Podcast 74 - Southern Gothic

In which our heroes find quite a lot to say about a genre that barely exists in comics.

Southern gothic persists as a genre in all other mediums, so why is that deliciously swampy style so under-represented in comics? An investigation brought to you by big words, a fetish for Spanish moss, and that half-glimpsed face at the window of the ol' plantation house.

We talked about:

• Iceman - Sina Grace and Alessandro Vitti
• Winnebago Graveyard - Steve Niles, Alison Sampson, Stephane Paitreau
• The Unsound - Cullen Bunn, Jack T. Cole
• Grass Kings - Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins
• The Stone Heart (Nameless City Vol.2) - Faith Erin Hicks, Jordie Bellaire
• Bulletproof Coffin: The 1000 Yard Stare - Shaky Kane and David Hine
• Godshaper - Si Spurrier and Jonas Goonface
• Black Hammer - Jeff lemire and Dean Ormston
• Harrow County - Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook
• Will O' The Wisp - Tom Hammock and Megan Hutchinson
• Swamp Thing - Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette et al
• Wet Moon - Sophie Campbell

Apologies for the occasional spurt of someone else's voice on the background of this one. Some people just don't know how to use their indoor voice.

Have we missed something obvious? Tell us in the comments so we can read it because looking forward to Snagglepuss is a sad state of affairs.

Podcast 73 - Spinoffs and Franchises

Spin-off! Is there any word more thrilling to the soul and/or corporate wallet?

This week we read a bucket of franchise-extension comics. From flaccid extrusions of long-spent IP, to comics an actual person might actually want to read, we talk about whether spin-off comics can be any good (yes), how it all works (it's complicated), and which ones are just utter, utter shite (surprisingly: not Pokémon).

Find out more about the "beautiful teat filled with dollars".

Not gonna lie - there's about twenty minutes of Pokémon chat, and some hand-wavy theorizing about yaoi on this one. You love it. 

We covered:

• Tencount vol. 1 & 2 - Rihito Takarai
• Something City - Ellice Weaver 
• AD: After Death #3 - Scott Snyder, Jeff Lemire, Steve Wands
• Heirloom - Dave Barker & Hester Wells
• Hotblood! (the 'sexy horse' one) - Toril Orlesky
• Emily Carol's webcomics
• Mind MGMT - Matt Kindt

Spin-offs:

• Buffy (Season 8) - Brian K Vaughan, Georges Jeanty (also sometimes Joss Whedon)
• Aliens: Apocalypse - The Destroying Angels - Mark Schultz, Doug Wheatley
• The Flintstones (2016) - Mark Russell, Steve Pugh
• Simpsons Comics On Parade
• Simpsons Comics A Go-Go
• Simpsons Comics Unchained
• Pokémon Adventures #1-3 (Red, Blue, and Green) - Hidenori Kusaka
• Mass Effect: Redemption - Mac Walters, Jackson Miller, Omar Francia
• Portal 2: Lab Rat - Michael Avon Oeming, Jay Pinkerton
• Aliens vs Predator - various

So, uh, there's that?

We also reviewed Something City on the site.

Episode 70 - Big Weird Sci Fi

Back, back again to the stranger edges of sci fi. We ponder whether sci fi has preemptively shifted to reflect our garbage fire times, or whether our reading habits have just taken a turn for the cynical.

Because of the garbage fires.

We covered:

• Black Monday Murders - Jonathan Hickman and Tomm Coker
• Those Fucking Dinosaurs (I have no idea where to find this, let us know if you spot it)
• Descender - Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen
• Harrow County - Tyler Crook and Cullen Bunn
• Mare Internum - Der-shing Helmer
• Dept.H - Matt Kindt and Sharlene Kindt
• Quantum Teens Are Go! - Magdalene Visaggio, Eryk Donovan, Claudia Aguirre
• The Firelight Isle - Paul Duffield
• Leave Me Alone - Vera Brosgol
• Deep Space Canine - Comic Book Slumber Party (full list of contributors here)
• Trees - Warren Ellis and Jason Howard
• Injection - Warren Ellis, Declan Shalvie, Jordie Bellaire
• The Wild Storm - Warren Ellis and Jon Davis-Hunt
• Sex Criminals - Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky
• Warm Blood - Josh Tierney, Saskia Gutekunst, Joysuke, Winston Young, Naomi Franquiz, Marina Julia, Olivier Pichard (so far)
• Epicurean’s Exile - Leia Weathington and Jack Cole
• Monstress - Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda
• Kaijumax - Zander Cannon

Podcast 42 - Travel

This week we tackle travel, the subject of a surprising number of comics of surprising breadth. We read a ton of other comics too, and we took some time out of our busy lives to worry if Roger's penis is haunted. And now we're taking that time from your life too. We talked about:

• Shenzen, Jerusalem, Pyongyang - Guy Delisle
• In a Flat Land - Richard Swan
• Glacial Period - Nicolas de Crecy (and here's Roger's review)
• Mind MGMT - Matt Kindt
• Sam: Robot Hunters - Richard Marazano and Shang Xiao
• Carnet de Voyage - Craig Thompson
• Fun Home - Alison Bechdel
• Are You My Mother?- Alison Bechdel
• Essential Dykes to Watch Out For- Alison Bechdel
• Home is Where The Internet Is -  Natalie Nourigat stuff
• Poorcraft - Ryan Estrada and Diana Nock
• Wolf - Ales Kot, Matt Taylor, Lee Loughridge
• The Swords of Glass - Sylviane Corgiat, Laura Zuccheri
• Golemchik - William Exley
• French Milk - Lucy Knisley
• The 120 Days Of Simon - Simon Gardenfors

Podcast Episode 30 - Best Comics of 2014

2014, eh? Prick of a year. Still, there were plenty of great comics out there, and we've rounded up our favourites. One lucky soul will even win our two top picks, if you booked yourself a Bullshit Bingo card. All you have to do is listen for certain key phrases and mark them off when you hear them. The first person to yell "house" at us on

Twitter

or over

email

walks away with this fantastic prize*.

We have a winner! Thanks to those who joined in the Dionysian

bingo frenzy

Our combined longlists are way, way below, so as not to ruin the surprise.

• Mulp: Matt Gibbs and Sara Dunkerton
• Blacksad: Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido
• TJ & Amal: E.K Weaver
• Trees: Warren Ellis and Jason Howard
• Will O The Wisp: Megan Hutchinson and Tom Hammock
• Moon Knight: Warren Ellis, Declan Shalvey, Jordie Bellaire
• Pretty Deadly: Kelly-Sue DeConnick, Emma Rios, Jordie Bellaire
• Beautiful Darkness: Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoet
• The Motherless Oven: Rob Davis
• The Wrenchies: Farel Dalrymple
• This One Summer: Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki
• Through the Woods: Emily Carroll
• Hip-Hop Family Tree: Ed Piskor
• Just So Happens: Fumio Obata
• The Wicked and the Divine: Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie
• Moonhead and the Music Machine: Andrew Rae
• The Collector: Sergio Toppi
• Shoplifter: Michael Cho
• Silver Surfer: Dan Slott, Michael Allred, Laura Allred
• Saga: Brian K Vaughan, Fiona Staples
• Hawkeye: Matt Fraction, David Aja, Annie Wu
• Mind MGMT: Matt Kindt
• Poorly Drawn Lines: Reza Farazmand

...and our special treat at the end, A Naughty Boy for Krampus.

Podcast Episode 20 - Comics Unmasked

This week we're missing Lucy, but those that remain are joined by the fragrant and delightful Graham Sleight, who brings a certain air of professionalism not usually found in our parade of dick jokes. We've all been to see the Comics Unmasked exhibition at the British Library, as well as taking in ELCAF and a spot of light reading. Books:

• Mind MGMT - Matt Kindt
• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century - Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill
• Doctor Who Comics - Various
• Pearls Before Swine
• Peow! Studios
• The Land of My Heart Chokes On Its Abundance - Gareth Brookes
• Migdal Bavel - Isabel Greenberg

Digi-pseudobooks:

• The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

The Drowned Man:

• The Show itself
• And some worthwhile reading