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Hey, look! We’re back, and we’re all-new and all-different. Seriously, what used to be a comics column, is now a podcast. So that’s different, right? Anyway, I managed I co-opt Fantom Comics‘ Esther Kim and this is now a thing!
Topics of conversation included rereading Journey Into Mystery, DC’s current direction for Superman & whether John Romita Jr. is a good fit, the pros and cons of different authorial voices, wishful thinking for an afro-futuristic western, and finally a very involved conversation about diversity in comics that also included a discussion of Bombshells, Gotham Academy and the recently announced Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur. Click more for annotations!
00:00-02:10: Greetings & shenanigans!
02:10-6:55: Rereading Kieron Gillen‘s Journey Into Mystery morphs into a discussion on all things Thor including J. Michael Straczynski, Matt Fraction, and Jason Aaron. Along the way Marjorie M. Liu’s Monstress gets a mention, and, yes, it’s still happening (apparently in November)!
6:55-13:57: From critiquing Whilce Portacio’s work on Journey Into Mystery to John Romita’s art on Superman (including his Superman being too Italian), and why it works for some and not others, and then a more in depth conversation on all things Superman. Things make their way back to JMS, and Esther attributes Jeph Loeb’s run on Superman/Batman to JMS, specifically the storyline involving Supergirl.
13:57-25:28: Then suddenly Brian Michael Bendis, a conversation on what distinguishes comic-book from prose voices, and how straddling that boundary might make for better storytelling. This leads to Simon Spurrier & Jeff Stokely‘s The Spire, and how much we love it all! We also find out that Andre May does the wonderful colors, and yes Six-Gun Gorilla was a previous credit! Oh, and I give a huge shout-out to a certain Six-Gun Gorilla promo from Simon Spurrier. Plus, afro-futurist westerns should be a thing!
25:28-57:08: The conversation on diversity in comics begins! Also, turns out that both Esther and myself are huge DC fan girls. Then we’re directed to talk about Marguerite Bennett & Marguerite Sauvage‘s Bombshells by our one and only peanut gallery, Jade Lee. Gotham Academy gets a huge mention, and the fact that it’s unfortunately not selling super well. All of which amounts to the fact that comic-book stores really need to diversify their audiences. Marvel’s recently announced Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur by Amy Reeder and Brandon Montclare gets a huge mention, and how we should all be super excited for it! Also, if two white dudes get to do Blade then two black creators should do Captain America, *ahem* David Walker. While on the topic, Marguerite Bennett should write a Louis Lane comic! Then Batgirl of Burnside, and how it almost failed in its infancy, how it allowed for DC to experiment more, and the sad fact that Marvel fans who should like these books aren’t sampling them. The big question, why does Marvel inspire such loyalty? Total aside, but what has Spider-Man ever done on the Avengers? Finally, back to Bombshells, let’s all compare it to New Frontier!
Aaaaand that concludes our first episode! More next week, same place, same time!
Intro/outro music, Wastecnology by Jahzzar, available under an Attribution/ShareAlike license.