#525 Comics and Politics

Comics and PoliticsIn the wake of the 2016 presidential election, with a result that many found unexpected and disturbing, Emmet and John discuss various comics that have commented on politics and on government gone bad, including V for Vendetta; X-men: God Loves, Man Kills; Ex Machina; Prez; Transmetropolitan; Nemesis the Warlock; American Flagg; Congressman John Lewis’ March; and more.

#497 Peter Kuper: Demonstrating what comics can do

Ruins by Peter KuperPeter Kuper has been pushing the boundaries of comics for over two decades, using media like linoleum prints, scratchboard, and stencils & spray paint (including in The System) to make a wide variety of comics, from those with political or environmental messages to autobiography, adaptations of Franz Kafka’s writings, and (since 1997) Spy vs. Spy.

In this episode, Peter talks with Tim about the varied media; his youthful encounters with Harvey Pekar, R. Crumb, and Howard Chaykin; his ambitious graphic novel Ruins; the importance of getting out of your comfort zone; and much more.

#323 Frank Miller’s “Daredevil”: A Scholarly Analysis Begins

DaredevilMore than 30 years ago, Frank Miller set the comics world on fire by turning Marvel’s swashbuckling Daredevil title into a noir series with ninjas. More importantly, he took a serious look at some issues of crime and punishment, and his conclusions tended to veer left politically. Fast forward to his later career, and the views he expresses would be right at home on Fox News. What happened?

Tim’s brother Paul isn’t sure he can answer that question, but he finds that early Daredevil run to still be very worthy of notice today, so much so that he’s writing a book, for an academic publisher, about it. He fills Tim and Mulele in on his thoughts as he prepares to write…

#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.