Purgatory, by Don Juan Mancha III, anubisazp, and nikokosi, is an unusual comic in that most of the character in it claim to be dead. But in most cases, it’s unclear if they really are. Or is it a way of talking about schizophrenia? Unclear. What’s the plot of this comic? Also unclear. At least, to Tim and Graeme it is. In this episode, they try to put the pieces together.
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Although it’s currently only available digitally, Adora and the Distance, by Marc Bernardin, Ariela Kistantina, Bryan Valenza, and Bernardo Brice, has garnered a fair amount of mainstream attention (Vanity Fair, Syfy) — reportage that doesn’t even seem aware of the fact that it’s spoiling the book’s twist ending. Of course, we’ll have to spoil it in this episode as well (though we’ll warn you first!). But, might it have been better to reveal that information at the start of the book, anyway? Tim and newcomer Rachelle Meyer (whose book was previously discussed on this show) critique.
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Amazing Grace is a Webtoon comic by Shane Berryhill and Mike Salter, featuring sword fights with Dracula, women with plunging necklines, and, sometimes, chapter endings that lack punch. Tim and Adam try to diagnose, and give prescriptions for, what ails this comic, while recognizing that it’s not too far from being well-done.
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Winston Gambro’s Rex Radley: Boy Adventurer is an all-ages comedy adventure series. Tim and Adam discuss.
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Comics can surely be violent, but can the sheer audacity of the violence make it, intentionally or not, funny? Tim and Adam discuss one of the most over-the-top comics ever critiqued on our show, Kirt Burdick’s Galacto Pit-Fighter!
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Part comic, part children’s storybook, Realm of Owls is heavy on world building and a bit light on characters, at least in the early going. How does it stand up as a reading experience? Tim is joined by Adam Pasion to discuss this web comic by Gheralf and Vayandil.
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A story about a pot-smoking superhero taking on a villain whose henchmen wear KKK robes. Is this OK?! Tim is joined by Ryan C. to discuss Ben Perone and Jer Gordon’s FingerBang #4.
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There have been plenty of comics made about the current COVID-19 pandemic, both instructional and autobiographical ones. In this episode Tim talks about about some of these with graphic medicine expert Alice Jaggers, a contributor to graphicmedicine.org, as well as other comics on health issues… one of which is none other than Fullmetal Alchemist!
The Lancet on COVID-19 and comics
Then, a talk with comics journalist Josh Neufeld, who recently did a piece called A Tale of Two Pandemics, exploring the myth that black people are immune to many illnesses. This idea popped up during both the 1918 flu pandemic and the current pandemic. Josh also talks about his comics journalism career and the experience of working with Harvey Pekar!
Josh’s story Supply Chain Superhero
We first met Josh at MOCCA 2016!
Help Tim move away from the apartment he’s allergic to
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A retro-style daily strip about a talking bear! This time Tim is joined by comics colorist Jeremy Kahn to discuss Bob Scott‘s strip Bear With Me.
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If you’re an American who grew up in a certain era, you may have a story about that time you ended up at a presentation about how “backmasking” was being used in your favorite music to subliminally deliver satanic messages. Artist Rachelle Meyer, whose work we’ve encountered once before in Chad in Amsterdam #4, presents her own story about such an incident in her short comic Holy Diver , a story which you might expect to be eye-rolly and cynical, but it’s not. Mulele pops in to join Tim to discuss this cool comic.
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