Deconstructing Comics Podcast, published every Monday, features comics creator discussion and comics reviews.
One of Kirby’s late efforts at DC was OMAC: One-Man Army Corps, which focuses on “the world that’s coming”: what miracles, and horrors, technology would bring. Of course, some of it seems ridiculous, but other parts seem prescient. Tim and Emmet discuss the book’s crazy Kirby concepts — or are they crazy?
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Paul of “To the Batpoles” joins Tim and Mulele to discuss 2018’s “Black Panther” film, trying to separate political filmmaking from good filmmaking, and having different experiences based on whether they went in knowing the comics, the comics AND the film’s marketing, or neither.
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After covering the first four volumes of Kentaro Miura’s Berserk a few months back, Tim and Kumar decided to keep going. In volumes 5 and 6, the lengthy (volumes 3 to 14!) flashback to Guts’s origin story continues, but why does the flashback seem to exist in a magic-free world? In the early volumes, in the “present”, Guts was shadowed by an elf, frequently encountered ghosts and demons, and pulled off comically over-the-top feats with his huge sword. But the world of the flashback seems to be, with a few exceptions, a fairly realistic medieval Europe. The guys examine the difference and pick up hints of what comes next.
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There’s a new sheriff in town in post-Great Disaster Earth: Gerry Conway took over as writer in Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth issue 38. Jack Kirby stayed on as artist for issues 38-40 before leaving D.C. So while the interior art looks the same as always (aside from covers by Joe Kubert), everything feels a little “off”. It doesn’t help that Kirby left Kamandi in a rather uncomfortable plotline (although Tim and Emmet disagree as to what level of “ick” is implied). Our look at Kirby’s Kamandi ends as Kamandi motorboats off to disappointing horizons.
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Jack Kirby reaches the end of his writing run on Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth. After top-shelf stories about a Soviet spacecraft and an “eviction battle” in a resort hotel with crocs in the pool, Kirby’s swan song leaves something to be desired, with an … uncomfortable plot point, and myriad threads dangling. Tim and Emmet discuss the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.
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Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first appeared in 1984 as a violent, gory homage to/parody of Frank Miller’s Daredevil, among other popular mainstream titles of the time (X-men, Teen Titans). The comic hit at the right time for Kumar, but for the younger Emmet, the 1987 TV cartoon was the business. Now, nearly 40 years later, both have attended the latest Turtles movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. This week, they review the movie and compare it with earlier Turtles iterations.
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This time we look once again at new books coming from British publisher Avery Hill Press. Owen D. Pomery’s The Hard Switch is a nice slice of indy sci-fi; Tim and Kumar review. Then, Emmet joins Tim to discuss Nicole Goux’s Pet Peeves: Emmet loves it, but Tim needs some convincing.
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FLASHBACK! Love and Rockets continues to impress, and in this episode Koom asks creator Jaime Hernandez some burning questions. Hernandez talks about writing Maggie and Hopey, the dynamics of working on something with your brother, why he gravitates toward female characters, his influences and art style, and more.
Also, Tim and Mulele discuss the current state of the US comics market and Marvel’s recent problems.
Originally published May 22, 2017.
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Jim Shooter was Marvel Editor-in-Chief from 1978 to 1987, the era of Frank Miller’s Daredevil, Chris Claremont’s X-men, Secret Wars (written by Shooter himself), the West Coast Avengers and more. This week he talks with Koom about his take on modern-day Marvel, the early days of Frank Miller and Ann Nocenti’s careers, why “Little Miss Muffet” is a tool to teach good writing, and more.
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FLASHBACK! Did you think Love & Rockets was over?! Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez continue to release new work about once a year, and in this episode Kumar and Matt sit down and discuss some of it, with particular attention paid to Jaime’s The Love Bunglers. (Spoiler warning!)
Also: the tension between indy creators who want to do single-issue type comics, and the economic realities shoving them toward larger collections…
Originally published March 9, 2015.
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