Words and Pictures

  From its humble beginnings as Will Vinton Studios in the 1970's, Portland's Laika Entertainment has become one of the top studios in the world for stop-motion animation, producing the feature films Coraline, Paranorman, The Boxtrolls, and Kubo and the Two Strings.  Now,... Read more

  In this expanded version of our visit to the Portland Art Museum, we take a more leisurely look at the exhibition Animating Life: The Art, Science, and Wonder of Laika. Join host S.W. Conser, and find out about the creative process behind the screen from Laika creatives... Read more

  In this encore episode, we're joined by Kathy Zielinski, the pioneering artist and filmmaker who's been called "The Queen of Animated Villains" for helping bring to life such characters as Ursula the Sea Witch in The Little Mermaid and Jafar in Aladdin. Wbile visiting P... Read more

  North of Blue is animator Joanna Priestley's first feature film, a deep dive into abstract imagery inspired by her winter sojourn in the Yukon at the Klondike Institute of Art and Culture.  Joanna is joined in the studio by frequent collaborator Jamie Haggerty, who creat... Read more

  Summertime is not traditionally the season for animation festivals, but two grassroots events are setting out to buck the trend. We're joined by Overlapping Action Mini-Festival curator Ben Chapin, who is bringing his bi-coastal traveling show to the Po'Boy Art Space in ... Read more

  Digital technology is making animation and comics more immersive, and this month's guests are working at the forefront of the movement. Jeremy Rotsztain is creating an audio-visual experience to take place in Portland's Academy Theater.  Inspired by Frederik Kiesler's hi... Read more

  The National Cartoonists Society has been honoring cartoonists, animators and comics artists since 1946, and has finally brought their Reuben Awards event to Portland.  Author and "comics chronicler" R.C. Harvey joins us to talk about the history and the changes within t... Read more

  Portland native Mark Gustafson may be best known as the Animation Director for the Wes Anderson film The Fantastic Mister Fox.  Mark got his start sweeping floors at the famous Will Vinton Studios (now House Special) before going on to win awards for his stop-motion work... Read more

  In this extended version of our conversation with Portland native Mark Gustafson, we hear more stories about his work as Animation Director for the Wes Anderson film The Fantastic Mister Fox, and about his award-winning stop-motion work for Will Vinton Studios (now House... Read more

  Award-winning Portland comics artists Farel Dalrymple and Ryan Alexander-Tanner return to the KBOO studios with fresh stories and new projects to share.  Between stints at DC and Marvel, Farel is publishing the second volume of his celebrated series Pop Gun War for Dark ... Read more