Storied Arcs

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"No offense, but it seems like the whole point of civilization is to get someone else to do your killing for you."

Welcome to Bedrock and a new season of Storied Arcs! Mike and Alex travel back to the Stone Age to discuss Volume 1 (issues 1-6) of Mark Russell and Steve Pugh's cutting satire of modern-day life, The Flintstones. What does a 60-year-old cartoon have to say about our 21st century world? Quite a bit, it turns out. Rampant consumerism, colonization, PTSD, marriage equality, voting issues, doomsday prophecies; does any of this sounds familiar? The guys try and cover it all and not lose themselves in cynicism as they look into the mirror Russell and Pugh are holding up to our own society.  And a moment between a bowling ball and a vacuum cleaner just might bring you to tears. Yabba-dabba-do.

This isn't necessarily a comic that can be "spoiled" in a traditional way, but regardless, we're not covering any issues beyond #6 in this episode. Be sure to grab Volume 2 from your local comic shop or public library and join us next week as we continue our deep-dive into this modern-take on the modern Stone Age family.

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This is a big one! Not only do we dive deep into the work and themes of Mark Russell, we also examine the art of Steve Pugh (Flintstones) and the storied career of Mike Deodato (Not All Robots.) 

This serves as the zero episode and intro for both Flintstones and Not All Robots which are written by Mark Russell. The two books may seem like a strange juxtaposition, but Russell's salient commentary on society spans from pre-human to post-human. The books are quite different, but the themes are similar. 

We'll also look at the great partnership between Russell and Steve Pugh which began on Flintstones and has continued into books like Billionaire Island. Finally, we'll look at Mike Deodato, who, if you read comics, you have likely seen before.   The particular challenges associated with Not All Robots was something that only a talented and veteran artist could make the most of. 

Grab your copies of Flintstones volume 1 and join us next week as we begin a deep dive into the work of Mark Russell!

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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In this mini-episode, you get to hear the introduction from the deluxe edition of The Flintstones written and read by Mark Russell. This book has a particular context and speaks distinctly to our modern world. This introduction lays the groundwork beautifully and will set you up for the emotional and intellectual ride that is The Flintstones.

The best part of this little bonus episode is that Mark Russell has graciously agreed to read his letter for us. So you'll hear our intro music and a brief comment from Mike, but for the most part you listen to the man himself.  

Join us after this for a deep dive into the creative work of Mark Russell including a trade-by-trade breakdown of The Flintstones and Not All Robots.

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
• Or specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.
• Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.com

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"How did it all get so bad? And when did we lose hope that it might ever get better... instead of worse?"

In the final episode of Storied Arcs Season 4, Mike and Alex are here to wrap up Brubaker and Phillips' instant-classic Kill Or Be Killed with Volume 4 (issues 15-20). How does it all end, what does it all mean, and does any of it ultimately even matter. Can a book be pessimistic and hopeful at the same time? If the world is so broken and terrible, what's there to be optimistic about? The guys grapple with the dichotomy presented in the story and try to make sense of it all (the comic, not the whole world; that'd be asking a bit much).

We thank you all once again for listening along through another season of Storied Arcs. We hope you enjoyed diving into the world of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips and definitely recommend reading any and all of their other collaborations; you never know, we might circle back around and cover one of them in a future season.

Please keep sending in your questions and comments about Kill Or Be Killed, or any of the books we've covered so far, and we'll see you again soon for the next season of Storied Arcs!

As always, join our discussion on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our website.

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
• Or specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.
• Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.com

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"Fear is a weird thing. Sometimes it's a survival mechanism... like the instinct that made our ancestors flee from saber-tooth tigers. But a lot of the time it's the handcuffs that we put on ourselves."

In this episode, Mike and Alex discuss the changing motivations of the vigilante killer and examine how that alters our perception of what he's doing. Does the "why" matter at all if the end result either way is someone going around killing people, even if those people are perceived as being the bad guys? And what does it say about someone when they realize they might actually be good at being a vigilante killer? Kill Or Be Killed Volume 3 (issues 11-14) asks these questions of the reader and the guys are here to break it all down. 

This is the penultimate volume of the comic and there are no spoilers in this episode for the final arc. We've come too far to ruin things now for new readers (and Mike!).

As always, join our discussion on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our website.

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
• Or specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.
• Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.com

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"I don't believe in fate, but you can't deny that things in life sometimes fall together like there actually is some big cosmic plan at work. Which would suck for about 95 percent of us, right?"

In Volume 2 (issues 5-10), Brubaker and Phillips begin to expand the world of Kill Or Be Killed and Mike and Alex are here to break it all down in this episode. They revisit the idea of fate and destiny vs. self determinism (something of a semi-recurring theme in the books they've been covering) and explore how it factors into the motivations and justifications for a vigilante killer. They look at the real-world parallels that are referenced in this volume and also discuss how the broadening of the story beyond the viewpoint of its narrator effects our understanding of how reliable what we're being told and shown really is.

As previously stated, we won't be spoiling anything about the story beyond the trade collection we're coving that week because we want to preserve the experience for those those reading through the comic for the first time, just like Mike!

As always, join our discussion on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our website.

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
• Or specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.
• Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.com

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"It's so easy for the guys in those old vigilante movies to find their targets... they just walk around waiting to get mugged. Or they listen for screams and arrive just in time. In real life, it's not like that."

In the first episode of Storied Arcs Season 4, Mike and Alex take a peak inside the mind of a vigilante killer as they dive into Volume 1 (issues 1-4) of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillip's modern crime noir classic, Kill Or Be Killed. They discuss what the book has to say about the state of the world and the systems that govern it and what that has to say about the nature of vigilantism and who is empowered to enact justice if those systems are inherently unjust. Oh, and something about a demon that may or may not be real. Who can say.

Like our previous seasons, we aren't spoiling anything about the story beyond the trade collection we're covering that week. This is particularly notable this season because Mike is reading through Kill Or Be Killed *for the first time* as we are recording so he has no other choice in the matter!

As always, join our discussion on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our website.

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
• Or specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.
• Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.com

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In this episode, Mike and Alex take a look at Alex's favorite creative team in all of comics- writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips. They discuss the duo's long history of incredible comic work, both separately and together, how noir storytelling infuses all of their collaborations, and sell you on why the vigilante crime-noir book Kill Or Be Killed was their choice for the next deep-dive discussion on the podcast.

Enter the world of Brubaker and Phillips by finding Kill Or Be Killed at your local comic shop or public library and be here next week as the guys dive right into volume 1!

As always, join our discussion on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our website.

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
• Or specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.
• Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.com

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"The most spectacular episode of The Twilight Zone that was never produced." - Damon Lindelof, from the introduction to The Underwater Welder

In this oversized, one-shot episode, Mike and Alex cover the entire book for Jeff Lemire's solo masterpiece, The Underwater Welder. No chapter breaks, no multiple volumes, just the whole story all at once, so be sure you've finished reading before jumping into the episode. They discuss how the exploration and presentation of time is central to so much of Jeff Lemire's work and how effectively it is or isn't used in this book. Mike talks about how eerily the setup of the story mirrors his own current life situation (hint- it's not the underwater welding part) and Alex forced to confront several very terrible (are there any other kind?) water puns.

The themes in this book are dark, and the characters aren't necessarily likeable, but it has an overall optimistic view that will definitely strike an emotional chord with the reader. What kind of emotion? You'll have to dive in find out (dang it!).

This special on-shot episode serves as Season 3 of our show, and Season 4 will be coming down the line soon. See you all then!

As always, join our discussion on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our website.

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
• Or specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.
• Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.com

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In this episode, the guys discuss Mike's all-time favorite comic creator: Jeff Lemire (Alex is a big fan, too, just not quite on the buy-every-Jeff-Lemire-variant-cover-published-regardless-of-series level Mike is). They give a history of Lemire's work, an overview of his style and themes, and finally, provide a synopsis and sales pitch for their next discussion, The Underwater Welder!

Find the original graphic novel (or OGN, as the cool kids say) at your local comic shop or public library and join us next week for a special double-sized, one-shot episode!

As always, join our discussion on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our website.

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
• Or specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.
• Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.com

Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!