#195 Knights and Pirates

8/31/09 Knights and Pirates

A review of Web comic Dead Heaven by Chris Steininger leads into a discussion of Tim’s pet peeves about Web comics. Tim’s been reading the pirate manga series One Piece, and Mulele recommends a site centering on print design, that could inspire unusual ways to present your comic.

#194 Comics on the screen: Dick Tracy and Sin City

8/24/09 Comics on the screen: Dick Tracy and Sin City

Many comics have been adapted to movies, but few have tried to reproduce the experience of actually reading a comic. These two did: Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy, and Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s Sin City. Tim, Mulele, Paul, and newcomer Rod discuss. Also: Paul and Mulele give Miller’s The Spirit a quickie review.

#193 Filling in the Word Balloon

8/17/09 Filling in the Word Balloon

Word BalloonJohn Siuntres was one of the first comics podcasters back in 2005, and he’s been interviewing big names in American comics ever since. Tim chats with him about his background, how he got started with Word Balloon, and the state of mainstream comics.

#192 Marvel Geek-out: Alternate Future Edition

8/10/09 Marvel Geek-out: Alternate Future Edition

Days of Future PastWhether it’s Old Man Logan, Days of Future Past, or Dr. Doom’s recent hallucination of a utopian future, possible futures and alternate time-lines are fun for both creator and reader. Tim and Patrik talk about alternate timelines (is there one where Dark Reign is finally over?), plus un-rebooting books, and the lack of new heroes challenging the old guard for popularity.

#191 Awesomeness in Bolt City

8/3/09 Awesomeness in Bolt City

CopperKazu Kibuishi’s Bolt City Web site is a smorgasbord of awesomeness, featuring the monthly strip Copper, early work Clive Cabbage, first pages of his book Daisy Kutter, and how-tos for working on scanned art in Adobe PhotoShop. Kibuishi is also the editor of a series of anthology comics called Flight. Tim and Mulele review the site and the first volume of Flight.

#190 American Flagg

7/27/09 American Flagg

American FlaggThough it had a lot of buzz when it first appeared in 1983, Howard Chaykin’s dystopian-future comic American Flagg! had fallen off the radar until recently. Now Image Comics has released two volumes containing the first 14 issues. Tim and Kumar discuss.

#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.”