Three Panel Contrast

Awash in the Halloween spirit, the panel compares two wildly different adaptations of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein:" Junji Ito's manga adaptation and Bruno Enna/Fabio Celoni's Italian Disney adaptation. Topics include visceral monstrosity, dramatic irony in adaptation, and the extent to which the Frankenstein myth informs the superhero genre at large.

In this episode, we compare the sexy beasts of Mirka Andolfo's "Unnatural" to the sexy monsters of Sarah Andersen's "Fangs." Topics include sexual gazes defined by elite women creators, animalization, and representations of millennial sexual culture.

In this episode, the panel goes cosmic existentialism with a look at Jim Starlin's "Magus Saga" starring Adam Warlock, and J.M. Dematteis's run on Silver Surfer, starring everyone's favorite chrome cosmos-cruiser. Topics include superhero sex/romance, Marvel's variation on Greek tragedy, and the bizarre connection between outer space and inner self reflection.

In this month's episode, the panel goes noir with a comparison of "Criminal: Last of the Innocent" by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips to "Astro City: The Tarnished Angel" by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson. Topics include the juxtaposition of familiar comics genres with noir detective stories, the bounds of protagonist relatability, and the always tricky relationship between nostalgia and creative freedom.

In this month's episode, the panel embraces the dark side for a comparison of Gillen and Larocca's "Darth Vader" and Stern and Mignola's "Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment." Topics include the narrative challenges of telling stories around traditional antagonists, the artistic challenges of emoting through silence and masks, and the ethical culpability that lies in programming a torture-bot to do your dirty work.

In this deeply romantic episode, the panel compares Steve Englehart and Richard Howell's "The Vision and the Scarlet Witch" to Ann Nocenti and Don Perlin's "Beauty and the Beast." Topics include queer subtext, machine sex, and the complex genre bending that occurs when mixing superheroes and soap operas.

In this ep our panel takes a deep dive into a pair of comics-inspired audio dramas in the form of the podcast "Wolverine: The Long Night" and the classic 1970s "Fantastic Four" radio serial, featuring both Stan Lee and a young Bill Murray. Topics include transmediation, the thespian's approach to grunting and Michael teaching himself sound engineering and design for the sake of our most elaborate cold opening ever.

In this episode the panel looks at a pair of 80s-themed comics with "Paper Girls" by Brian K. Vaughn and Cliff Chiang compared to "4 Kids Walk Into a Bank" by Matthew Rosenberg and Tyler Boss. Topics of discussion include male creators writing female protagonists, latchkey parenting, and 'are the 1980s the new 1950s in terms of media nostalgia?'

For this episode, the panel compares the Bendis/Maleev run to the Waid/Rivera/Martin run. Topics of discussion include setting as character, problematic portrayals of disability, and the merits/pitfalls of morosity as a tonal aesthetic.

In this month's episode, we pair Jack Kirby's legendary 1970s run on Jimmy Olsen with Matt Fraction and Steve Leiber's recent Jimmy Olsen maxi-series. Topics include the historic legacy of Kirby and his departure from Marvel; the challenges in fleshing out side characters into a protagonist role; the gap between irony and sincerity; and the most epic cold opening in our podcast's history, courtesy of Michael.

In this month's episode, the panel tackles the subject of sexual awakenings as they manifest in "Blankets" by Craig Thompson and "This One Summer" by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki. Topics of discussion include censorship in comics, how our hormones can lie to us, and the unique capacity for comics to visually embody profound physical experiences.

In this episode, the panel compares "Excalibur" by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis to "Exiles" by Judd Winick and Mike McKone. Topics of discussion include franchise-branching in the X-Universe, alternate-reality storytelling challenges/opportunities, and character voice within a group dynamic.

In this episode, the worlds of gaming and comics collide with a comparison of the cult classic "Diceman" by Pat Mills & various 2000AD creators to "You Are Deadpool" by Al Ewing & Salva Espin. Topics of discussion include procedural rhetoric in comics, the experience of peripheral time in layouts and the eternal question of which Deadpool is peak Deadpool.

In this episode, Anna, Michael and Andrew return from pandemic hiatus to discuss two stories about heroes and the bodies that define them....or perhaps don't. We're reading Box Brown's "Andre the Giant" against Osamu Tezuka's "Dororo," discussing ableism in comics, embodied identity, and the grim terrors of the Sengoku period of Japan weighed against the glory days of WWE (then WWF) wrestling.

For this episode, the panel compares the 1980s classic series "Justice League International" by Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis to the 2013 "Superior Foes of Spider-Man" series by Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber. Topics of discussion include the comedic potential of the superhero genre, the complex nature of group dynamics, and the relative punch-ableness of Guy Gardner vs Fred Myers. Additionally, Anna provides an academic review of "The Superhero Film Parody and Hegemonic Masculinity" by Jeffrey A Brown.

In this episode, the panel looks at a pair of recent reboots of iconic intellectual properties, Mark Russell and Steve Pugh's "Flintstones" and Tom Scioli's "Transformers vs GI Joe." We discuss reboot culture, visceral escapism, farcical social commentary, and a vacuum cleaner who can crush your soul with its unflinching optimism toward its armadillo friend who is also a bowling ball. Michael will also be providing a review of "Show Sold Separately" by Jonathan Grey.

For this episode, the panel compares Adrian Tomine's "Summer Blonde & Other Stories" to Daniel Clowes' "Ghost World," leading to an in-depth discussion of the 1990s alternative comics scene, the portrayal of isolated youth, and the trope of self-flagellating, sex-obsessed male protagonists.  Andrew provides a review of Charles Hatfield's "Alternative Comics: An Emerging Literature." 

This month's episode compares Darwyn Cooke's "New Frontier" to Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross's "Marvels." Topics of discussion include trading on nostalgia, comics revisionism on a publishing house scale, and more discussion of phallic imagery than you'd think these two comics could possibly warrant. Anna will also present a review of Peter Coogan's "Superhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre."

This month is comparative ornithology with a close luck at Steve Gerber's iconic "Howard the Duck" comics alongside Don Rosa's "The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck." Topics of discussion will include the figure of the duck as a vehicle for absurdist metaphor, the subversion of the American dream, and the questionable erasure of historic comics production practices. Michael will also provide a review of Ariel Dorfman and Armand Mattelart's marxist critique of American cultural imperialism, titled "How to Read Donald Duck."

In this episode, we explore Chris Claremont's favorite Chris Claremont story in "X-men: Asgardian Wars," alongside the latest X-men sensation, Jonathan Hickman's "House of X/Powers of X." Topics of discussion will include X-men as a metaphorical vehicle, Hickmanisms, iconic visual styles, and the fact that Anna knows "Excalibur" issues better than Andrew does. We'll also feature a review of Joseph Darowski's "X-men and the Mutant Metaphor."

This month's episode compares Dan Slott's beloved run on She-Hulk to Mariko Tamaki's more contentious run with the same character. Topics of discussion include character development vs character consistency, the complex sexualization of Jennifer Walters and the degree to which that defines the character, and an intern with a cinder block for a head who is still objectively awesome. Anna will also be providing a review of "Wonder Women: Feminisms and Superheroes" by the late Lillian S. Robinson.

In this horrifying Halloween haunt of an episode, the panel discusses the classic EC horror comics property "Vault of Horror" alongside the contemporary horror text "Through the Woods" by Emily Carroll. We'll also feature an academic review of Qiana Whitted's "EC Comics: Race, Shock, and Social Protest." Topics of the day include the unique rhetoric of horror in comics, the historic significance of horror to the evolution of comics, and the intersections of misogyny and violence in the horror genre.

This month's episode looks at the so-called "comics canon," iconic works from years passed that helped create the comics-as-literature movement and that are now considered sacred. We compare Art Spiegleman's "Maus" to Chris Ware's "Jimmy Corrigan" with an academic review of Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics." In each instance we cast a fresh set of scholarly eyes on works that are often considered untouchable. How well do they hold up, however? How well have they aged? Perhaps most importantly, what is their legacy? Welcome to Comics 101.

It's all Mike Carey all the time this episode with a comparison of Highest House (art by Peter Gross) and My Faith in Frankie (art by Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel). We explore the role of religion, faith and deism in comics, the challenges that the medium poses for high fantasy works, and the collaborative nature of the form itself, whilst also taking a slight aside to discuss the possible symbolic meaning of a person getting weed-whacked in the genitals. We will also feature a review of the academic text "Graven Images: Religion in Comic Books and Graphic Novels," edited by A. David Lewis and Christine Hoff Kraemer.

In this month's episode, the panel looks to the stars, comparing Marvel's "Annihilation" event to DC's "Sinestro Corps War." Along the way, we discuss the artistic challenges of cross-title storytelling, the legacy of Marvel and DC's cosmic universes, and the extent to which all roads lead back to Jack Kirby. We'll also be reviewing Charles Hatfield's "Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby."

This month’s episode sees the panel discussing some speculative fiction that features a pair of strong, young, female protagonists. Topics of discussion include gender politics in genre fiction, the colonial metaphor in SF and Fantasy, and just how easily a male love interest character can be replaced with a cat. Tying things up this month, we’ll have an academic review of Ursula K Le Guin’s classic essay “American SF and the Other.”

In this episode, Anna, Andrew and Michael consume some food-based comics works with a comparative analysis of Lucy Knisley's cuisine-orbiting memoir "Relish" and Ryoko Kui's Dungeons & Dragons & Dining adventure manga, "Delicious in Dungeon." Topics of discussion include synaesthetics, recipes as metatext, and the visual aspect of contemporary food culture. We'll also feature a review of "Manga: An Anthology of Global and Cultural Perspectives" by Toni Johnson-Woods. Bring your appetite.

In this month's episode, Michael, Anna, and Andrew take a look at a pair of comics that recontextualize iconic heroes into the suburban sprawl. Through a comparative reading of Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta's "The Vision" and James Sturm and Guy Davis's "Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules," our panel will address such topics as character consistency, metatextual narratives, and the sexual mechanics of at least one Avenger. Anna will also provide a review of Henry Jenkins' essay "Just Men in Tights: Rewriting Silver Age Comics in an Era of Multiplicity."  

In this episode, Anna, Andrew and Michael offer some deep cuts with a look at a pair of long-running, indie comics that have committed cult followings. We're reading Linda Medley's "Castle Waiting," and Carla Speed McNeil's "Finder." We'll consider long-form comics narrative, fantasy world-building, and the nature of the relationship between a loyal reader and the comics that either hurt or comfort them. We'll also review Farah Mendlesohn's academic text "Rhetorics of Fantasy."

In this episode (our first in stereo), Michael, Andrew and Anna will put on some nostalgia goggles and compare Bill Watterson's iconic comic strip, "Calvin and Hobbes", to Joe Kelly and J.M. Ken Niimura's "I Kill Giants." Topics will include the manner in which adults write children, the newspaper comic strip tradition, and the trope of the childhood protagonist who withdraws into a world of imagination. We’ll also be conducting a review of "Animal Comics: Multispecies Storyworlds in Graphic Narrative," edited by David Herman. *note: some slight microphone reverb in the cold opening.

In this episode, Anna, Andrew and Michael look at a pair of iconic occult heroes with a comparison of Mike Mignola’s "Hellboy: Wake the Devil" to Garth Ennis’s version of John Constantine in "Hellblazer: Dangerous Habbits." Topics include the antihero, the intersections of horror and the superhero genre and trenchcoats: who wore it better? From the academic side, we’ll also be conducting a review of Scott Bukatman’s “Hellboy’s World: Comics and Monsters on the Margins.”

In this episode, Michael, Anna and Andrew tackle the issue of representation in a pair of teen team books with a look at Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz's "New Mutants: The Demon Bear Saga" alongside Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie's openly queer heroes in "Young Avengers: Alternative Culture." We'll discuss topics such as the handling of queer youth, institutional censorship, and avant-garde visual strategies in mainstream superhero comics. We'll also provide a review of Ramzi Fawaz's "The New Mutants: Superheroes and the Radical Imagination of American Comics." *Note: Episode edited from original cut to remove some ableist language.

In our third episode, Michael, Anna, and Andrew discuss the cultural juggernaut that is "Saga" by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples in contrast with Daniel Warren Johnson's "Extremity. We'll cover the intersecting subjects of aesthetics, sexuality, and brutality, among others, while also reviewing Hilary Chute's academic text "Disaster Drawn."

In honour of Halloween, our second episode features a look at the cult classic "Tomb of Dracula" by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan, alongside the more recent "American Vampire" by Scott Snyder, Stephen King (yes, THAT Stephen King), and Rafael Albuquerque. We'll talk about creating horror in a graphic medium, the treatment of women in the horror genre, and the eternal question of just who is the real protagonist in monster stories. We'll also feature a review of the academic text "Gothicka" by Victoria Nelson.

In this episode, Michael, Anna, and Andrew kick off the new show with a deep dive into G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona's "Ms. Marvel" series, alongside Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher and Babs Tarr's "The Batgirl of Burnside." Along the way, we'll discuss the representations of youth culture, of contemporary fashion, and of so-called "legacy characters." We also review the academic text "Superwomen" by Carolyn Cocca.