Graphic Policy Radio

Our critically aclaimed coverage of Doom Patrol--DC Universe's critically acclaimed show--continues with this episode on Season 2. Joining me are guests: Sarah Daniel Rasher is an erstwhile professor of Shakespeareology who now tries to save the world through educational data. They also occasionally write about figure skating and Star Trek on the internet.  Winn Periyasamy is a Fordham law student...

"I’m so thankful that my job is to sell people art." - John Arminio, Comix Connection. Guest John Arminio shares what it is like working at a comics store during this unprecidented time and how fans can support comics retail staff. Plus he makes some great suggestions of comics to buy. John is a long-time comic book devotee and retailer who peddles his wares at Comix Connection in Mechanicsburg, P...

Comics' harassment crisis isn't just caused by the names you've seen in the comics news. It is enabled by an entire system of employment and fandom built on exploitation. Good thing there are some brilliant and brave people joining me to talk about what we can to do create meaningful change in the industry. Guests: Jay Edidin writes comics, short fiction, and narrative nonfiction; covers culture,...

Tina Horn is the creator and writer of the sci-fi sex-rebel comic book series SfSx (Safe Sex). She hosts and produces the long-running kink podcast Why Are People Into That?!.  SfSx is the near-future story of the underground queer sex workers known as the Dirty Mind, who use their powers of bondage and intrigue to free their incarcerated friends and fight the power! SfSx: Volume 1: Protection is...

"I want to show that the people behind the desk can look like me, "-- Cristina ‘Steenz’ Stewart is a St. Louis based cartoonist, editor, and professor. She's the cartoonist on the syndicated comic strip ‘Heart Of The City’, the co-creator of Dwayne McDuffie Award winning Graphic Novel Archival Quality, and is featured in short story anthologies such as Eisner and Ignatz Award-Winning Elements: Fir...

From getting a Marvel internship out of spite to getting her own dream project graphic novel underway.  Nadia Shammas is an Arab-American comic writer and native Brooklynite. She's best known for being the creator of CORPUS: A Comic Anthology of Bodily Ailments and the author/co-creator of SQUIRE, a YA Middle Eastern fantasy set from HarperCollins next year. You can find her and her movie takes on...

Lux Alptraum is a Peabody-nominated producer and writer whose work had appeared in The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, and Hustler. Her first book, Faking It: The Lies Women Tell About Sex — And the Truths They Reveal, explores our cultural obsession with feminine deceit. https://twitter.com/luxalptraum Mey Rude is a Los Angeles-based trans latina lesbian. she’s a journalist who’s worked for autostr...

Kitty Pryde, sorry, I mean Kate Pryde, is coming out! She's stealing a boat, getting drunk on Wolverine’s stash and becoming a pirate/liberator of mutants everywhere. Join us for a deep dive into Marauders issues 1-9 from Gerry Duggan, Matteo Lolli, Stephano Casseli, Michelle Bandini and others. X-Perts: Chingy L Gay is a writer, comedian, and critically acclaimed ex-girlfriend. She writes about q...

Elsa Charretier joins us from the south of France to talk about her latest comic, the noir tale November with Matt Fraction.  Elsa is a self taught artist known for co-creating the award winning scifi romance The Infinite Loop with writer Pierrick Colinet. Since then, she has been dividing her time between creating new creator-owned books (Superfreaks) and drawing established characters like The U...

Interview with comics artist/writer Jerry Ordway continues! Jerry's been making superhero comics for DC and Marvel for 40 years. He's the guy who made people care about Shazam and the All Star Squadron again. He inked Crisis on Infinate Earths. He's partnered with writers like Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Michael Moorecock & Neil Gaiman. His essay on age discriminiation in the industry put a name...

Comics artist/writer Jerry Ordway has been making superhero comics for DC and Marvel for 40 years. He's the guy who made people care about Shazam and the Justice Society of America again. He inked Crisis on Infinate Earths. He's partnered with writers like Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Michael Moorecock & Neil Gaiman.  Welcome to a special two part interview. Whether you're new to Jerry's work or...

Travel back as we delve into a classic Venture Bros episode: Operation PROM. Thanks for being patient with the podcast right now: I've been slammed with work. I thought I'd make it up to you by covering a Venture Bros episode from Season 4, before we started podcast. We're here to help you catch all the references to feminist philosophers and 70s rock bands and Marvel comics. And to help you think...

Warren Ellis' Castlevania show for Netflix is about powerful old men who want to bring the world down around them and the OT3 who say "nope" to all that. I'm joined by two critics who know their anime way better than I to talk about the show: Kat Overland is a freelance culture critic and the small press editor at Women Write About comics. Leslie Lee the 3rd is a writer and host of Struggle Sessio...

The comic strips you grew up with, and your great-grandma grew up with, are probably from King Features Syndicate: a comics syndicate over 100 years old! Tea Fougner is the Editorial Director for Comics at King Features Syndicate and joins us to talk about comics strips past and present. As Tea says, “Comics is a format, not a genre." Find out: Which vintage adventure strips will modern readers en...

V for Vendetta is marching in streets from Catalonia to Hong Kong; a centuries old symbol reinvented in the 1982 graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, and further popularized by the Wachowski Sisters movie of 2005. Even Occupy was almost 10 years ago?!  Why has this mask and story lived on in protests? How is V for Vendetta a unique dystopian text? I'm joined by Ajay Singh Chaudhary PHD, ex...

Perfectly choreographed fights against sexists who had it coming! Does DC Entertainment's Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey movie keep the spirit of the beloved comics alive? From the comics to the big screen we've got an expert panel:  Nadia Shammas is an Arab-American comic writer and native Brooklynite. She's best known for being the creator of CORPUS: A Comic Anthology of Bodily Ailments and the aut...

Victor Luckerson is writing a book about Tulsa's Black Wall Street, which was highlighted by HBO's Watchmen series. Felicia Perez is the Innovation Director at the Center for Story-based Strategy. We team up to look at the real history and current politics behind the most 2019 of HBO shows. Also, check out Victor's essay in the New Yorker: The Great Achievement of Watchmen is Showing How Black Ame...

New York Times Opinion columnist Jamelle Bouie and Spencer Ackerman, Daily Beast National Security Reporter, join me to talk about the new X-Men series, the ideology of Krakoa and more: “Magneto as Lenin” Jamelle Bouie “This is The X-Men that I have always dreamed of existing, in my soul”- Spencer AckermanWhat does the Mutant Liberation Front really mean? Pan Africanism, not Zionism "Based on my f...

Our roundtable of historians, cultural critics and comics bloggers came together for a Martin Luther King Day episode 5 years ago. The world of X-Men and criticism has changed since but our panelists rocked and listeners loved it. So we brought this Classic episode out of the archives. Our guests:  Steve Attewell: He is the founder and writer of Race for the Iron Throne and writes People’s History...

"BOWIE: Stardust, Rayguns & Moonage Daydreams is a graphic novel from legendary artist Mike Allred and writer Steve Horton. It chronicles the rise of David Bowie’s career from obscurity to fame; paralleled by the rise and fall of his alter ego Ziggy Stardust. As the Spiders from Mars slowly implode, Bowie wrestles with his Ziggy persona. The outcome of this internal conflict will change not on...

What better collapse of the Disney vs auteurism fight then Werner Herzog talking to a Muppet? I'm joined by experts in the show's influences from High Noon to Lone Wolf and Cub. Learn about darksabers and other stuff you missed by not watching the Clone Wars cartoon. Guests: Brandon Wilson is a filmmaker and lecturer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he attended UCLA where he took a B.A. in African...

Experts at pop culture storytelling, social movements and fan organizing joining me to discuss the final Star Wars movie, Rise of Skywalker. Porshéa Patterson-Hurst is the public opinion research associate for The Opportunity Agenda, a social justice communication lab in New York. She consults with allies in the field to identify and obtain pertinent research needs in the areas of immigration, cri...

4 critics share our favorite comics of the year. We've got all-ages comics any kid will love, comics about Watchmen, comics about sex workers fighting for their rights, comics about Archie vs Predator. Hear which series had the best endings and find out the books we can't wait to read in 2020. You'll leave with a big reading list (or gift list). Nea aka Chingy L Gay is a writer, comedian, and crit...

NY City Councilman Ben Kallos https://twitter.com/BenKallos grew up collecting comics, watching anime and reading science fiction as a Manhattan kid. While most of his time is now spent passing progressive reform legislation, getting trashcans installed across his Upper East Side district or taking care of his daughter, he still loves comics and scifi for the powerful stories they tell about the w...

Creative team Liana Kangas & Joe Corallo discuss their comics merging music, horror & scifi fantasy: She Said Destroy: The witches of Fey are the last believers of The Morrigan, Goddess of Death, Brigid's sister and the only other God left. As Brigid's forces prepare for one final battle, The Morrigan prepares to do what she does best: Destroy! Dead Beaths: The Dead Beats music shop is fil...