Deconstructing Comics

FLASHBACK! Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli’s comics version of City of Glass, a 1985 novel by Paul Auster, is an amazing adaptation of an unfilmable novel. Tim and Kumar assess the herculean task of adapting it, in probably the only medium capable of doing so: comics! We re-present this episode in observance of Auster's passing on April 30 at age 77. Originally published February 16, 2009.

Kentaro Miura’s Berserk can be upsetting, fascinating, offputting, incredible, and even sometimes a bit comedic, as Tim and Kumar have found over the past several months. All those qualities appear again in volumes 11 and 12, as the story of the extended flashback reaches its climax with Griffith’s horrific accession to the God Hand. Join us as we discuss the cartoonish violence of volume 11 and the epic horror of volume 12. Brought to you by: Checkered Past podcastOur supporters on Patreon

What did Marvel expect Jack Kirby to do with a 2001: A Space Odyssey series? Especially when they told him not to create any ongoing characters? What we got included the Monolith and the Star Child, but with unmistakable Kirby bombast. After concluding his story of superhero-obsessed Harvey Norton in issue 6, and a one-shot exploration of what happens after becoming a star child in issue 7, for the final three issues Kirby seems to have abandoned not only his instructions to create no ongoing characters, but also nearly any references to the 2001 world of Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick! The story went all-the-way Kirby with the introduction of a new superhero, Mister Machine, later known as Machine Man! Tim and Emmet look at 2001's concluding five issues. "The Crazy Legacy of Jack Kirby’s Forgotten 2001: A Space Odyssey" (Wired.com) Read the 2001 series on Archive.org Brought to you by: The Law of Equivalent Exchange: A Fullmetal Alchemist manga podcastOur supporters on Patreon

As Jack Kirby's adaptation of the movie/novel 2001: A Space Odyssey sold well, Marvel asked him to turn it into a series -- but then tied one hand behind his back by asking that he not create ongoing characters for fear they'd become property of MGM rather than Marvel. As Tim and Emmet see in the first half of the series, it starts out as theme and variations on Dave Bowman's transformation into a Star Child, but the variations become more elaborate and interesting as he goes. "The Crazy Legacy of Jack Kirby’s Forgotten 2001: A Space Odyssey" (Wired.com) Read the 2001 series on Archive.org Brought to you by: The Quarter-Bin podcastOur supporters on Patreon

Critiquing Comics returns, with a comic that we just couldn’t put down, and one that we couldn’t quite pick up on! Jason joins Tim to discuss Rebirth of the Gangster: The Complete Collection, a crime novel with incredible forward momentum by Writer CJ Standal and Artist Juan Romera. Then Adam and Tim critique Toe & So Long, a rather cosmicky, rather AdventureTimey comic created by Jacob Michael Campbell with art by Alexis Vivallo. Brought to you by: Worst Collection Ever podcastOur supporters on Patreon

The character of Swamp Thing originated in House of Secrets #92 in 1971, drawn by Berni Wrightson and written by Len Wein. That story served as a first draft for the real origin story in Swamp Thing #1, with the same creative pairing. This week, Tim is joined by writer for CBR and Screen Rant Ashley Land to discuss the collection Swamp Thing: The Bronze Age vol. 1! Crowdfunding campaign for Ashley's comic The Unbreakable Argonauts #1 Brought to you by: BAT 77: The '70s Batman podcastOur supporters on Patreon

Batman and the Outsiders was one of DC's top sellers in the 1980s. This time, Tim is joined by John Trumbull to take a close look at the second volume of the series, which includes the reveal of Halo's origin, exploration of Metamorpho's, the 1984 L.A. Olympics, time travel, and more. Don't forget the Mike W. Barr wordplay and great Jim Aparo art! Tim and John discussed the first volume of the series here. John writes for Back Issue magazine (and is an admin on their Facebook group) and co-hosts the SNL Nerds podcast. Brought to you by: To the Batpoles! podcastOur supporters on Patreon

Kentaro Miura’s Berserk can be confounding. Reading volumes 9 and 10 prompts us to ask “Just what genre IS this comic, anyway?" While it still has plenty of over-the-top action and violence, it also has gratuitous sex, comedy, and even some horror elements. And now we finally have hints toward why the "present" of volumes 1-3 had so many magical elements that have been mostly missing from the ongoing flashback. Tim and Kumar ask "Could it be the magic at last?" Take our listener survey! Brought to you by: Checkered Past podcastOur supporters on Patreon

After the gravitas of Avengers: Infinity War, which ended in a blaze of glory only for the villain, what did we want next? A fun, lighthearted romp of a movie. Right? No? Well, that's what we got and this movie is certainly fun. But it doesn't resolve a single thread from Infinity War. Mulele struggles to avoid spoilers for Tim as we review Ant-Man and the Wasp! (Originally published on Patreon February 1, 2020) Take our listener survey! Brought to you by: The Law of Equivalent Exchange: A Fullmetal Alchemist manga podcastOur supporters on Patreon

FLASHBACK! Though the highly influential manga series, and resulting TV show, are known for non-stop action and fighting, Dragon Ball started out as a comedy strip reminiscent of Akira Toriyama's early work, Dr. Slump! Viz's English versions have gone through various levels of censorship over time to adjust to the low level of sexuality that most Americans expect of kids' books. Except, most of the characters themselves don't understand sexuality, and that's the charm of it; it's best enjoyed (probably by kids as well) in its pristine form...if you can find it! In memory of Akira Toriyama, we re-present our review of the original Dragon Ball series. Tim, Kumar, and Mulele review. (Originally published August 16, 2010.) Visual censorship comparisons below (NSFW but probably safe for Japanese kids): For this episode I read two different versions of DragonBall -- the original floppies in CBR format and the slightly-larger-than-usual "White Book" edition. Floppy Cover White Book cover I had initially read online that the White editions were the most uncensored version, so I bought Volume 1. After further reading, I discovered that this was actually the complete opposite: the White Books are the most censored version of Dragon Ball up until Volume 3. Starting with Volume 4, they started putting a "Ages 13 and Up" label on the front, and this series then becomes the mosst UNcensored version available. My understanding is that editions AFTER the White Book series returned to being censored again to various degrees, with almost no two editions the same. Note the DRAGON BALL Z cross-promotion on the cover of the White edition -- as we discuss in the episode, I suspect fear of the mass TV audience is what all the edits in this edition. Here is a sampling. (It's been several years since I read them in Japanese, so I can't speak to changes in the floppy editions from the Japanese originals.) I apologize in advance for the sloppiness of my scans. A dialog change: Another dialog change here. Is the word "shorts" really that suggestive?! Isn't the word "studly" by connotation even more suggestive? Nudity change: Also, in the White edition, Goku's privates are covered up by the towel in this scene: Another nudity edit here. This time, Bulma's breasts are covered with reflection in the glass. I believe I have also seen another version where she is instead covered by suds. Also, how does Bulma's pose make any sense in this edit? (Notice the art touch-up as well.) All of Goku's "pat-pats" to check for male genitals have been re-drawn and are referred to as "staring": Two key (and hilarious) panels completely removed: The VERY racy "bra size" gag (the edit makes Oolong's puff-puff gesture nonsensical): Finally, a non-sexual penis reference. I find this one problematic because it avoids the hilarity of Goku still not understanding that women do not have penises: What I find slightly odd about all this is that Toriyama refused to allow his work to be flipped (left-to-right reading) for Western audiences, resulting in the unprecedented first non-flipped manga in North America. And yet, he seemed to have no issues with them editing the artwork for other purposes. Kumar

FLASHBACK! In 1998, under the “Marvel Knights” banner, Christopher Priest began the first ongoing Black Panther title in nearly two decades. Panther was a relatively unknown character to many Marvel readers at the time. With the aid of “Emperor of Useless White Boys” Everett K. Ross, and artists like Mark Texeira and Joe Jusko, Priest (a.k.a. Jim Owsley) made Panther a must-read and brought the nature of his character into sharper focus. Kumar and Tim discuss the first 17 issues (the ones included in Black Panther by Christopher Priest: The Complete Collection Volume 1) and see if it still stands up 23 years later. (This episode was originally published March 10, 2021.) Michael Hoskin’s 4-part article Take our listener survey! Brought to you by: The Quarter-Bin podcastOur supporters on Patreon

Ryoko Kui’s Delicious in Dungeon pokes fun at fantasy games and cooking manga tropes, exploring what it would really be like to be a character in a fantasy game, arranging your life in ways that wouldn’t really make sense in the real world. This week, Kumar and Emmet do a deep dive on this consistently enjoyable and beautifully plotted manga, the anime for which is now on Netflix. Take our listener survey! Brought to you by: BAT 77: The '70s Batman podcastOur supporters on Patreon

Kel McDonald's Murky Water is about a paranormal investigation police unit looking into the death of a man from drowning - in his very dry living room. (Currently being Kickstarted!) Tim and Adam critique. Then, Jason joins Tim to review Lucy Sullivan's Barking, about dealing with depression in an inadequate mental health care system. The art is beautiful, but how does this style work in a 130-page book? Take our listener survey! Brought to you by: To the Batpoles! podcastOur supporters on Patreon

Jack Kirby’s 1976 adaptation of 2001: A Space Odyssey is an odd combination of the Stanley Kubrick movie, the Arthur C. Clarke novel, and Kirby’s own research and dramatic inclinations, which sometimes were pretty out-of-step with the tone of the film! This week, Tim and Emmet discuss this out-of-print treasury edition comic, where it borrows from one or both of the other versions, and where Kirby goes off on his own tangents! "The Crazy Legacy of Jack Kirby’s Forgotten 2001: A Space Odyssey" (Wired.com) Take our listener survey! Brought to you by: Checkered Past podcastOur supporters on Patreon

If you read New York's Village Voice newspaper between 1974 and 1995, you are probably familiar with Stan Mack's Real Life Funnies. If not, hold on to your hat! A forthcoming book from Fantagraphics collects many of the strips, all ripped from real life, and taking full advantage of the Voice's lack of content guardrails. In this episode, Tim gets the scoop from Mack about what went into making the strip, and into choosing the strips for the book. But first, friend of the show and New Yorker cartoonist Joe Dator, a native New Yorker who read the strip in the Voice, and experienced first-hand some of the events it covers, sets the context for understanding what the strip is and how it encapsulates a time in the city's history that's gone forever. See the book on Fantagraphics' site Take our listener survey! Brought to you by: The Law of Equivalent Exchange: A Fullmetal Alchemist manga podcastOur supporters on Patreon

FLASHBACK! There’s no doubt that Superman is one of the most significant characters in the history of American comics. He ended up setting the template for what would be the dominant genre in American comics after the Comics Code came into effect. Of course, the types of stories told in those comics, and their tone, has varied wildly over the years, which makes it difficult to try to determine which stories are the best of the lot, but naturally people make the attempt, including DC Comics itself. This week Kumar and Tim look at the 1980s collection “The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told”, as well as Alan Moore’s “Whatever Happened To the Man of Tomorrow”, which is currently being published in a collection with two other Moore Superman stories. Are these actually the greatest Superman stories? Featuring Batman’s superior party prep skills, swimming the interplanetary water spout, and the symbolism of the ads in the original printing of “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow”! *Choke* (Originally published December 28, 2015.) Take our listener survey! Brought to you by: The Quarter-Bin podcastOur supporters on Patreon

FLASHBACK! Reviews of Asterios Polyp blanket the Internet; why need we pile on? Well, for starters, to counteract all the reviewers who think that giving a story synoposis = explaining what the book’s about. That approach falls far short with Polyp, so Tim and Kumar are here to explain what they feel David Mazzucchelli’s masterwork graphic novel is really about! (Originally published February 15, 2010) Stumptown annotations of Polyp Brought to you by: To the Batpoles! podcastOur supporters on Patreon

Cap and the Falcon have found the underground bunker of the aristocratic forces hoping to take over America on the Bicentennial, but the location of their secret weapon, the Mad Bomb, is still a mystery. What next? How about a love story? But wait a minute - this love story between Cap and a sick young woman seems to be here for symbolism. Tim and Emmet follow our heroes to the explosive conclusion of the Mad Bomb storyline in Captain America and the Falcon 198-200! Take our listener survey! Brought to you by: Checkered Past podcastOur supporters on Patreon

To mark the recent passing of artist Ian Gibson, Kumar and Dana dive into a long-overdue discussion of his masterpiece with writer Alan Moore, The Ballad of Halo Jones. Halo Jones is an early work by Moore that was never completed, but it is rich, immersive, and fully developed at every turn, from the characters to the world-building, largely due to the influence of Gibson himself on the creative process. But is there something familiar about it all...? Take our listener survey! Buy The Ballad of Halo Jones on Amazon.com Brought to you by: The Law of Equivalent Exchange: A Fullmetal Alchemist manga podcastOur supporters on Patreon

While Kentaro Miura’s Berserk is meant to feature the swordsman character Guts, in volumes 7 and 8 the focus is on Griffith and the progress made - at ANY cost - toward his dream of having his own kingdom, a machine in which Guts is just a major cog. Casca is the other major figure, as Tim and Kumar wonder just what her real feelings for Griffith - and for Guts - might be; why this lengthy flashback has so much less magic in it than the pre-flashback story did; and how Griffith gets from this point into the Godhand. Brought to you by: The Quarter-Bin podcastOur supporters on Patreon