Deconstructing Comics

Achille & Kipi: The Disconnected is an Italian comic meant to raise issues about modern life and technology. In this episode, Tim and Jason take a stab at critiquing it, but the teaser we received doesn't give us the clearest idea of where this story is heading. So Tim also talks with co-creator Renato Franchi to get the scoop. Renato also tells us a bit about the Italian comics industry and why s...

Jack Kirby left Marvel with one issue of his Kiber storyline left to go. We don't know if he left notes on what was to happen, but in Black Panther #13, Jim Shooter and Ed Hannigan presented a competent but comparatively wordy conclusion to the story. Then, while Kirby's '70s Marvel work kept the rest of the publisher's universe at Mr.-Fantastic-arm's length, in the final two issues, Hannigan abru...

FLASHBACK!  Michael Kupperman 's Tales Designed to Thrizzle and Lisa Hanawalt 's My Dirty Dumb Eyes are two books exhibiting bizarre humor and pointed takes on modern life. Tim, Kumar, and Tom Spurgeon discuss.  (Originally published October 20, 2014.) Bojack Horseman trailer Brought to you by: Worst Collection Ever podcast Our supporters on Patreon

Have you ever wondered what it's like to go to medical school, take apart cadavers, take exhaustive exams over anatomy, illnesses, and treatments, then become a resident and work 30-hour shifts? Would you still have the passion to become a doctor after all that? This week, Emmet and I discuss the forthcoming book  The Human Remains by Dr. Nathan Gray, which explores those questions. Brought to you...

FLASHBACK! Kumar and Dana discuss  Logan in what was, at the time, the first DCP movie review since Iron Man 2 ! Is  Logan an action movie? The action scenes are limited, but when they occur, there are no limits.  (Originally published June 19, 2017.) Brought to you by: Waxy Buildup podcast Our supporters on Patreon

Jack Kirby 's 1970s Black Panther series started out kind of strange, with King T'Challa wandering far from his kingdom for no apparent reason, but the latter part of the series has pleasantly surprised us. Even the goofy Panther relatives Kirby introduced have turned out to be delightful. Just when we really want more, we reach the end of his run as he prepares to leave Marvel for good. So this t...

Derf Backderf's latest book is  The Dissidents , focusing on a group of political cartoonists in the late 1910s who did powerful political cartoons in a hair-raisingly horrible period in American history: World War I, anti-war protest made illegal, massacres of American blacks (encouraged by the president, no less), torture in American prisons and more. Tim and Kumar discuss. Brought to you by: Fu...

If you think you've read a book like  As I Dream of You before, you're probably wrong. Yes, it's about a romance between two teenagers, and yes, it turns tragic, but it's the way the story is told that sets it apart, intentionally misleading you in several ways that give it heft and make rereads obligatory, just to absorb everything the book is doing. The story is by Jennifer Lee , writer and dire...

Well, it was probably inevitable: we were sent a comic made with A.I. The human creator cops to using it for the art, but the story also as an A.I. feel. Is it any good? Is it ethical to present it as "art"? Tim and Adam discuss. Brought to you by: Checkered Past podcast Our supporters on Patreon

This time we're rejoined by  Adam Tierney , writer of Romeo and Juliet and Godzilla, as well as Italian artist Saspy . From opposite sides of the planet, they've collaborated on a new comedy/horror/YA graphic novel from IDW, 13 Demons Dead . Meanwhile, Koom has been at Fan Expo Canada. He's done a brief interview with  John Rhys-Davies (Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Sallah in the Ind...

This week we finally return to  Jack Kirby 's 1970s run on Black Panther , specifically issues 9 and 10. With Panther away during a crisis, his four relatives step up and become the Black Musketeers ! Will they be comedically inept? Racially cringey? Or maybe they'll turn out to be so great that everybody will forget about T'Challa! Also, Panther's plight takes an amusing turn as he encounters a s...

Consider  the Incredible Hulk . He's often referred to as the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of the Marvel Universe. But is he really Jekyll and Hyde on a deep level? Paul has been studying the early Hulk comics, looking at the various framings that were tried soon after the character's debut. Does Banner turn to Hulk when the sun goes down? Can he become Hulk whenever he wants? Does Rick Jones have hypn...

This summer's  Supergirl movie, while not nearly as good as sliced bread, was compelling enough to make Tim curious as to how it compares with the comic it's based on,  Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King and Bilquis Evely. Tim recruited Emmet to join in and consider questions such as: Why did this movie get made? How do we feel about the original comic? Is the movie a good adaptation? Did th...

Doomwar is a 2010 miniseries in which Dr. Doom sponsors a coup in Wakanda in order to get his hands on all the country's processed vibranium. As we continue to celebrate 60 years of the Black Panther , Tim is joined by Professor Alan , whose Doomspeak podcast celebrates Dr. Doom, a character who will be cinematically very relevant in a few short months! With writing by Jonathan Maberry and art by...

Emil Wilson is the author of the new graphic novel  The Nightingales , about a family in 1985 who take in an AIDS patient. The book shows us the panic and misinformation that prevailed about the disease then, and government apathy about a disease that was mainly killing gay men. Wilson is a former advertising man who went to comics school in his 50s. Tim talks with him about the book. Novelist Wil...

Superhero comics have been parodied for as long as they've existed. This time Tim and Kumar look at two books by comics insiders that satirized the predominant comics of their respective eras:  Scott McCloud 's  Destroy! The Loudest Comic-Book in the Universe!! (1986) distills '80s comics to their essence: superpowered guys punching each other; and Grant Morrison & a bevy of artists poke sharp sat...

A number of interesting graphic novels have been brought to our attention recently -- works with laugh-out-loud moments and deeper meanings as well. We review three of them in this episode: Heaven by Katie Skelly is a Fantagraphics book about a haunted strip club. Jason joins Tim to discuss it. Was That Normal? by Alex Potts (Avery Hill) gives us a neurodivergent main character and a vague threat...

FLASHBACK! In 1970, four students died when national guardsman inexplicably opened fire during an anti-war protest at Kent State University. The craziness of 2020 has hindered planned observances of the craziness of 1970, but we do get this: Derf Backderf 's Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio , a moving account of May 1-4, 1970, through the eyes of those who lost their lives. In this episode, Tim and K...

While the characterization of Spidey in  Amazing Spider-Man 2 is still spot-on, not much else in the movie is. Tim and Mulele discuss the myriad problems, and occasional strong points, of this 2014 film.  (Originally published on Patreon July 4, 2020.) Brought to you by: Doomspeak podcast Our supporters on Patreon

After Sam Raimi bailed on doing any more Spidey movies, Sony decided to reboot. So, ten years after Spider-man 1, viewers got a new version of Spider-man's origin story - a long, drawn out one with no catharsis (or did we blink and miss it?). One could call this movie unnecessary, as Mulele does, but Tim finally got the Spidey characterization he's been waiting for! Tim and Mulele review. (Origina...

The adventure in the  Samurai City comes to a close, and Panther attempts to get back to Wakanda . As a vibranium-related crisis unfolds in his homeland, various roadblocks appear in Panther's path to ratchet up the tension. Can he get home in time? Can his geeky relatives help stave off disaster? Who knew  this about vibranium? Tim and Emmet react to surprise twists in Wakanda's past. Brought to...

Persepolis author Marjane Satrapi passed away on June 4. This week, Tim and Kumar recall their initial reactions to that book and talk a bit about her life and legacy. Then, we revisit segments of past episodes in which Tim and Brandon discussed Satrapi's work: Persepolis review from episode 91, published September 3, 2007. `Persepolis 2 and the film version of  Persepolis reviewed in episode 185,...

(Concluding our review of past episodes featuring the work of R. Crumb.) FLASHBACK! 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 … discomforting subjects of his work should really have...

FLASHBACK! Perhaps one of the most puzzling comics releases in years was  The Book of Genesis, Illustrated by R. Crumb. While it's a virtuoso art performance, the exact purpose of the book was puzzling to Crumb fans ("It's not a parody?!") and religious readers ("This comic is not for kids?!") alike. Both groups have been taken aback by how straight Crumb plays it — neither parodying nor bowdleriz...

FLASHBACK!  Weirdo was a magazine started by R. Crumb, which featured Crumb's work alongside that of a number of other underground-type comics creators. Crumb's work from Weirdo's 28 issues was collected in 2013 as R. Crumb: The Weirdo Years, 1981-'93 , released in the U.S. by Last Gasp. It features an astonishing variety of comics work, from Crumb rants and confessionals to a 1906 psychiatric rep...