Ken Krimstein‘s Einstein in Kafkaland: How Albert Fell Down the Rabbit Hole and Came up with the Universe builds on the fact that these two stars of the early 20th century were part of the same friend group at one point and builds it up into what NPR described as “Alice in Wonderland meets The Lives of the Poets meets Krazy Kat.” This week Emmet talks with Ken about the book, the two historical figures featured in it, and the nature of comics itself.

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FLASHBACK! The 1990s DC series Starman is one of comicdom’s most fondly remembered series. Interestingly, says series author James Robinson, it seems to be more popular now than it was when it was actually in production! James joins Tim and Ryan Haupt this week to look back on various aspects of this iconic series, including the theme of “legacy”, a sneaky crossover with another series, a story arc that never happened, the differences in how the Big Two have dealt with their Golden Age characters, and much more. (Originally published January 6, 2014)

James Robinson on Science…Sort Of in October 2009

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Fables of Fear is an anthology horror title by Karl Brandt and David Parsons. Tim and Adam discuss; there are some good short stories here, but maybe they’re a bit … TOO short?

Black Plastic, by Josh Tierney and Nicci Busse is, as its writer says, a “karaoke cyber-thriller” graphic novel. That’s his description; Tim and Jason aren’t quite sure what to think of it. Are we getting too old for this comics-critique stuff?

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FLASHBACK! This week a wide-ranging discussion between two Canadians, Koom and Ian, about comics in Canada. The talk centers on Montreal-based publisher Drawn & Quarterly, and two books from their catalog: Michel Rabagliati’s 2005 book Paul Moves Out, and the latest from Jillian Tamaki, Boundless. Also, some deep background on the history and people behind Toronto comics shop The Beguiling. (Originally published August 7, 2017)

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FLASHBACK! Skim is a coming-of-age graphic novel written by Mariko Tamaki, and drawn by her cousin Jillian Tamaki. Jillian works primarily in the field of illustration; how does she find that different from drawing a comic? Is it wrong to say that a comic is “illustrated”? She also discusses her perhaps unorthodox collaboration with Mariko on Skim, and reviews of the book that see meanings in it that were completely unintentional, in this interview. (Originally published December 14, 2009)

Also, Tim met Jillian at Kaigai Manga Festa in Tokyo in 2015. That interview, from episode 474, also appears in this episode. (Originally published November 23, 2015)

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This week we look at the movie that was based on the “Galactus Trilogy” of Fantastic Four #48-50, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. How does it stand up against the comics, and against the 2005 film? How do we feel about Galactus being a cloud of smoke? Does Doom finally have a real plan in this one? Once again, Tim is joined by Kumar and Jordan of the Comic Book Movie Oblivion podcast to dig into this film, as we count down to the upcoming MCU debut of the FF.

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One of the most famous Fantastic Four stories is the “Galactus Trilogy” from Fantastic Four 48-50 in 1966. This story has been adopted more than once, including in the 1990s FF cartoon, and in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Leading into our discussion of that movie next week, this week Tim, Kumar, and Jordan, in another crossover with the Comic Book Movie Oblivion podcast, look at the original comics story. While it’s been quite lauded, and very influential, why can it also be considered flawed?

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When Steve and Sam foil an attempt by police from south of the border to arrest their friendly waiter, the cops decide to arrest Steve instead! Hey, beats heading home empty handed! What looks like it’s going to be a story about Cap (and maybe Falcon?) locked up in a Central American prison takes several odd turns: Cap is never locked up, Sam never even arrives there, and then a fish monster shows up! These three issues conclude with the coming of a then-new Cap villain who we all know and loathe. Tim and Emmet try to avoid saying “Ay caramba!”

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In Clyde Fans by Seth, two brothers run a fan company for fifty years. One might expect it to be prosaic, but instead it’s an immersive and epic exploration of the sense and meaning of life, every life, even when it’s not apparent on the surface. Kumar and Dana ask the big questions.

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