On this episode of the podcast, Andy and Derek review three new titles, each of which is a brief glimpse into a facet of our diverse comics culture. They begin by looking at the new book from Darryl Cunningham, The Age of Selfishness: Ayn Rand, Morality, and the Financial Crisis (Abrams ComicArs). This work is an extended essay focusing on the life and philosophy of Rand, the contribution of her ideas to the 2008 financial crisis, and a general discussion on growing libertarian selfishness of We...
Apr 08, 2015•1 hr 30 min
On this episode of the interview show, Derek talks with Charles Soule about his most recent creator-own works, specifically Strange Attractors (Archaia) and the currently ongoing Letter 44 (Oni Press). They spend most of their time discussing the latter and the various narrative threads and subplots interwoven within the series. In their conversation, Charles tells Derek about the extent of his research for the title, his love of NASA history, the intrigue of writing political drama, and the way...
Apr 03, 2015•1 hr 5 min
It's the first of the month, so that means that Andy and Derek flip through the latest Previews catalog and share some of the upcoming releases they are most excited about. And April is jam-packed with solicits worth highlighting...which is one of the reasons why this week's episode is extra long. After sharing a bit of listener mail -- and it's always great to get letters, so keep those correspondences a-comin'! -- the guys jump into this month's offerings, beginning where they usually do with ...
Apr 01, 2015•2 hr 10 min
The Two Guys with PhDs are glad to have on their show Noah Van Sciver, the creator behind the series Blammo as well as the recently published Saint Cole (Fantagraphics). The guys talk with Noah about the genesis of Saint Cole and how this became his follow-up graphic novel to The Hypo: The Melancholic Young Lincoln. For that matter, they're even more curious to know why the artist chose our depressive sixteen president as his first long-form focus. While historical narratives aren't unusual for ...
Mar 27, 2015•59 min
This week, Derek and Andy W. discuss recent titles that span the genre spectrum. First they look at the new release from Dark Horse, the English-language release of Claudio Nizzi and Joe Kubert's Tex the Lonesome Rider. Based on the famous American Western character created in 1948 by Giovanni Luigi Bonelli, this book was originally released in Italian and is now being published in the states in a beautiful hardbound volume. (Dark Horse had released the first part of this story in 2005 as Four K...
Mar 25, 2015•1 hr 24 min
For this episode of The Comics Alternative Interviews, Derek and Andy W. are pleased to have as their guest the man behind Hicksville, Dylan Horrocks. His new book, Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen, has recently been released by Fantagraphics, and on the show the guys talk with Dylan about his experiences writing the book and the philosophy underlying its creation. They begin by discussing its initial black-and-white serialization in Atlas (which lasted for only three issues between 2001 and 2006), a...
Mar 20, 2015•1 hr 53 min
On this week's episode of The Comics Alternative, Andy and Derek discuss three exciting new titles. The first is the latest volume of the Hernandez brothers' Love and Rockets: New Stories (Fantagraphics). It's alway a fun show when the guys get to discuss works by Jaime and/or Gilbert, and they're certainly in their element delving into the twists and intricacies of the Hernandez's narrative worlds. There's a lot to highlight in this Love and Rockets, but there are two matters that are particula...
Mar 18, 2015•1 hr 24 min
On this interview show, Andy and Derek are happy to talk with Kyle Starks, the man behind the new book from Image, Sexcastle. The guys speak with Kyle about the book's origins as a successful Kickstarter campaign last year, how it captured the attention of the folks at Image Comics -- thanks to Matt Fraction -- and the vast support the book has been receiving from the creative community. Sexcastle is an homage to 1980s action movies complete with no-holds-barred fighting, monster trucks, egomani...
Mar 16, 2015•1 hr 23 min
As he does every month, Derek is back at his local shop, Collected Comics and Games in Plano, TX, to talk with customers and employees about what they are reading. For March, the topic is open and with no particular theme, so anything goes. And anything does go when Derek sits down with Shea Hennum, a long-time contributor to The Comics Alternative and, actually, the only customer who turned up to talk at the shop that evening. (For some reason, it was a very slow night at the store, for employe...
Mar 13, 2015•1 hr 9 min
The Two Guys with PhDs are back with another review episode, and on this one they explore three fascinating titles. They begin by discussing the much-anticipated recent release from Scott McCloud, The Sculptor (First Second). In fact, Derek and Andy begin their conversation with the very fact that this was a much-anticipated, and heavily reviewed, new book, and how all of that attention may be affecting the book's reception. They speculate on the ways in which the artist's prestige and reputatio...
Mar 11, 2015•1 hr 48 min
On this special episode of The Comics Alternative, the Two Guys with PhDs wrap up Will Eisner Week by featuring a recording of an event that took place on Saturday, March 7, at Collected Comics and Games's Keller location. The title of the panel was "The Relevance of Graphic Novels in Culture and Modern Education," and speaking on it were Derek, Matthew Kolman of the Forth Worth Public Library, and Christopher Kilgore of the University of Texas at Arlington. All three shared their experiences us...
Mar 09, 2015•1 hr 41 min
The Two Guys with PhDs continue their valiant attempt to bring you monthly shows devoted to quality, substantive discussion of webcomics. In this March episode, Derek and Andy W. focus on three distinctive titles, two currently ongoing and one completed webcomic. They begin by looking at S.D. Lockhart and Patibut Narm Preeyawongsakul's Star Punch Girl (and Derek deeply apologizes for butchering Preeyawongsakul's name). This is a different kind of webcomic that has a heavy manga and video gaming ...
Mar 06, 2015•1 hr 29 min
It’s the beginning of the month, and that means that the Two Guys with PhDs Talking about Comics take a metaphorical stroll through the latest Previews catalog. And this month, their peregrinations are more than casual; this is more like a power walk. The March Previews contains a hefty series of solicitations that make for an extra-long episode, almost leaving the guys feeling like they’ve completed a marathon. Among the many upcoming titles that Derek and Andy highlight are Fight Club 2 #1, Ha...
Mar 04, 2015•2 hr 6 min
On this special episode of The Comics Alternative, Andy and Derek kick off Will Eisner Week by having as their guests on the show Denis Kitchen and Michael Schumacher. Denis is an underground comix legend as well the force behind Kitchen Sink Press, and he was a close friend, business associate, and former publisher of Eisner. Michael is an author whose biography, Will Eisner: A Dreamer's Life in Comics, was released by Bloomsbury in 2010. The Two Guys talk with them about the comics of Will Eis...
Mar 02, 2015•1 hr 40 min
On this week’s podcast, the Two Guys with PhDs take on a gargantuan task: they review ten different #1 issues from a variety of publishers. First they look at several debuts from Image Comics, including Bryan Hill, Matt Hawkins, and Isaac Goodhart’s Postal; Jimmie Robinson’s The Empty; Brian Joines, Jay Faerber, and Ilias Kyriazis’s Secret Identities; and Ben Acker, Ben Blacker, and J. Bone’s Sparks Nevada: Marshall on Mars. After those they discuss three new titles from Dark Horse Comics, such ...
Feb 25, 2015•1 hr 55 min
Derek is back at Collected Comics and Games in Plano, TX, and this month he and the customers are discussing ethnoracial issues as they relate to comics. Since this is Black History Month, the guys thought that they'd take the opportunity to look at a few African American comics (however you choose to define that term) and how race and diversity has become part of the comics' historical tapestry. They mention a variety of specific titles -- Craig came prepared with his copies of The Harlem Hellf...
Feb 20, 2015•1 hr 18 min
This week on the podcast, Derek and Andy discuss three new titles. They begin by looking at the second book in John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell's March trilogy. Although the first volume from fall 2013 was a powerful debut, March: Book Two (Top Shelf Productions) is a decidedly more gripping work. There is more action and drama in this book -- and not only conflict between the protesters and the Southern white community, but perhaps more pointedly, conflict within the nonviolent movemen...
Feb 18, 2015•1 hr 28 min
On this interview episode, Andy and Derek are pleased to have as their guest Arlen Schumer. His book, The Silver Age of Comic Book Art, has recently been released in a beautiful, new revised edition from Archway Publishing. It originally came out in 2003 as a softcover, with a hardbound companion that included an extra section, but in this revised edition Schumer includes all the material from the longer hardbound release, but with brighter images and cleaner type. The result is a unique visual ...
Feb 13, 2015•1 hr 14 min
This week on the podcast, Derek and Andy discuss beginnings, endings, and renewals. They start with the latter, looking at the first in a projected twelve-volume Hugo Pratt collection from IDW/EuroComics, Corto Maltese: Under the Sign of Capricorn. This is a brand new English edition — translated by Dean Mullaney and Simone Castaldi — and presented in the original black-and-white. (The previous translated version of a Corto Maltese edition, 2012’s The Ballad of the Salt Sea, from Universe Publis...
Feb 11, 2015•1 hr 34 min
In this on-location episode, Derek is at the Dallas Comic Con for this year’s “Fan Days” event, which was held at the Irving Convention Center. There he was able to talk with several creators, including Joe Eisma (of Morning Glories fame), Michael Lark (Lazarus, The Scene of the Crime), Elizabeth Breitweiser (Fatale, The Fade Out, Outcast) and Mitch Breitweiser (Captain America, Immortal Iron Fist), Nick Pitarra (Manhattan Projects), and Cal Slayton (Shades of Blue, Digital Webbing Presents). Th...
Feb 09, 2015•48 min
Andy and Derek are happy to have on the podcast the multifaceted Jim Rugg, whose new printing of Street Angel (created with Brian Maruca) was just released by AdHouse. The guys talk with Jim about the significance of the new printing -- a colorful discussion -- as well as the book's protagonist Jesse Sanchez, an "orphan of the streets and skateboarding daughter of justice" who "fights a never ending battle against the forces of evil, nepotism, ninjas, and hunger." The artist discusses the title'...
Feb 06, 2015•1 hr 11 min
Welcome to February, faithful listeners! And just as day follows night, every new month brings another opportunity for the Two Guys with PhDs (Talking about Comics) to discuss the latest solicits in the Previews catalog. As you might expect, Andy and Derek find a lot to discuss in the new Previews, highlighting upcoming titles from premiere publishers, smaller presses, and a few outlets you may not have even heard of. For example, they discuss future releases from Dark Horse Comics (Brian Wood a...
Feb 04, 2015•1 hr 37 min
It's new month, so that means it's time for another episode of The Comics Alternative Webcomics. For February Derek and Andy W. discuss two current ongoing webcomics and one completed title. First, they look at K. C. Green and Anthony Clark's Back, a western/fantasy story about the end of the world, or as the website describes it, "Not post apocalyptic, just the end of it all." This is a relatively new webcomic -- with only a short prologue and what appears to be the completed first chapter -- s...
Feb 02, 2015•1 hr 30 min
On this latest episode of The Comics Alternative Interviews, Derek talks with Steve Bryant, the creator of Athena Voltaire. His latest collection, Athena Voltaire Compendium, was just released from Dark Horse Books and Sequential Pulp Comics. They begin their conversation by discussing the evolution of Athena Voltaire, how it began as a collaborative webcomic, eventually finding its way into a brief print run (via Speakeasy Comics and Ape Entertainment), turning into a successful Kickstarter cam...
Jan 30, 2015•1 hr 3 min
This week on the podcast, Derek and Andy W. review three new titles guaranteed to make you hyperventilate with excitement...so breathe deep and take in the good, comicy vapors. And speaking of which, they begin by discussing the new book by Spanish creator Max, Vapor (Fantagraphics). They start with a brief context on Max, whose past books include The Extended Dream of Mr. D. and Bardin the Superrealist. His latest work is just as surreal and dreamlike as the earlier ones, and the guys have a go...
Jan 28, 2015•1 hr 28 min
For this episode of The Comics Alternative Interviews, Derek and Andy W. talk with Ian Edginton, the creator (along with D'Israeli) behind the recently re-released Kingdom of the Wicked (Titan Comics). The guys talk with Ian about the contexts surrounding this new edition of the book, his working relationship with D'Israeli (AKA Matt Brooker), and the various changes that the Titan edition brings. They go on to ask Ian about his penchant for world building, clearly evident in Kingdom of the Wick...
Jan 26, 2015•1 hr 22 min
On this episode of their interview show, Derek and Andy are happy to have as they guest Miss Lasko-Gross, whose new book, Henni (Z2 Comics), has been getting a lot of press. They begin by asking her about all of the attention her graphic novel is receiving, especially in light of the recent Charlie Hebdo tragedy. She tells the guys that while the message of her book is rather timely, she wrote it as a broader, more allegorical narrative, one that addresses intolerance and oppression in a variety...
Jan 23, 2015•57 min
This week the Two Guys discuss three very different new titles. First, they look at Harvey Kurtzman's Jungle Book, another collaboration between Dark Horse Books and Kitchen Sink Books (an earlier such publication, The Best of Comix Book, was discussed last may). What's more, this is the first volume in the publishers' new Essential Kurtzman library. Andy and Derek begin by mentioning that neither of them had read Jungle Book before, although it has been on both of their radars, so they come to ...
Jan 21, 2015•1 hr 21 min
The guys are pleased to have on their podcast the great Brian K. Vaughan. And for this conversation, Derek and Andy K. are joined by Andy Wolverton, who actually secured this interview for the show through his library connections. The guys begin by asking Brian about his thematic ambitions in Saga, and the discussion evolves from there. Over the course of their conversation, they ask their guest about the origins of the award-winning series, his melding of the sci-fi and fantasy genres, the chal...
Jan 19, 2015•1 hr 12 min
It's a new month -- and a new year! -- so Derek is back at his local shop, Collected in Plano, for another on-location episode of the podcast. This time he's joined by Collected regulars Shea, Nick, Matt, and Craig, and the discussion topic is "Comics in the New Year." Everyone brings up the various titles, events, and pop cultural phenomenon they are looking forward to in 2015. For some, it is the wrap up of currently ongoing series and storylines, particularly Fables and Spider-Verse; the occa...
Jan 16, 2015•1 hr 16 min
