#748 Elizabeth Sandifer on Netflix’s “Sandman”

Sandman

While Netflix’s Sandman series has gone over well with many fans, not everyone is pleased. This week Emmet talks with comics commentator Elizabeth Sandifer, who has found the series to be vastly inferior to the original comics, and gives us her reasons in a very entertaining and informative way.

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#675 Gaiman’s “Black Orchid” and “The Books of Magic”

This time, two books by Neil Gaiman: Black Orchid, with art by Dave McKean, and The Books of Magic, drawn by John Bolton and other artists. The challenge of Black Orchid can be to simply figure out the backstory, and how Gaiman changed it! The Books of Magic‘s Tim Hunter character is Harry Potter before Harry Potter; coincidence? Kumar and Jordan look at the evidence.

#558 “Transmetropolitan”

Spider Jerusalem

Transmetropolitan, by Warren Ellis and Darrick Robertson, was a 60-issue series that covered potential issues of the future as well as political issues for any era. Tim and Kumar have read the whole series, and now they’re here with an analysis. How does the series’ take on the future stack up, fifteen years later? How does it seem prescient, and how does it feel a bit off-base? What are the politics of the series? Why does it appropriate a couple of iconic images?

#471 “Crumb” and “Punk Rock Jesus”

Crumb
Punk Rock Jesus

Tim and Kumar meet in person for the first time! This calls for a podcast, but… what to review? We discuss the movie Crumb, which features not only the expected discussion of R. Crumb’s work (including an objective look at the question of whether some of the … discomfiting subjects of his work should really have been published as “art”), but also a fascinating portrait of the dysfunctional family he grew up in.

Then, Tim and Brandon clash over Sean Murphy’s Punk Rock Jesus, in which a former Irish Republican Army member acts as a bodyguard in a reality show claiming to be creating the clone of Jesus Christ. Is it objective and well-written, or a promo brochure for atheism?

#428 V for Vendetta

V for VendettaIt’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.

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#373 “Sandman”: Waking from the dream

sandmanAs it’s widely regarded as one of the best comic book series of all time, Dana and Kumar try their best to rekindle their love for Neil Gaiman’s SANDMAN nearly twenty years after its conclusion, only to find the plotting leaden, the art inconsistent, and the world-building frustrating. Has time stripped the series of its lustre, or are these two jerks just too old for it?

#056 “Fables” v. 1 & “1001 Nights of Snowfall”

fablesFLASHBACK! Tim and Brandon discuss “Fables” vol 1 and the Fables graphic novel “1001 Nights of Snowfall”, along with a detour into ’90s Marvel! (Originally published January 1, 2007)

#309 Understanding Israel through a Memoir

Sarah GliddenThe Israeli/Palestinian situation has been in the news for as long as any of us can remember, but how much do we really understand about it? Sarah Glidden, a secular Jew, went on a “Birthright Tour” expecting confirmation of all the negative things she believed about Israel, only to find that the reality was much more complex. Sarah talks to Tim about the experience and her next career steps, and Tim and Brandon review “How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less”, Sarah’s graphic novel/memoir of her Israel visit.

Sarah Glidden’s site

Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d’Angoulême

#297 When genres collide: “Anya’s Ghost” and “Heavy Liquid”

Heavy Liquid & Anya's GhostTim and Brandon take on two graphic novels: First, Vera Brosgol’s ghost/coming to America/coming-of-age story “Anya’s Ghost”; then, Paul Pope’s sci-fi/relationship/drug story “Heavy Liquid”.

#277 “Daytripper” & Mike Maihack (“Cleopatra in Space”) interview

A double-header episode this week!

First, Tim and Brandon discuss Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba‘s Daytripper. No, it’s not a time travel story (is it a story at all?); it’s a reflection on life and death. Is it fantastic, or trite? Depends on your point of view…

Then, Tim talks to Mike Maihack, the talented creator behind Cleopatra in Space, about motion lines, Web comics as a business, and more.