Hosted by Robin McConnell, Inkstuds is the preeminent interview podcast for readers of indie and underground cartoonists. In an "epic crossover event" with ComicsAlliance, writer David Brothers guest-hosted the show throughout February and interviewed great talents not typically covered by CA nor Inkstuds, focusing specifically on what it means to be "in comics." To put it plainly, if you like cartoonists and you like podcasts, Inkstuds is your jam.

Having recently celebrated 500 Inkstuds interviews conducted from McConnell's headquarters in Canada, the podcaster has teamed up with friend and professional cohort Brandon Graham (King City, Prophet, Multiple Warheads) for a Kickstarted roadtrip project whose aim is to take the pair to Los Angeles, California. There, McConnell and Graham will both record and film special material with area creators and host a special live interview event for fans.

The Kickstarter quickly surpassed its modest CAD$4,000 goal and has begun inviting backers to pledge toward the stretch goal of CA$15,000, which McConnell told ComicsAlliance will send the Inkstuds to New York and the United Kingdom. We can also confirm that appearing at the Los Angeles event will be Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O'Malley, Love and Rockets cartoonist Jaime Hernandez, Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward, and White Clay author  (and Adventure Time contributor) Thomas Herpich.

For fans of Graham and the other cartoonists associated with the Inkstuds Roadtrip who cannot participate in person in Los Angeles (or New York or in the UK, as the case may very well be), the Kickstarter campaign remains open for another two weeks, offering exclusive rewards including the Inkstuds Tour Sketchbook. A hybrid travelogue/comic/art book, the Tour Sketchbook will include drawings from Graham (and others) describing the journey along with notes and photographs by McConnell. The physical book is available at the CAD$15 reward tier (approximately US$13,50), with digital editions offered at less expensive tiers.

Other Inkstuds Kickstarter rewards include postcards from the road (with sketches); signed comics; original art, curated grab bags of underground, furry, '80s, and pornographic comics; and a t-shirt brandishing the Brandon Graham illustration at the top of this post.

Cool stuff aside, Graham and McConnell take the whole cartoonist interview thing very seriously, as they explain in this statement published on their campaign's Kickstarter page:

But really the reward is to help contribute to a meaningful historical archive of comics history. The internet will probably be around for forever, but the people who have helped make the comics medium what it is, won't always be. And supporting this tour helps contribute to a greater documentation of these exciting creators who have built the foundations upon which future generations of comic's creators will exist. The value of something like Inkstuds Radio has always been in it's role as an archive of creators and voices that history may not have otherwise recorded. By supporting this tour, you are directly contributing to documents that will conceivably live on forever--and for some of these artists, may prove to be the definitive historical document of their lives. And with Inkstuds Radio you have a proven pedigree at creating these documents. By contributing to this project you are helping to make history.

You can learn more about the "Inkstuds 500 Interview Road Trip Bonanza" at Kickstarter.

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