Storied Arcs

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We've reached the end of another calendar year and once again, Mike and Alex have come up one week short on stories to talk about. But fear not! Earlier this month, Mike, Alex, and great friend of the show Andy took a quick road trip up Interstate 71 to attend GalaxyCon Columbus 2023 and decided that was a perfect opportunity to record a podcast episode. In the car. So with Andy driving, Mike handling the recording, and Alex contributing pretty much nothing, the trio run down their top 5-ish lists of the best comics they read in 2023 (with many cheats and honorable mentions) and discuss what made these books standout and worthy of recognition. A list of all of the comics we mentioned in this episode can be found here.

Thank you so much for listening to Storied Arcs! We'll be back next week to kick off a new season diving deep into another great comic!

Find a full list of the comics discussed in order on our website: https://www.storiedarcs.com/annual-best-of-2023/

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"-I mean, after everything you have seen, it is so hard to believe there may be a design to the universe? -A design? All I see is chaos and death."

We've reached the conclusion of Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen's space epic, and Mike and Alex are here to break it all down as they jump into Ascender Volumes 3 and 4, The Digital Mage and Star Seed (issues #11-18). The guys have a frank discussion of what does and does not work for them in these final volumes and then take a look at the complete Descender/Ascender story as a whole. Endings are hard, as has been said multiple times here, and Mike and Alex dissect what it means when they think a story ends well narratively but might have a flawed process to reach that end. Ultimately, while it may seem like they're down on the book, they've picking at nits and really enjoyed revisiting these books.

This wraps up another season of Storied Arcs and effectively wraps up 2023, BUT WAIT! There's still one more week left on the calendar and we have a special episode coming up on the feed- our best of 2023 Annual, recorded live in a car on the highway in the rain. It was a lot fun to talk about some books we don't normally cover on this show so  enjoy it and we'll be back to our regularly-schedule deep dives in 2024!

Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs

• Find us on your favorite podcast platform and leave a 5-star review!
• Find all links here: https://linktr.ee/storiedarcs
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"There is no magic in the galaxy that I do not oversee. No power I do not control. I am Mother and the universe is mine."

The cover may say "Ascender" but these collections might as well just be Descender Volumes 7 and 8, and Mike and Alex are here to break it all down, starting with Ascender Volumes 1 and 2, The Haunted Galaxy and The Dead Sea (issues #1-10). The guys explore the decision by Lemire and Nguyen to jump the story 10 years into the future and debate what does and doesn't work about it. They also pick some nits on some storytelling choices, which felt a little odd for a story both of them very much enjoyed revisiting. Despite these nits, there is so much like here, and they guys dive deep into all of it, from Dustin Nguyen's art to the return of fan-favorite characters to the narrative (even you, Driller). Getting the band back together to tell a whole new story. That's actually still the same story from before.

We have one more discussion episode left in this season of Storied Arcs, and in the year, before a special episode drops in two weeks (more on that later). In the meantime, to finish the year our strong, go read Ascender Volumes 3 and 4 (issues #11-18) wherever you get your comic books and we'll be back next week to wrap up this great series!

Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs

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• Find all links here: https://linktr.ee/storiedarcs
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"But  do you know the irony of that, Doctor? Robots never lied before you created the Tim series... before you gave robotkind the upgrades that made us more human and more like you."

In this finale that's not really a finale, Mike and Alex are here to discuss the last chapters of Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen's Descender in Volumes 5 and 6, Rise of the Robots and War Machine (issues #22-32). As usual, the guys talk about not just what happens at the end of the story, but how the story gets to that end. They break down how Lemire and Nguyen once again subvert expectations with their storytelling and dive deep into just how much foreshadowing and table-setting Lemire and Nguyen do for the follow up story, Ascender. The guys also look back on some of their comments from earlier in the season, before either had fully re-read the comic, and offer mea culpas for what Mike accidently remembered correctly about the ultimate reveal in Descender and for what Alex misremembered about how connected the end of Descender was to the beginning of Ascender. Our bad.

The comic titled Descender may be over but the story is far from complete. Join us as we jump 10 years into the future after the events of Descender and go right into Lemire and Nguyen's sequel series, Ascender! We'll be covering Volumes 1 and 2 (issues #1-10) next week so find them wherever you get your comics!

Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs

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"What does it look like, Creator? I'm doing that you programmed me to do. I'm eliminating waste... just like a human."

Mike and Alex are here to jump right back into Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen's Descender as they dive deep into Volumes 3 and 4, Singularities and Orbital Mechanics. The guys debate and discuss the choice Lemire and Nguyen made with Volume 3 to essentially pause the ongoing narrative and tell a series of character flashback stories so early in the run, and how that may read differently now, knowing the comic is complete, versus how it might have read in real-time as the issues were published. Then they take a look at how Volume 4 sets up both the story to come now and the story to come later. The guys also praise Dustin Nguyen some more (which you can honestly never do enough), especially the mostly-silent issue #17. Alex loves a silent issue. 

As usual, we don't spoil anything about the story beyond what we've covered thus far so if you're the comic for the first time, you're in the clear. But be sure to pick up and read Descender Volumes 5 and 6 (issues 22-32) wherever you get your comics and join us here next week as we wrap up our discussion on Descender and get you primed for the sequel, Ascender!

Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs

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• Find all links here: https://linktr.ee/storiedarcs
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"Because they fear us, Tim-21. Because they were hurt and they wanted to hurt something back. Because they are human."

We've arrived at a brand new season of Storied Arcs and Mike and Alex are diving right into Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen's space opera epic Descender Volumes 1 and 2, Tin Stars and Machine Moon (issues #1-11). The guys discuss how this book touches on the kinds of sci-fi plot tropes and character archetypes one might expect for a story about the relationship between humanity and robot A.I., and then attempts to elevate beyond that (or, at least begin to). Once again we find ourselves asking the question, what does it mean to be human? Along the way, the give a big shout out to letterer Steve Wands, who is doing more work in this series than you might realize, and praise Nguyen's unique and iconic art style. Mike also makes a comparison for the characters in this book to a certain Marvel Studios movie about a rag-tag team of misfits traveling in space that fits a surprisingly well.

This is one of those comics that both Mike and Alex have read to completion previously, but regardless, they won't spoil anything about story beyond what's in these first two volumes. So if you want to find out what happens next, go find Descender Volumes 3 and 4 (issues #12-21) wherever you get your comics and join us here next week as we continue the discussion!

Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs

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For the next season of Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex are revisiting the works of Jeff Lemire (aka Mike's literal favorite creator in comics) as they plan to dive head first into a pair of books by Lemire and superstar artist Dustin Nguyen, Descender and Ascender from Image Comics! The guys give a quick tease of this epic, two-part space opera and give you some insight on why love these books and why they want to discuss them. Then as usual, they give some background on the creative time, focusing this time just on Dustin Nguyen since they previous covered co-creator Jeff Lemire (and letterer Steve Wands) back when they discussed The Underwater Welder (which you should definitely listen to).

Given the length of these series (32 issues for Descender, 18 issues for Ascender), we're going to be covering it similar to how we covered The Unwritten aka two trade collections at a time. The breakdown looks something like this:
-Descender
Volumes 1 & 2: issues #1-11
Volumes 3 & 4: issues #12-21
Volumes 5 & 6: issues #22-32
-Ascender
Volumes 1 & 2: issues #1-10
Volumes 3 & 4: issues #11-18

So, go pick up Descender Volumes 1 and 2 ( or issues #1-11 if you're reading single issues or the deluxe editions) wherever you get your comics and join us back here next week to kick off the conversation!

Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs

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• Find all links here: https://linktr.ee/storiedarcs
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"And what if I could make it so race would never be a part of the equation again? That the way the world views us would never rely on how much melanin our ancestors needed to protect themselves from the sun? I could make us all the same. I could make us better."

The final installment of the James Tynion IV and Eryk Donovan's Apocalyptic Trilogy, Eugenic (issues #1-3), takes a different approach than the previous volumes and Mike and Alex are here to break it all down.  The guys discuss the radically different storytelling format employed here and how that effects the narrative, both as a self-contained story and in comparison to the overall trilogy of stories. They dive deep into how this might be the most disturbing of the volumes, given the terrible real-world history surrounding the study and use of eugenics, and look at how eerily prescient some aspects of the story have become in ways that no one could have anticipated when the comic was initially released back in 2017. Mass skepticism of vaccines? No way *that* one was gonna come true, right?

And with that, we come to the end of another season of Storied Arcs! We hoped you enjoyed exploring the end of the world with us, and we'll be back next week to kick off another deep dive discussion into a great comic!

Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs

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"You were always selfish. You rallied us together to stop him all those years ago because you were afraid of losing one life you treasured more than the whole. You convinced us that life was all about those little glories. The little loves. And we believed you. And here, you've done it again."

The end of the world, take two! Humanity meets its demise yet again as Mike and Alex turn their attention to part 2 of the the Apocalyptic Trilogy, Cognetic (issues #1-3). They discuss how they feel Tynion and Donovan leveled up their game from Memetic to Cognetic and how it feels like Cognetic is better able to accomplish the things they were trying to do in Memetic. While they might like the setup for Memetic more, there's no denying that Cognetic is a better constructed comic. So they guys get right into it, talking about how Tynion uses escalation in this story to keep the reader engaged and enthralled. They also take a look at the main characters' motivations and examine how, at the end, you the reader aren't left with any real good choices. The individual versus the collective; once again, we ponder what it is that defines humanity. No pressure.

Just one apocalypse left (for now, at least), so go find Eugenic (issues #1-3) wherever you get your comics (probably a similar place to where you found Memetic and Cognetic) and join us next week as we wrap up our discussion of Tynion and Donovan's Apocalyptic Trilogy!

Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs

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• Find all links here: https://linktr.ee/storiedarcs
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"So the fate of the world rests in the hands of the maniac who decided to end it with a weird picture of a sloth."

Storied Arcs is back with another great season as Mike and Alex get ready to talk about the end of the world three times over. First up is part one of James Tynion IV and Eryk Donovan's Apocalyptic Trilogy from Boom Studios, Memetic (issues #1-3). The guys dive right into the story, discussing how plausible it would be for the world to end on a weaponized meme if such a thing were real (spoiler alert- very), and how prescient the story feels knowing it was first published back in 2014. They talk about how our relationship with technology, specifically social media, has changed and evolved since the release of Memetic and how that could color your reading of it. Then the guys examine the ending and take a look at how the choices the characters make reflect back on the  story's overall exploration of humanity's struggle between individualism and tribalism. They also delve into some of the issues they have with the comic. Not so much the story, which they both enjoyed, but more with the mechanics of the storytelling. But not to worry, we've got Good Times Sloth to cheer us up! Praise him!

As we mentioned last week, we're going to be covering this thematic trilogy in publication order, so up next is Cognetic (issues #1-3). Find it wherever you get your comics (local shop, library, etc.) and join us back here next week to discuss how the world ends for a second time! 

Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs

• Find us on your favorite podcast platform and leave a 5-star review!
• Find all links here: https://linktr.ee/storiedarcs
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