Storied Arcs

Send us Fan Mail "Humans are like a bucket with a hole in it. You try to fill it up with happiness, but you can't. It runs out as fast as you pour it in, so you're always trying to find ways to get more. Every wish we grant is the same wish. I wish I had enough ." In this one-shot episode, Mike and Alex jump into Charles Soule and Ryan Browne's recently concluded hit, Eigh...

Send us Fan Mail In this zero episode for the newest season of Stories Arcs, Mike and Alex discuss the creative team behind the recent Image Comics hit Eight Billion Genies, Charles Soule and Ryan Brown! They chat about the previous comic work published by the pair (with a fair amount of talk about Soule's Star Wars work, which is a must-read for any Star Wars fan), including their first comi...

Send us Fan Mail " I bet you're loving this. Hmm? The team at its best. It's just like old times. Best funeral ever!" In this special bonus episode of Storied Arcs, Alex flies solo as he discusses (with himself) Netflix's adaption of The Umbrella Academy. He touches on what he thinks makes for a good comic book adaptation before diving in on what he thinks The Umbrella Aca...

Send us Fan Mail "While I fully support revenge, now is not the time." In this week's episode, Mike and Alex take a look at Volume 3 of The Umbrella Academy, the final (for now) volume of Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba's comic from Dark Horse (The Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion issues #1-7). They dive deep into what does and does not work for this in volume and how the long layoff...

Send us Fan Mail "But this one's something special. He's an idea . And what you can't take down with bullets... you have to take down with words . That's why I needed her ." Welcome back to another episode of Storied Arcs! This week, Mike and Alex travel back to Dallas 1963 to discuss Volume 2 of Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba's The Umbrella Academy (The Umbrella Acad...

Send us Fan Mail "Lacking in finesse, but... adequate. Can I interest you in destroying the world" In this week's episode, Mike and Alex jump right into their discussion of Volume 1 of Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba's The Umbrella Academy (The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite issues #1-6). They pick up a couple of threads from last week's zero episode and examine how Gerard W...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to another season of Stories Arcs! In this zero episode, Mike and Alex take a look at Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba, the creators behind the Dark Horse comic The Umbrella Academy. They discuss how Gerard Way's previous day job (being an internationally-famous rock star) may have colored they opinion of the book before ever reading it and how those preconceived notions wer...

Send us Fan Mail "Do you still cling to such binary oppositions? Do you believe everything must be wholly real or wholly imagined ?" In the Season 8 finale of Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex talk about the apocalypse, aka The Unwritten Volumes 10 and 11 (issues 1-12 of The Unwritten: Apocalypse). How does it all end? What does it all mean? Does the ultimate payoff feel satisfying and earned?...

Send us Fan Mail "They're Fables from another place, another world. Stories told by stories made up by the stories to whom we are only stories." In this penultimate episode of Season 8 of Stories Arcs, Mike and Alex dive head-first into the world of Fables and the crossover that isn't really a crossover in The Unwritten Volume 9 (issues 50-54) and the original graphic novel The...

Send us Fan Mail "But in the end-- without story-- without the ability to step sideways from fact into hypothesis-- human life is untenable." In this episode, Mike and Alex discuss how everything finally comes together in The Unwritten Volumes 7 and 8 (issues 36-49). Random details and story beats that have been sprinkled throughout the entire run thus far all begin to converge here, whe...

Send us Fan Mail "No honest man need fear cartoons." In this episode, Mike and Alex get ready for war as they delve deeper into the world of The Unwritten with Volumes 5 and 6 (issues 25-35 plus 31.5-35.5). Finally, approximately halfway through the run, it feels like the story is on solid ground and it's clear to both the reader (and the characters) what is going on, why it's...

Send us Fan Mail "Some symbols become more real than what they stand for. Like they're part of a truth that's beyond the regular kind of truth." In this episode, Mike and Alex are back to discuss The Unwritten Volumes 3 and 4 (issues 13-24), where we finally start to get some clarity as to what exactly is going on. Not so much on the why, though, and the guys talk about how tha...

Send us Fan Mail "Stories are the only thing worth dying for." Welcome to The Unwritten and the magical world of Tommy Taylor, who is definitely not a total ripoff of that other orphan boy-turned-wizard savior you're probably thinking of. In this first episode, Mike and Alex discuss Volumes 1 and 2 (issues 1-12) of Mike Carey and Peter Gross' examination of stories and storytel...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the most ambitious season of Stories Arcs to date! In this zero episode, Mike and Alex discuss the comics history of creators Mike Carey and Peter Gross and provide an introduction to their sprawling meta-fiction tale, The Unwritten. The guys touch on Carey and Gross' collaboration outside of The Unwritten, such as the Sandman spin-off Lucifer and The Highest House...

Send us Fan Mail "If you believe in nothing, how can you accomplish anything." In this one-shot episode, Mike and Alex dive right into The Nightly News from Image Comics, superstar writer Jonathan Hickman's first-ever published comic work. They talk about how Hickman being the sole credited creator on the book effects the presentation of the story on the page, including how some sto...

Send us Fan Mail Mike and Alex have another one-shot deep dive lined up for discussion but before they do, they have a chat about the creative team behind that comic, The Nightly News from Image Comics- writer Jonathan Hickman, artist Jonathan Hickman, colorist Jonathan Hickman, letterer Jonathan Hickm... okay you get the idea. He did everything on this book and it was his first published comic wo...

Send us Fan Mail "Repeat a lie often enough, it takes on the illusion of truth." In this one-shot episode, Mike and Alex dig deep into The Seeds by Ann Nocenti and David Aja from Berger Books. They break down the myriad of themes presented in the book (and there are a lot of them) and explore how effectively each one was managed and presented. Is this comic an ecological commentary on hu...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Mike and Alex take a look at the creative team behind their next one-shot deep dive, The Seeds. They discuss the influential career of Karen Berger and the name-brand power she brought to Dark Horse with her Berger Books imprint, as well as the the works of legendary writer/editor Ann Nocenti and artist extraordinaire David Aja. Then they pitch you on why The Seed...

Send us Fan Mail You'll find all kinds of goodies in this oversized holiday episode which we've dubbed an "annual." In true comic fashion, we ran out of stories to cover by a week so we've compiled an annual edition. Alex and Mike talk about the books they'd like to cover for 2023 as well as shine a light on the book selection process. Each podcaster provides a list o...

Send us Fan Mail "And I suppose this has been the problem from the very start. The fundamental crack in civilization that has always set us against each other- mistaking productivity for value." In the final episode of Season 5 of Stories Arcs, Mike and Alex leap into the not-so-distant future to chat about Mark Russell and Mike Deodato, Jr.'s Eisner-award winning Not All Robots Vol...

Send us Fan Mail "If civilization is going to last, if it's going to amount to anything more than must a place to watch TV and get cheap snake meat, it will only be because we've learned to do one thing... To care for people who mean nothing to us." In this episode, Mike and Alex continue their discussion of The Flintstones and focus in on the main theme of Volume 2 (issues 7-1...

Send us Fan Mail "No offense, but it seems like the whole point of civilization is to get someone else to do your killing for you." Welcome to Bedrock and a new season of Storied Arcs! Mike and Alex travel back to the Stone Age to discuss Volume 1 (issues 1-6) of Mark Russell and Steve Pugh's cutting satire of modern-day life, The Flintstones. What does a 60-year-old cartoon have to...

Send us Fan Mail This is a big one! Not only do we dive deep into the work and themes of Mark Russell, we also examine the art of Steve Pugh (Flintstones) and the storied career of Mike Deodato (Not All Robots.)  This serves as the zero episode and intro for both Flintstones and Not All Robots which are written by Mark Russell. The two books may seem like a strange juxtaposition, but Russell'...

Send us Fan Mail In this mini-episode, you get to hear the introduction from the deluxe edition of The Flintstones written and read by Mark Russell. This book has a particular context and speaks distinctly to our modern world. This introduction lays the groundwork beautifully and will set you up for the emotional and intellectual ride that is The Flintstones. The best part of this little bonus epi...

Send us Fan Mail "How did it all get so bad? And when did we lose hope that it might ever get better... instead of worse?" In the final episode of Storied Arcs Season 4, Mike and Alex are here to wrap up Brubaker and Phillips' instant-classic Kill Or Be Killed with Volume 4 (issues 15-20). How does it all end, what does it all mean, and does any of it ultimately even matter. Can a b...