career and what he wanted from it evolved, following new directions, co-writing The Umbrella Academy: Plan B, Gerard Way’s artistic background, script flavors, the differing approaches he and Fabio Moon have, learning about art, his art across the years on Umbrella Academy, the joy of the series, what keeps him excited about comics, and more.

You can find Bá on Instagram and his work in the upcoming The Umbrella Academy: Plan B at Dark Horse Comics.

You can download the episode directly here on Libsyn.

Big thanks to Deanna Chapman for editing this episode, as per usual.

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Thanks to one of the sponsor of this week’s podcast: 2000 AD! If you love sci-fi, horror, fantasy and action, then 2000 AD is the greatest comic you’re not reading! 2000 AD has a whole universe of characters, from Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog through to Rogue Trooper, Zenith, Shakara and many more. In every weekly issue you get five action-packed stories from incredible creators including Garth Ennis, Rob Williams, Alex de Campi and Dan Abnett. Get a print subscription and it’ll arrive at your door every week – and your first issue is free! Or subscribe digitally, get free back issues, and download DRM-free copies of each issue – for just $9 a month. That’s 128 pages of incredible comics every month for less than $10! And all subscribers get amazing offers, like money off vouchers and exclusive products! Head to 2000AD.com and click on ‘subscribe’ now – or download the 2000 AD app and start reading today!

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Have a question for Off Panel? You can reach David by email or Bluesky.

Header photo is from Bá’s cover to The Umbrella Academy: Plan B #2. Off Panel’s opening theme music is Vulfpeck’s “Outro,” used with permission from the band (and thanks from me for them doing so!), with the rest of the music being an original track by custom music agency Upright T-Rex Music, written and performed specifically for the podcast. A huge thanks to Ross and Cody from Upright T-Rex Music for putting the track together!