The TradeWaiters

Join us as we look at "3rd Voice: 1st Passage" by Evan Dahm. This masterpiece webcomic is about community, memory, and desperation in a post-apocalyptic world. We’ll talk about culture, anarchy, bicycles, the subtleties of visual world-building, and how to use voice in comics, a medium that usually reads as strictly objective. We’ll also propose a new genre for our current era, “MID apocalyptic.”

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will cover the 2nd Passage of "3rd Voice" by Evan Dahm.

This episode was inspired by the essay Evan Dahm included at the end of his book "3rd Voice: 1st Passage," which is what our next episode will be about. His essay got us thinking about the material conditions of cartooning, how we got here, and how to keep making comics when all our infrastructure seems to be coming apart. Tapas is being shut down, and this isn’t the first or last time comics as an art form is compelled to come a distant second to comics as an industry.

Music by Sleuth.

And now, the thrilling continuation of "Marvel Knights Daredevil" numbers 38 to 50 by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, Manuel Gutierrez, Terry and Rachel Dodson, and Matt Hollingsworth. We have lots more to say about Daredevil; but also owl physiology, classical Chinese philosophers, the American legal system, and how to read comics when you’re blind. Any crimes discussed during this podcast are strictly fictional.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will be about "Third Voice" by Evan Dahm.

In Hell’s Kitchen there stalks a devil. And that devil is Marvel Comics’ trade paperback numbering system. No. For this episode we read issues 26 to 37 of Marvel Knights Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. Come with us and spend some time with the comics that set the tone for modern Marvel superheroes. We’ll discuss gritty gangsters, the gap between writing and drawing, rotoscoping, and whether ACAB includes the crooked cop who ruined Matt Murdock’s google results.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will be on Marvel Knights Daredevil numbers 38 to 50 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev.

The Tradewaiters return with a new book to read. "Flip" by Ngozi Ukazu is a new twist on a “Freaky Friday” storyline. Chi-Chi and Flip switch bodies, and must experience race, gender, class, and their own mental health and personal hang-ups while living in each other’s shoes. We’ll talk about the ethics of body-swapping, the power of comics, and whether everyone in Vancouver has small house Stockholm syndrome.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will be on "Daredevil Marvel Knights" numbers 26 to 50 by Brian Michael Bendis and like 20 other people.

On today’s Gutter-Take, Jam, Jeff, and JD talk about zines! Zines are back. They never left. We talk about their history, their future, and the many roles they can play in your life.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will be on "Flip" by Ngozi Ukazu.

With the recent passing of Marjane Satrapi, we are reposting this episode from 2018 that we recorded with Kathlees Gros and Jess Pollard about "The Complete Persepolis." Marjane shared several stories with the world in a few different media during her life, but Persepolis in particular is a seminal work in the medium of comics. This memoir of her life growing up in Iran and then Europe is more important than ever, and it will outlive all of us. Let it never be forgotten.

Music by Sleuth.

We’ve got new episodes in the works, so look for that soon.

We’re back with the weighty graphic novel "Hello Sunshine" by Keezy Young, a book that weaves together one person’s mental health crisis with supernatural horror in a way that is simultaneously smart, original, and respectful. This book is a lot more than just “Scooby-Doo, but serious.” Be prepared for spoilers (go read the book first), and stay tuned for some character-revealing moments.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will be on "Flip" by Ngozi Ukazu.

The TradeWaiters return with an old friend, Jess Pollard, as she gets us to read the first two seasons of the Webtoon "Everything Is Fine" by Mike Birchall. This comic might seem cute and simple, but don’t let the “Hello Kitty” faces fool you. This is a story about existential dread, paranoia, and the death of optimism. We’ll also talk about what makes a comic a comic, and where the lines get blurry between the panels (or when your panel is a phone screen frame).

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will be on "Hello Sunshine" by Keezy Young.

It’s a (winter) summer crossover spectacular! For this episode Jeff and JD were joined by Jack and Diane of the Panel Pals podcast to read "Minus" by Ryan Armand and "Sweet Poolside" by Oshimi Shuuzou. And then you can continue the crossover over on the Panel Pals podcast for part 2 later this week! Join us as we talk about lost and hard-to-find comics, the early 2000s webcomic scene, and why on Earth Diane made us all read this manga.

Music by Sleuth.

For part two of the Tradewaiters VS Panel Pals crossover, we will be looking at "Omega the Unknown" by Jonathan Lethem and Farel Dalrymple, and "Batman/The Spirit" by Jeff Loeb and Darwyn Cooke.