#310 Takehiko Inoue’s “Slam Dunk” and “Vagabond”

Slam Dunk/VagabondTakehiko 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.

#309 Understanding Israel through a Memoir

Sarah GliddenThe 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.

Sarah Glidden’s site

Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d’Angoulême

#308 Not a Croc!

FrazettaWhat 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…

#045 “99 Ways” and Character Design

99 WaysEarthFLASHBACK! Discussion of Matt Madden’s 99 Ways to Tell a Story and Tim’s character design process for the Boogie Knights! (Originally published October 16, 2006)

Boogie Knights sketches

The finished page

#307 Getting some Action (Comics)

Action ComicsIf you’ve paid two seconds of attention to American comics recently, you probably know that DC “soft rebooted” its entire line, shipping fifty-two #1 issues last September. Since hyping the latest DC/Marvel news is not really our thing, we’ve been leaving that to other podcasts. But since Marvel zombie Tim, of his own free will, decided to pick up Grant Morrison’s Action Comics, and Kumar is a sometime Superman reader, we decided to present here our take on the first four issues.

Also, why reading comics on an iPhone is still a less-than-satisfactory experience; and, you too can be a DeconstructingComics.com columnist!

#306 Fear Itself and other events that… happened

Fear ItselfCrossover events have become ubiquitous fare from Marvel and DC, with smaller publishers recently jumping on the bandwagon. Lots of us complain about them, and yet, buying ironically is still buying. Tim is joined by John Roberson to discuss why the past year’s main events, Fear Itself and Flashpoint, were particularly unsatisfying, what makes a (relatively) good event series, and why we read these books in spite of “event fatigue”.

John’s Comic Art Commissions page

#305 Love & Rockets: Gilbert Hernandez

In episode #300, we took a look at the sometimes wacky and cartoony Love & Rockets work of Jaime Hernandez. This week, Tim and Kumar are again joined by Tom Spurgeon to look at the somewhat darker, more violent and yet rather hard-to-pin-down work of Gilbert Hernandez in his stories of (or, sometimes merely tangentially related to) the isolated Mexican village of Palomar.

#155 Schulz and Peanuts, part 2

Snoopy omlette at the Snoopy Cafe, YokohamaFLASHBACK! Monte Schulz, son of Charles, claims to have been “horrified” by the David Michaelis bio of his father. Should he have been? (Originally published November 24, 2008)

#154 Schulz and Peanuts, part 1

Schulz and PeanutsFLASHBACK! Leading into our review of David Michaelis’ controversial Schulz biography, “Schulz and Peanuts,” Tim and Kumar talk about the strip itself, how it influenced what came after, and how, in politics and social issues, it took no sides — and all sides. (originally published November 17, 2008)

#076 “Houdini, the Handcuff King”

FLASHBACK! Tim and Brandon snack while examining Houdini: The Handcuff King and 24-hour Comics Day Highlights 2006! (Originally published May 21, 2007) Continue reading #076 “Houdini, the Handcuff King”