Deconstructing Comics Podcast, published every Monday, features comics creator discussion and comics reviews.
In Second Coming, Mark Russell explores how Christianity has gone wrong, and that way of thinking where violence is the answer to everything. It certainly wasn’t what Jesus taught, and yet Russell’s disillusioned Jesus starts to think violence might be all there is. Will Weaver joins Tim to discuss this controversial series, and why it’s worth reading.
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In our December 25 episode, we reviewed two more comics from David Dye. While we’ve generally been very positive about his work, there was one bit that Mulele called “Racist AF” and Tim was also uncomfortable with (see below). David’s email in response to the episode made clear to us that the intent wasn’t racist… but then, what was it?
To find out, we invited David on our show, and he joins us from his home in Australia to discuss where his portrayal of space-terrorists went sideways, and to talk about his comics career so far.
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Tom Spurgeon, a comics advocate, historian, and journalist, passed away on November 13, 2019. Tom was a frequent guest on this podcast, and had a huge impact on comics in general. In this episode, Tim and Kumar discuss his effect on the comics industry and his appearances on DCP. Then, Tim talks to three people who knew him well:
New York memorial for Tom on January 24
Sequential Tart‘s interview with Tom and Dan from 2001
Tom’s appearances on our show:
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While Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s New Teen Titans (1980-1988) goes over the top with purple-prose narration and unsubtle plot points, it represents a turning point for DC Comics in a number of ways: it introduced many heroes and villains who are still around today; it was set in New York City, rather than some fictional burg; it was a major step toward getting DC to care as much about continuity as Marvel had for nearly 20 years. Patreon supporter Dylan joins Tim to discuss the first two years of this milestone series.
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For more than 40 years, Rumiko Takahashi has been one of Japan’s premiere manga creators. Many of her titles center around “yokai” – Japanese ghosts and monsters. While some are specifically modeled after mythical beings well-known to Japanese, some are original creations. Patrick I-W has been looking into Takahashi’s monsters for one of his comics-themed presentations, and he fills us in on his findings in this episode.
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David Dye’s first issue of Amazing Tales caught our eyes a couple of months ago, so David sent along the next two issues. While they’re artistically good, an aspect of one story made us very uncomfortable…
Also, Tim has a question about the course of Mulele’s comics career, and Mulele has some thoughts about the Watchmen TV show.
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Bob Budiansky was a writer, artist, and editor for Marvel in the 1980s and ’90s, after starting out majoring in civil engineering. How did that change of direction come about, and how did his civil engineering background help him write Transformers comics? In this episode, he talks to Koom about that plus the origins of Circuit Breaker, his feelings looking back on his years at Marvel, and more.
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Ann Nocenti is a journalist and filmmaker who also has had quite a career in comics. She wrote Daredevil for several years and created the character of Typhoid Mary. In this interview with Koom, she talks about why writing ol’ horn head was difficult for her at first, and why she created Typhoid Mary, as well as her two new comics “Ruby Falls” and “The Seeds.”
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Klaus Janson has a long and storied career, working for both Marvel and DC as a writer, penciller, and inker, including some famous collaborations with Frank Miller and John Romita Jr. His latest series, Sacred Creatures, is a creator-owned collaboration with artist Pablo Raimondi. In this extended-length episode, he tells Koom about the ideas explored in the new series, and shares musings on the artistic process.
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Horror writer H.P. Lovecraft understood that it was more upsetting to let the reader imagine the horrific thing, than to actually show it. So, can one really do Lovecraft in comics effectively?
In volume 1 of his comics adaptation of Lovecraft’s H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness Volume 1 (Manga)
Plugs
Kumar’s novel: Tanuja Ramachandran: Hunter-Seeker
Emmet’s short comics story: Something Wicked 2019
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