This time, two books by Neil Gaiman: Black Orchid
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Tag: DC
#494 Batman vs. Superman
Kumar talks with both Emmet O’Cuana and John Roberson about Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. How does Zack Snyder see these characters, and how is his vision at odds with the established ideas about these characters? How can we think about the events in this movie in a way that makes sense?
Music:
“Superman’s Song” – Crash Test Dummies
“I Whipped Batman’s Ass” – Wesley Willis
“(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman” – The Kinks
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
#479 Some of the greatest Superman stories (or not)
There’s no doubt that Superman is one of the most significant characters in the history of American comics. He ended up setting the template for what would be the dominant genre in American comics after the Comics Code came into effect. Of course, the types of stories told in those comics, and their tone, has varied wildly over the years, which makes it difficult to try to determine which stories are the best of the lot, but naturally people make the attempt, including DC Comics itself.
This week Kumar and Tim look at the 1980s collection “The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told”, as well as Alan Moore’s “Whatever Happened To the Man of Tomorrow”, which is currently being published in a collection with two other Moore Superman stories. Are these actually the greatest Superman stories?
Featuring Batman’s superior party prep skills, swimming the interplanetary water spout, and the symbolism of the ads in the original printing of “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow”! *Choke*
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
#463 Bat in Time
Is this the sixties, or 2039?
In a time without superheroes, Batman sightings are reported. But isn’t he an urban legend? Paul Pope brings his unique, inventive style to the Batman of 2039 in Batman Year 100. While new characters stand in for Robin and Oracle, is there a reason there’s no Alfred analogue? Why do Paul Pope characters have big lips? Tim and Brandon discuss this and more.
From Batman 2039, we move to Batman 1966! When production of the Adam West Batman series was gearing up, Harlan Ellison (writer of the Star Trek episode “City on the Edge of Forever”, and much else of note) submitted a treatment for an episode featuring Two-Face. While the treatment was accepted, it never made it to the script stage. Finally, in 2014, DC released a comics adaptation of this story, Batman ’66: The Lost Episode, scripted by Len Wein and drawn by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (cover by Alex Ross). Does it feel like the show? Who might have played Two-Face? What does this book tell us about the differences between making a TV show and making a comic? Tim and Paul slide down the Batpoles for a closer look.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
#428 V for Vendetta
It’s been over 25 years since DC published the completed story (which had been left hanging several years earlier when the title it appeared in in Britain was cancelled), and (can you believe it?) nearly a decade since the film came out. How does Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s V for Vendetta look now? Is there any tension to this story, or does the fact that every step of V’s plan seems to go off without a hitch make it a boring read? Tim and Kumar discuss this, the pivotal prison sequence, the well-developed supporting cast, and much more.
Read articles on V:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
#425 Aquaman: Why he’s not lame
While Aquaman has been around since 1941 and been through several badass incarnations, it seems everyone but dedicated Aquaman readers still thinks of him as the lightweight, Super Friends Aquaman. Tim, who’s been getting into the current Aquaman series, is joined this week by longtime Aquaman reader Emmet O’Cuana to sift through the character’s long history, various conflicting origin stories, costume changes, supporting cast, and more.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
#292 Women’s Issues
FLASHBACK! At a panel at San Diego Comicon 2011, Dan DiDio (bottom picture at left) caused a stir by seeming belligerent when a fan asked why the DC reboot included fewer female creators — even fewer than had worked on for DC pre-reboot. DiDio seemed to think there were hardly any female comics creators he could consider. Hear it here
Jake Ekiss was probably not alone in expressing disapproval of this sentiment — in this case, on Twitter. So Tim invited him to come on the podcast and discuss it here. (Jake’s comic is Solomon Azua.)
Joining Tim and Jake is one of those female comics creators the mainstream isn’t hiring, EK Weaver, creator of the Web comic The Less than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal (that’s Amal in the top picture at left). We discuss why women are so much further out of the comics mainstream in the US than they are in, oh say, Japan.
Also this week, Tim’s former day-job office mate Cassey, now based in Anchorage, joins Tim to discuss Bryan Lee O’Malley’s pre-Scott Pilgrim work Lost at Sea, the coming-of-age story of 18-year-old Raleigh (middle picture).
- The Problem with Having Only 1% Female Creators at DC Comics (from Comics Alliance)
- Petition to DC: Hire more women (at change.org)
Originally published August 29, 2011
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
#399 Corporate Comics: Love ’em, Hate ’em
Tim Across America, part nine! When it comes to Big Two comics these days, there’s a lot to complain about. Marvel characters changed to look like the actors who play them in movies; nearly the entire DC line subsumed into a grim-and-gritty muck. And yet… we still like some of these books! Superior Spider-man, anyone?
In a cafe in Berkeley, California, Tim discusses this and more with three past guests who all live in the East Bay area, but had never previously met: Deb Aoki, John Roberson, and Jason McNamara! Conversation also swung to whether Image can eclipse the Big Two, comparison of black and white comics vs. color, doing a Kickstarter project for your comic vs. doing print-on-demand, and more!
Jason’s Kickstarter page for The Rattler
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
#385 The Legacy of “Starman”
The 1990s DC series Starman is one of comicdom’s most fondly remembered series. Interestingly, says series author James Robinson, it seems to be more popular now than it was when it was actually in production! James joins Tim and Ryan Haupt this week to look back on various aspects of this iconic series, including the theme of “legacy”, a sneaky crossover with another series, a story arc that never happened, the differences in how the Big Two have dealt with their Golden Age characters, and much more.
James Robinson on Science…Sort Of in October 2009
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
#349 Expanding comics’ audience, pt 1
Recently asked on our Facebook group: What would you do if you controlled Marvel and/or DC? This led to another question: How can comics, particularly in the US, gain a larger audience?
No one’s really sure of the answer to the second question, but its a good springboard for podcast discussion of comics evangelism and the state of the industry in general. What role will digital comics play? In the first installment of an occasional series, Tim bounces these questions off our friend Tom Spurgeon.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download