Storied Arcs

Send us Fan Mail "No honest man need fear cartoons." In this episode, Mike and Alex get ready for war as they delve deeper into the world of The Unwritten with Volumes 5 and 6 (issues 25-35 plus 31.5-35.5). Finally, approximately halfway through the run, it feels like the story is on solid ground and it's clear to both the reader (and the characters) what is going on, why it's...

Send us Fan Mail "Some symbols become more real than what they stand for. Like they're part of a truth that's beyond the regular kind of truth." In this episode, Mike and Alex are back to discuss The Unwritten Volumes 3 and 4 (issues 13-24), where we finally start to get some clarity as to what exactly is going on. Not so much on the why, though, and the guys talk about how tha...

Send us Fan Mail "Stories are the only thing worth dying for." Welcome to The Unwritten and the magical world of Tommy Taylor, who is definitely not a total ripoff of that other orphan boy-turned-wizard savior you're probably thinking of. In this first episode, Mike and Alex discuss Volumes 1 and 2 (issues 1-12) of Mike Carey and Peter Gross' examination of stories and storytel...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the most ambitious season of Stories Arcs to date! In this zero episode, Mike and Alex discuss the comics history of creators Mike Carey and Peter Gross and provide an introduction to their sprawling meta-fiction tale, The Unwritten. The guys touch on Carey and Gross' collaboration outside of The Unwritten, such as the Sandman spin-off Lucifer and The Highest House...

Send us Fan Mail "If you believe in nothing, how can you accomplish anything." In this one-shot episode, Mike and Alex dive right into The Nightly News from Image Comics, superstar writer Jonathan Hickman's first-ever published comic work. They talk about how Hickman being the sole credited creator on the book effects the presentation of the story on the page, including how some sto...

Send us Fan Mail Mike and Alex have another one-shot deep dive lined up for discussion but before they do, they have a chat about the creative team behind that comic, The Nightly News from Image Comics- writer Jonathan Hickman, artist Jonathan Hickman, colorist Jonathan Hickman, letterer Jonathan Hickm... okay you get the idea. He did everything on this book and it was his first published comic wo...

Send us Fan Mail "Repeat a lie often enough, it takes on the illusion of truth." In this one-shot episode, Mike and Alex dig deep into The Seeds by Ann Nocenti and David Aja from Berger Books. They break down the myriad of themes presented in the book (and there are a lot of them) and explore how effectively each one was managed and presented. Is this comic an ecological commentary on hu...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Mike and Alex take a look at the creative team behind their next one-shot deep dive, The Seeds. They discuss the influential career of Karen Berger and the name-brand power she brought to Dark Horse with her Berger Books imprint, as well as the the works of legendary writer/editor Ann Nocenti and artist extraordinaire David Aja. Then they pitch you on why The Seed...

Send us Fan Mail You'll find all kinds of goodies in this oversized holiday episode which we've dubbed an "annual." In true comic fashion, we ran out of stories to cover by a week so we've compiled an annual edition. Alex and Mike talk about the books they'd like to cover for 2023 as well as shine a light on the book selection process. Each podcaster provides a list o...

Send us Fan Mail "And I suppose this has been the problem from the very start. The fundamental crack in civilization that has always set us against each other- mistaking productivity for value." In the final episode of Season 5 of Stories Arcs, Mike and Alex leap into the not-so-distant future to chat about Mark Russell and Mike Deodato, Jr.'s Eisner-award winning Not All Robots Vol...

Send us Fan Mail "If civilization is going to last, if it's going to amount to anything more than must a place to watch TV and get cheap snake meat, it will only be because we've learned to do one thing... To care for people who mean nothing to us." In this episode, Mike and Alex continue their discussion of The Flintstones and focus in on the main theme of Volume 2 (issues 7-1...

Send us Fan Mail "No offense, but it seems like the whole point of civilization is to get someone else to do your killing for you." Welcome to Bedrock and a new season of Storied Arcs! Mike and Alex travel back to the Stone Age to discuss Volume 1 (issues 1-6) of Mark Russell and Steve Pugh's cutting satire of modern-day life, The Flintstones. What does a 60-year-old cartoon have to...

Send us Fan Mail This is a big one! Not only do we dive deep into the work and themes of Mark Russell, we also examine the art of Steve Pugh (Flintstones) and the storied career of Mike Deodato (Not All Robots.)  This serves as the zero episode and intro for both Flintstones and Not All Robots which are written by Mark Russell. The two books may seem like a strange juxtaposition, but Russell'...

Send us Fan Mail In this mini-episode, you get to hear the introduction from the deluxe edition of The Flintstones written and read by Mark Russell. This book has a particular context and speaks distinctly to our modern world. This introduction lays the groundwork beautifully and will set you up for the emotional and intellectual ride that is The Flintstones. The best part of this little bonus epi...

Send us Fan Mail "How did it all get so bad? And when did we lose hope that it might ever get better... instead of worse?" In the final episode of Storied Arcs Season 4, Mike and Alex are here to wrap up Brubaker and Phillips' instant-classic Kill Or Be Killed with Volume 4 (issues 15-20). How does it all end, what does it all mean, and does any of it ultimately even matter. Can a b...

Send us Fan Mail "Fear is a weird thing. Sometimes it's a survival mechanism... like the instinct that made our ancestors flee from saber-tooth tigers. But a lot of the time it's the handcuffs that we put on ourselves." In this episode, Mike and Alex discuss the changing motivations of the vigilante killer and examine how that alters our perception of what he's doing. Does...

Send us Fan Mail "I don't believe in fate, but you can't deny that things in life sometimes fall together like there actually is some big cosmic plan at work. Which would suck for about 95 percent of us, right?" In Volume 2 (issues 5-10), Brubaker and Phillips begin to expand the world of Kill Or Be Killed and Mike and Alex are here to break it all down in this episode. They re...

Send us Fan Mail "It's so easy for the guys in those old vigilante movies to find their targets... they just walk around waiting to get mugged. Or they listen for screams and arrive just in time. In real life, it's not like that." In the first episode of Storied Arcs Season 4, Mike and Alex take a peak inside the mind of a vigilante killer as they dive into Volume 1 (issues 1-4...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Mike and Alex take a look at Alex's favorite creative team in all of comics- writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips. They discuss the duo's long history of incredible comic work, both separately and together, how noir storytelling infuses all of their collaborations, and sell you on why the vigilante crime-noir book Kill Or Be Killed was their choic...

Send us Fan Mail "The most spectacular episode of The Twilight Zone that was never produced." - Damon Lindelof, from the introduction to The Underwater Welder In this oversized, one-shot episode, Mike and Alex cover the entire book for Jeff Lemire's solo masterpiece, The Underwater Welder. No chapter breaks, no multiple volumes, just the whole story all at once, so be sure you'...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, the guys discuss Mike's all-time favorite comic creator: Jeff Lemire (Alex is a big fan, too, just not quite on the buy-every-Jeff-Lemire-variant-cover-published-regardless-of-series level Mike is). They give a history of Lemire's work, an overview of his style and themes, and finally, provide a synopsis and sales pitch for their next discussion, The Und...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we have an exclusive interview with the INSANELY talented Hilary Jenkins who provided colors for Eisner-nominated Grass Kings and continued her collaboration with Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins into Black Badge, Fear Case, and Apache Delivery Service.  We talk about the creative process and the colorist's role in comic creation.  We also discuss her other comic...

Send us Fan Mail A community of people living off the grid, opposed to government oversight, get raided by federal agents. That's never ended poorly before, right? Join Mike and Alex as they cover the EPIC conclusion to Grass Kings in Volume 3 (issues 11-15), where the Kingdom faces off against the outside world, their own personal demons, and oh yeah, a serial killer. Listen in to hear how t...

Send us Fan Mail What's the price of living in a free society? Is constant surveillance acceptable if you're the one doing it and not the big bad overlords of the world? And do the rules change at all if you find out there might be a serial killer living among you? Mike and Alex explore these questions and more and they jump into Grass Kings Volume 2 (issues 6-10). They touch on what fee...

Send us Fan Mail You are now entering the Grass Kingdom! In this episode, Mike and Alex discuss the first volume (issues 1-6) of Grass Kings by Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins, including Jenkins' stunning artwork, the innate need for war and conflict found in human nature, and what this book has to say, if anything, about the idea of sovereign citizenry. As always, join our discussion on Faceboo...