Words and Pictures

  Portland Cable Access at the end of the 20th century gained a reputation for creativity and outrageousness, featuring such characters as "Working" Kirk Reeves, Jim Spagg, and Stephanie ("Where's the Art?") Pierce.  And Oregon's uniquely strong freedom of expression laws ... Read more

  A city-wide celebration of comics first took place in Portland in the spring of 2009, when then-City Commissioner Sam Adams declared April "Comic Book Month."  For this 10th anniversary tribute, we'll find out about events, new releases, and participatory activities thro... Read more

  Nora Colie of the Portland Oregon Women's Film Fest joins us in the studio to preview this year's POWfest, along with filmmakers Marne Lucas (Haute Flash) and Aubrey Peeples (Decadeless). We're also joined by actor/director Jerry Bell Jr, whose documentary Red White & B... Read more

  Fresh out of college in 1969, Denis Kitchen started publishing underground comics from a rented office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Fifty years later, Kitchen is recognized as one of the leading authorities on graphic novels and alternative media, and has teamed up with per... Read more

  In this extended online-only conversation, we hear many more rollicking stories about the underground comics industry and its characters from leading authority Denis Kitchen.  Denis sat down with S.W. Conser in the KBOO studios during a recent Portland visit in support ... Read more

  The Portland International Film Festival is a venue for showcasing not just visiting directors but local filmmakers as well.  We're joined by two celebrated Portland documentarians: Irene Taylor Brodsky, the director of Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements, and ... Read more

  My Boyfriend Is a Bear is the new graphic novel from the creative team of writer Pamela Ribon (Moana, Ralph Breaks the Internet) and Portland artist Cat Farris (The Last Diplomat, Flaccid Badger).  This sweet and surreal romance between outdoorsy protagonist Nora, who ha... Read more

  Phil Proctor co-founded the legendary Firesign Theatre comedy troupe over 50 years ago, and has never slowed down since.  Best known for his contribution to such groundbreaking albums as How Can You Be In Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All, he's also a ve... Read more

  Jason Lutes is a dogged comics storyteller.  His previous graphic novel Jar of Fools was serialized for years in Seattle's Stranger newspaper before being collected in book form.  Now comes the 600-page magnum opus Berlin, a sprawling tale of urban struggle in Germany du... Read more

  Celebrate Words and Pictures' 15th anniversary on the air with a visit from Drawn to Berlin author Ali Fitgerald! Drawn to Berlin follows Ali's encounters with Syrian youth, as she teaches comics workshops at a makeshift refugee center in Germany and hears personal stor... Read more