The TradeWaiters

Come with us to the future of the past as we read "Kingdom Come," written by superhero powerhouse Mark Waid and painstakingly painted by Alex Ross. This dark vision of the future of DC superheroes might be a commentary on the grim-dark comics of the 1990s, or it might be an excuse to get all of Mark Waid’s favourite characters in a room with Alex Ross’ dad. Either way, the art (in this fully auditory podcast) is amazing.

Music by Sleuth.

On today’s Gutter-Take, Jam, Jeff, and JD talk about how to make friends in comics. Maybe the real comics were the friends we made along the way.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will be on Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross.

This week we read "Home by the Rotting Sea" by Finnish cartoonist Otava Heikkilä, a short but emotional journey to another world where the Arctic is melting and gender is what you make of it. We’ll talk about anthropology, allegory, and Otava’s unique page compositions. We’ll also talk about the censorship situation with Itch.io and payment processors, which does nothing to convince JD to choose digital comics over print.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next book will be "Kingdom Come" by Mark Waid and Alex Ross..

This week Jam, Jeff, and JD went back in time to read "The Rose of Versailles" Vol. 1 by Riyoko Ikeda, one of the foundational works of all shoujo comics. Get into your Versailles mindset (Versaind-set) for some gorgeous dresses, elegant balls, murder, and class warfare. Listen in so as to put this work in its proper historical context, and to avoid a case of “Paris syndrome.”

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will be on "Home by the Rotting Sea" by Otava Heikkila.

On today’s Gutter-Take, Jam, Jeff, and JD talk about manga. What’s it like to read manga for the first time? What was it like for manga to be widely available in North America for the first time? And what have been the lasting impacts on both readers and creators alike of manga’s English-language successes?

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will be on the first volume of "The Rose of Versailles" by Riyoko Ikeda.

Today’s book is weighty. We read "Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir" by Tessa Hulls. This book follows the lives of Tessa’s grandmother, mother, and herself through some of the most difficult periods of Chinese history in the first half of the twentieth century, as well as the mental illness and generational trauma that has bound them together ever since. It’s not all doom and gloom as we also talk about visual metaphors and page composition, but come prepared.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will be on reading manga.

In today’s episode we discuss "Blurry" by Dash Shaw, a nesting onion of vignettes of the lives of people facing indecision. Follow along as we fight our way through the fog and find out how they’re all connected. Take a delicious detour with us as we pick apart the mechanics of how this comic is built, from its 4/4 beat of the page layouts to the sparse but grounded character designs.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will be about "Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir" by Tessa Hulls.

The Minicomic Awards are back, and we’re here to celebrate them! For this episode, Jam, Jeff, and JD read as many of the winning comics as we could get our hands on, and some of the nominees as well.

Here are the winners:

Ratgirl by STC09

Scoot by Cam McCafferty

The Pool by Leda Zawacki

Diaphanoids by Anna Bow and Hagai Palevsky

The Ballad of Black Cassandra Olivia Stephens

Wisteria House by Daniela Vicoso

and Alas by Sajan Rai

Here are the nominated books that we also read:

Be Safe by Christine LeSantos

Queen Caterpillar by Virus Visal

Omega Trillionaire by Nick Winn

Scarlit Geyre by Jon Cairns

Girl Stuff 1.11 by Yaster Goodman

Agents Gorgeous by Gang Fight

Music by Sleuth.

On today’s Gutter-Take, Jam, Jeff, and JD talk in-depth about our experiences seeking balance between making comics, having a day job, and getting a life. If you’re an artist here’s your chance to learn from our mistakes and match your priorities to your lifestyle.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will be on some of the comics from the Minicomics Awards 2025.

For this episode our panel read "Banned Book Club" by Kim Hyun Sook, Ko Hyung-Ju, and Ryan Estrada. This book follows Hyun Sook's adventures as a young revolutionary during South Korea's Fifth Republic dictatorship. Because irony is dead, this book has in turn faced book bans of its own. Join us as we talk about the freedom to read, the importance of being able to imagine a different world, that a police state will inevitably do police state things, and how much we love the bus.

Music by Sleuth.

Our next episode will be a minisode on comics / life / balance.