Podcast 60 - The Eisner Awards

This episode we look at the Eisner Awards, looking at recent winners and asking: "Awards, huh? What are they good for?" Stick with us to find out.

Sixty episodes! Where does the time go? I'm serious, where is it. ANSWER ME, PHYSICS.

We read:

• Deadpool v Gambit - Ben Blacker, Benjamin Acker, Danilo Beyruth
• Empty Zone - Jason Shawn Alexander, Darragh Savage, Luis Nct
• Mechanism - Raffaele Ienco
• Bad Machinery - John Allison
• Gunnerkrigg Court - Tom Siddell
• Giant Days - John Allison  and Lissa Tremain
• Doctor Strange - Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo
• Vision - Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta

Eisner:

• March - John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell
• Showa: A History of Japan 1953-1989 - Shigeru Mizuki
• Southern Bastards - Jason Aaron and Jason Latour
• Paper Girls - Brian K Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Matt Wilson
• Descender - Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen

You can find a full list of the Eisner Winners here.

John Barrowman as Squirrel Girl

Photo credit: John Barrowman MBE

MBE

Podcast 59 - Manga

This week we try to correct for our utter ignorance about manga, reading as much as we can in two weeks and then spouting opinions all over the place.

A theme emerges in Roger's reading. Not a good theme.

We covered:

• Bad Machinery - John Allison
• The Goddamned - Jason Aaron, R.M. Guera, Giulia Brusco
• Saga - Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
• The Sixth Gun - Cullen Bunn, Tyler Crook, Brian Hurtt, Bill Crabtree
• Filmish - Edward Ross
• A City Inside - Tillie Walden

Hey Kids! Manga!

• Abandon the Old in Tokyo - Yoshihiro Tatsumi
• Oishinbo: A la Carte - Tetsu Kariya and Akira Hanasaki
• Ode to Kirihito - Osamu Tezuka
• Angel Heart - Udou Shinohara
• Amakusa 1637 - Michiyo Akaishi (this isn't anywhere legit, sorry)
• Barefoot Gen - Keiji Kakazawa
• One-Punch Man - “One” and Yusuke Murata
• Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service - Eiji Otsuka
• Tekkon Kinkreet - Taiyo Matsumoto
• Project X Cup Noodle - Tadashi Katoh and Akira Imai

You might also like:

• Manga database - http://hidamari.moe/
• UK Anime Network

Podcast Episode 14 - Funny Comics

If you went solely by listening to us, you'd be forgiven for thinking that comics were just about punching things and crying in cupboards. Not so! That would be ridiculous. Many of them are hilarious, and here we take a rambling walk through of favourites. Also there's a thing about sherry. We couldn't stop him.

Comics we talked about this week:

• Maakies
• Judge
• Prophet
• Down. Set. Fight.
• Fatale
• Ms. Marvel
• The Unwritten
• Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant
• Garfield minus Garfield
• Achewood
• Yes Hive Overlord
• The Authority: Kev
• Strange Tales
• The Goon
• Hark! A Vagrant!
• She-Hulk
• Bad Machinery
• Too Much Coffee Man
• The Tick
• Doonesbury
• Wondermark
• Poorly-Drawn Lines
• A Softer World
• I Want My Hat Back
• Perry Bible Fellowship
• Men in Hats
• Peanuts
• Nextwave
• Primates

And then there's that whole sherry business.

• Gonzalez Byass Leonor Sherry Palo Cortado

Podcast Episode 11 - The Best Comics of 2013

Holy hell, it's the end of the year. That means only one thing: lists. Here's our review of the best comics of 2013, plus some that we didn't want to leave out so we just included them anyway but talked faster.

Scroll down for the list. It's carefully hidden at the bottom of the page so as not to ruin your listening enjoyment. While you're up here though, why not Subscribe in iTunes, via RSS, or throw charitable money at Music by Programmers, featuring our brilliant theme tune composer Chris Whitworth.

The list:

• Mind MGMT
• Sex Criminals
• Six-Gun Gorilla
• Aama
• The Hypo: The Melancholic Young Lincoln
• The Encyclopedia of Early Earth
• Lighter Than My Shadow
• Bad Machinery
• Eustace

Honourable Mentions:

• The Lengths
• Copra
• Naming Monsters
• The Black Project
• Prophet
• Prince of Cats
• Saga
• OhJoySexToy

Podcast Episode 6 - Kids' Comics

As any number of hacks will tell you, comics aren't just for kids anymore. But have things gone too far the other way? What are the good kids' comics? And who better to talk about that than three people who are not and do not have children? No one, that's who.

If you're feeling like spending some money, please consider supporting the Cartozia Kickstarter, or picking up the Music by Programmers album, which includes tracks by the composer of our them music, Chris Whitworth, Funds raised support maths and computer education at Bletchley Park and the National Computer Museum.

Jack Kirby, ladies and gents.

Comics we covered this week:

• Infinite Vacation
• Mind MGMT
• Habibi
• Delilah Dirk
• Anya's Ghost
• Chloe Noonan Monster Hunter
• Bad Machinery
• Battling Boy
• I Saw You
• Naming Monsters
• Baggywrinkles
• Cartozia
• Molly Danger
• Smile
• Drama
• The Beano
• The Phoenix
• The Dandy (deceased)

Podcast Episode 1 - Webcomics

In our very first podcast, the gang wrestle with the thorny issue of whether webcomics are any good or not, as well as reflecting on their own ethnic homogeneity and whether Canada’s premier singer-songwriter went blind from indulging in a spot of the old crystal meth:

Legal Disclaimer: Rufus Wainwright definitely went blind from drugs. We checked on Wikipedia and at least one other place.

Our jazzy theme tune was provided by Chris Whitworth. You can find more of his music on the Music by Programmers album, which is raising funds for Bletchley Park and the National Museum of Computing.

You can now subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or via RSS.

Comics we mentioned in the show:

Phyiscal Comics:

• NextWave
• Fun Home
• Blankets
• Daytripper
• Adamtine
• Cerebus
• Wolves
• The Mire
• Demeter
• Six-Gun Gorilla
• Couriers

Webcomics:

• XKCD
• Gunnerkrigg Court
• Looking For Group
• Bad Machinery
• CTRL+ALT+DEL
• Goats (now sort of trading as Scenes from a Multiverse)
• Questionable Content
• Penny Arcade
• Something Positive
• Achewood
• Family Man
• Bite Me
• Dresden Codak
• Hark A Vagrant!
• Dicebox
• Teahouse (sporadically NSFW)
• Oglaf (Really NSFW)
• Prince of Cats
• Nimona (Which I think I referred to as Nimora)
• The Abaddon

If you've made it this far, and you feel like starting up a few new webcomics, it may be worth taking a look at Comic Rocket. It makes it easier to keep track of what you've read across multiple webcomics. Oh, and this is what yaoi is. A shorter explanation is available.