Time Codes: 00:00:27 - Introduction 00:03:17 - Setting up Pedrosa and Vehlmann 00:08:08 - Equinoxes and other Pedrosa titles 00:51:14 - Clear Blue Tomorrows and other Vehlmann titles 01:26:01 - Wrap up 01:29:12 - Contact us It's the first Euro Comics episode of the new year, and Edward and Derek use the occasion to focus on the work of two contemporary French creators, using their latest books as springboards into their larger bodies of work. They begin with Cyril Pedrosa's Equinoxes (NBM Publis...
Jan 16, 2017•1 hr 32 min
Time Codes: 00:00:27 - Introduction 00:02:46 - Comics Alternative news! 00:07:53 - Doom Patrol 00:42:28 - Shade the Changing Girl 00:59:45 - Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye 01:17:47 - Mother Panic 01:34:30 - Wrap up 01:41:55 - Contact us This week the Two Guys with PhDs Talking about Comics discuss DC's Young Animal titles. They begin with Gerard Way and Nick Derington's Doom Patrol , the maiden voyage of the new imprint. There have been three issues released so far, and the guys really like wh...
Jan 11, 2017•1 hr 45 min
Time Codes: 00:00:28 - Introduction 00:03:03 - Catching up after the holidays 00:04:07 - Listener mail! 00:08:18 - King of the Unknown 00:33:42 - Cosmic Dash 01:12:16 - Checking in with Jim McClain and Paul Schultz 01:27:36 - Freedman 01:52:51 - Wrap up 01:53:45 - Contact us It's a new year, and the webcomics guys are back to discuss three intriguing webcomic titles. They begin with Marcus Muller's King of the Unknown , an unusual take on the King of Rock and Roll. You thought he was dead? Well,...
Jan 09, 2017•1 hr 57 min
Happy New Year from the Two Guys with PhDs Talking about Comics! On this, their first regular episode of 2017, Andy and Derek take their monthly gander at the current Previews catalog. Before they do that, though, they welcome and thank a couple of new Patreon supporters to the Comics Alternative family, including Alla Rull, who becomes the latest of the guys' official Podcast Patrons . Then they jump headlong into the January Previews , highlighting a variety of upcoming titles from both large ...
Jan 04, 2017•1 hr 56 min
Time Codes: 00:00:25 - Introduction 00:02:13 - Setup of interview 00:03:20 - Interview with Craig Yoe 01:25:46 - Wrap up 01:28:58 - Contact us It's a new year, and what better way to bring it in than with another Craig Yoe interview! In what has become a Comics Alternative tradition, the Two Guys with PhDs use their very first episode of the year -- not just their first interview, but their very first podcast release -- to talk with Craig and find out what he's been up to. It's what has become k...
Jan 02, 2017•1 hr 33 min
Time Codes: 00:00:29 - Introduction 00:02:37 - The holidays for Shea and Derek 00:04:30 - Listener mail! 00:11:24 - Tomie : Complete Deluxe Edition 00:55:39 - Blame! Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 01:19:12 - Wrap up 01:20:08 - Contact us It's the final manga episode of the year, and to close out 2016 Shea and Derek discuss a couple of fascinating new editions of older manga. But first they talk about their holiday activities with one another and then go on to share the listener mail they received about their...
Dec 30, 2016•1 hr 23 min
Time Codes: 00:01:27 - Introduction 00:04:39 - Happy holidays! 00:07:00 - Bouncer 00:56:07 - Western 01:14:57 - Lucky Luke: The Ballad of the Daltons and Other Stories 01:35:55 - Wrap up 01:36:41 - Contact us This month's Euro Comics episode is later than usual, due to scheduling conflicts and accessibility issues. But Edward and Derek are back just in time to wish their listeners a happy holiday season and to present their first theme-based show of the monthly series. For December the Two Guys ...
Dec 23, 2016•1 hr 40 min
Time Codes: 00:01:30 - Introduction 00:03:21 - News and updates 00:12:05 - Best American Comics 2016 01:07:29 - Wrap up 01:08:37 - Contact us Every year the Two Guys with PhDs use the final two episodes of the year as a respective, a look back at some of the best comics out there. Next week they'll release their own favorites of the past twelve months, but for this, their penultimate show of the year, Andy and Derek discuss what others consider outstanding. The 2016 volume Best American Comics ,...
Dec 21, 2016•1 hr 13 min
Time Codes: 00:01:20 - Introduction 00:03:07 - Setup of interview 00:04:13 - Interview with Bill Kartalopoulos 01:17:31 - Wrap up 01:18:53 - Contact us Andy and Derek are pleased to have back on their podcast Bill Kartalopoulos, the general editor of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's Best American Comics series. He was on the show two years ago to discuss the 2014 volume of Best American Comics , that one guest-edited by Scott McCloud and Bill's first after assuming editorship. This time around the Tw...
Dec 20, 2016•1 hr 22 min
For the December on-location episode at Valhalla Games and Comics, Derek talks with customers and shop employees about their favorite comics from the past twelve months. This is a look back at the various series, events, collections, and original graphic novels that made the biggest impressions in 2016. Joining in on the conversation are some of the usuals -- Stephanie, Matt, and Craig -- but Josh, a new fan of the shop and of the podcast, shows up to share his thoughts, as well. As might be exp...
Dec 16, 2016•1 hr 21 min
Gwen and Andy both are astounded that the end of the year is almost upon them, and with that in mind, they’ve picked their favorite books of 2016 for young readers. The Two People with PhDs each picked five books in the children’s category and five books in the intermediate/young adult (YA) category, but something odd happened: their lists were almost identical! In the children’s category, Gwen and Andy both chose the following four books, many of which they have already discussed on previous ep...
Dec 15, 2016•1 hr 18 min
Time Codes: 00:01:22 - Introduction 00:03:41 - Support us on Patreon! 00:05:54 - Love and Rockets #1 00:40:27 - Garden of the Flesh 00:59:56 - The One Hundred Nights of Hero 01:20:10 - Wrap up 01:21:28 - Contact us This week the Two Guys with PhDs Talking about Comics check out three recent titles, including the latest contributions from the Hernandez brothers. They begin with Love and Rockets #1 (Fantagraphics), the launch of the brothers' new (fourth) series that will appear quarterly and in m...
Dec 14, 2016•1 hr 25 min
Time Codes: 00:01:27 - Introduction 00:04:11 - Listener mail! 00:12:12 - Theatrics 00:40:55 - The Monster Under the Bed 00:58:11 - Checking in with Jim McClain and Paul Schultz 01:16:17 - Demonology 101 01:41:47 - Wrap up 01:43:19 - Contact us For their last webcomics episode of 2016, Sean and Derek discuss three titles that were completely new to both of them. They begin with Theatrics , Neil Gibson's period drama set in 1920s New York. With art by Leonardo Gonzales and Jan Wijngaaard on colors...
Dec 12, 2016•1 hr 48 min
Time Codes: 00:00:25 - Introduction 00:02:40 - Setup of interview 00:03:56 - Interview with Charles Soule and Ryan Browne 01:07:49 - Wrap up 01:09:44 - Contact us On this episode the Two Guys get a kick out of talking with Charles Soule and Ryan Browne. The first issue of their new series Curse Words will be released on January 18, but the guys wanted to have them on The Comics Alternative this early December so that they can encourage listeners to preorder that issue before the December 19 cuto...
Dec 09, 2016•1 hr 13 min
The Two Guys with PhDs are back for their final Previews show of 2016. In this episode, Andy and Derek do what they usually do, going through the current catalog from not quite beginning to end, highlighting the offerings from the premiere publishers as well as from small presses. Among the solicitations they note are offerings from: Dark Horse Comics - The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed #1, The EC Archives: The Haunt of Fear, Vol. 4 , and Soupy Leaves Home DC/Vertigo - The Wild Storm #1 and Jac...
Dec 07, 2016•1 hr 36 min
Photo by Greg Preston Time Codes: 00:00:25 - Introduction 00:02:29 - Setup of interview 00:03:53 - Interview with Drew Friedman 01:10:22 - Wrap up 01:11:32 - Contact us Derek and Andy are excited to have as their guest the great Drew Friedman. His new book More Heroes of the Comics comes out this week from Fantagraphics, and the guys use this opportunity to finally have him on the podcast. Both have been big fans of Drew's work since they discovered it back in the heydays of Spy magazine, and af...
Dec 05, 2016•1 hr 15 min
Time Codes: 00:00:26 - Introduction 00:02:16 - Setup of interview 00:04:11 - Interview with W. Maxwell Prince and John Amor 00:59:17 - Wrap up 01:00:47 - Contact us On this interview episode, Gwen and Derek have the pleasure of talking with W. Maxwell Prince and John Amor. Their latest book, One Week in the Library , comes out next week from Image Comics. Most of the discussion topics surround this new work -- how the two creators met, their process of collaboration, the ideas behind the book's ...
Dec 02, 2016•1 hr 4 min
Time Codes: 00:00:27 - Introduction 00:02:28 - Setting up Kilgore Books and Comics 00:05:28 - Conversation with Dan Stafford 00:22:04 - Cosmic Be-ing # 2 00:28:45 - The Fifth Window 00:35:24 - A Horse, a Crow, and a Hippo Walk into a Bar 00:45:53 - Powermac 00:55:16 - Paid for It 01:01:56 - The Plunge: A True Story 01:12:21 - What Happened 01:18:23 - Scorched Earth 01:25:44 - Blammo #9 01:54:57 - Wrap up 01:56:02 - Contact us On this episode, their final publisher spotlight of the year, Andy and...
Nov 30, 2016•1 hr 59 min
Time Codes: 00:00:28 - Introduction 00:02:25 - Catching up after Thanksgiving 00:05:18 - A Distant Neighborhood: Complete Edition 00:54:48 - Attack on Titan Anthology 01:46:53 - Wrap up 01:47:44 - Contact us For the month of November, Shea and Derek get together to discuss to two recent manga publications, although the first text they cover is not entirely new. Jiro Taniguchi's A Distant Neighborhood: Complete Edition brings together the two-volume English editions originally published by Fanfar...
Nov 28, 2016•1 hr 51 min
For this year's Thanksgiving show, there are seven seats at the table, making this the most populated episode in the podcast's history. Andy K. and Derek are joined by their fellow cohosts Gwen, Andy W., Gene, Sean, and Edward to discuss what they are thankful for in the world of comics. (Shea and Paul couldn't join in on the fun, unfortunately, but they were there in spirit.) Among the various things they're thankful for are the final volume in The Complete Peanuts series, the increased number ...
Nov 23, 2016•1 hr 17 min
Time Codes: 00:00:27 - Introduction 00:03:03 - Listener mail! 00:07:29 - Soft City 00:39:12 - The World of Edena 01:18:12 - Wrap up 01:19:09 - Contact us For the November episode in the Euro Comics series, Edward and Derek take a look at two new releases of older titles. They begin with Hariton Pushwagner's Soft City (New York Review Comics). Began in 1969 and completed in 1975, the book was lost for a number of years but then rediscovered in 2002. Since then, the original art from Soft City has...
Nov 21, 2016•1 hr 22 min
Once again, Derek visits his local shop, Valhalla Games and Comics in Plano, TX, to talk with customers and employees about the various titles they're been reading. And he has a large number of people joining him for this month's on-location episode, including the owner of Valhalla, Dave Larson. Derek begins the episode by talking with Dave about the changes he's bringing to the shop and his experiences in gaming retail. But others join in on the discussion soon enough, including the shop manage...
Nov 18, 2016•1 hr 14 min
Time Codes: 00:24 - Introduction 01:40 - Setup of interview 02:03 - Interview with Matt Phelan 51:30 - Wrap up 52:16 - Contact us Gwen and Andy W. are very pleased to offer up another milestone for the Young Readers edition of The Comics Alternative : their first interview! And they couldn’t have asked for a better person to talk to than Matt Phelan . The Two People with PhDs talk to Matt about his new book from Candlewick, Snow White as well as Matt’s previous books, The Storm in the Barn (2009...
Nov 17, 2016•56 min
Time Codes: 00:00:28 - Introduction 00:02:13 - Listener mail! 00:06:48 - Jim Thompson's The Killer Inside Me #1 and #2 00:30:55 - Demonic #1, #2, and #3 00:37:02 - Wolfcop #1 00:42:20 - Violent Love #1 00:54:29 - Grand Passion #1 01:04:39 - Goldie Vance, Vol. 1 01:21:07 - Wrap up 01:22:39 - Contact us In the second of their two-episode look into recent crime comics, Andy and Derek turn up some truly incriminating evidence. They begin their investigations with Jim Thompson's The Killer Inside Me ...
Nov 16, 2016•1 hr 26 min
Time Codes: 00:00:24 - Introduction 00:02:25 - Setup of interview 00:03:50 - Interview with Luke Healy 01:03:07 - Wrap up 01:03:37 - Contact us On this interview episode, Derek talks with Luke Healy. His new book How to Survive in the North comes out in the U.S. this week from Nobrow Press. This isn't the first time that Luke's been on The Comics Alternative . Derek spoke with him briefly while at SPX back in September as part of the on-location series of shows. But now, Luke's back for a more s...
Nov 15, 2016•1 hr 6 min
Time Codes: 00:00:27 - Introduction 00:02:50 - Catching up 00:05:38 - Hubris! 00:31:05 - Hobo Lobo of Hamelin 00:56:35 - Checking in with Jim McClain and Paul Schultz 01:08:07 - Runners 01:29:15 - Wrap up 01:30:12 - Contact us On the November webcomics episode, Sean and Derek discuss three vastly different titles. They begin with Greg Cravens's Hubris ! , a strip that's been going on since 2010 and revolves around the exploits of a small outdoors business owner. This can best be described as a g...
Nov 14, 2016•1 hr 33 min
Time Codes: 00:25 - Introduction 02:50 - Context for the First Second spotlight 05:56 - Brief mention of Mighty Jack 06:56 - Varmints 11:46 - Quirk’s Quest: Into the Outlands 27:52 - Bera the One-Headed Troll 39:18 - The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo 55:44 - Wrap up 57:03 - Contact us Gwen and Andy are back with something different for the Young Readers edition of The Comics Alternative : their very first publisher spotlight on First Second Books. The Two People with PhDs have looked at many ...
Nov 11, 2016•1 hr
Time Codes: 00:00:26 - Introduction 00:02:19 - Update on new Patreon campaign , and new Podcast Patron 00:05:58 - Setup of recent crime comics episode 00:07:15 - Carver: A Paris Story 00:29:33 - Angel City #1 00:43:22 - Moonshine #1 00:59:45 - Triggerman #1 01:10:55 - Peepland #1 01:20:36 - Black Dahlia 01:28:23 - The Fix, Vol. 1 01:46:59 - Wrap up 01:48:21 - Contact us There has been an abundance of crime comics published over the past several months -- see, for example, the Two Guys' earlier d...
Nov 09, 2016•1 hr 51 min
Time Codes: 00:24 - Introduction 02:21 - Setup of interview 04:03 - Interview with Howard Shapiro 53:00 - Wrap up 54:05 - Contact us On this interview show, Gwen and Derek have the pleasure of talking with Howard Shapiro. The latest book in his Forever Friends Series, Hockey Karma , was just released last week from the Animal Media Group. The two talk with their guest about the series as a whole -- including the two previous graphic novels The Stereotypical Freaks (2013) and The Hockey Saint (20...
Nov 08, 2016•57 min
Just in time for the U.S. elections, Gene and Derek hold a roundtable discussion on political and propaganda comics. Joining them in the conversation are Richard Graham, author of Government Issue: Comics for the People, 1940s-2000s (Abrams ComicArts); Rafael Medoff, co-author (along with Craig Yoe) of Cartoonists against the Holocaust (Clizia Inc.); Kent Worcester, editor of Silent Agitators: Cartoon Art from the Pages of New Politics (New Politics Associates); and Fredrik Strömberg, the writer...
Nov 07, 2016•1 hr 24 min
