Comics Alternative

Time Codes: 00:00:27 - Introduction 00:02:21 - Listener mail! 00:04:28 - Comments on the 2017 Eisner Award nominations 00:09:26 - Scumbag Loser 00:52:10 - Sweetness and Lightning 01:21:25 - Wrap up 01:22:14 - Contact us For the month of May, Shea and Derek discuss two works of manga that, while not necessarily diametrically opposed, are tonally opposite from one another. The first title is Mikoto Yamaguti's Scumbag Loser (Yen Press). What begins as a story about a teenage outsider with a unique smelling ability quickly turns into a horror story involving mysterious non-human forces. As the guys discuss, there are few characters in this book worthy of sympathy, but it is this lack of empathic closeness that makes this an affecting narrative. However, the guys aren't without their reservations, as Shea points out in his take on Yamaguti's patriarchal approach to his subject matter. Derek agrees, but he also sees the text's larger themes -- e.g., the unrealistic demands on youth conformity -- savin