Play Comics

Sometimes you just need to flip things on their head. You know, really make sure to hit the point that you’re trying to make. Take down anything that stands in your way and kick right through any obstacle standing before you. And sometimes I just try to make stupid puns because we’re doing things backwards today and looking at comic books based on a video game. Listen in as the Pop Historian joins...

What makes someone a villain? And once you get that label in people’s head what can happen to get that label removed or switched? It’s tough. You’ve got to change minds and deal with people who will never forget your past no matter how much good you do now and will always treat you like the villain that they see you as. Well, we have Blair Farrell here to help figure out where that line is as we t...

What is it that makes a comic connect with an audience? Is it the writing? The art? The characters? Nope, but also yes….? It’s the passion behind it. And that passion certainly comes across in everything else but you can have the best writer and artist in the world using the most popular characters and have things fall flat if they’re just going through the motions. Today we’re talking about Ravag...

Comics can come from some weird places. Which most of the time is a shot at the writer or artist and the fact that they’re a weirdo. But sometimes is just a basic factual statement. You know, like when a nation makes a comic about a war they had no part in just because. But who would ever do a thing like that? Not Insane Ian, but he did stop by the show to talk about North and South which does exa...

In the cold dark reaches of space nobody can hear you scream. Or something like that. Look, I've never been to space so I can't know for sure. But I know that if I went to space I'd be lonely without my Kayleigh and that would suck so I'm not sure if I want to even think about that. But Elyse Russell on the other hand, all about mixing up sci fi and romance in ways that I wouldn't be able to pull...

Pocus is still in Hell. He’s got Emily. He’s got Horrus. He’s got problems. And what can he do about it? I have no idea, and to be perfectly honest I’m not sure that Allen Dunford does either. But it’s his job (along with Will Radford who sadly couldn’t be in this episode) to make the story happen. Which is good because they’re a lot better at it than I would be. Learn such things as: How do you g...

What are the elements of a good Batman game? Cool villains? Great side characters? Actually doing a bit of detectiving maybe? Well listen in as Adam Williamson comes back on the show to talk about Batman Gotham City Racers, a game that basically none of those things and yet still exists. Learn such things as: How much does a character have to be in the game to count as being in the game? How can y...

One of the best things about comics, especially lately, is the amount of creator diversity we’ve been able to get. So it warms my heart when we can get a collection bringing together a bunch of creators that don’t normally have a chance to get together for this specific reason. And what is that reason? Well, we’re taking a look at Sensory: Life on the Spectrum with Bex Ollerton to take a look at h...

Sometimes things get missed. Like not realizing that a game is based on a comic. Or missing an NES game because you didn’t realize that a game was based on a comic. I know it’s a shock that I could miss something. Or an entire country can miss out on a wonderful franchise that you’d think would be a great fit if only people would know it existed and could give it a chance. Good thing I have Doc Is...

Sometimes we have to revisit some things. A blast from the past if you will. There can be so many reasons for this. Maybe there’s unfinished business. Maybe it’s just a fun trip down memory lane. Or maybe there’s something more sinister going on than you even want to think about. Or it could just be because we previously looked at a title as a Kickstarter book and now we’re looking at it again whe...

Yu-Gi-Oh is something I never really got into growing up. Or now for that matter since I've gotten into some things now that I should have gotten into when I was younger. Although I was kind of around it since I was into Pokemon and Magic: the Gathering so it's not a totally 100% new thing to me. Plus the memes. Good thing I somehow convinced Luke Herr to come back for another session of "Luk...

Hot take here: comics are pretty fun. And one of those fun things is getting new stuff to check out. There's just something about the teamwork and the combination of words and art and the way they work together that just hits me in all the right ways. I love it. The creators love it. That's why I end up getting a lot of creators on this show. But there's the publishing side of things too. So who b...

Alright no jokes with this one at all. I was looking through Previews one month and there's this cover just staring at me. Barbaric. Such a simple name. Such an enticing cover. What's not to love? You know, unless you hate cool looking comics and/or getting in at the start of the story of something like this. Enter Michael Moreci, writer of Barbaric, coming to talk about his wonderful series. Espe...

Digging back into the NES days with this one because I somehow missed it. Which in a weird way makes sense because I don't think anybody that I knew back in the day would have known that Destiny of an Emperor was based on a manga. Or even what a manga was for that matter, but that's a different issue. Good thing we have Joey DiCarlo from So Wizard here to help take a look at this early NES RPG. Be...

Aren't grandma's cool? At least stereotypically they take care of you and make you cookies and I've even heard some parents will legit get mad that grandma's aren't spoiling those grandkids. And now forget about all of that because Allen Dunford and Will Radford and here to destroy all of those happy memories. Listen in as we take a look at their latest comic adventure, Grandma Chainsaw , and the...

The Covid Times sure have brought us some interesting stories. But a lot of them that I've seen are focused on the transition to before to during. What happens in the way WAAAAAY after? That's where Dennis Hopeless comes enters the chat. Listen in as we take a look at his Learn such things as: How do you pitch a book that switches gears so quickly between issues 1 and 2? What is it about octopuses...

Those of us who have cats know that they come with built in weapons. Finger knives, teeth, that sort of thing. But what if they had, oh I don't know, swords? Listen in as Tony Giammarino comes to talk to use about Maggie the Cat Who Fights Demon s which is about just that sort of thing. Oh yeah, and they're from space. Learn such things as: How much do our pets mean to us? Is it OK to put yourself...

Sometimes things are just too magical for only a single visit. Like trips to Hell. Or demon rabbits. Or girls playing with knives. Or, you know, talking to Allen Dunford about Pocus Hokus. That's why he's back to talk about Issue 4, which you can back now on Kickstarter . Learn such things as: How your favorite character almost wasn't. What happens when you trust the artist to art. Why is she alre...

You ever sit around noticing people's bags and wonder what's inside them? Turn your head to take a look even? Maybe even push them open a bit with your foot. Of course not, me either. But I certainly haven't seen anything too weird while I wasn't looking in there. Definitely not a human head collection. Who would even think of a thing like that? Lesly Julien would. And he'd tell you about it too,...

You've got a giant sprawling set of lore with the X-Men. You've got a huge villain, in multiple ways, in Apocalypse. You've got the last regular episode of Play Comics for a while because I don't know how to plan things, which is huge news. And of course you've got all of it on a Gameboy Advance screen. Listen in as Jessika and Mike from Ten Cent Takes come on the show to help us take a look at th...

It's the end of the world and there's nothing better to do than to read some comics about the end of the world in many different interpretations of the phrase. Somehow it's exactly what I need right now. Listen in as Gary Proudley comes to talk about the editing side and writing side of putting the anthology Producing the End of the World together, and lightly threatens me with Australian wildlife...

The future is scary. It seems it's always been scary. Remember when we would see dates like 20XX and know it was a stand in for some far off time when the world would be a totally different place? Yep those days are long gone. Heck it's the year 20XX right now! Enter Josh Adams, artist behind the Godfoe Universe series soon to be published by legacy Comix. Listen in as we take a look behind the sc...

Batman is one of the most well know superheroes around despite the fact that he's not really a superhero when you break the term down. Don't care, still love him. And that little used fact in games where he's a pretty good detective. Good thing we have Matt and Thad from Making Nerds Cringe here to help unravel the mystery of Batman Vengeance. Listen in as we take a look at this Batman the Animate...

Sometimes you just can't help but take a look at something you missed on purpose. Like here, where I wouldn't normally look at arcade only releases. But it's Spider-Man and someone asked about it and who am I to let the fans down? Listen in as The Well Red Mage from Mage Cast joins the show to take a look at the Spider-Man arcade game that so many of us missed growing up. Which sucks because we co...

You can make the best comic in the world, but people won't read it unless it gets published. And even if it gets published people need to know about it. So how does that happen? And what What all happens behind the scenes to help make your book a success? Listen in as we hear from David Dissanayake, director of sales and marketing at Vault Comics , as he lets us in on some of the secrets from way...