Deconstructing Comics
387 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 21 hours ago - ★★★★★ - 28 ratingsA podcast about the craft of comics
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Episodes
#717 “Chad in Amsterdam” #6
December 15, 2021 13:00 - 23 minutes - 21.6 MBChad Bilyeu, an American living in Amsterdam, has been a favorite of ours over on Critiquing Comics for the past several years. With the sixth issue of his Chad in Amsterdam series, we’ve promoted talk of his comics to the flagship, Deconstructing Comics. You’ve arrived, Chad! Seriously, this issue gives us more interesting storytelling that … Continue reading #717 “Chad in Amsterdam” #6
Critiquing Comics #210: “Epic Tavern’s Tales from the Fantastical Crimes Unit”
December 11, 2021 13:00 - 46 minutes - 42.8 MBEpic Tavern’s Tales from the Fantastical Crimes Unit gives us a noir-type detective on the case of a kidnapped centaur woman. What’s that? You’ve never heard of Epic Tavern? You didn’t know it’s a video game? Then this comic may leave you scratching your head. And that’s just one of a number of reasons that … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #210: “Epic Tavern’s Tales from the Fantastical Crimes Unit”
#716 1950s “World’s Finest” might be world’s goofiest
December 08, 2021 13:00 - 55 minutes - 51 MBIf you’re not into the drama of the past few decades of DC Comics, come with us back to the 1950s, when the exploits of Batman and Superman in World’s Finest Comics made the ’60s Batman TV show look like The Dark Knight Returns! Superman and the Dynamic Duo’s lives in those days were a … Continue reading #716 1950s “World’s Finest” might be world’s goofiest
#715 Comics adaptations: “Dune” (1984) and “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992)
December 01, 2021 13:00 - 1 hour - 79.2 MBSometimes comics adaptations of movies can have as much, or more, significance than the films themselves. Marvel‘s 1984 adaptation of David Lynch‘s Dune film, for example, marked Bill Sienkiewicz‘s upgrade from the realistic art he did on Moon Knight, to the mind-blowing, weird work he became known for on New Mutants. It’s also arguable that … Continue reading #715 Comics adaptations: “Dune” (1984) and “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992)
#714 Debbie Jenkinson
November 24, 2021 01:00 - 54 minutes - 50.5 MBGhosting is about a bus driver in a budding relationship with a woman who suddenly disappears from his life. Has he simply been ghosted? Or is there more to it? Emmet was captivated by the book (winner of the 2020 Best Irish Comic award), and this time he chats with its author (and fellow Ireland … Continue reading #714 Debbie Jenkinson
Critiquing Comics #209: “Producing the End of the World”
November 17, 2021 13:00 - 22 minutes - 21.1 MBAnthologies have traditionally been something of a bear to critique, especially if they’re not very good. Producing the End of the World has solved that problem — both by sending us a media preview with only four of the collection’s stories in it, and by, well, being very good. Tim and Adam discuss a book … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #209: “Producing the End of the World”
#713 “Second Coming” Comes Back
November 10, 2021 13:00 - 37 minutes - 34.2 MBMark Russell & Richard Pace’s Second Coming stirred up controversy before it even came out, because it was a comic book pairing Jesus Christ with a superhero. But once it did hit the stands, the reviews were mainly positive, including on this podcast. Now the second six-issue “season” of the comic has wrapped up, and … Continue reading #713 “Second Coming” Comes Back
Critiquing Comics #208: “Amazing Tales” #4
November 03, 2021 12:00 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBDavid Dye has been one of our favorites here on Critiquing Comics; Tim and Mulele even interviewed him once. He’s back now with Amazing Tales #4, in which he takes a turn toward horror. Jason joins Tim to brave the creepy goings-on. Brought to you by: To the Batpoles! podcast Our supporters on Patreon
#712 San Diego Comic-Con Begins
October 27, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 59.1 MBSan Diego Comicon has always been about more than comics! That’s the contention of producer and journalist Mathew Klickstein, who joins Tim this week to tell us all about his audio documentary podcast “Comic-Con Begins!” Mathew talked with dozens of people who were there at the birth of the con and celebrities who have appeared … Continue reading #712 San Diego Comic-Con Begins
“Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014)
October 20, 2021 12:00 - 57 minutes - 53.6 MB“Tim Catches Up with the MCU” continues with our look at “Guardians of the Galaxy.” How does it rank in Tim and Mulele’s MCU viewing so far? Also, are we each using different criteria to evaluate these films? And, oh yeah, these films have music – how do we feel about it? (Originally published on … Continue reading “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014)
#609 “Saga” (a non-gushing review)
October 17, 2021 06:40 - 1 hour - 61.5 MBFLASHBACK! Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, has been a bestselling book for Image Comics for years, and fawned over by critics and readers alike. While Emmet finds a fair number of things to like about it, hardly anything about it is to Kumar’s taste. For this episode, both of them have read … Continue reading #609 “Saga” (a non-gushing review)
#711 Tom Scioli’s “Kirby”
October 13, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 70.7 MBTom Scioli’s Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics is a bio in comics form and written in the first person, from Kirby’s perspective. Why did Scioli handle it that way, and does it work? Why does Kirby look like a Tezuka character surrounded by normal humans? Was the tension between Lee … Continue reading #711 Tom Scioli’s “Kirby”
Critiquing Comics #207: “Texas Tracts”
October 06, 2021 12:00 - 41 minutes - 37.9 MBTexas Tracts, by Rachelle Meyer, is a series of three short comics, modeled in format after the Christian evangelical “Chick Tracts” by Jack Chick. Rachelle’s well-drawn comics, in contrast, reflect doubts about things she was taught in Catholic school as a kid in Texas. Tim and Mulele discussed part one, Holy Diver, back in January; … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #207: “Texas Tracts”
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014)
September 29, 2021 12:00 - 51 minutes - 47.4 MBIn this episode of “Tim Catches Up with the MCU”, Tim and Mulele discuss the political thriller “The Winter Soldier”. Brought to you by: The Quarter-Bin podcast Our supporters on Patreon
#710 Naoki Urasawa’s “Pluto”
September 22, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 65.6 MBYou’re probably aware of the Osamu Tezuka character Astro Boy (called Tetsuwon Atom in Japan). Starting in 2003, Naoki Urasawa (the creator of Monster) began his own take on a particular Astro Boy story in his series Pluto, as a murder mystery of sorts. The story includes plenty of robots, but is more concerned with … Continue reading #710 Naoki Urasawa’s “Pluto”
Critiquing Comics #206: “Root and Branch”
September 18, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 28.1 MBRoot and Branch is a comic that flirts with the fantasy genre, but is more concerned about a clash of cultures: a traveling elf meeting humans for the first time. This is a web comic, created by Pink Pitcher, that’s still going strong in its seventh year, and currently has a Kickstarter going. Tim and … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #206: “Root and Branch”
#709 “Air Gear”
September 15, 2021 12:00 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBShonen manga are known for putting their protagonists in systems that they must work their way up through in a series of competitions. In Air Gear, by Ito Ougure under the name Oh! Great, the competitions are races on gravity-defying inline skates. While this manga also includes some aspects that could be judged age-inappropriate, there … Continue reading #709 “Air Gear”
Critiquing Comics #205: “Honeymoon in the Afterlife”
September 11, 2021 12:00 - 29 minutes - 26.7 MBIs Matt Canning‘s Honeymoon in the Afterlife about dying? Is it about life? Unlike some inscrutable comics we’ve discussed recently, this one isn’t frustrating; it’s intriguing, layered, and nuanced, and stands up to — no, demands — repeat readings. Tim and Ryan C. (who wrote a review of the book last fall) discuss. The In … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #205: “Honeymoon in the Afterlife”
#708 Aaack! “Cathy” is still relevant!
September 08, 2021 12:00 - 56 minutes - 52 MBCathy Guisewite‘s longrunning comic strip Cathy is still a topic of discussion, 11 years after it ended. While it may sometimes seem as if topics like sexual harassment and body image are new fields discovered in the last five or ten years, Cathy was bringing them up in the ’80s and ’90s. Comedian Jamie Loftus … Continue reading #708 Aaack! “Cathy” is still relevant!
Critiquing Comics #204: “Purgatory”
September 04, 2021 12:00 - 24 minutes - 22.7 MBPurgatory, by Don Juan Mancha III, anubisazp, and nikokosi, is an unusual comic in that most of the character in it claim to be dead. But in most cases, it’s unclear if they really are. Or is it a way of talking about schizophrenia? Unclear. What’s the plot of this comic? Also unclear. At least, … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #204: “Purgatory”
#707 Joe Dator and “Inked”
September 01, 2021 12:00 - 56 minutes - 52.3 MBAfter fifteen years of cartooning for The New Yorker, Joe Dator has a deep catalog of published work – and a pretty deep catalog of UNpublished work as well (it’s a competitive business!). So in his new book Inked: Cartoons, Confessions, Rejected Ideas and Secret Sketches from the New Yorker’s Joe Dator, Joe includes not … Continue reading #707 Joe Dator and “Inked”
#706 “Ping Pong”
August 25, 2021 12:34 - 1 hour - 55.3 MBProlific manga creator Taiyo Matsumoto’s Ping Pong is, nominally, a sports manga, but it doesn’t stick to the tropes. It presents table tennis matches that take place in a small town, not at a major tournament in Tokyo; often it doesn’t even show the end of a match! In some ways it functions as a … Continue reading #706 “Ping Pong”
Critiquing Comics #203: “Midnight Highway”
August 21, 2021 12:00 - 14 minutes - 13.3 MBMidnight Highway is a horror comic on which all the creators are firing on all cylinders. Well, most of them. Tim and Jason discuss the first issue of this comic by Mike Tener, Alex Maday, Dave Lentz, Alexander Malyshev, Hedwin Zaldivar, and Alex Monik!
“Thor: The Dark World” (2013)
August 18, 2021 12:00 - 45 minutes - 41.6 MBThis week, from our archive of Patreon podcasts, Tim and Mulele discuss the movie Thor: The Dark World in another edition of “Tim Catches Up with the MCU”! It’s one of the lowest-rated MCU movies on Rotten Tomatoes. How do our opinions track with the RT users? Wayne Manor Memoirs podcast Our supporters on Patreon
Critiquing Comics #202: “Theatrics”
August 14, 2021 12:00 - 33 minutes - 30.8 MBNeil Gibson is back! Tim and Mulele have discussed his Twisted Dark anthology series more than once, and Koom once interviewed him for DCP at a London con. His new two-part graphic novel Theatrics, with art by Leonardo Gonzalez, is the best work we’ve seen from him to date. Tim and Adam critique. Buy Theatrics … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #202: “Theatrics”
#705 “Lights, Planets, People”
August 11, 2021 12:00 - 54 minutes - 49.7 MBYou may be puzzled by a book titled Lights, Planets, People; we certainly were. But when we read it, we found that Molly Naylor and Lizzy Stewart’s graphic novel is a story with multiple levels, communicated in multiple ways, including through the shifting art style and color palette. It’s a book about an astronomer who … Continue reading #705 “Lights, Planets, People”
Critiquing Comics #201: “Adora and the Distance”
August 07, 2021 12:00 - 27 minutes - 24.9 MBAlthough it’s currently only available digitally, Adora and the Distance, by Marc Bernardin, Ariela Kistantina, Bryan Valenza, and Bernardo Brice, has garnered a fair amount of mainstream attention (Vanity Fair, Syfy) — reportage that doesn’t even seem aware of the fact that it’s spoiling the book’s twist ending. Of course, we’ll have to spoil it … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #201: “Adora and the Distance”
#704 “Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee”
August 04, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 65.7 MBContinuing with “How Much Stan Can You Stand?”, this time Tim and Emmet take on Stan Lee’s 2002 memoir (with George Mair), Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee. How does it differ from his later memoir Amazing Fantastic Incredible? Have you had all the Stan you can stand? Or should we review more books … Continue reading #704 “Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee”
#703 “Far Sector”
July 28, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 55.1 MBNK Jemisin and Jamal Campbell‘s Far Sector takes the Green Lantern concept (it’s published by DC) to comment on race relations and the police. Emmet and Kumar discuss the book’s storytelling strategy; whether main character Jo has made a believable choice in becoming a (space) cop; compare novelist Jemisin to other prose writers who have … Continue reading #703 “Far Sector”
Critiquing Comics #200: “.357 Magnum Opus”
July 24, 2021 12:00 - 28 minutes - 26.6 MBTwo bounty hunters are recruited for another job. A woman is seen topless, numerous people get their brains blown out, men and women get amorous on a hair-trigger, and quips and oddball observations are the order of the day. A ’90s Tarentino-esque film? No, it’s graphic novel .357 Magnum Opus, by Ghezal Omar with art … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #200: “.357 Magnum Opus”
#702 “Black Widow”: is the MCU losing the magic?
July 21, 2021 12:00 - 54 minutes - 49.8 MBIt’s been a long time since Tim “caught up with the MCU” in our Patreon podcast series with Mulele; certainly longer without an MCU film than anyone intended it to be! But at last, Black Widow is out. How does it stack up against the movies that have gone before? Tim and Mulele are back … Continue reading #702 “Black Widow”: is the MCU losing the magic?
Critiquing Comics #199: “Amazing Grace”
July 14, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 28 MBAmazing Grace is a Webtoon comic by Shane Berryhill and Mike Salter, featuring sword fights with Dracula, women with plunging necklines, and, sometimes, chapter endings that lack punch. Tim and Adam try to diagnose, and give prescriptions for, what ails this comic, while recognizing that it’s not too far from being well-done. Brought to you … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #199: “Amazing Grace”
#701 Barry Windsor-Smith’s “Monsters”
July 07, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 57.7 MBA story originally conceived as an Incredible Hulk tale in — really — the 1980s, Barry Windsor-Smith‘s Monsters has finally seen the light of day. How is it? Kumar and Dana find it a joy to look at, and containing a number of astonishing scenes and mind-blowing plot points, but also to have some serious … Continue reading #701 Barry Windsor-Smith’s “Monsters”
#700 Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible….Nostalgic
June 30, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 90.1 MB“How much Stan can you stand?” Tim and Emmet’s look at books on Stan Lee continues with The Man’s graphic novel-memoir Amazing Fantastic Incredible, by Stan Lee, Peter David, and Colleen Doran. Can we recommend it? Listen to the MMMS record 1:18:40 Also, Tim looks back at a few of the many high points in … Continue reading #700 Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible….Nostalgic
Critiquing Comics #198: “Rex Radley, Boy Adventurer”
June 26, 2021 12:00 - 29 minutes - 27 MBWinston Gambro’s Rex Radley: Boy Adventurer is an all-ages comedy adventure series. Tim and Adam discuss.
#699 “How to Be Happy”
June 23, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 64.6 MBIn this episode Kumar Sivasubramanian (psst our Eisner nominated member of the Deconstructing Comics team) and Emmet O’Cuana discuss Eleanor Davis‘s comics. Focusing mainly on her collection How To Be Happy and one-shot Libby’s Dad, the comic creator’s use of subtle sadness and surreal humor inspires a wide- ranging conversation (including how to be happy … Continue reading #699 “How to Be Happy”
#698 Tony Stark, Futurist
June 16, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 57.9 MBIn the 21st century, Tony Stark (alter ego of Iron Man) has been evolving into an Elon Musk-type “futurist.” What are the reasons for this change? Has it done anything to expand the kinds of stories that can be told with the character? Has Stark ever even really worked as a sympathetic character? Emmet calls … Continue reading #698 Tony Stark, Futurist
Critiquing Comics #197: “Galacto Pit-Fighter”
June 12, 2021 12:00 - 23 minutes - 21.9 MBComics can surely be violent, but can the sheer audacity of the violence make it, intentionally or not, funny? Tim and Adam discuss one of the most over-the-top comics ever critiqued on our show, Kirt Burdick’s Galacto Pit-Fighter!
#697 “Everyone is Tulip”
June 09, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 74.7 MBMost people have some dreams of fame and fortune. A certain portion of those people make their way to Hollywood in hopes of getting that big break. But how much are you willing to give up to achieve that goal? And what if the fame isn’t as great as you expected? These are the questions … Continue reading #697 “Everyone is Tulip”
#696 Sequential Potential and “Minamata”
June 02, 2021 12:00 - 51 minutes - 47.3 MBComics, of course, are not just for entertainment. They’re a great medium for educating. This week we feature two examples: Sequential Potential is a company which helps academics get their points across in comics form. Co-founders Darick and Emily Ritter walk us through the process of conversion from dry, boring text to eye-catching comics. The … Continue reading #696 Sequential Potential and “Minamata”
Critiquing Comics #196: “Tales from the Interface” #3
May 29, 2021 12:00 - 25 minutes - 23.9 MBThree years ago, Tim & Mulele discussed the first issue of Tales from the Interface by Emmanuel Filteau. We thought it was well done, even though we didn’t quite understand what was happening! Emmanuel recently sent us the third issue, by which the situation has become clearer – it’s your basic dystopian future – and … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #196: “Tales from the Interface” #3
#695 Zander Cannon talks “Smax”!
May 26, 2021 12:00 - 58 minutes - 53.3 MBA comics series that’s sadly hard to find these days is Smax by Alan Moore, Zander Cannon, and Andrew Currie. Emmet has been waxing nostalgic for this spinoff of Moore, Cannon, and Gene Ha’s Top Ten, so this week he calls up Cannon to chat about it – the meaning of the handprint on Smax’s … Continue reading #695 Zander Cannon talks “Smax”!
#694 “True Believer”
May 19, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 58.7 MBHow much Stan can you stand? That’s the question Emmet and Tim are asking as we review an undetermined number of Stan Lee biographies! In episode 692, we covered Spurgeon and Raphael’s 2004 entry; this time, it’s the most recent tome, True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee by Abraham Riesman. While some … Continue reading #694 “True Believer”
Critiquing Comics #195: “Circle 7” #1
May 12, 2021 12:00 - 29 minutes - 27.6 MBOur critique candidate this time is an unusual one: an artist who asks us to critique a comic he drew 26 years ago! The book is Circle 7 issue 1 (story by Joshua Lauber, pencils and inks by Daniel M. Rodriguez), about a superhero team in a world gone rotten – notably, an all-Black team. … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #195: “Circle 7” #1
#693 Manga’s Scary Cats!
May 05, 2021 12:00 - 57 minutes - 52.6 MBThere’s a history of horror manga featuring cats, especially humans with cat features. What are some of the prominent titles in this genre? Where does this come from? Patrick has been studying this association and is here to tell us about some of the prominent titles, including Shigeru Mizuki’s Mysterious Neko Musume (featuring a character … Continue reading #693 Manga’s Scary Cats!
Critiquing Comics #194: “Realm of Owls”
April 28, 2021 12:00 - 28 minutes - 26.6 MBPart comic, part children’s storybook, Realm of Owls is heavy on world building and a bit light on characters, at least in the early going. How does it stand up as a reading experience? Tim is joined by Adam Pasion to discuss this web comic by Gheralf and Vayandil.
#692 “Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book”
April 21, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 71.3 MBTim and Emmet begin a series on Stan Lee biographies with the 2003 book Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book by Jordan Raphael and the late, great Tom Spurgeon. What’s the tone of this book, and how does it portray Stan? How much of the Marvel Universe is he … Continue reading #692 “Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book”
Critiquing Comics #193: “The Zombie Game”
April 14, 2021 12:00 - 25 minutes - 24 MBAt what was ostensibly a rave, some kids are turned into zombies. How do the remaining kids deal with it? And– why didn’t THEY get turned into zombies? That’s the scenario of The Zombie Game, by Dan Bridges, Gary Ambrosia, Pablo Ayala, Lucase Gattoni, and Emily McGuiness (currently on Kickstarter). Tim and Jason try to … Continue reading Critiquing Comics #193: “The Zombie Game”
#691 Moore and Andrade’s “Crossed +100”
April 07, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 61.7 MBIt’s debatable whether Garth Ennis’ series Crossed, about a disease that causes people to act in the most reprehensible ways possible, had any redeeming qualities, but when Alan Moore steps in to write the next chapter, you know it’s going to be worth discussing. And so we have Crossed +100 by Moore and Gabriel Andrade. … Continue reading #691 Moore and Andrade’s “Crossed +100”
Critiquing Comics #192: “The Corona Bible”
March 31, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 28.2 MBPier Dola has sent us another of his comics. Another of his very, very long comics, filled with very well-drawn grotesque images. This one is called The Corona Bible, and it’s about COVID and … other stuff. Tim and Emmet try to figure it out.