Quarantined Comics

This week, we review "No Longer Human," adapted by famed horror creator Junji Ito from Osamu Dazai's semi-autobiographical novel.

It's a deep dive into awful way depression and social anxiety impact the life of a man named Oba Yozo, whose ways of dealing with his problems inevitably drags down anyone with the misfortune of being associated with him.

While "No Longer Human" seems on the surface different from Ito's other work — the monsters are mostly internal rather than external, and the psychologies of the characters are more nuanced — the graphic novel is also full of Ito's trademarks. There are bodily transmogrifications, the strange nexus between horror and comedy, and of course lots of murder.

Also, is this the Junji Ito book that finally turns Raman into a Junji Ito fanboy? Stay tuned...

This week we are reading "I Am Not Starfire" written by Mariko Tamaki and artist Yoshi Yoshitani. Many would argue would Tamaki (someone we've read numerous books by) is one of our generation's best voices on growing up in this increasingly strange world....so for DC to tap her to relate to one of their most popular characters, is an intriguing concept.

I AM NOT STARFIRE tells the tale Mandy, a 17 year old who is NOTHING like her of super-famous superhero Starfire....a tall, gorgeous, sparkly, hot blooded hero, beloved by all...which Mandy is NOT. She has no powers, dyes her hair black and hates everyone but best friend Lincoln, and longtime crush Claire. To Starfire, who is actually from another planet, her daughter Mandy seems like a distant, angry alien, from light years away. Everyone has plans and thoughts about what Mandy should be, but like so many other coming of age stories, Mandy just wants to do her own thing....be it skipping the SATs, not going to college, and just doing whatever it is they do in France.

The book has had mixed reviews - some constructive and some rather troll-y. So get ready for us to unpack some baggage and lay it out for the trolls, so they can get over it.

This week we are reading "Year of the Rabbit" - written and illustrated by Tian Veasna. The book is an autobiographical depiction of the author's family journey in Cambodia, from the moment he Khmer Rouge took power...three days before his birth. Taking place in the late 1970s, the book is a harrowing, triggering account of one family's journey to make sense of, attempt escape, and survive what is now regarded as one of the great human disasters of the 20th century, that most people don't know, or don't talk about.

This book put us both in a very uncomfortable reflection...especially given history seeming to continuously repeat itself, most recently in Afghanistan with the Taliban resurgent...

In Grass, Gendry-Kim tells the real-life account of a Lee Ok-sun, who was forced into sexual slavery as a young girl during World War II. And in The Waiting, she tells the story of a family suddenly torn apart when Korea was divided between North and South — a fictionalization based in Gendry-Kim's own research and family history.

Each is an emotional gut punch.

The legacies of both the comfort women and of the country's split is both traumatic and heavily politicized, both of which greatly impact how it's often been retold. But Gendry-Kim digs into the people who were most effected, the way they dealt with the awfulness they encountered, and the way they continue to deal with it today.

Jae Won Chung, a professor of Korean studies at Rutgers, stops by to help us make sense of the past.

Y: THE LAST MAN is an award-winning, post-apocalyptic sci-fi comic series by Brian K. Vaughan (Saga, Lost, Paper Girls) and Pia Guerra published from 2002 through 2008 by DC's Vertigo imprint, and soon to be adapted to a live-action TV series on FX / Hulu - https://youtu.be/0EEQ5Lj-cXM

Written in the heart of the post-9/11 era, Y centers on the realities of a seemingly far-fetched scenario - when a mysterious global pandemic wipes out millions...in this case ALL male mammals on the planet (#androcide)....minus one man - Yorick Brown, and his pet monkey Ampersand. The book quickly gets past the sci-fi root cause, and in a slow burn across 10 volumes and 5 narrative years follows Yorick + his two companions, a secret agent and a bioengineer around the globe in an attempt to save the world and find his true love. Featuring amazons, astronauts, agents, assassins, actors, antagonistas, androbots, atheists, angry Arizonans, and a whole mess of lesbians - you are taken through a # of seemingly realistic outcomes...of what would happen in our society if all the men in a male dominated world really did disappear. Airplanes would crash, (most) army's would fall, ...and neo feminist cults would arise to burn it all down?

This week, we're reading THE SUMMIT OF THE GODS (神々の山嶺, Kamigami no Itadaki) - an early 2000s manga by Jiro Taniguchi, based on a novel and script by Baku Yumemakura. The series traces several climbers' journeys across decades around the world - from the European Alps, to the peaks of Japan, to the Himalayas of Nepal and Tibet - all bookended by the greatest summit - Everest.

The story is told from the modern perspective of Fukamachi, a photojournalist who finds a camera which may change the history of mountaineering...as it may belong to the famed climber George Mallory, who went missing climbing Everest, which history shows as being first summited by Sir Edmund Hillary some 30 years after Mallory's disappearance

At the center of all of this is a mysteriously obstinate climber, Joji Habu, or Binka Sap as he is known to the Nepalese Sherpa community. The critically acclaimed series was actually recently adapted to an animated feature that debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in France, which is NOT why I invited my favorite Frenchman Francois to the pod...

This week we're reading MARVELS, the 1994 mini series by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross. MARVELS retells he origins of the Marvel Universe from a decidedly... pedestrian point of view. Over 4 volumes, we traverse New York City through the decades, from the eve of World War 2 and the first appearance of larger than life heroes, to the 60s and 70s when superheroes were a part of mainstream pop culture.

Guiding us on our journey is Phil Sheldon, a photojournalist obsessed with these "Marvels" ...as he calls them. Some of the biggest moments in Marvel comics history is shown from the perspective of a bystander who finds himself - and the rest of his fellow New Yorkers - at the center of a changing world. Through is eyes - and camera lens - we see how the everyday people of the world interpret - and react - to colorful costumed heroes and their larger than life adventures.

Marvels was written by Kurt Busiek - a writer who has gone on to tell many "unique perspective" stories of the super genrr...like Astro City. But beyond a great story, what really put this book on the map when it came out in the 90s was the photorealistic painted artwork of a young Alex Ross. His style was like nothing any of us comic book readers had seen before, so the book really left its mark, and made Ross a comics superstar, making a career painting realistic depictions of pop cultures animated heros.

Immediately after Marvels, Ross would go on to paint Kingdom Come, which we actually discussed on the FIRST episode of this podcast. While Kingdom Come tells a dark tale about the end of the DC Universe, Marvels literally paints an optimistic tale about the beginnings of the Marvel Universe. It was truly one of the most unique comics created in a crowded mainstream field that many thought had nothing new to offer. And it was recently evenly adapted...into an audio drama podcast.

And speaking of audiodrama...while we wait on Ryan to seduce Kim Jong Uns' kid sister so he can get the missle launch codes to launch himself back to America...joining us is longtime "industry" friend to both Ryan and I, Jon Kriner.

As you might know, Raman also hosts the podcast MODERN MINORITIES, where each week Raman + QC-pal Sharon hope to generate greater empathy and understanding through the stories of others minority experiences.

One of our all time favorite comics is GOOD TALK, by Mira Jacob - a moving, autobiographical take on Mira’s conversations with her son, husband, family, and friends about race in Obama and Trump’s America. After reviewing the book on Quarantined Comics (https://www.qtdcomics.com/goodtalk) - Sharon + i reached out to the author Mira Jacob ...and no joke - it was it was one of my all time favorite podcast conversations, so we thought you might want to have a listen.

And who knows, maybe when Ryan is back from Korea, we'll start bringing some of our favorite comics authors on Quarantined Comics so we can geek out on some of THEIR favorite comics...

During Quarantined Comics “summer hiatus” (Ryan in a Korean gulag, Raman changing more diapers), we wanted to make sure you still got your sweet, sweet weekly comics content, so we’re proud to share Raman’s OTHER comic book podcast project “CHARACTER STUDY” -with friend-of-the-pod Paresh Jha. Character Study is a 4-part series that examines the history of DICK GRAYSON (aka Robin, aka Nightwing), the other half of Batman’s dynamic duo.

CHAPTER 4: “Batman gets Dicked!” - looking under the cowl of Dick’s on-again / off-again career as Batman...

SUGGESTED READING

EXTRA CREDIT / SUPPLEMENTAL READING

During Quarantined Comics “summer hiatus” (Ryan in a Korean gulag, Raman changing more diapers), we wanted to make sure you still got your sweet, sweet weekly comics content, so we’re proud to share Raman’s OTHER comic book podcast project “CHARACTER STUDY” -with friend-of-the-pod Paresh Jha. Character Study is a 4-part series that examines the history of DICK GRAYSON (aka Robin, aka Nightwing), the other half of Batman’s dynamic duo.

CHAPTER 3: "Night-wing' it (There will be Blüd)" - we follow Dick’s "adult" career as Nightwing - where he cements his reputation for being the glue of the DC Universe

SUGGESTED READING:

EXTRA CREDIT / SUPPLEMENTAL READING

Special Guest: Paresh Jha.