E43: Comics literacy as musicianship: A conversation with Frank Santoro

On today’s episode, Sophie (@sweetbabychild) speaks with author and artist Frank Santoro about his recently published graphic memoir, Pittsburgh. Santoro gives us a tour of how growing up in the city of Pittsburgh and experiencing its art scene from a young age influenced his unique comic style, as well as how he interprets the ascendency of comics as a form of mass pop culture. As an arts educator, he also offers his thoughts on visual literacy, the relationship between word and image in graphic works, and what we think about when we read and write comics. Santoro also gives some insights into his “musical” philosophy of art, drawing connections between the two along the lines of rhythm and timing, emotional evocativeness, and place-creation.

Find out more about Frank Santoro’s work:

Pittsburgh (Copacetic Comics; White Whale Books)

Pompeii (Copacetic Comics)

My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea (Film by Dash Shaw, with illustration contributions by Frank Santoro) (Trailer)

Storeyville (Copacetic Comics)

Real Fun (Photographs by Ashod Simonian, Illustrations by Frank Santoro) (Copacetic Comics)

Cold Heat (Comic series co-authored with Ben Jones) (Copacetic Comics)