Time Codes: 00:00:27 - Introduction 00:02:21 - Listener mail! 00:04:28 - Comments on the 2017 Eisner Award nominations 00:09:26 - Scumbag Loser 00:52:10 - Sweetness and Lightning 01:21:25 - Wrap up 01:22:14 - Contact us For the month of May, Shea and Derek discuss two works of manga that, while not necessarily diametrically opposed, are tonally opposite from one another. The first title is Mikoto Yamaguti's Scumbag Loser (Yen Press). What begins as a story about a teenage outsider with a unique ...
May 30, 2017•1 hr 25 min
Time Codes: 01:22 - Introduction 03:19 - Setup of the episode 04:00 - Volcano Trash 23:10 - Real Friends 48:57 – Wrap up 50:00 – Contact us For the May Young Readers show, Paul and Gwen discuss two highly anticipated graphic novels: Ben Sears’s Volcano Trash (Koyama Press) and Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham’s Real Friends (First Second). While one text is an action adventure science fiction fantasy and the other is a memoir, both books touch upon the importance that relationships play in young peo...
May 26, 2017•53 min
Time Codes: 00:01:23 - Introduction 00:05:11 - Welcome new Patreon supporters! 00:08:34 - Boundless 00:44:55 - User 01:16:41 - Wrap up 01:17:43 - Contact us This week on the review show Paul joins Derek in discussing two new recent releases. They begin with Jillian Tamaki's Boundless , published by Drawn and Quarterly. This is a collection of nine short stories, most of which have been previously published in Frontier , Nobrow , and Hazlitt.net . The guys begin by discussing how Tamaki structure...
May 24, 2017•1 hr 21 min
Time Codes: 00:00:24 - Introduction 00:02:31 - Setup of interview 00:03:48 - Interview with Dave Chisholm 01:03:55 - Wrap up 01:05:04- Contact us On this interview episode, Derek talks with Dave Chisholm, whose new book Instrumental comes out soon from Z2 Comics. This is the story of a musician who comes upon a trumpet with unique powers, allowing him to transform the lives around him, including those of his fellow bandmates. Dave's background -- a professional trumpet player, songwriter, compos...
May 22, 2017•1 hr 15 min
On this special episode of The Comics Alternative , Gwen and Derek moderate a roundtable discussion on comics for children and young adults. Joining them in the conversation are Karly Marie Grice and Joe Sutliff Sanders, both contributors to the brand new book coedited by Gwen, Graphic Novels for Children and Young Adults: A Collection of Essays (University Press of Mississippi). Over the course of the roundtable, both Joe and Karly present the research they conducted for the collection -- the a...
May 19, 2017•1 hr 21 min
Time Codes: 00:00:26 - Introduction 00:02:17 - Listener tweets! 00:08:18 - Interview with Annie Koyama 00:31:51 - You & a Bike & a Road 00:50:09 - Sunburning 01:07:19 - Crawl Space 01:24:45 - Condo Heartbreak Disco 01:38:05 - Volcano Trash 01:50:13 - So Pretty/Very Rotten 02:03:14 - Wrap up 02:04:18 - Contact us For this week's review episode the Two Guys with PhDs turn a critical spotlight on Koyama Press and its spring 2017 releases. They devoted an entire episode to Koyama a couple of...
May 17, 2017•2 hr 7 min
Time Codes: 00:26 - Introduction 02:14 - Setup of interview 04:04 - Interview with Sharon Shinn and Molly Knox Ostertag 57:52 - Wrap up 59:37 - Contact us On this interview episode Gwen and Derek talk with Sharon Shinn and Molly Knox Ostertag. Their new book Shattered Warrior comes out this week from First Second, and they discuss their experiences in developing the project and their process of collaboration. This is Sharon's first graphic novel -- she's the author of over 25 prose novels -- so ...
May 16, 2017•1 hr 2 min
Time Codes: 00:00:26 - Introduction 00:03:08 - Comments on the Eisner Award nominations 00:08:31 - Flight of the Raven 00:42:47 - The Reprieve 01:06:13 - Wrap up 01:07:15 - Contact us Edward and Derek are back with the latest Euro Comics episode. This month, they focus on recent translations of the work of Jean-Pierre Gibrat, Flight of the Raven (IDW/EuroComics) and both volumes of The Reprieve (Europe Comics). Edward is very familiar with Gibrat's work, as he was the translator of The Reprieve ...
May 15, 2017•1 hr 10 min
Time Codes: 00:00:26 - Introduction 00:02:30 - Setup of interview 00:04:47 - Interview with Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt 01:10:00 - Wrap up 01:11:29 - Contact us For this interview episode, the Two Guys with PhDs talk with Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt, the creators behind The Damned , from Oni Press. This is a series with some history, beginning back in 2006 with the five-issues run, "Three Days Dead," and then the three-issue miniseries from 2008, "Prodigal Sons." Soon after that, Cullen and Bria...
May 12, 2017•1 hr 15 min
Time Codes: 00:00:32 - Introduction 00:03:30 - Setup of the episode 00:05:44 - The Stone Heart 00:32:12 - “Required Reading: 50 of the Best Kids Comics” 00:49:44 - Introducing Graphic Novels for Children and Young Adults: A Collect of Critical Essays 01:03:39 - Wrap up 01:03:58 - Contact us In this episode of The Comics Alternative 's Young Readers series, Gwen and Paul discuss the second volume in Faith Erin Hicks’s Nameless City trilogy, The Stone Heart (First Second), as well as Paste Magazin...
May 11, 2017•1 hr 8 min
Time Codes: 00:00:31 - Introduction 00:02:39 - Announcement of the 2017 Eisner Award nominees 00:08:13 - Last weekend's Free Comic Book Day 00:18:45 - Herman by Trade 00:41:43 - Rise of the Dungeon Master 01:09:03 - Eternal Empire #1 01:27:04 - Wrap up 01:27:56 - Contact us This week Andy and Derek look at three new titles, each one visiting the fantastic in one form or another. Before they jump into the reviews, however, they discuss some of the big comics news from the past week: the announcem...
May 10, 2017•1 hr 31 min
Time Codes: 00:00:28 - Introduction 00:03:03 - Eisner Award nominees announced 00:10:04 - Isle of Elsi 00:47:30 - Late Bloomer 01:09:44 - Carriers 01:31:32 - Wrap up 01:32:31 - Contact us Sean and Derek are back with your monthly dose of webcomics analysis. Before they jump into their reviews, however, they spending a little time discussing the recent announcement of this year's nominees for the Eisner Awards . The guys will devote next month's episode to the actual webcomics nominated, so they ...
May 08, 2017•1 hr 36 min
For Free Comic Book Day 2017, Derek visits his local shop, Valhalla Games and Comics in Plano, TX to talk with customers and shop employees about the various FCBD offerings this year. Joining him on this episode are Sabrina, the shop manager, as well as one of her associates, Stephanie. But also joining in on the conversation is a first-timer to the podcast, Naheem, who just happens to be from Derek's hometown, Charlotte, NC....
May 06, 2017•31 min
Time Codes: 00:00:24 - Introduction 00:02:40 - Setup of interview 00:06:49 - Interview with Jeff Lemire 01:33:07 - Wrap up 01:34:37 - Contact us On this interview episode Derek and Andy are excited to have Jeff Lemire as their guest. His new graphic novel, Roughneck , has just been released by Simon & Schuster's Gallery 13 imprint, and he has a new ongoing series through Image Comics, Royal City . The guys talk with Jeff about those works, particularly their place within Lemire's growing bod...
May 05, 2017•1 hr 33 min
It's time for another look at the current Previews catalog, so this week Andy and Derek check out all of the interesting solicitations for May. First, though, they briefly discuss their plans (or lack thereof) for Free Comic Book Day this coming weekend, and then they share some listener mail. After that, they begin their deep dive into the May Previews ..and it's a good long dive this month. Among the many upcoming titles they highlight are: Dark Horse Comics - Moebius Library: The Art of Edena...
May 03, 2017•2 hr 8 min
Time Codes: 00:00:24 - Introduction 00:02:35 - Setup of interview 00:04:57 - Interview with Matt Kindt 01:33:07 - Wrap up 01:34:37 - Contact us Andy and Derek welcome Matt Kindt to the podcast to discuss Grass Kings , published through BOOM! Studios, his two current ongoing series from Dark Horse Comics, Dept. H and Ether , and his voluminous work for Valiant Comics. The guys have been wanting to get Matt on the show for years, so this interview is a long time in coming. And the conversation is ...
May 01, 2017•1 hr 38 min
Time Codes: 00:00:26 - Introduction 00:03:19 - Listener mail! 00:09:41 - Happiness 00:48:25 - My Brother's Husband 01:15:40 - Wrap up 01:16:43 - Contact us On the April manga episode, Shea and Derek discuss two very different series. They begin with Shuzo Oshimi's Happiness , the fourth volume of which has just been released by Kodansha Comics. This is a vampiric narrative that takes place in the suburbs and centers on the relationships among high school students. But don't make the mistake of t...
Apr 28, 2017•1 hr 20 min
Time Codes: 00:00:33 - Introduction 00:02:42 - We'll be at HeroesCon! 00:05:09 - Star Hawks, Vol. 1: 1977-1978 00:41:32 - Street Angel: After School Kung Fu Special 00:54:09 - Godshaper #1 01:07:23 - Wrap up 01:08:18 - Contact us On this week's episode Andy and Derek check out the old and the new. They begin with Star Hawks, Vol. 1: 1977-1978 , a new collection of Gil Kane and Ron Goulart's classic newspaper strip. As the guys discuss, this isn't the first time that Star Hawks has been collected...
Apr 26, 2017•1 hr 11 min
Time Codes: 00:25 - Introduction 02:31 - Setup of interview 03:32 - Interview with James Albon 57:35 - Wrap up 58:31 - Contact us On this interview episode Derek has the pleasure of talking with James Albon, whose new book Her Bark and Her Bite comes out this week from Top Shelf Productions. James is British artist whose illustrations have appeared in The Guardian , The Wall Street Journal , WIRED , the New Statesman , The Diplomat , The Financial Times , and various publications from the Folio ...
Apr 24, 2017•1 hr 1 min
Time Codes: 00:00:30 - Introduction 00:02:38 - Tell them the Two Guys with PhDs sent you! 00:03:38 - What Parsifal Saw 00:21:34 - Love and Rockets #2 00:48:15 - Redneck #1 00:59:11 - Wrap up 01:00:02 - Contact us This week the Two Guys give you a double shot of recent Fantagraphics books. They start off with a discussion of Ron Regé Jr.'s What Parsifal Saw , his followup to 2012's The Cartoon Utopia (the paperback edition of which has also just been released by Fantagraphics). This is the first ...
Apr 19, 2017•1 hr 3 min
Time Codes: 00:00:24 - Introduction 00:02:20 - Setup of interview 00:04:29 - Interview with Kristen Radtke 00:59:16 - Wrap up 01:01:39 - Contact us Andy and Derek are pleased to have as their guest Kirsten Radtke. Her new work Imagine Wanting Only This has just been released from Pantheon Books, and it's a deeply personal speculation on impermanence, decay, and abandonment. Using as a springboard significant events from her own life -- such as the loss of a beloved uncle and a fortuitous creativ...
Apr 18, 2017•1 hr 5 min
Time Codes: 00:00:30 - Introduction 00:03:21 - Listener mail! 00:05:50 - Translation news from Edward 00:11:49 - Notes 1: Born to Be a Larve 00:59:33 - California Dreamin': Cass Elliot before The Mamas and the Papas 01:32:13 - Wrap up 01:33:15 - Contact us On this month's Euro Comics episode, Edward and Derek check out to recent publications, both from publishers that they've yet to discuss on the series. They begin with Boulet's Notes 1: Born to Be a Larve , just out from Soaring Penguin Press....
Apr 17, 2017•1 hr 36 min
As he tries to do every month, Derek visits his local shop, Valhalla Games and Comics in Plano, TX, to talk with customers and employees about what they're reading, what they're looking forward to, and what interests them in current comics culture. For April the topic is open, so anything goes...and the resulting conversation is free-floating and casual. Among the topics that come up are local conventions, Bones of the Coast from Cloudscape Comics, getting caught up with the Marvel Universe on N...
Apr 14, 2017•1 hr 14 min
Time Codes: 00:00:25 - Introduction 00:02:19 - Setup of interview 00:04:09 - Interview with Michael Eury 01:27:46 - Wrap up 01:28:38 - Contact us "Wonderful, warm blanket of camp" On this interview episode Derek talks with the Eisner Award-nominated editor-in-chief of Back Issue magazine Michael Eury. His new book Hero-a-Go-Go: Campy Comic Books, Crimefighters and Culture of the Swinging Sixties comes out from TwoMorrows Publishing next week, and the two discuss this project's genesis and the si...
Apr 13, 2017•1 hr 32 min
Time Codes: 00:00:30 - Introduction 00:02:21 - Setup 00:03:03 - Sticks Angelica, Folk Hero 00:28:16 - Adam Strange/Future Quest Special 00:45:10 - Booster Gold/The Flintstones Special 00:53:05 - Green Lantern/Space Ghost Special 01:04:30 - Suicide Squad/The Banana Splits Special 01:20:22 - Wrap up 01:22:14 - Contact us This week Andy and Derek discuss five new titles. They start off with Michael DeForge's latest book, Sticks Angelica, Folk Hero (Drawn and Quarterly). While this is an unusual sto...
Apr 12, 2017•1 hr 25 min
Time Codes: 00:00:25 - Introduction 00:02:11 - Setup of interview 00:03:47 - Interview with Jon Morris 01:28:38 - Wrap up 01:30:09 - Contact us Jon Morris returns to The Comics Alternative , this time to discuss his latest book The Legion of Regrettable Super Villains (Quirk Books). This one is a follow up to his 2015 The League of Regrettable Superheroes , a book that Jon discussed the last time he was on the podcast . Derek talks with his guest about the natural transition from weird and offbe...
Apr 11, 2017•1 hr 33 min
Time Codes: 00:00:29 - Introduction 00:03:22 - Catching up and con season 00:05:37 - Update on Poe and the Mysteriads 00:09:10 - Conceptual Heist 00:37:07 - Ménage à 3 01:06:29 - Smash: Monstrous 01:24:09 - Wrap up 01:26:13 - Contact us This month Sean and Derek offer a genre buffet of webcomics goodness. They begin with Jay D’Ici and Matt G. Gagnon's Conceptual Heist , a heist narrative with a unique science fiction twist. As the guys reveal, the story is solid, and the black-and-white art, acc...
Apr 10, 2017•1 hr 30 min
Time Codes: 00:00:25 - Introduction 00:02:18 - Setup of interview 00:04:43 - Interview with Gabby Schulz 01:11:55 - Wrap up 01:14:04 - Contact us "The sewage of negativity I bring to comics" In an interview that is a long time in coming, Gwen and Derek have the pleasure of talking with Gabby Schulz. His new collection of diary comics, The Process of Drastically Reducing One's Expectations , was recently released from Alec Longstreth's Phase Eight Publishing, and in their conversation, Gabby shar...
Apr 07, 2017•1 hr 17 min
It's time to look at the current Previews catalog from Diamond, and for this month Derek is joined by Paul, the new cohost of the monthly Young Readers series. Paul has helped out on earlier Previews shows, and as Andy has jokingly pointed out, on those occasions the episodes have tended to clock in on the longish side. And indeed, that's what happens this week! But the lengthiness of the April Previews show is filled not only with choice solicits, but also with critical commentary, astute obser...
Apr 05, 2017•2 hr 34 min
Time Codes: 00:24 - Introduction 03:03 - Setup of interview 06:30 - Interview with Jon Nielsen 43:18 - Wrap up 44:33 - Contact us On this episode, Gwen and Derek welcome Jon Nielsen to The Comics Alternative . His new book Look recently debuted at the MoCCA Arts Festival, and Jon talks with the cohosts on the eve of the event. Among the various topics they cover, Gwen and Derek ask Jon about the story's evolution from webcomic to printed form, his process in finding an appropriate publisher, the...
Apr 04, 2017•48 min
