Comics commentary from our podcast regulars.
Peter Bagge’s HATE was an amazing hit for a ’90s indy comic, outselling some Big Two titles. Tim, Kumar, and Tom Spurgeon talk about some of the amazing aspects of this strip, and discuss whether it’s accurate to classify it as a comic about slackers.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Tim and Mulele finish up their look at Irrational Comics’ 2018 PITCH page with L.J. Bell’s The Goodes (a superhero/kid-dealing-with-parents’-divorce tale) and Julian Dominguez’ Undergrown (exploring the idea of an earth with no humans on its surface). Irrational Comics gives each writer eight pages to rope readers into his or her tale; did these writers make the best use of the eight pages? Who won this year’s contest?
Also, Mulele fills us in on his new Kickstarter project!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
This is the story of a very unusual project: a 250-page comic showing people talking about science. Not your cup of tea? Actually, the seeming lack of overlap between “comics people” and “science people” is part of this story. It was one reason this book took nearly two decades from inception to publication.
In this episode, Ryan Haupt joins Tim to review this book, called The Dialogues; then, the book’s author, USC physics professor Clifford V. Johnson, explains the arduous journey of this book, which explains a topic that’s poorly understood by the public via a medium that’s also poorly understood by the public.
Also including some actual science talk, including Ryan’s recommendations for other non-fiction comics about science!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
This week Koom interviews Prabal Purkayastha, author of Flirting with Death, about how he tried to use the structure of a comic to communicate music, and how his next project is just the opposite of this one.
Then, what would you do if you found yourself on a park bench along a city street, and you knew where you were but you didn’t know who you were? Your home, friends, family, job, all forgotten. Tim and Eugenia review the French graphic novel Blank Slate
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Many Westerners feel a bit puzzled by Japanese comics — the subject matter, the art style, the pacing, etc. Koom has been trying for some time to grasp what he’s not “getting” about manga. Meanwhile, manga translator Kumar is about done with “explaining” Japanese comics to people, but he makes an exception for Koom (and the podcast). They discuss I Am a Hero by Kengo Hanazawa, and A Distant Neighborhood by Jiro Taniguchi — both translated by none other than Kumar!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Tim and Mulele talk about four more comics they picked up at the recent Tokyo comics conventions, Kaigai Manga Festa and Comic Art Tokyo:
 |
Bourbaki, by Adam Pasion |
 |
 |
 |
Run Boys Run, by Michiru Morikawa |
 |
Do You Remember Kobot? by Ian M |
 |
Haunted, by Natalie Andrewson |
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
This time, Tim and Mulele talk about some of the comics they picked up at Kaigai Manga Festa and CAT in November!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
For the past several decades there have been a lot of comics, movies, and other fiction involving “bad futures”, with lots of poverty, violence, environmental destruction, and the like. Why has this genre been so appealing to so many?
In this episode, Emmet O’Cuana talks with Mark Hobby about why this genre endures and how Mark has approached it in his own comic, Job Dun: Fat Assassin. They also discuss why British writers have led the pack on bad future stories, how Watchmen and the X-Men fit into the discussion, why sex in media seems to upset some people more than violence, and more.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
This week, a couple of old friends stop by to give us their thoughts and advice on comics creation.
First, artist Irene Strychalski (Gwenpool) talks about her 10 tips for thumbnailing a comics page. At this stage, your main concern is clear storytelling technique. Listen for some guidelines!
Then, writer Jason McNamara (The Martian Confederacy, The Rattler), now creative consultant for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, talks about recognizing when a comics collaboration isn’t gelling, and knowing when to let go.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
It’s 1985, but the space race never slowed down, so space is busy with human activity. 1985 Black Hole Repo #1, by Seth M Sherwood, Michael Moreci, and John Bivens, is full of punk rock aesthetic and references to the real 1980s. Unfortunately, it can be a little tough to tell what’s happening in they story. Tim and Mulele explore this space.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
