Welcome to the home of Upton Comics.

I’m Terence Dollard, the host of Comic Culture, a TV series about the people who make the comics, newspaper strips, and graphic novels we all love. It airs on The NC Channel, part of the UNC-TV public media service, and streams on PBS.org. On Comic Culture, I interview artists, writers, editors, and scholars about the the craft of making comics. It’s an exploration of the creative process with legends, top pros, and up-and-coming talent.

What is Upton Comics?

As a kid, I drew comics and imagined publishing books each month like Marvel or DC. Upton Comics is my imprint, and where I’m sharing my comics with the world.

I’ve been writing and illustrating a graphic novel, The Agreement, a WWII super-adventure story that’s part Watchmen, part Venture Bros., and part homage to the great comics of the 80s, but with more dick jokes, for the better part of 7 years. I’m serializing The Agreement here.  The book is a labor of love, and over the years, I think I’ve grown as an artist. My latest pages look more advanced than the earlier ones, and I’m always striving to do better. Armed with concepts learned from more than 100 episodes of Comic Culture guests, I try to put that knowledge on the page.

I’ll try to update the story as much as I can. As you know, finding time for a hobby while working and being an adult is tough. I’m a professor teaching Broadcasting in the Department of Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. I spend a great deal of time teaching, grading, advising, planning, and writing. On top of that, I produce about 20 episodes of Comic Culture a year. That means finding guests, researching their work, editing episodes, working with our broadcast partners, and attending comic conventions. Oh, I created Comic Culture as a TV project my students could crew and direct actual TV shows while studying in rural NC, hours away from big cities and all the opportunities therein. They get experience while I get to ask questions about comics. Win-win.

There are a bunch of blogs and websites devoted to comics. Some sell comics, some publish them, and other offer reviews and critiques. At Upton Comics, you’ll get comics, the occasional comics editorial, and a look at the behind-the-scenes of Comic Culture. To conclude, Upton Comics is about comics, about making comics, and about enjoying comics. I hope you’ll come back soon.

Terence

July 6, 2020