Long Comics Bookclub

"He kissed her thinking she was someone else She kissed him back not knowing they were once engaged" This episode we are all about VIBES with the first volume of the manga "Kowloon Generic Romance" by Jun Mayuzuki. This story introduces us to a pair of flirty real estate agents in a future-set Kowloon, the once most densely populated place on Earth. Part mystery, part romance,...

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow for our bookclub Long Comic today! With the upcoming Supergirl move coming out next week we wanted to look at the inspiration of the film, and talk about this new modern class "Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow". This sci-fi fantasy adventure sees the heroine flying through the stars in pursuit of a villain who leaves deat...

A magical space octopus comes to earth from the planet happy with the goal of bringing happiness to everyone! What could possibly go wrong? *CONTENT WARNING* This episode includes discussions around the following topics that are part of the discussed manga including: suicide, child abuse, and bullying For the first half of the show we are talking about "Takopi's Original Sin". We cover the themes...

This episode is out of this world, as we take a trip to "Planet Hulk". The planet of Sakar is rife with social and racial inequality, ruled over by the cruel Red King. But when the Green Scar aka. Hulku aka. the Incredible Hulk crashes on the planet things are about to be turned on their head. For the first half of the show we are celebrating the 20th Anniversary of this hit comic run, a...

A city made of gold? That's the Macht touch! This episode we are talking about the number one rated anime: Frieren Beyond Journey's end BUT we are picking up where the most recent season left off. That's right, we are moving into uncharted territory, as we learn about Denken, Macht, and a city turned to gold in Volumes 9 + 10 + 11 of the hit series. For the first half of the show we ta...

This episode we are celebrating Halloween in April! "Batman: The Long Halloween" is considered by many to be one of the foundational Batman stories that helped shape the caped crusader we know today. Following Batman in his third year of protecting Gotham city, this story shows the transition of city rule from the mafia to the super-villains, all framed by the emergence of 'Holiday&#...

Spence, as an owner of a Manga and Comics store, has a lot of insights and experience with the medium. So when he says "20th Century Boys" is his favourite manga you better bet it means we are in for a treat! This mystery-drama by Naoki Urasawa follow Kenji, the new owner of a convenience store, as he uncovers a world-ending plot put on by a cult that is somehow connected to him and his...

Here at Long Comics Bookclub we try and read books that are standalone, that can be enjoyed without any prior knowledge making them accessible to all. Unfortunately for me, April Fools day is around the corner. "Final Crisis" was intended to reboot the DC Universe by having all of the different heroes, villains, alternative universes, and whatever else falls within cannon come together f...

Today we are talking about "Another"! Another manga, Another horror story, Another episode, Another good time. For the first half of the show we talk about "Another" as our long comic for the book club, and for the second half of the show we discuss the anime adaptation as well as the Western version of "Another" aka. the Final Destination series. *Content Warning* De...

Happy belated Family Day (even though it's very Canadian specific and province specific)! To celebrate this family-focused holiday we are celebrating non-traditional families starting with "Coming Back" by Jessi Zabarsky. This graphic novel is intended for younger audiences, but with some interesting world building and themes it's a great topic for a bookclub conversation. For the second half of t...

Happy Lunar New Year! To celebrate the year of the horse we are back with a bonus episode of horse-related content. "Steel Ball Run" is Volume 7 of the famous JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series and is the story of an American transcontinental horse race (well for most of the racers) set in 1890. Spence is a JoJo fanboy, but I've only watched Season 1. Supposedly, you can dive into S...

Happy Valentine's Day! To celebrate this occasion we have decided to mark it with a romance story, and today that is "Emma" by Kaoru Mori. This love story of a maid and a merchant is NOT inspired by the Jane Austen novel despite sharing the same namesake, the same genre, same vibes. First half of the show we talk about Emma the manga as our long comic for the book club, and second ha...

After loving Absolute Batman are we back into the absolute universe? ABSOLUTELY. This episode we talk about the reimagining of the iconic female heroine in her new series, "Absolute Wonder Woman." With more magic, weapons, and might, does this Wonder Woman shine as brightly as her classic design? We also talk the new DC Cinematic Universe and who we want to see grace the silver screen. -...

This episode of the podcast is almost as long as the title of the Long Comic we're talking about! Tatsuki Fujimoto may be the greatest mangaka (manga author/illustrator) of the past decade with his popular works "Chainsaw Man" and "Fire Punch". But we're not talking about those today! Instead, we're taking a look at an anthology series of four series written while Fujimoto was between the ages of...

George R. R. Martin's "Game of Thrones" series is considered one of the greatest fantasy worlds of all time by many (this is the books, not the movies, chill out). But did you know that he also wrote a series of novellas about Dunk and Egg? The first of which was adapted into a graphic novel: "The Hedge Knight". This soon to be HBO series follows Dunk the Lunk as he sets out to earn valour and rep...

Happy Holidays! It's coming up on being a full year since we started the Long Comics Bookclub, and a full year since Spence opened Vesperia Manga and Comics. It's been a blast, and we want to take this bonus episode to celebrate some of the things we've accomplished, but also look forward to the future. And of course, any good end-of-year wrap-up needs a Top 5 ranking of our favourite...

Nirvana, Radio Head, Red Hot Chili Peppers. Every Japanese high schooler's favourite music bands right? Perhaps not, but it is the case for Aya who has developed a crush on the cute guy who works at the CD store. Little does she know that the cute CD guy is actually Koga, the girl who sits beside her in class! Will their shared love of 90s alt rock turn into a love for one another as well!? Romanc...

It's the end of the world as we know! This episode we are heading into the forest and kicking back at "The Nice House on the Lake", a graphic novel by James Tynion IV. The story follows a group of people who learn that they are the last inhabitants of the earth, after the apocalypse has been brought about by their mutual friend (and Eldrich horror) Walter. So how do they unravel the...

It's a Magic the Gathering literature spectacular! This episode we discuss the first issue of "Untold Stories: Elspeth" AND volumes 2 - 5 of "Destroy All Humans, They Can't Be Regenerated." To help us navigate this special double feature episode we are excited to have Regular_Zach on the podcast! Zach is an actor, twitch streamer, magic ambassador, and co-host of the Ar...

It's the end of the world as we know it, as a mysterious plague has wiped out all the mammals on planet earth with a Y chromosome. Those not familiar with biology, that means all the men/males are gone and all that's left are women. With one exception. Yorick and his monkey Ampersand. Join us as we talk about some of the interesting themes this brings up, the reality of an apocalypse, and...

Did you know that following the fall of the Shogunate in Japan in the 1600s that some Japanese Samurai travelled to Europe to fight as mercenaries? "Issak" is a historical action-drama set during the Thirty Years' War in Central Europe. Spence gets his time to shine more than usual in this episode, with his History degree in one hand and encyclopedic knowledge in the other. Get ready...

To me, my X-men! This episode we dive into not just comics, but also some social commentary with "X-men: God Loves, Man Kills". One of the first graphic novels ever released by Marvel, this 1982 story is short but hits like a colossus. Of course, even among the discussion we still find some times for a good laugh. -------------------------------- 5:05 X-men: God Loves, Man Kills discussi...

LISTENER BEWARE - Descriptions of body horror and psychological horror. But if you think that's bad, wait until you read it! "Uzumaki" is perhaps the most well known of Jinju Ito's nightmare fuel works. Shane gets to experiencing the fear filled pages for the first time, and Spence gets to find all the things that he had unknowingly suppressed. Buckle up, this one is a trip!-----...

We are back with the Bat but this time he's a little bit bigger, or maybe A LOT bigger! "Absolute Batman" is a new title that re-creates the Batman Universe in a new bombastic form. There's a lot to talk about with the re-imagining of a classic character that we are excited to talk about and boy do we! Also Spence got a microphone so our audio is better than ever! ---------------...

This episode we dive into the blood frenzy manga that is "Killer Shark in Another World." While this manga hasn't made a splash in North America, we are excited to dip our toes and see what all the fuss is about. So come for a swim along with us into uncharted waters this episode! It's a pun-tastic time. -------------------------------- 6:10 Killer Shark in Another World discussi...