The Comics Alternative

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Episode 41 - A Roundtable Discussion on the Mainstream-Indie Divide Jun 12, 2013

Show notes

This week on The Comics Alternative Andy and Derek present another roundtable discussion, this one devoted to the mainstream and indie comics divide. They are joined by fellow podcasters John Mayo, from the Comic Book Page podcast, and Chris Marshall, from Collected Comics Library. On this roundtable, the four guys begin by defining their terms and asking some basic questions — such as What are mainstream comics?, What defines an alternative or indie title?, How does one inform the other?, and What are the differences between the readerships of these different kinds of comics? — and from there the discussion goes off into different trajectories, all filled with nuanced responses and unexpected twists. Chris, John, Andy, and Derek cover genre definitions, the expectations underlying mainstream titles, the difficulty pinpointing indie content, the influences of fandom, divergences of readership, title availability, the “literariness” of certain comics, and, of course, the historical inheritance of comics as a disposable medium of “kids stuff.” They cover a lot of ground, and with intelligent, substantive conversation. What’s more, everyone had such a good time that the four guys have decided to do another roundtable discussion in the near future.

Episode 40.1 - Talking Science Fiction at Lone Star Comics Jun 06, 2013

Show notes

The Two Guys with PhDs are back at Lone Star Comics in Plano, TX, and this time they are talking science fiction with the store manager, Rick Cromack, and his trusty sidekick, Shea Hennum. This is the first of a two-episode look at sci-fi comics with the guys at Lone Star (the second will come at the end of the summer). In this first show they kick off the summer movie season by discussing some of the recent movie releases — such as Iron Man 3, Star Trek: Into Darkness, and Man of Steel — and how those films are related to the franchises’ comics…or vice versa. They also bring up a number of non-film-related sci-fi comics (such as Prophet and The Massive), attempt to define “science fiction” and emphasize its elasticity, play around with the boundaries of the genre, and even debate what comics may or may not be considered science fiction. Along the way Rick argues that Superman isn’t really a superhero, Andy’s head subsequently explodes, Shea reveals his need to be housebroken, and Derek finds that with some of his critical opinions he is the odd man out (again). They are joined later in the episode by a dedicated Lone Star Comics customer who poses the timely question, “Who will be the next Doctor Who?” They cover a lot of ground in this episode, and everyone has a good time…especially when Andy and Derek announce the winner of their June giveaway!

Episode 40 - The June Previews Catalog Jun 05, 2013

Show notes

This week on the podcast Andy and Derek flip through the pages of the June Previews catalog, and there they find a whole slew of great upcoming titles. In fact, this month they find solicits on an exciting lineup of new alternative and indie books, including Adrian Tomine’s Optic Nerve and Seth’s Palookaville (both from Drawn and Quarterly), the Hernandez brothers’ Love and Rockets: New Stories No. 6 (Fantagraphics), John Lewis and Andrew Aydin’s March, Book 1 (Top Shelf), Zak Sally’s Sammy the Mouse Vol. 2 (Uncivilized Books), Ben Acker and Ben Blacker’s The Thrilling Adventure Hour (Archaia Entertainment), Jack Katz’s The First Kingdom, Vol. 1: The Birth of Tundran (Titan Comics), P. Craig Russell’s Opera Adaptations (NBM), Classics Illustrated Deluxe, Vol. 10: The Murder in the Rue Morgue and Other Tales (Papercutz), as well as Howard Chaykin’s Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and Walt Kelly’s Pogo: The Complete Dell Comics, Vol. 1 (both from Hermes Press).

Episode 39 - An Interview with the Creators of Subatomic Party Girls May 29, 2013

Show notes

This week on The Comics Alternative podcast Andy and Derek invite the creators of the new digital comic, Subatomic Party Girls (Monkeybrain Comics), into their virtual studio for an interview. Chris Sims, Chad Bowers, and Erica Henderson share with the Two Guys with PhDs (Talking about Comics) the origins of their new series; the unusual character lineup; their unique mashup of absurd humor, rock history, and sci-fi madness; and their working relationship, in all of its dysfunctional fun-filled glory. Along the way they discuss their other works, such as Awesome Hospital and their upcoming Oni comic Down! Set! Fight!, and how Subatomic Party Girls is providing them with new challenges. The conversation is jam-packed with trivia, pop cultural allusions, and sundry marginalia, and at times it seeps into crannies that you wouldn’t expect. But Chris, Chad, and Erica always bring it back to their new series and how being interviewed on The Comics Alternative has been the highlight of their careers. We couldn’t agree more.

Episode 38.1 - At the Dallas Comic Con May 23, 2013

Show notes

This past Saturday, Derek attended the Dallas Comic Con, which was held at the Irving Convention Center, and ran from May 17-19. There, he spoke with a variety of creators and publishers, asking them about their comics and encouraging them to share with The Comics Alternative listeners their various projects, both recent and future. This was a heavily celebrity-ladened con — William Shatner and Brent Spiner were there, Nathan Fillion was supposed to be there (but didn’t make it), and Derek’s daughter, Zoe, was completely mesmerized by Adam Baldwin, who actually signed her homemade Jayne hat — and that part was fun. But Derek focused mostly on getting to the comics folk themselves. In his peregrinations around the convention floor, he was able to speak with Robert Wilson IV (artist of Knuckleheads), Jackie Cannon and Erik Reeves (writer and artist of Hoodratz in Space), creator Terry Moore (of Strangers in Paradise and Rachel Rising fame), Hunter S. Zombie (writer of Stillborn), Scott Chitwood (publisher of Red 5 Comics), Danny Allain and Paul Soileau (creator and publisher of Dead Reckoning), Dave Johnson (illustrator and cover artist for 100 Bullets), Amanda Conner (covers for My Little Pony and artist and co-writer of Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre), Kerry Gammill (publisher and editor-in-chief of Monsterverse Entertainment), and Steve Erwin (illustrator of the upcoming graphic novel version of Robert A. Heinlein’s Citizen of the Galaxy). It was a lot of fun all around — the artists, the celebrities, the cosplay, the weirdness — and in this Point One episode, Derek shares with you his talk with several fascinating individuals. Listen and enjoy, won’t you?

Episode 38 - A Review of On the Ropes and Red Handed: The Fine Art of Strange Crimes May 22, 2013

Show notes

This week Andy and Derek review two recent graphic novels, James Vance and Dan E. Burr’s On the Ropes and Matt Kindt’s Red Handed: The Fine Art of Strange Crimes. As the Two Guys with PhDs make abundantly clear, both of these are incredible original works that are sure to end up on the guys’ year-end top ten lists. First, Andy and Derek discuss On the Ropes, a follow up to Vance and Burr’s original 1988-1989 miniseries, Kings in Disguise (Kitchen Sink Press, and latter published as a graphic novel in 1990). They discuss this earlier work, so as to set a context for the new book, and then go on to explore the ways in which On the Rope builds upon — and in some ways, even surpasses — the narrative reach of Kings in Disguise. If, as many critics have pointed out, Kings in Disguise is one of the seminal American graphic novels, then the latest collaboration between Vance and Burr is indeed a notable occasion. Next, the Two Guys with PhDs turn their attention to Red Handed: The Fine Art of Strange Crimes, one of the most ambitious works they’ve recently encountered. They discuss in detail the ways in which this book bears the “Matt Kindt stamp,” especially in its use of fragmented storytelling, the themes of crime and intrigue, the intertextual uses Kindt makes of comics history, and the text’s metafictional play, where the work itself becomes a blueprint for the way we read comics. As Derek and Andy both point out, Kindt is definitely on an upward trajectory, with each work getting more ambitious and impressive than the previous. The two guys wrap up with a brief summary of other things they are reading, such as 1980s Marvel comics and recent first and second issues from Image, including Sex, Lost Vegas, and Ten Grand. The jury is still out on some of those new titles.

Episode 37 - An Interview with Rick Geary May 15, 2013

Show notes

In this week’s episode of The Comics Alternative, Andy and Derek interview acclaimed artist Rick Geary. His new book, A Treasury of Victorian Murder Compendium, Vol. 1, was recently released by NBM Publishing. In it, you’ll find some of Rick’s Victorian murder classics, such as The Crimes of Dr. E.W. Prithard, The Fatal Bullet, The Beast of Chicago, and of course Jack the Ripper. The Two Guys with PhDs talk with Rick about his line of murder story comics — Victorian era as well as 20th-century — his meticulous research when preparing for each project, his strategies for storytelling and how he frames his narratives, and his fascination with crimes and unsolved mysteries. They also ask Rick about his many adaptations, translating into comics form such classics as Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations, O. Henry’s “The Marionettes,” Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Copper Beeches,” and Mark Twain’s The Mysterious Stranger. Rick also talks about some of his work in other genres, including all-age comics such as Gumby and graphic biographies on the lives of Leon Trotsky and J. Edgar Hoover. All in all, Andy and Derek have a great time talking with Rick and are reminded, yet again, of why they keep gravitating back to his art again and again.

Episode 36.1 - FCBD Panel Discussion at Lone Star Comics May 09, 2013

Show notes

This past Saturday, Free Comic Book Day, Lone Star Comics in Plano, TX, sponsored a panel discussion on the current state of American comics. He invited a variety of individuals from different backgrounds and with different perspectives, but all participating in the field of comics in some form or another. The Two Guys with PhDs Talking about Comics were invited to take part in this event. Unfortunately, Andy couldn’t make it, but Derek was able to be there and provide his two or three cents. Joining Derek on the panel were Scott Fane, one of the writers from the blog Comical Musings; Chris Danger from live pop culture broadcast SCNS:Live; Brent Erwin, the Chief Operating Officer and one of the founders of Ape Entertainment; and Hunter S. Zombie, the writer of the indy title, Stillborn: The First Zombie. Introducing the panel was Shea Hennum, the scheduling manager of Lone Star Comics in Plano and a friend of the show. Shea got the ball rolling by asking the question, “Are we currently in a ‘golden age’ of comics?” What followed was a series of responses to that questions, insights and observations that led down several interesting paths. Much thanks to Rick Cromack, the manager of Lone Star Comics in Plano, for organizing this event. And a big thanks as well to Jason Dilworth, who helped us with the recording and who captured the panel discussion on video.

Episode 36 - The May Previews Catalog May 08, 2013

Show notes

Despite its nefarious subtitle, this week’s episode of The Comics Alternative is all-age friendly! In it you’ll hear Andy and Derek discuss the shapely offerings in the May Previews catalog. They highlight the various sexy solicits from Dark Horse (Smoke/Ashes, The Best of Milligan and McCarthy, Sin Titulo, and Gamma), curvaceous tomes from DC/Vertigo (Batman ’66, Collider, Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril, and The Unwritten: Tommy Taylor and the Ship That Sank Twice), come-hither titles from IDW (The Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror, Rocketeer/The Spirit: Pulp Friction!, Doctor Who, Series III, Vol. 2: The Eye of Ashaya), drool-inducing images from Image Comics (Satellite Sam, Ghoster, Sheltered, Kafka, and Masks and Mobsters), alluring visuals from Abrams (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales, Vol. 3: The Donner Dinner Party), exotic bodies of work from Action Lab Entertainment (Molly Danger and Skyward), bodacious books from Boom! Studios (Day Men, Adventure Time: Summer Special, and Adventure Time: Candy Capers), provocative forms from Conundrum Press (Paul Joins the Scouts), voluptuous offerings from Fantagraphics (Child of Tomorrow! and Other Stories, VIP: The Mad World of Virgil Partch, and The Daniel Clowes Reader), seductive stuff from First Second (The Death of Haggard West, Genius, and Templar), inviting packages from Improper Books (Porcelain: A Gothic Fairy Tale), arousing entertainment from Oni Press (Stumptown, Vol 2, and The Strangers), and titillating titles from Top Shelf (Monster on the Hill and God Is Disappointed in You). The Two Guys with PhDs Talking about Comics then go off on a tangent involving racy manga, erotic art, and Internet porn. And they’re not proud of that fact. How did they reach this low point? You’ll have to listen to the podcast and learn that answer for yourself!

Episode 35.1 - FCBD at Lone Star Comics May 05, 2013

Show notes

Free Comic Book Day was Saturday, May 4th, and the Two Guys with PhDs Talking about Comics were at Lone Star Comics in Plano, TX. They spoke with staff and customers about what FCBD titles people were getting, which ones were going quickly, what was in some of their FCBD issues, and how publishers were making the best of this annual event. Along the way they talked with a variety of folks, including aspiring comics writer Nick Bridwell, Jess from Rainbow Runners, Chris Danger from SCNS:Live (also on-location at Lone Star Comics), and of course their ol’ friend and the scheduling manager of the Plano Lone Star Comics, Shea Hennum. (A young comics fan in a cool Superman outfit almost came by to talk with Andy and Derek, but he was spooked out at the last minute by Chris from SCNS:Live.) The shop was packed with customers, and as a result, the Plano location of Lone Star Comics surpassed its previous single-day sales record! On top of that, the city’s mayor, Phil Dyer, worked with the shop to declare May 4, 2013 official “Free Comic Book Day” in the city of Plano. Later in the day, there was a panel discussion held at the store, including contributions from bloggers, podcasters, local artists, and publishers. All of that and some damned good comics. What more could one ask for on FCBD? Listen to this special “Point One” episode and experience the fun!

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