Jonah Lobe, after many years designing characters for video games, has recently turned his attention to comics. He’s the illustrator of Marvel Anatomy: A Scientific Study of the Superhuman, in which we can finally learn just what’s going on inside characters like Wolverine, Venom, and Modok. He’s also on the verge of his first Kickstarter … Continue reading #812 Jonah Lobe on character anatomy and “Quiet: Level One”
Jul 06, 2024•38 min•Ep. 812
On the surface, Sammy Harkham’s Blood of the Virgin is about an editor of b-movies in 1970s L.A. who has greater artistic aspirations, but it’s also rich with unexpected explorations of character and narrative approaches, themes about the creative process, responsibility, and being an immigrant, and Harkham’s best art and writing to date. Over a … Continue reading #811 “Blood of the Virgin”: About much more than filmmaking
Jul 03, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 811
Batman meets Italy’s humorous horror icon Dylan Dog in a beautiful three-issue series, originally published in Italian and recently released in English from DC. Tim and Emmet could recommend it on the art alone, but the story gives us a lot to discuss as well, including very rich conversations between characters and an interesting take … Continue reading #810 “Batman/Dylan Dog”: Dark Knight meets Nightmare Investigator
Jun 26, 2024•45 min•Ep. 810
Paul Pate releases his third “Detective Perez” graphic novel, called Autotropolis, a turned-to-eleven detective story that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Tim and Jason find a lot to like and not too terribly much to advise on — though of course almost any work can still be improved! Right? Griz Grobus, the latest from Simon … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #237: “Detective Perez: Autotropolis” and “Griz Grobus”
Jun 19, 2024•51 min•Ep. 237
Sure, comics are great for fantastical stories, but they can tell intimate, personal stories as well — or sometimes the personal and the fantastical mix well. Artist and writer Pidge is the creator of the series Infinite Wheatpaste, which employs this method. Avery Hill has just published a collection of the series, called Infinite Wheatpaste … Continue reading #809 Pidge interview: “Fiction is a way to tell the truth”
Jun 12, 2024•39 min•Ep. 809
So many Jack Kirby creations focus on gods, from The Mighty Thor to New Gods; he picked up concepts from myth or elsewhere and made them his. Kirby’s The Eternals makes no bones about where its inspiration came from: Erich von Däniken’s 1968 book Chariots of the Gods?. This week Tim and Emmet discuss the … Continue reading #808 Jack Kirby’s “The Eternals” 1-4: Chariots of the Superheroes?
Jun 05, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 808
Clover and Cutlass is a Dungeons and Dragons-inspired fantasy YA comedy web comic by Toby Boyd. Adam joins Tim to discuss. Coiled to Strike is an anthology book from Wildstar Press, featuring numerous artists and writers, focused on the adventures of legendary wild west antihero Emory Graves. Jason joins Tim to critique. Brought to you … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #236: “Clover and Cutlass” and “Coiled to Strike”
May 29, 2024•43 min•Ep. 236
Friend of the show Irene Strychalski, former artist of such Marvel titles as Gwenpool and Silk, has been focused on her original title Fiendish, a lushly drawn (and colored, by Carlos Nicolas Zamudio) fantasy story. This week, Tim and Patrick discuss the first two volumes. Also, Tim presents a mini-review of Safer Places by Kit … Continue reading #807 Reviews: “Fiendish” and “Safer Places”
May 22, 2024•30 min•Ep. 807
Berserk volume 12 left us at a crucial point: The Band of the Hawk were to be sacrificed so that Griffith can join the Godhand. Horrified, Tim and Kumar moved quickly on to volume 13, which left us… horrified, in a less fun way. Casca is raped, in an unnecessarily long, confusing, and (ick) titillating … Continue reading #806 “Berserk” v. 13 & 14: Is this scene necessary?
May 15, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 806
This week, an interview with Tessa Hulls, author of the graphic memoir Feeding Ghosts. It’s about her Chinese grandmother’s persecution by Chairman Mao’s government, the mental illness that resulted, the effect that had on Tessa’s mother and then on Tessa herself. It’s about Chinese history, trauma, psychology, family relationships, and more. Tim interviews Tessa about … Continue reading #805 “Feeding Ghosts”: a story of Chinese history and family trauma...
May 08, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 805
FLASHBACK! Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli’s comics version of City of Glass, a 1985 novel by Paul Auster, is an amazing adaptation of an unfilmable novel. Tim and Kumar assess the herculean task of adapting it, in probably the only medium capable of doing so: comics! We re-present this episode in observance of Auster’s passing … Continue reading #167 “City of Glass”: Adapting a Novel to Comics
May 02, 2024•59 min•Ep. 167
Kentaro Miura’s Berserk can be upsetting, fascinating, offputting, incredible, and even sometimes a bit comedic, as Tim and Kumar have found over the past several months. All those qualities appear again in volumes 11 and 12, as the story of the extended flashback reaches its climax with Griffith’s horrific accession to the God Hand. Join … Continue reading #804 “Berserk” v. 11 & 12: Cartoonish violence, epic horror
May 01, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 804
What did Marvel expect Jack Kirby to do with a 2001: A Space Odyssey series? Especially when they told him not to create any ongoing characters? What we got included the Monolith and the Star Child, but with unmistakable Kirby bombast. After concluding his story of superhero-obsessed Harvey Norton in issue 6, and a one-shot exploration … Continue reading #803 Jack Kirby’s “2001” #6-10: Machine Man Begins
Apr 24, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 803
As Jack Kirby’s adaptation of the movie/novel 2001: A Space Odyssey sold well, Marvel asked him to turn it into a series — but then tied one hand behind his back by asking that he not create ongoing characters for fear they’d become property of MGM rather than Marvel. As Tim and Emmet see in … Continue reading #802 Jack Kirby’s “2001” #1-5: An Interesting Failure
Apr 17, 2024•44 min•Ep. 802
Critiquing Comics returns, with a comic that we just couldn’t put down, and one that we couldn’t quite pick up on! Jason joins Tim to discuss Rebirth of the Gangster: The Complete Collection, a crime novel with incredible forward momentum by Writer CJ Standal and Artist Juan Romera. Then Adam and Tim critique Toe & … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #235: “Rebirth of the Gangster” and “Toe & So Long”
Apr 10, 2024•43 min•Ep. 235
The character of Swamp Thing originated in House of Secrets #92 in 1971, drawn by Berni Wrightson and written by Len Wein. That story served as a first draft for the real origin story in Swamp Thing #1, with the same creative pairing. This week, Tim is joined by writer for CBR and Screen Rant … Continue reading #801 Swamp Thing Begins: Issues 1-13 reviewed
Apr 03, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 801
Batman and the Outsiders was one of DC’s top sellers in the 1980s. This time, Tim is joined by John Trumbull to take a close look at the second volume of the series, which includes the reveal of Halo’s origin, exploration of Metamorpho’s, the 1984 L.A. Olympics, time travel, and more. Don’t forget the Mike … Continue reading #800 “Batman and the Outsiders” vol. 2 review
Mar 27, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 800
Kentaro Miura’s Berserk can be confounding. Reading volumes 9 and 10 prompts us to ask “Just what genre IS this comic, anyway?” While it still has plenty of over-the-top action and violence, it also has gratuitous sex, comedy, and even some horror elements. And now we finally have hints toward why the “present” of volumes … Continue reading #799 “Berserk” v. 9 & 10 deep dive: Genre hopping
Mar 20, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 799
After the gravitas of Avengers: Infinity War, which ended in a blaze of glory only for the villain, what did we want next? A fun, lighthearted romp of a movie. Right? No? Well, that’s what we got and this movie is certainly fun. But it doesn’t resolve a single thread from Infinity War. Mulele struggles … Continue reading “Ant-Man and the Wasp” (2018)
Mar 13, 2024•41 min•Ep. 17
FLASHBACK! Though the highly influential manga series, and resulting TV show, are known for non-stop action and fighting, Dragon Ball started out as a comedy strip reminiscent of Akira Toriyama‘s early work, Dr. Slump! Viz’s English versions have gone through various levels of censorship over time to adjust to the low level of sexuality that … Continue reading #241 “Dragon Ball” in depth
Mar 10, 2024•42 min•Ep. 241
FLASHBACK! In 1998, under the “Marvel Knights” banner, Christopher Priest began the first ongoing Black Panther title in nearly two decades. Panther was a relatively unknown character to many Marvel readers at the time. With the aid of “Emperor of Useless White Boys” Everett K. Ross, and artists like Mark Texeira and Joe Jusko, Priest … Continue reading #689 Priest’s “Black Panther”
Mar 06, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 689
Ryoko Kui’s Delicious in Dungeon pokes fun at fantasy games and cooking manga tropes, exploring what it would really be like to be a character in a fantasy game, arranging your life in ways that wouldn’t really make sense in the real world. This week, Kumar and Emmet do a deep dive on this consistently … Continue reading #798 “Delicious in Dungeon” yields a feast
Feb 28, 2024•57 min•Ep. 798
Kel McDonald‘s Murky Water is about a paranormal investigation police unit looking into the death of a man from drowning – in his very dry living room. (Currently being Kickstarted!) Tim and Adam critique. Then, Jason joins Tim to review Lucy Sullivan‘s Barking, about dealing with depression in an inadequate mental health care system. … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #234: “Murky Water” and “Barking”
Feb 21, 2024•49 min•Ep. 234
Jack Kirby’s 1976 adaptation of 2001: A Space Odyssey is an odd combination of the Stanley Kubrick movie, the Arthur C. Clarke novel, and Kirby’s own research and dramatic inclinations, which sometimes were pretty out-of-step with the tone of the film! This week, Tim and Emmet discuss this out-of-print treasury edition comic, where it borrows … Continue reading #797 Jack Kirby’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”
Feb 14, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 797
If you read New York’s Village Voice newspaper between 1974 and 1995, you are probably familiar with Stan Mack‘s Real Life Funnies. If not, hold on to your hat! A forthcoming book from Fantagraphics collects many of the strips, all ripped from real life, and taking full advantage of the Voice‘s lack of content guardrails. … Continue reading #796 Stan Mack and “Real Life Funnies”
Feb 07, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 796
FLASHBACK! There’s no doubt that Superman is one of the most significant characters in the history of American comics. He ended up setting the template for what would be the dominant genre in American comics after the Comics Code came into effect. Of course, the types of stories told in those comics, and their tone, … Continue reading #479 Some of the greatest Superman stories (or not)
Jan 31, 2024•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 479
FLASHBACK! Reviews of Asterios Polyp blanket the Internet; why need we pile on? Well, for starters, to counteract all the reviewers who think that giving a story synoposis = explaining what the book’s about. That approach falls far short with Polyp, so Tim and Kumar are here to explain what they feel David Mazzucchelli’s masterwork … Continue reading #219 “Asterios Polyp”
Jan 24, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 219
Cap and the Falcon have found the underground bunker of the aristocratic forces hoping to take over America on the Bicentennial, but the location of their secret weapon, the Mad Bomb, is still a mystery. What next? How about a love story? But wait a minute – this love story between Cap and a sick … Continue reading #795 Jack Kirby’s “Capt. America and the Falcon” #198-200: Bicentennial Madness
Jan 17, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 795
To mark the recent passing of artist Ian Gibson, Kumar and Dana dive into a long-overdue discussion of his masterpiece with writer Alan Moore, The Ballad of Halo Jones. Halo Jones is an early work by Moore that was never completed, but it is rich, immersive, and fully developed at every turn, from the characters … Continue reading #794 “The Ballad of Halo Jones” – in color!
Jan 10, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 794
While Kentaro Miura’s Berserk is meant to feature the swordsman character Guts, in volumes 7 and 8 the focus is on Griffith and the progress made – at ANY cost – toward his dream of having his own kingdom, a machine in which Guts is just a major cog. Casca is the other major figure, … Continue reading #793 “Berserk” v 7-8: The Battle for Doldrey
Jan 03, 2024•49 min•Ep. 793
