A Japanese girl has an altercation with a panda cub at the zoo! That’s the setup for this Asia-themed, mangaesque comic. Fresh off its successful Indiegogo crowdfunding project, Yuki vs. Panda faces its next test: a critique by Tim and Mulele! Will it survive?!
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English-speaking manga fans are probably familiar with the name Deb Aoki. She covers Japanese comics for about.com, and is deeply into manga and anything remotely related to it. Deb made a manga geek pilgrimage to Japan recently, and Tim had a chance to sit down and talk with her about Japan, the changing manga culture in the US, and much more.
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FLASHBACK! Fletcher Hanks created some bizarre, sadistic superhero comics in 1939-1941. Tim and Kumar discuss the Hanks collection I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets!, edited by Paul Karasik.
Also: Comic Book Comics #2!
(Originally published October 27, 2008)
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The Boston Comics Roundtable is a thriving group of creators who have weekly meetings and put out anthology books of their work, including Show & Tell; a Collection of Comics about Teaching & Learning; and The Greatest of All Time. This week Tim talks to anthology co-editor (and comics creator) Dan Mazur, who publishes the books through his own imprint, Ninth Art Press; Norwegian artist Line Olsson; and first-time comics writer (and former English teacher here in Japan) Ben DiMaggio.
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You’ve probably heard of Helen Keller, one of the first (but not the first!) blind & deaf Americans to become educated. If so, then you probably also know the name Annie Sullivan – Helen’s teacher. Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller, by Joseph Lambert, is a graphic novel biography more of Annie than Helen, taking advantage of the comics medium to show symmetry in the lives and situations of the two women. It’s also pretty awesome.
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Three kids, regarded as troublemakers who’ll never amount to anything, are the stars of Roland Harrison‘s Black Mountain Elementary. Will a zombie apocalypse in the lunchroom allow them to redeem themselves? Tim and Mulele critique.
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Occasionally our friend Dale Wilson in L.A. sends Mulele some comics he’s come across, and we like to talk about them on the show. This episode’s batch tends to lean violent…including two involuntary arm removals. Mulele and Tim comment on:
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In Chris Reynolds’ “Mauretania” comics, characters bake interesting pies, delight in eerie shops, join trendy police forces, and report on events they will never remember. Stories drift from point to point like dreams. School starts and a kid on summer vacation somehow doesn’t notice. How can this be real? Real it may be, but it takes intuition, not rational thought, to take anything away from these books. Tim and Kumar ponder Adventures From Mauretania
And if we haven’t sold you on these books, then read Seth’s fantastic essay on them!
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When you think of ’80s comics, Berke Breathed’s Bloom County is one that belongs in the pantheon with Watchmen and Dark Knight. It pushed many boundaries on the ever-conservative funnies page, from modern dating to issue advocacy, balancing cumudgeonliness with exuberance and hope. But how much of a hurdle are the pop culture references for modern readers? Is it still worth reading? Tim and Patrik dust off their memories and try to look at this classic strip with new eyes.
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If you’re into conspiracy-theory comics, “Order” sounds good on paper: a secret society covering up the existence of a gate to Hell near Denver. Unfortunately, Tim and Mulele find the Truthful Comics take on this concept comes up short. Listen and find out why.
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