Deconstructing Comics

Critiquing Comics returns to discuss the following comics: * Gabriel Dunston’s Purgatory Pub presents an angel and a devil having a philosophical discussion. Tim and Mulele have very different levels of tolerance for that concept, and yet come to the same conclusion about this story. * David Dye’s Amazing Tales gives us “stories of an Australian nature,” as the cover warns (his word, not ours!). While we might not understand every word of this, we’d sure like to see more of the art.

Daniel Clowes’ 1990s series Ghost World became a movie in 2001. Will Weaver, a professor at John Carroll University, says that each version of the story was what it needed to be for that medium. Why did those choices, such as adding Seymour, make sense for the movie? Could a film version have worked without Seymour? And what’s the deal with that bus, anyway? Will joins Tim to discuss these questions and more. Comic Journal review of the movie, by Michael Dean Daniel Clowes interview in Salon

In part two of Tim’s interview with longtime comics writer Dan Mishkin, Dan talks about writing Warren Commission Report: A Graphic Investigation into the Kennedy Assassination with artists Ernie Colon and Jerzy Drozd; explores the reasons for Marvel’s breakout success in the 1960s, and compares working for DC vs working for Marvel; explains the concept of his web comic with Jerzy Drozd, Amazon Academy; and remembers working with the late Ernie Colon.

Spider-Man is back in the MCU! Is it a coincidence that this announcement came out just days after it was revealed that MCU mastermind Kevin Feige has been named the producer of an upcoming Star Wars movie? Mulele tells Tim about his theory of the case.

Dan Mishkin has worked on many different superhero properties, especially for DC — big names such as Batman and Wonder Woman, as well as characters that he helped to create, such as Blue Devil and Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld. Tim has been reading the original 1983 Amethyst series, and in part one of his talk with Dan, we get some of the background on the series: the development of the idea, the intended audience, death in the series, why the second series came to be, Amy Winston’s unpublished Jewish backstory, and, if Dan could do Amethyst again, would he do anything differently?

In this episode, Tim and Mulele critique: * Collapse v 1: “Isolation,” in which a group of people emerge from an underground bunker 19 years after an apocalyptic war. By RP Foster, Russ Pirozek, Pablo Lordi, Jake Isenberg, and Eduardo Camacho. Buy issues of Collapse * Evil Witch Allie v 2: We revisit this series about a little girl who, apparently, really is a witch, and find that creator Kristin Tipping has upped her game since we read v 1 a couple of years ago. Evil Witch Allie site Plus, when it comes to Spider-Man in the MCU, we just… have to… let go. And, an update on Mulele’s comics career.

Last July, with issue 193, Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and company abruptly ended The Walking Dead. In this episode, Emmet is joined by Bobsy (of the podcasts Shadow Trap and Diane, and an occasional guest on Silence) to examine the series and how it ended. What is the deeper meaning of the series, and was that meaning put there intentionally, or subconsciously? How did the success of the Walking Dead TV show affect the comic? Should Kirkman have gone with his original idea for the ending?

In this episode, we discuss: * Read More Comix, by Robb Mirsky, James Spencer, and David Craig, a series featuring hilarious, weird, and sometimes disturbing comics, long and short * Antfarm, story and art by Alberto Melendez, working on a concept created by his late brother Tony “War” Melendez. Anthropomorphized ants in battle gear for a start, but who are these characters? Plus, a recent comic from Marvel that’s of interest to budding writers; a letter from a creator whose work we recently critiqued; and more Spidey/Sony/Marvel talk.

Eileen Gray: A House Under the Sun is a slim graphic novel by Charlotte Malterre-Barthes and Zosia Dzierzawska, about the titular famous Irish architect that most people have never heard of. Kumar and Emmet found it beautiful and intriguing; here’s their review.

It’s been a topic of discussion all week: Is Sony really refusing to let Marvel/Disney handle Spider-Man in the movies anymore? What looked like a shocking middle-finger to the mouse now looks to have been a case of negotiating via the media. Tim and Mulele discuss the latest, and also touch on the newly announced (at D23 day one) TV shows coming to Disney+. The Deadline article that set off Twitter Vox article on the Sony-Disney kerfuffle

Pro basketballer Johnny O’Bryant has long been a fan of manga. But he wanted to see manga-type stories showing people of other races, with characters he could more closely identify with. So he created comics publisher Noir Caesar and hired creators to make his vision happen. Tim and Mulele talk with Johnny about balancing his two careers, his story ideas, and what’s coming next. Then, we read some of the comics and find out what the fuss is about. See the Primus 7 video trailer

Monster Mashup is a comics anthology in which public-domain characters meet classic monsters. Tim and Mulele review. Also, a look at the announced (and rumored) content to come from the Marvel Cinematic Universe!

MAD Magazine is ending! Much handwringing has occurred — mainly among people who probably haven’t read it in ages but fondly recall it from their childhoods. Tim, a MAD reader for most of the last 23 years, is joined by Kumar, and MAD contributor Joe Dator, to discuss what went wrong, and recollections and reminiscences of this highly influential magazine. Tim’s letter to MAD (click to enlarge) From MAD v. 2 #4, December 2018

Captain Marvel — the one who shouts “Shazam!” to change from little boy to adult super hero — first appeared in Whiz Comics #2, dated February 1940, almost immediately prompting comparisons to Superman and outrage at DC. Yet the “Big Red Cheese” actually outsold Supes in the ’40s. Why has the most popular hero of the World War II era fallen on hard times since then? How has the character changed as DC, now owner of the character, has repeatedly struggled to reboot his world? Tim and Emmet have read the book Shazam! A Celebration of 75 years, and discuss the stories, the character, and the recent film. CBR on “Captain Thunder” story

In this episode, we discuss: * Dog vs. Ultra-Dog, by Troy Wilson and Clayton Hanmer. Where does it come down on the children’s book – children’s comic continuum? * Chad in Amsterdam #3 by Chad Bilyeu. The latest issue from one of our favorites. Plus, some creepy movie CGI in “cute” films.