In this week’s episode of Off Panel, cartoonist R. Kikuo Johnson joins to chat about my favorite comic of the year, his graphic novel, No One Else. We discuss Maui as an influence for him, his RISD experience, his editorial illustration work, the origins of No One Else, the work that went into it, its structure and format, comic strips, silence, simplifying his art, balancing the cast, parallels, character acting, the glory of Batman, the color and design of No One Else, whether comics will always be a part of his work, and more.

You can find Johnson on Instagram and his work in No One Else from Fantagraphics.

You can download the show directly here on Libsyn.

Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts or follow it on its LibSyn page. The show is also on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play Music and IHeartRadio’s app. Don’t forget to rate and review Off Panel, but five stars only!

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

Thanks to the sponsor of this week’s podcast: Macroverse. Macroverse is a next generation digital comics platform, and one with an astonishing number of comics, with currently over 50 series from over 100 creators on their app with a five star rating both on Apple and Google’s app stores. Download the app and binge all their titles, and it’s just $4.99 a month to subscribe to Macroverse, with proceeds directly supporting the creators on the platform. Keep an eye on the future of Macroverse too, as 2022 is going to bring an “Epic” upgrade that offers a new level of digital collectability and more, with early adopters able to sign up for more information at their website.

Also, thanks to the other sponsor of this week’s podcast: Bad Idea! Bad Idea is an experimental comic book publisher that’s rolling deep with titles from electric talents like Matt Kindt, Mark Russell, Marguerite Sauvage, and more, and doing it with oversized, ad-free, over the top releases you can only find at select comic shops around the world. There’s no variants, trades, or digital versions, either, so if you want one of their big Final Five releases that are being released throughout the rest of 2021, make sure to visit their website to find a comic shop near you or to pre-order a copy online.

Also, big thanks to my patrons, including – but not limited to – Joshua Corlett, Patrick Coyle, Isaac Orin, Scott Carpenter, Rentnarb Studios Comics, Klaas Van de Ven, Capes and Tights Podcast, Brian, Submet Industries, Raj Patel, Jack Mulqueen, Kyle, Karl Kerschl, Robert Masella, Elliot Metz, Elsa Charretier, Luc Nakashoji, Dr. Luke, Scott Haselwood, Scott Buon, Michael Tunk, CanadianByProxy, Jonny Cannon, Bradley Roeder, Carl Choi, Megan Marsden, Brandon De Pillis, Patrick Brower, Declan Shalvey, Dan Gearino, Josh WIlliamson, Atom Freeman, Ben Wild, Brian Klein-Q, S.B., Nick Bennett, Daniel Whitfield, Susana Polo, Reed Hinckley-Barnes, Mario Tiambeng, AbductedTheComic.com, Andrew Kurita, Matt Mahoney, Charlie Chu, Stefan Hull, Penscaola Pop Comics, Kim Estlund, Phillip Maira, Christian Shelton, Kenny Porter, Chris Bachalo, Torunn Grønbekk, FuzBubbles, Christopher Ta, Transmitterdown, Walt’s Comics & Books, Carl Mizell, Danny Ollie, Paul Salaets, Akil Wilson, Alex Dimitropolous, Terry Dodson, Liana Kangas, Wesley Gift, Shawn Kirkham, Alister Ross, Julio Anta, Brett A. Schmidt, Jason Goodmanson, Paul Reinwand, Vita Ayala, Tara Ferguson, Dave Slusher, WMQ Comics, Akylle, Kokaachi, Shaun Pinello, Kent Heidelman, Phillip Sevy, Al Ewing, Ryan Alcock, David Kelley, Robert Wilson IV, Nick Poleto, Brenden Fletcher, Gary Moloney, Jonathan Nilsson, Matthew Groom, Jason Nassi, Adam Bogert, Matthew Taylor, Nick Pitarra, Jacob Sareli, Ford Gilmore, David Baroldy, Nick Hall, Bjorn Basen, John Hendrick, Steve Anderson, Ian Maxfield, Cliff Chiang, Colin McMahon, Chris Palmer, Scott McGovern, Nathan Fairbairn, Cat McKenzie, Adam Highfill, Fiona Staples, 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 No One Else. 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!