Deconstructing Comics Podcast, published every Monday, features comics creator discussion and comics reviews.
FLASHBACK! In episode #300, we took a look at the sometimes wacky and cartoony Love & Rockets work of Jaime Hernandez. This week, Tim and Kumar are again joined by Tom Spurgeon to look at the somewhat darker, more violent and yet rather hard-to-pin-down work of Gilbert Hernandez in his stories of (or, sometimes merely tangentially related to) the isolated Mexican village of Palomar.
Originally published January 2, 2012
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FLASHBACK! The series Love & Rockets, featuring individual works by the Hernandez brothers, started in 1981 as a self-published magazine, but was quickly picked up by Fantagraphics. Over the last 30 years, the brothers’ work has continued to develop & astound. This week Tim and Kumar take a look at the Love & Rockets work of Jaime Hernandez, with special guest (and former Fantagraphics employee) Tom Spurgeon!
Originally published October 24, 2011.
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In this edition, we rejoin The World of Tomorrow, a comic we discussed the first issue of five years ago! This is the one about an actor in, roughly, the 1950s, who stars in a space ranger TV show that’s on the verge of cancellation. Now writer Giles Clarke has sent us the second and third issues, and Jason and Tim take a look at them.
Then, Adam joins Tim to discuss the first volume of Prism Stalker by Sloan Leong. It’s kind of a psychedelic science fiction book that touches on immigration and other issues, and it’s a bit difficult to get into at first. In this episode you can hear us warm up to the comic even as we’re reviewing it!
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No longer just a look at Earth AD, Kamandi issues 32 through 34 introduce us to an alien who’s literally a ball of energy! Dr. Canus finds a way to give the alien a human body – but just what form will the alien end up taking? And just how much can Jack Kirby overhype it?? You’ve NEVER heard a podcast like THIS before!! …Well, maybe you have, but please do join Tim and Emmet anyway as they continue their walk through Kirby’s DC Comics work!
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Flush with dark and mysterious symbolism, K. Briggs‘ adaptation of Macbeth from Avery Hill publishing is a challenging and visually exciting piece of work. Kumar and Emmet discuss the comic’s approach to the classic Shakespearean play and how it compares to other adaptations, as well as its unique juxtaposition of the unexpurgated text of the tragedy with an eclectic selection of mixed media visualizations.
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“Tim Catches Up with the MCU” continues to roll as Tim and Mulele reach Thor: Ragnarok. It has perhaps the most humor of any MCU movie up to this point; is that a good thing? Also, Tim experiences the benefits of never paying attention to the marketing. (Originally published on Patreon November 23, 2019.)
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As we continue through Jack Kirby‘s 1970s issues of Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, Tim and Emmet keep slowing down! In this episode, nearly 30 minutes go into discussing Kamandi’s encounter with Superman’s (inexplicably undamaged) costume, and so only three issues, 29 through 31, are examined, but what issues they are! Kirby also references Gulliver’s Travels here, and… wait, didn’t we see this on a Queen album cover? Well, it’s not quite that simple….
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Openly discussing being sexually abused, particularly if it was during childhood, is not easy. Emily Carrington has stepped forward with her memoir of being abused as a teenager, Our Little Secret, in the hope that others in her position will be moved to get help. The book recently won the Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize. This week, she talks with Koom about her struggle, making the book and getting it published, and what’s next. (This episode does contain references to childhood trauma and childhood sexual abuse, and may be triggering for some people.)
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Rina Ayuyang has called on her Filipino heritage in her graphic novels Blame This On the Boogie and, just out, The Man in the McIntosh Suit. This time, Adam talks with her about using historical photo reference, doing comics digitally vs paper, Lynda Barry’s influence on her work, and more.
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Critiquing Comics is back, with discussions of two interesting comics from listeners. Stephen Grow sent us Sons of Thunder, a one-panel cartoon aimed at Christians and reflecting life in a small-town church, but likely with wider appeal. Then, Kristin Tipping (now going by “Tin Tipping”) returns with a creepy barnyard tale, The Lamb.
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