The Comics Alternative

It's time for another on-location episode recorded at Heroes Aren't Hard to Find in Charlotte, NC. In this first of two planned September visits, Michael and Derek talk with customers -- Zyg, Brian, and Alonzo -- and discuss some recent releases that strike their attention. Focusing on the mainstream, Michael highlights Fantastic Four#1. He discusses Marvel's former flagship title's return, and he goes on to speculate on the significance of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee's creation...not only with the Marvel Universe, but for all comics. Derek focuses on a few non-superhero titles, including Christopher Sebela and Shawn McManus's House Amok#1(IDW/Black Crown), Eric M. Esquivel and Ramon Villalobos's Border Town #1(DC/Vertigo), and the first two titles in DC's new Sandman initiative, The Sandman Universe#1and The Dreaming#1.

With this episode, The Comics Alternative's on-location series joins the Queen City Podcast Network!

Time Codes:

• 00:00:27 - Introduction
• 00:03:03 - Fare-thee-well to Paul!
• 00:05:51 - The Cardboard Kingdom

On this episode of the Comics Alternative’s Young Readers show, Gwen and Derek discuss summer 2018 new releases, all geared to middle-grade readers. The first text, edited and illustrated by Chad Sell, is The Cardboard Kingdom, released by Random House Graphic. Readers learn about the lives and dreams of a group of neighborhood kids in short stories written by Jay Fuller, David DeMeo, Katie Schenkel, Kris Moore, Molly Muldoon, Vid Alliger, Manuel Betancourt, Michael Cole, Cloud Jacobs, and Barbara Perez Marquez. The second text they discuss is Hope Larson’s All Summer Long from Farrar Straus Giroux. And finally, Gwen and Derek review Vera Brosgol’s long-awaited memoir, Be Prepared, released by First Second Books.

They start by reviewing a comic that demonstrates the experimentation that is currently taking place in the young reader category: Chad Sell’s edited collection of connected short stories, The Cardboard Kingdom. Set in a suburban neighborhood and featuring a truly diverse and engaging group of young kids, these stories show how imagination can function as a coping device. Young reader short story collections are not entirely new. Random House has also supported the Comics Squadseries, edited by Jennifer Holm and a rotating cast of co-editors, that have included themed volumes on "Recess," "Lunch," and "Detention." However, this short story collection boast only one artist, Chad Sell, and is presented as a cohesive narrative, with authors identified only at the end of the text. As such, the comic has a more cohesive feel, rather than a collection of fundamentally different stories that are linked only by theme.

After that, Gwen and Derek check out Hope Larson's All Summer Long. This is the story of a 13-year-old, Bina, and her attempts to find meaning over the course of a summer. Growing up, she had been used to spending the summer with her best friend Austin, but during this particular summer, Austin goes off to soccer camp, leaving Bina to fend for herself. And part of this fending includes Austin's aggressive older sister, Charlie. This is a book all about growing up and finding your way over the course of significant life changes.

Finally, Gwen and Derek discuss Vera Brosgol’s BePrepared. This memoir focuses on the summer between 4th and 5th grades, when she attends Russian summer camp in the hope of finding friends with whom she will have something in common. The opening vignette in the novel focuses on young Vera’s sense of cultural and economic isolation: as an immigrant from Russia and the daughter of a single mom living in a prosperous east coast suburb, she is often slow to pick up on the latest trends -- such as American Girl dolls -- and unable to approximate the lavish birthday parties that her classmates’ parents are able to throw for their children. At the end of the school year, Vera listens to the plans that her friends are making, attending girl scout camp, taking vacations to faraway destinations…and she feels left out again. However, at the Russian Orthodox church that she attends, Vera learns from Ksenya, a Sunday school friend, about Orra, a Russian heritage camp, and she is certain that it will not only be fun, but will give her something to talk about with her school friends in autumn. While the experience is certainly life changing, it nonetheless becomes something quite different than what Vera had expected.

Time Codes:

• 00:00:25 - Introduction
• 00:02:17 - Catching up with Gwen
• 00:03:32 - Spotlight on Peow Studioreleases
• 01:09:53 - Wrap up
• 01:11:33 - Contact us

This week Gwen and Derek focus their critical spotlight on recent releases from Peow Studio, a Swedish publisher of minicomics and longer narratives. As they point out, much of what is coming out from Peow is very creator-centered, personal, and even experimental in nature. This is a publisher that, while not well-known my many readers, deserves much more attention for the intriguing material that they release. While Gwen and Derek aren't able to delve too deeply into each of the texts that they discuss, they do give a broad overview of the press, the kind of comics they publish, and some of the defining characteristics they see in their catalog. They primarily focus on the publications Peow has released over the past year and a half, including:

Time Codes:

• 00:00:26 - Introduction
• 00:02:25 - Setup of interview
• 00:03:54 - Interview with Christopher Sebela, Ro Stein, and Ted Brandt

In Crowded (Image Comics), the protagonist Charlie Ellison finds herself the victim of a crowdfunded assassination. That’s right, a crowdfunded assassination. Charlie lives a quiet, normal life, going about her daily routine as anyone would. But she soon finds herself under fire, hunted by all of Los Angeles with her potential killers fueled by crowdfunding platform Reapr. As a result, Charlie hires Vita, one the lowest-rated bodyguards employed by the Dfend, an app allowing you to hire protection. The two then go on a quest to discover who is behind Charlie’s crowdfunded contract, and do so without Charlie falling victim or Vita screwing up.

The first issue of Crowdedwas released in August, and last month Derek talked with the creators, Christopher Sebela, Ro Stein, and Ted Brandt, immediately before the release date. The second issue will be coming out next week, on September 12. In this interview Derek talks with the creators about the ideas behind this project, the role that social media and technology plays in the series, how the three collaborate on each issue, and what we might expect as the series unfolds.

Time Codes:

• 00:00:25 - Introduction
• 00:03:24 - Congratulations to Christina Merkler!
• 00:04:48 - Kochab

On the August episode 0f the webcomics -- granted, a little late -- Sean and Derek check out three titles where the art is incredible. They begin with Kochab, a YA fantasy about two young women, one a fire spirit, and their explorations of surroundings and self. After that they check out a most curious webcomic, Sara Valta's Alchemilla. This narrative focuses on the struggles and encounters of Valo, a problematic adventurer, and Fabulous, the magical counselor of a crisis center for fanatical creatures. Sean and Derek wrap up with Zap!, a science fiction adventure, partly inspired by Star Wars, but instilled with a good bit of humor.

Time Codes:

• 00:00:27 - Introduction
• 00:02:56 - Comments on translated plentitude
• 00:06:21 - Luisa, Now and Then

For their August show, Pascal and Derek look at two works whose creators may be largely unknown here in the states. They begin with Carole Maurel's Luisa, Now and Then, one of the first books published as part of Humanoids' new Life Drawn imprint. As the guys point out, this is a time-travel narrative where an individual confronts herself from another time. While this is a popular trope, Maurel gives it a different spin. Instead of time-traveling backwards, as found in most such narratives (e.g., Peggy Sue Got Married), in Luisa, Now and Thenthe movement is forward in time. This story is filled with intriguing scenarios, given the premise, and also a lot of humor. One could argue that it's one of the best introductions to the Life Drawn imprint.

Next, Derek and Pascal check out Green Almonds: Letters from Palestine, written and drawn by the sisters Anaële and Delphine Hermans (Lion Forge). This is an epistolary travelogue, the story of Anaële's 10-month stay in Bethlehem volunteering for a youth organization. She and Delphine corresponded during the Anaële's sojourn, and then Delphine used her sister's letters as a basis for her art. It's an intriguing concept, but as Pascal points out, there are potential problems in the visual representation, given the fact that the artist wasn't the one experiencing the time in Palestine and Israel. As a result, there are several unanswered questions imbedded in the narrative. There are various contexts that weren't addressed (apparently) in Anaële's original letters, so those are absent in the text.

Time Codes:

• 00:00:27 - Introduction
• 00:03:34 - Captain Harlock: The Classic Collection, Vol 1

This month Shea and Derek discuss two great works that bring back some older, or classic, manga. They begin with Leiji Matsumoto's Captain Harlock: The Classic Collection, Vol 1 (Seven Seas Entertainment), a series that originally ran between 1977 and 1979. Captain Harlockis a classic science fiction work, and with a space pirate protagonist who can be seen as a romantic hero. The Two Guys discuss the figure of Harlock as a curious mixture, while at the same time trying to ferret out the his philosophy. In many ways, they see this manga anchored in its time, both aesthetically and politically. But this work definitely isn't limited to it's time and can be appreciated today.

Next they turn to Slum Wolf, another translated collection from Tadao Tsuge (New York Review Comics). An earlier collection of Tsuge's work, Trash Market, was released in 2015 by Drawn and Quarterly (which the guys reviewed on their June 2015 episode). Slum Wolfis a collection of nine stories originally published between 1969 and 1978 in various publications such as Garo and Yagyō. It also includes an essay by Tsuge, as well as a outstanding contextual essay by Ryan Holmberg, who also edited and translated the collection. The guys discuss all the stories, to greater or lesser degrees of depth, but they spend most of their time talking about the linking features that bind most of the narratives. As both Derek and Shea point out, this is one of the manga highlights of the year, so far.

Time Codes:

• 00:00:26 - Introduction
• 00:02:36 - Setting a James Bond context
• 00:04:59 - A discussion of the James Bond comics published by Dynamite Entertainment
• 00:59:59 - Wrap up
• 01:01:43 - Contact us

This week's episode of The Comics Alternative is special. Gwen and Derek devote their entire show to the the James Bond comics that have been coming out from Dynamite Entertainment for the past few years. They begin the show by sharing some of their own experiences with the James Bond franchise and how much it was a part of their childhoods. Then they get into the core of the show, discussing the eight James Bond trades, along with the recent six-issue The Body, that have been released since 2016. While they are unable to talk in detail about all of the works -- after all, there's a lotto cover -- they nonetheless provide a broad overview of the various elements, themes, and styles that define Dynamite's James Bond, plunging into deeper readings whenever possible. The various works they cover, along with the creators and years of trade publication, include:

Time Codes:

• 00:00:24 - Introduction
• 00:02:34 - Setup of interview
• 00:04:37 - Interview with Sean Lewis and Caitlin Yarsky

In November of last year readers saw the first issue of what was a brand-new series from Image Comics, Coyotes. It was the latest creation from writer Sean Lewis, who had authored other Image series including The Few and Saints, as well as writing recent titles for Aftershock such as Betrothed and Clankillers. For Coyotes, Sean chose as his illustrator a relative newcomer to comics, Caitlin Yarsky. While this is the first ongoing series where she provides all of the interior art, Caitlin’s work is a standout component and, in many ways, primarily defines the tone and sheer impact of Coyotes. As revealed in the first narrative arc, collected as a trade earlier this spring, Coyotesis about a young girl, name Red, who lives in a southwest border region fighting against a legion of wolves who prey upon women. She’s aided in her fight by the Victorias, an all-female society empowered by an earth goddess and united to fight against the masculinist lycanthropes. The series has a feel of a grand mythology, and it touches upon a variety of topics, including female empowerment, coming of age, and socio-industrial exploitation. In the first issue of the second narrative arc, there is quite a bit of backstory and context to the world Lewis and Yarsky establish in the first four issues, including a history of the Four Grannies of the Earth, the earth goddess Gaia, and the transformative nature of the lycanthropes. In this interview, Derek talks with Cailtin and Sean about their collaborative process, where they are in their story, and what plans they have for the series as a whole.

It's that time again! It's the beginning of the month, and the latest issue of the Previews catalog is out. And as they always do, the Two Guys meticulously go through the latest solicits, highlighting a variety of upcoming titles in Previewsthat they're interested in or they think is worth considering. Among the many publishers and titles that they focus on in the August catalog include:

• Image Comics - Blackbird#1, Dead Rabbit#1, Exorsisters#1, Juke Joint#1, Wytches: Bad Egg Halloween Special, Norroway Book 1: The Black Bull of Norroway, Men of Wrath, and Royalboiler: Brandon Graham's Drawn Out Collection