Hilary Barta has been drawing (and sometimes writing) comics for decades, for nearly any publisher you can name. He even worked with the great Alan Moore on “Splash Branigan.” In this week’s show he talks to Koom about working with Moore, his Plastic Man stint, and his new humor story with Doug Rice “When Monsters Smell” in Marvel #4. And, the utility of drugs to the creative process is debated.
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FLASHBACK! Tim and Brandon struggle with League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier, zip through Alex Robinson’s Lower Regions, revisit The Black Diamond, and go back in comics history for The Grendel Archives. (originally published May 5, 2008)
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While this podcast has covered the odd League of Extraordinary Gentlemen book here and there, no one has dared think of trying to discuss all of them in one episode… until now! Kumar and Dana take on the task, with special attention paid to Black Dossier (and the record that was recorded for it), the Century trilogy, and the injustice that Kumar feels was done to Volume 2 in the 2006 episode we republished yesterday!
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FLASHBACK! Leading into tomorrow’s look at ALL the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen books, we look back to this early episode, in which Tim, Mulele, and Brandon talk about the merits — or, in Brandon’s view, lack of merit — in League Volume 2. That is, once they’re done going down the Star Wars rabbit hole. Originally published May 1, 2006
Alan Moore interview on MTV.com
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Writer: Alan Moore, Penciller: Zander Cannon, Inker: Andrew Cannon
America’s Best Comics, 2004.
This trade paperback collects issues #1-#5 of the miniseries Smax, which was spun out of the Alan Moore created Top 10 series. The story follows the character of Jeff from the Top 10 police force, who returns to his home world/dimension to attend a funeral. Robyn accompanies him and Jeff tries to pass her off as his wife. Robyn is none too happy about this, and it is a waste because no one really believes Jeff. It seems that Jeff is a bad liar and he didn’t even go to the trouble of securing fake wedding bands. It seems that Jeff is really scared that he will hook up (sexually) with his twin sister Rexa.
Moore approaches Jeff’s home world with a humor that is reminiscent of Terry Pratchett. The series does defiantly compare with the magical realism found in the Discworld novels. The world is a spoof on the fantasy genre but Moore incorporates some real cutting satire. Jeff’s recounting of his ogre father’s abuse to him (physical) and his sister (physical and sexual) keeps the story from being a light and airy satire of Dungeon and Dragons campaign cliques though. There is a dark side to the relationship between Jeff and Rexa that involves their disturbing prior incestuous couplings.
