Storied Arcs

Send us Fan Mail "A.I.? An A.I. is not created. It is raised. Terrible sadness, frustration... these are what nurture and A.I." Welcome back to the Storied Arcs/Tankobon Podcast crossover, where Mike, Alex, and special guest Cole are jumping right into the next volumes of Naoki Urasawa's Astro Boy-inspired manga, Pluto Volumes 3 and 4 (chapters 16-31). The guys discuss the widening...

Send us Fan Mail "Revenge is for the selfish, justice is for the brave." In this episode, Mike and Alex head back to the wild, wild West and dive deep into the concluding arc of Plume by K. Lynn Smith with Volumes 3 and 4 (issues #10-17). They revisit the litany of Western-genre story tropes and discuss how Smith was able to once again subvert those genre expectations and deliver an endi...

Send us Fan Mail "He kept waving his hand until I could no longer see him. It filled my hard with emotion. My robot heart." Welcome to the Storied Arcs/Tankobon manga crossover event! This week, Mike, Alex, and Cole from the Tankobon Podcast dive right into Pluto Volumes 1 and 2 (Chapters 1-15) by Naoki Urasawa. The guys talk about the origins of Pluto, its ties to the classic manga Astr...

Send us Fan Mail "My father once told me that revenge was like a plume of black smoke. It seems tangible... but when you reach for it... you're grasping nothing but air." In this first episode of the new season, Mike and Alex head to the Old West to discuss Plume Volumes 1 and 2 (issues #1-9) by cartoonist K. Lynn Smith. They look into the history of the Western as a genre in popula...

Send us Fan Mail And now time for a special announcement! On Tuesdays in the month of October, we will be dropping some bonus content on this feed that we're super excited about. We have teamed up with the Tankobon podcast for a manga crossover event to discuss Pluto by Naoki Urasawa, a story inspired by the classic manga Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka. There are eight volumes, or tankobons , and...

Send us Fan Mail Mike and Alex are back for another season of Storied Arcs, and for this outing, they are diving into the world of webcomics as they get ready to discuss Plume by artist/writer K. Lynn Smith, originally published on the internet (RIP Smack Jeeves) and then in print by Devil's Due Comics. The guys get you primed for this supernatural-tinged western saga by teasing how Plume pla...

Send us Fan Mail Mike sits down with the writer, penciler, colorist, and letterer for Gospel... Will Morris! They discuss the book's meaning, especially the ending, and how/why there was a change from the single-issue release to the trade paperback. Will also settles the score on the debate Mike and Alex had during their discussion of Gospel- which pop culture theory of interpretation is more...

Send us Fan Mail "Joan of Arc never sought to be martyred, nor to be venerated. She wanted only to deliver France from oppression. That is what I want. To deliver my friends from danger." Mike and Alex are back for another one-shot episode, this time discussing Will Morris' book from Image Comics, Gospel. The guys take time to praise Morris' wonderful artwork before exploring h...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to a new season of Storied Arcs! In this entry, Mike and Alex will be diving into the Gospel from cartoonist Will Morris and Image Comics. They'll talk about what drew them to the book (and maybe why Alex missed it when it was initially released) and also give some big picture thoughts on the story to set-up the discussion. Then as usual, the guys give the lowdown on...

Send us Fan Mail In this one-shot, Mike sits down with Javon Harris. Javon has dreamt of writing and publishing manga (Japanese comics) since the 3rd grade. Now, he's making it happen. In 2022, he founded what is now an international collaboration of creators and he's trying to get the word out. Know someone who is a manga fan? Be sure to share this episode with them! Be sure to support...

Send us Fan Mail [Content note, the language in this interview get a little spicy, but hey, it happens sometimes.] After speaking with both the artist (Alexandre Tefenkgi) and writer (Pornsak Pichetshote) of The Good Asian, Mike and Alex had to keep it moving and snag the colorist as well, the great Lee Loughridge! We talk about his lengthy career to date and go back to his origins getting into th...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Mike and Alex are proud to present an exclusive interview with the Eisner Award-winning writer of The Good Asian, Pornsak Pichetshote! We discussed his origin in the comics industry, including his time as an editor at Vertigo Comics where he worked on such books as The Unwritten, Daytripper, Sweet Tooth, and many, many more iconic titles. We also talked about the...

Send us Fan Mail "You pay attention. When they're nervous. Whey they're relieved. All the different ways they think the world owns them happiness. They'll tell you everything about how they want to be treated. You just have to pay attention." Mike and Alex are back with another episode of Stories Arcs, this time discussing The Good Asian Volume 2 (issues #5-10) by Pornsak...

Send us Fan Mail "Chasing perfect's normal- it's the ones who get there you have be wary of. The perfect smile. Posture. Part in their hair... perfection takes sacrifice, so you have to be suspicious of anyone sad enough to go through with it." In this episode, Mike and Alex dive right into The Good Asian Volume 1 (issues #1-4) by Pornsak Pichetshote and Alexandre Tefenkgi from...

Send us Fan Mail After getting the chance to talk with Eisner-award winning artist Alex Tefenkgi last week, Mike and Alex felt it was only appropriate to focus the next season of Storied Arcs on the comic that won him that Eisner, The Good Asian from Image Comics. The guys discuss what makes this book special and why it stood out to them in a sea of new comics that are released every month. Then a...

Send us Fan Mail In the special episode, we have an exclusive interview with the great Alexandre Tefenkgi, the artist behind Outpost Zero, who was kind enough to chat with us all the way from his home in France. We discussed his origin in comics and how he got into the industry, then dove into his mindset when approaching projects. We also talked about his thought process and some of the creative...

Send us Fan Mail "You guys are asking questions I don't think anyone's asked in a long time. It's dangerous, what you're doing... but someone should be doing it." Mike and Alex are here once again to break down the finale of Outpost Zero Volume 3 The Only Living Things (issues #10-14). The guys give their overall impressions of the book before jumping into the ending...

Send us Fan Mail "When all is said and done, when it's all over... would you want to say you lived your life waiting to die? Or would you want to say something different?" In this episode, Mike and Alex return with you to Outpost Zero in Volume 2 Follow It Down (issues #5-9) and dive deep into the story as the characters dive deep into their home. The guys discuss how the creators e...

Send us Fan Mail "I wish I could be there. Wish I could see all the incredible alien things. If you're watching this... I guess you were lucky." Welcome to Outpost Zero and to another season of Storied Arcs! In this opening episode, Mike and Alex gravity-jump straight into Volume 1 The Smallest Town in the Universe (issues #1-4) of the Skybound comic and consider it's place amo...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to another season of Storied Arcs! For this outing, Mike and Alex will be covering the YA-focused (that's Young Adult) series Outpost Zero by Sean Kelley McKeever and Alexandre Tefenkgi from the Image Comics imprint, Skybound. They guys will talk about why they choose a YA book for discussion and what appealed to them about this specific comic (generational ship, last...

Send us Fan Mail "Role-playing games are conversations in quotations marks, letting you talk about true things with a little distance, as a fantasy. But for all of that, they're still conversations. And you should listen to what you are telling the game and what the game is telling you." We've reached the center of DIE and Mike and Alex are here to break it all down as they dis...

Send us Fan Mail "I'm presuming that's a reference I don't remember because I grew up and actually got a life." In this episode, Mike and Alex delve deep into DIE Volume 3 The Great Game (issues #11-15) as all the answers of DIE are finally revealed. Or are they? We see how all the pieces fit together, from the Brontë sibling's wooden soldiers to the dice that brought...

Send us Fan Mail "'What is Twitter?' 'It's a place devoid of any sentient life, entirely hostile to humanity. A lot like here, really.'" Welcome back to DIE! In this episode, Mike and Alex breakdown Volume 2 Split The Party (issues #6-10) from Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans. They dive deep into the mechanics of the game, what the rules are and how they govern t...

Send us Fan Mail "While our peers back on Earth were doing their A-levels, we were trapped here. The world of Die taught us different lessons. I was the Dictator. I learned how to tell stories." In this episode, Mike and Alex roll for damage as they enter the world of DIE from Keiron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, published by Image Comics. They dive right into Volume 1 Fantasy Heartbreaker...

Send us Fan Mail Mike and Alex are back with another zero episode to get ready for the next season of Storied Arcs, DIE from Image Comics. As always, the guys first focus on the creators of the comic, Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, before giving you a preview of why you should read the book. They review Gillen's vast resume of Marvel and creator-owned comics, as well as Hans' relative...