Storied Arcs

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"I'm just a working man, trying to make a living, Dee. We're all parts of a machine we cannot see. A system. All of us have our function."

Mike and Alex are back with another season of Storied Arcs, this time diving deep into the tangled web of November Volume 1 The Girl on the Roof by Matt Fraction and Elsa Charretier from Image Comics. They start by discussing how they think they should consider what was (and perhaps wasn't) presented in this book, knowing it's just the first entry of a three-turned-to-four part story. Is it really part one, or merely a prologue? Does that distinction even matter? If you weren't already bought in to the premise and the creators, was there enough in this volume to keep a causal reader hooked? The guys wade through these questions while touching on various aspects of the storytelling along the way, including the paneling structure, Matt Hollingsworth's color choices, and Kurt Ankeny's unique lettering. All vibes.

If you're a little confused as to what's happening in the story right now, your best option is to just keep reading. So find November Volume 2 The Gun in the Puddle wherever you get your comics and join the discussion with us next week!

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On this season of Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex will be diving into November, the graphic novella series by Matt Fraction and Elsa Charretier from Image Comics. Originally planned as a series of three OGNs, it ultimately expanded to four, which were released across the span of about 15 months. The guys start with a spoiler-free preview of November, giving the official synopsis that accompanied the initial solicitation, and talk a little about why they enjoy the type of storytelling construction utilized in this book. Then they give some background on creative team behind the comic, including writer Matt Fraction, artist Elsa Charretier, colorist Matt Hollingsworth, and letterer Kurt Ankeny.

November is the first series of OGNs we've covered, and we're excited to explore a different storytelling approach. So go find November Volume 1: The Girl on the Roof wherever you get your comics and join up back here next week to start the discussion!

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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This week, Mike and Alex are thrilled to be joined by writer and co-creator of The Bunker, Joshua Hale Fialkov! They start with the origin of The Bunker and how the idea came to be, from the initial germ of a story idea to how Joshua linked up with Joe Infurnari. Joshua then takes up deep into the business and commerce side of comics, discussing how his initial experiences working at DC and Marvel led him and Joe to self publish The Bunker digitally at first before finding a home at Oni Press, and how circumstances eventually lead him away from writing comics and into working in television for several years (he also answers our question about the placement of issue #10 in Volume 3). He lets us in on the many attempts at making a Bunker television adaptation, and how each of those (failed) attempts would have related to and affected the comic. It's a fascinating look at the way one story could been woven and told across different media. Finally, Joshua gives his thoughts on The Bunker a decade-plus on, and how its themes and ideas fit into the world today and inform the work he's doing currently as a teacher. We can't thank Joshua enough for being so generous with his time!

You can follow Joshua at his website as well as on Instagram and Bluesky.

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.
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"Your job, your purpose is to tell people why they matter. To tell them the truth. Always. If you spend your life lying to the people you love, hiding who you are, and what you want... then we lose.

Mike and Alex wrap up their deep dive into The Bunker by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Joe Infurnari this week with Volume 4 (issues #15-19). The guys jump right into the ending, breaking down the final revelations and consequences presented in the book from meddling with time, and discussing their thoughts about the story's ultimate message. What does it say about someone who's capable of developing time travel that they always believe that they're the only ones who can fix the problems they created by traveling through time? It's a common time travel theme, and the guys take a long examination into how The Bunker comments on it. It's a compelling book, inviting the reader to ask themselves how they might handle things, and if their choices would be any better or worse than the characters' in the story.

We hope you enjoyed this look at The Bunker. Next week, we are excited to share an exclusive interview with writer Joshua Hale Fialkov, where we dig into the origins of The Bunker and so much more. Be sure to check it out!

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.
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"This is about TRYING to make things better. Listen, the best part about all of this is that if we're wrong, we just start over again."

In this episode, Mike and Alex break down the penultimate volume of Oni Press' The Bunker by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Joe Infurnari with Volume 3 (issues #10-14). The guys jump right into things, exploring how the three-month time jump in the story was handled, and how the "backward" issue plays as a storytelling device. And as they are attempting to heap some praise on Joe Infurnari's art, they get waylaid by the real-time discovery that the trade collection re-orders the issues so that issue #10 (the peek-at-the-future interstitial story drawn by Brahm Revel and colored by Jason Fischer) is presented as the final chapter in this arc (as Alex read it) as opposed to the first (as Mike read it), and go into a discussion of how that shifts the readers' perspective on the remaining issues of this volume. Mike goes so far as to reach out to Joshua Hale Fialkov mid-discussion to try and get some clarity (more on that later).

Join us next week as we wrap up our look at The Bunker with Volume 4 (issues #15-19). Find it wherever you get your comics and join the discussion!

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 do we know that we aren't the ones who killed these people, and started this whole thing? How do we know that we didn't do this all already? -We don't. And we never will."

This week, Mike and Alex continue their exploration of Oni Press' The Bunker by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Joe Infurnari with Volume 2 (issues #5-9). With some further examination of the time travel rules by the book itself, the guys dive a little deeper into what they think might and might not be possible to accomplish by traveling into the past, then take a larger existential look at free will versus fate and how that debate is presented on the page. What does it mean to make a choice if you know how that choice will play out? Is it even still a choice at that point? Finally, they discuss who the good guys and bad guys are of the story (if there even are any of either), and who they may be focused on heading into the back half of the story.

We head into the penultimate story arc with The Bunker Volume 3 (issues #10-14), so grab it wherever you get your comics and we'll see you here next week!

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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"We wrote these letters to tell you that its not too late. To inspire a future we hope can be made. That is a lie. If this works, and you are reading this, you need to understand something. This NEEDS to happen. The world HAS to die."

This season on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex are delving deep into The Bunker by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Joe Infurnari from Oni Press, starting this week with Volume 1 (issues #1-4). The guys start by revisiting the topic of time travel stories (see: Paper Girls, Time Before Time) and discuss what kind of time travel rules apply (or appear to apply) to The Bunker. Is it a closed loop, or can things be changed? They also examine the trope of "trauma as character trait" as it's presented in these issues, and as it is used throughout popular media today. What would you do if you received a letter from your future self? And what would you write to convince your past self that it's really you? And would you even trust yourself either way? These are the questions The Bunker offers up.

The timey-wimey-ness continues with The Bunker Volume 2 (issues #5-9), so find it wherever you get your comics and join up back here again next week!

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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This week on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex crack open The Bunker from Oni Press by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Joe Infurnari. In this spoiler-free introduction, they shine the creator spotlight on Fialkov and Infurnari, exploring their past comic work, then set the stage for what makes this time-bending thriller worth your attention. Along their way, the guys discuss how they came across this book, how its initial digital-first publishing strategy was a sign of the times, and why time-travel stories remain a fruitful storytelling well. 

Whether you’re brand new to the series or just curious about the creative minds behind it, this episode gives you the perfect jumping-on point. So go find The Bunker Volume 1 (issues #1-4) wherever you get your comics and and join us back here next week to break it all down!

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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"We can set down our tools and, at last, rest. The next generation is no longer our concern. Because we are the last."

Mike and Alex contemplate the end (question mark?) of human civilization as they dive into the final issues of Charles Soule and Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque's Letter 44 with Deluxe Volume 3 (issues #25-35) from Oni Press/Image Comics. The guys start at the end of the story and go deep into the final issues, debating the ending notes of the comic and the feelings they were left with at its conclusion. They also discuss the ways in which this book was prescient about the future (aka the present, as this episode was recorded) and how, once again, it was seemingly all the bad things that came true. That's probably something we should sit with a little longer.

We really enjoy taking a look at an early work from a now-more established creator (like Charles Soule), and we hoped you enjoyed it as well. We'll be back next week to get you ready for our next deep dive into another great comic!

Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs

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• Find all links here: https://linktr.ee/storiedarcs
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"You're in command, sir. Everything you do is the right thing. Even when it's not."

This week on Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex continue their exploration of Letter 44 by Charles Soule and Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque with Deluxe Volume 2 (issues #13-24). The guys start by discussing the escalation in the storylines, both on Earth and in space, and dive into the decision of a world leader to unilaterally inform the planet that alien life exists and it's on its way here (spoiler alert- it goes poorly; World War III, anyone?). They once again examine the real world parallels/allusions presented in the book, and how those overlays effect the reader's relationship to the story. Then the guys break down how the space portion of the story has gained more traction and speculate how the two storylines might converge at the comic beings to draw to a close.

We wrap up our look at this political sci-fi mashup next week so go read Deluxe Volume 3 (issues #25-35 aka all of the remaining issues) and join us here again to see how it all ends!

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!