In this episode, Curt and Kevin take a break from graphic novels and caped crusaders for a look at two clever, contemporary comic strips … the webcomic xkcd and cartoonist Olivia Jaimes' take on the newspaper comic strip Nancy!

Created by Ernie Bushmiller, the original Nancy was hailed as a pinnacle of comic-strip architecture. When the pseudonymous Olivia Jaimes took the reins in April of last year, she gave it a fresh sensibility that has revitalized the 80-year-old strip and drawn rave reviews.

Created by Randall Munroe in 2005, xkcd alternates between sharply observant gags, complex commentaries on "romance, sarcasm, math, and language," and ambitious projects that redefine the parameters of what a comic strip can do in the 2st century.

Can these very different yet similarly smart examples of the form help revive interest in the ailing comic strip? And can they find themselves circulating in that firmament of the funny pages known as … The Comics Canon?

Things Discussed in This Episode:

• How to Read Nancy
• Scott McCloud's 5-Card Nancy
• The Coyote Gospel
• "Sluggo is Lit" memes
• Vulture's interview with Olivia Jaimes
• Click and Drag and Time
• Should we expand the concept of The Comics Canon?
• Francesco Marciuliano and Medium Large
• Got any great webcomics to recommend?
• Spectacle Vol. 1 by Megan Rose Gedris
• The Reply All podcast
• Dungeons and Dragons Art and Arcana: A Visual History

Join us in two weeks as we return to more familiar superheroic territory – or do we? – with a look at Tom King and Mitch Gerads' Mister Miracle!

Until then, don't forget our snazzy Comics Canon merchandise and the Benoda! series of typefaces by our friends at Category 4!

Last but not least, please be so kind as to rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!