The Comics Alternative

Latest Episodes:

Episode 145 - Reviews of We Stand on Guard #1, Will Eisner’s The Spirit #1, Archie #1, and Leisure Jul 22, 2015

Show notes

This week on the podcast, the Two Guys with PhDs take a close look at a few #1 issues and one minicomic series. However, before they get into the nitty gritty of their reviews, they share some of the listener mail and attention they've been receiving -- including a very cool call-out from the Kyle and Drew at Comics for Fun and Profit -- and then go into some news out of SDCC. In particular, they discuss this year's Eisner Award winners, most of which the guys are familiar with and/or had expected (or hoped) to win. However, there were some surprises as well as some disappointments in this year's Eisners, but such is the game of awards systems such as this. After highlighting a little more news out of San Diego -- e.g., the announcement of new Vertigo titles, the return of Lady Killer, Fantagraphics to publish the next Kramers Ergot -- Andy and Derek plunge into the titles that they're discussing this week. First, they look at Brian K. Vaughan and Steve Skroce's We Stand on Guard #1 (Image Comics). This is one of the most anticipated new series of the year, and the guys waste no time in underscoring not only BKV's storytelling abilities, but Skroce's meticulous art. Next, they look at the latest attempt to bring The Spirit back to reading audiences. With Will Eisner's The Spirit #1 (Dynamite Entertainment), Matt Wagner and Dan Schkade capture not only the spirit -- bad pun intended -- of the original, but also introduce Eisner's crime-fighting world in such a way that brand new readers can easily get on board, even without much knowledge of the original. The same can be said of Mark Waid and Fiona Staples's Archie #1 (Archie Comics). The creators' take on the comics icon appears both fresh and reverential, making this new series accessible, yet in a familiar way. Still, the guys wonder who exactly the audience might be -- or might end up being -- for these new spins on Archie Andrews and Denny Colt. Finally, Derek and Andy turn to a minicomic series from Tim Comrie, Leisure. This is an autobiographical, very personal, series with three issues so far. Comrie lays bare both his pleasures and his turmoils, and in a genuine manner that never comes across as calculated or discomforting. The guys also bring in a discussion of Comrie's other series (along with Mike Heneghan), Five Hour Comics, and compare its style and tone to Leisure. If you're not familiar with Tim Comrie's work, then now is the time to check it out!

On Location - Talking about SDCC and Summer Reading at Collected Comics and Games Jul 17, 2015

Show notes

Derek is back at his local shop, Collected Comics and Games in Plano, TX, for the monthly Comics Alternative on-location recording. This time he talks with folks about summer reading and the recent San Diego Comic-Con. Two of the customers there, Krystle and Craig, just got back from San Diego and share their experiences and the fun they had. They do a great job of describing the excitement, and the chaos, to be had at SDCC, complete with cosplaying, fireworks, brushes with greatness, and near-jail-cell adventures. Another participant on this episode, Mike, wasn't able to get to the con, so both he and Derek had to experience the events vicariously. But everyone at the table was able to share their reading lists for the summer. Both Craig and Mike -- and even an absent guest, Matthew, who shared his list before the recording -- will be reading new Secret Wars, Spider-man, and Inhumans titles in the coming weeks, but there are also a number of long and novel-like narratives that are on the table, as well, including Saga, Fables, Chew, and Invincible. As always, the conversation can be unpredictable during on-location recordings at the shop, going into strange and unexpected areas, G-rated, explicit, and otherwise.

Episode 144 - Reviews of Black River, 8House:Arclight #1, and Kilgore Quarterly #6 Jul 15, 2015

Show notes

On this episode of The Comics Alternative, Gene is back in the cohosting chair after a long absence. (He was last on the show for the interview with Joshua Hale Fialkov and Kody Chamberlain, but he hasn't been on a review show since October of last year.) This week, the Two Guys look at three new, yet very different, comics. They begin with Josh Simmons's Black River (Fantagraphics), a beautiful yet disturbing post-apocalyptic narrative. It follows a group of women trying to survive after some sort of catastrophic event -- we're never sure what -- the deadly travails that await them, and how the experience changes the group. Although the subject matter is violent and unsettling, Simmons's artwork is visually compelling. Next, the guys check out the first issue of 8House: Arclight, Brandon Graham and Marian Churchland's new series from Image Comics. Issue #1 reveals a detailed and fantastical world, complete with its own physics, as well as its own alphabet. Graham provides just enough story to satisfy, while at the same time teasing the narrative to come. But it's Churchland's art that captures Gene and Derek's attention, working seamlessly into the complex world-building apparent in this nascent series. Finally, Gene and Derek spend a lot of time discussing a small-press anthology series, Kilgore Quarterly (Kilgore Books and Comics). This is the 6th issue in the title, and as with the previous issues, this one contains a nice balance of known names, first-time-published cartoonists, and creators whose work you may not know, but you definitely should. Both Noah Van Sciver and Eleanor Davis have contributions in this issue, as do lesser-known artists such as Rich Sparks, Susan Choi, Matias San Juan, Sarah Leitten, and Amara Leipzig. But a full appreciation of Kilgore Quarterly #6 wouldn't be possible without delving into the work of all of its contributors -- and Derek and Gene do just that -- including Meg Golding, Alex Graham, Joe Leonard, Alex Nall, and Ryan the Truck. Of the three titles discussed on this week's show, Kilgore Quarterly is the one the guys spend the most time discussing...and for a reason.

Interviews - I. N. J. Culbard Jul 13, 2015

Show notes

The Two Guys with PhDs Talking about Comics are back with another fun conversation, this time with artist I. N. J. Culbard. They talk with him about his latest book, The King in Yellow (SelfMadeHero), a graphic adaptation of Robert W. Chambers’s macabre collection of stories originally published in 1895. To be more specific, Culbard actually takes the first four stories from Chambers’s original work, the ones that reference the notorious fictional play referenced in the title — “The Repairer of Reputations,” “The Mask,” “In the Court of the Dragon,” and “The Yellow Sign” — and adapts those. As Ian reveals, he attempts to stay true to the spirit of the original, while at the same time making creative changes that will more fully bring out the stories’ tone and present them in more of a thematic whole. In fact, Derek suggests that Ian has actually made The King in Yellow better by giving it more structural cohesion, using the four stories in such a way that the book becomes short-story cycle, or more appropriate to the medium, a graphic cycle. The guys spend a lot of time discussing the new book, the artist’s storytelling choices, and especially Culbard’s larger philosophy on adaptation and comics. However, they also explore a variety of Ian’s earlier works, including his ongoing adaptations of H. P. Lovecraft narratives (of which we can expect more in the near future), his many collaborations with both Ian Edgington and Dan Abnett, and his solo work from last year, Celeste. If you aren’t previously familiar with the work of I. N. J. Culbard, then this is your chance to get introduced to one of the best adapters, and best artists, working in comics today.

Episode 143 - A Publisher Spotlight on Retrofit Comics / Big Planet Comics Jul 08, 2015

Show notes

The Two Guys are back for yet another publisher spotlight, and this time they are looking at the 2015 releases from Retrofit Comics / Big Planet Comics. The episode begins with a brief interview with Box Brown, the founder and editor of Retrofit Comics. He discusses the origins of Retrofit as a Kickstarter campaign, his education as a publisher, the ensuing partnership with Big Planet Comics, and the philosophy behind and publishing trajectory of their efforts. After that, the guys discuss the 2015 releases (so far) from Retrofit / Big Planet, beginning with Kate Leth's Ink for Beginners: A Comic Guide to Getting Tattooed. Andy points out that Leth's work is one of a growing number of informational or expository comics to be found out there, and that tattoo parlors around the country would do well to stock this small book. Next, the guys turn to Box Brown's An Entity Observes All Things, a collection of nine short stories, all with a sci-fi or futuristic themes of some sort. Some of their favorites include "Mundo Jelly," "Voyage of the Golden Retriever," "Memorexia," and the title story. Then they look at perhaps the most experimental, and the smallest, book of the lot, Niv Bavarsky's Piggy, a disparate series of stories and drawings in mini-comic form. The unconventional nature of Piggy is then contrasted to the more genre-based comics of the week, Laura Knetzger's Sea Urchin and Jack Teagle's The Unmentionables. The former is an autobiographical account of the author's inabilities concentrate and relate to others -- represented effectively by a sea urchin inside her brain -- as well as a speculation on her place in the world. The Unmentionables is a fun, action-packed story of a group of pro wrestlers who become crimefighters, and its origin-story feel promises more installments to come. Finally, the Two Guys turn to what may be the two most ambitious narratives of the week...or so Derek feels. Olivier Schrauwen's Mowgli's Mirror is a wordless, almost treasury-sized comic about a young man in a jungle -- no overt links to Kipling's stories -- searching for companionship and finding unexpected encounters. As the title suggests, there are parts of the narrative that are symmetrical in nature, but in this aspect the book doesn't hold a candle to the final book discussed in this publisher spotlight, Matt Madden's Drawn Onward. As we have come to expect from Madden -- see, for example, 99 Ways to Tell a Story and A Fine Mess -- this book is an experiment in form, where the second half of the narrative mirrors the first half...or vice versa. Depending on how you read it, it's a story of either connectedness or alienation. Either way, it's a self-reflexive tale where the narrator uses her art to make sense, and perhaps even transform the meaning, of experiences that unsettle her. In wrapping up the episode, Andy and Derek also talk briefly about some of the other books that Retrofit / Big Planet have been putting out over the last couple of years. (Box Brown and Jared Smith, the head honchos of the two respective presses, sent the guys a large package containing their back catalog.) Among the earlier titles they mention are James Kochalka's Fungus: The Unbearable Rot of Being, Sam Alden's Wicket Chicken Queen, Anne Emond's Debbie's Inferno, Josh Bayer's Theth, and issues #1 and #2 of Box Brown's Numbers. If you didn't know anything about Retrofit Comics / Big Planet Comics before, then there is no excuse not to be turned on to their stuff after this episode. Go get it!

Episode 142 - The July Previews Catalog Jul 01, 2015

Show notes

It's the first of the month, so that must mean it's time for another look through the Previews catalog. In this episode, Andy and Derek flip through the July solicits, highlighting the various titles they're looking forward to and feel that are worth mentioning. But before they plunge into their recommendations, they give a few shout-outs. First, they share with listeners the various emails and messages they've received this past week, all kind and complimentary, with some even being from new fans the guys met at HeroesCon the other week. After that they give a big, proud Comics Alternative salute to one of their own: Gene Kannenberg, Jr. Over the past several months Gene has been creating, as he describes it, "one abstract-ish comic a day," and now that work has been released in Comics Machine #1. Derek and Andy briefly discuss this first issue of Comics Machine, congratulate Gene, recommend that everyone check out his work, and then thank him for sending them each a copy! Then, it's onto the nitty gritty of this week's show, a discussion of the July Previews catalog. In the course of this episode, the guys celebrate the recent Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges -- "Scalia and Alito: bite me!" -- Derek explains how he's fed up with the endless marketing shenanigans of the Big Two (especially Marvel), and Andy eats his own words about the length of the Previews podcast episodes while he was away. Yes, this is another long episode of The Comics Alternative, so sit back, listen up, and enjoy the ride as the Two Guys guide you through the wondrous world of comics solicitations!

Manga - Reviews of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Trash Market Jun 30, 2015

Show notes

This month on their manga episode, Shea and Derek discuss two very different works. They begin with Hirohito Araki's JoJo Bizarre Adventure, which is now being reissued in new editions from VIZ Media. The title has been published in smaller paperback form for quite a while, but this year VIZ began collecting Araki's world-famous -- and still ongoing -- series in larger hardcover editions, beginning with the first two volumes in the series' first narrative arc, Phantom Blood. (The third volume will be released this August.) Shea points out that one the distinguishing features of these new collections is Araki's more contemporary artwork that can be found on the cover of the volumes. This is markedly different, he mentions, from Araki's original style from the mid- to late 1980s, when the series first came out in Japan. In fact, the guys discuss how JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is very much influenced by -- or at least participated in -- the kind of over-the-top, extreme action narrative that defined that decade. As such, you can see these early JoJo stories as a cross between Sylvester Stallone, the Die Hard movies, and Rob Liefeld's art. What happens in the first two volumes is definitely melodramatic and strange. As Derek suggests, if elements of the story just don't make sense, if you feel that Araki is just getting a little too weird, just accept that and enjoy the ride. What else can you say about a series involving a Jane Austin-style setting, a sensei training premise, breathing techniques that can make your arm extend, and an Incan mask that creates vampiric zombies? Next, Derek and Shea look at a new release from Drawn and Quarterly, Tadao Tsuge's Trash Market. This may be the first English translation of Tsuge's work -- the guys are unsure about this -- and this book collects six stories that Tsuge had originally published in Garo and Yagyō between 1968 and 1972. One of Shea's favorites is "A Tale of Absolute and Utter Nonsense," perhaps the most political (intentionally or otherwise) piece in the collection, and one that he feels highlights Tsuge's defining art style. Derek is partial to "Song of Showa," a semi-autobiographical, unromantic tale of Tsuge's working-class roots, and especially the titular story, perhaps the collection's most sophisticated and complex when it comes to character development. But all of the stories here are outstanding: "Manhunt," about journalists investigating the phenomenon of "vanishing men," "Gently Goes the Night," about a psychologically atrophied father and husband still struggling with his experiences during the Second World War, and "Up on the Hilltop, Vincent Van Gogh...," another semi-autobiographical piece revisiting Tsuge's early years as an artist. Tsuge's grim, stark realism contrasts sharply with Araki's decompressed soap opera approach, but that's what makes these manga episodes so much fun, a study in differences.

On Location - Teaching Comics through a Historical Context Panel at HeroesCon 2015 Jun 29, 2015

Show notes

On Friday of last week, the first day of HeroesCon, both Andy and Derek participated on a discussion panel, "Teaching Comics through a Historical Context." This was organized by Shawn and Adam Daughhetee of the Dollar Bin podcast -- who have been putting together these kind of panels at the con for several years -- and the focus of the discussion was on understanding comics within their temporal/cultural contexts and using them in the classroom as a way to teach history. Participating on the panel along with the Two Guys were Will Allred from the University of Arkansas, Tom Heintjes of Hogan's Alley, and Brian Puaca who teaches history at Christopher Newport University. Shawn Daughhetee moderated the proceedings. There was a sizable audience at the event, and the conversation was so congenial and productive that the moderator let the discussion extend beyond the panel's allotted time. This panel recording originally appeared on the Dollar Bin podcast. A big THANK YOU goes to Adam and Shawn Daughhetee and the rest of the Dollar Bin crew for making this recording at the con and for allowing The Comics Alternative to share it with its listeners.

On Location - Talking with Creators at HeroesCon 2015, Part 2 Jun 26, 2015

Show notes

In the second of two on-location interview episodes recorded at last weekend's HeroesCon -- the first episode went up yesterday -- Derek talks with a variety of artists tabling in Artists Alley. He begins with a conversation with Nate Simpson, discussing the recent release of Nonplayer #2, the long gap between the first and second issues, and Nate's plans for carrying the title forward. Next, Derek talks with Ed Piskor about the upcoming release of Hip Hop Family Tree, Book 3, Fantagraphics' landmark decision to release his title as a monthly series, and Ed's gold watch. After that, he discusses the webcomic Vattu with Evan Dahm, along with the artist's plans for eventually releasing the entire saga in hardcopy. Then Derek heads to the shared table of Gabriel Dunston and Aaron Walther -- which is almost next to The Comics Alternative's table! He talks with Gabe about Kickstarter and his work on the second Purgatory Pub book, and then he learns about Aaron's series, Zero's Heroes and Science Hero. Then, in one of the highlights of the con, Derek makes Ryan Browne laugh before learning the sad news that God Hates Astronauts will soon be going on hiatus. Following Ryan's talk, Jamal Igle discusses the new Molly Danger series as well as his work at Action Lab Studios, and then Frank Barbiere shares some word about the secrets to his prolific output...Five Ghosts, White Suits, Black Market, and Solar: Man of Action, anyone? Then, in the last hours of this year's HeroesCon, Derek is able to talk with Kyle Starks about his experiences after Sexcastle, with Jeremy Whitley about Princeless and ethnoracial issues in comics, and with Matthew Roberts about art and the success of Manifest Destiny.

On Location - Talking with Creators at HeroesCon 2015, Part 1 Jun 25, 2015

Show notes

While Derek and Andy W. were at HeroesCon last weekend, they were able to meet a variety of artists and writers tabling in Artists Alley. Many of these creators took time from their busy schedules -- talking with fans, signing books, and working on commissions -- to talk with the guys for a few minutes, discussing their works and sharing their experiences at the con. This episode of the podcast includes brief conversations with ten different artists and that, taken together, demonstrate the creative diversity to be found at this year's HeroesCon. First, Derek talks with Sophie Goldstein and Jenn Jordan about their webcomic-turned-book, Darwin Carmichael is Going to Hell, as well as Sophie's Ignatz Award-winning House of Women and the recently published The Oven. After that, Andy has a conversation with Michel Fiffe about his ongoing Copra series and his recent work on various Marvel titles. This is followed by another f**k-filled conversation with Tom Neely and Keenan Marshall Keller (who were just on the podcast last month) about the reception to the latest issue of The Humans, and then a more toned-down discourse with friend-of-the-podcast Craig Yoe on his experiences at HeroesCon, Weird Love, his enjoyment of cosplayers, and an awards message that he delivers for Steve Ditko. Next, Andy talks with Royden Lepp about his high-octane adventure series, Rust, and his process of writing for young readers. This is followed by conversations with Justin Jordan about Spread, Dead Body Road, and the return of Luther Strode, and with Hoyt Silva on the reaction to his and Josh Blaylock's Operation Nemesis: A Story of Genocide and Revenge. Finally, Derek wraps up this this on-location interview segment by talking with Max Dowdle about his fine art background and his graphic novel Shattered with Curve of Horn.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected