18 December 2011: Comic Books & Graphic Novels

This week, Templemarker plays sherpa through the soap operatic wilds of Marvel, DC, and indie comics. We talk about how to get your toes wet in the twisty, confusing world of sprawling and contradictory canons, show you the ropes on the stories to read and the ones to avoid, and give those of you already chomping at the bit for the 2012 Avengers movie some context for the film. And then, we drop a righteous mountain of fandom and canon recs for you guys — happy reading! The comics blog MK mentions at the end of the recording is Comics212.net. TempleMarker's Generation Kill intro post can be found over here.Music this week: Opening music: Calculation, by Regina Spektor. Closing music: Long Division, by Death Cab for CutieFollow us on twitter for what could pass as witty reparte.

Fic Recs for this episode:Ready, Aim, Fire by Gyzym [Avengers, Steve/Tony]
Mr. July by Jibrailis [Avengers, Steve/Tony, everyone/Steve]
Textual Analysis by Soera [H50, Steve/Danny]
Following Home series by RM [Glee]
Managing Expectations by Alethialia [Generation Kill]
Never Leave a Trace by Sam-Storyteller [White Collar]
Trace by Sam [Profic]
Degrees of Separation by Plingo_kat [Avengers, Steve/Tony but mostly gen]
Cosmetic Damage Only by Valtyr [Avengers, Steve/Tony]
The Modern World is Awesome and So Are You by Anonymous [Avengers, Steve/Tony]
Comics Recs for this episode:Fables
Sandman
Batman: No Man's Land (Also War Drums, War Games, etc)
Bruce Wayne: Murderer?
Captain America: Man Out of Time
Birds of Prey
Avengers
Gotham Central
Powers
Persepolis
The Arrival
Castle Waiting