The Comics Alternative

This week the Two Guys with PhDs eulogize the recently ended Hellblazer series and the publication of its 300th issue.  This is a sad occasion, since both Andy and Derek love Hellblazer, but at the same time both are generally pleased with how the series ended.  In this episode the two guys spend a lot of time discussing the impact and the legacy of John Constantine, his place in both the Vertigo line and the DC Universe, the strengths and shortcomings of the newer, younger Constatine in Justice League Dark, and they also speculate on the new title, Constantine, and what that might be. In addition, Andy succinctly encapsulates Brian Azzarello's run on Hellblazer with canine acuity.

This is the first of what will become a monthly supplement to our regular episodes of The Comics Alternative: an on-location recording at Lone Star Comics in Plano, Texas.  On this inaugural outing, Derek discusses the final issue of Hellblazer with Lone Star Comics associate and all-around John Constantine expert, Shea Hennum. Over the course of their discussion, Shea and Derek — unfortunately, Andy is unable to join the talk — look back at the history of the title, its significance in the Vertigo line of comics, and how the character of Constantine has evolved through the hands of a variety of writers and artists.  They also plunge into other topics such as the New 52, manga, the Franco-Belgian tradition, and customers of Lone Star Comics who are too paranoid to share their opinions on the podcast.  Finally, they are joined by the location’s manager, Rick Cromack, and from there the discussion becomes a strange, fun, rapid-fire, free-for-all.

This week Andy and Derek begin what will be a two-episode look at recent crime, detective, and noir comics. In this first installment, they discuss two general kinds of of these comics: heist/caper and unconventional noir.  With the former, the Two Guys with PhDs look specifically at Robert Kirkman, Nick Spencer, James Asmus, and Shawn Martinbrough’s Thief of Thieves; Gary Phillip and Marc Laming’s The Rinse; and Howard Chaykin’s Marked Man.  Next, they turn their focus to several unconventional comics that blend genres and narrative styles in interesting ways.  These titles include Chaykin’s Black Kiss II, Ed Brubacker and Sean Phillips’s Fatale, Victor Quinaz and Brent Schoonover’s Mr. Murder Is Dead, and Joe Grahn and Carl Yonder’s Pirate Eye.

This week Andy and Derek review issues 4 and 5 of the mini-comic So Buttons, the creation of writer Jonathan Baylis and a whole slew of artists.  In their discussion the Two Guys with PhDs draw connections between Baylis’s work and that of other autobiographical comics writers, such as Harvey Pekar and Jeffrey Brown, and highlight some of the strategies that make So Buttons work.  All of this eventually leads to comments on NPR, war films, and dead birds.

Once again Andy and Derek delve into the pages of the latest Previews catalog, and there they find many wondrous things!  This month they note upcoming new series such as X, Jupiter Legacy, Miniature Jesus, Polarity, as well as a number of original graphic novels and collected editions, including Bloodhound from Dark Horse, the Solo Deluxe Edition and Jack Kirby’s In the Days of the Mob from DC Comics, The Secret Service from Marvel, Strange Attractors from Archaia, The Property from Drawn and Quarterly, and Crater XV and Heck from Top Shelf.  They also bring up flaming poop and sticks on fire.

On this episode Andy and Derek turn their critical sites on the work of Grant Morrison. Joining them in the discussion is Marc Singer, the author of Grant Morrison: Combining the Worlds of Contemporary Comics.  Although much of the talk revolves around Morrison's non-superhero work - e.g., The Invisibles, The Filth, Seaguy, Flex Mentallo, We3, Sebastian O, The Mystery Play, and Happy! - Derek, Andy, and Marc bring into their discussion titles such as Arkham Asylum, Batman Gothic, Final Crisis, JLA, New X-Men, and Morrison's recent run on Action Comics.  So whether you are a diehard superhero fan, or your tastes run more to alternative or non-mainstream comics, you'll definitely find this an episode worth listening to.

This week Andy and Derek take on the herculean (or sisyphean, take your pick of Greek reference) task of discussing Chris Ware’s Building Stories.  And they do so, surprising, without pulling any important muscles!  There is a lot to talk about concerning Building Stories, and the Two Guys with PhDs are only able to scratch the surface in this episode.  But in their review, they nonetheless touch on a variety of important points and questions to consider.  In fact, one of the conclusions reached is that Ware’s project — would you really call this a “book”? — raises more questions that it actually answers.  And that’s a good thing. They also review the Hernandez brother’s latest issue of Love & Rockets: New Stories, although they don’t spend near as much time discussing this as they do Chris Ware’s book.  But don’t let the length of the review fool you.  Jaime and Gilbert’s recent installment of their New Stories is one of the strongest they’ve created so far.

With the spring semester beginning for most schools around the country, it’s only appropriate that The Two Guys with Ph.Ds Who Talk about Comics use this time to focus on comics pedagogy.  On this week’s episode, Andy and Derek hold a roundtable discussion with Lan Dong and James Bucky Carter, two scholars who know a lot about teaching comics.   Among other issues, the roundtable participants converse over what kind of works they teach, the challenges of teaching superhero narratives, the pros and cons of anthologies, censorship and graphic content, the links (as well as the disconnects) between comics scholarship and the use of comics in the classroom, pop culture (movies, television, games, etc.) and its impact on how we read and teach comics, and the need for a useful comics studies textbook.

This week Andy and Derek sift through the January issue of Previews and highlight new titles that will soon be coming out from a wide variety of publishers. Some of the comics discussed include this year’s Free Comic Book Day offerings; Dark Horse’s B.P.R.D.: Vampire and Mister X: Hard Candy; the new Constantine and Time Warp from DC/Vertigo; IDW’s Doctor Who Classics; several new Image Comics offerings, including East of West, Five Ghosts: The Haunting of Fabian Gray, and Lost Vegas; All Crime from Art of Fiction; Oni Press’ Helheim; new comics adaptations, including Eureka Production’s Native American Classics, as well as H.P. Lovecraft’s The Case of Charles Dexter Ward and The Complete Don Quixote from SelfMadeHero; the upcoming “secret” history of Marvel Comics from Blake Bell and Michael J. Vassallo; and brand new works from such notable creators as Bill Griffith, Kim Deitch, Bob Fingerman, and the team of James Vance and Dan Burr.

This week, Derek and Andy talk to Ming Doyle, the extraordinary artist behind the new Image mini-series, Mara.  In this, the first Comics Alternative episode of 2013, Ming speaks with the Two Guys with PhDs (who talk about comics) about her work with Brian Wood, the joys of creating online comics, her nascent attempts at scripting stories, the evolution of her experience with high-tech writing tools, and what she got for Christmas.  All in all, a great way to start the new year!