Pencil Us In

In which we discuss not one, but two comics!  One is Herbie, the Fat Fury!  The other, Sakamoto!  Haven't you heard?  We discuss their similarities, their differences, their unmistakable attraction for women!  Join us!

Now that Pride Month is over, we're back with another regular episode!  How did we do covering two separate books at once?  How are we doing in general?  What do you think of the format as it evolves?  You must tell us!  Leave us a rating and comment wherever you get your podcast!  If you want to do a social media, we has the Facebook!  We has the Twitter!  We may even have an email!  Talk to us!  We're so lonely.

Website:  https://pencilusinpodcast.buzzsprout.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PencilUsInPodcast
Twitter: @pencilusin
email: [email protected]

Phil here:  I'd like to apologize for two things, first.  I have no idea why I sound like a man suffering from a hangover in this episode, but I do.  I don't even drink!  Anyway, apology #2 goes out for forgetting to mention that Richard Hughes wrote Herbie under yet another pen name: Shane O'Shea.  If you popped open a Herbie book and saw the byline under O'Shea and wondered why I kept on talking about some guy named Hughes, that's why!  Oops!

Let's talk about some sources, shall we?  As always for some older material, I turned first to TwoMorrows Publishing to see if they had anything on the subject.  They did!  Their magazine, Alter Ego, ran a whole friggin book on ACG with good info on both of Herbie's creators.  Let's list the relevant issues here:

Alter Ego (TwoMorrows Publishing): 61, 112

Su and I also found some neato resources online, including one particular Herbie fan page that was nice.

https://herbiepopnecker.com/

https://herbiepopnecker.com/docs/1989-PopneckerPapers.pdf

https://myanimelist.net/people/21083/Nami_Sano

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2016-09-07/nami-sano-author-of-havent-you-heard-im-sakamoto/.106181

https://peoplepill.com/people/nami-sato

The comics we read:

Forbidden Worlds: 73, 94, 110, 114, 116
Herbie: 1-23
Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto (Seven Seas Entertainment): 1-4

Su tells me that if you head over to Crunchyroll, you'll still be able to see the Sakamoto anime.  It may also have the manga still up.  You never know!  Check it out!

As for Herbie, I found the comics up on some sites dedicated to public domain works.  I won't link to the them, but some simple searching can find it for you.  Happy readings!

In which we discuss LGBTQ characters!  That's right, two episodes for Pride Month dedicated to...Pride Month stuff!  I'm not good with words!

Hopefully people have been following along with our Facebook all month in which we've been posting a character a day in a spotlight (sometimes you get bonus characters)!  Anyway, if you're not aware of the Facebook page, well have I got some news for you!  Otherwise, we do have a Twitter, but we haven't used it for much.  We find it easier to dump info on Facebook than Twitter.  But that doesn't mean you can't reach us there!  If you could, please also leave us a rating and comment on Apple Podcasts or wherever your pod aggregator is.  I promise it's OK.  TALK TO US.  WE ARE DESPERATE FOR HUMAN INTERACTION BEYOND OURSELVES.

Website:  https://pencilusinpodcast.buzzsprout.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PencilUsInPodcast
Twitter: @pencilusin
email: [email protected]

Here's the full list of characters discussed for people who need it:

1. Northstar
2. John Constantine
3. America Chavez
4. Kotobuki Seiko (Lovely Complex)
5. Mystique
6. Destiny
7. Crona (Soul Eater)
8. Maggie Sawyer
9. Batwoman
10. "My Brother's Husband" manga
11. Iceman
12. Desire (Sandman)
13. Hulkling
14. Katchoo and Francine - Strangers in Paradise
15. Haruhi Fujioka (Ouran High School Host Club)
16. Wiccan
17. Rictor
18. Hange Zoe (Attack on Titan)
19. Obsidian
20. Grace Choi
21. Deadpool
22. Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus
23. Jericho
24. Kevin Keller (Archie Comics)
25. Pied Piper
26. "Wandering Son" manga
27. Toya Kinomoto (Card Captor Sakura)
28. Loki
29. Poison Ivy
30. Harley Quinn

It's Pride Month!  We felt like it would be a good idea to do something for it!  So cuz of time constraints and other factors, the last two episodes of June here are gonna be Pride-Oriented!

First up: an episode in which we discuss some LGBTQ creators!  Su and Phil each made a list of 5 creators worth your time.  10 total!  The list is as follows:

Su's List
1. Katie O'Neill
2. Gengoroh Tagamine
3. Molly Ostertag
4. Chii (pseudonym)
5. Song Inkollo

Phil's List
1. Matt Baker
2. Phil Jimenez
3. Devin K. Grayson
4. P. Craig Russell
5. Jeffrey Catherine Jones

As per usual, let us know what you think!  Leave a rating on your local podcatcher.  Give us a call on Facebook or Twitter.  We wanna hear you!  Don't leave us hanging!  Contacts as follows:

Website:  https://pencilusinpodcast.buzzsprout.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PencilUsInPodcast
Twitter: @pencilusin
email: [email protected]

In which we discuss the Legion of Superheroes!  We discuss their origin, their creators, their impacts, and maybe why they stuck in peoples' imaginations.  This is one of our first Silver Age dives and it won't be our last!

With our 15th episode, we got some good stuff!  We both really enjoyed doing this episode because this was story-telling from a different, kind of crazier, and definitely less cynical time.  I hope you catch our enthusiasm!  Anyway, let us know what you think!  If you're listening via some podcatcher, leave us a rating and comment!  If you feel like hitting us up via the social media, we gots that too!  Talk to us!

Website:  https://pencilusinpodcast.buzzsprout.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PencilUsInPodcast
Twitter: @pencilusin
email: [email protected]

Phil here:  Believe it or not, this was also one of my more daunting episodes to handle research-wise.  The further back you go in time for many of these topics, the less info you have to work with.  Fortunately, I did find a few resources to help me out through this.  One big one being an out-of-print book that I hope goes back in to print at some point.  Aside from the bios of the creators, I mostly just ended up talking about the various recurring themes of the Legion.  Anyway, I'll show you what I got.

The Legion Companion (TwoMorrows Publishing): This is out of print, unfortunately, but I did manage to snag enough info from a borrowed copy to get a mini-bio on John Forte.

Some online resources include:
https://www.pulpartists.com/Forte.html

http://legionofsuperbloggers.blogspot.com/2018/05/john-forte-rip-1918-1966.html

http://sequart.org/magazine/11675/on-adventure-comics-332-by-edmond-hamilton-and-john-forte-1965/

https://web.archive.org/web/20160403121104/http://tangentonline.com/interviews-columnsmenu-166/1270-classic-leigh-brackett-a-edmond-hamilton-interview

Here's the comics that we read for the episode:

Adventure Comics: 247, 267, 282, 290, 293, 300-345
Action Comics: 267, 287, 289
Superboy: 86, 89, 98, 117, 124, 125
Superman: 147
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen: 72, 76

In which we discuss the She-Devil with a Sword, Red Sonja!  We talk about her origins and her rise to her own title.  We discuss her influences and her legacy.  We even talk about that movie.  You know the one.  The one with the lady who has a sword?  C'mon man!

With our 14th episode, we continue our little mini-theme of sword-and-sorcery!  We're gonna stop here 'cuz honestly it's not exactly my favorite genre, but Conan and Sonja were worth it!  What do you think?  Give us a shout on either our social medias, emails, or maybe leave a rating on whatever podcatcher you use!  We'll be at these places:

Website:  https://pencilusinpodcast.buzzsprout.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PencilUsInPodcast
Twitter: @pencilusin
email: [email protected]

Phil here:  Fortunately for me, research on this one was basically done at the same time as the Conan episode because...well...that's where Sonja came from.  As a consequence, I won't have much to add here in terms of research that's different from last episode with a few exceptions, of course.  This episode ended up being somewhat shorter as well because so much information was covered last episode as well!  Anyway, I hope you liked it!  References as follows:

Printed Research Material
Back Issue: 43, 121
Alter Ego: 50, 80, 83

Some Online Stuff:
https://dmrbooks.com/test-blog/2020/6/15/frank-thorne-turns-80

https://www.nerdteam30.com/creator-conversations-retro/an-interview-with-frank-thorne-red-sonja-artist-wizard-at-large

Comics we read for the episode:
Conan the Barbarian: 23, 24, 43, 44, 66, 67, 68
Savage Sword of Conan: 1
Kull and the Barbarians: 2, 3
Marvel Feature (vol 2): 1-7
Red Sonja: 1-15

In which we discuss everyone's favorite mostly naked swordsman!  We talk about his creator, his imitators, his adaptations, and more!  Check it out!

With our 13th episode, we talk about one of the more fascinating topics for us.  This is a  book that was crazy popular once and even sort of penetrated the public consciousness to a certain extent.  Mostly, though, we're talk to talk about that art, yo.  As with any episode, let us know how we're doing!  Tell us what you think about this episode or any that we do!  If you're listening via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or whichever, please leave a rating and comment for us!  We want to know!  If you're interested in saying something via social media, that's cool too!  Here's some links!

Website:  https://pencilusinpodcast.buzzsprout.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PencilUsInPodcast
Twitter: @pencilusin
email: [email protected]

Phil here:  Fortunately for me, Conan is a much discussed topic amongst comic  fans.  He's a character blessed with multiple great artists and was fortunate to be different enough at the time of his publishing to really stand out.  I'm also fortunate to have TwoMorrows Publishing!  I used material from their publications extensively on this one.  Lemme list 'em.

Printed Research Material

Back Issue: 121
Alter Ego: 50, 80, 83

Some Helpful Links from the Onlines:

http://www.tcj.com/the-barry-windsor-smith-interview/

https://twomorrows.com/comicbookartist/articles/02bws.html?

Here's what we read comic-wise for the episode:

Conan the Barbarian (Marvel): 1-24
Savage Tales: 1-3

In which we fill time with a quiz that crushes Phil's soul!  The inventory episode looks like it's here to stay, people!  We need time to do research and we need also only have so many minutes we're allowed to upload each month.  It works out!

Anyway, this week's episode has Su put together a list of manga names.  Some are real, some are fake.  It's up to Phil to suss it out!  Phil is old and uncool so you know how it goes already.  Anyway, let us know how we're doing!  If you listen to us on a podcast service, please leave a rating and comment!  If you're up for some social media, we're up there, too!  A list of places to contact:

Website:  https://pencilusinpodcast.buzzsprout.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PencilUsInPodcast
Twitter: @pencilusin
email: [email protected]

Phil here:  Stop reading at this point.  I don't really have anything else to say.

In which we discuss the International incarnation of the Justice League!  We talk about its place in time, how it came together, the men who put it together, plus maybe some other stuff?  Who knows!

Our friggin' 12th episode!  What's that about??  I think we're basically settling upon a formula at this point.  Little context of time and place, little creator bios, little bit of opinion, little sprinkling of vitriol and voila!  So let us know what you think!  If you're listening to this on a podcast aggregator or whatever, rate us and comment there!  If you ain't, ok!  Find us on the social media then!  We're on the Facebooks!  We're on the Twitter!  We're looking at doing something for people under 50!

Website:  https://pencilusinpodcast.buzzsprout.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PencilUsInPodcast
Twitter: @pencilusin
email: [email protected]

Phil here:  Another topic, more research!  I'm still all about Back Issue from TwoMorrows publishing.  If you're in to the stuff that we've been talking about, you could just skip my squeaky voice and just read what they have!  This may not be ideal for the podcast's future, but it may also be correct!  Anyway, here's what issues of that I've used for this.

Back Issue (TwoMorrows Publishing):  3, 83
Modern Masters Kevin Maguire (TwoMorrows Publishing)

Links that I found interesting:

https://www.twomorrows.com/kirby/articles/29giffen.html

http://www.lonely.geek.nz/fording_the_mainstream/keith_giffen/interview_amazing_heroes_172.html

https://ew.com/movies/2017/11/14/justice-league-jm-dematteis-international/

http://www.dcinthe80s.com/2016/07/mark-belkin-interviews-jm-dematteis-for.html


We of course read the series we talked about.  Here's what we read:

Justice League (International): 1-24

In which we discuss everyone's prescient lawman of the future!  We talk about his origins, his creator's origins, and maybe a little about his other media appearances (mostly just one of them).  Check it out!

Sorry we're late, but this is our 11th official full episode!  Now that we're settling firmly in to the double digits, it's time really take a look at the format.  What stands out as good for you?  What stands out as bad?  What would you think would improve things?  Let us know!  If you found us via iTunes or Spotify or Pandora or whatever, let us know by rating the podcast there!  If you got messages to send us via the social media, please do so!  Links below:

Website:  https://pencilusinpodcast.buzzsprout.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PencilUsInPodcast
Twitter: @pencilusin
email: [email protected]

Phil here:  Research on this one involved some deep dives on the interwebs.  It also involved one of my favorite reads:  Back Issue!  As long as I keep coming back to stuff from the 70s, 80s, or 90s I'm gonna be checking out that fine, fine mag.  Anyway, here's what I used for research!

Back Issue (TwoMorrows Publishing):  115

Links from the interwebs as follows:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/03/judge-dredd-carlos-ezquerra

https://theconversation.com/who-is-judge-dredd-and-why-it-matters-that-media-invoke-the-cartoon-character-124412

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/08/how-we-made-2000-ad-judge-dredd-comics-interview

https://io9.gizmodo.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-judge-dredd-5944893?IR=T

http://www.goodcomicbooks.com/interviews/4304/interview-judge-dredd-creator-john-wagner-on-the-day-of-chaos

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/comics/features/serious_comics.shtml

This particular link heads to a multi-part posting about Dredd's creation that went fairly in to detail.  Be sure to click through until the end!
https://web.archive.org/web/20121001130850/http://patmills.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/the-killing-machine/

In which we discuss Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda!  We talk about a brief history of shojo and a little of manga in general.  We also discuss the long reach of this book's influence.  It's time for court intrigue and swordplay!

We're in the double digits, baby!  Our 10th episode and we fly outside the borders of America.  That's right.  For all y'all out there wishing we'd do something from another country, here it is!  We'll likely be doing more.  How could you ignore Japan??  Also, we won't just be visiting Japan as comics exist around the world!  Anyway, feel free to hit us up at the social medias.  Plus, if you're getting this episode from some podcast service, please rate us and comment there!  Our soc meds as follows:

Website:  https://pencilusinpodcast.buzzsprout.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PencilUsInPodcast
Twitter: @pencilusin
email: [email protected]

Phil here:  Su did the research for this particular episode and boy can you tell!  I took a look at her resources and it was like a mile long!  I usually have just a few links plus some books to recommend so there can be some leisure in my descriptions.  Not so much today.  I'm gonna just throw 'em down!  Aside from the obvious look at Wikipedia, they are as follows:

https://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=1480887

https://web.archive.org/web/20070219032133/http://matt-thorn.com/shoujo_manga/japan_quarterly/index.html

https://fractionoffiction.wordpress.com/2016/02/22/a-history-of-shoujo-manga/

https://www.animefeminist.com/history-shoujo-mangas-lost-generation/

https://epicstream.com/features/The-History-and-Importance-of-Girls-Manga

https://www.yuricon.com/oldessays/10-minute-shoujo-history-lesson/

http://www.danmazurcomics.com/2014/02/28/comics-a-global-history-early-shojo-manga/

https://theanimeacademy.wordpress.com/lecture-hall/anime-101/history-of-shoujo-anime/

https://www.kyoto-seika.ac.jp/researchlab/wp/wp-content/uploads/sa_dalma_kalovics1.pdf

http://umich.edu/~anime/genres_shoujo.html

https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/12324/7/12324.pdf

Good Gravy.  Anyway, here's the book we read!

Rose of Versailles vol 1 (Published by Udon)