The Comics Alternative

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Episode 35 - Review of New #1s and a Discussion of the Eisner Award Nominees May 01, 2013

Show notes

This week Andy and Derek review three new #1 comics: the Vertigo anthology Time Warp, Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin’s The Private Eye (Panel Syndicate), and Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta’s East of West (Image Comics). They have their hands full with Time Warp, given the variety of quality creators and engaging narratives contained in this plus-sized issue, but they still find the time to look at two recent examples at genre bending. Vaughn and Martin’s The Private Eye is a futuristic detective/noir tale established on the premise that technology and social media have gone wrong. The Two Guys with PhDs note that this narrative has much in common with Y: The Last Man, another series based on a faulty cultural contingency. East of West, on the other hand, is a genre free-for-all, mashing up elements of sci-fi,westerns, alternative history, and apocalyptic narratives, and topped with a generous dollop of violent gore. It’s not a title for those with a queasy constitution. Andy and Derek then turn their attention to the recently announced nominees for the 2013 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. They point out this year’s dearth of nominations for superhero-related titles and the sheer dominance of independent creators and smaller publishers on the list. In other words, the 2013 Eisner nominees are just up The Comics Alternative‘s alley, leading the Two Guys with PhDs to wonder if this year’s awards committee has been listening to and heeding the suggestions emanating from their weekly podcasts. Even if they haven’t, it’s clear that Andy and Derek have their fingers on some kind of pulse, and that The Comics Alternative is particularly poised to discuss the significance of this year’s Eisner’s nominations. There’s a lot of good, creamy comics stuff packed into this oversized episode — over two hours long! — and it’s sure to sit nicely on your shelf next to your collection of 1970s DC “giant” comics!

Episode 34 - An Interview with Jamal Igle Apr 24, 2013

Show notes

This week on The Comics Alternative Andy and Derek interview Jamal Igle about his new project, Molly Danger. This is just in time for next week’s Free Comic Book Day, when Action Lab will include a preview of the first story arc in one of their FCBD issues. In their conversation, the Two Guys with PhDs talk with Jamal about the genesis of Molly Danger, the need for more all-ages hero comics, the importance of strong and positive female role models in the medium, and the runaway success of the book’s Kickstarter campaign, which helped to make Molly Danger a reality. Jamal also talks with the guys about the format he’s chosen for the title, releasing Molly Danger in a multi-volume hardbound album format in the Franco-Belgian tradition, and he speculates on his future plans for the enigmatic Molly. Be sure to listen to this fascinating conversation and get the scoop on this new comic. This is one of those FBCD releases you’ll want to grab first as you make your way to your comics shop on May 4th!

Episode 33 - Review of Comics about Cartoonists and Haunted Horror Apr 17, 2013

Show notes

This week on the podcast, Andy and Derek review two recent projects from the archival powerhouse that is Craig Yoe, Comics about Cartoonists: Stories about the World’s Oddest Profession, and the recent comic-book series Haunted Horror (both published through IDW Publishing). The first is a collection of strips and stories from around the turn of the century until the 1950s, drawn by a who’s who in the comics pantheon, and all taking on comics creators themselves as the subject matter. It’s a great work where you get to see artists poking fun at themselves, ridiculing their publishers and editors, and generally just having a good time with the comics industry as a whole. Next, the Two Guys with PhDs turn their attention to the first three issues of Haunted Horror. This is another archival project from Yoe Studios!, but one that takes the form of an ongoing bimonthly series. In each issue, Yoe presents several classic horror comics from the days before the Comics Code Authority, which means there’re plenty of monsters, undead creatures, gruesome murders, gross-out metamorphoses, and women in compromised and revealing poses (i.e., “headlight” drawings). In the midsts of all of this Yoe talk, Andy and Derek also find the time to discuss recent news from Podcastland, read mail from fans of the show, and wax nostalgic over post conference experiences. What you are about to listen to is yet another effort in the Two Guys with PhDs’ ongoing mission to educate, entertain, and amaze! That, as well as to use the podcast as an excuse to read more comics and talk about them.

Episode 32 - Review of The Massive Vol. 1 and Five Ghosts: The Haunting of Fabian Gray Apr 10, 2013

Show notes

This week on The Comics Alternative podcast, Andy and Derek review the first collected trade of Brian Wood, Kristian Donaldson, and Gary Brown’s The Massive (Dark Horse Comics) as well as issue #1 of Five Ghosts: The Haunting of Fabian Gray, by Frank J. Barbiere and Chris Mooneyham (Image Comics). The Two Guys with PhDs (who talk about comics) bring their critical acumen to the functions of narrative time in The Massive, the significance of its character makeup, and the book’s thematic place within Brian Wood’s oeuvre. Plus, they think The Massive is really cool! Then the two guys turn their attention to Five Ghosts: The Haunting of Fabian Gray, discussing the title’s “literary ghosts” (and curious as to how ghosts can be literary) and wondering if, in the next couple of issues of the comic, Barbiere will succumb to the traditional trappings of colonialist narrative. Stay tuned, dear listeners! Andy and Derek also talk about Kickstarter and ponder over the possibility of poor academics, needing money to do sustained research, getting in on the act.

Episode 31 - The April Previews Catalog Apr 03, 2013

Show notes

This week Andy and Derek flip through the April Previews catalog, highlighting the various comic books, collections, and original graphic novels solicited this month. They point out a variety of upcoming titles such as Dark Horse’s The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys and Battlepug, DC/Vertigo’s 100 Bullets: Brother Lono and The Sandman Omnibus Volume 1, IDW’s Edison Rex, Image Comic’s Lazarus and Infinite Vacation, Archaia’s Rubicon, Boom! Studio’s Six-Gun Gorilla, Dynamite’s Uncanny, and new collections on the works of Steve Ditko (two of them!), Jack Cole, and Al Feldstein. As what usually happens, their discussions of the comics takes them down curious and sundry avenues, some on-topic, some tangential, and some way the hell off course. But keen insights and fun pop culture talk is guaranteed for all!

Episode 30.1 - Another Visit to Lone Star Comics Mar 29, 2013

Show notes

The Two Guys with PhDs Talking about Comics make another visit to Lone Star Comics in Plano, Texas. There they talk with the location’s scheduling manager, Shea Hennum, about general comics news. The conversation is free-flowing and engaging, with topics including the recent “banning” of Persepolis for seventh graders in Chicago, Superman‘s Orson Scott Card problem, indy creators and all-age comics, mature titles on Lone Star Comics’ shelves, the impact of The Walking Dead television show and other comics-based TV series, the current impressive wave of Image Comics, and Brian K. Vaughn and Marcos Martin’s new digital experiment, The Private Eye. Shea also reveals to Andy and Derek how The Comics Alternative saved his life while riding the subways in New York. What better endorsement can a podcast get? Be sure not to miss this new “point one” show on location at Lone Star Comics, something that will now be a monthly feature. Mark your calendars!

Episode 30 - Review of Hellraisers, Helheim, and Constantine Mar 27, 2013

Show notes

This week the Two Guys with PhDs Talking about Comics return with another one of their regular review shows, this one focusing on the new graphic biography from SelfMadeHero, Hellraisers, written by Robert Sellers and illustrated by JAKe, and Helheim #1 from the creative team of Cullen Bunn and Joëlle Jones, and published by Oni Press. Hollywood alcoholic celebrities and supernatural vikings…two tastes that go great together! They also follow up on their recent foray into John Constantine by critiquing Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes’s Constantine #1, and overall, both guys are cautiously optimistic about Constantine’s new home in the DC Universe.

Episode 29 - Recent Crime, Detective, and Noir Comics, Part II Mar 20, 2013

Show notes

his week the Two Guys with PhDs return with the second of their two-episode look at recent crime, detective, and noir comics. In this installment, they begin with a discussion of more conventional detective/crime comics and then turn their gaze to noir with a psychological twist, where the protagonist's mental condition creates confusion and uncertainty. Regarding the former, Derek and Andy look specifically at From the Files of...Mike Hammer: The Complete Dailies and Sundays, Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth’s Stumptown, Roger Gibson and Vince Danks's Harker: The Book of Solomon, Andy Diggle and Jock’s first issue of Snapshot, and Jay Faerber and Koray Kuranel's Point of Impact. Next, they segue to several recent examples of psychological noir, including Jay Faerber and Simone Guglielmini's Near Death, Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson's mini-series Happy!, Nathan Edmondson and Tonci Zonjic's Who Is Jake Ellis? and the first two issues of Where Is Jake Ellis?, and Joshua Hale Fialkov and Noel Tuazon's graphic novel Tumor.

Episode 28 - An Interview with Ben Katchor Mar 13, 2013

Show notes

This week, Derek and Andy talk with Ben Katchor, an award-winning cartoonist who has also worked in musical theater and is currently an associate professor of illustration at Parsons the New School of Design. His new book, Hand-Drying in America and Other Stories, came out last week from Pantheon Books. It's a phenomenal work collecting strips that were originally published in the architectural and design magazine, Metropolis, between 1998 to 2012. In their conversation with Ben, the Two Guys with PhDs ask the artist about the design and packaging of Hand-Drying in America, how his new book differs from his earlier collections, what he sees as the current state of comics publishing, the difference between his work in Metropolis and his ongoing serialized strips, and how his picture stories underscore the layout and strictures of urban life.

Episode 27 - The March Previews Catalog Mar 07, 2013

Show notes

This week the Two Guys with (easy) PhDs take their monthly stroll through the pages of the new Previews catalog. They mention how jam-packed the March Previews is, filled with more promising comics than humans should be allowed. Among the many titles catching the guys’ (easy) PhD-trained minds are the new Mister X mini-series, Richard Corben’s adaptation of The Fall of the House of Usher, the 10th anniversary edition of Fagin the Jew, The Green Team, The Movement, The Wake, Promethea: The Immateria Edition from DC/Vertigo, Ten Grand, The Dream Merchant, Jim Rigg’s Supermag, Chris Northrop and Jeff Stokely’s The Reason for Dragons, Brenda Starr: The Complete Pre-Code Comic Books, Vol. 1, Gilbert Hernandez’s Marble Season, Matt Kindt’s Red Handed: The Fine Art of Strange Crimes, Jim Woodring’s Fran, The Metabarons: The Ultimate Collection, Mike Carey’s Suicide Risk, and two exciting titles from a brand new publisher, Black Mask Studios. Two Guys with (easy) PhDs also observe some weirdness in their iTunes reviews.

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