Comics Alternative

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