In this week’s episode of Off Panel, writer and filmmaker Darcy Van Poelgeest joins the show to share the story behind the making of his Image Comics series, Little Bird. Van Poelgeest discusses why he wanted to make a comic, why Little Bird was a natural fit as a comic, its long gestation period, partnering with artist Ian Bertram, the book’s creative team, the comic book creative process, how lettering affects pace, the title’s origins, its path to Image, why it became a hardcover first, the importance of design, the crash course of his first comics experience, and more.

You can find Darcy on Twitter, his website, and in Little Bird at Image Comics.

You can download the show directly here on Libsyn.

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Thanks to the podcast’s sponsor, Netflix’s Behind the Scenes podcast, which sees a new season drop in mid-January that’s focusing on the upcoming The Witcher series. Adapting Andrzej Sapkowski’s beloved fantasy novels, this series stars Henry Cavill in a story that mixes a tale of destiny with mutant monster hunters. The Behind the Scenes podcast will tell listeners how they turned nearly 3,000 pages of original material into this Netflix series. Host Brandon Jenkins talks with everyone from executive producers and the writers to the cast and even sword masters who worked on the show, and if you’re excited for The Witcher, this podcast is your ticket to an even better experience. Subscribe to Netflix’s Behind the Scenes podcast today on your preferred app!

And thanks to Off Panel’s other sponsor, TKO Studios. Check out their new wave of titles, including the show’s #3 comic of the year in Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Hernandez Walta’s Sentient, Roxane Gay and Ming Doyle’s The Banks, and more, as well as titles from the first wave like Garth Ennis and Steve Epting’s brilliant war series, Sara. Each title is binge released in six-issue collector’s edition box sets and trade paperbacks simultaneously. Even better? You can read the first issue of each series for free, right now, on the TKO site.

You can find Off Panel on Patreon! Support the show on there and get early access to each week’s podcast.

Thanks to my patrons, including – but not limited to – Kenny Porter, Chris Bachalo, Torunn Grønbekk, FuzBubbles, Christopher Ta, Transmitterdown, Harry Sayer, Walt’s Comics & Books, Carl Mizell, Danny Ollie, Paul Salaets, Lytwyn Studios, Akil Wilson, Nathan House, Alex Dimitropolous, Terry Dodson, Troy-Jeffrey Allen, Liana Kangas, Keigen Rea, Milton Lawson, Wesley Gift, Shawn Kirkham, Harry Small, Alister Ross, Julio Anta, Brett A. Schmidt, Jason Goodmanson, Paul Reinwand, Connor Farner, Vita Ayala, Aditya Bidikar, Tara Ferguson, Dave Slusher, WMQ Comics, Akylle, Kokaachi, Phil White, Shaun Pinello, Kent Heidelman, Phillip Sevy, Al Ewing, Ryan Alcock, Nick Michelin, David Kelley, Robert Wilson IV, Nick Poleto, Eoin McCready, Brenden Fletcher, Gary Moloney, Jonathan Nilsson, Matthew Groom, Jason Nassi, Adam Bogert, Xavier Files, Matthew Taylor, Tyler Turner, Nick Pitarra, Jacob Sareli, Ford Gilmore, David Baroldy, Ira James Udaskin, Modern Magic Stories, Nick Hall, Bjorn Basen, John Hendrick, Steve Anderson, Ian Maxfield, Cliff Chiang, Benjamin Schipper, Colin McMahon, Chris Palmer, Scott McGovern, Nathan Fairbairn, Cat McKenzie, Greg Rucka, Adam Highfill, Fiona Staples, Chris O’Halloran, Mark Abnett, Mike Murphy, Michael Shirley, Tom Barnett, Jim Demonakos, Norbert, Nick Lowe, James Kaplan, and Mission: Comics and Art in San Francisco. You’re all the best.

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

Header art is from the cover of Little Bird’s hardcover collection, art by Ian Bertram and Matt Hollingsworth. Off Panel’s theme music is 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!