Lots of e-mails are asking me what's coming up in terms of webcasts. Next Tuesday, August 18 at 7 PM Pacific Time, I resume my one-on-one Conversations with friends. The fine writer of comic books, Kurt Busiek, and I will be chatting about many aspects of that field. One will be popular misconceptions that some folks seem to have about how comic books are (or were) made. This will be a very fine place to ask your questions about how the industry works when it works, which is not all the time.
On Saturday, August 22nd at 4 PM (also Pacific Time), I will host an online version of the Business of Cartoon Voices panels that I do every year at Comic-Con International in San Diego. These are not like the panels where I get a bunch of great cartoon voice actors together to demonstrate their craft, read a script aloud and, generally, be very funny. This is a panel for those who want to know how one gets into the field. It's all about agents and demos and training and unions and auditions and the basic professionalism one needs to have to be a professional.
I will be joined by two top voice actors who also teach — Bob Bergen and Debi Derryberry — and two of the best voice agents. One of the agents will be Cynthia McLean, who covers the areas of Animation, Interactive/Games, Motion Capture, and Commercial Voiceovers for SBV Talent. The other will be Paul Doherty, who is Secretary-Treasurer of the Cunningham-Escott-Slevin-Doherty Talent Agency.
You can find hundreds of folks on the web who will explain to you how the business works. You will not find a grouping of four people who are more involved in the actual workings of that business.
There will be another Cartoon Voices Panel with five great cartoon actors demonstrating their talents, reading a script and, generally, being very funny but I don't know when.