Where did October go?! You mean the month is over, and it's already time to look at the November Previews catalog? YES! And as usual the Two Guys with PhDs rise to the occasion, looking through the most interesting solicitations and making the kind of astute observations as only they can do. For example, Andy and Derek notice an unusually large number of Spanish comics making their way into this month's listings. Is this a mere coincidence? Or might this be the kind of ethnic migratory crisis sp...
Nov 02, 2016•1 hr 29 min
The Two Guys with PhDs Talking about Comics are happy to announce their revamped and vitamin-packed Patreon campaign! They now offer seven different reward levels that include such goodies as signature Comics Alternative bookmarks, graphic novel giveaways, and cool-looking Comics Alternative t-shirts. This new campaign is a step up for both current patrons and future supporters-to-be. Check out the new video below to learn more, and go to the Two Guys' Patreon page to sign up, support, and get i...
Nov 01, 2016•13 min
Derek is back at his local comic shop, Valhalla Games and Comics in Plano, TX, for the October on-location episode. But it is also Halloween ComicFest 2016, adding even more flavor into mix. He is joined by customers of the shop, some of them in costume, to discuss horror comics, Halloween specials, as well as scary movies and games. They spend much of their time discussing the many free comic-book offerings for this year's Halloween ComicFest. Derek is particularly interested in the special hor...
Oct 31, 2016•1 hr 14 min
Time Codes: 00:00:58 - Introduction 00:03:22 - Set up of episode 00:07:25 - Hell Baby 00:33:27 - Fragments of Horror 01:08:53 - Lychee Light Club 01:31:52 - Portus 01:48:16 - Black Museum: The Ghost and the Lady, Book 1 02:07:46 - Neo Parasyte F 02:25:55 - Wrap up 02:27:23 - Contact us In celebration of the Halloween season, Shea and Derek devote October's episode to a discussion of horror manga. This month they look at six -- count them, six ! -- books, all of which embody the eerie holiday spi...
Oct 28, 2016•2 hr 33 min
Time Codes: 00:00:34 - Introduction 00:02:34 - Andy's report on Cartoons Crossroads Columbus 00:15:08 - Setup of this year's Halloween episode 00:17:24 - All-age Halloween anthologies 00:43:38 - Betty Boop #1 and Spell on Wheels #1 00:59:47 - The Lost Boys #1 and American Vampire Anthology #2 01:19:48 - The Double Life of Miranda Turner and Nix Comics Quarterly #9 01:34:22 - Wrap up 01:35:55 - Contact us It's the Wednesday before Halloween, so it's time once again for the Two Guys with PhDs to l...
Oct 26, 2016•1 hr 39 min
Time Codes: 00:24 - Introduction 02:28 - Setup of interview 04:50 - Interview with Mike Howlett 56:56 - Wrap up 57:52 - Contact us Halloween is just around the corner, and what could be scarier than a nest of snakes? Although to hear Mike Howlett tell it, there's nothing at all frightening about the legless reptiles. This was part of the impetus behind Snake Tales , the latest volume in Yoe Books' Chilling Archives of Horror Comics series. In it, Mike curates some of the weirdest, the most ridic...
Oct 24, 2016•1 hr 1 min
Time Codes: 00:00:30 - Introduction 00:02:49 - Catching up with Paul 00:04:38 - Black Eye No. 3 00:46:40 - Ancestor 01:12:38 - Frontier #13 01:37:37 - Wrap up 01:38:55 - Contact us On this week's review episode, Paul joins Derek to discuss three titles that are certainly out of the ordinary. They begin with Black Eye No. 3 , an anthology edited by Ryan Standfest, the publisher of Rotland Press . This is a first for The Comics Alternative in a couple of different ways. It is the first time the Tw...
Oct 19, 2016•1 hr 42 min
Time Codes: 00:00:25 - Introduction 00:02:07 - Setup of interview 00:03:03 - Interview with Chris Miskiewicz and Palle Schmidt 01:22:34 - Wrap up 01:23:32 - Contact us On this interview episode, Derek talks with Chris Miskiewicz and Palle Schmidt about their miniseries, Thomas Alsop , the second volume of which is being released from BOOM! Studios . In addition to discussing the genesis of and the process behind the title, Derek's guests speculate on the critical and popular response it's receiv...
Oct 18, 2016•1 hr 27 min
Time Codes: 00:00:29 - Introduction 00:02:49 - Listener mail 00:07:37 - The Last Halloween 00:38:46 - Urbanity Planet 00:57:39 - Checking in with Jim McClain and Paul Schultz 01:11:46 - Odysseus the Rebel 01:40:27 - Wrap up 01:41:31 - Contact us For the October webcomics episode, Sean and Derek check out three very different webcomics, the first of which highlights the Halloween season. Abby Howard's The Last Halloween is a combination of creepy illustrations and offbeat humor including a monste...
Oct 17, 2016•1 hr 45 min
Time Codes: 00:00:24 - Introduction 00:02:08 - Setup of interview 00:03:43 - Interview with Luke Howard 01:04:41 - Wrap up 01:06:33 - Contact us On this interview episode, Derek has the pleasure of talking with Luke Howard. His new book, Our Mother , was recently released from Retrofit/Big Planet Comics, but he also had another work published earlier this year from AdHouse, Talk Dirty to Me . Derek talks with Luke about both of those titles as well as his comics collected in anthologies such as ...
Oct 14, 2016•1 hr 10 min
Hurricane Matthew hit the U.S. Southeast coast last week, and as a result, many communities were flooded and without power. Andy was one of those affected by the storm, being without electricity and water for several days. As a result, he was unable to take part in this week's episode, what was planned as the first of a two-part series on recent crime comics. (Those shows have now been rescheduled for November.) In his place is Shea Hennum, the cohost of the monthly manga series. He joins Derek ...
Oct 12, 2016•1 hr 4 min
Time Codes: 00:24 - Introduction 02:14 - Setup of interview 02:57 - Interview with Box Brown 53:28 - Wrap up 54:53 - Contact us On this episode of the interview series Derek talks with Box Brown, whose new book Tetris: The Games People Play has just been released from First Second. As the two discuss, this is a detailed history of the famous video game and the cultural, business, and political contexts swirling around the program's creation. Box shares his experiences and fascination with the ga...
Oct 11, 2016•58 min
Time Codes: 00:27 - Introduction 02:41 - Checking in and updates 04:06 - I Am Legion 31:38 - Tyler Cross: Black Rock 53:56 - Wrap up 55:04 - Contact us For the October Euro Comics episode, Edward and Derek look at two works written by Fabien Nury. They begin with I Am Legion , recently out from Humanoids and featuring the art of John Cassaday. The story takes place in 1942, and the Nazis are experimenting with a force that could spell the quick end of the war. But this isn't just any military op...
Oct 10, 2016•58 min
Time Codes: 00:00:24 - Introduction 00:02:49 - Setup of interview 00:03:54 - Interview with Ethan Young 01:15:31 - Wrap up 01:16:54 - Contact us Derek and Andy W. have the pleasure of talking with Ethan Young, whose latest work has just been released from from Dark Horse Books. The Battles of Bridget Lee: Invasion of Farfall is tale set in a future world where humans fight an alien race called Marauders, creatures bent on extermination so as to colonize and populate for their own survival. The g...
Oct 07, 2016•1 hr 20 min
Time Codes: 00:24 - Introduction 02:12 - Setup of interview 03:50 - Interview with Jason Shiga 58:26 - Wrap up 59:54 - Contact us For this interview episode, Paul and Derek have the pleasure of talking with Jason Shiga. The first volume in his Demon series comes out this week from First Second, and the cartoonist goes into a lot of detail about the efforts that eventually led to this publication. As listeners of the podcast well know -- since Demon was first discussed on the show back in Decembe...
Oct 06, 2016•1 hr 3 min
It's the first week of October, the beginning of the month, so that must mean that it's time once again for Andy and Derek to look through the latest Previews catalog. However, before they delve into the current solicits they take a few moments to thank two new Patreon supporters and welcome them to the noble ranks of Comics Alternative patrons . Then, after a few comments about the upcoming Comics Crossroads Columbus , the Two Guys get into the meat of the episode. Among the many upcoming title...
Oct 05, 2016•1 hr 43 min
Time Codes: 0:00:24 - Introduction 0:02:23 - Setup of interview 0:03:30 - Interview with Sarah Glidden 1:06:53 - Wrap up 1:08:11 - Contact us On this interview episode, Andy and Derek are pleased to have Sarah Glidden as their guest. Her new book, Rolling Blackouts: Dispatches from Turkey, Syria, and Iraq , comes out this week from Drawn and Quarterly, and the guys talk with Sarah about this work as well as her previous book, How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less , a new edition of which h...
Oct 04, 2016•1 hr 11 min
Time Codes: 00:27 - Introduction 03:22 - Context for listeners 06:02 - The controversy surrounding Ghosts 30:26 - The Backstagers #1 40:12 - Show White 59:04 - Wrap up 59:28 - Contact us This episode of the Young Readers show begins with a special feature: Andy and Gwen return to a comic that they reviewed for the August YR show, Raina Telgemeier’s Ghosts . They present a revised review of that comic, based upon a number of issues that have been raised in the last month by scholars and librarian...
Oct 03, 2016•1 hr 2 min
In celebration of International Podcast Day 2016, Derek participates in a roundtable discussion with fellow comics podcasters, including John Siuntres of Word Balloon , Chris Marshall of Collected Comics Library , and John Mayo of Comic Books Page . The four of them talk extensively about their experiences in podcasting, the challenges of working with publishers and creators within the industry, their particular niche interests in comics podcasting, how their shows have evolved over the years, a...
Sep 30, 2016•1 hr 41 min
Time Codes: 00:00:28 - Introduction 00:03:51 - Queen Emeraldas, Vol. 1 00:32:13 - Otherworld Barbara, Vol. 1 01:04:54 - Wrap up 01:07:00 - Contact us It's the end of the month, so that must mean it's time for Shea and Derek to look at another round of manga. For September, they discuss two recent releases, the first of which is Leiji Matsumoto's Queen Emeraldas, Vol. 1 (Kodansha Comics). Originally serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine between 1978 and 1979, this is a science fiction adventure wi...
Sep 29, 2016•1 hr 11 min
Time Codes: 00:00:29 - Introduction 00:02:50 - Listener mail 00:09:42 - Comics Alternative news 00:21:20 - The Lost Work of Will Eisner 01:05:07 - Libby's Dad 01:18:31 - Blubber #3 01:37:13 - Wrap up 01:39:14 - Contact us This week on The Comics Alternative , Andy and Derek discuss three new titles that are quite different in tone. They begin with The Lost Work of Will Eisner , a collection of Eisner's earliest known professional comics. This began as a Kickstarter campaign last year from Locust...
Sep 28, 2016•1 hr 43 min
Time Codes: 00:24 - Introduction 02:25 - Setup of interview 03:32 - Interview with Andy Hirsch 48:38 - Wrap up 49:43 - Contact us The Two Guys with PhDs (Talking about Comics) are happy to have Andy Hirsch as their guest. Actually, Andy has been on the podcast a number of times before, but usually for short interviews at on-location events. But now, for the first time, Andy Hirsch sits down with Derek and Andy for a sustained episode-long conversation. Most of their discussion centers on Andy's ...
Sep 27, 2016•53 min
Time Codes: 00:00:27 - Introduction 00:02:10 - Set up of episode 00:03:31 - Interview with Theora Kvitka 00:07:264 - Interview with Sophie Goldstein 00:16:21 - Interview with Melanie Gillman 00:23:14 - Interview with Carolyn Nowak 00:28:28 - Interview with Zack Soto 00:37:11 - Interview with Jarod Roselló 00:42:58 - Interview with Kevin Budnik 00:50:57 - Interview with Andrea Tsurumi 01:01:21 - Interview with Julia Gfrörer 01:09:11 - Interview with Joshua W. Cotter 01:16:08 - Wrap up 01:16:57 - ...
Sep 26, 2016•1 hr 20 min
Time Codes: 00:00:27 - Introduction 00:02:25 - Set up of episode 00:03:36 - Interview with Jessica Campbell 00:18:04 - Interview with Molly Ostertag 00:23:19 - Interview with Pranas T. Naujokaitis 00:33:59 - Interview with Luke Healy 00:41:54 - Interview with Kel McDonald 00:47:51 - Interview with Dakota McFadzean 00:55:23 - Interview with C. Spike Trotman 01:02:21 - Interview with Cheese Hasselberger 01:06:21 - Interview with Keiler Roberts 01:12:54 - Wrap up 01:13:38 - Contact us In this secon...
Sep 23, 2016•1 hr 17 min
Time Codes: 00:00:27 - Introduction 00:02:12 - Set up of episode 00:03:54 - Interview with John Martz 00:17:55 - Interview with Jay Hosler 00:24:38 - Interview with Blue Delliquanti 00:34:13 - Interview with Ulises Fariñas and Storme Smith 00:36:13 - Interview with Ted Stearn 00:59:16 - Interview with Emma Glaze 01:01:07 - Interview with Daryl Seitchik 01:13:08 - Interview with Sean O'Neill 01:16:29 - Wrap up 01:17:10 - Contact us This past weekend, Andy W. and Derek attended Small Press Expo in...
Sep 22, 2016•1 hr 20 min
Last weekend was the Small Press Expo held in Bethesda, MD, and a big part of that event was the recognition of the 2016 Ignatz Award nominees. So for this week's episode, Gwen and Derek discuss the many and diverse titles populating that list, looking for trends and making observations about this year's selections. The nominees in all nine categories, announced last month , were chosen by a five-member jury, and then attendees voted on their favorites during the first day of the event. Gwen sta...
Sep 21, 2016•1 hr 42 min
Last week at Small Press Expo, Derek had the opportunity to sit down with Carol Tyler for a one-on-one interview. Her book from last year, Soldier's Heart: The Campaign to Understand My WWII Veteran Father: A Daughter's Memoir (Fantagraphics) was up for a 2016 Ignatz Award in the "Outstanding Graphic Novel" category. Derek talked with Carol about the book's nomination and about the impact her memoir has had on her own life since its publication. They spend a good deal of time talking about the c...
Sep 20, 2016•1 hr 5 min
The September on-location episode marks a first for The Comics Alternative . Derek is now talking with customers and employees at Valhalla Games and Comics in Plano, TX...which is at the same exact physical location where he's been doing the on-location show for the past few years. What had once been Collected is now Valhalla! But the people and comics inside have remained the same. Talking with Derek this month are some of the shop regulars, including Krystle, Craig, and Nick. They begin by dis...
Sep 16, 2016•1 hr 15 min
Time Codes: 00:00:24 - Introduction 00:02:28 - Setup of interview 00:05:05 - Interview with Erica Mena 00:53:01 - Wrap up 00:54:14 - Contact us On this episode of the interview series, Edward and Derek have as their guest Erica Mena. She is the translator of two recent Spanish-language works from Fantagraphics, Paco Roca's Wrinkles and the anthology Spanish Fever . The guys actually discussed the latter on this month's Euro Comics episode , and since Edward knew its translator, they thought it'd...
Sep 15, 2016•57 min
Time Codes: 00:00:30 - Introduction 00:02:32 - Comics Alternative news 00:05:57 - Angel Catbird, Vol. 1 00:39:10 - Everafter #1 00:52:07 - Glitterbomb #1 01:05:39 - Wrap up 01:06:41 - Contact us On this week's episode, the Two Guys with PhDs Talking about Comics look at three recent texts, each fantastical in its own way. They begin with Margaret Atwood and Johnnie Christmas's Angel Catbird, Vol. 1 (Dark Horse Books), a unique amalgamation of Golden Age superhero comics, environmental awareness,...
Sep 14, 2016•1 hr 10 min
