Episode 21: Comic Book Censorship

Look Ma were finally legal! The DRUNK episode! Featuring absolutely no alcohol whatsoever, because we talk about censorship in comics and, of course, the consumption of alcohol wouldn't be allowed, so we follow suit.

Zero day release what? (starts at 1:59) did you know that comics are shipped a week early to dealers? News to Henny.

Seans's Pick:
Kick Ass #7 Starts @ 3:32
Dave Lizewski has had better days. When he first pulled on the Super Hero suit, it was the thrill of a lifetime. Since then, he’s been banged-up, beaten, broken, bludgeoned, and all sorts of other b-words. He’s met a 9-year-old assassin and been on a super hero team-up. He’s watched people die and seen himself become an internet celebrity. But all that means nothing—compared to tonight.

Here's a link to some pics of the movie and the trailer for the upcoming Lionsgate movie.

Creators: STORY BY: Mark Millar / ART BY: John Romita Jr.

Jonass's Pick:
Locke & Key "Welcome to Lovecraft" TPB Starts @ 8:55
Locke & Key tells of Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion, with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them.... and home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all...
Big ups to our boy spidey for recommending it to Jonas. According to Jonas it's the best comic book adaptation of "Throw Momma from the Train". While it may not be as good as "the night was moist" it's still pretty spot on.

Here's a link to some pics of the movie and the trailer for the upcoming Lionsgate movie.

Creators: STORY BY: Joseph Hillstrom King - 'Joe Hill' / ART BY: Gabriel Rodriguez

Henny's Pick:
Sweet Tooth #1 Starts @ 16:52
From out of the deep woods and the mind of acclaimed indie cartoonist Jeff Lemire (THE NOBODY, The Essex County Trilogy) comes a new Vertigo monthly ongoing series like no other! After being raised in total isolation, Gus - a boy born with deer-like antlers - is left to survive in an American landscape devastated a decade earlier by an inexplicable pandemic. Even more remarkable is that Gus is part of a rare new breed of human/animal hybrid children who have emerged in its wake, all apparently immune to the infection.

Did it remind anyone else of "The Village"? Henny ruins the plot of the movie in order to prevent anyone from watching it in the future. He hates it. So if you haven't seen it may wanna skip past this, we also touch on accents in comic books. I think they are awesome. He also talks about Solomon Grundy... Again....

Creators: STORY BY: Jeff Lemire / ART BY: Jeff Lemire

John's Pick:
Parker: The Hunter TPB Starts @ 25:00
The Hunter, the first book in the Parker series, is the story of a man who hits New York head-on like a shotgun blast to the chest. Betrayed by the woman he loved and double-crossed by his partner in crime, Parker makes his way cross-country with only one thought burning in his mind - to coldly exact his revenge and reclaim what was taken from him! Richard (Donald Westlake) Stark's groundbreaking Parker books are adapted for the first time as a series of graphic novels by Darwyn Cooke. The initial graphic novel brings to life the first Parker book, The Hunter, which introduces readers to the dangerous anti-hero's cold and calculated world of criminals, thugs, and grifters.

This is hands down my pick for the YEAR.
The same (kind of) story is told in the Mel Gibson movie "Payback" while it stays closer to the source material and is the first time Stark authorized the use of the name "Parker" for anything licensed. I effing loved this book, you absolutely have to pick this one up, honestly my favorite comic I've read so far this year. I love Darwyn Cooke's masterfully rendered pages. There are nearly 20 pages of wordless comic in here that are quite possibly some of the best visual storytelling I've seen. This is truly an achievement of the craft and cannot recommend this book any higher.

Creators: STORY BY: Richard Stark (pseudonym: of Donald Westlake) / ART BY: Darwyn Cooke

Episode 20: Comic book formats

Although we are missing dear Mr. Henny for this episode, we somehow manage (despite some of our best/worst efforts) to get out our weekly picks as well as...
We also discuss the Disney Marvel buyout (starts @ 22:10).
The new upcoming Lobo movie (starts @ 27:05)
And our main discussion on comic book formats. (starts #36:05) What sizes do you like? I'm not an Omnibus man myself, but Sean loves them. Why aren't there more manga sized books? Seriously who doesn't want a pocket sized comic. Floppies or trades? Are hardcovers worth it for the extras?

Jonas's Pick:
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly #1 Starts @ 1:20
Jonas is just a cowboy deep down at heart and can't get enough of this new series. But the only thing I found redeeming about this issue was the fact that Dynamite is soliciting the newest robocop series on the back! Meh. But anyways Jonas loves/hates the fact most of the story was written in spanish. What's your opinions about using different languages in english language comics, anyone really upset or love this? Just wondering.

Creators: STORY BY: Charles 'Chuck' Dixon / ART BY: Esteve Polls

John's Pick:
Incognito #6 Starts @ 15:06
The man who killed Captain America, named "Best Writer In Comics" for two years in a row by the Eisner Awards, Reuniting the acclaimed, Eisner-winning Criminal creative team of Brubaker and superstar artist Sean Phillips, this twisted mash up of noir and super-heroics will leave your jaw on the floor! What if you were an ex-super villain hiding out in Witness Protection… but all you could think about were the days when the rules didn't apply to you? Could you stand the toil of an average life after years of leaving destruction in your wake? And what if you couldn't stand it? What would you do then?

Creators: STORY BY: Ed Brubaker / ART BY: Sean Phillips

Seans's Pick:
Air Starts @ 6:50
Blythe, an acrophobic flight attendant for the fictional Clearfleet Airlines, is invited to join the "Etesian Front", who claim to be an anti-terrorist organization. The Etesians trick Blythe into transporting plans for a terrorist attack. When she discovers this, she and a man named Zayn are kidnapped and taken on board the plane that is the hijack target. Later, Zayn and Blythe leap clear of the plane as it crashes into the sea. The head of the Etesian Front, a man named Benjamin Lancaster, also survives. Zayn is later accosted by Lancaster in Narimar, a place that ostensibly disappeared from maps during the 1947 Partition of India, and interrogated as to the whereabouts of an Aztec artifact. Blythe follows him to Narimar, where she is designated by the Etesian Front a "hyperpract", that is, someone with the power to move into different dimensions or realities. The three escape Narimar, while their plane is followed by a mysterious winged serpent.

Creators: STORY BY: G. Willow Wilson / ART BY: M.K. Perker

For those of you who are new to the podcast be sure to check out the image feed for images relevant to the topic of our discussion (or not) plus you'll get some of the really great extras like...

Sean's personal home library. (these are just the hardcovers! zoinks).


Also in the podcast we reveal Sean's Preferred method of reading comics.

Time Machine: Batman The Killing Joke

Join us on a journey through time to the year 1988, be sure to bring along $3.50 to pay for your copy of Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's Batman: The Killing Joke. Promise it's well worth it.

Arguably the greatest joker story ever told. The Joker, after recently escaping from Arkham Asylum, kidnaps Commissioner Gordon and argues with Batman that anyone can go mad after "one bad day".

"The Killing Joke" also goes through the Joker's origin story and tells one of the only stories from 1988 that's still held up in DC continuity. The story stands as a chilling profile of madness. The Killing Joke provoked fury among many readers who lamented the disposal of Barbara Gordon as a mere pawn to testosterone, yet Gordon reinvents herself later as super-info-hacker Oracle, poster girl for disability empowerment (see Birds of Prey, LJ 7/08).

We take a look at both versions of the book; the original 1988 version featuring John Higgin's coloring, as well as the 2008 re-issue of Brian Bolland's re-coloring. Bolland was very unhappy with the original version's colors and was never satisfied with the final product, despite much critical acclaim and fan praise.

Join us in this all new feature to the show and help us evaluate one of the most humanized Joker stories told to date. We also talk about some of the follow up stories that came out of this graphic novel, such as Geoff John's Booster Gold, Batgirl, Sam Kieth's Batman: Secrets and Dave Mckean's Arkham Asylum.