Based on the series of novels by Dan Abnett, Eisenhorn: Xenos is a one-shot comic book from TPub meant to lead into the new Eisenhorn video game. Tim and Mulele grab their swords and gird for a critique.
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#527 Tom Spurgeon’s “We Told You So”
Fantagraphics is a comics publisher that got by on a shoestring for decades, in service of its mission to prove that comics could be equally as literary and adult as film, novels, or any other storytelling medium. Eventually, Fantagraphics’ flagship publication, The Comics Journal, became the go-to magazine for reviews of noteworthy comics and hard-hitting interviews of their creators.
After more than a decade of work, Tom Spurgeon and Michael Dean have published (through Fantagraphics, of course) a history of the company, called We Told You So: Comics as Art. This week Tom, himself the former Managing Editor of The Comics Journal, is here to talk about Fantagraphics and the work and decisions that went into writing its history.
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#526 “Black Hole”
In Black Hole, Charles Burns examined coming of age, in a new and slightly creepy way. After losing their virginity, various teens are affected by something called The Bug. Does The Bug symbolize puberty, or something else? Kumar and Dana go back to take another look at this classic graphic novel.
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#525 Comics and Politics
In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, with a result that many found unexpected and disturbing, Emmet and John discuss various comics that have commented on politics and on government gone bad, including V for Vendetta; X-men: God Loves, Man Kills; Ex Machina; Prez; Transmetropolitan; Nemesis the Warlock; American Flagg; Congressman John Lewis’ March; and more.
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#524 “Assassination Classroom”
He’s taken a bite out of the moon! He’s threatening to destroy earth! He’s… teaching junior high? What is the many-tentacled Koro Sensei up to? Why is he up for letting a bunch of 14-year-olds try to kill him? Tim and Kumar talk about Yuusei Matsui’s Assassination Classroom – incomprehensible sound effects and all!
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#523 Who is Wonder Woman?
Of course she’s been around for decades, but when it comes to how the character’s been presented, there’s always been a tension between her feminist qualities and the pinup-y ones. Is she here to empower women or excite men? Can it be both?
This week Emmet and John are here to talk about the genesis of a DC marquee character and how she’s been presented by various creators, with an emphasis on Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette’s Wonder Woman: Earth One, and a useful comparison of Wonder Woman comics and the movie Mad Max: Fury Road.
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#522 “Give Me Liberty” and the 2016 U.S. Election
Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons’ brilliant Give Me Liberty features a surreal America in the near future that is falling apart. Their Martha Washington, a young black woman raised in a housing project, is a tough, resourceful, heartbreaking heroine who journeys through and ultimately survives this America.
Koom and Kumar reflect upon the neglected classic and its eerie ability to touch upon the spirit of America during this election season. They recorded this podcast after the third presidential debate, when Hilary Clinton seemed likely to win, and joked about the connections. Sometimes, reality has a way of outdoing fiction.
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Critiquing Comics #100: Comics from Conventions!
Somehow, Critiquing Comics is up to 100 episodes! Tim and Mulele mark this occasion by discussing a bunch of comics picked up at New York’s MoCCA Festival and Tokyo’s Kaigai Manga Festa.
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Continue reading Critiquing Comics #100: Comics from Conventions!
#521 Kaigai Manga Festa 2016, part two!
Part two of our roundup of creators who tabled at this year’s Kaiga Manga Festa, including talks with Graeme Mc Nee, Matthew Forsythe, Karl Kerschl, and our own Mulele!
Creators show their work to editors at Comitia, the larger festival alongside Kaigai on October 23, 2016
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#520 Kaigai Manga Festa 2016, part one!
It’s time for another Kaigai Manga Festa roundup! This year’s international comics festival in Tokyo was held on October 23 at Tokyo Big Sight, alongside the Comitia festival as always. Tim caught up with some familiar faces and met some new ones as well!
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