Between the Gutters Podcast: Recent Episodes
Albert and Dru
Albert and Dru are your hosts for Between the Gutters, a comic book podcast that talks about the stories within the panels. This is a free-flowing podcast by two big comics fans and we just like to shoot the breeze. Feel free to email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com. If we get any fan mail, we may even respond on the show! Thanks for listening! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! IG: @BetweentheGutters You can also find our episodes on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, etc. Just search for "Between the Gutters" and you'll find us!
Solo #9 is Scott Hampton's spotlight issue! He's an artist neither of us is very familiar with, so it was good to get more exposure to his work. Because we don't know his other comics well, this episode is mostly focused on talking about the stories within this specific issue of Solo. There's a Batman story in this comic, too - what more do you want? Check out Solo #9 and listen to our podcast! (Not necessarily in that order!) If you have any Scott Hampton recommendations for us, shoot 'em over! For a handy Spotify playlist featuring all of our episodes on Solo, click here: tr.ee/LWngAKKWTtIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsAlso, if you listen closely to this Scott Hampton episode, you can have a shot at winning a secret prize...
We're back! It is time to continue our readthrough of DC Comics' Solo. This month, we're discussing the eighth issue, which features the incredible work of Teddy Kristiansen. Join us as we delve into his spotlight issue and discuss all five of his stories in the comic! For a handy Spotify playlist featuring all of our episodes on Solo, click here: tr.ee/LWngAKKWTtIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
Mike Allred is one of the most unique voices in creator-owned and mainstream comics! Perhaps best known for his Madman series, he has also left a big mark on some of DC's and Marvel's biggest characters and franchises, including Superman, Batman, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, and so much more! Join us as we cover his issue of Solo!Apologies for the late episode! We recorded this well before San Diego Comic Con, but due to the busyness of life and work, didn't get a chance to edit and post it until now. But we still function.For a handy Spotify playlist featuring all of our episodes on Solo, click here: tr.ee/LWngAKKWTtIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
In this episode, we're discussing an indie comic we both backed on Kickstarter back in 2020. The Dodo Knows by Helen Greetham is an anthology of stories centered around themes of loss and discovery. It's a lovely collection for readers of any age, and we warmly recommend it.If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
We're digging way too deep into the forgotten 1993 Image lineup in this episode. Do you remember Union by Mark Texeira and Mike Heisler? If you do, this episode is for you. We take a look at the initial four-issue miniseries that took almost a year to come out! Let's party like it's 1993 again, or something like that. If DC hadn't bought up WildStorm, Union would have been the perfect mascot for the Image Comics union.If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
Jordi Bernet is an artist neither one of us was particularly familiar with, but he received his own spotlight issue of Solo, which we'll be discussing in this episode! As usual, we'll be discussing each story in the comic. Don't worry, there's a Batman story in this one...For a handy Spotify playlist featuring all of our episodes on Solo, click here: tr.ee/LWngAKKWTtIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
For the second straight episode, we're taking a close look at another underrated Image miniseries! This time around, we're examining Ghost Cage by Nick Dragotta and Caleb Goellner! This three-issue science fiction comic has a ton of the things we love, including dope character designs, immersive worldbuilding, slick action, Mega Man-esque aesthetics, and substantial subtext. It's a book we really dig, and we really enjoyed discussing it. If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
Let's take a walk.Step by Bloody Step by Si Spurrier and Matias Bergara is truly a gem of a miniseries. It's an almost wordless fantasy story about a girl and her giant guardian traversing across their world. Featuring beautiful imagery and densely layered artwork that communicates the story of their journey, Step by Bloody Step is a work that not only demands your attention, but deserves it. Join us as we discuss and analyze it!If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
After we went through the ordeal of revisiting X-Men #1-3 by Claremont and Lee a couple weeks ago, we decided to reward ourselves by talking about a great X-Men story: House of X/Powers of X. It's two stories that are one! As the Krakoan era winds down in 2024, it's also a nice time to revisit this smash hit.While you slept, the world changed... So stay awake and listen to our voices!If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
In this month's installment of our readthrough of DC's Solo, we're finally covering the Darwyn Cooke issue! Everybody should know how great Cooke was. He contributed to a lot of the early DC Animated Universe, and he left a big impact on comics. While works like DC: The New Frontier and his Parker adaptations are probably his most famous, you should definitely keep an eye out for Solo #5 in the back issue bins. It is a treasure, and a veritable showcase of his talents. Join us in this episode as we discuss why his work in general continues to resonate with us, and as we do a story-by-story analysis of his issue of Solo!For a handy Spotify playlist featuring all of our episodes on Solo, click here: https://tr.ee/LWngAKKWTtIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
X-Men #1 is the best-selling comic book of all time and a big part of our youths. With X-Men '97 in the zeitgeist, we figured we could go back and revisit X-Men #1-3 (1991) by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee, taking a critical look at one of the most beloved and influential runs in popular culture. In this episode, we take some time to talk about our individual experiences with Claremont and Jim Lee's works, reflect on the early nineties X-Men, and do an issue-by-issue commentary of the first three issues of 1991's X-Men! Towards the end of the episode, we also talk about what we've seen of X-Men '97, the Disney+ animated series that seems to be pleasing fans of the old nineties show. If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
Happy Mother's Day to all who celebrate! In this episode, we're talking about Mothers, by Kusahara Umi! Mothers is a one-woman anthology published by Glacier Bay Books. It's got a dozen stories, and virtually all of them are hits. Seriously, find yourself a copy of this book if you don't already have one! We talk in-depth and discuss each story in this book, which is rich with meaning and ideas to unpack. The tales in this collection examine themes of motherhood, family, loss, and practically the whole gamut of human emotions. It was a true pleasure to read and discuss all of these stories!If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
Lois Lane: Enemy of the People by Greg Rucka and Mike Perkins is, in the grand scheme of eternity, a relatively recent 12-issue maxiseries that we wanted to read and discuss. It's also a chance for us to talk about the impact of the creators' works.Also, because this is a Lois Lane-centric episode, we took the time to talk about the 1986 Lois Lane two-issue miniseries by Mindy Newell and Gray Morrow, "When It's Raining, God Is Crying." These are two different Lois stories from different eras, but there are some fascinating commonalities in their characterization and portrayal of Lois.If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
As we continue our readthrough of DC's Solo, we now come to Howard Chaykin's issue. He's a very distinctive artist known for his edginess, but we've certainly read our fair share of his latter-period Big Two work. Join us as we discuss our thoughts on his writing and art in general, and as we examine his spotlight issue!For a handy Spotify playlist featuring all of our episodes on Solo, click here: open.spotify.com/playlist/5Cp7xN6…565b39d437214b89If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
We're back! Just like Superman coming back from the dead, Between the Gutters has returned to life! This week, we're discussing Superman vs. Meshi volume 1 by Satoshi Miyagawa and Kai Kitago. It's a delightful slice of life food manga featuring Superman and his appreciation for fast Japanese cuisine! This is a different type of cape comic for those who are accustomed to Western superhero comics, but manga readers know that comics about food are about as plentiful as comics about cats. (Maybe?)Join us as we discuss our experiences with Superman vs. Meshi and food-centric comics in general!
In issue three of Solo, Paul Pope takes the spotlight. This issue contains the Eisner Award-winning short story "Teenage Sidekick!" There are some other gems as well. Join us as we discuss Paul Pope's work and the bits of his career that we're familiar with. For a handy Spotify playlist featuring all of our episodes on Solo, click here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5Cp7xN6T5JKdsqA2VvbUE1?si=565b39d437214b89If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
This is a story. This is a story about us podcasting about one of the best DC comics ever, and one of the last great Vertigo ongoing series. This is a story about the next entry in our top 25 DC comics countdown! Coming in at #22 on our list... Sweet Tooth by Jeff Lemire, Jose Villarubia, and more!This science fiction post-apocalyptic coming of age story about the boy and the big man is one of the most evocative and touching comics DC has ever published. This is a story.We discussed Sweet Tooth in broad terms back when the first season of the Netflix adaptation came out. See episode 82 of our podcast. We also discussed another Jeff Lemire comic, Joker: Killer Smile, back in episode 51. We also talked a bit about Trillium, a later Lemire/Villarubia joint, in episode 37.Like we did for our Marvel top 25 list, we applied a set of criteria and scored all the DC books we've read to create our list. Our criteria are as follows:CRAFT. Is the comic technically sound? Is it well-written? Is it well-illustrated? Did the creators demonstrate mastery of the language and form of comics?ORIGINALITY. Is the comic creative and imaginative? Does it have something meaningful to say?IMPACT. What sort of lasting influence did the comic have? Did it leave a mark within the DC universe, on the industry, or on pop culture? Do fans remember it with affection?WITHSTAND THE TEST OF TIME. Is the comic something that holds up today, outside of the context of its original publication? Is it something we could read over and over again in the future?If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersCheck our Linktree for a handy Spotify playlist of all of our DC Top 25 episodes (including our honorable and dishonorable mentions)!Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
The Seeds by Ann Nocenti and David Aja is an ecological, post-apocalyptic, science fiction, romantic, techno thriller. If that sounds like a lot, it's because Nocenti and Aja stuffed this four-issue story chock full of ideas and concepts. Perhaps The Seeds isn't a perfect comic book, but it's absolutely an intriguing one. It's a comic that demands your active attention. We tried to figure it out - no idea if we've understood it properly - but we had a good time with it. It's refreshing to read a mainstream comic that has a high estimation of the intellect of its readers.What'd you guys think about The Seeds?If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
Richard Corben... The man, the myth, the legend. About twenty years ago, he did the second issue of DC's Solo. This anthology series showcased a special artist with every issue, giving them carte blanche to do whatever they wanted. In 2024, we're dedicating one of our episodes every month to talking about one issue of this series, and after tackling Tim Sale's issue last month, it's time to turn our attention to Corben.We're admittedly only directly familiar with a small portion of his later period work, so if you have more thoughts about his overall career, or if you have recommendations for specific Corben comics we need to check out, please feel free to hit us up!If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane is an underrated and underappreciated gem of a series, and we're here to shine a spotlight on it. In this episode, we're covering all twenty issues of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, plus the two preceding four-issue miniseries. All of these comics are written by Sean McKeever, mostly drawn by Takeshi Miyazawa, colored by Christina Strain, and lettered by Randy Gentile and Dave Sharpe. David Hahn drew the last few issues of the run, Norman Lee inked some of Miyazawa's issues, and there's some additional art by Valentine De Landro and Rick Mays.This is a great MJ comic, a great Spidey comic, a great romance comic... It's just a great comic by Sean McKeever, an underrated writer who deserves more love and recognition. Discussing SMLMJ also gave us a chance to talk about his work in general. Of course, we also don't want to neglect the primary artists of the run, Takeshi Miyazawa and Christina Strain, whose warm and vibrant work bring wonderful energy and zest to this incredibly addictive romance comic. If you've never read SMLMJ, now's as good a time as any to check it out! And if you've read it before, it's a fun one to revisit. Join us as we talk about the many virtues of this series! Happy Valentine's Day if you celebrate! And a hearty "Bah humbug" if you don't!If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
After an unplanned bye week, we're back with the first episode of our 2024 readthrough! In 2021, we read through Invincible. In 2022, we read through Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. Last year, we read through Deadly Class. This year, we're reading through DC Comics' Solo! Once a month, we're dedicating one of our episodes to an issue of Solo, which lasted twelve issues.First up, we're discussing issue one, which was Tim Sale's issue. Join us as we provide a general overview of Solo as a series and then discuss Tim Sale's broader work in comics. After that, we take a look at every story in Solo #1. There's also a brief but very special interview audio included in this episode: Back in 2019, Albert met Tim Sale at a convention and asked him a few questions.Timestamps:33:25 - Albert's brief interview with Tim Sale35:53 - Solo #1 DiscussionIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
We're back with a discussion about another recently published Image Comics book, Immortal Sergeant by Joe Kelly + Ken Niimura! It's the newest collaboration from the duo that brought us the legendary I Kill Giants. Immortal Sergeant is about the dysfunctional relationship between a grizzled, old-school, bigoted detective and his adult, socially liberal son. The two of them are forced to spend an inordinate amount of time together when the detective catches a break on the murder case that's haunted him for decades.Immortal Sergeant functions much like a companion piece to I Kill Giants, which focused on the relationship between a mother and daughter. Kelly + Niimura have put together another immaculately crafted comic that's worthy of our time and analysis.If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
It was released in English a little over a year ago, but we've finally gotten around to reading Shuna's Journey by Hayao Miyazaki, a gem that was originally published in 1983. It's not a long read, but it's absolutely gripping and worth your time and contemplation. If you're a fan of Miyazaki's films, then Shuna's Journey will certainly be of major interest.It's kinda decent timing, by our standards, to talk about Shuna's Journey because Miyazaki's been back in the public discourse. As you probably know, his latest film, The Boy and the Heron, was recently released in U.S. theaters, and may still be playing at the time this episode drops (check your local listings). (They should have kept the original title of How Do You Live?, though.)If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
Happy New Year! For our first episode of 2024, we decided to read and talk about a new series from 2023: W0rldtr33 by James Tynion IV, Fernando Blanco, Jordie Bellaire, Aditya Bidikar, and Dylan Todd (edited by Steve Foxe). This science fiction horror story is by one of the biggest writers in comics at this particular moment. We haven't really talked about any Tiny Onion books on our podcast before, so we figured we'd try to get with the times.In this episode, we discuss W0rldtr33 volume 1, which collects the first five issues of the series. Have you read it? Have you read many other Tiny Onion comics? What do you think?If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
As 2023 comes to an end, we decided to read and discuss a comic that's also about an ending, of sorts. Namor the Sub-Mariner: Conquered Shores by Christopher Cantwell, Pasqual Ferry, Matt Hollingsworth, and Joe Caramagna is a "The End"-type of story for Namor, one of Albert's most beloved superhero characters. Conquered Shores takes place in a far future after the Earth has endured massive trauma, which results in Atlantis becoming the dominant superpower as the planet is engulfed by the seas and melted ice caps. The superhero population has diminished, and Namor is one of the last remaining few with any agency. What choices will he make in this new world?Join us for our discussion of this five-issue miniseries!If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
Twelve months, twelve volumes. We have finally completed our coverage of Deadly Class by Rick Remender and Wes Craig! As we have been doing throughout 2023, in this episode we provide our usual issue-by-issue synopses and commentary of the last trade paperback collection of the series, which contains issues 53-56. We also discuss our overall thoughts and feelings about the series as a whole. This has been our #Remendyear and what more fitting way to finish it off than with a long conversation about the end of Deadly Class?If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersCheck our Linktree for a handy Spotify playlist containing all of our Deadly Class episodes!Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
This week, we're continuing our top 25 DC comics countdown. We have Sleeper, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, at number 23 on our list! Nowadays, Brubaker and Phillips are household names for their creator-owned crime comics. Let's go back in time and take a look at this early work from the pair! Sleeper is a super powered espionage neo-noir thriller that contains a whole lot of tension and suspense. A creeping sense of dread permeates the narrative. It's also got a lot of heavy emotional, psychological, and thematic material that gives it that added element of depth.Here are some of the other episodes we've done in which we've featured these creators:Episode 6: CriminalEpisode 8: Captain AmericaEpisode 20: Scene of the CrimeEpisode 155: WildcatsEpisode 192: Gotham CentralLike we did for our Marvel top 25 list, we applied a set of criteria and scored all the DC books we've read to create our list. Our criteria are as follows:CRAFT. Is the comic technically sound? Is it well-written? Is it well-illustrated? Did the creators demonstrate mastery of the language and form of comics?ORIGINALITY. Is the comic creative and imaginative? Does it have something meaningful to say?IMPACT. What sort of lasting influence did the comic have? Did it leave a mark within the DC universe, on the industry, or on pop culture? Do fans remember it with affection?WITHSTAND THE TEST OF TIME. Is the comic something that holds up today, outside of the context of its original publication? Is it something we could read over and over again in the future?If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersCheck our Linktree for a handy Spotify playlist of all of our DC Top 25 episodes (including our honorable and dishonorable mentions)!Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
We're getting very close to the end of our readthrough of Deadly Class by Rick Remender and Wes Craig. This month, we're covering volume 11, which is comprised of issues 49-52. Join us as we provide our issue-by-issue recaps and commentary!If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersCheck our Linktree for a handy Spotify playlist containing all of our Deadly Class episodes!Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
We return from our bye week with our autopsy on The Marvels, the latest MCU flick! We've all heard the noise around this one. It's been a polarizing movie, especially if you spend time in online spaces. There's also the box office stats, which led to even more chatter. We're not too interested in the movie's financial success (or lack thereof). We're here to talk about the movie itself. Join us as we dissect this movie in another one of our patented autopsies!Some timestamps for y'all:0:00:00 - Our intro discussion is about Albert's recent travels.37:50:00 - The Marvels autopsy begins (spoiler-free)1:03:40 - Full spoilers beginIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersCheck our Linktree for a handy Spotify playlist of all of our Marvel Cinematic Universe autopsy episodes!Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
We're continuing our countdown of the top 25 DC comics of all time! Coming in at number 24 on our list, we've got Sandman Mystery Theatre by Matt Wagner, Steven T. Seagle, and Guy Davis! This mature-readers crime noir series set in the late 1930s is a grounded and realistic reimagining of a classic Golden Age superhero. It's more than just a gritty remix of an old character, though. This is a series that has it all: intriguing plots, complex and well-developed characters who grow and change, one of the most beautiful romances in all of comics, and compelling social commentary.Tune in and find out why SMT is one of the best things DC Comics has ever published!We previously discussed Steven T. Seagle in one of our honorable mentions - in episode 132 we covered It's a Bird...We forgot to mention it during our recording, but Guy Davis had a book on our Marvel top 25 list, too. We talked about Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules way, way back in episode 8.Dru forgot to mention this in his recommendations at the end of the episode, but another comic to check out if you dig SMT is The Good Asian, by Pornsak Pichetshote and Alexandre Tefenkgi!Like we did for our Marvel top 25 list, we applied a set of criteria and scored all the DC books we've read to create our list. Our criteria are as follows:CRAFT. Is the comic technically sound? Is it well-written? Is it well-illustrated? Did the creators demonstrate mastery of the language and form of comics?ORIGINALITY. Is the comic creative and imaginative? Does it have something meaningful to say?IMPACT. What sort of lasting influence did the comic have? Did it leave a mark within the DC universe, on the industry, or on pop culture? Do fans remember it with affection?WITHSTAND THE TEST OF TIME. Is the comic something that holds up today, outside of the context of its original publication? Is it something we could read over and over again in the future?If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersCheck our Linktree for a handy Spotify playlist of all of our DC Top 25 episodes (including our honorable and dishonorable mentions)!Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
This week, we're covering Deadly Class volume 10: Save Your Generation! This volume collects issues 45-48 of the series by Rick Remender and Wes Craig! As usual, we're providing recaps and commentary for each issue as we talk through the entire series, one volume per month.If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
At long last, we're here! When we began our podcast back in the halcyon days of 2017, we started with a series of episodes counting down the top 25 Marvel comics of all time. Eventually, we finished that list and made plans to do a top 25 DC comics list. In the past couple years, we've teased and tantalized with a few honorable mentions (and dishonorable mentions), but now it is time to begin the countdown proper in earnest! Long have we waited! This is not a dream, not a hoax, not an imaginary story! We are starting our top 25 DC comics countdown!In this episode, we provide a refresher regarding our criteria and thought processes behind our list, and we unveil #25: Gotham Central by Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka, Michael Lark, and their pals! Join us for an invigorating discussion about why Gotham Central is one of our picks for one of the top 25 DC comics of all time!Don't expect the countdown to take over the feed entirely, as we have many other intriguing comics on our upcoming podcast schedule. However, we definitely have a few more countdown episodes scheduled for the rest of the year, so we'll be sprinkling these in with the rest of our usual episodes.If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersCheck our Linktree for a handy Spotify playlist of all of our DC Top 25 episodes (including our honorable and dishonorable mentions)!Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
Continuing what seems to be an unintentional trend on our podcast, we're here to discuss yet another science fiction comic. This week, we're talking about Decorum, by Jonathan Hickman and Mike Huddleston! This is a story about the most well-mannered assassin in the known universe. Beyond that, we initially struggled to figure out what this comic was really about. However, throughout the course of our conversation in this episode, we eventually wrestled through the text and came to a general understanding of it. (We think.)If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweentheguttersThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
Far Sector, written by acclaimed novelist N.K. Jemisin with art by the skillful Jamal Campbell, is undoubtedly one of the best Green Lantern tales in recent memory. It's a science fiction story about Sojourner "Jo" Mullein, a new Green Lantern, protecting the City Enduring, a massive city-planet of 20 billion people comprised of three distinct races. For the first time in 500 years, there's a murder, and it's up to Jo to solve the crime. If you enjoy intelligent science fiction in your cape comics, you owe it to yourself to check out Far Sector!Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
In this episode, we're discussing one of Panel Syndicate's most famous publications: Barrier, by Brian K. Vaughan, Marcos Martín, and Muntsa Vicente! Someone once said that science fiction is social fiction. Barrier is a science fiction story about an alien abduction, but it has a great deal to say about today's social climate. Though it originally came out a few years ago, it feels just as relevant as ever. Barrier's got something to say, and it's elevated by its craftsmanship and experimental nature.You can check it out at panelsyndicate.com and then listen to our discussion!Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
We're back from our bye week with the next installment of our readthrough of Deadly Class! The ninth volume, entitled Bone Machine, comprises issues 40-44 of the series. As usual, we provide issue-by-issue commentary of the comic as we analyze, interpret, and discuss it.In our intro conversation, Albert shares about his recent vacation to New England and the east coast and talks about some of the comic book stores he managed to visit while he was out there. Our Deadly Class discussion begins at around the 37:50 mark.Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Madi: Once Upon a Time in the Future is an intriguing experiment in producing a graphic novel. A science fiction story cowritten by film director Duncan Jones and comics veteran Alex de Campi, the comic's visuals were drawn and colored by around two dozen artists so that the book could come out sooner rather than later. Essentially a road trip story, the different artists drew various portions of the adventure so they could leave their visual stamp on the world of Madi. It's an intriguing experiment in theory, but how does the final product hold up in execution? Join us as we examine Madi: Once Upon a Time in the Future!Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
With the recent release of Shortcomings, the film directed by Randall Park and written by Adrian Tomine, we decided to do one of our comic book movie autopsies! In this episode, we'll be discussing both the film and the original comic by Tomine. Whether you've only read the comic or only watched the movie, tune in to this episode to hear our conversation! We'll warn you in the audio before any serious spoilers.
Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
It's time to talk about volume 8 of Deadly Class, which we are reading on a monthly basis. Follow along with us as we provide our usual issue-by-issue breakdowns, analyses, and commentary!
Happiness by Shuzo Oshimi is a rare foray into vampire fiction for us (notwithstanding all the Blade, Morbius, etc. comics we've consumed). Back in episode 113, we covered the the first seven volumes of Blood on the Tracks, the Oshimi series that's still currently ongoing. Reading that series garnered enough appreciation for Oshimi's work that we decided to go back and read one of this earlier, completed series.
Happiness is a vampire story, yes, but it's also a dark, psychological thriller. While it's definitely not for the squeamish, Happiness gives us a compelling plot about a teenage boy who becomes a vampire, and his coming of age story. At least... that's how it starts. The story evolves into much more.
Join us as we cover all ten volumes of this manga series! Albert provides recaps for each volume as we systematically discuss each book so you can follow along with us.
Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
The Disney+ series Secret Invasion recently completed its run, so we figured we'd do an autopsy. Before going into our dissection of the show, we first spend some time discussing 2008's Secret Invasion comic book event, specifically the eight-issue miniseries by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu. The show got its title and basic concept from that comic, so we figured we'd examine that event and talk about how the show approaches the premise of a Skrull invasion differently.
What did you think of Secret Invasion, either the comic or the show?
Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Ta-Nehisi Coates' run on Captain America is a thematically and conceptually rich interpretation of one of Marvel's most important characters. His thirty-issue series is intellectually dense but doesn't skimp on the action and thrills, either. It's a story that demands your attention and warrants multiple readings as an examination of what makes Captain America meaningful. Join us as we try to scratch the surface of this one!
Also, our intro discussion contains Albert's report on San Diego Comic-Con 2023! The book discussion begins at the 22:00 mark.
Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
In this month's installment of our yearlong Deadly Class comic book coverage, we discuss volume seven, which is titled Love Like Blood. This volume collects issues 32-35 of the series. Read along and listen as we provide issue-by-issue commentary and discussion!
Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
This week we're covering Superman Space Age by Mark Russell and Mike Allred. It's a story that examines Superman and the persistence of hope in the most dire of circumstances.
The New 52 era of DC Comics was a particularly bad time for comics, but it did give us one diamond: Wonder Woman, by Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang, Matthew Wilson, Jared K. Fletcher, and several other artists, including Tony Akins and Goran Sudžuka! This self-contained run is an evergreen Wonder Woman story. It's a series that not only provides a compelling plot and fascinating characters with depth, but also stands as a concise summation of what the concept of Wonder Woman is all about, and what makes Diana of Themyscira special. In this episode, we highlight this run as part of the buildup to our DC Top 25! Tune in and find out why we think so highly of this Wonder Woman run.
Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Multiverses are all the rage right now. The latest big multiverse story is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. It's something we watched recently, so we figured we'd dissect it for the podcast. The first fifty minutes or so are spoiler-free, but we'll warn you in the audio when we go full spoilers. (Also, near the end of the episode, Albert will spoil The Flash a little bit.)
Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
In this month's installment of our Deadly Class readthrough, we cover volume 6: This Is Not the End, which collects issue 27-31. We get some answers to a couple of burning questions, some great character building, some social commentary, and plenty of fantastic art. Join us as we provide our issue-by-issue commentary!
Throughout 2023, we're reading through Deadly Class by Rick Remender and Wes Craig. Each month this year, one of our episodes will be dedicated to coverage of one volume of the series!
Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Paul Chadwick is one of the best writer-artists of our lifetime, and his most famous creation, Concrete, is an absolutely tremendous series. Critically hailed and extremely well-respected back in its heyday, today Concrete seems to be a bit forgotten compared to some of the more famous works from Chadwick's contemporaries. This is unfortunate. We're here to shine a light on a diamond that should never be forgotten.
In this episode, we discuss Concrete and Paul Chadwick in general, and we specifically zero in on Dark Horse Comics' 2005 trade paperback edition of Concrete volume 1: Depths, which collects the first five issues of the series and a smattering of short stories. Although this trade paperback is technically out of print, you may be able to find a copy at cover price at your local store. It's also readily available digitally on digital library services like Hoopla, as well as on Amazon Kindle. Seek out any Concrete you can find! It deserves your time and attention, especially if you love beautifully drawn comics with well-defined characters, creative plots, and introspective, thoughtful, and contemplative themes.
Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats
If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
This week, we're taking a look at a pair of Green Lantern graphic novels, Legacy and Alliance, by Minh Lê and Andie Tong! These comics are aimed at younger readers, but they're perfect for superhero fans of any age. Green Lantern: Legacy introduces us to young Tai Pham, the latest member of the Green Lantern Corps. Alliance expands upon Tai's world, introducing new threats and allies. Not only are these great superhero comics, but they're also sensitive and authentic portrayals of Asian American culture without being hamfisted or corny. For a couple of graphic novels aimed at elementary readers, these comics are more sophisticated and more worth reading than many cape comics on the racks today. Check 'em out, and tune in for our discussion about Green Lantern as a general concept and, of course, our deep dive into both of these books!Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
We're back after a bye week with May's installment of our Deadly Class readthrough! This month, we're covering volume 5: Carousel, which comprises issues 22-26. After last month's shocking cliffhanger, we were pumped to find out what happens next, and we were not disappointed! If anything, Rick Remender and Wes Craig subverted some of our expectations to take us on an unexpected, yet logical, ride into a new school year at King's Dominion. Tune in for our usual issue-by-issue synopses and commentaries, as well as some tangents about eighties Marvels like GI Joe, The Punisher, and The 'Nam!Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
We've been reading through Deadly Class in 2023, and we thought we'd supplement our Rick Remender coverage with a podcast about Seven to Eternity, which features art by Jerome Opeña! In this episode, we discuss the entirety of this seventeen-issue series. It's a compelling story that subverted our initial expectations based on the first issue, and it ended in the only place it could. Seven to Eternity is a lavishly illustrated space fantasy story about integrity and compromise. There's some fantastic worldbuilding, gripping character drama, rich subtext, and thoughtful conceptual ideas lurking within this comic. We'll warn you in the audio before we go into full-spoiler mode!Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
It's time to dissect Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3! Here's our autopsy of the latest MCU feature film. More than merely a movie review, our dissection begins with an overview of the GotG concept and a broad discussion regarding our general thoughts about the comic book source material. We then provide a spoiler-free review, and then we'll warn you in the audio when we go full spoilers.0:00:00 - Intro Discussion1:23:25 - Spoiler-free Review1:43:30 - Spoiler-filled DissectionThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
This week, we're covering Marjorie Finnegan: Temporal Criminal by Garth Ennis and Goran Sudžuka! It's an eight-issue miniseries from AWA, and it is a fun romp. Marjorie Finnegan is a very well crafted science fiction action comedy adventure about a mischievous time traveling criminal who ends up saving the timeline from a very, very evil man. We spend the first part of our discussion talking a bit about the creative team and the publisher, and then we dive into the book itself!Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Deadly Class volume 4: Die for Me collects issues 17-21 of the series co-created by Rick Remender and Wes Craig. Each month in 2023, one of our episodes will cover one volume of this Image Comics series. This month's volume starts with some frenetic action, picking right up where the previous volume ended. There are also some major developments by the end of this trade, and neither of us has read the series before, so we've just been carried along for the ride! Read along with us and join us as we perpetuate our hopeless theories that are most likely incorrect and provide issue-by-issue commentary! Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Last year, we did an episode on shonen manga that proved to be one of our most popular episodes, so here we are again with a roundup of the first volumes of four more prominent shonen series: One Piece, Naruto, My Hero Academia, and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. One Piece and Naruto are two of the biggest of all time. My Hero is one of the hottest properties of current times, and as a comics podcast that's covered a ton of superhero comics, it made sense to check this one out. Frieren is a newer fantasy series that deserves all the attention and then some. Check out what we had to say about each of the first volumes of these popular series!Here are some related links that may be of interest.Episode 129 is the prior shonen manga episode we did: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5GKngeXLo0rEIFUKOwNk9JHere's a link to a playlist of all of our manga episodes thus far: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4xHx0IxWdV1iq4pVMlEzxc?si=6bbbc00de2564c26&nd=1Last year, we did a yearlong readthrough of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. Here's a playlist with all of those episodes: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3IEJYdVyNUan4qtqiDrLgvHere's the link to The Anime Waiting Room, the other podcast that Dru is on, which he mentions in this episode: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theanimewaitingroom/Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Smile by Raina Telgemeier is one of the most significant comics of the recent past. More than just a popular graphic novel beloved by millions, and more than just a sales juggernaut that became a phenomenon, Smile is just a straight up great piece of work that's worth reading whatever age you are. This is the episode where we discuss what makes Smile such a wonderful comic. We also take some time in the beginning of the episode to discuss some of the comics landscape that we often ignore in our often superhero-centric viewpoint... Because comics are truly for everyone!Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
The Intimates by Joe Casey, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Jim Lee, and others is a unique Wildstorm series that didn't have a massive audience. However, for the people it did connect with, it resonated deeply. This is a smart teen superhero book that's superbly crafted with much care and consideration. The high concept of the series is that it's about a high school for superpowered teenagers. However, the emphasis in this subversive series is on teenage life, and there is a relative lack of spectacle and superheroics in comparison to other teen superhero books. Although the book was unceremoniously canceled before its time, it's absolutely worth tracking down and reading today.Our intro discussion also contains Albert's report on the recent Wonder Con in Anaheim, California.Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
It's time to continue our readthrough of Deadly Class! This month, we're discussing volume 3: The Snake Pit! This volume contains issues 12-16, and we'll be providing our usual issue-by-issue commentary, supplemented by our usual manly grunts, random noises, and meaningless side banter.Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Here's a foray into a relatively recent comic, Catwoman: Lonely City, by the unstoppable one-man creative force known as Cliff Chiang. This is an outstanding DC book that deserves praise and accolades. It's not merely a definitive Catwoman story, but it's just a flat out great piece of work that deserves our attention. Join us as we broadly discuss Cliff Chiang's comics career and take a long look at Lonely City itself.Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Miracleman by Alan Moore and his artistic collaborators (Garry Leach, Alan Davis, Chuck Austen, John Ridgway, Rick Veitch, and John Totleben) is one of the all-time greatest superhero comics ever. For a long time, it wasn't an easy book to find at reasonable prices, but now that it's widely available again, we are truly living in a blessed age. It's another extremely influential classic by one of the absolute greatest writers of our medium, so we had to discuss it.Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Quantumania was a movie that was released in February 2023. This is our autopsy of that movie. Do you have love for the Ant-Man family of characters? Do you have love for Kang the Conqueror? Do you have love for formulaic, paint by numbers, middle of the road, expensive Hollywood blockbuster action movies featuring the typical stylings of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? If so, there's a chance you may have watched Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, a movie that exists. We watched it. We recorded our thoughts. This is our autopsy.Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
We're continuing our readthrough of Deadly Class with volume two of the trade paperback collections, which collect issues 7-11 of this series by Rick Remender, Wes Craig, Lee Loughridge, and Rus Wooton. This is our first time reading the entire series, and we're discussing it as we go through it. Each month in 2023, we'll cover one of the volumes until we finish the series!Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
The Men Who Created Gundam by Hideki Ohwada is a fictionalized version of the real story around the creation of Mobile Suit Gundam, the 1979 anime series that spawned a multi-billion dollar franchise that endures to this day. It's a gag manga that takes numerous creative liberties with real stories of the production history and key creatives (specifically, Yoshiyuki Tomino, Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, and Kunio Okawara), and exaggerates things for comedic effect. Of course, depending on your sense of humor, your mileage may vary. There are definitely some things in this book that are a bit questionable. We thought it would be worthwhile to cover this book, seeing as how we read the entirety of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko last year. Think of this as a sort of postscript to our Origin coverage!If you want to check out our coverage of The Origin manga, we have a Spotify playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3IEJYdVyNUan4qtqiDrLgvThanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Flashpoint by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert was a significant event comic that affected DC's entire publishing line back in 2011 as it led into the New 52 era. It's a comic book event that has been adapted into various other mediums and seems to be regarded as a major Flash story. In this episode, we take a critical look at this miniseries and try to figure out why we hate it.Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
A Zoo in Winter by Jiro Taniguchi is an engrossing semi-autobiographical coming of age story about breaking into the manga industry. It's a one-volume manga that we warmly recommend. In this episode, we talk a bit about Taniguchi's work and our familiarity with him before going into our book discussion. This is an excellent comic that we hope you check out! It's another episode for our #mangamenagerie!The Taniguchi obituary written by Zack Davisson and published on The Comics Journal website, which is referenced in our episode, can be found here: https://www.tcj.com/jiro-taniguchi-1947-2017/Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Each month in 2023, we'll be devoting one of our episodes to covering one volume of Deadly Class by Rick Remender and Wes Craig! As we begin with volume 1, we also spend a chunk of the episode discussing our familiarity with the works of the different members of the creative team, particularly Rick Remender. From there, we go into our issue commentaries. Deadly Class was collected into twelve trade paperback editions, so that's what we're reading. The corresponding issues for volume one are issues 1 through 6. We hope you join us on this readthrough!In 2021, we did a readthrough of Invincible. Last year, we read Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. For handy Spotify playlists featuring our full coverage of those series, click on our Linktree below!Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Murder Falcon by Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer, and Rus Wooton is under the scope in this week's episode! It's an exuberant piece of work that has earned a unique kind of praise from Albert. Tune in to hear our commentary and analysis of this exceptional comic, and laugh at our struggles to properly describe metal music due to our pitiful lack of knowledge.Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
One of our favorite writers is J.M. DeMatteis. In this episode, we examine one of his more recent works, The Girl in the Bay. The comic features lineart by Corin Howell, colors by James Devlin, and letters by Clem Robins! It's published by Berger Books, an imprint of Dark Horse Comics, and maintains that Vertigo spirit.Not to shortchange DeMatteis' talented collaborators, but both of us have read a significant chunk of his works and it's primarily through that lens that we discuss this comic, picking apart recurring themes and, perhaps, his pet interests that we've seen crop up in some of his other stories as well.Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our theme music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Wildcats volume 2 and Wildcats Version 3.0 by Joe Casey, Sean Phillips, and Dustin Nguyen (and their other collaborators) took a moribund property that had the reputation for being lowbrow and transformed it into something truly exceptional. With enough creative freedom, Casey and his artistic collaborators were able to turn the WildC.A.T.s concept on its head and leave a mark on the landscape of American superhero comics. The passage of time cannot diminish the potency of their work, and we're here to encourage everyone to reread and re-examine this run - or read and discover it for the first time.Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our new music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
To memorialize the end of 2022, we decided to look at a comic that's intended to serve as an ending of sorts. This week, we're discussing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Tom Waltz, Esau Escorza, Isaac Escorza, Ben Bishop, Luis Antonio Delgado, Shawn Lee, Samuel Plata, and Ronda Pattison. The Last Ronin was released amidst great fanfare (and idiot speculator hype), but how does the comic itself hold up? We also spend the first chunk of the episode providing a general overview of the TMNT franchise, and we talk about our own personal histories and perspectives on the Turtles.Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our new music. Check out all of his music on various platforms here: linktr.ee/CoreyjbeatsIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
This is it. It's the culmination of all things as we complete our yearlong readthrough and discussion of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko! In this White Base-sized episode, we not only provide our commentary of volume 12, but we also take the time to discuss the intriguing bonus features in the book. Plus, because this is the final episode of our coverage of the series, we also share some reflections on the series as a whole. At the end of the episode, we even have a few recommendations for you all. Thanks again to Corey J. Beats for producing our new music. Check out all of his music on Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, etc.linktr.ee/Coreyjbeats?fbclid=P…wB8nO66vFoKtc6NAF-0cIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Atom: The Beginning by Tetsuro Kasahara is a prequel to Osamu Tezuka's beloved classic Tetsuwan Atom, known as Astro Boy in America. Titan Comics recently published the first volume of The Beginning and we decided to give it a shot! We also spend some time discussing our general thoughts on Astro Boy. Also, we have a brand new theme song! Thanks to Corey J. Beats for producing our new music. Check out all of his music on Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, etc. https://open.spotify.com/artist/0CpOAY2TliyvzxykFggFVS?si=2MoWlY1FTy2rOSy9EK2EJwIf you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Year of the Rabbit by Tian Veasna is an important comic that we want to spotlight in this episode. It's a nonfictional account of the cartoonist's family and their experiences in the wake of the Khmer Rouge taking control of the country in the wake of the Cambodian Civil War. It's a story about family and survival against a brutal communist regime. At times heart-wrenching and brutal, it's also balanced with a sense of hope and perseverance. Year of the Rabbit is a powerful piece of work that educated us about events that the American public education system relegated to a footnote. It's worth your time.If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Identity Crisis by Brad Meltzer and Rags Morales was a major superhero comic of the mid-2000s, one that left a pretty big impact in the landscape of DC Comics. It's a comic that sold very well at the time, and is still kept in print. Plenty of readers had a lot of love for this DC event back when it was new, and it still seems to have its fair share of fans even today.
You can probably see where we're going with this. We don't disrespect Identity Crisis because it was popular, but we disrespect it because it's an insult to our intelligence as readers. In this episode, we break down its many faults and explain why, despite its significance, it was never anything we considered for our our top 25 DC comics list.
If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Major events happen one after another in the penultimate volume of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko! It's not just plot developments that we see, but also some truly meaningful character work, including the culmination of several character arcs. There's always so much to discuss when we cover a volume of this book and, as usual, we provide our chapter-by-chapter commentary.
Even as we near the climax of the series, we're blessed with some gorgeous Yas art. There are some beautiful color pages that are truly befitting of this volume's title, A Cosmic Glow.
If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
This week, we're discussing the latest MCU movie, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, directed by Ryan Coogler. This is a movie we were anticipating ever since the first trailer dropped. With Namor finally introduced in the MCU, you know Albert had to check this out! And of course, the passing of Chadwick Boseman made things feel heavy.
We start the episode sharing some spoiler-free thoughts, so even if you haven't watched the movie yet, feel free to listen. We'll clearly warn you in the audio before we begin talking in detail about the movie.
If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
This week, we're talking about Scalped, by Jason Aaron and R. M. Guéra, the gritty and emotionally intense (but also controversial) crime series published by Vertigo. Spoilers do abound in this episode, so be aware of that. However, even if you haven't read Scalped, we hope that our discussion will give you insight into whether or not the series could be something you'd be interested in checking out.
At some point in the relatively near future (the word "relatively" is doing a lot of work here, depending on when the world ends), we'll present our DC Top 25 countdown on our podcast, much like how we did our Marvel Top 25. Before then, there's a small plethora of other DC books that didn't really make our final list but we still have enough love for, and we basically just made up an excuse to talk about the comics we wanna talk about.
If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
This week we're discussing Fury: My War Gone By, a superb piece of work by Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov. Eschewing the traditional lore of the mainstream Marvel Universe's conception of Nick Fury, Ennis and Parlov take the basic fundamental nature of Fury - a man addicted to war - and tell a realistic, compelling Cold War-era story that doubles as a painful parable of post-WWII America and a grim character study of Fury himself.
Originally published in 2012-2013 as thirteen issues under Marvel's MAX imprint, it's now somewhat tough to find, as the physical trade paperbacks and hardcover are out of print. If you don't want to dive into the back issue bins, it's available digitally on Comixology. However you obtain it, this is a story absolutely worth your time. At this point in time, it's a bit of a hidden a gem of Marvel, but we've wanted to shine a light on it for a while now because it's a comic we really dig.
We do spend a few minutes at the beginning of the episode talking about the new Black Adam movie. More importantly, before we begin our book discussion, we also spend a significant amount of time conversing about the sundry works of Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov.
If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
The chess pieces are moving into position for the final act of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. We've also got some notable emotional beats as well as some political theater. Also of note, before we dive into the book discussion, we spend some time discussing the recent Yasuhiko-directed film Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island. Finally, we apologize for the sound quality in this episode. Due to a technical issue, Albert's audio is much softer than usual.
Time stamps:
General nonsense, banter, and spoiler-free Cucuruz Doan's Island discussion begin at the start.
31:40 - Cucuruz Doan's Island spoilers begin
56:35 - Our book discussion and commentary for The Origin volume 10 begins.
If you have any thoughts, comments, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
With the completion of the Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, it is now time for one of our patented autopsies! Consider this our Shulktopsy. We discuss some of the online discourse/chatter regarding the show and share our own thoughts on it. Listen closely and you'll even hear a couple of vocal cameos from Albert's dog Pepper in this episode!
What did you think of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law? Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We also have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Love and Rockets by the Hernandez brothers is one of the most influential and significant comics of the past forty years or so. In this episode, we discuss the first two collections from Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez, Maggie the Mechanic and Heartbreak Soup respectively.
What are your thoughts on Love and Rockets? Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We also have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke is one of the most deservedly acclaimed DC books of the past twenty years or so. It's a superhero comic that takes place in the transition period between the Golden Age and the Silver Age, and takes into account the sociopolitical zeitgeist of those decades. The New Frontier is also a work that we suspect contains a lot of Darwyn Cooke's heart and personality. This is a corporate-owned cape comic that manages to convey a singular and distinctive artistic vision.
What are your thoughts on DC: The New Frontier? Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We also have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Before we get started with our proper DC Top 25 countdown, we're gonna discuss some honorable mentions that didn't make the final cut (as well as a few notable dishonorable mentions). If you've been following our feed for a while, you may have noticed several episodes in the past year falling under these categories.
Volume nine of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko features a couple of major first encounters between key characters, and at least one major revelation. Join us as we continue our monthly deep dive into this timeless mecha classic!
If you have any thoughts, questions, or corrections, we're here. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We also have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
WE3 by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Jamie Grant, and the incomparable Todd Klein is a highlight of the past 20 years. This compact tale about three cybernetically modified pets who escape their government handlers as they search for home is one that resonates on multiple levels. It's a pulse-pounding action comic, an endearing animal story, a prescient commentary on modern warfare, and a treatise on the innovative ways to depict time, movement, and space on the comic book page. Join us as we bask in the glory of WE3!
What are your thoughts on WE3? We'd love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We also have a Linktree here: linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Before we get started with our proper DC Top 25 countdown, we're gonna discuss some honorable mentions that didn't make the final cut (as well as a few dishonorable mentions). If you've been following our feed for a while, you may have noticed several episodes in the past year falling under these categories.
Image Comics was founded in 1992, thirty years ago. It seems like a good time to do a retrospective look back at the publisher's history. Both of us grew up in the Image era and we have quite a few memories of the comics of that time period, but while there are some nostalgic feelings, it's fair to that the very early years of Image Comics' output don't stand the test of time, and neither of us are high on the books of our respective youths. That said, Image's evolution over the decades has proven to be exceptionally fruitful, and they've published so many excellent, worthwhile books that are absolutely worth your time and money.
In this episode, we talk a bit about our thoughts on the founding fathers of Image, and their works, and we also discuss our broader thoughts on Image as a publisher. We also each share individual lists of our favorite Image comics that we've read!
What are your favorite Image titles? We'd love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to hit us up on our socials, or email us! We also have a Linktree here: https://linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Also, as a sidenote, next week we're taking a bye week. We're both going to be busy doing non-podcast stuff over Labor Day weekend, so there won't be a new episode. This extra-long episode should be enough to hold you over, though!
We are now on volume 8 as we continue reading through Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko this year, one volume per month. This month's installment is contains two particularly special storyarcs. One of them is an intensely personal, tragic story about the effect that war has on regular people. The other is the kind of war comic that deals with big picture, chessboard of life stuff that will affect human society moving forward. There's a lot of rich, beautiful storytelling that is rife for thought-provoking discussion, and we invite you to join us. We provide summaries and personal commentaries of each chapter in the volume. If you've got any Gundam or mecha thoughts, feel free to hit us up! And don't forget to check out our previous episodes on The Origin to get all caught up!
We also have a Linktree with just about all our relevant (and some irrelevant) links: https://linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
Because the She-Hulk Disney+ series is set to release soon, we thought it would be fun to do a little pregame reading and talking about the character and her comics. Between the two of us, we've read a variety of She-Hulk comics in our lifetimes, and several specifically for this podcast. The comics discussed in this episode include her very first appearance by Stan Lee and John Buscema, early issues of the John Byrne run, part of the Dan Slott run, the first part of the Charles Soule and Javier Pulido run, the entire Mariko Tamaki run, and Jason Aaron's World War She-Hulk storyarc from his Avengers run. As you can see, it's a veritable smorgasbord of She-Hulk comics. Most of these comics didn't feel like they warranted the depth of discussion and analysis that we often like to engage in on our podcast, but we also talk about the concept of the character, and what works and doesn't work.
If you have any favorite She-Hulk comics, feel free to let us know in the comments, or shoot us a message!
We also have a Linktree with just about all our relevant (and some irrelevant) links: https://linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
We recently got around to watching Ms. Marvel on Disney+, so now it's time for the autopsy! In this episode, we discuss the things about the show that didn't work for us, as well as the elements that did. Spoilers begin around the 21 minute mark, but we'll warn you in the audio. Towards the end of the episode, we also chat a little bit about some of the recent MCU news that was announced at San Diego Comic-Con. Whether you enjoyed the Ms. Marvel show or not, we hope you join us for this episode and let us know what you thought of the series!
Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Matt Wilson, and Jared K. Fletcher was recently adapted into a live action Amazon Prime series. However, we're here to talk about the comics! In this episode, we discuss the entire series. If you haven't read the comics yet, don't sweat it. We start with a spoiler-free general discussion about the book and its creators. Full spoilers begin around the 42-minute mark. (We'll clearly warn you in the audio.) Suffice it to say, this is a comic book series totally worth reading and owning - it's BKV and Cliff Chiang, after all! Neither of us, at the time of recording, have watched a single episode of the adaptation, so this is purely about the comics.
Have you read the comic, or watched the show? Let us know what you think!
https://linktr.ee/betweenthegutters
In this month's installment of our readthrough of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, we're covering more flashback material. This volume encompasses Operation British, the Battle of Loum, and the early portion of the One Year War. It's packed with action, spectacle, and emotionally resonant human drama. Most of all, it's also a masterpiece of political theater. Join us as we provide our usual chapter-by-chapter commentary, packed with varied and sundry references and historical tidbits!
Also, please note that we'll be taking a bye week next week. Albert will be at San Diego Comic-Con. Find him at the Beefypoo booth!
Whattup, fam! It's time for another one of our patented movie autopsies as we dissect Thor: Love and Thunder, the latest MCU flick to be released! It seems like a lot of people online and elsewhere have been expressing feelings of superhero fatigue. As longtime comic book readers who have read way more than our fair share of cape comics (including tons of bad event comics), we've got way more stamina (and stronger stomachs) than the average bear, so we think our thoughts on the movie are generally untainted by any sense of Marvel weariness. (And we forced ourselves to watch Moon Knight for the podcast!) What are your thoughts on the movie? Slide into our DMs and let us know!
We'll clearly warn you in the recording before we go into spoilers, but we do provide spoiler-free impressions as we begin the podcast. Spoilers begin at about the 34:00 mark.
It's a Bird... by Steven T. Seagle, Teddy Kristiansen, and Todd Klein is a DC book we've wanted to discuss on the podcast for quite some time now. Originally published by Vertigo during that imprint's 2000s heyday, It's a Bird... is a personal and powerful semi-autobiographical original graphic novel about the struggle of the act of writing, the pain of living with a family secret, and the difficulties of understanding the intricacies of a fictional character and whether that even matters. There's a lot of depth to this hidden gem of a book, and we hope our episode is enjoyable to those familiar with it, and motivates those who haven't read it to seek it out for themselves.
A couple of notes: This isn't really the type of story that hinges on plot twists, so even though we may spoil a few things here and there, we don't spoil anything that would hinder your enjoyment or appreciation of this elegant work. Secondly, we will get to presenting our official DC Top 25 list eventually... We've just got some more honorable mentions to get through! (And maybe some more DIS-honorable mentions!)
This week, we're taking a look at a couple of Ms. Marvel comics. First up is her origin story in Ms. Marvel volume 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona. The other story we look at is The Magnificent Ms. Marvel Volume 1: Destined by Saladin Ahmed and Minkyu Jung. By the time this episode goes live, the Ms. Marvel Disney+ series will be about halfway through its run, but we're still doing a pre-topsy! Before getting into our book reviews, we take some time to discuss the concept and character of Kamala Khan, and what she's all about. Whether you're new to the character or a fan from day one, join us for our conversation of Ms. Marvel!
What are your favorite Kamala Khan stories?
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Volume 6: To War continues the flashback/prequel material unique to this version of the First Gundam story. Yoshikazu Yasuhiko adds his thoughtful personal flourishes to the lore and legend of the Universal Century, and he spends an extensive amount of time in this volume covering key formative years of Char Aznable and the Zabi family. This political potboiler makes for a fascinating stew, and there's quite a bit of story here to digest, both in terms of plot and themes. Join our conversation as we provide our commentary on volume six!
In 2022, our plan is to read through the entirety of Gundam: The Origin. Once a month, we will read and discuss one volume of this manga masterpiece, the same way we did a full readthrough of Invincible last year.
After a week off, we're back with another long episode! This time around, we're examining the category of shonen manga. It's one of (if not THE) best-selling forms of comics in the world, and obviously there's a lot of super popular anime based on shonen manga.
Truth be told, though we read plenty of manga, neither of us tends to read much popular shonen, so we felt we needed to step out of our preferences and study something that millions of readers love. To wit, we decided to dabble by reading the first volumes of four big titles: Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata; Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama; Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba by Koyoharu Gotouge; and Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimoto. Have you read these series, or watched the anime adaptations? Let us know what you think!
For reference, the first portion of our podcast is a general discussion about shonen manga, and specifically popular shonen battle manga. Timestamps for the book discussions are as follows: Death Note - 1:07:00 Attack on Titan - 1:46:31 Demon Slayer - 2:14:55 Chainsaw Man - 2:31:40
The Moon Knight show on Disney+ recently finished its run, and we got around to watching it. Now we're gonna talk about it. We begin the episode with some general spoiler-free impressions. Spoilers begin at around the 21:15 mark.
We've both read a good amount of Moon Knight comics, and if you're interested in hearing what we had to say about various Moon Knight comic book stories, check out episode 120, where we also discuss the elements of the character that appeal to us.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin volume 5 is a significant turning point in this epic saga. This volume, titled Char & Sayla, is Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's original material; these stories were not present in the First Gundam anime. There's a lot of political intrigue at play here as we witness the formation of the Principality of Zeon as well as the backstories of Char Aznable and Sayla Mass. It's a longer podcast episode than usual because this particular chapter deserves a close examination. In addition to some general thoughts on the volume as a whole, we also provide a chapter-by-chapter commentary. If you haven't been reading along with us, or if you've never read Gundam: The Origin, try your local library or a local bookseller or comic book store. Volume 5 also contains material that was adapted into the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin anime OVAs (also directed by Yas himself), so if you've watched those, a lot of what we discuss here will make sense. You can even watch the anime (in its recut, television broadcast form) on Crunchyroll.
In 2022, our plan is to read through the entirety of Gundam: The Origin. Once a month, we will read and discuss one volume of this manga, the same way we did a full readthrough of Invincible last year.
In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we're talking about one of our favorite Asian American comics creators, Adrian Tomine! Specifically, we're discussing three of his stories: Hawaiian Getaway, Amber Sweet, and Killing and Dying. These are stories that were originally published in his comic book series Optic Nerve, and can now be found in the book collections Summer Blonde (for Hawaiian Getaway) and Killing and Dying (the other two stories). These three stories were (loosely) adapted into the 2021 French film Paris, 13th District, directed by Jaques Audiard.
Justin from WAHW (We Are Half the World) joins us as we dissect the three comics stories and the film they inspired. We also discuss generally what we appreciate about Adrian Tomine's work.
To learn more about WAHW, please visit wahw.org and give them a follow on Instagram!
It's time for a Between the Gutters-style Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness autopsy! We tried to stay away from inane fanboy theories here, though, and we definitely don't whine about all the cameos we didn't see. We tried to keep the conversation about the film by looking at it on its own merits. (Maybe there was a tangent when we got on a soapbox to talk about how Disney and these corporations should reward the comic book creators upon whose work their movie empire is built.) The first part of the podcast is spoiler-free, and we'll warn you when get into spoiler territory. If you've had a chance to watch the movie, what'd you think? For that matter, what are your favorite Dr. Strange stories and comics?
Spoilers begin at about the 50:30 mark.
Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics by Tom Scioli is a fitting biography of the King in comics form. Last week, we discussed the Stan Lee biography written by Abraham Riesman, and it's only fitting that we dedicate an episode to Jack Kirby, the man whose boundless imagination continues to captivate our minds. Tom Scioli's book provides an excellent overview of Kirby's life, and we definitely recommend reading it for yourself. In this episode, we discuss what we knew about Kirby when we were kids, what he means to us now, and how comics will break your heart.
True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee, a heavily researched and all-encompassing biography written by Abraham Riesman, is an elucidating examination of one of the most significant figures in modern pop culture. Originally released a little over a year ago, the recent release of the paperback edition precipitated our discussion of the book. It's a book we think that anyone who's remotely interested in learning about Stan Lee should read. For those who don't know too much about Stan Lee, there may be things in here you'll wish you would have remained ignorant of. Join us as we discuss this prose biography!
(Please note that if we said anything inaccurate or misleading during the course of our conversation in this episode, that is the fault of our own subpar recollection of what we read combined with poor note taking, not the fault of the material in Riesman's book.)
Finally, White Base arrives at Jaburo, but at what cost? In this episode, we continue our exploration and analysis of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. We take examine volume four chapter by chapter and discuss the craftsmanship behind the storytelling, and we also talk about the character development and various plot developments. It's another exciting installment of this saga, and in this volume we really see the pain of youth who are forced to grow up fighting a war that their forebears caused.
If you've been reading along with us, or if you're just a First Gundam/Universal Century fan, we'd love to hear your thoughts on this one!
Darryl Cunningham's recent biocomic, Putin's Russia: The Rise of a Dictator, is a particularly relevant piece of work, especially in light of current events. It's a comic published by Drawn & Quarterly in North America, and it was released earlier this year, just before Russia invaded Ukraine. In presenting a heavily researched laundry list of numerous transgressions against his rivals, detractors, journalists, the Russian people, the concept of democracy, and even the world in general, this scathing biography is quite educational in helping us understand the despicable character of Vladimir Putin. Darryl Cunningham has produced one of the most worthwhile non-fiction comics of recent memory.
Also, on a lighter note, stick around after the ending theme music to hear Albert's report on WonderCon 2022!
With the advent of the Moon Knight streaming series on Disney+, we figured it was time to do one of our signature deep dives into an MCU character to coincide with his onscreen debut. In this episode, we share about the first Moon Knight comics we ever read, we discuss the fundamental core elements of the character, and we talk about what we like in Moon Knight stories. The bulk of this lengthy episode is an examination of just about every era of Moon Knight in comics, and we take the time to talk about the standouts that have captivated our attention. If you don't know too much about Moon Knight, but you're curious about the character, we invite you to check out any of the recommendations in this episode! Like many Marvel characters, Moon Knight's had a bunch of different series over the years, so feel free to hit us up if you're confused about which volume is which. And if you are a Moon Knight fan already, what are your favorite stories?
Also, if you want to play a drinking game, drink a shot every single time Albert refers to Marc Spector as "THE Moon Knight" in this episode.
It's time for our continuing readthrough of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. In volume 3, we meet Ramba Ral, one of First Gundam's more honorable antagonists. We also get some more layered character development, a look at the rest of the Zabi family, and at least one major plot twist that recontextualizes what we've experienced so far. Yas delivers incredibly exciting and thoughtful storytelling. There's also plenty of sweet, sweet mecha action.
Hang out with us as we inspect the various story elements of this masterfully crafted manga!
In recognition of Women's History Month, we read a pair of short comic book biographies. In this episode, the two works we discuss are Marie Curie: A Quest for Light (written by Frances Andreasen Østerfelt and Anja Cetti Andersen, and art by Anna Blaszczyk) and Seen: True Stories of Marginalized Trailblazers: Rachel Carson (written by Birdie Willis, line art by Rii Abrego, colored by Kieran Quigley, and lettered by DC Hopkins).
Marie Curie and Rachel Carson are two important and influential women who have truly affected modern society with their scientific discoveries. The two comics we read provide great overviews of their lives and contributions to their respective fields. We both enjoyed and appreciated these comics not only for being informative and educational, but for taking advantage of the comics medium.
Last week, The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves, was released in theaters. We watched it and then dissected it. So here is our autopsy report. Here is our Bat-topsy. This is THEEEE Bat-topsy. We discuss the film from the standpoint of a pair of longtime comic book readers who are big Batman fans, and take into account the comic book stories that Reeves stated served as inspiration. We also talk about what we thought the film did well, what it didn't do well, and what we appreciated and didn't like about its handling of Batman. Also, listen closely and you can learn the difference between being a comic book purist and being a comic book elitist.
For more of our Batman-centric episodes, check out episode 42 to hear us sing the praises of some of our favorite Batman stories, and check out episode 110 for our critique of The Long Halloween and Hush.
Have you watched The Batman? What did you think?
Maus by Art Spiegelman is universally recognized as one of the best and most significant comics of all time. It absolutely deserves the acclaim. With Maus having been in the news recently, it returned to the forefront of our minds, so we decided to reread it and discuss it. Our friend, ally, comic book comrade, and recurring guest Alexander Sheynis joins us. Before we dive in the comic and celebrate its numerous merits, we spend some time talking about the school board in Tennessee that unanimously voted to ban Maus, so prepare yourselves for slightly more soapboxing than usual.
We're continuing our readthrough of Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. Things get even more interesting in volume 2 as we start to see even more world building and characterization. We really get to see how Gundam is a story that's about more than giant robots fighting. The human drama is compelling, and that's what makes the story pop. Join us as we discuss and dissect the various plot developments, characters, emotional content, and subtext.
This week, out of respect for Black History Month, we're discussing the March trilogy by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell. This is an autobiographical work about the late John Lewis, specifically covering the period of his life as a young man, and his role as one of the "Big Six" in the American Civil Rights Movement. March contains important lessons for us all. It's both educational and inspirational. On top of that, it's exceptionally well-crafted as a comic book. March is truly an important work, something that's not only critically acclaimed within comics and in the world outside of comics, but it's also a great way to learn about an iconic American and a crucial period in American history. It is our sincere hope that you would give March a read if you haven't already.
Shuzo Oshimi's Blood on the Tracks is an unusually paced psychological suspense about a young teenage boy and his overprotective mother. To say much more would probably spoil the surprise of discovery, but we recommend this story to mature readers who don't mind experiencing uncomfortable thoughts and emotions through fiction. We've read the first seven volumes that are currently available in English, and the first part of this episode is a spoiler-free overview. We'll warn you before we spoil specific story elements when we discuss the intricate facets of the series. If you've read Blood on the Tracks, what did you think?
Enigma by Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo is an exceptional piece of work that was ahead of its time. Originally published by Vertigo, it's recently been reprinted under Dark Horse's Berger Books imprint in a dignified hardcover edition that befits its status as a bona fide classic. In this episode, we give Enigma its due and try to dissect, analyze, and interpret the concepts and ideas within the story. Whether or not you've read it before, we invite you to listen! If you haven't read Enigma before, now's a better time than ever to check it out and discover why it's so highly regarded by all the right people.
This year, we're going to be reading through the entirety of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. It's twelve hardcover volumes, so we'll be reading and discussing one volume a month, just as we did for Invincible last year. In this episode, we shed some basic information and historical context about First Gundam (the original 1979 anime TV series) and the Gundam franchise as a whole, and then discuss Activation, volume one of The Origin.
We encourage you to buy yourself a copy, or borrow it from the library, and join us as we embark on this journey to Jaburo. Or if you're on the fence about it, hopefully our enjoyment and enthusiasm for the series will motivate you to at least think about giving this first volume a shot! MSG: The Origin is an ideal entry point into the world of Gundam, even if you know absolutely nothing about the franchise.
Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Hush are two of the most prominent, acclaimed, and beloved Batman comics of the past 25 years or so. We acknowledge that, and we reread them recently as we continue our preparations for our DC Top 25 Comics of All Time list. The Long Halloween and Hush don't crack our list of honorable mentions, but they both make our dishonorable mentions. As we revisited both of these Batman books, we couldn't help but dissect the myriad flaws in the stories. Neither story holds up to any kind of critical scrutiny. The common denominator? Joseph Loeb.
Last month, we did a little dive into various Hawkeye comics. Now that it's been a couple of weeks since the Hawkeye series on Disney+ has concluded, it's time to dissect the show itself. Join us for our Hawkeye autopsy, where we attempt to think critically about something that probably was created primarily to entertain the masses. Thinking and talking about entertainment is our entertainment, so let's do this thing.
With the end of 2021, we decided to look at some of our favorite endings in comics, and what makes them work, or at least memorable. While there will obviously be some spoilers, for the most part we've done our best to discuss these endings without ruining the experience of discovery if you haven't read them yourself. The first chunk of this discussion is a general exploration of what makes a "good" ending, and then the comics we dive into are listed below.
In vague, general terms, we briefly discuss Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina's endings. House of M #8 Wanted #6 Three Joe Casey comics: Cable #70, Wildcats Version 3.0 #24, and Butcher Baker #8 Batman: The Killing Joke Two Peter Milligan comics: Enigma #8 and X-Statix #26 Northlanders #28 (the end of "The Plague Widow" story) Two Jonathan Hickman comics: Fantastic Four #604 (the end of the "Forever" story arc) and Secret Wars #9 Fury: My War Gone By #13 Two Alan Moore comics: From Hell #10 and Watchmen #12
After a full year of reading, we have finally arrived at The End of All Things, the conclusion to Invincible. In this episode, we dissect the massive final story arc, look back at the series as a whole, and reflect on some of the ideas and concepts that stood out. Whether you've been reading along with us in 2021, or you've come across us in the future and wanted to find out what two relatively normal people had to say about Invincible, we hope you enjoy the conversation. (Heck, if you're crazy enough to have listened to our Invincible readthrough episodes without ever having read Invincible yourself, we salute you!)
Feel free to hit us up and let us know what you thought of Invincible!
Three is the magic number! In this episode, we dissect the third MCU Spider-Man flick. We cut past the hype and examine the internal organs of this bad boy. The first portion of this episode is spoiler-free, and we warn you before we go into spoiler territory. Also, at the end of the podcast (around the 2:56:30 mark), Albert talks a bit about his experience at the recent Emerald City Comic Con. If you've had a chance to watch No Way Home, what did you think?
Hawkeye is the latest MCU show on Disney+, so we decided to talk about Hawkguy comics! In this episode, we shoot the breeze regarding our thoughts on Hawkeye as a character (Clint Barton and Kate Bishop) and as a concept. We discuss some of the most remarkable Hawkeye comics and what we enjoy about 'em. It's likely that in a few weeks we'll do an autopsy of the show, so stay tuned, true believers.
This week, we're looking at two seemingly disparate comics: Ryuko, by Eldo Yoshimizu, and I Am Not Starfire, by Mariko Tamaki and Yoshi Yoshitani. It's sort of a bookclub double feature, but we tried to find some points of comparison to keep the conversation as coherent as possible. (As coherent as we ever get, at least!) Ryuko, in particular, was a challenging manga for us to penetrate, but we tried. Tune in to find out why we decided to discuss two completely unrelated books that are polar opposites in tone and style, and to hear what we think of each of them!
If you've read either Ryuko or I Am Not Starfire, what were your thoughts?
We've reached the penultimate year of Invincible. Here's our discussion and commentary on issues 121-132. This was probably one of the more pulse-pounding years, especially the last few issues when... well, if you read the issues (or if you just listen to us), you know what we're talking about. When you've got someone you love and that person is in grave danger, you'll do whatever it takes to protect that loved one.
We're one step closer to the edge, and we're about to break.
It's time to dissect the new Eternals movie. We are once again joined by our "special friend and person," Justin, the leader of WAHW (We Are Half the World). We won't spoil anything in this description, other than to acknowledge that our conversation was longer than the actual film because, you know, we're, like, such insightful comic book elitists and Justin is a true cinephile, and when you combine these flavors you get something too weird to exist in anything other than a really long Between the Gutters episode. If you've had a chance to see the movie, what did you think?
Make sure to check out WAHW at wahw.org, and give them a follow on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/w.a.h.w/
With Eternals, the next installment of the MCU, on the horizon, we thought it would be an appropriate time to do a dive into one of their most well-known (relatively speaking) comic book stories. Eternals by Neil Gaiman and John Romita Jr. is the main event of this episode, but we also take some time to discuss the history of the Eternals as a concept, and we share some thoughts about the movie trailer. After we get a chance to watch the film, we'll likely do one of our autopsies, so maybe this episode could be considered the pre-topsy? Whatever!
Do you have any thoughts or feelings about any Eternals comics? Drop us a line and let us know!
"It was the spark that started the fire -a legend that grew in the telling... It started with two men. It started with an idea. One was life. And one was death."
Can you believe we've recorded a hundred episodes? Whether you've been listening to us from the beginning or jumped onboard recently, we're gratified and thankful that you're down with us. In this episode, we discuss the state of Between the Gutters by looking back at what we've done with the podcast so far, and where we might take it in the future.
We are nearing the end of what is possibly the greatest superhero comic in the universe. Year ten of Invincible, comprising issues 109-120 (or volumes 20 and 21 of the trade paperbacks, or volume 10 of the deluxe hardcovers) has some of the most unusual pacing and unexpected storytelling decisions of the series thus far. Join us as we openly contemplate and work out some of the storytelling choices made in these issues. We also muse about corporate cape comics and how Invincible differs.
Last week, we dived into Hellblazer as one of the honorable mentions for our forthcoming DC top 25 countdown. This time around, we're dissecting The Death of Superman as a dishonorable mention. The Death of Superman is one of DC's most famous stories, as well as one of DC's most best-selling stories, and it's therefore pretty notable. We've even seen other outlets tout it as a "classic." We definitely disagree. In this episode, we take a look back at The Death of Superman and explain why it doesn't deserve to be held in high regard, and why it does deserve our scorn and contempt.
Where were you when Superman died?
At long last, we take a tangible step towards our DC Top 25 countdown. We began this podcast with a Marvel Top 25, and ever since we've finished that countdown, some of you beautiful listeners have asked us when we were gonna do a top 25 list for DC Comics. The wait is not fully over yet, but with this episode, we'll talk about one of our most significant honorable mentions which did not make the final list: Hellblazer, which ran for 300 issues.
As we explain in the audio, one of our rules for the list was to limit ourselves to specific runs by a set creative team (or, as is more often the case, a run by a writer and multiple artists), but Hellblazer is so unique and notable that we simply had to discuss the series as a whole. For 300 issues, with varying creative teams, Hellblazer was consistently good, and often truly great and excellent. Certainly, one episode is not enough to fully explore such a landmark series, but we hope this inspires you to read or reread some Hellblazer comics... and we also hope this whets your appetite for the start of our DC Top 25 countdown, which we will begin in earnest at some point in the relatively near future! (Assuming we live long enough.)
Year nine of Invincible is one of the most brutal and violent yet! Comprising issues 97-108, volumes 18 and 19 feature some fascinating developments, including the return of Angstrom Levy and what seems to be the conclusion to the Dinosaurus saga. There's also some interesting metatextual commentary on superhero fiction, the paradigms that these kinds of stories rely on, and what it looks like to try something new. All of these elements made these issues a lot of fun to discuss!
Troop 142 by Mike Dawson isn't a new indie graphic novel, but it was new to us. It's an excellent and thought-provoking slice of life story about a week-long summer camp with the Boy Scouts set in the mid-nineties, with great cartoony artwork. Although it's not really a plot-driven story, we found a lot of fascinating ideas and themes that were worth exploring. Even if you haven't read this one, we hope you join us for this episode!
Long have we waited for our Asian superhero entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As comic book elitists who also happen to be Asian American, we had quite a few thoughts on the latest MCU blockbuster. For this autopsy, we're joined by our friend, comrade, ally, and cinephile Justin, who is also the dai lo of WAHW (We Are Half the World). Tune in for our dissection of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings!
With Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on the horizon, it was time for us to talk about Shang-Chi comics. Join us as we discuss some of our favorite Shang-Chi moments and stories in comics, including a discussion about what we value in the character and the concept, and what works and doesn't work. We also talk a bit about the upcoming movie. What are your favorite Shang-Chi stories?
We're back with our monthly readthrough of Invincible! This time, we're covering volumes 16 and 17 of the collected editions, which are comprised of issues 85-96 (and also found in volume 8 of the deluxe hardcovers). There were a few big developments in these issues, but two of the highlights we discussed in particular depth were the idea of the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few, and the epic story between Rex Robot and Monster Girl. In addition, Albert teaches us a new life philosophy: The needs of the me outweigh the needs of the any. We need to put that on a t-shirt and sell some merch.
This week we're diving into Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. It's one of the most significant, critically acclaimed, and flat out best North American comics to come out in the past ten years. It's been on an extended hiatus for about three years now, but we wanted to do a real discussion on the series even though there hasn't been an official announcement of its return. The first part of this episode is spoiler free as we talk about what makes this series worth reading. Later on, we go into full spoilers as we talk about some of the highlight moments, thematic content, and subtext. Let us know what your thoughts are on Saga!
Join Albert and Dru in the coroner's office for an autopsy on The Suicide Squad, directed by James Gunn, which was just recently released on HBO Max and in theaters. We watched this film in a theater mere hours before recording this episode and felt motivated to dissect it almost immediately. If you've had a chance to watch the film, what did you think?
The Loki series on Disney+ wrapped up recently. Now it's time to dissect that bad boy! Join us for our discussion about the show as well as some musings on the state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the aftermath of the Loki finale. (And maybe prepare yourself for unexpected references to really awful music that was unfortunately popular twenty years ago.) Have you watched Loki? What did you think of the show?
Join us for the latest installment of our Invincible readthrough! This time around, we cover issues 71-84, which you can find in volumes 14 and 15 of the collected editions, or volume 7 of the hardcovers. The storyline with the Viltrumites reaches as crescendo here, and we continue to see how all of the events in Mark's life affect and change his worldview. It's more great superhero comics, as these issues give us tons of exquisitely drawn action, rich character development, intriguing subplots, and even a few thematic ideas to contemplate.
A couple of episodes ago, we did a deep dive into some of the more notable Black Widow comics. Now that the movie has finally been released, it's time to do an autopsy. Gird your loins for a discussion that's significantly longer than the movie! Hope you still have some leftover popcorn, Inbetweeners! We are gonna dissect this movie, and probably say something disrespectful about the King in Black while we do it.
In the aftermath of last week's discussion of Black Widow comics, and rediscovering the greatness of the Richard K. Morgan issues, we were inspired to dig through our personal collections and share a healthy heaping of hidden gems with all y'all! These are all Big Two (Marvel and DC) books that are great reads but are hidden gems because we rarely (if ever) hear the fandom talking about them. Perhaps they have been forgotten with the passage of time, or perhaps no one ever really noticed them to begin with. Some of them are tough to find because they were never published in trade paperbacks, or the trades went out of print years ago. A couple of these aren't even available on Comixology! Nonetheless, we had a strong desire to promote these comics and maybe even inspire someone to dig through back issue bins. For the purposes of this exercise, we restricted ourselves to Marvel and DC cape comics. In the future, we may do more episodes discussing hidden gems, but in the meantime, we'd love to hear what you consider some hidden gems that the rest of us should seek out! Let us know in the comments, email us, or hit us up on social media.
"She turns a 40,000 foot fall into a ballet." The things they say about her...
With the Black Widow movie (finally) nearing its release, we decided to discuss some Black Widow comics. In this episode, we examine the character of Natasha Romanoff and spotlight some of her comics and storylines that are worth reading! (And maybe we laugh at a couple that aren't worth your time.) We also touch base on the likes of Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, and Taskmaster as we hype ourselves up for a new MCU flick by burying ourselves in comics. What are your favorite Black Widow comics?
In this month's installment of our Invincible readthrough, we cover issues 60-70 (and Invincible Returns #1), which you can find in volumes 12 and 13 of the collected editions (or volume 6 of the Ultimate Collection). This is one of the most action-packed years of the series! There were also a bunch of cameos from other Image-published creator-owned superheroes, so we went on quite a few tangents talking about '90s Image comics. (Keep listening after the end theme music to hear our rantings on those early Image books!)
Inuyashiki by Hiroya Oku is a ten-volume manga series that we confidently recommend to anyone who enjoys a dark but also different take on superhero fiction. It's also an inspiring story about an average old man who wants to do some good. Briskly paced and full of the cinematic, "widescreen" traits we Westerners typically associate with influential superhero titles like The Authority, Inuyashiki is a Japanese take on a very American genre that's not a spin on the sentai stories that populate Japanese pop culture. Tune in to find out why we devoured this series in such a short period of time!
Sweet Tooth by Jeff Lemire is one of our favorite comics of the past 10-12 years. With the recent release of the Netflix live action TV series, we decided to take some time to sing its praises. Join us as we engage in a (mostly) spoiler-free discussion of the comic book series! (Dru spoils something that happens in issue 5 of a 40 issue series that's over ten years old, but it's not anything that's going to ruin your enjoyment of the story.) We also talk a bit about the first episode of the Netflix show (as that's the only one we had a chance to view at the time of recording). Have you guys read the comic and/or watched the show? What do you think?
With the Loki television show set to begin on Disney+, we decided it'd be a good time to talk about the comic book Loki. In this episode, we discuss our opinions and observations of the character, and we speak about many of the various Loki and Loki-centric comics we've read. We also take a little time to talk about the MCU Loki, and what we expect to see in the show. What are your favorite Loki stories?
It's time to continue our monthly readthrough of Invincible! In this episode, we discuss issues 48-59, which are collected in volumes 10 and 11 of the trade paperback editions, or in volume 5 of the "Ultimate Collection" hardcover edition. You can also find the series digitally on Hoopla and Comixology. Join as we discuss the myriad developments in this year's batch of issues. We also take some time to engage in a mild philosophical debate about whether superheroes should kill, as that becomes a significant theme as Invincible's kid brother becomes Kid Omni-Man.
We're always on the hunt for cheap comics to read and to complete sets or full runs of stuff we wanna read. Longbox diving, bargain searching, and sale hunting are part of the quest. We have our fair share of hardcovers, trade paperbacks, and digital comics, but sometimes the cheapest way to read something is by tracking down the issues individually via quarter bins, three-for-a-dollar bins, fifty-cent bins, or even dollar bins. As hardened veteran comic book connoisseurs, we use every method at our disposable to obtain the high of sweet, sweet, reading material. In this episode, we talk way too much about the hunt itself. Consider this our oral war journal. What are your comic book-hunting war stories?
In honor and observance of AAPI Heritage Month, we're taking some time to discuss one of our favorite comics, American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (and colored by Lark Pien). This outstanding modern classic resonates deeply with both of us as Asian American readers, and we believe that it has a lot to say regardless of your cultural background or ethnicity. It's fifteen years old now and just as relevant now as it ever was. If you haven't read this acclaimed work, check it out as soon as you can - or you can just listen to us gush over it for two hours!
Girls' Last Tour is a six-volume manga series by Tsukumizu that we heartily recommend. In this episode, we discuss the entire run as well as the anime adaptation. A post-apocalyptic story about two young girls journeying through a bombed-out, empty wasteland while trying to scrounge for food and water, Girls' Last Tour is packed full of evocative moments that reach poetic heights, all in the service of showing that life is worth living no matter what the circumstances. Tune in to find out why we encourage you to read the manga and/or watch the anime!
We had a chance to watch the latest offering from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so join us as we perform an autopsy on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier! Our friend, ally, and recurring guest Alexander Sheynis joins us for (most of) this episode. We discuss our thoughts on various elements of the miniseries, from the comic book influences, the characters as they were depicted in the show, the social commentary and themes, and other bits of comic book nonsense. Hit us up and let us know your thoughts on the show!
In this month's installment of our Invincible readthrough, we discuss issues 36-47. These issues are in volumes 8 and 9 if you're reading the trade paperback collections. You can also find these issues digitally on Comixology or Hoopla. Invincible just keeps getting better and better, and the fourth year of the series definitely brings us a lot of fascinating developments in Mark Grayson's personal life, as well as in the larger overall plot with the Viltrumites.
Have you ever felt a longing to be somewhere you can't seem to reach? That's kind of what Space Brothers volume 1 is about. Its narrative about a man who dreams of becoming an astronaut (just like his more successful younger brother) was something that resonated with both of us. Join us as we discuss the first volume of Chuya Koyama's long-running manga series!
Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius are two giants of comics, and The Incal is one of their most famous and significant works together. In this episode, we read The Incal volume 1 for the first time and discuss this landmark comic. We need to read more European comics. If you've got any recommendations for us, hit us up!
Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson is the classic indie graphic novel we discuss in this episode. It's one of the early works from an underrated but highly talented cartoonist, and it's a sprawling slice of life story featuring an ensemble cast. It's about finding your way in life, art versus commerce, doing what feels right, growing in maturity, and so much more. And if someone out there can help us understand why the title of the comic is "Box Office Poison," give us a shout and educate us!
It's time for our monthly dive into Invincible! The animated series has finally begun streaming on Amazon Prime, but we've been doing our readthrough since January. This time around, we're talking about volumes 6 and 7, which comprise issues 25-35. You can find these issues at your local comic book shop or digitally on Comixology. It's a great time to read this series! After all, it's probably the best superhero comic book in the universe.
We revisit one of the most memorable comics of our youth and talk about Spider-Man: Revenge of the Sinister Six by Erik Larsen. It's not the best Spidey story ever, not even close - it's debatable whether these issues are even "good" comics - but it was something key in our formative comics reading years. As adults, almost thirty years later, we can appreciate it as an artifact of the past while acknowledging its failures as a story, yet still find something to enjoy about it. What are some of the stories that you read when you first got into comics? Can you still find something to appreciate in them today?
Here's a bonus mid-week episode for all y'all. It's our preview of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which is slated to start on Disney+ on March 19th. In this episode, we discuss the various characters that are known to be in the show, the potential influences, and the possible plots. We also speculate on ideas and thematic concepts we suspect the show may address to some degree. No clickbaity garbage here! Promise.
It turns out that the real House of M was always the House of Mouse. We've had a little time to digest the Disney+ series as a whole now, so now we've gotta do a deep dive into WandaVision. Join us as we examine the various facets of the show, from the comic book influences, the thematic content, the plot, the characters, and other extraneous nonsense (like whether the Hulk became a mass murderer when he used the Infinity Gauntlet in Endgame).
What did you guys think of WandaVision?
In this episode, we review and discuss two different indie comics that creators have sent us: Parallel, by Jason Douglas and Ferris, and Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia, by Ed Kuehnel, Matt Entin, Dan Schkade, and Kendall Goode. We love checking out comics from indie creators, and this was a long-overdue episode. Reading these comics expanded our horizons, and hopefully you'll be inspired to check out something new!
We return for our monthly trek into Invincible, by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, Bill Crabtree, and Rus Wooton! Hey, it's probably the best superhero comic book in the universe! In this episode, we dive into issues 14-24, which are collected in volumes 4 and 5 of the trade paperbacks. The issues are also in volume 2 of the ultimate collection hardcovers, and also in the first compendium. Of course, you can find these issues digitally on Comixology. Get caught up and read along with us every month as we set out to read the entire series this year! We started back in episode 62. The animated series is set to be released later this month, so now is a great time to get in on the ground floor!
In this episode, we talk about all of the comics we've backed on Kickstarter since the pandemic began. From webcomic collectives to smaller niche publishers to completely independent creators doing their thing, there's a lot of great stuff out there. Join us as we explore the comics we've discovered through the magic of crowdfunding. We're always down to check out new comics, so if you have any comic book Kickstarter suggestions that we should consider backing, hit us up!
What have you read lately? Our buddies Zach and Sheynis return to the show for a catch-up session where we talk about some of the comics we've read recently. The main comics highlighted are A Map to the Sun by Sloane Leong, Ales Kot's Secret Avengers run, Jack Kirby's Fourth World comics (specifically The New Gods and Mister Miracle), and Plutona by Jeff Lemire and Emi Lenox. Those are the starting points and the conversation takes off from there! What have you been reading lately?
Way back in episode 23, we dissected and discussed Akira, the seminal manga by Katsuhiro Otomo. Occasionally, we do enjoy talking about film or television adaptations of comics, and this week we decided to tackle the Akira anime film, which is rightfully hailed as a landmark classic. We talk about cyberpunk, various things we appreciated about the movie, and some of the differences between the manga and the anime. Join us as we bask in the glory of one of the most significant and artfully crafted films of all time!
Join as as we begin our complete read-through of Invincible by Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, Ryan Ottley, and Bill Crabtree! Once a month, we'll do an episode covering approximately a year's worth of issues of the series. Invincible went for 144 issues, so that'll probably take us to the end of the year if all goes according to schedule. In this episode, we cover issues 1-13. (These issues are contained in volumes 1, 2, and 3 if you're getting the trade paperbacks, or volume 1 of the deluxe hardcover. There are also three massive compendiums collecting the entire series. And of course, you can find them digitally on Comixology, too.) We talk about what we appreciate about Invincible as a series in general, and dive deep into what we thought about these first 13 issues. We also take some time to talk a little bit about the best (or worst) comic book fathers, the upcoming Invincible animated series set to debut on Amazon Prime, and whether our listeners would prefer to be nicknamed "Gutter Trash" or "In-Betweeners."
In this second addendum to our recently-completed Marvel top 25 comics countdown, we talk about a bunch of Marvels that we love, but just couldn't include in the final list. Hey, just because we have a lot of favorites doesn't mean we can't be objective! The list is the list. We also take the time to discuss most of the prominent Marvel comics that most people would have expected to find on a top 25 list, and we talk about why some of those didn't make ours. (Lookin' at you, Claremont Uncanny X-Men comics.) This episode is a direct continuation of our previous episode, and Sheynis is with us as we journey across the Marvel universe!
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
One of the long-running recurring features of our podcast has been our Marvel top 25 list. Recently, in episode 58, we finally completed our countdown. In this episode, we provide additional commentary and context on our list, and we also discuss the comics that just missed the cut based on our four criteria (craft, originality, impact, and withstanding the test of time). Our friend, ally, and semi-frequent guest-star Sheynis joins us as we provide an addendum to our Marvel top 25 list!
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
What's up, In-Betweeners! With WandaVision coming out very soon, we thought it would be timely to examine and discuss The Vision by Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta, seeing as how it's one of the most obvious points of influence. There's a spoiler-free review, and then we'll warn you when we get to our spoiler-full analysis. After we discuss the book, we take some time to shoot the breeze about our educated speculations regarding WandaVision, and we also talk about some of the most absurd elements of Wanda and Vision's comics history. As usual, NEVER make a deal with a devil... or you may end up with a pair of demons attached to your wrists instead of hands!
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
At long last, we have reached the conclusion of our long-gestating countdown of the top 25 Marvels of all time! Based on a completely objective rubric centered around four criteria (craft, originality, impact, and withstanding the test of time), our army of researchers, scientists, mathematicians, warlocks, druids, sentient computer intelligence, witches, alchemists, and arcanists have determined the indisputable greatest Marvel comic ever. Many lives have been sacrificed so that we could bring you this podcast.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
As 2020 comes to an end, many of us are looking forward to a fresh start in the new year. That gave us an excuse to discuss many of our favorite fresh starts in comics. Join us for a deep dive into this topic! What are your favorite fresh starts in comics?
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
In this episode, our friends Krissy and Kenton join us to talk about one of the most influential and significant shojo manga of all time: Sailor Moon, by Naoko Takeuchi. We're taking a look specifically at volume one of the recent "Eternal Editions" published by Kodansha starting in 2018, but we also take some time to talk a little bit about the nineties anime that introduced us to the series.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
Last week, we discussed Justice League of America: The Nail by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer. This time around, we discuss Another Nail, the direct sequel. We also take a little time to chat about our favorite What If? and Elseworlds comics! What are your favorites?
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
In this episode, we discuss Justice League of America: The Nail by Alan Davis, Mark Farmer, Trish Mulvihill, and Patricia Prentice. This overlooked Elseworlds gem posits a DC Universe where Ma and Pa Kent didn't find baby Kal-El's rocket when it crash landed near Smallville. The rest of the the DCU continues on the way we'd expect it to, for the most part, but without Superman in the picture, the way their world views superheroes turns out much differently. Check out what we have to say about The Nail, and join us next episode when we tackle the sequel, Another Nail!
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
Mister Wonderful by Daniel Clowes is an underrated piece of work that holds a special place in our hearts. Join us as we discuss this comic and talk about why it resonates with us.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
For our 52nd episode, we take a retrospective look back at the New 52, the major DC reboot that kicked off in September 2011. Did anything good ever come out of that?
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
In this episode, we discuss the recently published hardcover collection of Joker: Killer Smile by Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino, Jordie Bellaire, and Steve Wands. There's a spoiler-free portion, and a spoiler-filled discussion. We also digress into vaguely related tangents and maybe some occasional straight up nonsense.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
For our fiftieth episode, we gush over our favorite fiftieth issues! Join us for a celebratory look at some single issue comics we truly love. Some of the comics we discuss in this episode include the fiftieth issues of Ex Machina, 100 Bullets, The Silver Surfer, and more! What are your favorite fiftieth issues?
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
Join us for a casual discussion about many of the various comics we've been able to read during these quarantine times. Over the years, we've accumulated comics at a faster rate than we've been consuming them, but in these past eight months, we've been making a dent in our unread piles. This episode is just the tip of the iceberg regarding all of the comics we've read this year.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
After months of clamor and demand, we have returned to our countdown of the top 25 Marvel comics of all time! Join us as we discuss the number 2 run on our list: The Amazing Spider-Man by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee!
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
In this episode, we tackle the question, "If you could give the House of X/Powers of X treatment to any franchise, what would you do?" It was a fun question to think and talk about, and we hope you enjoy listening to our musings. How would you answer the question?
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
Everybody's got story ideas that will go unmade, but that doesn't necessarily mean it ain't fun to talk about 'em! In this episode, we discuss a couple of ours. Our last two episodes were about X-Men and Spider-Man events, and this episode is about what we would do if we had carte blanche. First, we talk about our idea for the third Spider-Man MCU film, and then we share the official Between the Gutters unofficial X-Men event for the ages! What are your superhero dream stories?
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
Talking about X-Men crossovers and events last time around led to a side conversation about Spider-Man crossovers and events. That side conversation led to this episode, where we discuss the Spidey crossovers we appreciate, and a bunch of of the ones that didn't really work for us. We also tried to examine WHY it is that we had trouble being interested in so many Spidey-centric crossovers and events, when both of us have a lot of love for Spider-Man. All this, plus Albert not only does his 1920s Chicago gangster voice, but a Gambit impression!
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
With X of Swords starting up, we got to reminiscing about our favorite X-Men crossovers and events, and also some of our least favorite ones. There have been a lot. Despite the length of this episode, we did not actually comment on every single X-Men crossover ever! What are your favorite X-Men event comics?
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
We covered Batman in our previous episode. Now it's time for the Joker to get his due! Join us as we discuss what makes the Joker work, and the evergreen Joker comics we recommend!
What are your evergreen Joker comics?
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
One of the most popular characters in American fiction gets his due in our latest episode. Join us as we do a deep dive into the concept and character of Batman, and discuss a handful of evergreen Batman comics that will satisfy any reader.
What are your evergreen Batman stories?
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
After last week's Fandome episode, we got to thinking about how unexcited we were by all of the trailers and big announcements. But you know what does make us excited? Good comics. To wash away the bad taste of unimpressive trailers, we decided to discuss evergreen stories featuring some of the characters who have been rising up in pop culture thanks to movies, videogames, etc. First up? The Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman. Join us as we talk about what we mean by "evergreen," and as we discuss the Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman stories that will satisfy your soul.
What are your evergreen Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman comics? Which characters/properties would you like to hear us discuss next?
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
It's a conscious decision that we rarely record episodes about whatever is trending on social media or the news. (Heck, even this episode is dropping a week after the fact.) But for those of you who lean more into the general pop culture spectrum of comics fandom, here's a little something for ya: A full-bodied discussion of last weekend's DC FanDome event, and most of the biggest announcements they made.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
Directly continuing from our previous episode, here is part two of our philosophy comic book recommendations! The dudes Julian Zachary Hanna and Alexander Sheynis join us as we discuss some great comics.
What are your favorite philosophical comics?
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
In this week's episode, Zach and Sheynis are with us again as we discuss our favorite comics about philosophy. Or should we call 'em philosophical comics? We think, therefore we is. Or somethin' like that. Yeah.
What are your favorite philosophical comics?
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
In a direct continuation of our previous episode, we (along with our allies Zach and Sheynis) make our romance comics recommendations. Last time around, Sheynis and Albert shared their picks. This time, it's Dru and Zach dropping dimes.
What are your favorite romance comics?
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
Once again, we return in this summer of quarantine with the homies Zach and Sheynis! This time around, we discuss the romance genre and share recommendations. Apparently, we all had a lot more to say about romance than we expected. We decided to split the episode into two parts. In this episode, Sheynis and Albert share their picks.
What are your favorite romance comics?
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
Before we recorded the next episode in our recommendations series with Zach and Sheynis, Albert had us all watch a YouTube video by a prominent omnibus collector. The guy made a video about the top ten worst omnibuses. Boy, was that guy off the mark. We had to have a conversation about it.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
We're back for part two of our fantasy comics recommendations with Zach and Sheynis! Like a true fantasy epic, there was just too much content to be contained within a single installment. In this episode, we delve into Zach's and Sheynis' recommendations. For Dru's and Albert's, check out episode 33. What are your favorite fantasy comics?
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
We're back with Zach and Sheynis in full effect! This time around, we journey into the fantasy genre. Join us as we discuss this literary genre and the fantasy comics we enjoy. This is only part one of this topic. Like a true fantasy epic, there was just too much content to be contained within a single installment. Stay tuned for the next episode to hear Zach's and Sheynis' fantasy comic book recommendations! In the meantime, what are your favorite fantasy comics?
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
We continue our recommendations series with Julian Zachary Hanna and Alexander Sheynis. This time around, we're each sharing one post-apocalyptic comic book recommendation. We all had share some general thoughts on post-apocalyptic fiction, and we all have plenty to say about each of our recommendations. In times like these, what better kind of fiction than the type that reminds you how much worse things could be... if you had a little more imagination?
What are your favorite post-apocalyptic comics?
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
Our friends, comrades, allies, and brothers-in-arms Julian Zachary Hanna and Alexander Sheynis return to the show as we each share one science fiction comic book recommendation. This is our longest episode yet. We all had some thoughts about science fiction in general, and we all had plenty to say about each of our recommendations. It was a lot of fun, and we hope you settle in and join us!
What are your favorite science fiction comics?
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
Join us for a conversation all about the works of Mark Millar! Recently, the great Cartoonist Kayfabe channel on YouTube did one of their famous shoot interviews with Millar, and watching it made us wanna dig out out Millar comics and talk about them, as well as discuss some of the highlights of the interview.
Cartoonist Kayfabe is Ed Piskor and Jim Rugg, two of the most talented cats in comics today. Check out the shoot interview with Mark Millar here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Omv6tIFibI
You can check out Cartoonist Kayfabe's other videos on their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU0v4IGzj2wK-PmjASkK2Rg
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
We're here with our friend, ally, and comrade Julian Zachary Hanna to answer a mailbag of random questions about comics. Really it was just an excuse to talk about comics and enjoy each other's company remotely during a time when we're not able to do that in person. Hear us discuss all sorts of random comic book topics, including our quarantine binge read recommendations, underrated/overrated comics, why Gambit stinks, and much, much more.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
We're finally in the top three, folks. Join us as we discuss a run that really needs no introduction: Frank Miller's Daredevil.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
This is our rawest and most unfiltered episode yet. It began as a mic check, and somehow evolved into a conversation substantial enough to be its own episode. We talk about Dan DiDio, the former co-publisher of DC, who recently parted ways with the company, and we discuss some of the notable works produced during his tenure.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
Join us as we continue our countdown of the top 25 Marvel comics of all time! We're getting closer and closer to the top of the list. In this episode, we discuss the fourth greatest Marvel, and it's a trip into superspy action and adventure by one of the most legendary visionary artists of all time!
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
Join us as we continue our countdown of the top 25 Marvel comics of all time! We're in the top five now, folks. It's the definitive story for one of Marvel's premiere characters. At the time it was published, it likely wasn't seen as such, but in the years since it has clearly proved its impact and quality.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
SPOILER ALERT
Actually, the first 22:35 is completely spoiler-free. After that, we dive deep into nitty gritty of the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Far From Home.
What did you think of the movie? As always, feel free to hit us up in the comments, email, Twitter, or IG with any of your own thoughts, theories, or questions!
betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @btweentheguttrs www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
What editorial mandate would you implement into a superhero publishing line if you had the power?
Prior to our recording of episode 24 on July 4th, we discuss the most recent comics we've read.
Join us as we continue our countdown of the top 25 Marvel comics of all time! Number six is probably a title you might not immediately associate with Marvel Comics today. In fact, Marvel wasn't even the original publisher of this work... because it's foreign material. Nonetheless, it's worthy of inclusion of the top 25 Marvels of all time, and we hope you can appreciate and enjoy this tribute to this legendary comic.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
What sounds like the lunatic ravings of a couple of madmen is actually an idiosyncratic, heavily stylized reading of an excerpt from the sixth greatest Marvel comic of all time. Can you guess what it is?
It began with a simple question: What is a mouth breather? Join us as we discuss crossing paths with this very special breed of miscreants.
AVENGERS: ENDGAME SPOILERS ABOUND.
In this follow-up to our last episode, we hang out with our friend Pastor Ray, a big-time MCU fan, and discuss Endgame a bit more as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole. Some of the points we hit: Ray's origins as a comic book reader and fan, top five MCU films, bottom five MCU films, thoughts on the upcoming slate of MCU films, and how Marvel Studios might integrate the Fantastic Four and X-Men into their shared universe.
As always, feel free to hit us up in the comments, email, Twitter, or IG with any of your own thoughts, theories, or questions!
betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @btweentheguttrs www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
Pastor Raymond Fung joins us for this mini-episode where we talk about our all-time favorite costume redesigns.
SPOILER ALERT
Actually, the first 11:35 of this episode are completely spoiler-free. After that, it's chock full of spoilers as we discuss, dissect, reminisce, and revel in the superhero spectacle of Avengers: Endgame. This is what you've been waiting for.
What did you think of the movie? As always, feel free to hit us up in the comments, email, Twitter, or IG with any of your own thoughts, theories, or questions!
betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @btweentheguttrs www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
Episode 21 Mic Check - What Comics Were You Into Before Everyone Else Was Into Them? by Albert and Dru
Every so often, we get listeners and friends who ask us for recommendations on what to read. It's often an overwhelming question, but we're making it easy for ourselves by limiting ourselves to only one recommendation.
This is the second in a recurring feature in our podcast. We're aided and abetted by our allies and fellow veteran comics fans, Alexander Sheynis and Julian Zachary Hanna. Between the four of us, we'll each share one recommendation and spend some time talking about what makes our recommended book special.
In this episode, we share recommendations for crime fiction. Back in episode 16, we shared superhero recommendations. In future installments, we'll discuss our picks for even more genres and categories, like horror, romance, fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, biography, music, food/cooking, nonfiction, humor, and much more. (Yes - comics about music, and comics about food/cooking. We try to read a lot of stuff!)
We hope you enjoy the episode! Let us know what your recommendations are! We're always down to try something new, or just discuss and examine the things we know!
Check us out on Instagram! www.instagram.com/betweenthegutters/
Originally recorded in late November 2018, Sheynis and Zach join us again as we discussed Stan Lee's recent death. This was a really off-the-cuff recording. I (Dru) was expecting this to go into our mic check playlist, but the discussion ended up being long enough and substantial enough to warrant its own episode.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
These recordings are mostly a collection of mic checks, so random jokes, little stories, and deep philosophical discussions about comic books. There are a couple of longer pieces here that are essentially mini-episodes. The descriptions are mostly in the titles.
Join us as we continue our countdown of the top 25 Marvel comics of all time! Number seven is a stone cold classic that's also a long-form run on one of Marvel's biggest characters. The word "epic" often gets thrown around as an inappropriate adjective, but in this case, it's an accurate description for the seventh greatest Marvel of all time.
As noted in the show description for episode 17, the original recording for this episode was about twice as along because we discussed numbers eight AND seven on our list. We decided to break it up into two episodes after we finished recording. Thus, here's part two of that original recording, presented as its own episode. (We even recorded a brief intro.)
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
Join us as we continue our countdown of the top 25 Marvel comics of all time! In this episode, we've got one of the most notable prestige and painted projects of the '90s. (How's that for some alliteration?)
The original recording for this episode was about twice as along because we discussed numbers eight AND seven on our list. We decided to break it up into two episodes after we finished recording, so if the end of this episode sounds a bit abrupt, that's why. We'll upload the second half of the recording (where we discuss number 7 on the list) as a separate episode.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
Every so often, we get listeners and friends who ask us for recommendations on what to read. It's often an overwhelming question, but we're making it easy for ourselves by limiting ourselves to only one recommendation.
This is the first in what we expect to be a recurring feature in our podcast. We're aided and abetted by our allies and fellow veteran comics fans, Alexander Sheynis and Julian Zachary Hanna. Between the four of us, we'll each share one recommendation and spend some time talking about what makes our recommended book special.
In this episode, we share recommendations for superhero fiction. In future installments, we'll discuss our picks for a whole slew of various genres and categories, like crime fiction, fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, biography, music, food/cooking, nonfiction, and much more. (Yes - comics about music, and comics about food/cooking. We try to read a lot of stuff!)
We hope you enjoy the episode! Let us know what your recommendations are! We're always down to try something new, or just discuss and examine the things we know!
Check us out on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/betweenthegutters/
What started off as a warm-up question during a mic check turned into a full-fledged discussion worthy of its own episode. Our allies Alexander Sheynis and Julian Zachary Hanna join us as we discuss whether comics (corporate cape comics) are trying too hard to be culturally relevant.
Join us as we discuss the most recent release to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ant-Man and the Wasp. We review the film, talk about the context and historical background of the source material, probably laugh too hard at the concept of Hank Pym, and throw out some theories on how the movie ties in with Infinity War.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
Our friend and ally, Sheynis, joins us again for this fun little episode where we answer a grab bag of listener questions submitted by you guys! Send us more questions, and we'll try to answer them in a future installment!
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
We continue our countdown of the top 25 Marvel comics of all time! In this episode, we discuss the 10th and 9th items on the list. We've got one of most downbeat yet strangely moving X-Men comics of all time, and also what's turned out to be Marvel's best teen team book!
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
SPOILER ALERT
Join us for a spoiler-filled and intelligent discussion of the latest MCU movie, Avengers: Infinity War. Sheynis returns to Between the Gutters as we break down the story, discuss the movie's influences, share some theories, and generally bask in the spectacle.
Again, massive spoilers abound. Watch the movie before you listen to this episode. Or, who knows, maybe listening to this before you watch the movie will enhance your enjoyment of the film...
As always, feel free to hit us up in the comments or email or Twitter with any of your own thoughts, theories, or questions!
betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @btweentheguttrs https://www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/
Join us for some pre-Infinity War Avengers fun! In this episode, we talk about what makes the Avengers work, conceptually speaking, and we discuss our all-time favorite Avengers stories. What are your favorites? Hit us up!
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! IG: @BetweentheGutters
Web: https://betweenthegutters.wixsite.com/betweenthegutters
Between the Gutters welcomes our good friend and ally Zach Hanna. In this special episode, we take a break from the top 25 Marvels and simply discuss comics we liked when we were kids.
This is a thematic follow-up to episode 5 when we had Sheynis on our show to talk about how we got into comics. Here, it's about the comics we liked when we were young lads, and how our tastes have evolved with age... We ain't kids no more, so what runs through our minds when we look back at the stuff we used to love?
Keep in mind that kids eat paste...
Anyway, we hope you enjoy this episode. Feel free to hit us up if you want to share your experiences and thoughts! You can email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com, tweet at us @btweentheguttrs, or leave a comment on the track! We're also on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/BetweentheGutters/.
We continue our countdown of the top 25 Marvel comics of all time! In this episode, we discuss the 12th and 11th items on the list. One of them is the proverbial diamond hidden in the coal mine, and the other is one of longest and most definitive runs on a solo title. Check 'em out.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs!
SPOILER ALERT
We take a break from our top 25 Marvel countdown and talk about our thoughts regarding the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Black Panther. Our friend Justin Chuan joins us for a lively, spoiler-filled discussion of the movie. Lots of spoilers.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! We'd love to hear what you thought about Black Panther!
We continue our countdown of the top 25 Marvel comics of all time! In this episode, we discuss the 14th and 13th items on the list, and they're probably not what you'd expect...
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs!
In this episode, we take a break from our countdown of the top 25 Marvel comics to discuss how we became lifelong fans of comics in the first place. What kind of defining tragedies drove us to become the comic book savants we are today? Our good friend Alexander Sheynis guest stars and shares his tale with us as well. Secret origins abound in this episode of Between the Gutters!
How did you become a comic book fan? We'd love to hear your story! Feel free to reach out to us and share your story or anything else you wanna say!
betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @btweentheguttrs
Join us as we continue our countdown of the top 25 Marvel comics of all time! In this episode, we discuss the 16th and 15th items on the list.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs!
On this episode, we continue our countdown of the top 25 greatest Marvel comics of all time.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Check out our website: https://betweenthegutters.wixsite.com/betweenthegutters
Between the Gutters is a new podcast about comics. We uplift and praise good comics and discuss all sorts of comics-related topics.
In our second episode, we continue our countdown of the top 25 greatest Marvel comics of all time by discussing 20 and 19 on our curated list.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Check out our website: https://betweenthegutters.wixsite.com/betweenthegutters
Between the Gutters is a new podcast about comics. We uplift and praise good comics and discuss all sorts of comics-related topics.
In our giant-size first episode spectacular, we begin our countdown of the top 25 greatest Marvel comics of all time by discussing 25 through 21 on our curated list.
Feel free to comment, or email us at betweenthegutterspodcast@gmail.com! Follow us on Twitter @btweentheguttrs! Check out our website: https://betweenthegutters.wixsite.com/betweenthegutters