Comics Alternative

Gene and Derek start off the week presenting a powerful interview with Tom Hart. His new book, Rosalie Lightning: A Graphic Memoir, is being released this week from St. Martin's Press, and it's an honest and heartrending work. It chronicles the days following the unexpected death of Tom's daughter, Rosalie, as he and his wife anguished over the loss and tried to make sense of what had happened. In addition to their grief and feelings of emptiness, they also had to continue struggling with the frustrations of the mundane, such as trying to sell their apartment in New York. It's a story about putting the pieces of your life back together, reflected in large part through the structure of Tom's narrative. Gene notes the images that bind the scenes together, such as the visual prominence of circles, and Derek believes the Rosalie Lightning reads much like poetry with its associative, non-linear linking of emotions and memories. The guys also use the opportunity to talk with Tom about his other work, such as his Hu

On this episode of The Comics Alternative Interviews, Derek has the pleasure of talking with Dara Naraghi and Brent Bowman, the creators behind Persia Blues (NBM/ComicsLit). The second volume of the projected trilogy, subtitled Love and War, was just released last month, and Derek talks with the two about their efforts in getting it to print. They discuss the genesis of the story and its complex narrative structure. Persia Blues is composed of two different storylines, one a realistic thread taking place in contemporary Iran and the U.S., and the other a fantastical, mythologically infused tale set in ancient Persia. What links the two stories is the protagonist, Minoo Shirazi, a young Iranian architectural student and an adventurer (depending on the storyline) coming to terms with her family and her culture. Dara and Brent discuss the challenges in balancing the two narrative threads and the process they use when creating the comic. The two originally met through the comics collective, PANEL, based out of Co

Welcome to January! As the guys do at the beginning of every month, they use this time to discuss the solicits in the latest Previews catalog. And there's a lot packed into the January issue, starting with a rundown of the 50 titles that will be featured this coming Free Comic Book Day. Gene and Derek are particularly looking forward to the FCBD comics coming out from Fantagraphics, Archie Comics, First Second Books, Image Comics, Drawn & Quarterly, Top Shelf, VIZ Media, and Nobrow. After that brief detour, they get into the catalog proper, highlight upcoming releases from publishers such as Dark Horse Comics - Death Follows, The Massive: Library Edition, Vol. 1, Bird Boy, Vol. 1: The Sword of Mali Mani, and Trump: The Complete Collection DC/Vertigo - Kingdom Come: 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition and Suiciders: Kings of HelL.A. #1, IDW Publishing - Star Trek: The Classic UK Comics, Vol. 1, Johnny Boo, Book 7, and Paracuellos Image Comics - Circuit Breaker #1, The Discipline #1, and The Rattler Abrams

It's a brand new year, and for their very first podcast episode of 2016, the guys have as their guest the great Craig Yoe! This may become a tradition on The Comics Alternative, having Craig start off the new year, much as they did in 2015. In fact, this is the fifth interview appearance that Craig has made on the podcast (not counting the brief segment recorded at HeroesCon last year). Usually when the Yoemesiter comes on the show, he has one or two new books to discuss. But this time around there are a whopping six titles recently released from Yoe Books and IDW Publishing! It's all that Gene and Derek can do to keep up with everything that Craig and his production editor/wife, Clizia Gussoni, are putting out. They begin with a discussion of the five year anniversary of Yoe Books, which Craig actually celebrated last year. When he appeared on the show back in January of 2015, Craig discussed the coming year and what he had in store for the anniversary celebration. So Derek and Gene talk with him about the

For their December manga episode, Shea and Derek discuss two very different works. They start off with Makoto Yukimura's Planetes Ominbus, Vol. 1, just released from Dark Horse Books. This is the first of two large editions of the Japanese series that originally ran from 1999 to 2004. It's the story of a space debris removal crew -- orbital garbage collectors -- whose job is to clear out all of the man-made trash floating around the earth so as to make space travel safer. Taking place in the 2070s, this is a futuristic narrative that feels closely connected to our own world. The guys describe it as a kind of hard science fiction (with its emphasis on technical detail and scientific accuracy), but one that is heavily character-driven. Derek highlights both the drama and the comedy that take place among the crew members -- especially with Hachimaki, who is arguably the central figure in this first volume -- and Shea points out that while anchored in the science, Planetes is more of an "everyday" series that is

As has become an annual event, Andy and Derek use their penultimate show of the year to discuss the current volume of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's The Best American Comics. The series is overseen by Bill Kartalopoulos -- whom the guys interviewed on the show last year -- and this year's collection is edited by novelist Jonathan Lethem. The entries collected in The Best American Comics 2015 represent what both Lethem and Kartalopoulos consider to be the most outstanding comics published between September 1, 2013, and August 31, 2014. The guys begin by highlighting the organization of this year's volume, pointing out that Lethem has retained the topic- or theme-based approach used by Scott McCloud in last year's collection. The editor breaks down his entries into ten different chapter topics, ranging from the self-evident "Storytellers" and "Biopics and Historical Fictions" to more obscurely intriguing groupings such as "Brainworms" and "Raging Her-Moans." The guys are familiar with most of the contributions inc

On this episode in The Comics Alternative Interviews series, Derek is pleased to have as his guest Alex Robinson. His latest book, Our Expanding Universe, was released earlier this month from Top Shelf. It's the story of three middle-aged friends going through life changes -- kids, careers, and relationships -- and how their friendships, and their marriages, weather those experiences. Readers already familiar with the author's earlier works, specifically Box Office Poison and Tricked, will recognize the tone and subject matter. Robinson is a master of character-driven narratives, especially when his protagonists bump up against the social realities that reflect his readers' own lives. He objective assessments aren't distancing, but instead bear an empathic stamp. You may not particularly like the characters you encounter, but you certainly understand their motivations and their unique perspectives. Much of the conversation revolves around the new book, but Derek also talks with Alex about his early years as a

For this week's review show, Gene and Derek are back with an extra long episode jam-packed with nougaty comics goodness. They begin with Adrian Tomine's Killing and Dying (Drawn and Quarterly), his new book collecting issues twelve through fourteen of Optic Nerve. (Be sure to check out the guys' previous reviews of Optic Nerve #13 and Optic Nerve #14.) The text contains six separate short stories, and the guys start by trying to find any connective tissue binding the pieces together. Derek observes that every other story in the collection -- "Amber Sweet," "Translated, from the Japanese," and "Intruders" -- are first-person narratives functioning as confessionals of some sort. Also, the three longer stories that precede each of these "confessions" become progressively darker in tone. The overt humor embedded in "A Brief History of the Art Form Known as 'Hortisculpture'" gives way to the ambivalence of "Go Owls," which leads to the more ambiguously somber "Killing and Dying." Yet this is not a story cycle, by

For the month of December, Sean and Derek are back to discuss three very different, very distinct, webcomics. They begin with Brennan Lee Mulligan and Molly Otertag's Strong Female Protagonist, a title that has been going strong since 2012. As described by its creators, the story concerns "the adventures of a young middle-class American with super-strength, invincibility, and a crippling sense of social injustice." Although that may roughly encapsulate the premise, the webcomic is much more sophisticated than that. In fact, the guys spend a great deal of time discussing the creators' ambitions with the story, both in terms of the art and regarding its subject matter. Derek wonders if Mulligan, especially in the fifth chapter, may be trying to juggle too much at one time, making his narrative almost top-heavy with its intended messages. Sean disagrees, but he does see the philosophical ambitions embedded in the text. And it is on the topic of philosophy that the guys segue into their next title, Corey Mohler's

One of the things that has defined 2015 for The Comics Alternative has been the number of Publisher Spotlights it's presented -- seven, up until today. This week, the Two Guys are back with their eighth and final spotlight of the year, one on the fall releases out of Locust Moon Press. They begin their critical focus with a brief interview Derek conducted with Josh O'Neill, the publisher of Locust Moon Press. In that conversation, Josh shares the background and history of Locust Moon, first as a bookstore (which will be closing its doors early next year) and then as a publisher with an impressive catalog. They also discuss the press' success with Kickstarter, including last year's campaign with Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream and the current efforts with The Lost Work of Will Eisner. After that, Andy and Derek get into the nitty gritty of the show, a discussion of Locust Moon's fall releases. They begin with Prometheus Eternal, a short collection of stories inspired by Rubens's famous painting, Prometheus Bo

In yet another of the Two Guys' interview series, Derek is back to talk with one of the hardest working people in comics today, Ed Brisson. The first issue of his and Adam Gorham's new series, The Violent, will be released tomorrow, and Ed shares with Derek the story behind this new ongoing title from Image Comics. In fact, Ed reveals that the genesis of the narrative actually springs from his earlier webcomic (and later Dark Horse title), Murder Book. The protagonists, Mason and Becky, are a young working class couple with a checkered past trying to escape the drugs and crime that helped to get them where they are today. As Ed describes, their dilemma has very much a "Murder Book feel," making The Violent an ongoing extension of that story collection. The two also talk about his and Lisandro Estherren's upcoming four-issue miniseries from BOOM! Studios, The Last Contract, the story of a retired hitman who reluctantly finds himself forced back into the business. Along the way, they also bring in discussions o

Tomorrow the Two Guys with PhDs Talking about Comics will release a Publisher Spotlight episode devoted to the fall releases from Locust Moon Press. As part of that show, Derek talks briefly with the Locust Moon publisher, Josh O'Neill, about the history of the press, it's recent output, and its success with Kickstarter campaigns. In fact, Josh shares in detail Locust Moon's latest Kickstarter, The Lost Work of Will Eisner, which will wrap up on December 10th. As a way of teasing tomorrow's episode, and in order to give listeners more time to learn about and back this Kickstarter campaign, we are making Derek's conversation with Josh available today.

On this interview episode, Derek is pleased to have as his guest Jon Morris, the author behind The League of Regrettable Superheroes (Quirk Books). This is a book devoted to the heroes throughout comic-book history who just never made it to the big time...and for good reason. As Jon discusses on the show, his work chronicles some of comics' weirdest and wackiest superheroes, complete with backstories, publication history, and colorful vintage art. In the pages of The League of Regrettable Superheroes you'll find strange figures from the Golden and Silver Ages, as well as plenty of head-scratching curiosities from more contemporary times. Throughout much of their conversation, Derek and Jon discuss some of their favorite regrettables, including The Red Bee (a district attorney donning striped leggings and carrying bees hidden inside his belt, his favorite being named "Michael"), The Clown (a police commissioner turned crimefighting circus clown), The Eye (a giant, disembodied eye...that's it, just a floating e

As the end of 2015 draws near and the holiday shopping season is in full swing, Andy and Gwen have drawn up their lists of their favorite comics for young readers released during the last year. Although their choices run the gamut from texts for early readers up through to texts for teens, every text mentioned creates a fine balance between serious subject matter and engaging artwork and writing. Many of these comics would be great choices for parents and kids to read together.  Andy’s List: Astro Boy Omnibus, Vol. 1, Osamu Tezuka (Dark Horse Manga) The Kurdles, Robert Goodin (Fantagraphics) Lost in NYC: A Subway Adventure, Nadja Spiegelman and Sergio Garcia Sanchez (Toon Graphics) Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: The Underground Abductor (Harry N. Abrams) Oyster War, Ben Towle (Oni Press) Roller Girl, Victoria Jamieson (Dial Books) Gwen’s List: Secret Coders, Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes (First Second) Awkward, Svetlana Chmakova (Yen Press) The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents Rom

As Andy and Derek do at the beginning of every month, they use this first week of December to flip through the latest Previews catalog, highlighting upcoming series and notable new releases that capture their attention. Among the many soon-to-be-released titles they discuss on this week's show are comics from Dark Horse Comics - King's Road #1, Neal Adams' Blood, and I Am a Hero Omnibus, Vol. 1 DC/Vertigo - The Dark and Bloody #1 IDW Publishing - Wynonna Earp #1, Archie's Americana Box Set, and Haunted Love #1 Image Comics - Mirror #1, Snow Fall #1, Bloody Mary, and Octopus Pie Vol. 2 Action Lab Entertainment - The House of Montresor #1 AfterShock Comics - Second Sight #1 Alterna Comics - All My Ghosts Alternative Comics - Street Dawgz, From Now On, The Sequential Artist's Workshop, and Incomplete Works Bergen Street Press - Revenger, Vol. 1 Big Planet/Retrofit Comics - Future Shock Zero BOOM! Studios - Kennel Block Blues #1 and Hit: 1957 Conundrum Press - Adventures of Drippy the Newsboy,

Another month, another healthy dose of manga! For November, Shea and Derek make it a themed episode, one whose binding tie is an unlikely and infamous historical figure. To coincide with the 70th anniversary of the start of the Nuremberg Trials, the guys discuss two masters of manga and their takes on Adolf Hitler. They begin with Shigeru Mizuki's Hitler, released earlier this month from Drawn and Quarterly. Since 2011, the Canadian publisher has been introducing English-speakers to the incredible work of Mizuki, and this most recent translation is of a curious graphic biography originally published in 1971. Mizuki approaches Hitler's life as more of a character-study than as a historical determinant. Over the course of the book's first half, we see a very human, very pathetic -- and very troubled -- Adolf Hitler, a man whose failures far outweigh his triumphs. But both Shea and Derek note that as the text carries us into the 1940s, Mizuki's narrative is more rapid-fire and historically episodic, and the man 

The guys are back with their third annual Thanksgiving show. This a special episode of The Comics Alternative where Andy, Derek, and other cohosts get together to discuss what they're thankful for in the world of comics and comics culture. This year both Andy W. and Gene are able to join in, so for this special holiday week you get a special episode with extra stuff: Four Guys with PhDs Talking about Comics! Among the various things Gene, Derek, Andy, and Andy are thankful for are small-press publishers (like Kilgore, Uncivilized, Youth in Decline, AdHouse, Conundrum, Koyama, etc) who provide them with material for their podcasts, Chris Marshall of Collected Comics Library, who provided us with 17 years of insightful comics analysis (and whose podcast the guys will miss), Fantagraphics and their Complete Peanuts series, the many great projects they're backing on Kickstarter, the relatively new Librarians Assemble! podcast, this year's comics-related museum exhibits, special collections, such as the Bi

Over the past three and a half years, the Two Guys with PhDs Talking about Comics have interviewed a variety of artists, writers, editors, publishers, educators, and scholars, but in all this time they have not yet interviewed someone from the retail side of comics culture. Until now. In this episode, Derek talks with Christina Merkler, the co-owner of Discount Comic Book Service, one of the largest online retailers of comics (and, in the spirit of full disclosure, an official sponsor of The Comics Alternative). They begin their conversation with a little background history, Christina describing what it was like when her husband, Cameron, came up with the idea for the business and decided to start with an all-online shop. What began as a small Internet-driven service out of their home in 1999 eventually turned into a brick-and-mortar store, multiple online storefronts, and the growing multi-state operation that it has become today. Christina describes how now, with the DCBS remaining in Fort Wayne, IN, and th

On this interview episode, Andy and Derek talk with Joe Keatinge and Nick Barber, the creators behind the new Image series, Ringside. The first issue will be released this week, and so the guys wanted to get the lowdown on what promises to be a fascinating and different title. Joe gets things rolling by laying down the premise of the first narrative arc, introducing us to Danny Knossos, the once-famous wrestler called Minotaur. In classic noir fashion, the protagonist in this first issue returns to the old haunts from his past to help out a friend in trouble, and in doing so inadvertently becomes embroiled in a darker world that he had thought he had put behind him. This is more than a mere wrestling story, Nick and Joe explain. It's a brooding, crime-infused drama that bumps up against the world of professional wrestling. What's more, the series will have an ensemble cast, giving us shifting focal characters and rotating perspectives so as to flesh out a larger and more haunting landscape. The creators also

Jennifer Hayden comes to The Comics Alternative to talk about her new book, The Story of My Tits, released last month by Top Shelf Productions...just in time for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. She discusses with Derek the context surrounding the memoir and, along with that, the story of becoming an artist and comics creator. As Andy and Derek pointed out a couple of weeks ago in their spotlight on Top Shelf, The Story of My Tits much more than a breast cancer survivor narrative. It's a chronicle of Hayden's relationship with her breasts, from childhood and into maturity, and what they meant to her sense of self. At the same time, it's a story of binding relationships and how cancer in many forms had effected her family. These various narrative threads come together to create a deeply personal account of life under the influences of disease, adversity, and self-image. Jennifer also discusses the eight-year journey of writing this memoir, and how along the way she discovered graphic novels, met fellow artists (