Deconstructing Comics

In this edition, we rejoin The World of Tomorrow, a comic we discussed the first issue of five years ago! This is the one about an actor in, roughly, the 1950s, who stars in a space ranger TV show that’s on the verge of cancellation. Now writer Giles Clarke has sent us the second and … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #233: “The World of Tomorrow” and “Prism Stalker”

No longer just a look at Earth AD, Kamandi issues 32 through 34 introduce us to an alien who’s literally a ball of energy! Dr. Canus finds a way to give the alien a human body – but just what form will the alien end up taking? And just how much can Jack Kirby overhype … Continue reading #779 Jack Kirby’s “Kamandi” #32-34: Big Action Issue(s)!

Flush with dark and mysterious symbolism, K. Briggs‘ adaptation of Macbeth from Avery Hill publishing is a challenging and visually exciting piece of work. Kumar and Emmet discuss the comic’s approach to the classic Shakespearean play and how it compares to other adaptations, as well as its unique juxtaposition of the unexpurgated text of the … Continue reading #778 K. Briggs’ “Macbeth”

“Tim Catches Up with the MCU” continues to roll as Tim and Mulele reach Thor: Ragnarok. It has perhaps the most humor of any MCU movie up to this point; is that a good thing? Also, Tim experiences the benefits of never paying attention to the marketing. (Originally published on Patreon November 23, 2019.) Brought … Continue reading “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017)

As we continue through Jack Kirby‘s 1970s issues of Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, Tim and Emmet keep slowing down! In this episode, nearly 30 minutes go into discussing Kamandi’s encounter with Superman’s (inexplicably undamaged) costume, and so only three issues, 29 through 31, are examined, but what issues they are! Kirby also references … Continue reading #777 Jack Kirby’s “Kamandi” #29-31: “Up, up, and away!”

Openly discussing being sexually abused, particularly if it was during childhood, is not easy. Emily Carrington has stepped forward with her memoir of being abused as a teenager, Our Little Secret, in the hope that others in her position will be moved to get help. The book recently won the Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize. … Continue reading #776 Emily Carrington reveals “Our Little Secret”

Rina Ayuyang has called on her Filipino heritage in her graphic novels Blame This On the Boogie and, just out, The Man in the McIntosh Suit. This time, Adam talks with her about using historical photo reference, doing comics digitally vs paper, Lynda Barry’s influence on her work, and more. Brought to you by: Checkered … Continue reading #775 Rina Ayuyang draws (on) her Filipino heritage

Critiquing Comics is back, with discussions of two interesting comics from listeners. Stephen Grow sent us Sons of Thunder, a one-panel cartoon aimed at Christians and reflecting life in a small-town church, but likely with wider appeal. Then, Kristin Tipping (now going by “Tin Tipping”) returns with a creepy barnyard tale, The Lamb. Brought to … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #232: “Sons of Thunder” and “The Lamb”

While Kamandi‘s exorcism story in issue 24 leaves something to be desired, never mind that: the subsequent four issues, as discussed in this episode, deliver the kinds of interesting concepts we’ve come to expect, as Kamandi and Ben visit the Dominion of Devils, fight Sacker’s Co. and their environment-destroying activities, and find out what the … Continue reading #774 Jack Kirby’s “Kamandi” #24-28: Havin’ a look-see for some fight-fight

In this segment of Jack Kirby’s Kamandi series, we visit a version of 1920s Chicago that seems to be drawing on, or prefiguring, various other pop culture stories, and then move on to Monster Lake, home of intelligent, talking — and sometimes romantically inclined! — dolphins and killer whales. Kirby’s war experience again figures in … Continue reading #773 Jack Kirby’s “Kamandi” #19-23: On to Monster Lake!

Translation is a topic seldom covered on this show (Kumar has talked about it several times, most notably here). This time Emmet talks with French-to-English comics translator Evan McGorray about translating Catherine Castro and Quentin Zuttion’s Call Me Nathan, about a trans teen. Brought to you by: The Batgirl to Oracle podcast Our supporters on … Continue reading #772 Evan McGorray and a translation about being trans

Spider-man is a longtime favorite of Tim’s, in terms of comics reading, but how does he feel about Spider-Man: Homecoming? Particularly in light of the fact that it’s the first live-action Spider-Man he’s watched since 1979… Mulele joins Tim to review the 2017 film. (Originally published on Patreon November 4, 2019.) Brought to you by: … Continue reading “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017)

Colorist Jose Villarrubia had trouble getting work from Marvel because his style was “too artistic” — but then other creators started asking for him, and he’s colored many Marvel titles since then. He’s also done photo art for Alan Moore‘s Voice of the Fire and The Mirror of Love. This August, a new edition of Richard … Continue reading #771 Jose Villarrubia on restoring Richard Corben

This week we continue our look at Jack Kirby’s run on Kamandi, another of the DC properties he created. Tim and Emmet find that issues 11 through 18 include a giant insect, a violent horse race, another standout issue in the mode of issue 7’s King Kong story, a clue as to how the animals … Continue reading #770 Jack Kirby’s “Kamandi” #11-18: Kliklak forever

Back in 2009, Tim talked with web cartoonist Tracy Butler about her beautiful, sepia-toned 1920s-with-cats strip Lackadaisy, and whether she’d ever quit her day job to focus on the strip. Since then, she has gone full-time on the comic, and recently embraced her first love, animation! The Lackadaisy 27-minute animated “pilot” has attracted a lot … Continue reading #769 Tracy Butler on “Lackadaisy” – the animated cartoon!

Berserk abruptly ended when creator Kentaro Miura died two years ago, later resurrected by Miura’s assistants and his friend Kouji Mori. Neither Tim nor Kumar had read this violent, complex manga, but it lingered on our to-do list the past two years until a gag news story about who was going to wrap up Berserk … Continue reading #768 “Berserk” v. 1-4

If you can’t get the rights to Planet of the Apes, do the next best thing: get Jack Kirby to come up with a concept that’s Apes-adjacent! That was DC Comics’ strategy in the early ’70s. What resulted was Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, a series with multiple intelligent animals lording over caveman-level humans, … Continue reading #767 Jack Kirby’s “Kamandi” #1-10: It’s a knockout!

In most time travel stories, there’s an imperative to fix any paradoxes created by the time travel. But in Rachel Pollack and Chris Weston’s Time Breakers, paradoxes are embraced rather than explained away or repaired. This week, Kumar and Emmet discuss this five-issue 1997 miniseries, the most popular series of DC’s canceled imprint Helix. Brought … Continue reading #766 “Time Breakers”

When it comes to truth in advertising, the title of this comic is an award winner: Ghezal Omar‘s Pimp Killer (with art by Ayhan Hayrula and lettering by Phillip Ginn) is about a woman named L.A. Jones who… kills pimps. Or at least tries to. She also does nasty things to guys who abuse their … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #231: “Pimp Killer”

This podcast continues to be a booster of Chad Bilyeu (“Chad in Amsterdam“), and he’s been busy lately! In addition to releasing the second issue of The Re-Up, his recollection of that time when he was a pot dealer, he’s also curated an anthology, called Megillah Sunday Funnies, that is also a museum show (through … Continue reading #765 “The Re-Up” #2 and “Megillah Sunday Funnies”