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.

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

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 9 - Kickstarter

It's a bumper episode this week. More comics! More jokes! More interviews! More inexplicable digressions about cauliflower. These people got mad brassica love, yo. This week we look at Kickstarter, and all the good and bad that comes out of it, as well as interviewing cartoonist Lucy Bellwood with her experiences with 2 Kickstarter campaigns. Mentioned in this week's show:

• True Believer
• Cartozia Tales
• The Black Beetle: No Way Out
• Supermag
• The Encyclopedia of Early Earth
• Thor: Godbomb
• Marshall Law
• Mind MGMT
• Molly Danger
• Reich
• Jezebel
• Blue is the Warmest Colour
• Anything That Loves
• Sex Criminals
• Afterlife Inc.
• Oh Joy Sex Toy
• Dresden Codak
• The Authority
• Beyond (queer sci-fi anthology)
• Smut Peddler

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)