Critiquing Comics #144: Chad in Amsterdam

Chad in Amsterdam

Chad Bilyeu sent us his autobio comic Chad in Amsterdam. As fellow expat Americans, how could we say no? And it turns out to be quite good! Tim and Mulele discuss.

Then, Tim explains why his why he won’t have much podcasting time for the next few months, and whether or not to keep Deconstructing Comics and Critiquing Comics going, and how. What say you?

Critiquing Comics #143: “Radio Silence” and “1000 Nightmares”

"Radio Silence" and "1000 Nighmares"

In this episode, Tim and Mulele discuss these comics, submitted by their creators:

  • The members of a rock band in the UK cope with interpersonal issues and the problems of fame in Vanessa Stefaniuk’s Radio Silence.
  • Horror, from the fantastical, and maybe even a little humorous, to the totally factual, in writer Bill Richardson’s 1000 Nightmares (with various artists).

Critiquing Comics #142: “The World of Tomorrow” and “Possession”

World of Tomorrow - Possession

In this episode, Tim and Mulele tackle these comics, submitted by their creators:

  • Craig Barstow is playing the lead in a TV show about space exploration. He faces accusations of being a drunk, and finds that the show is getting cancelled. And this is just the beginning of his precipitous fall in the first issue of The World of Tomorrow, by Giles Clarke, Kenan Halilovic, Felipe Obando, and Deron Bennett. Is this comic going in the direction its creators intended?
  • An overweight woman who takes photos of cats. A pair of adulterous Greek gods. A wife who is being cheated on but has secrets of her own. The cheating husband’s mistress who gets work advice from a ghost. A punk music club where… wait, why is all of this in one first issue? We have some strong words of caution for the Michael Norwitz, Enrico Carnevale, Andrea Blanco, and HdE, the creators of Possession #1.

Critiquing Comics #141: “Henshin Man” and “Guano Guy”

This time Tim and Mulele critique two superhero comics submitted by their creators:

  • Henshin Man, by Cameron Kerkau, Ben Matsuya, and CJ Standal is just getting started, but it introduces one Japanese hero filling the shoes of another.
  • Guano Guy, by Mark Darden and Nick Hoffman, features a hero who is all about leveraging his being a hero as a way to make a buck.

Critiquing Comics #140: “The Incapable Trump” and “Empress”

Trump and Empress

Two more comics submitted by their creators for Tim and Mulele’s comments:

The Incapable Trump, by Omar Mirza and Alex Genaro gives us a Trump who changes into the Incredible Hulk! it looks great, but is this the best approach to take as a commentary on Trump?

Empress, by Brian Barr, Chuck Amadori, Marcelo Salaza, and Matheus Bronca, a comic about multiple generations of women haunted by green monsters. Which parts look good, and which parts lose us?

Critiquing Comics #138: “Hajime”

Hajime is an anthology (the first in a proposed series from new group Tokyo Collective, or ToCo) presenting four-page stories from seven artists about their first impressions upon arriving in Tokyo. Longtime Tokyo residents Tim and Mulele discuss.

#599 Steven Gilbert

Colville

Steven Gilbert is not only a comics creator (of the crime comic Colville), he’s also a comics retailer. In this episode, he talks to Koom about how elements of real-life criminals and their crimes have sometimes gotten into his comic (which sometimes were so gruesome that he was reluctant to draw them!), and explains his approaches to retailing, drawing, and self-publishing.

Critiquing Comics #135: “Hyper Epics” and Mulele’s missing box

Hyper Epics

Hyperepics.com is a site showcasing a growing number of three-page comics, more or less of the “Amazing Stories” mold. In this episode we read many of them and talk about what we liked, and what we didn’t.

In the most recent Deconstructing Comics, Mulele told Koom about the box of his wares that didn’t make it to TCAF. In this episode, Mulele gives us an update on his box and a look back at the overall TCAF experience.

Plus, some listener mail!

About “On Syntaphore” in Spanish

#595 Mulele and other DCP connections at TCAF

TCAF 2018

Koom’s visit to Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2018 included several table interviews and a longer wrap-up interview with Mulele on the process of signing up for TCAF, the many roadblocks he ran into on the trip itself, the payoff of attending, how TCAF compares with Tokyo cons, and more.

(larger photos and time stamps below)

Harmony Becker

1:26 Harmony Becker, who tabled at Kaigai Manga Festa in Tokyo last year and was interviewed by Tim here, gives us an update

Mark Laliberte and Jonation Dyck

4:36 Mark Laliberte and Jonathan Dyck of the 4 Panel anthology

Molly Muldoon

7:58 Molly Muldoon, co-writer of the graphic novel Dead Weight with past DCP guest Terry Blas

Mulele

11:50 Mulele‘s TCAF story

#593 Reading “Nancy”, plus “Cat and Mouse”!

How to Read Nancy

A comic strip gag can be a deceptively simple thing. Once you take it apart — “deconstruct” it, one might say — you find that it actually has many moving parts.

Click to enlarge

Paul Karasik and Mark Newgarden‘s How to Read “Nancy” takes a close look at each of those parts — as well as arguing persuasively for Bushmiller’s underrated artistic chops, and giving us some comic-strip history as well. Tim and Patrick review.

Cat and Mouse

PLUS: Roland Mann, Dean Zachary, and Kevin Gallegly join Tim to talk about the return of Cat and Mouse!