Yoshihiro Tatsumi, although he was a somewhat influential figure in the manga of the 1950s and ’60s, is largely forgotten in Japan today. However, within the past 10 years he has gained some belated fame in the West, thanks largely to the efforts of Adrian Tomine and Drawn & Quarterly.
Tatsumi passed away last month, prompting Tim and Kumar to finally pull his comics memoir (which also includes considerable amounts of 1950s manga history) A Drifting Life
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
FLASHBACK! Tim and Brandon review of two Canadian coming-of-age comics: The first three volumes of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s “Scott Pilgrim” series, and “Paul Has a Summer Job” by Michel Rabagliati.
Listen carefully, because later this month, Tim and Cassey will discuss the entire series, and Tim’s take on it has changed…
ALSO: Give today to the Deconstructing Comics pledge drive!
Originally published June 2, 2008
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Israeli graphic novelist Rutu Modan has won acclaim for her books Exit Wounds (2007) and The Property (2013), both of which are so tightly plotted, with a number of twists and turns, that Tim and Kumar find them difficult to review spoiler-free. What’s remarkable, though, is the emotional depth in books that are so plot-driven, as well as their social commentary on Israeli society, how violence there has become banal, and the popularity of Jewish tours of Polish sites of the Holocaust. With all this going for the books, we simply have to talk about them! (With few spoilers!)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
If you’re old enough to remember pre-Internet days (like us geezers who make this podcast), you remember how new comics creators used to get known. No Web comics, Tumbler, podcasts, etc. Like John Porcellino, they hit the “zine” scene, announcing themselves through Factsheet Five and getting placement in a few comics shops. Porcellino’s King-Cat, with its accounts of his pets, his dreams (the sleeping kind), amusing anecdotes, and occasional fiction, drew notice in the comics world for the way it eloquently fed the reader’s life back to him, making note of things the reader might have missed. Drawn & Quarterly is releasing selected King-Cat comics in hardcover; Tim, Kumar, and special guest Tom Spurgeon discuss the first collection, King-Cat Classix.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
It pays to advertise! In episode #311, Tim asked Matthew Forsythe to contact him for an interview, and Matthew responded! This week he tells us about his two books that are informed by Korean (and other) folktales, Ojingogo and Jinchalo; about his tools, influences, and developing a style; and much more.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
