It’s no secret that our inbox gets crowded from time to time. It’s also no secret that this inbox is occasionally overlooked, sometimes for weeks or months at a time, making your news, the little details and announcements that you want us to shout from the tippity-top of Mount DS, fall into a black hole where they are only to be retrieved by the most eager and capable of hands.

This means that little, but important, blurbs like the one Charlie Trotman, creator of Templar, AZ, sent us, fall by the wayside until they are way past due and and way past useful. So it was with gracious and humbled fingers that I typed these questions for Trotman, known to most online denizens as Spike, and sent them along, promising a plug for the donation drive which was to cover the costs for printing the second volume of Templar, AZ.

Now, with the drive completed and the costs more than ably covered, Spike gives us the answers to the questions on every Templar fan’s mind. Join me as we delve deeper into the mystery that is the mind of Spike!

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In terms of dream crushers, my next interviewee is the tops. When it came time to choose a new artist to kick start his strip, Life’s A Bluff, Frank Frisina did what every talent scout worth his salt does these days: he held tryouts. The call went out and was answered by many artists, many of whom are already well known in the webcomics and digital comics communities.

With the field narrowed down to a select few (including yours truly), the site’s new main backer, pro poker player, Phil Laak, got the final say in who would usher in the next era of LaB greatness. Sadly, he chose Ryan Estrada.

But this is no place for sour grapes or spilt milk! That place is called LiveJournal. No, this is where I will probe Frank’s mind on the success of LaB under the watchful, cartoony, bulging eye of Mr. Estrada. He’s gotten himself into a bit of hot water with the Poker Player’s Alliance (PPA) as well, so we’ll start off with whether or not he’ll still be doing LaB and go from there. Enjoy the e-mail conversational goodness, after the break!

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Yesterday, my conversation with Sin Titulo creator, Cameron Stewart, turned into a breakdown of the artist’s workshop, including techniques, processes, and inspiration. While this was fascinating to me, it’s not the meat-and-potatoes of the interview I meant to conduct.It was, however, integral to the understanding of ST, and so there’s a bit more of it here.

But in addition, in this second half I finally get Cameron to crack on the intent of the strip, including his drive to do the strip (hint: it’s not as sci-fi/mystically focused as you might think) and the personal investment an artist should put into his, or her work. Again, the dude’s a pro, so I basically just asked a question or two and let him run wild. Containment was not my intent and I think a very interesting explanation of the strip followed as a result.

Delve into the mystery with me, after the break!

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Weeks back, the DS Review Crew took on the Transmission X Sunday treat, Sin Titulo. It was universally agreed that this was a mysterious joy to read and that we would all be checking back regularly on this, the Lord’s day. We also unanimously decreed that we had a lot of questions about the strip, questions we wanted answered. Immediately.

So I got on the stick and started chatting with creator Cameron Stewart. Contained in this update is the first half of that conversation, with the second to follow on Monday. Disclaimer: After realizing that this is the Cameron Stewart who has numerous comic book projects under his belt, including some with the biggest names in the business, I kind of lose my footing and just give the rest of the interview away. Luckily, Cameron is a pro and takes up the slack aptly and readily.

Start the takeover after the break!

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