The Under Guides Graphic Novel Podcast

The Ill Mac, Mister Joe Fixit and Diabolu Frank return after nearly five months with black & whitesploitation! Fantagraphics Books represent at 0:38 with Johnny Ryan’sPrison Pit, an adults-only sci-fi gorehound wrestling original graphic novel series, currently at five volumes with an animated adaptation of the first. Then at 22:17, Frank offers a second installment of our “Swords of Cerebus” ongoing feature, a look at the seminal Canadian barbarian aardvark self-published series that published 300 regular issues between 1977-2004, taken six at a time. Discussing the encroaching craziness of once-revered creator Dave Sim with Mac leads us to a tangent at 28:54 tracing the similar trajectory of Frank Miller fromSin CitytoDark Knight Strikes Again, All-Star Batman, Holy Terrorand the upcomingThe Master Race. 34:29 brings a theme song to our mail segment, which is so heavy with shop talk between Joe & Frank that it takes up most of the back half of the hour.

Mister Joe Fixit and Diabolu Frank (with about fifteen seconds worth of Mac in various cameos) return to pimp four color fixes set off from the roads most traveled. This episode begins with a look primarily at the Image Comics seriesBedlamwith numerous Nick Spencer-related tangents such asMorning GloriesandSuperior Foes of Spider-Manbeginning at the one minute mark. Brian Apodaca of the small press comicZombie Outlawdrops by for a very brief plug thirteen minutes in. Then the boys go on an ADHD comics overview rapidly referencing comics from Vertigo, Image, Valiant, Marvel, Dynamite, Avatar, Epic, Dark Horse & Wildstorm, under such writers as Warren Ellis, Brian Michael Bendis, Garth Ennis, Alan Moore, Mark Millar, Pat Mills, Jim Shooter, David Lapham & Si Spurrier. From ten seconds 'til 23 minutes, we begin our coverage of the earliest issues of Dave Sim's watershed independent comic epicCerebus, part of a planned ongoing examination of the single longest lasting creator owned series in the history of North American comics. 32:14 brings our readin' & respondin' to y'r writin' on 'r prior podcastin'.

Kicking it 1990s style for the debut episode as we talk the launch of Image Comics, with an emphasis on early and recent material from Todd McFarlane's Spawn, Rob Liefeld's Youngblood, and Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon. Then, our spotlight original graphic novel is Bob Fingerman's Minimum Wage Book One from 1995 for Fantagraphics Books, recently reprinted in the large Image Comics collection Maximum Minimum Wage. Also, a brief nod towardLove and Rockets.