Kinjin Story Lab – How Do You Like It So Far? Episode 57

Recently I had the pleasure of talking about pushing the boundaries of comics with theoretical physicist and cartoonist Clifford V. Johnson on Prof. Henry Jenkins’ podcast How Do You Like It So Far? which is a series of conversations about what happens where pop culture and the civic imagination overlap. Check the episode’s web page for show notes of links to everything that came up during our conversation.

About

I’m a multi-disciplinary storyteller whose work spans across video games, comics, animation and transmedia experiences. I began my career publishing webcomics on Livejournal, and my first professional work SHOOTING WAR was nominated for an Eisner Award. While out on book tour, readers would tell me how immersive my storytelling was, how it “took them there”.

I went on to create graphic novels for Random House and Hachette, but it wasn’t until I developed my haunted real estate comic series RED LIGHT PROPERTIES that I found I was chasing a more immersive storytelling experience myself. Nowadays, I envision story as a liquid that takes on the shape of any container you pour it into.

Since then, I have built story for Emmy-winning transmedia experiences at AMC (including HALT AND CATCH FIRE, THE KILLING and BREAKING BAD), served as a head writer and narrative designer on four seasons of video games based on THE WALKING DEAD, and wrote screenplays for the Cartoon Network’s MEGA MAN series. I disassembled and redesigned the narrative structure of the mobile game THE GRAND MAFIA using only existing game assets and mechanics, and most recently wrote and designed tabletop games for HUNT A KILLER.

People tell me how wide-ranging all that is, but to me, it’s all story in different containers. I’m always watching the horizon for what the future brings, where else story is going, and how else I can play.