Storied Arcs

Send us a text "You're in command, sir. Everything you do is the right thing. Even when it's not." This week on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex continue their exploration of Letter 44 by Charles Soule and Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque with Deluxe Volume 2 (issues #13-24). The guys start by discussing the escalation in the storylines, both on Earth and in space, and dive into the decision of a world leader to unilaterally inform the planet that alien life exists and it's on its way here (spoiler alert- it goes poorly; World War III, anyone?). They once again examine the real world parallels/allusions presented in the book, and how those overlays effect the reader's relationship to the story. Then the guys break down how the space portion of the story has gained more traction and speculate how the two storylines might converge at the comic beings to draw to a close. We wrap up our look at this political sci-fi mashup next week so go read Deluxe Volume 3 (issues #25-35 aka all of the remaining issues) and join us here again to see how it all ends! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text "But in my opinion, if they can travel between stars then we can invent as many laser guns as we want and it won't make a damn bit of difference." Welcome to the new season of Storied Arcs, where Mike and Alex are diving into the political/sci-fi mash-up of Letter 44 by Charles Soule and Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque from Oni Press and Image Comics with Deluxe Volume 1 (issues #1-12, if you're reading in single issue or compendium). The guys start with a few nits to pick (no book is perfect) before jumping into the parts that really excited them. They survey the political landscape presented in the comic and then examine how the real world overlays map onto the story. The world of Letter 44 is just a slightly skewed version of our world, and the guys discuss how that story construction and presentation works (or maybe doesn't) in the book's favor. Finally, they wrap up by talking through which part of the story- the political drama or the sci-fi drama- has them more interested at this point. The deep dive continues next week with Letter 44 Deluxe Volume 2 (issues #13-24). Go find it (or just read the next batch of issues in the compendium) wherever you get your comics and join the discussion! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text In this zero episode, Mike and Alex get you primed for Letter 44 by Charles Soule and Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque from Oni Press (originially) and Image Comics (currently). The guys start with a quick synopsis of the book (sci-fi thriller in space combined with political drama on Earth) and recount its publishing history, providing a little background of Oni Press along the way. Then, they dive into the creative team, including writer Charles Soule (who was covered more fully in the Eight Billion Genies zero episode) and artist Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque, along with a host of other collaborators (colorists Guy Major, Dan Jackson, and Sarah Stern, and letterers Shawn DePasquale and Crank!, plus guest artists Joelle Jones, Drew Moss, Ryan Kelly, Alise Gluskova, and Langdon Foss). Letter 44 is crazy mix of genres that seem like they shouldn't work on paper but when handled properly, mesh together perfectly. It's likely that the most accessible way to read Letter 44 at the moment is the new (as of this recording) compendium recently published by Image containing all 35 issues. We'll be covering the book across three discussions, divided up as the Deluxe editions from Oni Press had them: 09/04: Issues #1-12 09/11: Issues #13-24 09/18: Issues #25-35 So, go read Letter 44 issues #1-12 wherever (or however) you can can find them, and join us back here next week to break it all down! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text This week, Mike and Alex are here to intro the final installment of Social Media Summer, Mindset by Zack Kaplan and John Pearson from Vault Comics. They start by covering the creative team behind the book (including mentioning letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, who's lettered seemingly every book they've covered that's been published within the last few years) before giving a spoiler-free tease for the comic. This books brings us to the very recent past along the decline of social media timeline (June 2022 to January 2023), meaning our relationship to social media and technology today is closer to what's depicted in Mindset than in any previous book we've covered thus far. Mindset is another single volume story (issues #1-6) so find it where you get your comics and we'll see back here next week to discuss it and Social Media Summer as a whole! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text "I was showing everyone that technology is nothing but a monster." "Technology is just a tool. Human beings still do the heavy lifting." Welcome to book three of Social Media Summer! This week, Mike and Alex dive into Thumbs (issues #1-5) from Image Comics by Sean Lewis and Hayden Sherman. They start by examining the slightly different angle this book takes towards technology versus the previous two books they've covered in this series, and how that almost agnostic view of tech muddies the focus on who are the good guys and who are the bad guys in the story (which kinda feels like the point). The guys also dig into how the timing of this book, released just before the COVID lockdowns of 2020, lends a meta quality to the themes presented, and how reading it post-2020, it could be mistaken as a reaction to that. Finally, the guys wrap by placing Thumbs in the larger conversation with Hacktivist and Unfollow in terms of how we are seeing ourselves and our relationship to technology across the timeline of social media. Next week, we get you prepped for the final entry in Social Media Summer, Mindset! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text Social Media Summer continues this week as Mike and Alex jump a little further forward on the decline of social media timeline (June to August 2019) to introduce Thumbs by Sean Lewis and Hayden Sherman from Image Comics. As usual, the guys give a quick rundown of the creative team's comics history, as well as whatever projects they may be working on now (like maybe one of the best superhero comics on the stands as we record this). Then they wrap with a spoiler-free intro to Thumbs and chat a little as to how and why they see it fitting into the overall theme. And Alex references another movie from the 80s that Mike hasn't seen. Because of course. Thumbs is just a single volume (issues #1-5) so go find it wherever you get your comics and be a part of the discussion next week! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text "It is no longer white noise. It is a deafening crescendo. News flits by in a millisecond. Who can tell what is truth? Every moment of every day... we are besieged." Mike and Alex close out book two of Social Media Summer this week with a dive into Unfollow Volume 3: Turn It Off (issues #13-18) from DC Comics/Vertigo. The guys grapple first with the ending of the story, parsing what they think Rob Williams and Michael Dowling may have been trying to say (or not say) about society given the comic's nihilistic finale, and discuss how it ultimately felt consistent with the overall vibe of the book. They also break down how of all the ideas and themes presented, the quasi-deep fake, generative-AI speech model of Akira that only gets a passing glance within the story might have been the more prescient one. And finally, the guys wrap their discussion by examining how this story has aged now in 2025 and compare/contrast that with book one of the theme, Hacktivist. The two books overlapped a bit in publication but their perspectives couldn't have been more different. Next week, we jump ahead a few years along the social media timeline and get you primed and ready for book three of Social Media Summer, Thumbs! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text "I mean, what's the point of doing something unless you can tell the whole world?" This week on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex continue to make their way through Social Media Summer with Unfollow Volume 2: God Is Watching (issues #7-12) by Rob Williams and Michael Dowling from DC Comics/Vertigo. The guys discuss how narrowing the story into two or three main threads works to its advantage as it allows the book to more easily juggle the number of characters it wants to follow. They touch on all the main characters and break down which ones appear to be set up for interesting and/or satisfying arcs, and which (if any) still maybe feel underserved. Finally, the guys discuss the plot twist that isn't really treated like a plot twist, and what they think it means for the story as it rounds towards the finale. We wrap up our look at Unfollow next week with Volume 3: Turn It Off (issues #13-18), so pick it up where ever you get your comics and join us back here again to dive into it! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text "The great terror comes form the universe's actions that do not have a cognizant mind behind them. What if all we are is swept away by something that wants nothing? That means nothing?" Welcome to book two of Social Media Summer! This week, Mike and Alex begin their look at Unfollow by Rob Williams and Michael Dowling from DC Comics/Vertigo with Volume 1: 140 Characters (issues #1-6). The guys dive right into the comic, breaking down the overall narrative setup (a tontine established by a dying billionaire tech genius involving 140 randomly-chosen social media users) and the deployment of certain story beats. They discuss the various characters among the 140 who seem to get a spotlights in this volume but without any real depth (yet), and how that affects their focus on the story. The guys' level of investment in these characters varies greatly after one volume, and they agree that there was just a lot of table setting to get ready for what the comic is actually going to be about. It hasn't been a huge jump forward in publication time along the social media timeline from our previous book, Hacktivist, but the cracks in the technological veneer are already showing. So go read Unfollow Volume 2: God Is Watching (issues #7-12) wherever you get your comics and join us here again next week! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text This week, Mike and Alex setup the next book in their Social Media Summer series, Unfollow from DC Comics/Vertigo by writer Rob Williams and artist Michael Dowling. They guys first give some background on the creative team, including colorist Quinton Winter and letterer Clem Robins, as well as acknowledge the handful of guest artists brought on the pinch hit for an issue here and there (more on them when the discussion reaches those issues). Then they give a spoiler-free preview of Unfollow and discuss briefly how it fits into the decline of social media timeline they have been tracking (November 2015 to April 2017 in this case). Unfollow is on the more mature side of things, but hey, that's just how it goes with comics sometimes. So find Unfollow Volume 1 (issues #1-6) wherever you get your comics and join us next week to jump into Social Media Summer Book Two! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text "I put the gun in their hands and I trusted them to use it wisely. Just like Tunisia. Just like Sirine. And they used it to kill. I have to stop them. There's no other choice, this is my responsibility. It's on my hands." This week, Social Media Summer continues with Hacktivist Volume 2 (issues #1-6) from Boom Studios by Alyssa Milano, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Marcus To. Mike and Alex start by airing some of things that they bumped on in this volume with regards to some of the specifics in the storytelling choices before discussing the overall theme of actions and consequences, which they quite liked. They dive deep into the underlying naivety present in this volume (a product of it's 2015 publication), where our tech bro protagonists learn an important lesson but are still shown to be righteous in their beliefs, and how that aged like milk over the past decade. Social media in real life hadn't plummeted to the depths of despair yet when this book came out, but you can already see the signs of what could, and would, come in its pages. Another example of a comic foreseeing the future, but not the good parts. Our journey through social media's history in comics continues next week as we intro the next book in our series, Unfollow! See you back here next week as we get you primed for our next discussions! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text "It's Moore's Law. Every two years, transistors double on integrated circuits. This is a constant since 1958. That means that we the people, the ones with the technology, we're getting more powerful by the day." Welcome to the first entry in Social Media Summer! This week, Mike and Alex are jumping back to 2014 to dive into Hacktivist Volume 1 (issues #1-4) by Alyssa Milano, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Marcus To from Boom Studios. The guys reminisce about social media's stature and place in society in 2014 and discuss how different it looks now through a 2025 lens. They examine the main thesis of the book- what if tech billionaires were actually the good guys?- and look at how that desirable, and maybe even believable, fantasy a decade ago is now so farcical, it wouldn't make it past the pitch meeting. They guys also praise the visuals throughout the comic, from Marcus To's art to Ian Herring's colors to Deron Bennett's lettering (which I think is some of the best depictions of foreign languages I've ever seen). Social Media Summer is just getting started. Next week, we're finishing up Hacktivist before introing the next book in our series, so go find Hacktivist Volume 2 (issues #1-6) wherever you get your comics and join is here again to be apart of the conversation! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text In this episode, Mike and Alex introduce their latest themed set of books (see: Death Month from January 2025), only this time, instead of just a month, it's going to stretch all season. They're calling it Social Media Summer and they're focusing on four comics that utilize and comment on society's relationship with technology, specifically social media. And those books are: Hacktivist by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Marcus To from Boom Studios, Unfollow by Rob Williams and Michael Dowling from Vertigo/DC Comics, Thumbs by Sean Lewis and Hayden Sherman from Image Comics, and Mindset by Zack Kaplan and John Pearson from Vault Comics. Then the guys intro the first offering in Social Media Summer, Hacktivist from Boom Studios. Co-creators Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Marcus To were discussed a few weeks back in the intro to Joyride, and here, the rest of the creative team is covered, including actress Alyssa Milano, colorist Ian Herring, and letterer Deron Bennett (and if you haven't heard the interview with artist Marcus To about Joyride, the origins of Hacktivist are mentioned as well). We'll be covering these books in chronological order as they were originally published in order to track the depiction of technology and social media within each story along side society's relationship to them at that time. That's January 2014 to January 2023; a fair amount changed in the world in that time span, and we're excited to examine it through the lens of these four comics. So go find Hacktivist Volume 1 (issues #1-4) wherever you get your comics and join us here next week to kick off Social Media Summer! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text This week, Mike and Alex are honored to be a joined by artist Marcus To, one of the co-creators of Joyride! They start with an quick overview on Marcus' work on Hacktivist with Alyssa Milano, Jackson Lanzing, and Collin Kelly (a comic you may want to consider picking up soon for discussion on this podcast) before diving into Joyride. Marcus lets us in on the origins of Joyride and how sci-fi storytelling, specifically Star Trek, impacted him as a storyteller and creative, as well as how he and the Hivemind workshopped and developed the ideas of the book. They go into the publication history of the comic, going from an initial 4-issue miniseries to an ongoing, and what kind of effect that had on their storytelling choices and the story's ultimate conclusion. Marcus also shares an incredible story about one of his main inspirations for the Earth we see depicted in Joyride and why the themes of art and music and creativity are so central to the narrative. Finally, they examine how the comic feels more relevant now than it might have when it first came out, and how the the overarching themes in it remain as important as ever to consider and keep in mind. Marcus was so generous with his time and we can't wait to see what projects he has coming out next! You can follow Marcus at his website as well as on Instagram, Bluesky, and whatever we're calling Twitter. You can also purchase his original art at The Artist Bullpen. Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text "Good and bad, humanity can transform anything into something. We express. We create. Even when we're under a dictator. Even when we can't see the stars, we imagine them." In this week's episode, Mike and Alex return to Earth to wrap up their discussion of Joyride from Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Marcus To with deep dive into Volume 3 (issues #9-12). The guys start by looking at how the story wrapped up, both in a narrative sense (which they both generally enjoyed) and a structural sense (which they both felt was a little rushed). They offer up some potential external factors that may have lead the pacing of the final arc to feel off, and acknowledge that those factors are just a reality of the industry. They guys also imagine a version of this story with just a little more runway to reach its conclusion and ponder what just a few additional issues might have added to this comic. And finally, while examining the ultimate message behind the story of Joyride (see the pull quote above), Mike and Alex spend way too much time wondering if the youths today can identify blind song lyrics from The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, N.W.A., and Radiohead. We really hope you enjoyed this look into an early work from some creators who are now mainstays in the industry, and another book that's become relevant again, years after its original publication (and not for the fun reasons). We'll be back next week to kick off the discussion for another great comic (or comics, perhaps)! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text "The dead are dead-- and their sacrifices kept me alive. They made this place possible. They made me possible. Moments like this... they matter 'cause they end." This week, Mike and Alex throw a planet-wide rave and jump into Joyride Volume 2 (issues #5-8) by Jackson Lanzing, Colin Kelley, and Marcus To. The guys start by discussing the heavy character focus this volume takes, and how that (mostly) pushes the narrative forward. They also praise the art team of Marcus To and colorist Irma Kniivila for their incredible work, from dynamic splash games to creative paneling, and examine how that work enhances the storytelling throughout the book. Finally, they look at this volume's cliffhanger ending and contemplate what this series might have looked like had it run longer versus setting up for a landing in four issues. The discussion wraps up next week with Joyride Volume 3 (issues #9-12) so find it wherever you get your comics and join us again and be a part of the conversation! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text "Right now, you gotta get it through your propaganda-themed brain that you're not the one giving me the choice. It's 100% the other way around. I'm not going back to a world without stars." Kicking off this season of Stories Arcs, Mike and Alex hijack a spaceship and head out into the unknown as they dive into Joyride Volume 1 (issues #1-4) by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Marcus To from Boom Studios. The guys chat about how the story pacing feels for this first volume, knowing that for at least one issue, this was only meant to be a 4-issue miniseries, and what things (if any) might have been altered as the plan shifted into a longer run. Then they break down the three main characters- Uma, Dewydd, and Catrin- and examine the ways each of them both reinforce and subvert the conventional character architypes they fulfill for this kind of coming-of-age story. Finally, they take a look at the ways in which the fictional totalitarian world of Joyride kinda maybe sorta has more relevance to the real world in 2025 than it did when it was first published in early 2016, and wonder a bit if that contributed at all to the publication of its recent complete collection edition. Probably just a coincidence. The journey into deeper outer space continues next week, so go find Joyride Volume 2 (issues #5-8) wherever you get your comics and join us here for the next discussion! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text For this season of Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex are heading back into outer space to dive into Boom Studios' Joyride from co-writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly (aka the "Hivemind"), artist Marcus To, and colorist Irma Kniivila. The guys run through the comic book history of the full creative team (including letterer Jim Campbell), along the way noting on how and when each of them first came across the book, and discuss how the creators are far more recognizable names now than they were when the book first came out. Then they talk a little about what drew them to the story and give a spoiler-free tease for the series. It's another version of the kids-on-bikes setup (think Paper Girls or Outpost Zero), but instead of bikes, the kids here just steal a whole spaceship. This is a really fun, early work from some creators who are now mainstays in the industry, and we're excited to jump in. So go find Joyride Volume 1 (issues #1-4 if you're reading the floppies or have the recently-released complete collection edition) and join us here next week to get into it! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!

Send us a text “Just look above you. Do you see? That is called the Immense Board of Lights. And there is the Great Black. And, strewn across it, small and surrounded and vulnerable and brave… there is the Great White.” This week, Mike and Alex wrap up their discussion of Top 10 by Alan Moore, Gene Ha, and Zander Cannon with Volume 2 (issues #8-12) of the initial run. They guys jump right into issue #8, The Overview, and discuss the major themes it presents. They also delve into why the issue so highly regarded and the effect it has over how the entire series is remembered. From there, the move into the remainder of the issues, touching on how the book shifts into a more conventional, everything-is-connected superhero-type story construction and diving into how that meshes with the more procedural storytelling presented into the first volume. The guys wrap things up with some legacy talk about Top 10 and its influence on the cop comic genre going forward. We hoped you enjoyed this look at a critically beloved comic from one of the masters of the craft, and while we aren't covering them on the show here, we definitely recommend checking out the Top 10 sequel and spin-off stories (Smax, The Forty-Niners, Beyond the Furthest Precinct, and Season 2) because what is being a comic reader if not being a completionist. We'll be back next week to kick off a new discussion into another great comic. See you then! Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs https://linktr.ee/storiedarcsBlueSkyInstagramFacebookThreadsTwitter/Xwww.storiedarcs.com Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!