#487 Maya Kern and “Monster Pop!”

Monster Pop!Maya Kern‘s “Monster Pop!” features monsters and humans living together at a university. In Kern’s mind, it’s like, and also not like, shojo manga. How so?

This week, Tim talks with Maya about the increased acceptance of gay characters in comics; the problems with blogging from a character’s point of view (and of making your character a musician); why comics conventions are good for connections, but anime conventions are good for making money; repetitive strain injury, online comics promotion (Tapastic, Patreon), and more.

#360 Two Trippy Audio Comics

Jim Woodring doing kids’ books!? That was apparently the thought behind Trosper, a 2001 release from Woodring that came with a Southwest Asia-influenced music CD by Bill Frisell. A baby elephant-like creature runs from things that go bump in the night. Maurice Sendak would be proud.

Going further back, Daniel Clowes’ early ’90s comedy/nightmare graphic novel Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron also has a musical soundtrack (sold separately), from Victor Banana. The book is a lesson in controlled chaos; the CD, a commentary on it. Tim and Kevin explore the audible and visual aspects of both these comics.

PLUS: Ritz Crackers! Jimmy Durante! The Brady Bunch! This one has it ALL! (including spoilers!)

#299 Detroit Metal City vs. Metalocalypse Dethklok

Krauser and NathanThe @#$%ing Death Metal showdown that had to happen! It’s Kiminori Wakasugi’s Detroit Metal City versus Metalocalypse Dethklok created by Brendan Small, in our most explicit episode ever! How is is possible for TWO Death Metal comedy franchises to suddenly appear at the same time?! Thanks to the flimsy pretext of a Dethklok licenced comic finally being published, Kumar and newcomer-to-the-show Dana discuss Metal, the @#$% joke filled DMC manga, Metal, the @#$% joke-free DMC live-action movie, and Metal; compared with the Dethklok TV show and comic (including Dethklok vs The Goon, written and drawn by Eric Powell), and Metal. Plus: how censoring yourself is totally @#$%ing UN-Metal!! @#$% on!!

#233 Bears and Beatles

You’re more responsive than we thought! Tim discovers a cache of listener e-mail he didn’t notice before; he reads the messages and discusses with Mulele.

These sites are referenced:

Boom! Studios’ Mr. Stuffins was originally launched as a three-issue miniseries in 2007, but it was left unfinished. It appeared more recently as a completed graphic novel, with the same script (almost) but a different art team, giving us an opportunity to compare the choices that the two different art teams made on presenting the same story.

A comic about the Beatles! Sounds pretty cool, right? Well, The Beatles Experience (from Bluewater Comics) gets praise for presenting the Fab Four within their historical and musical context, and including some interesting anecdotes — but without a speck of sourcing. Worse yet, it veers into straight fiction in a couple of particularly egregious ways…

Finally, Mulele gives Tim some more pointers on his art. See the discussed illustrations below the break…

Continue reading #233 Bears and Beatles

#221 Johnny Cash: We See a Brightness

Though Asterios Polyp made the point that comics and (written) music are similar, doing a comic about music is not such an easy task. But Reinhard Kleist beautifully presents the music, and life, of a country music legend in Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness, recently released in English. How does it compare with the Cash biopic Walk the Line? Tim and Paul review.

#144 Too Much Coffee Man SINGS!

9/8/08 Too Much Coffee Man

Too Much Coffee ManShannon Wheeler, creator of “Too Much Coffee Man”, joins Tim to talk about his comics, drawing full-time, and the Too Much Coffee Man opera!