#768 “Berserk” v. 1-4

BerserkBerserk abruptly ended when creator Kentaro Miura died two years ago, later resurrected by Miura’s assistants and his friend Kouji Mori. Neither Tim nor Kumar had read this violent, complex manga, but it lingered on our to-do list the past two years until a gag news story about who was going to wrap up Berserk (which Tim didn’t immediately recognize as a gag!) inspired us to take the plunge. What we found is an addictive manga that answers the question “What if Fist of the North Star were a fantasy “graphic medicine” comic about trauma?

Yup, Al Plastino did some “in case of emergency” Peanuts strips

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#767 Jack Kirby’s “Kamandi” #1-10: It’s a knockout!

Kamandi

If you can’t get the rights to Planet of the Apes, do the next best thing: get Jack Kirby to come up with a concept that’s Apes-adjacent! That was DC Comics’ strategy in the early ’70s. What resulted was Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, a series with multiple intelligent animals lording over caveman-level humans, and plenty of sci-fi elements and references to the Apollo program and other features of real life in that era. Join Tim and Emmet exploring the significance of the multiple intelligent mammals, the Kamandi drinking game, and more.

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#766 “Time Breakers”

In most time travel stories, there’s an imperative to fix any paradoxes created by the time travel. But in Rachel Pollack and Chris Weston’s Time Breakers, paradoxes are embraced rather than explained away or repaired. This week, Kumar and Emmet discuss this five-issue 1997 miniseries, the most popular series of DC’s canceled imprint Helix.

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Critiquing Comics #231: “Pimp Killer”

Pimp Killer

When it comes to truth in advertising, the title of this comic is an award winner: Ghezal Omar‘s Pimp Killer (with art by Ayhan Hayrula and lettering by Phillip Ginn) is about a woman named L.A. Jones who… kills pimps. Or at least tries to. She also does nasty things to guys who abuse their girlfriends, and, in general, lives large, and the comic doesn’t hold back on any of it. Jason joins Tim to talk about the latest from Ghezal (whose work we looked at once before).

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#765 “The Re-Up” #2 and “Megillah Sunday Funnies”

The Re-Up 2 and Megillah Sunday Funnies

This podcast continues to be a booster of Chad Bilyeu (“Chad in Amsterdam“), and he’s been busy lately! In addition to releasing the second issue of The Re-Up, his recollection of that time when he was a pot dealer, he’s also curated an anthology, called Megillah Sunday Funnies, that is also a museum show (through May 26, 2023) and auction of the original work in the publication, by 35 different indy creators. This time, Tim and Kumar dig into both.

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Critiquing Comics #230: “Thready” #2 and “Tales from the Interface” #4

"Thready" #2 and "Tales from the Interface" #4

Sometimes the topics of Critiquing Comics episodes come back for seconds – or thirds! We look at a couple of these repeat submitters this week:

    • Thready #2, “Tuesday,” by Brandon Hayes with art by James the Stanton, highlights the problem many bipolar people have with hypersexuality. Tim and Jason discuss
    • Tales from the Interface, Emmanuel Filteau’s look at a future world dominated by a computer system, is back with its 4th issue, discussed by Tim and Adam.

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#764 “Past Tense”, Tough Translation, and Audio Drama

Past Tense

In the year 2038, invisible drones are sent to the past to pick up any event you want to see, if you have the money to pay for it. One woman using the service discovers a secret that puts her in danger in the present. Our friend Jason McNamara, author of such graphic novels as The Rattler and The Martian Confederacy, is back with the forthcoming Past Tense, his first work from Dark Horse, with art by Alberto Massaggia. Jason joins Tim to talk about the book, and then Kumar and Tim review it.

Kumar also fills us in on how his resignation as translator of Cipher Academy, a nearly untranslatable manga, went viral.

Also, Alex Squiers tells Tim about his audio drama The StarWell Foundation, in which a company which recruits superheroes and other celebrities to meet sick kids and the like, deals with one kid’s unusual request: they want to meet a villain.

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#763 Graffiti and Comics

This time Tim finds some intersections of comics and the world of graffiti.

First, Argentine graffiti artist and animator Cof talks about his cartoonish art style, the difference between a graffiti artist and a muralist, graffiti scenes around the world, which country has the best spray paint cans, and more.

2012 interview with Cof (buenosairesstreetart.com)

Cof on Makersplace.com

Cof on Instagram

Cof on Flickr

Graffiti Artists Collaborate (buenosairesstreetart.com)

Then, Thomas John Behe on his series of graphic novels under the title Contraband, exploring one possible future for social media. Behe talks about the upcoming Bad Benny, a work that began as a series of graffiti art panels in different cities, and Christiania, written by his daughter Abi, a book recently discussed on Critiquing Comics!

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#762 MCU Phase 4: Why so much complaining?

MCU 4
Marvel’s “Phase Four” block of movies and TV shows has wrapped up, and it’s occasioned a lot of annoyance online for all sorts of reasons. Are the complaints legitimate? Is it ginned-up anger just to get noticed? Is there anything good to say about Phase Four? Tim and Emmet examine the good and bad of the shows, and some real problems that are developing as the Universe continues to expand.

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#761 A disturbing visit to “2120”

2120

George Wylesol’s 2120 is a choose-your-own-adventure horror graphic novel that blocks your progress and punishes the reader for cheating. Kumar and Emmet found it disturbing and fascinating. This week, they present their review.

Wylesol interview from The Migratory

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