Deconstructing Comics

We conclude our look at 2015's  Fant4stic , directed by Josh Trank . Trank's behavior on the set (and on Twitter) have been nothing but bad for his career, and studio meddling was nothing but bad for a film that wasn't a good take on the FF, but might have at least been a better film if Trank had been left alone. As it was, we're left with yet another FF movie that's short on explanations of Dr. D...

Should a director re-interpret a property when nobody wanted it re-interpreted? 2015's Fant4stic , directed by Josh Trank , turns getting superpowers into an exercise in body horror. Much of its inspiration comes from Bendis and Millar's very straightfaced Ultimate Fantastic Four comics, Trank threw in a liberal helping of  The Fly and  Scanners . Tim, Kumar, and Jordan (in another crossover with...

After the (connected) short stories of  Safer Places , Kit Anderson 's new book is a full-on graphic novel called Second Shift (again from Avery Hill) which has gotten some breathlessly positive reviews from writers who give the impression they totally understand it. At Deconstructing Comics, our reviews tend to be more nuanced. What did we think of it? I'm joined by Loyala Marymount University pr...

FLASHBACK!  Eileen Gray: A House Under the Sun is a slim graphic novel by Charlotte Malterre-Barthes and Zosia Dzierzawska, about the titular famous Irish architect that most people have never heard of. Kumar and Emmet found it beautiful and intriguing; here's their review. (Originally published August 28, 2019.)  This episode includes a new intro from Emmet, referring to the recent film about Gra...

Ken Krimstein 's Einstein in Kafkaland: How Albert Fell Down the Rabbit Hole and Came up with the Universe builds on the fact that these two stars of the early 20th century were part of the same friend group at one point and builds it up into what NPR described as " Alice in Wonderland meets The Lives of the Poets meets Krazy Kat. " This week Emmet talks with Ken about the book, the two historical...

Joe Sacco has been covering the Israel-Palestine conflict in varying forms since 1991: first in Palestine , then in Footnotes in Gaza , and most recently in War on Gaza . It's too much for Kumar and Dana to contain in their heads all at once, both in terms of information and emotion, especially for poor Kumar, who struggles to form complete sentences through the entire episode. And it was a hercul...

FLASHBACK! The 1990s DC series Starman is one of comicdom's most fondly remembered series. Interestingly, says series author James Robinson , it seems to be more popular now than it was when it was actually in production! James joins Tim and Ryan Haupt this week to look back on various aspects of this iconic series, including the theme of "legacy", a sneaky crossover with another series, a story a...

Fables of Fear is an anthology horror title by Karl Brandt and David Parsons. Tim and Adam discuss; there are some good short stories here, but maybe they're a bit ... TOO short? Black Plastic , by Josh Tierney and Nicci Busse is, as its writer says, a "karaoke cyber-thriller" graphic novel. That's his description; Tim and Jason aren't quite sure what to think of it. Are we getting too old for thi...

FLASHBACK!  This week a wide-ranging discussion between two Canadians, Koom and Ian, about comics in Canada. The talk centers on Montreal-based publisher Drawn & Quarterly, and two books from their catalog: Michel Rabagliati's 2005 book Paul Moves Out , and the latest from Jillian Tamaki, Boundless . Also, some deep background on the history and people behind Toronto comics shop The Beguiling. (Or...

FLASHBACK!  Skim is a coming-of-age graphic novel written by Mariko Tamaki, and drawn by her cousin Jillian Tamaki . Jillian works primarily in the field of illustration; how does she find that different from drawing a comic? Is it wrong to say that a comic is "illustrated"? She also discusses her perhaps unorthodox collaboration with Mariko on Skim , and reviews of the book that see meanings in i...

This week we look at the movie that was based on the "Galactus Trilogy" of  Fantastic Four #48-50,  Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer . How does it stand up against the comics, and against the 2005 film? How do we feel about Galactus being a cloud of smoke? Does Doom finally have a real plan in this one? Once again, Tim is joined by Kumar and Jordan of the Comic Book Movie Oblivion podcast...

One of the most famous  Fantastic Four stories is the "Galactus Trilogy" from Fantastic Four 48-50 in 1966. This story has been adopted more than once, including in the 1990s FF cartoon, and in 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer . Leading into our discussion of that movie next week, this week Tim, Kumar, and Jordan, in another crossover with the Comic Book Movie Oblivion podcast, loo...

When Steve and Sam foil an attempt by police from south of the border to arrest their friendly waiter, the cops decide to arrest Steve instead! Hey, beats heading home empty handed! What looks like it's going to be a story about Cap (and maybe Falcon?) locked up in a Central American prison takes several odd turns: Cap is never locked up, Sam never even arrives there, and then a fish monster shows...

  In  Clyde Fans by Seth , two brothers run a fan company for fifty years. One might expect it to be prosaic, but instead it's an immersive and epic exploration of the sense and meaning of life, every life, even when it's not apparent on the surface. Kumar and Dana ask the big questions. Brought to you by: Full Manga Alchemists Our supporters on Patreon

Briana Loewinsohn , who got a lot of praise two years back for her graphic memoir Ephemera , is back with a new book, Raised by Ghosts . It's a slightly fictionalized look at Briana's teen years, acting as both a time capsule of late-20th-century teenager culture, and the struggles of being comfortable with oneself that 's almost synonymous with the word "teenager." This week an interview with Bri...

What's that  Kirby Crackle octopus chasing Cap and Falcon ? And didn't it used to be an oddly muscular, bald (naturally) corpse? It's Agron , who gives our heroes some headaches in Captain America and the Falcon issues 204 and 205. Not the best Jack Kirby Cap adventure ever, but it produces at least one wildly T-shirt-worthy panel! Tim and Emmet discuss. Brought to you by: The Quarter-Bin podcast...

The  Night People are looking for a superhero. But who are the Night People? Where do they come from? And what does one have to sacrifice to become their superhero? Tim and Emmet discuss Captain America and the Falcon issues 201-203! Brought to you by: Worst Collection Ever podcast Our supporters on Patreon

Michael Cohen has created comics such as Strange Attractors and Tangled River , and is credited with helping to create the first known comic book price guide . He's also co-host of the Unpacking Peanuts podcast, and his talk with Tim includes discussion of Charles Schultz's strip, including about the reason why Michael has no interest in Peanuts animation! Brought to you by: Who's Who podcast Our...

While the 2005 film  Fantastic Four gives us, debatably, a well-casted group of heroes, with plenty of comics-accurate details, the script does no favors to Dr. Doom . What are his goals, other than "taking everything back" from Reed? Why is he a CEO instead of a despot? Who the heck gives a frightening metal mask as a thank-you gift?? This time, Tim, Kumar, and Jordan (in a crossover with the Com...

The Star Tide Shores is an action space adventure comic that isn't afraid to get a little deeper emotionally than, say, Star Wars. Tim and Adam enjoyed reading the first volume, by Henry Goeldner and Illuminated, and are here to give you the scoop.

After the fiasco of the  1994 unreleased Fantastic Four movie , development proceeded on a big-budget FF film, which finally hit theaters in 2005 -- a better film than the '94 attempt in some ways, but frustratingly as bad or worse in others. This week, in another crossover with the Comic Book Movie Oblivion podcast, Tim is joined by Kumar and Jordan to begin a two-part look at this film (as well...

Captain America was the obvious choice of a character to help Marvel celebrate the USA's bicentennial in 1976. The job of doing that went to Jack Kirby , co-creator of the character. Naturally, that meant a story full of hard-hitting moments, and one that gets a bit treacly at the end, but also doesn't back away from difficult moments in US history. This week, Tim and Emmet discuss the treasury-si...

Oni are mythical monsters similar to the ogres of Western tradition. Like many of the legendary Japanese creatures, their characteristics are often adopted for manga characters, including series such as  Lum , The Promised Neverland , and Demon Slayer . Our own Patrick has compiled a lot of data on them, and he's here this time to fill us in. He also discusses the main points of monster theory. Wa...

The second omnibus volume of Mitsuru Adachi's Cross Game focuses largely on a scrimmage between the varsity team and the "portables", which doesn't go how anyone expects it to. Things are shifting subtly under the surface; we're pretty sure what the series is leading up to (it's a baseball manga, after all), but it's fun to watch it develop. And of course, it never lets us forget vol. 1's tragedy,...

When  Hugh D'Andrade was ten years old, his next door neighbor was mysteriously murdered, and he saw the body. In his forthcoming graphic memoir The Murder Next Door , he explores the trauma this caused him as the experience stuck with him over decades, and he explores the question: If someone else has had a worse experience than mine, does that mean my trauma is less important than theirs? In thi...