Podcast appearances and mentions of Josh Neufeld

Serch is joined by his former homeroom classmates, Dean Haspiel…Read MoreComic Art with Dean Haspiel and Josh Neufeld

Meet this episode’s guest— Josh Neufeld. I’m Josh, founder of Grief Narratives. I’m a photographer based in Vancouver, Canada. In 2015, death took my dad rather quickly. When they found the cancer, it had already taken up residence in his pancreas and spread to his liver. What I discovered during the process was that though I felt alone and unique in my grief, the reality is, so many share a story so similar to mine. At the time I was beginning work on a photo project around terminal illness and mortality. Suddenly, my father became the subject. Capturing moments and writing about the process allowed me to connect with so many others experiencing something similar. It created the desire to build a space for people to be able to do the same. The link to the piece about Josh’s dad: https://www.boredpanda.com/meeting-mortality-photography-father-dying-from-cancer-josh-neufeld/. His website: www.griefnarratives.com IG @griefnarratives & @joshneufeldphoto --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deathdialogues/message

You never know what will happen during a lunch break… Altman managed to recreate the entire Last Supper! Art History major Josh Neufeld is back to break down the symbolism in this minute as the men of MASH bid adieu to Dear Old Walt. Meanwhile Megan makes Tierney super jealous by describing “The Drunk Tour of Italy with Megan”, we read from the script, and Josh is deputized to spread the idea of “Do Over Cities” throughout the world.

We just want to make clear that Painless is going to be ok. He is NOT going to commit suicide, he is only intending to, as Hawkeye insists to Father Mulcahy. Poor Father Mulcahy… first he gets talked in circles by Hawkeye, then he looks into the tent to see a very familiar tableau assembling… We’ve assembled a great crew to talk about this minute: Josh Neufeld of Scene by Scene with Josh & Dean is here. He has a simple explanation for why this Hawkeye is so different from the TV show AND one of the best possible MASH origin stories. While 3 nurses play Taps outside, we swap stories of fandom, realize the brilliance of the theme song’s title, and talk about the movie soundtrack. By the way, if anyone wants to buy Tierney that soundtrack, feel free to do so!

American Splendor scene #22 (56:33 to 1:02:31) — “Westward Ho!” Harvey & Joyce travel to L.A. to see American Splendor: The Play. Things are finally breaking Harvey’s way. But his ascendancy is complicated by Joyce’s emotional struggles. She wants… a family. Guest Whitney Matheson returns! And this episode features an interview with singer-songwriter Eytan Mirsky, who appears and sings in the film. The actual history of the various American Splendor stage productions. What is "polymorphously perverse"? How Eytan auditioned for the role of Harvey! The hosts talk about the decision to have (or NOT not) children. Dean's career as a playwright. What phone call changed your life? What would you title your “life's play”? How Seinfeld reruns got Whitney out of bed, and eventually to a very special one-on-one interview. Shout-outs to DVD easter eggs, Donal Logue, Molly Shannon, Dan Castellaneta, R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders, Josh Neufeld & The Seven Stooges, Dean's biological daughter Ruby, piggyback rides, and "po-ta-to chips.” --- This episode is sponsored by · The Colin and Samir Podcast: The Colin and Samir Podcast hosted by LA - based friends and filmmakers Colin and Samir takes a look into what it’s like to make creativity your career. https://open.spotify.com/show/5QaSbbv2eD4SFrlFR6IyY7?si=Dj3roVoJTZmOime94xhjng --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/scenebyscene/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/scenebyscene/support

Cartoonists and long time collaborators Josh Neufeld and Dean Haspiel join me for a lively discussion about producing stellar podcasts, the creative process, our shared […] Read More

Cartoonists Dean and Josh just started a new podcast Scene By Scene where they breakdown the Harvey Pekar film American Splendor . We also talk about their curre nt projects and where they see the comic market going.

Kate Parker Horigan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology at Western Kentucky University, and a co-editor of the Journal of American Folklore. In Consuming Katrina: Public Disaster and Personal Narrative (University of Mississippi Press, 2018), she explores some of the numerous narratives generated by Hurricane Katrina’s devastating effects on residents of New Orleans in 2005. Her investigation includes personal narratives of those directly affected by the hurricane and which were recorded as part of the “Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston” project (SKRH).  In SKRH – which was set up by folklorists Carl Lindahl and Pat Jasper – survivors were given the training and other resources to interview one another about their experience of the events (see this site for more information).  Horigan notes that many of the narratives collected by SKRH counter widespread and pernicious claims which circulated via the media and through other channels during and after the disaster, including allegations that victims threatened those involved in the rescue effort. Horigan also interrogates survivor narratives as they are re-presented within more mainstream works inspired by the event, including Dave Egger’s Zeitoun; A.D.: New Orleans after the Deluge, a graphic novel by Josh Neufeld; and the documentary film, Trouble the Water. She argues that such re-presentations: “propagate dangerously limited and stereotypical representations, which in turn inform responses to disasters such as Katrina.  They also allow audiences to feel sympathy for survivors, without feeling complicit in their conditions of suffering or compelled to act” (5). Horigan suggests that an alternative and more ethical route in re-presenting narratives is to do so in such a way that the original narrators are able to negotiate the ways in which their stories are reproduced.  In other words: When trauma becomes public, as the insatiable appetite for disaster stories demands that it must, the texts that most ethically adapt personal narratives are those that include the survivors’ own crucial engagement with the processes of narrative production” (5). Ultimately, Horigan argues that a “better grasp on the processes of narration and memory is critical for improved disaster response because stories that are widely shared about disaster determine how communities recover” (5). Rachel Hopkin is a UK born, US based folklorist and radio producer and is currently a PhD candidate at the Ohio State University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kate Parker Horigan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology at Western Kentucky University, and a co-editor of the Journal of American Folklore. In Consuming Katrina: Public Disaster and Personal Narrative (University of Mississippi Press, 2018), she explores some of the numerous narratives generated by Hurricane Katrina’s devastating effects on residents of New Orleans in 2005. Her investigation includes personal narratives of those directly affected by the hurricane and which were recorded as part of the “Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston” project (SKRH).  In SKRH – which was set up by folklorists Carl Lindahl and Pat Jasper – survivors were given the training and other resources to interview one another about their experience of the events (see this site for more information).  Horigan notes that many of the narratives collected by SKRH counter widespread and pernicious claims which circulated via the media and through other channels during and after the disaster, including allegations that victims threatened those involved in the rescue effort. Horigan also interrogates survivor narratives as they are re-presented within more mainstream works inspired by the event, including Dave Egger’s Zeitoun; A.D.: New Orleans after the Deluge, a graphic novel by Josh Neufeld; and the documentary film, Trouble the Water. She argues that such re-presentations: “propagate dangerously limited and stereotypical representations, which in turn inform responses to disasters such as Katrina.  They also allow audiences to feel sympathy for survivors, without feeling complicit in their conditions of suffering or compelled to act” (5). Horigan suggests that an alternative and more ethical route in re-presenting narratives is to do so in such a way that the original narrators are able to negotiate the ways in which their stories are reproduced.  In other words: When trauma becomes public, as the insatiable appetite for disaster stories demands that it must, the texts that most ethically adapt personal narratives are those that include the survivors’ own crucial engagement with the processes of narrative production” (5). Ultimately, Horigan argues that a “better grasp on the processes of narration and memory is critical for improved disaster response because stories that are widely shared about disaster determine how communities recover” (5). Rachel Hopkin is a UK born, US based folklorist and radio producer and is currently a PhD candidate at the Ohio State University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kate Parker Horigan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology at Western Kentucky University, and a co-editor of the Journal of American Folklore. In Consuming Katrina: Public Disaster and Personal Narrative (University of Mississippi Press, 2018), she explores some of the numerous narratives generated by Hurricane Katrina’s devastating effects on residents of New Orleans in 2005. Her investigation includes personal narratives of those directly affected by the hurricane and which were recorded as part of the “Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston” project (SKRH).  In SKRH – which was set up by folklorists Carl Lindahl and Pat Jasper – survivors were given the training and other resources to interview one another about their experience of the events (see this site for more information).  Horigan notes that many of the narratives collected by SKRH counter widespread and pernicious claims which circulated via the media and through other channels during and after the disaster, including allegations that victims threatened those involved in the rescue effort. Horigan also interrogates survivor narratives as they are re-presented within more mainstream works inspired by the event, including Dave Egger’s Zeitoun; A.D.: New Orleans after the Deluge, a graphic novel by Josh Neufeld; and the documentary film, Trouble the Water. She argues that such re-presentations: “propagate dangerously limited and stereotypical representations, which in turn inform responses to disasters such as Katrina.  They also allow audiences to feel sympathy for survivors, without feeling complicit in their conditions of suffering or compelled to act” (5). Horigan suggests that an alternative and more ethical route in re-presenting narratives is to do so in such a way that the original narrators are able to negotiate the ways in which their stories are reproduced.  In other words: When trauma becomes public, as the insatiable appetite for disaster stories demands that it must, the texts that most ethically adapt personal narratives are those that include the survivors’ own crucial engagement with the processes of narrative production” (5). Ultimately, Horigan argues that a “better grasp on the processes of narration and memory is critical for improved disaster response because stories that are widely shared about disaster determine how communities recover” (5). Rachel Hopkin is a UK born, US based folklorist and radio producer and is currently a PhD candidate at the Ohio State University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kate Parker Horigan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology at Western Kentucky University, and a co-editor of the Journal of American Folklore. In Consuming Katrina: Public Disaster and Personal Narrative (University of Mississippi Press, 2018), she explores some of the numerous narratives generated by Hurricane Katrina’s devastating effects on residents of New Orleans in 2005. Her investigation includes personal narratives of those directly affected by the hurricane and which were recorded as part of the “Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston” project (SKRH).  In SKRH – which was set up by folklorists Carl Lindahl and Pat Jasper – survivors were given the training and other resources to interview one another about their experience of the events (see this site for more information).  Horigan notes that many of the narratives collected by SKRH counter widespread and pernicious claims which circulated via the media and through other channels during and after the disaster, including allegations that victims threatened those involved in the rescue effort. Horigan also interrogates survivor narratives as they are re-presented within more mainstream works inspired by the event, including Dave Egger’s Zeitoun; A.D.: New Orleans after the Deluge, a graphic novel by Josh Neufeld; and the documentary film, Trouble the Water. She argues that such re-presentations: “propagate dangerously limited and stereotypical representations, which in turn inform responses to disasters such as Katrina.  They also allow audiences to feel sympathy for survivors, without feeling complicit in their conditions of suffering or compelled to act” (5). Horigan suggests that an alternative and more ethical route in re-presenting narratives is to do so in such a way that the original narrators are able to negotiate the ways in which their stories are reproduced.  In other words: When trauma becomes public, as the insatiable appetite for disaster stories demands that it must, the texts that most ethically adapt personal narratives are those that include the survivors’ own crucial engagement with the processes of narrative production” (5). Ultimately, Horigan argues that a “better grasp on the processes of narration and memory is critical for improved disaster response because stories that are widely shared about disaster determine how communities recover” (5). Rachel Hopkin is a UK born, US based folklorist and radio producer and is currently a PhD candidate at the Ohio State University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kate Parker Horigan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology at Western Kentucky University, and a co-editor of the Journal of American Folklore. In Consuming Katrina: Public Disaster and Personal Narrative (University of Mississippi Press, 2018), she explores some of the numerous narratives generated by Hurricane Katrina’s devastating effects on residents of New Orleans in 2005. Her investigation includes personal narratives of those directly affected by the hurricane and which were recorded as part of the “Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston” project (SKRH).  In SKRH – which was set up by folklorists Carl Lindahl and Pat Jasper – survivors were given the training and other resources to interview one another about their experience of the events (see this site for more information).  Horigan notes that many of the narratives collected by SKRH counter widespread and pernicious claims which circulated via the media and through other channels during and after the disaster, including allegations that victims threatened those involved in the rescue effort. Horigan also interrogates survivor narratives as they are re-presented within more mainstream works inspired by the event, including Dave Egger’s Zeitoun; A.D.: New Orleans after the Deluge, a graphic novel by Josh Neufeld; and the documentary film, Trouble the Water. She argues that such re-presentations: “propagate dangerously limited and stereotypical representations, which in turn inform responses to disasters such as Katrina.  They also allow audiences to feel sympathy for survivors, without feeling complicit in their conditions of suffering or compelled to act” (5). Horigan suggests that an alternative and more ethical route in re-presenting narratives is to do so in such a way that the original narrators are able to negotiate the ways in which their stories are reproduced.  In other words: When trauma becomes public, as the insatiable appetite for disaster stories demands that it must, the texts that most ethically adapt personal narratives are those that include the survivors’ own crucial engagement with the processes of narrative production” (5). Ultimately, Horigan argues that a “better grasp on the processes of narration and memory is critical for improved disaster response because stories that are widely shared about disaster determine how communities recover” (5). Rachel Hopkin is a UK born, US based folklorist and radio producer and is currently a PhD candidate at the Ohio State University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kate Parker Horigan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology at Western Kentucky University, and a co-editor of the Journal of American Folklore. In Consuming Katrina: Public Disaster and Personal Narrative (University of Mississippi Press, 2018), she explores some of the numerous narratives generated by Hurricane Katrina’s devastating effects on residents of New Orleans in 2005. Her investigation includes personal narratives of those directly affected by the hurricane and which were recorded as part of the “Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston” project (SKRH).  In SKRH – which was set up by folklorists Carl Lindahl and Pat Jasper – survivors were given the training and other resources to interview one another about their experience of the events (see this site for more information).  Horigan notes that many of the narratives collected by SKRH counter widespread and pernicious claims which circulated via the media and through other channels during and after the disaster, including allegations that victims threatened those involved in the rescue effort. Horigan also interrogates survivor narratives as they are re-presented within more mainstream works inspired by the event, including Dave Egger’s Zeitoun; A.D.: New Orleans after the Deluge, a graphic novel by Josh Neufeld; and the documentary film, Trouble the Water. She argues that such re-presentations: “propagate dangerously limited and stereotypical representations, which in turn inform responses to disasters such as Katrina.  They also allow audiences to feel sympathy for survivors, without feeling complicit in their conditions of suffering or compelled to act” (5). Horigan suggests that an alternative and more ethical route in re-presenting narratives is to do so in such a way that the original narrators are able to negotiate the ways in which their stories are reproduced.  In other words: When trauma becomes public, as the insatiable appetite for disaster stories demands that it must, the texts that most ethically adapt personal narratives are those that include the survivors’ own crucial engagement with the processes of narrative production” (5). Ultimately, Horigan argues that a “better grasp on the processes of narration and memory is critical for improved disaster response because stories that are widely shared about disaster determine how communities recover” (5). Rachel Hopkin is a UK born, US based folklorist and radio producer and is currently a PhD candidate at the Ohio State University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On The Gist, beware the rise of the despot’s son-in-law. In the interview, media scrutinizer Brooke Gladstone wrote a graphic novel about the “Influencing Machines” that we often blame modernity’s problems on. Facebook is the latest of these, but this time, it’s less scapegoat and more actual problem to be reckoned with. Brooke’s book, illustrated by Josh Neufeld, is The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media. In the Spiel—attorney-client privilege, dead? No it taint!      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On The Gist, beware the rise of the despot’s son-in-law. In the interview, media scrutinizer Brooke Gladstone wrote a graphic novel about the “Influencing Machines” that we often blame modernity’s problems on. Facebook is the latest of these, but this time, it’s less scapegoat and more actual problem to be reckoned with. Brooke’s book, illustrated by Josh Neufeld, is The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media. In the Spiel—attorney-client privilege, dead? No it taint!      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's Guest: Josh Neufeld, illustrator, A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge Detail from Josh Neufeld's graphic novel A.D.: New Orleans After Deluge   Graphic novelist Josh Neufeld There are all kinds of journalistic storytelling styles, starting with your basic who/what/when/where and why. There is also “if it bleeds, it leads.” And let’s not forget the “New Journalism” class of the 1960s and ‘70s, exemplified by everyone from Tom Wolfe to Truman Capote it used dramatic literary techniques to add depth to the reader’s involvement. These days, some bloggers and tweeters have taken short-form journalism to new highs—and lows. Order A.D.: New Orleans After Deluge by Josh Neufeld, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! But how many people think of comic book and graphic novel creators as part of journalism? I see a few hands raised, but not nearly enough. I would suggest to you that a wave of artist and writers who once would have been relegated to the comic book ghetto are creating compelling journalism in hand-drawn pictures these days. A recent guest on this show, Brendan Burford (Syncopated), publishes a series of what he calls “nonfiction picto-essays”—essentially journalism in sequential art. The latest example I can recommend to you is Josh Neufeld’s new book, A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge. It’s the story of a handful of very different residents of the Crescent City in the days leading up to and the months following the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Reading it, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll come away with an informed perspective about the lives of average Americans dealing with extraordinary challenges. Josh Neufeld Website • Comix & Stories • Blog • Twitter • Wikipedia • Facebook Detail from Josh Neufeld's graphic novel A.D.: New Orleans After Deluge Order Will Eisner: A Spirited Life (2nd Edition) by Bob Andelman, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Jewish creators and/or Jewish themes have always been around in independent comics and publications. While Jewish Comic Con honors the founders of the industry, we also want to keep the mic open for the current generation of creators. Between comics journalism, activism and reality-based fiction, our guests deliver fascinating and edgy content you’ll be thrilled to discover! Moderated by Arie Kaplan/Danny Fingeroth with Ariel Schrag (TBC), Dean Haspiel and Josh Neufeld.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="235"] Order Syncopated: An Anthology of Nonfiction Picto-Essays, edited by Brendan Burford, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book Today's Guest: cover above![/caption] Today's Guest: Brendan Burford, comics editor, King Features Syndicate If you read the comics in your daily newspaper, my guest today has probably touched your life. Spider-Man, Hagar the Horrible and Curtis all report to him at his day job as comics editor for King Features Syndicate. But by night—and weekends, no doubt—Brendan Burford is himself a cartoonist dedicated to the notion that comics are more than a 10-second entertainment. He believes in them as journalism, a different way of communicating the events of the day. Brendan Burford, creator of Syncopated, King Features Syndicate editor Burford recently published his fourth edition of Syncopated: An Anthology of Non-Fiction Picto-Essays. It is collection of illustrated stories that, at a few pages each, are longer than daily comics and shorter than a graphic novel. This latest edition of Syncopated includes work by Burford himself, as well as graphic artists including Nick Bertozzi, Josh Neufeld and many others. If you’re interested in expanding your comics horizon, you’ll enjoy reading Syncopated. B rendan Burford Syncopated Jottings blog • Facebook • King Features Daily Ink website • Order Syncopated from Amazon.com Order 'Will Eisner: A Spirited Life' (2nd Edition) by Bob Andelman, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above!   The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Even outside of outside of whatever skills you develop, say you never become a great guitar player, or singer or artists. That discipline, that willingness to keep working on something until you get better, these are skills that transfer into all other parts of your life. Same thing with sports. I think every kid should do some kind of sports, especially team sports. I can't overemphasize how important some of the values were I learned from being on teams: learning about teamwork, and working together, and being willing to fail, accepting defeat over and over again. And making that part of your character. All of those are things that come out of extracurricular activities like music and the discipline of getting better at something. – Josh Neufeld Sponsors Hostgator hosts your website. As you have heard on the show, you can get a 30% discount on the hosting of your next creative or business project's website hosting by clicking here. Designcrowd gives you access to an entire creative team at a price that is accessible to anyone. For $100 off your first design project, click here and use promo code CREATIVE. Truecar users save an average $3221 off MSRP. Over two million cars have been sold using through the Truecar certified dealer network. Visit Truecar.com or download the Truecar app. Josh Neufeld is a cartoonist who works primarily in the field of non-fiction comics, specifically as a comics journalist. Even outside of outside of whatever skills you develop, say you never become a great guitar player, or singer or artists. That discipline, that willingness to keep working on something until you get better, these are skills that transfer into all other parts of your life. Same thing with sports. I think every kid should do some kind of sports, especially team sports. I can't overemphasize how important some of the values were I learned from being on teams: learning about teamwork, and working together, and being willing to fail, accepting defeat over and over again. And making that part of your character. All of those are things that come out of extracurricular activities like music and the discipline of getting better at something. – Josh Neufeld Sponsors Hostgator hosts your website. As you have heard on the show, you can get a 30% discount on the hosting of your next creative or business project's website hosting by clicking here. Designcrowd gives you access to an entire creative team at a price that is accessible to anyone. For $100 off your first design project, click here and use promo code CREATIVE. Truecar users save an average $3221 off MSRP. Over two million cars have been sold using through the Truecar certified dealer network. Visit Truecar.com or download the Truecar app. Josh Neufeld is a cartoonist who works primarily in the field of non-fiction comics, specifically as a comics journalist. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's like Christmas for comic nerds!  Kent, Tim, and Marc discuss their FCBD 2016 experiences and some of the FCBD comics we read, including Bongo Free-For-All, Boom! Studio's Summer Blast, Civil War II from Marvel, Dark Horse FCBD 2016, ROM #0, Captain America FCBD, Love & Rockets Sampler, Lady Mechanika #0, Spongebob Freestyle Funnies, & We Can Never Go Home/Young Terrorists FCBD.   We also discuss the awesome comic book store that is Daydreams Comics in Iowa City, IA, Cry Havoc by Simon Spurrier and Ryan Kelly from Image Comics, A.D. New Orleans After the Deluge by Josh Neufeld from Pantheon Graphic Novels, Extraordinary X-Men by Jeff Lemire and Humberto Ramos from Marvel Comics, and Simpsons Comics #226 by Tony Digerolamo and Phil Oritz from Bongo Comics. Cherry RC Cola mixed with Rumchata is this week's unofficial sponsor. Follow us on Twitter: @supertim82 @personman44 @cnupodcast Find us on the rest of the Internet:  Facebook iTunes Stitcher Dig this podcast? You'll love the other ones here:  Benview Network Digging that sweet, sweet theme song?  The Fantastic Plastics are super mega rad.  #marvel #dccomics #podcast #fcbd #fcbd2016 #comics #daydreams

FP’s Mindy Kay Bricker talks to writer Alia Malek and alternative cartoonist Josh Neufeld about telling the story of the Syrian refugee crisis through a comic.

On this episode of The Comics Alternative, Gene and Derek turn a critical spotlight on the upcoming releases from the small press, Hang Dai Editions. The guys begin with a brief conversation with Dean Haspiel and Gregory Benton, two of the founders of the Hang Dai Studio, a collective that they founded along with Josh Neufeld and the late Seth Kushner. In this interview, they describe the origins of their publishing line and share many of their experiences in getting it off the ground. Hang Dai Editions began as their studio imprint back in 2013, and up until recently the creators had limited their publications to smaller, personal projects available mainly through conventions and local events. But as announced earlier this year, Hang Dai became part of Marc Arsenault's Alternative Comics publishing co-op, and with wider distribution, the Hang Dai folks wanted to up their game with longer and more ambitious projects. The first three releases since becoming part of the co-op, all being releases on September 15, are what Derek and Gene discuss for the remainder of the show. They begin with Haspiel's Beef with Tomato, a collection of autobiographic shorts that reads as a sequel or follow-up to his 2001 comic, Opposable Thumbs. As with the earlier work, the stories in this new Hang Dai book are woven together by particular themes or gain cohesion through a shared tone. In the case of Beef with Tomato, that commonality is largely the risks and the unexpected occurrences of close urban living. The book also includes a variety of short prose pieces and previously published comics that, while similar in subject matter and tone to the first (and newer) twelve stories, stand apart in style yet provide a nice coda to the collection as a whole. Next, the Two Guys turn their attention to Gregory Benton's Smoke. Much like last year's B+F, this is a large-format wordless comic featuring Xolo, a large skull-faced dog based on Xolotl, the Aztec god associated with fire, sickness, and death. The story follows two brothers as they work on an industrial tobacco farm, and the hazardous conditions they work under spawn a surreal journey into another dimension, something dreamlike while at the same time darkly foreboding. Benton's vibrant, beautiful art is front and center in this work, and Gene and Derek point out his strategic handling of art styles when straddling the book's different narrative worlds. Finally, the guys look at Seth Kushner's Schmuck, a collection of twenty-two autobiographic stories, all written by Kushner but each illustrated by a different artist. Derek and Gene recognize many of those whose art is featured in the book -- e.g., Haspiel and Benton, but also Noah Van Sciver, Nick Bertozzi, and Josh Neufeld -- but there are several illustrators who are new to the guys. All of this gives Schmuck a feeling of both fragmentation and cohesiveness. Each artist provides a unique visual lens through which to interpret the book's protagonist, Adam Kessler, the fictional persona of Kushner. Yet at the same time, all of the stories unfold along one trajectory: Adam's attempts to find a meaningful relationship with a woman. Seth Kushner passed away earlier this year, but Schmuck was a life labor, ambitious in scope, that becomes fully realized next month. It, along with Smoke and Beef with Tomato, marks a new beginning for Hang Dai Editions, and one that Gene and Derek are excited to discuss.

Imagine waking up tomorrow morning to find out that every bacterium and every archeon on the planet had suddenly vanished. What would happen? Could humanity survive? This month, Ben spoke to Dr Jack Gilbert and Dr Josh Neufeld, who have published a thought experiment in PLOS Biology that wonders exactly that... Image credit: Thinkstock