Podcast Special: Daredevil

With Daredevil on screens courtesy of Netflix, we take a look at the convoluted history of the character and pick out the must-read comics. Also: superheroes in gritty crime drama - can they have their cape and eat it too? BOOM

So then, welcome to a timely (by our standards) and compact (by our standards) guide to The Man Without Fear. We talked about:

• Daredevil: The Man Without Fear - Frank Miller and John Romita Jr.
• Daredevil: Born Again - Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli
• Daredevil By Frank Miller & Klaus Janson Volume 1 - Frank Miller and Klaus Janson
• Daredevil By Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev - Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack, Alex Maleev, Various
• Daredevil By Brubaker & Lark Ultimate Collection 1 - Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark

Podcast 37 - Queerness In Mainstream Comics

While independent comics are a home for diverse creators and stories, the mainstream hasn't dealt so well with representing a range of races, sexualities, viewpoints or much beyond white people hitting other white people.

We shout about this for a while. Maybe we figure out how to solve it? (SPOILERS: NO JUST YELLING)

Also: nitrous huffing teens! Lucy gets angry at Young Avengers! Sass!

• Moon Knight - Warren Ellis, Declan Shalvey, Jordie Bellaire
• Robert Moses - Pierre Christin, Olivier Balez
• Kaptara - Chip Zdarsky & Kagan Mcleod
• The Desert Peach - Donna Barr
• Rock & Riot - Chelsey Furedi
• Young Avengers - Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matt Hollingsworth
• Low - Rick Remender & Greg Tocchini
• God Hates Astronauts - Ryan Browne
• Chip Zdarsky's Watchmen Sequel

Podcast 36 - Sci Fi Roundup

Last time we did sci fi comics, we looked at the psychedelic end of things. Now we're looking at the current batch of sci fi comics. We're the complete package, is what I'm saying here. Also: Trago Mills! Colonoscopies! Beauty and the Beast visit Ikea! Limericks! The velvety softness of hamsters' testicles! And more!

We talked about:

• Brass Sun - Ian Edginton & I. N. J. Culbard
• The Fuse - Antony Johnston & Justin Greenwood
• SAM: After Man - Richard Marazano & Shang
• Gunnerkrigg Court - Tom Siddell
• Trees - Warren Ellis & Jason Howard
• Prophet - Brandon Graham et al.
• Transmetropolitan - Warren Ellis & Darwick Robertson
• Roche Limit - Michael Moreci & Vic Malhotra
• Copperhead - Jay Faerber, Scott Godlewski, Ron Riley
• Aama - Frederik Peeters
• Wild's End - Dan Abnett & I. N. J. Culbard
• Low - Rick Remender & Greg Tocchini
• Fear Agent - Rick Remender & Tony Moore
• Chrononauts - Mark Millar & Sean Gordon Murphy
• Punk Rock Jesus - Sean Gordon Murphy
• Material - Ales Kot, Will Tempest, Tom Muller
• ODY-C - Matt Fraction & Christian Ward
• Descender - Jeff Lemire & Dustin Nguyen
• Nameless - Grant Morrison & Chris Burnham

Podcast Episode 35: Indie Comics Roundup (Sort Of)

This week is a roundup of indie comics - coincidentally about 90% of what we were reading anyway. Think of us as Newsnight Review for comics, if Bonnie Greer was shitfaced and Tom Paulin had figured out how to hide his obvious depression behind overlong foul-mouthed tirades. What's that? You already do? Excellent! Let's crack on.

We read:

• Descender - Jeff Lemire & Dustin Nguyen
• The Fade Out - Ed Brubaker & Sean Philips
• Satellite Sam - Matt Fraction & Howard Chaykin
• I am Fire - Rachel Smith
• The Red Road - Rozi Hathaway
• Roller Girl - Victoria Jamieson
• I don’t Like My Hair Neat - Julia Scheele
• Solo - Hope Larson
• El Deafo - Cece Bell
• Giant Days - John Allison & Lissa Treiman
• Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen - Dylan Horrocks
• Howard The Duck - Chip Zdarsky, Joe Quinones
• Nemo: River of Ghosts - Alan Moore & Kevin O'Neill

This episode is sponsored by cold medicine, cheese curds, and NIGHTMARE FOREST CIRCUSES.

Podcast Episode 34: Smut

Or pornographic comics, if you're nasty. We take a broad overview of smutty books, try not to say anything too awful about Sonic The Hedgehog fan art, and rate various pornoglyphs on "wankability". Or Roger does. He's very forward. Goes without saying that there are some bad swears in this one.

We read (in case you're slow, just don't click these at work):

• Starfighter - Hamletmachine
• Sensitive Pornograph - Ashika Sakura
• Smut Peddler - Various
• The Wicked and the Divine - Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matt Wilson
• Resident Alien - Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse
• Valentines/Fawn - Jess Fink
• Chester 5000 XYV - Jess Fink
• Oh Joy Sex Toy - Erika Moen
• Co-Eds, Snow Sluts - “Man”
• Sing No Evil - JP Ahonen and KP Alare
• Hawkeye - Matt Fraction and David Aja

We also ate a lot of Starburst, and retained our youthful appearance by never referring to them as Opal Fruits.

Podcast Episode 33: She Makes Comics

This week we watched Marissa Stotter's documentary She Makes Comics, a history of women in comics creation and fandom. We also run down some recent comics that we've been reading.

I've got to level with you, Lucy says "anus" repeatedly in this episode for no discernible reason. Also you can find out what swimming certificates we each have. Shall we?

This week we read:

• Saga - Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples
• Wytches - Scott Snyder and Jock
• Friends With Boys - Faith Erin Hicks
• I Don’t Like My Hair Neat 2 - Julia Schiele
• The Side Effects of the Cocaine - Sean T Collins/Isaac Moylan
• Satellite Sam - Matt Fraction and Howard Chaykin
• Velvet - Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting, Elizabeth Breitweiser
• Sex Criminals - Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky
• Casanova: Acedia - Matt Fraction, Michael Chabon, Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon
• Miss Don’t Touch Me - Hubert and Kerascoet
• The Sculptor - Scott McCloud
• Nameless - Grant Morrison, Chris Burnham, Nathan Fairbairn
• Trees - Warren Ellis and Jason Howard

And that Matt Kindt comic Roger was talking about was Divinity.

Podcast 32 - Agony Ant-Man

This week we're giving something back to the people. As Agony Ant-Man, we take listener questions and pump out good advice and comics-related wisdom at a frankly disturbing volume. As in quantity. If it's too loud, turn it down. We can't do everything for you.

We read:

• Manhattan Projects - Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra
• Stray Bullets - David Lapham
• The Wicked and the Divine - Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie and Matthew Wilson
• Age of Bronze - Eric Shanower
• Terms of Service - Michael Keller & Josh Neufeld
• Ody-C - Matt Fraction and Christian Ward
• Sing No Evil - J. P. Ahonen and K. P. Alare

And to fix your broken and tragic lives, we recommended:

• Atomic Robo - Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener
• DC: The New Frontier - Darwyn Cooke
• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl - Ryan North and Erica Henderson
• She-Hulk: either the Dan Slott run or the Charles Soule one
• My Cardboard Life / Soppy - Philippa Rice
• Bandette - Paul Tobin and Coleen Coover
• Chloe Noonan - Marc Ellerby
• Blankets - Craig Thompson
• All-Star Superman - Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
• Flex Mentallo - Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
• Joe The Barbarian - Grant Morrison and Sean Murphy
• Asterix - Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo
• Rat Queens - Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch
• Kate Beaton
• Stuck Rubber Baby - Howard Cruse
• The Hypo: The Melancholic Young Lincoln - Noah Van Sciver
• Ms. Marvel - G. Willow Wilson and various artists
• I Don't Like My Hair Neat - Julia Scheele
• Double Barrel
• Anything by John Allison
• Will O' The Wisp - Megan Hutchinson and Tom Hammock
• Hildafolk - Luke Pearson
• Everything We Miss - Luke Pearson
• Infinite Vacation - Nick Spencer and Christian Ward
• King Cat - John Porcellino
• The Boxer - Reinhard Kleist
• Mulp - Matt Gibbs & Sara Dunkerton
• Mouseguard - David Petersen
• Journey Into Mystery - Kieron Gillen and Richard Elson
• From Hell - Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell
• League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill
• The Adventures of Luther Arkwright - Bryan Talbot
• Scott Pilgrim - Bryan Lee O'Malley
• Empire State - Jason Shiga
• Age of Apocalypse - Various
• Reading Comics - Douglas Wolk
• Understanding Comics - Scott McCloud
• 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die - Paul Gravett, Various

And We Are The Best is based on Never Goodnight by Coco Moodysson. And that NoBrow iPad app is here.

That Mario thing.

Podcast 31 - The Wicked And The Divine

This week we try to give you a Cliff's Notes on mythology and a bit of a close reading of The Wicked and the Divine, and we would have got away with it too if it weren't for those pesky booze-sodden minds.

If you'd like more detail, we've provided a load of background information on the gods here, as well as a more structured look at the notions of performative identity we covered in the show.

What have we been reading? I'll tell you:

• The Wicked and the Divine - Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matthew Wilson
• Orbital - Sylvain Runberg & Serge Pellé
• Berlin: City of Stones - Jason Lutes
• Copperhead - Jay Faerber & Scott Godlewski
• Alex & Ada - Jonathan Luna & Sarah Vaughn
• The Hospital Suite - John Porcellino
• This One Summer - Jillian & Mariko Tamaki
• Doomboy - Tony Sandoval
• (In a sense) Lost and Found - Roman Muradov
• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl - Ryan Q. North, Erica Henderson

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 29 - Thought Bubble Interviews

We're back from Thought Bubble and we're bringing the fruits of our work - specifically several interviews - to you. Plus we wrap up all the lovely comicky things we loaded the car with.

Kingpin Books (at 28:35)

Mario Freitas runs this Portuguese comic shop and publisher, and we spoke to him about the Lisbon comics scene and their English-language anthology, Crumbs.

Hound (at 37:40)

We spoke to writer and artist Paul Bolger about his Kickstarter-backed take on the Cu Chulainn myth. This book genuinely looks stunning.

Mindstain (at 44:20)

George Joy and Rob Burton tell us about their studio and comics.

(Correction: we're idiots and originally attributed the interview to Rob and Sarah. It wasn't Sarah, and we should really do our homework. Sorry folks)

Improper Books (at 50:50)

Benjamin Read and Chris Wildgoose talked to us about the latest instalment of their Porcelain series, as well as how they operate as an independent outfit.

We also looked at:

• Crumbs
• Cinebook
• Atomic Sheep
• Future Shock! (film)
• Stickleback
• Golden Campaign
• Spaceman Adventures (Charlatan Tales)
• Punchface

And that artist we mentioned was the very talented Katie Foster - you can see her Cu Chulainn designs there.

Podcast Episode 28 - Thought Bubble 2014

We're (most of us) at Thought Bubble, and we're joined by cartoonist Lucy Bellwood as we run down the best of the show. Fewer dick jokes than usual, but not none.

Podcast Episode 27 - Violence (For Real This Time)

Comics have always been violent, and while early comics broadly focussed on Hitler getting punched on the jaw or lovesick cats being pelted with bricks, extreme violence has gone through peaks and troughs and sparked the odd moral panic along the way. We look at how violence is portrayed in comics, and where it works and doesn't.

This week we talked about:

• Southern Bastards - Jason Aaron & Jason Latour
• Wytches: Issue 0 (free) | Issue 1 - Scott Snyder & Jock
• The Motherless Oven - Rob Davis
• Essex County - Jeff Lemire
• Blacksad: Amarillo - Juan Díaz Canales & Juanjo Guarnido
• Resident Alien - Paul Hogan & Steve Parkhouse
• Exit Wounds - Rutu Modan
• Kate Beaton's Beat Poets
• Batman: Odyssey | AKA Neal Adams' crazy Batman | Brilliant coverage of that insane comic
• We3 - Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely
• Flex Mentallo - Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely
• V for Vendetta - Alan Moore & David Lloyd
• Punisher - Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon
• Crossed - Garth Ennis & Jacen Burrows
• Preacher - Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon
• The Boys - Garth Ennis & Darick Robertson
• 300 - Frank Miller & Lynn Varley
• Three - Kieron Gillen & Ryan Kelly

It's a bra, yeah, but like it's also crabs

This is a bra made of crabs, so now you've seen it too. [wwm_survey id="1"]

Podcast 26 - Violence (Sorta)

Well, it's about time that we sold out, and we're selling out hard. This episode is brought to you in association with two bottles of Apple and Pomegranite Appletiser and lax morals. It is largely about two bottles of Apple and Pomegranite Appletiser and lax morals. And some comics, which are mentioned below.

• The Complete Wendel - Howard Cruse
• Deadly Class - Rick Remender and Wes Craig
• Roche Limit - Michael Moreci and Vic Malhotra
• Rickey Rouse Has A Gun - Jörg Tittel and John Aggs
• Stickleback - Ian Edginton and D'Israeli
• The Bad Doctor - Ian Williams
• Pregnant Butch - A.K. Summers

Fancy Soup, a horrible series of videos from the Old Internet.

[wwm_survey id="0"]

Podcast 25 - Time Travel

This week we tackle one of the philosophical and scientific big questions - should you date a man who willingly drinks Drambuie? Also we talk about time travel comics! But mostly that first thing.

• Shoplifter - Michael Cho
• The Wrenchies - Farel Dalrymple
• Trilium - Jeff Lemire
• The Property -Rutu Modan
• Copperhead - J Faerbera & Scott Godlewski
• Red Wing - Jonathan Hickman & Nick Pitarra
• Pax Romana - Jonathan Hickman (Not Nick Spencer, no matter how many times I repeat it)
• We Can Fix It - Jess Fink
• Seconds - Bryan Lee O'Malley

Podcast 24: So. Many. Questions.

This week we field sensible and well-thought-out questions sent in by listeners! Learn what we think about Beyonce M.O.D.O.K., which comic book characters we relate to, how an apple-flavoured lightly-sparkling apple juice drink ruined a young man's life, and what was in a different, horrible drink. Join us and learn!

Nummy Num Num

We talked about:

• Moonhead and the Music Machine - Andrew Rae
• From Hell - Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell
• Sin City - Frank Miller
• Wanted - Mark Millar and J.G. Jones
• Kick Ass - Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.
• The Authority (13-20, ish) - Various
• The Ultimates - Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch
• Nextwave - Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen
• Desolation Jones – Warren Ellis and J.H. Williams III
• The Invisibles - Grant Morrison, Various
• M.O.D.O.K. h.a.t
• Gutters
• This One Summer - Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
• Stuck Rubber Baby - Howard Cruse
• Rat Queens – Curtis Weibe and Roc Upchurch
• Beautiful Darkness - Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoet

...and then Roger made the mistake of going toe-to-toe with the powerful sparkling apple juice lobby:

[<a href="//storify.com/RMH40/never-go-up-against-big-apple-juice" target="_blank">View the story "Never go up against Big Apple Juice" on Storify</a>]

Podcast Episode 23 - Spies

Spies are everywhere. Probably. They're hard to see and we're paranoid. It's the booze.

There are plenty of fantastic spy comics, running from crazy hi-octane in the campiest, most sci-fi Bond mould to quiet, tense and introspective thrillers. This week we go over some of our favourites and talk some right old nonsense.

This week we covered:

• Nothing is Forgotten - Ryan Andrews
• Seconds - Bryan Lee O'Malley
• Moon Knight - Warren Ellis, Declan Shalvey, Jordie Bellaire
• Skim - Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
• Rat Queens - Curtis Weibe and Roc Upchurch
• Judge Dredd: Trifecta - Al Ewing, Simon Spurrier, Rob Williams, Henry Flint, Simon Coleby, D'Israeli, Carl Critchlow
• The Bojeffries Saga - Alan Moore and Steve Parkhouse
• The Coldest City - Anthony Johnston and Sam Hart
• Modesty Blaise - Peter ODonnell and Enric Badia Romero
• Casanova - Matt Fraction, Fabio Moon, Gabriel Ba
• Secret Avengers - Various
• Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D - Jim Steranko
• Desolation Jones - Warren Ellis and J.H. Williams III
• Global Frequency - Various
• Red - Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner

That book on Bond:

• The Man Who Saved Britain - Simon Winder

And a lovely song with the word "Spies" in the title:

Podcast 22 - Englishness, National Character and S.J. Harris

Who better to talk about national character in comics with than S.J. Harris, author of the extremely English Eustace, one of our favourite books of last year? And where better to record that than Rules, ludicrous cocktail bar and oldest restaurant in London? No one and nowhere, that's who/what.

There's a fair bit of noise in this one - it was recorded in a bar, there was another bar outside, a hen party within, a perpetually-circling police helicopter overhead (Roger recently threatened the king of Spain in an elaborate and unsavoury fashion), and to be brutally honest we were just eating bar snacks the whole time with no regard for decorum or your delicate ears. We can only apologise.

We mentioned:

• Eustace - S.J. Harris
• The Ballad of Halo Jones - Alan Moore and Ian Gibson
• When the Wind Blows - Raymond Briggs
• Fungus the Bogeyman - Raymond Briggs
• The Tin-Pot General and the Old Iron Woman - Raymond Briggs
• The Bojeffries Saga - Alan Moore and Steve Parkhouse
• 2000 AD
• The Beano
• Krent Able
• Mr Mamoulian - Brian Bolland
• Adamtine - Hannah Berry

Podcast Episode 21 - Music

With The Wicked and the Divine out, we look at some other comics that touch on music, or have music at their core, as well as ranting about publishing and hearing about the time Dave nearly had a breakdown in a supermarket when Avril Lavigne came on the radio.

We also discuss different approaches you can take in the workplace when faced with a Phantom Pooper. It's basically a public service we're running here.

We talk about:

• The Wicked and the Divine - Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie
• Phonogram: The Singles Club - Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie
• Silver Surfer - Dan Slott, Mike Allred, Laura Allred
• Sex Criminals - Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky
• The Fifth Beatle - Vivek Tiwary, Kyle Baker, Andrew C Robinson
• Chew - Rob Guillory, John Layman
• Hip Hop Family Tree - Ed Piskor
• 100% - Paul Pope
• Krent Able's Big Book of Mischief - Krent Able

Roger shitting on about poetry:

• The collected poems of Edward Dorn
• Text of On the debt my mother owed to Sears Roebuck

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 19 - Pretty Deadly

This week we look at Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios' Pretty Deadly in depth, as well as the recently-reissued gay/civil-rights graphic novel Stuck Rubber Baby. This week we were all sober. This week you might occasionally hear the crude verbal seepings of a mind come untethered from decency and reality. We cover:

• Stuck Rubber Baby  - Howard Cruse
• This One Summer - Jillian & Mariko Tamaki
• Moon Knight - Warren Ellis, Declan Shalvey, Jordie Bellaire
• Basewood - Alec Longstreth
• Pretty Deadly - Kelly Sue DeConnick, Emma Rios, Jordie Bellaire