The TradeWaiters

Special guest Jess Pollard returns to the TradeWaiters studio for "Americus" by M.K. Reed and Jonathan Hill. She proceeds to get Socratic on the group as we discuss censorship, culture wars, and comics. Meanwhile, we confirm the existence of actual IRL TradeWaiters listeners, and everyone’s got an opinion on a certain ultra-popular young adult fantasy book series.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will cover "Aya" by Marguerite Abouet and Clemente Oubrerie.

Stuff is bad right now. Let’s read a book! In this episode Jon, Jeff, Angela, and kgros read "Sacred Heart" by Liz Suburbia, about a group of punk teens surviving in a town that seems to have no adults. Spoiler alert: something mysterious is going on. Also in this episode you’ll find out our panelists’ favourite conspiracy theories, and our thoughts on depicting atmospheric sound in comics.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will cover "Americus" by MK Reed and Jonathan Hill.

n this episode Jon, Jeff, Angela, and kgros read "Ghosts," the new graphic novel by Raina Telgemeier. Raina’s books have single-handedly dominated the New York Times Bestseller List for graphic novels for years. Join us as we look at why that might be. We’ll also talk about how great Montreal is, how boring Medicine Hat is, a bunch of Kickstarters you’ll want to back, and Jeff’s nephew, world’s youngest comics fan.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will cover "Sacred Heart" by Liz Suburbia.

For today's episode our panelists read "Cul de Sac: This Exit" by Richard Thompson, the "last great newspaper comic." After Richard's passing earlier this year and the dire state of newspapers in general, we may not see his kind again. We also discuss the documentary "Stripped" directed by Dave Kellett, the "tell, don't show" approach to making comics, which part of southern Ontario is the most dire, and the similarity between kgros and Petey Otterloop.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will cover "Ghosts" by Raina Telgemeier.

Voila! Let us next volunteer "V for Vendetta," the volume by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. But are they visionaries viewing behind the veil, or vandals giving voice to violence? Join Jonathon, Jeff, Angela, and kgros as we debate the merits and shortcomings of this dark and gritty and deeply political graphic novel. The discussion ranges from violence against women and anarchy as a lifestyle, to a movie with the same name and an internet movement with the same face. But don’t worry, we still have time to talk about the fan fic possibilities and our favourite spiral staircases.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will cover "Cul de Sac: This Exit" by Richard Thompson.

Our Bakumanathon continues! We read the third and fourth volumes of "Bakuman" by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata and we invite you to join us as we check in with how our boys Mashiro and Takagi are doing in their quest for manga greatness. Also on deck are some in depth discussions of the differences between the North American and Japanese comics industries, and how to make sure comics only breaks your heart, not your hands. Our panelists agree, middle school marriage pacts and comics careers don’t mix.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will cover "V for Vendetta" by Alan Moore and David Lloyd.

Episode 20 begins our Bakumanathon! Our TradeWaiters read the first two volumes of "Bakuman" by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, and it filled them with a determination to share their opinions. Find out what they really think about the Japanese manga industry, the Shonen Jump editorial process, middle school cartoonists, and Pure Romance. Making comics will break your heart, but listening to this episode will not!

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will cover the next two volumes of "Bakuman" by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, volumes 3 and 4. The Bakumanathon continues!

Episode 19 continues the discussion from our previous episode on "The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For" by Alison Bechdel. Jeff, Angela, and Kathleen are once again joined by special guest Sfé R. Monster while Jonathon is busy doing work or something. Don’t let the lengthy discussion on long-running Canadian TV franchises at the start of the episode fool you, this episode gets in-depth with a seminal comics work, with politics, representation, and life in general. A melancholy time was had by all.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will cover at least the first two volumes of "Bakuman" by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, with the episode after that covering at least two more volumes. We’re doing a marathon Bakumathon.

In episode 18 Jeff, Angela, and Kathleen are joined by special guest Sfé R. Monster for the first of a two-episode break-down of "The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For" by Alison Bechdel. Our panelists have opinions on everything from Star Trek to page layouts, and from Trump to TERFs. You won’t want to miss a beat.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will continue the discussion on "The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For" by Alison Bechdel.

Episode 17 is our “CAF” episode! Join Jon, Jeff, Kathleen, Angela, and special guest Sfé R. Monster as they share some of the best new comics they found at TCAF and VanCAF 2016.

In this episode our panelists talk about:

"When You Grow Up" by Ma’at Crook, "My Sister’s Voice" by Alexis Sugden, "Clear Quartz" by Joamette Gil, "(Tr)Eat Yoself" by Wai Khan, "Before the Snows Come" by Kat Verhoeven, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S. Thompson & Troy Little, "Friends and Food Stories" by Joslin Chan, Roberta Chang, and Sylvia Chan, "Desolation" by Jade McGilvray, "Journey to Oz" by Arianna Mao, "Four Fables" by Maëlle Doliveux, "Sky Gods" by Leda Zawacki, "Don’t Talk to Me or I’ll Set Myself on Fire" by Jane Mai & An Nguyen, "Hotel Positano" by Levi Hastings, "Agents of the Realm" by Mildred Louis, "Sad Boy Comix" by Mike Dawson, "Version 002" by Jake Wyatt, "Late Bloomer" by Maré Odomo, "Twins" by Kiku Hughes, "The Nameless City" by Faith Erin Hicks, and "Escargoteric" by Johnny Herber.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next book will be "Dykes to Watch Out" For by Alison Bechdel.