On this regular review episode of The Comics Alternative, the first of 2015, Andy and Derek discuss three very different titles. First, they look at the new graphic memoir from Nina Bunjevac, Fatherland: A Family History (Liveright). This is the story of the author’s life growing up with — or growing apart from — a father who becomes a staunch Serbian nationalist. Bunjevac provides a bit of history surrounding the Balkans, and does so through sophisticated storytelling, but one of the most outst...
Jan 14, 2015•1 hr 28 min
The Two Guys are back for another installment in their new monthly show devoted to webcomics. For January, Derek and Andy W. have three engaging titles to discuss. First, they look at Evan Dahm’s Vattu, a fantasy adventure reminiscent of Bone, and with tones of sword-and-sorcery. This webcomic has been going on since July 2010, updated every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Currently it’s in its third book — the first, comprising 270 pages, has been collected in printed form and can be purchased t...
Jan 09, 2015•1 hr 34 min
It’s a new year, and it’s a new month on The Comics Alternative. So that means it’s time for another look at the Previews catalog! On this episode, Andy and Derek look through the January solicits, highlighting the various comics that will be appearing in another two-four months. Among the titles catching their interests are Pastaways #1, Neverboy#1, and Apocalyptigirl (Dark Horse Comics); the final chapters of Grant Morrison’s Multiversity, Strange Sports Stories #1, and new editions of Astro C...
Jan 07, 2015•1 hr 39 min
It’s a brand spanking new year, and it’s sure to be another great twelve months for interviews on The Comics Alternative. In fact, Andy and Derek start things off with a bang! this month with another visit from the always-friendly, always-funky, and always-fun Craig Yoe. This is the third time he has been on the show, and this time around the guys not only talk with Craig about his latest releases, but they also discuss the past, present, and future of Yoe Books. It’s the 5th anniversary of the ...
Jan 05, 2015•1 hr 38 min
It’s the end of the year, and you know what that means? No, it’s doesn’t involve a fat guy with toys, any spinning wooden things, or even annoying events involving Anderson Cooper and Kathy Gifford. It’s time for Andy and Derek’s end-of-the-year top ten favorites episode! The Two Guys with PhDs (who talk about comics) like to end every year by highlighting their favorite titles of the past twelve months. These could be ongoing series, limited runs or miniseries, one-shots, trades, original graph...
Dec 31, 2014•1 hr 45 min
On this episode of the podcast, the Two Guys with PhDs Talking about Comics review The Best American Comics 2014, the latest installment in Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s ambitious anthology series. This follows a previous review show published earlier in the week where the guys spoke with Bill Kartalopoulos, the new editor of the series. But whereas during the interview Derek and Andy learned about the process and backstory to the Best American Comics series, in this episode they plunge into the s...
Dec 24, 2014•1 hr 26 min
On this episode of The Comics Alternative Interviews, and in anticipation of their review show later this week, Andy and Derek are pleased to talk with the new editor of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's Best American Comics series, Bill Kartalopoulos. They congratulate him on the publication of the first volume under his stewardship, guest edited by Scott McCloud, and then ask him a variety of behind-the-scenes questions. For example, Bill discusses the laborious process that goes into screening and ...
Dec 22, 2014•1 hr 34 min
It's almost the end of the year, and Derek is back for one last 2014 visit to his local comic shop, Collected, in Plano, TX. As he usually does every month, he talks with the shop's employees and customers about the kind of comics that they're reading, what is catching their interests, and what comics news most excites them, but this month the focus is on their favorite titles of 2014. Derek asks everyone sitting around the podcast table -- Shea, Krystle, Shaun, Craig, Nick, and Matthew -- about...
Dec 19, 2014•1 hr 16 min
On this episode of The Comics Alternative, Derek and Andy review three new and exciting titles. First, they look at Richard McGuire's Here (Pantheon) a project that actually goes back to 1989. A different, black-and-white 6-page version of the comic appeared in the first issue of Raw Vol. 2, Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly's groundbreaking comics anthology that ran from 1980 until 1991. The new book doesn't include or build directly off of that original comic, but it does use the design and c...
Dec 17, 2014•1 hr 32 min
On this episode of The Comics Alternative Interviews, Derek talks with Dakota McFadzean about the release of the latest issue of Irene -- co-edited with Andy Warner and DW -- as well as his own comics output. They begin by focusing on the eclectic comics and art anthology, now in its fifth issue, the genesis of the publication, and how co-editing Irene has helped define his career after having graduated from The Center for Cartoon Studies. Derek asks Dakota about the challenges of overseeing a g...
Dec 15, 2014•1 hr 25 min
This week the Two Guys with PhDs (talking about comics) are back for another review episode, and this one is jam-packed with nougaty comics goodness. They begin with Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy’s deluxe edition of The Wake (DC/Vertigo). They had discussed the first couple installments of the ten-issue series on last year’s publisher spotlight on recent Vertigo titles, but now they are able to plunge into the the complete story…and they do so with relish. Both Andy and Derek love the way the nar...
Dec 10, 2014•1 hr 30 min
On this episode of The Comics Alternative Interviews, the guys are happy to have on the show Max Douglas, AKA Salgood Sam, to talk about his latest book, Dream Life: A Late Coming of Age (Spilt Ink), as well as other works from his career. They begin by asking about the origin of his pseudonym, learning that it has everything to do with the uneven expectations of the comics community. Here, Salgood Sam shares some of his experiences in the industry, his work for the Big Two, and his decision to ...
Dec 05, 2014•1 hr 19 min
It's the beginning of the month, so the Two Guys with PhDs are back for look through the latest Previews catalog. This December, there's a lot to choose from and discuss. After a brief digression into Thanksgiving activities and the 1968 Otto Preminger film, Skidoo (thanks Andy), the guys jump into this month's solicits. They highlight an insane number of upcoming titles, including Rat God #1, Girlfiend, Mister X: Razed #1, and The Complete Pistolwhip (Dark Horse Comics); Suiciders #1 and The Fi...
Dec 03, 2014•1 hr 40 min
The Two Guys with PhDs are excited to begin a new monthly feature for The Comics Alternative, a show devoted specifically to webcomics. For this inaugural episode, and as they plan on doing for every episode of this new feature, Derek and Andy W. take a look at two current ongoing titles and one older and completed title. The ones they discuss today are Jason Shiga’s Demon; Christina Blanch, Chris Carr, and Chee’s The Damnation of Charlie Wormwood; and Emily Carroll’s Margot’s Room. First, howev...
Dec 01, 2014•1 hr 35 min
The Two Guys with PhDs are back with their annual Thanksgiving show. But this time there are three guys involved. Derek and Andy K. are joined by Andy W. — the first time all three of them have been on the same show! — and together they all share the many things they are thankful for in comics and comics culture. The topics range broadly from the International Comic Arts Forum, to the wealth of classic comics archive editions, to new translations of European comics, to critical series from non-a...
Nov 26, 2014•1 hr 17 min
For this episode of The Comics Alternative Interviews, Derek and Andy are pleased have on the show Mike Howlett, the editor of the newly released The Worst of Eerie Publications from IDW/Yoe Books. In fact, Mike is the expert on Eerie Publications — an “Eerie guru,” as he calls himself — and the author of not only the recent collection but also The Weird World of Eerie Publications (a history of the publisher) and the meticulously researched The Weird Indexes of Eerie Publications. They talk wit...
Nov 24, 2014•1 hr 9 min
Derek is back at his local comic shop, Collected in Plano, TX, and this month he's talking with customers and employees about comics that are obscure, don't get much appreciation, or have gone unnoticed by most readers. He asks his guests about what they think flies under most people's radar, and the answers he gets are varied and fascinating. Some respond with comics coming out from premium publishers, some with works by creators that you would think had a publicity stranglehold, and others wit...
Nov 21, 2014•1 hr 8 min
On this week's episode, Derek and Andy W. are back with a Publisher Spotlight, and this time the focus is on Nobrow Press and their fall 2014 releases. This relatively small, UK-based publisher may be off of many readers' radar, but they put out a lot of great books, as this week's show will attest. First, the guys discuss Jesse Moynihan's Forming II, the follow up 2011's strange, whacked-out creation narrative Forming. They are fascinated with the myth that Moynihan has created, and they especi...
Nov 19, 2014•2 hr 17 min
This week on the podcast, Andy W. joins Derek to discuss four recent titles…and boy, are you in for a treat. First, they look at Renée French’s new book, Baby Bjornstrand (Koyama Press). The guys discuss its Samuel Beckett-like setting, the unusual characters that make up the cast, the fragmented temporal arrangements, and French’s stripped down narrative style. Yet while some readers have described the book as bleak and downbeat, both Derek and Andy see a more hopeful — and perhaps even life-af...
Nov 12, 2014•1 hr 49 min
On this Veteran’s Day, the Two Guys salute one of the most talented, and certainly the most satirical, men to serve in the U.S. military: Jules Feiffer. They talk with him about his latest book, and his first graphic novel, Kill My Mother (Liveright), and about his decision to write within the noir/crime genre. Derek and Andy are particularly curious about the artist’s interest in classic film noir, his handling of fast and smart dialogue, and his use of a cinematic technique to tell his story. ...
Nov 11, 2014•1 hr 15 min
It’s the beginning of the month, and that means it’s time once again for the Two Guys with PhDs to delve into the latest Previews catalog. For November, there are a lot of interesting solicitations, more than the guys had expected for titles being released in the aftermath of the holidays. Some of the great upcoming comics they highlight include Murder Book, Demo, and Tex: The Lonesome Rider (Dark Horse); Effigy #1, Fables: The Wolf among Us #1, and Ocean/Orbiter Deluxe Edition (DC/Vertigo); The...
Nov 05, 2014•1 hr 35 min
On this episode of The Comics Alternative Interviews, Derek has a post-Halloween conversation with the creators behind BroadSword Comics, Jim Balent and Holly Golightly. They talk about their unique collaborative relationship — both personally and professionally — and their various creative endeavors over the years. More specifically, Derek asks them about their upcoming new Kickstarter campaign, “Crossover,” which will bring together the worlds of Jim’s Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose and Holly’...
Nov 03, 2014•1 hr 25 min
You’ll definitely find treats, and not tricks, on this special episode of The Comics Alternative. Derek and Gene take their annual look at the various comics being releases specifically for Halloween or published to coincide with the season. They begin with what is probably their favorite of the lot — at least Derek’s favorite — Richard Corben’s new book, Edgar Allan Poe’s Spirits of the Dead (Dark Horse). They point out that while this is an October release, the majority of the stories collecte...
Oct 30, 2014•1 hr 53 min
Andy and Derek are back with another special Publisher Spotlight episode of the podcast, and this time they turn their gaze to SelfMadeHero. The guys have reviewed a variety of SelfMadeHero books in the past, but this week they decided to devote an entire episode to the publisher’s fall releases. They begin with Jörg Tittel and John Aggs’s Ricky Rouse Has a Gun, a satiric look at copyright and corporate ownership, especially as it relates to Chinese appropriation of Western icons. At least, that...
Oct 29, 2014•1 hr 45 min
For this year’s Halloween ComicFest, Derek is at his local shop, Collected in Plano, TX, to talk with customers, employees, and guests about the kind of Halloween and comics-related stuff going on this year. They discuss the kind of free comics being given out this year — such as reprints of Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Afterlife with Archie, Rachel Rising, and Marvel’s Secret Wars (which has nothing to do with Halloween or anything horror-related) — and the kind of costumes that everyone...
Oct 27, 2014•1 hr 24 min
This week on the podcast, Derek and Andy discuss three new titles that range from the profound to the insane. They begin with the new book from Julie Maroh, Skandalon (Arsenal Pulp Press). It’s the story of a French rock star, Tazane, with international appeal and the power to move a vast legion of fans. The book is thesis driven, with Maroh exploring the dynamics, and the costs, of modern celebrity status and its affects on both the personal and collective psyche. Neither of the guys have yet r...
Oct 22, 2014•1 hr 16 min
It’s time for another visit to Derek’s local comics shop, Collected Comics and Games in Plano, TX, for an on-location podcast with customers and employees. This being the month of Halloween, the crew is talking about horror comics. The shop’s manager, Freddy Riuz, is BIG fan of the genre, so he helps to lead the talk on horror comics (and movies) in discerning ways. Joining in are customers Craig, Nick, Garrett, and Shea. Among the titles they discuss are Spread, Wytches, Nailbiter, Caliban, Gho...
Oct 17, 2014•59 min
On this week’s episode of the podcast, Andy and Derek explore the worlds of hardcore cohabitation, biographical brilliance, and wood witches. They begin with Henry & Glenn Forever & Ever, the new collection from Tom Neely and friends (Microcosm Publishing). This follows Neely’s original minicomic Henry & Glenn Forever and collects the four-issue miniseries published between 2013 and 2014. For those unfamiliar, this is a situational satire of metal rockers Henry Rollings and Glenn Dan...
Oct 15, 2014•1 hr 47 min
In the third of three podcasts shows recorded at this year’s Wizard World Austin Comic Con, here is a recording of the panel “Comics Podcasting and Blogging,” one organized by Derek and John Mayo of The Comic Book Page podcast. Joining them was Cole Houston of The Rantcor Pit: The JCU Star Wars Podcast and the Hey Kids, Comics! podcast. This discussion was devoted to the ins and outs of podcasting and blogging about comics and comic culture: how to get started, how to sustain content, how to add...
Oct 13, 2014•58 min
This week on The Comics Alternative, the Two Guys with PhDs (who talk about comics) start off with a veritable love-fest of Paul Pope comics. They begin by looking at two recent titles, The Rise of Aurora West (First Second) and Escapo (Z2 Comics). The first, co-written with J.T. Petty and with art by David Rubín, is a follow up to last year's Battling Boy, although it is not a sequel to that earlier narrative, but a prequel. Here we are introduced to the exploits of the daughter, and young appr...
Oct 08, 2014•1 hr 20 min
