FLASHBACK! Tim and Brandon discuss “Fables” vol 1 and the Fables graphic novel “1001 Nights of Snowfall”, along with a detour into ’90s Marvel! (Originally published January 1, 2007)
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Category: Comics commentary
Comics commentary from our podcast regulars.
#199 Little Nemo
FLASHBACK! Repeatedly collected and published since it went into the public domain, Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo is perhaps the most celebrated comic strip of the early 20th century. Peter Maresca, whose Sunday Press republished all the Nemo strips at their original size a few years back, talks with Tim about what’s good and bad about the strip, and the influence it still has on modern comics. (Originally published September 28, 2009)
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#318 “Sky Doll”: Sex and Religion Mix!
Imagine a Disney movie with tons of cheesecake and commentary on how religion can be used to control a society. It would look an awful lot like Sky Doll, by Alessandro Barbucci and Barbara Canepa. Originally published by Soleil in France starting in 2000, it came out in English from Marvel in 2008. While there has been an anthology book and a sketchbook, the main series has apparently never been completed, but don’t let that dissuade you from reading this very compelling (not to mention gorgeously drawn) volume. Tim and Rashad explore.
Another take from Charley Parker
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#317 “Lost Girls”
Alice from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Wendy from Peter Pan, and Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz meet in a hotel in Austria in 1913 and perform almost every sex act conceivable with each other, animals, objects, relatives, consenting and non-consenting minors, and numerous combinations thereof (it’s all just lines on paper, folks!) nearly non-stop for 240 pages. Close to 20 years in the making, Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie’s Lost Girls is perhaps the most ambitious, lavish, and beautiful project of Moore’s career. And yet, does it all amount to mere slash fiction? Or, on the contrary, is it so intelligent that it sabotages its own pornographic objectives? Or is it, in fact, impervious to criticism? Kumar and Dana turn up their trenchcoat collars and slink into the grimy back room to discuss.
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#313 Audio comics
Over the years we’ve repeatedly looked at how other media adapt to comics, and vice-versa. This time around, Tim and Kevin look at the challenges of converting comics to audio, including Black & White Nexus #3 (1982) and Daredevil #1 (2011), plus some unofficial takes (including our own!) on Watchmen.
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#046 “Doc Frankenstein” and burning questions
FLASHBACK! The Wachowski Brothers’ Doc Frankenstein #2 and further discussion of burning questions such as: Can single-panel cartoons be considered “comics”? Are comics “drawn” or “illustrated”? How does society — American and Japanese — perceive comics creators or comics readers? Tim and Brandon ponder. Originally published October 23, 2006.
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#311 Hold your comic for ransom! Will readers pay?
In the course of doing this podcast, we often find comics that we’d like to read more of, but seldom can because we have to move on to the next podcast topic, and there are only so many hours in a day. This week, Mulele & Tim thought they would revisit some previously reviewed Web comics and see how their creators had progressed. But, wait, hold the phone — what’s going on with Evil Diva? (original 2009 critique was rerun November 5, 2011) The work-for-hire Web comic abruptly changed its business model last summer. Are the site’s handlers killing the comic while trying to save it?
Also, Mulele revisits Dustin Harbin‘s site, with asides about Matthew Forsythe and boycotts of Marvel & DC.
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#310 Takehiko Inoue’s “Slam Dunk” and “Vagabond”
Takehiko Inoue’s Slam Dunk is easily mistaken for a serious sports manga. Pick it up, though, and you’ll find instead a hilarious ensemble comedy that just happens to involve basketball. Still, the series is credited with basketball’s 90s popularity in Japan, and led Inoue to create several other basketball-related series. But is oeuvre isn’t all hoops; he’s also the creator behind Vagabond, a sometimes-violent but intriguing take on the life of 17th-century historical figure Miyamoto Musashi. Tim and Kumar dig into both series.
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#309 Understanding Israel through a Memoir
The Israeli/Palestinian situation has been in the news for as long as any of us can remember, but how much do we really understand about it? Sarah Glidden, a secular Jew, went on a “Birthright Tour” expecting confirmation of all the negative things she believed about Israel, only to find that the reality was much more complex. Sarah talks to Tim about the experience and her next career steps, and Tim and Brandon review “How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less”, Sarah’s graphic novel/memoir of her Israel visit.
Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d’Angoulême
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#308 Not a Croc!
What do writing cool Heavy Metal songs and writing comics have in common? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Put down that pen, and go back to your guitar where you belong, headbanger! Rob Zombie, Scott Ian, and Glenn Danzig all share a mutual passion for comics, and had brilliant artists at their disposal, so what went wrong? Blind love of 70s creature features? Sycophantic DC editors? An obsession with “croc-like creatures”?! Kumar and Dana attempt to wade through the muck…
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