#189 Two Mormons Named Mike

7/20/09 Two Mormons Named Mike

Madman Atomic Comics Mike Allred’s Madman Atomic Comics not only continues the trippy, colorful, highly imaginative path of previous Madman offerings, it kicks those elements up several more notches. Tim and STORM explore.
Mike Garcia Before the podcast existed, before Mulele and Tim even knew Brandon, there was the comics class. Fellow former participant Mike Garcia is now publishing a Web comic, The Adventures of Mike Garcia, which takes a sweet yet clear-eyed look at college, Mormonism, and other aspects of his life.

#188 Our local comics, and “Local”

7/13/09 Our local comics, and “Local”

Morning Comics Who is Company President Shima, and why do some committed Japanese fans try to imitate his life? Why on earth would anyone create a wine-tasting comic? The answers to these questions and more as Mulele and Tim flip through the latest issue of Japan’s Morning Comics.
Local Love her, hate her, or… don’t really care about her, Megan McKeenan’s North American journey in Local, by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly, is worth discussing. Was there a point to the exercise? Tim and Brandon ponder.

#187 Naruto, Full Metal Alchemist, and Trying Human

7/6/09 Naruto, Full Metal Alchemist, and Trying Human

Full Metal Alchemist Why choose sides? Japanese comics and American comics both have their good points. Tim and Jarrett talk about two, “Naruto” by Masashi Kishimoto, and “Full Metal Alchemist” by Hiromu Arakawa.
Trying Human Tim gets a taste of his own medicine when Emy Bitner’s alien-abduction Web comic “Trying Human” reminds him of his own comic — and not in a good way. Tim and Mulele discuss the importance of keeping the size of your cast manageable.

#186 Weird Crime Theater: A case study in comics collaboration

6/29/09 Weird Crime Theater: A case study in comics collaboration

Weird Crime TheaterWhat are the good and bad points of collaborating with someone on a comic? What adjustments do writer and artist need to make to each other’s way of working? As a case study in collaboration, Mulele and Kumar discuss the ups and downs of their collaborations on the comics “Full Throttle” and “Weird Crime Theater.”

#017 Newspaper strips

04/03/06 Newspaper strips

Rex Morgan logoFLASHBACK! The first time Mulele mentioned his co-creation Weird Crime Theater on the podcast, leading into a discussion of newspaper comic strips.

#182 Web comics critiques

6/1/09 Web comics critiques

Evil DivaSo many comics on the Web. What’s worth reading and what isn’t? Tim and Mulele critique four Web comics, pointing out what’s good and bad about each — from a reader’s perspective, as well as a creator’s.

Evil Diva

New Experiments in Fiction

Go KC

Butternut Squash

#180 “Ghost in the Shell”: What in the hell?!

5/18/09 “Ghost in the Shell”: What in the hell?!

Ghost in the ShellMasamune Shirow’s future tale “Ghost in the Shell” reads like someone’s private comic that wasn’t meant for public consumption. Tim, Mulele, and Kumar find that they can’t so much consume the story as gag on it uncomprehendingly… although the pictures are nice.

#022 World building and Joseph Campbell

05/08/06 World building and Joseph Campbell

Heros JourneyFLASHBACK! Tim reads some postings from a comics writers’ e-mail list about building a new world for your characters. One poster recommends reading Joseph Campbell‘s books; another poster can’t stand Joseph Campbell. Brandon, our resident Joseph Campbell expert, critiques that poster’s critiques.

#176 Watching the watchers of Watchmen

4/20/09 Watching the watchers of Watchmen

The ComedianTim and Mulele (and an unexpected special guest!) report from the movie theater before and after seeing Zach Snyder’s “The Watchmen”, then talk on Skype a week later about how a cerebral comic became an action movie, as well as reviewing the reviews of the movie by half a dozen other podcasts!

#083 DWAP Productions

7/9/07 Dale Wilson and DWAP Productions

Caffeine DreamsFLASHBACK! Tim interviews Dale Wilson of DWAP Productions, an indy publisher in Los Angeles that has published some work by one Mulele Jarvis…